There are 2 messages totalling 111 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. NASA Announces Two Upcoming Undersea Missions
2. NASA's Orion Spacecraft Stacks Up for First Flight

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 10:40:12 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA Announces Two Upcoming Undersea Missions

June 10, 2014

William Jeffs Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100

Report #RELEASE 14-174

NASA Announces Two Upcoming Undersea Missions

NASA is returning to the bottom of the ocean Twice this summer, aquanauts participating in the NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO) will conduct activities on the ocean floor that will inform future International Space Station and exploration activities

These studies provide information that correlates directly to life aboard the space station, where crew members must frequently perform critical tasks that present constraining factors similar to those experienced in an undersea environment

�It is both challenging and exciting for our astronaut crews to participate in these undersea missions in preparation for spaceflight,� says Bill Todd, NEEMO project manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston �It is critical that we perform science applicable to NASA�s exploration goals in a high-fidelity space operational context The extreme environment of life undersea is as close to being in space as possible �

NEEMO 18, a nine-day mission beginning July 21, will focus on studies in behavioral health and performance, human health issues, and habitability Astronaut Akihiko Hoshide of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) will command NEEMO 18 He will be joined by NASA astronauts Jeanette Epps and Mark Vande Hei and European Space Agency (ESA) astronaut Thomas Pesquet

NEEMO 19, which begins Sept 7 and runs seven days, will focus on the evaluation of tele-mentoring operations for ESA Telementoring is when a crew member is given instruction for a task by an expert who is located remotely but is virtually present via a video and voice connection NASA astronaut Randy Bresnik will command this second mission He will be joined by Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, ESA astronaut Andreas Mogensen, and Herve Stevenin, ESA�s Head of Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Training at the European Astronaut Center in Cologne, Germany

Both NEEMO missions will include EVA objectives and engineering investigations to mature technologies and training techniques for use on the space station and in asteroid exploration These EVAs will focus on evaluating man-machine work systems and EVA tools and techniques for exploration tasks in varying levels of gravity ranging from that of asteroids to the gravity of Martian moons and Mars itself The EVAs also will evaluate techniques to address re-planning of exploration operations accounting for different communications time delays

The missions also will investigate tools to help astronauts learn new procedures while in flight One such tool for the "just in time training" that is delivered to the crew in orbit is "intuitive procedures " These procedures use a combination of text, pictures, and videos to instruct the crew on how to perform a task that they were never trained on, and are presented in a way such that the crew understands it quickly

The NEEMO crews will live 62 feet below the surface of the Atlantic Ocean, 5 4 nautical miles off the coast of Key Largo, Florida, in Florida International University�s undersea research habitat Aquarius Reef Base, along with two professional habitat technicians

To request interviews with the NEEMO 18 or 19 crews during their mission, contact William Jeffs of NASA at william p jeffs@nasa gov, Toshitami Ikeda or Fuki Taniguchi of JAXA at ikeda toshitami@jaxa jp or taniguchi fuki@jaxa jp, Rosita Suennson of ESA at rosita suenson@esa int, or the CSA media relations team at media@asc-csa gc ca

For more information about NEEMO, the crews and links to follow the missions on Facebook and Twitter, visit:

http://www nasa gov/neemo

For more information about NASA�s analog field tests, visit:

http://www nasa gov/exploration/analogs

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NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov with the following command in the body of your e-mail message: "unsubscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) or from another account, besides the account used to subscribe: "unsubscribe hsfnews youremail@yourdomain com" (no quotes)

Date: Tue, 10 Jun 2014 15:47:05 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA's Orion Spacecraft Stacks Up for First Flight

June 10, 2014

Brandi Dean Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Rachel Kraft Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100

Amber Philman Kennedy Space Center, Fla 321-867-2468

Report #RELEASE 14-178

NASA's Orion Spacecraft Stacks Up for First Flight

The Orion crew module for Exploration Flight Test-1 is shown in the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) Cell, positioned over the service module just prior to mating the two sections together The FAST cell is where the integrated crew and service modules are put through their final system tests prior to rolling out of the Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with its rocket Technicians are in position to assist with the final alignment steps once the crew module is nearly in contact with the service module In December, Orion will launch 3,600 miles into space in a four-hour flight to test the systems that will be critical for survival in future human missions to deep space

Image Credit: NASA/Rad Sinyak

With just six months until its first trip to space, NASA�s Orion spacecraft continues taking shape at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida

Engineers began stacking the crew module on top of the completed service module Monday, the first step in moving the three primary Orion elements �crew module, service module and launch abort system � into the correct configuration for launch

"Now that we're getting so close to launch, the spacecraft completion work is visible every day," said Mark Geyer, NASA's Orion Program manager "Orion's flight test will provide us with important data that will help us test out systems and further refine the design so we can safely send humans far into the solar system to uncover new scientific discoveries on future missions "

With the crew module now in place, the engineers will secure it and make the necessary power connections between to the service module over the course of the week Once the bolts and fluid connector between the modules are in place, the stacked spacecraft will undergo electrical, avionic and radio frequency tests

The modules are being put together in the Final Assembly and System Testing (FAST) Cell in the Operations and Checkout Facility at Kennedy Here, the integrated modules will be put through their final system tests prior to rolling out of the facility for integration with the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket that will send it on its mission

Orion is being prepared for its first launch later this year, an uncrewed flight that will take it 3,600 miles above Earth, in a 4 5 hour mission to test the systems critical for future human missions to deep space After two orbits, Orion will reenter Earth�s atmosphere at almost 20,000 miles per hour before its parachute system deploys to slow the spacecraft for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean

Orion's flight test also will provide important data for the agency�s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and ocean recovery of Orion Engineers at NASA�s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, have built an advanced adapter to connect Orion to the Delta IV Heavy rocket that will launch the spacecraft during the December test The adapter also will be used during future SLS missions NASA�s Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, based at Kennedy, will recover the Orion crew module with the U S Navy after its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean

For more information on Orion, visit:

http://www nasa gov/orion

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NASA Johnson Space Center Mission Status Reports and other information are available automatically by sending an Internet electronic mail message to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov In the body of the message (not the subject line) users should type "subscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) This will add the e-mail address that sent the subscribe message to the news release distribution list The system will reply with a confirmation via e-mail of each subscription Once you have subscribed you will receive future news releases via e-mail To unsubscribe, send an e-mail to listserv@listserver jsc nasa gov with the following command in the body of your e-mail message: "unsubscribe hsfnews" (no quotes) or from another account, besides the account used to subscribe: "unsubscribe hsfnews youremail@yourdomain com" (no quotes)

End of HSFNEWS Digest - 10 Jun 2014 to 11 Jun 2014 (#2014-41)