Dec. 22, 2011 David E. Steitz Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1730 david.e.steitz@nasa.gov Mike Finneran Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va. 757-344-4611 michael.p.finneran@nasa.gov CONTRACT RELEASE: C11-054 NASA SELECTS FIRMS FOR ADVANCED ENTRY SYSTEM TECHNOLOGY DEVELOPMENT WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected Airborne Systems North America of Santa Anna, Calif., ILC Dover LP of Frederica, Del., and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Littleton, Colo., to support ...Continue Reading

Dec. 22, 2011 Steve Cole Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0918 stephen.e.cole@nasa.gov Cynthia M. O'Carroll Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 240-684-0821 cynthia.m.ocarroll@nasa.gov CONTRACT RELEASE: C11-055 NASA AWARDS GLOBAL MODELING AND ASSIMILATION OFFICE CONTRACT WASHINGTON -- NASA has awarded a contract to Science Systems and Applications, Inc. (SSAI) of Lanham, Md., for the Global Modeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) scientific support services. The ...Continue Reading

The following sections have been updated in the past 1 days. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- SEVERE STORMS (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- BLIZZARD MOVES ACROSS SOUTHWEST UNITED STATES The United States' first major blizzard of the season hammered New Mexico, Colorado, and Texas on December 19 and 20, 2011. * http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76783&src=nha *** MODIS(Aqua) image from Dec 21, 2011 (Posted on Dec 22, 2011 1:51 PM) -- DUST, SMOKE ...Continue Reading

There are 3 messages totalling 154 lines in this issue. Topics of the day: 1. TRIO HEADS FOR HOLIDAY REUNION WITH SPACE STATION RESIDENTS 2. NASA SELECTS STUDENT TEAMS FOR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH FLIGHTS 3. NASA CONDUCTS ORION PARACHUTE TESTING FOR ORBITAL TEST FLIGHT ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 21 Dec 2011 13:21:27 -0600 From: info@JSC.NASA.GOV Subject: TRIO HEADS FOR HOLIDAY REUNION WITH SPACE STATION RESIDENTS Dec. 21, 2011 Kelly Humphries Johnson Sp ...Continue Reading

:Product: Solar Region Summary :Issued: 2011 Dec 22 0030 UTC # Prepared jointly by the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, NOAA, # Space Weather Prediction Center and the U.S. Air Force. # Joint USAF/NOAA Solar Region Summary SRS Number 356 Issued at 0030Z on 22 Dec 2011 Report compiled from data received at SWO on 21 Dec I. Regions with Sunspots. Locations Valid at 21/2400Z Nmbr Location Lo Area Z LL NN Mag Type 1376 N20W59 308 0090 Dsi 08 11 Beta 1381 S15W17 265 0070 Cso 04 07 Beta 1382 S14W10 ...Continue Reading

Dec. 21, 2011 Sonja Alexander Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1761 sonja.r.alexander@nasa.gov Cynthia M. O'Carroll Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. 240-684-0821 cynthia.M.Ocarroll@nasa.gov CONTRACT RELEASE: 11-056 NASA EXTENDS ELECTRICAL SYSTEMS ENGINEERING SERVICES CONTRACT GREENBELT, Md. -- NASA has extended the ordering period and increased the maximum ordering value of the Electrical Systems Engineering Services (ESES) interim contract with MEI Technologies, I ...Continue Reading

Dec. 21, 2011 Trent J. Perrotto Headquarters, Washington 202-358-0321 trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov Mary Blake Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, Calif. 310-812-6291 mary.blake@ngc.com RELEASE: 11-424 CRYOGENIC TESTING COMPLETED FOR NASA'S WEBB TELESCOPE MIRRORS GREENBELT, Md. -- Cryogenic testing is complete for the final six primary mirror segments and a secondary mirror that will fly on NASA's James Webb Space Telescope. The milestone represents the successful culmination of a process that took ...Continue Reading

The following sections have been updated in the past 1 days. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ -- VOLCANOES AND EARTHQUAKES (1 updated events, 1 new images) -- EL HIERRO SUBMARINE VOLCANO ERUPTION A submarine volcano off of El Hierro in the Canary Islands began erupting gas and tephra into the sea in mid-October 2011. * http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/view.php?id=76717&src=nha *** ALI(EO-1) image from Dec 16, 2011 (Posted on Dec 20, 2011 2:15 PM) ------------- ...Continue Reading

Dec. 21, 2011 J.D. Harrington Headquarters, Washington 202-358-5241 j.d.harrington@nasa.gov Josh Byerly Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 josh.byerly@nasa.gov RELEASE: 11-423 NASA CONDUCTS ORION PARACHUTE TESTING FOR ORBITAL TEST FLIGHT HOUSTON -- NASA successfully conducted a drop test of the Orion crew vehicle's parachutes high above the Arizona desert Tuesday in preparation for its orbital flight test in 2014. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space t ...Continue Reading

Dec. 21, 2011 Ann Marie Trotta Headquarters, Washington 202-358-1601 ann.marie.trotta@nasa.gov Rachel Kraft Johnson Space Center, Houston 281-483-5111 rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov RELEASE: 11-422 NASA SELECTS STUDENT TEAMS FOR MICROGRAVITY RESEARCH FLIGHTS WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected 24 undergraduate student teams to test science experiments under microgravity conditions. The teams will fly during 2012 as part of the agency's Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program (RGEFP). The teams will design and ...Continue Reading