"NASA's first Information Technology (IT) Summit will bring together government and industry leaders to explore the outer reaches of information technology. The summit, which takes place August 16-18 at the Gaylord National Harbor in Maryland, will gather 750 participants and more than 100 expert presenters with themes on collaboration, social networking, innovation, infrastructure, operations and IT security and privacy."

Information, agenda, and live webstream

Speakers include:

- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden
- NASA CIO Linda Cureton
- Walt Disney's Vice President and General Manager Walt Disney Imagineering-FL Jack Blitch
- Google Vice President and Chief Internet Evangelist Vint Cerf
- Dell Services Chief Innovation Officer Jim Stikeleather
- Symantec Chief Technology Officer Mark Bregman
- Inspirion CEO Misti Burmeister
- Gartner Vice President and Fellow in Research David W. Cearley

Some interesting things took place at Cape Canaveral this week, lighting up the region in a number of ways. NASA held a payload event showcasing several of the flight hardware elements that will be aboard the space shuttle Discovery during the STS-133 mission. Included in that event was a demonstration of the humanoid robotic assistant Robonaut 2 that will be aboard Discovery. Over at Cape Canaveral, the Air Force launched the first in a series of next-generation military communications satellites.

NASA Hosts STS-133 Payload Media Event

NASA's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) played host to members of the media on Aug. 14, as the space agency showed off the payload that shuttle Discovery will carry to orbit on Nov. 1. The event covered most of STS-133's payload elements. The star attraction of this event, however, was the human-like Robonaut 2 (R2), a dexterous handyman that is designed to assist astronauts on long-duration space voyages.

Those present were also provided with a tour of the Permanent Multi-Purpose Module (PMM). In actuality the PMM is the refurbished Leonardo Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) that has traveled to and from space in the shuttle several times. Leonardo has been modified and hardened with micrometeoroid and debris shielding so as to be better suited to being permanently mounted to the International Space Station (ISS) upon the completion of STS-133.

Located further down in the SSPF was the final payload component on display - the ExPRESS Logistics Carrier - 4 (ELC-4). This unpressurized pallet will carry a Heat Rejection System Radiator (HRSR), Flight Support Equipment as well as several Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) to the orbiting laboratory. Although stocked full of important components, this poriton of the Shuttle's payload was overshadowed by Robonaut-2.

Also scheduled to fly to the space station on Discovery is Space Exploration Technologies' (SpaceX) DragonEye (DE) relative navigation sensor. This element of STS-133's payload was not part of this media event.

Although a final determination has yet to be made, this mission could be Discovery's last. If so, the orbiter will eventually make her way to the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

Robonaut-2 flexes his muscles during a media event held at kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility. Photo Credit: awaltersphoto.com

First AEHF Satellite Thunders to Orbit

The United States military has been working to upgrade existing communications satellites with newer, safer and faster models. The first of these next-gen satellites, the Advanced Extremely High Frequency -1 (AEHF-1), rode a fiery trail to orbit atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket Aug. 14. The rocket roared off of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 (SLC-41).

This launch has been delayed several times due to a variety of technical issues. Concerns over the mechanism that controls the payload's protective cover, a balky crane, and other problems all conspired to push the launch back until Saturday. None of these problems were evident when it came to launch however. The satellite's Atlas V launch vehicle rumbled its way into orbit on the first launch attempt.

The AEHF series of satellites is designed to replace the Milstar constellation. These newer satellites are designed to be jamming-proof and to be far more capable than their predecessors. In the event of a nuclear war, they will provide real-time communications between military commanders on the ground and the president.

The Atlas V rocket that hoisted the AEHF-1 to orbit was first used in 2002 to launch the Hot Bird 6 satellite. The Atlas V is built by ULA, a joint operation between aerospace giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin.

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V carries the AEHF-1 satellite to orbit. Photo Credit: awaltersphoto.com

This Week in Cape History

August 12, 2005: NASA launched the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) from NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. aboard the first United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket used for an interplanetary mission. MRO's ongoing mission was to map the physical features of Mars, including its atmosphere and its subterranean layering.

The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter scans the Martian surface in this NASA illustration. Image Credit: JPL/NASA
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The Cape Week in Review is compiled by Jason Rhian, the Cape Insider, and is a weekly
round-up of what's happening at Cape Canaveral. If you have information or suggestions for the Cape Week in Review please email us at capereview@spaceref.com.

John New, 89; NASA engineer pioneered satellite tests, Washington Post

"John New, 89, an engineer at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center who developed a series of methods and facilities for testing satellites during the early days of space flight, died July 28 at the Renaissance Gardens assisted living facility in Silver Spring. He had pneumonia."

Mary Roach's Packing for Mars: the Curious Science of Life in the Void will give you a whole new view of an astronaut's life

Frank Sietzen, Jr.: For most of us spacers human spaceflight is nothing to, well, joke about. After all, riding rockets into the cosmos is serious business, and there's nothing that NASA or we do better than take ourselves seriously - perhaps too seriously. In the last 30 years or so, only Tom Wolfe's "The Right Stuff" gave us permission to laugh out loud when contemplating some of the inconveniences of spaceflight. Until now, that is.

Mary Roach, one of America's most successful and prolific science writers, has made an art form out of picking a little known or understood area of science and doing some first-person research. In her "Stiff: The Curious Lives of Human Cadavers", she tells us more than we'd ever wish to know about what happens to our bodies after we croak. In "Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife" she gives us a window on ghosts, spooks, and what many believe follows death. In "Bonk: The Curious Coupling of Science and Sex" she throws herself into deconstructing the sexual impulse, visiting the top sex researchers in the world's universities and laboratories, while enlisting some front-line help from her long-suffering husband, no less.

In "Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void" Roach gives the same in-depth treatment to global preparations for long duration human spaceflight.

I consider myself a true spacer, having earned my space-writing chops across 25 years of writing about this stuff for many outlets, some of whom no longer exist. But Roach puts me to shame with her two years of on-the-scene research around the globe wherever planning was underway for extended duration spaceflight.

She traveled to Japan to follow along Japanese astronaut candidates (you'll never think of Origami the same way again). She followed the Russian astronauts in Star City, flew the NASA "Vomit Comet", talked with former Apollo astronauts and current Shuttle and Space Station mission participants to get the goods on living in a space capsule and Shuttle (including Jim Lovell's candid assessments of life aboard Gemini 7), test flying the Shuttle's zero gravity toilet, and following the test procedures for the original Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (which used, astoundingly, actual cadavers to test capsule impact abilities).

Roach read through thousands of pages of transcripts from the Apollo lunar missions to ferret out the crew's candid statements about life in space and on the Moon (including what John Young told Charlie Duke he "got" while walking on the Moon during Apollo 16). Hey, I love this stuff but I doubt I'd have the stamina to go through all that she went through to help her readers get a feel for spaceflight. Geese that why there's the Science Channel...and books like this.

In chapters she addresses how Japan picks an astronaut, the psychology of isolation in spaceflight, astronaut's secret misery, the strange careers of monkeynauts Sam and Enos, "spaced" hygiene or the lack thereof, sex in space (of course!), bailing out of a spaceship ("Withering Heights"), discomfort food, and eating your pants (no fooling) when planning for a Mars mission, among others.
There's plenty of new details about familiar subjects, all well-written with grace and laugh-out-loud humor.

Roach came by her book-writing chops honestly. "I spent a few years working as a freelance copy editor before landing a half-time PR job at the San Francisco Zoo," she writes on her web site. "My office was in a trailer next to Gorilla World. On the days when I wasn't taking calls about elephant wart removal surgery or denying rumors that the cheetahs had been sucked dry by fleas, I wrote freelance articles for the local newspaper's Sunday magazine. Eventually, my editors there moved on to bigger things and took me along with them". Seems to me that working in a zoo was perfect preparation for writing about NASA. OK, just kidding....

You'll come away from this small book with a renewed appreciation for the hazards, difficulties and sheer commitment that it takes to even think about living in space for extended periods. Yet that is exactly what America, Japan, Russia and others are doing today, all with little or no certainty that their respective governments will actually commit to distant voyages to Mars in our lifetimes.
With so many making ready to go, what's the holdup?

NASAWATCH readers, I'd like your thoughts.

Well, here's one of mine:

On a hill in Arlington National Cemetery near my home, one can look south down into the streets of the District of Columbia. In that view, a person can see monuments to American Presidents from George Washington to Thomas Jefferson, and slightly hidden from view, Abraham Lincoln. Turning around, that person would then face the grave site of the 35th President and read excerpts from his selected speeches. Of all of the 44 presidents of the United States, this one, John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and buried on that hillside, lives in history's memory as the most spacefaring of them all.

Many remember that President Kennedy summoned Americans to journey to the Moon, starting with two stirring speeches and ending in missions that began more than half a decade after his death, in what we now call spaceflight's "Golden" age. In this mythic memory of those Americans that think at all about space exploration, it is the Presidency that most often frames the issue of which space missions to pursue-and why. In point of fact, three of Kennedy's successors have claimed his mantle of spacefaring by calling America to humans to Mars.

But in that southernmost view from John Kennedy's grave, visitors can also see another federal edifice in Washington, DC. It is the unique dome of the Capitol, topped by a bronze statue of liberty and illuminated by lantern when Congress is in session. Few Americans think of the legislative body when they think or hear about space flight events, if they ever think of space affairs at all. But in the nearly five decades that have passed since John Kennedy asked Americans for the Moon, it has been Congress that has had the strongest and most sustained role in seeing that the United States continued to explore space, albeit with as little funding as possible.

If America follows Roach's call for humans to Mars, those who work across from that dome will decide when and how fast, or if at all to make that trip. Thus far, Congress has echoed President Barack Obama's call to Mars. But the funding bills now circulating through Congress don't contain the dollars or long range commitments to return to the Moon, much less Mars. They call to start deep space travel with a capsule and heavy lift rocket, but no money for a habitat to house the astronauts for the long journey, insufficient funds for the rocket to take them there, and less money to design ways to shield the flyers from the radiation hazards that they'll surely face. In other words, they like the idea of Mars more than the wherewithal to get there. Maybe they should read Roach's book.

Roach closes her stories with the admonition that America should go to Mars ("Let's go out and play"), the difficulty she details notwithstanding. But it is the players beneath that great white dome visible from JFK's resting place that, more than any American President, will determine when and how such a voyage will take place. George H.W. Bush, his son, and now Barack Obama have made humans to Mars a national goal. Up until now it has always been a futile exercise, much like writing national space policies, which are always approved but often ignored. In many technical respects Mars is further away today than the Moon was in Kennedy's time, regardless of the effort now underway, as Roach chronicled so well, to understand and sustain human long duration spaceflight.

It will take political determination, matched with courage, reason and principle on the order of those chronicled in this book to make it a reality. The issue isn't a shortage of heroes willing to make the trip. I think the issue is a shortage of money and political will that goes beyond words and pronouncements to tangible commitments, which in the current era are in shorter supply than speeches.
Shakespeare said it best in Henry IV. "I can call spirits from the vasty deep!" the politician and erstwhile sorcerer Owen Glendower boasts. But it is his wily cousin Hotspur that reminds him - and us Mars aficionados - that such boasts are cheap. "Why so can I, so can any man," Hotspur replies dryly. "-but will they come when you call for them?"

"Packing for Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void" Norton, $25.95 U.S. in all major bookstores, and Amazon.com. Listen to Mary Roach tell her space stories in person by following her book tour at maryroach.net.

To build on Beth Beck’s earlier post (Space Buzz: The New High), we really need your help to represent space exploration at this year’s South by Southwest festival in Austin!  Last year, the Moon 2.0 panel at the SxSW was very successful and we really want to keep the momentum going!  A number of space superstars have submitted some really interesting panels for the 2011 SxSW festival.  This year, of the 2346 proposed panels, 4 are space related.  We’re hoping all four are selected, but even one would be awesome.

We need your help! SXSW is a community-driven event and voting accounts for 30% of the decision-making process for any given programming slot.  Of the 2346 proposed panels, only about 80 get selected.  The more votes we submit for the space panels, the more likely they will be included in the final SxSW program.  Voting ends 11:59 CDT on Friday, August 27, so please vote today!

Inspiration: Here’s something that inspired me last year around SxSW time and is exactly the reason we need this panel at SxSW.  Watch this video, vote, and then tell your friends to vote.

Vote for “All These Worlds are Yours: Visualizing Space Data”

At the intersection of video gaming technology, open government and citizen science are new applications making it easier and more fun for the public to explore space data. Get an inside look at virtual environments incorporating real-time spacecraft data and images. Become an armchair astronaut and travel through the cosmos from your personal computer. Ride along with NASA spacecraft, hazardous asteroids and distant planets, or just experience the vastness and beauty of space. All these worlds are yours… including Europa.

Questions Answered:

• What games, applications and virtual environments are being developed using space mission data?
• Where have the spacecraft been, what have they seen, and how is their data processed to create these environments?
• How quickly is real-time science data available for the public to see?
• What are the educational applications of these environments?
• What does an earth flyby look like from an asteroid’s POV?

The Next Rocket Scientist: You

Vote for “The Next Rocket Scientist: You”

For over half a century, NASA has inspired people across the world to look to the heavens and wonder what secrets are hidden within the cosmos. Solving those mysteries has long been the domain of lab-coat wearing scientists in government agencies and universities. However, with the advent of the internet, social web, and open source data, it has become possible for anyone to make scientific discoveries about our universe. Find out how you can actively contribute to space exploration and how the collective power of the internet is enabling the future of scientific research.

Questions Answered:

• What are the different ways I can participate in space exploration?
• How can I contribute to science without a formal science background?
• What’s the history and present state of citizen science?
• How can I get started right away?
• Do my contributions actually make a significant impact and receive personal recognition?

Panelists:

Nicholas Skytland, NASA
Ariel Waldman, Spacehack.org
William Pomerantz, X PRIZE Foundation
TBD, panelist

Space Buzz-The New High

Vote for “Space Buzz – The New High”

As NASA explores the new social frontier it is breaking boundaries in the way Federal Government communicates by drawing in input from people of all walks from all over the world. Using the NASA Buzzroom site, NASA has given a voice to individuals whose unique opinions would otherwise be unheard. This panel will include NASA professionals as well as social media and design experts to engage the audience in sharing thoughts on how to break of the social solar system for worlds unknown.

Questions Answered:

• How to create a buzz and stay relevant storm of available information.
• How to collect the buzz, the design and development aspects.
• How best to use the buzz?
• Why should NASA care about the buzz?
• How to perpetuate a buzz?

Panelists:

Beth Beck, NASA
Jesse Thomas, Jess3.com,
Stephanie Schierholz, NASA
Miles O’Brien
Ariel Waldman, Spacehack.org

The Power of Prizes: Crowdsourcing Breakthroughs

Vote for “The Power of Prizes: Crowdsourcing Breakthroughs”

Incentive prize competitions have a long history of success in spurring innovative and creative answers to challenging problems. But more recently, the prize model has received a boost in popularity and attention. Why? This panel will discuss how and why companies, organizations, and governments are leveraging incentive challenges to drive breakthroughs, ranging from the creation of highly efficient processes (such as the Netflix prize), to demonstrations of technological capability (such as the DARPA Network Challenge), to solving the grand challenges of humanity (such as the Archon Genomics X PRIZE), and everything in between. Join us as we explore the leading edge of crowd-driven innovation.

Questions Answered:

• How do incentive prizes work?
• What are the benefits of the incentive prize model?
• What are some currently active prizes?
• How can you utilize incentive prizes in your business or organization?
• How can you participate in incentive prize programs as a “solver”?

Keith's note: In June 2010 OSTP held an event "Hacking for Humanity" in Washington, DC. A number of NASA employees participated - nearly all of them Gen Y. I should note up front that these folks who attended are, as a group, rather sharp, energetic, and passionate about what they do. Alas, they did not announce this event in advance such that anyone could have known it was happening - much less participate. I made multiple requests immediately after this event in June for a summary of what NASA personnel did at the event and what was developed. I got vague replies that something would be sent to me. Despite these requests NASA provided me with nothing. After waiting 2 months, I sent yet another request today to Robbie Schingler (who now works for NASA CTO Bobby Braun), one of the organizers today. He pointed me to this link which has been online since 1 July 2010. What a surprise.

It would seem that "open government" at NASA HQ really means "we'll get back to you - maybe". Schingler's excuse was that he has been "busy". So sorry to hear that. So, I guess in the future, I need to check this corner of the CIO office website on my own everyday just in case something shows up. When it comes to activities such as this the Gen Y digerati at NASA have yet to figure out how to issue press releases, email advisories, etc. or respond to taxpayer (stakeholder) inquiries. And the sole link on this NASA summary sends me to a page that provides zero information on the projects that these NASA folks worked on. Maybe I'll ask Robbie about this when he speaks at the IT summit next week.

Why do these things in secret such that no one knows what the result is? More closed openness from NASA Gen Y digerati.

More Closed Openness at NASA HQ, earlier post

NRC Decadal Survey: New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics, Committee for a Decadal Survey of Astronomy and Astrophysics; National Research Council

"New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics recommends a balanced and executable program that will support research surrounding the most profound questions about the cosmos. The discoveries ahead will facilitate the search for habitable planets, shed light on dark energy and dark matter, and aid our understanding of the history of the universe and how the earliest stars and galaxies formed. The book is a useful resource for agencies supporting the field of astronomy and astrophysics, the Congressional committees with jurisdiction over those agencies, the scientific community, and the public."

Citizen Scientists Discover Rotating Pulsar, NSF

"Idle computers are the astronomers' playground: Three citizen scientists--an American couple and a German--have discovered a new radio pulsar hidden in data gathered by the Arecibo Observatory. This is the first deep-space discovery by Einstein@Home, which uses donated time from the home and office computers of 250,000 volunteers from 192 different countries. This is the first genuine astronomical discovery by a public volunteer distributed computing project"

NASA Scientists to Share Ideas at SETIcon Gathering

"NASA scientists will join space experts, celebrities and science fiction writers to discuss science, entertainment and celebrate the 25th anniversary of the SETI Institute, Mountain View, Calif., at the SETIcon, Aug. 13-15, 2010 at The Hyatt Regency Santa Clara House, 5101 Great America Parkway, Santa Clara, Calif."

Keith's note: Alas, even though scientists engaged in SETI can scour the heavens, across many light years using exquisite, cutting-edge radio astronomy equipment, yet as far as I can tell, neither they (or ARC PAO) know how to webcast a conference to humans on Earth using a laptop and commonly available software. I did this from Everest Base Camp for crying out loud.

NASA Exploration Systems Directorate Commercial Crew Planning Status Forum

"NASA will present an overview of common themes captured from industry responses provided to NASA's Commercial Crew Initiative Request for Information (RFI) published on May 21, 2010. The forum will include a general discussion of how these common themes are being addressed by NASA; presentation of the insight/oversight philosophy; and a question and answer session. The event will be conducted on August 19, 2010, at NASA Headquarters, James E. Webb Auditorium, 300 E Street SW, Washington DC from 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. NASA will broadcast the forum live on NASA TV and online via webcast. TV and Web viewers will have the opportunity to submit online questions and comments during the forum."

Keith's note: Ah great, one week advanced notice. But at least they will be webcasting and broadcasting the event - with online interaction as well.

Wednesday Space Station EVA

"Expedition 24 Flight Engineers Doug Wheelock and Tracy Caldwell Dyson spent Tuesday completing preparations for their second spacewalk Wednesday out of the Quest airlock to replace the failed ammonia coolant Pump Module on the S1 truss of the complex while the International Space Station Mission Management Team gave its final approval to proceed with the spacewalk."

Watch on NASA TV

Cold night crept by after crash killed Stevens, AP

"Former Sen. Ted Stevens lay dead in the mangled fuselage of the plane. A 13-year-old boy escaped death but his father died a few feet away. Medical workers spent the miserable night tending to survivors' broken bones amid a huge slick of fuel that coated a muddy mountainside."

List of passengers on ill-fated Stevens flight, Houston Chronicle

"Alaska State Troopers identified the victims as Stevens; pilot Theron "Terry" Smith, 62, of Eagle River; William "Bill" Phillips, Sr., no age or hometown given; Dana Tindall, 48, of Anchorage; and Corey Tindall, 16, of Anchorage. Four survivors were taken to Providence Hospital in Anchorage with "varying degrees of injuries." They include former NASA chief Sean O'Keefe and his teenage son. The other survivors are William "Willy" Phillips, Jr., 13, no hometown given; and Jim Morhard, of Alexandria, Va."

Former Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens dies in plane crash, AP

"Four survivors were taken to Providence Hospital in Anchorage with "varying degrees of injuries," Alaska State Troopers said. Former NASA spokesman Glenn Mahone said O'Keefe, 54, and his son had broken bones and other injuries. Sean O'Keefe was listed in critical condition late Tuesday afternoon, while son Kevin was listed in serious condition and sleeping. "There's no way he can talk in his condition," Providence Hospital spokesman John Hogue said of the younger O'Keefe."

Stevens, 4 others die in plane crash, Anchorage Daily News

"After searching about 35 minutes, Bouker said, he spotted wreckage about 1,000 feet up an unnamed mountain in the Muklung Hills, about a third of the way from the lodge to the fish camp. "I found them on a side of the mountain at about 1,000 feet, right below the fog," Bouker said. "The fog kind of cleared and I found the airplane in the side of the mountain." The Otter had plowed into the hill, Bouker said. "He bounced up the mountain. He looked like he was in a full-power climb." From the air, the plane appeared mostly intact, he said. "It looked like it was survivable." He didn't see anyone on the ground, but the rear door was open."

Keith's 2:22 PM EDT update: According to a family source both Sean O'Keefe and his son Kevin survived the plane crash - but they are both rather banged up. In an earlier post I stated that his son Jonathan was on the plane. He was not on the plane. Instead it was his brother Kevin who made the flight. Sean O'Keefe suffered a broken pelvis and I believe that Kevin has a broken leg.

Keith's 2:22 PM EDT update: According to a family source both Sean O'Keefe and his son Kevin survived the plane crash - but they are both rather banged up. In an earlier post I stated that his son Jonathan was on the plane. He was not.

5 believed dead in crash of plane carrying Stevens, O'Keefe, Anchorage Daily News

"Rescuers from the Alaska Air National Guard were able to reach the crash site by helicopter this morning and are "currently providing medical support to the crash victims at the scene. ... Hayes said five people had reached the scene overnight to help the crash victims. It was unclear how they reached the site. A second U.S. government official in Washington said Tuesday that the National Guard in Alaska reported a private medical team was dropped near the crash site by commercial helicopter Tuesday morning. Four of nine people aboard the plane survived, the official said. Coast Guard Petty Officer David Mosley said the agency has a plane flying over the crash scene, scouting it to make sure it's safe for helicopters to come into the area with pararescuers."

NTSB statement on crash near Dillingham, Anchorage Daily News

"The National Transportation Safety Board has launched a Go Team to investigate last night's airplane crash near Dillingham, Alaska. At about 8:00 p.m. Alaska Daylight Time, a DeHavilland DHC-3T (N455A) crashed 10 miles northwest of Aleknagik, Alaska. Reports are that 5 of the 9 persons on board died in the accident."

Local Weather, Dillingham, Alaska

Statement from Chancellor Michael Martin Regarding Former Chancellor Sean O'Keefe, LSU

EADS North America statement on the aircraft accident involving its Chief Executive Officer

Stevens killed in crash near Dillingham, KTUU

"Dave Dittman, a former aide and longtime family friend of former Sen. Ted Stevens says Stevens was killed in a plane crash near Dillingham Monday night. Nine people were on board, including former NASA Chief Sean O'Keefe. Five people were killed in the crash, but other identities were not known, nor are the conditions of the survivors."

Ex-senator's death not confirmed-family friend, Reuters

"The friend, Dave Dittman, told local Alaska news outlets that he had been told Stevens had died in the crash, but in a new statement said "that has not been confirmed."

Keith's 1:47 PM EDT update: I have confirmed that former NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe was aboard the plane with one of his two sons. In addition, I am told by reliable sources that three of Sen. Stevens' friends where on also board: one (male) accompanied by his son, another (female) by her daughter, plus another person (male). I am withholding the names. They are not affiliated with the space community.

Bad weather and the remote location of the crash site are hampering efforts. In addition, local sunrise was at 6:41 AM local time (10:41 am EDT). I am told that a rescue helicopter as taken two of the most seriously injured survivors out for treatment while the other two with lesser injuries remained behind for the time being. I am awaiting further updates.

Keith's 2:12 PM EDT update: Fox is quoting a local pilot who said that he saw the crash site last night and that the plane apparently flew right into the side of a mountain at an altitude of 1,000 feet in very bad weather.

This is the general area where the plane went down. Link to Google maps.

Keith's note: One of the participants in this evening's reception in Washington, DC after the NEO conference was a NASA field center director. Given that he recently had some foot surgery and is not supposed to travel, he used an avatar instead. The center director? Why ARC's Pete Worden, of course. His avatar of choice was an "Anybot" droid. I have seen this little wonder in action in NASA CTO Chris Kemp's office at NASA ARC and will be reporting on it in the near future. This droid is currently on loan by the manufacturer to NASA for evaluation.

This droid is very cool. You can see what is going on and talk to people and they can talk to you. It is totally web browser controlled and has navigation software and obstacle avoidance hardware (and LIDAR) on board. You can inhabit not only your avatar but also other ones in remote locations - just like Cylons downloading into new bodies. Actually it is more like "Serge" the butler droid in the new prequel series "Caprica". Do not be surprised if you see one roaming around NASA HQ in the near future.

Huge asteroid on possible collision course with Earth (172 years from now), Christian Science Monitor

"An international team, including NASA experts, say in new research that the space rock has a one-in-a-thousand chance of an impact. They may sound like high odds, but they are enough to mean the threat from the 560-meter (612-yard) wide asteroid will have to be taken seriously."

Will a Giant Asteroid Kill Us All in 2182?, Time

"The future isn't looking bright, (ahem....) but here's a doomsday theory even skeptics can't totally deny: a massive asteroid, named the 1999 RQ36 was discovered in 1999 and has a width of over 1,800 feet. Scientists have said that this asteroid's impact could have a similar effect to that which allegedly wiped out the dinosaurs. Great."

NASA Workshop to Discuss Exploring Near Earth Objects

"NASA will host an interactive workshop to identify objectives for exploration missions to near-Earth objects, or NEOs, on Aug. 10-11 at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel in Washington."

Live webcast

As the Senate approved a measure to compromise various political plans that would impact the Space Coast region, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke paid his third visit to the area. This time it was to speak to KSC employees facing unemployment and to tour the space center's facilities. An Atlas V is scheduled to launch the first AEHF-1 satellite on August 12. That same day NASA will host an event that will display the upcoming STS-133 mission's payload. Back over at KSC, elements for the final two scheduled shuttle missions were coming into place.

Commerce Secretary visits Kennedy Space Center

Gary Locke, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce visited NASA's Kennedy Space Center (KSC) Wednesday, October 4. This is part of ongoing efforts to improve the situation of KSC's shuttle workers. It is estimated that some 8,000 employees will be laid off when the space shuttle program ends in 2011. While at KSC the commerce secretary toured the Space Life Sciences Lab.

Locke shared a lunch with employees that will be unemployed come Oct. 1. Locke spent this time attempting to reassure these employees that the White House was doing everything possible to minimize the impact that this change will have on their lives and to seek out ideas as to how to improve their chances of finding new employment.

There have been a number of job fairs and forums held recently in the Space Coast region. These events have worked to guide former aerospace workers into new career fields, retrain them and to polish their resumes. It is hoped that these efforts will assist these workers find new jobs. Locke's visit to KSC was one part fact-finding tour, one part morale-boosting effort.

Locke co-chairs the Presidential Task Force on Space Industry Work Force and Economic Development with NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. The task force has some $40 million at its disposal that it will give out to concepts deemed viable to create jobs and improve the economic diversity of the area. The task force is scheduled to present its recommendations to President Obama on Aug. 15.

Commerce Secretary Gary Locke, left, and Rep. Suzanne Kosmas learn about research taking place in the Space Life Sciences Lab. As part of Locke's visit to Kennedy a meeting also was held with about a dozen workers expected to lose their jobs with the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program to discuss what the Commerce Department, NASA and the White House are doing to improve the local economy as the program winds down. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Kennedy Space Center to Host Media Event With STS-133 Payload Next Week

NASA announced that it will host a media event at 1 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Aug. 12 which will highlight the payload that fly to the International Space Station (ISS). The permanent multi-purpose module (PMM) will launch aboard the space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-133 currently scheduled to launch no-earlier-than Nov. 1.

One of the most interesting aspects of this mission's payload is without a doubt - Robonaut 2, more commonly known as R2. This humanoid robot will be on display at the event and is a joint program between NASA and General Motors.

The PMM carry a wide variety of spare parts and supplies to the space station as well as R2. When the mission is concluded, the PMM will remain connected to the station where it will be used to conduct microgravity experiments.

STS-133 and STS-134 Elements Coming Together

Although not as glamorous as an actual launch and not as indicative of history happening as a shuttle landing, events were taking place at Kennedy Space Center that signaled the end of the shuttle era.

Over at the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) technicians prepared the Express Logistics Carrier-4 (ELC-4) for the upcoming STS-133 mission, scheduled to launch on Nov.1 aboard space shuttle Discovery. This mission will also carry much needed spare parts to the orbiting laboratory.

When on-orbit it will provide astronauts aboard the ISS with a platform to deploy experiments into the space environment.

For STS-134 the forward section of the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB) for the final planned shuttle mission were brought to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). These forward segments consist of the nose cone, frustum and the forward skirt of the SRB. Endeavour will use these 149-foot-tall reusable boosters to lift her crew to orbit.

One of space shuttle Endeavour's two solid rocket booster forward assemblies were transported from the Assembly Refurbishment Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building. Endeavour and its STS-134 crew are targeted to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, as well as critical spare components, to the International Space Station next year. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller

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The Cape Week in Review is compiled by Jason Rhian, the Cape Insider, and is a weekly
round-up of what's happening at Cape Canaveral. If you have information or suggestions for the Cape Week in Review please email us at capereview@spaceref.com.

Multi-paction effects can impact microwave components in high-power satellite communications (sat-com) systems. The nonlinear break-down-voltage phenomenon occurs in high-vacuum environments above a certain threshold voltage, and can degrade the performance of RF and microwave components or, in extreme cases, damage the components or the system. Although multi-paction effects are often difficult to predict and measure, properly equipped test systems with dedicated software can accurately identify microwave components that may multi-pact, effectively screening them to avoid damage in a deep-space application.

Lawyers get 90 days to review documents in NASA scientist's spy trial, CNN

"A federal judge overseeing the case of a NASA scientist accused of trying to sell secrets to Israel has granted lawyers 90 days to review classified documents admitted as evidence. No trial start date has been set for Stewart David Nozette, who has been jailed since October on allegations of attempted espionage. Nozette, who appeared in leg shackles in U.S. District Judge Paul Friedman's courtroom, is accused of offering sensitive intelligence information to undercover agents he thought were from Israel."

Earlier stories on Stu Nozette

NASA's chief technologist seeks to develop transformative programs, SJ Mercury News

"Ames has specialized in recent years in building closer ties with technology companies such as Google and Microsoft, and Braun said his office is exploring whether NASA can adapt another aspect of Silicon Valley, perhaps working with venture capitalists to develop some of those high-risk, high-reward technologies. "Venture capitalists, angel investors, they know how to take risks, and there is a lot that we can learn from them, and there is a lot that we can leverage," he said. Braun also said that NASA's future may not be about building bigger, more powerful rockets, but about building tiny satellites with the flexibility to accomplish a wide variety of missions in space -- somewhat like the 10-cubic centimeter "Cubesats" that were originally developed at Stanford and other universities."

Sean and Kevin O'Keefe Recovery (Facebook Group)

(Paul Pastorek) "Have talked with Laura today as she cruises from one part of the hospital to the other to check on "her boys". She is very upbeat and confident about her boys, but saddened about Sen. Stevens and others onboard. Many of you have contacted me and sent good wishes to Sean and his family. We are grateful, but please pray for the recovery of the other survivors and for those who perished. God Bless You all!"

Keith's update: According to family sources, Sean O'Keefe remains in critical condition. However, unless things take a serious turn for the worse, his injuries are not life-threatening. His son Kevin has several broken bones and a lot of bruises but should be fine with time. Everyone's concern is most appreciated by the family.

Ex-NASA Director Sean O'Keefe, Son Recovering From Crash, US News & World Report

"This afternoon his family spokesman issued this statement from Paul Pastorek, the state superintendent of education and a family friend: ..."