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BEST LAUNCH VIEWING PLACES IN TITUSVILLE NASA TV Schedule - Titusville Cable Channel 15 NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter • Long Range Launch Schedule • Space X July 2, 2009 NASA UPDATES SHUTTLE PRELAUNCH EVENTS AND COUNTDOWN DETAILS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The shuttle's STS-127 mission to the International Space Station is scheduled to lift off at 7:39 p.m. EDT on Saturday, July 11. On Tuesday, July 7, Endeavour's seven astronauts are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy at about 2 p.m. NASA Television will provide live coverage as Commander Mark Polansky makes a brief statement to reporters. NASA will provide continuous STS-127 online updates, including a webcast and a blog at: www.nasa.gov/shuttle On launch day, a blog originating from Kennedy will update the countdown beginning at 2:30 p.m. The blog is the definitive Internet source for information leading up to launch. During the mission, visitors to NASA's shuttle Web site can read about the crew's progress and watch the spacewalks live. As Endeavour's flight wraps up, NASA will offer a blog detailing the spacecraft's return to Earth. Live updates to the NASA Twitter feed will be added throughout the shuttle launch countdown from Kennedy. To access the NASA Twitter feed, visit: http://www.twitter.com/nasa Detailed lists of countdown milestones, news briefing times and participants, and hours of operation for Kennedy's news center and media credentialing office are available at: www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/news/ For NASA TV streaming video, scheduling and downlink information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv June 29, 2009 NASA HOLDS TEST TO VERIFY ENDEAVOUR TANK REPAIRS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA will conduct a tanking test at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, July 1, to ensure repairs to space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank were successful. The test will be shown live on NASA Television beginning at 7 a.m. EDT. It will be followed by a news conference at approximately 1 p.m. Briefing participants will be shuttle program Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses and STS-127 Launch Director Pete Nickolenko. During the test, the external tank will be filled with liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen, just as it is before launch. A hydrogen gas leak at the Ground Umbilical Carrier Plate, or GUCP, postponed Endeavour's launch attempts June 13 and 17. The GUCP is attached to the venting system used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. Engineers determined the most likely cause of the leak is a slight misalignment in the External Tank Carrier Assembly. The assembly was fastened to the tank during manufacturing. The misalignment likely is putting uneven pressure on a Teflon seal, causing a small leak when extremely low temperatures occur during fueling. Technicians replaced the old seal with a two-piece seal and added small washers to counter any movement of the external tank carrier assembly as the tank is fueled. Endeavour's launch on the STS-127 mission is targeted for 7:39 p.m. on Saturday, July 11. The 16-day mission to the International Space Station will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space. For the latest information about the STS-127 mission and its crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle STS-127 mission Commander Mark Polansky's Twitter account can be followed at: www.twitter.com/Astro_127 For information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv June 27, 2009 NASA AND NOAA'S GOES-O SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED WASHINGTON -- The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES-O, soared into space today after a successful launch from Space Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Rising above the two lightning towers around the pad, a Delta IV rocket races into the sky with the GOES-O satellite aboard. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett The GOES-O spacecraft lifted off at 6:51 p.m. EDT on a Delta IV rocket. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's GOES-O satellite will improve weather forecasting and monitor environmental events around the world. The satellite is the second to be launched in the GOES N series of geostationary environmental weather satellites. "All indications are that GOES-O is in a normal orbit, with all spacecraft systems functioning properly," stated Andre Dress, GOES deputy project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We are proud of our support teams and pleased with the performance of the Delta IV launch vehicle." Approximately 4 hours and 21 minutes after launch, the spacecraft separated from the launch vehicle. The Universal Space Network Western Australia tracking site in Dongara monitored the spacecraft separation. On July 7, GOES-O will be placed in its final orbit and renamed GOES-14. Approximately 24 days after launch, Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems will turn engineering control over to NASA. About five months later, NASA will transfer operational control of GOES-14 to NOAA. The satellite will be checked out, stored in orbit and available for activation should one of the operational GOES satellites degrade or exhaust its fuel. NASA contracted with Boeing to build and launch the GOES-O spacecraft. NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida supported the launch in an advisory role. NOAA manages the GOES program, establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States. Goddard procures and manages the design, development and launch of the satellites for NOAA on a cost-reimbursable basis. For more information about the GOES-O mission and program, visit: www.nasa.gov/goes-o and http://www.nesdis.noaa.gov For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov June 26, 2009 GOES-O WEATHER SATELLITE LAUNCH SCRUBBED, RESET FOR JUNE 27 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla - The GOES-O launch team will try again Saturday, June 27, to launch the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O. Friday's scheduled launch of a Delta IV rocket carrying the GOES-O weather satellite was scrubbed at 6:58 p.m. EDT because of thunderstorms within 10 miles of Space Launch Complex-37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Forecasters are calling for a 40 percent chance of favorable weather Saturday. The one-hour launch window runs from 6:14 p.m. to 7:14 p.m. NASA Television's launch commentary will begin at 4:30 p.m. and conclude about 30 minutes after liftoff. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv United Launch Alliance is conducting the launch on behalf of Boeing Launch Systems. Live countdown coverage on NASA's launch blog begins at 4:30 p.m. Coverage features real-time updates of countdown milestones, as well as streaming video and podcast of launch. For more information about GOES-O, visit: www.nasa.gov/goes-o June 22, 2009 NASA's GOES-O LAUNCH SET FOR JUNE 26 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O, or GOES-O, is scheduled for a liftoff on Friday, June 26, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The one-hour launch window extends from 6:14 to 7:14 p.m. EDT. GOES-O is the second of three in the current series of geostationary weather and environmental satellites built for NASA by Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems. It will be launched into orbit for NASA aboard a Boeing Delta IV rocket. Live countdown coverage on NASA's launch blog begins at 4 p.m., on June 26. Coverage features real-time updates of countdown milestones, as well as streaming video and podcast of launch. To access these features, go to NASA's GOES-O mission Web site at: www.nasa.gov/goes-o GOES-O will also provide expanded capability for the space and solar environment-monitoring instruments. Forecasts and warnings for solar disturbances will be enhanced. GOES-O data will protect investments of billions of dollars by the government and private sector for assets on the ground and in space. GOES-O will feature a highly stable pointing platform, which will improve the performance of its Imager and Sounder that are important instruments for creating daily weather-prediction models and for hurricane forecasting. Data from GOES-O will be valuable for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service, which provides oceanographic circulation models and forecasts for U.S. coastal communities. As with all of NOAA's geostationary and polar-orbiting weather satellites, GOES-O will be able to relay distress signals detected from emergency locator beacons on the ground and at sea. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland is responsible for designing and developing the spacecraft and its instruments for NOAA. June 18, 2009 NASA SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHES LUNAR IMPACTOR CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA successfully launched the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, Thursday on a mission to search for water ice in a permanently shadowed crater at the moon's south pole. The satellite lifted off on an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., at 5:32 p.m. EDT, with a companion mission, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO. A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket roars into space carrying NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite. Photo credit: NASA/Tom Farrar LRO safely separated from LCROSS 45 minutes later. LCROSS then was powered-up, and the mission operations team at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif., performed system checks that confirmed the spacecraft is fully functional. LCROSS and its attached Centaur upper stage rocket separately will collide with the moon at approximately 7:30 a.m. on Oct. 9, 2009, creating a pair of debris plumes that will be analyzed for the presence of water ice or water vapor, hydrocarbons and hydrated materials. The spacecraft and Centaur are tentatively targeted to impact the moon's south pole near the Cabeus region. The exact target crater will be identified 30 days before impact, after considering information collected by LRO, other spacecraft orbiting the moon, and observatories on Earth. "LCROSS has been the little mission that could," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We stand poised for an amazing mission and possible answers to some very intriguing questions about the moon." The 1,290-pound LCROSS and 5,216-pound Centaur upper stage will perform a swing-by maneuver of the moon around 6 a.m. on June 23 to calibrate the satellite's science instruments and enter a long, looping polar orbit around Earth and the moon. Each orbit will be roughly perpendicular to the moon's orbit around Earth and take about 37 days to complete. Before impact, the spacecraft and Centaur will make approximately three orbits. On the final approach, about 54,000 miles above the surface, LCROSS and the Centaur will separate. LCROSS will spin 180 degrees to turn its science payload toward the moon and fire thrusters to slow down. The spacecraft will observe the flash from the Centaur's impact and fly through the debris plume. Data will be collected and streamed to LCROSS mission operations for analysis. Four minutes later, LCROSS also will impact, creating a second debris plume. "This mission is the culmination of a dedicated team that had a great idea," said Daniel Andrews, LCROSS project manager at Ames. "And now we'll engage people around the world in looking at the moon and thinking about our next steps there." The LCROSS science team will lead a coordinated observation campaign that includes LRO, the Hubble Space Telescope, observatories on Hawaii's Mauna Kea and amateur astronomers around the world. Ames manages LCROSS and also built the instrument payload. Northrop Grumman in Redondo Beach, Calif., built the spacecraft. The LCROSS mission is providing updates via @LCROSS_NASA on Twitter. To follow, visit: http://www.twitter.com/lcross_nasa For more information about the LCROSS mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/lcross June 18, 2009 NASA RETURNING TO THE MOON WITH FIRST LUNAR LAUNCH IN A DECADE GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter launched at 5:32 p.m. EDT Thursday aboard an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The satellite will relay more information about the lunar environment than any other previous mission to the moon. NASA's LRO and LCROSS spacecraft on top of the Atlas V rocket launch from Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Photo credit: United Launch Alliance/Pat Corkery The orbiter, known as LRO, separated from the Atlas V rocket carrying it and a companion mission, the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, and immediately began powering up the components necessary to control the spacecraft. The flight operations team established communication with LRO and commanded the successful deployment of the solar array at 7:40 p.m. The operations team continues to check out the spacecraft subsystems and prepare for the first mid-course correction maneuver. NASA scientists expect to establish communications with LCROSS about four hours after launch, at approximately 9:30 p.m. "This is a very important day for NASA," said Doug Cooke, associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington, which designed and developed both the LRO and LCROSS missions. "We look forward to an extraordinary period of discovery at the moon and the information LRO will give us for future exploration missions." The spacecraft will be placed in low polar orbit about 31 miles, or 50 kilometers, above the moon for a one-year primary mission. LRO's instruments will help scientists compile high resolution three-dimensional maps of the lunar surface and also survey it at many spectral wavelengths. The satellite will explore the moon's deepest craters, exploring permanently sunlit and shadowed regions, and provide understanding of the effects of lunar radiation on humans. "Our job is to perform reconnaissance of the moon's surface using a suite of seven powerful instruments," said Craig Tooley, LRO project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "NASA will use the data LRO collects to design the vehicles and systems for returning humans to the moon and selecting the landing sites that will be their destinations." High resolution imagery from LRO's camera will help identify landing sites for future explorers and characterize the moon's topography and composition. The hydrogen concentrations at the moon's poles will be mapped in detail, pinpointing the locations of possible water ice. A miniaturized radar system will image the poles and test communication capabilities. "During the 60-day commissioning period, we will turn on spacecraft components and science instruments," explained Cathy Peddie, LRO deputy project manager at Goddard. "All instruments will be turned on within two weeks of launch, and we should start seeing the moon in new and greater detail within the next month." "We learned much about the moon from the Apollo program, but now it is time to return to the moon for intensive study, and we will do just that with LRO," said Richard Vondrak, LRO project scientist at Goddard. All LRO initial data sets will be deposited in the Planetary Data System, a publicly accessible repository of planetary science information, within six months of launch. Goddard built and manages LRO. LRO is a NASA mission with international participation from the Institute for Space Research in Moscow. Russia provides the neutron detector aboard the spacecraft. The LRO mission is providing updates via @LRO_NASA on Twitter. To follow, visit: www.twitter.com/lro_nasa For more information about the LRO mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/lro June 17, 2009 FUEL LEAK AGAIN POSTPONES LAUNCH OF SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA postponed the launch of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission Wednesday because of a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle's external fuel tank. Endeavour's next launch opportunity is July 11. This date comes after the end of an orbital sun-angle condition called a beta angle cut-out, which occurs between June 22 and July 10. The cut-out creates a thermal condition that prohibits shuttle and space station docked operations. The gaseous hydrogen venting system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. Wednesday's leak is similar to one that prevented Endeavour's launch on June 13. The 16-day mission to the International Space Station will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space. Mission Commander Mark Polansky, who has a Twitter account named Astro_127, can be followed online at: www.twitter.com/Astro_127 For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-127 mission and its crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station June 15, 2009 NASA SETS NEW LAUNCH DATES FOR SPACE SHUTTLE, LRO AND LCROSS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers have scheduled the next launch attempt of space shuttle Endeavour's STS-127 mission for 5:40 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 17. The launch will take place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As a result, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, and Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, are set to lift off together aboard an Atlas V rocket on Thursday, June 18. There are three launch opportunities from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida: 5:12 p.m., 5:22 p.m. and 5:32 p.m. NASA managers postponed Endeavour's planned June 13 liftoff because of a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle's external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. The LRO and LCROSS launch was moved to June 18 to accommodate Endeavour's June 17 liftoff. If Thursday's liftoff of LRO and LCROSS is postponed 24 hours, the launch times Friday are 6:41 p.m., 6:51 p.m. and 7:01 p.m. Saturday's opportunities are 8:08 p.m., 8:18 p.m. and 8:28 p.m. Endeavour's 16-day STS-127 mission to the International Space Station will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space. LRO is scheduled for a one-year exploration mission at a polar orbit of about 31 miles, or 50 kilometers, the closest any spacecraft has orbited the moon. The primary objective of LRO is to conduct investigations to prepare for future explorations of the moon. Launching with LRO is LCROSS, a partner mission that will search for water ice on the moon by sending the spent upper-stage Centaur rocket, about the size of a sports utility vehicle, to impact part of a polar crater in permanent shadows. LCROSS will fly into the plume of dust left by the impact and measure the properties before also colliding with the lunar surface. Live updates to the NASA News Twitter feed will be added throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To access the NASA News Twitter feed, visit: www.twitter.com/nasa The STS-127 mission commander, Mark Polansky, has a Twitter account named Astro_127, can be followed online at: www.twitter.com/Astro_127 For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station For the latest information about the STS-127 mission and its crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle To learn more about the LRO and LCROSS missions, go to the mission home pages at: www.nasa.gov/lro and www.nasa.gov/lcross June 13, 2009 NASA POSTPONES LAUNCH OF SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR Space shuttle Endeavour is revealed on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida following rollback of the rotating service structure. Image credit: NASA TV CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA postponed space shuttle Endeavour's launch to the International Space Station on Saturday because of a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the shuttle's external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. Managers scrubbed the launch for at least 96 hours. The earliest the shuttle could be ready to launch is June 17. However, there is a conflict on the Eastern Range that date with the scheduled launch of the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite. Mission managers will hold a meeting at 2 p.m. EDT Sunday to discuss the repair options and Endeavour's launch opportunities. A news conference will follow the meeting and air on NASA Television and the agency's Web site. The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space. The STS-127 crew members are Commander Mark Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station. Polansky, who has a Twitter account named Astro_127, can be followed online at: www.twitter.com/Astro_127 For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-127 mission and its crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station June 11, 2009 NASA'S ARES I-X ROCKET ACHIEVES HISTORIC HARDWARE MILESTONES CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Constellation Program reached two major processing milestones this week as two new pieces of Ares I-X hardware were transferred for final assembly in preparation for the first flight test of the rocket later this summer at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Once stacking operations begin later this month, it will be the first time a new vehicle has been stacked on NASA's Mobile Launcher Platform in more than 25 years. The forward assembly, composed of the forward skirt, forward skirt extension and the frustum, was moved Thursday from Kennedy's Assembly Refurbishment Facility, or ARF, to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking operations. The aft skirt was moved Monday from the ARF to the Rotation Processing and Surge Facility to be attached to the aft motor segment, forming the aft assembly. The assembly will next move to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the Mobile Launcher Platform. The Ares I-X rocket is a combination of existing and simulator hardware that will resemble the Ares I crew launch vehicle in size, shape and weight. It will provide valuable flight data to guide the final design of the Ares I, which will launch astronauts in the Orion crew exploration vehicle. "This is a very exciting week for the team to have the hardware moving out of the ARF, showing how much progress we've made and that we are that much closer to launch," said NASA Ares I-X mission manager Bob Ess of NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The flight test of the Ares I-X will bring NASA one step closer to its Constellation Program's exploration goals of returning humans to the moon for sustained exploration of the lunar surface and missions to destinations beyond. The forward assembly connects the 12-foot diameter first stage motor to the 18-foot diameter upper stage simulator. Weighing more than 40,000 pounds, the assembly houses three newly designed descent parachutes for first stage recovery. The aft skirt, which is used at the bottom of the Solid Rocket Boosters for the Space Shuttle Program, was modified over the last year and a half for use on Ares I-X. Some modifications include adding deceleration and tumble motors, avionics and a controller for the auxiliary power unit. "This week is the culmination of tremendous hard work and dedication by the entire NASA and contractor team," said Joe Oliva, first stage program manager for the Ares I-X at ATK Space Systems in Salt Lake City. "These milestones are leading us to a flight test later this year that will provide our proof of concept data for NASA's next generation of launch vehicles." United Space Alliance, of Houston, under a subcontract to ATK completed the processing and integration of the forward assembly and aft skirt. ATK is NASA's prime contractor for the first stage of the Ares I rocket. Video B-roll of the arrival of the Ares I-X hardware will be available on NASA Television's Video File feed. For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the Ares I-X and NASA next-generation spacecraft, visit: www.nasa.gov/ares June 3, 2009 RELEASE: 09-128 NASA GIVES 'GO' FOR JUNE 13 LAUNCH OF SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers completed a review Wednesday of space shuttle Endeavour's readiness for flight and selected June 13 as the official launch date for the STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. Commander Mark Polansky and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 7:17 a.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour's launch date was announced following a daylong Flight Readiness Review at Kennedy. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight. The 16-day mission will feature five spacewalks and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will allow experiments to be exposed to space. The STS-127 crew members are Polansky, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists Dave Wolf, Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will join the space station crew and replace Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will return to Earth on Endeavour to conclude a three-month stay at the station. Polansky, who has a Twitter account named Astro_127, can be followed online at: www.twitter.com/Astro_127 For more information about the STS-127 crew and its mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station May 29, 2009 NASA'S SHUTTLE PROGRAM HANDS OVER LAUNCH PAD TO CONSTELLATION CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The May 31 transfer of Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program is the next step in preparing the first flight test of the agency's next-generation spacecraft and launch system. The Constellation Program is developing new spacecraft -- including the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles, the Orion crew capsule, and the Altair lunar lander -- to carry humans to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond. Since the late 1960s, pad B has been instrumental in human spaceflight programs, such as Apollo, Skylab and the space shuttle. The pad originally was built for the Saturn V rockets to launch the Apollo capsules to the moon. In July 1975, the pad was modified to support space shuttle operations. The first space shuttle to lift off from pad B was Challenger in January 1986. The handover took place Sunday after space shuttle Endeavour was moved to Launch Pad 39A. The ground operations team will finish modifying pad B for the Ares I-X rocket launch. Modifications will include removing the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm and installing access platforms and a vehicle stabilization system. The Ares I-X flight test is targeted for no earlier than Aug. 30. For more information about Ares I-X, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/aresIX For more information about the Constellation Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/constellation May 29, 2009 NASA AWARDS LIQUID NITROGEN AND LIQUID OXYGEN CONTRACTS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected three companies to provide liquid nitrogen, or LN2, and liquid oxygen, or LOX, to six agency facilities supporting activities for the Space Operations Mission Directorate and Exploration System Mission Directorate. Linde LLC of Murray Hill, N.J., has been awarded a new fixed-price contract to supply approximately 256,500 tons of LN2 and approximately 173,000 tons of LOX to NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans during a five-year period of performance. The three-year base period contract with two, one-year options has a maximum value of about $28.8 million. The contract begins July 1, 2009. Air Products and Chemicals Inc. of Allentown, Pa., has been awarded a new fixed-price contract to supply approximately 197,250 tons of LN2 and approximately 26,000 tons of LOX to support NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., during a five-year period of performance. The three-year base period contract with two, one-year options has a maximum value of about $14.2 million. The contract begins July 1, 2009. Under these contracts, the LN2 will be used for pneumatic actuation, purging, cooling and pressurization of equipment. The LOX will be used as an oxidizer in cryogenic rocket engines. Air Liquide Industrial U.S. LP of Houston has been awarded a new fixed-price contract to supply approximately 90,000 tons of LN2 and approximately 1,300 tons of LOX to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston during a 5-year period of performance. The three-year base period contract with two, one-year options has a maximum value of about $6.1 million. The contract begins July 1, 2009. Under this contract, the LN2 will be used for pneumatic actuation, purging, cooling and pressurization of equipment. The LOX will be used as a breathing agent for astronauts. NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for releasing the LN2 and LOX solicitation, known as the NASA Acquisition of Nitrogen and Oxygen, on behalf of the agency. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov May 29, 2009 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS SET TO RETURN TO FLORIDA EDWARDS, Calif. -- After landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on May 24 following the successful Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission, space shuttle Atlantis is about to start its cross-country journey back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Mounted on a modified Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft, Atlantis is expected to begin its journey from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., to Kennedy as early as Sunday, May 31. The exact date and time of departure have yet to be set because of changing weather conditions and the fluid nature of preparing Atlantis for the flight. For the first time ever, a ferry flight team member will blog details of Atlantis' trip at: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle Live status updates will be added periodically to the NASA News Twitter feed during the flight. To access the feed, visit: http://www.twitter.com/nasa NASA Television will provide live coverage of Atlantis' departure and arrival. For NASA TV downlink, the schedule of ferry flight coverage and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv ATLANTIS ARRIVAL AT KENNEDY Strict flight weather restrictions may cause unexpected changes to the flight path and arrival time of Atlantis in Florida. During their nearly 13-day journey of approximately 5.3 million miles, the STS-125 crew conducted five successful spacewalks to enhance and extend the life of NASA's Hubble Telescope. For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle May 28, 2009 NASA UPDATES SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR'S MOVE TO LAUNCH PAD, TCDT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Endeavour now is planned to be moved from Launch Pad 39B to 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Sunday, May 31, weather permitting. Endeavour is targeted to lift off June 13 on a 16-day mission to the International Space Station. The STS-127 crew's launch dress rehearsal, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, has changed to June 2 to June 4 at Kennedy. The delay will allow engineers and technicians to rearrange remaining processing work because of recent weather delays. Dates and times of these events are subject to change. NASA Television will provide live video of Endeavour at the launch pad beginning at 6 a.m. Video highlights of the rollaround will air on the NASA TV Video File. Endeavour's astronauts and ground crews will participate in the practice countdown. The Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test provides each shuttle crew with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the STS-127 mission and its crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle May 24, 2009 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE RETURNS TO EARTH AFTER HUBBLE MISSION EDWARDS, Calif. -- Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew landed at 8:39 a.m. PDT Sunday at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., completing the final servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis' astronauts conducted five successful spacewalks during their STS-125 flight to enhance and extend the life of the orbiting observatory. "This mission highlights what the challenges of spaceflight can bring out in human beings," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "This mission required the absolute best from the shuttle team, the Hubble science and repair teams, and the crew. The results are a tribute to the entire team and the years of preparation." Atlantis' nearly 13-day mission of almost 5.3 million miles rejuvenated Hubble with state-of-the-art science instruments designed to improve the telescope's discovery capabilities by as much as 70 times, while extending its lifetime through at least 2014. "This is not the end of the story but the beginning of another chapter of discovery by Hubble," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for Science at NASA Headquarters. "Hubble will be more powerful than ever, continue to surprise, enlighten, and inspire us all and pave the way for the next generation of observatories." Scott Altman commanded the shuttle flight and was joined by Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Mission Specialists Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. McArthur served as the flight engineer and lead for robotic arm operations, while the remaining mission specialists paired up for challenging spacewalks on Hubble. Weather concerns prevented the crew from returning to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the primary end-of-mission landing site. In seven to 10 days, Atlantis will be transported approximately 2,500 miles from California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet. Once at Kennedy, the shuttle will be separated from the aircraft to begin processing for its next flight, targeted for November 2009. The STS-125 mission was the 126th shuttle flight, the 30th for Atlantis and the second of five planned for 2009. Hubble was delivered to space on April 24, 1990, on the STS-31 mission. Atlantis' landing at Edwards was the 53rd shuttle landing to occur at the desert air base. Hubble has enabled a number of ground-breaking discoveries during its time in orbit. They include determining the age of the universe to be 13.7 billion years; finding that virtually all major galaxies have black holes at their center; discovering that the process of planetary formation is relatively common; detecting the first-ever organic molecule in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star; and providing evidence the expansion of the universe is accelerating because of an unknown force that makes up approximately 72 percent of the matter-energy content in the universe. With Atlantis and its crew safely home, the focus will shift to the launch of STS-127, targeted for June 13. Endeavour's 16-day flight will deliver a new station crew member and complete construction of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory. Astronauts will attach a platform to the outside of the Japanese module that will serve as a type of "back porch" for experiments that require direct exposure to space. For information about NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble For more about the STS-125 mission and the upcoming STS-127 flight, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle May 23, 2009 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE LANDING DELAYED BY WEATHER CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew will stay in space another day after bad weather prevented them from landing Saturday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA Flight Director Norm Knight and the entry team will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting the shuttle to land. If the weather is not acceptable for a return to Kennedy, the team will look to land at the secondary landing site, Edwards Air Force Base in California. White Sands Space Harbor is not expected to be activated tomorrow. For recorded updated information about landing, call 321-867-2525. The landing times below are approximate and subject to change. All times are Eastern: Sunday Landing Opportunities 10:11 a.m., Orbit 196, landing at Kennedy (deorbit burn at 8:58 a.m.) 11:40 a.m., Orbit 197, landing at Edwards (deorbit burn at 10:25 a.m.) 11:49 a.m., Orbit 197, landing at Kennedy (deorbit burn at 10:31 a.m.) 1:19 p.m., Orbit 198, landing at Edwards (deorbit burn at 12:08 p.m.) The NASA News Twitter feed is updated throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To access the NASA News feed and other agency Twitter feeds, visit: www.nasa.gov/collaborate For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-125 mission and accomplishments, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about Hubble, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble May 22, 2009 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE LANDING DELAYED BY WEATHER CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis and its crew will stay in space another day after bad weather prevented them from landing Friday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA Flight Director Norm Knight and the entry team will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Atlantis and its crew to land at 9:16 a.m. Saturday. A second Kennedy landing opportunity is at 10:54 a.m. The shuttle also has landing opportunities at Edwards Air Force Base in California at 10:46 a.m. and 12:24 p.m. If Atlantis does not land Saturday, there are multiple landing opportunities Sunday at Kennedy, Edwards, or White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico. The Kennedy news center will open for landing activities. For recorded updated information about landing and news center hours, call 321-867-2525. The landing times below are approximate and subject to change. All times are EDT: Saturday Landing Opportunities 9:16 a.m., Orbit 180, landing at Kennedy (deorbit burn at 8:02 a.m.) 10:46 a.m., Orbit 181, landing at Edwards (deorbit burn at 9:29 a.m.) 10:54 a.m., Orbit 181, landing at Kennedy (deorbit burn at 9:46 a.m.) 12:24 p.m., Orbit 182, landing at Edwards (deorbit burn at 11:12 a.m.) Sunday Landing Opportunities 10:01 a.m., Orbit 196, landing at Edwards (deorbit burn at 8:42 a.m.) 10:04 a.m., Orbit 196, landing at White Sands (deorbit burn at 8:46 a.m.) 10:10 a.m., Orbit 196, landing at Kennedy (deorbit burn at 8:57 a.m.) 11:39 a.m., Orbit 197, landing at Edwards (deorbit burn at 10:24 a.m.) 11:42 a.m., Orbit 197, landing at White Sands (deorbit burn at 10:29 a.m.) 11:48 a.m., Orbit 197, landing at Kennedy (deorbit burn at 10:42 a.m.) The NASA News Twitter feed is updated throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To access the NASA News feed and other agency Twitter feeds, visit: www.nasa.gov/collaborate For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-125 mission and accomplishments, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about Hubble, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble May 21, 2009 HUBBLE SERVICING CREW SET TO RETURN TO EARTH FRIDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The seven astronauts who upgraded NASA's Hubble Space Telescope are expected to return to Earth aboard space shuttle Atlantis on Friday after an 11-day mission. The two landing opportunities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are at 10 a.m. and 11:39 a.m. EDT. NASA flight directors will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Atlantis and its crew to land. If weather prevents a return to Kennedy on Friday, the backup landing site at Edwards Air Force Base in California will be activated Saturday for consideration as well. For recorded updated information about landing, call 321-867-2525. Approximately two hours after landing, NASA officials will hold a media briefing to discuss the mission. The participants will be: - Ed Weiler, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington - Mike Moses, launch integration manager for NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston - Mike Leinbach, space shuttle launch director, Kennedy After touchdown in Florida, the astronauts will undergo physical examinations and meet with their families. The STS-125 crew is expected to hold a news conference about four and a half hours after landing Friday. Both news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television. The NASA News Twitter feed is updated throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To access the NASA News feed and other agency Twitter feeds, visit: www.nasa.gov/collaborate For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-125 mission and accomplishments, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about Hubble, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble May 11, 2009 NASA'S SHUTTLE ATLANTIS LAUNCHES ON A FINAL MISSION TO HUBBLE CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis with its seven-member crew launched at 2:01 p.m. EDT Monday from NASA's Kennedy Space Center on the final Hubble Space Telescope servicing mission. Image above: Space shuttle Atlantis lifts off Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, beginning the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Photo credit: NASA Television Atlantis' 11-day mission will include five spacewalks to refurbish Hubble with state-of-the-art science instruments designed to improve the telescope's discovery capabilities by up to 70 times while extending its lifetime through at least 2014. Shortly before liftoff, Commander Scott Altman thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. "At last our launch has come along," said Altman. "...Getting to this point has been challenging, but the whole team, everyone, has pulled together to take us into space." Altman is joined on STS-125 by Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Mission Specialists Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. McArthur will serve as the flight engineer and lead for robotic arm operations while the remaining mission specialists pair up for the hands-on spacewalk work after Hubble is captured and secured in the payload bay. Altman, Grunsfeld and Massimino are space shuttle and Hubble mission veterans. Johnson, Feustel and Good are first-time space fliers. The STS-125 mission is the 126th shuttle flight, the 30th for Atlantis and the second of five planned in 2009. Hubble was delivered to space on April 24, 1990, on the STS-31 mission. STS-125 is referred to as Servicing Mission 4, although it is technically the fifth servicing flight to the telescope. "Hubble has a long history of providing outstanding science and beautiful pictures," said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "If the servicing mission is successful, it will give us a telescope that will continue to astound both scientists and the public for many years to come." Among Hubble's greatest discoveries is the age of the universe (13.7 billion years); the finding that virtually all major galaxies have black holes at their center; the discovery that the process of planetary formation is relatively common; the first ever organic molecule in the atmosphere of a planet orbiting another star; and evidence that the expansion of the universe is accelerating -- caused by an unknown force that makes up approximately 72 percent of the matter-energy content of the universe. NASA is providing continuous television and Internet coverage of Atlantis' mission. NASA Television features live mission events, daily mission status news conferences and 24-hour commentary. NASA TV is webcast at: www.nasa.gov/ntv NASA's Web coverage of STS-125 includes current mission information, interactive features, news conference images, graphics and videos. Mission coverage, including the latest NASA TV schedule, also is available on the main space shuttle Web site at: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Live updates to the NASA News Twitter feed will be added throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To access the NASA News Twitter feed and other agency Twitter feeds, visit: www.nasa.gov/collaborate Daily news conferences with STS-125 mission managers will take place at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. During normal business hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. EDT Monday through Friday, reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations. Please contact your preferred NASA facility before its daily close of business to confirm its availability before each event. For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, visit: a href="http://www.nasa.gov/hubble" target="_blank" title="Opens in a new window." class="small">www.nasa.gov/hubble May 6, 2009 DELTA II LAUNCH FOR MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY SUCCESSFUL VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A Delta II rocket managed by NASA's Launch Services Program lifted off from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., Tuesday with a spacecraft for the United States Missile Defense Agency. The spacecraft is called the Space Tracking and Surveillance System Advanced Technology Risk Reduction mission, or STSS-ATRR. Liftoff from NASA's Space Launch Complex 2 occurred at 1:24 p.m. PDT. The launch vehicle was a United Launch Alliance Delta II 7920-10c. Spacecraft separation occurred approximately one hour after liftoff. "With confirmation of the payload's delivery into the correct orbit, the launch is a success," said Chuck Dovale, launch director for the NASA's Launch Services Program. NASA also will manage the launch of another mission for the Missile Defense Agency aboard a Delta II rocket this summer from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. For information about the Missile Defense Agency, visit: www.mda.mil/ For more information about NASA missions and programs, visit: www.nasa.gov May 5, 2009 NASA INVITES HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TO APPLY FOR INSPIRE PROJECT WASHINGTON -- NASA's Interdisciplinary National Science Program Incorporating Research Experience, known as INSPIRE, is accepting applications from high school students through June 30. NASA will make selections in September. The selectees will participate in an online learning community in which students and parents have the opportunity to interact with their peers and NASA engineers and scientists. It also provides appropriate grade-level educational activities, discussion boards and chat rooms for participants and their families to gain exposure to the many career opportunities at NASA. Students selected for the online learning community will have the option to compete for experiences during the summer of 2010 at NASA facilities and participating universities throughout the nation. The INSPIRE project is designed to encourage ninth through 12th grade students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and math. The summer experience provides students a hands-on opportunity to investigate education and careers in those disciplines. The INSPIRE project is part of NASA's education strategy to attract and retain students in the science, technology, engineering and math, or STEM, disciplines critical to NASA's missions. For information about the project, including details about how to apply, visit: www.nasa.gov/education/INSPIRE For information about NASA's education programs, visit: www.nasa.gov/education April 30, 2009 NASA GIVES 'GO' FOR SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH ON MAY 11 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers completed a review Thursday of space shuttle Atlantis' readiness for flight and selected an official launch date for the STS-125 mission to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. Commander Scott Altman and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off at 2:01 p.m. EDT, May 11, from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Atlantis' launch date was announced following Thursday's Flight Readiness Review. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight. Atlantis' 11-day mission will include five spacewalks to refurbish Hubble with state-of-the-art science instruments. After the astronauts' visit, the telescope's capabilities will be expanded and its lifetime extended through at least 2014. Commander Altman will be joined on the mission by Pilot Gregory C. Johnson and Mission Specialists Andrew Feustel, Michael Good, John Grunsfeld, Megan McArthur and Mike Massimino. The spacewalkers are Feustel, Good, Grunsfeld and Massimino. McArthur is the flight engineer and lead for robotic arm operations. For more information about the STS-125 crew and its mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/hubble April 27, 2009 NASA TV TO AIR U.S. ASTRONAUT HALL OF FAME INDUCTION MAY 2 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 2009 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, May 2, at 3 p.m. EDT. The ceremony will take place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. Joining the hall of fame this year are former astronauts George "Pinky" Nelson, one of only four space shuttle astronauts to fly untethered in space using NASA's Manned Maneuvering Unit; William Shepherd, commander of the first crew to live aboard the International Space Station; and Jim Wetherbee, commander of the longest docked shuttle-Mir mission. CNN reporter John Zarrella will host the event. More than 20 hall of fame astronauts are expected to attend, including Scott Carpenter, Walt Cunningham, Jim Lovell and Bob Crippen. For the astronauts' complete biographies, visit: www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/astrobio_former.html For more information about the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, visit: www.kennedyspacecenter.com For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv April 17, 2009 SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO LAUNCH PAD 39B CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space Shuttle Endeavour completed a 4.2-mile journey to launch pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Friday, at approximately 6:15 a.m. EDT and was secured to the pad at 7:17 a.m. Endeavour left Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 11:57 p.m., Thursday, traveling at less than 1 mph atop a massive crawler-transporter. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission to upgrade NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. Atlantis is targeted to launch May 12. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for its STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch June 13. With the space shuttle fleet set for retirement in 2010, this is expected to be the final time two shuttles will be on launch pads at the same time. Video of Endeavour's move to its launch pad will be available on NASA Television's Video File segment. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the upcoming shuttle missions, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle PRESS RELEASES April 13, 2009 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO LAUNCH PAD FRIDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Endeavour will move from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39B on Friday, April 17, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 4.2-mile journey is scheduled to begin at 12:01 a.m. EDT and will take approximately seven hours. Endeavour will be at Launch Pad 39B in the unlikely event a rescue mission is needed during Atlantis' May flight to upgrade the Hubble Space Telescope. After Atlantis is cleared to land, Endeavour will move to Launch Pad 39A in late May for its upcoming STS-127 mission to the International Space Station. April 6, 2009 NASA AWARDS EDUCATION GRANTS TO UNIVERSITIES CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has awarded cooperative education grants to the University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico; South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Rapid City, S.D.; and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, Va. The grants support implementation of a two-week residential college experience as part of NASA's Interdisciplinary National Science Program Incorporating Research Experience, also known as INSPIRE. The grants feature a one-year basic period of performance with two one-year extension options. The value of the agreement is $50 thousand for each university with a potential total value of $450 thousand for all three grants if options are exercised. The program is designed to encourage high school students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, also known as STEM. It is part of NASA's education strategy to attract and retain students in STEM disciplines. A key component of INSPIRE is an online community where students and parents have the opportunity to interact with NASA engineers, scientists and their peers. Students selected for the online community have the opportunity to compete for unique summer experiences at NASA facilities and various universities throughout the nation. The selected universities will provide students with a residential educational experience that will enhance their knowledge and study of STEM-related fields. For information on NASA's education programs, visit: www.nasa.gov/education April 1, 2009 NASA AWARDS INTERIM PROTECTIVE SERVICES CONTRACT FOR KENNEDY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has awarded a contract to Space Gateway Support of Cape Canaveral, Fla., to continue providing protective services at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This cost-plus-fixed-fee contract begins on April 1, 2009, and will provide interim support until NASA awards a new competitive contract for agency-wide protective services. The Interim Protective Services Contract has a three-month base period and nine one-month option periods through March 31, 2010. The maximum potential value of this contract is approximately $40 million, if all options are exercised. The services Space Gateway Support will provide include firefighting, physical security and emergency response support. For information about NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov March 31, 2009 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS AT LAUNCH PAD FOR HUBBLE MISSION CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After safely reaching its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Atlantis now awaits liftoff for its target May 12 STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. Space shuttle Atlantis stands on Launch Pad 39A, ready for final preparations for the STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. Image credit: NASA Atlantis arrived at Launch Pad 39A at approximately 9:10 a.m. EDT Tuesday on top of a giant crawler-transporter. The crawler-transporter left Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 3:54 a.m., traveling less than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The shuttle was secured on the launch pad at 11:17 a.m. Atlantis' 11-day mission is the final shuttle flight to Hubble. During five spacewalks, the shuttle's seven astronauts will install two new instruments, repair two inactive ones and replace other Hubble components. The Science Instrument Command and Data Handling Unit that will be installed in the telescope arrived at Kennedy on Monday. The new unit will replace the one in Hubble that stopped working in September 2008 and delayed the servicing mission. The result of the upgrades will be six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond those now available and an extended operational lifespan of the telescope through at least 2014. Scott Altman will command Atlantis. Gregory C. Johnson will be the pilot. The Mission Specialists will be John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Megan McArthur, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. STS-125 is the 126th shuttle flight, the 30th flight for Atlantis and the fifth Hubble servicing mission. Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to roll out to Kennedy's other launch pad, 39B, on Thursday, April 17. Endeavour will be prepared for liftoff in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary following Atlantis' launch. After Atlantis is cleared to land, Endeavour will move to Launch Pad 39A for its upcoming STS-127 mission to the International Space Station, targeted to launch in mid-June. Endeavour will roll over from Kennedy's Orbiter Processing Facility 2 to the Vehicle Assembly Building on April 10. In the assembly building, crews will attach the spacecraft to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters in preparations for its move to pad 39B. NASA managers decided to proceed with the dual-pad approach after carefully reviewing the manifest options to complete the International Space Station and to ensure it is in the most robust condition possible following shuttle retirement. The dual-pad approach requires one month less processing time than the single-pad approach and will help complete both STS-125 and STS-127. Endeavour will deliver the Japanese Exposed Facility and make the space station more robust to support cargo delivery for a six-person crew. The Space Shuttle Program will continue to work with the Constellation Program to minimize the impact on the Ares I-X test flight which will use Launch Pad 39B later this year. For more information about the STS-125 mission and crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble For more information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station For more information about the Constellation Program, visit: www.nasa.gov/constellation March 30, 2009 NASA'S SHUTTLE ATLANTIS STARTS MOVE TO LAUNCH PAD AT 4 A.M. TUESDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis' rollout to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida has been rescheduled to begin at 4 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, March 31, as preparations for the STS-125 mission move forward. Atlantis is targeted to lift off May 12 to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. NASA Television's live coverage of the event will begin at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights will air on the NASA TV Video File. The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters is mounted on a mobile launcher platform and will be delivered to the pad atop a crawler-transporter. The crawler will travel slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The process is expected to take approximately six hours. During Atlantis' 11-day mission, the crew of seven astronauts will make the final shuttle flight to Hubble. During five spacewalks, they will install two new instruments, repair two inactive ones and replace components. The result will be six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond what is now available, and an extended operational lifespan for the telescope through at least 2014. Scott Altman will be the commander of Atlantis. Gregory C. Johnson will be the pilot. Mission specialists will be John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Megan McArthur, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the STS-125 mission and crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle March 28, 2009 NASA'S SHUTTLE DISCOVERY GLIDES HOMES AFTER SUCCESSFUL MISSION CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery and its crew landed at 3:14 p.m. EDT Saturday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, completing a 13-day journey of more than 5.3 million miles. With Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building as backdrop, the drogue chute unfurls behind space shuttle Discovery completing a 13-day, 5.3-million mile journey on the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. Photo credit: NASA/Chuck Tintera The STS-119 flight delivered the space station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone. The additional electricity provided by the arrays will fully power science experiments and help support station operations. During three spacewalks, astronauts installed the S6 truss segment to the starboard, or right, side of the station and accomplished important tasks to prepare the station for future upgrades and additions later this year. The flight also replaced a failed unit for a system that converts urine to potable water. Samples from the station's Water Recovery System will be analyzed. It's expected to take about a month for the analysis to be completed and the water to be cleared for the station crew to drink. STS-119 spacewalkers were unable to deploy a jammed external cargo carrier on the Port 3 truss segment. It was tied safely in place. Because the issue is not yet understood, Mission Control cancelled the installation of a similar payload attachment system on the starboard side. Engineers are evaluating the problem and will address it during a future spacewalk. On March 24, the 10 shuttle and station crew members gathered in the station's Harmony module and spoke to President Barack Obama, members of Congress and school children from the Washington, D.C., area. From the White House's Roosevelt Room, the president and his guests congratulated the crew on the mission and asked about a range of topics from sleeping in weightlessness to the station's travelling speed. Lee Archambault commanded the flight and was joined by Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata remained aboard the station, replacing Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus, who returned to Earth on Discovery after more than four months on the station. Acaba and Arnold are former science teachers who are now fully trained NASA astronauts. They made their first journey into orbit and conducted critical spacewalking tasks on this flight. STS-119 was the 125th space shuttle mission, the 36th flight for Discovery and the 28th shuttle visit to the station. With Discovery and its crew safely home, the stage is set for the launch of STS-125, targeted for May 12. Atlantis' mission will return the space shuttle to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope for one last visit before the shuttle fleet retires in 2010. Over 11 days and five spacewalks, Atlantis' crew will upgrade the telescope, preparing it for at least another five years of research. For the latest information about the STS-119 mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station March 27, 2009 SPACE STATION CREWS HOLD NEWS CONFERENCE FROM ORBIT HOUSTON -- The two crews aboard the International Space Station will answer questions about their upcoming change of command in a news conference at 10:10 a.m. EDT, Wednesday, April 1. Expedition 19 Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Mike Barratt will arrive at the station Saturday to join Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Koichi Wakata, Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov. Fincke and Lonchakov have been living and working aboard the station since October. They will return to Earth April 7 with Spaceflight Participant Charles Simonyi. Simonyi, a U.S. software engineer, will spend 10 days on the station under a commercial agreement with the Russian Federal Space Agency. He also will be available to answer questions during the news conference. NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 30-minute news conference. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the space station and its crew members, visit: www.nasa.gov/station March 25, 2009 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS TO MOVE TO LAUNCH PAD TUESDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, March 31, as preparations for the STS-125 mission move forward. Atlantis is targeted to lift off May 12 to service NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The first motion of the shuttle out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. EDT. The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters, was mounted on a mobile launcher platform and will be delivered to the pad atop a crawler-transporter. The crawler will travel slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The process is expected to take approximately six hours. NASA Television will provide live coverage of Atlantis' rollout to the launch pad beginning at 7 a.m. Video highlights will air on the NASA TV Video File. During Atlantis' 11-day mission, the crew of seven astronauts will make the final shuttle flight to Hubble. During five spacewalks, they will install two new instruments, repair two inactive ones and replace components. The result will be six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond what is now available, and an extended operational lifespan for the telescope through at least 2014. Scott Altman will be the commander of Atlantis. Gregory C. Johnson will be the pilot. Mission specialists will be John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Megan McArthur, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the STS-125 mission and crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble March 25, 2009 SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY SET TO LAND SATURDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The space shuttle Discovery's crew is expected to complete its mission to the International Space Station with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:43 p.m. EDT on Saturday, March 28. The return to Earth will conclude a 13-day flight. Nine of those days were spent docked to the station. During the STS-119 mission, the shuttle and station crews installed and deployed the final set of solar arrays. The arrays provide the electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's expanded crew of six in May. The flight also delivered Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata, who replaced space station crew member Sandra Magnus. She spent more than four months aboard the station and will return to Earth aboard Discovery. The entry flight control team in Mission Control at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Discovery to return to Earth. Saturday's landing opportunities at Kennedy are at 1:43 p.m. and 3:19 p.m. If weather prevents a Kennedy landing Saturday, the secondary landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., will be activated Sunday for consideration as well. After touchdown in Florida, the astronauts will undergo physical examinations and meet with their families. The STS-119 crew is expected to hold a news conference about five hours after landing Saturday. Both news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television. The Kennedy News Center will open for landing activities at 9:30 a.m. Saturday and close at 8 p.m. or one hour after the last media event. The STS-119 media badges are in effect through landing. The media accreditation building on State Road 3 will be open Saturday from 10 a.m. to noon. The last bus will depart from the news center for the Shuttle Landing Facility one hour before landing. For updated information about the landing, call 321-867-2525. If the landing is diverted to Edwards, news media should call the Dryden public affairs office at 661-276-3449. Dryden has limited facilities available for use by previously accredited journalists. Live updates to the NASA News Twitter feed are added throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To access the NASA News Twitter feed and other agency Twitter feeds, visit: www.nasa.gov/collaborate For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-119 mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station March 25, 2009 NASA'S CONSTELLATION PROGRAM TESTS ORION RECOVERY PROCEDURES WASHINGTON -- A full-scale mockup of NASA's Orion crew module is being tested in water under simulated and real landing weather conditions. Beginning March 23, a Navy-built, 18,000-pound Orion mockup will be placed in a test pool at the Naval Surface Warfare Center's Carderock Division in West Bethesda, Md. Ocean testing will begin April 6 off the coast of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The goal of the operation, dubbed the Post-landing Orion Recovery Test, or PORT, is to determine what kind of motions the astronaut crew can expect after landing, as well as conditions outside for the recovery team. The experience will help NASA design landing recovery operations including equipment, ship and crew necessities. The Carderock facility provides a controlled environment for crew recovery personnel to familiarize themselves with the Orion capsule before the team tests procedures in the uncontrolled waters of the Atlantic Ocean. For the ocean testing, the team will use a space shuttle solid rocket booster recovery ship to take the mockup out to sea, going further into rougher conditions each day. A media opportunity to view testing visible from shore will be scheduled for April 7 at Kennedy. During the Orion mockup's transportation from Maryland to Florida, it will make stops for public viewing. Designated opportunities are March 30 in front of the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington and April 3 at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. NASA's Constellation Program, which includes the Orion crew vehicle and the Ares I rocket that will launch it, is America's next-generation human spaceflight system that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station, back to the moon and to destinations beyond. The Constellation Program's Operations and Test Integration Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston is leading the PORT effort. Development of Orion and associated Constellation Program elements is a joint effort involving every NASA center and partners across the country. Results of these tests will influence Orion vehicle design at Johnson and recovery hardware designs under evaluation at Kennedy. For more information about NASA's Orion crew vehicle, visit: www.nasa.gov/orion For more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit: www.nasa.gov/constellation March 19, 2009 FINAL HARDWARE FOR TEST OF NASA'S NEW ROCKET ARRIVES IN FLORIDA CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After a seven-day, 2,917-mile journey, a train carrying the four motor segments for the Ares I-X rocket arrived Thursday at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The motor is the final hardware needed for the rocket's upcoming test flight this summer. The test flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to check and prove hardware, analysis and modeling methods, and facilities and ground operations needed to develop the Ares I, which is NASA's next crew launch vehicle. The test also will allow NASA to gather critical data during the ascent of the integrated stack, which will help inform the design of the Ares I rocket and the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The data will ensure the entire vehicle system is safe and fully operational before astronauts begin traveling in it to the International Space Station and moon. The reusable segments departed March 13 from Promontory, Utah, where Ares I first stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, manufactured them. "We have achieved a tremendous milestone with the arrival of the segments," said Bob Ess, mission manager for Ares I-X at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "For NASA personnel and contractor teams throughout the country, this is the culmination of years of hard work and dedication." The Ares I-X first stage uses a four-segment solid rocket motor capable of generating 3.3 million pounds of thrust. The motor provides the primary propulsion for the vehicle from liftoff to stage separation 120 seconds into the flight. The motor segments for the flight test were taken from the existing space shuttle solid rocket booster inventory. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. These modifications help NASA better replicate the size and shape of the five-segment booster that will be used for the Ares I crew launch vehicle. "As we move toward a flight this summer, it is exciting to see the final hardware arrive at the launch site," said Bob Herman, ATK's Florida site director. "We are honored to play an important role in helping NASA achieve its exploration goals." Having arrived at Kennedy, the segments now will be transferred to the center's Rotation Processing and Surge facility for final processing and integration. The stacking operations are scheduled to begin in the Vehicle Assembly Building in April. To follow the progress of the Ares I-X mission with the Ares I-X blog, visit: http://blogs.nasa.gov/cm/blog/Ares I-X For more information about Ares I-X, Ares I and NASA's next-generation rockets, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ares March 17, 2009 Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O, or GOES-O CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-O, or GOES-O, will be launched into orbit aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket in late April. GOES-O, which becomes GOES-14 when it reaches orbit, is the second of three new geostationary weather and environmental satellites built for NASA by Boeing Satellite Systems. GOES-N was launched in 2006, GOES-O is to be launched this year, and GOES-P is currently planned for launch in 2010. GOES-O will feature a highly stable pointing platform, which will improve the performance of the Imager and Sounder that are important instruments for creating daily weather-prediction models and for hurricane forecasting. For NOAA's National Ocean Service, data from GOES-O will be valuable for oceanographic circulation models and forecasts for U.S. coastal communities. It also will provide expanded capability for the space and solar environment-monitoring instruments. Forecasts and warnings for solar disturbances will be enhanced. This will protect investments of billions of dollars by the private sector and the government for assets on the ground and in space. As with all of NOAA's geostationary and polar-orbiting weather satellites, GOES-O will also be able to relay distress signals detected from emergency locator beacons on the ground and at sea. The Delta IV rocket will be launched by United Launch Alliance and is now being prepared for liftoff at Launch Complex 37 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch is currently scheduled to occur on April 28 at the opening of a 60-minute launch window that occurs between 6:24 - 7:24 p.m. EDT. Boeing's GOES-O contract with NASA calls for a "delivery on orbit" and will be a commercial launch under an FAA commercial license. The satellite will be turned over to NASA after a successful checkout has been completed by Boeing Satellite Systems. Approximately six months after completion of post-launch testing, the spacecraft will be turned over to NOAA. The NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is responsible for designing and developing the spacecraft and its instruments. For more information about GOES-O, visit: http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/ March 16, 2009 NASA AWARDS LAUNCH SERVICES CONTRACT FOR FOUR MISSIONS CAPE CANAVERAL, FL -- NASA has selected United Launch Services of Littleton, Colo., for the launch of two Science Mission Directorate and two Space Operations Mission Directorate payloads under the NASA Launch Services contract. The launches will occur on Atlas V expendable launch vehicles. The total value of the award is approximately $600 million, which includes the launch services for the rockets, plus additional services under other contracts for payload processing, launch vehicle integration, and tracking, data and telemetry support. The launches will be from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The four payloads are the Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission, the Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, and the Tracking and Data Relay Satellites K and L, or TDRS-K and TDRS-L, missions. Planned for launch in 2011, the NASA Radiation Belt Storm Probes mission uses two almost identical spacecraft built by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md. For two years, the twin probes will study the radiation belts surrounding Earth to improve our understanding of how the sun's changing energy flow affects them. Two new Tracking and Data Relay satellites will be launched, TDRS-K and TDRS-L, to replenish the NASA communications relay network that provides voice, data, video and telemetry links between spacecraft below geosynchronous orbit and the ground. Among the major users of the relay network are the International Space Station and NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. The launches are planned for 2012 and 2013. The Magnetospheric Multiscale mission is a NASA space physics research effort to discover the fundamental plasma physics processes of magnetic reconnection that occurs when energy emanating from the sun's solar wind interacts with the Earth's magnetic field. Four identical satellites will be launched together in a stacked configuration. They will fly in an elliptical orbit around Earth. The Magnetospheric Multiscale Project is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., under a contract with the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The launch is planned for 2014. NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida manages launch services, including payload integration and certifying launch vehicles, for NASA's use. For more information about NASA and its missions, visit: http://www.nasa.gov Ê March 15, 2009 NASA'S SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LAUNCHES TO FULLY POWER SPACE STATION CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery and its seven-member crew lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 7:43 p.m. EDT Sunday to deliver the final set of power-generating solar array wings and a new crew member to the International Space Station. Discovery's STS-119 flight is carrying the space station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone. The arrays will provide the electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's expanded crew of six in May. The 13-day mission will feature three spacewalks to help install the S6 truss segment to the starboard, or right, side of the station and deploy its solar arrays. The flight also will replace a failed unit for a system that converts urine to potable water. Shortly before launch, Commander Lee Archambault thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. "It's truly an honor to be part of this team representing NASA, the nation and the international partners," Archambault said. "See you in a couple of weeks." Archambault is joined on STS-119 by Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace space station crew member Sandra Magnus, who has been aboard the station for more than four months. He will return to Earth during the next station shuttle mission, STS-127, targeted to launch in June 2009. Former science teachers Acaba and Arnold are now fully-trained NASA astronauts. They are making their first journey to orbit on the mission and will step outside the station to conduct critical spacewalking tasks. Discovery's launch was postponed Wednesday, March 11, after a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system was detected during fueling. Technicians rebuilt and replaced seals and other components associated with the system. No leaks were detected during Sunday's fueling. NASA is providing continuous television and Internet coverage of Discovery's mission, which is the 125th shuttle flight, the 36th for Discovery and the 28th shuttle mission to the station. NASA Television features live mission events, daily mission status news conferences and 24-hour commentary. NASA TV is webcast at: www.nasa.gov/ntv NASA's Web coverage of STS-119 includes current mission information, interactive features, news conference images, graphics and videos. Mission coverage, including the latest NASA TV schedule, also is available on the main space shuttle Web site at: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Live updates to the NASA News Twitter feed will be added throughout the shuttle mission and landing. To access the NASA News Twitter feed and other agency Twitter feeds, visit: www.nasa.gov/collaborate For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station March 13, 2009 NASA SETS SATURDAY BRIEFING FOR DISCOVERY'S STS-119 MISSION CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers will hold a prelaunch news conference no earlier than 3 p.m. EDT on Saturday, March 14, to discuss the status of space shuttle Discovery's mission to the International Space Station. The briefing will air live on NASA Television and the agency Web site. Launch is scheduled for 7:43 p.m. on Sunday. Saturday's news conference will follow the conclusion of a NASA mission management team meeting that starts at 1 p.m. Discovery's launch was postponed Wednesday due to a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. Discovery's STS-119 flight will deliver the space station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone. The arrays will provide the electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's expanded crew of six in May. The flight also will replace a failed unit for a system that converts urine to potable water. For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-119 mission and its crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle March 11, 2009 NASA SHUTTLE LAUNCH TARGETED FOR NO EARLIER THAN MARCH 15 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Discovery's launch to the International Space Station now is targeted for no earlier than March 15. NASA managers postponed Wednesday's planned liftoff due to a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. Liftoff on March 15 would be at 7:43 p.m. EDT. The exact launch date is dependent on the work necessary to repair the problem. Managers will meet Thursday at 4 p.m. to further assess the troubleshooting plan. Discovery's STS-119 flight is delivering the space station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone. The arrays will provide the electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's expanded crew of six in May. The 14-day mission will feature four spacewalks to help install the S6 truss segment to the starboard, or right, side of the station and the deployment of its solar arrays. The flight also will replace a failed unit for a system that converts urine to potable water. Commander Lee Archambault is joined on STS-119 by Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace space station crew member Sandra Magnus, who has been aboard the station for more than four months. He will return to Earth during the next station shuttle mission, STS-127, targeted to launch in June 2009. For the latest information about the STS-119 mission and its crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station March 7, 2009 NASA'S KEPLER MISSION ROCKETS TO SPACE IN SEARCH OF OTHER EARTHS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kepler mission successfully launched into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II at 10:49 p.m. EST, Friday. Kepler is designed to find the first Earth-size planets orbiting stars at distances where water could pool on the planet's surface. Liquid water is believed to be essential for the formation of life. Liftoff of the Delta II rocket carrying NASA's Kepler spacecraft. Image credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller "It was a stunning launch," said Kepler Project Manager James Fanson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our team is thrilled to be a part of something so meaningful to the human race -- Kepler will help us understand if our Earth is unique or if others like it are out there." Engineers acquired a signal from Kepler at 12:11 a.m. Saturday, after it separated from its spent third-stage rocket and entered its final sun-centered orbit, trailing 950 miles behind Earth. The spacecraft is generating its own power from its solar panels. "Kepler now has the perfect place to watch more than 100,000 stars for signs of planets," said William Borucki, the mission's science principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. Borucki has worked on the mission for 17 years. "Everyone is very excited as our dream becomes a reality. We are on the verge of learning if other Earths are ubiquitous in the galaxy." Engineers have begun to check Kepler to ensure it is working properly, a process called "commissioning" that will take about 60 days. In about a month or less, NASA will send up commands for Kepler to eject its dust cover and make its first measurements. After another month of calibrating Kepler's single instrument, a wide-field charge-couple device camera, the telescope will begin to search for planets. The first planets to roll out on the Kepler "assembly line" are expected to be the portly "hot Jupiters" -- gas giants that circle close and fast around their stars. NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes will be able to follow up with these planets and learn more about their atmospheres. Neptune-size planets will most likely be found next, followed by rocky ones as small as Earth. The true Earth analogs -- Earth-sized planets orbiting stars like our sun at distances where surface water, and possibly life, could exist -- would take at least three years to discover and confirm. Ground-based telescopes also will contribute to the mission by verifying some of the finds. In the end, Kepler will give us our first look at the frequency of Earth-size planets in our Milky Way galaxy, as well as the frequency of Earth-size planets that could theoretically be habitable. "Even if we find no planets like Earth, that by itself would be profound. It would indicate that we are probably alone in the galaxy," said Borucki. As the mission progresses, Kepler will drift farther and farther behind Earth in its orbit around the sun. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which was launched into the same orbit more than five years ago, is now more than 62 million miles behind Earth. Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission. Ames is the home organization of the science principal investigator and is responsible for the ground system development, mission operations and science data analysis. JPL manages the Kepler mission development. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., is responsible for developing the Kepler flight system and supporting mission operations. NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., managed the launch service including payload integration and certifying the Delta II launch vehicle for NASA's use. For more information about the Kepler mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/kepler March 6, 2009 NASA GIVES 'GO' FOR SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH ON MARCH 11 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers completed a review Friday of space shuttle Discovery's readiness for flight and selected the official launch date for the STS-119 mission. Commander Lee Archambault and his six crewmates are now scheduled to lift off to the International Space Station at 9:20 p.m. EDT on March 11. Discovery's launch date was announced following Friday's Flight Readiness Review. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight. The review included a formal presentation of the shuttle's flow control valve work, initiated after NASA identified damage to a valve on shuttle Endeavour during its November 2008 flight. Using a detailed inspections, there are three valves that have been cleared of crack indications now installed in Discovery to support the STS-119 mission. Discovery's STS-119 flight will deliver the space station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone. The arrays will provide the electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's expanded crew of six in May. The 14-day mission will feature four spacewalks to help install the S6 truss segment to the starboard, or right, side of the station and the deployment of its solar arrays. The flight also will replace a failed unit for a system that converts urine to potable water. Archambault will be joined on STS-119 by Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace space station crew member Sandra Magnus, who has been aboard the station for more than four months. He will return to Earth during the next station shuttle mission, STS-127, targeted to launch in June 2009. Former science teachers Acaba and Arnold are now fully-trained NASA astronauts. They will make their first journey to orbit on the mission and step outside the station to conduct critical spacewalking tasks. For more information about the upcoming shuttle flights, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle March 3, 2009 GOES-O SATELLITE ARRIVES AT KENNEDY FOR FINAL PRELAUNCH TESTING CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite, GOES, developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, called GOES-O, arrived Tuesday on a C-17 military cargo aircraft at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility from its manufacturing plant in El Segundo, Calif. The GOES-O satellite is targeted to launch April 28 onboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle. Once in orbit, GOES-O will be designated GOES-14, and NASA will provide on-orbit checkout and then transfer operational responsibility to NOAA. GOES-O will be placed in on-orbit storage as a replacement for an older GOES satellite. After arriving, the satellite was transported to Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where final testing of the imaging system, instrumentation, communications and power systems will be performed. These tests will take approximately six weeks to complete. Then the spacecraft will be fueled with propellant for the attitude control system, encapsulated in the nose fairing and prepared for transport to the launch pad. GOES-O is the second spacecraft to be launched in the GOES N-P series of geostationary environmental weather satellites. The GOES satellites continuously provide observations of 60 percent of the Earth including the continental United States, providing weather monitoring and forecast operations as well as a continuous and reliable stream of environmental information and severe weather warnings. GOES-O carries an advanced attitude control system using star trackers with spacecraft optical bench Imager and Sounder mountings that provide enhanced instrument pointing performance for improved image navigation and registration to better locate severe storms and other events important to the NOAA National Weather Service. The Imager on GOES-O has improved resolution in the 13 micron channel from 8 km to 4 km. The finer spatial resolution allows improved estimates of horizontal distribution of cloud-top, height of atmospheric motion vectors, and volcanic ash detection. In addition, the GOES-O image navigation accuracy of about 2 km from an orbit altitude of about 22,300 miles, or 35,700 km, is superior compared to the previous series of GOES satellites. The multi-mission GOES N-P Series of satellites are vital contributors to weather, solar, and space operations and future science improvements with weather prediction and remote sensing. These satellites aid in severe storm warnings, resource management, search and rescue, emergency managers, and likely lead to additional advances in environmental sciences and multifaceted data applications of remotely sensed phenomena. GOES-O data will add to the global climate change databases of knowledge, embracing many civil and government environmental forecasting organizations that work to benefit people everywhere and help save lives. A United Launch Alliance Delta IV expendable launch vehicle was erected Feb. 25 at Space Launch Complex 37-B, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. NOAA manages the operational environmental satellite program and establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes operational environmental satellite data for the United States. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., procures and manages the development and launch of the satellites for NOAA on a cost reimbursable basis. United Launch Alliance will conduct the commercial launch with a Federal Aviation Administration launch license. They will also oversee launch service duties that include oversight of the launch vehicle processing activities, integration of the GOES-O spacecraft with the Delta IV rocket and the launch countdown activities. For more information about GOES-O and the geostationary satellites, visit: http://goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov/ March 2, 2009 PUBLIC INVITED TO SUBMIT QUESTIONS FOR NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space enthusiasts from across the United States and around the world are invited to submit questions about space shuttle Discovery's upcoming launch, its STS-119 mission to the International Space Station, and NASA space exploration. Questions may be answered on NASA Television during the countdown to launch. Questions can be submitted online at: webcast.ksc.nasa.gov The STS-119 mission will deliver a new crew member to the space station. The crew also will deliver and install a fourth and final set of large solar arrays that will provide electricity to support six-person station crews beginning in May. Currently, three crew members live aboard the station for several months at a time. Discovery and its seven astronauts are tentatively targeted to launch March 12 at 8:54 p.m. EDT from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA commentary will begin about five hours before liftoff. For more information about the STS-119 crew and mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle 27 Feb 2009 Flow Valve Testing Continues NASA's Space Shuttle Program managers meet March 4, to review new testing data of space shuttle Discovery's gaseous hydrogen flow control valves. Managers then will be able to decide whether to go ahead with another Flight Readiness Review on March 6. The launch date for STS-119's mission to the International Space Station is tentatively targeted for March 12. No other work on the shuttle is scheduled for this weekend. The STS-119 crew members will be enjoying a well-earned weekend of relaxation before resuming their training Monday. Feb. 26, 2009 NASA'S KEPLER TELESCOPE TO LAUNCH ABOARD DELTA II ROCKET CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Launch of NASA's Kepler telescope is targeted for no earlier than Friday, March 6, from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. There are two launch windows, from 10:49 - 10:52 p.m. and 11:13 - 11:16 p.m. EST. Kepler is a spaceborne telescope designed to search the nearby region of our galaxy for Earth-size planets orbiting in the habitable zone of stars like our sun. The habitable zone is the region around a star where temperatures permit water to be liquid on a planet's surface. Liquid water is considered essential for the existence of life as we know it. The vast majority of the approximately 300 planets known to orbit other stars are much larger than Earth, and none is believed to be habitable. The challenge for Kepler is to look at a large number of stars in order to statistically estimate the total number of Earth-size planets orbiting sun-like stars in the habitable zone. Kepler will survey more than 100,000 stars in our galaxy. Engineers are reviewing all common hardware between the Delta II rocket carrying the Kepler telescope and the Taurus XL launch vehicle. On Tuesday, a Taurus carrying NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory failed to reach orbit. Managers want to confirm there will not be similar issues with Kepler's Delta II. Kepler's original March 5 target launch date was moved one day later to accommodate the additional time for analysis. The March 6 target date still must be confirmed by the U.S Air Force, which manages the eastern launch range. Kepler's Flight Readiness Review is on Monday, March 2. NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., is responsible for the launch of Kepler aboard a Delta II 7925-10L rocket. United Launch Alliance is conducting the launch for NASA. NASA's Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., is the home organization of the principal science investigator and is responsible for the ground system development, mission operations and science data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., is responsible for the spacecraft and the Kepler mission development. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation of Boulder, Colo., is responsible for developing and building the Kepler spacecraft and supporting mission operations. 25 Feb 2009 Space Shuttle Program Completes New Plan for Next Launch NASA's Space Shuttle Program has established a plan that could support shuttle Discovery's launch to the International Space Station, tentatively targeted for March 12. An exact target launch date will be determined as work progresses with the shuttle's three gaseous hydrogen flow control valves. At the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians have started removing Discovery's three valves, two of which will undergo detailed inspection. Approximately 4,000 images of each valve will be reviewed for evidence of cracks. Valves that have flown fewer times will be installed in Discovery. Engineering teams also will complete analysis and testing to understand the consequences if a valve piece were to break off and strike pressurization lines between the shuttle and external fuel tank. Hardware modifications may be made to the pressurization lines to add extra protection in the unlikely event debris is released. NASA and contractor teams have been working to identify what caused damage to a flow control valve on shuttle Endeavour during its November 2008 flight. Part of the main propulsion system, the valves channel gaseous hydrogen from the main engines to the external tank. After a thorough review of shuttle Discovery's readiness for flight on Feb. 20, NASA managers decided more understanding of the valve work was required before launching Discovery. The Space Shuttle Program will hold a meeting March 4 to review new data and assess ongoing work. Managers then will determine whether to move forward with a flight readiness review March 6. If Discovery's tentative launch date holds, there will be no effect on the next two shuttle launches: STS-125 to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope and STS-127 to the International Space Station. Feb. 25, 2009 NASA NAMES CHAIRMAN FOR ORBITING CARBON OBSERVATORY INVESTIGATION WASHINGTON -- NASA's Rick Obenschain, deputy director at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., will lead the investigation board for the unsuccessful launch of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory on Feb. 24. The Mishap Investigation Board, or MIB, will have four other members. NASA will announce the names of additional members as they become available. The board will gather information, analyze the facts, and identify the failure's cause or causes and contributing factors. The MIB will make recommendations for actions to prevent a similar incident. Obenschain shares responsibility for executive leadership and overall direction and management of Goddard and its assigned programs and projects. He also is responsible for providing executive oversight and technical evaluation for the development and delivery for Goddard space systems launch and operations. Previously, Obenschain was appointed director of the Flight Projects Directorate in September 2004, and was responsible for the day-to-day management of more than 40 space and Earth science missions. He has held a number of project management positions at Goddard. Obenschain is the recipient of NASA's Distinguished Service Medal, Exceptional Service Medal, Outstanding Leadership Medal, Equal Opportunity Medal, and Goddard's Award of Merit. In 1995, he received the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics von Braun Award for Excellence in Space Program Management. For information about the Orbiting Carbon Observatory failed launch and investigation, visit: www.nasa.gov/oco Feb. 25, 2009 NASA PRESENTS SAFETY AWARD TO STEVEN M. DAVIS WASHINGTON -- NASA has presented its Quality and Safety Achievement Recognition, or QASAR, award for 2008 to Steven M. Davis of Titusville, Fla. Davis, an employee of the Defense Contract Management Agency at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, received the award for his attention to detail in an incident involving a space shuttle solid rocket booster. He was recognized along with three other recipients Feb. 25 at NASA's sixth annual Project Management Challenge in Daytona Beach, Fla. The QASAR award recognizes individual government and contractor employees who have demonstrated exemplary performance in contributing to the quality and/or safety of products, services, processes, or management programs and activities. "This is a great honor and I feel extremely privileged to be given this award. Winning this award is not about me. It took a lot of people everywhere to make this happen," said Davis, a native of Russell's Point, Ohio. According to his award citation, Davis discovered that a quality assurance representative mistakenly waived a mandatory proof pressure test on a solid rocket booster gas generator, after contractor personnel had overlooked the inspection. Davis then worked closely with NASA and contractor safety and mission assurance specialists to document the missed inspection for space shuttle program review and ensure that the gas generator was examined properly. The graduate of Lindsey Wilson College in Columbia, Ky., also briefed the solid rocket booster contractors on the importance of mandatory inspections and prohibitions against waivers. For more information about the Quality and Safety Achievement Recognition award program, visit: www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/qasar/ Feb. 25, 2009 NASA PRESENTS SAFETY AWARD TO ROBERT D. STRANEY WASHINGTON -- NASA has presented its Quality and Safety Achievement Recognition, or QASAR, award for 2008 to Robert D. Straney of Merritt Island, Fla. Straney, an employee of United Space Alliance at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, received the award for his attention to detail in an inspection of the space shuttle Discovery. He was recognized along with three other recipients Feb. 25 at the agency's sixth annual Project Management Challenge in Daytona Beach, Fla. The QASAR award recognizes individual government and contractor employees who have demonstrated exemplary performance in contributing to the quality and/or safety of products, services, processes, or management programs and activities. "I'm proud to be part of the shuttle program and it's an honor to be recognized by NASA," said Straney. While conducting a post-flight inspection of shuttle Discovery's thermal protection system, Straney found that one of the two bolts that connect a carrier panel to the orbiter's wing had a washer installed where it should not have been. The hidden configuration of the washer posed a safety hazard, and it took a keen eye for the graduate of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in Daytona Beach to see it. Straney's discovery prompted changes in inspection procedures for the same flight hardware in the future. For more information about the Quality and Safety Achievement Recognition award program, visit: www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/qasar/ 25 Feb 2009 NASA Removes Discovery's Flow Control Valves - Plans Next Steps for Launch Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center are removing space shuttle Discovery's three gaseous hydrogen flow control valves today. Managers continue to evaluate test data in an effort to gather enough information to finalize a plan setting a new target launch date for the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. Though the plan has not yet been completed, technicians will install flow control valves that have flown fewer times than the ones currently in Discovery's main propulsion system. The plan is expected to be finalized today. Once senior managers are in agreement, a Flight Readiness Review meeting will be rescheduled to assess the readiness for launch and set a formal launch target date. Meanwhile, Discovery's astronauts are making a quick trip to Kennedy for the day to refresh their training and understanding of the hardware and flight equipment they'll use during the mission. Feb. 24, 2009 NASA'S LAUNCH OF CARBON-SEEKING SATELLITE IS UNSUCCESSFUL WASHINGTON -- NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory satellite failed to reach orbit after its 4:55 a.m. EST liftoff Tuesday from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base. Preliminary indications are that the fairing on the Taurus XL launch vehicle failed to separate. The fairing is a clamshell structure that encapsulates the satellite as it travels through the atmosphere. A Mishap Investigation Board will be immediately convened to determine the cause of the launch failure. For more information, visit: www.nasa.gov 24 Feb 2009 Technicians to Replace Discovery's Flow Valves NASA managers have asked technicians at Kennedy Space Center to remove the three gaseous hydrogen flow control valves from space shuttle Discovery. Work continues in evaluation of test data in an effort to gather enough information to finalize a plan setting a new target launch date for the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. Though the plan has not yet been completed, technicians will install flow control valves that have flown fewer times than the ones currently in Discovery's main propulsion system. The plan should be finalized by Wednesday and once senior managers are in agreement, a Flight Readiness Review will be rescheduled to assess the readiness for launch and to set a formal launch target date. At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Mission Specialists Steve Swanson and Richard Arnold are in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory practicing spacewalking techniques today. 23 Feb 2009 NASA Looks to Set New Launch Date This week, NASA's Space Shuttle Program managers and engineers will continue to evaluate gaseous hydrogen flow control valve testing data. The results will be reviewed during a meeting Feb. 25, and may provide enough information to select a new target launch date for the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. Meanwhile, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Discovery's crew members are out of quarantine and practicing solar array deployment maneuvers in a fixed base simulator. Feb. 20, 2009 NASA DEFERS SETTING NEXT SHUTTLE LAUNCH DATE CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- During a thorough review of space shuttle Discovery's readiness for flight, NASA managers decided Friday that more data and possible testing are required before launching the STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. Engineering teams have been working to identify what caused damage to a flow control valve on shuttle Endeavour during its November 2008 flight. "We need to complete more work to have a better understanding before flying," said Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington who chaired Friday's Flight Readiness Review. "We were not driven by schedule pressure and did the right thing. When we fly, we want to do so with full confidence." The shuttle has three flow control valves that channel gaseous hydrogen from the main engines to the external fuel tank. Teams also have tried to determine the consequences if a valve piece were to break off and strike part of the shuttle and external fuel tank. The Space Shuttle Program has been asked to develop a plan to inspect additional valves similar to those installed on Discovery. This plan will be reviewed during a meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 25. Afterward, the program may consider setting a new target launch date. For more information about the Space Shuttle Program, including a fact sheet about the flow control valves, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Feb. 20, 2009 SEGMENT OF ARES I-X TEST ROCKET ARRIVES AT KENNEDY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The last newly manufactured section of the Ares I-X test rocket arrived at the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility of NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Friday. Called the frustum, the section resembles a giant funnel. Its function is to transition the primary flight loads from the rocket's upper stage to the first stage. The frustum is located between the forward skirt extension and the upper stage of the Ares I-X. "It is always great to get the hardware to the launch site, and once the motors arrive in just a few weeks, the entire launch vehicle can begin final processing prior to stacking operations in the Vehicle Assembly Building," said Jon Cowart, the Ares I-X deputy mission manager at Kennedy. The Ares I-X is targeted to launch in the summer of 2009. The flight will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I launch vehicle. The flight test also will bring NASA a step closer to its exploration goals of sending humans to the moon and destinations beyond. The frustum is manufactured by Major Tool and Machine Inc. in Indiana under a subcontract with Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, the Ares first stage prime contractor. Weighing in at approximately 13,000 pounds, the 10-foot-long section is composed of two aluminum rings attached to a truncated conic section. The large diameter of the cone is 18 feet and the small diameter is 12 feet. The cone is 1.25 inches thick. "We are thrilled to deliver this final segment to the ground processing team at Kennedy," said Bob Herman, ATK's Florida site director. "The arrival of the frustum is a significant milestone. Much rigorous design, development and testing had to be accomplished prior to manufacturing all of the new segments that make up the Ares I-X first stage." The frustum will be integrated with the forward skirt and forward skirt extension, which already are in the Assembly and Refurbishment Facility. That will complete the forward assembly. The assembly then will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking operations, which are scheduled to begin in April. Video B-roll of the hardware arrival will be available on NASA Television's Video File. For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about Ares I-X and NASA's next-generation rockets, visit: www.nasa.gov/ares Feb. 20, 2009 BE PART OF HISTORY -- HELP NASA NAME THE NEXT SPACE STATION MODULE WASHINGTON -- NASA is asking the public to help name the International Space Station's next module - a control tower for robotics in space and the world's ultimate observation deck. Eight refrigerator-sized racks in the Node 3 module will provide room for many of the station's life support systems. Attached to the node is the cupola, a one-of-a-kind work station with six windows around the sides and one on top. The cupola will offer astronauts a spectacular view of their home planet and their home in space. In addition to providing a perfect location to observe and photograph Earth, the cupola also will contain a robotics workstation from which astronauts will be able to control the station's 57-foot robotic arm. Individuals can vote for the module's name online, choosing one of four NASA suggestions -- Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity or Venture -- or writing in a name. Submissions will be accepted Feb. 19 through March 20. The name should reflect the spirit of exploration and cooperation embodied by the space station and follow in the tradition set by Node 1, named "Unity," and Node 2, named "Harmony." The winning name will be announced at the Node 3 unveiling April 28 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The node is scheduled to arrive at Kennedy April 20 and is targeted for launch in late 2009. For more information, to submit a name and to view pictures of the node and cupola, visit: www.nasa.gov/namenode3 For additional information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Feb. 20, 2009 BE PART OF HISTORY -- HELP NASA NAME THE NEXT SPACE STATION MODULE WASHINGTON -- NASA is asking the public to help name the International Space Station's next module - a control tower for robotics in space and the world's ultimate observation deck. Eight refrigerator-sized racks in the Node 3 module will provide room for many of the station's life support systems. Attached to the node is the cupola, a one-of-a-kind work station with six windows around the sides and one on top. The cupola will offer astronauts a spectacular view of their home planet and their home in space. In addition to providing a perfect location to observe and photograph Earth, the cupola also will contain a robotics workstation from which astronauts will be able to control the station's 57-foot robotic arm. Individuals can vote for the module's name online, choosing one of four NASA suggestions -- Earthrise, Legacy, Serenity or Venture -- or writing in a name. Submissions will be accepted Feb. 19 through March 20. The name should reflect the spirit of exploration and cooperation embodied by the space station and follow in the tradition set by Node 1, named "Unity," and Node 2, named "Harmony." The winning name will be announced at the Node 3 unveiling April 28 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The node is scheduled to arrive at Kennedy April 20 and is targeted for launch in late 2009. For more information, to submit a name and to view pictures of the node and cupola, visit: www.nasa.gov/namenode3 For additional information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Feb. 17, 2009 NASA MISSION TO SEEK WATER ICE ON MOON HEADS TO FLORIDA FOR LAUNCH MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- NASA's Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, is enroute from Northrop Grumman's facility in Redondo Beach, Calif., to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for a spring launch. The satellite's primary mission is to search for water ice on the moon in a permanently shadowed crater near one of the lunar poles. LCROSS is a low-cost, accelerated-development, companion mission to NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO. At Kennedy, the two spacecraft will be integrated with an Atlas V launch vehicle and tested for final flightworthiness. LCROSS and LRO are the first missions in NASA's plan to return humans to the moon and begin establishing a lunar outpost by 2020. After launch, the LCROSS spacecraft and the Atlas V's Centaur upper stage rocket will fly by the moon and enter into an elongated orbit to position the satellite for impact. On final approach, the spacecraft and Centaur will separate. The Centaur will strike the chosen lunar crater, creating a debris plume that will rise above the surface. Four minutes later, LCROSS will fly through the debris plume, collecting and relaying data back to Earth before striking the moon's surface and creating a second debris plume. Scientists will use data from the debris clouds to determine the presence or absence of water ice. "The LCROSS project has had to work within very challenging cost-cap and schedule-cap constraints," said Dan Andrews, LCROSS project manager at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. "The shipping of our spacecraft is a testament to our balanced approach and the great people working on this project." To remain within budget and a short schedule of 26 months, the LCROSS project team developed a simple yet innovative spacecraft that uses existing NASA systems, commercial-off-the-shelf components modified to survive the harsh conditions of space, and the spacecraft design and development expertise of integration partner Northrop Grumman Space Technologies. "LCROSS delivers a high science value per dollar," said Steve Hixson, vice president for advanced concepts at Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach. "With its versatile, fast and cost efficient architecture, the LCROSS spacecraft serves as a pathfinder for future low-cost Earth and space science missions." Ames manages the LCROSS mission and will conduct mission and science operations. Northrop Grumman designed, built, integrated and tested the spacecraft. The LCROSS and LRO missions are components of the Lunar Precursor Robotic Program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The program manages pathfinding robotic missions to the moon for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. For more information about the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, visit:vbwww.nasa.gov/lcross For more information about the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, visit: www.nasa.gov/lro For more information about Northrop Grumman Corporation, visit: www.northropgrumman.com Feb. 17, 2009 NASA ORBITING CARBON OBSERVATORY ON A TAURUS XL READY FOR LAUNCH VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The launch of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, or OCO, aboard a Taurus XL rocket is scheduled for Feb. 24. Liftoff from Space Launch Complex 576-E at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is set for 1:51:30 a.m. PST during a four-and-a-half-minute launch window. The spacecraft's final polar orbit will be 438 miles. OCO is NASA's first spacecraft dedicated to studying atmospheric carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in the Earth's climate. OCO will provide the first complete picture of human and natural carbon dioxide sources as well as their "sinks," the places where carbon dioxide is pulled out of the atmosphere and stored. It will map the global geographic distribution of these sources and sinks and study their changes over time. The new observatory will dramatically improve global carbon dioxide data, collecting about eight million precise measurements every 16 days for at least two years. Feb. 11, 2009 NASA LUNAR SPACECRAFT SHIPS SOUTH IN PREPARATION FOR LAUNCH GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, or LRO, spacecraft was loaded on a truck Wednesday to begin its two-day journey to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Launch is targeted for April 24. The spacecraft was built by engineers at Goddard, where it recently completed two months of tests in a thermal vacuum chamber. During its time in the chamber, the spacecraft was subjected to hot and cold temperatures it will experience as it orbits the moon. The satellite's mission is one of the first steps in NASA's plan to return astronauts to the moon. LRO will spend at least one year in a low polar orbit on its primary exploration mission, with the possibility of three more years to collect additional detailed scientific information about the moon and its environment. The orbiter will carry seven instruments to provide scientists with detailed maps of the lunar surface and enhance our understanding of the moon's topography, lighting conditions, mineralogical composition and natural resources. Information gleaned from LRO will be used to select safe landing sites, determine locations for future lunar outposts and help mitigate radiation dangers to astronauts. The polar regions of the moon are the main focus of the mission because continuous access to sunlight may be possible and water ice may exist in permanently shadowed areas of the poles. "This is the culmination of four years of hard work by everyone on the LRO Project," said Cathy Peddie, LRO deputy project manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "LRO now begins its launch site processing, where it will be prepped for integration with our sister mission LCROSS, and eventually encapsulated in the Atlas V for its journey to the moon." LRO's instruments have considerable heritage from previous planetary science missions, enabling the spacecraft to transition to a research phase under the direction of NASA's Science Mission Directorate one year after launch. Accompanying LRO on its journey to the moon will be the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite, or LCROSS, a mission that will impact the lunar surface in its search for water ice. The LCROSS mission is managed by NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. Goddard manages the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about LRO, visit: www.nasa.gov/lro Feb. 9, 2009 NASA AWARDS LAUNCH SERVICES FOR NUSTAR MISSION TO ORBITAL SCIENCES CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected Orbital Sciences Corp., of Dulles, Va., to launch the Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, high energy X-ray telescope. The spacecraft will fly in 2011 aboard a Pegasus XL rocket from the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Defense Test Site located at the Pacific Ocean's Kwajalein Atoll. The total cost of the NuSTAR launch services is approximately $36 million dollars. This estimated cost includes the task ordered launch service for a Pegasus XL rocket, plus additional services under other contracts for payload processing, launch vehicle integration, and tracking, data and telemetry support. NuSTAR will be the first focusing high energy X-ray telescope in orbit. The telescope will conduct a census for black holes, map radioactive material in young supernovae remnants, and study the origins of cosmic rays and the extreme physics around collapsed stars. The California Institute of Technology leads the mission, which NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages. NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center is responsible for launch vehicle program management. NuSTAR is part of the Explorers Program that NASA's Goddard Space Fight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages. For more information about NASA and its missions, visit: http://www.nasa.gov Feb. 9, 2009 NASA TO ANNOUNCE KENNEDY SPACE CENTER "DREAM EXPERIENCE" WINNERS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA astronaut Daniel Tani will announce the winners of Kennedy Space Center's "Your NASA Dream Experience" contest at 1:30 p.m., Feb. 12, at Lake Mills High School, Lake Mills, Wis. The nationwide contest, announced in Seventeen magazine, gave teams consisting of a teacher and two students the opportunity to apply for a three-day job shadow experience at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The winning team includes a science teacher and two former students of Lake Mills Middle School. During the visit, the team will learn first-hand about NASA's missions, receive behind-the-scenes tours of Kennedy's launch facilities, and learn about future aerospace and engineering careers. For more information on NASA education programs, visit: www.nasa.gov/education/ For information about NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy Fri, 06 Feb 2009 06:14:06 PM EST NASA CONTINUES ASSESSMENT OF THE NEXT SHUTTLE MISSION Because of an ongoing review of the space shuttle's flow control valves, NASA managers are rescheduling meetings next week to assess the launch readiness of shuttle Discovery's STS-119 mission to the International Space Station. The Space Shuttle Program will hold a meeting Feb. 13 to review data and determine whether to move forward with a flight readiness review on Feb. 18. The official launch date will be set at the readiness review, but for planning purposes launch now is no earlier than Feb. 22. There are three valves that channel gaseous hydrogen from the shuttle's main engines to the external fuel tank. One of these valves in shuttle Endeavour was found to be damaged after its mission in November. As a precaution, Discovery's three gaseous hydrogen valves were removed, inspected and reinstalled. Feb. 6, 2009 NOAA-N PRIME ENVIRONMENTAL SATELLITE SUCCESSFULLY LAUNCHED VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- A new environmental satellite that will improve weather forecasting and monitor environmental events around the world soared into space this morning after a picture-perfect launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NOAA-N Prime spacecraft lifted off at 2:22 a.m. PST aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket from NASA's Space Launch Complex 2. Approximately 65 minutes later, the spacecraft separated from the Delta II Space Launch Vehicle. Shortly after liftoff, flight controllers tracked the launch vehicle's progress using real-time telemetry data relayed through NASA's Tracking and Date Relay Satellite System. NOAA-N Prime was in a power positive mode with its solar array deployed approximately five minutes after spacecraft separation. NOAA-N Prime was renamed NOAA-19 after achieving orbit. "NOAA-19 is in a nominal orbit with all spacecraft systems functioning properly," stated Wayne McIntyre, the NASA POES Project Manager. "The NASA/NOAA partnership continues to produce enormous results with environmental missions, now exceeding more than three decades." NOAA-19 is the fifth in a series of five Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellites (POES) with advanced microwave sounding instruments that provide imaging and sounding capabilities. As it orbits the Earth, NOAA-N Prime will collect data about the Earth's surface and atmosphere that are vital inputs to NOAA's weather forecasts. NOAA-N Prime has instruments that support the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System (SARSAT), part of the international satellite system that includes the Russian provided satellites (COSPAS). Since SARSAT was established in 1982, NOAA polar-orbiting satellites have been detecting emergency distress beacons set by aviators, mariners and individuals in remote locations and relaying them to ground stations so that rescue teams may be dispatched. More than 24,500 lives have been saved through the satellite based Search and Rescue system to date. NOAA-N Prime will replace NOAA-18 in a 2:00 p.m. local solar time orbit as the primary afternoon spacecraft. NOAA-N Prime will carry the same primary instruments as NOAA-18 plus an Advanced Data Collection System and an improved Search and Rescue Processor provided by France. NOAA-N Prime is the sixteenth and last satellite in a series of polar-orbiting satellites dating back to 1978. A new generation of environmental satellites called the National Polar Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS) will become operational after the POES satellites complete their mission. NPOESS is a tri-agency (NOAA, U.S. Department of Defense, NASA) program. NPOESS will provide more capable sensors for improved data collection and better weather forecasts beginning in 2013. NOAA manages the polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite program and establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., procures and manages the development and launch of the satellites for NOAA on a cost reimbursable basis. NOAA-N Prime integration with the Delta II, countdown and launch management is the responsibility of the NASA Launch Services Program headquartered at the Kennedy Space Center. Twenty-one days after it is launched, NASA will transfer operational control of NOAA-19 to NOAA. NASA's comprehensive on-orbit verification period is expected to last approximately 45 days after launch. For more information about NOAA-N Prime and the polar-orbiting satellites, see the following Web sites: www.nasa.gov/noaa-n-prime nws.noaa.gov www.osd.noaa.gov/POES/noaa_n_prime.htm Feb. 3, 2009 SHUTTLE DISCOVERY LAUNCH NOW NO EARLIER THAN FEB. 19 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- During a review of space shuttle Discovery's readiness for flight, NASA managers decided Tuesday to plan a launch no earlier than Feb. 19. The new planning date is pending additional analysis and particle impact testing associated with a flow control valve in the shuttle's main engines. Discovery's STS-119 mission to the International Space Station originally had been targeted for Feb. 12. The valve is one of three that channels gaseous hydrogen from the engines to the external fuel tank. One of these valves in shuttle Endeavour was found to be damaged after its mission in November. As a precaution, Discovery's valves were removed, inspected and reinstalled. The Space Shuttle Program will convene a meeting on Feb. 10 to assess the analysis. On Feb. 12, NASA managers and contractors will finalize the flight readiness review, which began Tuesday, to address the flow control valve issue and to select an official launch date. The 14-day mission will deliver the station's fourth and final set of solar arrays, completing the orbiting laboratory's truss, or backbone. The arrays will provide the electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's expanded crew of six in May. Altogether, the station's 240-foot-long arrays can generate as much as 120 kilowatts of usable electricity -- enough to provide about forty-two 2,800-square-foot homes with power. Discovery also will carry a replacement distillation assembly for the station's new water recycling system. The unit is part of the Urine Processing Assembly that removes impurities from urine in an early stage of the recycling process. The Water Recovery System was delivered and installed during the STS-126 mission in November, but the unit failed after Endeavour's departure. Joining Archambault on STS-119 will be Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Richard Arnold, John Phillips, Steve Swanson and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace Sandra Magnus aboard the station. She will return home with the Discovery crew after three months in space. Former science teachers Acaba and Arnold are now fully-trained NASA astronauts. They will make their first journey to orbit on the mission and step outside the station to conduct critical spacewalking tasks. STS-119 will be Discovery's 36th mission and the 28th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and maintenance. For more information about the STS-119 mission, including images and interviews, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Jan. 27, 2009 NASA HONORS FALLEN COLLEAGUES DURING DAY OF REMEMBRANCE CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center will pay tribute to the crews of Apollo 1 and space shuttles Challenger and Columbia, as well as other NASA colleagues, during the agency's Day of Remembrance observance on Jan. 29. NASA's Day of Remembrance honors members of the NASA family who lost their lives while furthering the cause of exploration and discovery. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will provide flowers for visitors throughout the day to place at the memorial. Kennedy contractors and civil servants will be allowed access to the Space Mirror Memorial throughout the day to pay their respects. The Astronauts Memorial Foundation, a private, not-for-profit organization, built and maintains the Space Mirror Memorial. It was dedicated in 1991 to honor all astronauts who lost their lives on missions or during training and since has been designated a National Memorial by Congress. Images of the service will be available in Kennedy's Media Gallery online at: mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/index.cfm Video of the service will air on NASA Television's Video File segment. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy Jan. 14, 2009 NASA'S SHUTTLE DISCOVERY ARRIVES AT LAUNCH PAD, PRACTICE LIFTOFF SET CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After reaching its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Discovery now awaits its next major milestone for the upcoming STS-119 mission. A launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, is scheduled to take place at Kennedy from Jan. 19 to 21. Discovery arrived at Launch Pad 39A at 10:08 a.m. EST Wednesday on top of a giant crawler-transporter. The crawler-transporter left Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 5:17 a.m. Wednesday, traveling less than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The shuttle was secured on the pad at 12:16 p.m. The STS-119 astronauts and ground crews will participate in the practice countdown. The test provides each shuttle crew with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. Video B-roll of the terminal countdown demonstration test will be available on the NASA TV Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv Discovery is targeted to launch Feb. 12 on a 14-day mission to the International Space Station. The crew of seven astronauts will install the S6 truss segment to the starboard, or right, side of the station and deploy its solar arrays. Four spacewalks will be conducted during the flight. Lee Archambault will command the STS-119 mission. Tony Antonelli will be the pilot. The mission specialists are Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will remain on the station as a resident crew member, replacing station Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus. She will return home on Discovery. STS-119 is the 125th shuttle flight, the 36th flight for Discovery and the 28th flight to the station. For more information about the STS-119 mission and crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more information about the space station and its crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Jan. 8, 2009 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY TO MOVE TO LAUNCH PAD WEDNESDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Discovery is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Wednesday, Jan. 14, as preparations for the STS-119 mission move forward. Discovery is targeted to lift off Feb. 12 to the International Space Station. The first motion of the shuttle out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building is scheduled for 4 a.m. EST. The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters, was mounted on a mobile launcher platform. It will be delivered to the pad atop a crawler transporter that will travel slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The process is expected to take approximately six hours. During Discovery's 14-day mission, the crew will install the S6 truss segment and its solar arrays to the starboard side of the station, completing the station's backbone, or truss. Discovery's crew members are Commander Lee Archambault, Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. For more information about the STS-119 mission and crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Jan. 23, 2009 NOAA-N PRIME ATOP DELTA II ROCKET READY FOR LAUNCH FEB. 4 VANDENBERG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The launch of the NOAA-N Prime polar-orbiting weather satellite for NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 4. Liftoff will be from Space Launch Complex 2, SLC-2, at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The 10-minute launch window extends from 2:22:01 - 2:32:01 a.m. PST. The NOAA-N Prime satellite, built for NASA by Lockheed Martin, will improve weather forecasting and monitor environmental events around the world. NOAA-N Prime is the fifth and last in the current series of five polar-orbiting satellites with improved imaging and sounding capabilities. The satellite will collect meteorological data and transmit the information to NOAA's Satellite and Information Service, which processes the data for input to the National Weather Service for its long-range weather and climate forecasts. Forecasters worldwide also will be able to access the satellite's images and data. NOAA-N Prime has sensors that will be used in the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking System to monitor for distress signals around the world. On launch day, Feb. 4, NASA TV launch commentary coverage of the countdown will begin at 12:15 a.m. PST and conclude after spacecraft separation from the Delta II, occurring 65 minutes, 36 seconds after launch. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv Prelaunch and launch day coverage of the NOAA-N Prime mission will be available on the NASA Web site at: www.nasa.gov Live countdown coverage on NASA's launch blog begins at 12:15 a.m. PST. Coverage features real-time updates of countdown milestones, as well as streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff. To access these features, go to NASA's NOAA-N Prime mission Web site at: www.nasa.gov/noaa-n-prime/ Dec. 31, 2008 KENNEDY SPACE CENTER CELEBRATES NASA'S 50 YEARS IN 2008, EYES NEXT 50 CAPE CANAVERAL, - Fla. While employees at Kennedy Space Center celebrated the first 50 years of NASA in 2008, they also were working on missions and projects that will carry the space agency into the next five decades and beyond. NASA commemorated its 50th anniversary on Oct. 1 and the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex helped the public mark the golden milestone by hosting three weeks of live concerts with the music from America's space eras. The 2008 Fall Concert Series featured music from the 1960's, 70's and 80's, spanning the time of the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs. The series culminated with Kennedy's second Space & Air Show in November, which was highlighted by the precision flying of U.S. Navy Blue Angels. About the same time NASA was celebrating the anniversary, Kennedy was welcoming a new center director. Bob Cabana assumed the role as the center's tenth director Oct. 26. Cabana, who is a former space shuttle astronaut, came to Kennedy from NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi where he was director for the past year. He also was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame in May. Cabana succeeded William W. Parsons who left the agency Oct. 11 to pursue opportunities in the private sector. Kennedy teams were involved in launching seven different missions into space in 2008, four on space shuttles and three on expendable launch vehicles. Atlantis' STS-122 mission started the year's shuttle flights with a February trip to the International Space Station. Atlantis' seven astronauts attached the European Space Agency's Columbus science lab. The following month, Endeavour's STS-123 mission brought to the space station the first section of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo laboratory and the Canadian Space Agency's two-armed robotic system, known as Dextre. In May, Discovery's STS-124 mission delivered and installed JAXA's Kibo pressurized module and the Japanese Remote Manipulator System to the station. Finally in November, shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission brought up supplies and equipment that will allow the space station to expend from its current three-person crew to a six-person crew in May 2009. The shuttle program's emphasis on NASA's and America's international partners in 2008 was exemplified early in the year at Kennedy Space Center. NASA and the U.S. Department of State welcomed ambassadors from more than 45 countries to the center. The visit, one of the largest tours undertaken by the diplomatic corps, provided dignitaries an overview of the United States' space exploration programs and showed them various facilities at the center. Two of the three NASA science missions sent into space aboard expendable launch vehicles this year took place in June. NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. on June 11. GLAST is exploring the universe's ultimate frontier and studying gamma-ray bursts. On June 20, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason-2 launched Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The satellite is on a globe-circling voyage to continue charting sea levels, a vital indicator of global climate change. Then on Oct. 20, NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer mission, or IBEX, successfully launched from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean. IBEX will be the first spacecraft to image and map dynamic interactions occurring in the outer solar system. Solar interactions with the Earth were the focus of a new partnership between NASA and Florida Power & Light, or FPL, signed in June. Kennedy and the state's largest electric utility teamed up to provide Florida residents and America's space program with new sources of "green power." The agreement will permit FPL to lease 60 acres of NASA Kennedy Space Center's approximately 140,000 acres for a solar photovoltaic power generation system. The facility will produce an estimated 10 megawatts of electrical power, which is enough energy to serve roughly 3,000 homes. As part of the agreement, FPL will build a separate one megawatt solar power facility at Kennedy that will support the electrical needs of the center. Groundbreaking for the one megawatt facility will be early in 2009. The first major flight hardware pieces of the Ares I-X rocket started arriving in Florida in November for the inaugural test flight of the agency's next-generation launch system. The Ares I-X upper stage simulator and the forward skirt are being prepared for the targeted July 11, 2009 test flight. During the next few months, all of the additional hardware needed to complete the test vehicle will be delivered to Kennedy, beginning with a piece that simulates a fifth segment for the four-segment solid rocket booster and concluding with delivery of the complete motor set in January 2009. The Ares I-X rocket is a combination of existing and simulator hardware that will resemble the Ares I crew launch vehicle in size, shape and weight. It will provide valuable data to guide the final design of the Ares I, which will launch astronauts in the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The test flight also will bring NASA one step closer to its exploration goals of returning humans to the moon for sustained exploration of the lunar surface and missions to destinations beyond. In May, Kennedy Space Center awarded a contract for the construction of the Ares I mobile launcher platform for the Constellation Program. The new platform will be used in the assembly, testing and servicing of Ares I at existing Kennedy facilities. The space shuttle mobile launcher platform that will be used for Discovery's targeted February 2009 mission to the International Space Station will be turned over to the Constellation Program and modified for the Ares I-X test flight. After more than four decades of use, Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A sustained significant damage during the launch of space shuttle Discovery on May 31. It occurred to an area of the pad known as the flame trench. The damage was analyzed and repair by August. The fix is expected to last through the remainder of the space shuttle program. Shortly after the repairs were complete, Tropical Storm Fay slowly made its way across the state. Although Kennedy was closed Aug. 19-21 because of heavy rain and wind, the center sustained minimal damage. In May, NASA entered into two agreements to help the work force and regional economy with the transition from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program. Kennedy management singed a Space Act Agreement and renewed its partnership with the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast to strengthen, retain and expand Brevard County as the prime location for the aerospace industry. Then Kennedy management signed the center's first Space Act Agreement with the Brevard Workforce Development Board to help support existing and future missions at the space center. The Space Gateway Support 10-year Joint Base Operations Services Contract ended Sept. 30. New contractors officially began the transition Oct. 1, resuming operations and services to the center. For more information on NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov Dec. 23, 2008 SANTA INVITED TO EXPLORE NASA'S MOON AND MARS PROGRESS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - When Santa Claus makes his routine pit stop at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility on Christmas Eve, he may do a bit more than chow down on milk and cookies. In the next few decades, humans could be living, working and playing on the moon, including millions of good little boys and girls counting on Santa to put presents under their trees, no matter where those trees are. So this year, Kennedy is inviting Santa to check out the progress being made with the agency's Constellation Program. After Santa and his reindeer-propelled sleigh glide to a stop on the 15,000-foot-long shuttle runway, he can head over to Launch Pad 39B where modifications are being made for the Ares I-X rocket test flight targeted to launch in July 2009. Workers are using the Manitowoc 21000 model crane, which extends 640 feet off the ground, to lift the lightning protection system's three 600-foot-tall steel and fiberglass towers. Word has it Santa's elves began constructing a similar launch pad and lightning protection system at the North Pole last year in preparation for Santa's sojourns to the stars. Santa also has the option to check out the new Ares I-X firing room, which is fairly empty in comparison to space shuttle firing rooms. It takes more than 200 controllers to launch a space shuttle, whereas Ares calls for about 100. The firing room also has the capability to go paperless. Shuttle controllers can have up to 6,000 procedure documents at their consoles, but the new system will provide all necessary documents online. Next, Santa can swing by the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, to look at the first pieces of Ares I-X hardware. The test flight rocket's upper-stage simulator, consisting of 11 cylinders that look like enormous tuna cans, will help engineers prepare NASA's next generation human spacecraft launch system for space travel. Rumor has it elves are looking to have a similar system like the Ares I and will call Santa's fleet, "Jingle Bell Rockets." Santa's last stop would be Kennedy's Parachute Refurbishment Facility where workers are manufacturing and packing Ares parachutes. The drogue parachute that will gently slow the descent of the spent Ares I-X first-stage motor has faired well during testing at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Santa reportedly requested a mock-up moonsuit from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The new red suit is expected to support a week's worth of moonwalks. Santa may only need to wear it one night a year, unless of course he relocates his workshop to the north pole of the moon, Mars or beyond. For more information about NASA's return to the moon, Mars and beyond, visit: www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars For more information on NASA's Constellation Program, visit: www.nasa.gov/constellation For more information on NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy Dec. 18, 2008 NASA'S KEPLER SPACECRAFT READY TO SHIP TO FLORIDA PASADENA, Calif. - Engineers are getting ready to pack NASA's Kepler spacecraft into a container and ship it off to its launch site at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The mission, scheduled to launch on March 5, will seek to answer an age-old question -- are there other Earths in space? "Kepler is ready to begin its journey to its launch site, and ultimately to space, where it will answer a question that has been pondered by humankind at least as long ago as the ancient Greeks," said James Fanson, the project manager for the mission at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. Kepler will monitor more than 100,000 stars for signatures of planets of various sizes and orbital distances. It has the ability to locate rocky planets like Earth, including those that lie in a star's "habitable zone," a region where liquid water, and perhaps life, could exist. If these Earth-size worlds do exist around stars like our sun, Kepler is expected to be the first to find them, and the first to measure their frequency. "Kepler's mission is to determine whether Earth-size planets in the habitable zone of other stars are frequent or rare; whether life in our Milky Way galaxy is likely to be frequent or rare," said William Borucki, the Kepler science principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. Kepler is currently at Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. It passed all its environmental tests ensuring that it is prepared for the harsh trip to space. It also passed what's called the "pre-ship review," meaning that it is ready to be shipped via convoy to Florida in early January. Its first stop will be Astrotech in Titusville, Fla., where the spacecraft will be processed before being carried to its launch pad at Cape Canaveral. Kepler will launch atop a Delta II rocket. "An outstanding team of engineers overcame some difficult hurdles to achieve this considerable milestone," said Ball Aerospace Program Manager John Troeltzsch. "The culmination of this effort will put a spectacular mission in orbit designed to increase our understanding of the cosmos." Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission. In addition to being the home organization of the science principal investigator, NASA Ames Research Center is responsible for the ground system development, mission operations and science data analysis. Kepler mission development is managed by JPL. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. is responsible for developing the Kepler flight system and supporting mission operations. More information about the Kepler mission is at http://www.nasa.gov/kepler. More information about extrasolar planets and NASA's planet-finding program is at http://planetquest.jpl.nasa.gov. December 8, 2008 NASA PROVIDES UNIQUE EXPERIENCE FOR ORLANDO AREA STUDENTS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - More than 2,500 eighth grade students attending Orange County Public Schools will travel to NASA's Kennedy Space Center the week of Dec. 15 to take part in the first Orange County Space Week. Kennedy's Education Office, in partnership with the center's visitor complex and Educator Resource Center, are hosting the visit. The program is designed to encourage students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. It is part of NASA's education strategy to attract and retain students in STEM disciplines. Orange County Space Week will feature activities designed to promote awareness of NASA's Constellation program. For more information on NASA's education programs, visit:vcwww.nasa.gov/education Dec. 5, 2008 MATERIALS SCIENCE RESEARCH RACK ARRIVES FOR PROCESSING CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A multiuse materials science laboratory arrived Dec. 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to begin the first leg of its journey to the International Space Station. The research rack traveled from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to Kennedy for final flight preparations. The Materials Science Research Rack, or MSSR, will allow for study of a variety of materials including metals, ceramics, semiconductor crystals and glasses onboard the orbiting laboratory. It is scheduled to fly aboard space shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-128, targeted for launch in July 2009. After arriving at the station, the rack will be housed in the U.S. Destiny laboratory. The research rack is a highly automated facility and contains two furnace inserts in which sample cartridges will be processed up to temperatures of 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. The MSSR is about the size of a large refrigerator, measuring 6 feet high, 3.5 feet wide and 40 inches deep, and weighs about 1 ton. The rack will be installed in the Leonardo logistics module for transport to the station. For more about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Dec. 5, 2008 NASA ASSIGNS ASTRONAUT CREWS FOR FUTURE SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS WASHINGTON - NASA has assigned the crews for space shuttle missions STS-130 and STS-131. The STS-130 mission will deliver a third connecting module to the International Space Station and a seven-windowed cupola to be used as a control room for robotics. The STS-131 mission will deliver research and science experiment equipment, a new sleeping area and supplies to the station in a logistics module carried in the shuttle's payload bay. STS-130 Marine Col. George Zamka will command the shuttle Endeavour during STS-130, targeted for launch in December 2009. Air Force Col. Terry Virts, Jr., will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists are NASA astronauts Air Force Lt. Col. Robert Behnken, Nicholas Patrick, Kathryn Hire and Stephen Robinson. Virts will be making his first trip to space. Navy Capt. Alan Poindexter will command the shuttle Atlantis during STS-131, targeted for launch in February 2010. Air Force Lt. Col. James P. Dutton, Jr., will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists are NASA astronauts Rick Mastracchio, Clayton Anderson, Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger, Stephanie Wilson and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Naoko Yamazaki. Dutton, Metcalf-Lindenburger and Yamazaki will be making their first trip to space. Zamka was born in Jersey City, N.J., and grew up in several cities including Medellin, Colombia. He received a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master's degree in engineering management from the Florida Institute of Technology. He served as the pilot on STS-120. Virts was born in Baltimore and considers Columbia, Md., his hometown. He holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master's degree in aeronautics from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Behnken recently flew as a mission specialist on STS-123. Behnken holds bachelor's degrees in mechanical engineering and physics from Washington University in St. Louis. He also has master's and doctorate degrees in mechanical engineering from the California Institute of Technology. Behnken was born in Creve Coeur, Mo. STS-130 will be the second flight for Nicholas Patrick, who flew as a mission specialist on STS-116. Patrick was born in North Yorkshire in the United Kingdom and considers London and Rye, N.Y., his hometowns. He holds bachelor's and master's degrees in engineering from the University of Cambridge and a doctorate in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Hire will again serve as a mission specialist on her second spaceflight. Her first was STS-90. She holds a bachelor's degree from the U.S. Naval Academy and a master's degree in space technology from the Florida Institute of Technology. She was born in Mobile, Ala. Stephen Robinson is a veteran of three spaceflights. Flying on STS-85, STS-95 and STS-114, he has logged more than 830 hours in space. He was born in Sacramento, Calif., and holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical and aeronautical engineering from the University of California and master's and doctorate degree in mechanical engineering from Stanford University. STS-131 STS-131 will be the second spaceflight for Poindexter, who served as the pilot on STS-122. He graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in aerospace engineering. He also has a master's degree in aeronautical engineering from the Naval Postgraduate School. He was born in Pasadena, Calif. Dutton joined NASA in 2004. His hometown is Eugene, Ore. He has a bachelor's degree in astronautical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy and a master's degree in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington in Seattle. Mastracchio flew as a mission specialist on STS-106 and STS-118. He was born in Waterbury, Conn., and earned a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and computer science from the University of Connecticut. He also has master's degrees in electrical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and physical science from the University of Houston. Anderson spent 152 days on the space station, as a flight engineer on Expedition 15. He launched to the station as part of the STS-117 crew and returned on the STS-120 mission. Anderson's hometown is Omaha, Neb. He has a bachelor's degree in physics from Hastings College, Neb., and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from Iowa State University. Metcalf-Lindenburger was selected as an astronaut in 2004. She was born in Colorado Springs, Colo., and considers Fort Collins her hometown. She has a bachelor's degree in geology from Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. Wilson was born in Boston. This will be her third spaceflight. She flew as a mission specialist on STS-121 and STS-120. Wilson received a bachelor's degree in engineering science from Harvard University and a master's degree in aerospace engineering from the University of Texas. Yamazaki was born in Matsudo, Chiba Prefecture, Japan. She holds both bachelor's and master's degrees in aerospace engineering from the University of Tokyo. Yamazaki was selected by National Space Development Agency of Japan (currently JAXA) as one of three astronaut candidates in 1999 and joined NASA's astronaut candidates for training in 2004. Video of the STS-130 and STS-131 crew members will air on NASA Television's Video File. For downlink and scheduling information and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For complete astronaut biographical information, visit: www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios For more information about the Space Shuttle Program and upcoming flights, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Dec. 2, 2008 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR SET TO RETURN TO FLORIDA Endeavour coming home EDWARDS, Calif. - After landing at Edwards Air Force Base in California on Nov. 30, space shuttle Endeavour is about to make its cross-country journey back to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Mounted on a modified Boeing 747 shuttle carrier aircraft, Endeavour is expected to begin its journey to Florida as early as Sunday. The exact date and time of departure have yet to be determined because of changing weather conditions and the fluid nature of preparing Endeavour for this ferry flight. However, the latest information about the shuttle's ferry flight will be available by calling 321-867-2525. Current flight information also will be posted on the space shuttle's main Web site at: www.nasa.gov/shuttle NASA Television will provide live coverage of Endeavour's departure and arrival. For NASA TV downlink, the schedule of ferry flight coverage and streaming video information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv Strict flight weather restrictions may cause unexpected changes to the flight path and arrival time of the shuttle in Florida. During their 16-day journey of more than 6.6 million miles, the STS-126 crew conducted important repair work and prepared the International Space Station to house six crew members on long-duration missions beginning next year. For more information about the mission, visit NASA's Web site at: www.nasa.gov Dec. 2, 2008 NASA SETS TARGET SHUTTLE LAUNCH DATE FOR HUBBLE SERVICING MISSION HOUSTON - NASA announced Thursday that space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope is targeted to launch May 12, 2009. The final servicing mission to Hubble was delayed in September when a data handling unit on the telescope failed. Since then, engineers have been working to prepare a spare for flight. They expect to be able to ship the spare, known as the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling System, to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in spring 2009. STS-125 is an 11-day flight featuring five spacewalks to extend Hubble's life into the next decade by refurbishing and upgrading the telescope with state-of-the-art science instruments and swapping failed hardware. Scott Altman will command STS-125, with Gregory C. Johnson serving as pilot. Mission specialists are veteran spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino, and first-time space fliers Andrew Feustel, Michael Good and Megan McArthur. The manifest has been adjusted to reflect current planning. The next space shuttle mission, STS-119, is targeted for launch on Feb. 12, 2009. Preparations continue for the STS-127 mission, currently targeted for launch in May 2009. That launch will be further assessed and coordinated with NASA's international partners at a later date. STS-128 is targeted for August 2009, and STS-129 is targeted for November 2009. All target launch dates are subject to change. The shuttle launch manifest is available at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html For more about the Hubble repair mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/hubble Dec. 2, 2008 NASA TV TO AIR SPACE SHUTTLE COMMANDER REMARKS ON 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF INAUGURAL STATION ASSEMBLY FLIGHT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In honor of the 10th anniversary of the first construction flight for the International Space Station, NASA Television will provide sound bites and video b-roll featuring the commander of that space shuttle mission. The footage will begin airing Wednesday, Dec. 3, at 4 p.m. EST. Former astronaut Bob Cabana led shuttle Endeavour's STS-88 mission, the first space station assembly flight, which launched Dec. 4, 1998. The NASA TV Video File includes Cabana's thoughts about the first assembly flight, how the orbiting laboratory is being used today for long-term space exploration, and the station's benefits for the United States and its international partners. Cabana currently is the director of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During STS-88's 12-day mission, Endeavour's astronauts attached NASA's Unity connecting module to Russia's Zarya control module. Crew members from both countries then entered the space station for the first time in orbit and began set-up operations. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-126 mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more on the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Nov. 30, 2008 NASA'S SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR GLIDES HOME AFTER SUCCESSFUL MISSION EDWARDS, Calif. - Space shuttle Endeavour and its crew landed at 1:25 p.m. PST Sunday at Edwards Air Force Base in California, completing a 16-day journey of more than 6.6 million miles. The STS-126 mission featured important repair work and prepared the International Space Station to house six crew members on long-duration missions beginning next year. The new station equipment includes a water recovery system, additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet and an exercise device. During four spacewalks, the crew serviced the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow its solar arrays to track the sun, and installed new hardware that will support future assembly missions. Chris Ferguson commanded the flight and was joined by Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus. Magnus remained aboard the station, replacing Expedition 18 Flight Engineer Greg Chamitoff, who returned to Earth on Endeavour after more than five months on the station. Space shuttle Endeavour and the STS-126 crew land at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. after completing a mission to the International Space Station. Credit: NASA TV Weather concerns prevented the crew from returning to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the primary end-of-mission landing site. In 7-10 days, Endeavour will be transported approximately 2,500 miles from California to Florida on the back of a modified 747 jumbo jet. Once at Kennedy, Endeavour will be separated from the aircraft to begin immediate processing for its next flight, targeted for May 2009. STS-126 was the 124th space shuttle mission, the 22nd flight for Endeavour and the 27th shuttle visit to the station. With Endeavour and its crew safely home, the stage is set for the launch of STS-119, targeted for Feb. 12, 2009. Discovery will deliver the final pair of U.S. solar arrays, which will be installed on the starboard end of the station's truss. The truss serves as the backbone support for external equipment and spare components. Lee Archambault will command the 14-day flight that will include four planned spacewalks. Joining him will be Pilot Tony Antonelli, Mission Specialists John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Joseph Acaba and Richard Arnold, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace Magnus on the station as a flight engineer. For more about the STS-126 mission and the upcoming STS-119 mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Nov. 28, 2008 SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR SET TO LAND SUNDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The space shuttle Endeavour crew is expected to complete its mission to the International Space Station with a landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 1:19 p.m. EST on Sunday, Nov. 30. This will conclude a 16-day flight, 11 of which were spent docked to the station. The STS-126 mission began Nov. 14 and prepared the space station to house six crew members for long-duration missions. The new station cargo includes a water recovery system, additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet and a resistance exercise device. During four spacewalks, the crew serviced the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow its solar arrays to track the sun, and installed new equipment in support of future assembly missions. The flight also delivered station resident Sandra Magnus to the outpost. Greg Chamitoff will return to Earth aboard Endeavour after spending more than five months aboard the complex. The entry flight control team in Mission Control, Houston, will evaluate weather conditions at Kennedy before permitting Endeavour to return to Earth. Sunday landing opportunities at Kennedy are at 1:19 p.m. and 2:54 p.m. The secondary landing site at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., will be activated Sunday for consideration as well. The opportunities at Edwards are 4:24 p.m. and 5:59 p.m. Approximately two hours after landing, NASA officials will hold a media briefing to discuss the mission. The participants will be: - Michael Griffin, NASA administrator - Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for Space Operations - Mike Leinbach, NASA space shuttle launch director After touchdown in Florida, the astronauts will undergo physical examinations and meet with their families. The STS-126 crew is expected to hold a news conference at approximately 6 p.m. Sunday. Both news events will be broadcast live on NASA Television. In the event landing is diverted to Edwards, media should call the Dryden public affairs office at 661-276-3449. Dryden has limited facilities available for use by previously accredited journalists. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For the latest information about the STS-126 mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For more on the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Nov. 24, 2008 NASA AWARDS PROJECT MANAGEMENT SUPPORT CONTRACT FOR KENNEDY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA has selected Science Applications International Corporation of Houston to provide project management support services at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The contract begins on Feb. 1, 2009, with a two-year base period and three one-year options to extend performance. The contract has a maximum potential value of approximately $69.3 million. The contract is a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract and has a total potential core value of $59.3 million if all options are exercised. An additional indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract line item is included with a possible ceiling of $10 million. Science Applications International Corporation will provide engineering and technical services, project and business management and administrative support to Kennedy's Ground Operations Project Office in support of NASA's Constellation Program. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov Nov. 21, 2008 NASA ASSIGNS SPACE STATION CREWS, UPDATES EXPEDITION NUMBERING HOUSTON - NASA and its international partners have assigned the International Space Station's crew members through 2010. The numbering sequence of expeditions was modified to reflect the start of six-person crews. The update to the expedition numbering begins with the docking of a Soyuz spacecraft in May 2009. That Soyuz will mark the beginning of six-person crew operations. From that point forward, expeditions will end with the undocking of a Soyuz. The expedition number will change every two to four months as new crew members arrive and depart. The arrangement emphasizes that every six-person crew living on the station is a cohesive team. A crew member typically will stay about six months and be part of two expeditions. In addition to the Russian Soyuz, the space shuttle will continue to provide transportation for station crew members through mission STS-129, targeted for the fall of 2009. With the departure of a Soyuz, command of the station will be handed over to a crew member remaining aboard, and the next expedition will begin. Specific backup crew members will not be announced because of the streamlined training flow for six-person crews. If needed, backups can be selected from subsequent crews in training. The groups of assigned crew members, beginning with the first six-person crew and including newly announced crew members, are outlined below by expedition. An asterisk indicates the crew member was previously announced. Expedition 20 begins with the Soyuz 19 docking and the arrival of three new crew members in May 2009. - Russian cosmonaut Gennady Padalka, International Space Station commander, who will launch in March 2009 on Soyuz 18 and return in October 2009 on Soyuz 18.* - NASA astronaut Michael R. Barratt, who will launch in March 2009 on Soyuz 18 and return in October 2009 on Soyuz 18.* - NASA astronaut Tim Kopra, who will launch on STS-127 and return on STS-128.* - Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko, who will launch in May 2009 on Soyuz 19 and return in November 2009 on Soyuz 19. - European Space Agency, or ESA, astronaut Frank De Winne, who will launch in May 2009 on Soyuz 19 and return in November 2009 on Soyuz 19* - Canadian Space Agency, or CSA, astronaut Robert Thirsk, who will launch in May 2009 on Soyuz 19 and return on STS-129.* - NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, who will launch on STS-128 and return in November 2009 on Soyuz 19.* Expedition 21 begins with the Soyuz 18 undocking in October 2009. Two new crew members will arrive on Soyuz 20 for the handover before the previous crew departs. - ESA astronaut Frank De Winne, the first European station commander - CSA astronaut Robert Thirsk - Russian cosmonaut Roman Romanenko - NASA astronaut Nicole Stott - Russian Cosmonaut Maxim Suraev, who will launch in September 2009 on Soyuz 20 and return in March 2010 on Soyuz 20 - NASA astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams, who will launch in September 2009 on Soyuz 20 and return in March 2010 on Soyuz 20. Expedition 22 begins with the Soyuz 19 undocking in November 2009. Three new crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 21. - NASA astronaut Jeffrey N. Williams, station commander - Russian cosmonaut Maxim Suraev - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, who will launch in December 2009 on Soyuz 21 and return in May 2010 on Soyuz 21. - Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, astronaut Soichi Noguchi, who will launch in December 2009 on Soyuz 21 and return in May 2010 on Soyuz 21.* - NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer, who will launch in December 2009 on Soyuz 21 and return in May 2010 on Soyuz 21.* Expedition 23 begins with the Soyuz 20 undocking in March 2010. Three new crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 22. - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Kotov, station commander - JAXA astronaut Soichi Noguchi - NASA astronaut T.J. Creamer - Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, who will launch in April 2010 on Soyuz 22 and return in September 2010 on Soyuz 22. - Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, who will launch in April 2010 on Soyuz 22 and return in September 2010 on Soyuz 22. - NASA astronaut Tracy E. Caldwell, who will launch in April 2010 on Soyuz 22 and return in September 2010 on Soyuz 22. Expedition 24 begins with the Soyuz 21 undocking in May 2010. Three new crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 23. - Russian cosmonaut Alexander Kaleri, station commander - Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko - NASA astronaut Tracy E. Caldwell - Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov, who will launch in May 2010 on Soyuz 23 and return in November 2010 on Soyuz 23. - NASA astronaut Shannon Walker, who will launch in May 2010 on Soyuz 23 and return November 2010 on Soyuz 23. - NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock, who will launch in May 2010 on Soyuz 23 and return in November 2010 on Soyuz 23. Expedition 25 begins with the Soyuz 22 undocking in September 2010. Three new crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 24. - NASA astronaut Douglas H. Wheelock, station commander - Russian cosmonaut Alexander Skvortsov - NASA astronaut Shannon Walker - Russian cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratyev, who will launch in September 2010 on Soyuz 24 and return in March 2011 on Soyuz 24. - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka, who will launch in September 2010 on Soyuz 24 and return in March 2011 on Soyuz 24. - NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly, who will launch in September 2010 on Soyuz 24 and return in March 2011 on Soyuz 24. Expedition 26 begins with the Soyuz 23 undocking in November 2010. Three crew members will arrive shortly thereafter on Soyuz 25. - NASA astronaut Scott J. Kelly, station commander - Russian cosmonaut Dmitri Kondratyev - Russian cosmonaut Oleg Skripochka - Russian cosmonaut Andrey Borisienko, who will launch in November 2010 on Soyuz 25 and return in May 2011 on Soyuz 25. - NASA astronaut Catherine Coleman, who will launch in November 2010 on Soyuz 25 and return in May 2011 on Soyuz 25. - ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli, who will launch in November 2010 on Soyuz 25 and return in May 2011 on Soyuz 25. For more information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station To find out how to see the station from your own backyard, visit: www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings Nov. 17, 2008 NASA RECEIVES FIRST STAGE ROCKET HARDWARE FOR ARES I-X TEST FLIGHT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida welcomed the arrival Nov. 10 of important hardware for the Ares I-X rocket's upcoming test flight. Called the forward skirt, the component is part of the rocket's first stage. The Ares I-X launch will be the first test flight for NASA's next crew launch vehicle. The launch is targeted for July 2009 from Kennedy and will provide an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I rocket. The forward skirt began its trip Nov. 7 from Major Tool & Machine Inc. of Indiana, a subcontractor to Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, of Utah. ATK is the prime contractor for the first stage of the Ares I rocket. The rocket's first stage provides the primary propulsion -- 2.6 million pounds of thrust -- for the vehicle from liftoff to stage separation, which occurs 120 seconds into the flight. Part of the first stage, the nearly 14,000-pound forward skirt is constructed entirely of armored steel and stands seven feet tall and 12 1/4 feet wide. The main deceleration parachutes that slow the return of the rocket's boosters to Earth after launch are attached to this hardware. The forward skirt was designed as an empty, buoyant space to be used as ballast, keeping the first stage afloat for recovery. "We could not be more pleased that the vehicle first stage hardware is beginning to arrive," said Pepper Phillips, director of the Constellation Project Office at Kennedy. "This is one of many major milestones and is a testament to the tremendous NASA and contractor team working together to ensure a successful test flight for the new program." Ares I and Ares V. Image Credit: NASA The upper stage simulator was the first major piece of the Ares I-X rocket to arrive at Kennedy on Nov. 4. During the next few months, all of the additional hardware needed to complete the test vehicle will be delivered to Kennedy, beginning with a piece that simulates a fifth segment for the four-segment solid rocket booster and concluding with delivery of the complete motor set in January 2009. United Space Alliance of Florida, under a subcontract to ATK, will complete the integration and assembly of the forward skirt in Kennedy's Assembly and Refurbishment Facility. The hardware then will be moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking operations in high bay 3 during the spring of 2009. "The forward skirt has 12 parachute brackets, with each bracket restraining two parachute spools," said Bob Herman, ATK's Florida site director. "For the Ares I-X launch, six of these spools will be used to measure parachute loads passed on to the forward skirt. ATK is proud to play a critical role in helping NASA achieve its vision to return to the moon." The rocket's deceleration subsystem includes the pilot, drogue and main parachutes. The pilot parachute is deployed at an altitude of 16,210 feet and pulls out the drogue parachute. When the drogue parachute opens, it slows the vehicle and orients it to descend tail first. The main parachutes are deployed as the forward skirt extension separates from the forward skirt. They are used to slow the final decent of the first stage to 48 mph, allowing a safe impact with the water. The Ares I-X rocket is a combination of existing and simulator hardware that will resemble the Ares I crew launch vehicle in size, shape and weight. It will provide valuable data to guide the final design of the Ares I, which will launch astronauts in the Orion crew exploration vehicle. The test flight also will bring NASA one step closer to its exploration goals of returning humans to the moon for sustained exploration of the lunar surface and missions to destinations beyond. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the first stage for the Ares I-X project, which is located at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Video B-roll of the arrival will be available on NASA Television's Video File feed. For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the Ares I-X and NASA next-generation spacecraft, visit: www.nasa.gov/ares Nov. 17, 2008 NATIONS AROUND THE WORLD MARK 10TH ANNIVERSARY OF SPACE STATION HOUSTON - 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. The station is a venture of international cooperation among NASA, the Russian Federal Space Agency, Canadian Space Agency, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, or JAXA, and 11 members of the European Space Agency, or ESA: Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. More than 100,000 people in space agencies and contractor facilities in 37 U.S. states and throughout the world are involved in this endeavor. "The station's capability and sheer size today are truly amazing," said International Space Station Program Manager Mike Suffredini. "The tremendous technological achievement in orbit is matched only by the cooperation and perseverance of its partners on the ground. We have overcome differences in language, geography and engineering philosophies to succeed." Only a few weeks after the U.S.-funded, Russian-built Zarya module was launched from Kazakhstan, the space shuttle carried aloft the Unity connector module in December 1998. Constructed on opposite sides of Earth, Unity and Zarya met for the first time in space and were joined to begin the orbital station's assembly and a decade of peaceful cooperation. Ten years later, the station's mass has expanded to more than 627,000 pounds, and its interior volume is more than 25,000 cubic feet, comparable to the size of a five-bedroom house. Since Zarya's launch as the early command, control and power module, there have been 29 additional construction flights to the station: 27 aboard the space shuttle and two additional Russian launches. One hundred sixty-seven individuals representing 14 countries have visited the complex. Crews have eaten some 19,000 meals aboard the station since the first crew took up residence in 2000. Through the course of 114 spacewalks and unmatched robotic construction in space, the station's truss structure has grown to 291 feet long so far. Its solar arrays now span to 28,800 square feet, large enough to cover six basketball courts. The International Space Station hosts 19 research facilities, including nine sponsored by NASA, eight by ESA and two by JAXA. Cooperation among international teams of humans and robots is expected to become a mainstay of space exploration throughout our solar system. The 2005 NASA Authorization Act recognized the U.S. orbital segment as the first national laboratory beyond Earth, opening it for additional research by other government agencies, academia and the private sector. "With the International Space Station, we have learned so many things -- and we're going to take that knowledge and apply it to flying to the moon and Mars," said Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke, now aboard the station. "Everything we're learning so close to home, only 240 miles away from the planet, we can apply to the moon 240,000 miles away." To take a virtual tour of the International Space Station and learn more about the current mission, visit: www.nasa.gov/station To find out how to see the station from your own backyard, visit: www.spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/sightings Nov. 14, 2008 NASA'S SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR LAUNCHES ON HOME IMPROVEMENT MISSION CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour and its seven-member crew lifted off from NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 7:55 p.m. EST Friday to repair and remodel the International Space Station. Endeavour's STS-126 mission will carry to space about 32,000 pounds, which includes supplies and equipment necessary to double the crew size from three to six members in spring 2009. The new station cargo includes additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet, a water reclamation system and a resistance exercise device. The mission's four planned spacewalks primarily will focus on servicing the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow the outpost's solar arrays to track the sun. The starboard SARJ has had limited use since September 2007. Shortly before launch, Commander Chris Ferguson thanked the teams that helped make the launch possible. "It's our turn to take home improvement to a new level after 10 years of International Space Station construction," he said. "Endeavour is good to go." Joining Ferguson on Endeavour's 15-day flight are Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus. Magnus will replace current station crew member Greg Chamitoff, who has lived on the outpost since June. She will return to Earth on Discovery's STS-119 mission, targeted for February 2009. NASA is providing continuous television and Internet coverage of Endeavour's mission, which is the 124th shuttle flight, the 22nd for Endeavour and the 27th shuttle mission to the station. NASA Television features live mission events, daily mission status news conferences and 24-hour commentary. NASA TV is webcast at: www.nasa.gov/ntv NASA's Web coverage of STS-126 includes current mission information, interactive features, news conference images, graphics and videos. Mission coverage, including the latest NASA TV schedule, also is available on the main space shuttle Web site at: www.nasa.gov/shuttle For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Nov. 12, 2008 NASA TV TO AIR CLEAN FEED OF ENDEAVOUR'S STS-126 COUNTDOWN CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA Television will provide a continuous clean video feed on its Media Channel of space shuttle Endeavour in the hours before its 7:55 p.m. EST liftoff on Nov. 14. Beginning at 2:30 p.m., video will show one stationary wide shot of Endeavour on Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The feed will include live audio of communications between launch controllers and the shuttle but not the commentary airing on NASA TV's Public Channel. NASA TV commentary will air on both channels beginning approximately nine minutes before the scheduled launch time at the conclusion of what is known as the T minus 9 minute hold in the launch countdown. During the shuttle's 15-day STS-126 mission to the International Space Station, the crew will deliver supplies and equipment necessary to double the station crew size from three to six members and conduct four spacewalks. For NASA TV's downlink coordinates, streaming video and scheduling information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about Endeavour's STS-126 mission and crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Nov. 10, 2008 NASA'S SPACE EXPLORATION EXHIBIT LIFTS OFF AT WANNADO CITY NOV. 12-14 HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - America's plans for opening the space frontier, including new exploration of Earth's moon and future voyages beyond, are featured in an interactive exhibit that will be open to the public in Sunrise, Fla., Nov. 12-14. The NASA Exploration Experience exhibit will complement space-themed activities at Wannado City, an indoor, role-playing theme park for kids ages two to 14. Wannado City is located at 12801 West Sunrise Blvd. in downtown Sunrise. The public is invited to tour the exhibit each day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. The exhibit simulates a breathtaking visit to the first destination on America's new journey into the solar system: Earth's moon. "Interactive control panels and activity stations, immersive 3D imagery and audio effects will plunge visitors into a not-too-distant future on the moon," said NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Outreach Coordinator Kirk Pierce, a spokesperson for the exhibit. "They'll discover what it will be like to live and work on the surfaces of other worlds -- and how it will benefit life back home on Earth." NASA staffers will be on hand to answer questions and discuss some of the thousands of technologies used on Earth as a result of years of space-based research and development by the agency and its partners. Touring the NASA Exploration Experience exhibit takes approximately 12 minutes. The exhibit is wheelchair accessible. "Exhibit visitors can learn how our quality of life improves when America's space exploration activities refine existing technologies or develop new breakthroughs in areas such as power generation, computer technology, communications, networking and robotics," Pierce said. "Visitors also can learn how other advanced technologies are increasing the safety and reliability of space transportation systems, while also reducing costs." NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the traveling exhibit for the agency's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about Wannado City, visit: www.wannadocity.com For more information about NASA's exploration plans, visit: www.nasa.gov/exploration Nov. 4, 2008 NOAA-N PRIME SATELLITE ARRIVES AT VANDENBERG FOR LAUNCH CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The latest polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite developed by NASA for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, or NOAA, called NOAA-N Prime, arrived Tuesday by C-5A military cargo aircraft at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., in preparation for a Feb. 4, 2009, launch. NOAA-N Prime, built by Lockheed Martin, is similar to NOAA-N launched on May 20, 2005. The satellite will be launched from the Western Range at Vandenberg AFB by a United Launch Alliance two-stage Delta II rocket managed by NASA's Launch Service Program at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla. NOAA-N Prime is the latest satellite in the Advanced Television Infrared Observational Satellites -N series built by Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company. NOAA-N Prime will provide a polar-orbiting platform to support environmental monitoring instruments for imaging and measuring the Earth's atmosphere, its surface and cloud cover, including Earth radiation, atmospheric ozone, aerosol distribution, sea surface temperature, and vertical temperature and water profiles in the troposphere and stratosphere. The satellite will assist in measuring proton and electron fluxes at orbit altitude, collecting data from remote platforms and will assist the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking system. NOAA-N Prime will be prepared for launch in a NASA payload processing facility located on north Vandenberg AFB. On Nov. 5, the satellite will be removed from its shipping container and rotated from the horizontal to vertical position. Spacecraft systems testing and launch preparations will then begin, which will take about a month. Meanwhile, at the launch pad, the rocket that will launch NOAA-N Prime is a Delta II 7320 manufactured and prepared for launch by the United Launch Alliance. The first stage is scheduled to be erected on Space Launch Complex 2 on Dec. 2. The three strap-on solid rocket boosters will be raised and attached to the booster the following day. The second stage which burns hypergolic propellants will be hoisted atop the first stage on Dec. 4. The fairing which will surround the spacecraft will then be hoisted into the clean room of the mobile service tower. The following week, as a leak check, the first stage will be loaded with liquid oxygen during a simulated countdown. The following day, a simulated flight test will be performed simulating the vehicle's post-liftoff flight events without fuel aboard. The electrical and mechanical systems of the entire Delta II will be exercised during this test. In mid-January, the NOAA-N Prime spacecraft will be hoisted atop the Delta II at the launch pad. The following week, a final major test is then ready to be conducted, which will involve the Delta II and NOAA-N Prime working together. This will be a combined minus count and plus count, simulating all events as they will occur on launch day, but without propellants aboard the vehicle. Finally during the last week of January, the fairing will be installed around the spacecraft. NOAA manages the polar-orbiting operational environmental weather satellite program and establishes requirements, provides all funding and distributes environmental satellite data for the United States. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., procures and manages the development and launch of the NOAA satellites for NOAA on a cost reimbursable basis. For related images to this story, please visit: www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory/2008/noaa_n.html For more information about NOAA-N Prime and the polar orbiting satellites, visit: goespoes.gsfc.nasa.gov Nov. 4, 2008 FIRST ROCKET PARTS OF NASA'S NEW LAUNCH SYSTEM ARRIVE IN FLORIDA CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The first major flight hardware of the Ares I-X rocket has arrived in Florida to begin preparation for the inaugural test flight of the agency's next-generation launch system. The test flight is targeted for July 12, 2009. The Ares I-X upper stage simulator traveled to Port Canaveral aboard the Delta Mariner, a ship that also transports the Delta IV rocket for United Launch Alliance. The journey began Oct. 22 on the Ohio River as the barge traveled toward the Mississippi River for its voyage to Port Canaveral. By Nov. 6, the flight hardware will have been moved off the barge into high bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The upper stage simulator consists of 11 individual components that were designed and manufactured during a two-year period at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. The components represent the size, outer shape and weight of the second stage of the Ares I rocket, and will be integrated together in the Vehicle Assembly Building. The upper stage simulator eventually will be stacked atop the solid rocket booster segments of the Ares I-X rocket. The Ares I-X test flight will provide NASA an early opportunity to test and prove hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle. It also will allow NASA to gather critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion crew exploration vehicle and the Ares I rocket. The data will ensure the entire vehicle system is safe and fully operational before astronauts begin traveling to orbit. On Nov. 6, video B-roll of the arrival activities will be available on NASA Television's Video File feed. For NASA TV streaming video, schedules and downlink information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the Ares I-X and NASA's next-generation spacecraft, visit: www.nasa.gov/ares Oct. 30, 2008 NASA GIVES "GO" FOR SPACE SHUTTLE LAUNCH ON NOV. 14 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers completed a review Thursday of space shuttle Endeavour's readiness for flight and selected the official launch date for the STS-126 mission. Commander Chris Ferguson and his six crewmates are scheduled to lift off to the International Space Station at 7:55 p.m. EST on Nov. 14. Endeavour's STS-126 flight will feature important repair work to the station and prepare it for housing six crew members during long-duration missions. The primary focus of the 15-day flight and its four planned spacewalks is to service the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow its solar arrays to track the sun. Endeavour will carry about 32,000 pounds to orbit, including supplies and equipment necessary to double the crew size from three to six members in spring 2009. The new station cargo includes additional sleeping quarters, a second toilet and a resistance exercise device. Endeavour's launch date was announced after the conclusion of Thursday's Flight Readiness Review. During the meeting, top NASA and contractor managers assessed the risks associated with the mission and determined the shuttle's equipment, support systems and procedures are ready for flight. Ferguson will be joined on STS-126 by Pilot Eric Boe and Mission Specialists Donald Pettit, Steve Bowen, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Shane Kimbrough and Sandra Magnus. Magnus will replace space station crew member Greg Chamitoff, who has been aboard the station for more than five months. She will return to Earth during the next shuttle mission, STS-119, targeted to launch in February 2009. For more information about the upcoming shuttle flights, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Oct. 30, 2008 NASA MANAGERS DELAY HUBBLE SERVICING MISSION WASHINGTON -- NASA managers have announced that they will not meet a February 2009 launch date for the fifth and final shuttle mission to the Hubble Space Telescope. The decision comes after engineers completed assessments of the work needed to get a second data handling unit for the telescope ready to fly. The unit will replace one that failed on Hubble in late September, causing the agency to postpone the servicing mission, which had been targeted for Oct. 14. "We now have done enough analysis of all the things that need to happen with the flight spare unit to know that we cannot be ready for a February launch," said NASA's Astrophysics Division Director Jon Morse at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The February date was an initial estimate, assuming minimal hardware preparations and test durations that are no longer viewed as realistic. We've communicated our assessment to the Space Shuttle Program so it can adjust near-term plans. We will work closely with the Shuttle Program to develop details for a new launch opportunity." "Getting ourselves in a position to be ready to launch the Hubble mission will involve many steps, and a significant one took place earlier today," said Hubble Program Manager Preston Burch at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "We held a flight certification peer review meeting where every aspect for doing this effort -- the inspections needed, all the tests to be conducted, the certification process and the final flight preparations -- was examined. The conclusion was that we indeed have a very good plan in place." The Hubble flight spare, known as the Science Instrument Command and Data Handling system, has been at Goddard since it was originally delivered as a back-up system in 1991. The unit currently is undergoing testing and examination to identify and correct any problems. That work will continue until mid-December. The unit will then undergo environmental assessments that include electro-magnetic interference checks, vibration tests, and extended time in a thermal vacuum chamber. Environmental testing is anticipated to run from mid-December to early March 2009. Final testing will be conducted on the unit, and delivery to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is expected in early April. "The equipment we are dealing with has a flight-proven design," said Burch." The original unit on Hubble ran for more than 18 years. We have a lot of spare parts if we encounter problems, and we have most of the same test equipment that was used with the original unit. We also have a lot of experience on our Hubble electrical replica, which uses the engineering model data handling unit." The vast majority of the flight hardware, tools and support equipment that will be used during the mission will be stored at Kennedy. A small amount of new work such as re-lubricating the latches on the Soft Capture Mechanism and testing the motors on the Flight Support System will be conducted. The Wide Field Camera 3 will remain in its carrier. The Cosmic Origins Spectrograph is in a special double-layered purge system in its shipping container to help support its environmental needs. The new batteries to be installed during the mission are in cold storage at Goddard and will be returned to Kennedy in 2009. In the meantime, science observations on Hubble that had been suspended continue to move toward standard operations. The current primary camera on the telescope, the Wide Field Planetary Camera 2, was brought back online. On Wednesday, calibration images with the Advanced Camera for Surveys' Solar Blind Channel were completed. Regular science observations resumed Thursday, and the first science image from the camera was released. For more information about Hubble, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble Ê For more information about the Space Shuttle Program, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Oct. 30, 2008 CABANA ASSUMES ROLE AS TENTH NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER DIRECTOR CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is under new leadership. Robert Cabana assumed the role as the center's tenth director Oct. 26. Media are invited to an informal Q-and-A session with Cabana at Kennedy's News Center on Friday, Oct. 31, at 10:30 a.m. EDT. This session is not open to new media accreditation. Cabana, who is a former space shuttle astronaut, came to Kennedy from NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi where he was director for the past year. He succeeds William W. Parsons who left the agency Oct. 11 to pursue opportunities in the private sector. A native of Minnesota, Cabana graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. Cabana is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and has logged over 7,000 hours in 36 different aircraft. After his selection as an astronaut candidate in June of 1985, Cabana completed his training in 1986. He has flown four shuttle missions, serving as the pilot of Discovery on STS-41 in October 1990, the pilot of Discovery on STS-53 in December 1992, the commander of Columbia on STS-65 in July 1994, and the commander of Endeavour on STS-88, which was the first International Space Station assembly flight, in December 1998. Before being named the director at Stennis in October 2007, Cabana served as deputy director of Johnson. In addition, Cabana has worked as chief of NASA's Astronaut Office, manager of international operations of International Space Station Program, director of NASA's Human Space Flight Program in Russia, deputy director of the International Space Station Program, and director of Flight Crew Operations. For information about NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy Oct. 22, 2008 NASA'S SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO LAUNCH PAD, PRACTICE LIFTOFF SET CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to move from Launch Pad 39B to Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., as early as 8 a.m., Thursday, Oct. 23, as preparations for the STS-126 mission move forward. Endeavour is targeted to lift off Nov. 14 to the International Space Station. Early Thursday morning, NASA managers will decide when to move the shuttle based on the progress of removing the payload canister from the pad following installation into the pad's changeout room. The payload was delivered to Pad A early Wednesday morning. Endeavour had been scheduled to move Saturday, Oct. 25, but possibly severe weather now is forecast for the area. NASA Television will provide live video of Endeavour's rollaround beginning at 8 a.m. Video highlights of the rollout will air on the NASA TV Video File. The move will take approximately seven hours. After reaching its launch pad, Endeavour will await its next major milestone. A launch dress rehearsal, known as the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, is scheduled to take place at Kennedy from Oct. 27 to 29. During Endeavour's 15-day mission, the shuttle's seven crew members will deliver supplies and equipment necessary to double the station crew size from three to six members, and during four spacewalks, service the station's two Solar Alpha Rotary Joints, which allow its solar arrays to track the sun. The shuttle also will deliver Expedition 18 crew member Sandra Magnus and return Expedition 17 flight engineer Greg Chamitoff, who has been aboard the station for more than five months. Chris Ferguson will command Endeavour. Eric Boe is the pilot. Mission specialists are Steve Bowen, Shane Kimbrough, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Donald Pettit and Magnus. The Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test provides each shuttle crew with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. Video b-roll of the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test will be available on the NASA TV Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the STS-126 mission and crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Oct. 19, 2008 NASA LAUNCHES IBEX MISSION TO OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA's Interstellar Boundary Explorer mission, or IBEX, successfully launched from the Kwajalein Atoll in the Pacific Ocean at 1:47 p.m. EDT, Sunday. IBEX will be the first spacecraft to image and map dynamic interactions taking place in the outer solar system. The spacecraft separated from the third stage of its Pegasus launch vehicle at 1:53 p.m. and immediately began powering up components necessary to control onboard systems. The operations team is continuing to check out spacecraft subsystems. "After a 45-day orbit-raising and spacecraft-checkout period, the spacecraft will start its exciting science mission," said IBEX mission manager Greg Frazier of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Just as an impressionist artist makes an image from countless tiny strokes of paint, IBEX will build an image of the outer boundary of the solar system from impacts on the spacecraft by high-speed particles called energetic neutral atoms. These particles are created in the boundary region when the 1-million mph solar wind blows out in all directions from the sun and plows into the gas of interstellar space. This region is important to study because it shields many of the dangerous cosmic rays that would flood the space around Earth. "No one has seen an image of the interaction at the edge of our solar system where the solar wind collides with interstellar space," said IBEX Principal Investigator David McComas of the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "We know we're going to be surprised. It's a little like getting the first weather satellite images. Prior to that, you had to infer the global weather patterns from a limited number of local weather stations. But with the weather satellite images, you could see the hurricanes forming and the fronts developing and moving across the country." IBEX is the latest in NASA's series of low-cost, rapidly developed Small Explorers spacecraft. The Southwest Research Institute developed the IBEX mission with a team of national and international partners. Goddard manages the Explorers Program for the Science Mission Directorate in Washington. For more information about IBEX, including a launch blog, visit: www.nasa.gov/ibex Oct. 17, 2008 NASA UPDATES TIME FOR SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' ROLL FROM LAUNCH PAD CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers have adjusted the time for space shuttle Atlantis' rollback from Launch Pad 39A to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Oct. 20, to 7 a.m. EDT. Atlantis is expected to be in the Vehicle Assembly Building by about 2 p.m. NASA Television will provide live coverage of Atlantis' move off the pad beginning Monday at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights of the rollback will air on NASA TV Video File. The next space shuttle flight will be shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission to the International Space Station, targeted for launch Nov. 14. Endeavour is scheduled to move from Launch Pad 39B to Pad 39A on Oct. 25. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about upcoming shuttle missions, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Oct. 15, 2008 ANNUAL NASA-SPONSORED BUSINESS EXPO SET FOR OCT. 21 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Business leaders interested in learning more about government contracting and what local and national vendors have to offer should attend the Business Opportunities Expo 2008 on Oct. 21. The expo will run from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. EDT in Cruise Terminal 3 at Port Canaveral, Fla. Admission is free and open to the public. The annual trade show, sponsored by the NASA Kennedy Space Center Prime Contractor Board, 45th Space Wing and Canaveral Port Authority, is in its 18th year. It will feature more than 150 business and government exhibitors from throughout the nation and across Brevard County. Exhibitors will include vendors from a variety of product and service areas, such as computer technology, engineering services, communication equipment and services, and construction and safety products, to name a few. Representatives from the 45th Space Wing, Kennedy prime contractors, NASA and many more agencies and organizations will be on hand to provide information and answer questions. During the opening ceremonies, speakers will include U. S. Congressman Tom Feeney, U. S. Congressman Dave Weldon's Acting District Director Pam Gillespie, NASA Assistant Administrator for the Office of Small Business Programs Glenn Delgado, Kennedy Assistant Director James E. Hattaway Jr., Kennedy Procurement Officer Dudley R. Cannon Jr., and other representatives from the 45th Space Wing and Port Canaveral. Connie Wilcox, Kennedy Small Business Specialist, will recognize the contractor of the year award winners. NASA's Central Industry Assistance Office provides support to small businesses that want to do business at Kennedy. This office works with the Kennedy Prime Contractor Board, which consists of many of Kennedy's prime contractors to help small businesses learn how to navigate in the world of government contracting. By cosponsoring the expo, the board helps provide a one-stop environment for buyers and sellers. For more information, please visit the Web site at: expo.ksc.nasa.gov For information about NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy Oct. 14, 2008 NASA TO WEBCAST IBEX SPACECRAFT LAUNCH ON PEGASUS ROCKET OCT. 19 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- The first NASA spacecraft to image and map the dynamic interactions taking place where the hot solar wind slams into the cold expanse of space will be launched on Sunday, Oct. 19, at 1:48 p.m. EDT, during a launch window that extends from 1:44 p.m. to 1:52 p.m. The two-year mission will begin from the U.S. Army's Reagan test site at Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the south Pacific Ocean. Called the Interstellar Boundary Explorer, or IBEX, the spacecraft will conduct extremely high-altitude orbits above Earth to investigate and capture images of processes taking place at the farthest reaches of the solar system. Known as the interstellar boundary, this region marks where the solar system meets interstellar space. Carrying the IBEX spacecraft into orbit will be a Pegasus XL rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Va. The Pegasus will be deployed from the Orbital Sciences L-1011 aircraft over the Pacific Ocean about 125 miles north of Kwajalein. The spacecraft also was built by Orbital Sciences. Live coverage of the IBEX launch will be provided via the Web. No live NASA Television coverage is planned. The live streaming video of the countdown and launch will be available on the NASA home page at: www.nasa.gov Audio coverage of the launch will be available at 321-867-1220, 1240, 1260, and 7135. Streaming video and audio coverage will begin at 12:15 p.m. on Oct. 19. It will conclude after spacecraft separation from the Pegasus, approximately 12 minutes after launch. For more information about IBEX, including a launch blog, visit: www.nasa.gov/ibex Oct. 14, 2008 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS ROLLS OFF LAUNCH PAD MONDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to roll back from Launch Pad 39A to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Oct. 20, to await launch on its mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. First motion of the shuttle is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. EDT. Atlantis' targeted launch on Oct. 10 was delayed when a system that transfers science data from the orbiting observatory to Earth malfunctioned on Sept. 27. The new target launch date is under review. The fully assembled space shuttle Atlantis, consisting of the orbiter, external tank and twin solid rocket boosters, is mounted on a Mobile Launcher Platform and will be delivered to the Vehicle Assembly Building atop a crawler transporter. The crawler will travel slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey, which is expected to take approximately six hours. NASA Television will provide live coverage of Atlantis' rollback beginning Monday at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights of the rollback will air on NASA TV Video File. The next space shuttle flight will be shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 mission to the International Space Station, targeted for launch Nov. 14. Endeavour is scheduled to move from Launch Pad 39B to Pad 39A on Oct. 25. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about upcoming shuttle missions, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Oct. 8, 2008 NASA ISSUES SPACE SHUTTLE TO CONSTELLATION WORK FORCE TRANSITION REPORT WASHINGTON -- NASA is releasing an updated version of the Work Force Transition Strategy Report, which was delivered to Congress on Wednesday. The report details the agency's plan to minimize job losses while transitioning from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program. The report will be available online Wednesday at 3 p.m. EDT at: www.nasa.gov/transition The initial report was submitted to Congress on March 31, 2008. The next update will be submitted to Congress in spring 2009. Oct. 6, 2008 NASA SPACECRAFT READY TO EXPLORE OUTER SOLAR SYSTEM GREENBELT, Md. -- The first NASA spacecraft to image and map the dynamic interactions taking place where the hot solar wind slams into the cold expanse of space is ready for launch Oct. 19. The two-year mission will begin from the Kwajalein Atoll, a part of the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Called the Interstellar Boundary Explorer or IBEX, the spacecraft will conduct extremely high-altitude orbits above Earth to investigate and capture images of processes taking place at the farthest reaches of the solar system. Known as the interstellar boundary, this region marks where the solar system meets interstellar space. "The interstellar boundary regions are critical because they shield us from the vast majority of dangerous galactic cosmic rays, which otherwise would penetrate into Earth's orbit and make human spaceflight much more dangerous," said David J. McComas, IBEX principal investigator and senior executive director of the Space Science and Engineering Division at the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The story of the outer solar system began to unfold when the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 spacecrafts left the inner solar system and headed out toward the boundary between our solar system and interstellar space. "The Voyager spacecraft are making fascinating observations of the local conditions at two points beyond the termination shock that show totally unexpected results and challenge many of our notions about this important region," said McComas. Other spacecraft have continued the exploration of the interstellar boundary region. Recently, a pair of NASA sun-focused satellites, the Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory mission, detected a higher-energy version of the particles IBEX will observe in the heliosphere. The heliosphere is an area that contains the solar wind. It stretches from the sun to a distance several times the orbit of Pluto. IBEX is poised to thoroughly map this interstellar boundary region of the solar system. The images will allow scientists to understand the global interaction between our sun and the galaxy for the very first time. IBEX will be launched aboard a Pegasus rocket dropped from under the wing of an L-1011 aircraft flying over the Pacific Ocean. The Pegasus will carry the spacecraft approximately 130 miles above Earth and place it in orbit. "What makes the IBEX mission unique is that it has an extra kick during launch," said Willis Jenkins, IBEX program executive at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "An extra solid-state motor pushes the spacecraft further out of low-Earth orbit where the Pegasus launch vehicle leaves it." The IBEX mission is the next in NASA's series of low-cost, rapidly developed Small Explorers spacecraft. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., manages the Explorers Program for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. The mission was developed by Southwest Research Institute with national and international partner participation. For more information about IBEX, visit: www.nasa.gov/ibex Sept. 30, 2008 CABANA TO SUCCEED PARSONS AS KENNEDY SPACE CENTER DIRECTOR CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA announced Tuesday that William Parsons, director of the John F. Kennedy Space Center in Florida, is leaving the agency in mid-October to pursue opportunities in the private sector. Parsons will be succeeded by former astronaut Robert Cabana, currently director of NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Gene Goldman, Stennis' deputy director, will become the acting center director. Parsons, who joined NASA in 1990, also has served as director of Stennis. His other NASA assignments have included launch site support manager, manager of the Space Station Hardware Integration Office, chief of operations of the Propulsion Test Directorate, space shuttle program manager and deputy director of the Johnson Space Center in Houston. "It has been my distinct privilege to have gotten to know and work with Bill Parsons since joining NASA as the administrator," NASA Administrator Michael Griffin said. "In managing both centers and programs for NASA, Bill has demonstrated unswerving dedication to the mission and unshakable loyalty to his teammates. I have learned to expect that from Marines, and Bill's early training is always in evidence. While wishing him well in his new endeavors, I will miss him greatly." "My time with NASA has been extremely rewarding in many ways but made more special because of the talented people I have worked with across all the NASA centers," said Parsons. "Of course, each center I have worked at holds a special place in my heart and I have many friends at each one. Thank you all for allowing me the opportunity to serve with you. I look forward to all of your future successes." His successor, Cabana, is a native of Minnesota. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1971 with a Bachelor of Science in mathematics and was commissioned as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps. Cabana is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School and has logged over 7,000 hours in 36 different aircraft. After his selection as an astronaut candidate in June of 1985, Cabana completed his training in 1986. He has flown four space shuttle missions, serving as the pilot of Discovery on STS-41 in October 1990, the pilot of Discovery on STS-53 in December 1992, the commander of Columbia on STS-65 in July 1994, and the commander of Endeavour on STS-88 - the first International Space Station assembly mission - in December 1998. Before being named the director at Stennis in October 2007, Cabana served as deputy director of Johnson. In addition, Cabana has worked as chief of NASA's Astronaut Office, manager of international operations of International Space Station Program, director of NASA's Human Space Flight Program in Russia, deputy director of the International Space Station Program, and director of Flight Crew Operations. "Bob Cabana is a longtime colleague, and another whose Marine training has redounded to NASA's benefit," Griffin said. "Bob has seen it all and done it all in human spaceflight, and done it with an open, collaborative style. There is just no better teammate. He will be a terrific successor to Bill Parsons as director of KSC." For more information about NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the projects and programs it supports, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy Sept. 29, 2008 NASA TO DISCUSS HUBBLE ANOMALY AND SERVICING MISSION LAUNCH DELAY WASHINGTON -- NASA will host a media teleconference at 6 p.m. EDT today to discuss a significant Hubble Space Telescope anomaly that occurred this weekend affecting the storage and transmittal of science data to Earth. Fixing the problem will delay next month's space shuttle Atlantis Hubble servicing mission. The briefing participants are: Ed Weiler, associate administrator of the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington John Shannon, Shuttle Program manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston Preston Burch, Hubble manager at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. As a result of the launch delay, NASA has postponed the planned Oct. 3 Flight Readiness Review and subsequent news conference. The review will occur at a later date. The malfunctioning system is Hubble's Control Unit/Science Data Formatter - Side A. Shortly after 8 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 27, the telescope's spacecraft computer issued commands to safe the payload computer and science instruments when errors were detected within the Science Data Formatter. An attempt to reset the formatter and obtain a dump of the payload computer's memory was unsuccessful. Additional testing demonstrates Side A no longer supports the transfer of science data to the ground. A transition to the redundant Side B should restore full functionality to the science instruments and operations. The transition to Side B operations is complex. It requires that five other modules used in managing data also be switched to their B-side systems. The B-sides of these modules last were activated during ground tests in the late 1980s and/or early 1990, prior to launch. The Hubble operations team has begun work on the Side B transition and believes it will be ready to reconfigure Hubble later this week. The transition will happen after the team completes a readiness review. Hubble could return to science operations in the immediate future if the reconfiguration is successful. Even so, the agency is investigating the possibility of flying a back-up replacement system, which could be installed during the servicing mission. Audio of the teleconference will be streamed live at: www.nasa.gov/newsaudio Related images for the briefing will be available at: www.nasa.gov/hubble For more information about the Space Shuttle Program, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle Sept. 24, 2008 NASA ANNOUNCES NEW TARGET LAUNCH DATES, STATUS NEWS CONFERENCE WASHINGTON -- The target launch date for space shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope has been reset to Oct. 14 at 10:19 p.m. EDT. A news conference is scheduled for Friday, Oct. 3, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to announce an official launch date. With the delay of Atlantis' launch from Oct. 10 to Oct. 14, shuttle Endeavour's STS-126 supply mission to the International Space Station, also will move from Nov. 12 to Nov. 16 at 7:07 p.m. EST. The target launch date adjustments were made Wednesday during the Space Shuttle Program's Flight Readiness Review, which concludes Thursday. Detailed assessments were presented Wednesday by Mission Operations, Flight Crew Operations, and training divisions affected by the closure of the NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, as a result of Hurricane Ike. While vehicle processing at Kennedy continues on schedule, the lost week of training and mission preparation due to the impacts of the storm led to the decision to slip the dates. For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the upcoming shuttle missions, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle Sept. 19, 2008 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR MOVES TO LAUNCH PAD 39B CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - For the first time since July 2001, two shuttles are on the launch pads at the same time at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Space shuttle Endeavour completed a 4.2-mile journey to Launch Pad 39B on Friday, Sept. 19, at 6:59 a.m. EDT. Endeavour left Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 11:15 p.m. Thursday, traveling at less than 1 mph atop a massive crawler-transporter. Endeavour will stand by at pad B in the unlikely event that a rescue mission is necessary during space shuttle Atlantis' upcoming mission to repair NASA's Hubble Space Telescope, targeted to launch Oct. 10. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue spacecraft, it will be moved to Launch Pad 39A for the STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch Nov. 12. Video file of rollout will be available on NASA Television. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For information about the upcoming shuttle missions, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle Sept. 11, 2008 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ENDEAVOUR TO MOVE TO LAUNCH PAD SEPT. 18 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Sept. 18, in preparation for shuttle Atlantis' mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. Endeavour will stand by in the unlikely event a rescue mission is necessary following Atlantis' launch, which is targeted for Oct. 10. After Endeavour is cleared from its duty as a rescue vehicle, it will move to Launch Pad 39A for the upcoming STS-126 mission to the International Space Station. That flight is targeted for launch Nov. 12. On Thursday, Endeavour rolled over from Kennedy's Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building. There, Endeavour will be attached to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters to prepare for its move to the pad. The first motion of the shuttle toward the launch pad Sept. 18 is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. EDT. The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, external tank and twin solid rocket boosters, will be delivered to the pad atop a crawler-transporter. The crawler will travel slower than 1 mph during the 4.2-mile journey. The process is expected to take approximately seven hours. NASA Television will provide live coverage of Endeavour's rollout to the launch pad beginning at 6:30 a.m. Sept. 18. Video highlights of the rollout will air on the NASA TV Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv Sept. 8, 2008 NEW NASA SPACE EXPERIMENT RACK TO UNDERGO FLIGHT TESTS CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - A new space experiment rack under development by NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., and Space Florida will undergo initial tests this week. The rack will fly aboard NASA's first commercially-provided research flights on Zero Gravity Corporation's reduced gravity aircraft. Flight testing of the FASTRACK Space Experiment Platform will be performed on four consecutive days between September 9-12 from Ellington Field near NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston. The experiment rack is designed to support two standard lockers that fit inside the space shuttle's crew middeck. It is being developed jointly by Kennedy and Space Florida to facilitate NASA and commercial use of reusable U.S. suborbital flight vehicles currently under development. The rack also will accommodate experiments aboard reduced gravity aircraft such as Zero Gravity's modified Boeing 727 jet, and may also be adapted in the future for orbiting vehicles and facilities. FASTRACK will enable investigators to test experiments, apparatus and analytical techniques in hardware compatible with the International Space Station, and to perform science that can be carried out during the reduced gravity available for brief periods during aircraft parabolas. FASTRACK is designed to accommodate two single middeck lockers or one double locker, and other compatible experiment accommodations developed for use on the space shuttle and International Space Station. Kennedy's FASTRACK project team will use NASA's commercial flight services contract with Zero Gravity Corporation to install and test a prototype rack along with three science investigations to verify interfaces, procedures and performance characteristics prior to fabrication of the FASTRACK flight units. The three science investigations that will be performed on the flights this week are: baseline characterization data of the microgravity environment in the FASTRACK payload accommodations using instrumentation provided by NASA's Glenn Research Center; a fluid dynamics experiment by the University of Central Florida to study Faraday wave interfaces in microgravity; and tests of a biomedical sensor to evaluate its effectiveness in performing continuous, non-invasive monitoring and recording of human hemodynamics, or the movement of blood, during changes in gravity. Another potential group of customers will be those participating in NASA's Facilitated Access to the Space Environment for Technology Development and Training, or FAST, Program. The FAST Program, which is managed by the Innovative Partnerships Program, will provide reduced-gravity or suborbital testing opportunities for emerging technologies developed by small businesses and others in partnerships with NASA. With the expected emergence of commercial suborbital flights over the next few years, FASTRACK will support investigations that can benefit from longer exposure - between 2-3 minutes - of microgravity time, as well as actual spaceflight conditions. The flights are sponsored and funded by NASA's Strategic Capabilities and Assets Program under the agency's commercial microgravity services contract with Zero Gravity Corporation. The FASTRACK project has received support from the NASA Innovative Partnerships Program Office and the NASA Science Mission Directorate. It is being jointly developed under a Space Act Agreement between Kennedy and Space Florida, both of which have contracted with the Bionetics Corporation to accomplish design, fabrication and testing of the experiment rack. FASTRACK is a trademark of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration. For more information about NASA programs and missions, visit: http://www.nasa.gov Sept. 5, 2008 NASA CHANGES 2008 SHUTTLE TARGET LAUNCH DATES, SCHEDULES TCDT HOUSTON - NASA has adjusted the target launch dates for the two remaining space shuttle missions in 2008. Shuttle Atlantis' STS-125 mission to the Hubble Space Telescope is targeted for Oct. 10, while Endeavour's STS-126 supply mission to the International Space Station has moved to Nov. 12. Shuttle managers made the decision after Atlantis was rolled to the launch pad and the effects of Tropical Storm Hanna were beyond NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. That allowed managers to more accurately assess the impacts of recent tropical systems on the launch schedule. Atlantis began rolling from Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Pad 39A Thursday at 9:19 a.m. EDT. The shuttle arrived at the pad at approximately 2 p.m. and was secured at 3:52 p.m. Atlantis now is targeted to launch at approximately 12:33 a.m. EDT, Friday, Oct. 10. NASA Television coverage of launch will begin at 7:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, Oct. 9. The 11-day flight will include five spacewalks to repair and upgrade the Hubble telescope. Atlantis is scheduled to land at approximately 10:21 p.m., Oct. 20. Scott Altman will command STS-125, with Gregory C. Johnson serving as pilot. Mission specialists include veteran spacewalkers John Grunsfeld and Mike Massimino, and first-time space fliers Andrew Feustel, Michael Good and Megan McArthur. Endeavour will close 2008 with a 15-day mission to deliver supplies and cargo to the space station. During the STS-126 mission, NASA astronaut Sandra Magnus will replace Greg Chamitoff as an Expedition 18 crew member on the station. Chamitoff will return to Earth after five months in space. The mission's targeted launch time is 8:43 p.m. EST, Nov. 12. Landing will occur at approximately 2:45 p.m., Nov. 27. Chris Ferguson will command STS-126, with Eric Boe serving as pilot. Mission specialists will be Steve Bowen, Shane Kimbrough, Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper, Donald Pettit, Magnus and Chamitoff. The formal launch dates for space shuttle flights are determined during the Flight Readiness Review, which is conducted about two weeks before launch. The STS-125 review is scheduled for Sept. 22-23. The review for STS-126 is scheduled for Oct. 30. An STS-125 launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, or TCDT, is scheduled to take place at Kennedy Sept. 22-24. The test provides each shuttle crew with an opportunity to participate in simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. For more information about the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/station For more about the two remaining shuttle missions of 2008, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle Atlantis Rollout - September 4, 2008 - by Thomas Dunkerton Sept. 3, 2008 NASA SETS SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' MOVE TO LAUNCH PAD THURSDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Space shuttle Atlantis is tentatively scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida at 10 a.m. EDT, on Thursday, Sept. 4. Managers will meet at 5:30 a.m. Thursday to confirm that weather conditions created by Tropical Storm Hanna will allow for the move. NASA Television will provide live video of Atlantis' rollout beginning at 10 a.m. Video highlights of the rollout will air on NASA TV's Video File segments. Atlantis is targeted to lift off Oct. 8 on an 11-day mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the STS-125 mission and crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle Technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center examine the Wide Field Camera 3 during preparations for its placement inside the Hubble Space Telescope. Processing of upgraded equipment and instruments for the Hubble is continuing in preparation for STS-125. Photo credit: NASA/Jack Pfaller Sept. 2, 2008 NASA AWARDS LANDSCAPING MAINTENANCE, PEST CONTROL CONTRACT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA has selected S.C. Jones Services, Inc., of Dillwyn, Va., to provide grounds maintenance and pest control services at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The new firm-fixed price contract begins on Oct. 1, 2008. It has a one-year base period and four, one-year option periods. The maximum value of the contract is approximately $13.5 million. S.C. Jones Services will provide grounds maintenance and pest control services in support of all areas of Kennedy. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. Aug. 28, 2008 NASA UPDATES SHUTTLE ATLANTIS' MOVE TO LAUNCH PAD TUESDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center at 12:01 a.m. EDT on Tuesday, Sept. 2. Atlantis is targeted to lift off Oct. 8 on an 11-day mission to service the Hubble Space Telescope. This new rollout date accommodates additional work on Atlantis. NASA Television will provide live video of Atlantis at the launch pad beginning at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 2. Video highlights of the rollout will air on NASA TV's Video File segments. Atlantis will be commanded by Scott Altman. Gregory C. Johnson will be pilot. Mission Specialists will be John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Megan McArthur, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the STS-125 mission and crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle Aug. 25, 2008 NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE ATLANTIS TO MOVE TO LAUNCH PAD SATURDAY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to roll out to Launch Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Saturday, Aug. 30. Atlantis is targeted to lift off Oct. 8 to repair the Hubble Space Telescope. The first motion of the shuttle out of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building is scheduled for 12:01 a.m. EDT. The fully assembled space shuttle, consisting of the orbiter, external tank and twin solid rocket boosters, was mounted on a mobile launcher platform and will be delivered to the pad atop a crawler-transporter. The crawler will travel slower than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The process is expected to take approximately six hours. Repairs to Launch Pad 39A's flame trench wall were completed Aug. 5 after crews installed a steel grid structure and covered it in a heat-resistant material. The pad's north flame trench was damaged when bricks tore away from the wall during the May 31 launch of space shuttle Discovery. NASA Television will provide live coverage of Atlantis' move to the launch pad beginning at 6:30 a.m. Video highlights of the rollout will air on NASA TV Video File. During its 11-day mission that includes five spacewalks, the STS-125's crew of seven astronauts will install two new instruments in Hubble, as well as replace the Fine Guidance Sensor. The result will be six working, complementary science instruments with capabilities beyond those now available, and an extended operational lifespan of the telescope through at least 2013. Atlantis will be commanded by Scott Altman. Gregory C. Johnson will be pilot. Mission Specialists will be John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Megan McArthur, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the STS-125 mission and crew, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle Aug. 15, 2008 NASA KENNEDY SPACE CENTER AWARDS CUSTODIAL SERVICES CONTRACT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected Brevard Achievement Center Inc., of Rockledge, Fla., to provide custodial services at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The new firm-fixed price contract begins on Oct. 1, 2008. It has a one-year base period and four, one-year option periods. The maximum value of the contract is approximately $41 million. Brevard Achievement Center will provide custodial services for approximately 2.6 million square feet of general office, shop, warehouse and support areas at the space center. For more information about the Kennedy Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov August 15, 2008 NASA KEEPS ATLANTIS TARGET LAUNCH DATE, MOVES UP MILESTONES This nebula, imaged by the Hubble Space Telescope on August 10, is about 170,000 light-years away. Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA) Larger image CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After thoroughly reviewing an option to accelerate the upcoming launch dates of space shuttle Atlantis and Endeavour by a few days, shuttle program managers decided Thursday to keep the current target launch dates. Atlantis' STS-125 mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope remains targeted for Oct. 8 at 1:34 a.m. EDT. Endeavour's STS-126 mission to the International Space Station is targeted for Nov. 10 at 9:31 p.m. EST. Atlantis is scheduled to move from its processing hanger to the Vehicle Assembly Building, or VAB, on Monday, Aug. 18, where it will be attached to an external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters. The shuttle will roll out to Launch Pad 39A the week of Aug. 24. The date will be finalized early next week. During its 11-day mission, STS-125's crew of seven astronauts will install two new instruments in Hubble, as well as replace the Fine Guidance Sensor. Five spacewalks will be conducted during the flight. Atlantis will be commanded by Scott Altman. Gregory C. Johnson will be pilot. Mission specialists will be John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino, Megan McArthur, Andrew Feustel and Michael Good. For more information about the STS-125 mission and crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle. For more information about Hubble, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble. Aug. 13, 2008 NASA ASTRONAUT READY TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTIONS FROM SPACE HOUSTON -- Flying 220 miles above the Earth aboard the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Greg Chamitoff is ready to take your questions. The public can now submit inquiries to Chamitoff and get answers direct from space on NASA's Web site. To submit a question, visit: www.nasa.gov/ask Mission Control will transmit the questions to Chamitoff weekly. He will answer as many as his schedule will allow. Check back periodically to the link above for the transcript and audio clips of the astronaut's answers. Chamitoff is a flight engineer for the Expedition 17 mission. He flew to the station aboard the space shuttle Discovery in June and will return to Earth aboard shuttle Endeavour in November. For more on Chamitoff's mission and the International Space Station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station Aug. 7, 2008 NASA TV TO AIR INTERVIEWS WITH HUBBLE SERVICING ASTRONAUTS HOUSTON -- NASA Television will air interviews with each of the seven astronauts who will fly to the Hubble Space Telescope beginning at 8 a.m. EDT, on Monday, Aug. 11. The crew includes Commander Scott Altman, Pilot Gregory C. Johnson, and Mission Specialists Michael Good, Megan McArthur, John Grunsfeld, Mike Massimino and Andrew Feustel. The interviews will run repeatedly on NASA TV prior to launch. For information on when and for the complete NASA TV schedule and training footage, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv Aug. 4, 2008 NASA AWARDS MEDICAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SUPPORT CONTRACT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected Innovative Health Applications, LLC, or IHA, of Cape Canaveral, Fla., to provide medical and environmental services at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The contract begins on Oct. 1, with a five-year base period, followed by two one-year options. It is a cost-plus-award-fee contract. The maximum potential value of this contract is approximately $163.5 million. Innovative Health Applications will provide medical services, environmental health services, environmental services and agency occupational health program support at Kennedy. Selected services also will be provided to the U.S. Air Force at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The company will furnish resources, including management, personnel, equipment and supplies to support Kennedy's work at the station. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov July 28, 2008 HIGH SCHOOLERS HELP NASA TAKE ONE SMALL STEP BACK TO THE MOON CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - High school students from 35 Florida schools recently experienced what it might be like to land a rocket on the moon or excavate the lunar surface. During two, one-week sessions this summer, eager students worked alongside NASA mentors at Kennedy Space Center to participate in a Governor's School pilot program for the gifted. NASA's involvement in the pilot program included hosting the student groups and creating research projects that explore challenges related to lunar exploration. These challenges included lunar landing, lunar excavating and protecting a pressurized habitat. At the end of each session, the students presented their solutions to a NASA panel of engineers and education coordinators. Dr. Lesley Garner, the pre-college officer in NASA's Education Office at Kennedy, coordinated NASA's portion of the pilot program. Garner hopes the students will have a greater understanding of academic majors they can pursue in science, technology, engineering and mathematics for careers they didn't know existed. Funding for the pilot program was provided by the state of Florida and given to three universities, Florida Tech, Embry Riddle Aeronautical University and Florida State University, to plan and pilot test the program. Space Florida, NASA and Delaware North Park Services provided the curriculum. Kennedy mentors were Drs. Bob Youngquist and Philip Metzger, as well as Rob Mueller and Greg Galloway, all from the Applied Technology Directorate. They presented real space-related problems for the students to solve along with hands-on activities. Bailee Williams, a senior at Hardee Senior High in Wauchula, was one of six students who conducted a team experiment to simulate excavating on the moon. Under Galloway's guidance, Williams used a scaled-down NASA prototype lunar excavator to investigate the amount of force required to dig in a simulated lunar surface. "This isn't something I get to do everyday, so it's great I was able to participate in a program like this," Williams said. When she returns to her school she will give a presentation to her physics teacher and classmates on what she learned. Corbin Ferris, a senior at St. Augustine High School, said the best parts of his experience at Kennedy were the group projects and learning about new technologies. Ferris learned about current methods for locating and measuring defects in orbiter windows. With Dr. Youngquist as mentor, Ferris and his team members learned about optical techniques and carried out discussions of how they could be utilized in a space station or lunar habitat scenario. Ferris, who is looking into a career in engineering, said it was interesting to see all the types of available jobs at NASA. "NASA research will benefit from the students' fresh 'out of the box' solutions for future lunar missions," Garner said. "It was a win-win situation; and I hope a sustainable Governor's School for the gifted is the end product." Student participants are listed by county: Bay: Amilea Borel, Bay High School, Panama City. Brevard: Parker Allen, Melbourne High School, Melbourne; Joshua Emison, Bayside High School, Palm Bay; and Julia Rauchfuss, West Shore Jr./Sr. High, Melbourne Beach. Broward: Aaron Lewis, JP Taravella High School, Coral Springs. Calhoun: Harlea Perdue, Blountstown High School, Altha. Charlotte: Ashley Kreher, Lemon Bay High School, Rotonda West. Clay: Jessica Evans, Orange Park High School, Orange Park. Columbia: Adam Griffy, Fort White High School, Fort White. Duval: Jessica Yeung, Stanton College Preparatory School, Jacksonville. Escambia: Victor Mendez, Pensacola High School I.B. Program, Cantonment. Flagler: Rebecca Wight, Matanzas High School, Palm Coast. Gilchrist: Sean Kirby, Trenton Middle High School, Trenton. Hardee: Bailee Williams, Hardee Senior High School, Wauchula. Hillsborough: Elisa Berson, Freedom High School, Tampa. Lee: Brittany Kociuba, North Fort Myers High School, Cape Coral. Leon: Jayshree Balakrishnan, James S. Rickards High School, Catherine Branch, Lawton Chiles High School, both in Tallahassee. Marion: David Lakin, Forest High School, Ocala. Miami-Dade: Natalia Slepak, Miami Palmetto Sr. High School, Miami. Monroe: Daniella Fioravanti-Score, Coral Shores High School, Key Largo. Orange: Linda Cao, Timber Creek High School, Orlando; Scott Palmese, Olympia High School, Ocoee. Palm Beach: Michael Koester, Park Vista High School, Lake Worth. Pasco: Stephanie Schlageter, Zephyrhills High School, Zephryhills. Pinellas: Shailaja Emani, Palm Harbor University High, Safety Harbor; Sarah Gardiner, Lakewood High School, St. Petersburg. St. Johns: Matthew Walsh, Bartram High School, Saint Johns; Corbin Ferris, St. Augustine High School. St. Lucie: Gerald Condon, Lincoln Park Academy, Port St. Lucie. Seminole: Alex Friedman, Lake Mary High School, Lake Mary. Sumter: Connor Schofill, South Sumter High School, Bushnell. Suwannee: Wendell Mellette, Branford High School, Branford. Volusia: Deepak Sathyanarayan, Spruce Creek High School, Ormond Beach; Kyle Mays, DeLand High School, Deland. July 16, 2008 NASA ASSIGNS CREW FOR EQUIPMENT DELIVERY MISSION TO SPACE STATION WASHINGTON - NASA has assigned the crew for space shuttle mission STS-128. The flight will carry science and storage racks to the International Space Station. Marine Corps Col. Frederick W. "Rick" Sturckow will command space shuttle Atlantis on the STS-128 mission, targeted for launch July 30, 2009. Retired Air Force Col. Kevin A. Ford will serve as the pilot. Mission specialists are NASA astronauts John D. "Danny" Olivas, retired Army Col. Patrick G. Forrester, Jose M. Hernandez and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Christer Fuglesang. The mission will deliver a new station crew member, Nicole Stott, to the complex and return Tim Kopra to Earth. Ford, Hernandez and Stott will be making their first trips to space. Stott and Kopra were previously assigned in February to station missions. Atlantis will carry a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science and storage racks to the station. The mission will include three spacewalks to remove and replace a materials processing experiment outside ESA's Columbus module and return an empty ammonia tank assembly. Sturckow flew as the commander of STS-117 in 2007, and was the pilot of STS-105 in 2001 and STS-88 in 1998. He considers Lakeside, Calif., his hometown. Sturckow has a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from California Polytechnic State University. He was selected as an astronaut in 1994. Ford considers Montpelier, Ind., his hometown. He has a bachelor's in aerospace engineering from the University of Notre Dame, master's degrees in international relations from Troy State University in Alabama and aerospace engineering from the University of Florida, and a doctorate in astronautical engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology. He was selected as an astronaut in 2000. Olivas flew as a mission specialist and conducted two spacewalks during STS-117 in 2007. He was raised in El Paso, Texas. Olivas has a bachelor's in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas-El Paso, a master's in mechanical engineering from the University of Houston and a doctorate in mechanical engineering and materials science from Rice University. He was selected as an astronaut in 1998. Forrester flew as a mission specialist on STS-117 in 2007 and on STS-105 in 2001. He has conducted four spacewalks. He was born in El Paso, Texas. Forrester has a bachelor's in applied sciences and engineering from the U.S. Military Academy and a master's in mechanical and aerospace engineering from the University of Virginia. He was selected as an astronaut in 1996. Hernandez considers Stockton, Calif., his hometown. He has a bachelor's in electrical engineering from the University of the Pacific and a master's in electrical and computer engineering from the University of California-Santa Barbara. He was selected as an astronaut in 2004. Fuglesang flew as a mission specialist and conducted three spacewalks on STS-116 in 2006. He was born in Stockholm, Sweden. Fuglesang has a master's in engineering physics from the Royal Institute of Technology and a doctorate in experimental particle physics from the University of Stockholm. He was selected to join the ESA astronaut corps in 1992 and began training at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston in 1996. For complete astronaut biographical information, visit: www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios For more information about NASA's Space Shuttle Program, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle July 16, 2008 FIRST HUBBLE FLIGHT HARDWARE ARRIVES AT KENNEDY FOR STS-125 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The first major flight hardware for the fifth and final space shuttle servicing mission to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope is starting to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to begin preparations for its targeted October launch. Three carriers, which are pallets that will hold equipment in space shuttle Atlantis' payload bay, were delivered to Kennedy Wednesday. They will be prepared for the integration of telescope science instruments, both internal and external replacement components, as well as the flight support equipment to be used by the astronauts during Atlantis' mission, designated STS-125 and SM4. The three payload carriers are the Flight Support System (FSS), the Super Lightweight Interchangeable Carrier (SLIC), and the Orbital Replacement Unit Carrier (ORUC). At the end of July, a fourth and final carrier, the Multi-Use Lightweight Equipment (MULE) carrier, will join the others in the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility where the Hubble payload is being prepared for launch. The Flight Support System will attach, secure and provide power to Hubble and also contains the Soft Capture Mechanism that will assist in the de-orbiting of the telescope when its science mission is over. Among the components to be integrated onto the carriers are the Wide Field Camera 3 that will be placed on the SLIC with Hubble's two new battery modules. The Fine Guidance Sensor and the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph will be on the ORUC, as well as the replacement gyros. The Relative Navigation Sensors and the New Outer Blanket Layers will be on the MULE. These components, which will be integrated onto the carriers, will be delivered to Kennedy during the first half of August. Numerous crew aids and tools that the astronauts will use during their five planned spacewalks also will be integrated onto the carriers. The new hardware will ensure Hubble is at the apex of its scientific capability and that it functions efficiently for a minimum of five more years. The processing and integration of the Hubble flight hardware will take approximately two months. The payload is scheduled to go to Launch Pad 39A in mid-September to be installed into Atlantis' payload bay. Atlantis is targeted to launch Oct. 8 at 1:34 a.m. EDT. For more information about the Hubble Space Telescope and its research, visit: www.nasa.gov/hubble For more information about the STS-125 mission and its crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle July 7, 2008 NASA SETS LAUNCH DATES FOR REMAINING SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS HOUSTON -- Following a detailed, integrated assessment, NASA selected target launch dates for the remaining eight space shuttle missions on the current manifest in 2009 and 2010. The manifest includes one flight to the Hubble Space Telescope, seven assembly flights to the International Space Station, and two station contingency flights, planned to be completed before the end of fiscal year 2010. The agency previously selected Oct. 8 and Nov. 10 as launch dates for Atlantis' STS-125 mission to service Hubble and Endeavour's STS-126 / ULF-2 mission to supply the space station and service both Solar Alpha Rotary Joints on the port and starboard end of its truss backbone that supports equipment and solar arrays. The approved target dates are subject to change based on processing and other launch vehicle schedules. They reflect the agency's commitment to complete assembly of the station and to retire the shuttle fleet as transition continues to the new launch vehicles, including Ares and Orion. SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2009 Feb. 12 Discovery (STS-119 / 15A) will kick off a five-flight 2009 with its 36th mission to deliver the final pair of U.S. solar arrays to be installed on the starboard end of the station's truss. The truss serves as the backbone support for external equipment and spare components, including the Mobile Base System. Lee Archambault will command the 14-day flight that will include four planned spacewalks. Joining him will be pilot Tony Antonelli and mission specialists John Phillips, Steve Swanson, Joseph Acaba, Richard Arnold and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace Sandy Magnus on the station as a flight engineer. STS-119 marks the 28th shuttle flight to the station. May 15 Endeavour (STS-127 / 2JA) sets sail on its 23rd mission with the Japanese Kibo Laboratory's Exposed Facility and Experiment Logistics Module Exposed Section, the final permanent components of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's contribution to the station program. During the 15-day mission, Endeavour's crew will perform five spacewalks and deliver six new batteries for the P6 truss, a spare drive unit for the Mobile Transporter and a spare boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna. Mark Polansky will be Endeavour's commander with Doug Hurley as pilot. Mission specialists will be Christopher Cassidy, Tom Marshburn, Dave Wolf, Tim Kopra and Canadian Space Agency astronaut Julie Payette. Kopra will become a station flight engineer replacing Koichi Wakata, who will return home with the STS-127 crew. It will be the 29th shuttle flight to the station. July 30 Atlantis (STS-128 / 17A) launches on its 31st flight, an 11-day mission carrying science and storage racks to the station. In the payload bay will be a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module holding science and storage racks. Three spacewalks are planned to remove and replace a materials processing experiment outside the European Space Agency's Columbus module and return an empty ammonia tank assembly. The mission includes the rotation of astronaut Nicole Stott for Tim Kopra, who will return to Earth with the shuttle crew. The remaining crew members have yet to be named. STS-128 marks the 30th shuttle flight dedicated to station assembly and outfitting. Oct. 15 Discovery's (STS-129 / ULF-3) 37th mission will focus on staging spare components outside the station. The 15-day flight includes at least three spacewalks. The payload bay will carry two large External Logistics Carriers holding two spare gyroscopes, two nitrogen tank assemblies, two pump modules, an ammonia tank assembly, a spare latching end effector for the station's robotic arm, a spare trailing umbilical system for the Mobile Transporter and a high-pressure gas tank. Canadian Space Agency astronaut Bob Thirsk will return home aboard Discovery with its crew, which has yet to be named. STS-129 marks the 31st shuttle mission devoted to station assembly. Dec. 10 Endeavour (STS-130 / 20A) will close 2009 with its 24th mission to deliver the final connecting node, Node 3, and the Cupola, a robotic control station with six windows around its sides and another in the center that provides a 360-degree view around the station. At least three spacewalks are planned during the 11-day mission. The 32nd station assembly mission by a shuttle does not yet have a crew named. SHUTTLE FLIGHTS IN 2010 Feb. 11 Atlantis (STS-131 / 19A) begins its 32nd mission as the first flight in 2010, carrying a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module filled with science racks that will be transferred to laboratories of the station. The 11-day mission will include at least three spacewalks to attach a spare ammonia tank assembly outside the station and return a European experiment that has been outside the Columbus module. It will be the 33rd shuttle mission to the station. The crew has yet to be named. April 8 Discovery's (STS-132 / ULF-4) 38th mission will carry an integrated cargo carrier to deliver maintenance and assembly hardware, including spare parts for space station systems. In addition, the second in a series of new pressurized components for Russia, a Mini Research Module, will be permanently attached to the bottom port of the Zarya module. The Russian module also will carry U.S. pressurized cargo. The first Russian Mini Research Module to go to the station is scheduled to launch on a Russian rocket in the summer of 2009. Additionally, at least three spacewalks are planned to stage spare components outside the station, including six spare batteries, a boom assembly for the Ku-band antenna and spares for the Canadian Dextre robotic arm extension. A radiator, airlock and European robotic arm for the Russian Multi-purpose Laboratory Module also are payloads on the flight. The laboratory module is scheduled for launch on a Russian rocket in 2011. The mission marks the 34th mission to the station. The STS-132 crew has yet to be named. May 31 Endeavour's (STS-133 / ULF-5) 25th mission will carry critical spare components that will be placed on the outside of the station. Those will include two S-band communications antennas, a high-pressure gas tank, additional spare parts for Dextre and micrometeoroid debris shields. At least three spacewalks are planned to be carried out by the crew, which has yet to be named. The 15-day mission will be the 35th to the station. For the shuttle launch manifest, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/iss_manifest.html For details on upcoming shuttle missions and their crews, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle June 26, 2008 NASA AWARDS INFORMATION MANAGEMENT AND COMMUNICATIONS SUPPORT CONTRACT CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected Abacus Technology Corp. of Chevy Chase, Md., to provide information management and communications support at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The contract begins on Oct. 1 with a five-year base period and four one-year options to extend performance. It is a cost-plus-award-fee contract with indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract line items. If all options are exercised and the maximum amount of work is ordered, the total potential value of the contract is approximately $898 million. Abacus Technology Corp. will furnish resources, including management, personnel, equipment and supplies to support Kennedy's work, including voice communications, visual imaging and timing, transmission and cable systems, administrative phones, institutional computer networks, network IT security, publications, library, and computer services. Selected services also may be provided to the U.S. Air Force at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base as IDIQ efforts. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov June 25, 2008 NASA AND FLORIDA POWER & LIGHT BUILD SOLAR POWER PLANTS AT KENNEDY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA and Florida Power & Light (FPL) are teaming up to provide Florida residents and America's space program with new sources of "green power." NASA and the state's largest electric utility signed an agreement Tuesday at Florida Governor Charlie Crist's global climate change summit in Miami. The agreement is part of a new initiative that will cut reliance on fossil fuels and improve the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The agreement will permit FPL to lease 60 acres of NASA Kennedy Space Center's approximately 140,000 acres for a solar photovoltaic power generation system. The facility will produce an estimated 10 megawatts of electrical power, which is enough energy to serve roughly 3,000 homes. The solar power facility will be built and maintained by FPL. As part of the agreement, FPL will build a separate one megawatt solar power facility at Kennedy that will support the electrical needs of the center. It will also help NASA meet its goals for use of power generated from renewable energy. In addition to generating electricity, the facility will provide an opportunity for NASA engineers and technicians to gain experience in energy production. It also may serve as a test bed for solar power technology that could be used on the surface of the moon and other planetary bodies. "This is a major renewable energy project that will help both NASA and the state of Florida advance efforts to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and improve our environment through use of clean energy," said Kennedy Center Director Bill Parsons. FPL refers to the large solar plant at Kennedy as the space coast facility. The company estimates the plant will prevent more than 227,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions from entering the atmosphere during the life of the project. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, that is the equivalent of eliminating the emissions from more than 1,800 cars every year. "This facility, the first cooperative solar effort with NASA, will help power the space coast event as it leaves a smaller carbon footprint here on Earth," said FPL Group CEO Lewis Hay III. NASA and FPL managers signed a memorandum of understanding in December 2007 to explore developing renewable energy projects. Other concepts under consideration include using biomass for energy production and wind power generation. Details of the projects under consideration still are being formulated and will be evaluated before moving into development. For information about Florida Power & Light and its programs, visit: www.fpl.com/ For more information about NASA's Kennedy Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/kennedy June 20, 2008 NASA ENCOURAGES EDUCATION IN CELEBRATION OF THE 50TH ANNIVERSARY CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - NASA celebrates this year's 50th anniversary with the creation of an educational card game, "You've Been Sentenced! - NASA 50th Anniversary Special Edition." NASA and McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds formed a partnership in April of 2008 to create the game, which bears a few similarities to Scrabble. NASA and McNeill Designs collaborated to create the Add-on Deck which will present NASA terminology while promoting greater interest and understanding of NASA's history and future. The 50th Anniversary Special Edition Add-on Deck will contain words not only used in space exploration, but also terminology from the past, current and future explorers, missions, and programs. "You've Been Sentenced!" delivers a unique way to understand these terms that is both fun and memorable for students. "As part of our 50th anniversary celebration, this is an informal and fun venue to educate folks on American's space program, past and present," said Gregg Buckingham, chief, Education Programs and University Research Division at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. "We will also learn more about the effectiveness of this kind of education tool from McNeill." The purpose of this project is to build a strategic partnership among informal education providers, community groups, formal educators and families to promote literacy, particularly focusing in the areas of space, science, technology, engineering and mathematics. The game "You've Been Sentenced!" can be used in classrooms to aid educators in teaching curriculum based upon space and space exploration at NASA. For additional information about "You've Been Sentenced! - NASA 50th Anniversary Special Edition" and McNeill Designs for Brighter Minds, visit: www.mcneilbrighterminds.com For more information about NASA missions and projects, visit: www.nasa.gov June 20, 2008 NASA LAUNCHES OCEAN SATELLITE TO KEEP A WEATHER, CLIMATE EYE OPEN PASADENA, Calif. -- A new NASA-French space agency oceanography satellite launched today from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., on a globe-circling voyage to continue charting sea level, a vital indicator of global climate change. The mission will return a vast amount of new data that will improve weather, climate and ocean forecasts. The NASA-French space agency Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 satellite launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., at 12:46 a.m. PDT. Photo credit: NASA With a thunderous roar and fiery glow, the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 satellite arced through the blackness of an early central coastal California morning at 12:46 a.m. PDT, climbing into space atop a Delta II rocket. Fifty-five minutes later, OSTM/Jason 2 separated from the rocket's second stage, and then, unfurled its twin sets of solar arrays. Ground controllers successfully acquired the spacecraft's signals. Initial telemetry reports show it to be in excellent health. "Sea-level measurements from space have come of age," said Michael Freilich, director of the Earth Science Division in NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. "Precision measurements from this mission will improve our knowledge of global and regional sea-level changes and enable more accurate weather, ocean and climate forecasts." Measurements of sea-surface height, or ocean surface topography, reveal the speed and direction of ocean currents and tell scientists how much of the sun's energy is stored by the ocean. Combining ocean current and heat storage data is key to understanding global climate variations. OSTM/Jason 2's expected lifetime of at least three years will extend into the next decade the continuous record of these data started in 1992 by NASA and the French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, or CNES, with the TOPEX/Poseidon mission. The data collection was continued by the two agencies on Jason 1 in 2001. The mission culminates more than three decades of research by NASA and CNES in this field. This expertise will be passed on to the world's weather and environmental forecasting agencies, which will be responsible for collecting the data. The involvement of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites (EUMETSAT) as mission partners on OSTM/Jason 2 helps establish this proven research capability as a valuable tool for use in everyday applications. OSTM/Jason 2's five primary instruments are improved versions of those flying on Jason 1. These technological advances will allow scientists to monitor conditions in ocean coastal regions -- home to about half of Earth's population. Compared with Jason 1 measurements, OSTM/Jason 2 will have substantially increased accuracy and provide data to within 15 miles of coastlines, nearly 50 percent closer to shore than in the past. Such improvements will be welcome news for all those making their living on the sea, from sailors and fishermen to workers in offshore industries. NOAA will use the improved data to better predict hurricane intensity, which is directly affected by the amount of heat stored in the upper ocean. OSTM/Jason 2 entered orbit about 6 to 9 miles below Jason 1. The new spacecraft will gradually use its thrusters to raise itself into the same 830-mile orbital altitude as Jason 1 and position itself to follow Jason 1's ground track, orbiting about 60 seconds behind Jason 1. The two spacecraft will fly in formation, making nearly simultaneous measurements for about six months to allow scientists to precisely calibrate OSTM/Jason 2's instruments. Once cross-calibration is complete, Jason 1 will alter course, adjusting its orbit so that its ground tracks fall midway between those of OSTM/Jason 2. Together, the two spacecraft will double global coverage. This tandem mission will improve our knowledge of tides in coastal and shallow seas and internal tides in the open ocean, while improving our understanding of ocean currents and eddies. CNES is providing the OSTM/Jason 2 spacecraft. NASA and CNES jointly are providing the primary payload instruments. NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida was responsible for launch management and countdown operations for the Delta II. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. To learn more about OSTM/Jason 2, visit: www.nasa.gov/ostm June 18, 2008 NASA AWARDS KENNEDY SPACE CENTER INSTITUTIONAL SERVICES CONTRACT WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected EG&G Technical Services Inc., of Gaithersburg, Md., to provide institutional services at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The contract begins Oct. 1, 2008, with a five-year base period, followed by five one-year options. It is a cost-plus-award-fee contract. The maximum potential value of the contract is approximately $1.5 billion. EG&G Technical Services will perform facilities operations, maintenance and engineering; propellants and life support operations; logistics; transportation; and laboratory management for Kennedy. Selected services also will be provided at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Patrick Air Force Base in Florida. The company will furnish resources, including management, personnel, equipment and supplies to support Kennedy's work at those locations. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov June 16, 2008 NASA EXTENDS EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLES SUPPORT CONTRACT WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded Analex Corporation of Fairfax, Va., an option for the Expendable Launch Vehicles Integrated Support, or ELVIS, contract. This second option period award is a hybrid performance-based, cost-plus-award-fee, fixed-price-award-fee, and fixed-price indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract. It extends ELVIS through Sept. 30, 2011. The award has a potential value of approximately $90 million. Analex Corporation currently is performing work under the contract's first option period, a three-year option that ends Sept. 30, 2008. The potential contract period, if all options are exercised, is nine years, three months, with a total approximate value of $258 million. The contract provides integrated support services in the areas of business and administration, safety and mission assurance, engineering, and technical, facility, and launch operations. Launch vehicles include the Atlas, Delta, Pegasus, Taurus, and Falcon rockets. The contract specifically provides engineering services and analyses, communications, telemetry, special studies, and technical services for ground and flight expendable launch vehicle systems and payloads. Services will be provided at NASA's Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, and other launch sites and NASA resident offices. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov June 11, 2008 NASA'S GLAST LAUNCH SUCCESSFUL CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION, Fla. -- NASA's Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope, or GLAST, successfully launched aboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 12:05 p.m. EDT today. The GLAST observatory separated from the second stage of the Delta II at 1:20 p.m. and the flight computer immediately began powering up the components necessary to control the satellite. Twelve minutes after separating from the launch vehicle, both GLAST solar arrays were deployed. The arrays immediately began producing the power necessary to maintain the satellite and instruments. The operations team continues to check out the spacecraft subsystems. "The entire GLAST Team is elated the observatory is now on-orbit and all systems continue to operate as planned," said GLAST program manager Kevin Grady of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. After a 75-minute flight, the GLAST spacecraft was deployed into low Earth orbit. It will begin to transmit initial instrument data after about three weeks. The telescope will explore the most extreme environments in the universe, searching for signs of new laws of physics and investigating what composes mysterious dark matter. It will seek explanations for how black holes accelerate immense jets of material to nearly light speed, and look for clues to crack the mysteries behind powerful explosions known as gamma-ray bursts. "After a 60-day checkout and initial calibration period, we'll begin science operations," said Steve Ritz, GLAST project scientist at Goddard. "GLAST soon will be telling scientists about many new objects to study, and this information will be available on the internet for the world to see." "The Delta II gave us a good flight. It put GLAST in an orbit that's right on target," said NASA launch director Omar Baez. NASA's GLAST mission is an astrophysics and particle physics partnership, developed in collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy, along with important contributions from academic institutions and partners in France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Sweden, and the U.S. For more information about the GLAST mission, please visit: www.nasa.gov/glast For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov June 6, 2008 NASA AWARDS GROUND EQUIPMENT CONTRACT FOR KENNEDY SPACE CENTER CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected contractors for a multiple award contract to provide fabrication of ground support equipment for Constellation and other space programs at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The multiple award, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract has a maximum value of $400 million during a five-year ordering period, with potential for a one-year extension. NASA awarded the electrical ground support equipment contract to Engravers Metal Fabricators of Cocoa, Fla., Jackson & Tull of Seabrook, Md., Spectrum Laser & Technologies Inc. of Colorado Springs, Colo., and TJ Inc. of Christmas, Fla. The fluids ground support equipment contract was awarded to Hydraulics International Inc. of Chatsworth, Calif., Precision Fabricating & Cleaning Co. Inc. of Cocoa, Fla., Sierra Lobo Inc. of Milan, Ohio, and United Paradyne Corp. of Santa Maria, Calif. The mechanical ground support equipment contract was awarded to Coastal Steel Inc. of Cocoa, Fla., Engravers Metal Fabricators of Cocoa, Fla., Met-Con Inc. of Cocoa, Fla., Oregon Iron Works of Clackamas, Ore., Precision Fabricating & Cleaning Co. Inc. of Cocoa, Fla., Rogers Associates Machine and Tool Corp. of Rochester, N.Y., Samson Metal & Machine of Lakeland, Fla., and Specialty Maintenance and Construction of Lakeland, Fla. The contract covers all required management, labor, facilities, materials and equipment to fabricate, mark, package, deliver, clean, assemble, precision clean and test equipment, ground systems and other hardware for Kennedy as firm fixed price delivery orders. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov May 8, 2008 NASA AWARDS CONTRACT FOR ARES I MOBILE LAUNCHER CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kennedy Space Center has awarded a contract to Hensel Phelps of Orlando, Fla., for the construction of the Ares I mobile launcher for the Constellation Program. Ares I is the rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle, its crew and cargo to low Earth orbit. The contract includes an option for an additional Ares I mobile launcher. It is a firm fixed-price contract with a value of $263,735,000, if all options are exercised. The mobile launcher will support the Ares I and the vehicle's associated ground support equipment. It will be used in the assembly, testing and servicing of the Ares I at existing Kennedy facilities. The mobile launcher will transport the Ares I rocket to the launch pad and provide ground support for launches. The mobile launcher consists of the main support structure that comprises the base, tower and facility ground support systems, which include power, communications, conditioned air, water for cooling, wash-down, and ignition over-pressure protection. Hensel Phelps will supply all labor, materials and equipment necessary for construction of the Ares I mobile launcher. Ground support equipment, such as umbilicals, propellant and gases, instrumentation, controls and communications, necessary to support the Ares I rocket will be provided and installed under a separate contract or contracts. The tower of the mobile launcher will have multiple platforms for personnel access and will be approximately 390 feet tall. Construction will take place at the mobile launcher park site area located north of Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at the space center in Florida. For more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit: www.nasa.gov/constellation May 3, 2008 SPACE SHUTTLE DISCOVERY ARRIVES AT LAUNCH PAD, COUNTDOWN TEST SET CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- After safely reaching its launch pad at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, space shuttle Discovery now awaits its next major milestone for the upcoming STS-124 mission. A launch dress rehearsal, known as the terminal countdown demonstration test, is scheduled to take place at Kennedy from May 6 to 9. Discovery arrived at the pad at 4:25 a.m. EDT Saturday on top of a giant crawler-transporter. The crawler-transporter left Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building at 11:47 p.m. Friday, traveling less than 1 mph during the 3.4-mile journey. The shuttle was secured on the launch pad at 6:06 a.m. Saturday. Discovery is targeted to launch May 31 on a 13-day mission to the International Space Station. The shuttle's seven crew members will deliver the Kibo laboratory's large Japanese Pressurized Module, or JPM, and its remote manipulator system to the International Space Station. Three spacewalks will be conducted during the flight. Mark Kelly will command the STS-124 mission. Ken Ham will be the pilot. The mission specialists are Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan, Mike Fossum, Greg Chamitoff and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Akihiko Hoshide. Chamitoff will remain on the station as a resident crew member, replacing station Flight Engineer Garrett Reisman, who will return home on Discovery. The STS-124 astronauts and ground crews will participate in the practice countdown. The terminal countdown demonstration test provides each shuttle crew with an opportunity to participate in various simulated countdown activities, including equipment familiarization and emergency training. STS-124 is the 123rd shuttle flight, the 35th flight for Discovery and the 26th flight to the station. Video B-roll of the terminal countdown demonstration test will be available on the NASA TV Video File. For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about the STS-124 mission and crew, visit: www.nasa.gov/shuttle April 30, 2008 NASA TV TO AIR 2008 U.S. ASTRONAUT HALL OF FAME INDUCTION CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Television will provide live coverage of the 2008 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame induction ceremony on Saturday, May 3, at 3 p.m. EDT. The ceremony will take place at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Joining the hall of fame this year are former astronauts John Blaha; Loren Shriver; Bryan O'Connor, NASA's chief of Safety and Mission Assurance at NASA Headquarters in Washington; and Bob Cabana, center director of NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. CNN correspondent John Zarrella will host the event. More than 25 hall-of-fame astronauts are scheduled to attend, including Scott Carpenter, John Young, Robert Crippen, Al Worden and Walt Cunningham. For more information about the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame, visit: www.kennedyspacecenter.com For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv April 28, 2008 HOME FROM SPACE, IOWA ASTRONAUT PEGGY WHITSON SET FOR INTERVIEWS HOUSTON-- NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson of Iowa, who returned to Earth April 19 after approximately six months on the International Space Station. Whitson, the first female commander of the space station, has accumulated more time in orbit than any U.S. astronaut in history. She launched to the complex on a Russian Soyuz spacecraft Oct. 10, 2007, spending 192 days in space. Whitson previously spent 185 days in space after serving as a flight engineer on Expedition 5, which launched June 5, 2002, and returned to Earth Dec. 7. She conducted five spacewalks on her recent mission and one on her previous flight, totaling 39 hours and 46 minutes of spacewalking time, more than any other female. During Expedition 16, Whitson oversaw the first expansion of the station's living and working space in more than six years. The shuttle and station crews added the Harmony connecting node, the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency's Kibo logistics pressurized module. Whitson was born in Mt. Ayr, Iowa, and considers nearby Beaconsfield her hometown. She received a bachelor's degree in biology and chemistry from Iowa Wesleyan College and a doctorate in chemistry from Rice University. She was selected as an astronaut in 1996. Whitson's biography is available at: www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/whitson.html For information about the space station, visit: www.nasa.gov/station April 22, 2008 NASA AWARDS LAUNCH SERVICES CONTRACT TO SPACEX WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded Space Exploration Technologies, or SpaceX, a NASA Launch Services contract for the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles. The NASA Launch Services contracts are multiple awards to multiple launch service providers. Twice per year, there is an opportunity for existing and emerging domestic launch service providers to submit proposals if their vehicles meet the minimum contract requirements. The contract is an Indefinite Delivery/Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract where NASA may order launch services through June 30, 2010, for launches to occur through December 2012. Under the NASA Launch Services IDIQ contracts, the potential total contract value is between $20,000 and $1 billion, depending on the number of missions awarded. The contract seeks a launch capability for payloads weighing 551 pounds or heavier into a circular orbit of 124 miles at an orbital inclination of 28.5 degrees. Payloads would be launched to support three NASA mission directorates: Science, Space Operations and Exploration Systems. Because an IDIQ contract has been awarded to SpaceX, it can compete for NASA missions using the Falcon 1 and Falcon 9 launch vehicles as specified by the NASA Launch Services contract process. NASA's Launch Services Program at Kennedy Space Center is responsible for program management. This award to SpaceX adds to the stable of launch vehicles available to NASA under previously awarded contracts. The original request for proposal was issued in 1999. For information about NASA and agency programs, visit: www.nasa.gov April 18, 2008 NASA DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR AND FLORIDA GOVERNOR DISCUSS BENEFITS OF SPACE EXPLORATION AT MIAMI FUTURE FORUM MIAMI -- NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale and Florida Gov. Charlie Crist discussed Friday how space exploration gives Floridians a more competitive economy and better quality of life during a NASA Future Forum at the University of Miami. As an example, Crist used the event to announce a partnership between state-funded Space Florida and SPACEHAB of Webster, Texas. They plan to use the International Space Station's national laboratory designation and the Space Life Sciences Lab at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., to carry out space-based biomedical and biotech research. "Today's announcement exemplifies why we're holding future forums in cities such as Miami," Dale said. "It allows us to talk directly to the public about the diverse ways America's long-term space exploration goals lead to economic growth, scientific discoveries and technological advancements for people right here on Earth, right in their own communities." "Florida is committed to fostering a thriving aerospace industry and is quickly becoming known as one of the nation's top biotech centers," said Governor Crist. "The partnership reinforces our dedication to the biotech industry. This is an exciting opportunity to stimulate progress in this new market and in Florida's economy." The forum was part of a yearlong series of events across the country marking NASA's 50th anniversary. Other NASA participants included astronauts Carl Walz and Steve Frick. Walz, director of the Advanced Capabilities Division in NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate in Washington, discussed the agency's plans to return to the moon and travel beyond. Frick commanded space shuttle Atlantis' STS-122 mission to the International Space Station in February. Panel discussions among NASA representatives and Florida academic and commercial groups highlighted the future of space exploration. "To advance exploration and understanding of space is one of the most ambitious human endeavors of our era," said Donna E. Shalala, president of the University of Miami. "We are grateful for the opportunity to connect space exploration, entrepreneurship and education, as one of the selected sites to host a NASA Future Forum in celebration of the agency's 50th anniversary." On Thursday, engineers from NASA's Kennedy Space Center held a panel discussion with engineering students from the University of Miami. It included talk about what education and job skills will be needed from future NASA engineers. The panel was followed by a workshop with aerospace education specialists and education students. The Miami Future Forum was sponsored, in part, by the University of Miami; Space Florida; United Space Alliance, Houston; Raytheon, Waltham, Mass.; Jacobs Engineering, Pasadena, Calif.; and ATK, Edina, Minn. For more information on NASA's 50th Anniversary Future Forums, visit: www.nasa.gov/50th/future_forums For complete biographical information about Dale, visit: www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/dale_bio.html For more information about the University of Miami, visit: www.miami.edu/ April 17, 2008 NASA TO BROADCAST EARTH VIEWS IN HIGH DEFINITION TELEVISION HOUSTON -- Since humans first flew in space, nothing has captivated astronauts more than the view of home out the window of their spacecraft. In honor of Earth Day, April 22, NASA will make those views available to people here on Earth with an event highlighting imagery taken by astronauts and the science behind it. For the first time ever, NASA Television will air a special hour-long broadcast of views of Earth taken in High Definition, or HD, by astronauts on past space shuttle and International Space Station missions. The special HD broadcast will air between 6 a.m. and 8 a.m. EDT on Friday, April 18, and replay at the same time on Monday, April 21. It will air every hour from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 22. The Friday HD broadcast will feature a silent version of the Earth views. The broadcasts on Monday and Tuesday will include a discussion of the views by Dr. Justin Wilkinson, a scientist with the Crew Earth Observations Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The footage also will air on standard NASA TV during regularly scheduled Video File broadcasts. For technical information on how to receive the special broadcast in high definition, and for NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit: www.nasa.gov/ntv For more information about NASA's Earth Day events, and the space shuttle and space station programs, visit: www.nasa.gov

EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLES STATUS REPORT

Shuttle Launch Status Reports have been discontinued by NASA

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June 23, 2009

Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LRO/LCROSS)
Launch Vehicle: Atlas V
Launch Pad: Launch Complex 41, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Date: June 18, 2009

At Complex 41 on June 18, LRO/LCROSS was launched successfully by the Atlas V rocket. Liftoff was at 5:32:00.1 p.m. EDT. LRO separated from LCROSS as planned 46 minutes after liftoff. The Centaur upper stage was turned over to LCROSS for mission operations slightly under four hours after launch at approximately 9:05 p.m. EDT.

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Mission: Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-O)
Launch Vehicle: Delta IV
Launch Pad: 37, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
Launch Date: June 26, 2009
Launch Time: 6:14 - 7:14 p.m. EDT

Atop the Delta IV rocket at Launch Complex 37, GOES-O spacecraft closeouts for launch now are occurring. Final spacecraft battery charging is under way and should be complete Wednesday. A launch countdown dress rehearsal was performed Monday.

NASA has contracted with Boeing to build and launch the GOES-O spacecraft. The NASA Launch Services Program at Kennedy is supporting the launch in an advisory role. NASA spacecraft project management for GOES-O is the responsibility of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center. After launch, once Boeing and NASA have completed on-orbit checkout and the spacecraft is operational, it will be turned over to NOAA.

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Previous status reports are available on the Web at: www.nasa.gov/centers/kennedy/launchingrockets/status/index.html

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Many KSC publications and fact sheets are currently available on line as pdf and postscript files. These include the latest versions of orbiter processing, KSC transporters, and SRB recovery fact sheets, plus the Space Shuttle wall chart. They can be accessed through the document index at www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/nasafact/docs.htm.
A complete gallery of NASA Kennedy Space Center photos are available at mediaarchive.ksc.nasa.gov/index.cfm

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Latest launch weather forecast
The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth
Schedule of future Shuttle missions
KSC press releases
The KSC home page

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