HSFNEWS Digest - 28 Feb 2012 to 6 Mar 2012 (#2012-19)

From: "[NASA REPORTS]" <list.admin@aus-city.com>

Date: March 6th 2012

There are 5 messages totalling 258 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCHOLARS SELECTED TO DESIGN ROBOTIC ROVERS
NASA CONTINUES ORION PARACHUTE TESTING FOR ORBITAL TEST FLIGHT
SPACE STATION CREW TO TALK WITH STUDENTS IN SILICON VALLEY
"WE ARE THE EXPLORERS" VIDEO SHOWCASES LEGACY OF EXPLORATION, FUTURE NASA MISSIONS
NASA HOLDS BRIEFINGS TO PREVIEW SPACE STATION EXPEDITIONS

Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2012 12:51:56 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCHOLARS SELECTED TO DESIGN ROBOTIC ROVERS

March 2, 2012

Rachel Kraft Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Ann Marie Trotta Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1601

Priscilla Vega Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif 818-354-5011

Report #H12-069

COMMUNITY COLLEGE SCHOLARS SELECTED TO DESIGN ROBOTIC ROVERS

WASHINGTON -- Community college students will have the chance to design robotic rovers in cooperation with NASA Ninety-two students from schools in 24 states have been selected to travel to a NASA center to develop rovers through the National Community College Aerospace Scholars program The initiative provides hands-on opportunities to inspire interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines

Students will visit either NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif , from May 1-3, or NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston from May 9-11 The teams will establish fictional companies pursuing Mars exploration Each team will develop, design and build a prototype rover, then use their prototypes to navigate a course, collect rocks and water and return to a home base

"I am so proud of the Community College Aerospace Scholars program," said Leland Melvin, NASA's associate administrator for education "Community colleges offer NASA a great pool of STEM talent critical to our scientific and exploration initiatives They also serve a large portion of our nation's minority students Engaging these underserved and underrepresented learners in STEM initiatives helps NASA build a more inclusive and diverse workforce for the future "

Participants were selected based on completion of interactive web-based assignments throughout the school year The on-site experience this spring includes a tour of NASA facilities and briefings from agency scientists and engineers

The program is based on the Texas Aerospace Scholars program, originally created in partnership with NASA and the Texas educational community Aerospace Scholars programs are designed to encourage students to enter careers in science and engineering and ultimately join the nation's technical workforce

For a complete list of the student participants, their states and the community colleges they represent, visit:

http://go nasa gov/nccas

For more information about NASA's education programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov/education

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Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2012 13:16:33 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA CONTINUES ORION PARACHUTE TESTING FOR ORBITAL TEST FLIGHT

March 1, 2012

Josh Byerly Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Michael Braukus Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1979

Report #H12-065

NASA CONTINUES ORION PARACHUTE TESTING FOR ORBITAL TEST FLIGHT

HOUSTON -- On Feb 29, NASA successfully conducted another drop test of the Orion crew vehicle's entry, descent and landing parachutes high above the Arizona desert in preparation for the vehicle's orbital flight test in 2014 Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing

An Air Force C-17 plane dropped a test version of Orion from an altitude of 25,000 feet above the U S Army's Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona Orion's drogue chutes were deployed between 15,000 and 20,000 feet, followed by the pilot parachutes, which deployed the main landing parachutes Orion landed on the desert floor at a speed of almost 17 mph, well below the maximum designed touchdown speed of the spacecraft

The test examined how Orion's wake, the disturbance of the air flow behind the vehicle, would affect the performance of the parachute system Parachutes perform optimally in smooth air that allows proper lift A wake of choppy air can reduce parachute inflation The test was the first to create a wake mimicking the full-size Orion vehicle and complete system

Since 2007, the Orion program has conducted a vigorous parachute air and ground test program and provided the chutes for NASA's successful pad abort test in 2010 All of the tests build an understanding of the chutes' technical performance for eventual human-rated certification

For more information about Orion and photographs of the drop test, visit:

http://www nasa gov/orion

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Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2012 13:41:57 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: SPACE STATION CREW TO TALK WITH STUDENTS IN SILICON VALLEY

March 5, 2012

Kelly Humphries / Ciandra Jackson Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100

Roqua Montez The Tech Museum, San Jose, Calif 408-795-6225

Report #M12-035

SPACE STATION CREW TO TALK WITH STUDENTS IN SILICON VALLEY

HOUSTON -- News media representatives are invited to a live interactive event with students and the crew aboard the International Space Station as part of Destination Station activities during the month of March The event takes place March 7 at The Tech Museum in San Jose, Calif

Destination Station is NASA's national awareness campaign to promote space station research opportunities, educate the public about station activities, and communicate the current and potential future impacts of the station on everyday life

The event begins at 10 a m PST Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank and Flight Engineer Don Pettit aboard the space station will speak with students visiting the museum during the downlink portion of the event, which will be broadcast live on NASA Television beginning at 10:20 a m Journalists who would like to attend should contact Roqua Montez at 408-795-6225

The downlink is one of several events planned March 1-12 to showcase the agency's newest multimedia exhibit, "Destination Station," which is free with admission to The Tech Museum The exhibit is open to the public through April 15

For more about Destination Station, visit:

http://www nasa gov/destinationstation

For more about the space station and crew, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www nasa gov/ntv

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Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2012 14:27:03 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: "WE ARE THE EXPLORERS" VIDEO SHOWCASES LEGACY OF EXPLORATION, FUTURE NASA MISSIONS

Mar 03, 2012

Josh Byerly Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Michael Braukus
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1979

Report #H12-071

"WE ARE THE EXPLORERS" VIDEO SHOWCASES LEGACY OF EXPLORATION, FUTURE NASA MISSIONS

HOUSTON -- A new video produced by NASA and narrated by actor Peter Cullen of "Transformers" fame celebrates humankind's inherent need to explore through the past, present and future

"We Are the Explorers" shows how humanity constantly has reached for new heights, broken new boundaries and taken steps that previously were considered impossible The video highlights NASA's tradition of exploration, from the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, to the space shuttle and International Space Station It looks ahead to vehicles being built now that will take humans farther than they ever have gone, including the new Orion crew vehicle and Space Launch System

"NASA and its missions - historic, present and future - have the ability to inspire," said NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Bill Gerstenmaier "This video celebrates not only the historic steps we have made as an agency, but also the great journeys that await us as we operate the orbiting laboratory that is the International Space Station and build the vehicles necessary to expand human exploration beyond low-Earth orbit "

The video is available to view on a variety of NASA and social media Web sites It also can be freely used by teachers and students for educational purposes

To view the video, visit:

http://go nasa gov/wearetheexplorers

http://youtu be/e7DEw70LVWs

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Date: Mon, 5 Mar 2012 15:35:32 -0600 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA HOLDS BRIEFINGS TO PREVIEW SPACE STATION EXPEDITIONS

Mar 05, 2012

Kylie Clem Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100

Report #M12-037

NASA HOLDS BRIEFINGS TO PREVIEW SPACE STATION EXPEDITIONS

HOUSTON -- NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will hold two briefings Tuesday, March 20, to preview the upcoming International Space Station Expedition 32 and 33 missions NASA Television and the agency's website will broadcast the briefings live

At 11 a m CDT, the International Space Station Program and Science Overview Briefing will cover mission priorities and objectives, which include hundreds of research experiments, a Russian spacewalk, international and commercial cargo deliveries to the complex, and a commercial cargo demonstration flight

The briefing participants include: -- Michael Suffredini, International Space Station Program manager -- Dina Contella, Expedition 32 lead flight director -- Tara Ruttley, associate International Space Station Program scientist

At 1 p m , Expedition 32/33 crew members Sunita Williams of NASA, Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and Yuri Malenchenko of the Russian Federal Space Agency will discuss their mission They are set to launch to the space station aboard the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft July 15 and return to Earth in November

Williams, Hoshide and Malenchenko are three of the six crew members comprising Expeditions 32 and 33 When they arrive at the station, they will join NASA astronaut Joseph Acaba, and Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka and Sergei Revin

Following the news conference, interview opportunities with the crew members are available in person, by phone or through internet videoconferencing To reserve an interview opportunity, news media representatives must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 by 5 p m , Friday, March 16

To participate in the news conferences from a NASA center, U S journalists must call that center's public affairs office by 5 p m local time on Monday, March 19 To participate in the briefings by phone, media representatives must call the Johnson newsroom 15 minutes before each briefing Priority will be given to journalists participating in person; questions by phone will be taken as time permits

International journalists wishing to attend in person at Johnson must contact the newsroom and submit the required paperwork for credentials by 5 p m , Monday, March 12

For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www nasa gov/ntv

For more information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

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End of HSFNEWS Digest - 28 Feb 2012 to 6 Mar 2012 (#2012-19)

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