Marshall Leadership Updates Workforce in Virtual Town Hall
By Taylor Goodwin
Executives at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center held a virtual town hall May 11 to provide the latest updates on COVID-19, return to on-site work planning, and mission accomplishments. The leadership team also answered questions submitted by the workforce.
Marshall remains at Stage 3 of the NASA Framework for Return to On-Site Work. In this stage, the center is in mandatory telework status. Access to the center is restricted to those allowed on-site for mission-critical and mission-essential work.
“I know there is a lot of passion and a lot of questions about getting back to work on-site,” Marshall Director Jody Singer said. “We are eager to return to our physical offices as well, and we are working diligently to hear you and your needs for an efficient work environment as we move forward. We have already been working with supervisors to make sure that all mission-critical work and sporadic work is turned on, but we still have to be careful about the federally-mandated 25% requirement as far as our occupancy.”
Though there will be additional flexibility afforded in terms of on-site access in Stage 2, team members will still need to obtain supervisor approval for on-site work and COVID-19 protocol restrictions will remain in place. Also in Stage 2, team members who can operate in a telework environment will be required to continue to do so to the maximum extent.
To date, there have been no COVID-19 transmissions on-site. This, Singer said, is a testament to how well on-site workers are adhering to safety protocols. “Safety is the priority, and we are heading in the right direction,” she said.
Despite adjustments to work environments, the Marshall team has maintained progression in programs and projects. In April, the agency announced that SpaceX of Hawthorne, California, would be the industry partner to move forward in developing the human landing system, which will deliver the first woman and first person of color to the lunar surface.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program also advanced the agency’s mission through recent successes working with SpaceX. Crew-2 launched to the International Space Station on SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on April 23. Crew-1 successfully returned home with a nighttime splashdown in a SpaceX Crew Dragon capsule May 2.
A regular launch cadence through the Commercial Crew Program will ensure that Marshall maintains around-the-clock support of science on the space station. The next Cygnus launch this summer will carry Marshall-developed technology that could pave the way for improved life support systems on future exploration missions.
NASA’s Space Launch System core stage arrived at Kennedy on April 27, and all SLS hardware is being integrated for launch of the Artemis I mission. The SLS Engineering Support Center in Marshall’s Huntsville Operations Support Center is training console operators and conducting simulations in preparation for launch operations. Meanwhile, progress continues at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility and Marshall toward Artemis II through IV.
“The biggest key to success is having a team that works and plays together,” Singer said. “To me, that’s what works to keep us strong and keeps us going. We can’t go wrong when we come together to face our obstacles with an open mind and open heart.
“Please keep your questions coming and stay in touch with each other. Thank you for your time, your efforts, and all you do to keep Marshall Space Flight Center going strong.”
Goodwin, a Media Fusion employee, supports Marshall’s Office of Strategic Analysis & Communications.
Robert Champion Named Director of Center Operations
Robert Champion has been reassigned to the position of director of the Office of Center Operations at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, effective July 4. Champion succeeds Roy Malone, who retired in February.
With an annual budget of approximately $86 million, the organization includes 120 engineers and specialized civil servants and 700 contractors. Services provided by Center Operations include industrial labor relations, environmental engineering, occupational health, facility management, logistics and transportation, protective services, emergency management, and subordinate site operations.
Champion has been director of Michoud Assembly Facility since 2019. From 2015-2019, he was deputy director of the Propulsion Systems Department at Marshall, and in 2014 he was deputy of the Space Systems Department. Champion was appointed to the Senior Executive Service – the personnel system covering top managerial positions in federal agencies – as Michoud’s deputy director in 2012; he oversaw the facility’s transformation from manufacturing Space Shuttle External Tanks to a multi-tenant facility for the manufacturing and assembly of the Space Launch System core stage and the Orion spacecraft.
From 2000-2001, Champion was manager of the Internal Relations and Communications Department. He managed the Auxiliary Propulsion Project for the Next Generation Launch Vehicle Program from 2001-2003, then was NASA project manager for the Boeing Orbital Space Plane Project. He was deputy manager, chief engineer, and technical manager in the Propulsion Systems Engineering and Integration Office in the Shuttle Propulsion Office from 2004-2007. From 2007-2010, he was division chief of the Stage Systems Engineering and Integration Office, responsible for the technical integration of the subsystems that comprised the Ares I Upper Stage. He assumed responsibility at Michoud in 2010 as acting deputy director and chief operating officer.
Champion joined Marshall in 1986 as a propulsion engineer in the Preliminary Design Office. He went on to hold multiple leadership positions, including team lead for the design of the X-34 main propulsion systems from 1994-1999 and he led the Vehicle Propulsion Team, where he coordinated system design and analysis support for numerous spacecraft and rocket propulsion projects.
Champion was selected as an American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Associate fellow and received the organization’s 2018-2019 Holger Toftoy Award for outstanding technical management in the fields of aeronautics and astronautics. He has received several of NASA’s highest awards, including the Exceptional Achievement Medal, the Medal for Exceptional Service, Space Flight Awareness Honoree, Director’s Commendation, and the Contracting Officers Technical Representative of the Year.
A native of Woodstock, Alabama, Champion holds a bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering from Auburn University. Recently married to Maria Shelby, they reside in Hazel Green. Together, they have five adult children and four grandchildren.
Lisa Bates Named Director of Test Laboratory
Lisa Bates has been named director of the Test Laboratory at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, pending approval by the Office of Personnel Management.
An integral part of the Engineering Directorate, the Test Laboratory encompasses a wide range of specialized capabilities NASA uses to conduct testing for space flight hardware research, development, qualification, acceptance, and anomaly resolution. As director, Bates will provide executive leadership for all aspects of the laboratory, including workforce, budget, infrastructure, and operations for testing.
Bates was previously deputy manager of the Space Launch System Stages Office since October 2018, sharing the responsibilities, accountability, and authorities for all activities associated with the requirements, definition, design, development, manufacturing, assembly, test, and flight performance of the Stages element. As the SLS Program Executive from 2017-2018, she supported the NASA deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development as the liaison and advocate for SLS. As deputy manager of the SLS Booster Element Office during 2018, she shared responsibility for the complete scope of activities associated with the test, verification, and production of the booster element.
Bates joined Marshall in 2008 as the Ares I Upper Stage Thrust Vector Control lead in the Valves, Actuators, and Ducts Design and Development Branch. From 2009-2017, she was the first chief of the new Thrust Vector Control Branch, which was responsible for defining operational requirements, performing analysis, and evaluating rocket thrust vector control systems and components.
Prior to her NASA career, Bates worked 18 years in private industry for numerous aerospace and defense contractors, including Jacobs Engineering, Marotta Scientific Controls, United Technologies, United Defense, and Sverdrup Technologies.
Bates holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville. She was awarded a NASA Outstanding Leadership Medal in 2013 and has received numerous group and individual achievement awards. Bates and her husband, Don, reside in Madison and have four children, the youngest of whom is attending Birmingham-Southern College.
Additively Manufactured Rocket Engine Hardware Passes Cold Spray, Hot Fire Tests
NASA is partnering with Aerojet Rocketdyne to advance 3D printing technologies, known as metal additive manufacturing, for liquid rocket engines in landers and in-orbit stages/spacecraft.
The Robotic Deposition Technology team, led from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, is designing and manufacturing innovative and lightweight combustion chambers, nozzles, and injectors that will incorporate automated robotic deposition 3D-printing technologies: cold spray deposition, laser wire direct closeout, laser powder bed fusion, and laser powder directed energy deposition. The goal is to evolve these processes using weight-optimized materials to validate operability, performance, and reusability through hot fire testing.
The team recently hot fire tested their lightweight combustion chamber and nozzle. Other hardware for this testing included injectors and carbon composite nozzles that were recently tested under the Long Life Additive Manufacturing Assembly project.
“Testing of the RDT Advanced Lander Propulsion Additive Cold-spray Assembly chamber went very well and demonstrated a new technology capability for NASA and industry partners,” said Thomas W. Teasley, an engineer at Marshall.
The hardware accumulated eight starts at 365.4 seconds of total hot fire duration. The main combustion chamber experienced pressures up to 750 pound-force per square inch for all tests conducted as well as calculated hot gas temperatures approaching 6,200 degrees Fahrenheit. Three different carbon composite nozzles designed for 7,000 pounds of thrust were also tested and demonstrated their capability to endure extreme environment conditions with measured nozzle temperatures of more than 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
“The RDT ALPACA effort between NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne is another example of our collaboration and partnership in advancing additive manufacturing technologies,” said Aerojet Rocketdyne Senior Engineer Bryan Webb.
The team’s advancements will benefit future NASA and commercial space missions by providing more lightweight and cost-efficient liquid rocket engine parts instead of traditional hardware, which is heavier and typically comprised of more parts.
The team is funded by NASA’s Game Changing Development Program, which is a part of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate.
NASA Selects Consolidated Program Support Services Program, Planning, and Control Contractor
NASA has selected Manufacturing Technical Solutions Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, to provide the Consolidated Program Support Services, Program, Planning and Control at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Johnson Space Center, with the potential to provide these services to other NASA centers.
The agencywide performance-based contract is firm-fixed-price for program, planning and control mission services and indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity task orders, and time-and-materials for programmatic subject matter expert indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity task orders. The potential mission services value of the contract, including options, is approximately $67.4 million and a maximum potential indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity total value of $462.5 million.
The contract has a base period of one year, which begins on Sept. 1 followed by four one-year option periods that may be exercised at NASA’s discretion.
Under the small business contract, Manufacturing Technical Solutions will be responsible for support to multiple programs and projects. These services include program, planning, and control in the areas of integration, earned value management, cost estimating and cost analysis, resource data storage and retrieval library, scheduling, and risk management, as well as programmatic subject matter experts.
NASA’s Perseverance Rover Hears Ingenuity Mars Helicopter in Flight
On April 30, NASA’s Perseverance rover made history as the first spacecraft to record sounds from another spacecraft on another planet. During the fourth flight of the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter, a microphone included with the SuperCam instrument aboard Perseverance captured the humming sound of the blades and the din of wind. Ingenuity became the first aircraft in history to make a powered, controlled flight on another planet April 19. Perseverance touched down at Octavia E. Butler Landing with Ingenuity attached to its belly Feb. 18. The helicopter was deployed to the surface of Jezero Crater – a site championed by planetary scientist Caleb Fassett of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center – on April 3. (NASA/JPL-Caltech/ASU/MSSS/LANL/CNES/CNRS/ISAE-SUPAERO)
NASA, Axiom Agree to First Private Astronaut Mission on Space Station
NASA and Axiom Space have signed an order for the first private astronaut mission to the International Space Station to take place no earlier than January 2022.
“We are excited to see more people have access to spaceflight through this first private astronaut mission to the space station,” said Kathy Lueders, associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA Headquarters. “One of our original goals with the Commercial Crew Program, and again with our Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Development Program, is that our providers have customers other than NASA to grow a commercial economy in low-Earth orbit.”
The spaceflight, designated as Axiom Mission 1, or Ax-1, will launch from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and travel to the space station. Once docked, the Axiom astronauts are scheduled to spend eight days aboard the orbiting laboratory. NASA and Axiom mission planners will coordinate in-orbit activities for the private astronauts to conduct in coordination with space station crew members and flight controllers on the ground.
Axiom will purchase services for the mission from NASA, such as crew supplies, cargo delivery to space, storage, and other in-orbit resources for daily use. NASA will purchase from Axiom the capability to return scientific samples that must be kept cold in transit back to Earth.
“The first private crew to visit the International Space Station is a watershed moment in humanity’s expansion off the planet and we are glad to partner with NASA in making it happen,” Axiom President and CEO Michael Suffredini said. “A thriving commercial marketplace in low-Earth orbit begins with expanding access to serious, nontraditional users and that is exactly the aim of our private astronaut missions.”
NASA has opened up the space station for commercial activities, including private astronaut missions, as part of its plan to develop a robust and competitive economy in low-Earth orbit. The agency’s needs to achieve that goal – such as research on the effects of the space environment on humans, technology development, and in-flight crew testing – will remain in place after the retirement of the space station. Commercial entities can meet those needs, providing destinations and transportation capabilities. Enabling Ax-1 is an important step to stimulate demand for commercial human spaceflight services so NASA can be one of many customers in low-Earth orbit.
For the Ax-1 mission, Axiom has proposed Michael López-Alegría, Larry Connor, Mark Pathy, and Eytan Stibbe as prime crew members. These private astronauts will be reviewed by NASA and its international partners, as is standard for any space station crew, and undergo NASA medical qualification testing to be approved for flight. López-Alegría will serve as the mission commander, with Peggy Whitson and John Shoffner as backups.
Once the proposed crew passes review and qualification, the four members will train for their flight with NASA, international partners, and SpaceX, which Axiom has contracted as launch provider for transportation to the space station. Trainers will familiarize the private astronauts with systems, procedures, and emergency preparedness for the space station and the Crew Dragon spacecraft. Based on current mission planning, training is scheduled to begin this summer.
The development and growth of the low-Earth orbit economy continues. In January 2020, NASA selected Axiom to provide at least one habitable commercial module to be attached to the forward port of the space station’s Harmony node in late 2024. Most recently, NASA announced the agency is seeking input from industry on future commercial low-Earth orbit destinations that will provide services, such as crew training, scientific research, and advanced systems development for both government and private-sector astronauts and customers.
For more than 20 years, NASA has supported a continuous U.S. human presence in low-Earth orbit. The agency’s goal is a low-Earth orbit marketplace where the private sector leads the way. This strategy will provide services the government needs at a lower cost, enabling the agency to focus on its Artemis missions to the Moon and on to Mars while continuing to use low-Earth orbit as a training and proving ground for those deep space missions.
Julie Williams-Byrd, Langley’s Chief Technologist, to Deliver Virtual Tech Talk
Julie Williams-Byrd, chief technologist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, will deliver a virtual Tech Talk at 1 p.m. May 20. Williams-Byrd will discuss Langley’s aeroscience, architectures, and atmosphere capabilities, as well as the center’s challenges with its strategic technology investment plan. The talk will be streamed via Webex, here. The Tech Talk series is presented by the Marshall Center Chief Technologist’s Office. (NASA)
This Week in NASA History: Final Flight of Endeavour – May 16, 2011
This week in 2011, space shuttle Endeavour, mission STS-134, launched from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on its final flight. During its 14-day mission, Endeavour delivered the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2, Express Logistics Carrier-3, and spare parts and a high-pressure gas tank for the Dextre robotic helper to the International Space Station. Today, the Payload Operations Integration Center at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center serves as “science central” for the space station, working 24/7, 365 days a year in support of the orbiting laboratory’s science experiments. After 20 years of continuous human presence, the space station remains the sole space-based proving ground and stepping stone toward achieving the goals of the Artemis program. The NASA History Program is responsible for generating, disseminating, and preserving NASA’s remarkable history and providing a comprehensive understanding of the institutional, cultural, social, political, economic, technological, and scientific aspects of NASA’s activities in aeronautics and space. For more pictures like this one and to connect to NASA’s history, visit the Marshall History Program’s webpage. (NASA)