May 20 2016
From The Space Library
MEDIA ADVISORY M16-057 Launch of First U.S. Spacecraft to Sample Asteroid Set for September, NASA Media Accreditation Open
NASA has opened accreditation for media to attend the September launch of the first U.S. mission to sample an asteroid. NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security - Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft will travel to and collect surface material from the asteroid Bennu, and return it to Earth for study.
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Sept. 8. The two-hour launch window opens at 7:05 p.m. EDT.
Media prelaunch and launch activities will take place at Cape Canaveral and NASA’s neighboring Kennedy Space Center.
OSIRIS-REx will retrieve at least 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of surface material. Scientists suspect Bennu may hold clues to the origin of the solar system and the source of the water and organic molecules that may have made their way to Earth.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering and the safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Dante Lauretta is the mission's principal investigator at the University of Arizona in Tucson. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft.
OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program. The agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the New Frontiers Program for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Launch and countdown is managed at Kennedy.
MEDIA ADVISORY M16-056 NASA Televises, Hosts Events for Deployment of First Expandable Habitat on International Space Station
This artist's concept depicts the Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), constructed by Bigelow Aerospace. Now attached to the International Space Station, BEAM will be expanded to its full size Thursday, May 26, 2016, soon after which the space station crew will begin a two-year test of the new habitat. Credits: Bigelow Aerospace
The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM) will be deployed to its full size Thursday, May 26, and begin its two-year technology demonstration attached to the International Space Station. NASA Television will provide coverage of the expansion beginning at 5:30 a.m. EDT.
After the May 26 module expansion, NASA will host a 10 a.m. media teleconference to discuss expansion operations and look ahead to next steps. The briefing will include Jason Crusan, NASA’s director of Advanced Exploration Systems, and Robert Bigelow, president of Bigelow Aerospace.
To participate in the teleconference, media must contact Tabatha Thompson at 202-358-1100 or tabatha.t.thompson@nasa.gov by 4 p.m. Wednesday, May 25, for dial-in information.
NASA astronaut Jeff Williams will lead Thursday’s operations to expand the module. Designers need daylight and video communication to closely monitor the process starting at 6:10 a.m. Thursday.
Space station astronauts will first enter the habitat Thursday, June 2, through the station’s Tranquility module, and re-enter the module several times a year throughout the two-year test period to retrieve sensor data and assess conditions inside the module.
Expandable habitats are designed to take up less room on a spacecraft, but provide greater volume for living and working in space once expanded. This first test of an expandable module will allow investigators to gauge how well the habitat performs and specifically, how well it protects against solar radiation, space debris and the temperature extremes of space.
BEAM launched April 8 aboard a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and is an example of NASA’s increased commitment to partnering with industry to enable the growth of the commercial use of space. The BEAM project is co-sponsored by NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems Division and Bigelow Aerospace.
The International Space Station serves as the world's leading laboratory for conducting cutting-edge microgravity research and is the primary platform for technology development and testing in space to enable human and robotic exploration of destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, including asteroids and Mars.
RELEASE 16-064 Dynasty Continues as NASA Marshall Wins Fifth Small Business Administrator’s Cup
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden was at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, May 20 to award the 2016 Small Business Administrator’s Cup. And for the second straight year, and the fifth time in the award’s eight-year history, he awarded the cup to Marshall.
The award recognized Marshall for the work of its Small Business Program in fiscal year 2015 to promote the participation of small businesses in helping NASA achieve its goals. Marshall also won for its small business efforts in fiscal years 2008, 2010, 2012 and 2014.
“From the Space Launch System to the International Space Station to all the important work being done here day-in and day-out to support businesses large, medium and small, there is one very large conclusion we can all come to -- the journey to Mars runs through Marshall,” said Bolden.
“Small businesses are playing a big part in our journey to Mars,” said Marshall Center Director Todd May. “Small businesses are the backbone of the American economy, and here at Marshall we know that they are also the backbone of exploration.”
Marshall’s fifth Administrator’s Cup cements the center’s dynasty, Bolden said. “You’re only one championship ring away from matching Michael Jordan’s Chicago Bulls.”
As with any dynasty, every team needs a superstar, like Jordan, leading the offense. For Marshall, that superstar is small business specialist David Brock.
“Brock’s leadership in supporting small business is second-to-none,” said Bolden. “You often hear me refer to him as a ‘national treasure.’ That’s because he is.”
“We have implemented many of Marshall and Brock’s programs agency wide,” said Glenn Delgado, NASA’s associate administrator of the Office of Small Business Programs, who was also on hand for the presentation. “There’s no question, of all the small business specialists, he is the best of the best.
“Marshall has one of the best small business teams in the federal government," added Delgado. "The way they integrate industry and the senior management support is a model for the agency -- as their five Administrator’s Cups can attest.”
“This achievement wouldn’t be possible without the full support of our management across all organizations,” said Brock. “Creativity can only come through collaboration. It takes a team to innovate. This award is for the team, and I give them full credit. I am lucky to be part of the team, and I thank them very much.
“Success, however, does not lie in the achievement of the success, it lies in the journey to achieve the success," Brock said. "Today we have achieved another milestone in the program, but the journey continues. Hopefully there will be many more milestones along the journey.”
Precise Measurements On Earth Ensure NASA’s Big Spacecraft Work In Space
Measurement is the first step that leads to success. If you can’t measure something accurately, you can’t understand and improve it. That is especially true for giant rockets designed to operate under extreme temperatures and pressures at liftoff or space stations the size of a six-bedroom house that must support people living and working in space for years.
Researchers at the Metrology and Calibration Laboratory at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, understand the importance of measurement accuracy, especially for the Space Launch System -- the most powerful launch vehicle ever built that will carry humans to deep space and ultimately on a journey to Mars.
“We make sure every instrument that takes measurements during tests for the International Space Station or the Space Launch System or other NASA programs are accurate,” said Gary Kennedy, technical representative for the Marshall Metrology and Calibration program. About 96 percent of Marshall's measurement and test equipment is calibrated through the lab in support of center operations, research and development, manufacturing and testing for NASA projects.
“For hardware to work successfully in space, it has to be tested on Earth, sometimes in harsh environments,” said Kennedy. “That means the success of the hardware in space can be traced back to our laboratory and the accurate data made during a test.”
Equipment that takes quantitative measurements is being used to test critical elements of the SLS and space station. Hardware such as the liquid oxygen tank, liquid hydrogen tank, thermal protection system, and the intertank for SLS are calibrated at the MCL prior to testing, and will be evaluated after testing for comparison. This same calibration process is used to manufacture and test the life support systems on the space station, such as the Environmental Control and Life Support System which provides air and water for the station crew.
Marshall’s laboratory is responsible for ensuring that measurement and test equipment used by its customers are calibrated accurately and have traceable measurements to a national metrological institute. A Consensus Standard, or an Intrinsic Standard makes certain that the type of measurement made at Marshall will be the same measurement made at another NASA center.
The metrology laboratory continually works with Marshall and other NASA customers to develop the most technically advanced measurement concepts and processes to successfully accomplish NASA objectives. Its personnel calibrate all types of measurement and test equipment, from specialized equipment for research and development to common equipment for everyday operations and manufacturing. These capabilities include mechanical, electrical, pressure, force and flow, along with other disciplines in 15 areas to perform more than 1,500 different types of calibration processes. For several of these unique and critical calibration processes, the lab has the only known capability in NASA and in some cases the only capability in the country.
NASA and Department of Defense Services branches conduct calibrations to ensure research and operations work safely and correctly. “Calibrations are only as good as the measurements and data collected,” explained Kirk Foster, manager of the laboratory. “Without proper and accurate measurements, none of NASA’s missions could be successfully accomplished.”
As NASA pushes the limits of space exploration, success depends on reliable and accurate measurements. NASA’s huge missions are built on the foundation of these tiny, precise measurements that inform decisions resulting in bold missions and new scientific discoveries.
