Thursday, October 31, 2013

Fwd: HALLOWEEN EDITION: Human Spaceflight News - October 31, 2013 and JSC Today



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Begin forwarded message:

From: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Date: October 31, 2013 7:51:00 AM CDT
To: "Moon, Larry J. (JSC-EA411)" <larry.j.moon@nasa.gov>
Subject: FW: HALLOWEEN EDITION:  Human Spaceflight News - October 31, 2013 and JSC Today

Happy Halloween everyone.   Be very careful if you have to be out driving in the Houston Metro area,,,,lots of rain and possible flooded streets or feeder roads.

 

 

 

 

Thursday, October 31, 2013

 

 

 

   Headlines

  1. Joint Leadership Team Web Poll

The furlough was confusing, but you pretty much figured out what you needed to do according to last week's poll. That's great news; would someone please call me next time and explain it to me? You also are fairly pessimistic on the Texans' future. Once Case whups Indy this weekend, you'll jump back on the bandwagon. This week it's a list of space facts that are in the recent news. Can you tell which statement is false in question one? We continue with our sports theme for question two with a compilation of weird sports facts. Which one is the weirdest in your opinion? Pig Howard? Grizzly Adams? Haha Clinton-Dix?

Cardinal your Sox on over to get this week's poll.

Joel Walker x30541 http://jlt.jsc.nasa.gov/

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  1. JSC Remote Access VPN/R2S Upgrade Sunday, Nov. 3

The JSC Remote Access Virtual Private Network (VPN) systems will be upgraded on Sunday, Nov. 3, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (CST).

This outage will affect JSC VPN and JSC R2S.

During this activity, access to these network resources will be unavailable or intermittently down while the Information Resources Directorate performs upgrades, including removal of VPN NDC password authentication, adding a PIV (smart card) authentication VPN option and replacing the Juniper Network Connect client with Junos Pulse. White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) Remote Access systems can be used during this time as a backup at WSTF VPN and WSTF R2S.

For information on Remote Network Access VPN services and assistance:

We apologize for the inconvenience and are working diligently to improve your VPN experience.

For questions regarding outage/update activity, please contact Michael Patterson.

JSC-IRD-Outreach x30146

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   Organizations/Social

  1. Beware (and Be Prepared): Trick-or-Treating Today

This Halloween morning, the JSC Child Care children that are 3 and 4 years old will be starting their trick-or-treating, in costume, at Building 1 by 10 a.m. They will continue down the mall area to Building 12, ending their adventure at Building 45.

Event Date: Thursday, October 31, 2013   Event Start Time:10:00 AM   Event End Time:10:30 AM
Event Location: B-1, B-12 & B-45

Add to Calendar

Brooke Stephens x26031

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  1. NEW: Starport Evening Boot Camp Registration Open

Starport is launching a phenomenal NEW evening boot camp, and registration is open and filling fast. Don't miss a chance to be part of this great new fitness experience.

For this session, we will be offering a SPECIAL holiday/starter rate!

Registration (closes Nov. 12):

    • $80 per person (under $5 per class!)

The workout begins on Wednesday, Nov. 13, from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

Are you ready for 18 hours of intense workouts with Starport's star personal trainer to get you to your fitness goal?

Don't wait!

Sign up today and take advantage of this RARE discount for this session only.

Register now online or at the Gilruth Center information desk, or call 281-483-0304 for more information.

Steve Schade x30304 https://starport.jsc.nasa.gov/en/programs/recreation-programs/evening-bo...

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  1. Tolerating Distress

Please join Takis Bogdanos, LPC-S, CGP, of the JSC Employee Assistance Program, for a discussion on the negative impact of stress and the tools you can use to effectively cope with the inevitable stressors in life.

Event Date: Thursday, October 31, 2013   Event Start Time:12:00 PM   Event End Time:1:00 PM
Event Location: Building 30 Auditorium

Add to Calendar

Lorrie Bennett, Employee Assistance Program, Occupational Health Branch x36130

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   Jobs and Training

  1. Project Management Forum

The Project Management Forum will be held on Thursday, Nov. 14, in Building 1, Room 966, from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. At this forum, Dr. Basil Hassan from Sandia National Laboratories will be speaking about "Rapid Prototype Technology Demonstrations at Sandia National Laboratories."

Hassan is manager of the Aerospace Systems Analysis Department of the Integrated Military Systems Center at Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. Hassan manages applied aerospace engineering work; in particular, flight dynamics analysis and range safety as applied to a variety of flight vehicles.

All civil servant and contractor project managers are invited to attend. Please feel free to bring your lunch; dessert will be provided.

The purpose of the Project Management Forum is to provide an opportunity for our project managers to freely discuss issues, best practices, lessons learned, tools and opportunities, as well as to collaborate with other project managers.

Event Date: Thursday, November 14, 2013   Event Start Time:11:30 AM   Event End Time:12:30 PM
Event Location: Building 1, Room 966

Add to Calendar

Danielle Bessard x37238 https://oasis.jsc.nasa.gov/sysapp/athena/Athena%20Team/SitePages/Home.aspx

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   Community

  1. Football and NASA - What More Can You Ask For?

Don't miss this clash of titans as the Clear Falls and Clear Lake varsity football teams face off on tonight, Oct. 31, with a 7 p.m. kickoff. JSC and contractor team members, as well as a guest, can get FREE admittance with an employee badge for this thrilling NASA Night event hosted by the Clear Creek Independent School District.

Remember to wear NASA gear or red, white and blue attire to root for your favorite team. At half time, there will also be a special tribute celebrating 15 years of the International Space Station, the spirit of exploration and the ingenuity of the NASA community.

Jeannie Aquino x36270 http://ccisd.net/docs/default-source/community-documents/nasa-night.pdf?...

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  1. Volunteers Needed to Mentor Reduced Gravity Flight

The Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program is looking for JSC scientists, engineers and technical experts of all levels who would like to advise and mentor flight teams for our 2014 program. Teams can be comprised of college undergraduate students or K to 12 teachers. Preference will be given to individuals who are currently working as scientists and engineers and are familiar with the type of experiments appropriate for reduced-gravity flight. Interested in learning more? We will offer an optional information session to interested mentors; feel free to attend one of the two available sessions. Note that the sessions are offered in different locations.

    • Tuesday, Nov. 19, from 10 to 11 a.m. (Building 30 Auditorium)
    • Wednesday, Nov. 20, from 3 to 4 p.m. (Building 12, Room 200)

Please feel free to attend. Already know you want to participate? Click here for more details and to apply. The deadline is Nov. 27.

James Semple 281-792-7872 http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov/

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  1. MUREP Reduced Gravity Flight Week

An "Alumni Meet and Greet" welcoming the 14 MUREP Reduced Gravity Flight Week university teams will be held Thursday, Nov. 14, from 1 to 2:30 p.m. in the Gilruth Alamo Ballroom. All NASA employees that are alumni or supporters of the student and faculty teams chosen for this prestigious opportunity are invited to come share your NASA story with these outstanding students and SHOW YOUR SCHOOL SPIRIT!

Teams are as follows:

Alabama Agricultural and Mechanical University; California State Polytechnic University; Gadsden State Community College; Howard University; Morehouse College; Prairie View A&M University; San Antonio College; San Antonio College (Hephaestus Engineering); San Jacinto College North/University of Houston-Clear Lake; Texas Southern University; The University of Texas Pan American; Tuskegee University; University of Houston; and University of Texas at El Paso.

If you are interested in participating, please contact Sarah Gonzales via email or at x38623.

Event Date: Thursday, November 14, 2013   Event Start Time:1:00 PM   Event End Time:2:30 PM
Event Location: Alamo room in the Gilruth Center

Add to Calendar

Sarah Gonzales x38623

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  1. National Community College Aerospace Scholars

National Community College Aerospace Scholars (NCAS) is accepting applications from community college students nationwide for our spring 2014 workshops!

The deadline for submitting an application is Tuesday, Nov. 26. As an NCAS participant, you will embark upon a three-day on-site robotics team design challenge at either the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., or the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. To be chosen for this prestigious opportunity, you will be required to complete Web-based modules in addition to meeting basic qualifications. With this exciting science, technology, engineering and math-based experience, you will work in teams to complete a robotics challenge, tour the NASA facilities and interact directly with NASA astronauts, engineers and scientists! You will also have the opportunity to collaborate and network with other community college students across the United States.

For more information and updated timelines, please visit the NCAS website.

Maria Chambers x41496 http://ncas.aerospacescholars.org/

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JSC Today is compiled periodically as a service to JSC employees on an as-submitted basis. Any JSC organization or employee may submit articles.

Disclaimer: Accuracy and content of these notes are the responsibility of the submitters.

No virus found in this message.
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Internal Virus Database is out of date.

 

 

 

NASA TV: www.nasa.gov/ntv

  • 3 am Central FRIDAY (4 EDT) –Expedition 37 Soyuz TMA-09M relocation coverage
  • 3:34 am Central FRIDAY (4:34 EDT) – Undocking from "Rassvet" MRM1
  • ~3:58 am Central FRIDAY (4:58 EDT) – Docking to "Zvezda" Service Module aft port

 

BOO!

 

 

Human Spaceflight News

Thursday – October 31, 2013

 

HEADLINES AND LEADS

 

Mars Mission a Priority: NASA Leader

 

WCAU-TV (Philadelphia)

 

The leader of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration calls this "a very exciting time for NASA" with planned missions to an asteroid and to Mars in the next couple of decades. NASA administrator Charles Bolden Jr. told an audience Tuesday at Gettysburg College that he's optimistic about America's future in space despite what he called "temporary setbacks facing everyone in government," The Gettysburg Times reported. The agency plans to have humans capture an asteroid by 2025 and redirect the 500-metric-ton body to a stable lunar orbit where astronauts can visit and explore it.

 

Ground Control to Waterbury: Mastracchio Heading Into Space

 

Rick Green - Hartford Courant

 

One of Waterbury's finest, NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio, will launch into space Nov. 6 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan aboard a Soyuz TMA-11M spacecraft to spend six months at the International Space Station. Watch the video of Rep. Elizabeth Esty on the House floor this week. (NO FURTHER TEXT)

 

NASA's Orion spacecraft's avionics – installed, tested, ready

 

Jason Rhian - SpaceflightInsider.com

 

NASA's next planned crewed spacecraft, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or "Orion MPCV" has turned a pivotal corner toward ferrying crews to possible destinations beyond low-Earth-orbit.  The spacecraft which will conduct the Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) had its avionics systems installed, powered up and ran through a battery of tests last week. A NASA release indicated that the spacecraft's vehicle management computer and the power distribution systems performed adequately. This Orion will be used on EFT-1 and continues to meet milestones which keep it on course for a planned launch in the fall of 2014 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 in Florida.

 

Female race engineer at Penske eyes Sprint Cup

 

Nate Ryan - USA Today

 

In her former career as a rocket scientist, Andrea Mueller was in charge of controlled explosions. But if working as a NASA-contracted engine specialist on the space shuttle seems like a great conversation starter, think again. "People asked what I did, and it got into the most random conversations ever," she said. "So I just started telling people I was a teacher." She is just as nonplussed about the interest in her current gig – though some might say it's even more intriguing as one of the most high-ranking race-day competition jobs for a woman in NASCAR.

 

Spaceport America budget estimating no launches til August 2014

 

Lauren Villagran - Albuquerque Journal

 

Spaceport America released a fiscal 2015 budget this week that pushes back its estimates for when Virgin Galactic may begin its flights and when the visitor's center will open. The budget assumes Virgin Galactic will start flying by August 2014, about six months later than previously expected. Spaceport America Executive Director Christine Anderson said the assumptions are strictly for budgeting and do not reflect Virgin Galactic plans. Virgin Galactic Chief Executive George Whitesides said the company has not publicly disclosed its timeline for commercial launches of passenger flights.

 

Aerospace Games set for Nov. 9

 

Houston Chronicle

 

Bay Area Habitat for Humanity will hold the Aerospace Games from 10 a.m. -5 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 9, at Countryside Park in League City. Teams from area aerospace companies will compete in outdoor games during the annual event, according to a press release from Habitat for Humanity. In addition to the games, the event will include live music, NASA demonstrations and activities for children. Countryside Park is at 100 Alderwood St. To volunteer to help with the event, call 281-337-359 or email ward@bahfh.org. (NO FURTHER TEXT)

 

Actor Tim Allen, voice of Buzz Lightyear, narrates new moon exploration film

 

Mike Wall - Space.com

 

A new film about moon exploration enlists a heavy hitter to take viewers along for the ride — the voice of spaceman Buzz Lightyear from the "Toy Story" movies. Actor Tim Allen will narrate a new 25-minute film called "Back to the Moon for Good," which recounts the history of lunar exploration efforts and previews the coming robotic rush to Earth's nearest neighbor unleashed by the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize.

 

Celebrating space successes

Commercial industry achieving significant milestones

 

Frank DiBello - Florida Today (Opinion)

 

(DiBello is the president of Space Florida, Florida's spaceport authority and aerospace development agency)

 

In September, a number of significant milestones were reached in the commercial space industry that Florida is so aggressively pursuing.

 

Protecting NASA

Now is the time to get politics out of the space agency budget so NASA can soar

 

Houston Chronicle (Editorial)

 

When U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., speaks about NASA, we pay close attention for two reasons: Nelson has been there. He flew aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1986 as a payload specialist. He knows space first-hand. In his years as a U.S. senator, the Florida Democrat fashioned a model bipartisan partnership with another NASA stalwart, former Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. For many years, their across-the-aisle teamwork served both the nation's and the space agency's interests well. It's a new and bitterly partisan day in Washington, D.C., and Nelson rightly worries that the future of the space agency is being threatened by the atmosphere of perpetual disagreement.

__________

 

COMPLETE STORIES

 

Mars Mission a Priority: NASA Leader

 

WCAU-TV (Philadelphia)

 

The leader of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration calls this "a very exciting time for NASA" with planned missions to an asteroid and to Mars in the next couple of decades.

 

NASA administrator Charles Bolden Jr. told an audience Tuesday at Gettysburg College that he's optimistic about America's future in space despite what he called "temporary setbacks facing everyone in government," The Gettysburg Times reported.

 

The agency plans to have humans capture an asteroid by 2025 and redirect the 500-metric-ton body to a stable lunar orbit where astronauts can visit and explore it.

 

"It will take a year, year-and-a-half to reach it," Bolden said. "We won't stop it or move it, because it is moving too fast. The goal is to make ourselves one with the asteroid and push it in the right direction. If it goes just outside a fingers reach, that is a miss."

 

Bolden said a human mission to Mars in the 2030s is a priority for NASA. The Curiosity rover landed last summer and is assessing whether Mars was or is an environment able to support life.

 

"It's a big challenge, but we're working on it," Bolden said. "The main thing is how do we protect humans from the radiation. We think the radiation environment may not be as bad as we originally thought, but we need speed and game-changing propulsion."

 

Bolden called the ending of the space shuttle program two years ago as "a bittersweet moment" but said private space exploration firm SpaceX has begun resupplying the International Space Station with cargo launched from the United States.

 

NASA's Orion spacecraft's avionics – installed, tested, ready

 

Jason Rhian - SpaceflightInsider.com

 

NASA's next planned crewed spacecraft, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle or "Orion MPCV" has turned a pivotal corner toward ferrying crews to possible destinations beyond low-Earth-orbit.  The spacecraft which will conduct the Exploration Flight Test 1 (EFT-1) had its avionics systems installed, powered up and ran through a battery of tests last week.

 

A NASA release indicated that the spacecraft's vehicle management computer and the power distribution systems performed adequately.

 

This Orion will be used on EFT-1 and continues to meet milestones which keep it on course for a planned launch in the fall of 2014 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 37 in Florida.

 

Over the course of the past year, some 60,000 components destined for Orion have traveled from various destinations to Kennedy Space Center. The crew module (which will be unmanned for EFT-1) has already undergone testing which, during pressure tests showed flaws that have since been corrected.

 

These tests have served to validate that Orion's design is ready for the rigors of space travel. Utah-based ATK has delivered the Launch Abort System (LAS) which will be attached to the top of Orion. However, the system is mostly inert with only the rockets needed to pull the structure away from Orion being functional.

 

Starting next year, the pace of preparing Orion for flight will accelerate. The command module will be integrated with both the LAS as well as the service module.

 

This is just part of a far larger dance of material, personnel and machines which will culminate in a powerful United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket thundering to orbit with the Orion MPCV perched atop.

 

After riding on the shoulders of the massive Delta IV rocket, Orion will conduct a four-hour mission that will conduct two orbits and travel some 3,600 miles above our home world (by comparison, the International Space Station orbits at about 260 miles above Earth). Traveling this far a=out will allow NASA engineers to test out the craft's avionics and more-importantly – Orion's heat shield. During its return Orion will be traveling approximately 20,000 miles per hour – causing the heat shield to reach temperatures of 4,000 degrees. This data will serve a variety of purposes – from confirming initial performance estimates to pointing out miscalculations.

 

These range from components lacking strength to being "over-built." Engineers will use the information gleaned from EFT-1 to shore up deficiencies and to cut back on elements that have been excessively designed.

 

"Orion will take humans farther than we've ever been before, and in just about a year we're going to send the Orion test vehicle into space," said Dan Dumbacher, NASA's deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development in a release issued by NASA. "The work we're doing now, the momentum we're building, is going to carry us on our first trip to an asteroid and eventually to Mars. No other vehicle currently being built can do that, but Orion will, and EFT-1 is the first step."

 

NASA is ceding the delivery of crew and cargo to the International Space Station and possibly, one day, other destinations in low-Earth-orbit (LEO) to commercial firms such as Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), Orbital Sciences Corporation, Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corporation.

 

With the responsibility of handling LEO operations being handled by private companies, NASA is developing Orion MPCV and the Space Launch System heavy-lift booster to send astronauts to destinations such as asteroids, the Moon and possibly, one day, Mars. This would mark the first time in more than four decades that crews have ventured beyond LEO.

 

"It's been an exciting ride so far, but we're really getting to the good part now," said Mark Geyer, Orion program manager. "This is where we start to see the finish line. Our team across the country has been working hard to build the hardware that goes into Orion, and now the vehicle and all our plans are coming to life."

 

If all goes according to plan, EFT-1 will lead to Exploration Mission 1 – which should see an Orion spacecraft conduct a cislunar mission. This is currently planned to take place in 2017. Crew are not planned to fly on Orion until 2021 at the earliest. A mission to a captured asteroid that would be placed in lunar orbit has been floated, but lacks support in Congress. Other destinations such as to a Lagrange Point have surfaced and while Dumbacher has stated that SLS/Orion are planned for use on Mars missions given the current financial environment it is unclear if the goal of sending crews to the Red Planet is fiscally possible by the 2030 timeframe mentioned by President Obama.

 

Female race engineer at Penske eyes Sprint Cup

 

Nate Ryan - USA Today

 

In her former career as a rocket scientist, Andrea Mueller was in charge of controlled explosions.

 

But if working as a NASA-contracted engine specialist on the space shuttle seems like a great conversation starter, think again.

 

"People asked what I did, and it got into the most random conversations ever," she said. "So I just started telling people I was a teacher."

 

She is just as nonplussed about the interest in her current gig – though some might say it's even more intriguing as one of the most high-ranking race-day competition jobs for a woman in NASCAR.

 

Mueller is the race engineer for the No. 22 of Penske Racing that is vying for the Nationwide Series owners championship with 11 victories split among Brad Keselowski, Joey Logano, Ryan Blaney and A.J. Allmendinger.

 

Among the few constants for the rotating cast of drivers on the No. 22 Ford (ranked second, four points behind the No. 54 Toyota) is Mueller, whose engineering background makes her a technologically savvy confidante of crew chief Jeremy Bullins.

 

Her presence in the pits has piqued the curiosity of reporters, strangers, friends and family: How did she land in her position in a male-dominated sport?

 

"It's funny because I never really thought about that until people started asking me," said Mueller, 33. "I think it's a result of growing up at the racetrack. No one treated me any different because I was a girl, so I never really thought about it. Thank goodness it's never been an issue."

 

The Fresno, Calif., native has been on a steady climb in NASCAR since relocating to North Carolina after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and helping design the space shuttle's main engine nozzle from August 2003 to January 2007. She joined Penske Racing in '07 as an engineer and implemented programs to reduce car weight, enhance data acquisition and improve radio communications.

 

"It's amazing what she's been able to do," team owner Roger Penske said. "She's been key on the box on the Nationwide side. She's as strong as anyone we have. She's made good calls. She understands the cars. And it's so good to see some diversity and see her out there. It makes me feel real good."

 

Bullins said Mueller brings "a tremendous work ethic. She's very thorough and organized. If I ask a question, I can believe the answer I'm getting, which is big in this job."

 

Penske Racing director of competition Travis Geisler has worked with Mueller since she joined the team and said her background in academia and aerospace helped generate a litany of fresh approaches and ideas.

 

"She wasn't just an old-school racer or a pure engineer but a mix of both," Geisler said. "She's never really even acknowledged that we're all guys and she's a girl. It just doesn't matter to her. It doesn't matter to us because the bottom line is all we want to do is go fast. Everyone respects her effort."

 

Geisler rose from engineer to crew chief for Sam Hornish Jr. a few years ago, and he said Mueller also has the skill-set to make her position a steppingstone to becoming a crew chief.

 

"Certainly she has the drive, and she's good with people," he said. "She's developing the foundation to go down that path if she so chooses. We're going to continue to give her the opportunities to grow and progress as she wants.

 

"If she was better than the other candidates, that's who would be in (the job). That's why she's in the role she's in now."

 

Bullins has tried to expose her to his job's demands (such as pit strategy and personnel moves), but Mueller hasn't decided if she's interested in making history as a female crew chief. Her primary goal now is becoming a Sprint Cup race engineer.

 

Having grown up around racing (her father owned sprint cars, and she won several championships in quarter-midgets as a teenage racer), though, she believes there is room for more women in NASCAR.

 

"I think there definitely could be," she said. "Should there be? I probably would be wrong if I didn't say yes. But my biggest thing is people shouldn't be getting jobs because of things like gender. It should be qualifications, work ethic and all the proper reasons."

 

Spaceport America budget estimating no launches til August 2014

 

Lauren Villagran - Albuquerque Journal

 

Spaceport America released a fiscal 2015 budget this week that pushes back its estimates for when Virgin Galactic may begin its flights and when the visitor's center will open.

 

The budget assumes Virgin Galactic will start flying by August 2014, about six months later than previously expected. Spaceport America Executive Director Christine Anderson said the assumptions are strictly for budgeting and do not reflect Virgin Galactic plans.

 

Virgin Galactic Chief Executive George Whitesides said the company has not publicly disclosed its timeline for commercial launches of passenger flights.

 

"We're working our tails off to start commercial operations in 2014 from Spaceport America," he said. "We still have some work to do, but we're making good progress."

 

Spaceport America's budget is still in the "pre-operations" phase, Anderson said in Tuesday. The spaceport is funding about 75 percent of its $1.85 million operating budget, including salaries, with revenue. Another $459,000 comes from taxpayer funding and covers the remaining 25 percent.

 

The Legislature authorized $225 million in funding in 2007, and the spaceport has spent $212 million.

 

"We have not blown that budget," Anderson said.

 

However, the unpredictable nature of Virgin's plans — and with it, uncertainty over when they will pay for every commercial launch— means Spaceport America will continue to wrestle with budgetary constraints.

 

The spaceport's "visitor's experience," which will include two visitors' center facilities, also is delayed. After a request for proposals didn't turn up any viable offers, Anderson says the Spaceport has decided to seek a $20 million loan.

 

Meanwhile, another expense lies around the bend: a $15 million southern road that would link the spaceport to Las Cruces. That wasn't part of the state's original appropriation.

 

Spaceport America already has set aside $8.1 million for the first phase of construction but plans to ask the Legislature for $6.9 million to complete it.

 

To increase revenue, the spaceport needs its two tenants, Virgin Galactic and SpaceX, to be flying regularly and the visitors' center to be open. Virgin Galatic is testing its vehicle at high altitude.

 

In the meantime, Anderson said, "you have to make an educated estimate and that's what we do. In the end, though, it's an estimate. We're not in a stable industry."

 

Actor Tim Allen, voice of Buzz Lightyear, narrates new moon exploration film

 

Mike Wall - Space.com

 

A new film about moon exploration enlists a heavy hitter to take viewers along for the ride — the voice of spaceman Buzz Lightyear from the "Toy Story" movies.

 

Actor Tim Allen will narrate a new 25-minute film called "Back to the Moon for Good," which recounts the history of lunar exploration efforts and previews the coming robotic rush to Earth's nearest neighbor unleashed by the $30 million Google Lunar X Prize.

 

"Although the benefits of going back to the moon are well known within the space community, the mission of this film — and the Google Lunar X Prize — is to re-ignite an interest in space exploration amongst people of all ages," X Prize Foundation president Robert Weiss, who is an executive producer of the movie, said in a statement.

 

"As such, we needed a narrator who is recognizable, accessible and resonates with all audiences. Tim Allen's illustrious career and persona make him the best fit to take our message 'to infinity and beyond,'" Weiss added, referencing Buzz Lightyear's famous catchphrase.

 

"Back to the Moon for Good" is slated to debut early next month and will be shown at more than 100 planetariums around the world, X Prize officials said.

 

The Google Lunar X Prize challenges privately funded teams to land a robot on the surface of the moon, have it travel at least 1,650 feet (500 meters), and send data and images back to Earth.

 

The first team to accomplish these goals by the end of 2015 will receive the $20 million grand prize. An additional $10 million is set aside for second place and various special accomplishments, such as detecting water, bringing the prize's total price tag to $30 million. At the moment, 22 teams remain in the running.

 

"Back To The Moon For Good" features interviews with some of the teams vying to win the competition. It also features a virtual moon mission, complete with launch, landing and a tour of the lunar surface. The film ends with a visualization of a future moon colony, X Prize officials said.

 

More information about "Back to the Moon for Good," including a map of the locations where it will be showing, is available here: http://www.googlelunarxprize.org/education/domeshow

 

Celebrating space successes

Commercial industry achieving significant milestones

 

Frank DiBello - Florida Today (Opinion)

 

(DiBello is the president of Space Florida, Florida's spaceport authority and aerospace development agency)

 

In September, a number of significant milestones were reached in the commercial space industry that Florida is so aggressively pursuing.

 

United Launch Alliance (ULA) celebrated its 75th successful launch (and 40th successful Atlas V rocket mission) with an Air Force mission from Cape Canaveral. ULA continues to be the workhorse of today's U.S. launch industry.

 

On Sept. 29, SpaceX launched the first of its next-generation Falcon 9 rockets, carrying more powerful Merlin engines, offering approximately 50 percent more thrust than previous versions, and more redundant safety technology. The mission featured the first commercial satellite launch for the Falcon 9.

 

And on Sept. 30, NASA awarded its first CubeSat-class launch to Generation Orbit Launch Services. The payload will be the first commercial space launch to take place from Cecil Spaceport in Jacksonville. Liftoff is slated in August 2016.

 

These most recent milestones are only scratching the surface. The evolution of the U.S. commercial space launch market is incredibly exciting to behold, and from a Florida perspective, we should all be extremely proud of the fact that most of these achievements are either taking place in Florida, or through companies that have a significant (and growing) presence in the Sunshine State.

 

From a space industry perspective, Florida is unique for many reasons.

 

First, our geographic location provides an optimum launch site for companies seeking to place their payloads into geosynchronous and low-Earth orbits. Additionally, Space Florida is armed with unique tools — unlike many other state space agencies. These special powers truly set Florida apart in the race to exploit the transition of space from a federally driven marketplace to a more diverse commercial model. This industry is very capital intensive, and Space Florida's tool kit is specifically designed to address that challenge.

 

New space companies like XCOR and Sierra Nevada can attest to that. These advantages, as well as our state's 50-plus-year history in successful space launch and spacecraft processing (which comes with the qualified infrastructure, workforce, supply chain and safety protocols other states are only beginning to develop) position Florida to continue to be a leader in the international space market.

 

Be proud of your state and its incredible commercial space achievements and continue to support Florida as we work hard to maintain competitiveness among other states in the space industry — an industry that will ensure our state's economic health for many years to come.

 

Protecting NASA

Now is the time to get politics out of the space agency budget so NASA can soar

 

Houston Chronicle (Editorial)

 

When U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., speaks about NASA, we pay close attention for two reasons:

 

Nelson has been there. He flew aboard the space shuttle Columbia in 1986 as a payload specialist. He knows space first-hand.

 

In his years as a U.S. senator, the Florida Democrat fashioned a model bipartisan partnership with another NASA stalwart, former Texas Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. For many years, their across-the-aisle teamwork served both the nation's and the space agency's interests well.

 

It's a new and bitterly partisan day in Washington, D.C., and Nelson rightly worries that the future of the space agency is being threatened by the atmosphere of perpetual disagreement.

 

"What is sad to me is that NASA has always been above politics," Nelson told the Chronicle's Stewart M. Powell. "Now it's gotten to be a partisan issue, and that is a sad day for the country."

 

While we largely concur with Nelson's view, history tells us that NASA has not always been above politics. Actually, quite a lot of politics has been played throughout the space agency's history from its very beginnings.

 

It was in large part due to the political skills of two Texans, Lyndon B. Johnson and longtime U.S. Rep. Albert Thomas of Houston, that among the first words uttered from the surface of the moon was "Houston." It was, of course, the efforts of these two Texas political giants that brought the Johnson Space Center here more than five decades ago. And politics certainly drove President John F. Kennedy's decision to commit this nation to land a man on the moon during a speech at Rice University in September 1962.

 

Lately, however, politics of a more destructive, partisan sort have indeed threatened NASA. There was President Barack Obama's decision to bypass Johnson Space Center as the location for one of the retired space shuttles. That still stings. And now we find Republican lawmakers, including Sen. Ted Cruz, rightly in Nelson's sights for playing partisan politics with NASA funding.

 

We think the most thoughtful solution to this problem comes from Rep. John Culberson, R-Houston, considered one of the most zealous partisans in Washington on most issues.

 

Not on this one. The Westside Houston Republican, who's expected to chair the House subcommittee with responsibility for NASA in 2015, has proposed removing the space agency's budget from the political cycle and making the directorship a 10-year appointment. Culberson is right on this. His ideas deserve support.

 

END

 

 

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