NASA Watch

Today's Video: Meteorite Impact in Canada?

kcowing — 2008-11-21T12:00:55-05:00

Mysterious fireball lights up western Canadian sky, (with video) CTV

"While it's still unknown what caused the bright light, residents from northern Saskatchewan to southern Alberta have reported seeing it, the RCMP said. MyNews user Dan Charrois, who lives about 50 kilometres north of Edmonton, said security cameras set up at his home managed to capture some grainy footage showing a big flare in the night sky."

Earth to Ashton Kutcher: In Answer to Your Question ...

kcowing — 2008-11-21T11:01:22-05:00

NASA and USAID Bring Earth-Observation Benefits to Africa

"NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and their international partners cut the ribbon Friday in Nairobi, Kenya, for SERVIR-Africa. The SERVIR-Africa system integrates the satellite resources of the United States and other countries into a Web-based Earth information system. This effort puts previously inaccessible information into the hands of local scientists, government leaders and communities to help address concerns related to natural disasters, disease outbreaks, biodiversity and climate change."

Dude, Where's My Space Program?, earlier post

"Kutcher: We send things to Mars. But there are thousands of children that are sold into the sex slave trade every single day. But we send stuff to Mars instead of solving that problem. There's Africa where people are dying of Malaria. There's a quantifiable solution to the problem - and yet we send stuff to Mars - instead of getting bed nets for these people."

Editor's note: Gee Ashton, imagine that, yet another example of how space technology is being applied to real problems on Earth - something that has been going on for 50 years. Alas, this news item will never get past your agents, handlers, and hair stylists before you go on air again and make a fool of yourself.

Sad Day for Aviation Week Readers

kcowing — 2008-11-21T10:03:02-05:00

Editor's note: Just as NASA is getting ready to launch a whole new family of rockets - and commercial space is about to ramp up (Falcon 9) what does Aviation Week and Space Technology do? It closes its Cape Canaveral bureau and fires Dave Hughes (25 years) and Craig Covault (36 years) and for good measure, they fire Dave Collogan who spent 36 years writing for Aviation Daily. Go figure.

I have been reading Craig's reporting on space in Aviation Week since I was in high school in the early 1970's. Those of you who are as baffled and angered by these firings as I am might want to contact Aviation Week's leadership - Tom Henricks (President & CEO) by email at Tom_Henricks@aviationweek.com and Tony Velocci (editor in Chief) at velocci@aviationweek.com - and please post a note of support below as well.

Curious CIO Job Opening (Shh! Don't tell anyone)

kcowing — 2008-11-21T10:00:30-05:00

Editor's note: There is an opening for a Information Technology Specialist in the Architecture and Infrastructure Division of the Office of the Chief Information Officer (CIO) at NASA HQ. The open period extends from 14-28 November 2008 - i.e. only two weeks. This seems to be a little odd: picking such a position in the midst of a presidential administration transition - with the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the middle of the open period. One would think that such a permanent position would allow a wider range off applicants to apply and do so over a longer period of time - one not overlapping a major national holiday when many people take long periods off. Moreover, given the ongoing transition, and the responsibilities this person would have across the entire agency (see below) wouldn't it be better to allow the new NASA management team to fill this position - or decide to handle these tasks differently? Hmm ... on the other hand .. could it be that someone at NASA is looking for a place to "burrow" in from a political to a career position?

MAJOR DUTIES:

The duties of this position include, but are not limited to:

Transition Update

kcowing — 2008-11-21T09:00:02-05:00

Obama's NASA Dilemma - The fate of the U.S. space program hangs in the balance, Technology Review

"While other presidents have had the luxury of putting off major decisions on NASA, the Obama administration has a deadline. By April 30, 2009, the new president must decide whether to shut down the Space Shuttle program--currently the United States' only way to get humans into space and to service the International Space Station (ISS)--or extend the program at no small cost. While the current administration has signed an authorization bill to keep the Space Shuttle flying until the end of 2010, the legislation only prevents NASA management from mothballing Shuttle-related programs until the end of April 2009."

JPL Has Forgotten Who Pays Their Bills

kcowing — 2008-11-20T23:08:26-05:00

Dawn Glides Into New Year

"JPL's Dawn spacecraft shut down its ion propulsion system today as scheduled. The spacecraft is now gliding toward a Mars flyby in February of next year."

Editor's note: "JPL's Dawn spacecraft"? The last time I checked NASA (taxpayers) paid for it.

Orion Launch Abort Motor Test (with Video)

kcowing — 2008-11-20T18:55:19-05:00

NASA, ATK Successfully Test First Orion Launch Abort Motor (with video)

"Flames shot more than 100 feet high in a successful 5.5-second ground test firing Thursday, Nov. 20, of a launch abort motor for NASA's next generation spacecraft, the Orion crew exploration vehicle. NASA and the Orion industry team conducted the firing at the Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, facility in Promontory, Utah. The abort motor will provide a half-million pounds of thrust to lift the crew module off the Ares I rocket, pulling the crew away safely in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during the first 300,000 feet of the rocket's climb to orbit."

Glaciers on Mars

kcowing — 2008-11-20T16:28:01-05:00

NASA Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Spacecraft Detects Buried Glaciers on Mars

"NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has revealed vast Martian glaciers of water ice under protective blankets of rocky debris at much lower latitudes than any ice previously identified on the Red Planet. Scientists analyzed data from the spacecraft's ground-penetrating radar and report in the Nov. 21 issue of the journal Science that buried glaciers extend for dozens of miles from the edges of mountains or cliffs."

Radar Sounding Evidence for Buried Glaciers in the Southern Mid-Latitudes of Mars, Science

NRC: Science and Project Constellation

kcowing — 2008-11-20T13:57:45-05:00

Space science missions possible through Constellation

"A new report from the National Research Council, LAUNCHING SCIENCE: SCIENCE OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED BY NASA'S CONSTELLATION PROGRAM, reviews science missions that would be uniquely suited to the new Constellation system of spacecraft being developed by NASA for human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The report evaluates 17 science mission concepts based on their potential to significantly advance a scientific field and therefore benefit from inclusion in the Constellation program. The report also provides preliminary cost estimates for each proposed mission and recommends which to pursue."

OIG on NASA Finances: Significant Weaknesses and Deficiencies

kcowing — 2008-11-20T13:12:08-05:00

NASA OIG: Audit of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Fiscal Year 2008 Financial Statements (Report No. IG-09-006)

"In the "Report of Independent Auditors", E&Y disclaimed an opinion on NASA's financial statements for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2008 and 2007. The disclaimer resulted from continued significant weaknesses in NASA's financial management processes and systems, including issues related to internal controls for property accounting.

The E&Y "Report on Internal Control" includes two significant deficiencies, which are considered to be material weaknesses. Material weaknesses were found in NASA's controls for (1) financial systems, analyses, and oversight used to prepare the financial statements, and (2) assuring that property, plant, and equipment and materials are presented fairly in the financial statements. These material weaknesses have been reported for several years.

The E&Y "Report on Compliance with Laws and Regulations" identifies certain instances in which NASA's financial management systems did not substantially comply with the requirements of the Federal Financial Management Improvement Act of 1996 (FFMIA)."

Reaching Out To The Beavis and Butthead in All Of Us

kcowing — 2008-11-20T12:20:57-05:00

Astronauts install water recycler, Houston Chronicle

"Shuttle Endeavour's astronauts on Wednesday furnished the international space station with a $250 million water recycler as they surged ahead of schedule to expand the orbital outpost. The recycler, designed to turn urine, wash water and other wastes into drinking water, may be activated later today for a trial run. But NASA won't let the astronauts drink from it until samples are tested for purity back on Earth."

Editor's note: This article is certainly just fine in terms of what it describes. What is curious, however, are the comments that regular people (mostly adults I presume) post. Its almost as if they were all from 5th graders - you know the sort of poo and pee jokes that Beavis and Butthead often made. This is not the Chronicle's fault at all. Its what many people instinctively think when they hear about drinking recycled urine.

I am not certain I want to fault NASA PAO in any way over this since there is little they can do to present this in a way that won't incite the giggle factor (although this easily Googled NASA press release from 2003: "Fun With Urine" Stirs Student's Imagination" probably doesn't exactly help things). That said, there is a chance for NASA to make things like this more relevant to the every day experiences of the general population - as the article does - by talking about domestic water treatment plants. There is also some relevancy, to be certain, to life support challenges faced by our troops in the middle east, researchers at the south pole, hurricane damaged areas in the southern U.S., new green technologies for recycling, etc.

And yes, I have not exactly been totally consistent with regard to my own advice either: my posting of this 2008 memo from JSC "NASA JSC Urine Collection Study Donor Request" spurred dozens of news stories on this same theme including the ever present 5th grade "yuck factor". Of course I knew that this would probably happen.

This is going to be NASA's greatest challenge over the next 4(8) years: to show its true relevancy to everyday life and to do so in a manner that shifts some of the media's and public's preoccupation with all the things that NASA does wrong to the vast majority of things that it does right - often in ways that no other organization - anywhere - has ever done. And in mounting such an effort, NASA needs to be proactive as well as reactive. No this is not "lobbying" or "marketing" - things that get Congress and OMB all upset. Rather, it is simply explaining to people what is being done with their tax dollars - and why.

Dude, Where's My Space Program?

kcowing — 2008-11-20T12:15:20-05:00

Editor's note: Actor Ashton Kutcher, well known for film classics such as "Dude, Where's my Car?", appeared on Bill Maher's Real Time Program recently. At one point, he got into a rant about the pointless value of sending things to Mars. Another guest, Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL) chimed in, and in so doing, showed her own ignorance of facts regarding the current STS-126 mission and the ISS. To be certain, this is a comedy show - of sorts. But it did not seem like the millionaire actor or the badly informed member of Congress were kidding.

Not that everyone in America thinks this way - but when two people from dramatically different backgrounds seem to agree on a point such as this, you have to ask yourself how supporters of space exploration are going to overcome this resistance? Is space exploration of value to the electorate? Is it more important than other things? How do you make that clear? Clearly what has been done to date is not having much effect, polls not withstanding.

Go to this page and click on the 14 November video clip. Transcript of commentary starting at 3:58 into the segment:

Happy 10th Birthday ISS/Alpha/Freedom/Mir-2

kcowing — 2008-11-20T12:09:11-05:00

Nations Around The World Mark 10th Anniversary Of International Space Station

"Nations around the world will join together to mark a milestone in space exploration this week, celebrating the 10th birthday of a unique research laboratory, the International Space Station. Now the largest spacecraft ever built, the orbital assembly of the space station began with the launch from Kazakhstan of its first bus-sized component, Zarya, on Nov. 20, 1998. The launch began an international construction project of unprecedented complexity and sophistication."

International Space Station: 10 years in the making, USA Today

"Ten years ago today the first module of the International Space Station arrived in orbit nearly 200 miles above Earth. Since that day it has been an global effort with the cooperation of Russian, European, Japanese and other space agencies in constructing the station."

Editor's note: Be certain to visit this link and check out the ISS assembly animation.

Breaking NASA's Glass Ceiling

kcowing — 2008-11-20T11:44:27-05:00

America's Best Leaders: Fiona Harrison & Maria Zuber, NASA scientists, US News & World Report

"Maria Zuber noticed something strange on her first NASA mission. As a geophysicist in the 1980s, she was working on the science team designing the Mars Observer, an unmanned spacecraft that was supposed to be the first to study the geoscience and climate of Mars. "Somebody called me up," she recalls, "and said, 'Do you know on this mission there are 87 science investigators, and you're the only woman?'"

Gene Goldman Is the New Center Director at Stennis

kcowing — 2008-11-20T11:37:57-05:00

Gene Goldman Named as Director of NASA Stennis Space Center

"NASA has named Arthur E. (Gene) Goldman as the new director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The promotion of Goldman, the center's deputy director since October 2006, is effective immediately. He replaces Bob Cabana, who left in October to become the director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida."