There are 2 messages totalling 109 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. NASA, Navy Prepare for Orion Spacecraft to Make a Splash
2. Television Coverage Set for Final European Space Station Cargo Ship Docking

Date: Thu, 7 Aug 2014 07:52:39 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA, Navy Prepare for Orion Spacecraft to Make a Splash

August 6, 2014

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

Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100

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

Report #RELEASE 14-234

NASA, Navy Prepare for Orion Spacecraft to Make a Splash

U S Navy personnel use a rigid hull inflatable boat to approach the Orion boilerplate test article during an evolution of the Underway Recovery Test 2 in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California on Aug 2, 2014

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

A team of technicians, engineers, sailors and divers just wrapped up a successful week of testing and preparing for various scenarios that could play out when NASA's new Orion spacecraft splashes into the Pacific Ocean following its first space flight test in December

After enduring the extreme environment of space, Orion will blaze back through Earth's atmosphere at speeds near 20,000 mph and temperatures approaching 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit Its inaugural journey will end in the Pacific, off the Southern California coast, where a U S Navy ship will be waiting to retrieve it and return it to shore

"We learned a lot about our hardware, gathered good data, and the test objectives were achieved,� said Mike Generale, NASA recovery operations manager in the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program �We were able to put Orion out to sea and safely bring it back multiple times We are ready to move on to the next step of our testing with a full dress rehearsal landing simulation on the next test "

The Orion boilerplate test vehicle is slightly lifted by crane from the water to test the proof of concept basket lift method during an evolution of the Underway Recovery Test 2 near the USS Anchorage in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of San Diego, California on Aug 3, 2014

Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA and Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin teamed up with the U S Navy and the Defense Department's Human Space Flight Support Detachment 3 to try different techniques for recovering the 20,500-pound spacecraft safely during this second "underway recovery test " To address some of the lessons learned from the first recovery test in February, the team brought new hardware to test and tested a secondary recovery method that employs an onboard crane to recover Orion, as an alternative to using the well deck recovery method, which involves the spacecraft being winched into a flooded portion of the naval vessel

"Anchorage provided a unique, validated capability to support NASA's request for operational support without adversely impacting the Navy's primary warfighting mission," said Cmdr Joel Stewart, commanding officer of the Navy vessel "This unique mission gave Anchorage sailors an opportunity to hone their skills for the routine missions of recovering vehicles in the well deck and operating rigid-hulled inflatable boats in the open water while supporting NASA The testing with NASA was a success and Anchorage sailors continue to raise the bar, completing missions above and beyond any expectations "

Learn more about Orion at:

http://www nasa gov/orion

Learn more about NASA's Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at:

http://go nasa gov/groundsystems

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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: Thu, 7 Aug 2014 10:51:21 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: Television Coverage Set for Final European Space Station Cargo Ship Docking

August 7, 2014

Dan Huot Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

Joshua Buck Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1100

Report #MEDIA ADVISORY M14-122

Television Coverage Set for Final European Space Station Cargo Ship Docking

The European Space Agency (ESA) successfully launched the fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) cargo carrier on an Ariane 5 rocket on the evening of July 29 from Kourou, French Guiana

Image Credit: European Space Agency

The fifth and final docking of a European Space Agency cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station will air live on NASA Television Tuesday, Aug 12, beginning at 8 a m EDT

Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) 5, which is named "George Lemaitre" in honor of the 20th century Belgian astronomer and physicist credited with proposing the theory of the expansion of the universe Loaded with more than seven tons of fuel and supplies for the station crew, the George Lemaitre is scheduled to dock automatically to the aft port of the station's Zvezda Service Module at 9:30 a m

The spacecraft�s arrival at the station will mark the end of a two-week journey that began July 29 with its launch on a European Ariane 5 rocket from Kourou, French Guiana En route to its docking, the Georges Lemaitre is scheduled to pass less than four miles under the station on Friday, Aug 8 before looping back around for the final phase of its rendezvous This maneuver will test a suite of lasers and sensors that may be incorporated into the design of future European spacecraft

The Georges Lemaitre is expected to remain docked to the station until late January 2015

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

http://www nasa gov/nasatv

For International Space Station information, visit:

http://www nasa gov/station

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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 - 2 Aug 2014 to 8 Aug 2014 (#2014-59)