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NASA Wins Prestigious Aerospace Industry Awards

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Two prominent aerospace industry organizations are recognizing the contributions of NASA, especially the achievements of the team that landed NASA's Curiosity rover on Mars in August, with coveted awards. The National Aeronautic Association (NAA) presented its Robert J. Collier Trophy to the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) Team of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, CA, at an event in Arlington,VA, Thursday night. At an event in Washington on Wednesday, the team received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) Foundation Award.

AIAA also conferred its highest recognition, the title of honorary fellow, on William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations and presented NASA's Associate Administrator for Science, astronaut John Grunsfeld, with its AIAA National Capitol Section Barry Goldwater Educator Award. AIAA recognized two other NASA employees as fellows: Ray G. Clinton of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and Laurence D. Leavitt of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.

"It's wonderful to see NASA's people and their accomplishments recognized by the aerospace community," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "In particular, the Curiosity landing was the hardest NASA mission ever attempted in the history of robotic planetary exploration. These prestigious awards are a testament to the dedication and hard work of the entire worldwide team."

The NAA established the Collier Trophy in 1911 and presents it yearly to recognize the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America. The AIAA awards recognize the most influential and inspiring individuals in aerospace, whose outstanding contributions merit the highest accolades. Past honorees have included Orville Wright, Neil Armstrong, the team that designed the space shuttle and the astronauts who carried out the first Hubble Space Telescope repair mission in 1993.

The NAA's Collier citation notes the MSL team's "extraordinary achievements of successfully landing Curiosity on Mars, advancing the nation's technological and engineering capabilities, and significantly improving humanity's understanding of ancient Martian habitable environments."

More than 7,000 people in at least 33 U.S. states and 11 other countries have worked on the Mars Science Laboratory mission. Curiosity, the laboratory's centerpiece, carries 10 science instruments to investigate the environmental history inside Gale Crater on Mars. In March, rover scientists announced an analysis of a rock sample collected there shows Mars could have supported living microbes in an ancient freshwater environment. Curiosity's mission is expected to last at least two years.

"The prestigious Collier Trophy is a wonderful recognition for Curiosity, a phenomenal engineering and science achievement that has captured the hearts and minds of children and adults across America and around the globe," said Charles Elachi, director of JPL. "It's an honor to do missions like this one on behalf of NASA and the nation."

Two other teams from JPL that manage NASA spacecraft, the Dawn mission to the asteroid belt and the Voyager mission to interstellar space, were finalists for the 2012 Collier Trophy.

(Pictured in the back row are the following members of the team (from left to right): Tom Rivellini, Gavin Mendeck, Steve Lee, Miguel San Martin, Tomas Martin-Mur, Adam Steltzner, Ben Thoma, Howard Eisen and Ravi Prakash. In the front row (from left to right) are: Carl Guernsey, Keith Comeaux, Jody Davis, Ann Devereaux, Allen Chen and Fuk Li. Image credit: Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum)

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NASA Wins Prestigious Aerospace Industry Awards

NASA: Spacewalk planned to fix space station leak

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WASHINGTON (AP) Two astronauts will make a hastily planned spacewalk Saturday to try to fix an ammonia leak in the power system of the International Space Station.

The leak in a cooling system was discovered Thursday when snowflakes of ammonia were seen flying away from the station. Engineers on Earth were up overnight plotting an impromptu spacewalk.

Spacewalks are rarely done on such short notice, but the space agency wanted to check out the leak before all the ammonia escaped and also to take advantage of a spacewalking crew member who is about to return home.

Officials emphasized that the six-member crew is not in danger and the outpost has plenty of power, even though the leak forced NASA to shut off the power channel from one of eight solar panels that supply electricity to the station.

It can operate fine with only seven electrical channels, space station program manager Michael Suffredini said Friday. Power from the affected panel was re-routed to the other seven systems.

Suffredini said the chief suspect for the leak is space junk hitting a cooling tube, but he said the area had a slow small leak for many years that suddenly accelerated on Thursday.

Youre talking a very, very, very small hole, Suffredini said at a NASA news conference.

NASA hopes the leak is in a small pump box. During the six-hour spacewalk on Saturday morning, U.S. astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn will replace the 260-pound box with a nearby spare.

While NASA has had to do impromptu spacewalks before, they havent been done on the space station since it was completely built and operating as a finished lab, said chief flight director Norm Knight, who called the move precedent-setting.

Station Commander Chris Hadfield of Canada told NASA flight controllers Friday that the crew is completely ready for the spacewalk.

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NASA: Spacewalk planned to fix space station leak

NASA mulls spacewalk to fix space station leak

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WASHINGTON (AP) Two astronauts are preparing for a possible impromptu spacewalk Saturday to work on a coolant leak in the power system at the International Space Station.

NASA says the six-member crew at the station is not in danger. The ammonia leak forced the shutdown of one of eight solar panels that power the station, but the outpost can operate fine with only seven, spokesman Kelly Humphries said.

NASA will decide Friday evening whether the spacewalk is needed Saturday. One of the spacewalk veterans slated for the job is due to return to Earth on Monday, one of the reasons NASA wants to do it this weekend, he said.

Station Commander Chris Hadfield of Canada told NASA flight controllers Friday that the six-member crew is completely ready for the spacewalk.

"I think it's really smart the way we're all proceeding here," Hadfield radioed down to Earth. "It's the right thing to do."

Hadfield tweeted that the crew was working "like clockwork" and said the two astronauts were already getting their spacesuits ready, adding "Cool!"

The leak is in one of the radiator lines that chill the power systems. NASA spokesman Rob Navias said the line was expected to run out of ammonia coolant Friday. Power has been rerouted and is operating normally, he said.

NASA suspects the leak might be on the far left truss of the station from a certain box, but isn't certain. There's a spare box right near it and spacewalking astronauts can swap it out if that's the source, Navias said.

"What's causing the leak is unknown because there's a lot of plumbing underneath the box itself," he said. "We've had lots of experience in installing and replacing coolant loop hardware."

If needed, U.S. astronauts Chris Cassidy and Tom Marshburn would make about a six-hour spacewalk. They have trained for this type of repair. It is what NASA calls one of the "Big 12" types of emergency repair work that all spacewalking astronauts prepare for in advance, Navias said.

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NASA mulls spacewalk to fix space station leak

UFO NASA´S Declassified Object´s Amorphous Flying Video Compilation Top Secret Tape – Video

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UFO NASAS Declassified Objects Amorphous Flying Video Compilation Top Secret Tape
UFO NASA Amorphous Flying entering the nasa page ... photos disappeared https://sites.google.com/site/ufouniversedual STS 88 MISION 1998 the gateway to astro...

By: mark est

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UFO NASA´S Declassified Object´s Amorphous Flying Video Compilation Top Secret Tape - Video

NASA – NASA’s Heliophysics Fleet Captures May 1, 2013 Prominence Eruption and CME – Video

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NASA - NASA #39;s Heliophysics Fleet Captures May 1, 2013 Prominence Eruption and CME
On May 1, 2013, NASA #39;s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) watched as an active region just around the left edge of the Sun erupted with a huge cloud of solar m...

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NASA - NASA's Heliophysics Fleet Captures May 1, 2013 Prominence Eruption and CME - Video

NASA Commercial Partner Sierra Nevada Completes Safety Review

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WASHINGTON -- Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) Space Systems of Louisville, Colo., has completed its first major, comprehensive safety review of its Dream Chaser Space System. This is the company's latest paid-for-performance milestone with NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), which is working with commercial space partners to develop capabilities to launch U.S. astronauts from American soil in the next few years.

The Integrated Systems Safety Analysis Review provided NASA with hazard reports and safety and reliability plans for the major components of the company's integrated crew transportation system, including the Dream Chaser spacecraft, United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, and flight and ground systems.

"Safety review milestones are critical to ensuring safety and reliability techniques and methods are incorporated into space systems design," said Ed Mango, NASA's CCP manager. "NASA's participation in these reviews provides our partners with critical design experiences from past human spaceflight activities."

SNC is developing its Dream Chaser Space System under NASA's Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative, which is intended to lead to the availability of commercial human spaceflight services for government and commercial customers.

"Dream Chaser is making substantial progress toward flight with the help of our NASA team," said Mark Sirangelo, head of SNC's Space Systems. "The ability to openly exchange information through the work on these CCiCap milestones is invaluable for many reasons, such as communicating Dream Chaser development plans and receiving timely feedback from NASA, all of which help to improve our design and maximize safety and reliability. As we begin our flight test program we have a better and stronger program due to our partnership with NASA."

A Dream Chaser engineering test craft is being prepared for shipment to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in California this month for its first free-flight test later this year at the center. The test will provide data on the winged spacecraft's aerodynamic performance during approach and landing on a traditional runway.

For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

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NASA Commercial Partner Sierra Nevada Completes Safety Review

NASA Solicitation: Large Area Telescope Instrument Contract Extension With Stanford University

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Synopsis - May 09, 2013

General Information

Solicitation Number: RFP-NASA-LAT-EXTENSION Posted Date: May 09, 2013 FedBizOpps Posted Date: May 09, 2013 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: May 24, 2013 Current Response Date: May 24, 2013 Classification Code: A -- Research and Development NAICS Code: 336419

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center, Code 210.S, Greenbelt, MD 20771

Description

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) has a requirement for the continuation of Contract NAS5-00147 with Stanford University for instrument operations and science analyses of the Large Area Telescope (LAT) instrument aboard the Fermi spacecraft. Stanford University has been performing both the instrument operations and the science analyses functions since the launch of Fermi.

NASA/GSFC intends to issue a sole-source Request for Proposal (RFP) to Stanford University. The estimated period of performance of this cost-no-fee (CNF) contract extension will be for approximately 3 years from August 11, 2013 through September 30, 2016.

Stanford University is the only organization currently qualified to perform the subject requirement for the following reasons: 1) This procurement will enable the science and flight operations activities to continue to be merged and carried out at Stanford University with a substantial university undergraduate and graduate student educational involvement. Only Stanford University possesses the high level scientific expertise, the detailed design, test and operations knowledge of the LAT instrument and Fermi spacecraft, and the capability to integrate the science operations and science data analysis.

This expertise and experience is essential because the majority of the science operations flow from the science data analysis and require knowledge both of the instrument science and instrument design, test and operation. In particular, this expertise is necessary for building the observing sequences and command loads required to implement the observing plan as well as developing and implementing procedures and contingency plans to identify and resolve in flight anomalies.

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NASA Solicitation: Large Area Telescope Instrument Contract Extension With Stanford University

Non-profit to run NASA UAS challenge

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WASHINGTON, May 9 (UPI) -- An Ohio non-profit has been tapped by NASA to manage a competition for UAS technologies, particularly those for sensing and avoiding other aircraft.

The competition is called the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Airspace Operations Challenge and carries a prize of $500,000.

"Development Projects Inc. leads a technically diverse expert team to conduct this new NASA aeronautics-related challenge competition," said Larry Cooper, program executive for NASA's Centennial Challenges Program in Washington.

"We look forward to working with Development Projects to see this challenge provide advanced technologies and new entrants who will assist in the development of our nation's next generation airspace capabilities."

Development Projects was selected from proposals solicited last year. It will finalize rules, conduct competition preparations and register competitors, who will include private companies, student groups and independent inventors.

The first competition to demonstrate team entries is expected in May 2014.

The NASA Aeronautics Research Institute at NASA's Ames Research Center in California is coordinating agency participation in the challenge on behalf of NASA's Space Technology and Aeronautics Research mission directorates.

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Non-profit to run NASA UAS challenge

Space Station Leaking Vital Coolant, NASA Says

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Astronauts on the International Space Station have discovered a leak of ammonia coolant on their orbiting habitat, and NASA is looking into the problem, though it poses no immediate danger to the crew, officials said today (May 9).

The space station uses chilled liquid ammonia to cool down the power systems on its eight giant solar array panels. A minor leak of this ammonia was first noticed in 2007, and NASA has been studying the issue ever since. In November 2012 two astronauts took a spacewalk to fix the problem, rewiring some coolant lines and installing a spare radiator due to fears the original radiator was damaged by a micrometeorite impact.

At the time, those measures appeared to fix the problem, but today astronauts on the football field-size space station noticed a steady stream of frozen ammonia flakes leaking from the area of the suspect coolant loop in the Photovoltaic Thermal Control System (PVTCS). [Gallery: Building the International Space Station]

"It is in the same area, but we don't know whether it's the same leak," NASA spokesman Kelly Humphries of the Johnson Space Center in Houston told SPACE.com. Humphries said the agency was taking the leak seriously because it affects an important system if they loose the ability to cool that particular solar array, it won't be able to generate power for the station. In fact, the leak has worsened to the point that Mission Control expects that particular loop to shut down within the next 24 hours.

However, "the crew is in no danger," Humphries stressed. It's too soon to speculate on a possible spacewalk or other measure to deal with the issue, he added.

Mission Control has been discussing the problem with the astronauts on the station throughout the afternoon.

"What you guys have provided in the way of imagery and video has been just like gold to us on the ground," astronaut Doug Wheelock from Mission Control radioed to space station commander Chris Hadfield, a Canadian Space Agency astronaut. "We are fairly confident that it's coming from the vicinity of the TCS." However, flight contollers noted they were still unable to pinpoint the leak's exact location.

NASA engineers are reviewing plans to potentially move the station's robotic arm over to the area of the port truss, the scaffolding-like backbone of the station (the original leak was traced to the Port 6 truss).

"Tomorrow we'll plan to get the arm in the game to see if we can better pinpoint the location of the leak," Wheelock said.

Hadfield said he and his crewmates had noticed the rate of the leak varied depending on the orientation of the station with the sun, suggesting particular angles allowed the ammonia coolant to leak more quickly.

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Space Station Leaking Vital Coolant, NASA Says

NASA: International Space Station has ammonia leak in cooling system

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By CNN Staff

updated 8:25 PM EDT, Thu May 9, 2013

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

(CNN) -- The International Space Station is once again leaking ammonia from a cooling system, NASA said Thursday in a news release.

The crew is not in danger, NASA said.

The space station crew reported seeing small white flakes floating away from the station, the space agency said, So NASA helped locate the leak with external cameras while the crew used hand-held cameras pointed out windows.

The leak was in a cooling loop in a solar array that has leaked before. NASA said crew members tried to fix the leak in November. It is unclear whether this is the same leak or a new one.

The cooling system could shut down within 24 hours, NASA said. It is devising a plan to reroute other sources of power.

Three crew members -- commander Chris Hadfield of Canada, NASA astronaut Tom Marshburn and Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko -- are scheduled to leave the station on Monday at 7:08 p.m. ET.

Hadfield asked NASA if the leak will affect the undocking. Capsule Communicator Doug Wheelock said officials at the Mission Control Center in Houston don't see anything that they can't overcome technically, but they would have more information in the morning.

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NASA: International Space Station has ammonia leak in cooling system


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