NASA ARC Maker Camp

Maker Camp is an effort stemming from the burgeoning NASA Forward group targeted at engaging the work force in fast, hyper-local projects that advance NASA's mission and vision. Based on the "Maker" culture, the concept is to gather interested individuals and go about creating something new. Several centers have already conducted their Maker Camps, focusing on 2 to 3 activities ranging from physical creations to process improvements.

NASA JSC Maker Camp

"Do you like to build, tinker and try new things? Do you wish some days that you could just get your hands dirty and create something? Maker Camp is an internal pilot project focused on creating a culture of experimentation by offering individuals the chance to collaborate on quick, innovative projects that are good for the center and the agency. JSC will connect remotely and work collaboratively with teams at ARC to see what we can do together in a short, focused period of time."

Working Outside the Box at Johnson Space Center open.nasa.gov

"Inside one of the high bays overlooking the former home of the WETF is a work area available to everyone at the center. The decor is simple and functional: whiteboard tables, colorful rolling chairs, mobile desks and whiteboard walls. Have an idea? Write it on the table or a wall. Share it on a screen. Need a bit of privacy? Go to the neighboring room ("the fishbowl") and work there."

SpaceRef Launches New Magazine Space Quarterly and the SpaceRef Forum, SpaceRef

"SpaceRef, a provider of new media services since 1999, announced today that it was launching its first magazine, Space Quarterly, in both digital and print format. Space Quarterly will be published in two editions: a U.S. edition with an international section and a Canadian edition. To complement Space Quarterly, SpaceRef will also launch a new online service, the SpaceRef Forum, where readers can participate in ongoing discussions on topics covered by the magazine including commercial space, space policy, military space and other timely topics. Both new products will be available September 1, 2011."

Marc's Note: I'm excited to announce these two new products today. We've been working hard on the magazine for many months and hope you'll like it as much as we do. As well many of you have expressed an interest in having SpaceRef/NASA Watch create an online Forum. We'll we've listened and come September 1 we'll be launching it. You can now subscribe to Space Quarterly here.

NASA Internal Memo: Agencywide Re-launch of the NASA@Work Collaborative Program

"Based on the overwhelming success of and participation with the NASA@Work pilot program, NASA is pleased to announce the official agencywide re-launch of the NASA@Work collaborative program. NASA@Work is an internal collaboration platform that connects the collective knowledge of individual experts from all areas within the NASA organization via a private web-based environment supported by InnoCentive. The platform provides a venue for Challenge Owners, those looking for solutions or new ideas, to pose challenges to internal Solvers, those within NASA with the skill and desire to create enlightened solutions. The Solvers who deliver the best innovative ideas can win awards and will be recognized for their contributions at the 2012 NASA Project Management (PM) Challenge."

Prince Harry's bid for Nasa training, The Sun

"Army pilot Harry, 26, is a closet Star Trek fan and "obsessed with space", according to friends. They say he has already asked Sir Richard Branson's son Sam for a seat on one of the first Virgin Galactic sub-orbital flights. But he hopes to become an honorary member of the elite US space programme after returning from Afghanistan next year."

It was February 2008 when I posted my first article on opennasa.com! So much has changed both at NASA and in the world since then. We originally launched opennasa.com because we were a group of people extremely passionate about space exploration that wanted to share, first hand, our perspective of what was happening inside the U.S. space program. We started a conversation that lasted 3.5 years. 277 posts, 5,274 comments, 347 tags and an average of ~54 unique visitors per day.  It’s been such an amazing adventure.  We have really appreciated the conversation and the #opengov community that has formed within the space industry since then.

Yesterday we launched open.nasa.gov. Like openNASA, the new site will be a collaborative platform for the open government community to share success stories and projects they are working on. We are excited to finally have a home on nasa.gov and look forward to highlighting the ways that transparency, participation, and collaboration are being embraced by NASA policy, technology, and culture and discuss the amazing future that becomes possible because of that commitment.

Content from authors who will participate in the new open.nasa.gov site will be ported over, but this site will remain online and serve as an archive for the content from all those who have contributed to the project.  We have a lot planned for the new site, and anticipate it will be an even more successful project than openNASA.  We encourage you to check out the new site and let us know what you think! See you at nasa.gov.

http://open.nasa.gov

Message from the NASA Administrator 29 July 2011

"As you know, Congress is debating how it plans to meet its obligations and raise the debt ceiling so that the country can pay its bills. The President expects that Congress will do its job, enact an increase of the debt ceiling that he can sign into law, and end this impasse. I am sending this note to remind you that NASA employees should plan to come to work next week, as scheduled, at their normal place and time."

Statement by Director John P. Holdren on the Passing of Jack Marburger

"It is with great sadness that I note the passing of Dr. John H. Marburger, III, former Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and Science Advisor to President George W. Bush. Jack Marburger leaves a legacy of exceptional public service and substantial scientific contributions. He was the Nation's longest-serving Presidential Science Advisor, and his focus on basic research as a driver of economic growth was a common thread across Congresses and Administrations."

IBOPE Zogby Poll: Six in 10 Disagree With Ending Space Shuttle & Fear Others Will Surpass U.S. in Exploration

"Majorities of U.S. voters disagree with the decision to end space shuttle missions and fear other nations might surpass the U.S. in space exploration. Also, future space exploration through both NASA and private companies is seen as preferable to either going it alone. The IBOPE Zogby interactive poll conducted from July 22-25 also shows 74% say the space shuttle was a worthwhile use of government resources. The final space shuttle mission ended with the safe landing of the Atlantis last week."

Keith's 11:00 am EDT note: Sources are reporting that the Senate Commerce Committee has finally made good on its threat and has issued a subpoena to NASA regarding materials related to the SLS decision. Prior to this several letters and a hearing were held to prompt NASA in this regard. No luck. Congress is more or less convinced that the decision regarding SLS design/architecture has already been made and they are using the tools at their disposal to force NASA/the White House to admit that this is indeed the case. Stay tuned.

NASA Has Not Delivered All Of The Documents Requested by Congress, earlier post

Senate Threatens NASA With Subpoena For Missing Documents, earlier post

Keith's 1:00 pm EDT note: According to NASA PAO "While we share the Senators' commitment to human space exploration and implementation of the Authorization Act, we also have a commitment to be responsible stewards of taxpayer dollars. The Space Launch System is the most important -- and expensive -- decision NASA will make for the next decade, and we want to get it right so we don't repeat the mistakes of the past or get pushed into making a premature decision about our nation's deep space exploration plans."

New NASA Data Blow Gaping Hole In Global Warming Alarmism

"NASA satellite data from the years 2000 through 2011 show the Earth's atmosphere is allowing far more heat to be released into space than alarmist computer models have predicted, reports a new study in the peer-reviewed science journal Remote Sensing. The study indicates far less future global warming will occur than United Nations computer models have predicted, and supports prior studies indicating increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide trap far less heat than alarmists have claimed."

Climate-change politics: The sceptic meets his match, Nature

"Joe Bast and his libertarian think tank are a major force among climate sceptics -- but they just can't win the battle over science."

DOE, Interior Eye Employees Jettisoned by Space Program, New York Times

"The Energy Department and the Department of the Interior are among dozens of federal agencies looking to hire some of the engineers and scientists from NASA's closing space program. NASA and the Office of Personnel Management held a job fair yesterday in Cape Canaveral, Fla., less than a week after the space shuttle Atlantis landed. All told, about 5,500 contract employees at Florida's Kennedy Space Center have lost their jobs in recent months, and NASA contractors are expected to lay off another 2,000 over the next year. For an area nicknamed the "Space Coast," the end of the space program is a blow. But federal agencies are swooping in to take advantage of a pool of employees they say have skills that are usually hard to find."

Keith's note: The NewSpace 2011 conference is underway at NASA ARC. You can follow updates via Twitter here.

Russia Plans to Sink the International Space Station in 2020, Fox

"Russia's space agency announced Wednesday that the International Space Station -- a space base the world's scientists and billions of U.S. tax dollars helped build and maintain some 200 miles above the surface of the Earth -- will be de-orbited and allowed to sink into the Pacific Ocean in 2020, just like its Russian predecessor, Mir. "We will be forced to sink the ISS. We cannot leave it in orbit as it is a very complicated and a heavy object," Roscosmos' deputy head Vitaly Davydov said in an interview posted on the agency's website."

NASA and International Partners Discuss New Uses for Space Station

"The Multilateral Coordination Board (MCB) for the International Space Station partner agencies met Tuesday, July 26, to discuss how to use the space station as a test bed for technologies that will enable missions beyond low Earth orbit."

Keith's note: So, I guess that's it then. Russia gets to make the decision to scrap something we paid the lion's share to build and operate - after paying to keep Russia's space program aloft for a decade prior to that. Who makes all of these "deals" for the U.S. anyway? We seem to be getting the short end of the stick each and every time. Why have these MCB meetings about other uses for the ISS when Russia simply plans to scrap it anyway?

NASA Needs To Go To Priceline.com, earlier post

Space station sinking? Not so fast, MSNBC

"The interview from "Good Morning Russia" ("Utro Rossii") caused a stir when a Russian-language transcript turned up on the space agency's website, but don't panic: If anything, the International Space Station will be in operation well after 2020. Russia, NASA and the other partners in the 16-nation venture are looking into extending the station's lifetime to 2028 -- that is, if they can verify that its components will still be in working order until then."

White House Announces Plans to Shut Down Hundreds of Duplicative Data Centers as Part of Campaign to Cut Waste

"To date, agencies have closed 81 data centers and will close 114 more during this calendar year for a total of 195 in 2011.This represents an increase in both planned and actual closures from the data released in April 2011. As agencies have continued to update their data center inventories, they have increased their planned closures, demonstrating the seriousness in which they are attacking waste."

Keith's note: 15 10 centers at NASA have been or will be closed (list)

Why Is NASA Caving to the Russians On ISS?, OpEd, Jim Oberg, Txchnologist

"With the retirement of the Space Shuttle Atlantis last week, American astronauts are now totally dependent on Russian vehicles for access to space. The question in front of us is how best to negotiate for fair compromises in the US-Russian space alliance. Some of NASA's recent agreements are not encouraging. The US needs to realize that it holds some high cards. True, the Russians have, in the Soyuz, the only vehicle that can carry passengers. But the destination - the International Space Station, which is more than 80 percent funded by the U.S. - provides many critical space services without which getting into orbit is pretty pointless for the Russians. Chief among them is electrical power and space-to-Earth communications, most of which comes via American equipment."

Keith's note: Word has it that Jon Morse, Astrophysics Division Director at SMD also announced his resignation today. FYI John Morse is married to Laurie Leshin so a joint departure/move by both of them sort of makes sense.

NASA Internal Memo: Senior Managers to Leave NASA for Academia

"Jon Morse, director of the Science Mission Directorate's Astrophysics Division and Laurie's husband, also will be leaving government to join RPI as the associate vice president for research."

NASA Internal Memo: Laurie Leshin Is Departing

"I wanted to share some news with you. I have accepted a position outside of NASA. I will be the Dean of the School of Science at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) in New York starting in October. RPI will be announcing my appointment today. I will remain here at NASA HQ until mid- to late-September and look forward to continuing to work with all of you on the creation of HEOMD. I will continue as Deputy AA in ESMD until the HEOMD unification takes place and will continue to work to stand up the two Divisions I was named acting Director of (AES AND SLPSRA) in HEO."

NASA Internal Memo: Bryan O'Connor is Retiring From NASA

"I told my staff this morning that I plan to retire effective 31 August. From June, 2002, when Sean O'Keefe asked me to return to NASA for a third time to serve in this position, until this very day, I have been privileged to work on important projects with and among the best people in the world. Over time you have celebrated great successes and suffered and learned from horrific failures with determination, skill and a world beating attitude, and by so doing have kept me in a continuous state of awe."

Notice of Availability/RFI: Potential Industry Interest: Use of NASA JSC Facility for Purpose of Establishing a JSC Acceleration Center

"The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Johnson Space Center (JSC) is seeking to identify potential industry interest in an agency real property asset located at JSC in Houston, TX for the purpose of establishing a "JSC Acceleration Center". This announcement describes a NASA asset that is currently underutilized as a result of the transition from the Space Shuttle Program (SSP) to the future mission activities authorized by Congress in the NASA Authorization Act of 2010."