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Orbital

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The Wallops Incident Response Team completed today an initial assessment of Wallops Island, Virginia, following the catastrophic failure of Orbital Science Corp.s Antares rocket shortly after liftoff at 6:22 p.m. EDT Tuesday, Oct. 28, from Pad 0A of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASAs Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.

An aerial view of the Wallops Island launch facilities taken by the Wallops Incident Response Team Oct. 29 following the failed launch attempt of Orbital Science Corp.s Antares rocket Oct. 28.Credit: NASA/Terry Zaperach

I want to praise the launch team, range safety, all of our emergency responders and those who provided mutual aid and support on a highly-professional response that ensured the safety of our most important resource our people, said Bill Wrobel, Wallops director. In the coming days and weeks ahead, well continue to assess the damage on the island and begin the process of moving forward to restore our space launch capabilities. Theres no doubt in my mind that we will rebound stronger than ever.

The initial assessment is a cursory look; it will take many more weeks to further understand and analyze the full extent of the effects of the event. A number of support buildings in the immediate area have broken windows and imploded doors. A sounding rocket launcher adjacent to the pad, and buildings nearest the pad, suffered the most severe damage.

At Pad 0A the initial assessment showed damage to the transporter erector launcher and lightning suppression rods, as well as debris around the pad.

The Wallops team also met with a group of state and local officials, including the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality, the Virginia Department of Emergency Management, the Virginia Marine Police, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Wallops environmental team also is conducting assessments at the site. Preliminary observations are that the environmental effects of the launch failure were largely contained within the southern third of Wallops Island, in the area immediately adjacent to the pad. Immediately after the incident, the Wallops industrial hygienist collected air samples at the Wallops mainland area, the Highway 175 causeway, and on Chincoteague Island. No hazardous substances were detected at the sampled locations.

Additional air, soil and water samples will be collected from the incident area as well as at control sites for comparative analysis.

The Coast Guard and Virginia Marine Resources Commission reported today they have not observed any obvious signs of water pollution, such as oil sheens. Furthermore, initial assessments have not revealed any obvious impacts to fish or wildlife resources. The Incident Response Team continues to monitor and assess.

Following the initial assessment, the response team will open the area of Wallops Island, north of the island flagpole opposite of the launch pad location, to allow the U.S. Navy to return back to work.

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Orbital

NASA Office of Inspector General's Semiannual Report to Congress April 1 – September 30, 2014

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NASA faces ongoing challenges in sustaining its exploration and science missions, including such high-profile initiatives as the Space Launch System, its commercial cargo and crew programs, the James Webb Space Telescope, and the International Space Station (ISS). And like all Federal agencies, NASA has begun another fiscal year without a full-year appropriation, making the long-range planning necessary to carrying out its missions more difficult.

However, neither starting the fiscal year under a continuing resolution nor the expectation of static "top-line" funding are new scenarios for NASA. Accordingly, even with effective program management, NASA leaders will need to make choices that result in the continuation of some programs and the delay or cancellation of others. Case in point: the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) - the Boeing 747SP NASA fitted with a 9-foot telescope to study the universe. After a $1.1 billion investment and 23 years of effort, SOFIA reached full operational capability earlier this year. But SOFIA faces an uncertain future because the President's fiscal year (FY) 2015 budget proposed placing the observatory in storage unless NASA could identify partners to help subsidize its $80 million annual operating cost.

We reviewed the SOFIA Program and found that the Administration's proposal presents immediate challenges, including decisions about whether to delay planned aircraft maintenance and concerns about the potential loss of key personnel during the period of congressional debate over the FY 2015 budget. At the same time, appropriations legislation considered in the House of Representatives and Senate contained between $70 and $87 million to continue funding the Program.

During this reporting period, we also examined NASA's use of Space Act Agreements and questioned the Agency's decision to refrain from including more specific information about program objectives and key safety elements in the $1.2 billion in funded Agreements it entered into with several private companies to develop commercial crew spaceflight capabilities. We recommended that in the future NASA consider being more prescriptive when using funded agreements to develop spaceflight technology. In another review that examined extending the ISS until 2024, we found assumptions underlying NASA's cost projections overly optimistic. While NASA projects its annual ISS budget to grow from its current $3 billion to nearly $4 billion by FY 2020, we questioned the validity of the Agency's estimates for transportation costs. For example, NASA developed its transportation estimates using a $70.7 million average cost for a seat on Russia's Soyuz spacecraft for a total cost of approximately $282 million per mission for four astronauts rather than projected costs for using commercial companies to transport astronauts, which NASA expects to be higher.

We also examined NASA's efforts to modernize its Space Network, a constellation of eight satellites and three ground stations used to communicate with spacecraft operating in low Earth orbit. Without this Network, space hardware worth tens of billions of dollars would be little more than orbital debris. We found that key components of the Network are not meeting planned cost, schedule, and performance goals, and the delays and cost growth increase the risk that the Network will be unable to continue to provide adequate communication services to NASA missions and other customers.

Finally, our Office of Investigations continues to actively pursue allegations involving misuse of NASA funds and misconduct by NASA employees, contractors, and grant recipients. During the past 6 months, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigated dozens of cases of bribery, wire fraud, and falsification of records - the latter by two scientists who fraudulently obtained $1.5 million in research contracts with NASA.

This Semiannual Report summarizes the OIG's activities and accomplishments between April 1 and September 30, 2014. We hope you find it informative.

Full report

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NASA Office of Inspector General's Semiannual Report to Congress April 1 - September 30, 2014

Swift Probes Exotic Object: ‘Kicked’ Black Hole or Mega Star? – Video

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Swift Probes Exotic Object: #39;Kicked #39; Black Hole or Mega Star?
Zoom into Markarian 177 and SDSS1133 and see how they compare with a simulated galaxy collision. When the central black holes in these galaxies combine, a "kick" launches the merged black hole.

By: NASA.gov Video

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Swift Probes Exotic Object: 'Kicked' Black Hole or Mega Star? - Video

Interstellar My Ass! Nasa "From the Earth to the Ground" {in a fiery ball} – Video

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Interstellar My Ass! Nasa "From the Earth to the Ground" {in a fiery ball}
NASA has always lied,repeatedly failed but has ALWAYS COST A SHIP LOAD OF MONEY$$$ Money we could use on good old,awesome planet Earth...The largest collection of alien/anomalous fossils ...

By: The Alien Fossil Project

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Interstellar My Ass! Nasa "From the Earth to the Ground" {in a fiery ball} - Video

NASA 2015 Predictions Will Drop Your Jaw to the Floor: Mini-Ice Age, Deaths, Earthquakes, Riots – Video

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NASA 2015 Predictions Will Drop Your Jaw to the Floor: Mini-Ice Age, Deaths, Earthquakes, Riots
Here is the link that goes with the post: http://b4in.info/hhlo Subscribe to my website at: http://lisahavennews.net/ http://vineoflifenews.com/ For More Information See: http://www.newsmax.co...

By: LisaHaven

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NASA 2015 Predictions Will Drop Your Jaw to the Floor: Mini-Ice Age, Deaths, Earthquakes, Riots - Video


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