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NASA could have prevented spacewalker's close call – Boston.com

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By MARCIA DUNN/AP Aerospace Writer/February 26, 2014

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. (AP) NASA could have prevented last summers near-drowning of a spacewalking astronaut at the International Space Station, an investigation panel concluded Wednesday.

Italian astronaut Luca Parmitanos helmet filled with water July 16 during his second spacewalk in a week. He barely made it back inside alive.

But according to the panels report, his helmet also had leaked at the end of his first spacewalk a week earlier. The panel said the space station team misdiagnosed the first failure and should have delayed the second spacewalk until the problem was understood.

This event was not properly investigated, said Chris Hansen, NASAs chief space station engineer and chairman of the investigation board created by the space agency after the close call.

There was a lack of understanding in the severity of the event, Hansen said during a news conference.

Space station officials even the astronauts themselves presumed the leak was from a water drink bag in the suit when, in fact, that was not the culprit, he noted.

Investigators said Parmitanos calm demeanor during the incident quite possibly saved his life. It was fortunate he was relatively close to the space station entrance when the helmet flooded, Hansen noted.

Now 37, Parmitano is a former test pilot and an officer in the Italian Air Force who was making his first space mission. He returned to Earth in November.

The precise cause of the water leakage is still under review.

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NASA could have prevented spacewalker's close call - Boston.com

Milestones Reached For NASA Commercial Crew Program Partners

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March 3, 2014

Image Caption: A mockup of Boeing's CST-100. Credit: The Boeing Company

NASA

NASAs aerospace industry partners continue to meet milestones under agreements with the agencys Commercial Crew Program (CCP), as they move forward in their development of spacecraft and rockets that will transport humans to destinations in low-Earth orbit.

Blue Origin, Boeing Space Exploration, Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC) and SpaceX each are developing unique transportation systems, and each faces stringent evaluations and tests in 2014. CCPs engineering team is working closely with its partners as they develop the next generation of crewed spacecraft. NASA intends to certify and use commercial systems to fly astronauts from U.S. soil to the International Space Station, and back.

Already this year, NASA and its industry partners are making tremendous progress toward achieving the nations goal of restoring Americas capability to launch commercial passengers, including astronauts, from U.S. soil to low-Earth orbit, said Kathy Lueders, CCPs acting program manager. This year, well see hardware testing, flight demonstrations and the award of the Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) contract. Were excited for what the rest of this year holds and look forward to highlighting the tremendous progress our partners make to advance commercial human spaceflight.

Working under Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreements with NASA, Boeing and SNC met key milestones in late December and throughout January. Boeing worked with United Launch Alliance to complete milestones in the development of an emergency detection system and launch vehicle adapter for the Atlas V rocket planned to launch Boeings CST-100.

United Launch Alliance was an integral partner in both of these milestones, ensuring that the launch vehicle adapter and emergency detection system were fully functioning and safe for our future passengers, said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of Boeing Commercial Programs. A tireless engineering development and analysis effort since the preliminary design review early last year has led to the success of two critical milestone completions.

The CST-100s emergency detection system is an integrated set of hardware and software that will operate with the avionics systems of the Atlas V rocket as it lifts off and ascends into orbit. In the event of a confirmed emergency, the detection system will send a signal to the CST-100 to trigger escape thrusters on the spacecraft to push the crew out of harms way and return them safely to Earth.

Engineers ran the software through a series of emergency scenarios to verify the performance of the escape system, carefully tracking how changes in one component might affect another. The launch vehicle adapter that connects the CST-100 to the top of the rocket also received significant attention during the critical design review. Boeing demonstrated that pilots could take over control of the CST-100 and fly it through various phases of a mission successfully.

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Milestones Reached For NASA Commercial Crew Program Partners

Mars Alien Spoon & Shovel: NASA Curiosity Anomalies: MARS ZOO 2014. (Ishallah) ArtAlienTV 50fps Full – Video

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Mars Alien Spoon Shovel: NASA Curiosity Anomalies: MARS ZOO 2014. (Ishallah) ArtAlienTV 50fps Full
A very clear spoon with what looks very much like a small shovel or trowel type object lying near to it in the sand in Gale Crater on Mars. Also a Birds claw...

By: JoeWhite - ArtAlienTV

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Mars Alien Spoon & Shovel: NASA Curiosity Anomalies: MARS ZOO 2014. (Ishallah) ArtAlienTV 50fps Full - Video

2014 NASA African-American History Month Profile: Kelvin Manning, Kennedy Space Center – Video

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2014 NASA African-American History Month Profile: Kelvin Manning, Kennedy Space Center
Kelvin Manning serves as associate director of NASA #39;s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Manning is responsible for the oversight of Kennedy #39;s institutional bu...

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2014 NASA African-American History Month Profile: Kelvin Manning, Kennedy Space Center - Video

NASA Selects Stellar Interns as Student Ambassadors

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NASA has inducted 105 top-performing interns, representing 29 states and 67 universities, into its 2014 Student Ambassadors Virtual Community.

The NASA Student Ambassadors Virtual Community (NSAVC) is an online network designed to foster greater interaction and mentorship among outstanding interns of NASA higher education projects, thereby increasing student retention through the NASA educational pipeline and into the science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce.

This is the sixth group of student ambassadors to receive the honor since 2009.

"I am delighted to welcome these bright students to the NASA education family as Cohort VI student ambassadors," said Roosevelt Johnson, NASA's deputy associate administrator for education. "They are in a unique position to inspire their fellow students and the public to pursue STEM and help NASA cultivate the next generation of scientists, engineers and explorers."

NASA managers and mentors nominated the new inductees from among the hundreds of current interns and fellows across the agency based upon the participants internship performance and involvement in other NASA-related activities. The NSAVC provides a network for the interns, who are located across the U.S., and is designed to elevate the experiences, visibility, and contribution of these students; provide a suite of tools to help them serve as NASA Student Ambassadors; and offer the latest NASA news, blogs, announcements and other information.

Members of Cohort VI will have opportunities to interact with NASA, share information, make professional connections, collaborate with peers, represent NASA in a variety of venues, and help inspire and engage future interns. The Student Ambassador experience is designed to feed the pipeline of talented STEM candidates who will be the scientists, engineers and explorers of tomorrow.

For more information about the NASA Student Ambassadors Virtual Community 2014 Cohort VI participants and activities, visit:

https://intern.nasa.gov

For more information about education at NASA, visit:

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NASA Selects Stellar Interns as Student Ambassadors


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