May 31 2013

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 13-161 - ANOTHER AMERICAN HIGH FRONTIER FIRST: 3-D MANUFACTURING IN SPACE --WASHINGTON -- In preparation for a future where parts and tools can be printed on demand in space, NASA and Made in Space Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., have joined to launch equipment for the first 3-D microgravity printing experiment to the International Space Station. If successful, the 3-D Printing in Zero G Experiment (3-D Print) will be the first device to manufacture parts in space. 3-D Print will use extrusion additive manufacturing, which builds objects, layer by layer, out of polymers and other materials. The 3-D Print hardware is scheduled to be certified and ready for launch to the space station next year. As NASA ventures further into space, whether redirecting an asteroid or sending humans to Mars, we'll need transformative technology to reduce cargo weight and volume, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said during a recent tour of the agency's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. "In the future, perhaps astronauts will be able to print the tools or components they need while in space." NASA is a government leader in 3-D printing for engineering applications. The technology holds tremendous potential for future space exploration. One day, 3-D printing may allow an entire spacecraft to be manufactured in space, eliminating design constraints caused by the challenges and mass constraints of launching from Earth. This same technology may help revolutionize American manufacturing and benefit U.S. industries. The president's Advanced Manufacturing Initiative cites additive manufacturing, or '3-D printing,' as one of the key technologies that will keep U.S. companies competitive and maintain world leadership in our new global technology economy, said Michael Gazarik, NASA's associate administrator for space technology in Washington. "We're taking that technology to new heights, by working with Made in Space to test 3-D printing aboard the space station. Taking advantage of our orbiting national laboratory, we'll be able to test new manufacturing techniques that benefit our astronauts and America's technology development pipeline." In addition to manufacturing spacecraft designs in orbit, 3-D printers also could work with robotic systems to create tools and habitats needed for human missions to Mars and other planetary destinations. Housing and laboratories could be fabricated by robots using printed building blocks that take advantage of in-situ resources, such as soil or minerals. Astronauts on long-duration space missions also could print and recycle tools as they are needed, saving mass, volume and resources. The 3-D Print experiment with NASA is a step towards the future, said Aaron Kemmer, CEO of Made in Space. "The ability to 3-D print parts and tools on demand greatly increases the reliability and safety of space missions while also dropping the cost by orders of magnitude. The first printers will start by building test items, such as computer component boards, and will then build a broad range of parts, such as tools and science equipment." Made in Space previously partnered with NASA through the agency's Flight Opportunities Program to test its prototype 3-D Print additive manufacturing equipment on suborbital simulated microgravity flights. NASA's Flight Opportunities Program offers businesses and researchers the ability to fly new technologies to the edge of space and back for testing before launching them into the harsh space environment. For this mission, Made in Space was awarded a Phase III small business innovation and research contract from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. After flight certification, NASA plans to ship 3-D Print to the space station aboard an American commercial resupply mission. NASA is working with American industry to develop commercially-provided U.S. spacecraft and launch vehicles for delivery of cargo -- and eventually crew -- to the International Space Station.

RELEASE: 13-166 - NASA COMMERCIAL CREW PARTNER BOEING COMPLETES NEW SPACECRAFT, ROCKET MILESTONES --HOUSTON -- The Boeing Company of Houston, a NASA Commercial Crew Program (CCP) partner, recently performed wind tunnel testing of its CST-100 spacecraft and integrated launch vehicle, the United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket. The testing is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative, intended to make commercial human spaceflight services available for government and commercial customers. Boeing and ULA also worked together to test a newly developed component of the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage. Boeing now has completed two of eight performance milestones under CCiCap and is on track to complete all 19 of its milestones around mid-2014. The Centaur has a long and storied past of launching the agency's most successful spacecraft to other worlds, said Ed Mango, NASA's CCP manager at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. "Because it has never been used for human spaceflight before, these tests are critical to ensuring a smooth and safe performance for the crew members who will be riding atop the human-rated Atlas V." The wind tunnel tests, which began in March and wrapped up in May at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., were the first interface tests of Boeing's spacecraft, launch vehicle adaptor and launch vehicle. A scale model of the integrated spacecraft and rocket was placed in Ames' 11-foot diameter transonic wind tunnel. The data gathered provides Boeing with critical information it needs to ensure its system is safe for launching crews to low-Earth orbit. The Centaur liquid oxygen-feed duct line was tested in March in Murrieta, Calif., to characterize how liquid oxygen moves from the stage's oxygen tank to its two engines where the propellant will be mixed with liquid hydrogen to create thrust. The Centaur, which takes over after the Atlas V first stage runs low on propellants, will push the spacecraft to its intended orbit. The Centaur has an extensive and successful history of delivering spacecraft to their destinations, including carrying NASA's Curiosity science rover to Mars. The CST-100 and Atlas V, connected with the launch vehicle adaptor, performed exactly as expected and confirmed our expectations of how they will perform together in flight, said John Mulholland, Boeing vice president and program manager for Commercial Programs. Boeing is one of three U.S. companies NASA is working with during CCiCap to set the stage for a crewed orbital demonstration mission around the middle of the decade. Future development and certification initiatives eventually will lead to the availability of human spaceflight services for NASA to send astronauts to the International Space Station from the United States.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M13-089 - NASA INVITES MEDIA TO SPACE WEATHER ENTERPRISE FORUM --WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will deliver the keynote address at the annual Space Weather Enterprise Forum Tuesday, June 4, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Auditorium and Science Center, located at 1301 East-West Highway in Silver Spring, Md. Media representatives are invited to attend the forum, which will focus on the impact of space weather events on communications, navigation, and national security. The theme of this year's forum is "Space Weather Impacts: They Happen All the Time." It will examine the high-frequency, low-impact events that routinely occur, but generally go unnoticed by the public. The meeting will take place from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EDT. Bolden will speak at 8:30 a.m., and several other NASA officials will make presentations. Forum participants include researchers, policymakers, and forecasters sharing information to raise awareness about space weather and its effects. Space weather involves conditions and events on the sun and in near-Earth space that can affect critical space-borne and ground-based technological systems, such as electric power grids, communications and navigation systems. -- Michael Wargo, chief exploration scientist, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters -- Lauri Newman, robotic conjunction assessment manager, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. -- Neal Zapp, Office of The forum is sponsored by the Office of the Federal Coordinator for Meteorology's National Space Weather Program Council in Washington.

MEDIA ADVISORY: M13-090 - NASA TV COVERAGE SET FOR SPACE STATION CARGO SHIP MOVES --WASHINGTON -- NASA Television will provide live coverage in June of the launch and docking of the European Space Agency's (ESA) fourth Automated Transfer Vehicle cargo craft (ATV-4) to the International Space Station and the departure of a Russian Progress resupply ship from the orbiting laboratory. Loaded with more than 7 tons of supplies for the space station crew, the 13-ton ATV-4 "Albert Einstein" spacecraft, named by ESA in honor of the 20th century theoretical physicist and icon of modern science, is scheduled to launch atop an Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana at 5:52 p.m. EDT, Wednesday, June 5. Launch coverage with commentary from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and ESA's launch provider, Arianespace, will begin at 5:15 p.m. The ATV-4 is scheduled for a 10-day trip to the station. Docking to the aft port of the Russian Zvezda Service Module is scheduled for Saturday, June 15. NASA TV coverage of rendezvous and docking will begin at 8 a.m., ahead of the planned docking at 9:46 a.m. Before the ATV-4 arrives at the station, the Russian ISS Progress 51 cargo spacecraft will undock from the Zvezda port at 9:53 a.m., Tuesday, June 11. NASA TV coverage of the undocking will begin at 9:30 a.m. As the Progress cargo craft departs, the ship's external cameras will focus on navigational sensors on the Zvezda docking port to gather imagery and confirm the sensors were not damaged April 26 when Progress docked to the station with one of its navigational antennas folded against its side. Those sensors are required for the ATV-4 to dock properly June 15.