Hoyer to address federal workers at Goddard Space Flight Center

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Being the bearer of bad tidings is not a role that members of Congress relish.

During this season of bad news for federal employees, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) plans to meet with workers at NASAs Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt on Tuesday. The picture he will paint is bleak.

Joe Davidson

Joe Davidson writes the Federal Diary, a column about the federal workplace that celebrated its 80th birthday in November 2012. Davidson previously was an assistant city editor at The Washington Post and a Washington and foreign correspondent with The Wall Street Journal, where he covered federal agencies and political campaigns.

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The largest federal union plans 100 rallies against the sequester, outside of federal offices next week.

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Hoyer to address federal workers at Goddard Space Flight Center

NASA’s Curiosity rover discovers conditions essential for life – Video

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NASA #39;s Curiosity rover discovers conditions essential for life
nasa #39;s rover Curiosity has discovered something that has scientists claiming intelligence life could have already existed on the planet Mars After months of research and analysis of rock samples from the red planet scientists were able to identify key elements essential for life rt #39;s Liz Wahl has more Find RT America in your area httprtcomusawheretowatch Or watch us online httprtcomonairrtamericaair Like us on Facebook httpwwwfacebookcomrtamerica Follow us on Twitter httptwittercomrt_america.

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NASA's Curiosity rover discovers conditions essential for life - Video

NASA Seeks to Profit from Natural Gas

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By Rich Smith | More Articles March 14, 2013 |

Hard on the heels of Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT) surprise announcement that it's getting into the energy infrastructure business, its partner, NASA -- yes, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration -- had an even more surprising revelation of its own today yesterday: NASA is looking to make some commercial profits of its own.

And not just by selling telescopes, space-themed toys, and NASA windbreakers at its stores, either. NASA's looking to make some serious scratch by retooling its Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to manufacture liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanks for commercial use on Earth.

At a joint press conference in New Orleans, standing beside Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal, and representatives from Lockheed, NASA representatives confirmed that they will be cooperating with Lockheed to use their "unique experience and equipment at Michoud to manufacture the LNG tanks." (Don't worry ... NASA's still making space gas-tanks, too).

Financial terms of the arrangement among Lockheed, NASA, and the Louisiana government have not yet been disclosed, but details should begin filtering out soon. According to Lockheed, the company has already begun receiving orders from customers who would like it to manufacture cryogenic tanks for fueling LNG-powered vessels. Once sales begin finalizing, and orders delivered, the details of how these three entities are divvying up the profits should become clearer.

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NASA to reveal contents of drilled Martian rock

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LOS ANGELES (AP) Drilling into a rock near its landing spot, the Curiosity rover has answered a key question about Mars: The red planet long ago harbored some of the ingredients needed for primitive life to thrive.

Topping the list is evidence of water and basic elements that teeny organisms could feed on, scientists said Tuesday.

"We have found a habitable environment that is so benign and supportive of life that probably if this water was around and you had been on the planet, you would have been able to drink it," said chief scientist John Grotzinger of the California Institute of Technology.

The discovery comes seven months after Curiosity touched down in an ancient crater. Last month, it flexed its robotic arm to drill into a fine-grained, veiny rock and then tested the powder in its onboard labs.

Curiosity is the first spacecraft sent to Mars that could collect a sample from deep inside a rock, and scientist said they hit pay dirt with that first rock.

Mars today is a hostile, frigid desert, constantly bombarded by radiation. Previous missions have found that the planet was more tropical billions of years ago. And now scientists have their first evidence of a habitable environment outside of Earth.

This was an environment where microbes "could have lived in and maybe even prospered in," Grotzinger said.

The car-size rover made a dramatic "seven-minutes-of-terror" landing last August near the planet's equator. As high-tech as Curiosity is, it lacks the tools to detect actual microbes, living or extinct. It can only use its chemistry lab to examine Martian rocks to determine the kind of environment they might have lived in.

The analysis revealed the rock that Curiosity bore into contained a chemical soup of sulfur, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, phosphorus and simple carbon essential chemical ingredients for life. Also present were clay and sulfate minerals, signs that the rock formed in a watery environment.

NASA rovers Opportunity and Spirit before it fell silent also uncovered evidence of a wet Martian past elsewhere on the planet, but scientists think the water would have been too acidic for microbes.

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NASA to reveal contents of drilled Martian rock

NASA Spacecraft Sees Comet, Earth and Mercury Together (Video)

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A new video from a NASA spacecraft studying the sun has captured an unexpected sight: a wandering comet posing with the planets Earth and Mercury.

The cosmic view comes from one of NASA's twin Stereo spacecraft that constantly watch the sun for signs of solar flares and other space weather events. It shows Mercury and Earth as they appeared with the Comet Pan-STARRS, a comet that is currently visible from the Northern Hemisphere during evening twilight.

The probe captured the video of Comet Pan-STARRS, Earth and Mercury together while observing the sun from March 9 to March 12.

According to a NASA description, the video "shows the comet and its fluttering tail as it moves through space." The Earth appears as a bright stationary object on the right side of the video, while Mercury is visible as a moving light on the left side. [How to see Comet Pan-STARRS]

The sun is actually out of the frame in the Stereo-B spacecraft's video, but its solar wind is visible as a stream of material, NASA officials explained. Meanwhile, the view of Comet Pan-STARRS from space is giving scientists a wealth of data to review, they added.

"Comet scientists say the tail looks quite complex and it will take computer models to help understand exactly whats happening in STEREOs observations," agency officials said in a video description. "The comet should remain visible to the naked eye through the end of March."

Comet Pan-STARRS is currently visible to stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere just after sunset. To see the comet, look low on the western horizon just after the sun has gone down. Comet Pan-STARRS can appear as a bright head with a wispy trail, weather permitting, though some stargazers have said the bright evening twilight can make spotting it tricky.

The Comet Pan-STARRS was discovered in June 2011 by astronomers using the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) in Hawaii. The comet's official name is C/2011 L4 (PANSTARRS).

Scientists estimate that Comet Pan-STARRS takes more than 100 million years to orbit the sun once. The comet crossed into the Northern Hemisphere evening sky last week after months of being visible to observers in the Southern Hemisphere.

NASA's twin Stereo A and B spacecraft (the name is short for Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory) observe the sun in tandem to provide unparalleled views of how material from solar eruptions makes its way to Earth. The spacecraft launched in 2006 and are part of a fleet of sun-watching spacecraft that monitor solar storms.

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NASA Spacecraft Sees Comet, Earth and Mercury Together (Video)

NASA OIG: NASA ‘s Compliance with the Improper Payments Information Act for Fiscal Year 2012

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Full report

We determined in our review of the FY 2012 AFR and supporting documentation that NASA complied with IPIA. However, we also identified opportunities for improvement in NASA's methodology for its IPIA and recapture audit programs, as well as its annual reporting. With regard to our prior recommendations, NASA is in the process of implementing corrective action to address four and has taken action we consider responsive to the other five.

Although NASA now includes payments it makes to grantees and the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in its IPIA review, the Agency continues to exclude payments made by JPL to vendors and sub-recipients. Further, NASA may have inaccurately assessed and assigned risk to certain programs due to incomplete data, a heavy reliance on materiality, and subjective assignment of risk by the IPIA contractor. In addition, while NASA conducted recapture audits, NASA excluded from coverage cost-type contracts, grants, and cooperative agreements, and accordingly the audits were limited to 35 percent of the

Agency's total disbursements. As a result, the Agency may be missing an opportunity to identify and recover a larger population of improper payments. Finally, we also identified errors and omissions in NASA's AFR that lead us to question whether NASA's reporting efforts are accurate and complete.

Although improper payments identified through NASA's IPIA testing and recapture audit efforts have been historically low, the actual amount of improper payments the Agency makes may be higher than reported given the issues we identified. However, because NASA does not fund benefit entitlement or state-administered programs, we believe it is not likely this figure would qualify as "significant" under OMB guidelines. Further, the results of NASA's FY 2012 financial statement audit did not disclose any material weaknesses in the Agency's internal controls related to procurement or disbursement functions.

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NASA OIG: NASA 's Compliance with the Improper Payments Information Act for Fiscal Year 2012

NASA Awards Task Order Contract to Astrotech Space Operations – California for SMAP Spacecraft Processing

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AUSTIN, Texas, March 15, 2013 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Astrotech Corporation, (ASTC), a leading provider of commercial space services, today announced that its Astrotech Space Operations (ASO) subsidiary has been awarded a NASA task order contract to provide payload processing services for the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite at ASO's Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, facility.

SMAP is the second mission awarded by NASA under the current Not-to-Exceed $16 million Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) task order contract that runs through December, 2017. The Jet Propulsion Lab satellite, scheduled to launch in October, 2014, will gather global measurements of soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state from space. The three-year applied science mission will enhance weather forecasts and climate monitoring and prediction capabilities.

"Astrotech is proud to have been selected by NASA for this important earth science mission," stated ASO General Manager Don M. White, Jr. "We are excited to be part of a mission that will provide valuable information about our planet. SMAP will increase understanding of the conditions that influence floods and droughts, wildfires, ecosystem health, water resources, agriculture and forestry."

In January, NASA awarded a Not-to-Exceed $12.1 million Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) task order contract to ASO Florida to provide commercial payload processing services for satellites launched at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida.

From Titusville, Florida, and Vandenberg AFB, California, Astrotech Space Operations provides all support necessary for Government and commercial customers to successfully process their satellite hardware for launch, including advance planning; use of unique facilities; and spacecraft checkout, encapsulation, fueling, and transport. In its 31-year history, Astrotech has supported the successful processing of more than 300 spacecraft.

About Astrotech Corporation and Astrotech Space Operations (ASO)

Astrotech is one of the first space commerce companies and remains a strong entrepreneurial force in the aerospace industry. We are leaders in identifying, developing and marketing space technology for commercial use. Our Astrotech Space Operations (ASO) has been a global satellite processing leader since 1981. With more than 300 successful spacecraft missions to date, Astrotech continues to provide adaptable and flexible services for its Government and commercial customers. Astrotech Space Operations provides all support necessary for successful spacecraft processing to prepare for launch on a variety of domestic and foreign launch vehicles. Spacecraft undergo pre-launch hardware integration and testing, satellite encapsulation, and fueling before transport to the pad. Astrotech Space Operations business unit serves our satellite and spacecraft customers with pre-launch services on the Eastern Range (Kennedy Space Center) and Western Range (Vandenberg Air Force Base).

The Astrotech Corporation logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=7456

This press release contains forward-looking statements that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks, trends, and uncertainties that could cause actual results to be materially different from the forward-looking statement. These factors include, but are not limited to, continued government support and funding for key space programs, product performance and market acceptance of products and services, as well as other risk factors and business considerations described in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings including the annual report on Form 10-K. Any forward-looking statements in this document should be evaluated in light of these important risk factors. The Company assumes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements.

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NASA Awards Task Order Contract to Astrotech Space Operations - California for SMAP Spacecraft Processing

NASA ‘s first laser communication system integrated, ready for launch

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Public release date: 14-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Dewayne Washington Dewayne.a.washington@nasa.gov 301-286-0040 NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center

A new NASA-developed, laser-based space communication system will enable higher rates of satellite communications similar in capability to high-speed fiber optic networks on Earth.

The space terminal for the Lunar Laser Communication Demonstration (LLCD), NASA's first high-data-rate laser communication system, was recently integrated onto the Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) spacecraft at NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif. LLCD will demonstrate laser communications from lunar orbit to Earth at six times the rate of the best modern-day advanced radio communication systems.

"The successful testing and integration of LLCD to LADEE is a major accomplishment," said Donald Cornwell, LLCD mission manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "It demonstrates that this new technology is robust and ready for space. This is the first time NASA has had such a communication system pass all its tests and be certified flight ready."

The LLCD mission will use a highly reliable infrared laser, similar to those used to bring high-speed data over fiber optic cables into our workplaces and homes. Data, sent in the form of hundreds of millions of short pulses of light every second, will be sent by the LADEE spacecraft to any one of three ground telescopes in New Mexico, California and Spain.

The real challenge of LLCD will be to point its very narrow laser beam accurately to ground stations across a distance of approximately 238,900 miles while moving. Failure to do so would cause a dropped signal or loss of communication.

"This pointing challenge is the equivalent of a golfer hitting a 'hole-in-one' from a distance of almost five miles," said Cornwell. "Developers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT) Lincoln Laboratory have designed a sophisticated system to cancel out the slightest spacecraft vibrations. This is in addition to dealing with other challenges of pointing and tracking the system from such a distance. We are excited about these advancements."

The LLCD mission will also serve as a pathfinder for the 2017 launch of NASA's Laser Communication Relay Demonstration (LCRD). That mission will demonstrate the long-term viability of laser communication from a geostationary relay satellite to Earth. In a geostationary orbit the spacecraft orbits at the same speed as Earth, which allows it to maintain the same position in the sky.

Engineers believe that future space missions will be able to use laser communication technology with its low mass and power requirements, to provide increased data quantity for real-time communication and 3-D high-definition video. For example, using S-band communications aboard the LADEE spacecraft would take 639 hours to download an average-length HD movie. Using LLCD technology that time would be reduced to less than eight minutes.

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NASA 's first laser communication system integrated, ready for launch

NASA Fireball Website Launches with New Russian Meteor Explosion Details

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NASA has launched a new website to share details of meteor explosion events as recorded by U.S. military sensors on secretive spacecraft, kicking off the project with new details of last month's fireball over Chelyabinsk, Russia.

The new "Fireball and Bolide Reports" website, overseen by NASA's Near-Earth Object Program, debuted Friday (March 1) with its first entry: a table with a chronological data summary of the Russian meteor explosion of Feb. 15 gleaned from U.S. Government sensor data. Scientists are calling the event a "superbolide," taken from the term "bolide" typically used for fireballs created by meteors.

Sharing the information publicly is part of a renewed collaboration between the U.S. military and the scientific community.

"And what better way to kick this site off than the Chelyabinsk superbolide the most energetic recognized-fireball event since Tunguska in 1908," said Don Yeomans, a senior research scientist at the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. He is also manager of NASA's Near-Earth Object Program Office at JPL.

"This website is meant to be the vehicle for future reports of fireballs/bolides as seen by U.S. government sensors," Yeomans told SPACE.com. "This is the first posting of its kind on this site. Future data on bright fireballs will be added to this table. We won't capture every fireball event only the unusually bright ones," he said.

"I consider this a major step forward since these fireball events are by far the most frequent impactors into the Earth's atmosphere," Yeomans said. "And these reports will go a long way toward defining the annual flux of small Earth impactors." [Russian Meteor Explosion Explained (Infographic)]

New Russian meteor details

The Feb. 15 Russian meteor event is the first entry on this new site, and it provides the following information about the fireball:

Time of maximum brightness: 03:20:33 GMT on Feb. 15

Geographic location of maximum brightness: Latitude: 54.8 deg. N Longitude: 61.1 deg. E

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"Semiconductor Nanotechnology" by Dr. Jerzy Ruzyllo – Video

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"Semiconductor Nanotechnology" by Dr. Jerzy Ruzyllo
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Simpson College – DNA Nanotechnology Research – Video

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Simpson College - DNA Nanotechnology Research
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Touch Panel Transparent Conductive Film: Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, Nanotechnology , 2013 to …

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NEW YORK, March 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ --

Touch Panel Transparent Conductive Film: Market Shares, Strategies, and Forecasts, Worldwide, Nanotechnology, 2013 to 2019 http://www.reportlinker.com/p01120555/Touch-Panel-Transparent-Conductive-Film-Market-Shares-Strategies-and-Forecasts-Worldwide-Nanotechnology-2013-to-2019.html#utm_source=prnewswire&utm_medium=pr&utm_campaign=Nanotechnology

Transparent conductive film enables features of smart phones and electronics applications. Devices are evolving in response in part to the characteristics of the transparent conductive film that is used in the user interface. Products support collaboration. Solutions are competitive.

According to Susan Eustis, the principal author of the study, "The advantage of transparent conductive film is that a very thin layer of material as a coating on a surface can provide touch screen capability. Transparent conductive film supports electronic device usability. Factors that influence commercial success in the wireless device and services market relate to usability above all: The designs of the iPhone are genius designs because of the usability they bring. Development of an integrated hardware, software and service platform to support multiple wireless network standards is an essential aspect of market participation."

The transparent conductive film markets are leveraging the expanding market opportunities related to mobile communication and media devices of smart phones and tablets among others. Transparent conductive film provides the base for device navigation by recognizing the presence of a finger as it moves across a screen. That navigation supports transmission of digital data into and out of the smart phone. The transparent conductive film markets are highly competitive. The competition is expected to intensify significantly as new technologies evolve.

Transparent conductive film principal competitive factors include price, product features, relative price/performance, product quality and reliability, design innovation, marketing and distribution capability, service and support, and corporate reputation. Indium tin oxide (ITO) has been the prevailing transparent conductive film used in touch screen applications. It requires an expensive and cumbersome sputtering deposition process. The price of indium is increasing rapidly and the film is rigid. There is demand for more flexible film in the market.

The Touch Panel Transparent Conductive Film TCF market is $956 million in 2012. Markets are anticipated to reach $4.8 billion by 2019. ITO is an entrenched technology for display manufacturing. Indium tin oxide (ITO) has been the transparent conductive film technology for touch screens. Newer technology will erode ITO and provide improved functionality as lower prices. Transparent conductive film supports electronic device usability.

WinterGreen Research is an independent research organization funded by the sale of market research studies all over the world and by the implementation of ROI models that are used to calculate the total cost of ownership of equipment, services, and software. The company has 35 distributors worldwide, including Global Information Info Shop, Market Research.com, Research and Markets, Bloomberg, and Thompson Financial.

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Nanotechnology , PTAP subjects for HTC meeting

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LAS CRUCES Micro and Nanotechnology Commercialization and the Procurement Technical Assistance Program will be subjects for the next meeting of the High Tech Consortium of Southern New Mexico.

The meeting is set for 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Friday at Hotel Encanto de Las Cruces.

There will be two presentations to the membership - Mr. William Hett-Dobricky with Doa Ana Community College and Mr. Scott Bryant of Nano-Network of New Mexico

Hett-Dobricky will discuss the Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP) and the services and programs offered to small businesses in Dona Ana and Sierra counties.

Bryant, President of the Nano-Network of New Mexico will discuss Micro and Nanotechnology Commercialization, current trends in Nanotechnology and the opportunities for southern New Mexico. Today's developments in Nano and biotechnologies are increasingly relying on global connections, starting from early R&D to final development stages. Convergence is the operative keyword as this trend forges alliances between semiconductors and chemical companies, between pharmaceuticals and biology, between IT and energy technologies, and on a broader technological level, between nanotechnologies and biotechnologies.

Bryant will introduce the NanoTox Academy, together with the Bioscience Center, and will discuss the Western Region Nanotechnology OEHS Mini Boot Camp designed specifically for those professionals who oversee Engineered Nanomaterial (ENM) operations

HTC membership meetings are open to the public and free; anyone interested in growing high technology in southern New Mexico is encouraged to attend. For more information call Terry Jack at 575-522-3868 or email terry@imac.us.com.

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Nanotechnology , PTAP subjects for HTC meeting