Aug 1 2016
From The Space Library
CONTRACT RELEASE C13-034 NASA Awards Contract for Gaseous Nitrogen Supply
NASA has awarded a contract to Air Liquide Large Industries U.S. LP of Houston to supply gaseous nitrogen to Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. This will include the continued operations and maintenance of the Kennedy pipeline system.
The firm fixed-price contract includes an economic price adjustment clause. The total approximate value is $69 million over the potential 10-year life of the contract. The base period of performance, which begins on Aug. 1, will last two years. The contract also contains four two-year options that could extend the contract through 2023.
Air Liquide will provide personnel, materials, and gaseous nitrogen production facilities necessary to support current and future NASA launch programs and activities at Kennedy and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.
RELEASE 13-243 NASA's Space Launch System Completes Preliminary Design Review
NASA has achieved a major milestone in its effort to build the nation's next heavy-lift launch vehicle by successfully completing the Space Launch System (SLS) preliminary design review.
Senior experts and engineers from across the agency concluded Wednesday the design, associated production and ground support plans for the SLS heavy-lift rocket are technically and programmatically capable of fulfilling the launch vehicle's mission objectives. NASA is developing the SLS and Orion spacecraft to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, with the flexibility to launch spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, including to an asteroid and Mars.
"The review had to be incredibly detailed, so our plans for vehicle integration, flight software, test, verification and operations will result in a safe, affordable and sustainable vehicle design," said Todd May, manager of the SLS Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
This review concludes the initial design and technology development phase. The next milestone in the continuing verification process is Key Decision Point-C, in which NASA will grant the program authority to move from formulation to implementation.
"The agency not only reviews the program internally, but also seeks help from many external sources," said LeRoy Cain, head of the independent standing review board for SLS. "There are several external NASA stakeholders and organizations -- including Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and the public -- who require a thorough, truly independent look at these programs as they transition through their lifecycle."
People from across the country, including experts on 11 different review teams, participated in the design review process, which included analysis of approximately 200 documents and 15 terabytes of data. NASA's industry partners -- The Boeing Company of Chicago, ATK of Brigham City, Utah, and Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, Calif. -- also contributed to this successful checkpoint, and will continue to work to meet all program milestones.
In July 2012, the SLS Program completed a combined system requirements review and system definition review, which set requirements of the overall launch vehicle system. That successful completion confirmed the SLS was ready to move from concept to design. All element-level preliminary design reviews for the SLS core stage, boosters, engines and spacecraft and payload integration have been completed successfully.
"In two short years from the first announcement of the Space Launch System, we are at a milestone that validates the detailed design and integration of the system," said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. "You can feel the momentum of the workforce as we produce test hardware today. We are creating a national capability, and we will get this country, and the world, exploring deep space."
The initial 70-metric-ton version of SLS will stand 321 feet tall, provide 8.4 million pounds of thrust at liftoff, and carry 154,000 pounds of payload. The rocket is scheduled for its first mission, Exploration Mission 1, in 2017 at which time it will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft. The mission's goal is to demonstrate the integrated system performance of the SLS rocket and spacecraft before a crewed flight in 2021.
The SLS will be modified from the 70-metric-ton version into the most powerful rocket ever built, a 130-metric-ton version, which will be capable of lifting 286,000 pounds. NASA plans to engage industry peers to further refine the 130-metric-ton design to support any destination, any payload and any mission to deep space.
RELEASE 16-092 NASA Offers Media Access to View Asteroid-Bound Spacecraft
Media will have an opportunity to photograph NASA’s Origins, Spectral Interpretation, Resource Identification, Security-Regolith Explorer (OSIRIS-REx) spacecraft and interview mission officials at 8 a.m. EDT Saturday, Aug. 20, at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. OSIRIS-REx will be the first U.S. mission to sample the surface of an asteroid and return the sample to Earth.
There will be three opportunities to photograph the spacecraft. Buses will depart the Kennedy Press Site at 8 and 11:30 a.m., and again at 2:30 p.m., for transportation to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (PHSF). Due to space restrictions, only two representatives from each media organization will be allowed to participate, and no more than 15 participants may sign up for each of the three viewing opportunities.
All media must RSVP for this event no later than Monday, Aug. 15 by emailing Jennifer Horner at jennifer.p.horner@nasa.gov and specifying a preferred viewing time.
Media requiring access credentials for Kennedy should apply online at: https://media.ksc.nasa.gov
The deadline for U.S. citizens to apply is Aug. 15. International media must apply by 4:30 p.m. Aug. 9.
Media credentials must be picked up between 6 a.m. and 3 p.m. Friday, Aug. 19, at the Kennedy Badging Office, located on State Road 405, east of the Kennedy Visitor Complex. Two forms of government-issued identification are required, including one with a photograph, such as a driver’s license or passport.
Media Access Instructions
Please read access instructions carefully to avoid being denied entry to the clean room after arrival at the PHSF.
OSIRIS-REx has a science requirement to bring back to Earth a “pristine sample.” In order to do so, strict contamination control protocols must be followed. Since part of the investigation is to determine whether organics are present on the asteroid, the mission adopted a stringent prohibition against any material with amino acids. Therefore, nothing made of or containing nylon can be permitted in the PHSF high bay.
Long pants and closed-toe shoes must be worn. No tank tops, shorts or skirts will be permitted. Procedures for optically sensitive spacecraft must be followed by individuals entering the clean-room where the spacecraft is being prepared for launch. Full clean-room attire must be worn and will be furnished. Attendees may not wear perfume, cologne, hair spray, nail polish or makeup. Those wearing makeup will be required to remove it prior to entry.
Photographers will need to clean camera equipment under the supervision of contamination control specialists. All camera equipment must be self-contained; no portable lights will be allowed. Non-essential equipment, such as suede, leather or vinyl camera bags, carrying cases, camera straps, accessories with Velcro and selfie sticks must be left outside the clean room. No notebook paper, pencils or click-type ball point pens are permitted; clean-room paper will be provided.
Use of wireless microphones and cellular telephones will be permitted if not contained in external cases or holding devices. Electronic flash will be permitted. The lighting in the facility is high-pressure sodium (orange).
No food, chewing gum, tobacco, lighters, matches or pocketknives will be allowed and so should not be brought to the PHSF.
OSIRIS-REx is scheduled to launch at 7:05 p.m. Sept. 8 from nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Launch Complex 41 on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The spacecraft will travel to the near-Earth asteroid Bennu to survey the surface, then retrieve at least 60 grams (2.1 ounces) of surface material and return it to Earth for study. The spacecraft will rendezvous with the asteroid in 2018. The sample return is planned in 2023.
NASA’s Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management. United Launch Alliance of Centennial, Colorado, is the provider of the Atlas V launch service.
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, provides overall mission management, systems engineering and safety and mission assurance for OSIRIS-REx. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft and is responsible for mission operations after launch. Dante Lauretta, of the University of Arizona, is the mission’s principal investigator.
OSIRIS-REx is the third mission in NASA’s New Frontiers Program. NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages New Frontiers for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate in Washington.
RELEASE 16-081 NASA Names New Chair for Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has named Patricia Sanders as chair of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), an advisory committee that reports to NASA and Congress on matters concerning the agency’s safety performance.
Sanders currently is an independent aerospace consultant. She served for 34 years in the federal government, retiring in 2008 as the executive director of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA). As the executive director, she was the senior civilian responsible for MDA’s management and operations, safety and quality control, strategic planning, legislative affairs, external communication and all issues related to worldwide personnel administration and development.
“Pat’s background and experience make her an excellent choice to lead this important advisory group,” said Bolden. “I look forward to her leadership and counsel as we continue to push forward on our journey of exploration.”
After completing her doctorate in mathematics from Wayne State University and then teaching at the university level, Sanders began her national security career with the U.S. Army in Germany in 1974. She managed Department of Defense acquisition programs, worked with the Air Force Operational Test Center in space system and aircraft avionics testing, and served as chief scientist for the Command, Control, and Communications Countermeasures Joint Test Force and as director of analysis for the U.S. Space Command.
In 1989, she began working within the Office of the Secretary of Defense, culminating with her service as the director of Test, Systems Engineering and Evaluation. She joined the missile defense community in 1998 and participated in the establishment of the MDA, was responsible for creating its robust test organization, initiated the Sensors Directorate and accomplished pioneering work in managing integration of the Ballistic Missile Defense System.
Sanders replaces Vice Admiral Joseph Dyer, who chaired the panel for 13 years.
Bolden said, “We thank Admiral Dyer profusely for his great public service. His efforts helped us think more effectively and strategically about safety and guided the ASAP in thoughtful commentary as we launched our journey to Mars.”
Congress established the ASAP in 1968 to provide advice and make recommendations to the NASA administrator on safety matters following the 1967 Apollo 1 fire that claimed the lives of three American astronauts.
