COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.(March 4, 2015) -- The Space Foundation's 31st Space Symposium will culminate on April 16 with ceremonies celebrating the induction into the Space Technology Hall of Fame of two innovationsdeveloped for space that now improve life on Earth.

The inductees are:

Chronos Vision Technology,a refractive eye surgery device used internationally to improve vision

Seismic Damper Technology, a motion control mechanism used to protect structures against the effects of high winds and earthquakes

The induction will be held duringthe 31st Space Symposium at The Broadmoor in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA. These three events will honor the inductees:

The Space Technology Hall of Fame Private Induction Ceremony

The Space Technology Hall of Fame Cocktail Reception

TheSpace Technology Hall of Fame Dinner, co-sponsored by SpaceX and featuring guest speaker Mark McCaughrean, Ph.D., Senior Scientific Advisor in the Directorate of Science and Robotic Exploration for the European Space Agency (ESA)

The Private Induction Ceremony is by invitation only, and the reception and dinner are open to all Space Symposium attendees. Reserve tickets in advance atwww.SpaceSymposium.org.

The Space Foundation's Space Technology Hall of Fame was established in 1988 to increase public awareness of the benefits that result from space exploration programs and to encourage further innovation. Since then, 73 technologies havebeen inducted.

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Chronos Vision and Seismic Damper Technologies are 2015 Space Technology Hall of Fame Inductees

Former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin addresses the crowd at Macky Auditorium on Tuesday evening during his presentation, "A Unified Space Vision." (Jonathan Castner / Daily Camera)

Just like President John F. Kennedy challenged America to land on the moon before the end of the 1960s, so too can some new leader inspire the future of space exploration on Mars, Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin believes.

Aldrin, 85, spoke before a packed house Tuesday at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado's Boulder campus.

"America must be the world leader in human space flight," he said. "There is no other area that clearly demonstrates American innovation and enterprise than human space flight."

Aldrin made history with Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, when the two men became the first humans to step foot on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. In total, they spent 21 hours on the lunar surface gathering 46 pounds of moon rocks. Some 600 million people watched the historic scene on television.

Former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin told the crowd at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado campus that he would like a permanent residence on Mars by 2040. (Jonathan Castner / Daily Camera)

Though Aldrin isn't a CU-Boulder alumhe went to West Point and MIT the campus has ties to 18 astronauts and a long history of space research and exploration. CU-Boulder is the No. 1 NASA-funded public university with nearly $500 million in sponsored research awards, and is leading the space agency's MAVEN mission to Mars.

Aldrin's visit was organized by the Distinguished Speakers Board, a student-fee funded group that's brought Bill Nye, B.B. King, Soledad O'Brien, Madeleine Albright and other influential people to campus.

In a speech that was humorous, but also deeply technical, Aldrin outlined his "unified space vision" for American explorationand the colonizationof Mars.

He's hoping to draw on lunar landing nostalgia to get the world, especially young people, excited again about traveling into the great unknown, he said.

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Buzz Aldrin lays out plan for Mars colonization in talk at CU-Boulder

Millennium Space Systems today announced that it has shipped out their first set of RWA-1000 reaction wheels to commercial customer SSL inPalo Alto, CA.This first delivery under a contract from SSL which was inked just four months agoestablishes Millennium's entry into the commercial space component production market, further establishing their reputation as a go-to provider of credible alternatives for reliable, affordable, high performance components in the space industry. Commenting on the completion of the first shipset,Doug Nelson, Millennium's Manufacturing & Production Lead, "all the build and test went like clockwork we made a few design modifications, such as an additional aluminum lid for added radiation shielding, but even with the unplanned engineering changes, we still delivered on the originally advertised schedule, just as our customers should expect."

The RWA-1000 small satellite reaction wheel, under exclusive license from Sinclair Interplanetary ofCanada, provides key market near-term availability for small,USA-made satellite actuators, and further complements Millennium's larger DIRWA reaction wheel, being manufactured under a separate exclusive license from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.

The SSL order for 52 reaction wheels is being manufactured over the next 16 months in Millennium's newEl Segundo, Californiasatellite factory, just minutes from LAX. The Company has additional inventory available for immediate sale, and for larger production orders, can readily support customers who know what they want, and who want to move fast. The RWA-1000 is a 1 Newton-meter second reaction wheel, used to precisely slew and point satellites. Each satellite carries four of the 1-kg units, which are fitted with precisely balanced flywheels and diamond-coated ball bearings. It is the largest reaction wheel in Sinclair Interplanetary's reaction wheel product line, which has wheels on 17 orbiting satellites.

About Millennium Space Systems

Millennium Space Systems is a privately held, employee-owned company founded inNovember 2001, providing alternative, relevant and affordable solutions to today's aerospace challenges. The company designs flight systems and develops mission and system solutions for the Intelligence Community, Department of Defense, National Aeronautics & Space Administration and commercial customers.

More about Millennium Space Systems:www.millennium-space.com More on SSL can be found at:www.sslmda.com More on Sinclair Interplanetary can be found at:www.sinclairinterplanetary.com

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Millennium Space Systems Ships 4 of 52 Flight Reaction Wheels to SSL

As the sun travels through the galaxy, its extended magnetic bubble (known as the heliosphere), interacts with the gases and magnetism in the space between the stars a vast region known as the interstellar medium.

However, astronomers have assumed that the heliosphere gets dragged out into a comet-like tail (not too dissimilar to a stretched-out raindrop), shaped by the interstellar medium, but scientists now think the suns magnetic field strength has been underestimated, overturning our understanding as to how our solar system looks from afar.

VIDEO: Voyager 1 Not Even CLOSE to Leaving Solar System

The heliosphere reaches far beyond the orbit of Pluto and it is filled with the energetic particles ejected by the sun contained within the solar wind. The suns magnetic field pushes outward with the solar wind, creating a magnetic bubble separating solar plasma from the interstellar medium. A balance of pressure between the outward pressure of the solar wind and the inward pressure of the interstellar medium is reached at the heliospheres boundary, called the heliopause.

As the sun is moving, it was assumed that the heliopause is being shaped through its interaction with the interstellar magnetic field, but new models and observations suggest that the suns magnetic field is actually dominating its shape. Rather than producing a classical comet-like tail researchers now suggest two tails are formed from jets protruding from the suns north and south poles.

GALLERY: Voyager 2s Epic Outer Solar System Odyssey

Everyones assumption has been that the shape of the heliosphere was molded by the flow of interstellar material passing around it, said astronomer Merav Opher, of Boston University, lead author of a paper published in the Astrophysical Journal Letters in February. Scientists thought the solar wind flowing down the tail could easily pull the magnetic fields in the heliosphere along as it flowed by, creating this long tail. But it turns out the magnetic fields are strong enough to resist that pull so instead they squeeze the solar wind and create these two jets.

Interestingly, other stars in our galaxy have been observed with this two-jet heliosphere morphology, but now the mechanisms behind the two tails are being revealed inside our own solar system. For example, the star BZ Cam, below, exhibits a shortened heliosphere shaped by 2 jets:

ANALYSIS: Wheres the Edge of the Solar System? Its Complicated

The revelation that our basic comet-like model of the suns heliosphere was incomplete came when NASAs Voyager 1 probe exited the heliosphere. On measuring the direction of the interstellar magnetic field the first mission ever to do so astronomers were surprised to find it matched the direction of our suns magnetic field, contrary to predictions.

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Sun May Blast Two Jets of Plasma into Interstellar Space

Former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin addresses the crowd at Macky Auditorium on Tuesday evening during his presentation, "A Unified Space Vision." (Jonathan Castner / Daily Camera)

Just like President John F. Kennedy challenged America to land on the moon before the end of the 1960s, so too can some new leader inspire the future of space exploration on Mars, Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin believes.

Aldrin, 85, spoke before a packed house Tuesday at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado's Boulder campus.

"America must be the world leader in human space flight," he said. "There is no other area that clearly demonstrates American innovation and enterprise than human space flight."

Aldrin made history with Neil Armstrong on July 20, 1969, when the two men became the first humans to step foot on the moon as part of the Apollo 11 mission. In total, they spent 21 hours on the lunar surface gathering 46 pounds of moon rocks. Some 600 million people watched the historic scene on television.

Former Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin told the crowd at Macky Auditorium on the University of Colorado campus that he would like a permanent residence on Mars by 2040. (Jonathan Castner / Daily Camera)

Though Aldrin isn't a CU-Boulder alumhe went to West Point and MIT the campus has ties to 18 astronauts and a long history of space research and exploration. CU-Boulder is the No. 1 NASA-funded public university with nearly $500 million in sponsored research awards, and is leading the space agency's MAVEN mission to Mars.

Aldrin's visit was organized by the Distinguished Speakers Board, a student-fee funded group that's brought Bill Nye, B.B. King, Soledad O'Brien, Madeleine Albright and other influential people to campus.

In a speech that was humorous, but also deeply technical, Aldrin outlined his "unified space vision" for American explorationand the colonizationof Mars.

He's hoping to draw on lunar landing nostalgia to get the world, especially young people, excited again about traveling into the great unknown, he said.

More:

Apollo astronaut Buzz Aldrin lays out plan for Mars colonization in talk at CU-Boulder

Late last week, a company came one step closer to sending tourists to the edge of space using ginormous balloons, breaking a record for the worlds highest parafoil flight. Arizona-based World View carried the parafoila large, wing-like parachuteto the edge of space using its ballon, and had it fly back to the ground. It also carried experiments designed by students from Montana State University and the University of Northern Florida.

The experiments, which tested high-definition video and computer equipment at high altitudes, arent the news here. Neither is reaching that altitude. World View has flown to this height and higher before. Last year, it acquired the tech Paragon StratEx used in October to float Google exec Alan Eustace up to 135,000 feet before he detached and dove/plummeted back down. Researchers have been sending similar balloons to edge-of-space altitudes for years, transporting payloads and collecting data.

The significance of World Views latest endeavor lies in the downward flight of the parafoil, a fundamental piece of the projected designs its manned tourist expeditions. The company wants to load its passengers into a flight capsule, attach that to a massive (as in roughly-the-size-of-a-football-stadium massive) polyethylene balloon filled with gas, and float them up to the destination altitude. After a leisurely two-hour jaunt through near-space, the capsule will begin its return trip, using the balloon initially and then transitioning to the parafoil to glide back to Earth.

For this variety of manned near-space travel to become even remotely feasible, World View must first prove its parafoil (which it calls the ParaWing) can be relied upon to act as both the safety net and the landing mechanism from 100,000 feet. Setting this record proves parafoil flight from that height is possible. From here, World View will move forward to testing parafoil descents with heavier payloads.

Compared to rocket-powered offerings from space tourism companies like Virgin Galactic and XCOR, World Views balloon scheme has some advantages. Visitors get to spend several hours in the near-space environment, rather than a few minutes outside of the atmosphere. Floating up to altitude, instead of rocketing up, promises to be a more serene experience and doesnt require special training or equipment. Passengers wont be weightless, but there is a bar onboard (who doesnt want to pop bottles 100,000 feet up?). And it will be less expensive than other suborbital flights.

Dont confuse less expensive with inexpensive. A ticket to reserve your ride in the flight capsule is still going to set you back $75,000. And even though the capsules will float to the edge-of-space, they dont actually go into space, which is something of a bummer for anyone looking to say theyve actually been to the final frontier and willing to spend that kind of cash. World View doesnt have plans to launch their first flight until the end of 2016, but if a balloon ride to the point where aeronaut meets astronaut sounds like your idea of a good time, you may want to get a head start on setting aside some money.

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Flight Brings Us Closer to Balloon-Powered Space Tourism

Around 150 scientists, from more than 30 countries gathered in Fukuoka, Japan, today to assess the status of space weather instruments (ground and space-based), data access, availability, and collection and modelling efforts to advance space weather research and to improve space weather forecasting.

Space weather, or the Sun's effects on near-Earth space, can cause disruptions and failures of communications satellites in geostationary orbit, or even severely damage ground-based infrastructures.

Opening the 2 to 6 March United Nations/Japan Workshop on Space Weather, United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) Expert on Space Applications, Mr. Takao Doi, a former astronaut and veteran of two space flight missions, said; "Understanding and eventually being able to forecast space weather is not only of scientific interest, but also has economic value by helping to protect space and ground-based infrastructures such as satellites, electric power plants and oil pipelines that are susceptible to space weather effects".

The Workshop will also review international cooperation activities in addressing space weather-related matters such as possible further cooperation towards a global space-weather monitoring capability. This capability will also be necessary for future human exploration of Solar Systems, when astronauts travel beyond the protecting confines of the Earth's magnetic field.

Hosted by the International Centre for Space Weather Science and Education (ICSWSE) of Kyushu University on behalf of the Government of Japan, the Workshop is being held under the umbrella of the International Space Weather Initiative (ISWI), a programme of international cooperation to advance space weather research and applications.

Further information is available on the Workshop webpage at http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SAP/act2015/japan/index.html

The Workshop is part of a long series of conferences organized within the Basic Space Science Initiative (BSSI) under the United Nations Programme on Space Applications.

See more at http://www.unoosa.org/oosa/en/SAP/bss/index.html

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Space Weather experts meet at United Nations workshop

3 hours ago Credit: NASA/Goddard/C. Gunn

Building a space telescope is no mean feat. Conditions here on Earth are drastically different from those experienced in orbit around our planet. How do we know that any telescope built in our controlled laboratories can withstand the harsh environment of space?

Luckily, we can recreate space-like conditions using simulators such as this thermalvacuum chamber at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland, USA. In this image, the chamber is not in action, as shown by the presence of a photographer wielding a torch on the sidelines. When switched on, multiple pumps suck all the air out to create a space-like vacuum, and the temperature can drop to a toe-curlingly low 253C.

However, the real star of this image is the futuristic gold-coloured frame and its contents. This frame holds the Integrated Science Instrument Module, a structure containing the science instruments for 2018's James Webb Space Telescope, or JWST, successor to the Hubble Space Telescope.

Along with the frame, this module weighs about as much as an elephant and houses four instruments to observe in the infrared, a part of the spectrum that is key for exploring the origins of the Universe and the properties of very distant cosmic objects.

This capability is the reason for the chamber's extremely low temperature: infrared light is emitted by warm objects. To avoid infrared emissions from the telescope itself interfering with JWST's observations, the entire telescope must be cooled to very low temperatures.

In space, JWST will make use of a giant sunshield to keep it completely in the shadows. This will keep the telescope at 233C.

The JWST team hit a milestone last summer as all four science instruments passed their cryogenic testing in this chamber. The three near-infrared units were cooled to around 233C, while the mid-infrared instrument reached an even lower 266C, for a total of 116 days. For more information, read here.

After these tests, one of the units the Near InfraRed Spectrograph was removed and fitted with new detectors and 'microshutters', a new technology to study hundreds of celestial objects simultaneously using minuscule windows the width of a human hair. When this upgraded instrument is returned, the entire module will continue with further environmental tests to reproduce the conditions endured during launch and in space.

Explore further: Improved vision for James Webb Space Telescope

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Image: Simulating space for JWST's four infrared instruments

Astronaut tributes to Mr. Spock and Leonard Nimoy, the human actor who donned a pair of pointy Vulcan ears continued Saturday.

As the International Space Station passed over Massachusetts, US astronaut Terry Virts snapped a photo of the Vulcan salute as a tribute to actor Leonard Nimoy on Saturday. Nimoy was born in Boston. Virts tweeted the photo andNASA posted it to its official site.

As Space.com noted,the idea for Spock's signature Vulcan salute was "actually inspired by his Jewish heritage after seeing men at his synagogue use the hand gesture during prayer. He suggested it to the director as a Vulcan greeting and it stuck, Nimoy told theYiddish Book Center in a video.

On Friday,NASA astronaut Mike Fincke and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano offered their thoughts,via a video posted to YouTube on Nimoy's role as Spock, who inspired a generation of scientists and engineers all over this planet.

"As we at NASA, with our international partners, explore the moon, Mars, and beyond, we'll take the spirit and energy that Leonard brought to his character, Mr. Spock, along with us," said Fincke. "Live long and prosper."

And ESA Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano said:

The message of Star Trek is one of international cooperation and integration. Mr. Spock, a Vulcan from another planet, was fully integrated into his crew of humans and non-humans. We at the European Space Agency believe in that message and working with our international partners, we will take that message with us as we go beyond to explore space for humanity and for our planet."

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, soon to launch on a one-year mission to the International Space Station, offered this tweet:

The official NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, a research facility in Maryland, dug into its photo archives for a 1967 visit by Nimoy.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued the following statement about Nimoy: Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers. As Mr. Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most. NASA was fortunate to have him as a friend and a colleague. He was much more than the Science Officer for the USS Enterprise. Leonard was a talented actor, director, philanthropist, and a gracious man dedicated to art in many forms. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and the legions of Star Trek fans around the world.

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A sign from space: Live long and prosper, Leonard Nimoy

Astronaut tributes to Mr. Spock and Leonard Nimoy, the human actor who donned a pair of pointy Vulcan ears continued Saturday.

As the International Space Station passed over Massachusetts, US astronaut Terry Virts snapped a photo of the Vulcan salute as a tribute to actor Leonard Nimoy on Saturday. Nimoy was born in Boston. Virts tweeted the photo andNASA posted it to its official site.

As Space.com noted,the idea for Spock's signature Vulcan salute was "actually inspired by his Jewish heritage after seeing men at his synagogue use the hand gesture during prayer. He suggested it to the director as a Vulcan greeting and it stuck, Nimoy told theYiddish Book Center in a video.

On Friday,NASA astronaut Mike Fincke and European Space Agency astronaut Luca Parmitano offered their thoughts,via a video posted to YouTube on Nimoy's role as Spock, who inspired a generation of scientists and engineers all over this planet.

"As we at NASA, with our international partners, explore the moon, Mars, and beyond, we'll take the spirit and energy that Leonard brought to his character, Mr. Spock, along with us," said Fincke. "Live long and prosper."

And ESA Italian astronaut Luca Parmitano said:

The message of Star Trek is one of international cooperation and integration. Mr. Spock, a Vulcan from another planet, was fully integrated into his crew of humans and non-humans. We at the European Space Agency believe in that message and working with our international partners, we will take that message with us as we go beyond to explore space for humanity and for our planet."

NASA astronaut Scott Kelly, soon to launch on a one-year mission to the International Space Station, offered this tweet:

The official NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, a research facility in Maryland, dug into its photo archives for a 1967 visit by Nimoy.

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued the following statement about Nimoy: Leonard Nimoy was an inspiration to multiple generations of engineers, scientists, astronauts, and other space explorers. As Mr. Spock, he made science and technology important to the story, while never failing to show, by example, that it is the people around us who matter most. NASA was fortunate to have him as a friend and a colleague. He was much more than the Science Officer for the USS Enterprise. Leonard was a talented actor, director, philanthropist, and a gracious man dedicated to art in many forms. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family, friends, and the legions of Star Trek fans around the world.

More:

A sign from space: Live long and prosper, Leonard Nimoy (+video)

Sunday's spacewalk is the 187th in the history of the space station, and one of many planned for the coming year to prepare the space station for a new era in human spaceflight

MIAMI, USA Two US astronauts on Sunday, March 1, made speedy work of their third spacewalk to get the International Space Station ready for the arrival of more commercial spacecraft in the coming years.

Tethered to the outside of the orbiting outpost, space station commander Barry Wilmore and flight engineer Terry Virts reported no problems with their spacesuits during the outing, but Virts discovered a small amount of water building up in his helmet after he re-entered the space station.

A similar problem occurred after Wednesday's (February 25) spacewalk, when about three inches of water collected in Virts' headpiece, but NASA said the problem did not put the astronauts in danger.

Still, the US space agency has expressed concern about repeated technical failures in the American spacesuits, all linked to the same cooling system and a 2013 emergency water leak that nearly drowned Italian spacewalker, Luca Parmitano.

This time, Virts described the water as appearing like condensation, and he said there was about the same amount he had seen on the prior spacewalk, when about 15 milliliters was collected.

"Virts's suit, suit number 3005, has a history of what is called sublimator water carryover," said a NASA commentator on the space agency's live broadcast.

"Essentially a small amount of residual water forms in the sublimator cooling component, that condenses once the suit is re-introduced to a repressurized environment after being exposed to vacuum... resulting in a small amount of water pushing into the helmet."

He added it was "not an issue" for the astronauts' safety.

Fast workers

Excerpt from:

US astronauts speed through ISS spacewalk

March 1, 2015

In Soviet Russia, space explores you. (Credit: Thinkstock)

Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com @BednarChuck

Roscosmos, the Russian space agency, has pledged support for the International Space Station (ISS) through 2024, but will look to build its own orbiting base after that time.

According to Discovery News, the announcement came earlier this week and reverses previous claims by Russian officials that the country would withdraw from the 15-nation program when current agreements expired in 2020. Their new four-year commitment puts pressure on officials in Europe, Canada, and Japan to agree to a similar extension, the website added.

A Russian space station

Those decisions are pending, but this weeks announcement also confirms that Roscosmos has plans to set up its own space outpost in the near future. The officials plan to reposition three of its modules, none of which have actually been launched yet, to form the base of a new, Russian-owned and operated facility that will serve as the base for manned missions to the moon.

[STORY: ISS adding more spaceship parking]

Detailed study and the final decisions are planned after the synthesis of reports of heads of rocket and space industry in subsequent meetings, Yuri Koptev, chairman of the Roscosmos Scientific and Technical Council said in a statement. There was a general coordinated point of view. [The council] approved the basic concept of the Russian manned space flight until 2025. We will take into account possible changes in funding, and the program will be updated.

On Twitter, former ISS commander and Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield called the reports excellent news, especially when read between the rhetoric. He added that the space station was a key global symbol. However, not everyone shared Hadfields enthusiasm about the news.

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Russia commits to ISS until 2024; plans to build own station

GMCstream: Commercial Space Flight Federation
Federation interview Michael Lopez-Algeria, FMR President, Commercial Space Flight Federation and astronaut; a veteran of three NASA Space Shuttle missions a...

By: GMCstream

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GMCstream: Commercial Space Flight Federation - Video

14 hours ago James Webb Space Telescope. Credit: Northrop Grumman

Key science elements of the James Webb Space Telescope have been upgraded ahead of the observatory's launch in 2018.

The telescope, also known as JWST, is a joint project of NASA, ESA and the Canadian Space Agency. It carries a 6.5 m-diameter telescope and four state-of-the-art science instruments optimised for infrared observations. Europe has led the development of two of the instruments.

As a general-purpose observatory, it will tackle a wide range of topics, including detecting the first galaxies in the Universe and following their evolution over cosmic time, witnessing the birth of new stars and their planetary systems, and studying planets in our Solar System and around other stars.

Installation of the four instruments in the telescope's Integrated Science Instrument Module, or ISIM, was completed last April. Since then, the module has undergone extensive testing to ensure it can withstand the stresses of launch and operation in space.

A critical part of this process saw the instruments complete cryogenic testing in a round-the-clock campaign running for 116 days last summer.

Following the campaign, several months were dedicated to replacing key components of some of the instruments already known to require additional work before the next stages.

Europe's 'NIRSpec', the near-infrared multi-object spectrograph, was one of the instruments upgraded. NIRSpec will split infrared light from distant stars and galaxies into its colour components a spectrum providing scientists with vital information on their chemical composition, age and distance.

The first generation of JWST's highly sensitive near-infrared detectors were found to suffer from a design flaw that resulted in a progressive degradation of their performance. New detectors have now been installed in all three near-infrared instruments.

"Excellent detectors are crucial to the outstanding instrument performance needed when you want to look at the extremely distant and faint early stars and galaxies that formed when our Universe was still young, and the new detectors secure this top priority of NIRSpec and JWST," says Pierre Ferruit, ESA's JWST project scientist.

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Improved vision for James Webb Space Telescope

first image from NASA's instrument provides a profile of the atmosphere above Africa

IMAGE:This cross-section of the atmosphere over Africa shows clouds, dust and smoke from fires, as well as topography returned by the Cloud-Aerosol Transport System (CATS) instrument aboard the International Space... view more

From Saharan dust storms to icy clouds to smoke on the opposite side of the continent, the first image from NASA's newest cloud- and aerosol-measuring instrument provides a profile of the atmosphere above Africa.

The Cloud-Aerosol Transport System instrument (CATS), was launched Jan. 10 aboard a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, and was installed on the International Space Station on Jan. 22. From its berth on the station, CATS sends laser pulses toward Earth, detecting the photons that bounce off of particles in the atmosphere to measure clouds, volcanic ash, pollutants, dust and other aerosols.

"Everything's turned on and we're getting data, both daytime and nighttime," said Matt McGill, principal investigator of CATS from NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. "We can see the ground, stratus clouds, cirrus clouds and over Africa we can see desert dust. The photon-counting detection approach used in CATS appears to be more sensitive than previous lidar [light detection and ranging] sensors."

The CATS image shows a profile of particles in the atmosphere over a swath of Africa, from 30 degrees North to 30 degrees South, as the space station flew over it in the early morning of Feb. 11.

Over northern Africa, particles - likely dust kicked up by Saharan windstorms - reach heights of 2.5 to 3 miles (4 to 5 kilometers), said John Yorks, science lead for CATS at Goddard. As the space station approached the equator, the instrument picked up higher atmospheric particles - thin, wispy ice clouds as high as 10 miles above the surface (16 km). South of the cloudy tropics, aerosols appeared closer to the ground, likely smoke from biomass burning. The results from CATS can also be combined with images of Earth from instruments like the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer, flown on the Terra and Aqua satellites.

The CATS team is calibrating data from the two wavelengths on the primary laser operating now - 532 nanometers and 1064 nanometers. The backup laser on CATS has three wavelengths. The different wavelengths reflect differently when they hit aerosols, so comparing the returns from multiple wavelengths allows the scientists to distinguish dust from ice, smoke or other airborne particles.

"The differences between wavelengths are subtle, but the ratio of the intensity of the reflection at different wavelengths indicate aerosol type," Yorks said. The CATS team will also look at other characteristics of the laser pulse returns to help with particle identification.

Before receiving data plots like the one over Africa, the team aligned the telescope pointing. They used motors to adjust optics inside the instrument during nighttime segments until they got the strongest signal, indicating that the telescope's field of view aligned with the reflected laser photons.

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Africa, From a CATS Point of View

Prepared Statement of Michael J. Massimino, Ph.D., Mechanical Engineering Professor, Columbia University, and Former NASA Astronaut.

Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee, thank you for this opportunity to appear before you to discuss the accomplishments of Americas space program during my missions and my perspective on our nations current goals and priorities for the future of human space flight and space exploration. Being asked to testify for this committee is an honor, and I am privileged to share my experiences and opinions here with you today.

I became an astronaut in 1996 and have been fortunate to fly on two space shuttle missions: STS-109 in March of 2002 and STS-125 in May of 2009. Both of my flights were Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions. The Hubble servicing missions are vital examples of how human spaceflight can contribute to ground-breaking research being done by scientists on Earth. Based upon my experience, I believe NASAs joint focus on innovation in scientific research and its commitment to human spaceflight continues to be a worthwhile goal for our space agency. More than that, it is an noble endeavor for us as a nation and as custodians of this incredible planet we call home.

NASA has made great headlines in recent years, most notably by landing a rover on Mars, but amazing as that achievement is, putting human beings in orbit remains the single most important element of successful space exploration. My first mission set a team record of spacewalking time on a single space shuttle mission. My second mission broke that record. During each spacewalk, having an astronaut on the scene was what saved the day. For example, on one of my spacewalks I was required to improvise a solution no robot or rover could have possibly done: manually pulling off a handle that was held fast onto the telescope with a stripped fastener. This was the only way to complete the repair of the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, a scientific instrument that can, among other capabilities, analyze the

atmospheres of planets in other solar systems in order to establish the possibility of finding other places in the universe capable of sustaining life.

The efforts of the human spaceflight program during my missions, in partnership with NASAs on-going ground control operations and scientific research programs, have allowed the Hubble Space Telescope Program to increase our understanding of the universe. Our servicing missions have enabled scientists from around the world to make major discoveries, including dark matter, dark energy, black holes, and the existence of planets in other solar systems. In addition to these great scientific advances, through Hubbles iconic images we have also brought the incredible beauty of the universe to the citizens of the world.

NASA has also in recent years accomplished much in terms of building and expanding international partnerships, an endeavor that I believe should continue with our nations leadership. While an astronaut from 1996 to 2014, I had the opportunity to contribute to the planning, building, and establishment of scientific operations of the International Space Station (ISS). Among the many achievements of the ISS is bringing different countries together toward a common goal. Through the ISS and its work, the United States, Russia, member countries of the European Space Agency, Canada, and Japan work together as partners on international space projects and research. We live in this world together, and working in unison to study it can only help us all. The friendships, alliances, and accomplishments of the ISS have shown that, given common scientific and exploration goals, countries can accomplish great things together.

As a Professor at Columbia University and the Senior Advisor for Space Programs at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in New York City, I have seen first hand how the space program can inspire students to pursue degrees and work in STEM fields. I have seen how space travel inspires them to dream of accomplishing great things in life. Just as I was

inspired as a small boy by my astronaut heroes in the Apollo program, todays students are inspired by NASAs accomplishments. They are excited about the opportunities that NASA and commercial space companies have waiting for them when they complete their education. I have not found any other engineering or science endeavor that can inspire students to study in the STEM fields the way that our nations space program can.

When I speak to my students about their interest in space-related STEM careers, there is a major opportunity open to them now that was not readily available when I was a college student over 30 years ago. The commercial space opportunities created by partnerships with NASA are very appealing to young people. There is still great interest in working for NASA and its contractors, but many students see themselves as future space entrepreneurs. Thanks to developments from NASA, many highly successful entrepreneurs see space as the next frontier for economic success in the private sector. I think we will continue to see major success stories in commercial space enterprise, and they will play a major role in inspiring young people to pursue STEM careers while also providing economic benefits for our country.

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Prepared Statement of Michael J. Massimino U.S. Human Exploration Goals and Commerce Space Competitiveness

NASA's Orion spacecraft continues on the agency's journey to Mars as engineers analyze data from the spacecraft's December flight test and make progress developing and building the spacecraft for its first mission atop NASA Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket. On future missions, Orion will send astronauts to an asteroid and onward toward the Red Planet.

At machine houses across the country, elements of the primary structure for the next Orion to fly in space are coming together. Avionics components are being built and simulators for the ESA (European Space Agency)-built service module that will house the spacecraft's propulsion and solar arrays are being delivered. By the end of the year, engineers hope to have the primary structure for Orion's next mission to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for processing.

Meanwhile, every piece of data and each element of the spacecraft flown in the December test is being analyzed and compared to pre-flight models to improve Orion's design.

"Orion's flight test was a big success and what we learned is informing how we design, develop and build future Orions that will help us pioneer deep space destinations," said Mark Geyer, NASA's Orion Program manager.

"Taking a look at all the flight test data is a huge part of the development process and a key part off in why we flew a test flight. We have critical work happening this year, both on the data analysis and development side, to keep us moving toward our first mission with SLS."

Engineers and technicians at Kennedy, where Orion was assembled and returned after its flight test, recently took off the back shell and heat shield that protected Orion during its reentry to Earth's atmosphere, to unload unused propellants and allow for a close-up analysis of the spacecraft's systems.

One of the main objectives of Orion's flight, which sent the vehicle 3,600 miles into space during a two-orbit, 4.5-hour test, was to test how the spacecraft would fare returning to Earth at high speeds and temperatures.

"The heat shield looks in great shape," said Michael Hawes, Orion Program manager for Lockheed Martin, NASA's prime contractor for the spacecraft.

"The char on the shield is consistent. If you look at it now, you'd see a few big holes because we've taken core samples. We've also done a total laser scan of the surface of the heat shield. That'll give us a very detailed engineering base of knowledge of what the heat shield did."

In March, the heat shield will be shipped to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the ablative material on the heat shield will be taken off.

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Orion test flight yields critical data for next mission

A private company that aims to send tourists to the edge of space in a balloon broke a record Friday, flying a parafoil higher than anyone has before.

The Arizona-based company World View sent the parafoil 102,200 feet (31,151 meters) into the air during a test flight Friday (Feb. 20), according to representatives with the organization. That is the altitude that officials hope to fly passengers to when the company starts sending people to the edge of space and back, World View added.

"The accomplishments of this flight further our two main objectives of manned spaceflight and advancing research," Taber MacCallum, World Views chief technology officer, said in a statement. "The successful flight of the parafoil at this altitude brings us closer to flying private citizens safely to the edge of space and also allows us to continue our research and education program by providing safe access to the near-space environment." [See more photos from World View]

World View plans to provide flights to the edge of space for $75,000 eachhigh enough for tourists to see the curvature of the Earth and a black of sky.

The company also announced a partnership with United Parachute Designs (as well as Performance Designs) to "design and build an advanced descent system capable of returning payloads of increasingly higher masses."

While the balloon had no people on board, it did include two university science experiments. One was from Montana State University to test high-definition video and computer equipment at high altitudes, to prepare for the 2017 United States eclipse. Also, the University of North Florida measured ozone gas using an experimental nanocrystalline gas sensor.

Last year, World View said it plans to launch customers in 2016. There is competition, however; XCOR Aerospace is creating the Lynx suborbital rocket plane (which carries one passenger) and Virgin Galactic plans flights using SpaceShipTwo, a six-passenger suborbital spaceliner.

XCOR plans powered test flights later this year. Virgin Galactic suffered a tragic setback last year when its SpaceShipTwo crashed during a test flight, killing one co-pilot and sending the other to hospital.

Follow Elizabeth Howell@howellspace. Follow us @Spacedotcom, Facebook and Google+. Original article on Space.com.

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World View Makes Record-Setting Parafoil Flight from Near ...

With one reportedly flawless test flight already under its belt, officials are already planning a European space plane for its next test.

The manager for the European Space Agency's shuttle-like Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle(IXV)robotic space plane is getting ready for the program's next approved flight in 2019 or 2020. IXV performed its first uncrewed space test, launching to space and then landing in the ocean 100 minutes later on Feb. 11.

Officials working with IXV are hoping to bring the space plane down on land instead of in the ocean for its next test in the coming years. To do this, they will either install a landing gear or use a parachute-like "parafoil" to set it down safely. [How the IXV Works (Infographic)]

"The idea, the main element, is to have a space plane able to have payloads that will operate in orbit, to test technology for robotic exploration and microgravity," Giorgio Tumino, ESA's project manager for IXV, told Space.com.

Meetings to figure out the next phase will begin in March, with the heavy design work starting in the summer. Meanwhile, data from the first IXV test flight will be analyzed in great detail, Tumino said, focusing on elements such as the thermal protection during re-entry.

One main goal of IXV was to figure out how to bring a spacecraft back to Earth safely in order to use it again, officials have said.

During its first flight to space, the space plane soared as high as 256 miles (412 kilometers) before splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, west of the Galapagos Islands and within sight of its recovery ship. Tumino remained at the launch site in Kourou, French Guiana to co-ordinate the 60 or so people involved in the mission.

"This mission was extremely precise," Tumino said. "We landed where we were supposed to be, and all the systems and subsystems worked perfectly," Tumino said. "I would say we are really happy about the mission result."

ESA's push to improve re-entry technologies saw another milestone this week when an Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) left the International Space Station loaded with sensors to track what happened as it broke up in the atmosphere.

The final flight of ATV Georges Lemaitre concluded Sunday (Feb. 15) and the data from that mission will be analyzed for future spacecraft design.

Original post:

Europe's Newly Tested Space Plane Aims for Next Launch in 2019

NASAs Orion spacecraft continues on the agencys journey to Mars as engineers analyze data from the spacecrafts December flight test and make progress developing and building the spacecraft for its first mission atop NASA Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket.

At machine houses across the country, elements of the primary structure for the next Orion to fly in space are coming together. Avionics components are being built and simulators for the ESA (European Space Agency)-built service module that will house the spacecrafts propulsion and solar arrays are being delivered. By the end of the year, engineers hope to have the primary structure for Orions next mission to NASAs Kennedy Space Center in Florida for processing. Meanwhile, every piece of data and each element of the spacecraft flown in the December test is being analyzed and compared to pre-flight models to improve Orions design.

Orions flight test was a big success and what we learned is informing how we design, develop and build future Orions that will help us pioneer deep space destinations, said Mark Geyer, NASAs Orion Program manager. Taking a look at all the flight test data is a huge part of the development process and a key part off in why we flew a test flight. We have critical work happening this year, both on the data analysis and development side, to keep us moving toward our first mission with SLS.

Engineers and technicians at Kennedy, where Orion was assembled and returned after its flight test, recently took off the back shell and heat shield that protected Orion during its reentry to Earths atmosphere, to unload unused propellants and allow for a close-up analysis of the spacecrafts systems.

One of the main objectives of Orions flight, which sent the vehicle 3,600 miles into space during a two-orbit, 4.5-hour test, was to test how the spacecraft would fare returning to Earth at high speeds and temperatures.

The heat shield looks in great shape, said Michael Hawes, Orion Program manager for Lockheed Martin, NASAs prime contractor for the spacecraft. The char on the shield is consistent. If you look at it now, youd see a few big holes because weve taken core samples. Weve also done a total laser scan of the surface of the heat shield. Thatll give us a very detailed engineering base of knowledge of what the heat shield did.

In March, the heat shield will be shipped to NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the ablative material on the heat shield will be taken off. From there, the heat shield structure will be shipped to the agencys Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where it will be reused on a test capsule for water impact testing. NASA and Lockheed Martin also are taking a look at potential modifications to the heat shields design to make it even stronger.

Evaluating how the thermal protection system fared during Orions reentry wasnt the only critical objective of the flight. The test also provided important insight into key separation events, including whether the Launch Abort System and protective fairings came off at the right times, how the parachutes assisting Orion during its descent fared and how the operations to recovery Orion from the Pacific Ocean progressed.

Originally posted here:

NASAs Orion Flight Test Yields Critical Data