HSFNEWS Digest - 18 May 2012 to 23 May 2012 (#2012-51)

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

Date: May 23rd 2012

There are 3 messages totalling 193 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

SPACEX LAUNCHES NASA DEMONSTRATION MISSION TO SPACE STATION
STATION CREW TO TAKE QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFT
NASA, NSBRI SELECT 29 PROPOSALS TO SUPPORT CREW HEALTH ON MISSIONS

Date: Tue, 22 May 2012 09:54:19 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: SPACEX LAUNCHES NASA DEMONSTRATION MISSION TO SPACE STATION

May 22, 2012

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

Trent J Perrotto Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0321

George H Diller Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468

Report #H12-161

SPACEX LAUNCHES NASA DEMONSTRATION MISSION TO SPACE STATION

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla -- The second demonstration mission for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program is under way as SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifted off Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 3:44 a m EDT

"I want to congratulate SpaceX for its successful launch and salute the NASA team that worked alongside them to make it happen," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said "Today marks the beginning of a new era in exploration; a private company has launched a spacecraft to the International Space Station that will attempt to dock there for the first time And while there is a lot of work ahead to successfully complete this mission, we are certainly off to good start Under President Obama's leadership, the nation is embarking upon an ambitious exploration program that will take us farther into space than we have ever traveled before, while helping create good-paying jobs right here in the United States of America "

The Dragon capsule will conduct a series of checkout procedures to test and prove its systems, including the capability to rendezvous and berth with the International Space Station On Thursday, May 24, Dragon will perform a flyby of the space station at a distance of approximately 1 5 miles to validate the operation of sensors and flight systems necessary for a safe rendezvous and approach Live NASA TV coverage beginning at 2:30 a m

Following analysis of the flyby by NASA and SpaceX managers, the Dragon capsule will be cleared to rendezvous and berth with the space station on Friday, May 25, marking the first time a commercial company has attempted this feat The Expedition 31 crew on board the station will use the orbiting complex's robotic arm to capture Dragon and install it on the bottom side of the Harmony node NASA TV will provide live coverage beginning at 2 a m

"This flight is an important milestone as NASA and SpaceX develop the next generation of U S spacecraft to carry the critically important experiments, payloads and supplies to our remarkable laboratory in space," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration Operations Directorate at the agency's Headquarters in Washington

SpaceX and Orbital Sciences, which will perform its own test flight later this year, have been working under NASA's COTS program, which provides investments to stimulate the commercial space industry in America Once the companies have successfully completed their test flights, they will begin delivering regular cargo shipments to the station

"NASA is working with private industry in an unprecedented way, cultivating innovation on the path toward maintaining America's leadership in space exploration," said Philip McAlister, director for NASA's Commercial Spaceflight Development

In parallel to COTS, NASA's Commercial Crew Program is helping spur innovation and development of new spacecraft and launch vehicles from the commercial industry to develop safe, reliable and cost-effective capabilities to transport astronauts to low Earth orbit and the space station

NASA also is developing the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will expand human presence beyond low Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system

For up-to-date SpaceX mission information and a schedule of NASA TV coverage, visit:

http://www nasa gov/spacex

For NASA TV downlink information, schedules and links to streaming video, visit:

http://www nasa gov/ntv

For more information about NASA's commercial space programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov/exploration/commercial

For an interactive overview of NASA's commercial space programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov/externalflash/commercializingspace

For an interactive overview of the future of American human spaceflight, visit:

http://www nasa gov/externalflash/human_space

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Date: Tue, 22 May 2012 11:08:13 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: STATION CREW TO TAKE QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFT

May 22, 2012

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

Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100

Report #M12-090

STATION CREW TO TAKE QUESTIONS ABOUT COMMERCIAL SPACECRAFT

HOUSTON -- International Space Station crew members will answer questions from reporters following the scheduled hatch opening of SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft Three of the six Expedition 31 station residents will be available during a news conference that will be carried live on NASA Television and streamed on the agency's website at 10:25 a m CDT on Saturday, May 26 The news conference is subject to change depending on real-time operational events aboard the space station

Expedition 31 flight engineers Don Pettit and Joseph Acaba of NASA and Andre Kuipers of the European Space Agency will speak with reporters The crew members will discuss the demonstration flight of the Dragon spacecraft and the implications of commercial spaceflight for the space station Dragon is set to be the first commercial cargo spacecraft to berth to the station Because this is a test flight, the Dragon is carrying non-critical cargo, including additional food and clothing for the station residents Dragon also is carrying a collection of student experiments

Media can ask questions from NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston or via telephone To participate in the news conference in-person, U S journalists must call the Johnson newsroom by 1 p m on Friday, May 25, at 281-483-5111 To participate in the briefing by phone, representatives from accredited media organizations must call the Johnson newsroom 15 minutes before the start of the conference Priority will be given to journalists participating in-person Questions by phone will be taken as time permits

The exact time of the news conference is subject to change For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www nasa gov/ntv

For more information about the SpaceX mission, visit:

http://www nasa gov/spacex

To follow Twitter updates from Pettit, Acaba and Kuipers, visit:

http://twitter com/Astro_Pettit

http://twitter com/AstroAcaba

http://twitter com/astro_andre

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

http://www nasa gov/station

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Date: Tue, 22 May 2012 16:22:10 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA, NSBRI SELECT 29 PROPOSALS TO SUPPORT CREW HEALTH ON MISSIONS

May 22, 2012

Kelly Humphries / William Jeffs Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100

Brad Thomas National Space Biomedical Research Institute, Houston 713-798-7595

Report #H12-162

NASA, NSBRI SELECT 29 PROPOSALS TO SUPPORT CREW HEALTH ON MISSIONS

WASHINGTON -- NASA's Human Research Program (HRP) and the National Space Biomedical Research Institute (NSBRI) of Houston will fund 29 proposals to help investigate questions about astronaut health and performance on future deep space exploration missions

The selected proposals are from 25 institutions in 11 states and will receive a total of about $26 million over a one- to three-year period

A major area of emphasis for both HRP and NSBRI has been the recently identified issue of visual impairment in astronauts during and after long-duration spaceflight In addition, eight of the selected proposals will examine several facets of this poorly understood syndrome

HRP and NSBRI research provides knowledge and technologies to improve human health and performance during space exploration and develops possible countermeasures for problems experienced during space travel The organizations' goals are to help astronauts complete their challenging missions successfully and preserve astronauts' health throughout their lives

HRP quantifies crew health and performance risks during spaceflight and develops strategies that mission planners and system developers can use to monitor and mitigate the risks These studies often lead to advancements in understanding and treating illnesses in patients on Earth

The 29 projects were selected from 104 proposals received in response to the research announcement "Research and Technology Development to Support Crew Health and Performance in Space Exploration Missions " Scientific and technical experts from academia and government reviewed the proposals NASA will manage 14 of the projects; NSBRI will manage 15

NSBRI is a NASA-funded consortium of institutions studying health risks related to long-duration spaceflight The Institute's science, technology and education projects take place at more than 60 institutions across the United States

For a complete list of the selected principal investigators, organizations and proposals, visit:

http://go nasa gov/LlGsLz

For information about NASA's Human Research Program, visit:

http://www nasa gov/exploration/humanresearch/

For information about NSBRI's science, technology and education programs, visit:

http://www nsbri org

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

http://www nasa gov

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End of HSFNEWS Digest - 18 May 2012 to 23 May 2012 (#2012-51)

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