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NASA: Launch Windows For Lunar Landing - 1967 Educational Documentary - WDTVLIVE42
This NASA documentary describes, with animation, the planning of a lunar mission with trajectories and physical capabilities that define these trajectories. ...

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NASA: Launch Windows For Lunar Landing - 1967 Educational Documentary - WDTVLIVE42 - Video

Recreating the Apollo 8 Earthrise Photo | NASA Space Science HD
Coconut Science Lab: http://www.coconutsciencelab.com The crew of Apollo 8 became the first people to leave our planet and travel to another body in space. T...

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Recreating the Apollo 8 Earthrise Photo | NASA Space Science HD - Video

NASA Begins Series of Spacewalks to Fix Coolant Pump on ISS
Expedition 38 astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins ventured outside the space station on Dec. 21, for the first in a series of spacewalks to remove a...

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NASA Begins Series of Spacewalks to Fix Coolant Pump on ISS - Video

December 25, 2013

Astronaut Mike Hopkins works outside the International Space Station during a spacewalk, yesterday, in this image from a video courtesy of Nasa. - Reuters pic, December 25, 2013.Two Nasa astronauts wrapped up successful repairs at the International Space Station yesterday after a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk to fix an equipment cooling system.

Americans Rick Mastracchio, 53, and Mike Hopkins, 44, floated outside the orbiting lab for seven and a half hours to replace an ammonia pump whose internal control valve failed on December 11.

"We have a pump that is alive and well," said Nasa commentator Rob Navias on the US space agency's live television feed after a successful jumpstart test on the newly installed pump module, a bulky piece of gear the size of a refrigerator.

More checks need to be done, but the pump appeared to be "in good shape" and would be fully activated in the coming hours, Navias said from mission control in Houston.

Despite recent concerns about leaking spacesuits, neither astronaut reported any problems.

The suits "have functioned perfectly and have been bone dry throughout the course of today's spacewalk," Navias said.

Hopkins, making his second career spacewalk, rode the 15-metre robotic arm, operated from inside the station by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.

With his boots affixed to the Canadian-made arm, Hopkins grasped the bulky pump module as Wakata maneuvered him over to its installation location.

Then, Mastracchio, who was making his eighth career spacewalk, helped push the module into its slot and the pair began affixing it in place.

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nasa_astronauts_251213_reuters.JPG

The first men to orbit the moon knew they were on an epic journey, but they never imagined the impact of a single image

If you had your druthers during Christmas week 1968, youd have wanted to get as far away from Earth as possible. The entire planet was a messsoutheast Asia was in flames, Czechoslovakia was living under a Soviet crackdown, Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King had been murdered and cities across the country had been torn by rioting.

As it happened, three men out of the 3.5 billion human beings then at large did have the chance to get out of Dodge, and so, on the morning of December 21, the crew of Apollo 8Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and Bill Andersclimbed atop their Saturn V rocket and set out for humanitys first manned mission to orbit the moon. For a trip that began with nothing short of an act of chemical violence7.5 million lbs (3.4 million kg) of thrust exploding out of the bottom of a 36-story rocket, accelerating the crew to an escape velocity of 25,000 mph (40,000 k/h)the actual moonward coast was a rather lazy thing.

For three days, the astronauts would drift away from the planet, their speed steadily slowing as the Earth tugged inexorably back on them. Finally, 80% of the way to the moon, lunar gravity would take over, speeding them up and pulling them in. Until the critical moment when theyd fire their engine to ease themselves into lunar orbit, they had comparatively little to do, and so, on the morning of Dec. 22, when they were 104,000 mi. (167,000 km) from home, Houston radioed up with the days headlines.

Let me know when it gets to be breakfast time, said the Capsule Communicator (Capcom) in Mission Control. Ive got a newspaper to read up to you.

Good idea, said Borman. We never did get the news.

TIMEs Jan. 3, 1969 issue, showing Men of the Year Apollo 8 astronauts William A. Anders, Frank Borman and Jim Lovell.

You are the news, the Capcom answered. The flight to the moon is occupying prime space on both newspaper and television. In other news, eleven GIs that have been detained five months in Cambodia were released yesterday and will make it home for Christmas. David Eisenhower and Julie Nixon were married yesterday in New York; he was described as nervous. The Browns took Dallas apart yesterday 31 to 20, and were sort of curious: Who do you like today, Baltimore or Minnesota?

Baltimore, Lovell answered. (History records that he was right: the Colts beat the Vikings 24 to 14.)

Mighty nice view from out here, Borman said peacefully.

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NASA Recreates Picture That Changed the World

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December 24, 2013 11:48 AM ET

Two NASA astronauts are on a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk outside the International Space Station, working to replace a pump that caused a cooling malfunction on the orbiter.

This is the second spacewalk in four days for the two astronauts. On Saturday, NASA flight Engineers Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins removed a malfunctioning pump from the outside of the space station.

NASA tweeted this photo of astronaut Mike Hopkins riding on the end of the International Space Station's robotic arm during a spacewalk to replace a malfunctioning coping pump. (Photo: NASA via Twitter)

With that part of the job complete, Mastracchio and Hopkins are replacing the degraded ammonia pump module on the station's starboard truss with a new one.

They left the station to begin their efforts at 6:53 a.m. ET today. Ground engineers expect the spacewalk to continue until about 12:30 p.m.

Three hours into the spacewalk, the two astronauts began to install the 780-pound replacement pump.

Hopkins, attached to the end of the station's robotic arm, grabbed hold of the new, refrigerator-sized pump and, with Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata guiding the robotic arm from inside the station, maneuvered the pump into place.

The astronauts may go out on another spacewalk on Christmas Day if there is still work to be done to get the station's cooling system running fully again.

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NASA astronauts on critical Christmas Eve spacewalk

This December 24, 2013 NASA TV still image shows astronaut Mike Hopkins on the robotic arm (Lower-R) and Rick Mastracchio (front) during a spacewalk outside the International Space Station (ISS).

Americans Rick Mastracchio, 53, and Mike Hopkins, 44, floated outside the orbiting lab for seven and a half hours to replace an ammonia pump whose internal control valve failed on December 11.

"We have a pump that is alive and well," said a NASA commentator on the US space agency's live television feed after a successful jumpstart test on the newly installed pump module, a bulky piece of gear the size of a refrigerator.

More checks will be done later Tuesday, but the pump appeared to be "in good shape" and would be fully activated in the coming hours, a NASA commentator said from mission control in Houston.

Despite recent concerns about leaking spacesuits, neither astronaut reported any problems.

The suits "have functioned perfectly and have been bone dry throughout the course of today's spacewalk," a NASA commentator said.

Hopkins, making his second career spacewalk, rode the 57-foot (15-meter) robotic arm, operated from inside the station by Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata.

With his boots affixed to the Canadian-made arm, Hopkins grasped the bulky pump module as Wakata maneuvered him over to its installation location.

Then, Mastracchio, who was making his eighth career spacewalk, helped push the module into its slot and the pair began affixing it in place.

Five electrical connections and four fluid connections followed, and a brief test, like a jumpstart, was done to test the pump's connections and electronics.

Originally posted here:

NASA astronauts wrap up successful spacewalk on Christmas Eve to fix station

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - Two NASA astronauts spent more than seven hours working outside the International Space Station on Tuesday and successfully repaired a critical cooling system.

It was the second spacewalk in three days for flight engineers Rick Mastracchio and Mike Hopkins, who wrapped up the cumbersome work with only one problem.

As they were installing a spare cooling pump, a sprinkling of ammonia crystals leaked out from one of four fluid lines. The toxic liquid turns to flakes in the cold and weightlessness environment of space.

The astronauts spent an extra 15 minutes in the station's Quest airlock to bake out any potential residue on their spacesuits. The 7.5-hour spacewalk was broadcast live on NASA Television.

"It took a couple of licks to get her done, but we got it," Hopkins radioed to flight controllers at NASA's Mission Control Center in Houston.

The new pump will not be fully tested until later on Tuesday, but an initial check in the final hour of the spacewalk showed it was "alive and well," reported NASA mission commentator Rob Navias.

During a spacewalk on Saturday, the astronauts removed a failed cooling system pump and attached it to a temporary storage site at the base of the station's mobile rail cart.

NASA is considering a potential future spacewalk to repair the refrigerator-size pump and use it as a spare, officials said.

In addition to the new pump installed on Tuesday, there are two other spare pumps aboard the station, a $100 billion research complex that flies about 260 miles above Earth.

The U.S. side of the station, which includes Japanese and European laboratories, has been without half its cooling system since December 11 when a valve failed inside a pump.

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NASA spacewalkers install new station cooling pump

NASA Space Shuttle: Missions And Payloads - 1980 Educational Documentary - WDTVLIVE42
This NASA educational film was released before the first flight of Shuttle Columbia, and depicted the Shuttle Orbiters role of retrieving satellites in space...

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NASA Space Shuttle: Missions And Payloads - 1980 Educational Documentary - WDTVLIVE42 - Video

NASA | Earthrise: The 45th Anniversary
In December of 1968, the crew of Apollo 8 became the first people to leave our home planet and travel to another body in space. But as crew members Frank Bor...

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NASA | Earthrise: The 45th Anniversary - Video

2013 What Happened This Year @NASA
In 2013, NASA helped transform access to low Earth orbit ... even as one of our venerable spacecraft reached the boundaries of the solar system ... and we mo...

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The Christmas Eve spacewalk planned by NASA at the International Space Station should wrap up repair work on a faulty cooling line.

Mission Control said Monday that unless something goes awry, two astronauts ought to finish installing a new ammonia pump Tuesday, during this second spacewalk. NASA originally thought three spacewalks might be needed.

Astronauts Rick Mastracchio and Michael Hopkins removed the faulty pump Saturday. Everything went so well, they jumped ahead in their effort to fix the external cooling line that shut down Dec. 11.

A bad valve in the pump caused the breakdown, prompting the urgent series of spacewalk repairs.

The second spacewalk should have been Monday, but was bumped a day so Mastracchio could swap suits. He inadvertently hit the water switch in the air lock following Saturday's spacewalk, and engineers suspect water entered his suit. The suit needs to dry out for at least a week before being used again, said flight director Judd Frieling.

Saturday's water intrusion is unrelated to helmet leakage that almost drowned an Italian spacewalker in July.

Two of the three Russians crew members, meanwhile, will conduct a Moscow-directed spacewalk on Friday to install cameras and fresh experiments. It was planned long before the U.S. cooling system ran into trouble.

The sixth space station resident is Japanese and will assist from inside during Tuesday's U.S. spacewalk.

NASA has conducted a Christmas Eve spacewalk only once before, during a Hubble Space Telescope repair mission in 1999.

Mission Control said it expects no conflicts between the path of the space station and Santa's flight: "The skies are all clear," commentator Rob Navias observed from Houston.

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NASA: Christmas Eve Spacewalk Could Wrap up Repair

Coordinates: 385259N 77059W / 38.88306N 77.01639W / 38.88306; -77.01639

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research.

President Dwight D. Eisenhower established the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in 1958[5] with a distinctly civilian (rather than military) orientation encouraging peaceful applications in space science. The National Aeronautics and Space Act was passed on July 29, 1958, disestablishing NASA's predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The new agency became operational on October 1, 1958.[6][7]

Since that time, most U.S. space exploration efforts have been led by NASA, including the Apollo moon-landing missions, the Skylab space station, and later the Space Shuttle. Currently, NASA is supporting the International Space Station and is overseeing the development of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the Space Launch System and Commercial Crew vehicles. The agency is also responsible for the Launch Services Program (LSP) which provides oversight of launch operations and countdown management for unmanned NASA launches.

NASA science is focused on better understanding Earth through the Earth Observing System,[8] advancing heliophysics through the efforts of the Science Mission Directorate's Heliophysics Research Program,[9] exploring bodies throughout the Solar System with advanced robotic missions such as New Horizons,[10] and researching astrophysics topics, such as the Big Bang, through the Great Observatories and associated programs.[11] NASA shares data with various national and international organizations such as from the Greenhouse Gases Observing Satellite.

From 1946, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) had been experimenting with rocket planes such as the supersonic Bell X-1.[12] In the early 1950s, there was challenge to launch an artificial satellite for the International Geophysical Year (195758). An effort for this was the American Project Vanguard. After the Soviet launch of the world's first artificial satellite (Sputnik 1) on October 4, 1957, the attention of the United States turned toward its own fledgling space efforts. The U.S. Congress, alarmed by the perceived threat to national security and technological leadership (known as the "Sputnik crisis"), urged immediate and swift action; President Dwight D. Eisenhower and his advisers counseled more deliberate measures. This led to an agreement that a new federal agency mainly based on NACA was needed to conduct all non-military activity in space. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) was created in February 1958 to develop space technology for military application.[13]

On July 29, 1958, Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, establishing NASA. When it began operations on October 1, 1958, NASA absorbed the 46-year-old NACA intact; its 8,000 employees, an annual budget of US$100million, three major research laboratories (Langley Aeronautical Laboratory, Ames Aeronautical Laboratory, and Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory) and two small test facilities.[14] A NASA seal was approved by President Eisenhower in 1959.[15] Elements of the Army Ballistic Missile Agency and the United States Naval Research Laboratory were incorporated into NASA. A significant contributor to NASA's entry into the Space Race with the Soviet Union was the technology from the German rocket program led by Wernher von Braun, who was now working for the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA), which in turn incorporated the technology of American scientist Robert Goddard's earlier works.[16] Earlier research efforts within the U.S. Air Force[14] and many of ARPA's early space programs were also transferred to NASA.[17] In December 1958, NASA gained control of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a contractor facility operated by the California Institute of Technology.[14]

The most notable NASA activities are its space flight programs, both manned and unmanned. The latter can be either independent, carrying scientific equipment, or supportive, testing equipment for manned flights. In the beginning, NASAs missions focused on the space race with the Soviet Union, which won the first round, but later the United States took the initiative and won the final race to the Moon. The unmanned missions have until now explored most of our solar system. They have also brought telescopes for deep space exploration into orbit around the Earth together with satellites for studying Earth itself.

The rocket planes experiments started by NACA was taken a step further by NASA which used them as support for spaceflights, the first of which was one-manned and launched by military rockets. When the attention turned to reaching the Moon, the solution chosen was complicated but also the most economical. Supportive projects, both manned and unmanned were introduced and bigger rockets together with spacecraft and moon lander developed. The Moon landing and end of the space race meant a reduction of NASAs activities. Space stations of a more or less permanent nature, suggested already during the space race, were built and an international cooperation was introduced in an attempt to both bring nations together and at the same time share the high costs of space missions. In all, more than 100 manned missions have been made by NASA since 1958.[18]

The NACA XS-1 (Bell X-1) was followed by additional experimental vehicles, including the X-15 in cooperation with the US Air Force and US Navy. The design featured a slender fuselage with fairings along the side containing fuel and early computerized control systems.[19] When the spacerace began the main objective was to get a person into space as soon as possible, therefore the simplest spacecraft that could be launched by existing rockets was favored. This led to the choice of a small capsule spacecraft while rocket plane proposals like a modified X-15[20] were turned down.[21] Instead X-15 was used for development of techniques and equipment of value for the space missions. This included jets for changing the orientation of a spacecraft, space suits for astronauts and horizon definition for navigation.[22] Nearly 200 flights were made between 1959 and 1968 allowing NASA to collect data vital not only to the spacerace but also the design of the Space Shuttle.[19] The altitude record for X-15 was 354,200 feet (107.96km).[22]

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NASA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

December 24, 2013

Nasa astronaut Mike Hopkins is seen during the spacewalk in this photo courtesy of Nasa, received December 22, 2013. - Reuters pic, December 24, 2013.Two American astronauts prepared to step out today on a rare Christmas Eve spacewalk to wrap up repairs to the cooling system at the International Space Station, Nasa said.

The spacewalk is set to begin at 1210 GMT (8.10pm MYT), marking the second outing to replace an ammonia pump module whose internal control valve failed December 11.

"The two spacewalkers will retrieve a spare pump module from an external stowage platform and install it in the currently vacated slot to restore full cooling capability for the complex," Nasa said.

Nasa astronauts Rick Mastracchio, 53, and Mike Hopkins, 44, made swift work of their first spacewalk on Saturday, disconnecting and pulling out an old cooling pump which regulates the temperature of equipment at the orbiting space lab.

They managed to complete almost two days' worth of work in a single outing that lasted just five and a half hours, ending an hour earlier than planned.

However, a problem emerged with Mastracchio's spacesuit afterward, adding new concerns about the safety of the 35-year-old gear that astronauts wear to protect them.

NASA said "a small amount of water" entered the suit's cooling system after Mastracchio had re-entered the space station airlock at the end of the spacewalk.

"As a result, flight controllers decided to switch to a backup suit for Mastracchio for the next spacewalk."

The task of resizing a spare suit on board the ISS took an extra day, and postponed the spacewalk from its initially planned date of yesterday to today.

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NASA's Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE), a spacecraft that made the most comprehensive survey to date of asteroids and comets, has returned its first set of test images in preparation for a renewed mission.

NEOWISE discovered more than 34,000 asteroids and characterized 158,000 throughout the solar system during its prime mission in 2010 and early 2011.

It was reactivated in September following 31 months in hibernation to assist NASA's efforts to identify the population of potentially hazardous near-Earth objects (NEOs). NEOWISE also can assist in characterizing previously detected asteroids that could be considered potential targets for future exploration missions.

"NEOWISE not only gives us a better understanding of the asteroids and comets we study directly, but it will help us refine our concepts and mission operation plans for future, space-based near-Earth object cataloging missions," said Amy Mainzer, principal investigator for NEOWISE at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "The spacecraft is in excellent health, and the new images look just as good as they were before hibernation. Over the next weeks and months we will be gearing up our ground-based data processing and expect to get back into the asteroid hunting business, and acquire our first previously undiscovered space rock, in the next few months."

Some of the deep space images taken by the spacecraft include a previously detected asteroid named (872) Holda. With a diameter of 26 miles (42 kilometers), this asteroid orbits the sun between Mars and Jupiter in a region astronomers call the asteroid belt. The images tell researchers the quality of the spacecraft's observations is the same as during its primary mission.

The spacecraft uses a 16-inch (40-centimeter) telescope and infrared cameras to seek out and discover unknown NEOs and characterize their size, albedo or reflectivity, and thermal properties. Asteroids reflect, but do not emit visible light, so data collected with optical telescopes using visible light can be deceiving.

Infrared sensors, similar to the cameras on NEOWISE, are a powerful tool for discovering, cataloging and understanding the asteroid population. Some of the objects about which NEOWISE will be collecting data could become candidates for the agency's announced asteroid initiative.

NASA's initiative will be the first mission to identify, capture and relocate an asteroid. It represents an unprecedented technological feat that will lead to new scientific discoveries and technological capabilities that will help protect our home planet. The asteroid initiative brings together the best of NASA's science, technology and human exploration efforts to achieve President Obama's goal of sending humans to an asteroid by 2025.

"It is important that we accumulate as much of this type of data as possible while the spacecraft remains a viable asset," said Lindley Johnson, NASA's NEOWISE program executive in Washington. "NEOWISE is an important element to enhance our ability to support the initiative."

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NASA's asteroid hunter spacecraft returns first images after reactivation

President Obama named five NASA researchers Monday as recipients of the 2012 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). These recipients, and 97 other federal researchers, will receive their awards in a ceremony early next year in Washington.

The PECASE awards represent the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their research careers. The award recognizes recipients' exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of scientific knowledge and their commitment to community service as demonstrated through professional leadership, education or community outreach.

"These early career scientists and engineers represent some of the best and brightest talent in our agency and our university partners," said NASA Chief Scientist Ellen Stofan. "We are delighted to see them win this prestigious award. Their contributions, ranging from micro-gravity and space radiation effects, x-ray spectrometry, advanced composites, remote sensing, and climate research, will benefit our nation and advance the scientific frontiers."

The 2012 NASA recipients were nominated by the agency's Science Mission Directorate, Office of the Chief Engineer, and Office of the Chief Technologist. The recipients are:

-- Dr. Joshua S. Alwood, at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., for research into the temporal changes in skeletal tissue density, cancellous orientation and vasculature during recovery from musculoskeletal disuse

-- Dr. Douglas C. Hofmann, at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., for his innovative research in metal-matrix composites for future NASA missions

-- Dr. Randall L. McEntaffer, at the University of Iowa, for development of high resolution and high throughput X-ray gratings for use in the next generation of space-based X-ray spectrometers.

-- Dr. Tamlin M. Pavelsky, at the University of North Carolina, for outstanding research and leadership advancing satellite remote sensing of river discharge, including enabling the broader community to develop and improve algorithms for SWOT, a future NASA Satellite.

-- Dr. Patrick C. Taylor, at NASA's Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va., for exceptional early career achievements and innovations that have advanced scientific understanding of the Earth's climate system

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NASA Scientists and Engineers Receive Presidential Early Career Awards

NASA | Jewel Box Sun
This video of the sun based on data from NASA #39;s Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, shows the wide range of wavelengths -- invisible to the naked eye -- that...

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NASA | Jewel Box Sun - Video

EVL and NASA ENDURANCE on Al Jazeera America
Broadcast on Al Jazeera America News on December 8, 2013, this video features advanced visualization research at the Electronic Visualization Laboratory, Uni...

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EVL and NASA ENDURANCE on Al Jazeera America - Video

The Deep Space Network: 50 years of Interplanetary WiFi
On Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2013, NASA #39;s Deep Space Network, the world #39;s largest and most powerful communications system for spacecraft, turns 50. For more in...

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The Deep Space Network: 50 years of Interplanetary WiFi - Video