In This Week’s Star
- NASA Administrator Bolden to Hold All-Hands with Marshall Team Dec. 14
- Operation Insulation: Marshall Prepares for SLS Foam Testing
- NASA Cargo Launches to Space Station Aboard Orbital ATK Resupply Mission
- Steven Miley Named Director of Marshall’s Office of Procurement
- Marshall Hosts Mentor-Protégé Agreement Signing Between Aerojet Rocketdyne and ICO RALLY
- Geminid Meteors Expected to Light Up Sky During Live ‘Tweet Chat’ With NASA Experts
- Marshall Celebrates Holiday Season With Food, Song, Camaraderie
- This Week in NASA History: Apollo 17, Final Lunar Landing Mission, Lands on the Moon — Dec. 11, 1972
- One-Year Anniversary of Orion’s First Flight Featured on ‘This Week @NASA’
- Obituaries
NASA Administrator Bolden to Hold All-Hands with Marshall Team Dec. 14
NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will hold an all-hands meeting with NASA Marshall Space Flight Center team members at 9:30 a.m. Dec. 14 in Building 4200, Morris Auditorium.
Marshall’s acting Center Director Todd May will join Bolden. Team members will have the opportunity to ask questions.
The all hands will be broadcast live on Marshall centerwide TV and streamed to desktop TV.
Operation Insulation: Marshall Prepares for SLS Foam Testing
It’s “Operation Insulation” for NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System, at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Steve Bray, above, a Bevilacqua Research Corp. employee supporting Marshall’s Engineering Directorate, is part of a team of engineers and technicians who are preparing panels that will be used for testing foam insulation materials for SLS — the largest, most powerful launch vehicle in the world for deep-space missions, including Mars. Different types of polyurethane-based foam will be used to protect and insulate the SLS core stage and launch vehicle stage adapter, which connects the core stage to the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). The ICPS will give the Orion spacecraft the big push needed to fly beyond the moon before the spacecraft returns to Earth. Approximately 180 panels have been prepped for various tests, which are being conducted to qualify the insulation for the challenging environments SLS will experience before and during flight. Marshall manages the SLS Program for NASA. (NASA/MSFC)
NASA Cargo Launches to Space Station Aboard Orbital ATK Resupply Mission
New hardware to support dozens of NASA investigations and other science experiments from around the world is among the more than 7,000 pounds of cargo launched to International Space Station aboard Orbital ATK‘s Cygnus spacecraft on Dec. 6. The resupply mission launched at 3:44:57 p.m. on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 on Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
“NASA is delighted at the continued progress made possible by our investment in commercial space,” said NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman. “As we celebrate Orbital ATK’s success with its fourth cargo resupply mission to the International Space Station, we look forward to the next milestones of our other commercial partners, including commercial crew launches from American soil in the near future. All these missions are critical to our journey to Mars – a journey we have already begun.”
The mission is Orbital ATK’s fourth cargo delivery flight to the station through NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. This is the first flight of an enhanced Cygnus spacecraft to the station. The cargo freighter now features a greater payload capacity, new UltraFlex solar arrays and new fuel tanks. Cygnus’ pressurized cargo module has been extended and increases the spacecraft’s interior volume capacity by 25 percent, allowing more cargo to be delivered with each mission. It’s also the first Cygnus mission using the Atlas V launch system.
Science payloads will support science and research investigations that will occur during the space station’s Expeditions 45 and 46, including experiments in biology, biotechnology, physical science and Earth science — research that impacts life on Earth. Investigations will offer a new life science facility that will support studies on cell cultures, bacteria and other microorganisms, a microsatellite deployer and the first microsatellite that will be deployed from the space station, and experiments that will study the behavior of gases and liquids and clarify the thermo-physical properties of molten steel and evaluations of flame-resistant textiles.
Marshall’s team in the Payload Operations and Integration Center helped plan, schedule, and operate the experiments delivered by Cygnus. One of the items delivered to the space station is a new ultra-high-definition camera from the Imagery Experts Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The UHD camera will record the sharpest and clearest images ever captured in space — four times the resolution of the average high-definition television.
“NASA is always looking for new technologies to provide better imagery from space,” said Rodney Grubbs, program manager for the Imagery Experts Program at Marshall. “Documenting our missions with cameras that provide higher resolution and faster frame rates helps us analyze what is happening during dynamic events such as a rocket launch or activities and experiments on the International Space Station.”
The Space Automated Bioproduct Lab is a new space life science facility that is designed to support a wide variety of fundamental, applied and commercial space life sciences research, as well as education-based investigations for students from kindergarten through college. The facility will support research on microorganisms, such as bacteria, yeast, algae, fungi, and viruses, as well as animal cells and tissues and small plant and animal organisms.
NanoRacks-MicroSat-SIMPL is a modular, hyper integrated satellite designed to provide complete satellite functionality in a nanosatellite scale. It will be the first NanoRacks microsatellite deployed from the space station and the first propulsion-capable satellite deployed from the NanoRacks-MicroSat-Deployer known as Kaber. The commercial deployer system aims to address the growing market of customers wanting to deploy microsatellites in orbit.
The Packed Bed Reactor Experiment studies the behavior of gases and liquids when they flow simultaneously through a column filled with fixed porous media, which is of interest in many chemical and biological processing systems, as well as numerous geophysical applications.
BASS-M (Burning and Suppression of Solids – Milliken) will evaluate flame retardant and resistant textiles as a mode of personal protection from fire-related hazards. Studying flame retardant and resistant behavior of different materials in microgravity will aid in better designs for future textiles and benefit those who wear protective clothing, such as military personnel and civilian workers in the electrical and energy industries.
Cygnus was grappled at approximately 6:10 a.m. on Dec. 9, by NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren, using the space station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to take hold of the spacecraft. Scott Kelly of NASA supported Lindgren in a backup position. The spacecraft will spend more than a month attached to the space station before its destructive re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, disposing of about 3,000 pounds of trash.
The International Space Station is a convergence of science, technology and human innovation that demonstrates new technologies and makes research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. The space station has been continuously occupied since November 2000. In that time, it has been visited by more than 200 people and a variety of international and commercial spacecraft. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in exploration, including future missions to an asteroid and Mars.
Steven Miley Named Director of Marshall’s Office of Procurement
NASA has appointed Steven Miley director of the Office of Procurement at the Marshall Space Flight Center.
Miley will manage the organization responsible for all aspects of the contracting and procurement processes at Marshall, NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility and associated contractor facilities. He will oversee the work of some 125 civil service and contract employees and will supervise approximately 500 open contracts, interagency agreements, grants and cooperative agreements.
Miley was associate director for operations in Marshall’s Engineering Directorate from 2014 until he accepted his new assignment. He also held that post from 2007 to 2011. From 2011 to 2014, he was at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, as director of contracting for the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the organization responsible for total lifecycle management of Air Force weapon systems. He led 13 acquisition directorates at three military sites, overseeing more than 2,000 contracting professionals, and guided more than $31 billion in annual obligations for 10 program offices with an active contract value of more than $196 billion.
In 2006, Miley was appointed to the Senior Executive Service at NASA Headquarters, where he supervised the agency’s key technical capability portfolios as director of the Strategic Capabilities Assets Division. The Senior Executive Service is the personnel system that covers most of the top managerial, supervisory and policy positions in the executive branch of the federal government.
Miley began his career in 1988 as a contract negotiator at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, supporting key military aviation and missile programs. After graduating from the Air Force contracting intern program in 1992, he transferred to NASA Headquarters as a contracting officer and procurement analyst, and was contract negotiator for the NASA-Russian Space Agency contract for American support and use of Space Station Mir. In 1995, he transferred to NASA’s Johnson Space Center as a contracting officer and business team leader in the International Space Station Program Office. He returned to NASA Headquarters from 1998 to 2007 to take on a variety of positions, including manager of the Sponsored Research Business Office and acting assistant associate administrator for infrastructure management in NASA’s Office of Space Flight.
A native of Dayton, Ohio, Miley earned a master’s degree in business administration in 1992 from Wright State University in Dayton, and a bachelor’s degree in music in 1983 from Campbellsville University in Campbellsville, Kentucky. He also received the Professional Designation in Contract Management from the Air Force Institute of Technology at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, and the Certified Professional Contracts Manager designation from the National Contract Management Association, headquartered in Ashburn, Virginia, in 1992.
A 21-year Air Force reserve officer, Miley received his commission through the Air Force ROTC program at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Kentucky. He retired as a lieutenant colonel in 2008. He and his wife Dana live in Scottsboro, Alabama, and have two sons, Jackson and Burke Sellers.
Marshall Hosts Mentor-Protégé Agreement Signing Between Aerojet Rocketdyne and ICO RALLY
Executives of technology firms Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, California, and ICO RALLY Inc., of Palo Alto, California, signed a NASA Mentor-Protégé Agreement Dec. 7 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The two-year agreement is the third such agreement between a Marshall prime contractor and Historically Under-Utilized (HUB) Zone small business and the 14th mentor protégé agreement overall at Marshall. The HUBZone Program was implemented to promote job growth and economic development for small businesses in economically challenged communities. Seated from left are Daniel Adamski, program manager of the Space Launch System for Aerojet Rocketdyne; Joe McCollister, contracting officer for Marshall’s Liquid Propulsion Support Office; and Edwina Cioffi, president of ICO RALLY. Standing from left are Steve Miley, director of Marshall’s Office of Procurement; Tyler Cochran, chief of Marshall’s Liquid Propulsion Support Office; Steve Wofford, manager of Marshall’s Space Launch System Liquid Engine Office; and David Brock, small business specialist in Marshall’s Office of Procurement. (NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given)
Geminid Meteors Expected to Light Up Sky During Live ‘Tweet Chat’ With NASA Experts
By Christopher Blair
This December, it not just Santa’s sleigh lighting up the night sky. Some streaking colors seen overhead may also be meteors from the annual Geminid shower, often considered the best shower for viewing meteors.
During this annual light show, which peaks Dec 13-14, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will host a live Tweet Chat from 10 p.m. Dec. 13, until 2 a.m. on Dec. 14.
NASA meteor experts Dr. Bill Cooke, Danielle Moser and Rhiannon Blaauw, all from NASA’s Meteoroid Environment Office, located at Marshall, will stay up late answering questions via Twitter. NASA followers interested in joining the online conversation can tweet their meteor questions to the Marshall Twitter account, @NASA_Marshall, or simply tag their tweets with #askNASA.
The Geminid meteor shower occurs as a result of debris from an object called 3200 Phaethon. In mid-December, Earth passes through a stream of debris from 3200 Phaethon. Meteors from this debris stream appear to come from the constellation Gemini. Long thought to be an asteroid, Phaethon is now classified as an extinct comet.
“Of all the debris streams Earth passes through every year, the Geminid stream is by far the most massive,” says Cooke. “When we add up the amount of dust in this stream, it outweighs other streams by factors of 5 to 500.”
The Geminid shower started out as a relatively weak meteor shower when it was discovered in the early 19th century. Over time, it has grown into the strongest annual shower, with theoretical rates above 120 meteors per hour and the potential for many visible fireballs in the night sky. Typically, the best viewing is during the early morning hours just before dawn, your local time. The shower lasts a couple of weeks, with meteors typically seen Dec. 4-17.
Blair, an ASRC Federal/Analytical Services employee, supports the Office of Strategic Analysis & Communications.
Marshall Celebrates Holiday Season With Food, Song, Camaraderie
Todd May, acting director of the Marshall Space Flight Center, welcomes members of the workforce to the Marshall holiday celebration Dec. 3 in the Activities Building 4316, as Music Club performers and Marshall engineers Brian McKenna, center, and Carlos Barreto look on. More than 1,200 team members, including civil-service employees, contractors and retirees, took part in the festivities. (NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton)
The Voices of Marshall chorus, led by Marshall engineer Kim Jones, left on keyboard, performs during the holiday celebration. In addition to the live music, team members enjoyed complimentary hors d’oeuvres and beverages. The annual event was sponsored by the Marshall Exchange. (NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton)
This Week in NASA History: Apollo 17, Final Lunar Landing Mission, Lands on the Moon — Dec. 11, 1972
This week in 1972, Apollo 17, the seventh and final lunar landing mission, landed in the Taurus-Littrow valley on the lunar surface. This photograph taken by lunar module pilot Harrison Schmitt shows astronaut Eugene A. Cernan driving the Lunar Roving Vehicle, Challenger. The LRVs were developed and built at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The NASA History Program documents and preserves NASA’s remarkable history through a variety of products — photos, press kits, press releases, mission transcripts and administrators’ speeches. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the History Program’s Web page.
One-Year Anniversary of Orion’s First Flight Featured on ‘This Week @NASA’
The one-year anniversary of the Orion – Exploration Flight Test-1 is featured in the latest edition of “This Week @NASA,” a weekly video program broadcast nationwide on NASA-TV and posted online.
Dec. 5 marked one year since Orion launched atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The Orion capsule completed a two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour flight that tested many critical systems astronauts will need for deep space exploration to an asteroid and the journey to Mars.
Orion will next fly on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket on Exploration Mission-1. That un-crewed flight will take the Orion capsule thousands of miles beyond the moon during a three-week mission. The SLS, which is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, will be the most powerful rocket ever built. The rocket is on track for launch capability readiness by 2018 while engineers complete technical and design reviews. View this and previous episodes at “This Week @NASA” or at https://www.youtube.com/user/NASAtelevision.
Obituaries
Norman C. Fletcher, 83, of Huntsville, died Nov. 10. He retired from the Marshall Center in 1994 as a computer engineer. He is survived by his wife, Mary Nelson Fletcher.
Arthur M. Carr, 83, of Huntsville, died Dec. 1. He retired from the Marshall Center in 1988 as an aerospace engineer. He is survived by his wife, Mary Hunley Carr.
Harvey R. Stewart, 92, of Winston Salem, North Carolina, died Dec. 2. He retired from the Marshall Center in 1981 as a budget and industry analyst. He is survived by his wife, Elizabeth T. Stewart
Billy A. Layne, 84, of Huntsville, died Dec. 7. He retired from the Marshall Center in 1984 as an air conditioning mechanic.