Oct 26 2010

From The Space Library

CONTRACT RELEASE: C10-055

NASA AWARDS AMES FACILITIES MAINTENANCE SERVICES CONTRACT

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA has selected IAP World Services Inc. in Cape Canaveral, Fla., to provide facilities maintenance services at the agency's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The contract has a maximum value, including options, of $101.8 million. This is a hybrid indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity fixed-price task order and cost-plus- fixed-fee contract that begins Oct. 1. The contract consists of a three-year base period and includes one two-year option. The majority of work under this contract is firm fixed-price work includes responding to trouble calls, tracking and documentation; accomplishing recurring services, such as preventive maintenance; maintenance engineering services; and adverse weather condition response support. The cost-plus-fixed-fee work consists of environmental and emergency support services.

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RELEASE: 10-306

NASA AND TECH PARTNERS ENCOURAGE INFORMATION EXCHANGE

WASHINGTON -- Looking to make a difference? NASA, Google, Microsoft, The World Bank and Yahoo! are inviting software developers, independent computer experts and students to participate in the Random Hacks of Kindness (RHoK) event on Dec. 4 and 5 in several locations around the world. RHoK is a global event that will use technology to make the world a better place by building a community of innovation. A hackathon brings together the best and brightest hackers from around the world, who volunteer their time to solve real-world problems. RHoK is also an opportunity to meet and work with top software developers and experts from around the world, create new applications and win prizes. "NASA is proud to be supporting Random Hacks of Kindness and promote wider usage of our open data to solve the world's greatest challenges, said NASA CIO Linda Cureton. The hackathon is a fast-paced competition where software developers have a specific time to solve challenges. At the end of the two-day marathon, a panel of experts will review each hack. The winners will earn prizes and the opportunity to see their applications put to use to respond to critical disaster risk challenges. The December event will take place in Chicago, New York, Atlanta, San Francisco, Berlin, Toronto, Mexico City and several other international locations.

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MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-025

NASA TO DISCUSS SUPERNOVA AND DARK ENERGY RESEARCH AT FEB. 17 TELECONFERENCE

WASHINGTON -- NASA will hold a teleconference with reporters at 1 p.m. EST on Wednesday, Feb. 17, to discuss the latest Chandra X-ray Observatory findings that advance our understanding of certain supernovae. This research is critical for studying dark energy, which astronomers believe pervades the universe. The panelists are: - Marat Gilfanov, astrophysicist, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics, Garching, Germany - Akos Bogdan, astrophysicist, Max Planck Institute for Astrophysics - Mario Livio, astrophysicist, Space Telescope Science Institute, Baltimore To reserve a telephone line, journalists should e-mail their name, media affiliation and telephone number to J.D. Harrington at: j.d.harrington@nasa.gov Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live on NASA's Web site at: http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

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MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-029

PRESIDENT OBAMA SCHEDULED TO SPEAK TO ORBITING ASTRONAUTS

WASHINGTON -- President Obama, congressional leaders and middle school students will speak with the astronaut crews of the International Space Station and the space shuttle Endeavour Wednesday at 5:15 p.m. EST to congratulate them on their successful ongoing mission. The call will take place from the Roosevelt Room of the White House. Media attendance will be limited to a White House pool spray, but the White House and NASA Television will stream live video of the event online. The online video also can be embedded into sites using the embed code accessible by clicking share next to the event video at: http://www.whitehouse.gov/live Endeavour's crew members are Commander George Zamka, Pilot Terry Virts and Mission Specialists Kathryn Hire, Stephen Robinson, Nicholas Patrick and Robert Behnken. The Expedition 22 space station crew members are Commander Jeff Williams and Flight Engineers Oleg Kotov, Maxim Suraev, T.J. Creamer, and Soichi Noguchi. Endeavour and its crew launched Feb. 8 on the STS-130 mission to the space station. During the mission, astronauts installed the Tranquility node and a cupola with seven windows that provide a panoramic view of Earth, celestial objects and visiting spacecraft. Tranquility and its cupola are the final major U.S. portions of the station. Joining the president are 12 students from Birney Middle School of Detroit, Elkhorn Middle School of Omaha, Neb., St. Thomas the Apostle of Miami and Davidson IB Middle School of Davidson, N.C. These students are in Washington as leaders of four of 39 teams participating in the Future City engineering competition hosted by National Engineers Week. Building on the president's Educate to Innovate campaign and his emphasis on inspiring young adults to pursue excellence in science, technology, engineering and math, the students are all leaders of teams that are finalists. The competition included 34,000 seventh and eighth graders from across the nation who produced innovative ideas and designs for a city of tomorrow. The Davidson IB Middle School team was the overall winner of the national competition. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

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MEDIA ADVISORY: M10-027

NASA'S NEXT SHUTTLE LAUNCH NOW TARGETED FOR APRIL 5; MEDIA CREDENTIALS DEADLINES UPDATED

WASHINGTON -- NASA is targeting Monday, April 5, for the launch of the next space shuttle from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Shuttle Discovery's seven crew members had planned to lift off on March 18 to begin the STS-131 mission to the International Space Station. However, cold weather in Florida has delayed Discovery's move to the Vehicle Assembly Building to complete the shuttle's processing, which has delayed the rollout to the launch pad. The Space Shuttle Program has specific rules against transporting the shuttle when temperatures are below a certain level for extended periods. The vehicle has thrusters with seals that could leak under cold temperatures. As a result of the new STS-131 target launch date, NASA has extended the media accreditation deadlines. Deadlines for journalists to apply for the shuttle rollout and Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test are as early as Feb. 23. To be accredited, reporters must work for verifiable news-gathering organizations. No substitutions of credentials are allowed at any NASA facility. 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. Please contact the accrediting NASA center for details. Journalists should confirm they have been accredited before they travel. 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 March 24 for all reporters requesting credentials. Discovery's rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, to Launch Pad 39A, planned for March 2, follows its rollover from Orbiter Processing Facility-3 to the VAB, which is targeted for Feb. 22. The launch countdown dress rehearsal, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, is targeted for March 5. Media must apply by 5 p.m. EST, Tuesday, Feb. 23 to cover rollout and the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. Reporters with special logistic requests for Kennedy, such as space for satellite trucks, trailers, electrical connections or work space, must contact Laurel Lichtenberger by March 11 at: laurel.a.lichtenberger@nasa.gov There is no longer free wireless Internet access 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 Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 or by presenting STS-131 mission credentials from Kennedy. Media representatives planning to cover the mission only from Johnson need to apply for credentials only at Johnson. The application deadline for mission badges is March 19 for all reporters requesting credentials. Journalists covering the mission from Johnson using Kennedy credentials must contact the Johnson newsroom by March 19 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 space shuttle landing at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center on 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 March 9 for non-U.S. media, regardless of citizenship, and April 12 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 fax requests for credentials on company letterhead to 661-276-3566 or 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 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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