Transcript: This Week at NASA, May 6 - 12
05.12.06
ROLLOVER – KSC
Discovery moved from its Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. The rollover marks the start of the journey to the launch pad and, ultimately, Discovery's launch. Once inside the VAB, the orbiter will be raised into a vertical position and mated to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters. NASA is targeting July for Discovery's next mission, STS-121, to the International Space Station.
STATION STATUS – JSC
Expedition 13 Commander Pavel Vinogradov and NASA Flight Engineer and Science Officer Jeff Williams discussed life and work aboard the International Space Station with Stardate Syndicated Radio Network and Milwaukee's WISN –TV.
Jeff Williams SOT: “…Well everything we do in space in some sense is a first time event and so every step that we take in space exploration we learn something new that can be applied for future programs.”
Vinogradov and Williams are in the second month of their six-month mission on the orbital complex.
EXCITING BORING - JSC
Boring through layers of soil and stone has long given geologists and scientists a look back in time. Now, NASA engineers are taking this time-tested technique of core sampling into the future with a design that can bore into other planets using just a light bulb's worth of power. This month, the NASA's Planetary Drill Project team is spending two weeks on Ellesmere Island in Canada's Nunavut province, where they'll test their futuristic tool on ice-covered tundra less than 700 miles from the North Pole. A tool similar to this Planetary Drill, a cross between an oil rig and a portable household drill, may one day be used by astronauts to search for water and other resources frozen beneath the polar caps of Mars.
BITS AND PIECES – JPL
NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope provides this snapshot of the bits and pieces making up Comet 73P /Schwassman-Wachmann 3, continuing to break apart on its periodic journey around the sun. This new infrared view is the best yet of the comet riding along its own dusty trail of crumb-like debris, seen here as a bridge connecting the larger fragments.
AMBASSADORS – HQ
NASA has honored two more Ambassadors of Exploration. Charles Duke, who received his award at the Admiral Farragut Academy in St. Petersburg, Florida, was a member of the Apollo 16 lunar expedition crew in 19-72. Along with John Young, the fifth lunar landing team spent a record 71 hours and 14 minutes on the moon's surface, where they collected more than 200 pounds of rock and soil samples, and set up the first lunar surface cosmic ray detector. And, former astronaut Frank Borman received his Ambassador award at the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona. Borman led the first team of American astronauts to leave Earth orbit and circle the moon as commander of the Apollo 8 mission in 19-68. Borman and crewmates James Lovell and William Anders were the first humans to view the far side of the moon. Borman was also a member of the Gemini 7 crew, which performed the first ever orbital rendezvous linking, with Gemini 6, in 1965.
HALL OF FAME – KSC
Three former NASA astronauts were inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame. The ceremony, held at the Saturn V Visitor Center Complex at Kennedy Space Center, honored Henry “Hank” Hartsfield, Brewster Shaw Jr. and Charles Bolden. Hartsfield flew three Space Shuttle missions, including his command of the orbiter Discovery’s maiden voyage in 19-84. Brewster Shaw, Jr. commanded two Shuttle missions. But his first venture into space came in 19-83 as pilot of STS-9, carrying the European-built Spacelab and the first international Space Shuttle crew. Charles Bolden flew four Space Shuttle missions. STS-60, which Bolden commanded in 19-94, was the first joint United States/Russian Space Shuttle Mission.
Launch Announcer SOT: “…The first flight of the Orbiter Discovery and the shuttle has cleared the tower.”
LAUNCH! - MSFC
Teams of students from seven states met in Manchester, Tennessee to launch reusable rockets they designed, built and tested, each with a science payload. It was part of the NASA Student Launch Initiative, a competition where high schoolers get hands-on experience designing and building reusable rockets from the ground up. Prior to launch, Marshall Space Flight Center employees review each team's concept for its reusable rocket to be sure it'll perform as planned.
STAR GAZING - GRC
Greater Cleveland residents of all ages celebrated National Astronomy Day at Glenn Research Center's "Star Gazing & More." The event featured day and nighttime telescope viewing, auditorium presentations, a tour of Glenn's Hangar, hands-on educational activities and the Vision for Space Exploration Experience at its first stop in Ohio. "Star Gazing & More" was presented in partnership with Lake Erie Nature & Science Center's Walter R. Schuele Planetarium, and the Cuyahoga Astronomical Association.
+ Listen Now (mp3)
