Dec 10 2010
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 10-311
NASA #1 IN INDEX OF EFFECTIVENESS OF SOCIAL MEDIA AND WEB USE
WASHINGTON -- By a wide margin, NASA placed first in a study released Tuesday that ranks 100 public sector organizations in the effectiveness of their websites, digital outreach, social media use and mobile sites. The L2 Digital IQ Index for the Public Sector was conducted by New York University Professor Scott Galloway, Doug Guthrie, dean of the George Washington University School of Business, and a team of experts from L2, a think tank for digital innovation. The study reports NASA is in its own stratosphere and the clear leader in digital use, noting the agency's innovation on nearly every platform. The 26 point spread between NASA and the next closest organization is the largest seen in any of L2's Digital IQ Index studies to date. Studies in the past year and a half have looked at more than 500 private and public sector organizations, including luxury, beauty, automobile, pharmaceutical and retail industries. "NASA's goal is to communicate the important work of thousands in our nation's space and aeronautics missions as broadly as possible, and we employ numerous tools to do that, said David Weaver, associate administrator for Communications at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We're pleased to be recognized for our efforts and look forward to expanding our outreach. The report highlights NASA's use of Tweetup events, its recent partnerships with Gowalla and Foursquare, and the agency's social media aggregator site, the Buzzroom. "NASA has been an innovator and a true leader when it comes to using social media and other digital tools to communicate about its important work, said Doug Guthrie, dean of the George Washington University School of Business in Washington. To find all the ways you can connect and collaborate with NASA, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/connect To view the rankings and key findings, visit: http://www.L2thinktank.com/publicsectordigitaliq
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RELEASE: 10-161
NASA AND PARTNERS ASSIGN CREWS FOR UPCOMING SPACE STATION MISSIONS
WASHINGTON -- NASA and its international partners, the Russia Federal Space Agency and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), have assigned four new International Space Station crews. The crews include NASA astronauts Joe Acaba, Sunita Williams and Kevin Ford. Acaba was born in Inglewood, Calif., and raised in Anaheim, Calif. Williams was born in Euclid, Ohio, but considers Needham, Mass., her hometown. Ford was born in Portland, Ind., and considers Montpelier, Ind., his hometown. Russian cosmonaut Oleg Konenenko, European Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers and NASA astronaut Don Pettit were previously announced as Expedition 31 crew members. Expedition 31 begins when Soyuz 28 undocks from the station in March 2012. Soyuz 30 is set to launch in April 2012 with the following crew members who have been added to Expedition 31: -- NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, flight engineer -- Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, flight engineer -- Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Valkov, flight engineer (Soyuz 30) Expedition 32 will begin with the undocking of Soyuz 29 in May 2012. Soyuz 31 is set to launch in June 2012 with the crew members listed below who will join the three station residents already aboard. -- Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, station commander (Soyuz 30) -- NASA astronaut Joe Acaba, flight engineer (Soyuz 30) -- Russian cosmonaut Konstantin Valkov, flight engineer (Soyuz 30) -- NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, flight engineer (Soyuz 31) -- Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, flight engineer (Soyuz 31) -- JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, flight engineer (Soyuz 31) Expedition 33 will begin with the undocking of Soyuz 30 in September 2012. Soyuz 32 is set to launch in October 2012 with the crew members listed below who will join the three station residents already aboard. -- NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, station commander -- Russian cosmonaut Yuri Malenchenko, flight engineer -- JAXA astronaut Akihiko Hoshide, flight engineer -- NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, flight engineer (Soyuz 32) -- Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, flight engineer (Soyuz 32) -- Russian cosmonaut Evgeny Tarelkin, flight engineer (Soyuz 32) Expedition 34 will begin with the undocking of Soyuz 31 in November 2012 -- NASA astronaut Kevin Ford, station commander (Soyuz 32) -- Russian cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy, flight engineer (Soyuz 32) -- Russian cosmonaut Evgeny Tarelkin, flight engineer (Soyuz 32) Three additional crew members for Expedition 34 have yet to be assigned. They will travel to and from the station aboard Soyuz 33. For complete biographical information about NASA astronauts, visit: http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/bios
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MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-119
"AVATAR DIRECTOR AND NASA FOCUS ON EARTH SCIENCE EXPLORATION IN PSA CAMPAIGN
WASHINGTON -- James Cameron, director of Avatar, the most successful film ever released, is featured in a series of new NASA public service announcements that describe the many contributions of the agency's Earth science program to environmental awareness and exploration of our home planet. "When NASA ventures into space, it remembers to keep a steady eye on home, Cameron said. Its fleet of Earth-orbiting satellites constantly reveals our whole planet: its remotest places, its mysteries and the powerful influence of humans. Cameron's 3-D epic, based on the fictional planet of Pandora and is coming back to theaters this week. The story centers on a beautiful planet threatened by forces that want to exploit its natural resources. The public service announcements feature Avatar film imagery and include computer animations and data from NASA's fleet of Earth-observing satellites. NASA has 14 science satellites in orbit making cutting-edge global observations of the entire global system including the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, snow and ice. NASA Television will broadcast the announcements beginning Tuesday and they are available to television and radio stations, and other interested media outlets. To download or view the PSAs online, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/features/avatar.html http://www.youtube.com/nasatelevision
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MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-121
NASA SETS MEDIA DEADLINES FOR NEXT SPACE SHUTTLE FLIGHT
WASHINGTON -- NASA has set media accreditation deadlines for the November space shuttle flight to the International Space Station. Shuttle Discovery and six astronauts are targeted to launch on the STS-133 mission on Nov. 1 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Deadlines also have been set for journalists who want to cover the shuttle's move from its processing facility to the launch pad and practice countdown. Reporters must apply for credentials to attend the launch or cover the mission from other NASA centers. To be accredited, reporters must work for verifiable news-gathering organizations. No substitutions of credentials are allowed at any NASA facility. The 11-day mission will be the 35th flight to the station and the 39th and final scheduled flight for Discovery. The mission will deliver and install the Permanent Multipurpose Module, the Express Logistics Carrier 4, an external platform that holds large equipment, and critical spare components for the station. Discovery also will deliver Robonaut 2, or R2, to become a permanent resident of the station as the first human-like robot in space. NASA's Office of Protective Services recently made changes to the policy for foreign national processing. All journalists who are lawful permanent residents, have dual or multiple U.S. citizenship, or are U.S. citizens representing international media outlets will have their credential applications processed in the same way as U.S. citizens who represent domestic media. Additional time may be required to process accreditation requests by journalists from certain designated countries. Designated countries include those with which the United States has no diplomatic relations, countries on the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism, those under U.S. sanction or embargo, and countries associated with proliferation concerns. Contact the accrediting NASA center for details. Journalists should confirm they have been accredited before traveling. KENNEDY SPACE CENTER Reporters applying for credentials at Kennedy should submit requests via the Web at: https://media.ksc.nasa.gov Reporters must use work e-mail addresses, not personal accounts, when applying. After accreditation is approved, applicants will receive confirmation via e-mail. Accredited media representatives with mission badges will have access to Kennedy from launch through the end of the mission. The application deadline for mission badges is Oct. 20 for all reporters requesting credentials. Discovery's move from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39A, planned for Sept. 21, follows its rollover from Orbiter Processing Facility-3 to the VAB, which is targeted for Sept. 8. To attend rollout, international journalists must apply by 5 p.m. EDT Sept. 13 to allow time for processing, and U.S. media representatives must apply by Sept. 17. The practice countdown, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, and related training are scheduled for Oct. 12-15. To cover the activities, international journalists must apply by 5 p.m. Oct. 1, and U.S. media representatives must apply by Oct. 7. Reporters with special logistic requests for Kennedy, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, electrical connections or work space, must contact Laurel Lichtenberger by Oct. 20 at: laurel.a.lichtenberger@nasa.gov Wireless Internet access is not provided at Kennedy's news center. Work space in the news center and the news center annex is provided on a first-come basis, limited to one space per organization. To set up temporary telephone, fax, ISDN or network lines, media representatives must make arrangements with BellSouth at 800-213-4988. Reporters must have an assigned seat in the Kennedy newsroom prior to setting up lines. To obtain an assigned seat, contact Patricia Christian at: patricia.christian-1@nasa.gov Journalists must have a public affairs escort to all other areas of Kennedy except the Launch Complex 39 cafeteria. JOHNSON SPACE CENTER Reporters may obtain credentials for NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston by calling the center's newsroom at 281-483-5111 or by presenting STS-133 mission credentials from Kennedy. Media representatives planning to cover the mission only from Johnson need to apply for credentials only at the center. The application deadline for mission badges is Oct. 18 for all reporters requesting credentials. Journalists covering the mission from Johnson using Kennedy credentials must contact the center's newsroom by Oct. 18 to arrange workspace, phone lines and other logistics. Johnson is responsible for credentialing media if the shuttle lands at NASA's White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. If a landing is imminent at White Sands, Johnson will arrange credentials. DRYDEN FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER Notice for a shuttle landing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards Air Force Base in California could be short. Domestic media outlets should consider accrediting Los Angeles-based personnel who could travel quickly to Dryden. Deadlines for submitting Dryden accreditation requests are Oct. 4 for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and Nov. 8 for U.S. media who are U.S. citizens or who have permanent residency status. For Dryden media credentials, U.S. citizens representing domestic media outlets must provide their full name, date of birth, place of birth, media organization, driver's license number with the name of the issuing state, and the last six digits of their social security number. In addition to the above requirements, foreign media representatives, regardless of citizenship, must provide data including their citizenship, visa or passport number and its expiration date. Foreign nationals representing either domestic or foreign media who have permanent residency status must provide their alien registration number and expiration date. Journalists should e-mail requests to: DrydenPAO@nasa.gov Requests must include a phone number and business e-mail address for follow-up contact. Journalists who previously requested credentials for this mission will not need to do so again. NASA PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACTS: Kennedy Space Center: Allard Beutel, 321-867-2468, allard.beutel@nasa.gov Johnson Space Center: James Hartsfield, 281-483-5111, james.a.hartsfield@nasa.gov Dryden Flight Research Center: Leslie Williams, 661-276-3893, leslie.a.williams@nasa.gov
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