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Category Archives: NASA

NASA Awards Office of Human Capital Management Professional Services Contract

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NASA has selected All Native, Inc. of Winnebago, Neb. for award of the Office of Human Capital Management Professional Services contract. The work will be performed at NASA Headquarters, Washington, D.C., and at all NASA Goddard Space Flight Center facilities located in Greenbelt, Md., Wallops Island, Va., and New York City, N.Y.

This is a Cost-Plus-Fixed-Fee, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity contract with a five year ordering period and a maximum ordering value of $23 million. This competitive procurement was set aside for certified 8(a) businesses. There will be a phase-in period to commence on August 2, 2013. Full contract performance will begin on September 1, 2013.

Under this contract, All Native, Inc. will provide a variety of operational support services to NASA GSFC and Headquarters, including, but not limited to, recruitment projects, human capital projects; ongoing staffing and classification services; learning, training, coaching, leadership development; organizational effectiveness, change management; career development, labor relations, awards, performance management, and work life initiatives.

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

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NASA Awards Office of Human Capital Management Professional Services Contract

NASA’s Kepler telescope spots 503 new potential alien planets

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Washington, Jun 16:

NASAs Kepler telescope has identified 503 new potential alien planets, some of which may even be habitable.

Some of these new planet candidates are small and some reside in the habitable zone of their stars, but much work remains to be done to verify these results, said Kepler mission manager Roger Hunter, of NASAs Ames Research Centre.

The latest finding brings Keplers tally of exoplanet candidates to 3,216, SPACE.com reported.

While as just 132 of the potential planets have been confirmed by follow-up observations to date, however, mission scientists expect at least 90 per cent will end up being the real deal.

Researchers said the new haul was pulled from observations Kepler made during its first three years of operation, from May 2009 to March 2012.

The telescope has not done any planet hunting since being hobbled by a failure in its orientation-maintaining system last month.

The $600 million Kepler spacecraft launched in March 2009, kicking off a 3.5-year mission to determine how common Earth-like planets are throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

Kepler spots exoplanets by detecting the tiny brightness dips caused when they pass in front of their stars faces from the instruments perspective.

The observatory does this precision work by staying locked onto 150,000-plus target stars using three gyroscope-like devices called reaction wheels.

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NASA’s Kepler telescope spots 503 new potential alien planets

NASA Goes ‘Green’: Next Spacecraft to Be Reusable

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This story was updated on June 14 at 10:10 a.m. EDT.

Since the space shuttle's retirement in 2011, NASA has relied on Russian rockets to launch its astronauts to space. But the United States plans to have its own homemade spacecraft again soon. Called the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle, the new vehicle will be able to carry astronauts to Earth orbit, to the moon, asteroids, and eventually to Mars.

Though it looks similar to the gumdrop shape of the Apollo moon-bound capsules, the Orion spacecraft is a whole new machine. Unlike the old capsules, Orion set to make its first test flight in 2014 can be reused.

The Orion capsule consists of three basic sections: a crew module, a service module, and a launch abort system. A powerful new rocket, called the Space Launch System, will be used to launch Orion into space. It's the crew module section, in particular, that can be recycled for multiple spaceflights. [Infographic: The Orion Capsule Explained]

Making a spacecraft reusable is not an easy feat. Since the Apollo 11 first moon landing mission, many manned space capsules have achieved a safe return to Earth by landing in the ocean.

Though ocean landings are easier from an engineering standpoint the descending capsule doesn't need to slow down as much for a water impact, and there's no need for airbags or other cushioning devices ocean landings are also expensive, as the salt water often ruins the spacecraft's electronics.

A refurbish-able Orion means the spacecraft will be cheaper to operate over the long term.

Lockheed Martin, NASA's lead contractor on the Orion project, originally looked into enabling the craft's crew module to set down on dry land by outfitting it with heavy drag parachutes, reverse thrusters, and airbags. But simulations revealed that the necessary equipment would add approximately 1,400 lbs (635 kilograms) of extra weight to the crew module, making the vessel far too heavy.

So for the first few flights, at least, Orion's crew module will make water landings.

This poses a problem, as one of the ways Lockheed Martin is making Orion reusable is by placing the majority of its valuable electronics and computers in the crew capsule, the only part of Orion that returns to Earth. This design greatly reduces the amount of hardware and software that needs to be replaced for each flight, but it leaves the question how to protect these valuable components from the corrosive effects of salt water?

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NASA Goes 'Green': Next Spacecraft to Be Reusable

NASA Invites Media to Asteroid Initiative Industry and Partner Day

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Deputy Administrator Lori Garver and other senior NASA officials will discuss the progress being made on NASA's mission to capture, redirect, and explore an asteroid June 18.

They also will outline engagement opportunities for industry, international partners and the general public at the event, which will take place from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. EDT in the James Webb Auditorium of NASA Headquarters at 300 E St. SW in Washington.

Media representatives are invited to attend. Garver and Associate Administrator Robert Lightfoot will be available to answer reporters' questions immediately after the meeting.

In addition to Garver and Lightfoot, mission directorate associate administrators William Gerstenmaier, John Grunsfeld, and Michael Gazarik will give an overview of the work being done on NASA's asteroid mission. Jason Kessler, representing the agency's chief technologist, will talk about how NASA plans to increase partnerships and citizen science participation in NASA's effort to find and plan for all asteroid threats.

The event will be webcast live at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/nasa-hq

For more information about NASA's asteroid initiative, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/asteroidinitiative

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NASA Invites Media to Asteroid Initiative Industry and Partner Day

NASA’s Webb telescope’s final backbone element finished

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GREENBELT, Md., June 14 (UPI) -- A fixture similar to a backbone that will connect elements of the James Webb Space Telescope has been completed, the U.S. space administration said Friday

The backplane support frame will bring together Webb's center section and wings, secondary mirror support structure, aft optics system and integrated science instrument module, NASA said Friday in a release.

It also will keep the light path aligned inside the telescope during science observations, NASA said.

The frame, measuring 11.5 feet by 9.1 feet by 23.6 feet and weighing 1,102 pounds, is the final segment needed to complete the primary mirror backplane support structure. It will support the observatory's weight during launch and hold its 21-foot-diameter primary mirror virtually still while the Webb observes deep space, NASA said.

"Fabricating and assembling the backplane support frame of this size and stability is a significant technological step as it is one of the largest cryogenic composite structures ever built," said Lee Feinberg, James Webb Space Telescope optical telescope element manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

ATK of Magna, Utah, finished fabrication under the direction of the observatory's builder, Northrop Grumman Corp.

The assembled primary backplane support structure and backplane support frame will undergo extreme cryogenic thermal testing later this year. They will undergo structural static testing at Northrop Grumman's facilities in Redondo Beach, Calif., in 2014, before being combined with the wing assemblies.

The James Webb Space Telescope, the successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, will be the most powerful space telescope built and has a 2018 launch date. The Webb telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

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NASA's Webb telescope's final backbone element finished

NASA Seeks Partners to Reach New Audiences About The Future of Space and Aeronautics

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NASA ANNOUNCEMENT: SEEKING PARTNERS TO COLLABORATE WITH NASA TO REACH NEW AUDIENCES IN INNOVATIVE WAYS ABOUT THE FUTURE OF U.S. SPACE ACTIVITIES AND AERONAUTICS

Synopsis - Jun 13, 2013

General Information

Solicitation Number: NNH13OCOM001O Posted Date: Jun 13, 2013 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Jun 13, 2013 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Jun 30, 2014 Current Response Date: Jun 30, 2014 Classification Code: R -- Professional, administrative, and mgmt support services NAICS Code: 541611

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA Headquarters Acquisition Branch, Code 210.H, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Description

The NASA Vision To reach for new heights and reveal the unknown so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind.

1. Statement of Purpose The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Office of Communications, seeks Partners for non-reimbursable (no exchange of funds) collaborations with organizations to reach the widest audience possible regarding the future of U.S. space and aeronautics activities as well as how to actively engage public participation.

These collaborations would be designed to create and disseminate an innovative and forward-thinking product, service, activity, or series of events that will inform and engage the public of the robust future of U.S. space and aeronautics activities. In addition, the collaboration would involve strategically communicating that product, service, activity, strategic communication plan or series of events to the widest reach of the proposed targeted audience.

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NASA Seeks Partners to Reach New Audiences About The Future of Space and Aeronautics

NASA satellites capture the moon passing the sun

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Two or three times a year, NASA's orbiting Solar Dynamics Observatory observes the moon travelling across the sun - but the images show the moon as a black shadow.

Two NASA technicians used data from another NASA satellite, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, to show the surface of the moon as it passed the sun.

The technicians used six billion measurements of the moon to ensure it was in the correct position - so while the image has been made digitally, it's totally accurate, and composed of photographs.

The moon's crisp horizon can be seen against the sun, as the moon has no atmosphere. (At other times of the year, when Earth blocks SDO's view, the Earth's horizon looks fuzzy due to its atmosphere.)

[Related: Moons, not planets, could be best place to look for ET]

The crisp edge of the moon in the SDO images inspired two NASA visualisers to overlay a 3-dimensional model of the moon over the image.

Such a task is fairly tricky, as Scott Wiessinger who works with SDO imagery and Ernie Wright who works with LRO imagery had to precisely match up data from the correct time and viewpoint for the two separate instruments.The end result is an awe-inspiring image

To start the process, the visualizers took the viewing position and time from the SDO image. This information was dropped into an LRO model that can produce the exact view of the moon from anywhere, at any time, by incorporating 6 billion individual measurements of the moon's surface height from LRO's Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter instrument.

The model had to take many factors into consideration, including not only SDO's distance and viewing angle, but also the moon's rotation and constant motion. Wright used animation software to wrap the elevation and appearance map around a sphere to simulate the moon.

The two images were put together and the overlay was exact. The mountains and valleys on the horizon of the LRO picture fit right into the shadows seen by SDO.

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NASA satellites capture the moon passing the sun

NASA Seeks Innovative Suborbital Flight Technology Proposals

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For a second year, NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate is seeking proposals for suborbital technology payloads and spacecraft capability enhancements that could help revolutionize future space missions.

Selected technologies will travel to the edge of space and back on U.S. commercial suborbital vehicles and platforms, providing opportunities for testing before they are sent to work in the unforgiving environment of space.

The Game Changing Opportunities in Technology Development research announcement seeks proposals for technology payloads, vehicle enhancements, onboard facilities and small spacecraft propulsion technologies that will help the agency advance technology development in the areas of exploration, space operations and other innovative technology areas relevant to NASA's missions. NASA's Flight Opportunities Program is sponsoring the solicitation and expects proposals from entrepreneurs, scientists, technologists, instrument builders, research managers, and vehicle builders and operators. This year, NASA has included a topic on small spacecraft propulsion technologies from the agency's Small Spacecraft Technology Program.

"Investing in transformative technology development is critical to enable NASA's future missions and benefits the greater American aerospace community," said James Reuther, deputy associate administrator for programs in NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. "NASA Space Tech's Game Changing Development and Flight Opportunities Programs are working with our partners from America's emerging suborbital flight community to foster frequent and predictable commercial access to near-space while allowing for cutting-edge technology development."

Following development, selected payloads will be made available to NASA's Flight Opportunities Program for pairing with appropriate commercial suborbital reusable launch service provider flights. In the case of small spacecraft propulsion technologies, there may be the potential for a direct orbital flight opportunity.

"This call will select innovators to develop novel technology payloads that will provide significant improvements over current state-of-the-art systems," said Stephen Gaddis, Game Changing Development Program manager at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

Proposals are due June 17 and will be accepted from U.S. or non-U.S. organizations, including NASA centers, other government agencies, federally funded research and development centers, educational institutions, industry and nonprofit organizations.

NASA expects to make as many as 18 awards this summer with the majority of awards ranging in value between approximately $50,000 and $250,000 each. The total combined funding for this announcement is expected to be about $2 million, based on availability of funds.

The Game Changing Opportunities research announcement is available on NASA's Solicitation and Proposal Integrated Review and Evaluation System website: http://nspires.nasaprs.com/

Langley manages the Game Changing Development Program, and NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., manages the Flight Opportunities Program for the agency's Space Technology Mission Directorate. For more information on the Game Changing Development activities and information on this solicitation for payloads, visit: http://go.usa.gov/RPS

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NASA Seeks Innovative Suborbital Flight Technology Proposals

Ailing NASA Telescope Spots 503 New Alien Planet Candidates

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NASA's Kepler spacecraft has spotted 503 new potential alien worlds, some of which may be capable of supporting life as we know it.

"Some of these new planet candidates are small and some reside in the habitable zone of their stars, but much work remains to be done to verify these results," Kepler mission manager Roger Hunter, of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., wrote in an update last Friday (June 7).

The latest haul brings Kepler's tally of exoplanet candidates to 3,216. Just 132 of them have been confirmed by follow-up observations to date, but mission scientists expect at least 90 percent will end up being the real deal. [7 Greatest Kepler Discoveries (So Far)]

The new finds were pulled from observations Kepler made during its first three years of operation, from May 2009 to March 2012, researchers said. The telescope hasn't done any planet hunting since being hobbled by a failure in its orientation-maintaining system last month.

Uncertain future

The $600 million Kepler spacecraftlaunched in March 2009, kicking off a 3.5-year mission to determine how common Earth-like planets are throughout the Milky Way galaxy.

Kepler spots exoplanetsby detecting the tiny brightness dips caused when they pass in front of their stars' faces from the instrument's perspective. The observatory does this precision work by staying locked onto 150,000-plus target stars using three gyroscope-like devices called reaction wheels.

Kepler launched with four functioning reaction wheels three for immediate use and one spare. But one wheel, known as number two, failed in July 2012. And a second (number four) gave up the ghost last month, robbing the spacecraft of its precision pointing ability.

If at least one of the failed wheels cannot be recovered, Kepler's planet-hunting days are almost certainly over and a new mission will have to be drawn up for the spacecraft.

Engineers have identified a number of tests that could help gauge the likelihood of bringing back the balky wheels, Hunter said. They're currently developing these commands on the Kepler testbed at Ball Aerospace in Boulder, Colo., where the spacecraft was built.

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Ailing NASA Telescope Spots 503 New Alien Planet Candidates


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