NASA Launching Colorado Solar Experiment February 23

"NASA will launch a University of Colorado experiment to image the sun on a NASA suborbital sounding rocket February 23, from the White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The Extreme Ultraviolet Variability Experiment (EVE) will support measurements by NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) satellite. ... NASA's Sounding Rocket Program is managed at the agency's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia."

Keith's note: If you go to the NASA White Sands website, no mention of this launch is made. And there is nothing at the Missile Range website either. Wallops issued this press release, is listed as managing this launch as part of the NASA Sounding Rocket Program, and the NASA PAO contact listed is at Wallops. However, no mention is made of this launch on the Wallops home page, but there is an item listed under "upcoming launches" -- but it is for a flight on 22 January - a month ago. No mention is made at the Code 810 website listed in the press release. The link to the "schedule" page at Wallops gets you this message: "The Wallops Daily Range Schedule is no longer available for public use. Thank you for your patience as the Wallops Flight Facility Public Affairs Office works to create a public schedule, available on the Wallops home page."

$14M to move shuttle to Air Force museum tucked in Obama budget plan, Dayton Daily News

"The Obama administration asked Congress for $14 million to transfer the space shuttle Atlantis to the Air Force Museum here, a strong sign the Dayton region may land one of three orbiters when they are retired this summer. Although NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will make the final decision on where to locate Atlantis, the request -- tucked deep inside the administration's 2012 budget -- suggests that the White House and the Air Force favor the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force as a final destination for Atlantis."

Boeing Announces $5M Donation to Air Force Museum Foundation

"The Boeing Company announced today that it will donate $5 million to the Air Force Museum Foundation in three installments over the next three years. The foundation will deliver the funds to the U.S. Air Force for the benefit of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio."

NASA to stay put in Southwest D.C. building, Washington Business Journal

"The General Services Administration said Thursday it has signed a 597,253-square-foot lease for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration at Piedmont Office Realty Trust Inc.'s 300 E St. SW, opting for the space agency to stay in place at its current headquarters."

NASA, OCC deals cause Southwest D.C. shuffle, Washington Business Journal

"Piedmont will renovate Two Independence Square in phases as part of the NASA deal, swinging some workers into two downtown buildings at 1201 and 1225 Eye St. NW."

Hearing Charter: An Overview of the Administration's Federal Research and Development Budget for Fiscal Year 2012 (NASA Excerpt)

"The FY12 budget request for NASA is $18.7 billion, the same amount requested in FY10. Congress fully funded the agency's request in the FY10 appropriations bill, a level which has continued to this day. For the four-year runout (FY13 - FY16), NASA's budget projection assumes identical funding for each year - $18.7 billion. However, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Blue Book and NASA's own budget request disagree on out-year funding levels; NASA's assumes four years of flat funding at $18.7 billion; OMB's out-year projections indicate budgets that are below the FY12 request."

Republicans Question President's Science Advisor

"While it is true that prudent investments in science and technology will almost certainly yield future economic gains and will allow our knowledge economy to grow, it is also true that these gains can be thwarted by poor decision-making," Chairman Hall said. "Americans expect and deserve better. With our unemployment hovering at over 9 percent, they expect us to reduce or eliminate those programs that are duplicative and wasteful and examine ways to advance real job creation and economic growth, not just spend their hard-earned money on what the government assumes is best for them."

Committee Democrats Contrast President's R&D Budget Request with Damaging House CR Cuts

"We can disagree over some of the specific choices in this budget proposal," said Congresswoman Johnson, "but I share with the president the same goal of maintaining a strong national science and technology enterprise and ensuring that all of our young people are prepared for the technical careers of the future."

Sustaining the Commitment: FY 2012 Request Keeps Budget Doubling on Track for NSF, DOE Science, and NIST Research, AIP

"National Nuclear Security Administration, Weapons Activities: + 19.5 percent
National Nuclear Security Administration, Total: +19.3 percent
National Institute of Standards and Technology: +16.9%
National Science Foundation: +13.0%
NASA, Science: +11.5%
Department of Energy Office of Science: +9.1 percent
National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering: +1.8 percent
U.S. Geological Survey: +0.6 percent
NASA: no change
Department of Defense Science and Technology Programs (6.1, 6.2, 6.3): -8.0 percent"

Hubble Shows New Image of Spiral Galaxy NGC 2841

"NASA's Hubble Space Telescope reveals a majestic disk of stars and dust lanes in this view of the spiral galaxy NGC 2841. A bright cusp of starlight marks the galaxy's center. Spiraling outward are dust lanes that are silhouetted against the population of whitish middle-aged stars. Much younger blue stars trace the spiral arms."

Keith's 15 Feb note: One of the documents that the ISS National LAB CAN release includes is the ISS Payload Mission Integration Team Execution Plan. SSP 50471 Revision A October 2002. This document claims that it:

"..identifies the activities associated with Payload Mission Integration Team (PMIT) in managing and integrating International Space Station (ISS) payload flight, stage, and increment activities. The contents of this document are consistent with the tasks and products as defined in SSP 50200-01, Station Program Implementation Plan, Volume 1: Station Program Management Plan. This document is under the control of the Payloads Control Board (PCB)."

Yet this 9 year old document is not even complete -- charts that are supposed to be included are simply not there - and they haven't been for 9 years. And yet someone in 2011, developing a proposal to run the ISS National LAB, is supposed to glean usfeul information from pages like this? [Click on image to enlarge]

"13.0 METRICS Figure 13.0-1, Stage-Unique Payload Integration Deliverables, and Figure 13.0-2, Payload Mission Integration Team Deliverable Integration Products, show typical metric charts that the PMIT will use to evaluate and measure the operational activities of the PMIT. These charts will be updated on a monthly basis and posted to the PMIT website."

What charts?

Keith's 16 Feb update: A reader notes: "I'm an engineer @ JSC and I checked the official document electronic depository and, lo and behold, the document is correct - graphic and all. This may be another one of those moments that can truly be blamed on a difference in versions of Adobe, or someone otherwise messed up the document somehow when it was posted."

I guess my question is whether anyone at NASA reads these documents and conducts a sanity check before saying that they are fit for public release and formal use in the procurement process. It would seem that they do not. Will they add this complete version that this reader refers to - and inform everyone that the earlier document was incomplete?

In the coming days I'll discuss this data dump habit NASA has - one wherein documents that are often out of date, incomplete, and/or and hard to understand are simply thrown out at prospective bidders - with no context or explanation whatsoever. Take this stand alone chart by Mark Uhran "Queuing Model: Payloads" as an example. It is simply posted with no associated text explaining what it is, or how bidders need to follow or incorporate it.

Keith's 17 Feb note: The ISS National Lab CAN team seems to not care that a more accurate (complete) version of this document is available in NASA's document library - - the old version with blank figures is still being provided to prospective bidders on the CAN web page.

2011's Next-Generation Suborbital Conference (NSRC-2011), will be held in Orlando, Florida 28 February through 2 March. That's less than two weeks away!

If you or your colleagues and students have not registered on line yet, you still can, until Friday February 18th; just go to: http://nsrc.swri.org/

We can already see that NSRC-2011 promises to be a watershed gathering for researchers, educators, and industry/government. The meeting will provide a forum for the exchange of ideas about the application of these new vehicles to research and education objectives. The meeting will also provide important networking opportunities for researchers and educators to meet with colleagues, government officials, and representatives from the suborbital industry. This year's registrants include a significant number of internationals from Canada, Europe, and Asia, in addition to many, many from the United States.

Over 120 presenters--a 40% increase over 2010--will discuss everything from flight test progress to planned experiments in 7 different research fields to training and roles for research and educator payload specialists. In total, the meeting will feature 20 sessions, 4 discussion panels, a press conference, presentations or booths by 20 sponsors, and a public night presentation by Virgin Galactic CEO George Whitesides.

The meeting will also include invited talks by experts in diverse fields that include microgravity sciences, atmospheric science, space life sciences, planetary science, education, and crew training. NSRC-2011 is the place to be to learn how to marry your research, education, or business interests to next-generation suborbital spaceflight. For more information, and to register to reserve your seat, go to http://nsrc.swri.org/

See you there, soon--and don't forget to register before Friday when the website registration period ends! (After that you will have to register in person in Orlando, at a higher price).

Japan may send chatty humanoid tweet-bot to space, AP

"Japan's space agency JAXA announced this week that it is looking at a plan to send a humanoid robot to the space station in 2013 that could communicate with the ground through Twitter -- primarily feeding photos, rather than original ideas -- and provide astronauts with "comfort and companionship." Following up on NASA's "Robonaut" R-2 program, which is set for launch on the Discovery shuttle next week, the Japanese android would be part of a larger effort to create and refine robots that can be used by the elderly, JAXA said in a statement."

- A Cylon Girlfriend for Robonaut2, earlier post
- KSC Wants To Buy A Cornish Robot To Greet U.S. Visitors, earlier post
- Dryden Seeks Ethnically Diverse Cylons, earlier post

Google Lunar X PRIZE Announces Official Roster of Teams Competing in the $30 Million Race to the Moon (With video), X Prize Foundation

"Today, the X PRIZE Foundation announced the official roster of 29 registered teams competing for the $30 million Google Lunar X PRIZE, an unprecedented competition to send a robot to the Moon that travels at least 500 meters and transmit video, images, and data back to the Earth. This group of teams signifies this new era of exploration's diverse and participatory nature as it includes a huge variety of groups ranging from non-profits to university consortia to billion dollar businesses representing 17 nations on four continents. The global competition, the largest in history, was announced in September 2007, with a winner projected by 2015."

Former NASA Advisor Says Fight Is Brewing Over 2012 Budget, WHNT News 19

"Huntsville attorney Mark McDaniel, who has advised presidents, NASA administrators and Congress on space policy, says a fight for NASA's future is about to lift off. "What's gearing up right now is a space policy fight again, just like we had last year," he predicted."

McDaniel says it's irritating for NASA employees to keep changing directions. "It can be frustrating when they have this policy, then you have another policy, and then you have another policy,"

Amazing Photo: ATV Kepler Launch As Seen From Orbit Aboard the ISS

"This remarkable photo was taken by ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli from the ISS on 16 February 2011, just minutes after ATV Johannes Kepler lifted off on board an Ariane 5 from Kourou at 22:50 UTC. It shows the rising exhaust trail of Ariane, still in its initial vertical trajectory. The trail can be seen as a thin streak framed just beneath the Station's remote manipulator arm. Credits: ESA/ NASA"

Eight years ago, I was awakened one Saturday morning to a phone call from a good friend.

“Did you hear what happened?  Are you watching the news?”

Groggy from having just woken up, I had little idea what I was about to see, as I trudged into my living room to turn on the television.  I was least prepared.  The late breaking news headline on CNN hit me, quite literally, like a ton of bricks: Space Shuttle Columbia had broken up over the skies of the southern United States as she came hurtling back to Earth with her crew of seven.

Lost.

A lifelong “space nerd,” I’d dreamed of the day I would be able to say that I worked for NASA, and even more so of the day I could break free of gravity’s bonds.  After a couple of NASA internships over the previous two years, I had acquired a taste for what it was like to be a part of the NASA community – a tight knit group of people who collectively recognized and appreciated the value of space exploration, many of whom, like me, grew up staring at the heavens at night, eyeing the moon as an eventual travel destination.

That morning, I sat in absolute disbelief as I watched the news unfold, while file footage provided graphic evidence of the disaster that took place over the skies of Texas.  My thoughts immediately turned to not just the immediate family and friends of those who perished onboard Columbia, but to all of those who belonged to the NASA family…to my NASA family.  Tears flowed as I saw images of the flight control team reacting to what they knew was the absolute worst possible scenario, a bad day amplified by a magnitude of infinity.  Without even personally knowing those onboard, I felt a deep sorrow for their loss, for those close to them, and for NASA.

The Apollo 1 fire was well before my time, and almost my parents’.   And though it took place during my lifetime, I was hardly a toddler with little cognitive ability to remember the Challenger disaster in 1986. And now with Columbia’s demise, we were once again faced with the stark realities of the dangers of human spaceflight and forced to weigh the benefits versus those very risks. Uncertainty loomed, and in the midst, I couldn’t help but wonder what this would mean for the future of our national human spaceflight program.

As pledges of sympathy and support poured in from all over in the subsequent days, President Bush delivered an address vowing that human spaceflight in the US would continue, just as it had after both the Apollo 1 and Challenger accidents.  And almost one year later, he announced his Vision for Space Exploration, setting forth legislation that would send us back to the Moon and onto Mars.  This promise ignited hope and inspiration in those of us who spent their youths dreaming of “slipping the surly bonds of Earth” and setting foot on extraterrestrial soil, while honoring the legacy of those who’ve made space exploration possible.

Since the inception of the US human spaceflight program, countless individuals have devoted their livelihoods to further the cause for exploration, to test the limits of mankind’s knowledge and experience, and to expand the boundaries of our terrestrial existence. We have been, are, and forever will remain an agency of people who believe in space exploration.  We are a collective group of passionate, dedicated workers who are inspired by the contributions of spaceflight to humanity.  We are men and women who were awed by Sputnik, by Neil Armstrong’s first steps, by the first joint Russian-American venture in space, by the Space Shuttle’s maiden voyage, by the building of the International Space Station, piece by piece, before our eyes and who are still inspired on a daily basis by the feats we help accomplish.  We are an agency motivated by man’s innate desire to achieve the impossible, “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.”

We believe in our hearts with the greatest conviction that the greatest accomplishments in human spaceflight are still ahead of us; and yet we recognize that we must honor the legacy left by our space-faring forefathers and our colleagues who’ve given their lives in the name of exploration. Our every decision, our every action is motivated by the events of our past and our hope for the future. Let us not forget the magnitude of their contributions or the extent of their devotion.

Eight years after the announcement of the Vision for Space Exploration, we sit at a pivotal juncture, one that will determine the course of the future of our nation’s human spaceflight program.  As we wait for our new Congress to set a fiscal year budget, my thoughts turn to all those who’ve dedicated and given their lives in the pursuit of humanity’s innate desire to explore.

As we step into a difficult transition period, one wrought with anticipation, nail-biting, nerves, disappointment, and frustration, let us not dwell on the opinions and assessments of others, but rather move forward with hope and inspiration drawn from the legends of spaceflight past.

As we decide on the feasibility of plans for the nation’s space program, let us remember that our forefathers, in the face of adversity, accomplished seemingly impossible tasks.

And, this week, as we commemorate the lives of our colleagues whom we have lost, let us remember that their ultimate sacrifice must not be in vain, that we must accept our constraints, our limitations, and from that, build plans of sustaining a robust human spaceflight program, capable of inspiring generations to come.

The NASA Advisory Council provides perspective, advice, and counsel to NASA leadership on areas of importance to the agency. The Council has nine committees, one of which is the Education and Public Outreach Committee. During their meetings, they receive updates on NASA programs and activities. The names in italics below were in attendance for the LAUNCH presentation this week. Now you can see it too.

NASA Advisory Council Education and Public Outreach Committee members:

• Lars Perkins, entrepreneur
• Michael Bostick, chief executive officer of Walden Media
• Leslie Fenwick, dean of the Howard University School of Education
• Richard Garriott, entrepreneur
• Doug King, president and chief executive officer of the Museum of Flight, Seattle, WA
• Dwayne McCay, provost and executive vice president at the Florida Institute of Technology
• Ioannis Miaoulis, president and director of the Museum of Science, Boston
• Debbie Myers, general manager, Science Channel
• Dr. Scott Parazynski, director of business development at Wyle Integrated Science & Engineering
• Peter Shankman, founder of Help a Reporter Out (HARO)

House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology Oversight Plan for the 112th Congress

"The Committee will continue to provide oversight of NASA's human spaceflight program as it undergoes a period of uncertainty and transition following various Administration proposals. Specific attention will be paid to the feasibility of NASA's plans and priorities relative to their resources and requirements."

House members may come see Discovery launch, Florida Today

"[Rep. Ralph] Hall, one of NASA's most vocal supporters in Congress, said the committee would have to work together to support the agency amid tight budgeting that will force cuts throughout the government. "My goal is to keep our position in space, keep our leadership in space and keep our national and international partners," Hall said. "I'm not urging anybody to go to Mars right now or back to the moon, or any place when people can't go to the grocery store. The economy has to be good. But we've got to continue to work toward it and plan for it."

House Appropriations Committee Introduces CR Containing Largest Spending Cuts in History (With detailed chart)

"The House Appropriations Committee today introduced a Continuing Resolution (H.R. 1) to fund the federal government for the last seven months of the fiscal year while cutting spending by over $100 billion from the President's fiscal year 2011 request. This CR legislation represents the largest single discretionary spending reduction in the history of Congress. ...

"NASA Budget reduction compared to FY 2010 enacted: $303.0 million. Compared to FY 2011 Request: $578.7 million."

ATK moving forward with Liberty rocket, Salt Lake Tribune

"Regardless of whether the government agrees to help fund Alliant Techsystems' rocket that would take astronauts to the International Space Station, the Utah company intends to move forward with its project because it believes there will be no shortage of commercial customers. ATK and a partner on Tuesday unveiled the two-stage Liberty rocket that they want NASA to use as the next launch vehicle for the U.S. space program. And they are hoping the space agency will see fit to award it at least a portion of a $200 million pool of money set aside for promising projects."

Keith's 10 Feb note: Of course U.S. taxpayers have already made a huge down payment on Ares-1 development. I wonder how ATK gets to use the Ares 1 modified transporter, launch pad, VAB, etc - also modified with lots of tax dollars. That won't cost ATK money? Isn't the use of these designs and facilities using NASA money?

Keith's 11 Feb 12:42 pm update: According to ATK's George Torres, who called and left me a voicemail statement: "The ATK spokesperson spoke out of line. What we're really about is to meet goal of CCDev to acclerate commerical program and to try and mature the program and working on the integrate these two systems as part of the deveopment. CCDev funding would acclerate this by 2 years." He said that he'd sent me a statement by email at some point.

Keith's 11 Feb 2:14 pm update: Here is ATK's statement: "These comments were inaccurate and from someone who didn't have full insight into the business model as presented for the CCDev2 acquisition. Specifically, our proposal is focused on the goals of CCDev-2, which are to "further advance commercial Crew Transportation System (CTS) concepts and mature the design and development of elements of the system such as launch vehicles and spacecraft." Overall, it really responds to the main goal of the procurement, which is to "accelerate the development of commercial crew systems." If we do win a CCDev-2 contract we can accelerate our first flight two years from 2015 to 2013. With the payload capabilities of Liberty and its low price, we believe it will be a strong competitor for CCDev-2. As for use of KSC facilities, we are responding to NASA's request on how we would utilize KSC facilities (just like other potential contractors) on a leased basis."

Lockheed Martin Ships Out First Orion Spacecraft

"The Lockheed Martin Orion team shipped out the first Orion crew module spacecraft structure today from NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La. The spacecraft is headed to Lockheed Martin's Denver, Colo. facilities where it will undergo a series of rigorous tests to confirm Orion's ability to safely fly astronauts through all the harsh environments of deep space exploration missions."

NASA OIG Testimony: Major Challenges Facing NASA in 2011

"At the present time, NASA finds itself in a state of significant uncertainty, particularly with respect to its human space program. The final Space Shuttle flights are scheduled for later this fiscal year and construction of the International Space Station is essentially complete; however, the Agency has not achieved significant momentum on space exploration directives contained in 2010 authorizing legislation because of funding and technical questions.

The most immediate challenge facing NASA's leadership is to manage the Agency's portfolio of space and science missions amid the continuing lack of clarity caused by conflicting legislative directives in the Authorization Act and a holdover provision in NASA's fiscal year (FY) 2010 appropriations law. The latter provision prevents NASA from terminating any aspect of the Constellation Program or from initiating any new program."