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The Marshall Star for June 26, 2024
By Wayne Smith
It was a super Saturday in the park to celebrate space and the Rocket City.
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center joined Downtown Huntsville Inc. and other community partners to host NASA in the Park, a public outreach event that attracted thousands to Big Spring Park East in Huntsville on June 22.
NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director Joseph Pelfrey, second from left, presented Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle, third from left, with an Artemis I Certificate of Appreciation during NASA in the Park on June 22 at Huntsville’s Big Spring Park East. They are joined by Larry Leopard, Marshall associate director, technical, far left, and Rae Ann Meyer, Marshall deputy director. NASA/Charles Beason
And the reach of the event may go far beyond North Alabama in the years ahead, according to Huntsville Mayor Tommy Battle.
“Marshall Space Flight Center is the soul of space exploration,” said Battle, who was presented with an Artemis I Certificate of Appreciation by Marshall Director Joseph Pelfrey at the event. “Huntsville is proud of NASA’s leadership in space, and it was exciting for locals to see all of Marshall’s cool projects on display at NASA in the Park. Seeing thousands of people, particularly young people, engaged at the event shows the enthusiasm for space and science. This event may have inspired a future astronaut or scientist who will take man back to the Moon, and one day to Mars.”
Visitors to NASA in the Park get some relief from the heat underneath shade trees surrounding the canal that runs through Big Spring Park.NASA/Charles Beason
Attendees of all ages packed the park to enjoy NASA exhibits and science demonstrations, giveaways, food vendors, and live music at the event, which was from 10–2 p.m. About 14,000 people attended, according to official estimates. The greenspace in the heart of Huntsville offered a welcome respite from temperatures that reached the upper 90s on the first Saturday of summer.
An RS-25 engine display attracts visitors during NASA in the Park. The display was one of several exhibits at Big Spring Park East highlighting NASA missions.NASA/Charles Beason
“Thank you to all our Marshall team members who helped make this year’s NASA in the Park a huge success,” said Marshall Director Joseph Pelfrey. “It was truly incredible to see the overwhelming support and participation we received from our partners in government, industry, academia, and the community.”
Marshall Director Joseph Pelfrey, left, interviews NFL quarterback Joshua Dobbs at NASA in the Park. In addition to his football career, Dobbs has an aerospace engineering degree and is engaged in STEM outreach through his foundation, ASTROrdinary.NASA/Charles Beason
The exhibits at the park included NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Program, which is managed by Marshall, the RS-25 engine that will power the rocket, and the Human Landing System, which is also managed by Marshall.
Visitors to NASA in the Park participate in a game of cornhole in front of a display featuring Artemis and NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System). NASA/Charles Beason
Smith, a Media Fusion employee and the Marshall Star editor, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.
SLS Spotlight: Getting Ready for the First Crewed SLS Flights for ArtemisThe featured business unit for June at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center is SLS. Building off the legacies of the Mercury-Redstone rocket, mighty Saturn V, and the space shuttle, teams at Marshall are preparing for the first crewed missions under the agency’s Artemis campaign with NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Marshall manages the SLS Program.
Marshall teams are finishing outfitting and integration work on the major adapters for the SLS Block 1 configuration that will launch Artemis II and Artemis III. Beginning with Artemis IV, SLS will evolve into a larger, more powerful configuration called Block 1B. Already, development, test, manufacturing, and operation teams across Marshall – and across the country – are readying for its debut flight.
Learn more about SLS.
Below, meet some of the Marshall teammates who are working on the mega rocket.
Structural materials engineer Lauren Fisher stands in front of the launch vehicle stage adapter for the SLS rocket. The hardware will be used for the agency’s Artemis III mission that will land astronauts on the lunar surface. Being part of the Artemis Generation is incredibly inspiring for Fisher, who takes pride in her work supporting the first three Artemis missions, including Artemis II, the first crewed mission under Artemis, in 2025. “I’m literally building the hardware that will send the first woman to deep space,” Fisher said. “Watching our rocket take shape, I’m like ‘you see that thing? I did that; that’s mine. See that one? My team did that one. We did that, and see this?’” She beams with pride. “You can do that, too. Just being a part of the generation that’s changing the workforce and changing the space program – it gives me goosebumps.” (NASA/Sam Lott)
Bruce Askins desire to explore other worlds always made him want to be an astronaut. Though he did not become an astronaut, Askins has built a 42-year career at NASA, and, as the infrastructure management lead for NASA’s SLS Program at Marshall, Askins is an integral part for the next generation of explorers. Askins and his team are the gatekeepers and protectors of data and responsible for both cybersecurity and physical security for the SLS Program. Under Askins’ leadership, his team ensures all data is stored properly, that information about the rocket shared outside NASA is done with proper data markings, and access is given to those that need it. (NASA/Sam Lott)
Casey Wolfe.
Casey Wolfe, a Huntsville native, joined Marshall first as a Pathways intern in 2012. Now the assistant branch chief of the advanced manufacturing branch within the Materials and Processing Laboratory at Marshall, Wolfe and her branch support Artemis through composites and additive manufacturing work for the key elements of both the Block 1 and Block 1B SLS configurations. Wolfe led the manufacturing efforts on the composite payload adapter that will be housed inside the universal stage adapter as part of the Block 1B configuration, beginning with Artemis IV. The engineering development unit is currently undergoing structural testing in the West Test Area. “It’s an incredible feeling knowing that you are part of an effort that helps to inspire so many people,” Wolfe said. “My work has helped move the Artemis campaign forward in many different, directly helping to build and lay the foundation for the materials, processes, and manufacturing efforts that are assisting the advancement of humankind in space exploration.” (NASA/Sam Lott)
Launching a rocket to the Moon takes perseverance and diligence. Josh Whitehead – a world-class engineer, race-winning long-distance runner, and father – knows that it also takes a good attitude. “Positive energies are vital, particularly when working through challenges,” Whitehead said. “Challenges are opportunities to learn and grow. There’s always more than one way; always more than one solution.” Whitehead’s job as the associate manager for the SLS Stages Office supports design, development, certification, and operation of the 212-foot-tall SLS core stage. The massive core stage with two propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-cold propellant is one of the largest cryogenic propulsion rocket stages. Whitehead and his team are currently preparing to deliver the core stage that will power Artemis II and send a crew of four around the Moon to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. (NASA/Sam Lott)
Mat Bevill, the associate chief engineer for NASA’s SLS Program, stands in front of a four-segment solid rocket booster that powered the space shuttle at Marshall. As the associate chief engineer for the SLS Program, Bevill assists the program chief engineer by interfacing with each of the element chief engineers and helping make critical decisions for the development and flight of the SLS mega rocket that will power NASA’s Artemis campaign. With the launch of Artemis II, the first crewed test flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft, Bevill’s technical leadership and support for the SLS Chief Engineer’s Office will place him, once again, at a notable moment in time. “Think of me as the assistant coach,” Bevill said. “While the head coach is on the front line leading the team, I’m on the sidelines providing feedback and advising those efforts.” As a jack-of-all-trades, he enables progress in any way that he can, something he’s familiar with after 37 years with NASA. (NASA/Brandon Hancock)
Brent Gaddes got his start at Marshall supporting the Space Shuttle Program as it made history in low Earth orbit. Now, his work is taking human deep space exploration to the Moon and beyond with NASA’s SLS rocket. As the lead for the Orion stage adapter and payload adapter in the SLS Spacecraft/Payload Integration & Evolution Office, Gaddes is responsible for managing the teams that design, test, and build the Orion stage adapter for the first three Artemis flights, as well as the payload adapter for the future SLS Block 1B configuration. It means having his eye on a lot of moving parts: the Artemis II Orion stage adapter is awaiting shipment to NASA Kennedy later this year, while the major structure for the Artemis III Orion stage adapter is complete with installations of its avionics unit and diaphragm to come as Marshall test teams continue testing and analysis on an engineering development unit of the Artemis IV payload adapter. Gaddes was born in Decatur, Alabama, but grew up a few hours away in Brentwood, Tennessee. His love of space has stayed with him most of his life: “Seeing the Apollo missions on TV as a child led to a fascination with one of humankind’s most remarkable achievements,” Gaddes said. “To work for NASA has fulfilled a dream of mine, and now to be involved with sending humans back to the Moon is truly an incredible privilege and blessing!” (NASA/Sam Lott)
Gwen Artis started her career at NASA as one of the first high school summer interns at Marshall. Although she briefly relocated to Houston to work with retired astronaut Mae Jemison – the first woman of color to go to space – the majority of Artis’ 40-year career has centered at Marshall, where she has worked on a variety of programs including Spacelab, the Chandra X-Ray Observatory, in-space propulsion, SERVIR, and SLS. As systems engineer professional expert for Jacobs with the Jacobs Space Exploration Group ESSCA contract, Artis assists with the management and oversite of the production for each of the launch vehicle stage adapters for the first three SLS flights for Artemis I, II, and III. The cone-shaped adapter partially encloses the rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage and serves as a key connector to the core stage below it and the upper stage above it. “Marshall has made and led countless contributions in technology advancement and human space exploration and to be a small part of that legacy, and particularly a part of the Artemis Generation, is inconceivable,” Artis said. “I constantly share with great enthusiasm how blessed I am to endeavor into this next great era of human space exploration in hopes that my experiences, my personal story, will embolden others and encourage future engineers, scientists, astronauts, technologists, and all other contributors of space exploration.” (NASA/Sam Lott)
Marshall Juneteenth Festival Honors Black History, AccomplishmentsBlack Employees and Allies at Marshall (BEAM), NASA Marshall Space Flight Center’s Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity, and Harambee hosted a Juneteenth Festival on June 17. The event was in Activities Building 4316 for Marshall team members.
From left, Marshall’s Tawnya Laughinghouse and Alix Martin, and Joseph Price from Jacobs participate in a panel discussion June 17 during the Juneteenth Festival at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The festival’s theme was “Their Wildest Dreams.”NASA/Charles Beason
The theme for Juneteenth 2024 was “Their Wildest Dreams,” in honor of Black history and the present accomplishments of African American employees. The festival featured panelists, vendors, food trucks, and more.
“The Juneteenth Festival has become an event that BEAM looks forward to planning for Marshall team members, and we have enjoyed seeing the growth in attendance over the past four years,” said Amanda Otieno, an equal employment specialist in the Office of Diversity & Equal Opportunity and a BEAM member. “Inclusion and cultural awareness are vital for creating a safe and supporting workforce and it’s great to see the center come together to celebrate the significance of the day, but also to learn about and appreciate different cultures. Together we are building a workforce that not only respects but thrives on diversity.”
Marshall team member Andrea Brown sings with her daughter, Jaya Brown, at the Juneteenth Festival.NASA/Charles Beason
Juneteenth is the oldest nationally celebrated event marking the end of slavery in the United States. BEAM is an employee resource group at Marshall, and Harambee is an employee resource group for Jacobs. To learn more or join BEAM, Marshall team members can email Otieno.
Black Space Week 2024: A Conversation with the ‘Passtronaut’ – NFL quarterback Joshua Dobbs As part of Black Space Week (June 16-22), NASA had a conversation with NFL quarterback Joshua Dobbs, also known as the “Passtronaut.” In addition to his football career, Dobbs holds an aerospace engineering degree, and has a passion for space and STEM education. NASA’s Gary Willis sat down for a conversation about Dobbs’ life on and off the field, and how his interests guide his professional and personal journey. Dobbs also attended the NASA in the Park event June 22 at Huntsville’s Big Spring Park East. The event was hosted by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center and Downtown Huntsville Inc. (NASA) Take 5 with Andrew SchnellBy Wayne Smith
Andrew Schnell grew up in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, just a two-hour trip from the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville.
Being nearby, the museum was an obvious attraction because of Schnell’s interest in space exploration as a child. So, too, was a journey toward a long career with NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Andrew Schnell is the acting manager of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center.NASA/Charles Beason
“I remember being fascinated with NASA and the Space Shuttle Program from the beginning, and my parents were happy to foster my interest,” said Schnell, the acting manager of NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory at Marshall. “We probably visited the Space & Rocket Center once a year, and we toured Kennedy Space Center when I was young. So, when I decided to pursue engineering, NASA was just the obvious place for me.”
As Chandra’s acting project manager today, Schnell and his team monitor the observatory’s operations, “making sure it continues to meet its obligations to the international community of astronomers and astrophysicists that we serve.”
Launched July 23, 1999, NASA is celebrating 25 years of Chandra helping to unravel the secrets of the universe. The observatory is a telescope specially designed to detect X-ray emission from very hot regions of the universe such as exploded stars, clusters of galaxies, and matter around black holes. Marshall has served as home for the Chandra Program Office since its inception.
NASA’s flagship mission for X-ray astronomy, Chandra continues to make contributions to astronomers and astrophysicists. Schnell said what he impresses him most about the observatory is Chandra’s ability to actively contribute to other science missions.
“Over the past year, more than 50 Chandra observations were coordinated with observatories like the James Webb Space Telescope, Hubble, and Marshall’s own IXPE (Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer),” Schnell said. “Our team can respond to a request in a few days, giving astronomers the unique opportunity to observe the same phenomena in multiple wavelengths.”
And 15 years into his NASA career, Schnell said the entire Chandra team continues to motivate him.
“Every one of them is a world-class scientist or engineer,” Schnell said. “Many of them have spent their entire careers keeping Chandra thriving for almost 25 years now with no servicing missions. They know the observatory inside and out, down to the wiring. It’s amazing watching them troubleshoot a problem in real time. They motivate me to do the best job I can do. I don’t want to let such an amazing team down.”
Question: What excites you most about the future of human space exploration, or your NASA work, and your team’s role it?
Schnell: The thing that excites me the most about working with Chandra is that not only are we helping scientists rewrite our understanding of the universe today, but the data we collect with Chandra now will answer questions that scientists haven’t even asked yet. Years from now, an astrophysicist, maybe one who hasn’t been born yet, is going to have a theory about how some aspect of the universe works, and they’re going to use the data we’re collecting right now to test their theory.
Schnell smiles during a visit to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in 1984. Photo courtesy of Andrew Schnell
Chandra is the only X-ray observatory of its caliber flying today, and its replacement isn’t even on the drawing board. It’s really important that we continue to keep it operating, pulling in every bit of data we can for tomorrow’s astrophysicists.
Question: What has been the proudest moment of your career and why?
Schnell: A few years ago, I coached a team of summer interns as they built a CubeSat-scale pulsed plasma thruster and tested it in a vacuum chamber. They won one of the research awards at the expo that summer, with a big check and everything. It was one of the coolest things I’ve ever been a part of.
Question: Who or what inspired you to pursue an education/career that led you to NASA and Marshall?
Schnell: I was a summer intern at Marshall in 2001 and 2002, working with Mike Tinker, who was a structural engineer here in the Engineering Directorate. Mike would mentor several interns every summer, pushing us to write conference papers based on our projects. I will never forget his kindness and his willingness to work with interns every summer, all while managing his other tasks. He inspired me, not only to pursue a career at NASA, but to seek out opportunities to serve as a mentor for interns, co-ops, and younger engineers.
Question: What advice do you have for employees early in their NASA career or those in new leadership roles?
Schnell: I’ve seen how easy it is for younger engineers to lose some confidence when they start working here. They’ll measure themselves against their coworkers and think they’ll never be that good, that they’re imposters, that it’s a fluke that they’re working here. I would tell them that no one becomes a NASA employee or a NASA contractor by accident. You are meant to be here. Be kind to yourself, bring your full self to work every day, and you’ll be an expert in your discipline before you realize it.
Question: What do you enjoy doing with your time while away from work?
Schnell: I enjoy drawing and making comics. And as a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, I try to watch as many Cincinnati Reds games as I can during baseball season.
Smith, a Media Fusion employee and the Marshall Star editor, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.
Chandra Peers into Densest, Weirdest StarsThe supernova remnant 3C 58 contains a spinning neutron star, known as PSR J0205+6449, at its center. Astronomers studied this neutron star and others like it to probe the nature of matter inside these very dense objects. A new study, made using NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and ESA’s XMM-Newton, reveals that the interiors of neutron stars may contain a type of ultra-dense matter not found anywhere else in the Universe.
In this image of 3C 58, low-energy X-rays are colored red, medium-energy X-rays are green, and the high-energy band of X-rays is shown in blue. The X-ray data have been combined with an optical image in yellow from the Digitized Sky Survey. The Chandra data show that the rapidly rotating neutron star (also known as a “pulsar”) at the center is surrounded by a torus of X-ray emission and a jet that extends for several light-years.X-ray: NASA/CXC/ICE-CSIC/A. Marino et al.; Optical: SDSS; Image Processing: NASA/CXC/SAO/J. MajorIn this image of 3C 58, low-energy X-rays are colored red, medium-energy X-rays are green, and the high-energy band of X-rays is shown in blue. The X-ray data have been combined with an optical image in yellow from the Digitized Sky Survey. The Chandra data show that the rapidly rotating neutron star (also known as a “pulsar”) at the center is surrounded by a torus of X-ray emission and a jet that extends for several light-years. The optical data shows stars in the field.
The team in this new study analyzed previously released data from neutron stars to determine the so-called equation of state. This refers to the basic properties of the neutron stars including the pressures and temperatures in different parts of their interiors.
The authors used machine learning, a type of artificial intelligence, to compare the data to different equations of state. Their results imply that a significant fraction of the equations of state – the ones that do not include the capability for rapid cooling at higher masses – can be ruled out.
The researchers capitalized on some neutron stars in the study being located in supernova remnants, including 3C 58. Since astronomers have age estimates of the supernova remnants, they also have the ages of the neutron stars that were created during the explosions that created both the remnants and the neutron stars. The astronomers found that the neutron star in 3C 58 and two others were much cooler than the rest of the neutron stars in the study.
The team thinks that part of the explanation for the rapid cooling is that these neutron stars are more massive than most of the rest. Because more massive neutron stars have more particles, special processes that cause neutron stars to cool more rapidly might be triggered.
One possibility for what is inside these neutron stars is a type of radioactive decay near their centers where neutrinos – low mass particles that easily travel through matter – carry away much of the energy and heat, causing rapid cooling.
Another possibility is that there are types of exotic matter found in the centers of these more rapidly cooling neutron stars.
The Nature Astronomy paper describing these results is available here. The authors of the paper are Alessio Marino (Institute of Space Sciences (ICE) in Barcelona, Spain), Clara Dehman (ICE), Konstantinos Kovlakas (ICE), Nanda Rea (ICE), J. A. Pons (University of Alicante in Spain), and Daniele Viganò (ICE).
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the Chandra program. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory’s Chandra X-ray Center controls science from Cambridge Massachusetts and flight operations from Burlington, Massachusetts.
Growing Interest: Marshall Hosts Pollinator Week Event
Team members at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center learn about the center’s pollinator garden from Joni Melson, left, and Kristen Wagner during a Pollinator Week event June 17. The Pollinator Club at Marshall hosted the event, showing the benefits of cultivating a healthy biosphere of flowering plants and other greenery to support local populations of bees, butterflies, and other pollinating insects. Attendees also received free native plants and seeds. The event was part of Pollinator Week, the annual nationwide environmental activity held this year from June 17-23. The center’s pollinator garden is situated between Building 4315 and the Redstone Arsenal walking trail. The garden is a volunteer-maintained collection of more than 160 plants, mostly drought-tolerant perennials which will draw pollinating insects. The habitat, a registered Monarch Waystation, is certified with the North American Butterfly Association. Marshall team members can learn more about the Pollinator Club on Inside Marshall. (NASA/Charles Beason)
NASA, Partners Conduct Fifth Asteroid Impact Exercise, Release SummaryFor the benefit of all, NASA released a summary June 20 of the fifth biennial Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise. NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office, in partnership with FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) and with the assistance of the U.S. Department of State Office of Space Affairs, convened the tabletop exercise to inform and assess our ability as a nation to respond effectively to the threat of a potentially hazardous asteroid or comet.
Representatives from NASA, FEMA, and the planetary defense community participate in the 5th Planetary Defense Interagency Tabletop Exercise to inform and assess our ability as a nation to respond effectively to the threat of a potentially hazardous asteroid or comet.NASA/JHU-APL/Ed Whitman
Although there are no known significant asteroid impact threats for the foreseeable future, hypothetical exercises provide valuable insights by exploring the risks, response options, and opportunities for collaboration posed by varying scenarios, from minor regional damage with little warning to potential global catastrophes predicted years or even decades in the future.
“The uncertainties in these initial conditions for the exercise allowed participants to consider a particularly challenging set of circumstances,” said Lindley Johnson, planetary defense officer emeritus NASA Headquarters. “A large asteroid impact is potentially the only natural disaster humanity has the technology to predict years in advance and take action to prevent.”
During the exercise, participants considered potential national and global responses to a hypothetical scenario in which a never-before-detected asteroid was identified that had, according to initial calculations, a 72% chance of hitting Earth in approximately 14 years. The preliminary observations described in the exercise, however, were not sufficient to precisely determine the asteroid’s size, composition, and long-term trajectory. To complicate this year’s hypothetical scenario, essential follow-up observations would have to be delayed for at least seven months – a critical loss of time – as the asteroid passed behind the Sun as seen from Earth’s vantage point in space.
Conducting exercises enable government stakeholders to identify and resolve potential issues as part of preparation for any real-world situation. It was held in April at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) in Laurel, Maryland, and brought together nearly 100 representatives from across U.S. government agencies and, for the first time, international collaborators on planetary defense.
“Our mission is helping people before, during, and after disasters,” said Leviticus “L.A.” Lewis, FEMA detailee to NASA’s Planetary Defense Coordination Office. “We work across the country every day before disasters happen to help people and communities understand and prepare for possible risks. In the event of a potential asteroid impact, FEMA would be a leading player in interagency coordination.”
This exercise was the first to use data from NASA’s DART (Double Asteroid Redirection Test) mission, the first in-space demonstration of a technology for defending Earth against potential asteroid impacts. The DART spacecraft, which impacted the asteroid moonlet Dimorphos on Sept. 26, 2022, confirmed a kinetic impactor could change the trajectory of an asteroid. Applying this or any type of technology to an actual impact threat would require many years of advance planning.
To help ensure humanity will have the time needed to evaluate and respond to a potentially hazardous asteroid or comet, NASA continues the development of its NEO Surveyor (Near-Earth Object Surveyor), an infrared space telescope designed specifically to expedite our ability to discover and characterize most of the potentially hazardous near-Earth objects many years before they could become an impact threat. The agency’s NEO Surveyor’s proposed launch date is set for June 2028.
NASA will publish a complete after-action report for the tabletop exercise later, which will include strengths and gaps identified from analysis of the response, other discussions during the exercise, and recommendations for improvement.
“These outcomes will help to shape future exercises and studies to ensure NASA and other government agencies continue improving planetary defense preparedness,” said Johnson.
NASA established the Planetary Defense Coordination Office in 2016 to manage the agency’s ongoing planetary-defense efforts. Johns Hopkins APL managed the DART mission for NASA as a project of the agency’s Planetary Missions Program Office, which is at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center.
Learn more about planetary defense at NASA.
NASA selects SpaceX to build deorbit vehicle for International Space Station
Is the "Blaze Star" About to Blow? You May Be the First to Know
T Coronae Borealis is a nova star that's due to suddenly — and briefly — brighten. Here's how to see this once-in-a-lifetime event.
The post Is the "Blaze Star" About to Blow? You May Be the First to Know appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
China's Chang'e 6 Has Returned with Pieces from the Farside of the Moon
China’s Chang’e 6 mission has brought back material from the farside of the Moon.
The post China's Chang'e 6 Has Returned with Pieces from the Farside of the Moon appeared first on Sky & Telescope.
Precision ultrasound could treat deep parts of brain without surgery
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See a starburst galaxy, ablaze with explosive star birth, devouring dwarf galaxies (video)
NASA Selects International Space Station US Deorbit Vehicle
NASA is fostering continued scientific, educational, and technological developments in low Earth orbit to benefit humanity, while also supporting deep space exploration at the Moon and Mars. As the agency transitions to commercially owned space destinations closer to home, it is crucial to prepare for the safe and responsible deorbit of the International Space Station in a controlled manner after the end of its operational life in 2030.
NASA announced SpaceX has been selected to develop and deliver the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle that will provide the capability to deorbit the space station and ensure avoidance of risk to populated areas.
“Selecting a U.S. Deorbit Vehicle for the International Space Station will help NASA and its international partners ensure a safe and responsible transition in low Earth orbit at the end of station operations. This decision also supports NASA’s plans for future commercial destinations and allows for the continued use of space near Earth,” said Ken Bowersox, associate administrator for Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The orbital laboratory remains a blueprint for science, exploration, and partnerships in space for the benefit of all.”
While the company will develop the deorbit spacecraft, NASA will take ownership after development and operate it throughout its mission. Along with the space station, it is expected to destructively breakup as part of the re-entry process.
Since 1998, five space agencies, CSA (Canadian Space Agency), ESA (European Space Agency), JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), NASA (National Aeronautics and Space Administration), and State Space Corporation Roscosmos, have operated the International Space Station with each agency responsible for managing and controlling the hardware it provides. The station was designed to be interdependent and relies on contributions from across the partnership to function. The United States, Japan, Canada, and the participating countries of ESA have committed to operating the station through 2030. Russia has committed to continued station operations through at least 2028. The safe deorbit of the International Space Station is the responsibility of all five space agencies.
The single-award contract has a total potential value of $843 million. The launch service for the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle will be a future procurement.
In its 24th year of continuously crewed operations, the space station is a unique scientific platform where crew members conduct experiments across multiple disciplines of research, including Earth and space science, biology, human physiology, physical sciences, and technology demonstrations not possible on Earth. Crews living aboard station are the hands of thousands of researchers on the ground having conducted more than 3,300 experiments in microgravity. Station is the cornerstone of space commerce, from commercial crew and cargo partnerships to commercial research and national lab research, and lessons learned aboard International Space Station are helping to pass the torch to future commercial stations.
Learn more about space station operations at:
-end-
Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-356-1100
joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov
James Webb Space Telescope spies strange shapes above Jupiter's Great Red Spot (image)
40 Years Ago: STS-41D – First Space Shuttle Launch Pad Abort
In 1983, NASA received delivery of Discovery, the third space qualified vehicle in the agency’s space shuttle fleet. During the launch attempt for the STS-41D mission on June 26, 1984, Discovery’s onboard computers halted the countdown four seconds before liftoff, and after two of its main engines had already ignited. The six astronauts safely egressed the orbiter. This first on-the-pad abort of the shuttle program required the vehicle’s return to its assembly building for replacement of the faulty engine that caused the shutdown. The resulting two-month delay caused a shuffling of the mission’s payloads, but Discovery finally lifted off on Aug. 30, and the astronauts completed a successful six-day mission, deploying three commercial satellites, testing a new solar array, and conducting a commercial biotechnology experiment.
Left: Space shuttle Discovery rolls out of Rockwell’s Palmdale facility. Middle: Discovery atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft during the cross-country ferry flight. Right: Discovery arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Discovery rolled out of Rockwell International’s plant in Palmdale, California, on Oct. 16, 1983. Five of the six crew members assigned to its first flight attended the ceremony. Workers trucked Discovery overland from Palmdale to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB). Discovery arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) on Nov. 9 after a cross-country ferry flight from Edwards, following a two-day stopover at Vandenberg Air Force, now Space Force, Base in California, atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, a modified Boeing 747. Discovery, named after several historical ships of exploration, incorporated manufacturing lessons learned from the first orbiters as well as through the use of more advanced materials. The new vehicle weighed nearly 8,000 pounds less than its sister ship Columbia and 700 pounds less than Challenger.
Left: The STS-41D crew patch. Right: The STS-41D crew of R. Michael “Mike” Mullane, front row left, Steven A. Hawley, Henry W. “Hank” Hartsfield, and Michael D. Coats; and Charles D. Walker, back row left, and Judith A. Resnik.
To fly Discovery’s first flight, originally designated STS-12 and later renamed STS-41D, in February 1983 NASA assigned Commander Henry W. Hartsfield, a veteran of STS-4, and first-time flyers Pilot Michael L. Coats, and Mission Specialists R. Michael Mullane, Steven A. Hawley, and Judith A. Resnik, all from the 1978 class of astronauts. In May 1983, NASA announced the addition of Charles D. Walker, an employee of the McDonnell Douglas Corporation, to the crew, flying as the first commercial payload specialist. He would operate the company’s Continuous Flow Electrophoresis System (CFES) experiment. The mission’s primary payloads included the Leasat-1 (formerly known as Syncom IV-1) commercial communications satellite and OAST-1, three experiments from NASA’s Office of Aeronautics and Space Technology, including the Solar Array Experiment, a 105-foot long lightweight deployable and retractable solar array.
Left: Workers in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida lift Discovery to mate it with its external tank and solid rocket boosters. Middle: Initial rollout of Discovery from the VAB to Launch Pad 39A on May 19, 1984. Right: The Flight Readiness Firing on June 2.
The day after its arrival at KSC, workers towed Discovery from the SLF to the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) to being preparing it for its first space flight. Between Dec. 9, 1983, and Jan. 10, 1984, it entered temporary storage in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to allow postflight processing of Columbia in the OPF following STS-9. Workers returned Discovery to the OPF for final processing, towing it to the VAB on May 12 for mating with its External Tank (ET) and Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs). The completed stack rolled out to Launch Pad 39A on May 19. On June 2, engineers successfully completed an 18-second Flight Readiness Firing of the shuttle main engines. Post test inspections revealed a debonding of a thermal shield in main engine number 1’s combustion chamber, requiring its replacement at the pad. The work pushed the planned launch date back three days to June 25.
Left: The June 26 launch abort. Right: Discovery’s three main engines hours after the launch abort.
The failure of the shuttle’s backup General Purpose Computer (GPC) caused a one-day delay of the first launch attempt on June 25. On June 26, the countdown proceeded smoothly and at T minus 6.6 seconds the orbiter’s GPCs began the serial ignition sequence of the three main engines. Normally, the three engines ignite at 0.12-second intervals to ease stress on the system and to allow onboard computers to diagnose any problems. Engines number 2 and 3, forming the base of the triangle closest to the body flap, ignited as planned, but engine number 1 at the apex of the triangle and nearest the vertical tail, did not ignite at all. This caused the Redundant Set Launch Sequencer (RSLS) to shut the two working engines down, calling an abort to the countdown at T minus 4 seconds. To ease the tension, Hawley reportedly said, “Gee, I thought we’d be a little higher at main engine cutoff.” The fact that engine number 1 had never ignited caused some momentary confusion as displays showed that the RSLS had not shut it down. A single engine still burning with the shuttle still on the pad would have led to a disaster. Once controllers and the onboard crew realized what had actually happened, they calmed down somewhat. What no one realized at the time is that a hydrogen fire, invisible to the naked eye, had broken out at the aft end of the orbiter. Had the crew evacuated at that time, they would have run through the invisible flames. The pad’s fire suppression system came on to deal with the fire, and when the crew did finally egress the shuttle, they received a good dousing of water. The crew returned safely, if a little drenched, to crew quarters. After ground teams assessed the cause of the abort, they made the decision to roll the stack back to the VAB, demate Discovery from the ET and SRBs and tow it back to the OPF. Workers replaced the faulty engine, and Discovery rolled back out to the launch pad on Aug. 9 for another launch attempt 20 days later, delayed by one day due to a software issue, and finally on Aug. 30, Discovery roared off its launch pad on a pillar of flame and within 8 minutes, NASA’s newest orbiter reached low Earth orbit.
Left: Gemini VI launch pad abort in December 1965. Right: Gemini VI crew of Thomas P. Stafford, left, and Walter M. Schirra.
Although the first on the pad abort of the space shuttle program, the June 1984 attempt to launch Discovery on STS-41D represented the second such incident in the American human spaceflight program. The dubious honor of the first on the pad abort belongs to Gemini VI. On Dec. 12, 1965, astronauts Walter M. Schirra and Thomas P. Stafford strapped into the spacecraft for their second launch attempt to rendezvous with Gemini VII. The countdown clock ticked down to zero, and the Titan-II rocket’s first stage engines ignited. And shut off after just 1.2 seconds. Although the mission clock aboard the spacecraft had started, the rocket had not lifted off, and Schirra made the split-second decision not to eject himself and Stafford from the spacecraft. Engineers later traced the cause of the abort to a dust cap inadvertently left in the engine compartment. After workers took care of that issue, Schirra and Stafford tried to launch again on Dec. 15, and the third time proved to be the charm.
Four space shuttle on-the-pad aborts. STS-51F in August 1985, left, STS-55 in March 1993, STS-51 in August 1993, and STS-68 in August 1994.
In the 10 years following the June 1984 abort, four additional shuttle launch attempts ended with an RSLS abort after at least one main engine had ignited.
July 12, 1985, STS-51F space shuttle Challenger
The RSLS executed a shutdown at T minus 3 seconds, after all three main engines had ignited, because the number two main engine’s chamber coolant valve did not close as rapidly as needed for startup. Investigations revealed a faulty sensor as the real culprit, and workers replaced it at the pad. Challenger launched successfully on July 29, but during ascent engine number 1 shut down, the only inflight failure of a main engine, resulting in the only abort to orbit of the program. Although the shuttle achieved a slightly lower than planned orbit, the mission met most of its science objectives.
March 22, 1993, STS-55 space shuttle Columbia
Following a trouble-free countdown, Columbia’s three main engines came to life at as planned, but three seconds later, the RSLS shut them all down when it detected that engine number 3 had not come up to full power. A tiny fragment of rubber caused a valve in the liquid oxygen system to leak, preventing the engine from fully starting. Columbia borrowed three main engines from Endeavour, and STS-55 took off on April 26 to carry out its German Spacelab-D2 mission.
Aug. 12, 1993, STS-51 space shuttle Discovery
After a trouble-free preflight processing and countdown, Discovery’s three main engines ignited as planned at T minus 6.6 seconds. Three seconds later, all three engines shut down. Investigation revealed the cause as a faulty sensor that monitors fuel flow through main engine number 2. Workers replaced all three engines at the pad, and Discovery took off on Sept. 12 to carry out its mission.
Aug. 18, 1994, STS-68 space shuttle Endeavour
Following a smooth countdown, Endeavour’s three main engines began their startup sequence at T minus 6.6 seconds. The GLS computers detected a problem with the No. 3 main engine’s High Pressure Oxidizer Turbine. One of its sensors detected a dangerously high discharge temperature, exceeding the rules of the Launch Commit Criteria, and Endeavour’s computers halted the countdown a mere 1.9 seconds before liftoff. Workers rolled Endeavour back to the VAB, replacing its three main engines with ones borrowed from Atlantis. STS-68 finally took off on Sept. 30 and successfully completed its radar mapping mission. NASA astronaut Daniel W. Bursch holds the distinction as the only person to have experienced two on-the-pad aborts, as he served as a mission specialist on both STS-51 and STS-68.
The lessons learned from these on-the-pad abort experiences can inform current and future programs. For example, the Space Launch System (SLS) uses main engines leftover from the space shuttle program to power its booster stage. And operationally, other launcher systems can learn from these experiences and safely manage similar future events.
Read recollections of the STS-41D mission by Hartsfield, Coats, Mullane, Hawley, and Walker in their oral histories with the JSC History Office.
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Detective Work Enables Perseverance Team to Revive SHERLOC Instrument
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Imagery captured by a navigation camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on Jan. 23 shows the position of a cover on the SHERLOC instrument. The cover had become stuck several weeks earlier but the rover team has since found a way to address the issue so the instrument can continue to operate.NASA/JPL-CaltechAfter six months of effort, an instrument that helps the Mars rover look for potential signs of ancient microbial life has come back online.
The SHERLOC (Scanning Habitable Environments with Raman & Luminescence for Organics and Chemicals) instrument aboard NASA’s Perseverance Mars rover has analyzed a rock target with its spectrometer and camera for the first time since encountering an issue this past January. The instrument plays a key role in the mission’s search for signs of ancient microbial life on Mars. Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California confirmed on June 17 that the instrument succeeded in collecting data.
“Six months of running diagnostics, testing, imagery and data analysis, troubleshooting, and retesting couldn’t come with a better conclusion,” said SHERLOC principal investigator Kevin Hand of JPL.
Imagery captured by a navigation camera aboard NASA’s Perseverance rover on Jan. 23 shows the position of a cover on the SHERLOC instrument. The cover had become stuck several weeks earlier but the rover team has since found a way to address the issue so the instrument can continue to operate.NASA/JPL-Caltech
Mounted on the rover’s robotic arm, SHERLOC uses two cameras and a laser spectrometer to search for organic compounds and minerals in rocks that have been altered in watery environments and may reveal signs of past microbial life. On Jan. 6, a movable lens cover designed to protect the instrument’s spectrometer and one of its cameras from dust became frozen in a position that prevented SHERLOC from collecting data.
Analysis by the SHERLOC team pointed to the malfunction of a small motor responsible for moving the protective lens cover as well as adjusting focus for the spectrometer and the Autofocus and Context Imager (ACI) camera. By testing potential solutions on a duplicate SHERLOC instrument at JPL, the team began a long, meticulous evaluation process to see if, and how, the lens cover could be moved into the open position.
Perseverance’s team used the SHERLOC instrument’s Autofocus and Context Imager to capture this image of its calibration target on May 11 to confirm an issue with a stuck lens cover had been resolved. A silhouette of the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes is at the center of the target.NASA/JPL-Caltech SHERLOC Sleuthing
Among many other steps taken, the team tried heating the lens cover’s small motor, commanding the rover’s robotic arm to rotate the SHERLOC instrument under different orientations with supporting Mastcam-Z imagery, rocking the mechanism back and forth to loosen any debris potentially jamming the lens cover, and even engaging the rover’s percussive drill to try jostling it loose. On March 3, imagery returned from Perseverance showed that the ACI cover had opened more than 180 degrees, clearing the imager’s field of view and enabling the ACI to be placed near its target.
“With the cover out of the way, a line of sight for the spectrometer and camera was established. We were halfway there,” said Kyle Uckert, SHERLOC deputy principal investigator at JPL. “We still needed a way to focus the instrument on a target. Without focus, SHERLOC images would be blurry and the spectral signal would be weak.”
Like any good ophthalmologist, the team set about figuring out SHERLOC’s prescription. Since they couldn’t adjust the focus of the instrument’s optics, they relied on the rover’s robotic arm to make minute adjustments in the distance between SHERLOC and its target in order to get the best image resolution. SHERLOC was commanded to take pictures of its calibration target so that the team could check the effectiveness of this approach.
This image of NASA’s Perseverance rover gathering data on the “Walhalla Glades” abrasion was taken in the “Bright Angel” region of Jezero Crater by one of the rover’s front hazard avoidance cameras on June 14. The WATSON camera on the SHERLOC instrument is closest to the Martian surface.NASA/JPL-Caltech
“The rover’s robotic arm is amazing. It can be commanded in small, quarter-millimeter steps to help us evaluate SHERLOC’s new focus position, and it can place SHERLOC with high accuracy on a target,” said Uckert. “After testing first on Earth and then on Mars, we figured out the best distance for the robotic arm to place SHERLOC is about 40 millimeters,” or 1.58 inches. “At that distance, the data we collect should be as good as ever.”
Confirmation of that fine positioning of the ACI on a Martian rock target came down on May 20. The verification on June 17 that the spectrometer is also functional checked the team’s last box, confirming that SHERLOC is operational.
“Mars is hard, and bringing instruments back from the brink is even harder,” said Perseverance project manager Art Thompson of JPL. “But the team never gave up. With SHERLOC back online, we’re continuing our explorations and sample collection with a full complement of science instruments.”
Perseverance is in the later stages of its fourth science campaign, looking for evidence of carbonate and olivine deposits in the “Margin Unit,” an area along the inside of Jezero Crater’s rim. On Earth, carbonates typically form in the shallows of freshwater or alkaline lakes. It’s hypothesized that this also might be the case for the Margin Unit, which formed over 3 billion years ago.
More About the MissionA key objective of Perseverance’s mission on Mars is astrobiology, including caching samples that may contain signs of ancient microbial life. The rover will characterize the planet’s geology and past climate, pave the way for human exploration of the Red Planet, and be the first mission to collect and cache Martian rock and regolith.
Subsequent NASA missions, in cooperation with ESA (European Space Agency), would send spacecraft to Mars to collect these sealed samples from the surface and return them to Earth for in-depth analysis.
The Mars 2020 Perseverance mission is part of NASA’s Moon to Mars exploration approach, which includes Artemis missions to the Moon that will help prepare for human exploration of the Red Planet.
NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is managed for the agency by Caltech, built and manages operations of the Perseverance rover.
For more about Perseverance:
science.nasa.gov/mission/mars-2020-perseverance
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Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
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