There are 2 messages totalling 139 lines in this issue

Topics of the day:

1. NASA TESTS FUTURE DEEP SPACE VEHICLE FOR WATER LANDINGS
2. NASA SELECTS FOUR UNIVERSITIES FOR 2012 X-HAB INNOVATION CHALLENGE

Date: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:27:23 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA TESTS FUTURE DEEP SPACE VEHICLE FOR WATER LANDINGS

July 22, 2011

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

J D Harrington Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241

Michael Braukus Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1979

Amy Johnson Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va 757-864-7022/757-272-9859

Report #H11-242

NASA TESTS FUTURE DEEP SPACE VEHICLE FOR WATER LANDINGS

HAMPTON, Va -- As NASA closes the chapter on the Space Shuttle Program, a new era of exploration vehicles is beginning to take off

Testing began this month at NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va , in the new Hydro Impact Basin to certify the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) for water landings The Orion MPCV will carry astronauts into space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure safe re-entry and landing

Engineers have dropped a 22,000-pound MPCV mockup into the basin The test item is similar in size and shape to MPCV, but is more rigid so it can withstand multiple drops Each test has a different drop velocity to represent the MPCV's possible entry conditions during water landings

The last of three drop tests to verify the new facility is scheduled for the end of this month

Testing will resume in September with a slightly modified test article that is more representative of the actual MPCV

The new Hydro Impact Basin is 115 long, 90 feet wide and 20 feet deep It is located at the west end of Langley's historic Landing and Impact Research Facility, or Gantry, where Apollo astronauts trained for moon walks

For images and video of the tests, visit:

http://www nasa gov/centers/langley/exploration/hib html

To follow the progress of the Orion MPCV on social networking sites, visit:

http://www facebook com/nasampcv

http://twitter com/nasampcv

http://www youtube com/user/nasampcv

http://www flickr com/photos/nasampcv

NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the Orion MPCV program for the agency For more information about the program, visit:

http://www nasa gov/exploration/mpcv

-end-

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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: Fri, 22 Jul 2011 12:52:29 -0500 From: info@JSC NASA GOV Subject: NASA SELECTS FOUR UNIVERSITIES FOR 2012 X-HAB INNOVATION CHALLENGE

July 22, 2011

Lynnette Madison Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111

J D Harrington Headquarters, Washington
J D Harrington/Michael Braukus July 22, 2011 Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5241

Michael Braukus Headquarters, Washington
J D Harrington/Michael Braukus July 22, 2011 Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1979

Report #H11-238

NASA SELECTS FOUR UNIVERSITIES FOR 2012 X-HAB INNOVATION CHALLENGE

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected four universities to design habitat and science concepts that could be used by future deep space explorers The teams will participate in the second eXploration Habitat (X-Hab) Academic Innovation Challenge led by NASA and the National Space Grant Foundation

The teams are from Oklahoma State University; University of Maryland, College Park; Ohio State University; and University of Bridgeport, Conn The undergraduate students will design, manufacture, assemble and test their concepts and hardware A panel of engineers and scientists will assess their progress at each stage of the competition The National Space Grant Foundation will fund the cost of the teams' design development and their participation in testing next summer at NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas

"This is an amazing opportunity for students to get hands-on experience in fields ranging from engineering and science to business management," said Doug Craig, strategic analysis manager for analog systems at NASA Headquarters in Washington "Last year's competition proved to be intense, demonstrating the creativity, dedication, and technical excellence of the team members "

The 2012 X-Hab challenge will look at volume, geometry and habitability of a deep space habitat and technologies for plant growth and geo-science sample handling The challenge is a participatory exploration effort designed to encourage studies in spaceflight-related engineering and architecture disciplines NASA is committed to training and developing a highly skilled scientific, engineering and technical workforce for the future

NASA's Exploration Mission Directorate, Directorate Integration Office via the Habitat Demonstration Unit Project, is sponsoring the challenge NASA is dedicated to supporting research that enables sustained and affordable human and robotic exploration This educational challenge contributes to the agency's efforts to train and develop a highly skilled scientific, engineering and technical workforce for the future For more information, visit: http://www nasa gov/exploration/analogs/xhab_challenge html

For more information about the Habitation Development Unit Project, visit:

http://www nasa gov/exploration/analogs/hdu_project html

-end-

To subscribe to the list, send a message to: hqnews-subscribe@mediaservices nasa gov To remove your address from the list, send a message to: hqnews-unsubscribe@mediaservices nasa gov

#

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 - 22 Jul 2011 to 23 Jul 2011 (#2011-95)

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