NASA Cover-up Radiation Belt, Local Fluff, Local Interstellar Cloud. End of Days.
NASA Cover-up Radiation Belt, Local Fluff, Local Interstellar Cloud. End of Days. covertress.blogspot.com starburstfound.org articles.latimes.com voyager.jpl.nasa.gov "Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976, allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use." 107.Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use Notwithstanding the provisions of sections 106 and 106A, the fair use of a copyrighted work, including such use by reproduction in copies or phonorecords or by any other means specified by that section, for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching (including multiple copies for classroom use), scholarship, or research, is not an infringement of copyright. In determining whether the use made of a work in any particular case is a fair use the factors to be considered shall include mdash; (1) the purpose and character of the use, including whether such use is of a commercial nature or is for nonprofit educational purposes; (2) the nature of the copyrighted work; (3) the amount and substantiality of the portion used in relation to the copyrighted work as a whole; and (4) the effect of the use upon the potential market for or value of the copyrighted work. FAIR USE NOTICE: These pages/video may ...

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NASA Cover-up Radiation Belt, Local Fluff, Local Interstellar Cloud. End of Days. - Video

Silent Thunder Models - NASA Space Models - http://www.silentthundermodels.com
STM supplies Space Models to NASA, Private Aerospace, Movie Film Industries, Corporations and Museums. Please visit us today! http://www.silentthundermodels.com

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Silent Thunder Models - NASA Space Models - http://www.silentthundermodels.com - Video

Tyler Nasa Johnson Style March 2 2013
Tyler, as subscribers know, is a 6-year-old non-verbal autistic boy. When the school had no success teaching him, I decided to homeschool him a year ago, using hundreds of apps on his ipad and ipod. Tyler is a NASA buff, so when I saw there was a NASA cover for Gangnam Style, I recorded it onto his ipad and ipod. What took place next, was nothing short of amazing. A child who would not speak a single word on command, decided to sing along with this video. Grandma finally found something that worked . . . NASA Johnson Style. Thank you NASA for breaking through the silence with the catchy NASA cover. This was the fourth time he sang it, and as usual, when I decide to record him he knows it and gets shy. Still, you can hear him following along, right on cue.

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Tyler Nasa Johnson Style March 2 2013 - Video

March 1, 2013

A video camera on a NASA-designed-and-funded mini-submarine captured this view as it descended a 2,600-foot-deep (800-meter-deep) borehole to explore Antarctica's subglacial Lake Whillans. The international Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project was designed to gain insights into subglacial biology, climate history and modern ice sheet behavior. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

NASA is best known for its explorations away from this planet, but the US space agency has a whole other program aimed at investigating the depths of this planet.

One NASA researcher from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California joined up with an international Antarctic expedition last month to try and explore an unexplored aquatic environment on Earth. Alberto Behar used a small robotic sub about the size of a baseball bat, known as the Micro-Submersible Lake Exploration Device, to get a peak at these extreme environments.

The Micro-Submersible Lake Exploration Device is equipped with hydrological chemical sensors and a high-resolution imaging system. Its instruments and cameras are capable of capturing the geology, hydrology and chemical characteristics of the environment.

This is the first instrument ever to explore a subglacial lake outside of a borehole, Behar said. Its able to take us places that are inaccessible by any other instruments in existence.

The international team, Whillans Ice Stream Subglacial Access Research Drilling (WISSARD) project, has a mission to access subglacial Lake Whillans, which sits over 2,000 feet below sea level in West Antarcticas Ross Ice Shelf. The 20-square-mile lake is so far down; sunlight is unable to reach the waters, which keep a temperature of 31 degrees Fahrenheit.

The WISSARD team used specialized tools to get clean samples from the lake water and used video to take a survey of the floor. With this information, the team will be able to have a better idea of subglacial biology, climate history and modern ice sheet behavior.

Behars small submarine is designed to work at depths up to three-quarters of a mile, within a range of 0.6 miles from the entry point in the ice to reach the lake. The Micro-Submersible Lake Exploration Device is able to transmit real-time high-resolution images, as well as deliver salinity, temperature and depth measurement data to the surface through fiber-optic cables.

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NASA Sub Helps Explore Depths Of Antarctica

Browse Images NASA - Huge UFOs near the Sun March 1, 2013 (SOHO STEREO Ahead Behind EUVI 195)
Browse Images NASA - Huge UFO near the Sun March 1, 2013 (SOHO STEREO Ahead Behind EUVI 195) For full information about the UFO near the Sun, as well as the disclosure of the secrets of the sun, the aliens in the sun, read a book and watch the DVD. Information at: http://www.thesunproject.net Watch in HD and full screen! For full information about UFOs and paranormal phenomena, please visit http ------------ (RUS) #1043; #1080; #1075; #1072; #1085; #1090; #1089; #1082; #1080; #1077; #1053; #1051; #1054; #1080; #1043; #1080; #1075; #1072; #1085; #1090; #1089; #1082; #1080; #1077; #1072; #1085; #1086; #1084; #1072; #1083; #1080; #1080; #1074; #1086; #1079; #1083; #1077; #1057; #1086; #1083; #1085; #1094; #1072; 1 #1084; #1072; #1088; #1090; #1072; 2013.

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Browse Images NASA - Huge UFOs near the Sun March 1, 2013 (SOHO STEREO Ahead Behind EUVI 195) - Video

Image Caption: An artist concept shows Orion as it will appear in space for the Exploration Flight Test-1 attached to a Delta IV second stage. Credit: NASA

NASA

The first spacecraft NASA has designed to fly astronauts beyond Earth orbit since the Apollo era is well on its way to making a flight test next year, agency officials said Wednesday. The mission is planned for launch in September 2014, and will see an Orion capsule orbit Earth without a crew and return through the atmosphere at speeds unseen since astronauts last returned from the moon in 1972.

Its a key element of our overall plan to get humans beyond Earth orbit as quickly as we can, said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for NASAs Exploration Systems Development Division.

Exploration Flight Test (EFT)-1, will be the first chance engineers get to test Orions design in space. Flying atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket, the spacecraft will be pressurized as it would be if astronauts were onboard. It will orbit the Earth twice on a track that will take it more than 3,600 miles above us, about 15 times higher than the International Space Station.

From that height, Orion will be steered to a re-entry at speeds of about 20,000 mph, slamming into the atmosphere to test whether the heat shield will protect the spacecraft adequately.

It allows us to stress the heat shield in conditions that are very close to what we will see coming back from a region around the moon, said Mark Geyer, Orion program manager. This is going to help us make our heat shield lighter, safer and more reliable.

Launching from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, the spacecraft will carry scores of instruments. Even the heat shield will have instruments to measure temperature and plasma flow around the spacecraft as it endures the searing conditions of high-speed reentry.

Engineers will use the readings to update computer models and refine designs for the spacecraft, ground support equipment and the in-development Space Launch System rocket. The agency also will provide the data to the agencys commercial partners developing their own spacecraft.

Orion will land under parachutes in the Pacific Ocean where recovery teams from NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida and the Department of Defense will retrieve it and return it to Florida.

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NASA's Orion Flight Test Launch On Course

Synopsis - Mar 01, 2013

General Information

Solicitation Number: NNS13DA002 Posted Date: Mar 01, 2013 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Mar 01, 2013 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Mar 11, 2013 Current Response Date: Mar 11, 2013 Classification Code: A -- Research and Development NAICS Code: 541712

Contracting Office Address

NASA Office of Procurement, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529-6000

Description

NASA/SSC has a requirement for Research and Development Services from the Mississippi Research Consortium.

NASA/SSC Office of Procurement intends to issue a sole source, firm fixed price conctract to the Mississippi Research Consortium under the statutory authority of FAR 6.302-3 (a)(2)(ii) and 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c) (3), Industrial Mobilization Engineering, Development or Research Capability, or Expert Services. There will be only one award made for this requirement and the period of performance shall be one (1) base year with four (4) one-year options.

The Government intends to acquire a commercial item using FAR Part 12.

The Statement of Work is provided below:

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NASA Solicitation: Research and Development Servicies From The Mississippi Research Consortium

March 1, 2013

Image Caption: This artist concept features NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover, a mobile robot for investigating Mars' past or present ability to sustain microbial life. Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory

The ground team for NASAs Mars rover Curiosity has switched the rover to a redundant onboard computer in response to a memory issue on the computer that had been active.

The intentional swap at about 2:30 a.m. PST today (Thursday, Feb. 28) put the rover, as anticipated, into a minimal-activity precautionary status called safe mode. The team is shifting the rover from safe mode to operational status over the next few days and is troubleshooting the condition that affected operations yesterday. The condition is related to a glitch in flash memory linked to the other, now-inactive, computer.

We switched computers to get to a standard state from which to begin restoring routine operations, said Richard Cook of NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, project manager for the Mars Science Laboratory Project, which built and operates Curiosity.

Like many spacecraft, Curiosity carries a pair of redundant main computers in order to have a backup available if one fails. Each of the computers, A-side and B-side, also has other redundant subsystems linked to just that computer. Curiosity is now operating on its B-side, as it did during part of the flight from Earth to Mars. It operated on its A-side from before the August 2012 landing through Wednesday.

While we are resuming operations on the B-side, we are also working to determine the best way to restore the A-side as a viable backup, said JPL engineer Magdy Bareh, leader of the missions anomaly resolution team.

The spacecraft remained in communications at all scheduled communication windows on Wednesday, but it did not send recorded data, only current status information. The status information revealed that the computer had not switched to the usual daily sleep mode when planned. Diagnostic work in a testing simulation at JPL indicates the situation involved corrupted memory at an A-side memory location used for addressing memory files.

Scientific investigations by the rover were suspended Wednesday and today. Resumption of science investigations is anticipated within several days. This week, laboratory instruments inside the rover have been analyzing portions of the first sample of rock powder ever collected from the interior of a rock on Mars.

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NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity Swaps Computers

NASA has selected 24 small satellites to fly as auxiliary payloads aboard rockets planned to launch in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The proposed CubeSats come from universities across the country, a Florida high school, several non-profit organizations and NASA field centers.

CubeSats belong to a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites. The cube-shaped satellites measure about 4 inches on each side, have a volume of about 1 quart, and weigh less than 3 pounds.

The selections are from the fourth round of the CubeSat Launch Initiative. After launch, the satellites will conduct technology demonstrations, educational research or science missions. The selected CubeSats will be eligible for flight after final negotiations and an opportunity for flight becomes available.

The following organizations submitted winning satellite proposals:

-- The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, Calif. -- The Discovery Museum and Planetarium, Bridgeport, Conn. -- Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Ariz. -- Morehead State University, Morehead, Ky., in partnership with the University of California at Berkeley -- Montana State University, Bozeman (2 CubeSats) in partnership with The University of New Hampshire, Durham -- Merritt Island High School, Florida, in partnership with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo -- NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. -- NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. (3 CubeSats) -- NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., in partnership with the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (3 CubeSats) -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Florida -- Pennsylvania State University, in partnership with the Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, Calif., and the Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, Calif. -- Saint Louis University, St. Louis -- Tyvak Nano-Satellites Systems, Irvine, Calif., in partnership with the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo -- University at Buffalo, The State University of New York -- University of Colorado, Boulder -- University of Florida, Gainesville, in partnership with Stanford University -- University of Maryland, Baltimore County -- University of Texas, Austin -- Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., in partnership with the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, Silver Spring, Md.

In the three previous rounds of the CubeSat initiative, NASA has selected 63 missions for flight. The agency's Launch Services Program Educational Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa) Program has launched 12 CubeSat missions. This year, 22 CubeSat missions are scheduled for flight.

For additional information on NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative program, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/nXOuPI

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

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NASA Announces Fourth Round of CubeSat Space Mission Candidates

This story was updated at 4:30 p.m. ET.

A computer glitch on NASA's Mars rover Curiosity has forced the robot to switch to a backup computer while engineers try to resolve the problem.

In the meantime, Curiosity's science work is on hold, and the spacecraft is in a minimal-activity state known as "safe mode" while its backup computer is updated with the command codes and parameters it needs to take over the rover's full operations.

"We're still early on in the process," said Richard Cook, Curiosity project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "We have probably several days, maybe a week of activities to get everything back and reconfigured."

The issue cropped up Wednesday (Feb. 27), when the spacecraft failed to send its recorded data back to Earth and did not switch into its daily sleep mode as planned. After looking into the issue, engineers decided to switch the Curiosity rover from its primary "A-side" computer to its "B-side" backup on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. EST (22:30 GMT). [Curiosity Rover's Latest Amazing Mars Photos]

"Don't flip out: I just flipped over to my B-side computer while the team looks into an A-side memory issue," NASA officials wrote on behalf of the rover via Curiosity's Twitter feed.

The computer problem is related to a glitch in flash memory on the A-side computer caused by corrupted memory files, Cook said. Scientists are still looking into the root cause the corrupted memory, but it's possible the memory files were damaged by high-energy space particles called cosmic rays, which are always a danger beyond the protective atmosphere of Earth.

"The hardware that we fly is radiation tolerant," Cook told SPACE.com, "but there's a limit to how hardened it can be. You can still get high-energy particles that can cause the memory to be corrupted. It certainly is a possibility and that's what we're looking into."

Once Curiosity is up and running again, the rover should have no problem using its B-side computer as its primary computer for a while, officials said. As standard protocol, Curiosity, like many spacecraft, has redundant main computer systems as a safety precaution for just this type of anomaly.

"While we are resuming operations on the B-side, we are also working to determine the best way to restore the A-side as a viable backup," said JPL engineer Magdy Bareh, leader of the mission's anomaly resolution team, said in a statement.

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NASA's Mars Rover Curiosity in Safe Mode After Computer Glitch

NASA #39;s Van Allen Probes Discover a Surprise Circling Earth
http://www.thesuntoday.org - Since their discovery over 50 years ago, the Earth #39;s Van Allen radiation belts have been considered to consist of two distinct zones of trapped, highly energetic charged particles. Observations from NASA #39;s Van Allen Probes reveal an isolated third ring in the outer radiation belt. Read More at http Credit: NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Join us at Facebook, Google+ (gplus.to and Pinterest at thesuntoday.

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NASA Now Minute: Inspiration and Education: Building a Career at NASA
Be sure not to miss this episode of NASA Now, when three experts who work in very different fields at NASA discuss their jobs, responsibilities and what they enjoy most about their work. They also talk about what inspired them to pursue their careers and offer career advice to students. NASA Now Minutes are excerpts from a weekly current events program available for classroom use at the NASA Explorer Schools Virtual Campus located at: explorerschools.nasa.gov.

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NASA Now Minute: Inspiration and Education: Building a Career at NASA - Video

NASA / Kim Shiflett

The Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, Dragon spacecraft with solar array fairings attached, stands inside a processing hangar at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Sequestration could put SpaceX launches at risk.

By Dan LeoneSpace.com

WASHINGTON To deal with the nearly $900 million budget hit NASA will absorb if automatic spending cuts known as sequestration are allowed to take effect March 1, the U.S. space agency would slow development work on commercially operated astronaut taxis, delay or cancel space technology programs and postpone the launch of some small science missions.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden outlined the space agencys sequestration plansin a Feb. 5 letter to Senate Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who released it following a Feb. 14 hearing.

NASAs overall budget would drop to $16.9 billion, down from the $17.8 billion Congress approved last year.

Spending on the commercial crew program NASA is using to subsidize development by Boeing, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and Sierra Nevada of competing human spaceflight systems would be reduced to $388 million $18 million less than it is currently spending and $441.6 million less than the agency had been planning to spend in 2013. [What NASA's 2013 Budget Pays For (Video)]

NASA, like all federal agencies, has had its funding frozen at 2012 levels under a stopgap spending measure known as a continuing resolution that expires March 28. NASAs sequestration plan assumes that the continuing resolution will be extended through Sept. 30, the end of the U.S. governments 2013 fiscal year.

Bolden said NASAs commercial crew partners would feel a funding pinch as soon as July.

Among the commercial crew activities planned for later this year that NASA would not be able to fund after sequestration are:

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NASA would take a hit with sequestration

Synopsis - Feb 25, 2013

General Information

Solicitation Number: NNL13ZB1002L Posted Date: Feb 25, 2013 FedBizOpps Posted Date: Feb 25, 2013 Recovery and Reinvestment Act Action: No Original Response Date: Mar 11, 2013 Current Response Date: Mar 11, 2013 Classification Code: U -- Education and training services NAICS Code: 611310

Contracting Office Address

NASA/Langley Research Center, Mail Stop 12, Industry Assistance Office, Hampton, VA 23681-0001

Description

The following is a Request for Information (RFI) or Sources Sought Notice. This synopsis is for information and planning purposes and does NOT constitute a Request for Proposal (RFP). It is issued under the authority of FAR 15.201("Exchanges of information before receipt of proposals").

NASA Langley Research Center is conducting market research in order to identify potential sources that have the academic resources, capabilities, and experience to assist in the implementation of NASA's "Educator Professional Development" (EPD) Line of Business.

NASA's education mission is to advance high quality Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) education utilizing NASA's unique capabilities. NASA's attention to professional development for educators spans more than 50 years as various related models, projects, and activities at all ten NASA field centers have been implemented to introduce and integrate the agency's unique educational STEM resources into formal and informal learning environments locally and nationally. The NASA EPD Line of Business has been established to consolidate these diverse components into a focused agency-wide effort to ensure operational efficiency while optimizing strategies, methods, and technologies that promote educators' use of NASA-related content. NASA's EPD incorporates four integrated delivery mechanisms: Facility Face-to-Face (F2F) Institute, Partner-Delivered, Online EPD, and Community-Requested EPD. The overall objective of EPD is to utilize the four components in concert with NASA-related content to enhance the professional development of STEM educators.

The purpose of this Sources Sought Notice/Market Research is to identify sources with the academic expertise needed to implement a range of requirements designed to enhance the professional development of STEM educators. Interested parties are asked to submit a written capability statement that demonstrate the following: (1) Experience in designing and developing research based educator professional development with a STEM focus; (2) Accreditation by a certified higher education governing board; (3) Ability to perform robust evaluations related to educator professional development; (4) Ability to scale up and down to meet changing geographic and budget requirements; (5) Ability to conduct face-to-face workshops at various geographical locations simultaneously; (6) Ability to respond to community requested opportunities; (7) Ability to plan, prepare, and produce high quality, synchronous and asynchronous STEM EPD sessions, courses, and learning modules for delivery through an online environment, and (8) Ability and success in utilizing in distance learning tools and social networking structures to effectively enhance educator professional development.

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NASA Solicitation: Educator Professional Development

A ring of radiation previously unknown to science fleetingly surrounded Earth last year before being virtually annihilated by a powerful interplanetary shock wave, scientists say.

NASA's twin Van Allen space probes, which are studying the Earth's radiation belts, made the cosmic find. The surprising discovery a new, albeit temporary, radiation belt around Earth reveals how much remains unknown about outer space, even those regions closest to the planet, researchers added.

After humanity began exploring space, the first major find made there were the Van Allen radiation belts, zones of magnetically trapped, highly energetic charged particles first discovered in 1958.

"They were something we thought we mostly understood by now, the first discovery of the Space Age," said lead study author Daniel Baker, a space scientist at the University of Colorado.

These belts were believed to consist of two rings: an inner zone made up of both high-energy electrons and very energetic positive ions that remains stable in intensity over the course of years to decades; and an outer zone comprised mostly of high-energy electrons whose intensity swings over the course of hours to days depending primarily on the influence from the solar wind, the flood of radiation streaming from the sun. [How NASA's Twin Radiation Probes Work (Infographic)]

The discovery of a temporary new radiation belt now has scientists reviewing the Van Allen radiation belt models to understand how it occurred.

Radiation rings around Earth

The giant amounts of radiation the Van Allen belts generate can pose serious risks for satellites. To learn more about them, NASA launched twin spacecraft, the Van Allen probes, in the summer of 2012.

The satellites were armed with a host of sensors to thoroughly analyze the plasma, energetic particles, magnetic fields and plasma waves in these belts with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution.

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NASA Discovers New Radiation Belt Around Earth

Feb. 28, 2013 NASA's Van Allen Probes mission has discovered a previously unknown third radiation belt around Earth, revealing the existence of unexpected structures and processes within these hazardous regions of space.

Previous observations of Earth's Van Allen belts have long documented two distinct regions of trapped radiation surrounding our planet. Particle detection instruments aboard the twin Van Allen Probes, launched Aug. 30, quickly revealed to scientists the existence of this new, transient, third radiation belt.

The belts, named for their discoverer, James Van Allen, are critical regions for modern society, which is dependent on many space-based technologies. The Van Allen belts are affected by solar storms and space weather and can swell dramatically. When this occurs, they can pose dangers to communications and GPS satellites, as well as humans in space.

"The fantastic new capabilities and advances in technology in the Van Allen Probes have allowed scientists to see in unprecedented detail how the radiation belts are populated with charged particles and will provide insight on what causes them to change, and how these processes affect the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere," said John Grunsfeld, NASA's associate administrator for science in Washington.

This discovery shows the dynamic and variable nature of the radiation belts and improves our understanding of how they respond to solar activity. The findings, published February 28 in the journal Science, are the result of data gathered by the first dual-spacecraft mission to fly through our planet's radiation belts.

The new high-resolution observations by the Relativistic Electron Proton Telescope (REPT) instrument, part of the Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma Suite (ECT) aboard the Van Allen Probes, revealed there can be three distinct, long-lasting belt structures with the emergence of a second empty slot region, or space, in between.

"This is the first time we have had such high-resolution instruments look at time, space and energy together in the outer belt," said Daniel Baker, lead author of the study and REPT instrument lead at the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado in Boulder. "Previous observations of the outer radiation belt only resolved it as a single blurry element. When we turned REPT on just two days after launch, a powerful electron acceleration event was already in progress, and we clearly saw the new belt and new slot between it and the outer belt."

Scientists observed the third belt for four weeks before a powerful interplanetary shock wave from the sun annihilated it. Observations were made by scientists from institutions including LASP; NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.; Los Alamos National Laboratory in Los Alamos, N.M.; and the Institute for the Study of Earth, Oceans, and Space at the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

Each Van Allen Probe carries an identical set of five instrument suites that allow scientists to gather data on the belts in unprecedented detail. The data are important for the study of the effect of space weather on Earth, as well as fundamental physical processes observed around other objects, such as planets in our solar system and distant nebulae.

"Even 55 years after their discovery, the Earth's radiation belts still are capable of surprising us and still have mysteries to discover and explain," said Nicky Fox, Van Allen Probes deputy project scientist at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. "We thought we knew the radiation belts, but we don't. The advances in technology and detection made by NASA in this mission already have had an almost immediate impact on basic science."

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NASA's Van Allen Probes reveal a new radiation belt around Earth

CAPE CANAVERAL Fla. The announcement today of an ambitious new project to launch the first private manned mission to Mars in 2018 may suggest to some that NASA has lost a step in the pursuit of deep-space exploration. But the U.S. space agency is forging ahead with plans for a flexible new spaceship and rocket to send astronauts deeper into space than ever before.

The nonprofit Inspiration Mars Foundation unveiled plans for a private Mars flyby mission today (Feb. 27) that calls for a January 2018 launch of a two-person crew a man and woman, possibly a married couple on a 501-day trip to the Red Planet and back. The mission would not land on Mars but bring a capsule and inflatable module within 100 miles (160 kilometers) of the Martian surface before zooming away back to Earth.

Just one hour after the Inspiration Mars Foundation announcement in Washington, D.C., NASA officials here at the Kennedy Space Center briefed reporters about the agency's own plans for deep-space missions, including an eventual Mars trek.

"We know we're eventually going to Mars, and there are multiple destinations between here and Mars," Dan Dumbacher, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration systems, said in a briefing that did not address the private Mars project.

To do that, NASA is developing the new Orion deep-space capsule, the agency's first manned spacecraft since the space shuttle program ended in 2011. Orion is expected to launch on a new mega-rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). [See Photos of NASA's Deep-Space Vehicles]

Project Orion

Orion and the SLS form the core of NASA's deep-space exploration program. In 2010, President Barack Obama set a lofty goal for NASA's future send astronauts to an asteroid by 2025, then take aim at a manned Mars mission in the 2030s.

The aerospace company Lockheed Martin is building the four-person Orion capsule for NASA, with the European Space Agency providing the service module for the spacecraft. Orion's first test flight, called Exploration Flight Test 1, is slated to launch in 2014, and parts of the space capsule are being assembled at the Kennedy Space Center now.

Once the computers are in place sometime this summer, NASA scientists will power on the test capsule for the first time and check its systems on the ground, Orion project manager Mark Geyer said.

The NASA team plans to launch the capsule atop a Delta 4 rocket, sending it 3,000 miles (4,828 km) above Earth's surface. The main goal is to test the heat shields tasked with protecting crewmembers during Orion's manned missions, the first of which is slated to launch toward lunar space in 2021.

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NASA Deep-Space Missions Take Aim at Mars

NASAS Inspector General announced it is initiating an audit to evaluate NASAs management of its Space Act Agreements with private companies, including, apparently its agreement with a company associated with Googles principals to house private jets at NASA Ames Moffett Field.

United State Senator Charles Grassley called for an investigation into the agreement after NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit raised questions about the deal and the use of the private planes in May.

Grassleys office says it believes that NASAs inspector general will review the deal between NASA and H2-11, a company owned by the principals at Google.

Under the agreement that started in 2007, H2-11 pays NASA rent to house more than a half dozen different, privately owned airplanes in hangar N2-11 located at Moffett Field.

Under the agreement NASA can use the planes to fly scientific missions for research. But a review of flight logs and records by NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit showed that of 1039 flights of planes matching those owned by H2-11 in and out of Moffett Field, only 155 flew any kind of scientific mission.

In fact, NASA conceded to its inspector general that 155 flights by H2-11 planes have flown scientific any kind of scientific missions. Thats less than 15% of documented flights by H2-11 planes in and out of Moffett Field.

Now in a memo to both House members and Senators on Capitol Hill, NASAs Office of Inspector General says it will examine NASAs management of its Space Act Agreements.

According to the memo obtained by NBC Bay Areas Investigative Unit, the Inspector General will examine the following three issues:

The Inspector Generals probe into United States export control laws at NASA likely follows an investigation by the Justice Department and the FBI into whether national security information was shared by officials at NASA Ames with Chinese dignitaries visiting and working at Moffett Field.

No charges were filed in that case and Congressional sources on Capitol Hill say the probe was dropped by the US Justice Department. In a letter dated Feb. 26 to NASA Administrator Charles Bolden from U.S. Representative Frank Wolf, who as chairman of the Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee oversees NASAs budget, the Republican congressman said he was "struck by the broad scope of the ( NASA Space Act Agreements)as well as the unusual nature of some of these agreements.Click Here to Read Letter

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Inspector General to Audit NASA Agreement

February 27, 2013

Image Caption: Artist's concept of the Interplanetary NanoSpacecraft Pathfinder In Relevant Environment (INSPIRE) CubeSat project. The dual INSPIRE CubeSats, the world's first CubeSats to be launched beyond Earth orbit, will demonstrate functionality, communication, navigation and payload hosting in interplanetary space. INSPIRE is a NASA JPL partnership with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; and the University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with Goldstone-Apple Valley Radio Telescope. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech

NASA

NASA has selected 24 small satellites to fly as auxiliary payloads aboard rockets planned to launch in 2014, 2015 and 2016. The proposed CubeSats come from universities across the country, a Florida high school, several non-profit organizations and NASA field centers.

CubeSats belong to a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites. The cube-shaped satellites measure about 4 inches on each side, have a volume of about 1 quart, and weigh less than 3 pounds.

The selections are from the fourth round of the CubeSat Launch Initiative. After launch, the satellites will conduct technology demonstrations, educational research or science missions. The selected CubeSats will be eligible for flight after final negotiations and an opportunity for flight becomes available.

The following organizations submitted winning satellite proposals:

The Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, Calif. The Discovery Museum and Planetarium, Bridgeport, Conn. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Prescott, Ariz. Morehead State University, Morehead, Ky., in partnership with the University of California at Berkeley Montana State University, Bozeman (2 CubeSats) in partnership with The University of New Hampshire, Durham Merritt Island High School, Florida, in partnership with California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo NASAs Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. (3 CubeSats) NASAs Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., in partnership with the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena (3 CubeSats) NASAs Kennedy Space Center, Florida Pennsylvania State University, in partnership with the Naval Research Laboratory, Monterey, Calif., and the Aerospace Corporation, El Segundo, Calif. Saint Louis University, St. Louis Tyvak Nano-Satellites Systems, Irvine, Calif., in partnership with the California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo University at Buffalo, The State University of New York University of Colorado, Boulder University of Florida, Gainesville, in partnership with Stanford University University of Maryland, Baltimore County University of Texas, Austin Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn., in partnership with the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation, Silver Spring, Md.

In the three previous rounds of the CubeSat initiative, NASA has selected 63 missions for flight. The agencys Launch Services Program Educational Launch of Nanosatellite (ELaNa) Program has launched 12 CubeSat missions. This year, 22 CubeSat missions are scheduled for flight.

For additional information on NASAs CubeSat Launch Initiative program, visit: http://go.nasa.gov/nXOuPI

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Fourth Round Of CubeSat Space Mission Candidates Announced By NASA

The U.S. House of Representatives has voted to rename a NASA flight research center after the late Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

The resolution, which late Monday (Feb. 25) was approved unanimously in the House, calls for NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in southern California to be renamed the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center. The bill (H.R. 667) also renames the surrounding Western Aeronautical Test Range after Hugh L. Dryden to continue honoring the aeronautical engineer.

"Not many people know the relationship between these two men," said Congressman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. "Dryden was the visionary behind NASA's X-15 rocket plane and the Apollo program. Neil Armstrong was the one who flew the spacecraft Dryden envisioned."

This is at least the third time since 2007 that the House of Representatives has tried to rename the NASA center after Armstrong. The famed Apollo 11 commander died last year. With the bill now passed in the House, it will be referred on to the Senate for consideration.

"With this bill, we re-affirm America is filled with dreamers like Hugh Dryden, and doers like Neil Armstrong, who working together can 'shoot for the moon,'" Smith said Monday (Feb. 25) from the House floor. [Neil Armstrong: American Icon (Photos)]

"Dryden recommended to President John F. Kennedy that the goal of putting a man on the moon within 10 years was achievable and something the American people could rally behind," Smith said. "The rest is history. President Kennedy grabbed Hugh Dryden's idea and addressed a joint session of Congress the very next month. The Apollo program was the brainchild of Hugh Dryden."

Neil Armstrong, flying with his Apollo 11 crewmates Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins, accomplished Kennedy's goal of landing on the moon. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin touched down at Tranquility Base, where Armstrong became the first man to step foot on the lunar surface.

Armstrong died Aug. 25 at age 82 following complications resulting from cardiovascular procedures.

"Neil Armstrong turned [the] dream into reality by making that 'one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind' on another world almost 240,000 miles away," Smith said.

"Dryden was not able to see his dream become reality, as he died in 1965," Smith continued. "And unfortunately, Neil Armstrong passed away last August. It is important for us to honor both men's legacies by naming the Flight Research Center after Neil Armstrong and the surrounding Test Range after Hugh Dryden."

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House Votes to Rename NASA Center for Neil Armstrong