National Aeronautics and Space Administration 

Chronology of KSC and KSC Related 

Events for 2011 

Elaine E. Liston 

NASA /TM-2012-216309 

www.nasa.gov 

February 2012 
Chronology of KSC and KSC Related 

Events for 2011 

Elaine E. Liston, 

Abacus Technology Corporation, Kennedy Space Center, Florida 

NASA/TM-2012-216309 February 2012 
FOREWORD 

This 2011 Chronology is published to describe and document KSC's role in NASA's 

progress. 

Materials for this Chronology were selected from a number of published sources. The 

document records KSC events of interest to historians and other researchers. 

Arrangement is by date of occurrence, though the source cited may be dated one or more 

days after the event. 

Materials were researched and compiled for publication by Archivist Elaine E. Liston. 

Comments on the Chronology should be directed to the John F. Kennedy Space Center, 

Archives, LIBRARY-E, Kennedy Space Center, Florida, 32899. The Archivist may also 

be reached by e-mail at Elaine.Liston@nasa.gov, or (321) 867-1515. 
Table of Contents 

January ...... , ....................................................................... l 

February ............................................................................ 19 

March ................................................................................ 52 

April .................................................................................. 82 

May .................................................................................. 121 

June ................................................................................... 154 

u~y .................................................................................... 185 

August. .............................................................................. 220 

September ......................................................................... 248 

October ............................................................................. 263 

November ......................................................................... 275 

December .......................................................................... 290 

Appendix A ....................................................................... 299 

Appendix B ....................................................................... 300 

Appendix C ....................................................................... 30 I 
JANUARY 

January 3: USA to lay off 150 this week 

Lead space shuttle contractor United Space Alliance plans to lay off about 150 employees at Kennedy 

Space Center this week. The local layoffs, effective Friday, are the fust of potentially several thousand 

tills year as the Houston-based company undergoes a dramatic downsizing in preparation for the fmal 

shuttle flight. The timing of the upcoming cuts was not impacted by the delay in shuttle Discovery's 

flight from November until at least February due to tecbrucal problems. The affected employees were 

given 60 days notice and are eligible for severance packages based on their years of service and an 

additional "critical skills" bonus for some. The departures include both voluntary and involuntary layoffs; 

a breakdown was not immediately available. USA expects to have slightly fewer than 4,000 Florida 

employees after the upcoming layoffs, and about 6,500 companywide. Cuts will probably occur on a 

quarterly basis, but the timing and size will depend on the schedule for flying out the remaining shuttle 

missions. Endeavour is targeted to launch April I and Atlantis could fly over the summer, though that 

mission is not yet officially budgeted or included on the flight manifest. The biggest job losses will 

follow the final shuttle's return home. KSC's workforce now stands at about 13,200, including roughly 

11,100 contractors and 2,100 civil servants. The most significant contractor cuts to date occurred Oct. 1, 

when USA let go nearly 900 employees and other companies trimmed another 200 positions. Web 

posted. (2011). [USA to lay off 150 this week [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/ 

[2011, January 3].] 

Study Could Leave Astronauts With Pink Slips 

NASA may have to get rid of some of its astronauts. A cut to the astronaut corps is under review. NASA 

has 63 astronauts, all of whom have flown in space. It has nine astronaut trainees who are hoping for their 

fust flights, but it has no launches planned from the United States after the shuttle retires. After the 

Kennedy Space Center's last two or three launches, a federal panel is considering whether the agency 

really needs more than 70 astronauts. The astronauts of the 1960s had a chance to move onto Sky lab and 

the shuttle, but now NASA has no other missions planned. Several astronauts have resigned recently. The 

report, from the National Academy of Sciences, is expected to be complete in several months. Web 

posted. (2011). [Study Could Leave Astronauts With Pink Slips [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.wesh.com/ [2011, January 3].] 

Discovery's tank to get reinforcement before flight 

Shuttle program managers today gave the go-ahead to proceed with some modifications to Discovery's 

external tank in preparation for a flight still targeted for early February. Technicians plan to reinforce 34 

of the 108 structural support beams called "stringers" on the tank' mid-section, a handful ofwhlch were 

found to have cracked after a Nov. 5 launch attempt. The stringers being reinforced are located on two 

panels where solid rocket boosters connect to the intertank and are the ones subjected to the most stress 

during flight. They do not include the five stringers that have shown cracks, which are being repaired 

separately. The modification being implemented fastens a small strip of metal called a "radius block" to 

the tops of the stringers to limit the amount they flex. NASA expects the work to be completed within a 

week, preserving the option of launchlng Discovery during an eight-day window that opens Feb. 3. 

However, the next program meeting on Thursday will review more engineering analysis that could lead to 

a decision to reinforce the tops of all of the stringers. That would push Discovery's launch into the next 

window, which opens Feb. 27. Web posted. (201 1). [Discovery's tank to get reinforcement before flight 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.corn/the jlame trench blog [2011 , January 3].] 

January 4: Space Florida Eyes More Launches with $48 Million DOD Contract 
Florida will be able to compete with spaceports across the country to launch satellites aboard ICBMs that 

will be decommissioned under the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) between the United 

States and Russia. The Department of Defense has also given a $48 mmion contract to Space Florida to 

support Minotaur launches from Cape Canaveral. Pat McCarthy, Space Florida's Director of Spaceport 

Operations, said that the DOD bas agreed to designate Cape Canaveral as one of the sites where converted 

ICBMs can be launched. Other sites include: Vandenberg AFB, California; Wallops Flight Facility, 

Virginia; Kodiak Launch Complex, Alaska; and the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the U.S. 

Marshall Islands. Web posted. (2011). [Space Florida Eyes More Launches as Agency Receives $48 

Million DOD Contract (Online]. Available WWW: http://www.parabolicarc.com/ [201 1, January4].] 

January 5: Bolden: third shuttle flight would be safe 

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden today reiterated a commitment to fly a third shuttle mission this 

year and said the agency has determined the mission would be safe. The 2010 NASA Authorization Act 

requests the flight pending an assessment of its safety, which Bolden said is not yet final. Since no rescue 

shuttle would be available, the mission dubbed STS-135 would rely in Soyuz spacecraft to gradually 

return crew members from the International Space Station. Speaking at an AIAA conference in Orlando, 

Bolden, a four-time shuttle flyer, discussed the shuttle's "huge benefit to society" and sadness that the 

program was coming an end. But be said he was excited about efforts to build up a commercial capability 

to provide access to low Earth orbit for cargo and people, saying it would allow NASA to focus on a 

sustainable exploration program. Answering a question from the audience, Bolden offered assurance 

Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station would remain the hub of human spaceflight 

for the foreseeable future. Web posted. (2011). [Bolden: third shuttle flight would be safe [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ thejlame trench blog [2011, January 5].) 

NASA To Meet Thursday About Potential Shuttle Modifications 

NASA managers will meet Thursday [January 6th] and talk about the possibility of additional 

modifications to shuttle Discovery's external tank, and any significant amount of extra work likely would 

push the orbiter's 39th and final flight back to Feb. 27 at the earliest. Discovery and six astronauts are 

tentatively scheduled to launch on Feb. 3, the opening of a seven-day opportunity to put the orbiter and its 

crew on course for a supply run to the International Space Station. The fleet leader's flight had been 

scheduled to launch in November. But NASA delayed the flight after discovering small cracks in support 

beams that stretch between the upper and lower parts of the 15-story propellant tank. NASA managers 

decided to roll the shuttle back to the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building for additional 

inspections. They subsequently ordered up modifications to 32 of the l 08 support beams on the 

"intertank" region of the bullet-shaped vessel. Brackets that will strengthen the beams are to be put in 

place and then foam insulation wiU be reapplied. Engineers now think the problem might be related to a 

mottled metal alloy that was used to manufacture the beams. Cracks only have been found on beams 

made with the mottled alloy, and tests have shown it is weaker and more susceptible to defects than 

beams made with other material. Managers at a Program Control Review Board meeting wiU talk about 

whether additional beams on the tank should be shored up before Discovery is hauled back out to launch 

pad 39A. Rollout now is slated for mid-January. The next launch window will extend from Feb. 27 to 

March 6. Discovery's crew intends to deliver a permanent storage module to the station along with other 

critical supplies and equipment. The mission will be the 133rd for the shuttle program and the first of only 

two or three more flights remaining before fl eet retirement. Endeavour is tentatively scheduled to launch 

to the station on April I. Congress bas authorized an additional mission that would fly aboard Atlantis 

this summer but money for the flight stiU must be appropriated. Web posted. (20 II). [NASA To Meet 

Thursday About Potential Shuttle Modifications [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [20 II , January 5].] 

January 7: USAF EEL V safe from Pentagon cuts 

2 
In a plan that would ultimately cut billions from existing Pentagon programs, at least one space project is 

safe, according to US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates. The US Air Force's Evolved Expendable 

Launch Vehicle (EEL V) program was among the projects Qates said would actually increase in 

procurement under his cost saving measures. The EEL V is necessary to "to assure access to space for 

both military and other government agencies while sustaining our industrial base," the Pentagon says. 

Funds to speed up the procurement would come from trinuning other air service programs, including 

consolidating two air operations centers in the US and two in Europe. The EELV, originally conceived in 

the 1990s, is replacing the US's legacy launch systems with two families of launch vehicles, common 

components and common infrastructure. Space-lift under the modernization project - which yielded the 

Boeing Delta IV and Lockheed Martin Atlas V - are an estimated 25 percent lower than launches with 

legacy Atlas, Delta and Titan space launch systems. Web posted. (2011). [USAF EELV safe from 

Pentagon cuts [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.flightglobal.com/ [2011, January 7].] 

Work on fuel tank pushes shuttle launch to late February 

Discovery won't launch before late February, as NASA continues investigating the cause of cracks on the 

shuttle's external tank and considers additional modifications intended to prevent more cracks. Kennedy 

Space Center teams already are preparing to bolster 32 structural support beams -- called stringers -- on 

the tank's mid-section, adding metal strips to add strength and limit how much they bend. Another 63 

stringers are expected to get similar support, but shuttle program managers on Thursday deferred a 

decision until engineers can confirm all the changes won't produce any unintended consequences. The 

managers don't expect to be ready to launch the shuttle in the next available window from Feb. 3 to 10. 

The next opportunity is likely between Feb. 27 and March 6. "That first window in February is no longer 

available based on the amount of work that's left to be done and testing they would like to complete," said 

Kyle Herring, a shuttle program spokesman at Johnson Space Center in Houston. An official target 

launch date is expected to be discussed next Thursday. Senior NASA officials Monday morning will be 

briefed on the status of the tank modifications and ongoing tests to determine what caused the cracks in 

five stringers. The first of those was found after a Nov. 5 launch scrub, when a crack in the orange 

insulating foam covering the surface of the 15-story tank revealed a damaged stringer below. More 

cracks were found through scans that imaged the hardware below intact foam. The cracked components 

are being repaired and most of the rest of the 108 stringers are likely to be strengthened with the metal 

strips called "radius blocks." A handful of the stringers have been determined to be made of a stronger 

aluminum alloy that is not expected to require reinforcement. Discovery had been tentatively scheduled 

to roll back out to launch pad 39A late next week if the stringer work was concluded. Now, it appears 

early February is the soonest Discovery might make its move. The shuttle's 11-day mission to deliver a 

module to the International Space Station is one of two or three planned this year before the fleet is 

retired. Endeavour is targeted to fly April 1. If funding is secured, Atlantis would fly the fmal mission, 

possibly in late June. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Work on fuel tank pushes shuttle launch to late February 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , January 7].] 

USA lays off 143 KSC workers today 

United Space Alliance today is laying off 143 local shuttle workers. NASA's lead shuttle contractor is 

cutting staff as retirement of the shuttle fleet approaches later this year. The layoff affects a total of 248 

employees across the Houston-based company, including 100 in Texas and five in other locations. The 

majority of the layoffs were "self-nominated." All were eligible for severance packages. The reduction 

leaves USA with about 6,400 employees companywide, including about 3,900 in Florida. Outgoing 

employees here are being processed this morning at the NASA Shuttle Logistics Depot facility in Cape 

Canaveral. A next round of layoffs is expected in the spring. Web posted. (2011). [USA lays off 143 

KSC workers today [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog 

[20 11 , January 7].] 

January 8: Congresswoman, astronaut's wife shot in Tucson 

3 
A member of Congress married to a NASA astronaut was shot and critically wounded Saturday morning 

in Tucson. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-AZ) was one of 18 people shot by a single gunman outside a 

grocery store in Tucson, where Giffords was meeting with the public. Giffords, shot once in the head, was 

in critical condition at a Tucson hospital, but surgeons said they were "very optimistic" about her 

recovery. Six people were killed in the shooting. Giffords is married to NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, who 

is slated to command the STS-134 shuttle mission this spring. Kelly's brother, Scott, also an astronaut, is 

currently commanding the International Space Station. Giffords spent the previous two years as the chair 

of the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee. Web posted. (20 11). [Congresswoman, 

astronaut's wife shot in Tucson [Online). Available WWW: http://www.spacetoday.net/ [2011 , January 

9].] 

January 10: NASA orders full round of stiffeners to Discovery tank 

Senior NASA managers Monday agreed to install stiffeners all the way around the shuttle Discovery's 

external tank to beef up structural ribs, or stringers, that are susceptible to cracks when exposed to ultralow-temperature propel'lant. Engineers say the modifications can be completed in time to support at 

launch as early as Feb. 24, assuming the work goes smoothly and no other major problems develop. The 

so-called radius block plates will be attached to the top few inches of all the stringers making up the 

ribbed intertank that separates the external tank's liquid oxygen and hydrogen sections. Eight known 

cracks in five of the I 08 stringers already have been repaired by splicing in fresh stringer segments and 

installing doublers for additional strength. The cracks occurred near the top of the intertank where the 

stringers meet a large flange that supports the bottom of the liquid oxygen tank. Ultra-low-temperature 

liquid oxygen causes the tank to contract during fueling, which tends to puJI the upper sections of the 

stringers inward. The tank was designed to cope with that contraction, but it appears a specific lot of 

aluminum alloy used in this tank's construction provided less strength than expected. The tanks scheduled 

for use with the shuttle Endeavour in April and the shuttle Atlantis in June or July were built with alloys 

that are believed to have the proper strength. To strengthen the rest of the stringers in Discovery's tank, 

radius block plates will be riveted into place over the anchors that hold the existing stringers in place. 

Testing indicates the modification will ensure the tank is up to the rigors of fueling and launch, giving it 

the safety margin needed to clear Discovery for flight. NASA and contractor managers and engineers are 

expected to set a new target launch date during a program requirements control board meeting Thursday. 

It's not yet clear how Discovery's launch delays will affect the following launch, a mission by the shuttle 

Endeavour to deliver a $2 billion physics experiment to the International Space Station. Web posted. 

(20 11). [NASA orders full round of stiffeners to Discovery tank [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [20 11, January 10).] 

Astronauts Urge Preservation OfT -38s 

Though the 30-year-old space shuttle fleet is headed for retirement this year, NASA's director of flight 

crew operations and chief astronaut believe the agency should continue to fly a reduced fleet of aging T38 supersonic jet aircraft based near Johnson Space Center as an essential part of future astronaut training. 

Brent Jett, a two-time shuttle commander who oversees the directorate responsible for NASA's astronaut 

corps and aircraft operations at Houston's Ellington Field, and Chief Astronaut Peggy Whitson, who 

served as commander during the most recent of her two six-month expeditions to the International Space 

Station, pressed the case for continued NASA operation of the vintage two-seat trainers during a Jan. 5 

presentation to the Committee on Human Spaceflight Crew Operations. The 14-member panel, selected 

by the National Academies, is charged with assessing the future ofNASA's astronaut corps, including its 

post-shuttle training requirements, in a report due by Aug. 31. The agency spends between $25 million 

and $30 million annually to fly and maintain its current fleet of 21 upgraded 1960s vintage T-38s, down 

from the 30-35 aircraft NASA maintained between 1995 and 2000. NASA's current projections show the 

number of jet tra iners falling to 16 by about 2015. While it intends to retain the T -38s, NASA's flight 

crew operations directorate plans to dispose of four Grumman Shuttle Training Aircraft used to train 

astronauts for the steep runway approach of the winged orbiters; and a pair of Boeing 747 jumbo jets 

4 
outfitted to ferry the orbiters betw.een Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., and NASA's Kennedy Space 

Center. Web posted. (2011). [Astronauts Urge Preservation OfT-38s [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.aviationweek.com/ [2011 , January 10).] 

NASA won't speculate on flight by Giffords' husband 

The shocking gun down of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords has left NASA reeling: Her astronaut husband was 

due to rocket away in just three months as perhaps the last space shuttle commander, and her brother-inlaw is currently on the International Space Station. Shuttle commander Mark Kelly rushed to his wife's 

hospital bedside Saturday as his identical twin brother, Scott, did his best to keep updated on the Arizona 

shooting through Mission Control, the Internet and the lone phone aboard the space station. In a 

statement, Mark Kelly expressed gratitude for the outpouring of support their family has received from 

Arizona and around the nation. The chief of the astronaut office broke the news to Scott Kelly that a 

gunman had shot his sister-in-law at a political gathering in Tucson soon after it happened. NASA 

officials said Sunday it was premature to speculate on whether Mark Kelly would step down as 

commander of the April flight of the shuttle Endeavour. Until last month, NASA hoped the Kelly 

brothers would meet in orbit, a PR dream for a space agency often confronted with bad news. But after 

fuel tank cracks grounded another shuttle mission, Mark Kelly's flight was bumped to April. His brother 

is to return home in March on a Russian spacecraft, so the reunion in space is off. Web posted. (2011). 

[NASA won't speculate on flight by Giffords' husband, but her condition makes it seem doubtful 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, January 10).] 

January 11: USA announces up to 600 Florida layoffs in April 

United Space Alliance today notified its employees that up to 700 shuttle program workers could be laid 

off on April 8, including 550 to 600 based at Kennedy Space Center. Affected employees will be notified 

no later than Feb. 4, 60 days before the layoff. The Houston-based company, which last Friday cut 143 

local positions, had previously said it expected a small layoff in April. The layoffs are part of longplanned reductions as a result of the shuttle program nearing its final flight this year. USA, the lead 

shuttle contractor, currently employs 6,350 people, including about 3,900 in Florida. Web posted. (2011). 

[USA announces up to 600 Florida layoffs in April [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , January 11).) 

Sidelined shuttle flight may be launched in February 

NASA officials Tuesday said they have found the root cause of cracks in the external tank's support 

beams and expect to have the space shuttle Discovery ready for a possible launch in late February. John 

Shannon, the shuttle program manager, said extensive testing by engineers found that the cracks found in 

five of78 support bean1s caJJed "stringers" were caused by low fracture toughness combined with 

assembly stresses. "We have root cause and we have a fix which we are completely confident that will 

eliminate those root causes," said Shannon. NASA will place aluminum "radius blocks" at the end of the 

stringers to reinforce the support beams, said Shannon. Earlier cracks found in the foam covering the fuel 

tank delayed the shuttle's final launch, originally scheduled for November 1. Technicians repaired the 

cracks and reapplied foam insulation on aluminum brackets on the tank in November. Discovery is 

scheduled to deliver a storage module, a science rig and spare parts to the International Space Station. 

According to the NASA website, the launch would not be before February 24 and would depend on traffic 

at the space station, which is set to receive cargo from a European spacecraft in mid-February. The last 

scheduled launch of space shuttle Endeavour has been pushed backed nearly three weeks to April 18 and 

shuttle Atlantis is tentatively scheduled to launch late in August. Web posted. (2011). [Sidelined shuttle 

flight may be launched in February [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ [2011 , January 

II).] 

Delta 4-Beavy to usher in 2011 

5 
The West Coast's eagerly awaited debut of the behemoth Delta 4-Heavy rocket is set to kick off the 20 11 

launch year at Vandenberg Air Force Base. Targeting a blastoff next week, perhaps as early as Jan. 20, 

the Delta 4-Heavy, built by United Launch AJiiance, will fly from Space Launch Complex-6 on South 

Base. "This launch will be the culmination of a multiyear effort to not only prepare this rocket and 

satellite for launch but also to modify and upgrade SLC-6 ... ," said ULA spokesman Mike Rein. "We 

haven't launched at SLC-6 since 2006, so this is definitely pretty excitingjust from the fact that SLC-6 is 

back in operational use and with the launch now all configurations of our rockets can be launched from 

Vandenberg Air Force Base." Liftoff once had been planned for today, but was postponed at least a week 

due to scheduling and weather delays. The launch window for the nearly 24-story-high rocket remains 

classified because the booster is carrying a top-secret payload for the National Reconnaissance Office. 

However, sources are saying the blastoff is scheduled for 1 :08 p.m. Jan. 20. Upon liftoff, the rocket will 

produce almost 2 million pounds of thrust, the power of33 Hoover Dams, according to ULA. By 

comparison, the Titan 4 rocket produces 3.2 million pounds of thrust. After Delta ushers in the new year, 

the manifest also calls for two rocket launches in February - a Minotaur mission for NRO early in the 

month and a Taurus rocket with a NASA satellite Feb. 23. Web posted. (2011). [Delta 4-Heavy to usher 

in 2011 [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ [2011 , January II).] 

January 12: Space shuttle layoffs stay on plan, if not on schedule 

NASA says its plans to lay off the shuttle workforce bit by bit remain on track, despite the delays of 

mission STS-1 33, and the addition ofSTS-135. Granted, some of the workforce is staying on longer 

because the program is running a little longer, but shuttle program manager John Shannon said the basic 

plan they've had for several years is still being followed. As production of external tanks, or solid rocket 

boosters say, wraps up, the workforce that built them is being laid off, but what he calls a "sustaining 

engineering" staff has stayed --able to apply the engineering knowledge to problems that crop up like the 

stringers on the tank ofSTS-1 33. But Shannon says they did need the workers who know how to do the 

specialized work. We hired back, because of the metal work that was required on the tank, I think it was 

22 people that were previously either moved back inside the Lockheed Martin Corporation, or had gone 

out on the street. And they came back very happily and very willingly, and they're working down at KSC 

on the tank and they'll be used on whatever repairs we decide to do on ET-138. That's the external tank to 

be used on one of the last missions that they think may have the same problems. Incidentally, NASA 

managers also say they will officially start calling the flight added by congress STS-135, instead of335, 

which indicated it was a contingency rescue mission. There is still a budget issue to fund the flight. It 

was approved in the NASA Authorization act, but the funding remains in limbo because the lame duck 

Congress did not pass an appropriations act. As of now, NASA has targeted STS-133 to launch no earlier 

than Feb. 24. Web posted. (2011). [Space shuttle layoffs stay on plan, if not on schedule [Online]. 

Available WWW: htto://www.cfnews13.com/ [2011, January 12).] 

NASA says it needs more cash, time to build rocket to replace shuttle 

Top NASA officials told lawmakers this week that they cannot build the replacement for the space shuttle 

that Congress wants on the budget and deadline they were given. "These [spacecraft] systems must be 

affordable, sustainable, and realistic," the agency said in a remarkably candid 22-page report. Congress' 

plan would not "meet ... these goals." "None of the design options studied thus far appeared to be 

affordable in our present fiscal conditions, based upon existing cost models, historical data, and 

traditional acquisition approaches," the report says, adding: "Any [spacecraft] designs selected ... must 

meet the test of being realistic - not relying on assumptions of increased funding or other 'miracles' for 

attainment." The bombshell is a major blow to hopes for the quick development of a new heavy-lift 

rocket and Apollo-like capsule capable of taking humans to the moon and beyond. It is also a major 

setback for Kennedy Space Center, which is set to lose at least 6,000 jobs during the next year as NASA 

retires the space shu!lle. The center is expected to languish with no follow-on program imminent. In 

addition, a planned five-year, $2 billion program to modernize KSC's aging infrastructure could well be 

cut or eliminated to find more money for the new rocket. The repo11 prompted a sharply worded response 

6 
..---~------- - - -

from the Senate Commerce Committee, including U.S. Sens. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Kay Bailey 

Hutchison, R- Texas, who were the principal authors of the plan passed by Congress last year. "[T]he 

production of a heavy-lift rocket and capsule is not optional. It's the law," they said. "NASA must use its 

decades of space know-how and billions of dollars in previous investments to come up with a concept that 

works. We believe it can be done affordably and efficiently - and, it must be a priority." Nelson himself 

issued a two-sentence statement: "I talked to [NASA Administrator] Charlie Bolden yesterday and told 

him he has to follow the law, which requires a new rocket by 2016. And, NASA has to do it within the 

budget the law requires." Under the plan signed into law by President Barack Obama in October, NASA 

was supposed to get $1 1 billion during the next three years to start building a rocket and capsule that 

could as a ftrst step fly to the International Space Station by Dec. 31 , 2016. But new pressure in Congress 

to slash federal spending means that NASA is unlikely to get even that much. The plan was intended to 

keep the human-spaceflight program alive while also preserving jobs in key NASA states such as 

Alabama, Florida, Texas and Utah. It called for using hardware from the shuttle and the Constellation 

moon-rocket program, which was canceled last year by Congress and the White House after the agency 

had spent nearly $12 billion on a technically controversial rocket and capsule. The new plan had been 

greeted skeptically by some fonuer astronauts and space experts, because the new projects would get even 

less money than Constellation's rocket ships, which were over budget and years behind schedule. Still, 

Nelson predicted success. IfNASA couldn't build a rocket on the budget it was given, he said last year, 

"we ought to question whether we can build a rocket." The new law all but orders NASA to build its new 

rocket with shuttle and Constellation pieces, including solid rocket boosters currently used on the space 

shuttle. Web posted. (2011). [NASA says it needs more cash, time to build rocket to replace shuttle 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , January 12].] 

NASA begins space shuttle Discovery tank modifications 

NASA technicians have begun work to modify the support beams on space shuttle Discovery's external 

fuel tank. Additional support structures, called radius blocks, are being added to the tank's 94 stringers. 

By the time the work is finished, the entire circumference of the external tank will be strengthened. 

Meanwhile, at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, STS-133 mission specialists Alvin Drew, Tim 

Kopra and Nicole Stott. who are waiting to fly to the International Space Station aboard Discovery, are 

spending Wednesday conducting a review of spacewalking procedures. Mission Commander Steve 

Lindsey and pilot Eric Boe will fly to the Space Coast in their T-38 training jets for approach and landing 

runs in Shuttle Training Aircraft at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility. NASA said 

Tuesday that Discovery launch no earlier than Feb. 24. Shuttle managers, however, have not yet set an 

exact target date for the mission. The schedule depends in part on traffic at the International Space 

Station during that time frame. A European cargo spacecraft, A TV -2, is scheduled to launch to the station 

on Feb. 15, carrying supplies and equipment. Web posted. (2011). [NASA says it needs more cash, time 

to build rocket to replace shuttle (Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cfnews13.com/ [2011 , January 

12).] 

Astronauts Selected for 2011 U.S. Astronaut HaiJ of Fame Induction 

Karol J. "Bo" Bobko and Susan J. Helms will join an elite group of American space heroes as 

they are inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® during a ceremony at Kennedy Space 

Center Visitor Complex on Saturday, May 7, 201 1. They will be welcomed to the ranks of 

legendary space pioneers like Neil Armstrong, John Glenn, Alan Shepard, Jim Lovell, Sally Ride 

and John Young - distinguished members of this unique Hall of Fame. This is the tenth group of 

space shuttle astronauts named to the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Earlier inductees represent 

the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Apollo-Soyuz programs. The addition ofBobko, a 

shuttle commander who flew two orbiters' first flights; and Helms, a spacewalker who set a 

world record outside the International Space Station, will bring the number of space explorers 

enshrined in the Hall of Fame to 79. Web posted. (2011). [Veteran Space Shuttle Astronauts 

7 
Selected for 201 1 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://media.kennedyspacecenter.com/ [2011 , January 12).] 

Multimillion-Dollar Space Tourist Trips to Resume in 2013 

An American space tourism company that sells multimillion-dollar tourist flights to the International 

Space Station announced today (Jan. 12) that it will resume the high-society spaceflights in 2013, after a 

five-year lull. Virginia-based Space Adventures will have three seats available on Russian Soyuz space 

capsules per year starting in 2013, according to a new agreement with Russia's Federal Space Agency 

(Roscosmos) and the country's spacecraft manufacturer, RSC Energia. Space Adventures has arranged 

eight private space tourist flights to the station for seven people (one billionaire customer flew twice) 

since 200 I . The new deal to send paying tourists to the International Space Station was made possible, in 

large part, by the planned increase in production of the nonreusable Soyuz spacecraft - to five spacecraft 

per year from the current four, adding an extra flight to the launch schedule, Space Adventures officials 

sa id. Web posted. (201 1 ). [Multimillion-Dollar Space Tourist Trips to Resume in 2013 [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ [2011, January 12].] 

January 13: NASA Slips Target Launch Date for Endeavour To April19 

NASA is moving the target date for the last launch of the orbiter Endeavour to April 19 to give engineers 

and technicians time to perform tests and modifications on its bullet-shaped external tank. Liftoff time on 

April 19 is targeted for 7:48 p.m. The move from April l will enable engineers to perform a propellantloading test on the shuttle's 15-story external tank. Modifications also will be made to crack-prone 

support beams that booster the section that separates the upper and lower sections of the tan. Small 

cracks were detected on support beams on shuttle Discovery's external tank after a Nov. 5 launch scrub. 

NASA since has returned Discovery to the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly Building for repairs 

and modifications. The target date for Discovery's 39th and final flight was moved to Feb. 24 from Feb. 3 

as a result. Liftoff time on Feb. 24 is set for 4:50p.m. The target dates were set today at a weekly shuttle 

program meeting. Firm dates will be established after flight readiness reviews for either mission. Web 

posted. (2011). [NASA Slips Target Launch Date for Endeavour To Aprill9 [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, January 13].] 

NASA research money wasted, report says 

NASA is wasting more than $2 million a year in research funding targeted for small businesses, two 

senators complained Wednesday. Money from the Small Business Innovation Research program was 

supposed to stimulate technological innovation. Instead, the agency's inspector general said the program 

paid vendors multiple times for the same projects. "We can't afford to lose any of our precious research 

and development dollars to waste, fraud or abuse," said Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., chairman of the 

committee that oversees NASA. Inspector General Paul Martin found that 25 percent of NASA's 

payment awards in 2008 were for undocumented or ineligible expenses. The payments totaled $2.7 

million that year. "Consequently, some SBIR award recipients may have received multiple SBIR awards 

from different federal agencies for the same research, or NASA may have received highly questionable 

research products for its contract money," the 78-page audit said. NASA and Small Business 

Administration databases identify 31 firms with 98 potentially duplicative contracts worth $26.8 million 

for "lithium batteries." NASA's chief technology officer, Robert Braun, disputed the report's conclusions, 

saying they're based on a lack of paperwork rather than evidence of wasteful spending. Web posted. 

(2011). [NASA research money wasted, report says [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www. floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , January 13].] 

Senators to NASA: You can -- and will -- build big rocket 

NASA cannot build a heavy-lift rocket and crew exploration vehicle under the cost, schedule and 

engineering constraints imposed last fall by Congress, the agency said in a report this week. Legislators 

had a curt response: Tough luck. Buck up and get on with it. "The production of a heavy-lift rocket and 

8 
capsule is not optional. It's the law," U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Orlando, and three other members of the 

Senate Commerce Committee said Wednesday evening in a joint statement. The tussle erupted after 

NASA gave Congress a report that says the agency cannot field a new supersized rocket and astronaut 

spaceship by a target date of Dec. 31, 2016 -- at least not under conditions levied by legislators. "NASA 

does not believe this goal is achievable based on a combination of the current funding profile estimate, 

traditional approaches to acquisitions and currently considered vehicle architectures," said the report, 

which was posted on website nasaspaceflight.com and later released by Congress. "We will not commit 

to a date that has a low probability of being achieved." Nelson and colleagues-- U.S. Sen. Jay 

Rockefeller, D-W.Va.; U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas; and U.S. Sen. David Vitter, R-La. --

begged to differ: "We believe it can be done affordably and efficiently-- and it must be a priority." With 

the nation's shuttle fleet set for retirement this year and NASA's moon program canceled, the future of the 

agency's human spaceflight program has been clouded by uncertainty. President Barack Obama last 

February directed NASA to shift responsibility for flying astronauts to and from low Earth orbit to 

commercial companies. Then, Congress on Sept. 30 passed the 2010 NASA Authorization Act, giving 

the agency the go-ahead to develop a heavy-Lift rocket and crew exploration spacecraft for missions 

beyond Earth orbit. Congress said the heavy-lift rocket initially should be able to haul 70 to I 00 metric 

tons into low Earth orbit. Subsequent upgrades should enable it to boost 130-metric ton payloads. The 

legislation authorized $6.9 billion for the development of the heavy-lift rocket over the next three years, 

with $1.6 billion in 2011. A separate Senate Appropriations report proposed a project cost cap at $11.5 

billion through 2017. Critics claimed Congress was micromanaging the design of the rocket and ought to 

leave the engineering to the experts at NASA. Congress tasked NASA to report back within 90 days. The 

agency delivered a preliminary study this week. NASA came up with a huge rocket powered by shuttle 

main engines; larger, five-segment versions of shuttle solid rocket boosters; a stretched version of the 

shuttle's external tank; and an upper stage engine that was being developed for the Ares rockets. NASA 

would continue the development of the Apollo-style Orion space capsule - a product of the canceled 

moon program. Officials said that rocket and spacecraft best fit within congressional guidelines. But the 

design would not yield an affordable, sustainable, realistic transport system within congressional cost and 

schedule constraints, NASA said. The agency hinted that previous studies yielded candidate designs that 

might better meet overall objectives. NASA spokesman Michael Braukus deferred comment on the 

report, saying many in Congress have yet to read it. Web posted. (20 11). [Senators to NASA: You can--

and will-- build big rocket [Online]. Available WWW: htt.:p://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , January 

13).] 

Backup named for Endeavour commander if needed 

NASA on Thursday slipped the last launch of shuttle Endeavour to April 19 and assigned a backup 

commander in case Mark Kelly-- the husband of Tucson shooting victim U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords --

can't serve in that capacity. Kelly, 46, remains the commander of the International Space Station 

outfitting mission, NASA's !34th and penultimate shuttle mission. But veteran astronaut Rick Sturckow, 

49, will step in as a backup so flight training can resume next week. It is an unusual move in 

extraordinary circumstances. NASA trains backup crews for long-duration stays aboard the International 

Space Station but not for relatively short shuttle flights. Kelly, who bas been training to command the 

mission since August 2009, flew to Tucson shortly after the shooting Saturday and has been caring for his 

wife, who remains hospitalized in critical condition. "Mark is still the commander of STS-134," NASA 

Chief Astronaut Peggy Whitson said. The 25th and final flight of Endeavour is targeted to launch at 7:48 

p.m. April 19. NASA pushed the launch back from an April I target to give engineers and technicians 

more time to test and modify crack-prone support beams on the shuttle's 15-story external tank. The 

move also will give ground crews more time to complete launch-pad prep work between the planned Feb. 

241aunch of Discovery and the Endeavour flight. Web posted. (2011). [Backup named for Endeavour 

commander if needed [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , January 14).] 

NASA Safety Hurt by Policy Disputes, Report Finds 

9 
U.S. astronaut safety is threatened by continuing disputes over NASA's direction, as well as by the 

agency's own rules for new spacecraft designs, according to a high-level federal oversight group. The 

independent panel warned that U.S. manned exploration of space may face greater risks due to the "lack 

of clarity and constancy of purpose among NASA, Congress and the White House." In a report released 

Thursday, NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel concluded that disputes over the agency's missions 

and funding levels "can negatively affect worker morale and the ability to attract and maintain" a skilled 

work force needed to "effectively reduce risk going into the future." The latest concerns about NASA's 

drift come amid heightened uncertainty over its budget and policy priorities, as the new House 

Republican leadership begins to spell out a vision for the agency. Veteran GOP lawmakers on committees 

overseeing NASA generally have strongly opposed Wllite House efforts to turn over core agency 

functions- including transporting astronauts to and from the international space station- to commercial 

rocket and spacecraft suppliers and operators. Another portion of the report by the congressionally 

chartered oversight panel focuses on fundamental questions such as "how safe is safe enough" when it 

comes to replacing the existing space-shuttle fleet. As part of its annual safety scorecard, the eightmember panel criticized the agency's design criteria for next-generation space vehicles. NASA's recently 

established acceptable risk levels for a fatal accident, according to the report, "may not be as safe as 

modern technology can and should provide." The panel urged NASA to reassess its risk criteria. And it 

said astronaut safety in coming decades will be "profoundly linked" to establishing "a good acquisition 

strategy as quickly as possible" for commercial spacecraft. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Safety Hurt by 

Policy Disputes, Report Finds [Online]. Available WWW: http://online.wsj.com/ [2011, January 15].] 

January 15: Shuttle Discovery's lead spacewalker hurt in accident 

Space station veteran Timothy Kopra, scheduled for launch Feb. 24 aboard the shuttle Discovery, was 

injured in a bicycle accident Saturday, a NASA official said. The injury was not life threatening and the 

NASA official, citing medical privacy issues, provided no additional details. But multiple sources said 

Kopra may have broken his hip, raising the prospect of a significant impact to the already-delayed 

mission. In training to serve as flight engineer for launch and entry, Kopra also is the mission's lead 

spacewalker for a pair of excursions outside the station. He and his crewmates have been in training since 

September 2009. NASA does not train backup crews and a replacement, even a recently flown veteran, 

would need time to rehearse spacewalk scenarios and receive mission-specific training for Discovery's 

flight. How long that might take, if required, and what impact it might have on the shuttle's launch date is 

not yet known. Web posted. (20 11). [Shuttle Discovery's lead spacewalker hurt in accident [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [20 11 , January 15].] 

Former space shuttle Columbia crew reunites 

U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson hosted a 25th reunion of the Columbia shuttle crew [STS 61-C] he joined during a 

weekend of celebrating their giddy success while also somberly reflecting on the dangers of human 

spaceflight. The Orlando Democrat hosted crew members for a dinner at his home Saturday. He then led 

them on a Sunday tour of the Capitol, with a pause for a moment of silence at a ftrst-floor painting of the 

crew of shuttle Challenger, which blew up I 0 days after Nelson's flight landed. "That's what makes us 

gathering up all the more special to me," Nelson said. Besides dinner and the Capitol tour, the crew 

members planned to visit the Smithsonian Institution's portion of the Air and Space Museum that restores 

spacecraft for public display. The group also planned a tour of the White House's West Wing. Web 

posted. (20 I I). [Former space shuttle Columbia crew reunites [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , January 17].] 

J anuary 16: STS-133: Discovery aiming for Feb 1 rollout 

Shuttle Discovery is aiming to roll back out to Pad 39A on February I , following what will be the 

completion of numerous "radius block" modifications to the circumference of her External Tank (ET137). NASA managers are also evaluating impacts to crew training - and potentially the launch date -

following the injury sustained by STS-133's Tim Kopra during a biking accident. Engineers and 

10 
technicians are methodically working their way around the L02 Flange on the top ofET-137's Intertank, 

removing foam, carrying out stringer work, followed by the reapplication ofBX-265 foam. With work on 

schedule, a preliminary timeline has been set out, with a target completion date for the modifications 

posted as January 27, which would allow for Discovery to rollout to 39A on February 1. Both dates hold 

some flexibility via contingency days. Web posted. (2011). [STS-133: Discovery aiming for Feb l 

rollout - Crewmember Kopra injured [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ 

[2011, January 16).) 

Shuttle 'spiders' work up high 

The ocean view was fine from 200 feet up launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. But if David 

Schuermann took a careless step, only a harness and 10-foot lifeline would stop him from plummeting to 

Discovery's mobile launcher platfonn below. If the safety equipment worked, the lead rigger on United 

Space Alliance's appropriately named "high crew" would be left dangling inches from the shuttle's 

external tank and left solid rocket booster. Working behind the scenes and above them, members of the 

14-man high crew played a key role in the two-month effort to investigate and repair cracked support 

beams on Discovery's fuel tank. The work has the shuttle back on track for a targeted Feb. 24 launch on 

its fmal flight, 10 months after its previous mission. Identified by the radio call sign "spider," the high 

crew spins webs of scaffolding that bridge gaps between structures and out-of-reach areas on the shuttle, 

allowing engineers and technicians to work on any part of the spaceship. "We provide access to where 

there is none," Schuermann said. After a Nov. 5 launch scrub, cameras spotted a significant crack in 

orange insulating foam covering the top of a 21-foot beam, located high on the tank's ribbed mid-section, 

or intertank. The pad's rotating gantry wraps halfway around the intertank and an access arm extends to 

it, but neither allowed access to the crack. Enter Schuermann's team of four -- two on the pad surface and 

two high above-- who helped assemble a 7-foot-tall framework more than 20 stories up that provided a 

safe platform for bands-on access to what turned out to be two damaged beams, or stringers. The crew 

again braved the heights and elements -- special clearance is required when winds exceed 18 knots --

when the shuttle program ordered a Dec. 17 tanking test. They built platforms that assisted with the 

installation and wiring of dozens of gauges and sensors on the tank, and helped install high-resolution 

cameras. The high crew has never suffered a fall, and says no injuries have resuJted from structures it has 

built. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle 'spiders' work up high [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, January 16].] 

Airship builder returns to KSC 

A Maryland company has relocated to Kennedy Space Center with the intention of refining and selling its 

111-foot unmanned airship, adding another player to an economic niche that could help the move the 

county beyond the loss of the space shuttle program. Sanswire Corp. opened an office Dec. 15 near 

Space Florida's offices at the KSC Visitor Complex. It will have just a handful of people on staff initially 

but could employ dozens of engineers and technicians if and when buyers come forward or government 

funding is secured. "The faster the orders come in, the quicker we'll ramp up the staff. I think there's a 

plethora of talented people in this area," CEO Glenn Estrella said, noting that the skilled work force was a 

factor in the relocation. The STS-111 is an 111-foot long, lighter-than-air unmanned aerial vehicle, or 

UAV, that could provide days' of inexpensive surveillance or operational support at a fraction of the cost 

of a satellite. Space Florida President Frank DiBello said be believes the fledgling company could help 

lure other unmanned aerial vehicle development companies to KSC, which could generate much-needed 

high-tech jobs. The Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast, which was involved 

in bringing Sanswire to town, has studied and targeted companies that manufacture UAVs and related 

components in hopes of luring them here. "The Space Coast has significant infrastructure in place to 

support growth in the field ofUAVs," Lynda Weatherman, EDC president and chief executive officer, 

told Florida Today last year. "It's a growing product in a growing industry, and the full potential of these 

vehicles is still emerging." Sans wire's airship, which looks like a cross between a windsock and a slim 

dirigible and was named one of Time magazine's 50 most best inventions of2010, is powered by a remote 

11 
controlled, 17- or 22-horsepower gasoline engine and is made of reinforced rip-stop nylon. The test 

vehicle will have a top speed of 40 mph and a maximum service ceiling of 15,000 feet. Lighter-than-air 

helium provides the lifting power for the 30-pound payload, while the engine near the nose provides the 

steering and forward motion. When deflated, the vehicle could be carried in a small truck for launch from 

remote locations. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Airship builder returns to KSC [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1, January 16].] 

J anuary 17: Voyager 1 at edge of solar system 

You probably have more computing power in your pocket than what NASA's venerable Voyager 

spacecraft are carrying to the edge of the solar system. Even so, the twin explorers, now 33 years into 

their mission, continue to explore new territocy as far as II billion miles from Earth. And they still make 

global news. Scientists atmounced last month that Voyager 1 had outrun the solar wind, the first 

rnamnade object to reach the doorstep to interstellar space. Sometime around 2025, the two craft will fall 

silent. Ln 40,000 years, Voyager 1 will sail as Earth's ambassador among the stars of the constellation 

Camelopardalis - the Giraffe - in the northern sky. Voyager 2 is headed for Sirius, the brightest star in 

the sky. lt should arrive in 296,000 years. Web posted. (2011). [Voyager 1 at edge of solar system 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.baltimoresun.com/ [2011 , January 17].] 

SpaceX proposes rocket-powered landing system 

SpaceX announced Monday it submitted a proposal to NASA last month to start an estimated $1 billion 

process upgrading the company's Dragon capsule, the first step in making the ship ready for crew rotation 

flights to the international Space Station. The Hawthorne, Cali f.-based firm transmitted the proposal to 

NASA Dec. 13. It entered the second Commercial Crew Development, or CCDev 2, competition along 

with several other aerospace contractors for a share of the expected $200 million payout to be released as 

early as March. Accordjng to a SpaceX website update, the company is proposing to begin the design of a 

launch abort system, the emergency escape rocket that would save astronauts from an exploding rocket. 

Unlike traditional emergency systems, called a tractor design by engineers, SpaceX wants to build an 

integrated launch abort rocket to provide escape capability throughout the rocket's flight to orbit. Tractor 

designs used by the U.S. Mercury and Apollo programs were thrown away a few minutes after liftoff, as 

soon as their boosters cleared the atmosphere. The integrated system would be part of the Dragon capsule, 

staying with the spacecraft during months at the International Space Station and returning to Earth at the 

end of a normal flight. It could even be fired for a rocket-assisted touchdown on land, bringing astronauts 

home to a soft landing closer to recovery teams. Musk alluded to the rocket-powered landing concept in a 

press conference last month. An emergency parachute would always be carried as a backup, according to 

SpaceX. Web posted. (201 1). (SpaceX proposes rocket-powered landing system [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spacetlightnow.com/ [2011 , January 18].) 

J anuary 18: Computing: A Private Space Shuttle Replacement 

The Dream Chaser will go into orbit on the nose of a rocket, then land gently on airport runways. Once 

the space-shuttle program ends this year, the only way to get people into orbit and to the International 

Space Station will be to buy seats on Russia's three-person Soyuz capsules. So NASA, through its 

Commercial Crew Development program, has given $50 million in grants to companies developing new 

spacecraft capable of carrying people and supplies into orbit and to the space station. The recipient of the 

biggest chunk of this money was the Sierra Nevada Corporation, which received $20 million to develop 

the Dream Chaser. This spacecraft, the size of a business jet, will take cargo and up to eight people into 

low Earth orbit, where the space station is located, and then return and land on commercial airport 

runways. The company reached all its development milestones for the Dream Chaser last year and is now 

finishing a battery of tests on the craft's carbon-composite frame. The shell of the spacecraft must be able 

to endure heavy loads and intense vibrations. So the Dream Chaser frame has been mounted on an 

earthquake simulator in a lab at the University of Colorado in Boulder. So far, the design has performed 

as expected, says Mark Sirangelo, head of Sierra Nevada's Space Systems division. At facilities in San 

12 
Diego, the company has been testing the craft's hybrid rocket motors. In the coming months, the company 

will put the two together to complete a full prototype, carry it into the air, and drop it to see how it flies. 

Web posted. (2011). [Computing: A Private Space Shuttle Replacement [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.technologyreview.com/ [201 1, January 18].] 

January 19: NASA pulls injured astronaut off upcoming flight of space shuttle Discovery 

An astronaut who crashed his bicycle last weekend won't be taking part in space shuttle Discovery's final 

voyage next month. Astronaut Timothy Kopra suffered unspecified injuries in the accident Saturday, just 

l 'lS months before Discovery's planned Liftoff. He is recuperating and on indefinite sick leave. In a rare 

swap-out Wednesday, NASA removed Kopra from the crew and added veteran spaceman Stephen 

Bowen, who flew last May on the most recent shuttle flight. Bowen will take over Kopra's spacewalking 

duties during the 11-day flight. Kopra had been designated as the lead spacewalker and was to venture out 

twice to perform work on the International Space Station. The shuttle flight has been on hold since 

November because of fuel tank cracks. Just last week, NASA said it had finally zeroed in on a cause for 

the potentially dangerous cracking. Shuttle repair work is continuing; Discovery's target launch date is 

Feb. 24. This is the second time this month that NASA had had to deal with crew issues. Last week, 

NASA named a backup commander for the final flight of Endeavour in April. The official commander, 

Mark Kelly, remains at the hospital bedside of his wife, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was seriously 

wounded in a shooting in Tucson, Ariz. His identical twin brother, Scott, is flying on the space station 

right now as its skipper. Web posted. (20 11 ). [NASA pulls injured astronaut off upcoming flight of space 

shuttle Discovery, adds new crewman [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ 

[2011, January 19].] 

Delta 4-Heavy ready to serve nation from West Coast pad 

Ever since the final Titan 4 rocket soared over the horizon from Vandenberg Air Force Base five years 

ago, the nation lacked the ability to deploy the largest of reconnaissance satellites into polar orbits from 

the West Coast. But that gap will be closed this week when the modernized replacement makes its 

California debut. The Delta 4-Heavy rocket, made by United Launch Alliance, is scheduled for liftoff 

Thursday at I :08 p.m. PST (4:08p.m. EST; 2108 GMT) from Space Launch Complex 6. The booster is 

carrying a massive spy satellite like the ones the Titans used to deploy before those rockets were retired 

from service in 2005. Web posted. (2011). [Delta 4-Heavy ready to serve nation from West Coast pad 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [20.11, January 19].] 

KSC cargo teams reset for a new era 

Before taking flight to the International Space Station this week aboard Japan's "white stork," a set of 

spare parts traveled halfway around the world from Kennedy Space Center. A KSC team oversaw the 

parts' testing, shipment and integration with Japan's Ulunanned H-11 Transfer Vehicle, or HTV, which was 

set to launch at 1 :29 a.m. EST on Thursday from the Tanegashima Space Center in Japan. It's the sort of 

processing work that will continue here for dozens of employees after the shuttle retires and the station 

relies on international partners and later commercial vehicles to deliver supplies and cargo. "Station is 

still going to be going for another 10 years," said Jose Nunez, the mission manager who oversaw the KSC 

processing team. "Any unpressurized cargo that flies on an HTV, we will be processing, we will be 

managing and shipping it over there." It was a role reversal for the KSC team accustomed to receiving 

payloads from outsiders and readying them for launch on the shuttle. "We really basically changed our 

hats 180 degrees," Nunez said. "This was the first time that we actually went to somebody else's facility, 

we had to live by their work rules, follow their processes and so on." The final two or three shuttle flights 

will be filled with as many supplies and large spare parts as possible. But more spares must be staged in 

orbit so the station is ready to respond to critical equipment failures, like one last summer that temporarily 

knocked out half the outpost's coolant system. In exchange for launching Japan's Kibo lab modules on 

the shuttle, NASA owns space on seven HTV missions, the first of which launched in September 2009. 

The next flight will be only the second by an HTV, the only spacecraft other than the shuttle able to 

13 
deliver unpressurized cargo until SpaceX's Dragon spacecraft becomes operational. Web posted. (2011). 

[KSC cargo teams reset for a new era [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , 

January 19).) 

January 20: Atlantis officially named final shuttle mission 

Atlantis is now officially designated to fly the year's third and fmal shuttle mission before the fleet is 

retired. ln a weekly program meeting today, shuttle managers changed the flight's numeric designation 

from STS-335 to STS-135, signifying a shift from a potential"launch on need" mission to one formally 

on the manifest. It is targeted for launch to the International Space Station at 3:48p.m. EST June 28, 

though station managers would like to see the mission flown later in the summer to best serve the 

outpost's long-term supply needs. The mission has been anticipated since it was requested in the NASA 

authorization bill signed into law in October. But funding has remained uncertain with NASA operating 

under a budget held at 2010 levels through at least March 4. Today's change directs training and other 

preparations to proceed despite that ongoing uncertainty. A crew of four led by Chris Ferguson has 

already been named to fly the mission, which would launch with the Italian-built cargo module 

nicknamed Raffaello. Web posted. (2011). [Atlantis officially named fina l shuttle mission [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/the flame trench blog [20 11 , January 20].] 

Delta rv Heavy, spy satellite blast off from California 

A national security satellite was headed to orbit this afternoon after the first-ever launch of a Delta IV 

Heavy from California. The triple-barreled United Launch Alliance rocket blasted off from Vandenberg 

Air Force Base at 4: I 0 p.m. EST carrying a National Reconnaissance Office payload. Because of the 

mission's secrecy, aULA Webcast of the launch cut off about six minutes into flight following the 

separation of three first-stage boosters, ignition of the upper stage engine and jettison of a fairing 

shielding the rectangular, school bus-sized satellite. It was the fourth operational flight of the heavy Delta 

IV configuration, the fifth overa11 since 2004, and the ftrst from the West Coast. Web posted. (2011). 

[Delta IV Heavy, spy satellite blast off from California [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 , January 20].] 

January 23: 'Voice of NASA' reflects on Challenger 

Friday [January 28th] marks 25 years since the loss of space shuttle Challenger. Hugh Harris, "the Voice 

of NASA," provided the iconic countdown. "Well, it felt awful," Harris said. "We knew instantly that the 

chances of the crew having survived were practically nothing." The truth was, of course, that the crew 

hadn't survived. But the crew in the firing room had no time to reflect on that. They had work to do, and 

they did it. "There's procedures for almost every contingency you can think of," Harris said. "And 

immediately people started working with the Coast Guard and the Air Force on the recovery efforts, and 

safeing the pad and all the things that had to be done from a technical standpoint." There was some 

confusion. NASA had just gotten a new administrator and a new chief of Public Affairs, and neither had a 

chance to go through the contingency plans on catastrophic events. So some of the things the plan ca11ed 

for were countermanded. "Continuing commentary, for instance, commentary was supposed to switch 

back here to the Center," Harris said. "(Norma11y it goes to Houston?) And it had gone to Houston. You 

may remember that Steve in Houston said obviously, a 'major malfunction.' At that point it was supposed 

to come back here, but headquarters said we don't want you continuing the commentary, cause I would 

have talked about what was happening in the ftring room, and here's the procedures we are going 

through." Harris said for most of the people clo.sest to the Challenger tragedy, it was the same as for the 

rest of us -- it took a while for it all to sink in. "Well, I don't think you get it right away, because you 

have a job to do, and you continue doing that job," Harris said. "And I think it's only after you leave, 

maybe go home, and then start thinking about what does this really mean, and what really happened." 

Web posted. (2011). [' Voice ofNASA' reflects on Challenger [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.baynews9.com/ [2011, January 23).] 

14 
January 24: STS-133: Stringer repairs/modifications to be completed on ET-137 

A group of United Space Alliance (USA) and Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) technicians and 

engineers are heading into the final few days of work on modifying the stringers on Discovery's External 

Tank (ET-137). With the root cause evaluations and subsequent modifications ensuring there is "no 

uncertainty" on aU flight tanks, STS-133 remains on track for rollout to Pad 39A next Monday. With the 

work ongoing on ET-137, Discovery is now being warmed up for her return to Pad 39A via 

repressurization and decay checks, ensuring the orbiter's unexpected stay in the Vehicle Assembly 

Building (V AB) held no adverse effects on her systems. Trus saw Discovery powered up at the end of 

last week, allowing engineers to conduct a repressurization of an Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) gearbox. 

Also a clear sign of Discovery's upcoming launch window - which opens on February 24- is the 

replenishment of Liquid Oxygen (LOX) at the storage tanks located near the pad, along with preparations 

being conducted on the Rotating Service Structure (RSS), wruch will rotate to protect Discovery shortly 

after her return to the pad. Web posted. (20 11 ). [STS-133: Stringer repairs/mollifications to be completed 

on ET-137 trus week [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ (2011, January 24].] 

For NASA, Longest Countdown Awaits 

For NASA, as it attempts to squeeze a workable human spaceflight program into a tight federal budget, 

the answers appear to be "somewhere" and "not anytime soon." When the space shuttles are retired this 

year - and only one flight remains for each of the three - NASA will no longer have its own means for 

getting American astronauts to space. What comes next is a muddle. A panel that oversees safety at 

NASA took note of the uncertainty in its annual report, released this month. "What is NASA's 

exploration mission?" the members of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel asked in their report. The 

panel added: "It is not in the nation's best interest to continue functioning in this manner. The Congress, 

the White House, and NASA must quickly reach a consensus position on the future of the agency and the 

future of the United States in space." A nagging worry is that compromises will leave NASA without 

enough money to accomplish anything, and that - even as billions of dollars are spent - the future 

destination and schedule ofNASA's rockets could turn out to be "nowhere" and "never." In that case, 

human spaceflight at NASA would consist just of its work aboard the International Space Station, with 

the Russians providing the astronaut transportation indefmitely. A NASA study, completed last month, 

came up with a framework for spaceflight in the two next decades but deferred setting specific 

destinations, much less timetables for getting there. One of the study's conclusions was that trying to send 

astronauts to an asteroid by 2025 - as President Obama had challenged the agency to do in a speech last 

April - was "not prudent," because it would be too expensive and narrow. Instead, the study advocated a 

"capability-driven framework" - developing elements like spacecraft, propulsion systems and deepspace living quarters that could be used and reused for a variety of exploration missions. Meanwhile, in 

Washington, the fight is less of a conflict of grand visions than a squabble over dollars and the design 

details of a rocket. Last fall, in passing an authorization act for NASA, which laid out a blueprint for the 

next three years, Congress called for NASA to start work on the heavy-lift rocket. It also said that the 

design should be based on available technologies from the existing space shuttles and from Constellation; 

that the rocket should be ready by the end of 2016, and that NASA could have about $11.5 billion to 

develop it. Web posted. (2011). [For NASA, Longest Countdown Awaits [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.nytimes.com/ [2011 , January 24].] 

NASA seeking tenants for Florida launch facilities 

NASA released Monday a request for information from industry on potential future uses for the Kennedy 

Space Center's extensive space shuttle launch facilities once the spaceships are retired later this year. The 

request for information and notice of availability formally begin the process of finding a future tenant for 

two launch pads, the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building, three space shuttle hangars and the space 

center's 15,000-foot-long runway. The infrastructure may become available after the end of the space 

shuttle program. The Launch Complex 39 facilities are "well-suited for entities operating or directly 

supporting government or commercial launches or space user services," a NASA statement said. NASA 

15 
will get first rights to retired shuttle facilities for government-run programs, such as the heavy-lift rocket 

the agency is being asked to develop by Congress and the White House. Leftover infrastructure could be 

shared with other private and public organizations in partnership agreements, according to Monday's 

announcement. "Kennedy has been working for some time to enable commercial space activities at the 

center that are in line with NASA's mission," said Bob Cabana, director of the Kennedy Space Center. 

"Partnering with the commercial space industry will help NASA meet its goals and help sustain facility 

assets to support our nation's space objectives." NASA has received previous commercial interest in KSC 

facilities. Private groups already use the center's shuttle landing strip and commercial operators have 

studied recycling the shuttle's cavernous assembly building and launch pad for manned rocket flights. 

United Launch Alliance has considered processing and launching potential crewed missions from retired 

and modified shuttle facilities instead of from existing Atlas and Delta pads at Cape Canaveral, Fla. But 

no company has committed to flying missions from Complex 39. The public release comes as contractors 

demolish towers at one of the spaceport's launch pads and as NASA turns over some of its spaceflight 

responsibilities to the private sector. The deconstruction started in September and was supposed to be 

finished this month, but a snag in the availability of heavy equipment has delayed the end of demolition 

until around April I , according to Allard Beutel, a NASA spokesperson. Beutel said the schedule slip 

does not impact any future development at the pad and will not cost NASA any additional money. The 

space agency's demolition contract with LVI Environmental Services lnc. of New York is worth $1.3 

million. Once U1e structures are gone, NASA will continue upgrading the storied launch pad to be ready 

for more rocket flights by 2014. Engineers continue working with specifications to host ilie mobile launch 

tower for the now-cancelled Ares I rocket, but they say the new 390-foot-tall structure could be 

redesigned to help prepare other vehicles for blastoff. Nearby pad 39A remains in service for the fmal 

few space shuttle flights. Pad 39B's last launch was the Ares 1-X test flight in October 2009, so it is 

several years ahead of pad 39A in demolition and rework for future programs. The V AB and orbiter 

hangars will also be occupied by the shuttle program ilirough at least the end of20ll. Web posted. 

(20 II). [NASA seeking tenants for Florida launch facilities [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , January 24).] 

NASA Honors Crews of Apollo 204, Challenger and Columbia 

This year is the 25th anniversary of the Challenger tragedy and a separate event will be held on January 

28 at Kennedy Space Center (KSC). Speakers will include NASA Associate Administrator for Space 

Operations Bill Gerstenrnaier; June Scobee Rodgers, widow of Cha ll enger commander Dick Scobee; 

Robert Cabana, former :astronaut and KSC Director; and Michael McCulley, former astronaut and 

chairman of the Astronauts Memorial Foundation, which is sponsoring the event. Mrs. Rodgers and 

members of the other Challenger fami lies created the Challenger Center for Space Science 

Education whose vision is "to create a scientifically literate population that can thrive in a world 

increasingly driven by information and technology." Web posted. (2011). (NASA Honors Crews of 

Apollo 204, Challenger and Columbia [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/ 

[20 II, January 24).] 

Discovery rollout set for J an. 31 

Shuttle Discovery is expected to return to the launch pad a week from today as repairs to its external tank 

near completion this week. Kennedy Space Center teams plan to begin Discovery's slow crawl to pad 

39A at 8 p.m. next Monday , weather permitting. As with the shuttle's September move to the pad, which 

was then expected to be its last, the time was set to allow hundreds of center employees an opportunity to 

see the shuttle up close and celebrate its final mission. Xenon lights will illuminate the shuttle again as it 

exits the 52-story Vehicle Assembly Building atop an eight-tracked crawler-transporter. The 3.4-mile trek 

called a "rollout" typically takes six or seven hours. Rollouts generally start around midnight to catch the 

best weather. But as the three shuttles prepare for their final flights and layoffs at the center continue, 

KSC is organizing "morale events" to let more employees and their families get close to the vehicles and 

pay their respects. Discovery stood ready for launch in November when cracks were found on some 

16 
external tank support beams. The shuttle rolled back to the assembly building Dec. 21. Cracks have been 

repaired on five of the l08 support beams called stringers on the tank's mid-section. Managers decided to 

strengthen the tops of another 94 stringers with small metal strips to add stiffness and reduce the chance 

of cracks forming. Discovery and a crew of six are targeted to launch Feb. 24 to the International Space 

Station on an 11-day mission. Astronaut Steve Bowen was just added to the crew last week to replace 

Tim Kopra, who was injured in a cycling accident. Endeavour and Atlantis are tentatively scheduled to 

fly April 19 and June 28, respectively, before the shuttle program ends. Web posted. (2011). [Discovery 

rollout set for Jan. 31 [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ (2011 , January 24).] 

January 25: NASA's Kennedy Space Center: Visualizing the Possibilities 

For nearly half a century Kennedy Space Center has been the launch site for every U.S. human space 

flight, evolving over time to meet the changing needs of America's space program. In that time, NASA 

has built dozens of facilities within KSC to support the engineering and construction of rockets, capsules, 

launch pads and components of other varied projects. Tracey Kickbusch's I 0-person team of civil 

servants and Boeing workers, known as the Design Visualization Group, or DVG, is applying the lessons 

of the past to determine the best way to handle spacecraft of the future. The group uses 3D simulation to 

plan and modify procedures ranging from covering a satellite with a fairing, to developing the route for a 

multi-vehicle support convoy without moving a piece of real equipment or risking any flight hardware. 

These virtual world sessions also show how unexpected events can be dealt with effectively and in some 

cases prevented. "Our goal is to support the customer's ability to achieve a successful operation the frrst 

time through," Kickbusch said. The simulations allow the group to work through the considerable 

challenges involved with processing future rockets and spacecraft in facilities built before some of the 

designers were born. At the heart of this simulation process, Kennedy's DVG relies on Dassault Systemes 

DELMIA to conduct its simulations. The group has modeled dozens of facilities and support equipment 

within the virtual world allowing them to move equipment around and test designs and procedures. These 

simulations can help answer questions ranging from where to place a swing ann on a launch tower to how 

member support team members can be inside a spacecraft as they help astronauts strap in for launch. 

The group's extensive library, made up of computer models built from a number of different computeraided designs from engineers all over Kennedy, can be updated with laser scans of particular pieces of 

equipment to ensure safety or plan reutilization of an unused item. "Being able to repurpose old 

equipment saves time and money," Kickbusch said. Integrated into current and proposed programs, the 

Design Visualization Group is showing that 3D simulations can be as valuable for the ground operations 

team as blueprints are for an architect. Web posted. (2011). (NASA's Kennedy Space Center: Visualizing 

the Possibilities [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.industryweek.com/ [201 1, January 25).] 

J anuary 27: Endeavour's external tank will get Discovery-like modifications 

Discovery remains on track to roU back out to the launch pad Monday evening as technicians at Kennedy 

Space Center wrap up months of work on the shuttle's external tank today and tomorrow. As repairs and 

modifications to roughly 100 support beams called stringers near completion, the shuttle program today 

approved similar work on the next tank scheduled to fly, with Endeavour in April. The tank labeled ET122 was built before Discovery's tank and refurbished after sustaining damage during Hurricane Katrina . 

Stringers lining the tank's ridged mid-section are not made of a more brittle aluminum-lithium alloy that 

cracked on Discovery's tank. But managers decided reinforcing the tops of the stringers with small metal 

strips called radius blocks would reduce uncertainty and do no harm. Schedules will be arranged to 

preserve the option of performing a tanking test after the shuttle rolls out to the pad. Endeavour's rollout 

for a targeted April l91aunch was anticipated in early March. Web posted. (201 I). [Endeavour's 

external tank will get Discovery-like modifications [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011, January 27].] 

January 29: Giffords's Husband Faces Decision on Shuttle Flight 

17 
Captain Kelly, a Navy officer who flew 39 combat missions in the Persian Gulf war, is scheduled to fly 

the shuttle Endeavour on a two-week mission to the Lntemational Space Station in April. With his wife at 

the beginning of a long and arduous rehabilitation program to recover from a gunshot wound to the head, 

Captain Kelly and his bosses at NASA will have to determine whether he can maintain the training 

regimen in the weeks leading up to the launching and command the mission. It would be Captain Kelly's 

fourth trip to space, but with the shuttle program winding down, giving up this flight would almost 

certainly mean also giving up his last chance to command a shuttle mission. No shuttle commander has 

ever been removed so close to a launching. "We're not there yet," Stephanie Schierholz, a NASA 

spokeswoman, said of when Captain Kelly and NASA's leadership would decide. While working 

through the decision, NASA has kept its options open by naming a backup commander for the mission, 

Frederick W. Sturckow. Captain Kelly, who is on leave, said in the NASA announcement of a backup 

commander that he had recommended the step "to prepare to complete the mission in my absence, if 

necessary." But he added that he was "very hopeful that I will be in a position to rejoin" the crew. The 

ultimate decision involves weighing Captain Kelly's determination to achieve a goal he bas trained so 

long for and the needs of his family, as well as NASA's need to have a commander whose concentration 

and focus are unwavering and the cohesiveness of a crew that has worked closely to achieve a common 

goal. NASA has no rigid rules about removing crew members from missions. Web posted. (2011). 

[Giffords's Husband Faces Decision on Shuttle Flight [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.nvtimes.com/ [20 ll, January 29].] 

NASA ApoUo 14 40'h anniversary celebration 

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation hosted a celebration of the 40th anniversary of the 

Apollo 14 mission. Edgar Mitchell was celebrated, as were his fellow Apollo 14 crew, the late 

astronauts Alan Shepard, first American in space, and Stuart Roosa. The event was held at the 

Kennedy Space Center at Cape Kennedy, Florida on January 29th. Among the attendees were 

Neil Armstrong, Gene Cernan, Dave Scott, Fred Haise, Tom Stafford, Walt Cunningham, AI 

Worden and other astronauts from the Apollo space program. The Astronaut Scholarship 

Foundation provides scholarships for college students who exhibit exceptional performance in 

the science or engineering field of their major. Web posted. (20 II). [NASA Apollo 14 40'h 

anniversary celebration [Online]. AvaiJable WWW: htto://www.cnn.com/ [2011 , January 30].] 

January 30: NASA making final preparations to rollout Discovery 

Workers at NASA are making final preparations to once aga in roll space shuttle Discovery out to the 

launch pad. Discovery was on the pad, ready for liftoff, in November when cracks were found on the 

external fue l tank. That forced crews to roU the orbiter back into the vehicle assembly building for 

repairs. NASA said it has now repaired cracks on five different supports beams on the tank. The rollout 

is set to happen Monday at 8 p.m. If all goes according to plan, Discovery will launch on it's final 

scheduled mission on Monday, Feb. 24. Meanwhile, with the end of the shuttle program still slated for 

this year, NASA is looking for possible tenants at the Kennedy Space Center. Former Astronaut Bob 

Springer likes the idea and said, "It's actually a very clever way to taking that next step and leading into 

the future." Springer said it's a great idea to be able to use billions of dollars of investments that have 

been accumulated over 1he years and a good way to deal with the budget issues. NASA came out last 

week and said the facilities at the space center are available to commercial space businesses even after the 

space shuttles stop flying. The spaces include launch pads, the vehicle assembly building and the shuttle 

landing strip. Web posted. (2011). [NASA making fmal preparations to rollout Discovery [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.cfnews13.com/ [201 1, January 30].] 

18 
FEBRUARY 

February 1: 8 years since space shuttle Columbia disaster 

Even though tllis is the 25th anniversary of Challenger, Feb. I will always be the day NASA lost another 

seven and the first orbiter of the space shuttle program. On Feb. I, 2003, space shuttle Columbia 

disintegrated on re-entry killing all seven aboard at the end ofSTS-107, bringing on the second halt to the 

space shuttle program. Web posted. (201 1). [8 years since space shuttle Columbia disaster [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , February 1].] 

Shuttle Discovery returns to launch pad after tank repairs 

With repairs to its external tank complete, engineers began hauling the shuttle Discovery back to launch 

pad 39A Monday evening for work to ready the ship for blastoff Feb. 24 on a flight to deliver critical 

spare parts, supplies and a fmal U.S. module to the International Space Station. Carried by a powerful 

crawler-transporter, Discovery and its mobile launch platform began slowly rolling out of NASA's 

Vehicle Assembly Building at 7:58p.m. EST, witnessed by scores of Kennedy Space Center workers 

who gathered nearby to watch what is expected to be Discovery's final trip to the pad. The shuttle reached 

the launch complex and was secured at 2:53 a.m. Tuesday. "I have full confidence we've done 

everything we need to do on that tank," Stephanie Stilson, the engineer in charge of Discovery's ground 

processing, told CBS News. "Seeing those guys work and knowing how hard they worked to do the 

modifications, I have confidence in the way the shuttle program works and the fact that they're always 

investigating and asking more questions, more so than l've ever heard in the past." Shuttle program 

managers plan to conduct a flight readiness review Feb. 10, followed by an executive-level review by 

senior NASA managers Feb. 18. Assuming no additional problems develop, the agency hopes to restart 

Discovery's countdown at 3 p.m. Feb. 21, setting the stage for launch Feb. 24 at 4:50:19 p.m. NASA 

originally hoped to launch Discovery on its 39th and final flight Nov. I , but the mission was repeatedly 

delayed, first by relatively minor technical problems that pushed launch to Nov. 5 and then by a gaseous 

hydrogen leak in a vent arm attached to the external tank. The hydrogen leak was quickly resolved, but 

engineers also discovered cracks in structural rib-like "stringers" in the shuttle's external tank that 

triggered what turned into a nearly four-month delay. After an instrumented fueling test Dec. 18, 

Discovery was hauled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building for X-ray inspections of the backside of the 

tank, which engineers could not carry out at the pad. Additional cracks were found in three stringers, 

prompting NASA managers to order installation of"radius-block" doublers on most of the remaining 

intertank stringers. When all was said and done, five cracked stringers were repaired using a combination 

of doublers and radius blocks and 94 were modified with radius blocks alone. Nine stringers were not 

modified, one because of access issues and eight others because they were made from a different lot of 

aluminum-lithium alloy. As if the crack problem wasn't enough of a headache for NASA, one of 

Discovery's crew members -- flight engineer Timothy Kopra --was injured in a bicycle mishap in 

Houston Jan. 15. He was replaced by veteran astronaut Stephen Bowen, who will take Kopra's place in 

two planned spacewalks. Bowen and his crewmates --Commander Steven Lindsey, pilot Eric Boe, 

Nicole Stott, Michael Barratt and spacewalker Alvin Drew-- plan to fly to the Kennedy Space Center on 

Feb. 20 for the start of their countdown to launch. Web posted. (2011). (Shuttle Discovery returns to 

launch pad after tank repairs [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, 

February 1].] 

February 2: Robonaut 2 to Appear on Fox's Super Bowl XLV Pregame 

Robonaut 2, the muscular humanoid robot created by General Motors and NASA, will make a guest 

appearance with Fox Sports analyst Howie Long during the Fox Network pre-game show before Super 

Bowl XLV on Sunday. Robonaut 2, or R2 as he is better known, was developed to assist the astronauts 

on the International Space Station and to help GM develop safer cars and plants. R2's twin is packed 

aboard the space shuttle Discovery awaiting a launch from Kennedy Space Center currently scheduled for 

19 
Feb. 24. R2 took a break from his duties at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, where be 

learning new skills that eventually will be uploaded to his brother on the space station. Web posted. 

(201 1). [Robonaut 2 to Appear on Fox's Super Bowl XLV Pregame [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, February 2).] 

Natural gas leak forces Space Center evacuation 

Hundreds of people were evacuated from several buildings at Kennedy Space Center because of a natural 

gas leak. NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said the early Wednesday leak was caused when a backhoe 

struck a natural gas line. As a precaution, workers were evacuated from facilities including two Orbiter 

Processing Facilities, which are the hangars for the space shuttles Atlantis and Endeavor. Beutel says 

there were no injuries or damages and everyone is back at work. Crews are working on the natural gas 

line. Three more space shuttles missions are planned this year before the program is retired. The shuttle 

Discovery is next, with a launch scheduled for Feb. 24. Web posted. (20 11). [Natural gas leak forces 

Space Center evacuation [Online]. Available WWW: http://news.yahoo.com/ [2011 , February 2].] 

Space station production plant could bring 2K jobs to Brevard 

The state of Florida and the Space Coast could land a new commercial space station production plant that 

would employ between I ,500 and 2,000 later this decade, the president of an entrepreneurial space firm 

said Wednesday. Florida's long history of spaceflight, skilled labor pool and plethora of existing facilities 

put the state in position to launch scores of outpost assembly and servicing missions starting in 2015. But 

it's still not a sure thing. "If I was to say, 'Should the missions launch from Florida? The logic says 'Yeah, 

they ought to,'" said Robert Bigelow, president of Bigelow Aerospace, who came to Cape Canaveral to 

talk to about 150 community leaders Wednesday. "Now, can the politics screw it up? You bet it can. Or 

maybe somebody raises more (economic development incentive money) than somebody else does and has 

the kind of facilities people like our company need to have in terms of executing their business." Bigelow 

Aerospace plans to launch the company's first commercial space station in 20 15 and open it for business 

the following year. The assembly sequence calls for seven launches and another six per year will be 

required to send up astronaut crews and cargo. A second, much larger space complex is to be launched 

and assembled in 2017. Space Florida and Bigelow Aerospace signed an agreement Wednesday to build 

a spacecraft exhibit that will give politicians and economic development officials a glimpse of the future. 

Bigelow Aerospace already has two prototype space station modules flying low Earth orbit. Web posted. 

(2011). [Space station production plant could bring 2Kjobs to Brevard [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February 3].] 

Febr uary 3: NASA weighs plan to keep space shuttle until 2017 

NASA is considering a plan to keep the space shuttle Endeavour in flight-like condition after its last 

scheduled mission, a move that could lead to its transfonnation into a privatized spaceship rather than a 

museum piece. Endeavour's continued operation through 2017 is part of a proposal that could receive 

millions of dollars in development funds from the space agency next month. The proposal - called 

Commercial Space Transportation Service, or CSTS - would use Endeavour as well as a sister shuttle, 

Atlantis, to fly two missions a year from 2013 to 2017 at an annual cost of$1.5 billion. United Space 

Alliance, the contractor that currently manages the shuttle program on NASA's behalf, has offered the 

proposal for the second round of funding from the space agency's Commercial Crew Development 

initiative, also known as CCDev 2. NASA could award as much as $200 million in the second round of 

the CCDev initiative. During the first round, the agency distributed $50 million in stimulus funds to five 

companies to advance the development of crew-capable replacements for the shuttles. Some of the 

recipients of first-round funding- such as the Boeing Co. and Sierra Nevada Corp. - have made 

proposals for second-round funding as well. The second-round competitors also include SpaceX and 

Orbital Sciences, which are already receiving NASA funds to build spacecraft for transporting cargo to 

the space station. United Space Alliance is the only venture proposing to keep the shuttles operating 

rather than retiring them this year, as currently planned. United Space Alliance says i.ts plan would take 

20 
advantage of shuttle infrastructure and a workforce already in place. Some shuttle production lines would 

have to be restarted - for example, the operation that builds the shuttle's external fuel tanks. But USA 

says the fLrst commercial shuttle flights could take place in 2013. That would beat the 2016 deadline 

specified in last year's legislation, as well as the development schedule laid out by SpaceX and USA's 

other commercial competitors. SpaceX founder Elon Musk has said a Dragon capsule capable of carrying 

up to seven passengers could be developed at a cost of $1 billion over three years. Seats on the Dragon 

could be sold to NASA at a price of$20 million per seat, Musk has said. Web posted. (2011). [NASA 

weighs plan to keep space shuttle until2017 [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.msnbc.com/ [2011 , 

February 3].) 

Former shuttle worker investigated in theft of shuttle tiles for resale 

Federal and local authorities are investigating the alleged theft and resale of space shuttle tiles from 

Kennedy Space Center, which triggered a raid this week on a Port St. John home owned by a former 

shuttle employee who previously had access to the tiles. Brevard County Sheriffs Office Sgt. David 

Marich said· the homeowner is a suspect in the case, but has not been charged. The former employee at 

one time had access to tiles in his previous job with shuttle contractor United Space Alliance. Marich 

said he allegedly took tiles destined for disposal offKSC property and advertised them for sale on eBay, 

with prices reaching as high as $880 per tile. "Evidence was seized from the house" during a raid Tuesday 

afternoon and evening, Marich said today, although he declined to elaborate. Marich said the suspect has 

no criminal record. His wife, who also formerly worked at United Space Alliance, is not under 

investigation, Marich said. Web posted. (2011 ). [Former shuttle worker investigated in theft of shuttle 

tiles for resale [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, February 3).) 

February 4: United Space AUiance to lay off 548 at KSC 

United Space Alliance today completed notifying 548 Kennedy Space Center employees that they will be 

laid off on April 8. Some 697 USA employees companywide will be laid off that day, a figure that 

includes 145 in Houston and four in Huntsville, Ala. The Houston-based company, which in early 

January cut 143 positions at KSC, had previously announced that it expected a layoff of around 700 

people in April. Notifications, either in person or by mail, began earlier in the week and were to be 

complete today. There are no further scheduled layoffs until after the last shuttle flight, USA 

spokesperson Kari Fluegel said. "However, that could change," she added. USA offers aU laid off 

employees severance packages of four to 26 weeks of pay, based on years of service. Some also are 

eligible for a "critical skills" bonus that adds another 15 to 26 weeks of pay. While Florida's 

unemployment rate stabilized at 12 percent in December, the KSC job losses could cause a turnaround in 

Brevard County, where the jobless rate fell to 11.9 percent in December from 12.6 percent in November. 

The January rate is due out Feb. 25. The layoffs are part of long-planned work force reductions as a result 

of the shuttle program nearing its final flight this year. NASA plans three more shuttle missions prior to 

fleet retirement. Shuttle Discovery is set for launch Feb. 24. Endeavor could launch April 19. The fmal 

flight is slated to launch June 28 with shuttle Atlantis. USA, the lead shuttle contractor, employs 6,350 

people, including about 3,900 in Florida. Web posted. (2011). [United Space Alliance to lay off 548 at 

KSC [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February 4].] 

NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly Resumes Training For STS-134 Mission 

NASA astronaut Mark Kelly will resume training as commander of the STS-134 space shuttle mission on 

Monday, Feb. 7. With the exception of some proficiency training, Kelly has been on personal leave since 

Jan. 8 to care for his wife, congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who was critically wounded in a Tucson, 

Ariz. shooting. "I am looking forward to rejoining my STS-134 crew members and fmishing our training 

for the mission," Kelly said. "We have been preparing for more than 18 months, and we will be ready to 

deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) to the International Space Station and complete the 

other objectives of the flight. I appreciate the confidence that my NASA management has in me and the 

rest of my space shuttle crew." Astronaut Rick Sturckow, the backup commander for the mission, will 

21 
resume his role as the deputy chief of the Astronaut Office. ["NASA Astronaut Mark Kelly Resumes 

Training For STS-134 Mission," NASA News Release #11-036, February 4, 2011.] 

Rising Engine Costs, Uncertainty Drive Up Atlas 5 Prices for NASA 

Rising propulsion costs, demand uncertainty and an eroding industrial base are the drivers behind what 

NASA says is a significant price increase for the Atlas 5 rocket, which is used to launch the agency's 

most valuable scientific payloads, according to industry and NASA officials. Industry officials said the 

winding down of the space shuttle program has led to higher prices for the RL I 0 upper-stage engine, the 

second-most-expensive component on the Atlas 5, which is built by United Launch Alliance (ULA) of 

Denver, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture. The RL 10 is manufactured by Pratt & Whitney 

Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., which also builds the space shuttle's main engines. The VLA-built 

Delta 4 rocket also uses a variant of the RL 10 as well as a Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne-built main 

engine, but this vehicle currently is not used to launch NASA payloads. Jim Maser, president of Pratt & 

Whitney Rocketdyne, said a number of factors, including lower production rates and changes in the way 

customers buy propulsion products and services, are driving up costs. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is 

facing the prospect of its business being "about half of what the shuttle business has been in the past," 

Maser said, adding that the company is taking steps to reduce its facilities by over half in the next few 

years. Meanwhile, prices for the Russian-built RD-180, a liquid oxygen/kerosene engine that powers the 

Atlas 5's main stage, are also on the rise. The RD-180, the single most expensive Atlas 5 component, is 

built by NPO Energomash ofKhimki, near Moscow. Jim Norman, NASA assistant associate 

administrator for launch services, told the NASA Advisory Council's planetary science subcommittee 

Jan. 26 that fewer launches, lower production rates, smaller lot buys from suppliers and basic inflation are 

contributing to higher Atlas 5 costs. Sowers said that price cap will come down ifULA is successful in 

negotiating a bulk purchase of Atlas 5 and Delta 4 launches with the U.S. Defense Department over a 

five-year period beginning in October 2012. Web posted. (2011). [Rising Engine Costs, Uncertainty 

Drive Up Atlas 5 Prices for NASA [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 , 

February 4].] 

February 5: NASA highlights space ship in Boulder 

This year will mark the last time an astronaut will fly to space in a NASA space shuttle. That means, 

until a new space ship is built here in the U.S., astronauts will have a layover in Russia before they fly 

into orbit. But NASA is highlighting a Colorado company's efforts to put astronauts in space from U.S. 

soil so it does not have to book tickets to Russia for long. Saturday, NASA Deputy Administrator Lori 

Garver visited CU-Boulder's campus to view the Dream Chaser, a seven-person space vehicle, designed 

and built by a Colorado company, Sierra Nevada Corporation. NASA awarded Sierra Nevada $20 

million in stimulus funding in 2010 to spur further design and creation of the space craft, which the 

company originally announced in 2004. The Dream Chaser is one of several different designs from 

private companies competing to blast astronauts into space as the Space Shuttle program is retired this 

year. Web posted. (201 1). [NASA highlights space ship in Boulder [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.9news.com/ [2011 , February 5].] 

USA shuttle pitch a long shot 

United Space Alliance is preparing a long shot bid to continue flying the shuttle as a commercial service 

after NASA completes its last three planned missions this year. Starting as soon as 2013, after 

construction of a new external tank, the lead operator of NASA's shuttle fleet proposes to fly twice a year 

with Atlantis and Endeavour at a cost of less than $1.5 billion a year. If supported, the plan would reduce 

an anticipated gap of at least four years between launch of the last shuttle mission this year and 

availability of new privately run crew taxis, a period during which astronauts will depend on Russian 

spacecraft to reach the International Space Station. "We thought thjs was a good option to be put on the 

table to be evaluated with all the other commercial options, since it's a vehicle that has really proven 

itself," said Mark Nappi, head of Houston-based USA's Florida operations. "It is safe. We have a lot of 

22 
history, we understand how to operate it." To avoid giving the company's employees false hope, 

however, Nappi has told them the proposal is "very much a long shot." USA initially has proposed a sixmonth study of the commercial shuttle option, something Nappi noted has been studied a handful of times 

since the '90s. The company asked NASA to help fund the study under a program set up to speed the 

development of new rockets and spacecraft able to carry people. Winners of the program's $200 million 

second round of funding are expected to be announced next month. NASA has refused to comment on 

any of the companies' bids. USA envisions shuttle flights continuing until at least 2017, or whenever 

NASA is ready to transition to different commercial vehicles. All three orbiters would be kept, including 

Discovery for spare parts, rather than being shipped to museums for public display as currently planned 

by NASA. Nappi said many details need to be studied further, including the terms under which NASA 

would allow USA to continue operating the nation's shuttle fleet. And a commercial shuttle might fly 

space tourists or non-NASA payloads that would offset the cost to the government. It could even test 

systems being developed for other commercial spacecraft. Nappi said he wasn't sure if USA would 

continue to pursue the business if NASA doesn't fund the commercial shuttle study next month. Web 

posted. (2011). [USA shuttle pitch a long shot [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[201 1, February 5].) 

February 6: Orbital's Minotaur I launches with NROL-66 

Orbital Sciences Corporation has launched a Minotaur I from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California 

on Sunday, carrying a classified technology development satellite for the United States National 

Reconnaissance Office .. The mission, designated NRO Launch 66, was re-scheduled from Saturday due to 

technical issues. Web -posted. (2011). [ Orbital's Minotaur I launches with NROL-66 [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ (2011 , February 6].] 

Up for grabs? Private companies eye KSC facilities 

The Kennedy Space Center site where some of the greatest shuttle payloads were prepared for launch, 

including the Hubble Space Telescope and interplanetary probes, is now a patch of grass. The Vertical 

Processing Facility was mothballed after the Columbia disaster when the shuttles began flying only 

International Space Station components. Last year, with no prospective tenants and high costs to bring it 

up to code, the facility built in 1964 was razed without ceremony. "It was just not on anybody's radar 

screen as being a viable facility for reuse," said Jim Ball, deputy manager of Kennedy's Center Planning 

and Development Office. "At the end of the day, it made more sense to knock it down." As the shuttle 

program nears retirement, KSC officials are evaluating whether other facilities that supported three 

decades of shuttle flights will transition to serve new vehicles or be discarded. The center is offering use 

of its launch pads, runway, Vehicle Assembly Building high bays, hangars and firing rooms to private 

companies expected to play a bigger role in NASA missions and a growing commercial space market. 

The hope is that KSC will become a hub where many rockets and spacecraft fly government and 

. conunercial missions, spurring job growth on the Space Coast and offsetting losses from the shuttles' 

retirement. But matching infrastructure with the new mission isn't as simple as turning over the keys. 

And commercial operators working to reduce spaceflight costs might decide KSC's aging facilities aren't 

the best fit, costing too much to refurbish, operate and maintain. "We want to have substantial operations 

there and use the facilities, but part of that is going to be, is there a rational way for us to pay for those 

facilities?" said Mark Sirangelo of Sierra Nevada Corp., whose Dream Chaser space plane is a contender 

to fly NASA crews. Sirangelo and competitors have visited Florida in recent months to tour facilities and 

plan local operations they'd set up if they win contracts to taxi astronauts to the International Space 

Station. Discussions began a year ago but have become more detailed as NASA prepares to announce 

next month the winners of a $200 mi Ilion second round of funding for commercial vehicle development. 

Representatives from KSC, Cape Canaveral Air Force Station and Space Florida are helping the 

companies model how their operations could work economically in and around the space center. For 

example, space planes proposed by both Sierra Nevada and Orbital Sciences Corp. could be prepared for 

flight in hangars now housing shuttle orbiters, and land on the shuttle runway. Manufacturing and 

23 
processing of crew capsules being developed by The Boeing Co. and SpaceX might be performed in an 

increasingly empty high bay where space station hardware has been processed. By law, NASA can't just 

give away its vacant space but must charge a market rate. Companies want to know if they'll be charged 

for a full year even if they only need a facility part-time to prepare for one or two missions, and whether 

the access would be exclusive or shared. KSC has already begun or completed some upgrades under 

NASA's canceled Constellation program. Kennedy is dismantling one of its two shuttle launch towers, 

planning to create a "clean" launch pad from which multiple kinds of rockets could lift off. And with $35 

million in state funds, the Operations and Checkout Building's high bay was refurbished for assembly of 

the Orion crew capsule by Lockheed Martin work that could continue as part of NASA's heavy-lift rocket 

project. Web posted. (20 11). [Up for grabs? Private companies eye KSC fac ilities [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February 6].) 

February 7: NASA says its pockets not deep enough for new rocket 

The marching orders from Congress and the White House to NASA were pretty straightforward. Go out 

and build a new big rocket to replace the retiring space shuttle fleet. Unlike the shuttle, the new rocket 

has to be powerful enough to get out of low Earth orbit and carry humans to an asteroid and eventually 

Mars, perhaps even the moon. There must also be a test flight by 2016. But at this point, NASA officials 

are warning of a potentially devastating setback to future space exploration. Its first new rocket in 40 

years may not happen because the agency doesn't think the $8 billion budgeted over the next three years 

is enough. Congress has already responded that unless NASA can prove there's not enough money, the 

rocket must -- by law -- be built. Sen. Bill Nelson, 0-Florida, a key space agency supporter, was adamant 

when he spoke to CNN: "NASA must stop making excuses and follow this law. I believe the best and 

brightest at the space agency can build upon the $9 billion we've already invested in advanced technology 

to design a new heavy-lift rocket, while taking a stepping-stone, pay-as-you-go approach." After the last 

shuttle flight later this year, NASA will be out of the space taxi business. Commercial companies are 

expected to take over ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station. NASA, no longer 

burdened with an aging vehicle and costly flights, has again been told to focus on building a new rocket. 

NASA says it will tell Congress by the spring or early summer whether the rocket can be built with the 

money available and meet the 2016 deadline. Web posted. (20 11). [NASA says its pockets not deep 

enough for new rocket [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ [2011 , February 7].] 

NASA Eyes Spaceplanes For Crew Transport 

Private industry could be prepared to go where NASA fears to tread and develop a spaceplane to replace 

the space shuttle and ferry crews to and from the International Space Station. But if industry succeeds, it 

will be thanks to decades of work by the space agency on lifting-body reentry vehicles. While its plans 

for replacing the shuttle are in flux, NASA bas a small program underway intended to stimulate privatesector efforts to develop commercial human spaceflight services. While most of those involved are 

pursuing Apollo-style capsules similar to NASA's Orion crew vehicle, one is designing a spaceplane. 

The Dream Chaser, developed by Sierra Nevada Corp. subsidiary SpaceDev, is based on NASA's HL-20 

lifting-body design, whi ch reached the stage of a full-scale research model before work was discontinued 

in the early 1990s. With NASA now considering bids for a second round of the Commercial Crew 

Development (CCDev) program, another spaceplane contender has emerged. The "blended lifting-body" 

vehicle proposed by Orbital Sciences Corp. for CCDev 2 is based on the larger Orbital Space Plane (OSP) 

the company designed in the early 2000s under NASA's Space Launch Initiative, a previous but abortive 

effort to develop a next-generation reusable launch system to replace the shuttle. Both proposals draw 

heavily on NASA work on lifting-body space vehicles that ran from the late 1950s to rnid-1970, then 

reemerged in the 1990s only to be shelved again. Beginning in 1963, with the plywood M2-F1 glider, and 

continuing through 1973, with the U.S. Air Force-sponsored X-24, atmospheric flight tests proved a 

lifting body could be maneuvered and landed safely and accurately. The advantages claimed for a lifting 

body over a capsule include low reentry deceleration loads, large cross range and a low-impact runway 

landing. Ironically, as NASA selected a capsule for Constellation in part to save time, both Orbital and 

24 
Sierra Nevada say they could fly in 2014, only a year behind the first planned (but unfunded) flight of 

Lockheed Martin's Orion crew vehicle. Web posted. {20 11). [NASA Eyes Spaceplanes For Crew 

Transport [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ [2011 , February 7].] 

Techs will replace seal on vent line connected to Discovery's tank 

With all the focus on repairs to cracked support beams on Discovery's external tank in recent months, it 

was easy to forget the problem that caused the shuttle's Nov. 5 launch scrub. But Kennedy Space Center 

technicians will soon be back at work on the hydrogen gas vent line that connects to the tank's midsection, whose leaking seals have forced multiple launch scrubs since 2009. A successful tanking test 

Dec. 17 appeared to show that improvements in the line's alignment had resolved the leak issue. 

Managers, however, have decided as a precaution to swap out one of the seals inside the Line's seven-inch 

quick disconnect device. An analysis detennined excess pressure may have been applied to the seal when 

the line was last disconnected, according to a KSC spokesperson, increasing the potential for a leak. The 

procedure is not expected to impact Discovery's targeted 4:50 p.m. Feb. 24 launch on an 11-day mission 

to the International Space Station on Discovery's final fl ight. After the shuttle returned to the launch pad 

early Feb. I , five contingency days were available to handle unexpected technical issues. The line in 

question vents excess hydrogen to a flare stack near the launch pad so the explosive gas burns off at a safe 

distance while the shuttle is fueled with a half-million gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. 

Results from leak checks performed after the vent line was reinstalled last Friday were slightly above 

normal levels but within allowable limits and NASA said that was not the reason for swapping the seal. 

Shuttle program managers are scheduled to hold a flight readiness review Thursday. Another review 

including top NASA officials is expected to follow Feb. 18, when an official launch date and time will be 

set. If a Feb. 24 launch is confinned, Discovery's six-person crew would be expected to fly into Kennedy 

Space Center two days later. Web posted. (20 11). [Techs will replace seal on vent Line connected to 

Discovery's tank [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February 7].] 

February 8: Senate keeps aeronautics research within NASA 

The Senate kept aeronautics research within NASA in an overwhelming vote today, rather than 

potentially shifting that responsibility to other agencies. The Senate is debating a policy bill for the 

Federal Aviation Administration that included a provision to establish an advisory committee to consider 

transferring civil aeronautics research and development from NASA to the FAA. But Sen. Bill Nelson, 

D-Fla., proposed an amendment to strip out that language, calling it obsolete after unanimous Senate 

approval of the NASA policy bill in September. The Senate voted 96- 1 to adopt the Nelson amendment 

and drop the provision. "The sole purpose is to take away aeronautics from NASA," said Sen. Sherrod 

Brown, D-Ohio. "That is simply unacceptable. It belies the very purpose of NASA in our nation's space 

and aeronautics mission." Web posted. (2011). [Senate keeps aeronautics research within NASA 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , February 8].] 

SpaceX Lands Contract To Fly To Moon 

Pittsburgh-based Astrobotic Technology, a Carnegie Mellon University spin-off company, has signed a 

launch services contract with Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) for a Falcon 9 rocket to deliver a 

lander, small rover and up to about 240 lb. of payload to the surface of the Moon, the company announced 

Feb. 6. Terms of the contract were not disclosed. Falcon 9 rockets cost between $49.9 million for low 

Earth orbit missions and $56 million for flights carrying 4,680 kg. ( 10,320 lb.) to geotransfer orbit, 

according to SpaceX's website. The company offers a 10% discount to contenders in the Google Lunar X 

Prize, a competition intended to kindle private space missions. Astrobotic, which is among 21 teams 

vying for $30 million in X Prize funds, will use the Falcon 9's upper stage for a four-day flight to the 

Moon. The earliest launch date is December 2013. Web posted. (201 1). [SpaceX Lands Contract To Fly 

To Moon [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ [20 11, February 8].] 

Too early to tell if Giffords can attend launch 

25 
The doctor leading Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' rehabilitation says it's too early to tell whether the 

congresswoman could attend her husband's space launch in two months. Astronaut Mark Kelly will lead 

the space shuttle's final voyage, a two-week mission to the tnternational Space Station leaving April 19 

from Cape Canaveral, Florida. NASA considered replacing him on the trip, but Kelly announced last 

week he would go and expected his wife to be well enough to see him off. But Dr. Gerard Francisco says 

doctors would have to decide on a variety of medical issues for that to happen, including whether Giffords 

can fly and how much noise she can tolerate. The Arizona congresswoman was shot in the forehead a 

month ago and is recovering at a rehabilitation hospital in Houston. Web posted. (20 11). [Too early to tell 

ifGiffords can attend launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.wwltv.com/ [2011, February 8].] 

Proposed Private Space Plane Gets Fiery Name: Prometheus 

A private spaceship being proposed by a commercial space company in Virginia to carry astronauts has 

been given a name steeped in mythology: Prometheus. The veteran aerospace company Orbital Sciences 

unveiled the officia l name for its space plane design via Twitter Feb. I. The spacecraft, which Orbital 

Sciences is hoping to use to taxi NASA astronauts to and from low-Earth orbit, is the company's bid to fi ll 

NASA's astronaut transportation needs after the space agency retires its space shuttle fleet this year. The 

name is in keeping with Orbital Sciences' Greek mythology theme: The company has rockets called 

Pegasus, Taurus and Minotaur, for example. Prometheus was the Titan who stole fire from Zeus and gave 

it to humans. Prometheus would be the second spacecraft under development by Orbital Sciences to 

serve the growing commercial space market. The company is building unmanned Cygnus spacecraft and 

Taurus 2 rockets as part of a NASA deal to provide cargo deliveries to the international Space Station. 

Prometheus is Orbital Sciences' proposal under the second phase of NASA's Commercial Crew 

Development program (CCDev-2), which aims to advance the crew-carrying capabilities of American 

private spaceflight finns. NASA began soliciting proposals for CCDev-2 in October and could make 

funding available in March, NASA officials have said. Orbital Sciences announced in December that it 

had submitted a proposal. Under its $1.9 billion COTS contract, Orbital Sciences will make eight supply 

flights using the company's Cygnus capsule and Taurus 2 rocket. Web posted. (2011). [Proposed Private 

Space Plane Gets Fiery Name: Prometheus [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ [20 11, 

February 8].) 

NASA Primes New Satellite to Study Earth's Climate 

NASA is preparing to launch its newest satellite that will monitor how the sun and tiny particles in Earth's 

atmosphere, called aerosols, affect the planet's climate. Scientists hope the new Glory satellite, which 

launches this month, will address key uncertainties in climate research by enriching scientists' 

understanding of manmade and natural aerosol contributions to global climate change. The satellite's 

onboard instruments will also collect data to enhance scientific model~, and could help paint a clearer 

picture of the causes and consequences of clin1ate change. The spacecraft is scheduled to launch on Feb. 

23 at 5:09 a.m. EST (I 0 I 0 GMT) from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It will fly onboard 

Orbital Sciences Corporation's Taurus XL 3110 rocket. Once in orbit, Glory will slip into the tight 

formation of a fleet of Earth-observing satellites, called the Afternoon Constellation or "A-train." "The 

Afternoon Constellation consists of multiple spacecraft flying in close proximity to create the first ever 

'super observatory' that will give us near simultaneous observations of the Earth that include land, ocean 

and atmosphere," Joy Bretthauer, Glory program executive at NASA Headquarters, told reporters in a 

Jan. 20 news briefing. Web posted. (20 11). [NASA Primes New Satellite to Study Earth's Climate 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ [201 1, February 8].] 

Liberty rocket emerges from shadow of defunct Ares l 

A TK and Astrium are joining the growing crowd of companies competing for a $200 million pot of 

NASA seed money to build a commercial vehicle to haul astronauts and cargo to space, proposing to 

combine proven U.S. and European rockets into a 300-foot-tall behemoth named Liberty. The Liberty 

rocket would stack the cryogenic core stage of Europe's proven Ariane 5 launcher atop a solid-fueled 

26 
motor developed for the Ares rocket. The result is a vehicle closely resembling the Ares 1, the crew 

launch vehicle cancelled by the U.S. government in 2010. ATK says the privately-built rocket could be 

operational by 2015. And because it leans on proven rocket technology, the company claims it can launch 

the Liberty on a test flight by the end of 2013. The Liberty rocket could deliver 44,500 pounds to the 

International Space Station's orbit, enough capacity to lift any crew vehicle in development, according to 

Kent Rominger, ATK's vice president of advanced programs. The rush of established aerospace giants 

and start-up firms is sparking a heated competition for the $200 million prize in the second round of 

NASA's Commerical Crew Development effort, dubbed CCDev 2. NASA expects to announce the 

winners in late March. NASA will divide the funding to multiple winners. The Liberty rocket would 

blast off from Kennedy Space Center on 3.1 million pounds of thrust from ATK's Ares solid rocket, then 

the Ariane's hydrogen-fueled Vulcain 2 engine would ignite to accelerate crews into low Earth orbit. 

ATK would base Liberty launch operations at existing KSC facilities, utilizing retired space shuttle 

infrastructure and the new mobile launch platform partially constructed for the Ares 1 rocket. The Liberty 

rocket would tower twice as tall as the Statue of Liberty. Web posted. (2011). [Liberty rocket emerges 

from shadow of defunct Ares 1 [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [201 1, 

February 8].] 

ULA announces progress on crew escape system 

United Launch Alliance today announced completion of demonstration tests of the emergency detection 

system it is developing under NASA's commercial crew vehicle development program. ULA said it had 

completed "the most significant portion of the final milestone" of the program's first round with several 

simulations that showed a launch vehicle successfully alerting a spacecraft to separate in response to 

emergency conditions. Tbe simulations used multiple combinations of spacecraft with Atlas V and Delta 

IV rockets, ULA said. NASA next month is expected to announce the winners of a $200 million second 

round of funding under the Commercial Crew Development program, known as CCDev. Web posted. 

(20 11). [ULA announces progress on crew escape system [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February 8].] 

February 9: Mjnor tank damage on Discovery won't need repair 

Insulating foam on the back side of Discovery's external tank sustained minor damage when pieces of a 

technician's tool fell from the launch pad Tuesday evening, but no repairs are necessary, NASA reports. A 

feeler gauge used to take measurements fell apart. Nine of its 13 metal blades fell to various levels of 

launch pad 39A, including one that reportedly stuck in the side of the tank briefly. No one was injured 

and all the lost components were located. The shuttle remains on track for a targeted Feb. 24 launch. 

Shuttle program managers are scheduled to hold a flight readiness review Thursday starting at 9 a.m. 

EST. Web posted. (2011). [Minor tank damage on Discovery won't need repair [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011, February 9].] 

House proposes budget cut for NASA this year 

Leaders of the U.S. House appropriations committee today proposed a $379 mj))ion cut to NASA's budget 

this year compared to the $19 billion President Obama proposed last year. That would leave NASA with 

about $100 million less than if the 2010 budget levels the government has been operating with so far this 

year were maintained. NASA's 2010 budget was $18.7 billion. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden bas 

said previously that a flat budget this year would result in cuts to spending proposed to modernize 

Kennedy Space Center infrastructure, though NASA intended to fully fund the program in later years. 

The NASA Authorization Act of2010 budgeted $428.6 million for launch support and infrastructure 

improvements this year. It does not appear that the proposed cut, if approved, would derail plans to 

launch Atlantis as the final shuttle flight this summer, but NASA has not yet said bow it will pay for the 

mission. Web posted. (2011). [House proposes budget cut for NASA this year [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ thejlame trench blog [2011 , February 9).] 

27 
Under Scott's budget, Space Florida takes $21M hit 

Funding for Space Florida to improve infrastructure and offer incentives to help lure business to the area 

would drop significantly under Gov. Rick Scott's proposed budget for the 2011-12 fiscal year. But the 

agency would compete for a pool of incentive and development funds the governor plans to consolidate, 

possibly allowing it to recoup some or all of the agency's proposed $2 1 million cut, a state lawmaker said. 

Overall, the total budget for the state's aerospace economic development agency would be cut by twothirds, from $3 I million to $10 million, according to the agency. Money for day-to-day operations, work 

force development and general business development would remain flat, at $3.8 million, $3.2 million and 

$3 million, respectively. But the governor eliminated dedicated funds for infrastructure improvements 

and financing assistance used to attract companies and retain jobs, both important tools in the effort to 

offset thousands of local jobs expected to be lost when the shuttle program ends later this year. Last year, 

the Legislature provided $11.1 million for launch complex upgrades and early development of the 

Exploration Park research and development complex outside Kennedy Space Center. Another $10 million 

was offered for financing assistance to launch services and payload processing providers. That's all gone 

in Scott's proposal. Lawmakers' legislative session begins March 8 in Tallahassee. Their final budget 

could look very different than the $65.8 billion spending plan put forward by Scott, which includes $4.6 

billion in spending cuts. Last year's $3 1 million budget was historically high for Space Florida, which 

received $4 million and $7 million in the two previous years. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Under Scott's budget, 

Space Florida takes $21M hit [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, February 

9].] 

A budgetary haircut ahead for NASA? 

Congressional Republicans have made a show in recent weeks about their aims to reduce spending in the 

federal government and a key battlefield is the 201 I budget, which could mean tough times ahead for the 

nation's space agency. The cuts announced by the appropriations committee call for a $379 million 

reduction to NASA's budget. A sizable sum if true. But it's another example of what happens when 

politicians start doing math. Here's why. The $379 million doesn' t use the 20 I 0 budget as a baseline. It 

uses President Barack Obama's proposed 20 1 I budget as a baseline, which was gave $19 billion to 

NASA. But that budget never passed. In actual dollars, the $379 million cut would be something closer 

to $103 million. We get at that figure by subtracting $379 million from Obama's budget ($ 19 billion 

minus $379 million) and then subtracting that figure ($18.621 billion) from the 2010 spending level of 

$18.724 billion. According to a spokeswoman for the House appropriations committee, it would be $103 

million over the next seven months. Which means NASA's level of spending for the remainder of2011 

would be slightly lower than $18.621 billion to compensate for the slightly higher level of spending for 

the first five months. If the new GOP plan becomes law, NASA would get $103 million less than last 

year. Web posted. (2011). (A budgetary haircut ahead for NASA? [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/the write stuff blog [20 II , February 9].] 

Tool breaks and drops at launch pad, NASA checking for any damage 

NASA is checking space shuttle Discovery to see if it was damaged by a dropped tool. Discovery is 

supposed to blast off Feb. 24 for the International Space Station after a delay of nearly four months. A 

NASA spokeswoman said Wednesday that a measuring gauge came apart. The tool may have struck 

Discovery's external fuel tank as it fell. The mishap occurred Tuesday night during repair work. 

Spokeswoman Candrea Thomas says the metal gauge is small. It was tethered properly to a worker, but 

came apart and some pieces fell. This week, workers are replacing a shuttle seal to prevent another 

hydrogen gas leak. Leaking gas halted Discovery's countdown in November. Fuel tank cracks contributed 

to the lengthy delay. Web posted. (2011). [Tool breaks and drops at launch pad, NASA checking for any 

damage to space shuttle Discovery [Online). Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , 

February 9).] 

February 10: Damage to Discovery insignificant, NASA says 

28 
Insulating foam on the back side of Discovery's external tank sustained minor damage when pieces of a 

technician's tool fell from the launch pad Tuesday evening, but NASA said no repairs were necessary. 

The shuttle remains on track for a targeted Feb. 24 launch to the International Space Station on 

Discovery's final flight. Shuttle program managers an~ scheduled to meet this morning to assess the 

flight's readiness. A follow-up review to set the official launch date is expected Feb. 18 at Kennedy Space 

Center. KSC officials said a technician 215 feet up the launch pad structure was taking measurements 

with a feeler gauge when the tool came apart. A screw was supposed to bold together the gauge's 13 

metal blades, each the width of a piece of paper. Nine of the blades came loose and scattered to various 

levels of the pad. One reportedly stuck in the tank briefly before blowing away. NASA said no one was 

injured during the incident and all the tool components were located. Web posted. (2011). [Damage to 

Discovery insignificant, NASA says [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , 

February 10).] 

House members may come see Discovery launch 

Members of the House space committee talked today about attending the next shuttle launch, a side 

benefit of their official business. The chainnan, Rep. Ralph Hall, R-Texas, said the government would 

provide a plane if there is enough interest among committee members to attend the Feb. 24 launch of 

space shuttle Discovery. At an organizational meeting of the committee, he asked lawmakers to sign up 

by Monday. "It's an exciting thing," Hall said of a shuttle launch. The panel oversees NASA poUcy, with 

a hearing scheduled next Thursday on President Barack Obama's budget proposal for the agency. 

Watching a launch would be a treat for panel members, who often have some particular interest in space 

flight. For example, the father of Rep. Scott Rigell, R-Va., worked on the Apollo program. Hall, one of 

NASA's most vocal supporters in Congress, said the committee would have to work together to support 

the agency amid tight budgeting that will force cuts throughout the government. Web posted. (20 11 ). 

[House members may come see Discovery launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 , February 10).] 

Discovery readiness review postponed 

The shuttle program has delayed today's planned flight readiness review for Discovery's mission because 

of bad weather that delayed the opening of Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, NASA reports. The 

review is now scheduled Friday. Web posted. (2011). [Discovery readiness review postponed [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the.flame trench blog [2011 , February 10).] 

NASA hopes to find money for Taurus 2 test flight 

Bound by restrictions set in a temporary budget resolution, NASA has not yet committed full funding of a 

risk reduction test fljght of the Taurus 2 rocket, one of the launch vehicles the agency hopes will be ready 

to resupply the International Space Station by the end of this year. NASA and industry officials said 

Thursday the demonstration launch is a top priority, but the space agency is struggling to find money to 

pay for the flight. The Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus 2 rocket is being developed along with the Cygnus 

cargo freighter to deliver supplies to the space station. The company has a $1.9 billion contract for 

resupply services with NASA. NASA is also subsidizing the design and development of the Taurus 2 and 

the Cygnus vehicles, along with a separate SpaceX resupply system that features the Falcon 9 rocket and 

Dragon spacecraft. The agreement is part of the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program. 

Web posted. (2011). (NASA hopes to find money for Taurus 2 test flight [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , February 11].] 

February 11: Ex-shuttle worker: Tile thefts common 

A former shuttle-contractor employee accused of steaUng heat-shield tiles and selling them for more than 

$1 0,000 on eBay said the thefts were common among his co-workers at Kennedy Space Center. David A. 

Abbey, 50, of Cocoa was arrested Thursday and charged with grand theft, a third-degree felony 

punishable by five years in prison, and with dealing in stolen property, a second-degree felony punishable 

29 
by 15 years. Abbey, who does not have a criminal record, posted a $10,000 bond and was released from 

the Brevard County Detention Center. The joint local and federal investigation began last fall, when a 

Texan who had paid $921.99 for a tile, which NASA listed as missing, asked NASA about its flight 

history, according to an arrest affidavit. A covert agent for the space agency's Office of Inspector General 

then purchased one earlier this year from Abbey, who worked until May 2009 as a shuttle tile technician 

for United Space Alliance. "['d just put it in my bag and walk out with it," Abbey told investigators, 

according to the affidavit. "Yeah, we knew it was wrong, but ... we didn't think it was a big deal because, 

you know, everybody wants some souvenirs." About 22,000 tiles protect each shuttle during their fiery 

descent from orbit. Any deemed to be damaged by inspectors are removed, replaced and disposed of by 

workers at KSC. Each is marked with an identification number for tracking purposes. In online auctions, 

the tiles were won for bids such as $655.50 and $888. Four that were signed by astronauts could have 

fetched more. Seven of them were shipped overseas to foreign buyers, in violation of the Arms Export 

Control Act. Since the investigation became public last week, NASA has been contacted by people who 

bought tiles from other private parties, wondering if those also were stolen. After the undercover agent 

for NASA purchased a tile and received a box with Abbey's return address, sheriff's and NASA agents 

searched his home Feb. I. Web posted. (20 11). [Ex-shuttle worker: Tile thefts common [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February II].) 

Florida Governor Guts Space Business Budget 

Space Florida is putting on a happy face about the spending plan proposed by tea party darling Gov. Rick 

Scott (R), who wants to cut funding by almost two-thirds for the state agency that aims to develop 

Florida's aerospace and related businesses. Agency spokeswoman Tina Lange points out that Space 

Florida's operations budget remains the same - $3.8 million - under the budget unveiled this week by 

the state's new boss. Scott, a former health-care industry executive who has pledged to create 700,000 

jobs in Florida in seven years, unveiled his $66 billion spending plan for the year beginning July l , 2011, 

that features corporate and property tax cuts and a $4.6 billion reduction in state government spending. 

Space Florida has less to say about the governor's budget for its business development programs, money 

the agency uses to leverage private capital investment. Scott's budget requests $10 million- a cut of $21 

million from the agency's $31 million 2010 budget, although Lange said it is possible more money would 

be added in later as individual initiatives come to fruition. The agency, for example, is pursuing several 

partnerships to take over facilities at Kennedy Space Center that will become available after the shuttle 

program ends later this year. "Our operations budget remains the same and that's important to us. That 

keeps us goi ng. The rest of it, we'Ll see how it plays out," Lange says. Space Florida already holds leases 

from the Air Force for use of Launch Complexes 36 and 46 for commercial operators. Potential clients 

include Masten Space Systems, which is expected to launch a suborbital rocket within three months from 

Complex 36, and Lockheed Martin, which is partnered with ATK on the Athena booster that would fly 

from Complex 46. Web posted. (2011). [Florida Governor Guts Space Business Budget [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February II ].] 

ATK Awarded NASA's Prestigious George M. Low Award 

Alliant Techsystems, Aerospace Systems was honored to be selected as recipient of NASA's George M. 

Low 20 I 0 award for its quality and performance on multiple NASA contracts. This selection makes the 

fourth time the company has been chosen for this prestigious award. The George M. Low Award is 

NASA's premier quality and performance award for its prime and subcontractors. This award program 

recognizes large and small businesses that demonstrate excellence and outstanding technical and 

managerial achievements in quality and perfonnance on NASA-related contracts or subcontracts. "It is an 

honor to be recognized for our quality, innovation and performance on the work we do for NASA," said 

Charlie Precourt, vice president and general manager, Space Launch Systems, ATK Aerospace Systems. 

"It is a tremendous confirmation to our workforce of their dedication to ensuring success, even during 

challenging times." ATK's NASA programs include space shuttle solid rocket boosters and booster 

separation motors, Ares 1 first stage, Orion launch abort system's abort motor, and attitude control solid 

30 
rocket motors, optical structures for the James Webb Space Telescope, Orion's UltraFlex solar arrays, and 

International Space Station structures, among others. Web posted. (2011). [ATK Awarded NASA's 

Prestigious George M. Low Award for Quality and Performance [Online). Available WWW: 

http://finance.yahoo.com/ [2011 , February 11].] 

February 12: 'We were lucky': NASA underestimated shuttle dangers 

NASA seriously underestimated the dangers astronauts faced when the shuttle fleet began flying in the 

early 1980s, a new internal safety study shows. At the time, managers thought there was only a 1-in1 00,000 chance of losing a shuttle and its crew. Engineers thought the probability was closer to 1 in 100. 

But in reality, the odds of a disaster were much higher. . On each of the shuttle's first nine missions, there 

was a 1 in 9 chance of a catastrophic accident, according to the new risk analysis. On the next 16 flights 

that led up to and included the January 1986 Challenger disaster, the odds were 1 in 10. NASA lost 14 

astronauts in two shuttle tragedies, and saw near misses on a dozen other flights. "We were lucky. There 

were a number of close calls," NASA summarized in the new risk assessment. NASA's Shuttle Program 

Safety and Mission Assurance Office at Johnson Space Center in Houston performed the assessment to 

gauge the progression of risk -- increases and decreases -- over three decades of fleet operations. Doing 

so could help next-generation rocket and spaceship operators better understand the real level of risk 

involved in flying astronauts on inherently dangerous missions. NASA, which now plans just three more 

shuttle flights, will rely on Russia to fly American astronauts to and from the International Space Station 

for the next several years after that. The U.S. is counting on commercial companies to start flying 

astronauts on private-sector space taxis by mid-decade, and the new NASA study suggests initial risks 

will be high. The results of NASA's shuttle risk progression study will be presented at an American 

Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics conference in late September. Shuttle managers were briefed on 

the outcome late last month. Web posted. (20 11). ['We were lucky': NASA underestimated shuttle 

dangers [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February 12].] 

House continuing resolution would bar NASA from China ties 

House Republicans want to ban NASA from developing a relationship with China. The nations' suddenly 

star-crossed space programs are the subj ect of a ftmding-limitation provision in a spending measure 

released by GOP leaders Friday night. The language is the latest salvo in a battle between the White 

House and congressional conservatives over the future of the U.S. space program. "None of the funds 

made available by this division may be used for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration or the 

Office of Science and Technology Policy to develop, design, plan, promulgate, implement, or execute a 

policy, program, order, or contract of an y kind to participate, collaborate, or coordinate in any way with 

China or any Chinese-owned company unless such activities are specifically authorized by a law enacted 

after the date of enactment of this division," the bill's drafters wrote. It's a small provision in a big bill 

that, if enacted, would fund government agencies from March 4 through Sept. 30 at levels $100 billion 

below those envisioned in President Barack Obama's fiscal2011 budget. In November, Space News 

reported that Bolden told an audience that a relationship between the two cow1tries could be mutually 

beneficial - but that they don't need each other to advance. The prohibition in the House "continuing 

resolution" goes beyond cracking down on substantive collaboration and forbids NASA from providing 

for visits by Chinese dignitaries. "The Limitation in subsection (a) shall also apply to any funds used to 

effectuate the hosting of official Chinese visitors at facilities belonging to or utilized by the National 

Aeronautics and Space Administration," it admonishes. Web posted. (2011). [House continuing 

resolution would bar NASA from China ties [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.politico.com/ 

[2011 , February 14).) 

February 13: NASA studying request to combine Dragon test flights 

NASA is reviewing data from SpaceX's historic December demo mission of the Dragon capsule before 

approving the company's request to send its next test flight all the way to the International Space Station. 

Agency and company officials say the Dec. 8 orbital test of the Dragon spacecraft was successful. NASA 

31 
has already paid a $5 million award for the milestone under the Commercial Orbital Transportation 

Services, or COTS, program, an agreement between the agency and firms developing resupply vehicles 

for the space station. But NASA officials aren't quite ready to honor SpaceX's public request to combine 

its next two test flights into a single action-packed mission in July to prove the Dragon's ability to service 

the space station. "There were a number of observations tracked during the flight that need to be 

resolved before the next one," said Alan Lindenrnoyer, manager of NASA's commercial crew and cargo 

program at the Jolmson Space Center in Houston. "Nothing major, but certainly things that need to be 

!!ddressed before SpaceX attempts the next demonstration flight." Lindenmoyer said NASA and SpaceX 

are studying data from the mission in a process leading up to a flight readiness review before the next 

launch. NASA has also asked SpaceX to submit a proposal to the agency verifying the spacecraft's ability 

to accomplish objectives of the second and third demonstration flights originally laid out several years 

ago. The COTS plan calls for a second Dragon test flight to rendezvous with the space station before 

backing away. A third demo mission was supposed to proceed within about 30 feet of the complex, close 

enough for the station's robot arm to grapple the craft and attach it to one of the lab's berthing ports. 

SpaceX wants to consolidate the two flights and fly the next mission to a berthing on the complex. The 

company says an all-in-one flight would accelerate SpaceX's 12 operational space station resupply 

missions under a $1.6 billion contract with NASA. Combining the missions would require the Dragon to 

achieve the goals of both flights, including fuel-burning abort and retreat tests and extensive thruster 

firings. If the spacecraft is healthy and still has enough propellant, mission controllers could send the 

capsule closer to the space station for berthing. The space agency expects final documentation from 

SpaceX in the "coming weeks," then NASA will be ready to decide on the flight test program. Web 

posted. (2011). [NASA studying request to combine Dragon test flights [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .spaceflightnow .com/ [20 11, February 13 ].] 

Shuttle's close calls 

NASA lost 14 astronauts in two shuttle tragedies that shocked the world: the 1986 Challenger disaster and 

the 2003 Columbia accident. But few outside the agency realize crews survived close calls on more than 

a dozen other flights. Here are some examples: * December 1983, STS-9, Columbia: A dual shuttle 

computer failure during atmospheric re-entry could have led to loss of vehicle control. A rocket fuel frre 

that ended in explosions on Kennedy Space Center's three-mile shuttle runway threatened flight safety on 

the same mission. * January 1986, STS-61 C, Columbia: A valve failure led to the inadvertent and 

undetected draining of liquid oxygen from the shuttle's external tank during a scrubbed launch attempt. 

Had the countdown not been halted for an unrelated problem, the shuttle would not have had enough fuel 

to reach orbit. A risky emergency landing attempt in Africa would have been required. Then-U.S. Rep. 

Bill Nelson, D-Melbourne and now a U.S. senator, was aboard. • December 1988, STS-27, Atlantis: 

Vulnerable shuttle heat shield tiles sustained severe damage when debris broke free from a solid rocket 

booster nose cap during launch. • January 1990, STS-32, Columbia: An inadvertent thruster firing sent 

Columbia tumbling through space while the crew was asleep. Had the shuttle been docked at the space 

station, the thruster firing could have ripped the spacecraft apart. * October 1998, STS-95, Discovery: 

The drag chute door on the tail of the shuttle fell off at liftoff, striking one of the orbiter's three main 

engines and creating a breach in the thermal protection system that protects shuttle astronauts during 

atmospheric re-entry. U.S. Sen. John Glenn, then 77, was onboard. The first American to orbit Earth was 

returning to space 36 years after his historic 1962 flight. Web posted. (20 I I). [Shuttle's close calls 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February 13].] 

Safety system tested for Atlas and Delta rockets 

United Launch Alliance is seeking funding from NASA this year to finish designing a key safety system 

for potential commercial crew launches on its Atlas and Delta rocket fl eet, officials said last week. The 

company is human-rating the Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets to launch astronauts inside privately-built 

spacecraft. NASA is partnering with ULA and spacecraft builders to carry U.S. astronauts into orbit by 

2015. After receiving $6.7 million from NASA last year, ULA kicked off the design of a health32 
-- ---~------

monitoring computer to identify rocket failures in time to save crews. George Sowers, ULA's vice 

president of business development, said the company developed a prototype Emergency Detection 

System last year and tested the design in a high-fidelity simulation Jab in Denver. The company, a joint 

venture between Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp., invited NASA officials and astronauts to 

participate in flight sin1ulations of the Emergency Detection System, or EDS. The system is a computer 

designed to recognize an impending mishap and trigger an abort to pull astronauts away. The goal, 

Sowers says, is to have the EDS ready to go when spacecraft builders start launching manned missions on 

the Atlas 5 or Delta 4. ULA is revamping its existing rockets to launch commercial manned payloads. 

Boeing and Sierra Nevada Corp. have already issued subcontracts to ULA to begin studying how to 

launch their proposed spacecraft. Boeing is designing a seven-person capsule named the CST-I 00, and 

Sierra Nevada is working on a lifting body space plane called the Dream Chaser. Orbital Sciences Corp. 

is also interested in launching its proposed Prometheus space plane on an Atlas 5 rocket. Sowers said 

ULA is working with every potential spacecraft provider except for SpaceX, which plans to launch the 

manned Dragon capsule on its own Falcon 9 rocket. Orbital and Boeing claim their spacecraft will be 

ready to launch by 2015. Sierra Nevada says 2014 is the earliest the Dream Chaser will be operational. 

Web posted. (201 1). [Safety system tested for Atlas and Delta rockets [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, February 13).] 

February 14: NASA's New Vision and Mission Statements Revealed in New Strategic Plan 

Together with its FY2012 budget request, NASA released its new Strategic Plan today. The document 

reveals NASA's new vision and mission statements. NASA's Vision is: "To reach for new heights and 

reveal the unknown, so that what we do and learn will benefit all humankind." NASA's Mission is: 

"Drive advances in science, technology, and exploration to enhance knowledge, education, innovation, 

economic vitality, and stewardship of Earth." Web posted. (2011). [NASA's New Vision and Mission 

Statements Revealed in New Strategic Plan [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spacetlightnow.com/ [2011, February 14].] 

NASA's $18.7-Billion Budget: How Much Do You Contribute? 

The Obama Administration just announced its budget proposal for the 2012 fiscal year: The total budget 

is $3.73 trillion, and $18.7 billion of that will go to funding NASA. But how much are you, personally, 

contributing to space exploration? We did the math, and it turns out that a Li ttle more than half a penny of 

every federal tax dollar ends up at NASA. That means that a family with the median household income 

($49,777 according to the U.S. Census Bureau), which pays $6,629 of federal taxes, pays the space 

agency ... $33. Web posted. (2011). [NASA's $18.7-Billion Budget: How Much Do You Contribute? 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/ [2011, February 14].] 

Budget freeze slows rocket development 

NASA's budget would be frozen for the foreseeable future under the fiscal 2012 spending blueprint 

President Barack Obama released Monday. The freeze would mean slower rocket development, which is 

expected to anger members of Congress. The biggest winner in the president's spending plan would be 

the Intemational Space Station, which already has been extended from 2015 to 2020. Other winners 

would be earth science - including research on carbon emissions that many lawmakers have criticized 

- and planetary science, with the launch of a Mars science lab scheduled later this year. But essentially, 

last year's freeze on overall domestic spending that exempted NASA now covers the space agency, too. 

By sticking indefinitely with the $18.7 billion the agency received in fiscal2010, Obama's budget 

abandons his proposal a year earlier to give the agency an extra $6 billion over five years. Budget 

documents said NASA will get the money to develop a heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule " to carry 

explorers beyond Earth's orbit, including a mission to an asteroid next decade-the furthest journey in 

human history." The president's budget blueprint is only a proposal and will be changed by Congress, 

and it may be overly optimistic to assume lawmakers will approve even flat funding for NASA. Congress 

is still debating the agency's funding between March 4, when stopgap spending legislation for the federal 

33 
government expires, and Sept. 30, when the fiscal year expires. A House vote is expected later this week. 

House Republicans have threatened to cut $379 million from NASA's budget, which would give the 

agency about $100 million less it would get under the freeze Obama has proposed. Under the plan. 

Kennedy Space Center would have to cut spending on several programs. Web posted. (2011). [Budget 

freeze slows rocket development [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame 

trench blog [2011 , February 14].] 

Obama's budget hints at an orbiter at Ohio base 

Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio would receive $14 million to prepare to house one of NASA's 

three shuttle orbiters under President Barack Obama's budget. The decision is far from over, and 

Congress would have to vote on whether to spend the money. Florida and Texas lawmakers have urged 

repeatedly for orbiters to be placed at Kennedy Space Center and Johnson Space Center. But a page of the 

Air Force budget released Monday for the year starting Oct. 1 calls for the one-time expenditure to 

prepare for the delivery of shuttle Atlantis to the National Museum of the Air Force at the Dayton base. 

"Tius request in the president's budget is recognition of the integral role Dayton has played in the history 

of flight," said Rep. Mike Turner, R-Ohlo. "From the Wright Brothers' test flights at Huffman Prairie to 

today's work by the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson, the roots of what made the space shuttle possible 

can be traced to Ohio." NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will decide where to locate two of the 

agency's three vessels -- Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour-- after the shuttle program is retired this year 

with three final flights. The goal is to locate the orbiters in educational settings such as museums. 

Discovery is headed to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington. But the competition for the 

other two orbiters has been hotly contested. Advocates of KSC, which launches the shuttles, and 

Johnson, which controls the nlissions, have argued their locations deserve the orbiters because of their 

history with the program. "We received more than two dozen proposals from museums interested in 

displaying one of the shuttle orbiters," a NASA spokesman said. "We expect to make a final decision 

about where these national treasures will be displayed some time in April." Web posted. (2011). 

[Obama's budget hints at an orbiter at Ohlo base [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www. floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , February 15].] 

February 16: European launch may delay shuttle 

A postponement Tuesday in launch of a European supply run to the lntemational Space Station could 

prompt a delay in the Feb. 24 launch of shuttle Discovery to the same destination. The next opportunity 

to launch the robotic European cargo carrier from a South American spaceport will come at 4:50p.m. 

today. A successful sendoffwould push back the Discovery launch until Feb. 25 so Europe's second 

Automated Transfer Vehicle could dock at the station on Feb. 24. However, the Discovery launch would 

remain targeted for Feb. 24 if the Ariane 5 rocket launch from Kourou Space Center in French Guiana 

delays beyond Friday. The complicated launch scheduling is the result of an orbital traffic jam at the 

station. The Ariane 5 launch with the European carrier-- dubbed Johannes Kepler for the German 

astronomer and mathematician -- is sandwiched between late-January launches of Japanese and Russian 

cargo carriers and the Discovery liftoff. The Automated Transfer Vehicles and the Columbus science 

laboratory are Europe's prime contributions to the 15-nation station project. Web posted. (201 1). 

[European launch may delay shuttle [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , 

February 16].] 

House votes to move money from NASA to local law enforcement 

The House voted today to take $298 million away from NASA and spend it on local policing. The vote 

was 228-203. Reps. Bill Posey, R-Rockledge, and Sandy Adams, R-Orlando, opposed the switch, an 

amendment to a stopgap spending bill that would keep the government running for the rest of this fiscal 

year. The debate over the amendment drafted by Democratic Rep. Anthony Weiner of New York 

illustrates the difficulties that lie ahead in deciding how much to spend on NASA and other agencies. 

Weiner's amendment would eliminate a fund that NASA taps to work with other agencies and use the 

34 
money to hire more community-oriented police officers. The amendment angered NASA supporters. 

Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., said that if it's approved by the Senate and signed into law, it would cost 1,500 

to 2,000 NASA jobs. Web posted. (2011). [House votes to move money from NASA to local law 

enforcement [Online]. Available WWW: http://www .floridatoday.corn/ the flame trench blog [20 11 , 

February 16].] 

February 17: Report: NASA could save money with Minotaurs 

The Kennedy Space Center-based program that oversees launches of NASA and other government 

science satellites could save money by using excess ballistic missiles for some smaller-class launches, the 

agency's watchdog reported today. Minotaur IV rockets, which utilize government-furnished solid rocket 

motors from decommissioned Peacekeeper missiles and are launched by Orbital Sciences Corp., are 

estimated to cost about $63 million per launch, according to NASA's inspector general. In comparison, 

SpaceX's Falcon 9 would cost $141 million and United Launch Alliance's Atlas V $264 million. The 

Falcon 9 likely won't be certified to launch the agency's science payloads for several years, and any 

technical problems could delay missions and increase costs. NASA's options for smaller rockets are more 

limited because the Department of Defense is no longer using ULA's Delta ll, which bas launched most 

of NASA's smaller satellites. In response to the report, NASA's Science Mission Directorate said the 

KSC-based Launch Services Program already considers using Minotaurs, but that doing so could threaten 

the viability of the commercial launch industry. It said the Office of Inspector General's report bad 

corrected significant inaccuracies but still included "inaccuracies and inconsistencies in cost estimates." 

Web posted. (2011). [Report: NASA could save money with Minotaurs [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ thejlame trench blog [2011 , February 17].] 

Boeing gives $5 million to Ohio museum hoping for NASA shuttle 

The Boeing Co. is donating $5 million to an Air Force museum in Ohio that a senator hopes will help it 

acquire one ofNASA's retired shuttle orbiters. Boeing's contribution, with three installments, had been 

planned before the release of President Barack Obarna 's fiscal2012 budget. But that spending blueprint 

proposes $14 million to prepare the museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton to house the 

Atlantis shuttle. The foundation for the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force has now raised $20 

million to build a 200,000-square-foot building to house presidential aircraft, a space gallery and an array 

of cargo and tanker planes, foundation officials said. Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said Thursday that 

the Boeing contribution would help land one of three shuttle orbiters in Ohio. "Boeing's generous 

donation marks more good news for bringing the shuttle to the Miami Valley," Brown said. " I will 

continue to work with the Ohio Congressional Delegation on a bipartisan basis to bring the Shuttle to its 

most suitable home: the Air Force Museum at Wright-Patterson." NASA hasn't decided where to locate 

the orbiters after the shuttle program's three final flights this year. But dozens of locations, including 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Johnson Space Center in Texas, are competing with the Air Force 

Museum to house orbiters in an educational setting. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will decide 

where to place the Atlantis and Endeavour orbiters, with an announcement expected in April. The 

Discovery is beaded to the Smithsonian Institution's Air and Space Museum. Web posted. (2011). 

[Boeing gives $5 million to Ohio museum hoping for NASA shuttle [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011, February 17].) 

Bolden: Commercial crew good for NASA, KSC 

NASA must make development of commercial crew and cargo transportation a priority to get the most 

out of the International Space Station, Administrator Charlie Bolden told Florida Today's editorial board 

today. The Obama administration's proposed 2012 budget for NASA would commit $850 million toward 

development of commercial vehicles while spending $2.8 billion -- less than was authorized -- on 

development of a heavy-lift rocket and capsule for exploration. Bolden said transitioning to 

commercially operated space taxis would help reduce infrastructure costs, noting that it now "costs us $2 

billion a year to keep Kennedy Space Center going whether we're flying the shuttle or not." Bolden said a 

35 
program office overseeing the commercial crew initiative would be established soon at KSC. "It's critical 

to Kennedy," Bolden said, for "employees there to know that, OK, l am now the home of this particular 

piece of pie." Bolden wouldn't hint at whether the Space Coast was a strong contender to win a retired 

orbiter for public display. He said he hoped to make an announcement in early spring. Bolden addressed 

KSC employees today and will participate in Friday's Flight Readiness Review for Discovery's targeted 

Feb. 24 launch to the station on its fmal flight. Web posted. (2011 ). [Bolden: Commercial crew good for 

NASA, KSC [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 , 

February 17].] 

Discovery Launch Date Review Under Way 

Discovery mission conunander Steve Lindsey and his crew are in quarantine in Houston today while 

senior managers meet in a review that is expected to yield a firm launch date next Thursday for their 

Lnternational Space Station assembly and outfitting mission. The STS-133 astronauts entered quarantine 

last night, an indication that Feb. 24 indeed will be the launch date selected at the conclusion of the Flight 

Readiness Review being held here at Kennedy Space Center. Shuttle crews always enter quarantine seven 

days in advance of launch. The crew includes pilot Eric Boe and four mission specialists: Michael 

Barratt, Stephen Bowen, AI Drew and Nicole Stott. Stott is one of only three former KSC workers to 

ascend to the astronaut corps and fly in space. The crew is scheduled to fly to KSC on Sunday. Launch 

countdown preparations are continuing at KSC today. The standard pre-test briefing was conducted 

Thursday and NASA aims to pick up a three-day countdown at 3 p.m. Monday. Senior NASA managers 

will hold a news briefing after the readiness review concludes late this afternoon. No exact time has been 

set for the briefing. You can watch Live coverage in The Flame Trench by clicking the NASA TV box on 

the right side of the page. Web posted. (2011). [Discovery Launch Date Review Under Way [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ thejlame trench blog [2011 , February 18].] 

February 18: Discovery gets a thumbs-up for Thursday launch 

NASA set next Thursday as the firm launch date for six astronauts who will fly shuttle fleet-leader 

Discovery on its 39th and fina l flight, officials said Friday. Liftoff is set for 4:50p.m., about six hours 

after a robotic European cargo carrier arrives at the lnternational Space Station, which is the shuttle crew's 

destination. Officials said technicians successfully fixed external tank defects that prompted a threemonth, 20-day delay in the 133rd shuttle mission --one of only three before fleet retirement. Senior 

managers deemed Discovery safe to launch at the conclusion of an ali-day flight readiness review at 

Kennedy Space Center. Mike Moses, NASA's shuttle launch integration manager, said there was 

"unanimous consent that we're in a rea!Jy good posture to fly." "Everything is going really, really well. 

We're looking forward to the countdown starting Monday and a liftoff next Thursday," added NASA 

shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach. Mission commander Steve Lindsey and his crew are in quarantine 

at Johnson Space Center in Houston and will fly to KSC Sunday. The crew includes pilot Eric Boe and 

four mission specialists: Michael Barratt, Stephen Bowen, AI Drew and Nicole Stott. Also flying up with 

the astronauts: Robonaut 2, the first humanlike android to be hauled up to the station. Bowen, the ftrst 

and only submarine offLcer selected to the NASA Astronaut Corps, is a late addition to the crew. He 

replaced Tim Kopra after the lead spacewalker was injured in a bicycle accident in mid-January. Stott is 

only the third former KSC worker to ascend to the NASA Astronaut Corps and fly in space. She worked 

as a shuttle engineer at KSC for I 0 years. Discovery's crew aims to deliver a modified Italian cargo 

carrier that will serve as a permanent storage unit at the station. The astronauts had been scheduled to 

launch Nov. 5, but a hydrogen leak kept the crew grounded. Engineers later discovered significant cracks 

in foam and on underlying metal support beams-- so-called "stringers"-- on the ribbed mid-section of the 

15-story external tank. Extensive inspections were carried out, a fuel-loading test was performed, and 

repair work was done to shore up the beams so that Discovery could be cleared for flight. The shuttle will 

join five other spacecraft docked at the station. Two Russian Soyuz space taxis are moored at the outpost 

along with a robotic Japanese cargo carrier and an urLmanned Russian re-supply ship. Europe's second 

Automated Transfer Vehicle-- a cargo carrier the size of a double-decker bus -- is en route to the station. 

36 
Discovery's docking Feb. 26 will mark the first time all current "visiting vehicles" have been docked 

simultaneously at the station. The shuttle crew plans to stay at the station for seven days and then land 

back at KSC at 12:44 p.m. March 7. Discovery's flight is to be followed by the planned April 19launch 

of Endeavour and the June 28 launch of Atlantis. The U.S. will rely on Russia to fly American astronauts 

to and from the International Space Station until U.S. companies can field next-generation space taxis. 

NASA says private companies should be ready to fl y astronauts to and from low Earth orbit by 20 15. 

Web posted. (2011). [Discovery gets a thumbs-up for Thursday launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ (2011 , February 19].] 

SpaceX changes focus on rockets 

SpaceX has delayed development of its single engine Falcon 1 rocket, which has lifted off five times from 

the Central Pacific, to focus on development of its Dragon capsule that bas been contracted to carry 

astronauts and cargo to the International Space Station. The company also plans to speed development of 

its Falcon Heavy, which could compete with United Launch Alliance for government launches. ULA, 

whlch employs about 700 in Brevard County, launches about a dozen rockets a year from Cape Canaveral 

Air Force Station and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. "The Air Force (Space and Missile 

Systems Center) in Los Angeles told us that we needed to fly Falcon Heavy and activate our new launch 

facilities at Vandenberg (AFB) in order to compete for the (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle) 

contract currently held by ULA," SpaceX Communications Director Kirstin Brost said. The Air Force 

confirmed that it has given SpaceX guidance for developing the Falcon Heavy. "We do not have a 

(formal) agreement with SpaceX regarding the development of the vehicle," said an Air Force statement. 

The Falcon 1 delay affects up to 18 launches under contract to ORBCOMM, which provides satellite text 

messaging communications to marine interests services from its constellation of 29 satellites in low earth 

orbit. Despite the stand-down in production of the Falcon 1, the ORBCOMM launches remain on the 

manifest published on SpaceX's Web site and have not been canceled. Web posted. (2011). [SpaceX 

changes focus on rockets [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, February 

18].] 

February 20: NASA to launch newest Earth-observation satellite 

NASA is set to launch its latest Earth-orbiting satellite on a $424 million mission to analyze airborne grit 

spewed by volcanoes, forest fires, smokestacks and tailpipes. The Glory satellite is slated to blast off 

before dawn Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base aboard a Taurus XL rocket. Once boosted to 

an altitude of 440 miles (700 kilometers), it will join a fleet of satellites that has been collecting climate 

data for years. Its main job will be to study fine airborne particles known as aerosols. Smaller than the 

diameter of a human hair, these ubiquitous specks can track great distances across the globe and are 

largely responsible for producing hazy skies. Scientists know very Uttle about aerosols and their effect on 

climate. A better understanding is criticaJ to improving climate models. Dozens of satellites have studied 

aerosols over the past 50 years. But Glory is designed to make the most accurate aerosol measurements 

from space by studying how widely distributed they are and their various properties. Besides tracking 

aerosols in the atmosphere, Glory will also monitor changes in solar activity to determine the sun's effect 

on cUmate. Glory will be launched aboard a four-stage Taurus XL rocket built by Orbital Sciences Corp. 

The mission marks Taurus XL's return to flight after a failure in 2009 that resulted in the loss of a NASA 

global warming satellite. Glory, which weighs about half of a Volkswagen Beetle, will operate for at 

least three years. The spacecraft chassis was recycled from a mission that never flew and had to be 

retrofitted to accommodate the two key instruments. The mission was supposed to fly last November, but 

a problem with the solar panels delayed launch by three months. Once in low-Earth orbit, Glory will join 

a convoy of satellites already collecting climate information. The spacecraft's unusual name was derived 

from an atmospheric phenomenon caused by the scattering of sunlight by water droplets in a cloud. Web 

posted. (2011). [NASA to launch newest Earth-observation satellite [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .usatoday.com/ [20 11 , February 20].] 

37 
Discovery crew headed to KSC today 

The six astronauts flying Discovery's final mission are scheduled to fly into Kennedy Space Center later 

this afternoon. Mission commander Steve Lyndsey, pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Mike Barratt, 

Steve Bowen, AI Drew and Nicole Stott are due in around 3:45p.m. in a fleet ofT-38 trainingjets. The 

crew and Discovery are scheduled to launch an 11-day mission to the International Space Station at 4:50 

p.m. Thursday. The mission's official three-day countdown is expected to begin at 3 p.m. Monday. This 

morning, a Russian Progress cargo ship was scheduled to undock from the space station, clearing a port 

for Europe's Johannes Kepler resupply ship, which launched last Wednesday and plans to to dock hours 

before Discovery's launch Thursday. Web posted. (20 II). [Discovery crew headed to KSC today 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 , February 20].] 

February 21: NASA Picks Up Shuttle Countdown 

NASA picked up the countdown today to the planned launch Thursday of shuttle Discovery and a crew of 

six astronauts on the orbiter's 39th and final flight. A staff of about 150 to 200 engineers were called to 

their stations in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control Center at Kennedy Space Center at 2:30p.m. 

Countdown clocks started ticking backward from the T-Minus 43 hour mark at 3 p.m. There is about 27 

hours of built-in hold time in the countdown-- time available to catch up on launch preparations or work 

any technical problems. Liftoff is set for 4:50p.m. Thursday-- the middle of a I 0-minute opportunity to 

put Discovery and its crew on course for a rendezvous and docking at the lnternational Space Station. 

NASA Test Director Jeff Spaulding told reporters earlier today that all work leading up to the countdown 

went smoothly. Kathy Winters, the shuttle weather officer with the Air Force 45th Space Wing Weather 

Squadron, said there is an 80 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for flight on Thursday. A front 

will start crossing over the Florida peninsula the following day, raising the chances that low clouds could 

prevent a launch. There is a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather on Friday and a 60 percent chance 

on Saturday. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Picks Up Shuttle Countdown [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 , February 21].] 

Can tax credits entice space-related businesses to Florida? 

When the space shuttle is retired later this year, Kennedy Space Center will tum into a virtual ghost town, 

without a government rocket to launch for the first time in 50 years. The only launch activity will be at 

nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where United Launch Alliance sends up satellites and SpaceX 

is set to continue testing the Flacon 9 rocket it plans to send to the International Space Station. State 

Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, ii.s trying to spur launch activity with HB 873, wltich would 

provide tax incentives to new space-related ventures in hopes of providing jobs to the 7,000 or so shuttle 

workers looking at imminent layoffs. The bill creates a fully transferable net operating loss tax credit, 

which would allow space-related businesses to sell their net operating losses to other Florida companies 

for cash. The bill also credits a non-transferable corporate income tax credit of up to 50 percent for a 

conunercial space-related business. To qualify for either incentive, a space business must create or 

maintain at least 35 jobs and invest a minimum of $15 million in infrastructure development within three 

years of the bill's effective date. "Florida is no longer the national leader in space-related incentives. 

Other states are passing us by, so the Legislature must take action to attract more space 

businesses," Crisafulli said in a statement. "97% of the space-related market opportunity is located 

outside of Florida - it is ours to capture, and this bill will help us do just that." Web posted. (2011). [Can 

tax credits entice space-related businesses to Florida? [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www .orlandosentinel.com/ [20 11 , February 21 ].] 

X-37B spacecraft joins up witb Atlas launcher 

The second Orbital Test Vehicle, the U.S. military's secretive mini space shuttle, arrived at the Atlas 5 

rocket's assembly hangar Monday morning for mounting atop the launcher. Liftoff is scheduled for March 

4 from Cape Canaveral's Complex 41. Already shrouded within in the aerodynantic nose cone for launch, 

the OTV 2 spaceplane was hauled across the Cape overnight from its processing area to the Atlas' 

38 
Vertical Integration Facility. A heavy-duty crane hoisted the payload into the towering VIF around 8:30 

a.m. and cautiously positioned above the two-stage launcher for mating later in the day. The next couple 

of weeks will see a full array of combined systems testing and final readiness reviews conducted before 

giving a "go" to fly. The United Launch Alliance rocket will be rolled to the nearby launch pad aboard a 

mobile platform the day before liftoff. Comprised of the kerosene-fueled first stage, the single-engine 

cryogenic Centaur upper stage, the large Swiss-made nose cone and no strap-on solid motors, this Atlas is 

known as the 501 configuration. The Atlas was wheeled to the pad for a countdown dress rehearsal 

earlier this month, rolling out February 3, undergoing a simulated launch day and fueling exercise on 

February 4 and then returning to the VIF on February 5. The mission follows the successful first OTV test 

flight last year that began with an April 22 launch from Florida, more than seven months spent in orbit 

and then concluded with a pinpoint landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on December 3. 

Air Force officials hailed the first OTV mission as a complete success in demonstrating the unmanned 

craft's ability to operate in orbit, carrying out in-space operations and then autonomously returning to 

Earth for a runway landing. The upcoming flight of the second spaceplane will continue developing the 

X-37B program's capabilities. However, exactly what is being carried within the craft's payload bay is 

classified. This will be the Atlas rocket's first of five planned launches this year. Further missions include 

a National Reconnaissance Office payload on April 12, a new-generation missile warning satellite in early 

May, NASA's Juno probe bound for Jupiter in August and the Mars Science Laboratory rover in 

November. Web posted. (2011). [X-37B spacecraft joins up with Atlas launcher [Online). Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , February 21).] 

February 22: List of NASA CCDev Callbacks Grows to Eight 

As it awaits congressional action on its 2011 budget, NASA is proceeding with plans to award roughly 

$200 million to companies developing technologies in support oftbe agency's commercial space 

transportation goals. NASA contacted eight companies in February, inviting Alliant Techsystems (ATK), 

Blue Origin, Boeing, Excalibur Almaz, Orbital Sciences Corp., Sierra Nevada Corp., Space Exploration 

Technologies (SpaceX) and United Launch Alliance (ULA) to Johnson Space Center in Houston to 

discuss their proposals for a second round of awards under the agency's Commercial Crew Development 

(CCDev) program, according to industry sources. NASA hopes to make the awards in March. NASA 

spokesman Michael Braukus said in a Feb. 22 e-mail that procurement regulations prevent NASA from 

commenting on questions about CCDev. Multiple industry sources had said NASA contacted six 

companies in writing the week ofF eb. 14, inviting them to discuss their bids in Houston and laying out 

the strengths and weaknesses of specific proposals. NASA started the CCDev program in 2009 with $50 

million in economic stimulus funds. The agency awarded the first round of contracts last February to a 

mix of five new and established aerospace firms, including Blue Origin, Boeing, Sierra Nevada and ULA. 

NASA officials have said the value of the second round of CCDev contracts, known as CCDev 2, will 

depend on funds appropriated tbis year. Tbe NASA Authorization Act of2010 recommended Congress 

appropriate $312 million for NASA's commercial crew initiatives this year. However, the U.S. House of 

Representatives approved a continuing resolution Feb. 19 that would slash funding for NASA in the 

remaining seven months of this fiscal year by about $600 million below the $18.7 billion appropriated for 

the agency in 2010. Web posted. (2011). [List ofNASA CCDev Callbacks Grows to Eight [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 , February 22].] 

Former space shutt]e workers find new home at ~mbraer 

Having a reservoir of skilled aerospace workers is already paying off for Brevard County. At a ribbon 

cutting Monday for Brazilian j et manufacturer Embraer S.A.'s first U.S final assembly aircraft plant at 

Melbourne lntemational Airport, executives said the company has hired 61 people for its operation. 

Eighteen of those new employees-- 30 percent of the total so far-- previously worked on the NASA's 

shuttle program. Soon they will be working on assembling and outfitting Embraer's Phenom 100 and 300 

executive jets. More former shuttle workers are expected to be hired as Embraer heads toward its 200-

person employment level in Melbourne. Finding other skilled jobs for displaced space shuttle workers 

39 
has become a priority for local economic development officials. They predict at least 8,000 workers will 

lose their jobs when the space shuttle program ends later tlus year. Shuttle workers are attractive hires 

because of their work ethic, their rigid adherence to safety and their ability to follow process and 

procedure. Two other aviation companies soon to break ground at Melbourne lnternational, AAR Corp. 

and MidairUSA, also noted that the skiUed work force was a big advantage for the Space Coast over other 

communities they were considering. Web posted. (2011). [Former space shuttle workers find new home 

at Embraer [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, February 22].] 

Space Shuttle Discovery counts down toward launch 

NASA is counting down to the planned launch Thursday of shuttle Discovery and six astronauts on the 

orbiter's final flight into space. Grounded for four months by dangerous external tank defects, Discovery 

and its crew are slated to blast off from Kennedy Space Center at 4:50 p.m. Thursday. The orbiter's 39th 

flight will cap a career that has included missions to the International Space Station, the Hubble Space 

Telescope, Russia's space station Mir and the first flights after the 1986 Challenger disaster and the 2003 

Columbia accident. John Glenn flew aboard Discovery on his 1998 return to space at age 77. Now 

poised for launch at pad 39A, Discovery has been upright on its mobile launcher platform a near-record 

168 days. Only Columbia's 183-day stand on its platform before a 1990 astronomy mission was longer. 

Columbia's STS-35 mission was grounded by external tank hydrogen leaks. Discovery's extended stay on 

its launch platform is the result of cracks engineers detected in support braces in the ribbed midsection of 

the tank. NASA's oceanside shuttle launch pad will be cleared of aU but essential personnel early today 

so engineers in Firing Room 4 can load liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into storage tanks aboard the 

orbiter. The chemical reactants are combined in shuttle fuel cells to generate the electricity needed to 

power spaceship systems. That hazardous operation will begin around 12:30 p.m. and the pad will be 

reopened for other work at 6 p.m. An on-time launch Thursday would lead toward a 12:44 p.m. March 7 

landing at KSC's three-mile shuttle runway. In that case, Discovery will have tallied 362 days, 23 hours, 

54 nlinutes and 29 seconds in flight. Web posted. (2011). [Space Shuttle Discovery counts down toward 

launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, February 22].] 

NASA Seeks Nonprofit ISS Manager 

Officials from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) outlined the key features of a 

solicitation for proposals for an independent, nonprofit research management organization to foster and 

manage the use of the International Space Station (ISS) as a National Laboratory yesterday. Mark Uhran, 

ISS assistant associate administrator, explained that since 2005 when the ISS was designated by law as a 

national laboratory, 50 percent of the U.S. portion of the ISS has been made available for research by 

non-NASA entities, such as universities, private firms, and otl1er government agencies. Based on another 

law, the 20 I 0 NASA authorization act, the agency is now seeking to create an organization to manage this 

non-NASA research. He clarified that NASA will maintain control of the other 50 percent necessary for 

pursuing its own goals, which are focused on basic scientific research, biomedical human research, and 

technology development. Uhran said the organization should be in place by the end of this fiscal year, 

with activities ramping up as commercial transportation systems to the ISS come on line in the next 12-18 

months. With a $ 15 million budget for the national laboratory, the relatively small organization- 15-25 

people - will be tasked with communicating with potential user communities, managing agreements, as 

well as overseeing the execution of approved projects. Uhran explained that progress on using the ISS as 

a national lab is very important because it will fulfill the vision of a station "built not solely for NASA 

usage." He said the goal is to "maxinuze [ISS's] value to the American public" for their investment and 

that its long-term productivity will be measured both by NASA and non-NASA usage. Creation of the 

non-profit organization will "be an important step in ensuring that that productivity is realized," he added. 

The deadline for proposals is April I, 2011 and selection will be made by the end of May. Web posted. 

(2011). [NASA Seeks Nonprofit ISS Manager [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/ [2011 , February 23].] 

40 
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February 23: California rocket launch scrubbed this morning 

A Taurus XL rocket and its climate-probing satellite payload were just minutes away from blastoff today 

from a minimalist launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. But a technical problem halted 

the countdown and scrubbed the liftoff for 24 hours. Another try is targeted for tomorrow at 2:09a.m. 

local (5:09a.m. EST). Web posted. (20 11). [California rocket launch scrubbed this morning [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, February 23].] 

NASA Managers: It's a "Go" for Launch 

At today's pre-launch news conference NASA's mission management team have given their unanimous 

approval for space shuttle Discovery's launch tomorrow at 4:50 p.m. EST. "Everything is on track and 

going beautifully with the countdown," said Mike Moses, mission management team chair. "We're really 

looking forward to a very action-packed, successful mission and everything is on track." Mike Leinbach, 

shuttle launch director, agreed that everything is going extremely well with the launch countdown. He 

also acknowledged the processing teams who worked on Discovery, its flight systems and ground 

elements. "As we're powering up (the systems) we're seeing no problems at all." Kathy Winters, shuttle 

weather officer, reported that the weather remains exceptional with only a 20 percent chance that weather 

will be prohibitive at launch time. The only slight issue may be a localized off-shore shower in the late 

afternoon. The forecast during tanking also is looking very good. At 7:15 a.m. EST NASA TV will begin 

coverage of the fueling of the external tank. Launch coverage for Discovery's final mission to the 

International Space Station will begin at II :30 a.m. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Managers: It's a "Go" 

for Launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 , February 23].] 

Discovery Unveiled On Eve of Last Launch 

NASA unveiled shuttle Discovery at Kennedy Space Center tonight on the eve of its planned launch to 

the International Space Station -- it's 39th and final flight. The Rotating Service Structure at Launch 

Complex 39A began backing away from the 18-story spaceship shortly after 8 p.m., leaving the launch 

vehicle poised for a planned 4:50p.m. liftoff on STS-133, a mission primarily aimed at delivery a 

spacious storage module to the outpost. The gantry move cleared the way for NASA engineers to begin 

loading more than a half-million gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the shuttle's 

15-story external tank. Cracks in support braces in the ribbed mid-section of the tank created one of the 

most difficult technical challenges NASA has faced in the 30-year history of the shuttle program and the 

test, analyses and ultimate repairs on the tank prompted a four-month delay in the launch. Senior mission 

managers will meet at 7 a.m. to decide whether to fuel the external tank and make a launch attempt on 

Thursday. A three-hour external tan propellant-loading operation is scheduled to begin at 7:25a.m. Web 

posted. (2011). [Discovery Unveiled On Eve of Last Launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

htto://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 , February 23].] 

STS-133 Countdown Timeline 

The launch window is roughly 10 minutes long. To maximize ascent performance, NASA targets the 

middle of the window. A fmal hold in the countdown at the T-minus nine-minute mark will be extended 

as required to hit the desired launch time. 

Wed 02 /23/11 

40 . . . 45 ... 00 ... 12 : 00 AM ...... SSME throat plug removal 

37 ... 45 ... 00 ... 03:00AM ...... Countdown resumes 

37 . .. 45 ... 00 ... 03:00AM ...... Main engine preps 

37 ... 45 ... 00 ... 03 : 00AM ...... MECs 1 and 2 on; avionics system checkout 

34 ... 45 ... 00 ... 06 : 00AM ...... FRCS Tyvek cover remova/inspect 

31 ... 15 ... 00 ... 09:30AM ..... . Deflate RSS dock seals; tile inspection 

30 ... 45 ... 00 . . . 10 :00 AM ..... . Tile inspection 

30 ... 45 ... 00 . . . 10 :00 AM ..... . TSM prepped for fueling 

41 
29 . . . 55 .. . 26 ... 10 : 49 AM . . . . . . Crew orbiter/payload briefings 

29 ... 45 . .. 00 . . . 11 : 00 AM ... . .. Begin 13 - hour 25- minute hold 

28 . . . 15 ... 00 .. . 12 : 30 PM ..... . RSS rotation preps 

28 .. . 15 . . . 00 . . . 12:30 PM .. . . .. OIS communications check with JSC 

27 . .. 25 ... 00 . . . 01 : 20PM . . . . . . JSC flight control team on station 

26 . . . 15 .. . 00 . .. 02:30 PM . ..... Comm activation 

25 . . . 45 ... 00 . . . 03 : 00PM ..... . Crew module voice checks 

24 . . . 45 ... 00 . . . 04 : 00 PM .. . . . . L- 1 engineering briefing 

24 . . . 27 ... 00 . . . 04 : 18 PM .. . ... Crew weather briefing 

23 . .. 45 .. . 00 . . . 05 :00 PM .. . . . . Flight crew equipment late stow 

20 ... 45 . . . 00 . .. 08:00PM . . . . . . RSS to park position 

19 . .. 45 ... 00 . . . 09 : 00 PM . ..... Fi nal TPS, debris inspection 

19 ... 15 ... 00 . . . 09 : 30PM . ..... Ascent switch list 

Thu 02/24/11 

16 . .. 20 . . . 00 . . . 12 : 25 AM . . . . . . Resume countdown 

16 ... 00 . . . 00 .. . 12:45 AM .... . . Pad clear of non-essential personnel 

16 ... 00 ... 00 ... 12 : 45 AM .. . . . . APU bite test 

15 . .. 10 . . . 00 ... 01:35AM . ... . . Fuel cell activation 

14 ... 20 . . . 00 . . . 02 : 25 AM . . . . . . Booster joint heater activation 

13 ... 50 ... 00 ... 02:55AM .. . . . . MEC pre-flight bite test 

13 ... 35 . .. 00 ... 03:10AM ...... Tanking weather update 

12 . . . 50 . . . 00 . .. 03 : 55AM . . . . . . Final fueling preps; launch area clear 

12 . . . 20 . . . 00 . . . 04 :2 5AM . ..... Red crew assembled 

11 . . . 35 .. . 00 . . . 05:10AM ...... Fuel cell integrity checks complete 

11 ... 20 ... 00 . .. 05 : 25AM ...... Begin 2-hour built-in hold (T-minus 6 hours) 

11 ... 10 . . . 00 . . . 05 : 35 AM ...... Safe- and- a rm PIC test 

10 . .. 32 ... 00 .. . 06 : 13AM ...... Crew wakeup 

10 . . . 20 .. . 00 . . . 06:25AM . ..... External tank ready for loading 

10 . .. 02 . . . 00 . .. 06 : 43 AM ...... Mission management team tanking meeting 

09 . . . 20 ... 00 ... 07:15 AM ...... NASA TV fueling coverage begins 

09 ... 20 ... 00 . . . 07 : 45 AM . ..... Resume countdown (T- mi nus 6 hours) 

09 . .. 20 ... 00 . . . 07:25 AM ...... L02 , LH2 transfer line chilldown 

09 . . . 10 ... 00 . . . 07 : 35 AM . . .... Main propulsion system chill down 

09 . .. 10 .. . 00 .. . 07:35AM ...... LH2 slow fill 

08 . .. 40 ... 00 . . . 08 : 05AM . ..... L02 slow fill 

08 . .. 35 ... 00 . . . 08 : 10AM ..... . Hydrogen ECO sensors go wet 

08 . .. 30 . . . 00 . . . 08 : 15AM .... . . L02 fast fill 

08 . . . 20 ... 00 . . . 08 : 25AM . . ... . LH2 fast fill 

06 ... 25 . . . 00 . . . 10 : 20 AM .. . . . . LH2 topping 

06 . . . 20 . . . 00 ... 10 : 25 AM ... . . . LH2 replenish 

06 . . . 20 . . . 00 ... 10:25 AM .. . ... L02 replenish 

06 ... 20 . . . 00 . . . 10 : 25 AM . . . . . . Begin 2-hour 30-minute built- in hol d (T- minus 3 

hours) 

06 . .. 20 . . . 00 ... 10:25 AM .... .. Closeout crew to white room 

06 .. . 20 . . . 00 . .. 10 : 25 AM . . . . . . External tank in stable repleni sh mode 

06 ... 17 . . . 00 . .. 10 : 28 AM . . . . . . Ascent flight control team on console 

06 ... 05 . . . 00 ... 10 : 40 AM . . . . . . Astronaut support personnel comm checks 

05 .. . 35 . . . 00 .. . 11 : 10 AM . . . . . . Pre-ingress switch reconfig 

05 ... 15 . . . 00 ... 11 : 30 AM . . . . .. NASA TV launch coverage begins 

04 . . . 25 . . . 00 . . . 12 : 20 PM ..... . Final crew weather briefing 

42 
-- ------~-----------~- -----

04 ... 15 ... 00 ... 12:30 PM . . . ... Crew suit up begins 

03 ... 50 .. . 00 . . . 12 ::55 PM .. . . . . Resume countdown (T-minus 3 hours) 

03 ... 45 . . . 00 ... 01 :00 PM ...... Crew departs O&C bui lding 

03 ... 15 . .. 00 ... 01:30PM ...... Crew ingress 

02 ... 2 5 ... 00 ... 02 .:20 PM ...... Astronaut comm checks 

02 ... 00 ... 00 ... 02:45PM . . . . .. Hatch closure 

01 ... 30 ... 00 ... 03 : 15PM . . . . .. White room closeout 

01 ... 10 ... 00 . . . 03:35PM ...... Begin 10-minute built- in hold (T-minus 20m) 

01 ... 00 ... 00 ... 03:45PM ...... NASA test director countdown briefing 

01 . . . 00 ... 00 ... 03:45PM ...... Resume coun tdown (T-minus 20m) 

00 ... 59 ... 00 ... 03:46PM ...... Backup flight computer to OPS 1 

00 . .. 55 ... 00 ... 03:50PM ..... . KSC area clear to launch 

00 ... 49 ... 00 ... 03 : 56PM ...... Begin final built-in hold (T-minus 9m) 

00 ... 24 ... 00 ... 04 : 21PM ...... NTD launch status verification 

00 ... 09 ... 00 ... 04:41:27 PM ... Resume countdown (T-minus 9m) 

00 . . . 07 . . . 30 . . . 04:42:57 PM ... Orbiter access arm retraction 

00 . . . 05 ... 00 ... 04:45:27 PM . . . Launch window opens 

00 ... 05 ... 00 ... 04 :45 : 27 PM ... Hydraulic power system (APU) start 

00 ... 04 . . . 55 . . . 04 :45 : 32 PM ... Terminate L02 replenish 

00 ... 04 . . . 00 ... 04:46 : 27 PM ... Purge sequence 4 hydrauli c test 

00 ... 04 ... 00 ... 04:46:27 PM ... IMUs to inertial 

00 ... 03 ... 55 ... 04:46:32 PM ... Aerosurface profile 

00 ... 03 ... 30 ... 04 : 46 : 57 PM ... Main engine steering test 

00 ... 02 . .. 55 .. . 0 4:47 : 32 PM ... L02 tank pressurization 

00 . . . 02 . . . 35 . .. 04 : 47:52 PM ... Fuel cells to internal reactants 

00 ... 02 ... 30 ... 04:47 : 57 PM ... Clear caution-and-warning memory 

00 ... 02 ... 00 ... 04:48:27 PM ... Crew closes visors 

00 ... 01 . . . 57 . . . 04:48:30 PM ... LH2 tank pressurization 

00 . . . 00 .. . 50 ... 04 : 49:37 PM ... SRB joint heater deactivation 

00 . . . 00 ... 31 ... 04 : 49:56 PM . . . Shuttle GPCs take control of countdown 

00 .. . 00 ... 21 . .. 04:50:06 PM ... SRB steering test 

00 ... 00 ... 07 ... 04:50:20 PM ... Main engine start (T- 6 . 6 seconds) 

00 ... 00 ... 00 ... 04:50:27 PM ... SRB ignition (LAUNCH ) 

Web posted. (2011). [STS-133 Countdown Timeline [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ (2011, February 23).) 

Educational Balloon Will Attempt Photos of Discovery Launch 

"If all goes according to plan, a balloon with a student-oriented payload will photograph Space Shuttle 

Discovery as it climbs into space from an altitude of 100,000 feet. There will also be live streaming video 

from the balloon itself during the mission - sent back by two regular smartphones running Google's 

Android operating system. Co-sponsored by the Challenger Center for Space Science Education, this 

mission is one in a series of flights conducted by Quest for Stars, a California-based non-profit 

educational organization that uses off-the-shelf hardware and a little ingenuity to allow students to place 

experiments at the edge of space at exceptionally low cost. Quest for Stars and the Challenger Center for 

Space Science Education have now joined together to promote the use of these low cost delivery systems. 

This mission will be the first of what is hoped to be many future collaborations." Web posted. (2011). 

[Educational Balloon Will Attempt Photos of Discovery Launch From 100,000 ft [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.nasawatch.com/ [2011 , February 23).] 

Engineers' society 50 years old 

43 

---l I 

I 
As the shuttle program ends this year, throwing thousands of engineers out of work, the Canaveral 

Council of Technical Societies is seeing a resurgence in interest as it marks its 50th anniversary. 

Organizers and longtime members hope the organization, which saw its membership peak as the Apollo 

program shifted into the shuttle program 30 years ago, can become a focal point for networking as the 

new era of the commercial space industry unfolds. "One of the aims of the organization is to be a way of 

bringing different groups together," CCTS vice chaim1an David Fleming, a professor of mechanical and 

aerospace engineering at Florida Tech, said. The renewed interest already seems to be taking hold, at 

least if interest in the group's annual banquet is any indicator. Some 117 people have signed up to attend 

the Thursday event, nearly twice as many as last year. Several new corporate sponsors also have signed 

up, indicating their interest in using the organization as a networking springboard. Founded in 1960, 

CCTS included 28 local technical societies at its peak 20 years later. Some 19 groups remain in the fold. 

Until 2004, CCTS sponsored the Space Congress, an annual week-long gathering of space experts who 

traveled to Cocoa Beach to share information and learn about the latest developments in the field of 

aerospace engineering. But since the last Space Congress, CCTS has seen its membership become 

smaller, older and less enthusiastic. The purpose of CCTS is to promote and support the technical, 

scientific, engineering and professional organizations of the Space Coast . Founder Jack Wiles, who died 

in 2008, envisioned a social and technical interchange that would allow engineers from different 

disciplines to share information. "We didn't have near as many places that you could go and meet 

people," said mechanical engineer James W. Johnson, 80, who worked five years for The Boeing Co. and 

30 years for NASA. "He wanted to get people to come to meetings." CCTS hopes to be a framework to 

organize new business in the post-shuttle era. Web posted. (2011). [Engineers' society 50 years old 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/ [2011 , February 23].] 

NASA Schedules Next Glory Mission Launch Attempt 

The launch of NASA's Glory spacecraft from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California is currently 

planned for no earlier than Friday, Feb. 25 at 5:09a.m. EST. Engineers from NASA and Orbital Sciences 

Corp. continue to troubleshoot a technical issue that arose during Wednesday's initial launch attempt. The 

target launch date also will ensure personnel get the required rest before entering another countdown. 

The Glory satellite is being launched aboard an Orbital Sciences Taurus XL rocket on a mission to 

improve our understanding of how the sun and tiny atmospheric particles called aerosols affect Earth's 

climate. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Schedules Next Glory Mission Launch Attempt [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 , February 23].] 

Hoped-for space shuttle Atlantis flight now planned 

NASA's hope to fly three more space shuttle flights, including Thursday's launch of Discovery, now 

appear close enough to be met that managers are counting on it. Mike Moses, space shuttle launch 

integration manager for NASA, said Wednesday at a Kennedy Space Center press briefmg that agency 

budget crunchers are confident they have found the money to launch and fly Atlantis on one extra flight 

this year. Until now, NASA had been counting for sure on only two more space shuttle launches: 

Discovery, plus that of Endeavour as early as April 19. The proposed final mission for Atlantis, known 

as as STS-135, was sought, but not officially funded. While it stiU might not be firmly funded, and while 

NASA's funding still can change, Moses said NASA now is counting on it. It could launch as early as 

Jw1e 28. "We have a plan in place to shuffle the money around and fund the flight, STS-135," Moses 

said. "I'll say it generically how I portray it to the troops ... effectively we've gotten the letter from 

headquarters saying we 'II be able to fly STS-135 regardless of what happens in the next budget." He 

cautioned that scenarios could change, but suggested the current expectation is the flight will happen. 

"For all intents and purposes we've switched to: that's a manifested mission plan, and we are launching 

this vehicle on 135," he said. Web posted. (2011). [Hoped-for space shuttle Atlantis flight now planned 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, February 23].] 

NASA chief looks to commercial crafts for space station 

44 
The space shuttle program should have come to an end a long time ago, NASA administrator Charles 

Bolden told CNN in an exclusive interview Wednesday. The 30-year program has been kept on life 

support because the United States has not readied another vehicle to take its place. "What is not 

acceptable is the fact that the most powerful nation in the world, the United States of America, finds itself 

in a situation that we didn't do the proper planning to have a vehicle in place to replace shuttle when it 

lands its last landing," Bolden said. NASA originally planned to retire the aging shuttle fle.et last 

September, but mission delays have pushed that date. But once Endeavour, Atlantis and Discovery are 

permanently grounded, Russia's aging Soyuz capsules will ferry astronauts and cosmonauts to the space 

station and bring what supplies can fit in the smaller craft. And that will have to do, perhaps throughout 

this decade, until commercial cargo spacecraft are available. The last shuttle landing, according to the 

administrator, will not be in April when Endeavour is scheduled to fly. NASA says it wants one more 

mission to resupply the space station. That flight would be STS-135 this summer, using the Atlantis 

orbiter and designated with the acronym that stands for "Space Transportation System." But whether 

NASA will have the money for the flight-- about a half a billion dollars-- is in question. "We are 

budgeted for 135 and unless something disastrous happens, it's our intent to fly it," said Bolden, "It's in 

the authorization bill signed by the president back in November, so for me it's the law and I'm excited 

about it because I need it, so we plan to fly 135." That would leave three flights before the program ends. 

STS-133 using Discovery sits on the launch pad ready to make its last trip into space Thursday. In April, 

STS-134 with Endeavour is schedule to fly. Commanding that mission is astronaut Mark Kelly. With 

those launches, the nation is seeing an end to its only means of putting humans in space. It is also seeing 

an end to a program that caught the public's attention nearly 30 years ago, with the launch on April 12, 

1981 , of the shuttle Columbia on the program's first mission. Bolden hopes that at least two commercial 

space companies will emerge to transport astronauts to the International Space Station. Tllis will allow 

NASA to concentrate on building a new heavy-lift rocket capable of leaving lower Earth orbit. There had 

been concern whether the space agency would have enough money to develop this vehicle. Bolden said 

the money is there to build a vehicle that will evolve over time. "When I say we are not going to do 

things the way we used to, we're not building the world's heaviest, biggest rocket right out of the chute. 

It's going to take us ... a decade or so to get to the point that we have the final vehicle that is going to take 

the first humans to Mars," said Bolden. The White House bas said it wants humans on Mars by the mid2030s. Right now, Bolden says his priority is flying these last three shuttle missions and bringing the 

astronauts home safely. Web posted. (2011). [CNN Exclusive: NASA chief looks to commercial crafts 

for space station [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ [2011, February 23].) 

Nice weather, big crowds expected for Discovery's last launch 

NASA tonight plans to unveil Discovery for its final flight, a planned 4:50 p.m. Thursday blastoff 

expected to draw fair weather and big crowds to the Space Coast. "People are starting to realize that they 

either see one now or they don't get to see one at all," said Steve Payne, a NASA test director. "There's 

been a lot of interest, a lot of people trying to come out. It ought to be a good show." On Tuesday, the 

countdown to the first of the last three shuttle flights continued smoothly at Kennedy Space Center. 

NASA reported a slight leak from a helium regulator in Discovery's orbital thruster system, but said the 

problem was minor. "We've seen this condition before, it is well within acceptable limits and we're going 

to accept it for flight," Payne said. Propellants were loaded into the fuel cells that power the orbiter's 

electrical systems during flight. Mission commander Steve Lindsey and pilot Eric Boe practiced landings 

in a Gulfstream II jet modified to handle like an orbiter on descent. The forecast remained 80-percent 

"go" for Thursday afternoon's 1 0-minute launch window. "The weather is good and is going to remain 

good all the way through all of our pre-launch processing and into launch day," said Kathy Winters, the 

shuttle weather officer. Today, the last pieces of crew equipment and time-sensitive experiments will be 

stowed on Discovery's mid-deck. At 8 p.m., teams are scheduled to swing open the 13-story rotating 

gantry at launch pad 39A to expose Discovery for fueling and flight Thursday. The shuttle and its crew of 

six are set to fly an 11-day mission to the International Space Station to deliver a storage module, a spare 

radiator and a human-like robot. "The really big stuff we need to take up while we can," Payne said. 

45 
After a nearly four-month mission delay to repair Discovery's external tank, Payne said the tank was 

"stronger than it was when it was new" and launch teams were ready. "We're all looking forward to a 

successful launch on Thursday," he said. Web posted. (20 II). [Nice weather, big crowds expected for 

Discovery's last launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, February 23].] 

2 hurt after contact with power line at Astronaut Hall of Fame 

Two workers were seriously injured on the grounds of the United States Astronaut Hall of Fame after 

coming in contact with a power line while putting up a hospitality tent in preparation for Thursday's 

launch of the space shuttle. The incident happened about II :30 a.m. at 6200 Vectorspace Blvd., which 

sits off of the Indian River Lagoon. Bystanders - including a group of about 50 students on a field trip 

- saw a bright flash and witnessed the two men knocked to the ground. Four workers had been erecting a 

metal-frame tent and readying it for a nearby stage when the shock occurred. One of the men was 

severely burned but both were breathing, said Scott Gaenicke, spokesman for the Titusville Police 

Department. "Two of the four workers felt a tingle and quickly let go. The tent apparently came in 

contact with the power mine. They were getting ready for the launch tomorrow," Gaenicke said of the 

incident. "There were a lot of people around." Florida Power & Light crews shut off electricity to the 

stage area. Web posted. (2011). [2 hurt after contact with power line at Astronaut Hall of Fame [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 II, February 23].] 

February 24: Space shuttle Discovery facts and timeline 

Name: Drawn from several historic ships including Henry Hudson's exploring Hudson Bay in the 1600s 

and James Cook's exploring South Pacific in the 1770s, discovering Hawaiian Islands. Figures: Third 

shuttle commissioned, following Columbia and Challenger. Mission STS-133 will be its 39th and last, 

most of any shuttle. Will have carried 252 crew members, most. Orbited Earth 5,628 times, going 143 

million miles. Highest shuttle orbit, 360 miles. Highlights: Launched Hubble Space Telescope. Fixed 

Hubble Space Telescope. Carried two U.S. Senators into space, Jake Gam and John Glenn. Flew both 

"return to flight" missions, following Challenger and Columbia disasters. Notable astronauts: Charlie 

Bolden (NASA administrator,) Michael Coats (director of Johnson Space Center,) Eileen Collins, Jake 

Garn, John Glenn, Rick Husband, Mark Kelly, Sergie Krikalev, Tom Mattingly, Story Musgrave, Lisa 

Nowak, Judith Resnick. Tirneline: Aug. 30, 1984: Maiden flight, launched three satellites; April 12, 

1985: Carried U.S. Sen. Jake Gam (R-Utah) into space; Sept. 29, 1988: Return to flight mi.ssion after 

1986 Challenger disaster; April 24, 1990: Delivered Hubble Space Telescope to orbit; Oct. I 0, 1990: 

Delivered Ulysses spacecraft to explore Sun; Feb. 3, 1994: Carried first Russian cosmonaut, Sergei 

Krikalev, on U.S. shuttl e; Feb. 3, 1995: First female shuttle pilot, Eileen Collins; Feb. 11, 1997: Fixed 

Hubble Space Telescope; Oct. 29, 1998: Carried U.S. Sen. John Glenn (D-Ohio) in his return to space; 

May 27, 1999: First shuttle docking to the International Space Station; July 26, 2005: Return to flight 

mission after 2003 Columbia disaster; April5, 2010: Most recent mission. Web posted. (2011). [Space 

shuttle Discovery facts and timeline [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ 

[20 II, February 24].] 

NASA Performs Last-Minute Repairs on Shuttle Discovery 

NASA technicians performed a quick repair on space shuttle Discovery just in time to get back on track 

for a launch attempt today at 4:50 p.m. EST (2 150 GMT). Following a successful fix to a chipped tile 

around the space shuttle Discovery's crew hatch, the space shuttle is ready to launch toward the 

International Space Station from Launch Pad 39A here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. The mission 

will be shuttle Discovery's final spaceflight before being retired. "We're recommended to go ahead and 

continue at this time," said NASA test director Steve Payne following the repairs. "We're in a go 

configuration for flight." The issue arose when some of the black thermal covering on one of the tiles 

around the hatch of the shuttle's crew compartment was chipped when technicians at the launch pad 

removed some protective paper. All conditions are "go" for launch, NASA officials said, with weather 

predictions looking promising for this afternoon's liftoff. Commander Steve Lindsey will lead the crew of 

46 
six, including pilot Eric Boe and mission specialists Michael Barratt, Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen and 

Nicole Stott, on the I !-day STS-133 mission. Web posted. (20 11 ). [NASA Perfonns Last-Minute 

Repairs on Shuttle Discovery [Online). Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ (2011 , February 24].] 

Shuttle Discovery takes off on its final flight 

The Space Shuttle Discovery launched late Thursday afternoon from Kennedy Space Center in Florida, 

marking the start of its 39th and final flight. "This was a pretty successful day," said Bill Gerstenmaier, 

NASA's associate administrator for space operations. "It was just an amazing event." The six-member 

crew will deliver a storage module, a science rig and spare parts to the international space station during 

its 11-day mission. Originally scheduled for November, Discovery's launch had been delayed in order to 

make repairs to the external tank's support beams. And NASA halted its countdown on Thursday, at five 

minutes, because of a computer problem related to safety on the "eastern range." But after a confirmation 

that all was good to go, the countdown resumed, and the shuttle lifted off about three minutes behind its 

planned 4:50p.m. ET launch. Five minutes in, NASA's official blog reported "a good separation for solid 

rocket boosters," which separated from the main shuttle after pushing the shuttle through Earth's lower 

atmosphere. Shortly thereafter, the blog reported that the Discovery and its astronauts were "safely in 

orbit," having "performed flawlessly" on its launch. Gerstenmaier noted, and video showed, four pieces 

or" foam tearing apart from the shuttle about four minutes into launch. But the NASA administrator called 

these incidents "typical" and likely harmless, since they came off "after the area of concern" when the 

atmosphere was so thin to make its impact negligible. The crew is headed by Steve Lindsey, and includes 

a late addition in Steve Bowen -- who became the ftrst ever astronaut to fly consecutive missions after he 

was assigned to take the place ofTim Kopra, when Kopra was injured last month in a bicycle accident, 

according to NASA. Prior to Thursday's launch, Discovery had spent 352 days in orbit, circling the Earth 

5,628 times. It bas also carried 246 crew members, more than any space vehicle in history. Web posted. 

(2011). (Shuttle Discovery takes off on its final flight [Online). Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ 

[2011 , February 24].] 

NASA suspends launch of Glory after problem with ground equipment 

NASA says the launch of an Earth-observing satellite from California has been postponed because of a 

problem with ground equipment. A Taurus XL rocket carrying the Glory satellite was scheduled to lift 

off early Wednesday from Vandenberg Air Force Base. But the launch was called off when a control 

console in a launch support· van gave a false indication about the rocket's status. NASA says the console 

indicated a command had been sent when there had been no such command. Engineers have not resolved 

the error, and further launch attempts this week have been called off. NASA is weighing launch 

possibilities in March. The $434 million mission will study how airborne particles known as aerosols 

affect climate. The mission is managed by Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Web posted. 

(20 11 ). [NASA suspends launch of Glory satellite after problem with ground equipment; may try in 

March [Online). Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , February 24].] 

NASA Targets June Merger of Operations, Exploration Divisions 

NASA expects by June 5 to combine its Exploration Systems and Space Operations mission directorates 

into a single organization, dubbed the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate, according 

to internal briefing charts obtained by Space News. The new organization is expected to better-align 

NASA's manned spaceflight goals as the U.S. space agency retires its fleet of shuttle orbiters and 

outsources crew and cargo transportation to and from the international space station to private firms. Bill 

Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Space Operations Mission Directorate (SOMD), would 

oversee the merged organization, which would manage the international space station and space shuttle 

programs, commercial crew and cargo activities and the agency's new Space Launch System and MultiPurpose Crew Vehicle initiatives, among others, according to charts presented to agency officials during a 

Feb. 22 meeting. Doug Cooke, currently associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems 

Mission Directorate (ESMD), would serve as Gerstenmaier's deputy, the charts show. SOMD Deputy 

47 
Administrator Lynn Cline would become deputy associate administrator for policy and plans under 

Gersterunaier, while Cooke's deputy, Laurie Leshin, would become deputy associate administrator for 

program strategy, according to the document. John Olson, who directed the Hwnan Exploration 

Framework Team that examined options for a new human spaceflight architecture, would serve as head of 

strategic analysis in the new organization, reporting to Gerstenmaier's office. Cline would head mission 

services as acting director until a permanent lead is appointed, and Toni Mumford, who currently serves 

as chief of SOMD's Resources, Management and Analysis, would continue in that role under the merger. 

Divisions within the new directorate would include: the International Space Station, led by Mark Ubran, 

who currently serves as assistant associate administrator for the program; Commercial Hwnan 

Spaceflight, to be run on an acting basis by Phil McAlister, commercial crew planning lead at NASA 

headquarters here, until a permanent division chief is named; Human Spaceflight Research & 

Capabilities, to be led by Benjamin Neun1ann, director of the Advanced Capabilities Division currently 

housed in ESMD; Advanced Exploration Systems, to be led by Leshin until a new director is installed; 

Space Launch System and Multi-purpose Crew Vehicle, led by Dan Dumbacher, chief of the engineering 

directorate at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.; Space Communications and 

Navigation, which would continue to be led by Badri Younes; Space Shuttle, to be led by William Hill, 

currently assistant associate administrator for the program; and Launch Services, currently run by Jim 

Norman. According to the briefing charts, NASA expects to hold an all-hands meeting in late March to 

gather input from SOMD and ESMD employees. Formal notification of the merger plan would be 

presented to the White House Office of Management and Budget and the U.S. Congress for approval 

April20-22, with an estimated merger date of June 5, the charts show. Gerstenmaier and Cooke raised the 

possibility of the merger in a Dec. 20 memo to agency employees in which they said NASA 

Administrator Charles Bolden asked them to produce a plan by early 2011 for combining the two 

organizations. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Targets June Merger of Operations, Exploration Divisions 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011, February 24].] 

February 25: Discovery crew to inspect beat shields today 

Discovery's six-person crew is up for its first full day in space on the shuttle's final flight after Thursday's 

4:53 p.m. blastoff from Kennedy Space Center. The mission's first wake-up song beamed up from 

Mission Control in Houston came at 6:53 a.m. EST. The family of mission specialist Mike Barratt, a 

father of five who is enjoying his 200th day in space, selected the tune: "Through Heaven's Eyes" from 

"The Prince of Egypt." Today's work in space will focus on inspections ofDiscovery's heat shields using 

a 50-foot boom equipped with cameras and sensors attached to the shuttle's robotic arrn. The standard 

post-Columbia procedure is scheduled to begin around 11 a.m. NASA on Thursday reported at least four 

potential strikes by pieces of insulating foam that broke away from the shuttle's external tank during 

launch. But managers said all four events happened late enough during flight, when foam hits with little 

relative velocity, that they posed Little risk of damage. lmages taken today will be analyzed by teams on 

the ground for a couple of days, and a closer inspection could be ordered later in the mission if any 

damage is found. Web posted. (2011). [Discovery crew to inspect heat shields today [Online). Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 , February 25].] 

'Cryopumping' likely cause of Discovery tank foam loss 

NASA's Mission Management Team met briefly Friday to assess the initial progress of the shuttle 

Discovery's mission and review preliminary data about at least four debris "events" seen during the climb 

to space. It is not yet clear how many bits of debris might have hit the shuttle's heat shield, but all of the 

events occurred well beyond the timeframe where impacts can cause major damage. It will take several 

more days to complete the initial post-launch assessment, including analysis of detailed heat shield 

photographs that will be taken by the International Space Station's crew during Discovery's approach to 

the lab complex Saturday. But for now, based on a preliminary assessment, NASA managers are not 

concerned. The shuttle's external tank features two separate propellant tanks separated by a ribbed 

"intertank" section where the forward end of the ship's two solid-fuel boosters are attached. The lower 

48 
tank holds liquid hydrogen and the upper tank holds liquid oxygen. The base of the upper liquid oxygen 

tank is supported by a massive flange at the top of the intertank. A similar flange at the bottom supports 

the top of the liquid hydrogen tank. Between the two flanges, l 08 vertical stringers are used to strengthen 

the walls of the intertank. Discovery blasted off Thursday after a three-and-a-half-month delay to repair 

cracks in the upper few inches of stringers near the oxygen tank flange and to install modifications to 

prevent the formation of additional, potentially dangerous stress-relief fractures. MMT Chairman LeRoy 

Cain said Discovery's tank appeared to perform well during launch and that the area near the top of the 

intertank where the forward ends of 105 stringers were repaired or modified and refoamed had no obvious 

problems. But several pieces of foam debris could be seen breaking away from the lower part of the 

intertank, where the lower ends of the stringers meet the flange at the top of the hydrogen tank. Based on 

post-Columbia analysis, engineers believe a phenomenon known as "cryopumping" can cause foam to 

separate from the upper area of the hydrogen tank. Air trapped in the foam first liquifies when the tank is 

loaded with liquid hydrogen propellant at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit. During the climb to space, as the 

hydrogen level in the tank drops, the hardware warms up, the liquified air turns back into a gas and the 

pressure can cause overlying foam to pop off. Special care is taken during the manufacturing process to 

minimize the amount of trapped air that might be present in the foam, but cryopumping is a recognized --

and accepted -- risk. "This is in an area where we know we have susceptibility to what we call 

cryopumping," Cain said. "That's at the very top of the liquid hydrogen tank. When we get to this threeor four-minute time period in ascent, that part of the tank is getting relatively warm compared to what it 

had been. And so we get this cryopwnpiing and from a physics standpoint ... we know we can lose foam 

as a result ofthis cryopumping phenomenon. So that was, we believe preliminarily, the cause of this foam 

loss. "This is an area of the tank that we're very attuned to in terms of the potential for this kind of debris 

loss," he said. "So we don't have any concerns about this event. Obviously, we'll do our normal vehicle 

inspections ... to make sure the vehicle is OK." NASA hopes to launch the shuttle Endeavour April19 on 

its final flight. Endeavour's external tank has been modified like Discovery's to strengthen the stringers 

near the upper oxygen tank flange. Cain said as of now, he doubts any changes will be ordered for 

Endeavour's tank based on the results of Discovery's launch. But no final decisions will be made until 

engineers complete their post-launch assessment. Web posted. (2011). ['Cryopumping' likely cause of 

Discovery tank foam loss [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, February 

25].] 

February 26: How would a government shutdown affect NASA? 

The current continuing resolution that funds the federal government, including NASA, expires in less than 

a week: midnight on Friday, March 4. Unless Congress can agree to a new funding bill, be it a full FYll 

appropriations act, as the House passed last week with HR l, or another short-term stopgap bill, the 

federal government will be shut down-just as NASA is wrapping up the STS-133 shuttle mission to the 

ISS. For the mission itself, a shutdown would have little or no impact. "For the mission that's flying 

we'd probably consider most of the folks mission critical personnel, and that's pretty much transparent to 

us," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for space operations, in the STS-133 postlaunch press conference late Thursday. "I think from a top-level standpoint we' ll be able to just press on 

and continue kind of the way we're heading." How it might affect preparations for the final two shuttle 

missions is less clear. "We' ll kind of see what happens. We haven't really done any detailed contingency 

planning yet," Gerstermaier said of the agency's overall planning. Web posted. (2011). [How would a 

government shutdown affect NASA? [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolitics.com/ [2011, 

February 26].] 

February 27: Endeavour ready to leave hangar Monday morning 

The shuttle Endeavour will take its first steps toward space Monday when the ship moves a quarter-mile 

from its processing hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building to join a burnt orange fuel tank and twin 

solid rocket boosters. Endeavour is scheduled to back out of Orbiter Processing Facility bay No. 2 around 

7 a.m. EST (1200 GMT) Monday on a 76-wheel transporter. The 100-ton space plane has been inside 

49 
the hangar since landing on its last mission in February 20 I 0. After being thoroughly inspected and 

geared up for another mission, the orbiter's payload bay doors were closed in November. Endeavour was 

precisely weighed and workers measured its center-of-gravity Feb. 14, then technicians mounted the ship 

atop the transporter Feb. 15. Endeavour's landing gear was retracted in preparation for rollover Feb. 16. 

The shuttle's tank and boosters were mated Jan. 19. Endeavour is being prepared for its 25th and final 

spaceflight after 19 years of service. NASA currently plans to pause Endeavour's rollover to give space 

center employees a last chance to see the black-and-white ship before it goes inside the V AB later 

Monday morning. Once the orbiter moves inside the cavernous assembly building, technicians will attach 

a heavy-lifting crane sling to Endeavour and methodically unbolt the shuttle from the diesel-powered 

transporter. The crane will next hoist the 122-foot-long orbiter above the transporter, and the vehicle will 

drive out from under Endeavour. Then the shuttle will be rotated vertical, pivoted 45 degrees and lifted 

from the floor of the building's spacious transfer aisle. Endeavour should be lowered into the V AB's 

northeastern high bay early Tuesday moming next to the shuttle's bullet-shaped external tank and solid 

rocket boosters. Workers will firmly fasten Endeavour to three attach points on the foam-covered fuel 

tank, test the fully integrated shuttle and prepare it for rollout to the launch pad. Endeavour should arrive 

at launch pad 39A on March 10. The schedule calls for the shuttle launch team to load cryogenic 

propellants into Endeavour's fuel tank March 22 in a crucial prelaunch test to check the integrity of the 

tank structure and foam insulation. Endeavour's payload of spare parts and scientific gear will get to the 

launch pad March 24 and be installed in the shuttle's cargo bay March 28. The STS-134 mission will 

deliver to the space station the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a highly-sensitive instrument to seek out 

evidence of enigmatic dark matter and antimatter in the universe. Endeavour will also haul a cargo pallet 

to the station with spare parts and a U.S. Air Force experiment. The shuttle's crew will strap into 

Endeavour April 1 for a traditional countdown rehearsal. Endeavour is slated to blast off April 19 at 7:48 

p.m. EDT (2348 GMT). Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour ready to leave hangar Monday morning 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , February 27].] 

NASA: No Focused Inspection Required 

The joined crews of Discovery and the International Space Station are moving the shuttle's inspection 

boom to clear the way for the delivery of the Leonardo stowage module. Meanwhile, engineers say 

Discovery's heat-shield is in good shape and no focused inspection will be required on the sixth day of its 

39th and final flight, officials said today. Engineers poured over data beamed back from a now-standard 

inspection of heat-shield components on the second day of a shuttle flight along with photographs taken 

of the underside of the shuttle during its approach to the outpost. Had engineers needed a closer look at 

the thermal protection system, a focused inspection would have been ordered up. The fact that none will 

be required means that the shuttle's heat shield came through the climb to orbit pretty much unscathed. 

It also means none of the foam seen falling from the shuttle's external tank during launch did significant 

damage. Managers had said the foam fell away after aerodynamically sensitive early portion of flight. The 

insulation fell off after the shuttle was out of the densest parts of the atmosphere and could not have 

generated enough kinetic energy to cause critical damage. The Discovery astronauts will perform one 

more "late inspection" after the shuttle undocks from the space station to make sure no micrometeoroid 

debris damage occurs during its weeklong stay at the outpost. Web posted. (2011). [NASA: No Focused 

Inspection Required [Online]. Available WWW: htto://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , February 27].] 

February 28: Shuttle Stay At Station Extended A Day 

Discovery will remain at the International Space Station an extra day, but a decision still is pending on a 

unique photo fly-around photo opportunity. Mission managers approved the extension so Discovery's 

crew can help outfit a cylindrical storage module the astronauts aim to deliver today. A final decision is 

expected today on a proposal to send a Soyuz crew on a fly-around to photograph the station while the 

shuttle, a Russian Soyuz space taxi and robotic cargo carriers from Europe, Japan and Russia are docked 

at the outpost. The Discovery mission represents the only chance to capture images with all the docked 

50 
vehicles prior to shuttle fleet retirement. The added day at the station will push back Discovery's landing 

at Kennedy Space Center to Tuesday. Web posted. (2011 ). [Shuttle Stay At Station Extended A Day 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ thejlame trench blog [2011, February 28].] 

Space shuttle Endeavour beads to V AB 

Space shuttle Endeavour today moved closer to its own fmal launch date. Endeavour began rolling from 

its processing hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building around 7 a.m. this morning at Kennedy Space 

Center. Once inside the V AB, Endeavour will be attached to its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket 

boosters. Endeavour, which will be commanded by astronaut Mark Kelly, is targeting an April 19 launch. 

It will deliver spare parts and the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a large particle physics experiment, to 

the outpost. Web posted. (2011). [Space shuttle Endeavour heads to V AB [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench biog [2011, February 28].] 

51 
MARCH 

March 1: Taurus launch of NASA satellite rescheduled 

After being delayed last week by technical problems, a Taurus XL rocket and its Glory satellite will try 

again for liftoff early Friday [March 4th] from Vandenberg Air Force Base. The launch is planned for 

2:09 a.m. from Space Launch Complex-576E. The launch window for this mission is less than a minute 

because of where the satellite needs to be placed in space. Weather appears ready to accommodate 

Friday's launch attempt, with no concerns cited and visibility expected to be generally clear. However, if 

the launch slips to Saturday, forecasters are calling for a 30-percent likelihood conditions would violate 

rules, with thick clouds cited as the concern. The first launch attempt of the Orbital Sciences Corp. 

Taurus rocket on Feb. 23 was scrubbed about 10 minutes before liftoff due to faulty ground-support 

equipment. "Those issues have been resolved," NASA officials said. Web posted. (201 1). [Taurus 

launch of NASA satellite rescheduled [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.lompocrecord.com/ 

[20 11 , March 1 ].) 

NASA hosts 'Tweetups' to spread the word about its missions 

As the space shuttle program winds down, NASA is turning to users of the social networking site Twitter 

to help document the last launches and to spread the word about the agency's future endeavors. 

Tweetups, as they are known, bring together 15 to 150 Twitter users for a behind-the-scenes experience at 

NASA facilities nationwide. The two-hour to two-day events give attendees personal access to scientists, 

engineers, astronauts and managers. In turn, the attendees share their observations with followers, who 

could nwnber in the millions. To date, NASA has hosted 15 Tweetups at six Locations ranging from New 

York to California. The program has "been wildly successful," said Stephanie Schierholz, NASA's social 

media manager. "It [gives attendees] an opportunity to interact with their space agency .... It's been a 

great way for us to engage" the public. During the initial October 20 I 0 launch window for the space 

shuttle Discovery, for instance, NASA hosted 150 Tweeters at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Their Tweets reached close to 2 million people, according to the agency. "NASA can't accommodate 

hundreds of thousands at a launch," Schierholz said. "We can accommodate 150, [and] if they share with 

their network, it's more interesting to follow a friend, than to follow the [official] @NASA account," 

which has about 850,000 followers. Prospective Tweeters register online and are selected randomly. 

They must pay their own way to the events and cover their own lodging and meal expenses. Schierholz 

said NASA has been surprised by the high worldwide interest in the Tweetups. A man from Spain flew in 

to Washington in July 2009 for a two-hour event with the crew from STS-125, a mission to service the 

Hubble telescope. "That knocked my socks off," she said. "I had no idea people were that interested. It 

was a very cool surprise." The invitation to Tweet from the Discovery shuttle launch attracted 2,700 

registrants, and the150 people selected came from 35 states and six countries. A girl from the United 

Kingdom stayed in the United States until the actual launch, which was postponed until Feb. 24 for 

technical reasons; attendees from Australia and the Philippines flew back to the United States. The 

Australian attendee told Schierholz that she spent nearly $20,000. Web posted. (201 1). [NASA hosts 

'Tweetups' to spread the word about its missions [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nextgov.com/ 

[2011 , March 1].) 

NASA Implementation of2010 Authorization Act Program Offices 

NASA has announced program office assigmnents at three NASA field centers to align the president's 

fiscal year 2012 budget request and the NASA Authorization Act of2010. The agency also has released 

three Space Technology Program solicitations. NASA will create new program offices to manage human 

spaceflight activities associated with the development of the Space Launch System, the heavy-lift rocket 

that will carry humans beyond low Earth orbit; the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the next human 

exploration spacecraft; and commercial spaceflight vehicles. "NASA is moving forward to aggressively 

implement the bi-partisan direction the President and Congress have given us, and these program offices 

52 
~--------------

will help us carry out this important mission," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "The United 

States continues its leadership role in human spaceilight and these moves will ensure this continues for 

many years to come." NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston will host a program office responsible 

for developing the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Johnson also will continue to lead the way in human 

research to enable exploration beyond low Earth orbit. This research heavily leverages the International 

Space Station. In addition, the center will be critical to efforts to facilitate commercial access to low Earth 

orbit. NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida will lead the way in enabling commercial human 

spaceflight capabilities and host a program office dedicated to that work. Kennedy will continue to 

provide launch services to both science missions and commercial crew providers. The Marshall Space 

Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., will lead NASA's efforts on a heavy- lift rocket that will carry humans 

beyond low Earth orbit. The center will house the program office for the Space Launch System and 

continue to support station operations. NASA also released three Space Technology Program 

solicitations Tuesday as part of the agency's efforts to develop innovative solutions to enable future 

exploration and science missions and lower the cost of other government and commercial space activities. 

Web posted. (2011). [NASA Continues Implementation Of2010 Authorization Act Program Offices, 

New Technology Solicitations Announced [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 , 

March 1].] 

House passes bill to avert shutdown 

President Obama entered negotiations over a spending bill Tuesday as Congress was poised to extend the 

deadline to avert a government shutdown by two weeks. The House of Representatives passed 335-91 a 

stopgap spending bill to keep the government running through March 18, with $4 billion in spending cuts. 

Most Democrats voted for the measure, despite a no vote from Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. 

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said the Senate will pass the resolution today, allowing 

Obama to sign it before government spending authority expires Friday. The Senate unanimously passed a 

bill Tuesday that would prevent members of Congress and the president from getting paid during a 

shutdown. Web posted. (2011). [House passes bill to avert shutdown [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.usatoday.com/ [2011 , March 1].] 

Extra Shuttle Mission Favored Date Moves Up 

Internal NASA thinking on the timing of the agency's hoped-for STS-135 space shuttle mission using the 

Atlantis orbiter bas taken a U-turn, with most now favoring the manifested June 28 launch date. The 11-

day supply mission to the International Space Station would mark the end of the 30-year shuttle program. 

Until recently, NASA station program officials were urging a slip toward late August to ensure the 

orbiting science laboratory was sufficiently provisioned to support a six-member crew for up to a year, in 

case U.S. commercial cargo providers face delays in their initial missions. However, with the fiscal 2011 

budget still in flux, the June 28 Launch date has become much more attractive, according to one of those 

involved in the NASA planning. The STS-135 mission's viability could be jeopardized if the White 

House and Congress are unable to agree on a continuing resolution to keep the federal government 

running beyond March 4, the official says. A shutdown would force all but essential government 

personnel from working until agreement on a new spending plan is reached. As Discovery's STS-133 

mission returns to Earth on March 7 or 8, NASA will turn its attention to the STS-134 flight of 

Endeavour, which is targeted to lift off on April 19. Endeavour was towed from the Orbiter Processing 

Facility hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., on Feb. 28 - its last 

stop before heading to Launch Pad 39A in March. During an 11-day flight, Endeavour's crew will equip 

the space station with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a $2 billion external astronomical observatory 

for studies of dark matter and primordial anti-matter. The high-profile study of the origin and structure of 

the universe represents the combined efforts of a dozen countries, including China. Web posted. (2011). 

[Extra Shuttle Mission Favored Date Moves Up [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.aviationweek.com/ [2011 , March 1].] 

53 
March 2: Weather iffy for Cape launch Friday 

The forecast is iffy for Friday afternoon's planned launch of an unmanned Air Force space plane from 

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The exact targeted launch time for the second X-37B Orbital Test 

Vehicle atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket will be released Friday morning. The window 

opens at 3:39p.m. EST; its length has not been disclosed. There's a 70 percent chance that gusty ground 

winds and cumulus clouds could prevent a launch Friday, and a 60 percent chance if an attempt is made 

Saturday, according to the official forecast released today. The Atlas V is scheduled to roll from its 

vertical processing tower to its Launch Complex 41 pad at noon Thursday. According to the Air Force, 

"The X-378 will provide a flexible space test platform to conduct various experiments and allow satellite 

sensors, subsystems, components and associated technology to be efficiently transported to and from the 

space environment where it will need to function." The first OTV mission launched on an Atlas V last 

April 22 and successfully completed an automated landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California on 

Dec. 3. Web posted. (2011). (Weather iffy for Cape launch Friday [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 , March 2].) 

No surprises in who will lead new NASA space programs 

NASA's leading human spaceflight centers in Florida, Texas and Alabama will have responsibility for 

new heavy-lift rocket, space exploration and commercial crew programs, the agency announced Tuesday. 

As announced last year, Kennedy Space Center in Florida will lead the management of commercial 

human spaceflight programs designed to ferry astronauts to and from low Earth orbit. NASA and private 

partners plan to have commercial crew transportation services running by 2015. The Florida launch site 

will be the starting point for all of NASA's commercial crew missions to orbit. Companies competing for 

NASA funding would launch on Atlas, Falcon or Liberty rockets from KSC or neighboring Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station. United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 and SpaceX's Falcon 9 rockets are already 

flying, and solid rocket motor builder ATK unveiled its own commercial rocket concept called Liberty 

last month. NASA officials say the rise of commercial rocket and spacecraft operators will give the space 

agency flexibility to focus on exploration missions beyond low Earth orbit. That's the objective of a 

heavy-lift rocket and multi-purpose crew vehicle still early in the design stage. Both systems were 

initiated after the passage of the NASA Authorization Act of2010, legislation which serves as a blueprint 

for the agency's activities for the next three years. The massive heavy-lift booster, called the Space 

Launch System for now, will lift between 70 and 100 metric tons to low Earth orbit. An upper stage could 

be added later to supply more lift capability. Web posted. (201 1). [No surprises in who will lead new 

NASA space programs [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , March 2].) 

NASA And Florida Tech To Host Space Studies Program 2012 

NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the Florida Institute of Technology, Melbourne, Fla., have been 

selected to host the International Space University's 25th annual Space Studies Program. The 9-week 

course, set for June 4-Aug. 3, 2012, is designed for post-graduate university students and professionals. 

"Kennedy Space Center is looking forward to hosting the 20 12 session of the ISU Space Studies Program 

in partnership with the Florida Institute ofTechnology," said Bob Cabana, Kennedy Space Center 

Director. "This is an amazing opportunity, not only for the students participating in the program, but for 

employees of the center to share their knowledge and experiences with an international network of 

leading space experts and professionals." The International Space University, or ISU, headquartered in 

Strasbourg, France, provides an interdisciplinary education experience to support the development of 

future leaders in the world space community. The site of the Space Studies Program changes annually, 

enabling a unique educational and international experience. The program curriculum includes sessions in 

space physical sciences, space systems engineeri ng, policy and law, business and management, space and 

society, satellite applications, space life sciences and human spaceflight. ("NASA And Florida Tech To 

Host Space Studies Program 2012," NASA News Release #12-11 , March 2, 2011.] 

Endeavour secured to external tank 

54 
Kennedy Space Center technicians today fmished securely fastening Endeavour to its external tank 

following Monday's move into the Vehicle Assembly Building. The assembled shuttle is scheduled to 

begin rolling out to launch pad 39A at 8 p.m. next Wednesday in preparation for a targeted 7:48p.m. 

Aprill9 blastoff. Teams are assessing whether the rollout would be affected if Discovery's planned 

Tuesday morning landing slipped a day or more due to weather or technical problems. Also still to be 

determined is whether a tanking test will be performed once Endeavour is at the pad. The tank underwent 

the same modifications Discovery's did to beef up intertank support beams called stringers to prevent 

cracks. NASA officials praised the performance of Discovery's tank following last Thursday's 

liftoff. And Endeavour's is an older model not expected to share the same stringer materials that were 

problematic on Discovery's tank. Endeavour and six astronauts plan to deliver the Alpha Magnetic 

Spectrometer to the International Space Station during a 14-day mission led by Mark Kelly, the husband 

of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who is recovering from a head wound suffered during a Jan. 8 shooting 

rampage in Tucson. Tlhe mission is the last for Endeaovur and the second-to-last planned before the 

shuttle program is retired. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour secured to external tank [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011, March 2].] 

ATK's $10,000 donation launches shuttle-monument work. 

Officials with space shuttle contractor A TK, in town last week for the launch of space shuttle Discovery, 

brought something with them that pleased leaders of the U.S. Space Walk of Fame Foundation: a check 

for $10,000. The donation will allow the foundation to start construction of a monument in a downtown 

Titusville park to recognize shuttle workers. It is the largest single contribution to date for the project, 

surpassing the $5,000 donated by main shuttle contractor United Space Alliance, according to U.S. Space 

Walk of Fame Foundation President Charlie Mars. Mike Rudolphi, vice president and deputy general 

manager for NASA programs at ATK, said it is important to have a monument recognizing shuttle 

workers at Space View Park, where monuments already exist to the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo 

programs. Web posted. (2011). [ATK's $10,000 donation launches shuttle-monument work [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1, March 2].] 

March 3: Double Vision: NASA Earth Satellites Prep for Launch 

In a rare event, two NASA launch vehicles currently rise above California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, 

as NASA's two, new Earth monitoring satellites, Glory and Aquarius, ready for their respective launches. 

Both the Glory spacecraft and Taurus XL rocket are ready for launch Friday, March 4, at 2:09:43 a.m. 

PST (5:09:43 a.m. EST). The weather forecast is 100 percent "go," with the possibility of some fog and a 

low ceiling not expected to be an issue. The liftoff from Vanden berg Air Force Base (Launch Complex 

576-E) is targeted for the middle of a 48-second launch window. Spacecraft separation will occur 13 

minutes after launch. Technical issues with ground support equipment for the Taurus XL law.1ch vehicle 

led to the scrub of the first launch attempt on Feb. 23. Meanwhile, nearby, the first stage of the Delta II 

rocket that will carry NASA's Aquarius instrument into low Earth orbit has been raised onto its launch 

pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base's Space Launch Complex-2 (SLC-2). Scheduled to launch in June, 

Aquarius' mission will provide monthly maps of global changes in sea surface salinity. By measuring 

ocean salinity from space, Aquarius will provide new insights into how the massive natural interplay of 

freshwater among the ocean, atmosphere and sea ice influences ocean circulation, weather and climate. 

Aquarius will launch on the Satelite de Aplicaciones Cientificas (SAC)-D spacecraft, built by Argentina's 

Comision Nacional de Actividades Espaciales (CONAE). The SAC-D spacecraft and its Aquarius 

instrument are scheduled to be shipped from South America to the launch site in late March. The 

Aquarius instrument was built jointly by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., and 

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Web posted. (2011). [Double Vision: NASA 

Earth Satellites Prep for Launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/ [20 11, March 3].] 

Bolden will make decision on orbiters April12 

55 
NASA chief Charles Bolden told a congressional committee today that he would annow1ce the final 

resting places for the space agency's shuttle orbiters on April 12- the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle 

flight. Discovery, now in orbit, is headed to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space 

Museum. The other two - Atlantis and Endeavour - will go to educational facilities - such as 

museums - that have yet to be named. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is one of29 locations 

seeking an orbiter. It announced plans in December to build a $100 million exhibit as the centerpiece. 

Bolden was testifying before the House Appropriations subcommittee that overseas NASA's budget. 

Lawmakers from other states made sometimes humorous pitches. No Floridian sits on the subcommittee. 

Rep. Nonn Dicks, 0-Wash., lobbied for the Museum of Flight in Seattle, which gets 450,000 annual 

visitors. Rep. Steve Austria, R-Ohio, offered Bolden a lapel pin saying, "Land the shuttle in Ohio," where 

it would reside at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Rep. 

Chakah Fattah of Pennsylvania, the top Democrat on the panel, suggested the winner should be a state 

with no other NASA facilities. The audience watching the hearing groaned in amusement. Rep. Jo 

Bonner, an Alabama Republican whose district lost a $35 billion Air Force contract last week to Dicks' 

district, said the winning state should be chosen alphabetically, drawing laughs. "We just want to make 

sure the decision is fair." Bonner said. Bolden assured him it would be. Web posted. (2011). [Bolden 

will make decision on orbiters April 12 [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the 

flame trench blog [2011, March 3].] 

Atlas V Rocket Rolls Out For Friday Launch 

An Atlas V rocket with a mini military shuttle onboard rolled out to its oceanside launch pad today, but 

the weather forecast for Friday calls for conditions that could force a delay. The United Launch Alliance 

rocket and its payload-- the second Air Force X-37B spacecraft -- is scheduled to blast off from Launch 

Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station sometime after a law1ch window opens at 3:39p.m. 

Friday. An exact time likely will be announced early Friday. The weather forecast calls for a 70 percent 

chance gusty ground winds or thick, electrically charged clouds will cause a launch postponement. There 

is a 60 percent chance that conditions would force a delay Saturday and a 70 percent chance of a weatherrelated delay Sunday. The X-37B is a pilotless craft that will be flying a shake-down cruise in low Earth 

orbit. The first X-37B was launched aboard an Atlas V last April and made an unprecedented auto-pilot 

atmospheric reentry and landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base late last year. Web posted. (2011). [Atlas 

V Rocket Rolls Out For Friday Launch [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the 

flame trench blog [2011 , March 3].] 

March 4: Glory launch fails 

A NASA climate satellite failed to reach orbit early Friday in a launch failure eerily similar to one just 

over two years ago. A Taurus XL rocket lifted offfrom Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 5:09 

am EST (1 009 GMT) carrying NASA's Glory earth sciences spacecraft. However, several minutes after 

liftoff launch controllers declared a contingency when they received telemetry that the rocket's payload 

fairing failed to separate as planned. The additional mass of the payload fairing kept the rocket from 

reaching orbit. The failure appears very sirnilar to the loss of NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory 

satellite in February 2009, also lost when the payload fairing of the Taurus XL launching it failed to 

separate after launch. Web posted. (2011). [Glory launch fails [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spacetoday.net/ [2011 , March 4].] 

Discovery gets extra day in space 

Not quite ready to roost in retirement, Discovery will stretch out its final flight yet another day, pushing 

landing at Kennedy Space Center to Wednesday. And in doing so, it looks like NASA's shuttle fleetleader will end up tallying 39 flights and an entire year in orbit. "We think that when we land Discovery 

will have flown in space for 365 days, for a whole year, which is pretty incredible," shuttle skipper Steve 

Lindsey told President Barack Obama Thursday in a call from the White House. "That's a remarkable, 

remarkable record," Obama said, noting that the orbiter "has traveled more distance in space and spent 

56 
more time in orbit than any of its peers in the shuttle fleet." "I'd just like to congratulate everybody at 

NASA -- all the personnel past and present -- who have spent untold effort in making the space shuttle 

Discovery a unique part of our history in space." The presidential call to the 12 people aboard Discovery 

and the International Space Station was the high point of what otherwise was a laid-back day in orbit. 

After an eight-day blitz that included launch, extensive shuttle heat shield inspections, rendezvous and 

docking at the space station and two complicated spacewalks, the joined crews took a half-day off. 

NASA mission managers already had extended the shuttle's stay at the station a day. On Wednesday, they 

added yet another extra day, so Discovery will remain at the outpost until Monday. The extra time will be 

used to help the station crew unpack and outfit the storage module that Discovery's crew delivered. 

Discovery now is scheduled to land at Kennedy's three-mile runway at 11:58 a.m. Wednesday. Web 

posted. (2011). [Discovery gets extra day in space [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , March 4).] 

Atlas V launch scrubbed for Friday, could go on Saturday 

Weather scrubbed both attempts to launch an Atlas V rocket today from Canaveral Air Force Station. 

There will be another shot at the launch on Saturday. The first attempt was for 3:50p.m., but a thick 

cloud deck of cumulus clouds had been in the Eastern range as well as winds out of the east from 22 to 28 

knots gusting as high as 32 knots. The same poor weather conditions scrubbed the second attempt that 

was set for 5:27p.m. Saturday's forecast is dicey as well, with both the cloud and wind concerns ooJy 

allowing for a 30 percent chance for launch. The rocket is carrying the second of the Department of 

Defense's reusable X-37B Orbital Test Vehicles. Web posted. (2011). [Atlas V launch scrubbed for 

Friday, could go on Saturday [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ the write 

stuff blog [2011 , March 4].) 

March 5: Military tight-lipped after Atlas V liftoff 

An unmanned U.S. military spaceship that looks like a small shuttle lifted off Saturday on a secretive 

shakedown cruise -- one that could include the deployment and retrieval of a clandestine payload. The 

Air Force's second X-37B spacecraft blasted off at 5:46p.m. atop a powerful Atlas V rocket at Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station, sending a loud rumble across the Space Coast. Air Force officials said the 

196-foot United Launch Alliance rocket performed normally during the early stages of flight. The first 

X-37B --or Orbital Test Vehicle-1 --was launched from Cape Canaveral last April and made an 

autonomous atmospheric re-entry and landing at Vandenberg Air Force Base last December. Neither the 

Air Force nor NASA has plans to convert the X-37B into a piloted craft to haul astronauts to and from the 

International Space Station. Web posted. (2011). [Military tight-lipped after Atlas V liftoff[Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, March 5].] 

March 6: NASA's new building embraces all eco-friendly 

NASA's newest building at Kennedy Space Center won't have an electric bill. Conservation and 

efficiency measures reduced electricity use by more than 40 percent. And with an 80-kilowatt array of 

solar panels, the Propellants North Administrative and Maintenance Facility will produce as much 

electricity as it uses. Its NASA's first carbon neutral building, which features an array of eco-friendly 

features, including using one-fifth the water compared with a traditional building by collecting rainwater 

to flush the toilets. "It's bit of a paradigm shift. It becomes how we do business," said Stephen Szabo, 

vice president and project manager for designer Jones Edmunds & Associates Inc. "The idea is to reduce 

any cost down the road." As NASA faces budget cuts related to the end of the shuttle program, saving 

money becomes more important. The project's $4.3 million price, which included the parking lot and 

demolition of the old structure, was $100,000 under budget, NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. The 

Propellants North project consists of a single-story, 1 ,800-square-foot shop used to store cryogenic fuel 

transfer equipment and a two-story, 9,540-square-foot administrative building that will house managers, 

mechanics and technicians who fuel spacecraft. The facility will apply for the U.S. Green Building 

Council's Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design Platinum status, which is the highest LEED 

57 
rating. USGBC awards LEED credits toward the rating based on the project's design and implementation. 

There only are about 350 Platinum-rated facilities in the United States, including four in Florida. In the 

U.S., buildings generate 39 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, use 40 percent of energy and consume 

13 percent of the water. Greater building efficiency can meet 85 percent of future U.S. demand for energy 

and generate 2.5 million American jobs, according to the building council. Propellants North 

incorporates technology as simple as insulated concrete walls and as complex as a system to modulate the 

lights. NASA officials are thrilled with the predicted cost savings from the building. "How can you not 

be enthused about something that requires zero energy?" Bob Cabana, KSC director, said in a NASA 

interview. "This is our start. This is setting the standard." Web posted. (2011). [NASA's new building 

embraces all eco-friendRy [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , March 6].] 

March 7: Discovery Crew Surveys Heat Shield 

Discovery's astronauts surveyed the heat shielding on the shuttle's wing leading edges and nose cap on 

March 7, after departing the International Space Station (ISS) for the last leg of the fleet leader's fmal 

journey into orbit. Discovery undocked at 7 a.m. EST, as the two spacecraft sailed more than 200 mi. 

over the Western Pacific Ocean. Discovery's 39th and final mission is scheduled to end March 9 with a 

landing at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There are two landing opportunities - 11 :57 a.m. 

EST and 1:34 p.m. EST - to bring the 13-day flight to a close. Wednesday's weather outlook is 

favorable. In spite of the two one-day mission extensions, Discovery is provisioned to remain in orbit 

until March 11 . After the undocking, pilot Eric Boe slowly backed the 205,000-lb. orbiter to a distance of 

400 ft. from the outpost. There, he initiated a traditional fly-around that ventured to a separation of 600ft. 

Aboard the orbiter, the astronauts gathered close-up photographs and video of the station for engineers, 

who will assess the imagery to document the condition of the hardware, some of which is now more than 

12 years old. "We got some amazing shots," Discovery astronaut Mike Barratt told Mission Control. 

During the 5-br. damage survey, the astronauts scanned the heat shielding with a 50-ft. inspection boom 

locked in the grasp of the shuttle's robot arm. The survey data will be assessed by imagery experts before 

the Mission Management Team gives Discovery's crew permission to descend. Web posted. (2011). 

[Discovery Crew Surveys Heat Shield [Online). Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ 

[20 11 , March 8].] 

March 8: Discovery systems ready for re-entry 

Discovery's steering thrusters worked fme during standard day-before-landing tests. The orbiter's 

Reaction Control System is equipped with 16 forward jets on either side of the nose and 28 rear jets split 

between pods flanking the tail fin. They'll be used to set up Discovery's deorbit bum, planned at 10:52 

a.m. Wednesday, and control it as it begins to enter the atmosphere, before flight control surfaces can take 

over. Those systems, including wing flaps and the rudder speed brake, were checked out earlier this 

morning. After the successful tests, the crew will pulse thrusters again as part of a Department of 

Defense experiment called "RAMBO" that will monitor exhaust plumes to help model systems for future 

spacecraft. The crew is also packing fmal pieces of equipment and luggage in preparation for 

Wednesday's planned 11:57 a.m. landing attempt at Kennedy Space Center. A NASA TV commentator 

described the latest weather forecast as "fairly favorable." Web posted. (2011). [Discovery systems ready 

for re-entry [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011, 

March 8].] 

Discovery hoping for Blue Sky 

Discovery astronauts were awakened thls morning to a live accoustic performance from Mission Control 

by Big Head Todd and the Monsters, whose tune "Blue Sky" won a contest to pick wake-up songs for the 

crew, pulling in 722,662 votes-- nearly 30 percent of the total. "Did you just do that live?" radioed 

a surprised Discovery commander, Steve Lindsey. "[ did just do that live, and I believe it was a first in 

history," replied band leader Todd Park Mohr. "That was terrific, we really appreciate it." The latest 

forecast from the Spaceflight Meteorology Group shows scattered clouds but no weather violations that 

58 
would prevent a planned ll :57 a.m. EST Wednesday landing at Kennedy Space Center. Discovery's 

crew of six this morning successfully tested the orbiter's wing flaps and rudder speed brake to make sure 

they're ready to help steer the shlp during its glide through the atmosphere. A test-firing of thrusters is 

planned around 6:40a.m. Web posted. (2011). [Discovery hoping for Blue Sky [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 , March 8].] 

March 9: Space worker expects day to be solemn one 

A huge team will assemble this morning at Kennedy Space Center's runway several hours before 

Discovery's planned landing. Ray Zink will coordinate the convoy of 30 vehicles and roughly 160 people 

that descends on Discovery after it rolls to a stop. They'll make sure the orbiter is in a safe condition, let 

out the astronauts and tow the spaceshlp back to a hangar. "When I get back to my office and sit down 

for a couple minutes, it's probably going to become very surreal what just happened," said Zink, 45, of 

Orlando, a United Space Alliance manager. It was the same watching Discovery launch. Teams staged at 

the runway for a potential emergency landing typically cheer together after liftoff and booster separation. 

"This time it was a little more quiet, just sort of watching it go away," Zink said. He'll walk Discovery 

back to its hangar and help park it there for the last time, thinking more about colleagues who won't be 

around to work the next landing as the shuttle program downsizes. Web posted. (2011). [Space worker 

expects day to be solemn one (Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , March 

9].] 

Spacecraft operator anticipates an 'exciting moment' 

Ron Delaney will be the fm;t person to give Discovery's last crew a face-to-face welcome home upon the 

shuttle's return to Kennedy Space Center today. The 43-year-old Rockledge resident will open the crew 

compartment hatch while Discovery hums on the runway, its heat shields still warm from re-entry through 

the atmosphere. "It's going to be an exciting moment," said Delaney, United Space Alliance's lead 

"spacecraft operator" on landing day. Delaney feels great satisfaction seeing the astronauts' excitement 

and sense of accomplishment after a mission, knowing he and his colleagues "gave them the best possible 

bird to go do what they needed to do." That satisfaction will be magnified today. His 11-year career as a 

shuttle technician will end with shuttle program layoffs planned next month. "I'm excited to catch the last 

time for Discovery and for me, too," he said. After the astronauts exit, Delaney and partner Greg Rose 

will enter Discovery's cockpit and start flipping switches to their post-flight positions, powering down 

some systems for the last time. Delaney will ride in the commander's seat as Discovery is towed from the 

runway. "I'm going to take a little bit more time to reflect on it tills time around," he said. "Being part of 

the history is just incredible in itself." Web posted. (2011). [Spacecraft operator anticipates an 'exciting 

moment' [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, March 9].] 

Reality begins sinking in for space workers 

Mike Cosgrove relaxed. Discovery was safely in orbit, and its three main engines had burned flawlessly 

during the 81/2-minute climb from Kennedy Space Center on Feb. 24. "We got this thing started off the 

right way," Cosgrove, the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne manager who oversees engines' preparation for 

flight, remembers thinking. Only today does he expect the reality of Discovery completing its last flight -

- and the shuttle program's imminent end -- to begin sinking in when cameras ftrst spot the orbiter as a 

distant dot. "I just wish at that point he would slow down so we can enjoy that one last approach and 

landing," said the 56-year-old Merritt Island resident. Next month, Cosgrove's teams will remove 

Discovery's engines for servicing, as after any flight. But it won't be the same. "They don't really have a 

need anymore," Cosgrove said. "It's like now we're practicing, and there's no ba11 game to go play for 

these motors again." The engines will be set aside until NASA decides whether they should be used for 

testing or possibly on a new heavy-lift rocket. Cosgrove will take pride in how well his engines and the 

shuttle have performed recently. "We're going to walk around that vehicle and go, 'my gosh, it's working 

so well, and these missions have gone so well,' " he said. "You just wish that we could keep doing it." 

59 
Web posted. (2011). [Reality begins sinking in for space workers [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, March 9].] 

Discovery's final landing marks beginning of the end 

Enduring the heat of re-entry one last time, the shuttle Discovery dropped out of orbit and returned to 

Earth Wednesday to wrap up a near-flawless 39th and final mission, a milestone marking the beginning of 

the end for NASA's winged rocketships. After firing its twin braking rockets for a computer-controlled 

descent halfway around the planet, commander Steven Lindsey took over manual control and guided 

Discovery through a 250-degree left turn to line up on runway 15. Pilot Eric Boe then deployed the ship's 

landing gear and the 204,000-pound shuttle swooped to a tire-smoking touchdown on runway 15 at 

11:57:17 a.m. EST (GMT-5). Lindsey had no problems with a stiff25-knot headwind and a few moments 

later, NASA's oldest surviving space shutt.le rolled to a halt, wrapping up a career spanning some 5,750 

orbits, 148 million miles and 365 days in space during 39 missions since its maiden launch in August 

1984. "And Houston, Discovery, for the final time, wheels stopped," Lindsey radioed flight controllers in 

Houston. "Discovery, Houston, great job by you and your crew," replied astronaut Charles Hobaugh in 

mission control. "That was a great landing in tough conditions and it was an awesome docked mission 

you all had. You were able to take Discovery up to a full 365 days of actual time on orbit. I think you'd 

call that a fleet leader and a leader of any manned vehicle for time in orbit. So job well done." With only 

two more missions left on NASA's shuttle manifest-- a flight by Endeavour in April and a final voyage 

by Atlantis in late June-- Discovery's landing marked the beginning of the end for the world's most 

complex-- and expensive to operate-- manned rocket. "We're seeing a program come to a close here 

and to see these shutt.les, these beautiful, magnificent flying machines end their service life is obviously a 

little bit sad for us," Barratt said earlier this week. "But it is about time, they've lived a very long time, 

they've had a fabulous success record, they've built this magnificent space station, they've given us lots of 

science and a tremendous amount of experience of just bow to operate in space. More than anything, we 

look forward to seeing them retire with dignity and bringing on the next line of spaceships." Lindsey, 

Boe, Barratt and their crewmates -- Nicole Stott and spacewalkers Stephen Bowen and Alvin Drew --

were expected to be welcomed home by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, shuttle program manager 

John Shannon and scores of other agency managers and engineers who turned out for Discovery's final 

homecoming. "When we walk away from her on the runway after we land, there's going to be tears in my 

eyes, I know," Stott said of Discovery. "I worked with her at Kennedy Space Center and the chance to fly 

(the last mission) bas just been a real, real privilege." With Discovery safely back on Earth, engineers in 

the nearby Vehicle Assembly Building made final preparations to haul the shuttle Endeavour to launch 

pad 39A Thursday for work to ready the ship for its 25th and final launch April 19. If all goes well, 

NASA will close out the shuttle program by launching the Atlantis June 28 on a final space station 

resupply mission. Discovery's landing brought that long-awaited --and to some, long-dreaded --end 

game into sharp focus. Barratt captured the thoughts of many space workers when he reflected on the 

shuttle program's legacy from orbit. "I think about this space shuttle fleet like the clipper ships that were 

strong and fast and powerful, they did their jobs but they were also graceful and beautiful," he said. "They 

conjured up imagination, of foreign travel, exotic places, of exploration. And Discovery is just an elite 

member of this elite fleet." Over the next few months, Discovery will be decommissioned and ultimately 

turned into a museum display. NASA has not yet announced where the orbiters wiJl end up, but it's 

widely expected that one of them will be displayed at the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. 

The contract authorizing construction of Discovery was awarded Jan. 29, 1979, and initial work to begin 

building the crew module began the following August. The spacecraft was completed at North An1erican 

Rockwell's Palmdale, Calif., plant in October 1983 and was ferried to the Kennedy Space Center Nov. 9, 

1983. Web posted. (2011). [Discovery's final landing marks beginning of the end [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , March 9).] 

March 10: Work Begins on Exploration Park at NASA KSC 

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Site work has begun on Exploration Park, the high-tech research and office park being developed by The 

Pizzuti Companies in partnership with Space Florida. Tom Harmer, senior vice president for The Pizzuti 

Companies, said the initial work includes clearing the site, transporting fill dirt and initial site grading. 

Work on this phase oftlhe project is expected to take approximately eight weeks to complete, Harmer 

said. "We are thrilled to see the park making progress and look forward to showcasing this unique 

offering to customers," noted Space Florida President Frank DiBello. "We're excited to begin this portion 

of the project and to take the next steps toward creating a world-class office and technology park," 

Harmer said. "We are actively engaged in discussions with a number of potential tenants as we prepare 

the site for the start of vertical construction." Pizzuti is serving as Master Developer of Exploration Park 

in a publidprivate partnership with Space Florida, the State's aerospace economic development 

organization. Civil engineering services are being provided by Jones Edmunds and Titusville-based 

RUSH Construction is the project's general contractor. The fill dirt being used to develop the first phase 

of the Park has been donated by Port Canaveral as part of a cooperative agreement between Space Florida 

and the Port. Exploration Park's initial 60-acre phase, located just outside the security gates at Kennedy 

Space Center, will accommodate approximately 350,000 square feet in up to nine separate LEEDcertified buildings, expected to include educational, office, research/lab space and flexible high-bay 

facilities. A second 139-acre phase has also been identified. Web posted. (2011). (Work Begins on 

Exploration Park at NASA KSC [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 , March 

1 0].] 

Busy times at the Cape Continue with Delta Launch 

A medium-class version of United Launch Alliance's Delta 4 rocket will give a lift to the National 

Reconnaissance Office and a clandestine cargo Friday night with blastoff from Cape Canaveral. The 

launch is targeted for 5:57p.m. EST (2257 GMT) from Complex 37 for the classified satellite 

deployment mission. Weather forecasters are predicting 90 percent odds of acceptable conditions for 

launch, with only a sight concern of winds gusting to the 20-knot limit. The cold front bringing wet 

weather across Florida on Wednesday night into Thursday is expected to clear out, leaving a launch time 

outlook on Friday night to include just a few low clouds, some scattered high cinus, north-northwesterly 

winds of 10 peaking to 15 knots and a temperature of65 degrees F. Favorable conditions are supposed to 

continue through the weekend, if the backup launch opportunities are needed Saturday and Sunday. The 

Delta 4 will head eastward after liftoff, its pair of strap-on solid motors delivering an added boost of 

thrust to the vehicle's cryogenic main engine for the initial ascent. The rocket is known as the 

Medium+4,2 configuration, which flew the Delta 4's maiden mission in 2002 and several times since 

then. Web posted. (20 II). [Busy times at the Cape Continue with Delta Launch [Online). Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , March 10].] 

NASA Prepares Antimatter-Hunting Detector for Space Shuttle Launch 

A high-tech astrophysics experiment that will probe the mysteries of our universe is getting ready to fly to 

the International Space Station aboard the space shuttle Endeavour when it launches on its fmal mission 

next month. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a particle physics detector that will primarily 

measure high-energy particles in space, called cosmic rays, and search for signs of antimatter and 

mysterious dark matter in the universe. "The most exciting objective of AMS is to probe the unknown -

to search for phenomena which exist in nature that we have not yet imagined nor had the tools to 

discover," said MIT physicist Samuel Ting, a Nobel laureate and AMS principal investigator, March I 0 at 

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The $1.5 bi1Hon experiment is set to ride up to 

the space station in the shuttle Endeavour's payload bay. Endeavour's STS-134 mission, the last for 

NASA's youngest orbiter, is set to launch April 19 from the agency's Florida spaceport. The AMS is 

currently housed in the Space Shuttle Processing Facility at the Kennedy Space Center. Technicians are 

completing final preparations before it is stored in a protective canister and then loaded into Endeavour's 

payload bay on March 25. The AMS is funded by the U.S. Department of Energy, and its construction, 

testing and operation involves over 600 physicists from 60 institutions representing 16 countries. Web 

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posted. (20 l l ). [NASA Prepares Antimatter-Hunting Detector for Space Shuttle Launch [Online]. 

AvailableWWW: http://www.space.com/ [2011 , March 16].] 

March 11: New space satellite rockets into space, 3rd launch in just over 2 weeks 

An unmanned Delta 4 rocket lifted off at sunset from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, following a delay 

because of concerns over winds. It hoisted a satellite for the National Reconnaissance Office. The 

reconnaissance office is keeping mum about the purpose of the satellite. It was the third rocket launch 

from Florida's Space Coast in just over two weeks. Space shuttle Discovery blasted off on its final 

mission Feb. 24. Then the Air Force sent a secretive, unmanned space plane into orbit on March 5. The 

X-37B, resembling a mini-shuttle, is supposed to land back on Earth, but authorities are not saying when. 

It's the second experimental vehicle of its type to fly in space. Web posted. (20 II). [New space satellite 

rockets into space, 3rd Launch in just over 2 weeks from Cape Canaveral [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, March II].) 

Endeavour poised on launch pad for April19 liftoff 

Space shuttle Endeavour stood poised this morning on Kennedy Space Center launch pad 39A, after 

making its final planned trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building. Thousands ofKSC workers and their 

families braved chilly weather and watched the majestic spectacle as Endeavour, mounted atop a mobile 

launcher platform and bathed in powerful xenon floodlights, was hauled toward the pad by an Apollo-era 

crawler-transporter. The orbiter reached the pad at 3:49 a.m. Running 24 hours late as a result of stonny 

weather, the rollout came just a day after sistership Discovery landed here at KSC on its 39th and final 

flight. Endeavour's crew is led by Mark Kelly, the husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. 

Giffords was critically injured during a Jan. 8 assassination attempt in Tucson that ki lled six people and 

wounded more than a dozen others. Four mission specialists also are on the crew: Greg Chamitoff, 

Andrew Feustel, Michael Fincke and Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency. The Endeavour 

launch is scheduled for 7:48p.m. April 19. A three-day countdown is slated to pick up at 5:43p.m. April 

16. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Endeavour poised on launch pad for April19liftoff[Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , March II].) 

March 13: Wings In Orbit- Wayne Hale Interview 

ln an interview with NASASpaceflight.com, former Space Shuttle Program (SSP) manager Wayne Hale 

spoke about the upcomiJlg book on the history of the Shuttle, "Wings In Orbit," his role in the project, 

and about what he is doing today. "Wings In Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space 

Shuttle" is due to go on sale next month. Q: How did you get involved in the book? Were you involved at 

its inception? Mr Hale: A lot of people had the idea that we should do something to document the Shuttle 

program - I'm talking about after the President's [George W. Bush] speech in January, 2004, where he 

announced we're going to end the Shuttle program. Many of us had been working on the Shuttle program 

for our entire career at the agency, and there was a lot of talk about how do we capture the knowledge. 

We have a knowledge capture office, people are supposed to write down lessons that they' ve learned -

design, test, and operations - things that go into the next program. I have one of the books from Apollo 

that's along those lines, it's fascinating. And these days it's all got to be electronic - everybody wants to 

build a database, put it in some kind of relational database so you cru1 search it - and that's good and 

there are people doing that. But that's not going to talk to the public. We put together an editorial board, 

a really impressive editorial board, to help us scope out ' what should we talk about,' what are the 

parameters. And then as chapters started corning in, we'd review the chapters [and decide] 'yeah, this is 

good, this is what we want' or ' no, we missed the mark, let's go back and redo some things. ' So it's really 

been a labor of love. There are ... two or three hundred different people that have provided written material 

to this book, so it's not any one person's book. I' m just pleased that I was able to be in the right place at 

the right time to push it over the hump to get it from just a coffee table conversation to a real project. 

And ... Dr. Helen Lane, who works out of the Sciences Office at JSC, and has published other articles, is 

really the key person who has done the yeoman's job of organizing the book - she's the 'project 

62 
manager,' I guess you would say, that has seen it through. And she gets the lion's share of the credit, if 

anybody does. We've got articles by astronauts, flight controllers, designers, testers, people at KSC, 

people at Marshall, people all around the agency that have worked on the Shuttle. So I think it's a pretty 

comprehensive book and the biggest problem we had was keeping it to one volume. This is not an 

engineering book, we were aiming for the 'Scientific-American' kind of level; this is not a novel, it's not 

a light read, but on the other hand, it's not as technical as most NASA technical publications are. It's a 

history - what did we set out to do, how was it done, what did we accomplish. So some of the 

engineering sections may be a little tough sledding for some people if they're not technical; on the other 

hand, there are history s ections that I think will be very interesting to people that aren't technical or to 

technical people, as well. 'No equations, no equations.' Q: How does the book address the Shuttle's 

legacy?Mr Hale: That's the book, that's the subtitle - what did we actually accomplish? What did it 

mean to the American people? There's a whole section on the culture - what did it do for not just 

American culture, but world culture. So we're trying to hit that. I suspect that when the book comes out 

and people get copies of it, like every other book or movie or anything else that comes out, there are 

going to be critics that say ' well, they missed the mark' or 'they didn't have this right'-I'm fully 

expecting that, because it's not perfect. But it's our attempt to put the story together, to tell it from the 

perspective of the folks who were in the program, [that] actually designed, built, flew, operated, got the 

scientific results from [the Shuttle] and tell it from our point of view. And hopefully it will make a pretty 

impressive case that the Shuttle was really good. When I say really good, I mean it really contributed to 

the advancement of technology, engineering, and even in social fields. Web posted. (2011). [Wings In 

Orbit - Wayne Hale Interview [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ (2011 , 

March 13].] 

March 14: Space Shuttle Worker Dies in Fall at Launch Pad 

A space shuttle technician fell to his death this morning (March 14) from a launch pad at NASA's 

Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. James D. Vanover, 53, a swing arm engineer for NASA 

contractor United Space Alliance, feU from an elevated level on Launch Pad 39A, where the space shuttle 

Endeavour is being prepped for launch, around 7:40a.m. EDT (1140 GMT), the space agency said. He 

died shortly afterward. "NASA emergency medical personnel did respond but they were unable to revive 

the man," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel told SPACE.com. Further details were not immediately 

available. Beutel said NASA has begun an official investigation into the incident. "Our heartfelt 

sympathy goes out to the family of Mr. Vanover," said United Space Alliance chief executive officer 

Virginia Barnes. "Our focus right now is on providing support for the family, and for his coworkers. We 

are also providing our full support to investigating officials in order to determine the cause of the incident 

as quickly as possible." Vanover had worked at Kennedy Space Center for 28 years. Following the 

accident, the space agency halted aU work on Launch Pad 39A for the rest of the day and was offering 

counseling to its employees. "We have about a week's worth of cushion in the schedule, so I would not 

anticipate it," Beutel said of the possibility of a delay, "but at the moment that's not our focus." Web 

posted. (2011). [Space Shuttle Worker Dies in Fall at Launch Pad [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .space. com/ [20 11, March 14].] 

Space industry officials hoping to sway lawmakers in Tallahassee 

About 70 space industry representatives will visit with Florida lawmakers on Wednesday to urge them to 

remember the $8 billion industry that employs 84,000 workers statewide and faces the loss of a quarter or 

more of those jobs as the shuttle stops flying this year. "This is a tough time and that's why this is 

probably the most important year we've had," said Kevin Hoshstrasser, site director for Boeing Florida 

Operations and Florida Space Day 2011 co-chairman. On the annual trip to Tallahassee, teams from the 

space industry hope to visit all 160 state lawmakers to encourage them to keep Florida friendly to the 

space industry, support worker retraining and to present a unified front in dealings with the federal 

govenunent, which drives the U.S. space industry with dollars from NASA. Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie 

Duke, the 1Oth man to walk on the moon, will add star power to the effort. With the shuttle program 

63 
ending and NASA's direction being debated in a contentious, budget-cutting Congress, state support of 

the space industry is crucial, Frank DiBeJJo, Space Florida president and Space Day co-chairman, said. 

"The picture in Washington, D.C., does not provide a lot of political clarity to ease that anxiety," DiBello 

said Monday while in the nation's capital working to secure NASA projects for Brevard County. Last 

year, the state legislature awarded $11 million to Space Florida for infrastructure. This year's allocation 

has yet to be determined and the agency's operating budget is flat. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Space industry 

officials hoping to sway lawmakers in Tallahassee [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , March 14].] 

Russian rocket price hike for US astronauts, Soyuz spacecraft- $63 million 

The Russians are hiking the price of rocket rides again for U.S. astronauts - to nearly $63 million. The 

price goes up in 2014 for an astronaut to fly to and from the International Space Station on a Russian 

Soyuz spacecraft. NASA announced the news Monday. The previous contract charged just under $56 

million apiece. The contract extension with the Russian Space Agency totals $753 million. That covers 

trips for a dozen astronauts from 2014 through 2016. NASA officials say inflation is the reason for the 

latest price increase. Web posted. (2011). [Russian rocket price hike for US astronauts, Soyuz spacecraft 

seat soaring to $63 million [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , March 

14].) 

Registration Opens For NASA Tweetup 

Any space enthusiast would launch at the chance to kick back and chat with astronauts, get a special tour 

of Kennedy Space Center and a front-row seat to the next historical shuttle launch. NASA is giving the 

public a chance at exclusive access to KSC. NASA will host a two-day tweetup for 150 of its Twitter 

followers on April 18 and 19. Registration for the tweetup opens at noon on Monday. NASA says 150 of 

its followers will be chosen at random to tour KSC before watching Space Shuttle Endeavour launch from 

the Cape. The followers will also get to talk with NASA managers, astronauts and shuttle technicians. 

Shuttle Endeavour's fmal flight is set to lift off at 7:48p.m. on April19. Web posted. (2011). 

[Registration Opens For NASA Tweetup [Online]. A~ailable WWW: http://www.wesh.com/ [2011 , 

March 14].] 

NASA Gears Up For Endeavour Engine Tests 

NASA aims to put Endeavour's main engines through a flight readiness test today, work that would keep 

the agency on track for a scheduled mid-April launch of the orbiter's 25th and final flight. Now poised on 

launch pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center, Endeavour and six astronauts are slated to blast off at 7:48 

p.m. April 19 on a mission to deliver a large cosmic ray detector to the International Space Station. The 

particle physics experiment package is designed to give scientists a better understanding of the origins 

and evolution of the wliiverse. The engine test involves flowing gaseous helium through the shuttle's main 

propulsion system and engines in an attempt to detect any leaks. Engine valves are cycled just as they will 

be on launch day. The test follows a busy weekend in which technicians continued post-roJJout launchpad validations and did prep work in advance of the hazardous loading of toxic rocket propellants into 

tanks that feed Endeavour's twin orbital maneuvering engines and its 44 nose-and-tail steering jets. 

Endeavour's crew is led by veteran NASA astronaut Mark Kelly, the husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle 

Giffords, D. Ariz., who was critically wounded in a Jan. 8 assassination attempt that killed six people and 

injured more than a dozen in Tucson. NASA and a Houston rehabilitation hospital are making advance 

preparations to transport and host Giffords at KSC on launch day if her condition by then is good enough 

that she could travel. The crew also includes pilot Gregory "Box" Johnson and four missions specialists: 

Greg Chamitoff, Andrew Fuestel, Michael Fincke and Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency. 

Web posted. (2011). [NASA Gears Up For Endeavour Engine Tests [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , March 14].] 

Space shuttle Discovery to be 'autopsied' before shipping to Smithsonian 

64 
After landing back on Earth for a final time last week, space shuttle Discovery is all but officially 

destined for the Smithsonian. Before it can be turned over to the Washington institution however, 

Discovery is slated to undergo an autopsy of sorts, providing NASA engineers one last chance to learn 

what they can by cutting into the world's most flown spacecraft in history. NASA's third shuttle orbiter to 

be built and its first to reach retirement, Discovery capped off a career total of one year aloft with the 13-

day STS-133 mission, which installed the last of the pressurized modules or rooms for the U.S. side of the 

International Space Station {ISS). Discovery and its six crew members touched down on March 9, 

marking the end of Discovery's 39th and fmal spaceflight. With no next launch however, the shuttle 

technicians who previously worked to build up Discovery for its next flight will instead tear into the 

shuttle to excise many of its key components for study, to save for future programs and to make the 

vehicle safe for public display. "It's not as quick as you might think," said Mike Leinbach, NASA's 

shuttle launch director. "It is many, many months away before we'll be ready to band [Discovery] over." 

"We are going right into what we are calling our 'transition retirement' processing flow, which in many 

ways is very similar to the processing flow to get the vehicle ready for flight again. It is just this time, we 

are not preparing her for flight, we are preparing her for display," Stephanie Stilson, flow manager for 

orbiter retirement, told collectSPACE. Up until STS-133, Stilson oversaw Discovery's processing as its 

dedicated flow manager. "The first part of that schedule is to go in and do what we call 'down mission 

processing,' and that is very similar to what we'd do if we were going to fly again. Every vehicle once it 

lands has to go through some securing and safmg that has to happen right away," said Stilson. Leinbach 

detailed some of the work at a press conference following Discovery's landing. "We have to get the 

cryogenic [propellants] out of the fuel cell system, there are some [hypergolic fuels] we need to drain, 

those types of things," said Leinbach. "Pyrotechnic cartridges need to be removed. Those types of things 

are all very standard and that [takes] a couple of weeks." After that work is complete, Discovery will 

enter a phase Stilson called "transition and retirement safmg." "In other words, to have the general public 

be able to be up and close and personal with Discovery, there are a lot of hazardous commodities we have 

to remove," explained Stilson. According to launch integration manager Mike Moses, the systems to be 

stripped out of Discovery include ammonia, nitrogen tetroxide and monomethylbydrazine, all of which 

could pose a risk to future museum visitors if left intact. "We have talked about do you try to just 

decontaminate all the lines or just remove them. In some instances, we're going to remove the plumbing," 

said Moses. As Stilson and her team work to make Discovery safe for display, they will also be asked to 

remove components for forensic study, said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space 

operations. "We can still learn a lot from these vehicles. There are some hydraulics systems and some 

other things that we haven't really had a chance to have a look at because it was really too invasive tQ.get 

in there and take a look at it,'' explained Gerstenmaier. Not aU the components to be removed from 

Discovery will be set aside for study; some will be saved to be reused in the next generation of U.S. 

spacecraft. Some of the decisions as to what systems will or will not be taken out of Discovery are 

dependent on what its next owners desire. "It all depends on the specific display site that is getting that 

orbiter, so until that is decided, we haven't started negotiations as to what equipment they want," 

explained Moses. "Do they want it in an historical preservation? Do they want engines installed or on the 

side?" Taking all three phases into consideration, Stilson says it will be next year before Discovery can 

ship (presumably) to the Smithsonian. "We've developed a schedule which says that we should be ready 

to ferry Discovery most likely in January of next year," she said. "That's the schedule that we have right 

now. There is no hard constraint that we're working to, it's more of putting the schedule together based on 

the work that has to happen that we know of right now." Web posted. {2011). [Space shuttle Discovery to 

be 'autopsied' before shipping to Smithsonian [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.collectSPACE.com/ [2011 , March 14).] 

SpaceX wins launch contract from SES 

SpaceX will launch a communications satellite for SES, the first launch deal the entrepreneurial launch 

company bas won from a major satellite operator. SpaceX will launch the SES-8 satellite for SES in the 

first quarter of2013 on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral, the companies announced Monday. SES-8 is a 

65 
medium-sized communications satellite being built by Orbital Sciences and will operate from 95 degrees 

east. The contract is the frrst time one of the big four satellite operators (Eutelsat, Intelsat, SES, Telesat) 

has purchased a launch from SpaceX, a signal that traditionally risk-averse customers like major satellite 

operators have become comfortable with the Falcon 9, which launched successfully twice last year. 

Falcon 9 prices start at around $50 million, significantly less than other commercial launchers with 

similar capacities. Web posted. (2011). [SpaceX wins launch contract from SES [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spacetoday.net/ [2011, March 15].] 

March 15: Work resumes at shuttle launch pad 

Kennedy Space Center teams have resumed work at launch pad 39A to prepare Endeavour for an April 19 

llight, a day after colleague died in a fall from the pad. In meetings with NASA and United Space 

Alliance managers this morning, employees said they were ready to resume their work despite shock over 

the incident, which is under investigation. Managers advised the workers to stand down whenever they 

felt it necessary to compose themselves and work safely. An employee assistance program staff member 

is stationed at the pad for the remainder of the week. Today's work at the pad includes checks of the 

system that provides cryogenic propellants to the shuttle's three fuel cells, which combine liquid hydrogen 

and liquid oxygen to generate the electricity that powers the shuttle during flight. Web posted. (2011 ). 

[Work resumes at shuttle launch pad [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the 

flame trench blog [2011, March 15].] 

Another commercial imager picks Atlas 5 for launch 

Having already won the competition to launch one commercial Earth-imaging satellite, the Atlas 5 rocket 

has been picked by the rival spacecraft company to deploy its bird too. Atlas 5 boosters will launch both 

next-generation craft in the coming years from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The frrst mission 

was announced last September by Dulles, Virginia-based GeoEye, Inc., to launch the GeoEye 2 spacecraft 

in 2012. The new deal announced Tuesday will carry the WorldView 3 craft into orbit in 2014 for 

operator DigitalGlobe of Longmont, Colorado. Atlas 5 has performed rune commercial missions since 

2002 and these two Earth-imaging launches join the rocket's large manifest of government payloads. A 

401-con:figuration ofthe Atlas 5 vehicle will be used for both the GeoEye 2 and WorldView 3 missions to 

reach sun-synchronous orbits covering the planet from pole to pole. United Launch Alliance performs the 

Atlas flight operations while Lockheed Martin oversees the commercial management of the two missions. 

GeoEye and DigitaiGiobe are competitors in the market to sell high-resolution imagery to U.S. national 

security analysts, as well as urban planners, real estate developers, oil and gas firms, environmental 

interests and even online sites like Google Earth. Web posted. (2011). [Another corrunercial imager 

picks Atlas 5 for launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, March 

15].] 

Kennedy Space Center probes illegal-drug find 

NASA is investigating the finding of apparent illegal drugs at Kennedy Space Center for the second time 

in a little more than a year. Preliminary field tests indicated that 4.2 grams of a white powdery substance 

found March 7 was cocaine, said Renee Juhans, a spokeswoman for NASA's Office of Inspector General, 

which is conducting the investigation. "The substance is now at an accredited crime lab for further 

testing," she said. "We are doing an investigation," she said. Juhans could not irrunediately confrrm the 

facility where the substance was found. A Kennedy spokesperson referred questions to the inspector 

general's office, which handles cases that could result in a federal prosecution for drug possession. The 

investigation follows one initiated in January 2010 after a small plastic bag containing cocaine residue 

was found outside a restroom in the restricted hangar where shuttle Discovery was prepared for flight. 

Roughly 200 space center employees were tested with no positive results for cocaine. The investigation 

was closed without disciplinary action. An unconfirmed number of employees have been asked to take 

drug tests in connection with the new investigation. NASA and its contractors have zero-tolerance drug 

66 
policies, and all center employees may be randomJy tested. Web posted. (2011). [Kennedy Space Center 

probes illegal-drug fmd [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, March 15].] 

Senators worry about NASA's 'focus' but offer no ideas 

A U.S. Senate hearing on Tuesday turned into a case of deja vu all over again. As they have for a year, 

senators complained about President Barack Obama's decision to kill the Constellation moon-rocket 

program - which Congress agreed last fall to do - and use commercial rockets to supply the space station 

while NASA focuses on developing new space tedmologies. And as NASA prepares to shut down the 

space shuttle program this summer, the senators offered no alternatives to avoid the loss of7,000 

Kennedy Space Center jobs and the virtual mothballing of the 50-year-old launch center. "The [Obama] 

outline was rejected but now it seems to be corning back in another form," griped veteran U.S. Sen. Kay 

Bailey Hutchison, R-Texas, who added that she didn't "want to see another year pass" of NASA 

stumbling forward "without focus." That outcome, however, is looking increasingly unavoidable. Though 

Congress and the White House agreed last fall that NASA would build a new heavy-lift rocket by late 

2016, the agency says it lacks the money to meet that deadline. NASA officials are expected in corning 

months to release a construction schedule for the rocket, but few in the space co.mmunity are confident it 

will fly in the next six years. Compounding the concerns are recent moves by Congress to slash NASA's 

budget. A new stopgap spending bill to keep the government funded through April 8 - which passed the 

House Tuesday-- includes $6 billion in cuts, including $63 million from NASA's cross-agency support 

division, which touches on every part of the agency. NASA officials did not address the latest cut, but 

Woodrow Whitlow, Jr .• the agency's associate administrator for mission support, estimated that the earlier 

$298 million cut would mean the loss of roughly 4,500 NASA contractor jobs, with close to 800 coming 

from KSC. "A cut of that magnitude would be equivalent to shuttering two of our smaller centers," 

Whitlow told the committee. NASA officials remained confident, however, that the agency still would 

have enough money to :fly its remaining two shuttle missions, including a scheduled June 28 launch of 

Atlantis. Web posted. (2011). [Senators worry about NASA's 'focus' but offer no ideas [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , March 15].] 

March 16: Officials mark Space Day in Tallahassee 

NASA, Kennedy Space Center, the Air Force's 45th Space Wing and contractors are working the halls of 

the Capitol today in an annuat .ritual known as Space Day. It couldn't come at a darker time as Space 

Coast lawmakers scramble for every available penny to offset the approximately 9,000 aerospace layoffs 

connected to the retirement of the shuttle fleet. Brevard delegation members will have to fight for tax 

incentives and economic development programs as Republican leaders deal with a projected $3.6 billion 

budget shortfall and the directive to keep $1 billion leftover in reserves. Just to help remind lawmakers of 

better times for the agency, NASA has trotted out Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke as a space 

ambassador. From April 16-27 in 1972, the fighter and test pilot spent more than 20 hours on the lunar 

surface in what was then the longest and most challenging lunar mission to date. Space Day culminates 

this afternoon on the 22nd floor of the Capitol with a reception. The guest Ust includes Lt. Gov. (and 

Navy veteran) Jennifer Carroll and Senate President Mike Haridopolos, R-Merritt Island. Web posted. 

(20 11 ). [Officials mark Space Day in Tallahassee [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , March 16].] 

March 17: One final CR, and planning for 2012 

Yesterday the Senate passed yet another short-term continuing resolution (CR), extending funding for the 

federal government for three more weeks, through April 8. That CR cuts $63 million from NASA, 

targeting earmarks left over from the agency's FY20 10 spending bill. This CR is Likely to be the last such 

stopgap measure before "the decisive showdown next month" on a final FY 11 spending bill, POLITICO 

reports. That echoes comments made earlier this week by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) at a Senate 

Commerce Committee hearing about NASA, where she said that " the sentiment on the Hill now" is that 

this short-tenn CR would be the last. While the final FYI! spending bill remains uncertain, lobbying 

67 
continues about FY20 12 appropriations. Space News reported late Thursday that two House members 

have asked a key lawmaker to protect NASA's human spaceflight programs from potential budget cuts. 

Reps. Sandy Adams (R-FL) and Pete Olson (R-TX) asked Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wl), chairman of the House 

Budget Committee, which sets overall spending levels for appropriators, to preserve funding for NASA 

human spaceflight programs, while suggesting that NASA's Earth science programs, home to what 

Adams and Olson call an "overabundance of clin1ate change research", could be ripe for cuts. This 

argument for human spaceflight versus Earth sciences isn' t new, but this letter suggests a change in their 

approach. In the Adams/Olson letter to Ryan, though, they seem to be conceding that NASA's budget will 

be cut, and want to direct those cuts away from human spaceflight. "To be clear, we believe that NASA's 

budget can be reduced," they write, as quoted by Space News, arguing that those cuts come from Earth 

science and not human spaceflight but apparently not suggesting that money be transferred from Earth 

sciences to human spaceflight. Web posted. (201 1). [One final CR, and planning for 2012 [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.spacepolitics.com/ [201 1, March 17].] 

NASA budget leads to layoffs 

Already coping with thousands of layoffs tied to the shuttle program's end, Kennedy Space Center is 

cutting more jobs because of flat federal funding so far this year. About 150 positions are expected to be 

eliminated by April I to reduce costs associated with the center's day-to-day operations. Custodial, 

library, health, security and transportation services are among those affected by reductions in hours or 

staffing. The services are funded under the center's roughly $369 million Management and Operations 

budget, which is separate from programs such as the shuttle and International Space Station. "I know that 

these reductions will not be easy," center Director Bob Cabana wrote in a memo to employees last month. 

"All of the changes have been thoroughly considered, and we believe they are the best possible solutions 

to a very difficult problem." The problem is that the space center, like the rest of NASA, has been 

operating at 20 10 funding levels for nearly the first half of the 201 1 fiscal year while Congress has 

haggled over the budget. While funding has remained flat, costs for various contracts and goods have 

increased, creating a $33 million shortfall. Officials say the situation is made worse by a rule change that 

prevents money being rolled forward from one budget year to the next, limiting flexibility to adjust to 

some cost increases. Cabana's memo said spending freezes and other initiatives already implemented had 

reduced the short fall by half, but that cuts to services and jobs were necessary to make up the rest. 

Among the service cuts being implemented are: Closing a medical clinic, fitness center and graphics 

shop and eliminating shuttle bus service; Reducing the hours that badging offices and two security gates 

are staffed; Making library services and a spaceport news magazi ne available online only; Longer 

turnaround times for laboratory service. With the latest temporary federal budget set to expire Friday, an 

extension through April 8 was expected to again avert a government shutdown. That's the same day an 

estimated 700 to 800 KSC workers will be laid off as part of planned shuttle program reductions. Several 

thousand more layoffs will follow after the last mission, which is now targeted to launch June 28. Some 

in Congress are pushing for deep federal spending cuts this year that could affect more KSC jobs. The 

center now employs about 11 ,000 contractors and 2,100 civil servants. Only contractors are affected by 

the recently announced cuts. Web posted. (2011). [NASA budget leads to layoffs [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1, March 17].] 

Grand Turk Attraction Earns Top Honors from Porthole Magazine 

At a ceremony held earlier this week at the annual Cruise Shipping Miami convention, the Grand Turk 

Cruise Center was presented with Porthole Magazine's Editor-in-Chief Award for "Best Interactive 

Cruise Exhibit" for its new attraction that pays tribute National Aeronautics & Space Administration's 

Mercury space program and the historic 1962 splashdown of the Friendship 7 capsule off the island's 

cost. The 3,500-square-foot Splashdown! Grand Turk exhibit features amazing replicas unique to the 

Mercury space program, including a scaled 20-foot-tall Atlas rocket and a full-size, three-dimensional 

replica of astronaut John Glenn in spacesuit, and, of course, a detailed replica of the Friendship 7 capsule, 

which splashed into the Atlantic in 1962, a few short miles from the island of Grand Turk. Opened in 

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2006, the Grand Turk Cruise Center is operated by Carnival Corporation & plc and hosts nearly 625,000 

passengers annually. Web posted. (2011). [New Splashdown! Grand Turk Attraction Earns Top Honors 

from Porthole Magazine [Online]. Available WWW: http://camival-news.com/ [2011, March 17].] 

Craft successfuUy becomes first Mercury orbiter 

After a six-and-a-half-year voyage from Earth, NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft performed a crucial ISminute rocket firing Thursday evening to brake into orbit around hellish Mercury, becoming the fLrst 

probe to take up residence around the solar system's innennost world. The burn, which began at 8:54 and 

concluded at 9:09p.m. EDT, went according to plan. Web posted. (2011). [Craft successfully becomes 

ftrst Mercury orbiter (Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacetlightnow.com/ [20 11 , March 17].] 

March 18: KSC workers pose for unique portrait 

Thousands of Kennedy Space Center employees stand side-by-side to fonn a full-scale outline of a space 

shuttle orbiter outside the Vehicle Assembly Building. The unique photo opportunity was designed to 

honor the space shuttle program's 30-year legacy and the people who contribute to processing, launching 

and landing the vehicle. Web posted. (2011). (KSC workers pose for unique portrait [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spacetlightnow.com/ [2011, March 19].] 

Hazardous Propellant-Loading In Work At KSC 

NASA and contractor engineers are loading toxic rocket propellant aboard Endeavour today as preps for 

the orbiter's 25th and fma l flight continue at Kennedy Space Center. The 18-story spaceship and six 

astronauts are scheduled to blast off from launch pad 39A at 7:48p.m. April l9. A three-day launch 

countdown is slated to lbegin at 6:03 p.m. April 16. Engineers today are loading monomethyl hydrazine 

and nitrogen textroxide into storage tanks aboard the shuttle. The tanks feed Endeavour's twin orbital 

maneuvering engines and its 44 nose-and-tail steering jets. The shuttle's three Auxiliary Power Units will 

be fueled on Saturday. The APUs provide the hydraulic power needed to steer the shuttle's main engines 

69 
in flight and operate its aerosurfaces, landing gear, brakes and nosewheel steering system during 

atmospheric reentry and landing. The hazardous propellant-loading operations will clear the way for the 

delivery to the pad early next week of the shuttle's primary payload, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer. 

The AMS is a large particle physics experiment package that will be housed outside the International 

Space Station. It is expected to shed light on dark matter and dark energy in the universe. The Rotating 

Service Structure at the launch pad wiU be backed away from Endeavour on Monday in advance of the 

arrival of the AMS. The payload is to be delivered to the pad and installed in the Payload Changeout 

Room there on Monday evening. Web posted. (2011). [Hazardous Propellant-Loading In Work At KSC 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , March 18].] 

Taurus XL Failure Investigation Could Delay TacSat-4 Launch 

The U.S. Defense Department this month shipped an experimental satellite communications payload and 

its spacecraft platform to the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska, where they were mated in preparation 

for launch as early as May 5, a Navy official said March 14. However, the launch date for the Naval 

Research Laboratory (NRL)-developed TacSat-4 satellite could be affected by an investigation into the 

March 4 launch failure o f a Taurus XL rocket, said Mike Hurley, head of spacecraft development at NRL. 

The Minotaur 4 vehicle that will carry TacSat-4 to orbit shares some hardware in common with the 

Taurus XL; both vehicles are built by Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Sciences Corp. In addition, the military 

may decide to launch the ORS-1 operational surveillance satellite ahead ofTacSat-4 if it is ready in time, 

the Air Force has said. Although ORS-1 is launching from California's Vandenberg Air Force Base, both 

launch campaigns share some personneL Web posted. (20 11). [Taurus XL Failure Investigation Could 

DelayTacSat-4 Launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 , March 18].] 

Meet NASA's Shuttle Rocket Retrieval Ships 

On Friday, NASA released a fascinating video from one of the lesser-known components of the soon-toretire shuttle program. Shot by bigh-defmition cameras from the decks of NASA's two solid rocket 

booster (SRB) retrieval ships, the Liberty Star and Freedom Star, the video shows exactly what it takes to 

pluck the spent rockets from the Atlantic after law1ch. The footage depicts the retrieval of shuttle 

Discovery's boosters j ust after the launch of STS-133 last month. SRBs are the two booster rockets that 

detach from the space shuttle as it climbs through the atmosphere. Providing 82 percent of the total lift-off 

thrust, the pair of SRBs separate from the shuttle's external tank after about 2 minutes, or when the 

vehicle is approximately 146,000 fe.et (44 kilometers) in altitude. After c limbing higher in the 

atmosphere (up to about 220,000 feet, or 67 kilometers), the tumbling SRBs start to fall back to Earth. 

Parachutes are deployed and the spent 45 meter long cylinders splash down into the ocean. This is when 

Liberty Star and Freedom Star swing into action, approximately 225 kilometers (140 miles) downrange 

from Kennedy Spaceflight Center. The ships take a diving crew to the floating SRBs, re-float them on 

their sides and tow them back to dry land. Web posted. (201 1). [Meet NASA's Shuttle Rocket Retrieval 

Ships [Online]. Available WWW: http://news.discovery.com/ [20 II, March 19].] 

March 20: STS-135: Atlantis in smooth flow as ET-138 undergoes mods 

Atlantis is continuing to enjoy a smooth processing flow inside her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-2) 

for the late June STS-135 mission, while her External Tank (ET -138) undergoes radius block 

modifications to avoid the potential of cracks forming in the intertank stringers. Former SSP manager 

Wayne Hale also noted the observation of such cracks is a classic example of a chaJlenge for what is still 

an experimental vehicle. Although there are still some political clouds hanging over STS-135 - mainly 

due to the uncertainty caused by Continuing Resolutions (CR) and the need to complete STS-134 without 

a large-scale delay which would push Atlantis' mission way past allocated funding cycles- the vital ISS 

supply run is likely to be staunchly defended by NASA managers. The mission will be the last 

opportunity to stock up the lntemational Space Station (ISS) via the vastly superior upmass capability of 

the orbiter, which will be carrying a full Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) and a LMC 

(Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier)- also utilizing the downmass ability of the vehicle, which is already 

70 
manifested to return the failed Pump Module (PM) for vital examinations on the ground. Atlantis' 

processing inside OPF-2 continues to show good margin in achieving the end of June launch date, with 

only 30 Interim Problem Reports (IPRs) charged against the flow, which is now starting to ramp up after 

a period ofThermal Protection System (TPS) work. Work bas also ramped up inside the Vehicle 

Assembly Building (V AB), where preparations for building up the STS-135 stack are taking place. While 

MLP-3 (Mobile Launch Platform) is w1dergoing post launch inspections and repairs, the Solid Rocket 

Boosters (SRBs - SRB BI-146/RSRM 114) are being processed inside the Rotation Processing and Surge 

Facility (RPSF). Atlantis tank, ET-138, is currently the center of attention in the V AB's High Bay 2E 

(HB-2E), as Lockheed Martin engineers from the Micboud Assembly Facility (MAF) began work on 

installing radius blocks around the L02 circumference of the intertank flange. Web posted. (2011). (STS135: Atlantis in smooth flow as ET-138 undergoes mods - Hale on stringers [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ (2011 , March 20].) 

Space station payloads readied for Endeavour 

With hazardous fuel loading operations successfully conducted Friday and Saturday on Endeavour for the 

space shuttle's maneuvering thrusters and engine pods, attention now turns to Monday night's delivery of 

the mission payloads to launch pad 39A. Hazardous fuel loading operations were conducted Friday and 

Saturday on space shuttle Endeavour as technicians loaded the orbiter's forward and act reaction control 

system thruster tanks and the left and right orbital maneuvering system engine pods with storable fuel and 

oxidizer. The orbiter's auxiliary power units were serviced as well. The launch pad has been reopened 

for normal work in preparation for retracting the gantry-like rotating service structure on Monday to 

welcome the mission's payloads. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and Express Logistics Carrier No. 3 

were installed into the transportation canister at Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing 

Facility last Tuesday and Wednesday. The can was turned upright and will head for pad 39A on Monday 

night for hoisting into the payload cleanroom. Web posted. (2011). [Space station payloads readied for 

Endeavour [Online]. Available WWW: http://www .spaceflightnow .com/ [20 11, March 20).) 

March 21: Lockheed Martin shows off test version of Orion spacecraft 

Lockheed Martin Corp. on Monday showed off a test version of the Orion spacecraft, which was initially 

meant to return humans to the moon but may wind up being an escape vehicle for the International Space 

Station or taking astronauts beyond Earth orbit. The company also unveiled a cavernous test facility at its 

Waterton Canyon site south of Denver, where fuU-size mock-ups of the space station and the front section 

of the Orion can be used to practice docking maneuvers. NASA is now considering at least two roles for 

future manned spacecraft, including servicing the space station in low Earth orbit and going on longer, 

more distant missions. Orion includes a module for crew and cargo, a service module for propulsion, 

electrical power and other requirements, and a launch-abort system to carry the capsule to safety if the 

booster rocket fails. NASA successfully tested the launch-abort system two weeks ago at White Sands 

Missile Range, N.M. Lockheed Martin is NASA's prime contractor for the Orion project. The company 

said it built the $35 million, 41 ,000-square-foot test facility, called the Space Operations Simulation 

Center, at company expense. The first Orion capsule is being assembled in another building at Lockheed 

Martin's Waterton Canyon site. It will be used for ground testing and could possibly be launched into a 

suborbital test flight, said James Bray, Lockheed's crew and service module director. Bray said the test 

results will be used in the engineering of the first Orion capsule to fly in space. Work on that capsule is 

expected to start in August. The first orbital space flight of an Orion capsule is expected in 2013, said 

John Karas, vice president and general manager for human space flight for Lockheed Martin Space 

Systems Co. Web posted. (2011). [Lockheed Martin shows off test version of Orion spacecraft, trial 

facility near Denver [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, March 2 1].) 

March 22: Veteran Shuttle Astronauts Selected for 2011 U.S. Astronaut BaU of Fame 

Veteran Space Shuttle Astronauts Selected for 2011 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction 

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Karol J. "Bo" Bobko and Susan J. Helms will join an elite group of American space heroes as they are 

inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame® during a ceremony at Kennedy Space Center Visitor 

Complex on Saturday, May 7, 201 1. They will be welcomed to the ranks of legendary space pioneers like 

Neil Annstrong, John Glenn, Alan Shepard, Jim Lovell, SaJiy Ride and John Young - distinguished 

members of this unique Hall of Fame. This is the tenth group of space shuttle astronauts named to the 

U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Earlier inductees represent the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and 

Apollo-Soyuz programs. The addition ofBobko, a shuttle commander who flew two orbiters' first flights; 

and Helms, a spacewalker who set a world record outside the International Space Station, will bring the 

number of space explorers enshrined in the Hall of Fame to 79. The 20 II inductees were selected by a 

committee of current Hall of Fame astronauts, former NASA officials, historians, and journalists. The 

process is administered by the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. To be eligible, an astronaut must have 

made his or her first flight at least 17 years before the induction year and must be retired at least five 

years from the NASA astronaut corps. Candidates must be a U.S. citizen, NASA-trained, commander, 

pilot or mission specialist and must have orbited the earth at least once. Web posted. (2011). [Veteran 

Space Shuttle Astronauts Selected for 2011 U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame Induction [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://hospitality-lst.com/ [20 11 , March 22].) 

Jamison to Receive Debus Award 

Jerry A: Jamison, vice president of launch operations for United Launch Alliance, has been selected to 

receive the 2011 Dr. Kurt H. Debus Award by the National Space Club Florida Committee. Jamison will 

be honored at the Debus Award Dinner April 16 at the Debus Conference Facility at the Kennedy Space 

Center Visitor Complex. "Jerry has over 27 years of service to our nation's space program including both 

Air Force and NASA payloads and currently leads over 1,000 Cape and Vandenberg employees," said 

National Space Club Chair Dr. Stephen Feldman. "His dedication and influence in our space program is 

exemplary." Named for KSC's flfSt director, the Debus Award recognizes significant achievements and 

contributions made in Florida to American aerospace efforts. At launch sites at Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station in Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Jamison is responsible for integrating the 

launch services for ULA's three launch vehicles: the Atlas V, Delta 11 and Delta IV and associated 

product lines. Jamison has led engineering teams in numerous launch systems including both Air Force 

and NASA payloads. Web posted. (2011). [Jamison to Receive Debus Award [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, March 22.] 

Another Step Fonvard for COTS 

NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program took another step forward today 

with the inauguration of a new facility at NASA's Wallops Island, VA launch facility. Orbital Sciences 

Corp., based in Dulles, VA, is one oftbe two companies vying to provide commercial services to NASA 

for taking cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of the COTS program. While most media 

attention has been focused on Orbital's COTS competitor SpaceX, Orbital has been moving along with 

development of its Taurus II launch vehicle which it plans to launch from WaJlops. Located off the 

southern portion of the so-called Delmarva (Delaware-Maryland-Virginia) Penisula along the Atlantic 

Ocean east of Washington, DC, Wallops has been the site of many suborbital and some orbital launches 

throughout its long history. A portion of the facility is now called the Mid-Atlantic Regional 

Spaceport. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden presided over a ribbon-cutting ceremony at its new 

Horizontal Integration Facility that will be used for the Taurus II. Bolden referred to the "tough mission 

schedules" facing COTS as the space shuttle program comes to an end and NASA loses the shuttle's 

significant cargo-carrying capacity. The first Taurus lllaunch is expected this fall. Wallops is located in 

Virginia, but is managed by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. Web posted. (2011). 

[Another Step Forward for COTS [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/ 

[20 II, March 22.] 

Endeavour payloads to put final touches on space station 

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The cosmic experiment headed for the International Space Station to probe the mysteries of physics and 

more spare parts to keep the outpost flying after the space shuttles are retired have arrived at the pad for 

launch aboard Endeavour four weeks from today. A special transport canister shaped like the shuttle's 60-

foot-long payload bay was hoisted into pad 39A's gantry overnight to unload the mission's critical cargos 

into the cleanroom. The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and the Express Logistics Carrier No. 3, both 

destined for attachment onto the space station's truss backbone, wilJ be inserted into the shuttle's bay 

Friday to await the April 19 blastoff. "It's almost like each of the payloads is a separate mission, but the 

two come together," said Joe Delai, Kennedy Space Center's payload mission manager. Endeavour's 

diverse passengers represent nearly 30,000 pounds of hardware and are the last additions that the shuttle 

program will give to the space station's million-pound structure after 12 years of assembly work. The twosided ELC-3 holds a pair communications antennas, a high-pressure oxygen tank, an extra ammonia 

coolant reservoir, a new arm for the Dextre robot and some assorted electronics. It is the final batch of 

large replacement items that NASA has been stockpiling in orbit for future use once the heavy-lifting 

shuttles go out of service. "The objective is to get all the spares, the larger parts that need to fly on the 

shuttle, up on the station," said Bob Hart, the Boeing payload flow manager. Using the space station to 

support AMS was the obvious choice, he says, adding that launching the instrument as a free-flying 

satellite would be far too costly. The station has the room and the extensive power required. But just 

getting AMS into space has been a daunting challenge for the multi-national collaboration between 16 

countries, 60 institutes and 600 physicists. Originally designed for a three-year temporary stay aboard the 

station, AMS was supposed to go up and come back on shuttle missions. But after the Columbia accident 

and the Bush Administration's decision in 2004 to retire the shuttle program by 20 l 0, the remaining 

flights were devoted to fmishing station construction in the least-possible number of launches. AMS fell 

off the manifest completely. Outrage in scientific circles and the dogged determination by Ting won 

support in Congress, and NASA was ordered to fly an extra shuttle flight to get AMS delivered to the 

station. That's STS-134, the 25th and final voyage of Endeavour. However, the planned launching last 

summer was postponed so AMS could under a major change. Its helium-cooled superconducting magnet 

designed to last just three years was replaced with a permanent device that would work as long as the 

space station stays in use. The magnet switch moved Endeavour's flight to this year and breathed an 

extension into the shuttle program beyond the 2010 retirement deadline. Now, AMS is atop the launch 

pad and ready to fly. Its mission will unveil a new realm of the universe by detecting and characterizing 

charged cosmic rays that hit the instrument. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour payloads to put final touches 

on space station [Online]. Available WWW: htto://www.spacetlightnow.com/ [2011, March 22.] 

March 23: Historic space shuttle pad soon to be scrap 

A launch pad that bas been used for shuttles, all three Skylab missions and the Apollo-Soyuz test flight is 

being dismantled this week, a move being made to clear the way for future larger launch vehicles. A 

large crane is being used to dismantle Launch Complex 398 one section at a time. Work to remove the 

Rotating Service Structure at the pad is continuing, too. The structures both were designed to meet the 

specific needs of the shuttle program. NASA now intends to go with a "clean pad" approach - one in 

which rockets would arrive at the pad with service structures atop mobile launcher platforms. The idea is 

to make the pad available to a number of different vehicles. NASA is being directed by Congress to 

develop a heavy-lift launch vehicle that would be capable of hauling up spaceships and cargo for missions 

beyond Earth orbit, It's likely the super-sized rocket would be tested and flown from pad 39B. A total of 

52 shuttle missions have been launched from the pad, including the lOth and final flight of Challenger in 

1986. While shuttle Discovery was retired March 9 after its 39th mission, two other shuttles are 

scheduled to make their final flights later this year: Endeavour on April 19 and Atlantis on June 28. Web 

posted. (2011). [Historic space shuttle pad soon to be scrap [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.usatoday.com/ [2011 , March 23.] 

March 24: Engineer's fall still being probed, NASA says there were no safety issues 

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NASA says there were no safety gear malfunctions in last week's death of a launch pad worker. The 

engineer fell to his death March 14 from the shuttle launch pad at Florida's Kennedy Space Center. 

Endeavour was being prepped for an April liftoff. NASA said the worker wasn't wearing a safety 

harness, nor was he required to be wearing one. Shuttle program manager John Shatmon said in Houston 

on Thursday that no fall-protection devices failed. And he added that there is no evidence of foul play. 

The investigation continues. United Space Alliance employee James Vanover was killed in the fall. He 

was 53-year-old and about to be laid off because the shuttle program is ending. Vanover was checking 

for debris on the pad, nearly 200 feet up, when he fell. Web posted. (2011). [Engineer's fall from launch 

pad still being probed, NASA says there were no safety gear issues [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, March 24.] 

Atlantis Crew Prepares For Last Shuttle Mission 

At Johnson Space Center, preparations for STS-135 - a 12-day supply mission to the International Space 

Station and the absolute end of the shuttle program - are unfolding with increasing urgency despite the 

absence of congressional agreement on a 2011 budget. The mission is slated to lift off from Kennedy 

Space Center on June 28 at 3:40p.m. EDT. At the Florida spaceport, Atlantis awaits the April 19 

departure of Endeavour's fmal mission, STS-134, before taking a place at Launch Pad 39A. In Houston, 

STS-135 commander Chris Ferguson, piJot Doug Hurley, Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim have 

transitioned from training for the rescue role they would shoulder if Endeavour sustained damage to her 

thermal protection system to preparations for a demanding resupply flight. "I think there is still some 

speculation as to whether we will actually fly this flight," Ferguson said March 23. "But with every 

passing day, I'm more and more convinced that NASA has the funding put aside and we have the tacit 

approval of Congress." The flight is included in the 2010 NASA Authorization Act. Ferguson, Hurley 

and Magnus spoke of the mission plans during a demonstration of their station rendezvous training. 

NASA has not flown the shuttle with a crew of four since STS-6, a five-day satellite deployment mission 

in 1983. The basic flight plan has changed considerably since the 2003 Columbia tragedy and now 

includes time-consuming heat shield inspections on the second and next-to-last mission days. In addition, 

station missions, which usually include six or seven astronauts, require "all hands" for the manually flown 

rendezvous and docking on flight day three. Without a shuttle on standby to serve as their rescue vehicle, 

Ferguson's crew also will be trained more extensively than usual in space station operations. Should 

Atlantis reach the station but be unable to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere, the shuttle astronauts would 

rotate back to Earth aboard a succession of Soyuz flights. Walheim would return after three months, 

Ferguson after six months, Magnus after nine months and Hurley after a year. To help spread the 

workload, the Atlantis crew will launch 2 hr. earlier in the crew day than usual. The change will give 

them 8 hr. to prepare on orbit for the heat shield inspection on day two. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Atlantis 

Crew Prepares For Last Shuttle Mission [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ 

[2011 , March 24.) 

March 25: Local employment outlook better 

Unemployment in Brevard County declined by a full percentage point in February to 11.4, the state 

Agency for Workforce hmovation reported Friday. The decline, and a year-over-year drop of0.2 

percentage points, had workplace officials feeling "slightly optimistic," said Joan Van Scyoc, 

communications director at Brevard Workforce. But with 548 layoffs coming from United Space 

Alliance on April 8, and thousands more at Kennedy Space Center on the way as the shuttle program 

comes to an end, the county's jobless rate will remain volatile. "Still troubling is the knowledge that the 

Florida metro area that encompasses Brevard was second in the state lineup for losing the most jobs," Van 

Scyoc said. "This is likely to continue throughout 20 II, lagging behind the state in how quickly we 

recover from the recession and the loss of aerospace workers from our region." Out of a labor force of 

262,984, there were 30,078 unemployed residents in the county last month. And while hiring in Brevard 

is slow, job growth is improving in Central Florida. Space industry workers should try looking for work 

in east Orlando, where businesses are expanding, said Noel Tiell, manager at Robert Half International, a 

74 
staffing firm. Web posted. (2011). [Local employment outlook better [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1, March 25.] 

OPM helps NASA's aerospace workers find jobs 

The Office ofPersoiUld Management is teaming with NASA to help aerospace workers affected by the 

end of the 30-year space shuttle program find govenunent jobs. OPM Director John Berry sent a memo to 

federal chief human capital officers March 24 that requested that they expand their recruitment efforts to 

include the more than 6,000 soon-to-be-displaced aerospace employees, who have expertise in areas such 

as IT, engineering and program management. NASA has created a website on which federal agencies can 

post jobs and find additional infonnation about the skills of the employees looking for new jobs. Details 

associated with filing positions, such as job posting and on-site interviews at the Kennedy Space Center, 

will be coordinated between agency hiring officials and the NASA human resources team at the Kennedy 

Space Center, according to the memo. Berry said in the memo that OPM's support for NASA is part of its 

"continuing effort to promote federal hiring in areas most adversely affected by current economic 

conditions." Web posted. (2011). [OPM helps NASA's aerospace workers fmdjobs [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.fcw.com/ [2011 , March 25.] 

March 26: Endeavour's cargo bay loaded for space station run 

Inside launch pad 39A's cleanroom today, technicians completed inserting a $2 billion physics instrument 

and a pallet of spare parts into the payload bay of shuttle Endeavour for hauling to the International Space 

Station. The payload installation effort began Friday and was called complete today at 12:40 p.m. EDT 

with the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer and Express Logistics Carrier No. 3 locked into the orbiter's cargo 

hold. ELC 3 is a two-sided deck carrying various replacement hardware for station systems that can be 

called upon in the future. It has a pair of S-hand communications antermas, a high-pressure oxygen tank, 

an extra ammonia coolant reservoir, a new arm for the Dextre robot and some assorted electronics. Just 

after hours Endeavour docks to the space station, scheduled to occur ApriJ 21 around 5 p.m. EDT, the 

robotic arms of the shuttle and station wilJ work in tandem to unberth the 14,000-pound ELC from the 

payload bay and attach it onto the port-side truss. The following day, the 15,250-pound Alpha Magnetic 

Spectrometer will be hoisted from the rear of Endeavour's payload bay in similar fashion by the robot 

arms and mounted to the starboard-side truss. That is pla1med for April22 around 2 p.m. EDT, given an 

on-time launch. AMS is the exotic experiment to prove the existence or myth of antimatter, seek out dark 

matter and probe the origins of the universe. Endeavour is scheduled for launch April 19 at 7:48 p.m. 

EDT on the two-week mission that also includes four planned spacewalks to perform maintenance on the 

station. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour's cargo bay loaded for space station run [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, March 26.] 

March 27: NASA's Space Shuttle Train Is Basically a Giant, Moving Bomb ... 

. .. but it's actua~ly very safe! And yes, NASA has a railroad. It's been around since 1963, actually- so 

apologies to space nuts who've known about it for a while- but only recently has the agency uploaded an 

expose to YouTube.com. Seriously, though, this train takes huge, volatile rocket booster segments and 

fuel from Utah to the Kennedy Space Center on specialized railroad cars, and has been doing so since 

1963. It's been upgraded since then, of course, but the goal remains the same: Take those boosters and 

fuel from where they're processed, refitted, fixed and manufactured, and get them to tl1e launch pad in 

Florida. Sadly, the last rocket load was moved in May 2010, in preparation for the final space shuttle 

flights (beginning with Discovery earlier this month). That said, the railroad will continue to serve NASA 

in other ways, officials say in the video, which we hope to mean future manned and un-manned space 

missions. Web posted. (2011). [NASA's Space Shuttle Train Is Basically a Giant, Moving Bomb .. . 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.gizmodo.com/ [2011, March 27.] 

March 28: SAIC deal with NASA may be worth $1.3 billion 

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McLean-based SAlC Inc. has won an infonnation technology contract with the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration that could be worth as much as $1.3 billion. SAlC said the NASA Integrated 

Communications Services contract would provide managerial and technical expertise for the entire space 

agency, including corporate and mission enterprise services, center and associated component facility 

services, infrastructure projects and contract management services. The award is part of an IT upgrade 

project at NASA. It has a three-year base period, valued at $340 million. At NASA's discretion it may 

exercise up to three options covering an additional eight years. The maximum value of the contract is $ 1.3 

billion. Web posted. (2011). [SAlC deal with NASA may be worth $1.3 billion [Online]. Available 

WWW: htto://www.buzjournals.com/ [2011 , March 28.] 

Endeavour Crew Flies to KSC this Week 

The crew for the 25th and final flight of shuttle Endeavour will fly to Kennedy Space Center for a 

practice countdown this week as NASA gears up for a planned April 19 launch of an International Space 

Station outfitting missio n. Endeavour mission commander Mark Kelly and his crew will arrive at KSC at 

7 p.m. Tuesday and then take part in their Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, or TCDT. The six 

astronauts will participate in emergency training at launch pad 39A and a two-day practice countdown. 

The crew will hold an informal Q & A with reporters at the pad Thursday. On Friday, the astronauts will 

don launch-and-entry suits and climb aboard Endeavour at the pad Friday for the final hours of a launch 

day dress rehearsal. The crew includes pilot Gregory "Box" Johnson and four mission specialists: 

Gregory Chamitoff, Andrew Fuestel, Michael Fincke and Roberto Yittori of the European Space Agency. 

At the pad today, engineers and technicians will hook up a sliding extension platform that allows the 

midsection of the orbiter to be serviced. The Orbiter Midbody Umbilical Unit attaches to the left side of 

the spaceship so liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen can be loaded into the shuttle's fuel cell system. The 

chemical reactants are combined to generate electricity to power all spaceship systems. Nitrogen and 

helium gas lines also cross the service platform so fuel cell tanks can be pressurized. The platform is 22 

feet long, 13 feet wide and 20 feet high. It extends from the Rotating Service Structure at levels ranging 

from 158 feet to 176 feet above the pad surface. Aft engine compartment closeouts will pick up today, 

too. Launch is set for 7:48p.m. April 19. A three-day countdown is slated to begin around 6 p.m. April 

16. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour Crew Flies to KSC this Week [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog (2011 , March 28.] 

Decommissioning work starts for shuttle Discovery 

Technicians at the Kennedy Space Center have begun taking apart the shuttle Discovery, the ship now a 

laboratory specimen for engineering forensics before her future date with a museum. Inside orbiter 

hangar No. 2 last week, the shuttle's nose piece containing the control thrusters used to maneuver the 

spacecraft was removed and taken to the hypergolic maintenance facility for decommissioning. It's the 

first visible sign of critical post-flight safing work now underway on the three-decade-old Discovery as 

she goes into retirement. The 39th and frnal space voyage for Discovery launched February 24 to the 

International Space Station, delivering the Permanent Multipurpose Module to serve as a float-in storage 

closet and the Express Logistics Carrier No. 4 for holding large spare parts at the orbiting complex. The 

shuttle fl ew back to the Florida spaceport for landing March 9. The so-called "transition and retirement" 

phase for Discovery should last several months, eventually getting the shuttle into a safe state for public 

display. Schedules say the orbiter will be ready to ferry atop a 747 carrier jet to her final home early next 

year. But between now and then the space shuttle program wants to delve inside the venerable ship and 

explore engineering questions about hardware that's not been accessible for examination since 

construction in the early 1980s. "There's some things on the vehicles, especially Discovery, that we 

haven't looked at since it was built out in California. Things like actuators. It's very invasive to go in. l 

had some pretty good debates with the ground operations team about the difficulty of going to get some 

of these things. But from an engineering standpoint, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go see how 

a reusable vehicle actua1ly weathered this many cycles, this many times on orbit, this much time in 

ground processing," said John Shannon, the shuttle program manager. Discovery's rich history included 

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39 flights, 148,221 ,675 miles traveled, 5,830 orbits of Earth and a full year of cumulative time spent in 

space. Construction began in August 1979 and the spacecraft was rolled out of the Palmdale factory in 

October 1983. She became NASA's third operational space shuttle with a maiden voyage in August 1984. 

The information gained by the various pieces and parts removed for laboratory study, Shannon says, far 

outweighs leaving the shuttles in exact flight configuration for their museum resting places. NASA 

Administrator Charles Bolden will announce April 12 --the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle launch--

which museums get Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis, plus the prototype Enterprise. It's presumed that 

Discovery's destination is the Smithsonian. The shuttle program plans the same sort of lab testing on parts 

from sisterships Endeavour and Atlantis after their Another key aspect of the shuttle retirement effort is 

saving critical hardware for reuse on next-generation vehicles. Removal of Discovery's three main 

engines and the two orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods on the ship's tail will occur in the coming 

weeks, and both sets of engines will be preserved by NASA for possible use on future vehicles instead of 

going with the shuttle to the museum. "The main engines are an extremely valuable asset and I want to 

save all of our Block 2 SSMEs that we have. We have a plan to store them in a purged, safe envirorunent 

along with all the ground systems required to maintai n them until we decide what to do with the next 

program," Shannon said. "I'm also trying to find enough funds and enough parts to build some static 

engines that we can display with those vehicles as well, so people can see bow big and how complex they 

really are." Web posted. {20 11). [Decommissioning work starts for shuttle Discovery [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , March 28.] 

March 29: Orbital Sees First Taurus II Flight In Sept. 

Orbital Sciences Corp. is on track - with "a limited amount of slack" - to fly its new Taurus II launch 

vehicle in September on a risk-reduction mission. The first flight main stage is on a ship en route from 

the KB Yuzhnoye factory in Ukraine to the new Horizontal Integration Facility (H.IF) here, where it will 

be mated with its ATK Castor 30A upper stage and Cygnus cargo capsule. "The risk-reduction flight will 

be September, five-and-a-half or six months from now, depending on how things go," said David W. 

Thompson, chairman and CEO of the Dulles, Va.-based space-hardware company, during the HIF 

dedication ceremony March 22. "And that will be followed about three months later by the COTS 

[Commercial Orbital Transportation System] demonstration mission in mid-December." The Cygnus 

pressurized cargo module that will carry supplies on the Taurus II to the International Space Station (ISS) 

is essentially complete at the Thales Alenia Space factory in Turin, Italy, and the Cygnus service module 

is taking shape at Orbital's satellite fabrication facility in Dulles. "There are plenty of things to work on; 

no major areas of concern now," Thompson says of the Cygnus. "Several areas still require a lot of work, 

but the schedule on that looks pretty good right now. We have a limited amount of slack against all of 

those dates." Ground-facility managers from Orbital and MARS are getting help in building the new pad 

from NASA experts nonnally based at Kennedy and Stennis space centers, Langley Research Center, and 

Marshall and Goddard space flight centers, as well as the NASA range experts here who are making the 

transition from sounding rocket launches to orbital missions. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden says 

Kennedy Space Center specialists are helping to develop the vehicle-fueling system, while Langley 

experts are working on the high-pressure pad systems. Stennis and Marshall will help with the hold-down 

test, which will see the rocket's two Aerojet AJ-26 liquid oxygen/kerosene engines fJiing for about 30 

sec. " It's a first time for them, so we're sending in people who've done this time and time again," Bolden 

says. "I think we're going to be okay." Web posted. (2011). [Orbital Sees First Taurus II Flight In Sept. 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ [2011, March 29.] 

Shuttle Discovery embarks on exhibition journey 

Early next year, shuttle Discovery could be parked in a museum looking just as it did after rolling to a 

stop this month at Kennedy Space Center to conclude its 39th and final mission. Only insiders would 

know the windows were spares and the main engines replicas, that chunks of internal plumbing had been 

removed for safety and scores of parts plucked out for preservation. "From all outside appearances to the 

general public, the shuttle should appear as if it's an intact orbiter," said Robert Pearlman, an expert on 

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space artifacts and editor of collectSpace.com. "But in actuality, the orbiters will be somewhat a shell of 

their complete selves." A four-phase process to ready Discovery for public display began as soon as 

NASA's oldest surviving and most flown shuttle returned to Earth on March 9. The work is expected to 

take a relatively small team of technicians about nine months, putting Discovery on track to be fenied to 

the Smithsonian lnstitution --the leading candidate to display it --as soon as January. Endeavour and 

Atlantis will get the same treatment after their final flights this year, with one spaceship tentatively ready 

for delivery by next June and the last by October 2012. NASA plans to announce April 12 who wins the 

right to display the orbiters. Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is among more than 20 institutions 

competing for the privilege-- and the price tag of up to $28.8 million to get the vehicles ready and 

transported. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle Discovery embarks on exhibition journey [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, March 29.] 

Stacking of fmal shuttle rocket boosters underway 

The last-ever set of space shuttle solid-fuel rockets began taking shape Tuesday evening as technicians 

started stacking the boosters that will power Atlantis this summer. inside Kennedy Space Center's 

cavernous Vehicle Assembly Building, the left-aft segment was hoisted out of the handling crate around 

5:30 p.m., slowly maneuvering into high bay No. 1 and then onto the mobile launch platform. The 

assembly process will take a couple of weeks to complete. When the work is fmished, the twin boosters 

will stand 149 feet tall and 12 feet in diameter. Each motor is packed with 1.1 million pounds of 

propellant and burns about five tons per second. The rubber-like fuel, poured in like cookie dough and 

hardened to resemble the texture of a pencil eraser, is a blend of aluminum powder, ammonium 

perchlorate, HB polymer, iron oxide and an epoxy curing. Built by Alliant Techsystems, the rockets 

provide 80 percent of the thrust that propel the space shuttle off the ground. A single shuttle solid rocket 

booster generates up to 3.3 million pounds of thrust during ascent. The external fuel tank is in the 

Vehicle Assembly Building awaiting its next move. Currently located across the aisle in the high bay No. 

2-East checkout cell being readied for flight, the tank will be mated to the solids by month's end. Atlantis 

is undergoing fmal testing at the nearby orbiter processing facility for her 33rd voyage. She will be rolled 

to the V AB for mounting to the tank and boosters in early May. Launch of this final space shuttle mission 

is targeted for June 28 at 3:40p.m. EDT to deliver a massive amount of supplies to the International 

Space Station using the Italian-made Raffaello cargo vessel. Web posted. (20 I I). [Stacking of final 

shuttle rocket boosters underway [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , 

March 29).] 

Endeavour crew arrives at KSC 

Shuttle Endeavour commander Mark Kelly said Tuesday he and his crew are eagerly awaiting their 

upcoming mission to the International Space Station. "We like coming to see the space shuttle. So it's 

exciting, especially when you are three weeks away from launch," Kelly told reporters and photographers 

gathered at Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility for the crew's arrival. The six-man 

Endeavour crew is here for a final round of drills and training before their scheduled April 19 launch. 

They arrived in T-38 jets. Noting that the crew has been training for this mission for two years and the 

payload has been undergoing processing for nine months, Kelly said they are anxious to fly. National 

news media interest for the mission is unusually heavy, largely because the commander is Kelly, NASA 

spokesman Allard Beutel said. Kelly is the husband of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., who was 

shot in the head during a Jan. 8 assassination attempt while she was meeting with constituents at an 

outdoor event in Tucson. Six people were killed and 13, including Gi ffords, injured in the attack. Beutel 

said requests for media credentials for the mission are up about 65 percent, compared with the nonnal 

volume of requests three weeks before a launch. Part of it is because this is Endeavour's 25th and fmal 

mission, but Beutel said a major factor is Kelly's connection to Giffords. Beutel said he expects some of 

the major network news anchors and correspondents to be at KSC for the launch, as well as 

representatives of many media outlets that typically don't cover shuttle launches in person. This will be 

the I 34th shuttle mission. One flight of Atlantis remains, schedule to launch June 28, before the shuttle 

78 
program ends. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour crew arrives at KSC [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ [20 11, March 30].] 

March 30: British space c,ompanies begin trade mission in Brevard 

The leader of the British space agency said the way to create space jobs in Florida and Britain is 

cooperation. "Partmership is absolutely crucial," said CEO UK Space Agency Professor Keith Mason. 

"The important thing is to make the cake bigger so everybody gets a bigger slice. If you can do that by 

partnering between Space Florida and the U.K., that's the best way." Mason spoke at a space conference 

thls afternoon in Cocoa Beach. Space Florida began last year reaching out to the British space industry. 

He led a delegation of British scientists and businessmen who hope to expand the space industries of both 

countries. "The U.K. government recognizes that space is one ofthe growth areas," Mason said. The 

United Kingdom consists of England, Northern ireland, Scotland and Wales. It is home to one of the 

world's leading manufacturers of small satellites, Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd., which will be 

represented at today's meeting. Web posted. (201 1). [British space companies begin trade mission in 

Brevard [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, March 30].] 

NASA to set exploration architecture this summer 

NASA's top human space exploration official told U.S. lawmakers Wednesday the agency expects to 

settle on a design and schedule for a new heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule by this summer, but experts 

say it's unlikely the vehicles will meet a mandate to be ready for flight by 2016. Testifying before the 

House Science, Space and Technology committee, NASA exploration chief Doug Cooke said the space 

agency still has a few months of work to go before rolling out the details of how the super-booster and 

spaceship will be built. Officials are designing the Space Launch System and Multi-Purpose Crew 

Vehicle after the NASA Authorization Act of2010 directed the agency to develop and fly a heavy-lift 

rocket by the end of20 16. But an interim report delivered to Congress in January said NASA would be 

unable to meet the legislative deadline under current budget projections, even if the rocket and capsule 

used hardware recycled from the retired space shuttle and cancelled Constellation programs. That report 

was released before the Obama administration unveiled its fiscal year 2012 budget request in February, 

which cut more than $1 billion from the heavy-lift rocket and crew capsule next year compared to the 

funding blueprint authorized by Congress last fall. The preliminary findings didn't indicate how long 

NASA expects the development to take, but Cooke told a House space and aeronautics subcommittee 

Wednesday the final report should be out this summer. Web posted. (2011). [NASA to set exploration 

architecture this summer [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, March 

31 ].] 

First engine removed from Discovery 

The lower-left space shuttle main engine was removed from Discovery inside the Kennedy Space Center's 

orbiter processing facility bay No.2 on Wednesday, March 30 as part of post-flight deservicing and 

retirement. Built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, the cryogenic powerplants are fed with liquid 

hydrogen and liquid oxygen stored in the external fuel tank to propel the space shuttle throughout its 

eight-and-a-half minute climb to orbit. The engine being removed in these photographs below is SSME 

Block 2-2048 in Discovery's engine No. 2 position. The just-completed flight was the 11th launch for this 

particular engine which initially debuted on STS-95 in 1998 when John Glenn made his historic return to 

space. Web posted. (201 1). [First engine removed from Discovery [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, March 31].] 

March 31: Stormy Weather Stalls Shuttle Crew Training 

Stormy weather is holding up emergency training at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A today, but 

Endeavour's astronauts remain are track to blast off April 19 on an International Space Station outfitting 

mission. Endeavour commander Mark Kelly told reporters in an informal Q & A that the crew had been 

scheduled to take part in emergency training at the pad 39A gantry. But the weather forced a delay. Two 

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of the Endeavour astronauts-- mission specialists Michael Fincke and Roberto Vittori of the European 

Space Agency-- have not flown on a shuttle mission before so they will have to squeeze in emergency 

escape training at the launch tower when the astronauts return to KSC on April 15 for final launch 

preparations. ln an emergency, astronauts would climb aboard escape baskets on the 195-foot level of the 

launch tower and whisk down a I ,200 foot slidewire to a bunker on the western edge of the pad area. 

Astronaut crews practice climbing in and out of the baskets during their Terminal Countdown 

Demonstration Test --their last major training exercise at KSC prior to launch. They do not actually ride 

down the slidewire. Kelly and Johnson completed three dives to the runway in a Shuttle Training Aircraft 

today. But then had to call it quits because stormy weather was fast approaching. Severe weather sirens 

blared out at KSC soon thereafter, and there was an unconfmned report of a funnel cloud near the pad. 

Lightning strikes have been recorded at the pad. But Endeavour has not sustained any major damage. The 

six astronauts are scheduled to launch at 7:48 p.m. April 19 on a mission to deliver a $2 billion highenergy particle detector to the station. They also will haul up a spare parts pallet. The mission will be the 

134th for the shuttle program, the 36th shuttle trip to the station, and the 25th and final flight of 

Endeavour. Atlantis will launch on the 135th and fmal shuttle flight on June 28. Web posted. (2011 ). 

[Stormy Weather Stalls Shuttle Crew Training [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench bfog [20 II, March 30).] 

NASA to check for shuttle damage after hail storm 

NASA crews will perform a full survey of the space shuttle Endeavour on Thursday, a day after high 

winds and hail battered the launch pad, according to the space agency. "No one was injured and initially 

no obvious damage was observed. The storm moved through the area quickly," a NASA press release 

said. Endeavour is scheduled to blast off to the International Space Station on April 19th. The space 

shuttle's six astronauts are at the Kennedy Space Center for their launch dress rehearsal. NASA says the 

storm blew in at about 5:20p.m. Wednesday. Teams will head to the launch pad on Thursday to confirm 

there was no damage to the orbiter, which is being prepared for its final flight, before heading into 

retirement. Web posted. (2011). [NASA to check for shuttle damage after hail storm [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ [2011 , March 31].] 

Salt-Seeking Spacecraft Arrives At Launch Site 

An international spacecraft that will take NASA's first space-based measurements of ocean surface 

salinity has arrived at its launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Aquarius/SAC-D 

mission will provide scientists with a key missing variable in satellite observations of Earth that links 

ocean circulation, the global balance of freshwater, and climate. The Aquarius/SAC-D spacecraft left Sao 

Jose dos Campos, Brazil on March 29. Following final tests, the spacecraft will be attached to a Delta 11 

rocket for a June 9 launch. The mission is a collaboration between NASA and Argentina's space agency, 

Comisi6n Nacional de Actlvidades Espaciales (CONAE), with participation from Brazil, Canada, France 

and Italy. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on CONAE's SAC-D spacecraft, will map global 

changes in the concentration of dissolved salt at the ocean surface. Measuring salinity is important to 

understanding how changes in rainfal~ evaporation and the melting or freezing of ice influence ocean 

circulation and are linked to climate changes. The three-year mission will provide new insights into how 

variations in ocean surface salinity relate to these fundamental climate processes. Aquarius will greatly 

enhance the quantity of ocean salinity measurements that have been collected from ships, buoys and 

floats. Aquarius is a NASA Earth System Science Pathfmder Program mission. The Aquarius instrument 

was jointly built by JPL and NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. NASA's Launch 

Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida is managing the launch. JPL will manage 

Aquarius through the mission's commissioning phase and archive mission data. Goddard will manage the 

mission's operations phase and process Aquarius science data. ["Salt-Seeking Spacecraft Arrives At 

Launch Site NASA Instrument Will Measure Ocean Surface Salinity," NASA News Release #11-094, 

March 31, 20 I 1.] 

80 
Second engine removed from Discovery 

Removal of the space shuttle main engines from Discovery continued on Thursday, March 31 when the 

lower-right powerplant was extracted from the orbiter. The SSME Block 2-2058 is in Discovery's engine 

No. 3 position. It flew on six shuttle flights starting with STS-116 that went to the lntell).ational Space 

Station in 2006. Built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, the cryogenic powerplants are fed with liquid 

hydrogen and liquid oxygen stored in the external fuel tank to propel the space shuttle throughout its 

eight-and-a-half minute climb to orbit. Web posted. (2011). [Second engine removed from Discovery 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [20 11, March 31].] 

81 
APRIL 

Aprill: NASA Facing $548 Million Payment To Cover USA Pension Fund 

The single biggest check NASA expects to write next year will go to United Space Alliance (USA) to 

cover a half-billion-dollar shortfall in the space shuttle contractor's pension fund. It is not NASA's fault 

USA's pension fund - held in stocks, bonds and other assets company officials said are worth between 

$600 million and $700 million - has just a little over half of the money it needs to guarantee retirement 

pay promised to II ,000 past and current employees. But the U.S. space agency is legally obligated to 

make up the shortfall, which totaled more than $500 million as of January, because USA operates the 

shuttle fleet under a cost-reimbursable contract that entitles the company to charge the government for 

personnel costs, including pay and benefits. The bill is coming due now because the rapidly downsizing 

USA is closing out its pension plan as it prepares for an uncertain post-shuttle future. Houston-based 

USA announced in December that it had begun taking steps to terminate its pension plan, a benefit the 

Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture offered its employees until several years ago, when it switched to a 

less costly 40 I (k) retirement savings plan for new hires. USA and NASA have been working on a 

termination plan with the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp., a federal agency that regulates pensions and 

steps in to pay benefits when companies fail. NASA has asked Congress for $548 million in 2012 to 

ensure USA's pension plan is fully funded before the plan's assets are transferred to new trustees that will 

offer USA retirees a lump sum distribution or annuity. The actual amount of the shortfall - and thus 

NASA's liability - will continue to fluctuate as the stock market and interest rates rise and fall. NASA 

Chief Financial Officer Elizabeth Robinson told Space News that even though the agency is legally 

obligated to "make the USA pension fund whole" upon the termination of the company's longstanding 

shuttle operations contract, the agency " is happy to do so." For many years, Robinson said, "USA 

workers have provided critical services for NASA's shuttle program, and they deserve a solid fmancial 

footing in retirement." USA, created in 1995 to streamline space shuttle operations, is the only NASA 

contractor agency officials know of that still has on its books a defined-benefit pension plan, which 

promises specified monthly retirement income based on an employee's earning history, length of service 

and age. Most aerospace contractors abandoned pensions years ago in favor of less costly plans, such as 

the 40 I (k), where payout is determined by the performance of investments the employee selects. Norm 

Gookins, USA's vice president of human resources, said NASA's liability for USA's pension dates back 

to 1996 when the agency consolidated some three dozen space shuttle contracts into one. A large 

percentage of the 10,000-plus shuttle workers USA absorbed under its cornerstone Space Flight 

Operations Contract, he said, were already enrolled in pension plans. As the newly created USA 

rebadged thousands of shuttle workers from Lockheed Martin, Rockwell International and other 

contractors, "we just brought those [pension] plans into USA with them." A decade later, when USA and 

NASA were negotiating the Space Program Operations Contract - a four-year, $6.4 billion agreement 

since extended through the last shuttle flight - the company realized it could not keep offering a pension 

and be competitive as it sought new business. Gookins said USA froze new enrollments in the plan, 

which by 2006 was running $200 million to $300 million short, and began discussing with NASA the 

need to terminate the pension at the conclusion of the shuttle program. Even though both USA and NASA 

recognized the plan was running a shortfall, NASA did not have the option of paying it down gradually. 

"The sad part of that is NASA is subject to the [Cost Accounting Standards] and they can't pay more until 

you're in termination," Capel said. "And then the [Cost Accounting Standards] say NASA is obligated to 

contribute whatever is necessary to irrevocably settle all plan liabilities." Web posted. (20 II). [NASA 

Facing $548 Million Payment To Cover USA Pension Fund Shortfall [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 April I].] 

Endeavour fmishes rehearsal for liftoff 

After completing a practice launch countdown Friday, six Endeavour astronauts plan to return to Kennedy 

Space Center within two weeks for the April 19 blastoff of the second-to-last shuttle flight. Inspections 

82 
Friday indicated Endeavour was mostly unscathed by strong storms Wednesday and Thursday that 

produced lightning strikes, high winds, hail and a funnel cloud near launch pad 39A. Minor damage to 

insulating foam covering the shuttle's 15-story external fuel tank was not expected to delay launch 

preparations. Top NASA managers will gather Friday at KSC to review readiness for the 134th shuttle 

mission and to set an official launch date. Flying for the 25th and fmal time, Endeavour will deliver a 

cosmic ray detector and! spare parts to the International Space Station during a 14-day mission. Liftoff is 

targeted for 7:48p.m. April 19. Led by mission commander Mark Kelly, the astronauts on Friday capped 

off a four-day training visit to KSC with a launch dress rehearsal. Kelly, pilot Greg Jolmson and mission 

specialists Greg Chamitoff, Drew Feustel, Mike Fincke and Roberto Vittori rode the Astrovan to the pad 

and strapped into their seats aboard Endeavour. About 2 p.m., the simulated countdown was cut short 

four seconds before clocks reached zero, and the crew proceeded to review emergency escape procedures 

before heading back to Houston. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour finishes rehearsal for liftoff[Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011Aprill].] 

Endeavour crew commends Kelly's dedication, focus despite family crisis 

The commander of Endeavour's 25th and fmal flight remains sharply focused on NASA's penultimate 

shuttle mission despite a personal tragedy that played out on a national stage, a crewmate said Thursday. 

Mark Ketly, the husband ofU.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., took a month off training after his wife 

was shot in the head and critically wounded during a Jan. 8 assassination attempt in Tucson that killed six 

people and injured a dozen others. A veteran of three previous shuttle flights, two of which he 

commanded, Kelly resumed training Feb. 7 and will be ready to launch as scheduled on Aprill9. 

Endeavour mission specialist Michael Fincke said Kelly is doing an outstanding job in a "particularly 

difficult family situation." The crew also includes pilot Gregory "Box" Johnson and three other mission 

specialists: Greg Chamitoff, Andrew "Drew" Feustel and Roberto Vittori, an Italian astronaut with the 

European Space Agency. The six astronauts aim to deliver a $2 billion cosmic ray detector to the space 

station along with a pallet that holds a spare radiator, an ammonia coolant tank, a high-pressure gas tank 

and extra parts for the station's two-armed Canadian robot, Dextre. The high-energy particle detector, 

known as the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, or AMS, will search for signs of the invisible dark matter 

that theoretically makes up 85 percent to 90 percent of the universe. Today, the crew will don bright 

orange launch-and-entry suits and climb aboard Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A 

for a launch-day dress rehearsal. The driU is part of the crew's Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, 

or TCDT, their last major training exercise at KSC prior to launch. Severe thunderstorms, lightning 

strikes, heavy rain and hail interrupted training at the launch pad Thursday. A funnel cloud was spotted 

five miles west of the pad, and two more were sighted at Haulover Canal, a waterway on·North Merritt 

Island that connects Mosquito Lagoon and the Indian River. Initial inspections at the pad uncovered only 

minor damage to thermal insulation that covers the shuttle's 15-story external tank. More extensive 

inspections will be performed in the next few days. NASA still has several days of padding in the 

schedule leading up to a 7:48p.m. April 19 liftoff. Kelly and his crew are slated to return to KSC on April 

15 for final launch preparations, and a three-day countdown will pick up the next day. Kelly said he still 

hopes his wife will be able to travel to KSC for the launch. Giffords is at a rehabilitation hospital in 

Houston and is making remarkable progress in her recovery. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Endeavour crew 

cominends Kelly's dedi,cation, focus despite family crisis [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ (2011Apri11].] 

Boeing: SLS Rocket Work Needed To Avert Layoffs 

Boeing will be laying off some 800 employees this summer unless NASA immediately agrees to 

incorporate the company's work on the canceled Ares rocket program into the agency's planned heavylift rocket mandated by Congress, the head of Boeing's space exploration division said March 31. In a 

briefing with reporters, Brewster Shaw said most of the Boeing work force currently assigned to the U.S. 

space shuttle, plus those who have been working on the now-canceled Ares 1 rocket upper stage, have 

nowhere to go within the company other than to NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS). Waiting for 

83 
NASA to send out and evaluate bid requests for the work as part of a competitive procurement would take 

months, if not more than a year, Shaw said - too long for Boeing to maintain the staff now working on 

the shuttle and the expiring Ares 1 contracts. If the last space shuttle is launched in June as planned, 

Shaw said, Boeing wou ld begin dismissing shuttle workers in July. If these engineers cannot transition 

into a new NASA heavy-lift launcher program, or find work in NASA's Commercial Crew Development 

project, "then we will lose that work force," Shaw said. "They will be laid off. If NASA does a 

competitive procurement, then it is inevitable." However, Boeing could get at least a partial reprieve the 

week of April 4 when NASA is expected to announce the winners of a second round of Commercial Crew 

Development contracts worth a combined $270 million, according to one industry source. The company 

won $18 million in economic stimulus money from NASA last year to continue work on technologies for 

a seven-person crew capsule it is developing in collaboration with Bigelow Aerospace to launch atop a 

United Launch Alliance-built Atlas 5 rocket. Web posted. (2011). [Boeing: SLS Rocket Work Needed 

To Avert Layoffs [Online). Available WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/ [2011 April I).] 

Pratt & Whitney pushing for direction on space travel 

The end of the space shuttle program will mean more job cuts at Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's 

operations in northwestern Palm Beach County. Company officials say they're unsure how many workers 

will be laid off after the final shuttle launch, which is scheduled for June. "There's going to be some 

reductions this summer, but we haven't finalized that," Jim Maser, president of Pratt & Whitney 

Rocketdyne, said in an interview today. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has the contract to build and 

maintain the space shuttle's main engine, and that work is done by Pratt employees in Florida, Califomia 

and Mississippi. Pratt's Palm Beach County employees work on the shuttle's turbopumps. Web posted. 

(20 11). [Pratt & Whitney pushing for direction on space travel [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.palmbeachpost.com/ [2011 April 1].] 

Space Alliance, Houston contractors extend NASA work 

United Space Alliance LLC, a Houston commercial space contractor, has negotiated six, one-month 

options with NASA valued at $436.5 million. The cost reimbursement contract provides for the 

continuation of services to support fly-out of the space shuttle manifest beyond Thursday. Scope of the 

work includes mission design and planning; software development and integration; astronaut and flight 

controller training; and space shuttle and International Space Station-related support to the Constellation 

Program. NASA plans to exercise four, one-month options to support the current shuttle manifest, the 

company said. United Space Alliance will perform the work at its facilities in Houston, Huntsville, Ala. 

and NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla. Web posted. (2011). [Space Alliance, Houston contractors 

extend NASA work [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.bizjournals.com/ [2011 April I].] 

April 2: Eyes on the skies: Eastern Range tracks every launch 

The Eastern Range is a string of radar and telemetry dishes that extends more than 5,000 miles southeast 

of Brevard County. Over the past 60 years, spanning the rise of the space program itself, the range's 

technicians and equipment have tracked hundreds of launches from Kennedy Space Center and Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station. Unlike other operations, the Eastern Range will remain intact after the 

shuttle program ends. Computer Services Raytheon, a partnership between Computer Sciences Corp. and 

Raytheon Technical Services Co. with 500 Brevard employees, manages the range with about a $100 

million budget, and its contract runs unti120 17. "The flyout of the shuttle program won't have a big 

impact on most of the work we do because it's the same whether it's a Delta 4, an Atlas 5, a Falcon 9 or a 

space shuttle," said Michael Maier, CSR vice president and general manager. "We've got some new 

radars coming on line. We have new communications systems, new weather systems. It's a steady 

workload going on there." The company expects to perform new tasks for the commercial launch 

companies that will emerge after the shuttle flies its last mission this summer. Web posted. (2011). [Eyes 

on the skies: Eastern Range tracks every launch and three women at CSR lead the way [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April2].) 

84 
Close inspections of space shuttle set to begin 

NASA engineers will begin detailed inspections of space shuttle Endeavour Saturday, two days after 

thunderstorms, hail and a lightning strike near the launch pad caused minor damage to the spacecraft. 

Teams began an initial launch pad survey Friday, NASA said in a statement. But investigators weren't 

able to conduct a thorough inspection because the agency was conducting safety training with the six 

astronauts who are scheduled to fly in the shuttle's final mission later this month. NASA said no obvious 

problems have been found, but teams will install platforms Saturday morning that will allow them to 

inspect Endeavour and its external fuel tank more closely. The storm, on Wednesday and Thursday, 

included a wind gust of90 miles per hour at launch pad 39A, as well as a Lightning strike "inside the pad 

perimeter," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said. NASA officials so far know of minor damage to 

insulation foam at the top of the shuttle's external fuel tank, Beutel said. Endeavour is scheduled to 

launch on its final mission to the International Space Station on April 19 at 7:48p.m. ET. Web posted. 

{2011). [Close inspections of space shuttle set to begin [Online). Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ 

[2011 Apri12].] 

Battle for retired shuttles gets fiery 

With competition fierce to land a retired space shuttle orbiter, the cities and states vying to bring one 

borne have gotten creative. Lobbying strategies range from a humble lapel pin to a videotaped sales pitch 

by a former president. There are pledges of extravagant buildings and millions of visitors if chosen. 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said he'll announce the winners on April 12, the 30th anniversary of 

the frrst shuttle ilight. The announcement will end years of jockeying by dozens of competitors, but it's 

also likely to bring more disappointment than celebration. After all, only three orbiters remain and 

Discovery is already committed to the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum. That 

leaves Endeavour and Atlantis up for grabs, and 29 museums and institutions -- including Kennedy Space 

Center Visitor Complex -- in the race to be a shuttle retirement home, each promoting their site with the 

energy of a carnival barker. "That decision will be fair, sir," Bolden told a lawmaker at a recent 

congressional hearing. The goal is to house the shuttles where they can be used as educational displays to 

promote human spaceflight and inspire interest in exploration. Federal law says the shuttles should retire 

to places "with an historical relationship with either the launch, flight operations or processing" of the 

spacecraft. That would seem to give the edge to KSC, which launched every shuttle mission and landed 

half of them, and Johnson Space Center in Texas, where mission control is located. Bolden is expected to 

be at KSC on April 12 -- the same day he announces his decision-- to celebrate the anniversary of the 

first flight. He flew four shuttle flights, including one in 1986 with Sen. Bill Nelson, 0-0rlando. The 

importance of making sure the shuttles are accessible to as many Americans as possible has come up 

again and again -- suggesting geographical diversity wiiJ play a role in Bolden's decision. Some sites, 

such as the KSC Visitor Complex, are touting new buildings as an added selling point. The complex plans 

a $100 million, 64,000-square-foot exhibit to house an orbiter for 1.5 million annual visitors. The shuttle 

would be displayed as if in flight, with its payload bay doors open. For those sites not lucky enough to 

score Endeavour or Atlantis, there may be a consolation prize, of sorts. Enterprise, the shuttle test vehicle 

currently at the Smithsonian, may be offered up by the museum to make way for Discovery. Web posted. 

(2011). [Battle for retired shuttles gets fiery [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[20 11 April 2].] 

April 3: NASA Endeavour Shuttle Launch Delayed 

The final blastoff for NASA's Endeavour-commanded by the husband of wounded Rep. Gabrielle 

Giffords-has been pushed back at least I 0 days due to a scheduling glitch, reports Peter J. Boyer. The 

scheduled April 19 launch of the space shuttle Endeavour is expected to be postponed for at least I 0 days, 

sources close to the project said Sunday. The Endeavour is commanded by veteran astronaut Capt. Mark 

Kelly, who, while training for the mission, has also been attending to his wife, Congresswoman Gabrielle 

Giffords, who is recovering in a Houston rehabilitation hospital after an assassination attempt in Tucson 

85 
on January 8. Kelly has said that he hopes his wife will be able to attend the launch, from NASA's 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The two-week rrussion, which will include four space walks and a 

rendezvous with the Lnternational Space Station, is the last for the Endeavour, and the 134th, and 

penultimate, rrussion for the space shuttle program. The 18-story spacecraft, which was rolled out to the 

launch pad last month, is now expected to blast off on April 29, according to the sources. The glitch 

evidently has to do with a scheduling conflict involving a Russian resupply craft, the Progress, which was 

to launch a few days after the Endeavour. That craft cannot dock with the International Space Station 

while the shuttle is there, and NASA had hoped to persuade the Russians to agree to put the Progress- a 

robotic craft- into a "parking" orbit until the Endeavour had completed its mission. Apparently, 

agreement could not be reached, and NASA is now looking for a new launch date-likely, April 29- for 

the Endeavour. The expected delay would not be the first for this mission. The Endeavour was originally 

scheduled to launch last November, which would have made possible a space first- an orbital meeting of 

Endeavour commander Kelly with his twin brother, Scott, who was commanding the International Space 

Station. That novel moment was missed when the Endeavour's launch date was "slipped" to February, 

and subsequently to April 19. Scott Kelly returned to Earth last month in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft. 

The Endeavour's payload includes a $1.5 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, an eight-ton physics 

experiment designed to probe space for dark matter that may help to explain the origins of the universe. 

The spectrometer will be transferred to the space station for installation. Web posted. (2011). [NASA 

Endeavour Shuttle Launch Delayed [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.thedailybeast.com/ [2011 

April 3].] 

Canceled NASA rocket resurfaces in private bid for tax dollars 

Over the last six years, NASA has paid Alliant Techsysterns of Minnesota more than $1 billion to build a 

rocket capable of taking a half-dozen astronauts to the International Space Station as a frrst step to flying 

them to the moon. But the rocket - dubbed Ares I - never has flown. And last fall, President Barack 

Obama and Congress agreed to cancel it - along with the entire Constellation moon-rocket program of 

which it was a part - because its price tag kept rising as its launch date kept slipping. So A TK, as the 

company is known, has gone to a Plan B: It's repackaging the Ares I to compete as a commercial "space 

taxi" that could ferry astronauts to the space station. But the company doesn't plan to give NASA a 

discount. Instead, after taking roughly $ 1.2 billion for the Ares I, A TK is angling for a piece of roughly 

$300 rrullion in grant money that NASA wants to use to help spur the commercial development of a space 

taxi. What's more, it claims it can have the new model ready to fly in 2015 - two years earlier than the 

Ares I would have been available. When asked about this arrangement, ATK officials did not directly 

address questions about the tax dollars the company has received to build Ares I. Instead, ATK 

spokesman George Torres pointed out that A TK isn't the only competitor for the $300 rrullion that has 

taken government money. An announcement of the winners is expected in early April. Indeed, at least 

two other rivals in the competition have taken federal dollars. SpaceX of California has received nearly a 

half-billion dollars from NASA to help develop and build the Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule that it 

launched into space last year. And United Launch Alliance, a partnership between Boeing and Lockheed 

Martin, has a longstanding contract with the Defense Department worth billions of dollars to launch 

payloads into orbit, a program also beset by cost overruns. But NASA Adrrunistrator Charlie Bolden said 

he had little concern that A TK was using its failed Ares I effort to help it compete for commercial dollars. 

"We want to help facilitate a vibrant space economy," Bolden said. "If somebody wants to take the shuttle 

and re-fly it. I don't care. I just want to make sure the nation has the capability of getting to low-Earth 

orbit." There's also the issue of ATK claiming the latest version of the Ares l rocket, dubbed Liberty, 

could meet a 201 5 deadline. A presidential commission in 2009 said the rocket suffered from so many 

problems that it would not be ready until 2017 at the earliest. ATK, however, said the Liberty won't rely 

on other U.S. aerospace companies to build its upper stage - which they blame for the delays. Instead, 

ATK is partnering with Astrium, the European company behind the Ariane 5 rocket, to build the upper 

stage. Web posted. (2011 ). [Canceled NASA rocket resurfaces in private bid for tax dollars [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 April 3].] 

86 
NASA teams recommend Early Release of Shuttle OPF -3 

With Discovery safely back on the grow1d after becoming the first orbiter to successfully complete aU of 

the missions assigned to her, NASA is beginning the process of shutting down processing operations in 

Florida. Specifically, NASA and the Space Shuttle Program are preparing to release Orbiter Processing 

Facility bay 3 from service earlier than anticipated, thereby eliminating one of three OPFs capable of 

handling orbiter T &R (Transition and Retirement) processing. While information on where the three 

iconic space vehicles will be displayed for posterity following the completion of the SSP will not be 

announced until April l2 (the 30th anniversary of first Shuttle mission, and the 50th anniversary of the 

first manned spaceflight), NASA is pressing forward with T &R processing in Discovery in Orbiter 

Processing Facility bay 2 (OPF-2) - a significant change of scenery for Discovery who has called OPF-3 

home since 2005. In fact, since Shuttle flight operations resumed in 2005, each orbiter has enjoyed her 

own OPF: Atlantis in OPF-1 , Endeavour in OPF-2, and Discovery in OPF-3 - a rarity in the life of the 

program which, for a majority of its existence, operated with more orbiter than OPF. However, put 

simply, all three OPFs are no longer necessary to support Shuttle operations, and with other potential 

customers expressing interest in using Shuttle hardware for variant vehicles (namely - though not 

confirmed - the US Air Force's X-37B), NASA is moving toward an early release ofOPF-3 - with 

handling ofT&R processing of the Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour in only two OPFs. Additional 

concurrences for inclusion in the Space Shuttle Management Resource Transition (SMRT) document 

focused on a release of the Processing Control Center (PCC) by December 20 11 and of the Space Shuttle 

Main Engine Processing Facility (SSMEPF) by May 1, 2012. In all, OPF-3 is located just to the northeast 

of conjoined OPFs 1 & 2 and shares a facility space with the SSMEPF, PCC, Communications & 

Tracking Station #2 (C&T 2), and the commw1ications bub for part of the Launch Complex 39 area. 

Web posted. (2011). [NASA teams recommend Early Release of Shuttle OPF-3 (Online). Available 

WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011 April3).] 

April 4: Spiders in space 

Students and educators will soon be studying spiders in space. Astronauts aboard the upcoming Space 

Shuttle Endeavor mission will bring spiders to the International Space Station for some bands-on science 

experiments. Later this month, NASA's STS-134 crew will help select two of the healthiest, most active 

spiders to bring with them on their mission. "There are fruit flies in a separate chamber and periodically, 

fruit flies will be released into the spider chamber and they will get caught in the web and the spiders wiU 

dine on those," said Gregory Vogt, project manager at the Baylor School of Medicine's Center for 

Educational Outreach in Houston. The spiders will be part of a biology experiment involving students 

and educators on Earth. The Baylor College of Medicine is partnering with the space agency to provide 

an online curriculum guide for the project. The type of spiders used in space will be orb weavers, known 

for their big, beautiful web patterns and designs. The Endeavor crew will also bring plants to the 

International Space Station. The Space Shuttle Endeavor's final flight is scheduled for April 19. Vogt said 

the Spiders in Space experiment will begin the following week. Web posted. (2011). [Spiders in space 

(Online). Available WWW: http://www.wypubcast.org/ [2011 Apri14].] 

Rising launch costs could curtail NASA science missions 

Already faced with a potentially flat budget over the next half-decade, scientists and managers overseeing 

NASA's robotic science probes worry rising and volatile rocket launch prices could further limit the 

agency's ability to explore the solar system and maintain crucial climate research. Rising launch costs 

could claim a larger slice of a mission's budget, increasing the price of projects geared for planetary 

science, astrophysics and Earth observations, according to senior NASA officials. With the federal 

government's spotlight on spending cuts, it isn't likely NASA will get a budget boost to offset the launch 

costs, which experts say are triggered by inefficient rocket buying practices, an eroding commercial 

market, and w1certainty about the future of the space program. That leaves NASA with just one option: 

fly fewer missions. NASA uses a fleet of launch vehicles to deploy satellites. The agency often selects the 

87 
United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 booster to launch solar system missions and large climate research 

spacecraft. But the Atlas 5 is overkill for many small and medium-class NASA spacecraft, unnecessarily 

raising the overall cost of missions. The phasing out of the smaller and less expensive Delta 2 rocket 

leaves NASA with no other proven launch vehicles for those probes. The last Atlas launcher chosen by 

NASA was for the MAVEN mission to Mars scheduled to lift off in November 2013. The $187 million 

contract was announced in October and provides for launch on an Atlas 5-401 booster, the rocket's most 

basic configuration with no solid rocket boosters, a 4-meter payload fairing and a single-engine Centaur 

upper stage. Three years before NASA announced the MA YEN launch contract, the space agency signed 

a deal to lift the next Landsat remote sensing satellite on the same version of the Atlas 5 rocket for $124 

million. Lynn Cline, deputy associate administrator for NASA's space operations mission directorate, 

told an agency advisory panel last month the cost of the Atlas 5-401 is expected to rise by 17 percent over 

MA YEN's $187 million contract value for launches in 2016 and 30 percent for missions in 20 18. The 

skyrocketing launch costs are part of the NASA Launch Services contract signed last year. The NLS 

agreement with four companies, which follows up a similar expiring contract, covers rocket flight 

opportunities for NASA spacecraft over the next 10 years. The NASA Launch Services contract includes 

the Atlas 5 rocket from ULA, Falcon launchers from SpaceX, the Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL and 

Taurus XL boosters, and the Athena rocket family from Lockheed Martin. ULA could also return the 

Delta 2 rocket to the NASA market by adding it to the new NLS contract, which did not initially include 

the venerable Delta 2, Cline said. NASA has balked at purchasing any of the five remaining unsold Delta 

2 rockets because the agency would have to assume high overhead and support costs for continuing the 

program, which is now due to retire by the end of20 11. The U.S. Air Force has moved its launches to the 

larger Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets. Web posted. (2011). [Rising launch costs could curtail NASA science 

missions [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ (2011 April4].] 

Ocean Salinity Satellite Arrives in Calif. from Brazil 

Aquarius/SAC-D, an international spacecraft that will measure ocean surface salinity, arrived March 31 at 

Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in preparation for a June 9 launch aboard a United Launch 

Alliance Delta 2 rocket. The spacecraft, which left Sao Jose dos Campos, Brazil, March 28, is a 

collaboration between NASA and Argentina 's Conae space agency. Other participants include Brazil, 

Canada, France and Italy. Aquarius, the NASA-built primary instrument on Argentina's SA C-D satellite, 

will map global changes in the concentration of dissolved salt at the ocean surface. The measurements 

will help scientists understand how changes in rainfall, evaporation and the melting or freezing of ice 

influence ocean circulation. The Aquarius instrument, built by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and 

Goddard Space Flight Center under the agency's Earth System Science Pathfinder program, will measure 

ocean surface salinity by sensing thermal microwave emissions from the water's surface with a 

radiometer. The Aquarius/SAC-D craft will fly in a 656-kilometer high polar orbit where it will map the 

global ocean once every seven days. Web posted. (2011). [Ocean Salinity Satellite Arrives in Calif. from 

Brazil [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 April4].] 

April 5: Florida seen as leading contender for 1 of 3 shuttles 

Kennedy Space Center, site of all space shuttle launches during the program's 30-year history, wants to 

be a pennanent home for display of one of the orbiters. The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, 

operated by a private company under contract to NASA, has a plan for an eye-catching horizontal display 

of the shuttle, with payload doors open, appearing to be in flight against a black backdrop. It is envisioned 

as a highlight attraction at what is already a tourist mecca on Florida 's Space Coast and longstanding 

home to much of the shuttle program's work force. "Why wouldn't we get one? We live and breathe the 

space program here," Bill Moore, chief operating officer of the visitor complex, said Monday. "It is the 

Space Coast, after all. People here are very proud of that." The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex 

is among 21 organizations vying for NASA's three orbiters, which will be retired this year. A test shuttle 

that never flew in space also will become available. The competing organizations include the National 

Museum of the U.S. Air Force, Smithsonian Institution, Space Center Houston, Chicago's Adler 

88 
Planetarium, New York's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum, Seattle's Museum of Flight, and the 

California Science Center in Los Angeles. NASA is to announce on Aprill2, the 30th anniversary of the 

first space shuttle flight, who will receive the orbiters for permanent display. NASA should assign one of 

the shuttles to the Kennedy site because of its intimate relationship with the space program and its 

unassailable history as site of all 133 shuttle launches, said Alan M. Lovelace, who was NASA's interim 

administrator when the space agency launched its first shuttle in 1981. Delaware North Cos., a $2 billiona-year business that operates the Kennedy visitor center, said it expects to cover NASA's $28.8 million 

cost for preparation, transport and delivery of a shuttle from company revenues generated by admission, 

food and retail sales at the visitor center, plus a loan if needed. No taxpayer dollars would be involved, the 

company said. The company used a similar in-house funding plan to fmance prior exhibits, including the 

Shuttle Launch Experience and the Apollo/Saturn V Center, spokeswoman Andrea Farmer said. Web 

posted. (2011). [Florida seen as leading contender for 1 of3 shuttles [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.daytondailynews.com/ [2011 April 5).) 

Boeing Targets Key Space Systems 

As Boeing leads the close-out of NASA's space shuttle operations, it is bidding for work under the 

second phase of the agency's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev 2) program as well as helping 

craft the future of U.S. heavy-lift rocket capability. Boeing is seeking CCDev 2 money to accelerate 

development of its CST-I 00 crew capsule. "We'd like to bring the capsule to operational utility," says 

Boeing Network and Space Systems President Roger Krone. The low-cost capsule design incorporates 

commercial off-the-shelf equipment and is " really only designed to go to low Earth orbit [LEO]. It's not a 

capsule you'd ever take past Earth orbit, and is focused specifically on [transport to] the International 

Space Station [ISS]," Krone says. Pad abort tests are scheduled for 2013, with a more demanding ascent 

abort test in late 2014. T he abort system is a pusher device, unlike the tower-mounted "puller" system 

used on the Lockheed Martin Orion. An un-crewed orbital test flight of the vehicle, which is being 

developed jointly with Nevada-based Bigelow Aerospace, also is scheduled for the same year, while the 

first flight test with crew is currently set for early 20 15. Whether Boeing's own vehicle will be ferrying 

crew to orbit or not, the company remains responsible for sustaining engineering for the U.S. segment of 

the ISS under a contract awarded by NASA in 2010. The $1.24 billion, five-year contract extension 

includes sustaining engineering for hardware and software on the U.S. element as well as common 

hardware and software for the international partners. Web posted. (2011). [Boeing Targets Key Space 

Systems [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ [2011 AprilS].] 

SpaceX Announces Launch Date for the World's Most Powerful Rocket 

Today, Elon Musk, CEO and chief rocket designer of Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) unveiled 

the dramatic fmal specifications and launch date for the Falcon Heavy, the world's largest rocket. "Falcon 

Heavy will carry more payload to orbit or escape velocity than any vehicle in history, apart from the 

Saturn V moon rocket, which was decommissioned after the Apollo program. This opens a new world of 

capability for both government and commercial space missions," Musk told a press conference at the 

National Press Club in Washington, DC. "Falcon Heavy will anive at our Vandenberg, California, launch 

complex by the end of next year, with liftoff to follow soon thereafter. First launch from our Cape 

Canaveral launch complex is planned for late 2013 or 2014." Musk added that with the ability to carry 

satellites or interplanetary spacecraft weigrung over 53 metric tons or 117,000 pounds to orbit, Falcon 

Heavy will have more than twice the perfonnance of the Space Shuttle or Delta IV Heavy, the next most 

powerful vehicle, which is operated by United Launch Alliance, a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture. 

53 metric tons is more than the maximum take-off weight of a fully-loaded Boeing 737-200 with 136 

passengers. Web posted. (2011). [SpaceX Announces Launch Date for the World's Most Powerful 

Rocket (with Video) [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.onorbit.com/ [2011 April 5].] 

2011 shutdown threats, 2012 budget planning 

89 
Little, if any, progress was made Tuesday to come up with a deal to fund the federal government for the 

rest of fiscal year 20 II, increasing the chances of a federal government shutdown come Friday night. 

While there's no sign of a breakthrough that could lead to a deal by the deadline, that deadline could get 

moved. The House Appropriations Committee has introduced another continuing resolution (CR) which 

would fund the government for another week, and in addition fund the Defense Department through the 

rest of the fiscal year. That CR does include $12 billion in budget cuts, including $ 139 million for NASA: 

$40 million from its construction account and $99 million from its space operations account, according to 

the text of the legislation. However, there's no guarantee that this CR would pass both houses of 

Congress, and President Obama said Tuesday he was opposed to another short-tenn CR. Web posted. 

(2011). [2011 shutdown threats, 2012 budgetp1anning (Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spacepolitics.com/ [2011 April6].] 

No repairs needed on shuttle Endeavour's external tanks 

Engineers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center will continue ground support equipment evaluations at 

Launch Pad 39A following storms that hit the area late last week. Teams met Tuesday and detemlined 

minor damage to space shuttle Endeavour's external fuel tank foam insulati.on will not need to be repaired. 

The spacecraft was not damaged. Crews at Kennedy's Launch Pad 39A will continue tests on 

Endeavour's payload, the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) Wednesday. NASA managers will 

hold a Flight Readiness Review on Tuesday, April 19, to assess the team's readiness to support launch. 

An official launch date will be selected at the conclusion of the meeting. Endeavour's STS-134 mission is 

targeted for launch at 3:47p.m. EDT on Friday, April 29. Web posted. (20 II). [No repairs needed on 

shuttle Endeavour's external tanks [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cfnewsl3.com/ [2011 April 

6].) 

April 6: House approves tax incentives for space businesses 

With 7,000 layoffs expected at Kennedy Space Center this summer after the space shuttle is retired, 

there's growing concern about the future of what used to be known as "America 's Spaceport." Today, the 

Florida House passed HB 873, an attempt by Rep. Steve Crisafulli, R-Merritt Island, to induce more 

commercial rocket companies to set up on the Space Coast by offering them some tax incentives. But in 

an acknowledgment of the state's current revenue problems, the incentives won't be available until the 

years 20 15-2017. One is a "fully transferable net operating loss tax credit," which would allow 

businesses to sell their net operating losses to other Florida companies for cash infusions into their 

businesses. There's also a non-transferable corporate income tax credit of up to 50 percent for a 

commercial space-related business. To qualify for either incentive, a business must create or maintain at 

least 35 jobs and invest .a minimum of $15 million in infrastructure development. "Florida is no longer 

the national leader in space-related incentives. Other states are passing us by, so the Legislature must take 

action to attract more space businesses," Crisafulli said in a statement. "97 per cent of the space-related 

market opportunity is located outside of Florida - it is ours to capture, and this bill will help us do just 

that." Senator Thad Altman, R-Melboume, has sponsored the Senate companion, SB 1224. Web posted. 

(201 1). [House approves tax incentives for space businesses [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 April 6].] 

April 7: NASA braces for possible government shutdown 

Bracing for a potential government shutdown, NASA managers are assessing shuttle launch processing 

and putting plans in place to continue near-normal operation of the International Space Station if a 

workforce furlough is ordered. Work to ready the shuttle Endeavour for launch April 29 on a mission to 

deliver supplies, spare parts and a $2 billion particle physics experiment to the space station would be 

curtailed for the duration of a furlough, although a skeleton crew would remain in place to monitor the 

spacecraft and ensure its safety. But as of Thursday, Endeavour's processing flow included nine days of 

contingency time and NASA officials said the April 29 launch date likely would not be affected unless a 

furlough extended beyond April 18 or thereabout. "Launch processing will not be affected by a 

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government shutdown unless it's lengthy," an agency official said. "We're looking at a line in the sand for 

day-to-day slip of around April 18.lfthe furlough is a week or less, we don't anticipate any impact. If it's 

longer than a week, we're going to have to assess that." A stopgap spending bill expires at midnight 

Friday. If lawmakers do not agree on compromise funding for the rest of fiscal 20 I 1, or approve another 

short-term stopgap bill, a federal shutdown will go into effect. If so, flight controllers at the Johnson 

Space Center in Houston would continue operating the International Space Station in near-normal fashion 

and NASA's Mission Management Team would participate in an already planned meeting Monday with 

the agency's international partners. Less critical support staff would be on call but not report to work. 

Shuttle processing at the Kennedy Space Center would come to a virtual standstill. But thanks to a recent 

delay, no immediate launch date impact would be expected. Endeavour had been scheduled for launch 

April 19, but NASA announced April 4 that the I 34th shuttle flight would be delayed I 0 days because of 

a conflict with the arrival of a Russian Progress supply ship at the space station. The slip to April 29 gives 

the space agency more of a cushion than usual to cope with unexpected problems and delays. NASA 

plans to close out the shuttle program by launching the Atlantis on June 28 on a final space station 

resupply mission. As with Endeavour, the June launch target likely would not be affected unless a 

government shutdown extended beyond nine or I 0 days. After that, both flights likely would begin facing 

delays. A furlough would have an immediate impact on NASA's public affairs operation, including plans 

for in-flight media interviews with the space station crew and agency coverage of celebrations in Russia 

to mark the 50th anniversary ofYuri Gagarin's Aprill2, 1961, launch on the first manned space mission. 

Likewise, a news conference April 12 at the Kennedy Space Center to announce which museums will 

eventually display NASA's three space shuttles would be put on hold. Web posted. (2011). [NASA braces 

for possible government shutdown [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [201 1 

April 7].] 

Last shuttle crew training at KSC 

The four-person crew of the last scheduled shuttle mission is visiting Kennedy Space Center for two days 

of training ahead of a planned June 28 launch. Mission commander Chris Ferguson. pilot Doug Hurley 

and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim will be getting more familiar with spacecraft 

systems and the payload they'll fly to the International Space Station. The veteran crew will climb inside 

the cockpit of Atlantis in Orbiter Processing Facility-I and inspect the Italian-built cargo module 

Raffaello in the Space Station Processing Facility. The standard pre-flight training is called the Crew 

Equipment Interface Test, or CElT. Atlantis' 12-day mission intends to keep the station stocked for a year 

with food and other supplies, limiting the impact of any delays in commercial cargo deliveries by SpaceX 

and Orbital Sciences Corp. The mission also plans to fly a system investigating the potential for 

robotically refueling spacecraft and to return a failed ammonia pump module to Earth for study. The 

mission would be the I 35th and final shuttle flight. Meanwhile, KSC teams continue to ready Endeavour 

to launch the !34th mission on April29. Web posted. (201 1). [Last shuttle crew training at KSC [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1 April 7].] 

Follow Juno's high-flying journey to Cape Canaveral 

Ever wonder what it's like to transport delicate billion-dollar space equipment across the country? It takes 

precision, care and a little heavy-lifting from the Air Force. NASA's Juno spacecraft will fly to Florida on 

a C-17 Globemaster today to start preparing for launch to Jupiter in August, and Spaceflight Now is going 

along for the ride. The spacecraft will be trucked along Denver freeways to nearby Buckley Air Force 

Base, where a C-17 cargo plane awaits to take on Juno and more than 25 engineers and managers for the 

three-and-a-half hour flight to the space shuttle landing strip at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 

Once in Florida, the craft will be convoyed Friday night to the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, 

just outside the KSC gate. Juno is packed inside a tightly-sealed shipping crate designed to keep the 

spacecraft in pristine condition while traveling on the road and inside the C- 17 aircraft. Juno is 

scheduled to blast off Aug. 5 on an Atlas 5 rocket. It will take five years for the craft to reach Jupiter, 

where it will investigate the giant planet's atmosphere, intense magnetic field and study its polar regions 

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for the first time. Juno's three solar wings were shipped to Florida in mid-March via truck, according to 

Eric Roberts, chief of operations for the mission's assembly, test and launch operations phase. Web 

posted. (2011). [Follow Juno's high-flying journey to Cape Canaveral [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ (2011 April 7].] 

Space: the final beer frontier 

Researchers at Queensland University ofTechnology's rnicrogravity "drop tower" are testing the first 

Australian space beer, which will cater to the soon-to-launch space tourism industry. QUT's research 

facility director, Ted Steinberg, said the rnicrogravity tower simulated the low-gravity level present in 

space, allowing the companies behind the beer to determine how it would be affected by space travel. 

The researchers' work in the tower prepared the beer for a world-first taste test aboard a zero-gravity 

flight from Cape Canavera l in February, during which an astronaut tried six beer samples and approved 

the taste and drinkability. The jet plane, on a parabolic flight pattern, experienced periods of 

weightlessness, during which a test astronaut became the first to try the zero-gravity beer. Web posted. 

(2011). [Space: the final beer frontier [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.smh.com.au/ [2011 April 

7].] 

April 8: 535 USA workers report for the last day 

Ln the fifth layoff since October 2009, some 535 United Space Alliance workers turned in their security 

badges and picked up their termination paperwork today at the NASA Shuttle Logistics Depot in Cape 

Canaveral. It leaves 3,303 USA workers at Kennedy Space Center, where two shuttle flights remain. The 

last flight, scheduled for June 28, will end the 30-year-old space exploration program that has provided 

long careers to thousands of engineers and teclmicians. For many, the grieving over lost livelihoods has 

turned to acceptance and determination to find another job. "They made history," USA spokeswoman 

Tracy Yates said. "At this point in the process most of the folks have accepted the fact that the shuttle 

program is ending and have been dealing really well with it." The laid off workers will receive severance, 

unemployment and assistance looking for another job. Web posted. (2011). [535 USA workers report for 

the last day [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 

AprilS].] 

UN declares Aprill2 as International Day of Ruman Space Flight 

The UN General Assembly adopted a resolution at a special session on Thursday declaring April 12 the 

International Day of Human Space Flight. The resolution was initiated by Russia, which celebrates 

Causmonaut Day on April 12 dedicated to the historic first manned flight to space by Russia's Yury 

Gagarin in 1961. "Fifty years have passed since that amazing voyage, but the legend ofGagarin's 

courage and journey to the 'final frontier' continues to be a source of inspiration for space exploration for 

peoples and nations around the world," Kiyo Akasaka, Under-Secretary-General for Communications and 

Public Information, was quoted as saying on the UN Website. On April 12, 196 1, Gagarin blasted into 

the cosomos aboard the Vostok-! spacecraft, orbiting Earth in 108 minutes and landing safely near 

Smelovka village in the Saratov Region's Ternovsky District. Web posted. (20 II). [UN declares April 12 

as International Day of Human Space Flight [Online]. Available WWW: http://en.rian.ru/ [2011 April 

8].] 

Shutdown plans in place at KSC 

Fewer than 50 NASA employees and an undetermined number of contractors would staff Kennedy Space 

Center if Congress and the White House fail to reach a budget deal tonight and the federal government 

shuts down. The KSC Visitor Complex would remain open, but contrary to plans anticipated Thursday, 

tour buses would not be allowed into the space center for stops at the launch pad 39A observation gantry 

or the Apollo/Saturn V Center. If government offices are not open by Monday morning, two events 

planned Tuesday to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle launch and announce the shuttles' 

future display sites will be postponed. NASA had planned a I p.m. event for employees at the hangar 

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where Atlantis is being prepared for the final shuttle mission, followed by a 4 p.m. public event 

celebrating the shuttle workforce at the Visitor Complex. The announcement of which institutions win 

the right to display Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis in retirement was expected at the 1 p.m. event, 

which was to feature NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden, KSC Director Bob Cabana and Bob Crippen, 

pilot of the first shuttle mission 30 years ago. But a budget deal would probably have to be announced by 

Sunday evening for those events to proceed as planned. Shutdown or not, the Visitor Complex on 

Tuesday will welcome the TLC show "Cake Boss" and baker Buddy Valastro, who will make a special 

space shuttle-themed cake. Preparations for Endeavour's targeted April 29 launch would cease, but the 

launch date would not be impacted unless a shutdown lingered into the week of April 1S. A meeting to 

review the flight's readiness and officia!Jy set the launch date is currently scheduled April 19. Some 

previously scheduled hazardous operations will continue this weekend to drain hypergolic propellants 

from Discovery's orbital engines and thrusters and its Auxiliary Power Units, part of work to deservice 

the orbiter and ready it for public display. NASA's furlough plan shows 46 government employees would 

staffKSC full-time or part-time during a shutdown for "protection of life and property," with 267 on call. 

Overall, fewer than 500 of more than 19,000 NASA civil servants across the cow1try would continue 

working during a shutdown. Government and contractor employees forced to stay home would not be 

paid w1less they used vacation or leave days. Meanwhile, the four astronauts scheduled to fly Atlantis on 

the shuttle program's I 35th the final mission wrapped up two days of training at KSC and jetted back to 

Houston around 4 p.m. today. Commander Chris Ferguson (left), pilot Doug Hurley and missions 

specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim visited to get more familiar with the payload and equipment 

they'll use during the 12-day mission targeted to launch June 2S. It was the last time a flight crew 

participated in what is known as the Crew Equipment Interface Test. The four-person crew is expected to 

return in early June for a fmal countdown dress rehearsal. Atlantis is scheduled to move from its hangar 

to the Vehicle Assembly Building for attachment to an external tank and solid rocket boosters on May 12. 

The final rollout of a shuttle to a launch pad is expected to begin the evening of May 20, with Atlantis 

arriving at the pad early May 21. Web posted. (20 II). [Shutdown plans in place at KSC [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ thejlame trench blog [201 1 AprilS].] 

Jupiter-bound probe arrives at launch site 

The Air Force C-17 cargo plane carrying the Juno spacecraft touched down at Kennedy Space Center's 

shuttle runway at 2355 GMT (7:55 p.m. EDT). After taxiing to the tarmac, the military crew opened the 

huge plane's doors and engineers unloaded Juno from the cargo hold after sunset. The spacecraft was 

scheduled to be trucked to the Astrotech processing facility in nearby Titusville late Friday night. Juno is 

scheduled to launch Aug. 5 and reach Jupiter in July 2016. Carrying about 30 people, including the Air 

Force's five-man crew, the C-17 Globemaster took off from Buckley Air Force Base outside Denver at 

about 2045 GMT (4:45p.m. EDT; 2:45p.m. MDT) on the way to the Shuttle Landing Facility at the 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Juno is boxed up inside a specially-built crate that keeps the 

spacecraft clean and contamination-free from the time it left its clean room at Lockheed Martin in Denver 

until it enters the Astrotech processing facility in Titusville, Fla. The box has carried Lockheed Martin 

spacecraft for more than a decade, beginning with the Cassini mission's propulsion module that launched 

to Saturn in 1997. The container is tailor-made for the C-17, with the top of the box reaching just inches 

away from the ceiling of the airplane's spacious pressurized cargo hold. The outer shell of the fuselage is 

exposed inside, displaying a maze of cables, pipes and even the structure of the plane's wing. Inside the 

canister, Juno is attached to an analog of the payload attach fitting, the adapter that will connect the craft 

to the Atlas 5 rocket during launch. All the cargo inside the plane is tied down with chains and tethers to 

prevent the sensitive flight hardware from moving around in flight. Like clockwork, engineers check on 

the environment inside the container to make sure Juno is comfortable. The box is connected to a nitrogen 

purge unit to cleanse the atmosphere inside, so workers also measure the atmosphere in the pressurized 

cabin to ensure no dangerous nitrogen fumes are leaking. Web posted. (2011). [Jupiter-bound probe 

arrives at launch site [Online). Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 AprilS].] 

93 
Giffords staff planning for space shuttle launch 

Aides for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords are preparing for her to travel to Florida to watch her husband's space 

shuttle launch at the end of the month, although doctors have yet to clear her to go, her office said Friday. 

Planning has been ongoing for Giffords' "anticipated attendance" of the April 29 launch of the space 

shuttle Endeavor, which will be commanded by her husband, Capt. Mark Kelly, the congresswoman's 

office said in a statement. Giffords has not been seen publicly since she was shot in the head in a Jan. 8 

mass shooting in Tucson that killed six and wounded 12 others. Endeavor's two-week trip will be the last 

for that shuttle and the next-to-last shuttle mission. Shuttle Atlantis will close out the 30-year shuttle 

program this summer. Kelly and five crewmates will deliver a $2 billion physics experiment to the 

International Space Station, as well as critical spare parts to keep the orbiting outpost running for another 

decade. Giffords went to Kelly's last launch in 2008, when he commanded the space shuttle Discovery. 

Web posted. (201 1). [Giffords staff planning for space shuttle launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://news.yahoo.com/ [20 II April 8].] 

Launch delayed 2 days 

Plans to launch an Atlas 5 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base next week have been delayed two 

days by a need to replace a questionable part on the space booster. Instead ofTuesday, the team now is 

shooting for a blastoff from Space Launch Complex-3 East on South Base at 9:24 p.m. Thursday. The 

United Launch Alliance booster will carry a National Reconnaissance Office spacecraft to orbit for a 

clandestine mission. The launch window is classified, but the team reportedly must get the rocket off the 

ground by 11 p.m. ULA representatives said Friday that the postponement would allow technicians to 

replace an avionics component on the vehicle. Officials earlier said the government shutdown wouldn't 

interfere with the launch of the national security payload. Vandenberg commanders are making plans to 

proceed with military members and contractors while identifying what government civilian workers are 

deemed critical to completing the mission. The West Coast's fourth Atlas 5 rocket will use just one solidrocket motor strapped to its side. The same configuration was used for the West Coast's first Atlas 5 

rocket in 2008. This is the third launch since last fall for the 4th Space Launch Squadron and ULA at 

Vandenberg, which saw another Atlas 5 rocket fly in September and the first Delta 4-Heavy rocket launch 

in January. Web posted. (20 11). [Launch delayed 2 days [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.lompocrecord.com/ [2011 April 8].) 

STS-134 Soyuz Flyabout Cancelled - Planning switched to STS-135 

Following a meeting between NASA and Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) managers on Friday, a 

decision was made to call off the planned Soyuz documentary tlyabout of the International Space Station 

(ISS) and Endeavour during the STS-134/ULF-6 mission, due to concerns with crew impacts in the event 

that the Soyuz should fail to re-dock with the ISS. Flyabout planning efforts are now shifting to the STS135/ULF-7 mission. Under original plans, the recently arrived Soyuz TMA-21 /26S would have undocked 

from Mini Research Module-2 (MRM-2) "Poisk", conducted the flyabout, and then re-docked to MRM-2. 

Should TMA-21 have failed tore-dock to MRM-2, the only option would have been for the crew to return 

to Earth, since no other Soyuz-compatible docking ports would have been available on the ISS. This 

would have resulted in a situation where a complete de-crew of the ISS was necessary, due to the 

impending departure of Soyuz TMA-20/25S. Under a 29th April launch of Space Shuttle Endeavour, the 

Soyuz TMA-21 flyabout wou ld have occurred on Flight Day-13 (FD-1 3} of the mission, which would 

have been 11th May. Should TMA-21 have failed to re-dock on this date, a serious situation would have 

been placed on the ISS, considering there would only have been five days remaining until the planned 

departure of Soyuz TMA-20/25S from MRM-1 "Rassvet" on 16th May. The STS-135 Soyuz flyabout 

would use Soyuz TMA-2 1, docked at MRM-2, with a similar attitude/trajectory to those planned for STS133 and STS-134. The use of Soyuz TMA-21 is acceptable for the STS-135 flyabout, as a failure to redock will not result in a de-crew situation, since Soyuz TMA-22 would arrive at the ISS before the next 

Soyuz landing (TMA-02M}. However, ifTMA-21 failed tore-dock, it would still leave the ISS crew at 

three people for an extended period of time. The biggest hurdle to the STS-135 Soyuz flyabout will be 

94 
squeezing it into the already jam-packed STS-135 mission timeline. Web posted. (2011). [STS-134 

Soyuz Flyabout Cancelled - Planning switched to STS-135 [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011 April 9].] 

Budget Deal to Cut $38 Billion A verts Shutdown 

Congressional leaders and President Obama headed off a shutdown of the government with less than two 

hours to spare Friday night under a tentative budget deal that would cut $38 billion from federal spending 

this year. After days of tense negotiations and partisan quarrelling, House Republicans came to 

preliminary terms with the White House and Senate Democrats over fmancing the government for the 

next six months, resolving a stubborn impasse that had threatened to disrupt federal operations across the 

country and around the globe. Speaker John A. Boehner, who had pressed Democrats for cuts sought by 

members of the conservative new House majority, presented the package of widespread spending 

reductions and policy provisions and won a positive response from his rank and ftle shortly before 11 

p.m. Both Democrats and Republicans proclaimed they had reached a deal and would begin the necessary 

steps to pass the bill and send it to Mr. Obama next week. The announcements capped a day of drama as 

lawmakers and members of the federal work force waited anxiously to see whether money for 

government agencies would run out at midnight. Lawmakers said they realized that the outcome of the 

negotiations would have implications not only for them, but also for the federal work force, the public, the 

economy and the nation's image. Web posted. (2011). (Budget Deal to Cut $38 Billion Averts Shutdown 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nytimes.com/ [2011 April 8].] 

April9: Shuttle Work continues After Shutdown Averted 

NASA is plunging ahead with shuttle operations at Kennedy Space Center in the wake of an 11th-hour 

congressional agreement to keep the federal government running at least through Friday. White House 

and congressional negotiators are working on a tentative agreement to fund the government through 

September while cutting $38.5 billion in spending. They also agreed to keep the government running 

through at least Friday while the. details of the deal are being worked out. NASA is contacting civil 

servants and contractors so they know to report for their next scheduled work days at their normal time as 

a result. Events being staged to celebrate the 30th anniversary Tuesday of the flrst shuttle launch are 

expected to proceed as :scheduled. A ceremony outside Orbiter Processing Facility No. 1 is slated for 1 

p.m. Tuesday, and there will be a gathering at 4 p.m. at the KSC Visitor Complex. NASA Administration 

Charlie Bolden is expected to be at KSC to announce where NASA's three shuttle orbiters will be 

displayed in retirement. A media advisory is expected to be released by NASA Headquarters in 

Washington no later than Monday morning. The effort to prep Discovery for retirement is continuing this 

weekend in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay No. 2. Technicians are draining toxic rocket propellants from 

the shuttle's twin maneuvering engineers, nose-and-tail steering thrusters and auxiliary power units. 

Launch processing teams will resume preparations for Endeavour's 25th and flnal flight on Monday. The 

shuttle and six astronauts are scheduled to launch from pad 39A on April29. Web posted. (2011). 

[Shuttle Work continues After Shutdown Averted [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 April 8].] 

April tO: NASA Updates OV-103/Discovery End State Requirements 

One month after the completion of her STS-133 mission, Discovery is nearing completion of Down 

Mission Processing (DMP) activities inside OPF-2 at the Kennedy Space Center. With DMP nearly 

complete, technicians will soon begin the initial stages of Transition & Retirement processing on the 

Shuttle Program's fleet leader. With this step, technicians will follow a revised/updated Delta End State 

Flow Review for Discovery, as approved by the Program Requirements Control Board. All hardware 

elements not identified as necessary for SSP manifest flyout will remain installed on Discovery. Should 

their removal become necessary, however, a plan has been adopted to remove these elements either 

before rollover to the V AB for storage or after transfer of OV -1 03 in early June to OPF -1 for complete 

T&R processing. To accomplish complete protection of0V-103's hardware elements (those not 

95 
immediately identified for retention as spares through manifest flyout), Discovery will be hooked up to 

purge air during all DMP and T&R processing activities. She will even have purge air hook-ups during 

her one month of storage in V AB HB 4. Furthermore, positive pressure on all vehicles compartments will 

be maintained during V AB storage. Discovery was originally to be kept in flight-ready condition with 

only select fluid system de-servicing prior to flyout of the SSP manifest. With confirmation that OVl 03/Discovery will be handed to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum just outside Washington, D.C. 

expected on Tuesday, April 12 (the 50th anniversary of the ftrst manned spaceflight and the 30th 

anniversary of the launch ofSTS-1/Columbia), discussions regarding Discovery's specific Display Site 

Requirements (DSR) and configuration for the Smithsonian can begin. However, until those discussions 

are complete, Discovery's T &R team will process OV -1 03 toward the SSP's agreed upon generic orbiter 

DSR configuration. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Updates OV-103/Discovery End State Requirements 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011 April 10].] 

Aprilll: Sources: KSC to get shuttle Atlantis 

NASA chief Charl es Bolden is expected to announce that space shuttle Atlantis will be put on permanent 

display on the Space Coast after its retirement. Several NASA sources, speaking on condition of 

anonymity, confirmed Monday that Atlantis is headed to the Kermedy Space Center Visitor Complex. 

Bolden's announcement is scheduled for 1 p.m. in front of the hangar, known as Orbiter Processing 

Facility-1 , where Atlantis is being prepared for the fleet's final flight, targeted for June 28. More than 20 

museums and sites around the country have been lobbying to permanently display a shuttle after the 

program ends this summer. Today's announcement coincides with the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle 

launch and the 50th of the first human spaceflight by Yuri Gagarin. Discovery is expected to wind up at 

the Smithsonian lnstitution National Air and Space Museum facility in Chantilly, Va., just outside 

Washington, D.C., where a shuttle test vehicle called Enterprise now is displayed. Bolden also will 

announce where Enterprise, will be relocated. With Atlantis apparently headed to Brevard, that leaves 

Endeavour up for grabs. Other leading contenders include the lntrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum in New 

York City; Johnson Space Center in Houston; the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at WrightPatterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio; and The Museum of flight in Seattle. Bolden and KSC 

Director Bob Cabana also will honor the shuttle work force at the ceremony, which is open to KSC 

employees. Later today, the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will host a celebration from 3:30 to 

7:30p.m., also marking the 30th anniversary of the space shuttle program. NASA officials and veteran 

space shuttle astronauts will highlight the accomplishments of the shuttle, as well as the KSC work force, 

during a public presentation at 4:30p.m. Buddy Valastro, the baker featured on the TLC show "Cake 

Boss," will make a spec ial space shuttle-themed cake presentation in honor of this occasion. Web posted. 

(2011). [Sources: KSC to get shuttle Atlantis [Online]. Available WWW: htto://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[20 11 April 11 ].] 

NASA to Hold 30th Anniversary Ceremony at Kennedy Space Center 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will participate in a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., 

on Tuesday, April 12 on the 30th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch. During the I p.m. EDT 

ceremony, Bolden and Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana will honor the shuttle work force's 

dedication, which has made it possible for NASA to take the next steps in exploration and retire the 

shuttle fleet later this year. During the ceremony, which wiU feature an astronaut from the ftrSt shuttle 

mission, Bolden also will name the four institutions that will receive a shuttle orbiter for permanent 

display. The announcement and ceremony will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. At 

3 p.m. on April 12, NASA will hold a media teleconference to discuss the placement of the orbiters. 

Senior NASA officials will be available to answer questions. The I p.m. ceremony is open to Kennedy 

employees and will take place outside the hangar for shuttle Atlantis, known as Orbiter Processing 

Facility-!. Atlantis is being prepared for its upcoming STS-135 mission to the International Space 

Station, the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program. Web posted. (2011). [NASA to Hold 30th 

Anniversary Ceremony at Kennedy Space Center and Announce Permanent Space Shuttle Locations 

96 
[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 April II].] 

April 12: Remembering tbe First flight 

Bob Crippen: Thirty years ago today, I was strapping into a space shuttle bound for space. I had never 

been to space, and neither had the shuttle. I'd been a member of the astronaut corps since 1969, waiting 

for the Space Shuttle Program to get off the ground {literally). We'd been told by Deke Slayton when we 

joined that we wouldn't get to fly until maybe around 1980, but we all thought that, while John Young 

was a natural choice to command the flrst flight, he'd probably have someone else who had previously 

flown with him in the right-hand seat. That didn't stop me from saying 'Absolutely yes!' when they asked 

me if I'd like to fly with him. I guess they wanted to expand our experience base as qukkly as possible, 

and I was lucky enough to get the ftrst flight. It certainly was a highlight of my life. And I think America 

was very proud of it at the time, too. The 1970s had been a pretty low point for America. We'd had the 

Vietnam War, and the assassinations of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy were still strong in 

our memory. More recently, 52 Americans had spent 444 days as hostages in Iran. And just two weeks 

before we lifted off, John Hinckley Jr. shot President Reagan. The country was looking for something to 

be proud of, and I think the shuttle gave them that. It's given America a lot to be proud of over the past 

30 years. The International Space Station gets mentioned a lot as an astonishing engineering 

accomplishment, and a shining example of international cooperation. But the shuttles also revolutionized 

our knowledge of not only our solar system, but the entire universe, with the satellites we've launched like 

Ulysses, Magellan and the Hubble Space Telescope. I also personally believe that the classified 

Department of Defense missions played an important part in the U.S. winning the Cold War. And 

although the general public may not be making regular trips to space just yet, the space shuttles have 

opened up space more people than ever before - all different types of people, people with a ll back 

grounds. That's quite a resume. I think it will be a long time before we see a vehicle that's nearly as 

capable as the shuttle, but hopefully we will someday. In the meantime, I think everyone who had a band 

in the program can claim a part in the shuttles' many accomplishments. I quite often tell people that the 

space shuttle is not about hardware and software and components - it's really about people. It was 

designed and built by the American worker. And every one of them - I don't care where they work- are 

very proud of what they've done with the shuttle. That comes out every time you talk to anyone 

associated with the program, whether it was 30 years ago, or just yesterday. Web posted. (2011). 

[Remembering the First flight [Online]. Available WWW: http://rendezvous.jsc.nasa.gov/blogtext.cfrn/ 

[20 1 I April 1 1].] 

Choice to retire Atlantis at KSC brings cheers, elation 

Space Shuttle workers let out a big collective cheer Tuesday, as the giant video screen set up outside a 

Kennedy Space Center Orbiter Processing Facility displayed the news: Atlantis will be retired to the KSC 

Visitor Complex. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden came to the Space Coast to reveal his decision on 

where to send the orbiters after the program ends, making his announcement on the 30th anniversary of 

the liftoff of the ftrst space shuttle in 1981. But before Bolden could get out the words, the cheers and 

standing ovation began from the nearly 1,000 shuttle workers gathered in the courtyard outside the 

building, known as OPF Bay No. 1, where Atlantis is being prepared for the final flight of the shuttle 

program in late June. "Thank you very much. I think I know what it does for you; you have no idea what 

that applause did for me," Bolden said, choking up. "It's been a rough day." Tuesday's event was part 

celebration of the shuttle program's three decades in flight, and part culmination of the intense lobbying 

efforts by officials of 21 communities seeking one of the retired shuttle orbiters. There was 

disappointment for all but four of those communities. In addition to keeping Atlantis on the Space Coast, 

Bolden also announced: * The Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum Steven F. 

Udvar-Hazy Center in ChantiUy, Va., will become the new home for shuttle Discovery, which retired 

after completing its 39th mission in March. * The California Science Center in Los Angeles will get 

Endeavour, which is preparing for its .final flight at the end of the month. * The Intrepid Sea, Air & Space 

Museum in New York will get the test orbiter Enterprise, which never flew in space. Enterprise will move 

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from the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. KSC Visitor Complex officia ls expect Atlantis 

to boost attendance there by 15 percent, or 225,000 people a year. The complex already is Brevard 

County's most popular paid tourist attraction, drawing 1.5 million people a year. A study by the 

Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast estimates that the attendance boost will 

generate $15.6 million in new economic impact, including $8.4 million in gross domestic product, as well 

as 106 permanent jobs. In addition, the project to build a facility to house the orbiter exhibit will create 

326 construction jobs for two years. Delaware North Companies Parks and Resorts, which operates the 

visitor complex for NASA, plans to spend $100 million on the orbiter project, including acquiring it and 

constructing at 65,000-square-foot building to display it. No taxpayer money will be used for the project. 

Construction will begin next year, with the exhibit to open in 2013. The building for Atlantis will be 

connected to the Shuttle Launch Experience simulator attraction. Tuesday's event was emotional, with 

many in the audience and Bolden himself choking up at times during the hour-long ceremony. NASA 

official Olga Dominguez, whose team developed recommendations on the shuttle retirement homes, said 

factors considered included such things as the overall quality of the facilities, finances, attendance, the 

location's connection to the shuttle program, the population size in the surrounding area and transportation 

availability to move the shuttle there. Among the leading contenders shut out of an orbiter were NASA's 

Johnson Space Center in Houston, as well as the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, the Museum of Flight in 

Seattle and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio. Web 

posted. (2011). [Choice to retire Atlantis at KSC brings cheers, elation [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April 12].) 

Space shuttle retirement museums announced 

Ending months of suspense, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Tuesday announced the winners of a 

national competition to display the agency's three space shuttles after the fleet is retired and 

decommissioned later tbis year, choosing sites in Florida, California and, as expected, the Washington, 

D.C., area. Speaking on the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle flight on April 12, 198 1, Bolden said the 

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shuttle Discovery, NASA's senior orbiter, will be displayed near Washington at the Smithsonian National 

Air and Space Musewn's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. The shuttle Atlantis will remain at the Kennedy 

Space Center in Florida after a final flight in late June while the Endeavour, awaiting launch April 29 on a 

space station resupply mission, will be displayed at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. "First, 

here at the Kennedy Space Center where every shuttle mission and so many other historic human space 

llights have originated, we'll showcase my old friend, Atlantis," Bolden said, standing on a podium in 

front of Atlantis' open processing hangar. "Not only will the workers who sent it into space so many times 

have a chance to still see it, the millions of visitors who come here every year to learn more about space 

and to be a part of the excitement of exploration will be able to see what is still a great rarity, an actual 

flown space vehicle. "The California Science Center in Los Angeles, only a few miles from the site of the 

old Rockwell (International) plant where the shuttle was developed and from where its construction was 

managed, will be the new horne for the shuttle on the launch pad, preparing for its final mission, 

Endeavour. "The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in 

Virginia, will get Discovery, our most traveled orbiter. And New York City's Intrepid Sea, Air and Space 

Museum ... will get Enterprise, our prototype orbiter that tested the aerodynamics of the craft before it 

flew into space." Other shuttle artifacts will be displayed at museums across the country. Shuttle 

simulators will be displayed at the Adler Planetarium in Chicago, the Evergreen Aviation and Space 

Museum of McMinnville, Ore., and Texas A&M's Aerospace Engineering Department. The Museum of 

Flight in Seattle, which bid for one of the space shuttles, will receive a full fuselage shuttle trainer and the 

National Museum at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, another unsuccessful applicant, will 

display a crew compartment trainer and nose cap assembly. Flight deck commander and pilot seats will be 

displayed at the Johnson Space Center in Houston while orbital maneuvering system rocket engines will 

be sent to the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Ala., the National Air and Space Musewn in 

Washington and the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum. In addition, heat shield tiles will be offered 

to interested schools and universities. "We want to thank all of the locations that expressed an interest in 

one of these national treasures," Bolden said in a statement. "This was a very difficult decision, but one 

that was made with the American public in mind. ln the end, these choices provide the greatest number of 

people with the best opportunity to share in the history and accomplishments of NASA's remarkable 

space shuttle program. These facilities we've chosen have a noteworthy legacy of preserving space 

artifacts and providing outstanding access to U.S. and international visitors." Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., 

praised the decision to display Atlantis in Florida, saying "it's only fitting that Kennedy Space Center is 

the final home of one of these great spaceships, Atlantis," he said. "We all hope that generations of 

visitors and generations of Americans will enjoy and learn by understanding this magnificent program, 

America's space exploration program." But the decision was a major disappointment to supporters of the 

Johnson Space Center in Houston, home of the shuttle mission control center and astronaut training 

facilities, the National Museum at Wright-Patterson and the other unsuccessful applicants. In a taped 

message from orbit, space station flight engineer Catherine "Cady" Coleman, told the shuttle work force 

"we will miss the capabilities and the beauty of the space shuttle. It has been a national icon for 

innovation and exploration for 30 years. But its legacy and yours lives on with the work we do here on the 

ISS. The retirement of the shuttle fleet should not be seen as an end. It represents the next step in 

extending humanity's reach farther into space." Web posted. (2011). (Space shuttle retirement museums 

announced [Online). Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 April12].] 

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to sport major changes 

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is planning a massive overhaul during the next decade that 

will include not only a new building to display the retired shuttle orbiter Atlantis, but also a host of other 

new attractions. Visitor complex Chief Operating Officer Bill Moore said the site's master plan includes: 

* Relocation of the U.S. Astronaut Hall ofFame, which is about 6 miles west of the visitor complex on 

State Road 405/NASA Parkway, to the main complex site. Both attractions are operated for NASA by 

Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts. While the Hall of Fame and its artifacts will move, it is 

possible that the Astronaut Training Experience and other educational facilities used by school groups 

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will remain at the current Hall of Fame site. * Construction of an observation tower near the 

Apollo/Saturn V Center, a popular stop on the visitor complex bus tour. The tower would rise at least 200 

feet, or the equivalent height of a 20-story building. From the observation deck, viewers will be able to 

see the KSC launch pads, the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station launch pads, the Merritt Island National 

Wildlife Refuge and the beaches along the Atlantic Ocean, Moore said. * Revamping the bus-loading 

area that is the gateway to the visitor complex bus tour. Moore said he wants to give visitors a more 

elaborate orientation on what they will see at the tour stops. Current tour stops include the Apollo/Saturn 

V Center, as well as the Launch Complex 39 Observation Gantry, which also will be upgraded as part of 

the master plan. * A new entrance area to the visitor complex from State Road 405 that will dramatically 

showcase the Rocket Garden area where h_istoric rockets are on display. The changes are designed to help 

the visitor complex -- which draws about 1.5 million visitors a year-- increase attendance, both from new 

and repeat customers. Last week, work on some of the visitor complex upgrades moved from the 

conceptual design phase to schematic design, in conjunction with PGAV Destinations, Moore said. That 

St. Louis-based company has worked on hundreds of attraction projects, including Busch Gardens, the 

Grand Canyon, the Hoover Dam, Niagara Falls and Sea World. There is a full-scale orbiter replica at the 

Shuttle Explorer exhibit at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex; and an orbiter-like mockup 

exhibit used for educational purposes at the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame complex. Atlantis will be 

housed in a building that will be built on the site of the current Shuttle Explorer attraction. Visitor 

complex officials say they are still not sure what will be done with that display. Web posted. {2011). 

[Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to sport major changes [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April 12].] 

Canadarm on Space Shuttle Endeavour to be returned to Canada 

The Canadian Space Agency is negotiating for the return of the robotic ann on Space Shuttle Endeavour 

after its final flight later this month, The Canadian Press has learned. NASA received five Canadarms or 

so-called remote manipulator units. The space agency says the first ann was developed and manufactured 

for shuttle use under an original memorandum of understanding with the American space agency. One 

Canadarm was lost in the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster in January 1986 that killed seven astronauts 

when it exploded on liftoff. The CSA says since the arm on Endeavour has most of the components from 

the original arm, it is the one that will be returned to the Canadian Space Agency. Endeavour is 

scheduled to blast off for the International Space Station on April 29 on its last trip into space. The 

remaining shuttle Atlantis is set to travel into space on June 28 for its fmal flight, bringing an end to the 

American shuttle program. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Canadann on Space Shuttle Endeavour to be returned to 

Canada after flight [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.google.com/ [2011 Aprill2].] 

Westboro Baptist Church members plan to picket at Kennedy Space Center 

Westboro Baptist Church members, fresh off a free-speech victory before tl1e U.S. Supreme Court, 

announced Monday on their website that they plan to stage demonstrations at Dr. Phlllips High School 

and Kennedy Space Center. The Kansas-based church, known for its vitriolic anti-gay protests, will hold 

both demonstrations on April29. They plan to picket the KSC Visitor Complex to send a message to 

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Arizona, who is recovering from a gunshot wow1d to the head during a 

gunman's rampage in January. According to the group's website, demonstrators want "to remind this 

nation that the Lord sent the shooter to Arizona to punish this nation for its sins." Giffords plans to attend 

the launch of the space shuttle Endeavour April29 because her husband, Mark Kelly, is commander of 

the mission. Web posted. (2011). [Westboro Baptist Church members plan to picket at Dr. Phillips High, 

Kennedy Space Center [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 April 12].) 

California launch of Atlas rocket set for Thursday 

With strong winds in the forecast, weather experts aren't gushlng with optinlism for an on-time launch of 

the Atlas 5 rocket Thursday night from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Meteorologists are 

predicting a 70 percent chance that the windy weather will violate the strict launch rules and keep the 

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booster grounded on the pad. Similar odds are given for the backup launch opportunity available Friday 

night as well. A secretive payload for the National Reconnaissance Office is riding aboard the rocket to 

Earth orbit. The NRO operates the country's fleet of spy satellites to support intelligence gathering and 

security. Liftoff time Thursday night is 9:24p.m. local from Vandenberg's Space Launch Complex 3. 

The booster will head southward over the Pacific Ocean on the power of its kerosene-fueled main engine 

and single strap-on solid motor. A cryogenic Centaur upper stage then injects the cargo into desired 

orbital perch. Final readiness reviews are planned for Wednesday to give approval to enter into 

Thursday's countdown operation. Web posted. (20 11 ). [California launch of Atlas rocket set for Thursday 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 April 12).] 

Budget Compromise Includes $18.5 Billion for NASA 

The 2011 budget compromise Congress and the White House reached April 8 to avert a government 

shutdown includes $18.485 billion for NASA, or about 1.3 percent less than the $18.724 billion the U.S. 

space agency was given for 20 I 0. Details of the proposal, which includes a $38 billion reduction in nondefense spending, were posted April 12 on the House Appropriations Committee website. Most of the 

NASA savings were achieved by funding Space Operations -- an account that includes the international 

space station and soon-to-be-retired space shuttle -- at about $600 million below the 20 I 0 level and 

denying increases the White House sought for Science, Aeronautics and Education. There's also no 

funding specified for Space Technology, a roughly $300 million account NASA hopes to boost to $ 1 

billion next year. Exploration is the big winner in the NASA portion of the spending bill Congress intends 

to enact this week to keep the federal government funded for the remainder of fiscal 201 1, which runs 

through September. The bill, H.R. 1473, carves out $3.8 billion for Exploration, including $ 1.2 billion for 

a multipurpose crew vehic.le based on NASA's in-development Orion capsule and $1.8 billion for a 

heavy-lift vehicle "whicl1 shall have a lift capability not less than 130 tons and which shall have an upper 

stage and other core elements developed simultaneously." Exploration was funded at $3.625 billion in 

2010, a sum that would rise to $3.7 billion under the agency's spending plan for 2012. H.R. 14 73 also 

frees NASA to formally cancel the Constellation program under which it has been developing the Ares 

family of rockets and an Orion spacecraft optimized for manned lunar missions. Another policy provision 

prohibits NASA and the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy from engaging in 

bilateral activities with China. No budget is specified for NASA's Office of lnspector GeneraL The 

watchdog office has received $36 million in recent years. Web posted. (2011). [Budget Compromise 

lncludes $18.5 Billion for NASA [Online). Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 April 

12].] 

Celebrating 30 years: Space shuttle program has sweet history 

Thirty years after Columbia blasted off on the shuttle program's maiden voyage, Kennedy Space Center 

celebrated the anniversary by saluting the workforce behind it all. Events at the space center and nearby 

Visitor Complex highlighted the contributions of generations of local shuttle workers and their families as 

the program nears an end and thousands of Kennedy's contractor employees are losing their jobs. "This is 

a bittersweet time for me as we bring the shuttle program to a close after three decades of operation," said 

Bob Crippen, pilot of the first shuttle test flight. "All of that was made possible by you and the thousands 

of other American workers that have contributed to the program." In a ceremony outside the hangar 

where Atlantis is being prepared for the fmal shuttle flight, Crippen recalled sitting next to Columbia 

commander John Young on April 12, 1981 , expecting that the second launch attempt would scrub as the 

first had two days earlier. "When the count passed one minute, I turned to John and I said, 'I think we 

might do it,' " he said. "It was a fantastic flight. John and I had trained for every possible contingency that 

we could think of and, thank goodness, we didn't have to contend with very many." "Some say the space 

shuttle never met many of the goals and objectives that were set for it," KSC Director Bob Cabana, who 

flew four shuttle missions, told a crowd at the visitor complex. "But I say it exceeded our expectations, 

and did what no other vehicle could." The program is haunted by disasters that destroyed two shuttles and 

killed 14 astronauts. But each time it came back. At the Atlantis hangar ceremony, NASA Administrator 

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Charlie Bolden, another four-time flyer, repeatedly implored the remaining workforce to "stay focused" 

through the final two flights, which are targeted to launch April 29 and June 28. He drew cheers from the 

assembled crowd of employees when he announced Atlantis would retire to the Kennedy Space Center 

Visitor Complex. Later, an estimated 1,600 shuttle employees and their families and at least 500 outside 

guests gathered at the visitor complex for a barbecue, a rock-and-roll band and an appearance by the TV 

show "Cake Boss." Celebrity baker Buddy Valastro of New Jersey led the crown in a countdown to an 

attempted launch of a shuttle cake several feet tall. After a burst of smoke and flame, a platform holding 

the cake appeared to remain still-- "main engine shutdown," someone in the crowd remarked-- then 

inched slightly upward. Patty Stratton, an executive with lead shuttle contractor United Space Alliance, 

was among those who saluted the workers, now dwindling in number, who have supported so many 

shuttle mjssions. "It's been a privilege to be part of the best team ever," she said. "We made hlstory 

together, doing what others dream, and it really was a great ride." Web posted. (2011). [Celebrating 30 

years: Space shuttle program has sweet hlstory [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April 13].] 

April 13: Extra day added to Endeavour's final flight 

Mark Kelly and the crew of shuttle Endeavour will stay docked at the International Space Station for an 

extra day next month to help perform maintenance on the orbiting research complex, NASA announced 

today. The extra day extends the second-to-last shuttle mission -- the last to be flown by Endeavour -- to 

a planned 15 days in orbit. Endeavour is targeted to launch at 3:47p.m. April 29. The six-person shuttle 

crew would be expected to return to Kennedy Space Center at 9:5 1 a.m. May 14. On the newly created 

Flight Day I 0, NASA said the crew would perform work on the station's carbon dioxide removal system 

and assorted other tasks. Discovery's fmal mission last month was extended two days to take advantage of 

the extra hands ava ilable while the shuttle was docked at the station. The shuttle astronauts helped outfit a 

newly installed module and pack a departing Japanese cargo spacecraft. Endeavour's mission schedule 

still has a "plus one" day that could be added to handle any unexpected problems, and two days in case 

weather delays an on-time landing. After landing, Endeavour will be prepared for display at the 

California Science Center, NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden announced yesterday in a ceremony at 

KSC. Web posted. (2011). [Extra day added to Endeavour's final fl ight [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 April 13].] 

Rear Admiral Steidle Named President Commercial Spaceflight Federation 

The Commercial Spaceflight Federation is pleased to announce that Rear Admiral Craig E. Steidle (U.S. 

Navy, Ret.) has been named as President, effective May 15. Admiral Steidle was approved for the 

position by a unanimous vote of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation's board of directors and will 

serve full-time in this capacity working from the organization's headquarters in downtown Washington, 

D.C. Admiral Steidle has a long and distjnguished track record in aerospace as a former senior NASA 

official, flag officer, program manager, aerospace engineer, naval aviator and combat veteran, and 

technology innovator. At NASA, Adm. Steidle served as the first Associate Administrator for Exploration 

Systems, one of the most senior positions in the agency. Web posted. (2011). [Rear Admiral Craig 

Steidle Named President of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 April 13].] 

April14: ULA Atlas V launches with NROL-34 payload 

The United Launch Alliance's Atlas V rocket has performed its twenty-fifth launch, delivering into orbit 

the classified NROL-34 payload for the US National Reconnaissance Office. The launch took place from 

Vandenberg Air Force Base in California at 04:24 UTC Friday (21 :24 local time Thursday). As is typical 

for NRO launches, no details of the payload or flight plan for the NROL-34 mission were disclosed. Thls 

said, the fact that it is launching from Vandenberg rather than Cape Canaveral ruled out low-inclination 

trajectories such as geosynchronous orbits. Web posted. (20 II). [ULA Atlas V launches with NROL-34 

payload [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflighl.com/ [2011 April 14].] 

102 
Former KSC security guard accused of arranging sex 

A fonner NASA security guard faces charges after detectives said he tried to arrange a sexual tryst with a 

mother and her teenage daughter over the Internet. However, detectives said Christopher Jonathan 

Albritton, 31, was not talking to the woman he thought had posted the ad, but rather an investigator with 

the Citrus County Sheriffs Office. According to the arrest affidavit, Albritton, who is from 

Cocoa, responded to an ad purporting to be from a mother and a daughter looking for "family fun" on 

March 14. NASA spokesman Allard Beutel said Albritton once worked as a security guard at the 

Kennedy Space Center, but has not worked for NASA since 2008. Web posted. (20 11). [Former KSC 

security guard accused of arranging sex with underage girl, mom [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.baynews9.com/ [20 11 Aprill4].] 

U.S. Air Force, NASA and NRO Ink Agreement on Launching with SpaceX 

The three biggest U.S. government satellite-buying agencies have concluded a memorandum of 

agreement to establish rules permitting startup launch-services provider Space Exploration Technologies 

(SpaceX) to launch U.S. Air Force and other national security satellites, a U.S. Air Force official said 

April 14. Air Force under Secretary Erin C. Conaton, in a speech delivered to the National Space 

Symposium here, said the memorandum, signed by the heads of the Air Force, NASA and the U.S. 

National Reconnaissance Office (NRO), should be released this summer. The agreement " is designed to 

ensure a consistent position on opportunities, certification and requirements for potential new entrants to 

space launch," Conaton said in her speech, which in her absence was read by Richard W. McKinney, Air 

Force deputy under secretary for space programs. Briefing reporters after the speech. McKinney said the 

policy will set out hurdles that SpaceX will need to clear before its Falcon 9 Heavy rocket, now in 

development, is permitted to join the Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture, United Launch Alliance 

(ULA), in placing national security payloads into orbit. SpaceX- Space Exploration Technologies, 

based in Hawthorne, Calif. - recently signed its first-·ever contract with a major commercial satellite 

whose assets are in geostationary orbit. One U.S. government official agreed that ifSpaceX is now 

allowed to break ULA's monopoly on U.S. government satellite launches as indicated by the 

memorandum of agreement, it could force ULA 's already high prices even higher as it eats into ULA 's 

current market. Web posted. (201 1). [U.S. Air Force, NASA and NRO lnk Agreement on Launching 

with SpaceX [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 April14].] 

KSC Has Lost Over $500K In Items Since 2008 

A new "lost inventory" list shows Kennedy Space Center sometimes has difficulty keeping track of its 

most basic equipment. The agency has lost more than $519,000 worth of items since 2008. The list 

includes a host of smaller items, three handheld radios, nine computers and printers, six digital cameras, 

and that's only the start. There were also big ticket items, like a $ 100,000 digital recorder, an $18,000 

reflectometer and even a $3,000 golf cart. Some items may have been removed as garbage. Others were 

lost in a move. "We need to do a better job of keeping track of it, obviously, and we know that," NASA 

spokesman Allard Beutel. Beutel says the misplaced items amount to just a tiny percentage ofKSC's $7 

billion inventory, but he also said NASA bas worked to better educate employees on their equipment 

responsibilities and prompt reporting. "The sooner we have something reported missing, the sooner 

people can help try to hunt it down and fmd it," Beutel said. NASA officials believe many of the 

misplaced items are being used by the agency somewhere, just not in the proper, assigned location. They 

expect many of the items will turn up eventually. Web posted. (2011). [KSC Has Lost Over $500K 1n 

Items Since 2008 [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.wftv.com/ [2011 April 14].] 

AprillS: USA to shed nearly 2,000 Florida workers after Atlantis flight 

NASA's prime contractor for the space shuttle on Friday released estimates on how many of its workers 

will lose their jobs once NASA flies its final shuttle mission this summer and the cuts - while not 

unexpected - certainly are not pretty for employees in Florida, Texas and Alabama. Of the 5,600 

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remaining employees at United Space Alliance, roughly half- or as many as 2,800 - will get a pink 

slip following the planned June 28 launch of Atlantis. The cuts add to the nearly 2,900 USA workers who 

have lost their jobs to date as NASA winds down the 30-year shuttle program. Roughly 2,000 of those so 

far have come from Florida over five layoffs since October 2009. In Florida, the latest round will mean 

an additional I ,850 to I ,950 employees will be let go, leaving the KSC area with roughly I ,400 

employees, who will decommission the shuttles, help build a new NASA crew capsule or work on a 

variety of smaller contracts, said USA spokeswoman Tracy Yates. About 35 Alabama employees will 

lose their jobs and as many 800 workers in Texas, where USA is headquartered, will no longer work with 

the company. The cuts are planned for late July or early August. "The accomplishments of this team are 

unmatched in human spaceflight," said Virginia Barnes, USA President and Chief Executive Officer, in a 

statement. " It will be difficult to say goodbye to such tremendously talented and dedicated teammates, 

and we are committed to making tllis transition as smooth as possible for them." Web posted. (2011). 

[USA to shed nearly 2,000 Florida workers after Atlantis flight [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 April 15].] 

Minotaur launch schedule in limbo after Taurus mishap 

Two small U.S. military satellites are queued up and waiting to ride into space on Minotaur rockets in 

May, but managers want to make sure the boosters are immune from the glitch that doomed the launch of 

a NASA science mission in March. NASA and Orbital Sciences Corp. are investigating the cause of the 

March 4 failure of a Taurus XL rocket that destroyed the $424 million Glory mission, a NASA climate 

research satellite designed to study the atmosphere and the sun's relationship with Earth. The clamshelllike nose cone responsible for the March 4 Taurus mishap uses similar components as the Minotaur 1 and 

Minotaur 4 launch vehicles being prepared for a pair of flights in May. A Minotaur 4 rocket is being 

prepared for liftoff as soon as May 14 from Kodiak, Alaska. Its payload will be the Naval Research 

Laboratory's TacSat 4 experimental communications satellite. Workers at Wallops Island, Va., have 

already stacked a smalle r Minotaur l rocket on the launch pad. Liftoff from Virginia's Eastern Shore is 

scheduled for no earlier than May 30 with the U.S. military's ORS I spacecraft, a tactical Earth 

observation satellite for the Pentagon's Operationally Responsive Space office. TacSat 4 is already at its 

Alaska launch site, and ORS 1 is awaiting shipment to Virginia. Orbital Sciences is the prime contractor 

for the Taurus and Minotaur rocket families. Web posted. (2011 ). [Minotaur launch schedule in limbo 

after Taurus mishap [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 April15].] 

Last shuttle boosters completed at KSC 

Another shuttle program "last" enters the record books today at Kennedy Space Center as technicians 

stack the last solid rocket booster segment for the last shuttle flight. The pointy piece of the right 

booster, ca lled the right forward assembly (shown at left in this picture), will be lifted into place inside the 

Vehicle Assembly Building. Two 140-foot-tall boosters, each weighing 1.3 million pounds, will help 

Atlantis blast off on the fma l shuttle mission, which is tentatively targeted for launch June 28. An 

external tank is scheduled to be connected to the boosters April 25, and Atlantis will follow after a 

planned May 12 move from its hangar to the assembly building. The fully assembled shuttle is expected 

to roll out to launch pad 39A on the evening of May 20. While the last shuttle boosters are being 

completed, even bigger boosters could one day be stacked at the space center. Manufacturer ATK is 

proposing to use a five-segment booster- developed for the canceled Ares I rocket -- as a first stage for a 

commercial crew launcher, and NASA might also use them for a heavy-lift rocket. Web posted. (2011). 

[Last shuttle boosters completed at KSC [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the 

flame trench blog [20 11 April l 5].] 

Endeavour mission back to 14 days 

After extending Endeavour's upcoming fmal flight by a day this week, NASA managers have taken it 

back. The second-to-last shuttle flight officially has officially returned to a 14-day mission, with options 

to add up to two days while in space. Depending on progress meeting previously planned objectives, the 

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mission could be extended to allow the six shuttle astronauts, led by Mark Kelly, to help out with 

maintenance on the International Space Station. Managers added an extra day Wednesday, but decided to 

subtract it late Thursday, NASA said. If Endeavour launches as planned a·t 3:57p.m. April29, it would be 

expected to return to Kennedy Space Center at 9:28a.m. May 13. Senior NASA executives will meet 

Tuesday at the space center to review the flight's readiness and set an official launch date. Web posted. 

(2011). [Endeavour mission back to 14 days [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/ 

the flame trench blog [2011 April 15].] 

What Will Happen to All the Shuttle Stuff? 

As the space shuttles get ready for their second lives as museum pieces, NASA officials are already 

sorting through their storage closets, trying to figure out what to do with all the memorabilia that isn't 

useful anymore. The shuttles themselves will go through a lengthy clean-up process before they're ready 

for their public debuts. When a shuttle lands, it's covered in hazards: liquid hydrogen and oxygen for fuel, 

ammonia for coolant, live pyrotechnics for blowing off emergency escape windows. "We have to remove 

those chemical hazards so that when it's in a museum, the public can walk up to it without risk of things 

outgassing or dripping," said NASA flow director Stephanie Stilson, who oversaw all the post-flight 

checkups and pre-flight preparations for Discovery's last 11 trips to space and is now getting them ready 

for retirement. Another piece that will be removed for safety is the Forward Reaction Control System, 

whose small engines control the shuttle's rotation. The shuttles' noses will be removed, stripped of all 

their innards, and put back on again. "From the outside you won't be able to tell that anything was done, 

but inside will be empty," Stilson said. Some parts, including windows and movable parts on the wing, 

will be removed and tested to see how they held up in the harsh environment of space. "This is the only 

reusable spacecraft we have. Seeing how it fared in exposure to the space environment is important to 

us," said Kevin Templin ofNASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, who is in charge oftransitioning 

the shuttles to retirement. ''There are certain parts on here that if we dido 't have to remove them, we 

didn't remove them. We now have that chance." Aside from that, "we're trying to keep them as flightlike 

as possible," Stilson said. "Right now the plan would be to show them as if they had just returned from 

flight." That means no new paint jobs, although if a heat shield tile falls off, the agency will probably 

replace it with a replica. But if you want a tile for your own museum or school, you only have to ask. 

NASA set up a website in October 2009 to clear out their garage. They've screened 24,000 items, 

promised about 3,000 to schools and museums around the country, and given away about 700. They only 

charge shipping and handling, which for a tile is $23.40. "The items range from as small as freezedried 

food packets to objects as large as a simulator," Sherouse said. ''There's a lot more available than there 

are people asking for it." For now, though, it's almost just like another day at the office for the crew 

taking Discovery through its fmal stages. The end of the shuttle era hasn't set in yet for Stilson. "I really 

think where it will hit me, and become real for me that this is all coming to an end, will be when we take 

Discovery to the Smithsonian and leave her there," she said. "I'm hoping all three of the display sites will 

do a good job of conveying not just the technical savvy of these display crafts, but also the heart and soul 

of the team that took care of them." Web posted. (2011). [What Will Happen to All the Shuttle Stuff? 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.wired.com/ [2011 Aprill5].] 

Space walker/shuttle commander inducted into U.S. Astronaut HaU of Fame 

NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex will host a weekend celebration to honor the induction 

of the 1Oth group of space shuttle astronauts into the Astronaut Hall of Fame, an event that will allow the 

public to participate in a variety of events, including autograph signings with many space heroes. Retired 

Air Force Colonel Karol J. "Bo" Bobko, USAF retired and Lieutenant General, USAF Susan Helms, will 

join the ranks of legendary space pioneers, bringing the total number of space explorers enshrined in the 

Hall of Fame to 79. Saturday, May 7, at 3 p.m., the two inductees will be recognized for their 

accomplishments and wiU join more than 20 current Hall of Fame astronauts at the special celebration. 

The selection committee, consisting of 80 members, included current Hall of Fame astronauts, former 

NASA officials, nationwide space historians and journalists, selected the 2011 inductees during a process 

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administered by the national Astronaut Scholarship Foundation. To be eligible, each astronaut must have 

made his or her first flight at least 17 years prior to the induction year and be a retiree of the NASA 

astronaut corps for five years, as well as a U.S. citizen and a NASA trained commander, pilot or mission 

specialist. During the special weekend celebration at KSC, astronaut presentations and autograph 

signings with Hall of Fame astronauts will be held throughout the day. A special astronaut encounter 

presentation with STS-1 space shuttle pilot and Hall of Fame member, Bob Crippen, is scheduled for II 

a.m. at the Astronaut Encounter Theater. Web posted. (20 II). [Record-setting space walker and shuttle 

commander to be inducted into U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.myhometownnews.net/ [2011 April 15].] 

April 17: KCC provides training to NASA firefighters 

The Ke1medy Space Center in Florida is the United States' gateway into outer space, and trainers from 

Battle Creek's Kellogg Community College have been helping keep it safe for three years. This month, 

Joe Teixeira, the school's Air Rescue Fire Fighter Program coordinator, and ARFF instructor Don Hilyer 

trained NASA firefighters in aircraft rescue and firefighting operations. This was the third trip to NASA 

for the program. Utilizing KCC's mobile aircraft frre training simulator, Teixeira and Hilyer create 

simulated frre situations aboard a prop aircraft and monitor firefighter's techniques in combating the 

blaze. The simulator is attached to a large truck and hauled to the training site; in addition to NASA, KCC 

has taken the training program to airports and military bases around the country. Kennedy Space Center, 

near Titusville, Fla., is a unique combination of both. "They've got a three-mile-long runway," Teixeira 

said. "It's big enough it can land any aircraft, including the shuttle, obviously. "That also means some I 00 

firefighters stationed at the spaceport's three fire stations come with a lot of United States Air Force and 

Navy frrefighting training. They need it in a place where, according to Hilyer, the exotic jet fuels used in 

the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters can create a concussive force when ignited, physically pummeling 

firefighters during shuttle-based training burns. The program will visit NASA twice in 20 12, and is 

planning on training sessions at airports in California, Minnesota, Indiana, New York and other states 

throughout 20 II. Under Federal Aviation Administration regulations, airport firefighters are required to 

attend one training bum, or hot drill. The Air Force requires two bums per year. Web posted. (2011). 

[KCC provides training to NASA frrefighters [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/ [2011 April 17].] 

Apri118: NASA makes CCDev-2 awards 

NASA announced on Monday it was awarding nearly $270 million to four companies to continue work 

on commercial spacecraft that could be used to ferry astronauts to the International Space Station. For the 

second round of the Commercial Crew Development (CCDev-2) program, NASA awarded $22 million to 

Blue Origin, $92.3 million to Boeing, $80 million to Sierra Nevada Corporation, and $75 million to 

SpaceX. The funds, provided under Space Act Agreements, will be used by the companies to mature the 

proposed designs of their crewed spacecraft. They and other companies will later compete for full-scale 

development contracts for spacecraft that can carry astronauts to low Earth orbit to serve both NASA's 

needs to access the International Space Station and commercial applications. Web posted. (2011). 

[NASA makes CCDev-2 awards [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacetoday.net/ [2011 April 

19].] 

Dozens of Brevard schools to get space shuttle tiles 

As Brevard County residents revel in the announcement that Atlantis will retire here, more than three 

dozen local schools are celebrating new NASA acquisitions of their own --albeit on a much smaller scale. 

NASA awarded shuttle heat shield tiles to 7,000 schools and universities, including at least 40 on the 

Space Coast. All schools passed an application process to receive the 6-inch by 6-inch tiles, which 

protects the shuttle from extreme temperatures when the orbiters re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. Since 

thousands of institutions likely applied for a tile, Apollo Elementary Principal Pamella O'Kell said she 

was doubtful her school would get one, but felt like being on the Space Coast should give her some kind 

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of edge. She was thrilled when she walked into her office one day and found a package containing the tile 

on her desk. "I just said, 'Yes, Apollo has one, the students have one,'" O'Kell said. "A lot of our families 

have worked on the shuttle so we thought it was only fitting that we add it to our space memorabilia." The 

tile came with directions to not remove the shrink wrap it was packaged in. It also came with a card 

stating the tile was meant to honor 30 years of space flight and the men and women who worked on the 

shuttle program. O'Kell said the tile will be put in a display case in the front lobby for the school 

community to enjoy. The shuttle heat shield tiles protect the orbiters from extreme temperatures when the 

orbiters re-enter the Earth'S' atmosphere. NASA distributed roughly 7,000 of the lightweight tiles to 

schools and colleges. Web posted. (2011). [Dozens ofBrevard schools to get space shuttle tiles [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April 18].] 

Booster stacking finished for final shuttle flight 

The past week saw the upper solid-fuel motor segments attached and the nose caps set in place atop the 

final space shuttle rocket boosters, completing the last buildup in the program's three-decade history. 

Lifting of the motor segments occurred as planned last Monday and Wednesday, followed by the forward 

assemblies on Thursday night and Friday morning. The completed boosters now await the planned April 

25 mating of the external fuel tank. The reusable boosters, built by A TK, will provide the primary thrust 

to propel the space shuttle Atlantis away from Earth during the initial two minutes of flight on June 28. 

The 11 sections on each Atlantis booster are a mixture of refurbished and unflown elements. The forward 

dome for the right-hand booster, for example, hasn't launched before. There's even historic hardware 

dating back to the very first space shuttle mission in 1981 incorporated into Atlantis' boosters to fly on the 

final1aunch 30 years later. The upper cylinder on Atlantis' left booster flew with Colwnbia on STS-1, 

powering the program's maiden voyage with John Young and Bob Crippen. In all, Atlantis' twin boosters 

have reused segments and pieces that trace back to 59 previous shuttle launches and 12 ground testfirings. Web posted. (2011). [Booster stacking finished for final shuttle flight [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 April18].] 

Apri119: NASA to set Endeavour's final launch date today 

Senior NASA managers will convene at Kennedy Space Center tllis morning to review Endeavour's 

readiness for a planned 3:27p.m. April 29 blastoff on its final flight. The shuttle and a crew of six 

veteran astronauts led by Mark Kelly are scheduled to fly a 14-day mission to the International Space 

Station. They're set to deliver critical spare parts and the $2 billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, a 

cosmic ray detector that will inv~stigate dark matter and antimatter. Joining Kelly on the crew are pilot 

Greg Johnson and mission specialists Greg Chanlitoff, Drew Feustel, Mike Fincke and Italian astronaut 

Roberto Vittori. The mission had been preparing to launch April 19, but was delayed I 0 days to avoid 

being at the space station at the same time one Russian resupply spacecraft departed and a new one 

arrived. Last week, NASA announced the mission had been extended a day so the crew could help with 

maintenance on the station, then backtracked and said an extension would be considered once the crew 

was in orbit. The flight readiness review begins at 8 a.m. today. Once it's over, NASA will host a press 

conference featuring Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for space operations; Mike Moses, shuttle 

launch integration manager; and Mike Leinbach, shuttle launch director. Only one more flight remains 

after Endeavour's before the shuttle program retires. Atlantis is targeted to launch June 28. Web posted. 

(2011). [NASA to set Endeavour's final launch date today [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [20 11 April 18].] 

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Making Engines for New Spacecraft 

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne will supply the rocket engines for a new seven-person spacecraft being 

developed for NASA by Boeing Inc. The Crew Space Transporation-1 00 craft will travel into low-Earth 

orbit to the International Space Station and other future destinations. To take the craft into space, Pratt & 

Whitney will use thrusters from heritage programs, the successful hot-fire Bantam test, and its storable 

propellant engineering capabilities. Boeing is building the CST -I 00 under a $92.3 bill ion contract 

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awarded from NASA. The spacecraft made up of a crew module and service module is expected to be 

ready by 2015. Web posted. (2011). [Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Making Engines for New Spacecraft 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.sfvbj.com/ [2011 April 19].] 

Orion Program Shrinking To Save Money, Time 

Lockheed Martin has cut out an entire test article from the Orion crew exploration vehicle that it is 

recasting in a new role as deep-space Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), combining test objectives for 

the remaining articles in an effort to keep the vehicle within the tight schedule set by Congress. By 

combining the tests that will be conducted with particular test articles, the company plans to send an 

Orion capsule into orbit on its frrst test flight in 2013, according to Cleon Lacefield, the company's 

program manager. The first capsule produced is now being prepared for ground tests at company facilities 

here and once those are over, it will be reinstrumented to fly on the first ascent abort test in 2014. By 

dropping the test article originally intended for that evaluation - which is intended to validate the ability 

of the vehicle's solid-fuel escape tower to pull it off a fa iling launch vehicle at maximum dynamic 

pressure during ascent - the company has been able to start work on the test capsule that will fly to space 

for the frrst time. The first test article was built at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where 

it underwent pressure testing before being sent here for a more rigorous workout. New instrumentation is 

being installed to test how Orion will hold pressure with a lot of its internal systems installed, including 

an instrumented window to measure how the glass flexes under pressure. Acoustic testing will follow, 

using generic acoustic loads that should cover any of the potential launch vehicles NASA chooses for the 

vehicle's flight test program. Kemp points out that the Orion was designed to launch on the Ares I rocket, 

which was under development by Constellation before the program was terminated. If all goes according 

to schedule, piloted operations of the Orion could begin as early as 2016, Lockheed Martin says. Web 

posted. (2011). [Orion Program Shrinking To Save Money, Time [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www .aviationweek.com/ [20 11 April 19].] 

NASA unaware of royal conflict with shuttle launch 

The US space agency was unaware that the shuttle Endeavour's fmal mission to the International Space 

Station was in conflict with the royal wedding, a NASA chief said Tuesday. "The frank answer is no," 

said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for space operations, when asked by a reporter if 

the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton were a factor in the shuttle scheduling. "I didn't 

realize when the wedding was when we moved the launch date," said Gerstenmaier. The shuttle was 

initially set to launch on April 19 and was later postponed to April 29. "We kind of set that date 

independently." Gerstenmaier said be received a phone call from someone notifying him of the crossover 

after the fact, though he did not elaborate on who made that call. "That was a consideration," he allowed, 

but quickly pointed out that NASA considers multiple technical, weather and international space agency 

constraints whenever it sets a launch time. "I haven't yet put on our manifest charts 'wedding constraints' 

so we did not factor that in," he said. Endeavour will be the second-to-last flight of the 30-year-old US 

shuttle program before it closes for good later this year following the final launch by Atlantis in June. 

Web posted. (2011). [NASA unaware of royal conflict with shuttle launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .google.com/ [20 11 April 19].] 

NASA Honors Pioneer Astronaut Alan Shepard With Moon Rock 

NASA will posthumously honor Alan B. Shepard Jr., the frrst American astronaut in space who later 

walked on the moon, with an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his contributions to the U.S. space 

program. Shepard's family members will accept the award on his behalf during a ceremony at 5:30p.m. 

EDT on Thursday, April 28, at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, located at 74 Greenbury Point Road in 

Annapolis, Md. His fanuly will present the award to the museum for permanent display. NASA's Chief 

Historian Bill Barry will represent the agency at the event, which will include a video message from 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. ["NASA Honors Pioneer Astronaut Alan Shepard With Moon 

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Rock," NASA Media Advisory #Mll-077, April 19, 2011.] 

Countdown to Endeavour: What is a Forward Air Observer? 

Capt James Woodard is. a 2006 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute {VMl) who currently serves as 

an Air Force Mission Hight Control Officer and Range Control Officer for the 1st Range Operations 

Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. He is the Forward Observer Air for the final flight of 

Space Shuttle Endeavour for the STS-134 mission. James is also the Mission Flight Control Officer for 

the Atlas V, Space Based infrared System (SBIRS) mission on 6 May 2011. Range Safety is a risky 

business. Not only is the Air Force tasked with ensuring the protection of the six astronauts on board 

Space Transportation System-134, we are also responsible for protecting the general public from possible 

anomalies resulting from the launch vehicle they are manning. This responsibility, which is entrusted to 

Brigadier General Edwin Wilson (the Launch Decision Authority for the mission), requires several 

support positions to provide real-time data concerning the status of the mission. In support of this historic 

launch, I have the distinct honor and privilege of performing the duties of Forward Observer Air (FOA), 

which includes being one of the closest humans to the launch. This position, which is reserved 

exclusively for Shuttle launches, includes my reports on the integrity of the stack (i.e. I report whether or 

not the boosters, tank, and orbiter are still connected) during the early stages of the launch. The STS stack 

has four components including the orbiter, two solid rocket boosters, and the external fuel tank. I will act 

as the eyes of Mr. Tong Tang, the Mission Flight Control Officer (MFCO), when the Shuttle cannot be 

seen by forward ground observers, my ground counterparts, due to cloud layer obstruction. On the day 

of launch, the Shuttle MFCO will determine whether or not my position is mandatory for launch. This 

decision is based on cloud cover between 4,000 and 8,000 feet (when video or forward observers cannot 

verify stack integrity). l am proud of my role in Endeavour's final chapter, and I know we have much to 

look forward to with the future of manned spaceflight! Web posted. (20 I I). [Countdown to Endeavour: 

What is a Forward Air Observer? [Online]. Available WWW: http://science.dodlive.mil/ [2011 April 

19).] 

SpaceX wins $7SM launch escape system contract from NASA 

Space Exploration Technologies, the Hawthorne-based developer oflaunch vehicles, won a $75 million 

NASA contract to develop a launch escape system to enable the company's Dragon spacecraft to carry 

astronauts, the firm known as SpaceX said Tuesday. The contract was one of four given by NASA to 

rocket companies to develop technology to ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station 

after the fleet is fully retired later this year. The other three companies to receive contacts include Boeing 

Co. in Huntington Beach, Blue Origin in Kent, Wash., and Sierra Nevada Corp. in Sparks, Nev. Web 

posted. (201 1). [SpaceX wins $75M launch escape system contract from NASA [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.dailybreeze.com/ [2011 April 19].] 

April 20: President Obama to Attend Space Shuttle Launch Next Week 

President Barack Obama and his family will attend NASA's planned launch of the space shuttle 

Endeavour on April 29, according to a White House official. Obama and the first family are expected to 

watch Endeavour launch on its 25th and fma l mission before the shuttle - the youngest in NASA's fleet -

is retired and sent to a California museum for public display. Endeavour is slated to blast off at 3:47p.m. 

EDT (1947 GMT) on Friday, April 29 from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. 

"We are a White House agency - we always welcome a visit from the president," Kennedy Space Center 

spokesman Allard Beutel told SPACE.com. Obama last visited the Kennedy Space Center a year ago, in 

April 20 I 0, to make a speech to employees about the new direction he was proposing for NASA. Obama 

cancelled NASA's moon-oriented Constellation program in favor of human missions to an asteroid and 

eventually Mars. Next week's presidential visit will likely require extra security and arrangements during 

an already complex launch day at the seaside spaceport. "When he came here last April, that took a lot of 

special arrangements," Beutel said. "It's the president. It's safe to say there always have to be special 

arrangements." Endeavour's STS-134 to the International Space Station will include four spacewalks to 

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install spare parts and upgrade the orbiting laboratory. The shuttle will deliver a $2 billion astrophysics 

experiment, called the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, to the station. The shuttle mission is scheduled to 

last 14 days, but NASA may decide to extend the flight by up to two extra days to fit in more work, 

mission managers have said. Web posted. (2011). [President Obama to Attend Space Shuttle Launch 

Next Week [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ [2011 April20].] 

Shuttle Endeavour ready for final flight 

NASA's oldest external tank will help its youngest space shuttle fly on a fina l flight a week from Friday. 

Officials on Tuesday set Endeavour's launch for 3:47p.m. April 29 after a daylong review determined the 

shuttle and the decade-old tank were fit to fly. Known as the "hurricane tank" and "Frankentank," the 

bullet-shaped orange fuel tank needed modifications after the 2003 Columbia disaster and repairs after 

sustaining non-structural damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. More recently, sections were 

reinforced as a precaution to prevent the kinds of cracks found and repaired on the previous tank flown, 

and its insulating foam suffered minor hail damage in a storm. "We reviewed in excruciating detail that 

this tank is really ready to fly, that there's no concerns," Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for 

space operations, said Tuesday at Kennedy Space Center. Endeavour, which first flew in 1992, is now set 

to blast off on its 25th and final mission, the second-to-last flight before NASA ends the shuttle program. 

A veteran crew of six led by commander Mark Kelly plans to deliver spare parts and a $2 billion cosmic 

ray detector-- the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-- to the International Space Station. The mission is 

scheduled to last 14 days but is expected to be extended up to two days so the crew can perform 

maintenance on station systems. Kelly; pilot Greg Johnson; and mission specialists Greg Chamitoff, 

Drew Feustel, Mike Fincke and Italian astronaut Roberto Vittori plan to fly into KSC on April26, just 

before the countdown's 2 p.m. start. NASA doesn't know yet whether Kelly's wife, U.S. Rep. Gabrielle 

Giffords, will attend the launch. Giffords is recovering from a brain injury suffered during a January 

shooting rampage in her Tucson, Ariz., district and awaiting doctors' approval to make the trip. Shuttle 

Launch Director Mike Leinbach said Endeavour was enjoying smooth preparations for next week's 

countdown, especially since the mission was delayed I 0 days from its previous target launch date of April 

19. NASA pushed back the flight to avoid conflicts with Russian spacecraft that would be coming and 

going from the station at the same time. The launch also comes just a few weeks after more than 500 KSC 

contractors were laid off in the latest round of cuts as the shuttle program winds down. Leinbach said the 

mood at the center was buoyed by last week's news Atlantis would retire to the spaceport's visitor 

complex after its final flight scheduled for June. "We know the end is coming, and we're dealing with it," 

he said. "I think all of Kennedy Space Center got a big boost when we got the word that we were going to 

be able to keep Atlantis here, so we're looking forward to the ultimate display of the ultimate spaceship." 

A logo painted on Endeavour's external tank depicts a shuttle rising from the eye of a hurricane. "That 

logo really represents to us emotionally what the tank has been through, but more importantly what the 

team has been through," said Mike Moses, the shuttle launch integration manager. "Katrina did nothing to 

our tank compared to what it did to the peoples' lives down there (in New Orleans)." Because the 

Lockheed Martin-built tank labeled ET-122 does not have all the modifications made to tanks built after 

Columbia, Gerstenmaier said foam was expected to break away from certain areas, but late enough in 

flight that it would not cause damage. "We reviewed everything," he said. "The team was unanimous, 

and we're ready to go fly." Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle Endeavour ready for final flight [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11 April20].] 

April 21: Endeavour to chart new ground in rendezvous demo 

It's a test pilot's dream. Use an existing vehicle to try out technology for its replacement. The U.S. 

military does it with fighter planes, and now NASA plans to demonstrate an important piece of space 

navigation equipment next month on the shuttle Endeavour's last mission. Eager to put the space shuttle to 

use before it fades into the history books, NASA has bolted a futuristic eye-safe laser system and highresolution digital camera inside the shuttle Endeavour's cargo bay for an unprecedented orbital ballet with 

the International Space Station. The objective: Assess how the next-generation navigation sensors 

110 
perform in the challenging environment of space. The laser beam and camera are the crux of a nextgeneration optical space navigation system. NASA and contractor teams developed the instruments to 

help a new manned spacecraft safely dock with the space station and reach other destinations. The 

practical goals of the exercise required some out-of-the-box thinking. Endeavour and its astronauts will 

fly a trajectory never before attempted in the shuttle's 35 previous visits to the research outpost. "It's a 

whole unique array of burns," said Greg Jolmson, Endeavour's pilot. "The trajectory is something very 

different than what we've ever flown before, but it's all the same sort of things that we've been doing with 

rendezvous. It just looks different." Once the shuttle leaves the station at the end of the mission, 

Endeavour will mimic the approach of a future, still undefmed, space capsule. Using its nimble flying 

qualities, Endeavour will undock and back away from the complex then approach the space station again. 

Endeavour will complete a one-lap flyaround of the outpost before firing its thrusters for two separation 

burns, first to depart the immediate vicinity of the space station, then to put the ship on a looping 

trajectory back toward the million-pound complex. Not much bigger than a kitchen microwave, miniature 

sensors and electronics inside Endeavour's cargo bay will be put to the test during the unique 

demonstration. It's called the Sensor Test for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation, but it's better 

known as simply STORRM. The system was designed to help the Orion spacecraft navigate its way to 

the space station. Although the Constellation program, including Orion, was cancelled last year, work on 

the capsule continues. Orion could become the basis of a multipurpose crew vehicle, a new spacecraft 

designed to take astronauts to deep space on missions to asteroids. It might also travel to the space station 

to serve as a lifeboat or ferry resident crews back and forth to Earth. The astronauts will use the shuttle's 

existing Ku-band rendezvous radar for on-board navigation during the demo. STORRM will simply be 

along for the ride. If Endeavour blasts off April 29 as planned, the shuttle's undocking and STORRM test 

is slated for May 11. But NASA could extend the mission by up to two days, pushing the demo to May 12 

or May 13. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour to chart new ground in rendezvous demo [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [201 1 April 21].] 

Federal budget pays for summer shuttle flight 

The U.S. government b udget approved last wee~ all but validates NASA's hope to fly the shuttle Atlantis 

on a much-needed bonus mission as soon as June 28, according to agency officials. "We're not overlyconstrained budget-wise," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for space operations. 

Stephanie Schierholz, an agency spokesperson, said the budget signed into law last week "essentially" 

puts to rest concerns about funding the June mission of Atlantis. The extra flight, numbered STS-135, was 

added to the shuttle manifest to stock the International Space Station for continued operations after the 

shuttle's retirement. Before last week's budget passage, NASA was working on short-term funding plans 

and trying to accumulate money to pay for the June flight. The additional mission wasn't part of the last 

yearlong budget passed by Congress, but NASA was directed to fly STS-135 in the authorization act 

signed into law in October, which set agency priorities for the next three years. NASA now has a budget 

running through Sept. 30, giving the agency confidence it can afford the flight. Atlantis is scheduled to 

blast off June 28 with a full load of supplies and experiments packed inside the Italian-built Raffaello 

logistics module. After transferring cargo aboard the space station, the four-person shuttle crew will 

return to Earth with Raffaello filled with trash and other items NASA wants back on the ground. The 

shuttle will also return a failed ammonia pump for inspections and potential repair. The supplies delivered 

by the STS-135 mission will keep the space station operating until the end of2012 in case the commercial 

operators delay their first cargo flights. Web posted. (2011). [Federal budget pays for summer shuttle 

flight [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 April 21].] 

April 22: Endeavour one week from last launch 

Endeavour is a week from launching on its 25th and final flight, while work at Kennedy Space Center 

continues to ready Atlantis for the last shuttle flight this surruner and to decommission Discovery after its 

last flight. At launch pad 39A, technicians are completing tests and closeouts on Endeavour's two solid 

rocket boosters and the orbiter's aft section, after pressurizing its propulsion systems earlier this week. 

111 
Techs are scheduled to take the weekend off, then get ready to start the official launch countdown at 2 

p.m. Tuesday. Endeavour is scheduled to blast off at 3:47p.m. next Friday to the International Space 

Station for a mission of at least 14 days. Meanwhile, in a shuttle hangar, workers are removing an orbital 

maneuvering system pod from the right side of Discovery's tail fin. Along with the already removed left 

pod and nose thrusters, the systems will be serviced at KSC and then shipped to NASA's White Sands 

Test Facility in New Mexico to clean them of plumbing contaminated with toxic hypergolic propellants. 

That's one of the major processes that must be completed before Discovery can be moved to the 

Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., perhaps early next year. On Monday in the Vehicle 

Assembly Building, crews will begin connecting an external tank to the boosters that will help Atlantis 

launch the final shuttle mission. Atlantis is expected to roll from its hangar into the assembly building 

May 12, and the final shuttle stack begin rolling out to the launch pad May 20. The last shuttle crew of 

four astronauts will visit KSC for a cow1tdown dress rehearsal in early June, and a tankjng test is planned 

June 7. "Right now, all Jooks good for the end of June-- June 28 -- for the final flight," shuttle launch 

director Mike Leinbach said earlier this week. Web posted. (2011 ). [Endeavour one week from last launch 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the.flame trench blog [20 11 April 22].] 

Florida Braces for Huge Crowds for Friday's Space Shuttle Launch 

The Florida space coast is expecting near-record crowds to flock to Cape Canaveral to watch the space 

shuttle Endeavour launch on its last voyage Apri129. Crowds have been getting thicker and thicker for 

shuttle launches as NASA winds down its 30-year-old space shuttle program. After Endeavour's mission, 

there is only one more shuttle flight planned before the three orbiters are retired. The area around NASA's 

seaside Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, where the shuttles are launched, saw between 400,000 

and 500,000 visitors for the last liftoff of the shuttle Discovery in February, according to Robert Varley, 

executive director of Florida's Space Coast Office ofTourism. "We think we're going to do better than 

that this time," Varley told SPACE.com. "It's going to be a big day next week." He predicted at least half 

a million visitors, and likely more, for Friday's blastoff at 3:47p.m. EDT ( 1947 GMT). ln comparison, 

most regular shuttle launches draw between 150,000 and 200,000 visitors, Varley said. Where those 

usually bring about $4 nullion to $5 million in to the area, Endeavour's launch is expected to cause 

between a $10 million to $15 million economic impact, he said. The area has about 11 ,000 hotel rooms, 

between 4,000 and 5,000 condominiums and another 35,000 campsites, he estimated. Nearly all of those 

are booked for this week. The fact that next Friday's launch will be the last ever for Endeavour has 

certainly led to some of the boost in attendance. The liftoff is also especially high profile because 

President Barack Obama has annow1ced that he wiU bring his family to watch in person. The visitors' 

center at Kennedy Space Center, which houses a museum with rockets on display, an IMAX theater, rides 

and more, has also seen a huge boost in traffic in recent weeks, partly due to the fact that Endeavour can 

now be seen standing at the ready on Launch Pad 39A. "They're experiencing extreme high numbers of 

visitation-- around I 0,000 or II ,000 people a day out there," Varley said. And the effect is onJy likely to 

balloon for the next launch -- the June 28 liftoff of shuttle Atlantis. That is that last planned space shuttle 

mission ever, be fore all three orbiters are retired to museums. "The last one will defmitely draw over a 

million people," Varley said. "I have no doubt. It's history." Web posted. (2011). [Florida Braces for Huge 

Crowds for Friday's Space Shuttle Launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ [2011 

April22].] 

April 23: Russian space agency won't let private US spacecraft dock with ISS 

Russian news agencies are quoting a top space official as saying Russia won't permit a U.S. commercial 

spacecraft to dock with the International Space Station until it is satisfied the ship conforms to safety 

standards. The California-based Space Exploration Technologies Corp. has asked NASA for permission 

to send an unmanned cargo capsule to the space station later tlus year. The hookup also would need 

Russian clearance. AJexei Krasnov, supervisor of manned missions at the Russian Space Agency, was 

quoted as saying Friday that safety concerns frrst need to be addressed. SpaceX's Dragon capsule made 

the world's first private trip to and from orbit in December. It blasted off from Cape Canaveral, Florida, 

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atop the company's Falcon 9 rocket. Web posted. (2011). [Florida Braces for Huge Crowds for Friday's 

Space Shuttle Launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ [2011 April22].] 

April 24: Gabrielle Giffords gets OK to attend shuttle Endeavour launch on Friday 

Arizona congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, recovering from a gunshot wound to her bead, will attend the 

launch of the shuttle Endeavour on Friday, ABC News reported Sunday. Giffords wants to watch her 

husband, Mark Kelly, command the last mission of Endeavour, which is set to launch at 3:47p.m. 

She was shot in January in the parking lot of a Tucson shopping center while meeting with constituents. 

Six people were killed, including a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl, and 12 others were wounded. 

Jared Loughner, who has pleaded not guilty, is charged in the rampage. Also expected to attend the 

launch at Kennedy Space Center is President Obama, First Lady Michelle and their children, Malia and 

Sasha. Giffords has been undergoing rehabilitation in Houston. Web posted. (2011). [Gabrielle Giffords 

gets OK to attend shuttle Endeavour launch on Friday [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 April24].] 

April 25: NASA Prepares To Pick Up Endeavour Countdown 

NASA is making fmal preparations today to close Endeavour's payload bay doors and pick up a 

countdown to the planned launch Friday of the nation's penultimate shuttle flight. A pretest briefing is 

scheduled this morning in Firing Room No. 4 at the Launch Control Center, where engineers will be 

called to their stations at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday. A three-day countdown will pick up 30 minutes later. Liftoff 

is slated for 3:47p.m. Friday. Mission commander Mark Kelly and his crew are expected to arrive at 

Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility at 12: 15 p.m. Tuesday. The astronauts went into 

quarantine at Johnson Space Center in Houston on Friday. The crew includes pilot Gregory "Box" 

Johnson and four mission specialists: Greg Chamitoff, Andrew "Drew" Feustel, Michael Fincke and 

Roberto Vittori of the European Space Agency. At launch pad 39A today, technicians are preparing to 

close the shuttle's payload bay doors for flight on Tuesday. The prime cargo is a $2 billion cosmic ray 

detector that wiU be fixed to the exterior of the International Space Station. Only one shuttle mission 

remains after Endeavour's flight. Atlantis is scheduled to launch on NASA's !35th and final shuttle 

mission on June 28. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Prepares To Pick Up Endeavour Countdown [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 April 24].] 

April 26: Shuttle crew ready to go as launch countdown begins 

The shuttle Endeavour's crew flew to Florida Tuesday for the start of their countdown to blastoff Friday 

on a long-awaited mission to deliver supplies, spare parts and a $2 billion cosmic ray detector to the 

International Space Station. Forecasters are predicting an 80 percent chance of good weather. Arriving in 

sleek T-38 jet trainers, commander Mark Kelly and his five crewmates --pilot Gregory H. Johnson, 

Michael Fincke, Gregory Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto 

Vittori --landed at the shuttle runway just before 1 p.m. EDT (GMT-4) after a flight from Houston. One 

hour later, at 2 p.m., engineers in the nearby launch control center started Endeavour's countdown, setting 

the stage for launch ofNASA's next-to-last shuttle mission at 3:47:52 p.m. Friday. It will be Endeavour's 

25th and final mission since its maiden voyage in May 1992. Kelly thanked the thousands of engineers 

and technicians who worked on Endeavour over the years, joking that "we're going to take Endeavour out 

for a couple of more, probably five or six million more miles." NASA Test Director Jeremy Graeber said 

engineers were not tracking any significant issues going into the countdown and shuttle weather officer 

Kathy Winters said forecasters are predicting generally good weather through the weekend. The only 

concern is possibly high crosswinds from a front expected to move through the area Thursday night. She 

said the models indicate an 80 percent chance of acceptable weather Friday, dropping to 70 percent on 

Saturday and moving back up to 80 percent "go" on Sunday. "Overall, our main concern for launch day 

is going to be crosswinds," she said. "There's just a 20 percent chance ofKSC weather prohibiting launch. 

The main thing is we just want to get that frontal system through us on Thursday evening and still be able 

to complete all our pre-Jaunch operations." Engineers plan to pump liquid oxygen and hydrogen aboard 

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the orbiter starting at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday to power the shuttle's electricity producing fuel cells, a 

procedure that should be complete by around 6 p.m. After an eight-hour hold, main engine preparations 

will get underway along with checkout of various avionics systems. A 13-hour 20-minute hold will begin 

at 10 a.m. Thursday, during which communications Links will be activated and checked out. A protective 

gantry will be pulled away from the shuttle starting around 7 p.m. Thursday, exposing the orbiter to view. 

If all goes well, engineers will begin pumping a half-million gallons of supercold liquid oxygen and 

hydrogen rocket fuel into Endeavour's external tank around 6:22 a.m. Friday. Kelly and his crewmates 

plan to don their pressure suits and head to the pad to begin strapping in a few minutes before noon. As 

with most space station flights, Endeavour's launch is timed for the middle of a I 0-minute window, 

roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries pad 39A into the plane of the space station's orbit. Web 

posted. (20 II). [Shuttle crew ready to go as launch countdown begins [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www .spacefl ightnow .com/ [20 11 April 26].] 

Rocket and satellite joined together at the Cape 

With just I 0 days to go until launch, a critical surveillance satellite that begins a new generation for 

missile early-warning detection bas been mounted atop its Atlas 5 rocket at Cape Canaveral. The fLrst 

Space Based lnfrared System Geosynchronous spacecraft, or SBIRS GE0-1 , was hauled from up the road 

from the processing hangar to the launcher's assembly hangar at Complex 41 before dawn Tuesday. 

Technicians then went to work with the delicate hoisting operations. Already packed within the rocket's 

pointy nose cone, the sate!Jite slowly rose up and entered the Vertical Integration Facility where the Atlas 

5 stood atop a mobile launching platform, just waiting to receive its cargo for flight. Getting the payload 

aboard the rocket was the last major milestone before the 19-story vehicle is wheeled to the launch pad 

the day before liftoff. Teams will spend the next week conducting fmal checks and assessments to ensure 

all elements are ready to go. Launch is scheduled for Friday, May 6 during a window extending from 

2:14 to 2:54p.m. EDT (1814-1854 GMT). Web posted. (2011). [Rocket and satellite joined together at 

the Cape [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 April26].] 

North Brevard schools close early on launch day 

Thirty schools will close early Friday in anticipation of traffic snarls expected with Endeavour's last 

shuttle launch. School officials announced what they called this unprecedented decision Tuesday at the 

urging of Titusville Police and the county's Emergency Operations Center. "TitusviUe has always been 

slammed with traffic" after shuttle launches, said Pamella O'Kell, principal at Apollo Elementary. The 

launch, scheduled for 3:47p.m. Friday, is expected to draw hundreds of thousands to the Space Coast. 

The early dismissals will range from noon to 2 p.m. Web posted. (2011). [North Brevard schools close 

early on launch day [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April26].] 

Navy bean and corn bread tradition 

After Endeavour clears the launch tower Friday and is in orbit, the astronauts' families will join shuttle 

workers in a tradition that dates back to the very first shuttle launch -- eating navy beans and com bread. 

It all began innocently in 1981 when then-NASA test director Norm Carlson brought in a small crock pot 

of beans and some com bread. After the successful launch, hw1gry workers quickly devoured the meal. 

Carlson repeated the menu for the second launch, this time bringing in two crock pots. Eventually he 

started making the beans in an 18-quart cooker. Preparing the beans and corn bread became an official 

NASA function when Carlson retired. About 60 gallons worth of beans will be made for Friday's launch 

and enjoyed once Endeavour lifts off safely. Web posted. (2011). [Navy bean and com bread tradition 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April 26].] 

AT&T bulks up Brevard cellular capacity for Endeavour launch 

Add AT&T to the list of people, places and things preparing for Endeavour's historic launch on Friday. 

The telecommw1ications company will boost its capacity at 19 sites across·Brevard County where crowds 

will watch the launch, from Mims to south of State Road 528 , according to the an announcement 

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Tuesday. "We wanted to make sure the capacity is up; we know that people are going to be taking 

pictures and sending pictures to show all of their friends that aren't going to make it," said Gretchen 

Schultz, AT&T a spokeswoman. Tourism officials suggest as many as 700,000 visitors could be on the 

Space Coast for the launch. To handle all that data, AT&T added new layers of frequency - known as 

"carriers" in the industry - to the 19 sites. Schultz said it was analogous to widening a road with 

additional lanes. And in order to ensure that communications will remain clear among local police during 

launch day, AT&T is bringing in a mobile cell tower, known as COLT, or Cellular On Light Truck, and 

installing it at the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. "We want Brevard County Sheriffs Office to 

maintain communications while hundreds ofthousands of people flock in." Web posted. (2011). [AT&T 

bulks up Brevard cellular capacity for Endeavour launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April 26].] 

April27: It's a Unanimous "Go" for Endeavour 

The Space Shuttle Program Mission Management Team voted unanimously to proceed toward 

Endeavour's scheduled liftoff at 3:47p.m. EDT Friday. Mike Moses, chair of the Prelaunch Mission 

Management team, reported that it was a very short meeting and everything is in great shape and ready to 

go. "We're ready to go and we're looking forward to Friday's launch," Moses said. Mike Leinbach, 

shuttle launch director said, "The countdown for Endeavour's fmal mission is going extremely well. The 

launch pad right now is cleared in preparation for loading the cryogenics fuels for the fuel cell system." 

"We're not working any significant issues at all ... the teams are upbeat about the mission and the 

President's visit," said Leinbach. "We're ready to go and right now looking forward to an on-time launch 

Friday afternoon." The forecast calls for an 80 percent chance offavorable conditions at launch time, 

according to Shuttle Weather Officer Kathy Winters. The only concern for launch may be the crosswinds 

at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The Rotating Service Structure (RSS) is scheduled to be retracted at 7 

p.m. tomorrow night but may be delayed because of possible storm activity over the center. Teams will 

have about a four hour leeway for the storms to clear out to rollback the RSS with no effect on Friday 

morning's external tank fueling, now planned for 6:22a.m. Endeavour is headed to the International 

Space Station on a 14-dlay mission to deliver the Express Logistics Carrier-3, Alpha Magnetic 

Spectrometer-2 (AMS). a high-pressure gas tank and additional spare parts for the Dextre robotic helper. 

Web posted. (2011). [It's a Unanimous "Go" for Endeavour [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 Apri127].] 

No workforce funding for the Space Coast 

Speaking at the Kennedy Space Center just over a year ago, President Obama promised $40 million for 

"regional economic growth and job creation" on Florida's Space Coast, $35 million of it in the form of 

grants through the Commerce Department to support business in the area. Late today, though, Florida 

Today reported that the grant program won't be funding in FY2011. The article is short on details: it 

claims the funds were cut from the final continuing resolution (CR) that funded the government in 20 II, 

although it's not clear if Congress explicitly failed to fund the program or ifNASA and the Commerce 

Department, as they drew up spending plans as required by the CR, decided not to fund the program. A 

spokesman for Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) blamed "extremists bent on wildly and blindly slashing the 

budget" for the cut. The other $5 million, intended to establish a commercial spaceflight technical center 

run by the FAA at the Cape, apparently also is not funded. Web posted. (2011). [No workforce funding 

for the Space Coast [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolitics.com/ [2011 April27].] 

NASA Invites 150 Lucky Twitter Followers To Endeavour Launch 

NASA invited 150 lucky people to a behind-the-scenes perspective from the press site at the agency's 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the final launch of space shuttle Endeavour on Friday, April29. The 

launch is scheduled for 3:47p.m. EDT. The participants were selected randomly from more than 4,100 

online registrants during a 24-hour opportunity in mid-March. Attendees represent 43 U.S. states, the 

District of Columbia, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, New Zealand, Puerto Rico, Switzerland, 

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Venezuela, and the U.K. Participants will share their experiences with their more than 3.7 million 

combined followers through the social networking site Twitter. On Sunday, the agency surpassed one 

million followers on its flagship Twitter account, @NASA. Beginning at noon on April28, NASA will 

broadcast a portion of tlhe Tweetup when participants get to talk with NASA's Chief Scientist Waleed 

Abdalati; Endeavour's Flow Director Dana M. Hutcherson; International Space Station Associate 

Program Scientist Tara Ruttley; astronaut Clay Anderson; and Principal Investigator of the Alpha 

Magnetic Spectrometer-2, Sam Ting. Participants also will tour Kennedy and get a spacesuit 

demonstration. The Tweetup culminates with the launch. This is the fourth time NASA has invited its 

Twitter followers to experience a space shuttle launch. Previously, groups attended Atlantis' STS-129 and 

STS-132 missions and Discovery's STS-133 launch. NASA also hosts Tweetup events at other NASA 

centers. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Invites 150 Lucky Twitter Followers To Endeavour Launch 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 April27].] 

Wildfire burning near Kennedy Space Center 

Officials with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said there is a wildfire buming at the Merritt Island 

National Refuge south of the Kennedy Space Center. Refuge spokesman Dorn Whitmore said fire crews 

and three fire engines are at the 50-acre wildfire which is located about 1.5 miles south of the vehicle 

assembly building. Whitmore said the fire is quickly moving north and producing heavy smoke as it 

bums in an oak brush area of the preserve. He could not confirm bow long it will take to knock down the 

blaze. Web posted. (2011). [Wildfire burning near Kennedy Space Center [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .orlandosentinel.com/ [20 II April 27].] 

Giffords at Space Center for launch preparations 

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords arrived in Florida on Wednesday afternoon, two days before her husband is 

scheduled to command shuttle Endeavour's final flight. The representative reportedly flew here on a 

NASA jet used to transport senior NASA officials and YIPs. It landed at Patrick Air Force Base at 12:47 

p.m., according to Flightaware.com, which tracks air traffic. Giffords' office sent out a tweet about noon 

that read, "Gabrielle is traveling to Florida!" NASA always flies the crew's spouses to Florida aboard a 

NASA plane. Wives of the five other astronauts flew into town Tuesday and were on the runway to greet 

their husbands when they arrived in four T-38 training jets. NASA officials said they are pleased 

Giffords, who is still recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, will be able to witness husband Mark 

Kelly's historic flight. "Obviously, we're very pleased she's coming to the launch to support Mark and his 

flight," said Mike Moses, the shuttle launch integration manager at Kennedy Space Center. Giffords 

likely arrived in time for the traditional crew barbecue, which usually takes place two days before launch 

with spouses and a few selected guests at the secluded Beach House on KSC property. Liftoff is 

scheduled for 3:47p.m. Friday. Web posted. (2011). [Wildfire burning near Kennedy Space Center 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April28].] 

April 28: First family's visit to KSC will be brief 

President Barack Obama and his family likely will get an up-close look at one of NASA's orbiters before 

watching Endeavour blast off Friday on the space agency's penultimate shuttle mission. TI1e first family -

- the president, wife Michelle Obama, and daughters Malia and Sasba -- will fly to the Space Coast on Air 

Force One. The presidential plane is due to arrive at 2:10p.m. at the Skid Strip at Cape Canaveral Air 

Force Station. The Obamas will tour the Orbiter Processing Facility, which comprises three separate 

hangars. Atlantis is being prepped for a planned June 28 launch on NASA's I 35th and final shuttle 

mission in OPF Bay No. I. Discovery is in OPF Bay No. 2, where the ship is going through post-flight 

servicing and work to prepare it for retirement display at the Smithsonian Institution. It launched on its 

39th and final flight Feb. 24. If history is any indication, the Obamas probably will take in the launch 

with the Endeavour astronaut families on the roof of the Launch Control Center. President Bill Clinton 

and Hillary Clinton watched the 1998 launch ofU.S. Sen. John Glenn from the roof of the four-story 

control center. One of their escorts: current Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, then a 

116 
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veteran astronaut. For Obama, it's a quick visit. The president will board Air Force One and depart the 

Skid Strip at 4:40 p.m., heading for South Florida. Obama is scheduled to give the commencement speech 

at Miami-Dade College early Friday evening. NASA Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach said his 

team is excited about the prospect of having Obama and his family at the space center for launch. But the 

visit won't distract NASA, and the agency won't bend safety rules to launch Endeavour while the first 

family is at KSC. Said Leinbach: "Absolutely not." Web posted. (2011). [First family's visit to KSC will 

be brief [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April 28].] 

Piece of Mary Rose to be flown to International Space Station 

Astronauts will take a piece of Tudor battleship Mary Rose on space shuttle Atlantis' final mission. A 

wooden ball, used to raise 16th century sails, will be carried on its 14-day voyage to the International 

Space Station. It continues a tradition of symbolic objects being taken into space. British-born veteran 

astronaut Michael Foale worked as a diver on the salvage ofKing Henry Vill's favorite ship off the Isle 

of Wight in 198 1. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Piece of Mary Rose to be flown to International Space Station 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.mirror.co.ukl [2011 April28].] 

Legos headed to space on Endeavour 

NASA is sending Lego bricks into space. Among the items being packed up and shipped off on 

Endeavour, Lego model kits for the shuttle, and the International Space Station. Endeavour's crew will 

put them together while they are in space, video tape the project, and then use it to get kids interested in 

space travel, and science. The shuttle kits being used are the same ones Lego fans can buy in stores. The 

ISS model is one of only three in the entire world, and a Lego spokesperson said it is extremely hard to 

put together. It's not the first time Lego bricks took a shuttle ride into space. A model space shuttle built 

out ofLegos flew on space shuttle Discovery's last in February. Web posted. (2011 ). [Legos headed to 

space on Endeavour [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cfnews13.com/ [2011 April28].] 

30 percent chance weather will delay shuttle Endeavour launch 

Everything is on track for Friday's launch of the space shuttle Endeavour, with President Barack Obama, 

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and as many as 700,000 onlookers along the Space Coast on hand to cheer 

its final mission. But the weather could disappoint everyone. Shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said 

the prospects of crosswinds and cloud cover Friday afternoon have increased the probability of a weatherdelayed launch to 30 percent, up from the 20 percent prediction NASA has been holding much of the 

week. The storm front that devastated Alabama and other southern states last night is likely to pass 

through Kennedy Space Center tonight but it is not expected to cause severe weather here and should be 

gone by midnight, she said. So it should have no effect on Friday's weather-sensitive activities, which 

begin with filling the rocket's external fuel tank. Winters said she would not be surprised if there were 

weather alerts raised during the day on Friday, but conditions should improve, and by late afternoon and 

should be fme for launch. "Our big concerns are crosswinds and (low cloud) ceilings lingering in the 

area," Winters said. Web posted. (2011). [30 percent chance weather will delay shuttle Endeavour launch 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 April28].] 

Air Force officer upbeat on launches 

After the shuttle takes its final flight, the Space Coast will still hear the familiar rocket rumble-- and reap 

some economic benefits-- thanks to unmanned space launches. That's the outlook from Col. James Ross, 

vice commander of the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base. Ross was a guest speaker at the 

annual Florida's Space Coast Tourism Day Luncheon, which drew about 300 hospitality workers and 

tourism officials to the Radisson Resort at the Port. Ross said unmatmed launches have brought as much 

as $1.1 billion in annual revenue into the county. He outlined a schedule of launches, and said the 45th 

Space Wing, which provides launch support for manned and unmanned launches and satellites, has a 

bright future. Out of the 13 launches this year on the Space Coast, he said, three are shuttle launches and 

the remainder are unmanned launches. Ross said SpaceX and other commercial companies will play a 

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bigger role in the post-shuttle economy. "In addition to Space X, we have other commercial companies 

who are seeking us, interested in coming to the Cape," he said. "A couple are really close to coming to the 

Cape, and I can't really tell who they are, but I can honestly say, we're going to be busy, and we're going 

to be even busier (in the future)." Rob Varley, executive director of the Space Coast Office of Tourism, 

said with the burgeoning commercial space industry and an asset such as Port Canaveral, which draws 

millions of cruise passengers every year, there are reasons for optimism. "I think the future is bright for 

us," be said. Web posted. (2011). [Air Force officer upbeat on launches [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 April 28].] 

April 29: Electrical Problems Force Delay in Shuttle Launching 

. An electrical problem forced NASA on Friday to postpone the launching of the shuttle Endeavour, giving 

President Obama and hlllndreds of thousands of spectators a lesson in the fickle nature of space 

technology. Less than four hours before the scheduled 3:47p.m. liftoff, National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration officials announced that it would be delayed at least until Monday afternoon while 

technicians tried to fix the problem, which affects equipment that supplies hydraulic power to move the 

shuttle's engines and flaps during ascent and re-entry. Officials suggested that the launching could be 

delayed further. "We will not fly this machine until it is ready," said Michael D. Leinbach, the shuttle 

launching director, "and today it was not ready to go." The delay frustrated huge crowds that had gathered 

outside the space center to watch the start of the next-to-last mission in the 30-year shuttle program. Mr. 

Obama, who had been scheduled to watch the launching with his wife, Michelle, and daughters, was 

touring tornado damage in Alabama when the postponement was announced. He decided to visit the space 

center anyway, arriving about two hours later. At the launching control center, the president and his wife 

met for about 10 minutes with Gabrielle Giffords, the wounded Arizona Democratic congresswoman and 

wife of the mission commander, Capt. Mark E. Kelly. Just before going in to see Ms. Giffords, Mr. 

Obama greeted Captain Kelly in a corridor. The men shook hands and embraced. The Obamas also met 

with the five other members of the shuttle crew. With their daughters, they toured the building where the 

Atlantis spacecraft is being prepared for the !35th and final shuttle mission, in late June. They walked 

under the shuttle, getting a close look at its thermal tiles. The astronauts are under quarantine rules before 

a launching and ordinarily their contact with others, even family members, is restricted, but NASA 

officials said flight doctors had cleared the Obamas to meet with the crew. Ms. Giffords, who suffered a 

severe head wound in a shooting in January, had arrived on Wednesday to watch the launching. There 

was no immediate word as to whether she would stay in Florida or return to the Houston rehabilitation 

hospital where she has been recovering for the past two months. The astronauts had undergone fmal 

medical checks and donned orange flight suits and were on their way to the launching pad in a van when 

the postponement was announced. The van made aU-turn and parked briefly at the control center before 

returning to the astronauts' quarters. Whenever it begins, the mission, to the International Space Station, 

is scheduled to last two weeks. The Endeavour crew will install a $2 billion particle-physics experiment, 

the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, at the space station, where it will search for evidence of the elusive 

"dark matter" that is thought to be ubiquitous in the universe. The shuttle will also deliver spare parts, and 

the crew will perfonn maintenance tasks outside the station in four spacewalks. Until Friday, preparations 

for the mission had been relatively smooth, with weather the major concern. But postponements due to 

equipment problems are not uncommon, and NASA officials had previously said they would not forgo 

safety procedures just because the president was going to be there. Mr. Leinbach said the problem that 

forced the postponement was most likely an electrical short in an area of the shuttle that would take time 

to reach. Shortly after the decision was announced, technicians drained the spacecraft's huge external fuel 

tank, which had been filled with liquid hydrogen and oxygen fuel early Friday. The fuels must be 

removed before it is safe to work on the spacecraft. Mr. Leinbach and other officials said that depending 

on the extent of the problem, a Monday launching might be possible. NASA has a launching window 

each afternoon through Wednesday; after that the Endeavour might have to wait until May 9 or I 0 to try 

again. Web posted. (20 11). [Electrical Problems Force Delay in Shuttle Launching [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.nvtirnes.com/ [2011 April 29].] 

118 
A much quieter Florida visit 

Just over a year ago President Obama visited the Kennedy Space Center to give a major space policy 

speech about his vision for NASA's future in space exploration. Yesterday, the president returned to 

KSC, a visit originally intended to watch the launch of space shuttle Endeavour on its fmal mission. 

Although the launch was scrubbed over three hours before launch, the president still made the stop with 

his family, spending a couple hours at the Cape before be continued on to Miami for a commencement 

address. Yesterday's stopover, though, was a much lower profile visit. There was no speech or other 

statement to the media; a handful of pool reporters trailed the president for much of his time at the center. 

The president apparently didn't intend to use the visit to make any significant statement about his space 

policy. In a press conference at KSC about the shuttle launch scrub after the president left, KSC director 

Bob Cabana offered only general comments about what the president said during his visit. "He was 

extremely supportive of what we were doing," Cabana said. " I think it was great that be came down 

today. I think the family really enjoyed the visit." Later, Cabana said, "The president supports our 

spaceflight program. He's very supportive of what we're doing," adding that the president "is supportive 

of us building a large rocket and crew vehicle to go beyond our home planet" as well as the commercial 

crew program. "Everybody that be ran into, he thanked them for what we're doing," Cabana said. "He 

enjoyed his tour and seeing all that he saw, and be wants us to keep doing good things." Web posted. 

{201 1). [A much quieter Florida visit [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolitics.com/ [2011 

April30].] 

Gov. Scott, Sens. Rubio and Nelson to attend Endeavour launch 

The official V1P list for viewing the launch of space shuttle Endeavour this afternoon already included 

President Barack Obama and his family and wounded Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, wife 

of Endeavour Commander Mark Kelly. Add to them: Florida Gov. Rick Scott; Florida's U.S. Sens. Bill 

Nelson (who never misses a launch) and Marco Rubio; Florida Congressmen Debbie Wasserman Schultz, 

Frederica Wilson, Sandy Adams, Kathy Castor and Bill Posey; and 31 other members of Congress. 

Beyond them, the V1P list includes 20 current and former federal officials including former NASA 

administrators Dan Goldin and Michael Griffin; John Holdren, director of the White House Office of 

Science and Technology Policy; Chirag Parikh, director of space policy on the National Security Council; 

and Aaron Williams, director of the Peace Corps; Jane Lubchenco, administrator of NOAA. There also 

are scores of private and international V1PS, such as Ignazio La Russa, minister of defense for the Italian 

Parliament, Paula A. Cox, premier of Bermuda; and Virginia Hinshaw, chancellor of the University of 

Hawaii. Most of the vn>s will be ushered to the VIP viewing area at Kennedy Space Center. The 

Obamas and Giffords are expected to watch the launch from the roof ofthe Launch Control Center 

building, where astronaut spouses watch. Web posted. (2011). [Gov. Scott, Sens. Rubio and Nelson to 

attend Endeavour launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 April29].] 

Endeavour's Shuttle Launch Delay Comes with Large Price Tag 

The postponed launch of the space shuttle Endeavour on Friday (April29) was not only disappointing for 

the thousands of spectators that flocked to the Florida coast to see the historic liftoff; the delay also carries 

a large price tag, NASA officials say. "It's the cost of propellant," NASA spokesman Allard Beutel told 

SPACE. com. "We capture most of the propellant back, and recycle it and use it again, but some of it gets 

boiled off. The propellant is really the cost." Ground crews had to drain the propellant from the shuttle's 

massive external fuel tank. Beutel estimates that this de-tanking process costs approximately $500,000. 

NASA now expects the next launch of Endeavour to occur no earlier than May 8. The bulk of the costs 

associated with a so-called scrubbed launch attempt come from the cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid 

oxygen propellant, and various personnel expenses. "It's contained in the overall budget," Beutel said. 

"It's still within the overall budget, but there are costs associated with the propellant." Endeavour was 

fully fueled on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., when NASA called off 

today's launch attempt due to an issue in one of the spacecraft's critical power units. The agency is now 

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targeting no earlier than Monday {May 2) at 2:33 p.m. EDT ( 1733 GMT) for its next attempt. A recent 

study of 30-year space shuttle program concluded that once the program retires tills year, NASA will have 

spent nearly $200 billion on its 135 space shuttle missions. NASA's first shuttle flight, STS-1 , launched 

on April 12, 1981. Endeavour's upcoming flight is dubbed the STS-1 34 mission. One more mission, STS135, is scheduled to fly in late June aboard the shuttle Atlantis. The recent analysis, performed by science 

policy expert Roger Pielke Jr., and research associate Radford Byerly, concluded that the average cost of 

a NASA space shuttle flight is about $1.2 billion once lifetime costs of the reusable orbiter fleet are 

factored in. Endeavour's STS-134 flight will be the last mission for the youngest orbiter in NASA's fleet. 

Following the 14-day mission, Endeavour will be retired from service and eventually put on display at the 

California Science Center in Los Angeles. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour's Shuttle Launch Delay 

Comes with Large Price Tag [Online]. Available WWW: http://wwW.space.com/ [2011 April29].] 

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MAY 

May 1: NASA managers meeting to discuss Endeavour launch 

NASA managers are meeting this morning to discuss the fixes necessary to get Endeavour ready to 

launch. The chances of a Monday attempt appear to be dimming. Friday's planned 3:47p.m. launch 

scrubbed when heaters on a fuel line linked to the orbiter's hydraulic power system failed to tum on. The 

fuel line in question feeds one of three auxiliary power unit on the ship. Teams were able to get into the 

orbiter's aft compartment Saturday to begin troubleshooting. A Monday launch was considered possible 

if the problem was lirruted to thermostats. If the switch box known as the Load Control Assembly, or 

LCA, is at fault, which could take days to swap out and retest. Endeavour has launch opportunities 

through Wednesday before NASA will give way to the planned Friday launch of an Atlas V rocket and 

military satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. On the next to last shuttle rrussion, Endeavour 

and its crew of six are scheduled to fly a two-week mission to deliver spare parts and a $2 billion science 

instrument to the station. Web posted. (2011). [NASA managers meeting to discuss Endeavour launch 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench b/og [2011 Mayl].] 

NASA pushes Endeavour launch back further 

After scratching today for a possible launch of space shuttle Endeavour, NASA was still undecided 

Sunday when it might launch. That decision will be made today or Tuesday, with the earliest possible 

launch day being next Sunday. NASA on Sunday sent Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, commander of 

Endeavour, and his five-man crew back to Houston to wait for the next attempt. Meanwhile, NASA 

engineers will be trying to figure out what went wrong with an Endeavour switch box that failed Friday, 

causing officials to scrub the initial attempt just 3 I /2 hours before Endeavour was to lift off. If NASA 

cannot launch Endeavour next Sunday, the scheduling gets even more complicated. May 9 is probably not 

available and May I 0 and May 11 present problems as well, as NASA tries to juggle Endeavour's 

schedule at the International Space Station with that of a Soyuz spaceship that is already there. President 

Barack Obama and his family also attended Friday. It was unclear Sunday if they might return, just as it 

was unclear when the launch might occur. "Unfortunately, we're not going to be able to make a launch 

attempt in the next few days," Mike Moses, chairman of the mission-management team, told reporters 

Sunday afternoon. "I'm here to disappoint everyone by saying I'm not going to tell you what the new 

launch date is because I have no idea. We have a lot more to evaluate." Friday's launch attempt was 

scrubbed because a hydraulic system fuel-line heater failed. Officials had hoped the problem was simply a 

faulty thermostat, and had proposed a Monday launch on that chance. But once technicians got inside the 

Endeavour's aft equipment bay late Saturday, they realized that the problem originated in a switch box 

called a load-control assembly. To replace that, engineers have to retest many of the systems that box 

controls in Endeavour, and those evaluations would take at least a couple of days, eliminating any 

prospects of a launch early this week. The latter part of this week is not available to NASA because the 

Air Force intends to launch an Atlas V rocket from Canaveral Air Force Station, adjacent to Kennedy 

Space Center, Friday, to carry a satellite into space. That launch eliminates Thursday, Friday and 

Saturday options for Endeavour. That leaves Sunday. But Moses and other NASA officials are not yet 

optimistic about Sunday, because there is so much yet to evaluate with the switch-box problem. "We can 

tell you pretty much it's not going to be earlier than the 8th. That doesn't mean we're going to go launch 

on the 8th," Moses said. The next three days become problematic because the Russians are planning to 

undock their Soyuz spacecraft from the International Space Station about the same time that Endeavour 

would be undocking, and the two maneuvers will not be attempted on the same day. Officially, 

Endeavour's mission is 14 days long, with the prospect that NASA could add two more days. 

Unofficially, NASA already is counting on a 16-day rrussion. A launch date on May 9 would mean 

Endeavour would have to leave the space station the same day as the Soyuz, if the rrussion runs 16 days. 

A May 10 launch would cause that conflict for a 15-day Endeavour rrussion. A May 11 launch would 

create that conflict for a 14-day mission. "You can almost say here we are 99 percent ready to call this a 

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16-day mission rather than a 14-day mission," Moses said. "But we didn't want to commit to them just yet 

until we got into orbit and evaluated other conditions .... We'll sit down and look at all the new math and 

see where we're at." Any delay past May 10 could start affecting the launch schedule for the next, and 

final, space shuttle. Atlantis is set to go up June 28. "On paper right now, it looks li ke we're OK, but if 

we go past the 9th or I Oth, we might have to add another couple of days [to the Atlantis launch 

schedule]," Moses said. Web posted. (2011). [NASA pushes Endeavour launch back further [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 Mayl).] 

Astronauts Depart KSC After Launch Delay 

The Endeavour astronauts are en route to Ellington Field in Houston in the wake of a decision to delay the 

tentatively scheduled launch Monday of NASA's t:text-to-last shuttle mission. Mission commander Mark 

Kelly and five crew mates departed Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility about I 0:10 a.m. in 

a Gulfstream 2 and are scheduled to arrive at Ellington about 12:15 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time. The 

NASA 2 aircraft that brought Kelly's wife-- critically wounded U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords --to the 

Space Coast to watch Endeavour's launch flew to Patrick Air Force Base from Ellington early today. The 

plane is scheduled to depart Patrick at 12: I 0 p.m. and arrive at Ellington at 2:23 p.m. EDT. Web posted. 

(2011). [Astronauts Depart KSC After Launch Delay [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [20 11 May 1 ].] 

May 2: Old Reliable: The story of the Redstone 

Fifty years ago this week, a modified Redstone missile topped with a Mercury capsule called Freedom 7 

launched the first American, Alan Shepard, into space. While Freedom 7 did not enter orbit like Yuri 

Gagarin had done on the first Vostok flight the previous month, it was this country's first tentative step 

into the arena of manned spaceflight. By this point in time, the Redstone missile was well known to the 

American public. In addition to being the launch vehicle for the first Mercury suborbital test flights, it 

also served as the launch vehicle for America's ftrst Explorer satellites only three years earlier. Outside of 

the limelight of Space Age achievements, the Redstone also served as a powerful weapon on the 

frontlines of the Cold War. After the end of World Warn, the core of the team led by Wernher von 

Braun that developed and built the German A-4 missile (also popularly known as the V -2) were relocated 

to the United States to begin ballistic missile development for the US Anny. What would become the 

Redstone started as a design study called Hermes C in the late 1940s. The Hermes program was a series 

of experimental rockets that combined proven German A-4 technology with new American innovations. 

As such, the Redstone is a direct descendant of the A-4. In July 1950, a feasibi lity study began for a 

ballistic missile with an 800-kilometer (500-mile) range based on the Hermes C work. Web posted. 

(2011). [Old Reliable: The story of the Redstone [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.thespacereview.com/ [20 II May2].] 

Shuttle might launch Sunday 

NASA is pushing back Endeavour's last launch to at least Sunday and perhaps May I 0 so a faulty 

electronic switch box can be replaced, officials said Sunday. The switch box is crucial to shuttle 

operations and flight safety. It routes electrical power to nine critical systems, including hydraulic system 

heaters that failed and forced a launch scrub Friday. A new switch box will be installed Tuesday, and 

required retesting is extensive. NASA on Sunday was not ready to commjt to a firm date for the second 

attempt to launch Endeavour's 25th and fmal mission. "We still have a lot of work and a lot of off roads 

that could take us one way or another. But we're not going to try any earlier than (Sunday)," NASA 

Shuttle Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses said. "Don't take that as a launch date. Take that as a 

target." The faulty switch box supplies electrical power to the shuttle's main engines, its solid rocket 

boosters, its twin maneuvering engines and life support systems. Last Friday the box failed to route 

power to beaters on fuel lines that feed one of Endeavour's three AuxiJiary Power Units. The APUs 

provide the hydraulic power needed to steer the shuttle's main engines in flight and control its wing flaps, 

rudder-speedbrake, landing gear and brakes during atmospheric re-entry and landing. Failed beaters 

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might result in hydraziDe freezing within fuel lines during operations in orbit, where temperatures range 

between 250 degrees Fahrenheit and minus 250 degrees. That might prompt a leak of highly flammable 

fuel in the shuttle's rear engine compartment during atmospheric re-entry and landing. A hydrazine fuel 

leak caused two of Columbia's Auxiliary Power Units to catch fire during atmospheric re-entry on 

NASA's ninth shuttle flight. The close call concluded with a safe landing. But it also pointed up the 

potential catastrophic consequences of rocket fuel frres in the engine compartment. NASA during the 

weekend began preparing Endeavour for the removal and replacement of the faulty switch box. The 

shuttle's 15-story external tank was drained and engineers began backing out of countdown operations. 

The tanks that feed liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the shuttle's power-producing fuel cells must 

be emptied. The small explosive devices used to separate the shuttle from its mobile launcher platform, 

solid rocket boosters and external tank in flight must be disconnected. And Endeavour will be electrically 

powered down. "That effectively takes us out of the launch countdown," NASA Shuttle Launch Director 

Mike Leinbach said. The faulty switch box will be removed on Monday, and the newly installed unit will 

be tested on Wednesday and Thursday. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle might launch Sunday [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May2].] 

Crews work to ready Endeavour for next attempt 

Kennedy Space Center teams today plan to remove from shuttle Endeavour a faulty electronic switch box 

that scrubbed last Friday's launch attempt. A new launch date could be set today or tomorrow. For now, 

NASA is only saying the launch will be no sooner than 12:09 p.m. Sunday, Mother's Day. Over the 

weekend, a rotating service tower at launch pad 39A was closed around Endeavour, and cryogenic 

propellants were drained from the orbiter's fuel cell system. The roughly 45-pound box caLled the Load 

Control Assembly is located in an avionics bay inside an access door to the orbiter's left aft compartment. 

The box routes power to dozens of functions associated with nine different systems. On Friday, it failed to 

turn on heaters that cover a fuel line feeding a unit that generates hydraulic power. A replacement box 

was expected to be installed Tuesday, and then retests of all the systems with power switched to them, 

including some deep in the aft compartment would take a full two days. As a result, Endeavour won't 

launch until after Friday's planned launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with a missile 

warning satellite from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Then NASA will determine which launch date 

works best so that Endeavour wouldn't be scheduled to depart the International Space Station on the same 

day as a Soyuz spacecraft. That was expected to be a conflict for a May 9 launch, but plans are being 

assessed. Web posted. (2011). [Crews work to ready Endeavour for next attempt [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 May2].] 

Behind the Scenes at SpaceX's Space Launch Complex 40 

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) took members of the media on a tour of Launch Complex 40, 

where the New Space fmn has successfully launched two of its Falcon 9 rockets and one of its Dragon 

spacecraft (the frrst entity other than nations or government bodies to do so). For the media, tllis tour was 

an eye-opening experience. SpaceX had obviously worked long and hard to allow the world to get a 

grasp what it is that they are doing- while at the same time avoiding International Travel in Arms 

Regulations (IT AR) related issues. In a well-choreographed affair the tour was split into two separate 

groups, one checked out the Falcon 9 hangar, while the other group inspected the la.unch pad that sent last 

December's Falcon 9 flight on its date with history. One enters the hangar and is greeted by the 

impressive site of nine Merlin engines facing them - the business end of the next Falcon 9 rocket being 

prepped for launched. Despite the eye-candy on display it is the simple elegance of what is described that 

sells this place. The horizontally integration system allows the rocket to be extremely mobile (about four 

people could move one of the rocket's stages around). The system's frictionless design is what allows 

SpaceX such ease of mobility. "Our concept of operations is unlike anybody else's that is flying these 

days with the exception of the Russians and maybe Sea Launch," said SpaceX's Director of Mission 

Assurance and Integration Scott Henderson. "We use horizontal integration, we will build an entire 

booster here in the hangar so you have the first stage and the interstage are here now, the second stage 

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will arrive, the Dragon and trunk will arrive and we'll put all that together, test it inside the hangar and 

then when we are ready to roll out for launch we'll open this hangar door, you saw the vertical 

transporter-erector outside, that would lower down on pistons, we'd roll that whole structure ... into the 

hangar drive the transporter-erector beneath the rocket, then roll out to the launch pad and lift it vertical." 

After this segment of the tour wraps up we move outside to the launch pad. The most striking contrast to 

other launch sites at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station is that it isn't 

vertically-based. Rather the Falcon 9 rolls out horizontally and is moved into the vertical position much in 

the same way as the Russian Soyuz and Progress vehicles are. Also, the launch pad has been simplified, 

this highlights SpaceX 's philosophy as well as helps the company. If something does get damaged during 

launch, it requires minimal effort to repair and reset the launch pad for the next mission on the horizon. 

Web posted. (2011). [Behind the Scenes at SpaceX's Space Launch Complex 40 [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.universetoday.com/ [2011 May2].] 

Atlas 5 rocket set for blastoff on Friday afternoon 

The early weather forecast for Friday's scheduled launch of the Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral 

carrying a missile warning satellite is predicting good conditions for the blastoff. Air Force 

meteorologists have set the odds at 80 percent favorable for liftoff during the afternoon launch window 

running from 2: 14 to 2:54 p.m. (1814-1854 GMT). The only slight concern is violating the cumulus cloud 

rule. ''High pressure and fair weather over Central Florida through Tuesday in advance of next cold front 

on Wednesday. The cold front transits the peninsula through the day on Wednesday with isolated showers 

and a small lightning threat. The front is expected to be South of Central Florida Thursday morning and 

stalling in South Florida on launch day," forecasters say. "On launch day, high pressure continues to build 

into Central Florida with winds becoming easterly with gusts in the mid to upper teens through the count 

and window. The primary concern for launch is a smalJ threat of cumulus clouds. The launch time 

conditions are predicted to include scattered clouds at 3,000 and 24,000 feet, possibly some isolated 

showers, good visibility, easterly winds of 12 to 16 knots and a temperature of77 degrees F. "In the 

event of a 24-hour delay, similar conditions prevail," forecasters say. Web posted. (20 II). (Atlas 5 rocket 

set for blastoff on Friday afternoon [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 

May2].] 

Two Events Commemorate 50th Anniversary of U.S. Human Spaceflight 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will commemorate the 50th anniversary of the first U.S. manned 

spaceflight during two events this week around the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA 

Television will carry both events live. On Wednesday, May 4, at 2 p.m. EDT, the U.S. Postal Service 

will unveil two new stamps at the Rocket Garden of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, located 

on State Road 405. One stamp commemorates NASA's Project Mercury and Alan Shepard's historic 

launch on May 5, 1961 aboard the spacecraft Freedom 7. The second stamp honors NASA's 

MESSENGER, which reached Mercury in March to become the first spacecraft to orbit the planet. The 

two missions frame a remarkable 50-year period in which America advanced space exploration through 

more than I ,500 manned and unmanned flights. Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter and members of the 

Shepard family will join Bolden at the stamps' unveiling and at a 50th anniversary ceremony on 

Thursday, May 5, at 9 a.m., at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The Thursday event includes arecreation of Shepard's flight and recovery, as well as a tribute to his contributions as a moonwalker on the 

Apollo 14 lunar mission. KSC Director and former astronaut Bob Cabana and more than 200 workers 

from the original Mercury program, also will be in attendance. Web posted. (2011). [Two Events 

Commemorate 50th Anniversary of U.S. Human Spaceflight, NASA Media Advisory #11-088 [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.nasa.gov/ [2011 May2].) 

May 3: Space Florida Gets Budget Agreement 

Florida Gov. Rick Scott and the Legislature have reached an agreement that will give Space Florida a $10 

million budget and access to millions in seed funds while placing it within a larger development 

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organization. Space Florida, the public-private economic development ann, would remain a separate 

entity with the power to issue tax-free bonds, but it would answer to the board of directors of Enterprise 

Florida, the statewide economic development agency. Enterprise Florida would be beaded by a secretary 

of commerce appointed by the governor and confirmed by the Senate. Space Florida would receive $10 

million a year from the state, but under the new arrangement, it would have greater access to the seed 

fund. Negotiators agreed to a $120 million fund that would be available next year. Web posted. (2011). 

[Space Florida Gets Budget Agreement [Online). Available WWW: http://www.parabolicarc.com/ 

[20 11 May3).] 

Endeavour will carry work of McCormick Professor 

When the Space Shuttle Endeavour finally launches May 8, it will be taking a little bit of Northwestern 

with it. McCormick Prof. Mark Hersam has developed a new material that could benefit spacecraft 

construction and help make solar batteries - if it can withstand the harsh conditions of outer space. To 

test the material's durability, Hersam will send samples of the it up with NASA's Space Shuttle 

Endeavour. Hersam said in an email that be teamed up with Ph.D. student Liam Pingree about two years 

ago, and they put the material on a waiting list to be sent off into space. The samples were finished about 

18 months ago, Hersam wrote, and are fmally ready for the big trip. The material is a thin film made of 

carbon nanotube and graphene, which, according to·Hersam, is "exceptionally stable under a variety of 

conditions," as he has seen in his five years of working with it. Hersam said the material could be 

damaged by radiation, which is much stronger in outer space than behind earth's protective ozone layer. 

If the material holds, it could be used on earth to generate renewable energy or in space to improve 

satellites. Hersam said if the films prove stable, he envisions them being used in the next generation of 

space craft. "I will be eagerly anticipating the results of our experiments," he said. "The launch is just the 

beginning of this story." Web posted. (20 11). [Endeavour will carry work of McCormick Professor 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.dailynorthwestem.com/ [2011 May3).] 

STS-135: Atlantis rollover moving to May 16- Launch may slip to July 4 

With schedules continuing to be refined based on Endeavour's troubleshooting efforts, Kennedy Space 

Center (KSC) teams were told on Tuesday that Atlantis' rollover is being moved to a May 16 placeholder, 

while the launch date - which continues to target June 28 - may slip to July 4, based on a shortage of 

contingency days. No fmn changes to the launch date will be made until after Endeavour launches. 

Atlantis will mark the final launch of the Space Shuttle Program when she heads uphill for a swansong 

mission to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying a packed MPLM (Multi-Purpose Logistics 

Module), along with a LMC (Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier). Although early mission planning 

showed a preference to launch Atlantis as late as possible, in order to reduce the gap between the massive 

capability of the orbiters and the opening operational missions from the commercial resupply vehicles, 

June 28 became the solid launch date target for several months - per discussions between Shuttle and 

Station managers. Atlantis' rollover from her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1) to the Vehicle 

Assembly Building (V AB) was tracking May 12, before being pushed up to May 10 to allow for a two 

day mating operation, caused by a shortage in specialist engineers tasked with the transfer of the orbiter 

from the transfer aisle to the awaiting ET-138 and Solid Rocket Booster stack. Such an operation 

normaUy takes one day to complete. That rollover date has slipped to May 16 and may slip further based 

on Friday's upcoming decision on Endeavour's launch date, which will be made following an update on 

progress of retests which are to be carried out on the soon-to-be-installed Aft "Load Control Assembly" 

(ALCA-2). With only two to three weekend days of contingency time remaining in the STS-135 flow, 

Endeavour's impacts now hold the potential of slipping Atlantis' launch date from the June 28 

placeholder, with the Tuesday meeting noting a July 4launcb date is being considered. Web posted. 

(2011). [STS-135: Atlantis rollover moving to May 16 - Launch may slip to July 4 [Online). Available 

WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011 May3].) 

May 4: Stamps celebrate pioneering Mercury spaceflights 

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In a 2 p.m. ceremony today at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, the U.S. Postal Service will 

unveil postage stamps commemorating NASA Mercury missions past and present. One stamp celebrates 

Thursday's 50th anniversary of the Project Mercury flight that made Alan Shepard the first American to 

fly in space, aboard the Freedom 7 capsule. A second stamp pays tribute to NASA's unmanned 

Messenger mission, which launched from Cape Canaveral in August 2004 and in March became the first 

spacecraft to enter orbit around Mercury. Today's First-Day-of-Issue dedication ceremony will be held in 

the Visitor Complex's Rocket Garden, next to a seven-story Redstone rocket like the one that boosted 

Shepard's pioneering IS-minute, 28-second suborbital spaceflight. Special guests include Project 

Mercury astronaut Scott Carpenter, Mercury/Apollo astronaut Shepard's daughters, NASA Administrator 

Charles Bolden, Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, NASA Deputy Director of Planetary 

Science Jim Adams, and U.S. Postal Service Vice President of Finance & Plannillg Stephen Masse. 

On Thursday, another celebration at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station will include more than 200 

Mercury program workers and a re-creation of Shepard's flight. Web posted. (2011). [Stamps celebrate 

pioneering Mercury spaceflights [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame 

trench blog [20 II May4].] 

Crews installing new switch box on Endeavour 

Shuttle Endeavour should have a new electronic switch box in place this morning, paving the way for the 

vehicle's final flight. Technicians were scheduled to work through the night to install the new switch box 

in the orbiter's engine compartment after removing one that failed Friday, forcing a launch scrub as 

crowds gathered on the Space Coast to witness the next-to-last mission in the shuttle program. "They are 

doing testing on the one they removed to help determine what caused it to fail," said Allard Beutel, a 

Kennedy Space Center spokesman. It will take at least two days to complete the testing. NASA officials 

said Tuesday is the earliest Endeavour will launch. A more defmite launch date probably won't be known 

until Friday, when managers reconvene. "They are methodically going through each step to make sure 

they don't cause any other issues while they fix the one issue we know about," Beutel said. NASA 

officials also announced Tuesday that Endeavour's delay is forcing the rollout of shuttle Atlantis to be 

pushed back a few days. Atlantis will begin its final rollout to launch complex 39A on the evening of 

May 23, three days later than scheduled. "That is to get it completely clear of any Endeavour activity," 

Beutel said. It takes eight days to turn a pad around and get it ready for a new vehicle. However, Beutel 

said the target launch date for the final flight of the shuttle program remains June 28. He denied rumors 

that Atlantis' new target launch date was changed to July 4, making way for a perfect patriotic end to the 

30-year-old shuttle program. "Right now there is no need to do any adjusting of that target launch date," 

Beutel said. Web posted. (2011). [Crews installing new switch box on Endeavour [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May4].] 

May 5: Shepard honored on 50th anniversary of historic flight 

Fifty years to the moment Alan Shepard rocketed away, more than I 00 Project Mercury workers joined 

former astronauts and NASA leaders at the original Redstone launch pad Thursday to celebrate the event 

that opened space travel to Americans. Shepard became the first American in space on May 5, 1961 , 

soaring I 16 miles high in his Freedom 7 capsule. The Soviet Union's Yuri Gagarin beat him into space 

by just 23 days. Then, as now, those who helped launch Shepard took solace in the fact that "it was the 

first one for the free world." Shepard died in 1998 at age 74. NASA played the original capsule recording 

of his voice for the entire IS-minute flight, during the hour long ceremony. "Roger, liftoff, and the .clock 

has started," Shepard called out, the boom of the liftoff in the background. The recording of the fight was 

timed precisely to the second of the 9:34a.m. launch time. A compilation ofTV footage from that day -

the launch itself and the huge crowds on the beaches - played on a giant screen near the stage. In the 

background, a replica of the Mercury Redstone rocket stood on the actual launch pad. Former shuttle 

astronauts winced as Shepard reported the building G's - nine times the force of gravity and more -

during the initial descent. Some of the Project Mercury team had to support themselves with canes and 

walkers. But they stood proudly when asked to rise and be recognized by the hundreds of others gathered 

126 
there at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. All three of Shepard's daughters sat in the front row, 

surrounded by about 25 family members, including two of the astronaut's great-grandchildren. One of the 

daughters, Alice Wackermann - whose birthday is May 5 - recalled how she and her sisters and mother 

watched the launch on their black-and-white TV set at home in Virginia Beach, Va. Police officers and 

journalists jammed t11e family's front yard, and not realizing the crowd was there for them, she alerted her 

mother, "Oh my, there's stuff going on in the neighborhood." Only two of the original Mercury 7 

astronauts are still alive. John Glenn, the first American to orbit ilie Eartll, could not attend ilie 

celebrations because of a death in the family. But Scott Carpenter was on hand. Carpenter recalled bow 

he and fellow astronaut Walter Schirra flew ilie chase planes for Shepard's launch. They lost sight of the 

rocket at 3,000 feet. Retired NASA engineer Norm Perry, 77, said Shepard's successful flight was "a big 

boost, I mean major," given iliat the Soviets had scored two victories with ilie launch of the world's frrst 

artificial satellite, Sputnik, in 1957, and Gagarin's flight on April 12, 1961. Shepard later became the fifth 

man to walk on the moon as commander of Apollo 14. It was barely three weeks after his Mercury shot 

that President John F. Kennedy announced America would launch a man to the moon and safely return 

him by decade's end. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Shepard honored on 50th anniversary of historic flight 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.usatoday.com/ [2011 MayS].] 

Shepard launch- 50 years ago- was big for JFK, NASA, U.S. 

May 5, 1961 - 50 years ago - the new President John F. Kennedy was off to a rough start and so was 

NASA, and the United States was getting its rear-end kicked by the Soviet Union in the Space War. 

NASA was about to launch its first astronaut - Alan Shepard - into space. lf the mission was successful, 

NASA would have a big victory, the United States would finally have a space triumph and Kennedy 

would finally have something that didn't go completely wrong. Sitting on Kennedy's desk, the bold 

moon-project proposal that would forever define him and NASA. But did he dare to do anything with it if 

the Mercury launch went wrong, especially if Shepard was killed, as many feared might happen? After 

all, NASA's rockets weren't exactly riding an impressive record of reliability in iliose days. At 9:34 on 

the morning of May 5, 1961, as America watched on black-and-white TV, the Redstone blasted off, 

cleared the pad and rushed skyward. Seconds later, Shepard radioed down, "Ah, Roger liftoff, and the 

clock is started." Just over 15 minutes later Shepard splashed down safely in the Atlantic Ocean, just 

outside the Bahamas, and everything had changed for NASA, and JFK. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Shepard 

launch - 50 years ago - was big for JFK, NASA, U.S. [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 MayS].] 

KSC launch pad fall case closed 

A Titusville man's fatal fall from a shuttle launch pad at Kennedy Space Center has been ruled a suicide 

by the Brevard County Medical Examiner's Office. Around 7:40a.m. March 14, James D. Vanover, a 

53-year-old United Space Alliance engineer, fell about 130 feet from the 2 15-foot level of launch pad 

39A, according to reports by the medical examiner and the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. He was 

pronounced dead at the: scene. According to the reports, Vanover had expressed concern that he was going 

blind due to high blood pressure. They also noted he'd bad second thoughts about volunteering for a 

layoff scheduled to take effect April 8. The medical examiner's office found no evidence of eye 

degeneration. Vanover began working at the space center in 1982. He received several company honors 

and a NASA's Silver Snoopy award, presented by astronauts for contributions to mission safety. Web 

posted. (2011). [KSC launch pad fall case closed [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 MayS).] 

Feds say they will hire 50 for new commercial spacecraft center at KSC 

Officials with the Federal Aviation Administration released more details Thursday about a proposed 

commercial spaceflight facility at Kennedy Space Center, noting the center would hire 50 workers over 

the next two years. The center- initially, part of $40 million pledge last year by President Barack 

Obama to help the Space Coast - is all that remains of that promise; the money was cut during budget 

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negotiations earlier this year. The White House has proposed $5 million for the center in 2012, in an 

effort to ameliorate the impact of the loss of 7,000s in Florida after the space shuttle's final mission this 

summer. Workers with the Commercial Spaceflight Technical Center would be tasked with spaceflight 

safety, safety investigations and accident prevention. Hoping to head off criticism, George Nield, FAA 

associate administrator for commercial space transportation, said it wouldn't overlap with NASA. 

"NASA has a separate mission," he said in a statement to the House space and aeronautics subcommittee 

on Thursday, noting that NASA would focus more on getting its astronauts to the space station while the 

FAA would oversee regulations for the burgeoning space tourism industry. "Establishment of the 

Commercial Spaceflight Technical Center will enable the FAA to strengthen its partnership with NASA, 

drawing on NASA's expertise and experience in space operations and human spaceflight to augment the 

FAA's experience in licensing and regulating ... " Nield said. But at least one lawmaker questioned 

whether bolstering the FAA's involvement in space was the best use of money when NASA was around. 

Said U.S. Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, R-Calif.: "It might be beneficial to use the staffs that we already have 

and the expertise we already have." Rohrabacber supports commercial spaceflight but said he is 

concerned about over-regulation. Web posted. (201 1). [Feds say they will hire 50 for new commercial 

spacecraft center at KSC [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 MayS).] 

May 6: NASA's next-to-last shuttle launch delayed until at least mid-May 

The next-to-last space shuttle flight has been delayed again, this time to at least the middle of May for 

extra electrical tests. Mission managers decided Friday that shuttle Endeavour would blast off no earlier 

than May 16. The space station delivery mission has been on hold for a week. A heater malfunction 

halted the countdown April 29, and the trouble was traced to a switch box in Endeavour's engine 

compartment. The box was removed, and this week engineers discovered a blown circuit inside. NASA 

spokeswoman Candrea Thomas said testing will be conducted throughout the weekend to fmd out if the 

circuitry problem was in the old box or somewhere in the external wiring that's still in the shuttle. A new 

unit was installed Wednesday. Commander Mark Kelly will lead Endeavour's six-man crew to the 

International Space Station. They will deliver a $2 billion particle physics detector along with station 

spare parts. A launch on May 16 would be at 8:56a.m. EDT. Only one other shuttle mission remains, by 

Atlantis this summer. That liftoff is targeted for June 28, but could be pushed back by Endeavour's 

repeated delays. NASA is under presidential direction to end the 30-year shuttle program as soon as 

possible and to focus on interplanetary travel. Private companies, meanwhile, are competing for the 

opportunity to carry cargo and crew to the space station. Web posted. (20 II). [NASA's next-to-last 

shuttle launch delayed until at least mid-May, more electrical work needed [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [20 11 May 6).] 

Countdown underway for today's Atlas 5 rocket launch 

An Atlas 5 rocket is scheduled for blastoff from Cape Canaveral today at 2: 14 p.m. EDT carrying the 

inaugural spacecraft in the U.S. military's modernized approach to missile warning. The weather outlook 

for this afternoon's 40-minute launch window has been downgraded to 40 percent favorable. Air Force 

meteorologists are calling for rain showers and isolated thunderstorms, scattered low clouds at 2,500 feet, 

a broken deck of mid-level clouds at I 0,000 feet and overcast skies at 25,000 feet, good visibility, 

southeasterly winds of l4 to 18 knots and a temperature of 77 degrees. Cumulus clouds and lightning are 

potential threats to violating the launch weather rules today. But the forecast for tomorrow, if the launch 

is delayed for some reason, predicts a 90 percent chance of good weather. The odds are 80 percent 

favorable on Sunday. Today's launch window extends from 2: 14to 2:54 p.m. EDT. Web posted. (20 11). 

[Countdown underway for today's Atlas 5 rocket launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 May 6].] 

May 7: Scherer, second leader of KSC, dies 

Lee Scherer, who led Kennedy Space Center through its last major transition between human spaceflight 

programs, will be remembered in a service later this month near his home in San Diego, Calif. Scherer, 

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,

KSC's second center director from 1975 to 1979, died May 7 at age 91. "He was a lifelong KSC 

advocate, often joining us on launch days," Bob Cabana, KSC's current director, said in a note to 

employees. "We have lost one of our biggest boosters, and he will be missed." Scherer took charge of 

KSC on Jan. 19, 1975, as the center was still winding down from the Apollo program and undergoing a 

transformation to prepare for the new shuttle program. "It was a time of real transition," said Cocoa 

Beach resident Hugh Harris, chief of the center's public affairs office at the time. "Everything was in the 

process of either being constructed or changed." The Vehicle Assembly Building and two launch pads 

were converted from Apollo to shuttle uses, three orbiter hangars were built and the 15,000-foot concrete 

shuttle runway completed. A former Naval aviator, Scherer took pride in being the first pilot to land on 

the runway in "NASA-6," a twin-engine Beechcraft. The first shuttle orbiter, Columbia, arrived at KSC 

in March 1979, months before Scherer transferred to a position at NASA headquarters. The ApolloSoyuz Test Project was the spaceport's only manned launch during Scherer's tenure, on July 15, 1975. The 

center also oversaw more than 50 unmanned launches, including Viking and Voyager interplanetary 

probes. Lee Richard Scherer was born Sept. 20, 1919, in Charleston, S.C. He graduated from the U.S. 

Naval Academy in 1942 . His 25-year Navy career included World War II combat assignments in the 

Pacific. Joining NASA in 1962 on loan from the Navy, Scherer managed a program that launched five 

lunar orbiters mapping Apollo landing sites. He then joined the office that helped select those landing 

sites and developed science experiments for the missions. Before joining KSC, he directed NASA's 

Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Scherer is survived by his wife, 

Sheryn, four children and nine grandchildren. A memorial service will be conducted June 12 at The 

Unity Center in San Diego. Web posted. (20 11). [Scherer, second leader ofKSC, dies [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 7].] 

Atlas V Hauls Up New Missile-Warning Satellite 

A new-generation missile-warning satellite is on its way to an operational station 22,300 miles above 

Earth after a sporty launch Saturday aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Its first stage 

powered by a Russian RD-180 engine, the 19-story rocket sprinted off its Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station and arced out over the Atlantic Ocean on its way into orbit. The powerful Atlas V hauled up a 

$1.2 biWoo Space-Based Infrared System spacecraft --a follow-on to Defense Support Program missile 

warning satellites that have served the nation since the 1970s. The SBIRS spacecraft is outfitted with 

sophisticated infrared sensors that can instantly detect enemy missile launches and then transmit targeting 

data so the missiles can be destroyed before they reach their intended destinations. The launch came on a 

second attempt. An initial try was scrubbed Friday as a result of bad weather. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Atlas 

V Hauls Up New Missile-Warning Satellite [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

the .flame trench blog [2011 May 7].] 

United Launch Alliance Marks 50th Successful Launch 

A United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket carrying the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) satellite for 

the United States Air Force lifted off from Space Launch Complex-41 here at 2:10p.m. EDT today. This 

marks the 50th successful launch for ULA since the company was formed in December 2006. ULA's 

next launch is the Delta II Aquarius mission currently scheduled for June 9, 2011 from Space Launch 

Complex-3 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Web posted. (2011). [United Launch Alliance Marks 

50th Successful Launch by Delivering the Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Satellite to Orbit for the 

U.S. Air Force [Onlinel Available WWW: http://www.pmewswire.com/ [2011 May 7].] 

Astronaut parade heralds heroes 

Famed Mercury 7 astronaut Scott Carpenter climbed into Eric Martin's regal-turquoise 1958 Corvette, 

settled into parade-waving position and prepared for ignition. But before the astronaut parade, vintage 

cars and Space Coast history hit the streets of downtown Cocoa Beach on Saturday, one of America's 

enduring space heroes spent time with those clamoring to take pictures of him at the old "Glass Bank" on 

South Atlantic A venue. Carpenter, who turned 86 on May 1, was in town for a celebration of 50 years of 

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manned spaceflight and the 86th birthday of Cocoa Beach. Later, he was to head to Kennedy Space 

Center for the induction of two more astronauts into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame. Carpenter laughed 

when told that 1925, the year he was born, was the same year Cocoa Beach was established. Members of 

Cape Kennedy Corvette Club, a group established in 1967, escorted almost two dozen astronauts or their 

family representatives -- including Shepard's daughter, Laura Shepard Churchley -- in club members' cars. 

They "launched" at 9:34a.m., the same time Shepard, one of the Mercury 7, became the first American to 

fly in space May 5, 196 1. Hundreds of onlookers erupted in cheers every time an astronaut went past. 

Edgar Mitchell. Fred Haise. Two-time shuttle pilot Susan Still Kilrain, who shouted, "Girl power," to a 

young woman who called out, "You go, girl." And they talked Cocoa Beach history, remembering a day 

when astronauts could be found banging out and dining at now-late but then-great landmarks: Bernard's 

Surf, mentioned on the 1960s TV show "I Dream of Jeannie," set in Cocoa Beach. The Mousetrap. 

Ramon's Restaurant. Jo hn and Pat Neilon watched the parade from a shaded area near the fire station. 

The two moved to Cocoa Beach in 1957 from Washington, D.C., for his job with Vanguard. They still 

live in the home they built on the beach. The 82-year-old retired director of unmanned launch operations, 

worked at Kennedy Space Center untill986. "I wish we could keep the program going, but if you look at 

the shuttles, they were built in the 1970s," he sa id. "They're old technology, old engineering. Hopefully 

the commercial aspect will pick up . . . and then, I think, the program will truly have matured." The 

Corvette connection was established early. Alan Shepard brought along his 1957 Corvette when he 

reported for astronaut training in 1959 as one of the original Mercury 7. Chevy offered each astronaut a 

1962 model back in the day when government ethics rules were more relaxed. Six accepted, with John 

Glenn opting for a station wagon instead. Suzan Cooper, widow of Mercury 7 astronaut Gordon Cooper, 

rode in a bright-red 1962 Corvette driven by Brevard County native Jeff Cervenka. Her husband loved 

Cocoa Beach, she said. She recalled dining at Bernard's Surf, which later became The Surf and closed in 

2010. "The feeling is still the same here, the ambience; so many wonderful memories and people," she 

said. "Gordon was such a patriotic person," she said. "I think he would be delighted, seeing everyone 

here and nationwide, remembering the work he and the others did for their country." Web posted. (201 1 ). 

[Astronaut parade heralds heroes [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/ [2011 May 

8).] 

Two join Astronaut HaU of Fame 

As the strains of the late-1960s hit "Spirit in the Sky" swelled from speakers, more than a dozen members 

of the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame walked briskly to the stage at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor 

Complex. An hour later, as a crowd of about 500 cheered, two inductees took their places Saturday 

among the unique band of American explorers. Karol "Bo" Bobko, a retired U.S. Air Force colonel, and 

Air Force Maj. Gen. Susan Helms, a five-time shuttle astronaut, were surrounded by other Hall of 

Famers, including Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana, Fred Haise, the lunar module pilot on 

Apollo 13, Col. Al Worden, an Apollo 15 veteran and Scott Carpenter, one of the Mercury 7 astronauts. 

Saturday's ceremony brought the number of hall members to 79. Worden praised the "cool head" and 

calm demeanor of Bobko, a member of the first graduating class of the Air Force Academy. Bobko, who 

spent 19 years in the astronaut program, was the pilot of the first voyage of shuttle Challenger. NASA 

Administrator Charles Bolden, inducted into the Hall in 2006, said it was his "honor and privilege to 

present my hero and my friend," as Helms came forward to have her Hall of Fame medallion placed 

around her neck. Helms, former commander of the 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base, thanked 

crew members and staff she has worked with over the years, saying of the crews, "I drew more from them 

than they ever drew from me." The record holder for longest spacewalk, Helms spent 12 years with 

NASA. Web posted. (2011). [Two join Astronaut Hall of Fame [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.tloridatoday.com/ [20 11 May 8].] 

May9: NASA conirrms May 16th launch date for Endeavour 

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NASA shuttle managers announced Monday that they have completed repairs to the shuttle 

Endeavour and set May 16th as the new launch date for the penultimate shuttle mission. 

Endeavour had been set to launch on April 29th on mission STS- 134, but the launch was 

scrubbed several hours before launch when heaters in one of the orbiter's three APUs failed to 

tum on. The problem was later traced to a failure in a power controller box in the orbiter, which 

was replaced last week. Managers said while they could not track down the root cause for the 

failure, they have replaced all the components involved in the failure and tested that they are 

working. The launch is now scheduled for 8:56am EDT (1256 GMT) Monday. Those delays 

have also pushed bade the final shuttle mission, STS-135, from late June to early to mid-July, 

a lthough no new launch date for that mission has been set. Web posted. (2011). [NASA confirms 

May 16th launch date for Endeavour [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacetoday.net/ [2011 

May 10].] 

More jets on the way 

A company that performs supersonic high-altitude instrument tests in vintage jet fighters will add five 

more aircraft to its fleet offour F-104s that fly from the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space 

Center. Purchased from the Italian Air Force, the aircraft wiJl arrive next month. "The big thing is that 

these are a newer generation aircraft, vintage 1980," Starfighters Inc. President and Chief Pilot Rick 

Svetkoffsaid. "They were the last ones offthe assembly line." The company makes its home in the 10-

year-old Reusable Launch Vehicle Hangar beside the 15,000-foot shuttle landing runway. The F-104 jets 

can fly above 70,000 feet at twice the speed of sound. NASA and commercial space companies have used 

the four Starfighters to test high-performance equipment used on the space shuttle, as well as telemetry 

equipment and a new digital camera. The company also has made several flights to test GPS tracking 

equipment. To bring Starfighters and its jobs to KSC, the state agency Space Florida invested $1.8 

million in a fire suppression system for the 50,000-square-foot hangar so the fueled jets could be stored 

there. However, it took Starfighters nearly three years to meet NASA requirements to do business at the 

space center. The planes are grounded around the time of shuttle launches and landings. However, those 

conflicts arise only several days a year and will not be a problem after the shuttle stops flying. Bringing 

the planes to the U.S. and preparing them for flight will cost about $1 million per plane, rivaling their 

price tag. As the shuttle program ends, the commercial space industry has become more interested in 

testing space hardware. Web posted. (2011). [More jets on the way [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 9].] 

Japanese movie crew will film at Brevard sites in June 

A Japanese film crew will be at Kennedy Space Center and other Space Coast locales in June to ftlm 

scenes for a full-length action movie that already is drawing buzz in Asia. "Space Brothers" will put a 

popular manga series of comic books on ftlm for the first time. The Japanese crew was in Brevard County 

in February and April, scouting out locations and doing secondary filming. They will be back in June to 

film with the stars of" Space Brothers" and a group oflocal acting extras. "It's been great," said Yoshi 

Hosoya, who is the U.S.-based producer for the project. "People have been very helpful." The live-action 

film will tell the story of two brothers who make a pact when they are ages 12 and 9 to become 

astronauts. The younger brother, Hibito Namba, reaches the goal, and in 2025 is about to become the first 

Japanese astronaut to land on the moon. But his older brother, Mutta Namba, becomes an autoworker who 

still lives with his parents when he is in his 20s. He gets flred from his factory job after an argument, then 

picks up on his dream to become an astronaut. The comic book characters have spun off action figures 

and other collectibles. The "Space Brothers" fllm will be produced and distributed by Toho Studios, 

among the largest film companies in Japan, and perhaps best-known in the United States for its series of 

Godzilla movies. Toho said it beat out more than 20 other movie studios and television stations for the 

project. Release in Japan is expected next spring. Web posted. (2011). [Japanese movie crew will film at 

Brevard sites in June [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 9].] 

131 
Florida Legislature Delivers $43+ Million for Space Industry 

Aerospace-related economic development played a signif'icant role in the 2011 Florida Legislative 

Session, with more than $43 million being committed for growth of the industry in the coming year. 

Governor Rick Scott laid out an aggressive plan, not only for Florida's overall economy, but for Florida's 

space industry in particular, and that plan was formalized by the Legislature. The Florida Legislature, led 

by Senate President Mike Haridopolos (R-Melboume) and Speaker of the House Dean Cannon (R-Winter 

Park), appropriated approximately $10 million to Space Florida. This was done for the purposes of 

recruiting new business, expanding existing business, and creating jobs during this critical time in Florida. 

Space Florida worked with the Legislature and the Florida Department of Transportation (FOOT) to 

secure $16 million in infrastructure funding for launch support facilities. This $16 million comes from the 

State Transportation Trust Fund and is to be used to improve launch complex and additional spaceport 

infrastructure at Ketmedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral. This bill includes $10 million in space 

business tax credits both to enable the state to attract new and expand exiting space-related businesses. 

Specifically, the bill includes corporate income tax credits and transferrable net operating loss tax credits. 

Web posted. (2011). [Florida Legislature Delivers $43+ Million for Space Industry [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 May 9].] 

Final shuttle mission unlikely to fly until mid-July 

Endeavour's fmal blastoff is set for 8:56 a.m. next Monday, while the last shuttle mission --by Atlantis --

is likely to slip to mid-July, NASA officials said Monday. Endeavour is back on track for launch after 

about 10 days of troubleshooting and repairs that followed a scrubbed attempt April29. Although 

managers haven't pinpointed the exact cause of an electrical short that kept a set of fuel line heaters from 

turning on, they're confident they've taken the steps necessary to prevent a repeat failure. "We know we 

have really good power heading out to those heaters," said Mike Moses, the shuttle launch integration 

manager. "We have very high confidence that nothing's going to happen." The delay in the 16-day 

mission to the International Space Station bas pushed back the timing of Atlantis' launch, which had been 

targeted for June 28. NASA won't set a new target date until after Endeavour is off the ground, but the 

second week of July is now the approximate timeframe -- squashing speculation that the launch would be 

timed to the July 4 holiday. The delay likely means a couple extra weeks of work for thousands of shuttle 

contractors whose jobs are set to end after Atlantis returns home and the shuttle program is retired. Most 

of those layoffs were planned for mid- or late-July based on a June 28 launch, but will push back along 

with the mission to ensure the necessary personnel are in place. Still, lead shuttle contractor United Space 

Alliance plans to send out 60-day notices this week alerting employees they are candidates for layoff 

when the time comes. During the Mother's Day weekend, teams worked around the clock to complete 

repairs and tests to verify Endeavour's fuel line heaters were back up and running. ln the back end of the 

orbiter at launch pad 39A, shuttle electricians routed roughly 20 feet of new wiring between the beaters 

and a power distribution box, bypassing suspect wires. The briefcase-sized box and some thermostats 

were also replaced after the failure, so managers believe they've eliminated the potential causes of the 

electrical problem and have sufficient rationale to proceed with a launch. Recently reviewed data 

suggested the culprit might be a current spike during a thermostat test last June, an issue the new wiring 

would have resolved. "Endeavour's looking good," said Mike Leinbach, the shuttle launch director. 

"HopefulJy, this time the heaters will work and we'll be able to launch on time next Monday." Web 

posted. (2011). [Final shuttle mission unlikely to fly until mid-July [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 10).] 

May 10: STS-135: KSC realign schedule targets for a preliminary July 12 launch 

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) engineering teams have realigned processing targets for STS-135 to point 

towards a July l2launch date. The preliminary target is dependent on numerous - and upcoming -

factors, not least the need for Endeavour to launch on her re-planned May 16 date, but also a nominal pad 

turnaround and a smooth pre-launch flow for Atlantis herself. Atlantis now finds herself patiently sat on 

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the Orbiter Transporter System (OTS) waiting to roll over to the Vehicle Assembly Building (V AB) for 

mating operations. However, that wait will last until at least next Wednesday, following the realigned 

schedules relating to Endeavoilr's latest launch date target. De-conflicting milestones between the two 

orbiters has resulted in a fluid schedule for STS-135, although Atlantis is currently expecting to begin her 

final short trip to the V AB with two day's worth of separation from her younger sister's fmal ride into 

space. "OV-104 (OPF Bay 1): Final landing gear retract was completed on Monday. Hydraulic hose 

demates and securing and 1660 box disconnect and stow is complete. This marks the last planned OTS 

mate for the program," noted the latest processing report (L2) from the NASA Test Director {NTD). 

"Rollover to the V AB is under review; targeting NET (No Earlier Than) 5/ 18. Internal schedules are 

continuing to be realigned, to the point that July 4 was periodically targeted as Atlantis' latest launch date, 

prior to the latest assessment being produced - based on Endeavour launching on May 16 - via what is 

known as the Ops Forecast. Based on Tuesday's updated Ops Forecast schedule, STS-135 will enter 

S0007 Launch Countdown operations on July 9, ahead of a launch date target of July 12. Web posted. 

(2011 ). [STS-135: KSC realign schedule targets for a preliminary July 12 launch [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011 May 10].] 

KSC chief shares employment optimism 

The number of jobs at Kennedy Space Center will fall to about 8,000 this year, then will begin to grow by 

as many as 2,000 jobs spanning several years as new programs are created, KSC Director Bob Cabana 

said Tuesday before the National Space Club. "lf we really do this right, we'll get back to where there are 

10,000 contractors and civil servants," Cabana said at the group's monthly meeting. The former U.S. 

Marine Corps pilot has flown four shuttle missions, two as commander. He now has the responsibility of 

leading KSC during the uncertain transition of the shuttle program to a new spacecraft. Crew capsules are 

under design by several companies, and Cabana said that in July NASA will announce the architecture of 

the next rocket that will carry humans beyond low-Earth orbit, either to Mars or an asteroid. "It will be 

sustainable, and it will be bought into by Congress," Cabana said. "I don't see any more budgets cuts 

coming." The Obama administration's 2012 budget contains $2 billion for new projects at KSC. Budget 

negotiations in Washington, D.C., however, are uncertain. Cabana's speech at the Radisson Resort at the 

Port met with silence from the audience of several hundred space industry officials and employees. After 

the final two shuttle launches, scheduled for Monday and mid-July, as many as 8,000 space workers will 

have lost their jobs. The number of NASA workers at KSC will remain at about 2,000, with no layoffs 

planned, though there will be a slight reduction in numbers due to attrition, Cabana said. Cabana said that 

until the next NASA rocket launches, workers at KSC will refurbish launch pads to attract commercial 

flights and the heavy-lift rocket, and will focus on science projects for the lntemational Space Station. 

"It's going to be difficult, but we're pulJmng together a master plan," Cabana said. "We have to make these 

changes regardless of what the next vehicle is. We're not going out of business. We've got a lot of great 

work coming our way." Web posted. (2011). [KSC chief shares employment optimism [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 10].] 

Lift off: NASA security director talks about securing Endeavour 

In j ust a few days, the second-to-last shuttle, Endeavour, is expected to launch from Kennedy Space 

Center here at NASA headquarters in Florida. After the first launch attempt was scrubbed on April 29 due 

to a system failure in the shuttle's heater system, Endeavour is scheduled to launch on May 16, to 

complete a 16-day mission to deliver spare parts and a science instrument to the lntemational Space 

Station. Security Director News had the opportunity to visit the launch site and speak with NASA's 

security director about the unique challenges in protecting the shuttle during a launch. One of the most 

important components of securing the shuttle and the 144,000 acres of property at Kennedy Space Center 

is collaborating with local and federal entities, said Mark Borsi, security director of NASA protective 

services branch. Borsi is charged with dealing with any threats made to the shuttle program. " It is of vital 

importance to cooperate with state and federal groups," he said. Borsi partners with everyone from local 

law enforcement to the FBI, the Joint Terrorism Task Force, U.S. Air Force and U.S. Coast Guard to 

133 
secure the premise and communicate any threats that may impact the shuttle launch. He's no stranger to 

high-security measures. Borsi spent 13 years with the U.S. Department of Defense focusing on counter 

intelligence efforts. He joined the Kennedy Space Center in 2002 to help establish a special access and 

counterterrorism division. Working with other agencies is critical to protecting its assets, however, the 

NASA security team must also be extremely self-reliant and prepared to deal with any situation. "We rely 

on the surrounding community, but keep in mind emergency response is 30 or 40 minutes away, same 

with armed response," he said. Therefore, NASA has specialized agents, many former high-1evellaw 

enforcement officers. The space center has 150 uniformed security police officers, along with its own 

fire department and emergency management teams. "We have a lot of dangerous stuff in our buildings, so 

to rely on extemal people to respond or resolve critical security issues would be foolhardy," Borsi said. 

Preparing for a shuttle launch presents unique security issues for KSC. Borsi said the security team has 

devised an elaborate and detailed contingency plans relating to the launch. "We plan not only 'A', 'B', and 

'C' but well into 'D' and 'E', and we practice those plans," he said. As launch day approaches, the security 

team prepares for guests, begins canine sweeps of the property and operational areas. "The launch control 

center is our most critica l facility, so that is swept, cleared and protected with armed personnel," he said. 

They also push perimeter gates out, restricting access to KSC. In addition, the astronauts are closely 

monitored and protected as well. lf they go jogging, for example, a member of the security team will 

escort them to ensure their safety. The security team is in constant communication with the launch team 

and confmns the completion of each task of its shuttle launch security plan. The shuttle launch security 

plan details every individual's job and specifies what time and in what order each task must be completed. 

"We report to the NASA launch team in the countdown process that steps are completed," be said. 

During this time, security crews are also protecting and monitoring activity of crowds of people gathered 

to watch the launch. "On the causeway, where there is the largest number of guests, because cars are not 

screened there, canine units go through crowds checking people and vehicles," he said. One of the 

biggest challenges during a launch is managing all the spectators, who can cause major traffic congestion 

and cause a serious public safety issue, Borsi said. He estimated that in addition to the 50,000 people at 

KSC, there are 500,000 viewers tined up along roadways watching the launch. Borsi said people fill 

roadway medians to get a good view of the launch pad. The influx of people is less of a concem than the 

fact that minutes after the shuttle launches and is out of sight, everyone wants to leave at the same time. 

KSC works closely with the highway patrol and provides them with mission briefings and tasking 

requirements. Helicopters serve dual purpose in clearing airspace as well as monitoring traffic from the 

air. There is also a state-of-the-art emergency operations center at KSC, which is capable of running the 

entire county, if need be, Borsie said. The control center monitors all fire and security alanns as well as 

coastal radar to help the U.S. Coast Guard make sure there are no intruding boats in the launch area. The 

death of Osama bin Laden, coupled with the upcoming launch, has heightened security at KSC. Security 

officers are conducting more physical and canine checks and have increased their presence in visitor 

centers and other areas of the property. "We're showing a more visible presence and will do so until after 

the launch," Borsi said. On top of an already high-security event, launches often include a Presidential 

visit. This "super special event" involves even more personnel and further coordination with the Secret 

Service. For the scrubbed launch in late April, there were approximately 55 Secret Service agents also 

securing the premise. Borsi said the Presidential visit is actually less stressful than the launch, although it 

can cause distractions because the Secret Service has additional requirements than regular launch plans, 

including closing down and blocking certain hallways surrounding the President. "We try to limit 

anything that take away from shuttle safety," he said. Web posted. (2011 ). [Lift off: NASA security 

director talks about securing Endeavour 'We plan not only 'A', 'B', and 'C', but well into 'D' and 'E', and we 

practice those plans' [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.securitydirectomews.com/ [2011 May 10].] 

May It: NASA Invites Reporters To Second Annual Lunabotics Competition 

Forty-six teams of undergraduate and graduate students from the United States, Bangladesh, Canada, 

Colombia and lndia will participate in NASA's Lunabotics Mining Competition May 26- 28 at the 

agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The competition's opening day from I 0 a.m. to 2 p.m. EDT at 

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the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. The student teams have designed and built remote controlled 

or autonomous robots that can excavate simulated lunar dirt. During the competition, the teams' designs, 

known as lunabots, will go head-to-head to determine which one can collect and deposit the most 

simulated lunar dirt within 15 minutes. The event is designed to engage and retain students in the science, 

technology, engineering and math, or STEM, disciplines critical to NASA's missions. Web posted. 

(2011). [NASA Invites Reporters To Second Annual Lunabotics Competition [Online). Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 May 11].] 

Tests On Spare Shuttle Switching Box Complete 

NASA is pressing ahead with preparations to pick up a second Endeavour launch countdown after 

fmishing up all retesting on a spare power switching box installed after hydraulic power unit beater 

failures prompted an April29launcb scrub. Mission commander Mark Kelly and five crewmates, 

meanwhile, are taking part in a review of procedures for the final four spacewalks planned during the 30-

year-old shuttle program. The astronauts will fly to KSC early Thursday. Their ETA: 9 a.m. NASA 

contractor technicians installed the spare power switching box in the aft engine compartment of 

Endeavour after two Auxiliary Power Unit heaters failed during countdown to an April 29 launch. NASA 

engineers thought a short within the original power switching box might have prevented power from 

reaching the heaters. The heaters keep hydrazine lines at the proper temperature in orbit. A frozen power 

line could cause a flammable hydrazine leak. The power switching box routes electricity to nine critical 

shuttle systems, including the solid rocket boosters, main engines and life support systems. So a good deal 

of testing had to be performed after the box swap to make sure the spare is routing electricity to each of 

the nine systems. That work started last week and was completed late Tuesday. Endeavour's launch now 

is scheduled for 8:56a.m. Monday. A three-day countdown is slated to pick up at 7 a.m. Friday. External 

tank propellant-loading operations are scheduled to begin at 11:36 p.m. Sunday. Web posted. (2011). 

[Tests On Spare Shuttle Switching Box Complete [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame. trench biog [2011 May 11).] 

May 12: Astronauts return to Cape for Monday's shuttle launch 

After extensive troubleshooting and repairs to fix an electrical problem with the shuttle Endeavour's 

hydraulic power system, commander Mark Kelly and his five crewmates flew back to Florida Thursday to 

prepare for a delayed launch Monday on a long-awaited space station assembly mission, the orbiter's 25th 

and final flight. The countdown is scheduled to begin Friday morning, setting up a launch attempt at 

8:56:26 a.m. EDT (GMT -4) Monday. Forecasters are predicting a 70 percent chance of good weather. 

Hoping for the best, Kelly, pilot Gregory H. Johnson, Michael Fincke, Gregory Charnitoff, Andrew 

Feustel and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori landed at the Kennedy Space Center's 

shuttle runway aboard a NASA training jet shortly after 9 a.m. after a flight from Houston. Endeavour 

was grounded April 29 when hydraulic system fuel line heaters failed to activate as required when the 

shuttle was being fueled for launch. Extensive troubleshooting revealed blown fuse elements on a power 

switching circuit card inside an engine compartment avionics box packed with electrical distribution gear. 

Engineers have been unable to fmd the short that caused the fuse to blow, but the box was replaced, along 

with thermostats and the power line between the box and the heaters. The system worked normally in a 

battery oftests and engineers are confident the heaters will operate as required when Endeavour is loaded 

with supercold propellants Monday, subjecting the hydraulic system fuel lines to low temperatures. 

Engineers plan to start Endeavour's countdown at 7 a.m. Friday. Liquid oxygen and hydrogen will be 

pumped aboard Saturday to power the ship's three electricity producing fuel cells and a protective gantry 

will be pulled away from the ship Sunday at noon, exposing the orbiter to view and clearing the way for 

fuel loading. The three-hour fueling procedure is scheduled to get underway around 11:36 p.m. Sunday. If 

aU goes well, Kelly and his crewmates will begin strapping in at 5:41 a.m. Monday to await liftoff on the 

134th shuttle mission. Web posted. (2011). [Astronauts return to Cape for Monday's shuttle launch 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacetlightnow.com/ [2011 May 12].] 

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Mini-satellites aboard shuttle all set for trial run 

Clouds of dime-sized satellites sailing the solar wind might one day help warn of approaching sun storms 

that could knock out power grids. They could sprinkle onto the moon's surface, or into the atmosphere of 

Jupiter or Saturn to gather chemical clues about those distant worlds. Shuttle Endeavour's last flight --set 

for Monday -- will deliver the first three prototypes to be mounted on the International Space Station. 

They're among many other experiments that will be carried to the ISS, including the $2 billion Alpha 

Magnetic Spectrometer-2 that has captured most of the science-related headlines as the mission 

approaches. Researchers want to see bow the three cracker-shaped spacecraft, called Sprite, hold up and 

transmit data in the harshness of space. Ultimately, tens of thousands of much smaller microsatellites 

could be deployed simultaneously in large "swarms" to explore new worlds on their own. The chips' tiny 

size enables them to travel like space dust, riding solar winds, without fuel. The Sprite chips will be 

mounted to the Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE-8) pallet, a test bed for 

materials and computing elements outside of the space station. Web posted. (2011). [Mini-satellites 

aboard shuttle all set for trial run [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/ [20 11 May 

12].] 

NASA Moves To Add Delta 2 Rocket Back to List of Available Launchers 

NASA and Denver-based United Launch Alliance (ULA) are negotiating to add the Delta 2 medium-class 

rocket to the agency's list of available launch vehicles capable of lofting small- to intermediate-sized 

science payloads to· orbit. "ULA has indicated to NASA it is interested in on-ramping the Delta 2," NASA 

spokeswoman Stephanie Schierbolz said in a May 12 email response to questions. Schierbolz said the 

agency could add the Delta 2 this summer to NASA's recently negotiated launch services contract, a 

roster that includes eight U.S.-made launch vehicles capable of delivering between 175 and 14,280 

kilograms to orbit. However, "NASA may accelerate the start of the on-ramp period to better distribute 

launch services program resources during the summer/fall timeframe," Schierholz said. Since 1998, 

NASA has relied on the Delta 2 rocket to carry almost 60 percent of its scientific satellites into orbit, 

according to a November 2010 report by the U.S. Govenunent Accountability Office {GAO), "NASA: 

Medium Launch Transition Strategy Leverages Ongoing Investments but is Not Without Risk." Delta 2, 

however, is no longer in production, and just five of the rocket's heavy variant remain in ULA's 

inventory, while "no other vehicle in the relative cost and performance range is currently certified for 

NASA use," the GAO report states. NASA's plan to phase out Delta 2 stemmed from a decision by the 

U.S. Air Force to end its use of the rocket in 2009, leaving NASA to foot the bill for maintaining the 

launch vehicle's infrastructure. Instead, NASA opted to bet on development of new commercial launchers 

to fi ll the void, including the Falcon 9 rocket built by Space Exploration Technologies Corp. of 

Hawthorne, Calif., and Dulles, Va.-based Orbital Science Corp.'s new Taurus 2 rocket, two launch 

vehicles with lift capabilities similar to the Delta 2. However, it takes approximately three years for a new 

launch vehicle to be certified by NASA's Launch Services Program, a process that generally does not 

begin until the vehicle has been selected by the space agency for a particular mission, according to the 

GAO. In the meantime, NASA has few reliable options for launching small-to-medium-sized science 

payloads in the coming years. Orbital's Taurus XL rocket, a ground-launched version of its highly 

reliable air-launched Pegasus vehicle, has sent two of NASA's Earth science payloads into the Pacific 

Ocean over the past two years due to a faulty payload fairing. The most recent mishap, which resulted in 

the loss of NASA's climate-monitoring Glory spacecraft during a March 4 launch attempt from 

Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., is currently under review by an accident investigation board that is 

not required to complete its work before Sept. 6, NASA spokesman Stephen Cole said May 11. A similar 

Taurus XL mishap occurred in February 2009 when the rocket failed to launch NASA's Orbiting Carbon 

Observatory (OCO), a satellite built by Orbital Sciences to measure the Earth's greenhouse gas emissions. 

NASA spent four months investigating the mishap and another year-and-a-half implementing corrective 

actions prior to the Glory launch, Schierholz said. "What will need to be done this time will depend in 

large part on the findings and recommendations of the Mishap Investigation Board," she said. Ed Weiler, 

head of NASA's Science Mission Directorate, said he will not fly another payload atop a Taurus XL 

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rocket until NASA recertifies the vehicle. In April the agency stopped payments on a Taurus XL launch 

vehicle contract with Orbital Sciences for a February 2013 re-tlight of the OCO satellite, dubbed OCO 2. 

"Atlas 5s are being priced out of our range," Weiler said. "This is now starting to affect all of our 

missions." Adding ULA's remaining five Delta 2 rockets to NASA's launch contract could a llow the 

agency to keep OCO 2 on track. Web posted. (201 1). [NASA Moves To Add Delta 2 Rocket Back to List 

of Available Launchers [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 May 16].] 

Heavy-duty beat shield prepares for launch to Mars 

A massive carbon-covered heat shield, one of the largest ever built for space travel, is now at the Kennedy 

Space Center being readied for launch on NASA's next mission to Mars. The heat shield and associated 

aerodynamic shell will help shepherd NASA's nearly $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission from 

space to a gentle touchdown on the Red Planet's surface. The centerpiece of the mission, a six-wheeled 

rover named Curiosity, will drive around Mars for at least two years studying the planet's archive of 

organic compounds, c limate and geology to determine whether it was ever capable of supporting 

microbial life. The mission's 15-foot-wide heat shield and aerodynamic shell touched down at KSC's 

space shuttle runway inside a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane May 12, and then workers trucked the 

hardware to a nearby clean room overnight, according to George Diller, a NASA spokesperson. 

Manufactured by Lockheed Martin Corp. in Denver, it's the largest heat shield ever designed for flight 

through the Martian atmosphere. It's also wider than the blunt side of the Apollo command module, 

making the MSL heat shield the largest to ever fly on a capsule-shaped craft in space. "It's almost 15 feet 

across," said Bill Willcockson, a Lockheed Martin entry systems engineer. "That's enormous." Covered 

with a one-inch coating of special carbon ablator, the aerosheU will take the brunt of the loads as the rover 

descends to the Martian surface. Temperatures will soar to 3,300 degrees Fahrenheit as friction builds on 

the saucer-shaped craft, according to Lockheed Martin engineers. The wind-facing heat shield will 

absorb most of the blazing temperatures, leaving the underlying aluminum honeycomb and graphite 

epoxy structure at a relatively comfortable 400 degrees Fahrenheit. The ballistic coefficient, a function of 

mass, diameter and drag, is a measure of how well an object overcomes air resistance in flight. The Mars 

entry vehicle's high ballistic coefficient number means it loses velocity slowly when encountering the 

planet's thin atmosphere. The mission's biscuit-colored heat shield will discharge most of the probe's 

approach velocity, slowing the craft to about 1,000 mph for the deployment of a supersonic parachute. 

More than 100 blocks of Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator, or PICA, are attached to the aeroshell. 

Each of the PICA tiles has a specific shape for a certain place on the entry craft, according to Rich Hund, 

Lockheed Martin's MSL program manager. The shape of the aeroshell's curve is asymmetric, giving the 

craft the ability to generate modest lift and glide through the Martian atmosphere. The vehicle will control 

its trajectory through a series of roll maneuvers. The extra rigor ofMSL's atmospheric entry means the 

heat shield will be subjected to more heat, stress and a turbulent flow of plasma across its flush surface. 

The heat shield will be subjected to about 105,000 pounds of compressive force across its surface, causing 

the structure to deflect with bending and shear loads more severe than other missions experienced, 

according to Lockheed Martin. The Mars Science Laboratory's attention-grabbing size and hefty payload 

necessitated the costliest and most robust spacecraft, heat shield and rover to ever fly to the Red Planet. 

Web posted. (2011). [Heavy-duty heat shield prepares for launch to Mars [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 May 18].] 

May 13: Countdown begins anew for shuttle Endeavour's launch 

Engineers restarted the shuttle Endeavour's countdown Friday, setting the stage for a delayed launch 

Monday on a flight to deliver supplies, spare parts and a $2 billion particle physics detector to the 

International Space Station. There are no technical problems of any significance at pad 39A and 

forecasters are predicting a 70 percent chance of good weather. "We're counting and working on some of 

our avionics checkouts right at the beginning of the count as we normaUy do," said NASA Test Director 

Jeff Spaulding. "I am really proud of our teams working so hard over the last couple of weeks. They have 

done an outstanding job to get us ready for this launch on the historic and final flight of space shuttle 

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Endeavour." Working in Firing Room No.4 at the Launch Control Center 3.4 miles from pad 39A, 

engineers started Endeavour's countdown at 7 a.m. EDT Friday. Liquid hydrogen and oxygen will be 

pumped aboard to power the shuttle's electricity-producing fuel cell system Saturday. A protective gantry 

is scheduled to be pulled away from the shuttle at noon Sunday, exposing the ship to view and setting the 

stage for fueling. If all goes well, the three-hour fueling procedure will begin at II :36 p.m. Sunday and 

Endeavour's crew-- commander Mark Kelly, pilot Gregory H. Johnson, Michael Fincke, Gregory 

Chamitoff, Andrew Feustel and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Yittori --will begin strapping 

in around 5:41 a.m. Monday to await liftoff. Shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters said forecasters are 

predicting a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather Monday with the primary concerns being slightly 

high crosswinds at the shuttle's emergency runway. The odds drop to 60 percent "go" on Tuesday and 

improve to 80 percent favorable on Wednesday. Winters said the timing of a trough expected to move 

through the area Sunday could bring afternoon storms and cause problems for engineers trying to move 

the gantry away from the space shuttle. But she said the system was expected to clear out in time for 

fue ling and launch. NASA attempted to launch Endeavour on its 25th and final flight April 29, but the 

countdown was called off when engineers were unable to activate a "string" of hydraulic system fuel Line 

heaters used by auxiliary power unit No. I. Extensive troubleshooting and analysis showed the problem 

likely involved a power switching circuit in an avionics box known as an aft load control assembly, one 

of three in the shuttle's engine compartment. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Co1p1tdown begins anew for shuttle 

Endeavour's launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 May 13].] 

Job cuts pose challenges as shuttle program winds down 

Kennedy Space Center's shrinking shuttle workforce is looming larger in the program's fmal days. 

Repairs like those Endeavour needed after its April 29 launch scrub pose a greater challenge with fewer 

workers available and managers careful not to overtax them. And launch of the final shuttle mission is 

slipping into July in part because remaining crews can't perform as many major operations simultaneously 

or without interruption. Atlantis' move to the Vehicle Assembly Building to be joined with an external 

tank and boosters, for example, has had to wait while teams are tied up with Endeavour's preparations for 

its 8:56a.m. EDT Monday launch. "We're being affected by our workforce reductions," said Mike 

Moses, NASA's shuttle launch integration manager. "ln the past, we would have had extra teams to be 

able to help with that."Even as the countdown began Friday for Endeavour's last launch, planning for the 

biggest workforce reduction yet marched forward. Lead shuttle contractor United Space Alliance this 

week sent 60-day notices of potential layoffs to roughly 1,900 local employees. Most of the layoffs are 

expected to take effect July 22, though the exact timing depends on when Atlantis launches the I 35th and 

final mission of the three-decade shuttle program. Kennedy's total contractor workforce, including nonshuttle workers, now numbers 8,900, down from about 13,000 two years ago. Across the country, the 

shuttle program has dropped from 14,000 contractors in late 2006 to about 5,500 today, a 60 percent 

decline. NASA and its contractors have closely monitored the downsizing to ensure critical skills were 

retained and missions flown safely. Other than some launch delays that are not uncommon in shuttle 

program history, recent missions have been praised as largely problem-free. Monthly meetings assess 

staffing resources across every work group, from engineers and technicians to safety and quality 

inspectors. "I feel good about it," Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach said. "The process works 

exactly right." The process was tested in recent weeks after an electrical problem scrubbed Endeavour's 

April 291auncb attempt. Leinbach said the engineering group responsible for the shuttle's hydraulic 

power system, where the problem was located, was slightly understaffed, requiring creative scheduling to 

accomplish "a heck of a lot of work" around the clock. But he said managers took pains to make sure 

crews received enough rest and would speak up ifthey had concerns. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Job cuts pose 

challenges as shuttle program winds down [Online). Available WWW: http://www.usatoday.com/ [201 1 

May 13].] 

USA sends out notices for final shuttle layoffs 

138 
As Endeavour counts down to its final launch on Monday morning, shuttle contractors are marching 

forward with plans for layoffs that will accompany the program's end this summer after two more flights. 

Lead shuttle contractor United Space Alliance this week sent out notices to roughly I ,900 local 

employees likely to be laid off in July and August, the company confirmed. The 60-day notices are 

required by law under the federal WARN Act. The final tally could be slightly lower. Houston-based 

USA announced its plans for end-of-the-shuttle-program cuts a month ago. They're expected to total 

about 2,800 jobs -- half the company -- including about 850 positions in Texas and 50 in Alabama. USA 

now employs about 3,300 at Kennedy Space Center. Among other large contractors involved in 

processing the shuttle or its payloads, The Boeing Co. expects to let go about 3 1 0 of its 750 KSC 

employees after the last mission this summer. Web posted. (2011). [USA sends out notices for final 

shuttle layoffs [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 13].] 

May 15: NASA's $lOB r ocket plan recycles shuttle parts, draws flak 

NASA's latest plan to replace the space shuttle would spend at least $10 billion during the next six years 

to test-fly a rocket made of recycled parts of the shuttle - with no guarantee the rocket would ever be 

used again, according to documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel. NASA is proposing a so-called 

"shuttle-derived test flight campaign" to provide the agency with a rocket it can use to test its nascent 

crew capsule - and keep shuttle workers and the aerospace industry busy - while the agency figures out 

what it really wants in a next-generation "heavy-lift" rocket that could go to the moon or beyond. But 

critics are already deriding the plan as "a rocket to nowhere" that would pay billions to the aerospace 

industry to perpetuate the use of 30-year-old shuttle technology while further postponing resolution of a 

fundamental question: What's the mission of NASA's human-spaceflight program? "What we seem to 

have is a desire to spend money on rockets in the hopes that we will develop a mission one day," said Jeff 

Greason, member of the 2009 presidential committee that looked at the future of U.S. human spaceflight. 

But for NASA, the plan has the merit of being a cheap - even at $10 billion through 2017 - and easy 

answer to a congressional mandate to quickly build a rocket out of parts used on the shuttle or developed 

for the now-defunct Constellation moon-rocket program. As designed, the test rocket would keep the 

shuttle's orange fuel tank and twin white boosters, and replace the planelike orbiter with Orion, an 

Apollo-like crew capsule, atop the external tank. Three of the engines now used by the orbiter would be 

added at the base of the tank for extra lift. "Shuttle-derived architecture consistently provides early, 

highly capable solution," wrote NASA officials in a brief to Congress. It would also provide billions 

more to ATK of Minnesota, which makes the solid-rocket boosters, and Lockheed Martin, which in 

addition to the Orion capsule would also manufacture the new rocket's fuel tank. Both were prime 

contractors for Constellation, which was canceled by the White House and Congress last fall because it 

was years behind schedule and over budget. The test rocket is similar to a design proposed three years 

ago by NASA engineers seeking an alternative to Constellation. But the engineers, working on their own 

time, were given short shrift by agency officials committed to designing and building a brand-new rocket. 

NASA's former head of space exploration told Congress that the idea "defied the laws of physics." Now, 

NASA is saying that test flights of Orion and this recycled shuttle stack could start as early as 2013, and 

one NASA document indicated they could last until as late as 2019. For its part, NASA has said nothing 

is decided. Among the other possibilities still under review, he wrote: a revamped military rocket or a 

new liquid-fueled rocket. But a shuttle-derived decision remains the favorite ever since lawmakers and 

Obama agreed last year on a NASA blueprint that required the agency to attempt to use existing shuttle 

and Constellation parts when building the heavy-lift rocket. Web posted. (2011). [NASA's $lOB rocket 

plan recycles shuttle parts, draws flak [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ 

[20 1 I May 15].] 

Giffords at KSC to watch husband Kelly's launch 

U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, the wife of Endeavour commander Mark Kelly, has arrived at Kennedy 

Space Center to watch Monday morning's launch, her staff has reported. "Thanks to NASA for great flyby 

of launch pad." "Glad to have you here," KSC staff said via Twitter. Giffords was shot in the head Jan. 8 

139 
during a shooting rampage at a constituent event she was hosting outside a supermarket in her Tucson, 

Ariz., district. Six people were killed and 13 wounded. NASA offers aU families of shuttle crews 

transportation to and from the launch. Giffords will not make any public appearance during her visit and 

her launch viewing location has not been disclosed. Her staff plans to hold a press conference after the 

launch. Web posted. (2011). [Giffords at KSC to watch husband Kelly's launch [Online). Available 

WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/thejlame trench blog [2011 May 15].] 

NASA: Shuttle Endeavour 'good to go' for Monday launch 

Thanks 24..4(397.45o)m55to positive results on all pre-flight checks, NASA officials on Saturday unani-
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flawless, dispelling worries about the perfonnance of its external fuel tank, the so-called "hurricane tank'' 

and "Frankentank." The 154-foot orange fuel tank needed modifications after the 2003 Columbia disaster 

and repairs after sustaining non-structural damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. More recently, 

sections were reinforced as a precaution to prevent the kinds of cracks found and repaired on the previous 

tank flown. Also, its insulating foam suffered minor hail damage in a stonn. Because the Lockheed 

Martin-built tank labeled ET -122 does not have all the modifications made to tanks built after Columbia, 

managers believed foam was expected to break away from certain areas, but late enough in flight that it 

would not cause damage. The launch also came days after layoff notices went out to I ,900 KSC 

contractors, who will be let go after Atlantis flies. Before that happens though, technicians will prepare 

the orbiters for their retirements. Endeavour is to be sent to California Science Center in Los Angeles, 

Atlantis to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex and Discovery to the Smithsonian Institution's 

National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va. The prototype shuttle 

Enterprise is bound for the Intrepid Sea-Air-Space Museum in New York City. Web posted. (2011). 

[NASA: Shuttle Endeavour 'good to go' for Monday launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ (20 II May 16].] 

Shuttle gridlock less than expected 

With crowds smaller than expected at popular North Brevard shuttle viewing sites for Monday's launch of 

Endeavour, traffic congestion was less than expected, too. Titusville police Lt. Todd Hutchinson said his 

department experienced none of the gridlock that followed the February launch ofDiscovery and tied up 

traffic leaving town for hours. "It was surprisingly light," said Hutchinson, who helped monitor traffic 

from his department's new mobile command center, which was parked at Sand Point Park. Initial 

estimates that 500,000 or more people would come to Brevard County to view Endeavour's launch 

Monday didn't appear to have been met, judging by impressions of observers at viewing sites in the 

Titusville, Cocoa Beach and Port Canaveral areas. Florida Highway Patrol spokeswoman Sgt. Kim 

Montes said that while traffic grew heavier along Interstate 95 and the Beachline Expressway before and 

after Monday's launch, it was nothing like the traffic Feb. 24, when Discovery launched, or April29, 

when Endeavour's previous attempt scrubbed 31/2 hours before launch. I-95 and Beachline traffic was 

back to normal within three hours after launch Monday, and there were no major backups, Montes said. 

That contrasts with the 50-mile backup and eight hours it took for traffic to get back to normal on the 

Beachline after Discovery launched. Another factor mentioned is that it's harder for many to take a 

Monday morning off from work than it is to take a Friday afternoon off. Web posted. (201 1 ). [Shuttle 

gridlock less than expected [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1 May 16].] 

Woman's otherworldly photos, video of space shuttle launch from plane 

Groggy from a late night watching the Yankees, frigid from a chilled airplane cabin, Stefanie Gordon 

stirred to action after the pilot's announcement. Lifting her iPhone to the plane's window, she captured an 

otherworldly image that rocketed around the globe as fast as her subject: Space shuttle Endeavour soaring 

from a bank of clouds, its towering plume of white smoke Lighting the azure sky. She had never imagined 

the response her airborne image - capturing the last launch of Endeavour and the n~xt-to last space 

sbuttl.e flight - would ignite. The images and video have been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on 

Twitter alone, landed on network newscasts and been published in newspapers worldwide. In turn, 

they've made a photographic celebrity of sorts of the unemployed 33-year-old from Hoboken, N.J. 

Gordon caught an early Delta flight from New York to West Palm Beach on Monday to visit her parents 

and had a whole row to herself, never imagining the history she would record. She stretched out and took 

a nap. Then she awoke shortly before the pilot announced the descent had begun and a sighting of the 

shuttle was possible. She had forgotten Endeavour was even taking off at 8:56 a.m. EDT, but readied her 

iPhone just in case. Then, the pilot came on again, alerting passengers the shuttle was in sight. 

"Everybody ran over to the east side of the plane," Gordon said Tuesday, "and all of a sudden there it was 

in the clouds." AJI told, she shot 12 seconds of footage of the shuttle arcing on its simple stream of smoke 

into space. She also shot three still photographs. The plane landed minutes later in West Palm Beach and 

141 
while she was waiting at the luggage carousel, at 9:31 a.m., she began uploading to Twitter. As she 

waited for her father to pick her up, she realized her work was making a splash. The Associated Press 

contacted Gordon through Facebook and purchased the images. The AP often obtains photos from eye 

witnesses, called citizen journalists. Web posted. (20 II). [Woman's otherworldly photos, video of space 

shuttle launch from plane turn into an online hit [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 May 16].] 

Local company played role in shuttle launch 

The space shuttle wasn't the only thing that took flight Monday morning at Cape Canaveral. In the 

seconds before Endeavour blasted off into space, two vultures took to the air within 200 yards of the 

rocket, said Ron Merritt, president of DeTect, a Panama City-based company that sold NASA radar 

technology to monitor avian activity in the vicinity of shuttle launches. In the minutes before the launch, 

four vultures apparently were rustled awake, leading to tense moments for Ron Merritt and Tim West as 

they spotted movement on a radar monitor while the countdown continued, Ron Merritt said. After caJls 

from DeTect's spotters on the roof and NASA's test director, they determined about 30 sec9nds before 

takeoff the birds were not near the shuttle's trajectory and there was no reason to halt the launch, but 

"there was some concern," Ron Merritt said. The vultures can have a 6-foot wing span and weigh 4 to 4.5 

pounds, he said. By the time the rocket is at the top of the launch pad and has accelerated to speeds of 500 

mph, hitting a bird "could be catastrophic," Merritt said. The foam chunk that struck and damaged 

Columbia's wing in 2003 weighed 1.7 pounds. In July 2005 during the launch of Discovery, a vulture hit 

the shuttle's external take just after liftoff, according to NASA's website. It didn't do any damage but was 

enough for the agency to take action. By a launch in July of the next year, NASA obtained equipment to 

monitor bird activity from DeTect. The radar system is designed here by scientists and engineers, built 

here and operated by locals. With the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge near the Kennedy Space 

Center, bird activity is a concern. Ron Merritt said activity was monitored for several days prior to the 

launch by a four-person team consisting of Julie Merritt, West and Ron White. With 10 seconds left 

before blastoff Monday, Ron Merritt and West jumped out of their seats and ran to a ftre escape to watch. 

But they were too late. They have pictures as souvenirs, though, complete with images of the birds that 

kept them from witnessing the liftoff of Endeavour's final flight. Web posted. (2011 ). [Local company 

played role in shuttle launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.newsherald.com/ [201 1 May 16].] 

NASA Announces Its First Payloads for Commercial Suborbital Spacecraft 

NASA has announced its first four payloads to fly on commercia l suborbita l spacecraft, kicking off a new 

era of low-cost technology R&D, science, and STEM education enabled by new commercial spacecraft 

being developed by Armadillo Aerospace, Blue Origin, Masten Space Systems, Virgin Galactic, and 

XCOR Aerospace. NASA also announced the latest round of payloads to fly on the Zero-G parabolic 

aircraft operated by Zero Gravity Corporation. NASA's suborbital payloads announcement illustrates the 

high-payoff projects being pursued by NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist (OCT), a newly formed 

division whose purpose is to revitalize technology R&D at NASA through innovative research. The 

Commercial Spaceflight Federation welcomes the strong support for space technology investments and 

the Office of the Chief Technologist in the NASA FY20 12 proposed budget, including such high-profile 

programs as Commercial Reusable Suborbital Research, Centennial Challenges, and NASA's commercial 

parabolic flight program. Other exciting NASA technology programs being supported by the agency 

include Cryogenic Propellant Transfer and Storage, In-Space Propulsion, Space Power Generation and 

Storage, Nuclear Systems, Lightweight Materials and Structures, Human-Robotic Systems, Autonomous 

Systems, Next-Generation Life Support, Adaptive Entry Systems, and In-Situ Resource Utilization. Web 

posted. (20 II). [NASA Announces Its First Payloads for Commercial Suborbital Spacecraft; NASA 

Office of chiefteclmologist Pursuing High-PayoffProjects[Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .commercial spacefl ight.com/ (20 11 May 16].) 

May 17: STS-135: Atlantis rolls over to VAB for final mission 

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The end of the space shuttle program is literally closer as Atlantis made its fmaJ rollover, from the Oribter 

Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building in preparation for its 33rd and fmal flight on STS135 to the International Space Station. Atlantis will be mated with the external fuel tank and twin rocket 

boosters in the next couple weeks while in the V AB before rolling out to the Launch pad, which is slated 

for 8 p.m. on Monday, May 31, just hours before space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to land at 

Kennedy Space Center to cap the 16-day STS-134 mission at 2:30a.m. on Tuesday, June 1. "There are 

two separate crews to do that so we can perform both essentially on the same day," Shuttle Launch 

Director Mike Leinbach said on Monday. "That will be a special day for the program and for the Kennedy 

Space Center." As for the launch of Atlantis and its four-man crew, it won't be on June 28 as originally 

projected. Because of the delay in Endeavour's final launch, it will be sometime in the middle of July, 

although the exact date for the first attempt won't be determined until either the end of this week or 

beginning of next week. Web posted. (2011). [STS-135: And then there was one - Atlantis rolls over to 

V AB for final mission [Online). Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 May 17).) 

NASA ocean-watch satellite ready for June launch 

The US space agency said Tuesday it is preparing to launch a satellite to observe levels of salt on the 

surface of the world's oceans and how changes in salinity may be linked to future climate. The June 9 

launch of Aquarius/SAC-D comes three months after NASA lost Glory, a 424-rnillion-dollar Earthobserving satellite that failed to separate properly from its rocket launcher and plunged into the ocean. 

The orbiting science instrument will aim to map the entire open ocean every seven days from its position 

408 miles (657 kilometers) above Earth, producing monthly estin1ates that show how salt levels change 

over time and location. "There are vast tracts of the ocean where salinity has never been collected, ever," 

said Eric Lindstrom, Aquarius program scientist at NASA, describing the high level of precision expected 

from the mission. "We are going to be sampling the whole planet in one week," be told reporters. While 

a European satellite was launched in 2009 to measure soil moisture and ocean salinity, the Aquarius/SACD is a global collaboration -- with partner Argentina as well as France, Brazil, Canada and Italy -- that 

will add to scientists' knowledge of the oceans in novel ways. Web posted. (2011). [NASA ocean-watch 

satellite ready for June launch [Online). Available WWW: http://news.yahoo.com/ [2011 May 17).) 

May 18: STS-135: Atlantis set to get mated today with external fuel tank 

The process is being drawn out for Atlantis' mating with the external fuel tank and twin rocket boosters, 

but today NASA lifted !the orbiter to the vertical position in preparation for that event. Atlantis, getting 

ready for STS-135, made the trip Tuesday from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly 

Building. In the past, the rollover as it's called included the move, the vertical lift and the mating all in 

one day, but the mating may not occur until Thursday. Rollout to Launch Pad 39A is scheduled for May 

31 around 8 p.m., just hours before space shuttle Endeavour is scheduled· to finish its career and land at 

Kennedy Space Center to conclude STS-134. Atlantis will launch sometime in mid-July, but the exact 

date won't be determined until later this week or early next week. Web posted. (20 11 ). [STS-135: 

Atlantis set to get mated today with external fuel tank [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www .orlandosentinel.com/ the write stuff blog [20 11 May 18].] 

NASA Zeroes In On Three Damaged Tiles 

NASA photo-analysts are taking a close look at three areas where heat-shield tiles on the underside of 

shuttle Endeavour sustained damage during launch or flight to the International Space Station. It's unclear 

at this time whether the astronauts might have to make a follow-up focused inspection later this week. But 

NASA managers say they are not worried about the shuttle or its six-member astronaut crew. "This is not 

cause for alarm or concern," LeRoy Cain, NASA's deputy shuttle program manager and chairman of its 

Mission Management Team, said in a news briefing today. "At this point we don't have any reason for 

concern or alann." Damage to thermal tiles on the underside of the shuttle is not uncommon. However, if 

it is severe enough, it could endanger a shuttle and its crew when extreme temperatures-- up to 3,000 

degrees Fahrenheit-- are encountered during atmospheric reentry. Endeavour's tile damage all was done 

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near sensitive areas where seals potentially could be breached during reentry. High-resolution photos 

taken today before the shuttle's fmal approach to the station detailed the trouble spots. An engineering 

analysis is underway at Johnson Space Center in Houston as well as other sites around the country. 

NASA always books a half-day during the sixth day of a shuttle mission to perform focused heat-shield 

inspections if necessary. A decision to do an additional look would be made by Friday at the latest. The 

photographs were taken from the inside of the station's Russian Zvezda core module by U.S. astronaut 

Cady Coleman and Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli. Shuttle skipper Mark Kelly guided Endeavour 

through a back-flip designed to point the shuttle's belly toward the outpost. The eight-minute maneuver 

has been standard operating procedure since undetected heat-shield damage led to the 2003 Columbia 

accident. Web posted. (2011 ). [NASA Zeroes In On Three Damaged Tiles [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 May 18].] 

Crew, workers salute Atlantis' last V AB visit 

The vehicle that will usher the shuttle program into retirement was given a rock-star-like escort Tuesday. 

Flanked by hundreds of Kennedy Space Center workers and led by its four-man crew, shuttle Atlantis 

made a final trip from its processing hangar to the Vehicle Assembly Building. There, the shuttle will be 

hoisted onto a mobile launcher platform and outfitted with an external fuel tank and twin solid rocket 

boosters to prepare for a planned mid-July flight. That mission will be the fleet's last before the 30-year 

shuttle program ends. To give KSC workers a chance to witness the last-ever move, Atlantis spent much 

of the morning parked outside the V AB. Atlantis' crew -- Commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley 

and mission specialists Rex Walheim and Sandy Magnus-- paid tribute to the KSC employees who are 

getting their ship into flying condition. "Thanks for all the work everyone's done," Walheim said. "Thank 

you for what you did." The crew and KSC employees took their time admiring the last shuttle that will fly 

in orbit. Most recorded the moment by snapping photos, many milled around the vehicle, walking beneath 

its wings, while others simply applauded it. The entire time, a member of the military stood guard 

holding a large gun. In addition to the employees, there also was an unusually large media contingent at 

the event, which came less than 24 hours after shuttle Endeavour blasted off on the next-to-last shuttle 

mission. About 150 reporters and photographers attended. "It's one of the few opportunities where people 

can get that close," NASA spokeswoman Lisa Malone said. "I mean, it's like you can almost reach out 

and touch it." Atlantis' next move is from the V AB to launch pad 39A, which is scheduled to begin at 8 

p.m. May 31, hours before Endeavour is due back at KSC's shuttle runway. Endeavour is targeting a 2:32 

a.m. June I landing. The STS-135 mission will carry the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module 

packed with supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station to help sustain operations after 

the shuttle fleet's retirement. Upon its return to Earth, Atlantis will be prepared for display at Kennedy 

Space Center Visitor Complex. Web posted. (201 1 ). [Crew, workers salute Atlantis' last V AB visit 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1 May 18].] 

There could be space for you aboard suborbital craft 

Space exploration isn't just for astronauts anymore. It's for anyone with an interest. You could win a 

chance to take the ride of a lifetime to the edge of space through ARES Institute, a Brevard County-based 

nonprofit organization that promotes space exploration. "The whole idea of this is to involve anybody in 

the public who likes space or watches the space shuttle launch, or just cares a little bit," said Matthew 

Travis, executive director of the Aerospace Research & Engineering Systems Institute. "Anybody has a 

chance. There are no requirements." People have until Dec. 31 , 2012 to enter the ARES sweepstakes to 

win a suborbital trip into space. The flight likely will take place in 20 13. A suborbital trip means you 

blast up to space - the edge of the atmosphere; 62 miles above sea level - and then free-fall back to 

Earth. ARES figures the whole trip, from boarding to landing, will take a day. The winner will be chosen 

in the first months of2013. Thousands already have entered. Web posted. (2011). [There could be space 

for you aboard suborbital craft [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.tcpalm.com/ [2011 May 18].] 

May 19: NASA assesses damage to shuttle Endeavour heat-shield tiles 

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NASA photo analysts are taking a close look at three areas where heat-shield tiles on the underside of 

shuttle Endeavour sustained damage during launch or flight to the International Space Station. It's 

unclear whether the astronauts might have to make a follow-up focused inspection of the damage this 

week. But NASA managers say they are not worried. "This is not cause for alarm or concern," said 

LeRoy Cain, NASA's deputy shuttle program manager and chairman of its Mission Management Team. 

"At this point, we don't have any reason for concern or alarm." Damage to thermal tiles on the shuttle's 

underside is not uncommon. However, if it is severe enough. it could be dangerous when temperatures up 

to 3,000 degrees Fahrenheit are encountered during atmospheric reentry. Endeavour's tile damage was 

detected near sensitive areas where seals potentially could be breached during reentry. The trouble spots 

were detailed in high-resolution photos taken before the shuttle's final approach to the station. An 

engineering analysis is under way at Johnson Space Center in Houston as well as other sites around the 

country. NASA always books a half-day during the sixth day of a shuttle mission to perform focused 

heat-shield inspections if necessary. A decision to do an additional look would be made by Friday. Web 

posted. (2011). [NASA assesses damage to shuttle Endeavour heat-shield tiles [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 19].] 

Masten Signs Contract With Space Florida For Demonstration Launches 

Masten Space Systems and Space Florida announced today the signing of a $400,000 contract under 

which Masten will perform a series of demonstration flights of a Vertical Takeoff Vertical Landing 

(VTVL) reusable suborbital launch vehicle from Launch Complex 36 at Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station. Under the contract, Masten will complete multiple flights. These operations will serve as a 

pathfinder to assist Space Florida in developing operational requirements for VTVL vehicles, 

recommending the optimum operational scenario, and determining the program schedule to achieve 

launch capability as soon as possible. In conj unction with the demonstration launches to be performed by 

Masten Space Systems, Space Florida has committed additional funds for Range costs and facilities 

upgrades at Launch Complex 36. In addition to providing Masten with Range support and the base 

infrastructure required for future sustained operations, this investment is anticipated to shorten processing 

timelines at the Eastern Range for other new vehicles, as well as provide a benchmark for Range costs 

that will enable faster and cheaper setup for other commercial launch providers. The upcoming flights 

will also enable Masten to fully evaluate Florida, CCAFS, and LC-36 as a base for the company's flight 

operations group. Web posted. (2011). [Masten Signs Contract With Space Florida For Demonstration 

Launches [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 May 19].] 

Endeavour preps for spacewalk, closer look at tile damage 

Endeavour astronauts are preparing for the first offour planned spacewalks early Friday while NASA 

continues to review a damaged heat shield tile that may require closer inspection. The tile was apparently 

gouged by ice falling from the shuttle's external tank during Monday's morning's launch from Kennedy 

Space Center. NASA will decide by Friday whether to perform a so-called "focused" inspection on 

Saturday, using a boom with cameras and lasers to scan the area of interest in greater detail. Though such 

inspections are not common, LeRoy Cain, the head of NASA's mission management team, said he was 

not alarmed by the damage. He said a closer inspection would provide higher fidelity images that might 

allow analysts to back off from overly conservative assumptions and likely clear any need for repairs. 

The tile in question is located behind the right landing gear door. It measures about 3.2 inches by 2.5 

inches and 0.7 inches thick. One other tile, on the right inboard elevon, has not yet been cleared but is 

expected to be. Cain said a similarly damaged tile on a 2007 Endeavour flight was cleared after a focused 

inspection. The commander of that flight was Scott Kelly, brother of current commander Mark Kelly. 

The 1 0-year-old tank that helped launch Endeavour this week did not have all of the modifications made 

to new tanks after the 2003 Columbia disaster, and Cain said some debris was expected. The ice 

apparently originated from a liquid oxygen propellant feedline bracket. If the damage turns out to be 

more serious than thought, spacewalkers could attempt repairs. Meanwhile, the mission marches on. 

Astronauts Drew Feustel and Greg Chamitoff plan to kick off the spacewalking activity around 3:15 a.m. 

145 
EDT. Over six-and-a-half hours, they'll retrieve and install science experiments, install a communications 

antenna and route jumper cables in preparation for topping off a leaking coolant line on the mission's 

second spacewalk, planned Sunday. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour preps for spacewalk, closer look at 

tile damage [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/the flame trench blog [2011 May 

19).] 

Endeavour's boosters to be stored to fly again someday 

The shuttle Endeavour's two spent solid rocket booster casings returned to a Cape Canaveral hangar 

Wednesday to undergo inspections and cleaning before being put into storage for potential future use on 

commercial or heavy-lift launchers. Comprised of parts that flew on 59 previous shuttle flights, the 

boosters were towed into Port Canaveral late Tuesday to spend the night. NASA's two solid rocket 

booster recovery ships moved the booster casings to Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on 

Wednesday, according tto an agency spokesperson. The boosters separated about two minutes into 

Endeavour's launch Monday, reaching a peak altitude of nearly 45 miles before parachuting into the 

Atlantic Ocean about 140 miles off the coast of Florida. Recovery teams fished the boosters out of the 

water and towed them back to shore. Engineers will inspect the empty casings and wash them out before 

loading the booster segments on a train for a ride back to Clearfield, Utah. After further checks and 

cleaning, the boosters will be put into storage, according to Jim Halsell, vice president of space 

exploration systems for ATK, the solid rocket motor contractor. Instead of immediately filling the 

segments with more fuel, A TK plans to store the empty casings in hopes of using the hardware again on a 

new kind of rocket. Other shuttle boosters are getting the same treatment. ATK is developing the 

commercial Liberty rocket to transport astronaut crews to low Earth orbit. The company is also favored to 

win a contract to supply the solid rocket boosters for a NASA heavy-lift launcher called the Space Launch 

System. Both of the new rockets would use extended and upgraded five-segment solid rocket motors--

on the first stage of Liberty and as twin shuttle-like boosters on the SLS heavy-lifter. The Liberty uses a 

single five-segment motor first stage and a European Vulcain 2 engine for the second stage. It could be 

ready for a bare-bones test flight by 2013, A TK says. A demonstration for NASA's Space Launch System 

would take more time because it would be powered by two solid rocket boosters. And the design and 

construction of the heavy-lifter's core first stage has not yet begun. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Endeavour's 

boosters to be stored to fly again someday [Online). Available WWW: http://www.spacetlightnow.com/ 

[2011 May 19).] 

May 20: Final space shuttle launch set for July 8 

The final launch of NASA's space shuttle program has been set for the morning of July 8. NASA 

announced Friday that shuttle Atlantis is targeted for an 11 :40 a.m. launch from Kennedy Space Center on 

Friday, July 8. It will be the I 35th and final launch ofthe 30-year space shuttle program. Space shuttle 

Endeavour, which blasted off Monday on the penultimate mission, is currently docked at the International 

Space Station. It's due back on Earth June 1. Atlantis is scheduled to roll out to the launchpad the night 

before, on May 31. Atlantis is scheduled for a 12-day mission, largely to provide supplies to the space 

station - which is slated to remain in operation until 2020 -- and to perform maintenance. The crew also 

will be delivering equipment to run experiments to see if it could be possible to refuel satellites in space, 

including satellites not designed to be serviced. After Atlantis, all crew will travel to the space station 

aboard Russian rockets, with commercial rockets scheduled to begin cargo delivery to the station by next 

year. Those rockets may in the future be certified to carry humans. Atlantis will carry just four astronauts 

. - all veterans of previous space flights. Chris Ferguson, 49, from Philadelphia, a veteran of shuttle 

missions in 2006 and '08, will command the flight. Doug Hurley, 44, from Apalachin, N.Y., will serve as 

the pilot, a role he previously filled in 2009. Sandy Magnus, 46, of Belleville, Ill., and Rex Walheim, 48, 

of San Carlos, Calif., will be the mission specialists. Atlantis first launched in 1985, and this will be its 

33rd and final flight. After it lands, it will be reconditioned and kept as a museum piece at the Kennedy 

Space Center Visitor Complex. Web posted. (2011). [Final space shuttle launch set for July 8 [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 May 20].) 

146 
Endeavour's beat shield tile nick not worrisome to NASA 

Endeavour astronauts planned to embark on the first of their mission's four spacewalks early today as 

managers finalized plans for a possible closer look at a damaged heat shield tile. The roughly 3-by-2-inch 

gouge in a tile near the right landing gear door was appar~ntly caused during Monday's launch by ice 

falling from Endeavour's external tank, which was the oldest ever flown and did not include all the 

modifications made after the Columbia disaster in 2003. However, LeRoy Cain, head of NASA's 

mission management team, said he expected a so-called "focused" inspection early Saturday -- if required 

-- would likely clear the tile as safe for re-entry. It was still possible analysts reviewing images taken 

during Endeavour's launch and approach to the International Space Station could deem the damage 

acceptable without having to take the closer look. Otherwise, shuttle crew members would use a boom 

equipped with high-resolution cameras and laser sensors to inspect the area. Endeavour's crew performed 

a full scan of the orbiter's underside, wing edges and nosecap the day after Monday's launch from 

Kennedy Space Center. Another inspection will be performed before undocking next week. When asked 

about the damage during interviews Thursday, Mark Kelly said he'd been focused on the mission's busy 

day of work but wasn't too concerned by preliminary information. Today, Endeavour mission specialists 

Drew Feustel and Greg Cbamitoffhad been scheduled to float outside the station's Quest airlock around 

3: 15 a.m. During 6112 hours, they planned to retrieve and install science experiments, install a 

communications antenna and route jumper cables in preparation for work to top off a leaking coolant 

loop. The spacewalk foiJlows Thursday's successful installation of a $2 billion cosmic ray detector that is 

now the station's signature science experiment. A handoff between robotic arms lifted the Alpha Magnetic 

Spectrometer from the shuttle's payload bay and fastened it to a perch outside the station, completing 

Endeavour's top mission objective. Within hours, the 7.5-ton instrument began recording a blitz of 

cosmic particles estimated at 25,000 per second, its sensitive detectors working flawlessly. AMS will 

search for dark matter, antimatter and other unusual matter by measuring high energy-charged particles 

emanating from distant stars and galaxies. Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour's heat shield tile nick not 

worrisome to NASA [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 20].] 

Chinese Journalists Barred From Shuttle Launch 

Chinese journalists were denied access to this week's space shuttle launch in what is believed to be the 

first application of a congressional ban on interactions between NASA and the Chinese government. The 

16 May launch of the Endeavor was a big news story for China because its scientific payload, the $2 

billion Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, was built in part by Chinese scientists. But journalists seeking to 

cover the event-the penultimate flight before the shuttle fleet is retired- weren't allowed into the 

Kennedy Space Center. A NASA spokesperson says the agency was simply following instructions in last 

month's 2011 spending bill that averted a government-wide shutdown. The legislation prohibits NASA 

from using any resources to host visits by a Chinese official to any NASA fac ility as well as for 

collaborations with any Chinese government entity. The Chinese journalists work for Xinhua~ the official 

Chinese news agency, and thus are considered government employees. The language was written by 

Representative Frank Wolf (R-VA), chair of a House of Representatives spending panel that oversees 

NASA's budget. Wolf is a vocal critic of China's human rights record and what he believes are 

government-sanctioned cyber-attacks on U.S. institutions and businesses. Xinhua editorialized about 

NASA's decision in an article that appeared Wednesday in China Daily. "Chinese journalists were denied 

the opportunity to make live coverage of the shuttle's blast-off, just as their peers from other countries 

have done. The Chinese journalists were also kept away from NASA's press conferences. Obviously, the 

"Wolf Clause" runs counter to the trend that both China and the United States are trying to push ahead 

their exchanges and cooperation in science and technology." Web posted. (2011). [Chinese Journalists 

Barred From Shuttle Launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://news.sciencemag.org/ [2011 May 20].] 

NASA's Atlantis Moves To Launch Pad May 31 For Final Shuttle Launch 

147 
Space shuttle Atlantis will begin moving to its launch pad at 8 p.m. EDT on May 31 , at NASA's Kennedy 

Space Center in Florida. The six-hour rollout from Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building is a major 

milestone as Atlantis is prepared for the final shuttle launch targeted for July 8. ["NASA's Atlantis 

Moves To Launch Pad May 31 For Final Shuttle Launch," NASA Media Advisory #Mll-097, May 20, 

2011.] 

Orbital Sciences Eyes West Coast Missions for Taurus 2 Launcher 

Orbital Sciences Corp. 's business case for its Taurus 2 rocket, scheduled to debut this year, assumes two 

or three launches per year for the next decade, with liftoffs occurring from a future West Coast spaceport 

in addition to the company's new launch pad at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility on Virginia's eastem 

shore. Mark Pieczynski, Orbital vice president of space launch business development, says the Dulles, 

Va.-based company has spent the past several months eyeing two launch sites on the West Coast that 

would allow the company to deliver medium-class payloads to high-inclination and sun-synchronous 

orbits: Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and Kodiak Island, Alaska. The company expects to decide on 

a site before the end of the year, he said. High-inclination, or near-polar, orbits are typically used for 

Earth observation because they provide global coverage. Vandenberg and Kodiak are geographically 

suited for launches to such orbits. Web posted. (2011). [Orbital Sciences Eyes West Coast Missions for 

Taurus 2 Launcher [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [201 I May 20].] 

May 22: Jobs challenge a head for Kennedy Space Center 

Endeavor's blast off last week began the countdown to the fmal shuttle launch in July and the start of a 

cruel summer for thousands of space workers who will soon be out of work. The spring wasn't any 

kinder. It brought the end of any hope the Space Coast might have had left for $40 million frrst promised 

last year by President Obama to help blunt the pain of the end of the shuttle program. Last year Obarna 

traveled to Kennedy Space Center and announced the initiative in front of hundreds of cheering workers 

and dignitaries. The money never made it into the federal budget compromise agreed to last month. 

Today, the best the administration has to offer is a proposal to spend $5 million in 2012 for a commercial 

spaceflight facility at KSC. While the project is a necessary and welcome development for the next phase 

of the space center, it would hire just 50 people over the next two years, hardly much of a comfort for the 

loss of7,000 jobs in Florida tied to the shuttle. The $40 milJion was supposed to provide a small infusion 

of venture capital or investments in start-ups with growth potential in the area as well as infrastructure 

improvements to aid in attracting more jobs. It certainly wasn't enough to solve the myriad of problems 

the region will face after the shuttle is mothballed for good, but it offered some resources for promoting 

new businesses. Now that job is falling to a group of local and state agencies and boards, including 

Workforce Brevard. Lisa Rice, president of that organization, said 4,000 workers have already submitted 

their resumes to a state online job board. That number is expected to increase as another estimated 1, 700 

people are laid off after Atlantis makes the program's final trip into orbit in just seven weeks. "As they 

get the major layoffs going in July and on into August, it's going to become harder and harder to keep up 

with everybody," she said. "Our biggest challenge is how are we going to handle tbis big spike?" For as 

dire as the employment outlook seems, Brevard Workforce is promoting its early success stories. Web 

posted. (2011). [Jobs challenge ahead for Kennedy Space Center [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 22].] 

May 23: Soyuz's pa rting shot of Endeavour, space station could be one for history 

Iconic images of the shuttle joined to a completed Intemational Space Station will be snapped tonight if 

an unprecedented space operation goes off as planned. For the first time, a Russian space taxi is scheduled 

to leave the station while a shuttle is docked there. The departure presents what may be the only 

opportunity to take pictures NASA and many space fans covet of the shuttle, on the eve of its retirement, 

parked at the $100 billion outpost that is its greatest legacy. "Hopefully those pictures will show up in 

textbooks for years to come," said Kenny Todd, NASA's station manager for operations and integration. 

About 5:30p.m., a Soyuz spacecraft piloted by Russian cosmonaut Dmitry Kondratyev and carrying a 

148 
NASA astronaut and an Italian astronaut will undock from a port 50 feet from Endeavour and back away 

to a distance of about 650 feet. The station then will rotate 130 degrees in an unusual sideways pose that 

offers a good view of the station, Endeavour, and two cargo ships flown by Russia and Europe. Before 6 

p.m., Italian astronaut Paolo Nespoli will climb temporarily into the windowed Soyuz module --a part of 

the craft that burns up during re-entry -- and begin taking pictures and video of the shuttle and station 

floating 220 miles above the planet. Nespoli will have about five minutes to take in the unique view 

before Soyuz thrusters fire to separate the spacecraft from the station and put Kondratyev, Nespoli and 

American Cady Coleman on route to a landing in Kazakhstan late tonight. It sounds simple enough, but 

the whole process involves risks that took years to gain acceptance. Interest in the photo kicked into gear 

before Discovery's February launch, which created a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to show off the 

station with each international partner vehicle there. NASA proposed having one of two Soyuz spacecraft 

at the station undock and perform a "flyabout" to take the pictures before returning to its port. Russian 

officials nixed the idea, citing concerns about performing the maneuvers with a new-model vehicle whose 

systems weren't fully tested. Planning for a photo was pushed back to the Atlantis mission targeted to 

launch July 8 -- the last time a shuttle would visit the station. The opportunity arose when shuttle and 

station program leaders approved what is known as "dual docked operations." In the past, vehicles 

coming and going from the station were conflicts for a shuttle mission to avoid. Thruster firings create 

plumes of rocket fuel and potential debris that could damage sensitive orbiter systems, including cockpit 

windows, si.ar-tracking devices and sensors used for heat shield inspections. Another showstopper could 

be coordinating shuttle and Soyuz crew schedules so each gets enough rest and can execute their separate 

missions without interference. In this case, engineers determined the plume risk was acceptable based on 

where the Soyuz is docked and its flight profile, and the schedules could be managed. If the effort 

succeeds, Todd said he hopes the photos give future generations an appreciation for the feat represented 

by the station, which couldn't have been built without the shuttle. Web posted. (2011 ). [Soyuz's parting 

shot of Endeavour, space station could be one for the history books (Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 23].] 

NASA Honors H uman Spaceflight Achievements 

NASA is inviting the general public and journalists to a special concert at 7 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, 

May 25, at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington to honor American 

achievements in human spaceflight. The event, "Human Spaceflight: the Kennedy Legacy" is a musical 

celebration on the 50th anniversary of President Kennedy's speech to Congress when he challenged our 

nation to land a man on the moon and return him safely to Earth. The one-hour concert will feature the 

Space Philharmonic under the baton of Emil de Cou. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, astronauts 

and special, surprise guests will participate in the event along with local high school musical groups and 

the Soldier's Chorus of the U.S. Army Field Band. A limited number of tickets is available for the 

general public on a first-come, first-served basis. [' 'NASA Honors Human Spaceflight Achievements At 

Kennedy Center Concert," NASA Media Advisory #Mll-098, May 23, 2011.] 

May 24: · NASA says r ecent crane accident will not affect Ma rs launch later this year 

NASA says a piece of hardware that will fly on the next mission to Mars was not damaged in a recent 

lifting accident. The space agency says the rover Curiosity will launch in late November as planned. 

During rehearsal last week in Florida where parts of the rover have been shipped for launch, a crane 

operator accidentally lifted the rover's protective back shell while it was still bolted to a table. Since the 

back shell is not designed to take the extra weight, engineers inspected the structure but found no damage. 

Curiosity is expected to land on Mars in summer 2012 to study whether the red planet ever had the right 

conditions to support primitive life. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the program, formally 

known as the Mars Science Laboratory. Web posted. (2011). (NASA says recent crane accident will not 

affect Mars launch later this year (Online). Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 

May 24].) 

149 
NASA preparing to put astronauts on commercial rockets 

NASA wants private companies such as Boeing or SpaceX to put astronauts on their rockets by middecade, to provide the next American space vehicles to replace the space shuttles. And it's setting up a 

new Commercial Crew Program office at Kennedy Space Center to set standards for how to do it. More 

than 200 senior executives from dozens of private space companies are meeting with NASA officials here 

this week to talk about what NASA - and the companies -- can expect when the agency's new program 

becomes operational. Space shuttle Atlantis is set to launch in July to take four astronauts, equipment and 

supplies to the International Space Station, ending the 30-year,135-flight shuttle program. That will leave 

Russian-built Soyuz spacecraft as the only alternative for getting astronauts to the space station, until the 

private contractors are ready. "We are set to have Soyuz go through 2015. So we need to have a system 

that is ready at or near that time," said Ed Mango, manager of NASA's Commercial Crew Program. "The 

longer we have tax dollars go overseas, that's probably not a good thing." Mango's office - only about 50 

employees now and possibly 100 soon - doesn't come close to replacing the shuttle program, which at its 

peak employed more than 10,000 at KSC. But NASA's decision to establish it here, with a branch office 

at Houston's Johnson Space Center, ensures that KSC will be the future hub of private rocket activity, said 

Frank DiBello, president of Space Florida, Florida's agency designed to promote space-related economic 

development. "The importance of the KSC role will grow," DiBello said. "The telling tale of the viability 

of the program will be in the 2012 [federal] budget." The program has $300 million this year, most of 

which is being spent on concept development contracts with four private companies interested in flying 

their own rockets: Boeing, SpaceX, Sierra Nevada Corp. and Blue Origin. SpaceX launched an unmanned 

Dragon capsule into orbit - and returned it to Earth - late last year, while Boeing has made a generation 

of satellite-launching Delta rockets. Mango said the proposed program budgets will provide $850 million 

a year for the next five years to develop "human-rated" commercial rockets. That should be plenty to get 

at least two companies ready to launch astronauts by the end of2015, "if not sooner," said John Gedmark, 

executive director of the Commercial Spaceflight Federation, which represents space industry companies. 

SpaceX has said it can get astronauts into space even quicker. But the money needs to be approved by 

Congress, and NASA needs to develop new processes to certify that a private rocket is safe to carry 

humans. That is what brought together NASA and industry officials for Tuesday's workshop at a 

DoubleTree Hotel here. Also Tuesday, NASA announced in Washington that it is committed to 

developing the capsule called Orion- which has already received $5.3 billion in NASA funds w1der the 

since-cancelled Constellation program - as its next manned space flight vehicle. Orion is slated to be 

assembled at KSC, which should produce "hundreds of jobs," according to U.S. Sen. BiiJ Nelson, D-Fla. 

But in a conference calJ, NASA officials did not release estimates on when Orion will be ready, how 

much it will cost, where it will go or even what rocket it will ride. Web posted. (2011). [NASA preparing 

to put astronauts on commercial rockets [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ 

[2011 May 24].] 

NASA announces new name, role for spacecraft 

NASA announced Tuesday that it found the ideal spaceship to take astronauts far from earth - the same 

one they've been working on for several years and have spent $5 billion on. All the Orion capsule needed 

was a new name - the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. NASA said it decided the spacecraft would be what 

takes astronauts to a still-to-be-determined destination. The disposable capsule would take four astronauts 

on 21-day trips. The Orion capsule was a cornerstone of former President George W. Bush's plan to 

return astronauts to the moon. NASA gave Lockheed Martin of Bethesda, Md., a $7.5 billion contract in 

2006 to build it. The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle is the same ship with almost no changes, said NASA 

associate administrator Doug Cooke during a Tuesday teleconference. The capsule is the only part of the 

Bush space plan that President Barack Obama did not cancel last year. NASA said then the Orion capsule 

could be used as an escape lifeboat at the International Space Station. Now the ship will be attached to a 

still-to-be-designed big rocket and go out of Earth's orbit. Possible destinations include nearby asteroids 

and eventually Mars. Cooke had no date for launching the capsule with astronauts aboard, no specific 

destination, and no eventual cost of each capsule or the entire program. But it will cost less than the 

!50 
original plan because NASA has found some "efficiencies," Cooke said, without elaborating. The ship 

would not be reusable because it wiiJ land in the Pacific Ocean and salt water corrodes metal. It will land 

like the Apollo capsules with a parachute and weigh about 23 tons. Sen. Bill Nelson, a Florida Democrat 

and former space shuttle flier, said using Orion means a "huge savings" for taxpayers because billions 

have already been spent on it. Web posted. (20 11). (NASA announces new name, role for spacecraft 

designed for scrapped moon mission [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ 

[20 11 May 24].] 

May 25: NASA picks robotic asteroid voyager for liftoff in 2016 

Touting its ability to lay the groundwork for future human voyages, NASA officials announced 

Wednesday a robotic probe named OSIRIS-REx will launch to an asteroid in 2016 and return up to 4 

pounds of rock and dust to Earth seven years later. Led by a research team at the Uruversity of Arizona in 

Tucson, OSIRIS-REx will approach a carbon-rich asteroid and collect samples with an air gun. Scientists 

expect the asteroid harbors orgaruc molecules, the building blocks that may have kick-started life on 

Earth. OSIRIS-REx stands for the Origins, Spectral Interpretation. Resource Identification, SecurityRegolith Explorer. After blasting off from Florida in September 2016, the craft will reach an asteroid 

designated 1999 RQ36 in 2020. Once it maps the surface from a close-up orbit, the probe will descend 

and extend a robot arm to blow nitrogen gas on the surface, lifting particles into a capture mecharusm. 

The total cost of OSIRIS-REx is expected to be around $1 billion, including a launch vehicle to send it 

away from Earth, according to Jim Green, director of NASA's planetary science division. The target 

asteroid is rich in carbon and spans approximately 1,900 feet in diameter. Its orbit crosses the path of 

Earth every September. Web posted. (2011). (NASA picks robotic asteroid voyager for liftoff in 2016 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 May 25).] 

May 26: Rocket-engine maker lays off 300, including 69 at Cape 

Rocket-engine maker Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is laying off about 300 people, including 69 at its 

facility at Kennedy Space Center, the company said this week. The company, which has powered 

missions to virtually every planet in the solar system, cited a sluggish economy, uncertainty in the space 

industry and concerns about government spending as reasons for the job cuts. "We must take difficult 

steps to ensure our cost structure is competitive during these challenging times," the company said in a 

statement. "This action is part of the company's continuous effort to align its workforce to meet 

customers' needs and to respond to the prevailing business conditions and outlook." The Kennedy layoffs 

were included in the state's regular announcements of major job reductions around the state. The 

company said it had already cut back in other areas, reducing spending on facility space, salaries and 

travel. Salaried workers who are being let go will receive severance packages that include benefits. The 

layoffs will affect all Pratt & Whitney sites, including facilities in Florida, Alabama, California and 

Mississippi. The company has a manufacturing site in West Palm Beach. The impact in Florida is less 

than a third of the total p lanned cuts. The company is the nation's leading maker of rocket engines. Web 

posted. (2011). [Rocket-engine maker lays off300, including 69 at Cape [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentiriel.com/ (2011 May 26).) 

NASA says commercial rockets will fly to space station by 2012 

NASA's plans to use commercial rockets to supply the International Space Station are running almost two 

years behind schedule and will cost $300 million more than expected, according to a watchdog report 

presented to Congress on Thursday. The agency expects SpaceX of California and Orbital Sciences of 

Virginia to start delivering cargo to the station in 2012 or earlier, replacing the space shuttle - which will 

be retired this summer. "NASA is pleased with the steady progress both companies continue to make in 

their cargo development efforts," said Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate admirustrator, told a 

congressional panel Thursday. He added both comparues have experienced "technical and schedule 

challenges" but those setbacks were "not uncommon." The report by the Government Accountability 

Office, a federal watchdog agency, was part of a two-hour hearing to examine the progress of NASA's 

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Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program. Started in 2005, the program will funnel 

$800 million to help private companies build rockets and capsules that can deliver cargo to the station. 

COTS funding helped SpaceX make history in December when it blasted a capsule into orbit and returned 

it safely-- becoming the first non-government entity ever to do so. However, that demonstration flight 

was 18 months late, and upcoming flights set for later this year and early 2012 also are behind schedule as 

SpaceX deals with propulsion and navigation problems, according to the GAO. Orbital also is late, 

having rescheduled a first demonstration flight from December 2010 to a year later as it works on 

everything from avionics to building a launch facility at Wallops Island, Va. Web posted. (2011). [NASA 

says commercial rockets will fly to space station by 2012 [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 May 26].] 

May 27: NASA lays claim to Atlas 5 rocket for the rest of2011 

The U.S. Air Force plans to launch navigation and communications satellites on Delta 4 rockets later this 

year while a battery of NASA payloads, including missions to Jupiter and Mars, occupy the Atlas 5 rocket 

manifest, according to military officials. The Pentagon launched the first geostationary Space Based 

Infrared System satellite, or SBIRS GEO I , on an Atlas 5 rocket May 7, clearing the way for NASA's 

Juno and Mars Science Laboratory missions to blast off this summer and fall. Juno is a radiationhardened orbited scheduled for launch Aug. 5 on the most powerful version of the Atlas 5 rocket. With 

five strap-on boosters and a five-meter payload fairing, the Atlas will send Juno on a five-year journey to 

Jupiter. NASA's next Mars rover will lift off Nov. 25 on the next Atlas 5 rocket on an eight-month trip 

to the Red Planet. The back-to-back NASA missions are keeping some rpilitary payloads on the ground, 

including the U.S. Navy's first Mobile User Objective System narrowband communications satellite. The 

Air Force launched the high-priority SBIRS GEO 1 spacecraft May 7, then yielded the Atlas manifest 

until for civilian missions until military flights resume in early 2012. Web posted. (2011). [NASA lays 

claim to Atlas 5 rocket for the rest of2011 [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ 

[2011 May 27].] 

Endeavour spacewalk marks 1,000 hours on station work 

The crew of the US space shuttle Endeavour wrapped up their fourth and fmal spacewalk Friday, a 

walkabout that surpassed the l ,OOOth hour of such trips to build the International Space Station. The 

marathon seven hour, 24 minute spacewalk began at 7:39 am (0415 GMT) and mission specialists Mike 

Fincke and Greg Chamitofffinished at 7:39am (1139 GMT), NASA said. Spacewalks typically last six 

and a half hours. "At 5:02am, Fincke and Charnitoff surpassed the 1 ,OOOth hour astronauts and 

cosmonauts have spent spacewalking in support of space station assembly and maintenance," NASA said. 

"The milestone occurred four hours and 47 minutes into today's spacewalk, the !59th in support of station 

assembly and maintenance, totaling 1,002 hours, 37 minutes." Web posted. (2011). [Endeavour 

spacewalk marks 1,000 hours on station work [Online]. Available WWW: http://news.yahoo.com/ [2011 

May 27].] 

U.S. Honor Flag will fly on shuttle's final journey 

The U.S. Honor Flag has flown in lraq and Afghanistan, at Ground Zero and during the funerals of 

countless law enforcement personnel nationwide, including 10 this year in Florida. And during a 

ceremony Thursday at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, about 100 police officers handed the flag 

to NASA so it can fly O!L1 shuttle Atlantis' final mission. "Now to be able to honor astronauts with it, too, 

it says a lot," said Robert Cabana, KSC director. "To take something significant like this onboard, it just 

adds one more significant event that the shuttle has helped participate in." 1n front of the Space Mirror 

Memorial, Cabana gave the folded flag to Jerry Ross, a former astronaut who flew on a record seven 

shuttle missions. Ross will travel with the flag to Jolmson Space Center in Houston, where it will remain 

until the launch, which is scheduled for July 8. The flag was donated by the Texas House of 

Representatives just after the Sept. II terrorist attacks and is meant to honor people who serve the country 

and its communities. James Loftus, director of the Miami-Dade Police Department, said the flag was 

152 
special to him because it flew at the funerals of two of his officers who were killed Jan. 20. That flag is a 

very important symbol of our culture, and now it's being embraced by an entirely different culture," 

Loftus said. "I think that's a wonderful thing." Web posted. (2011). (U.S. Honor Flag will fly on shuttle's 

final journey [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 May 27].] 

May 30: Space shuttle laser test could help guide asteroid missions 

Astronauts piloted the s.huttle Endeavour on a unique course back toward the International Space Station 

Monday, testing a next-generation laser-based navigation sensor in hopes of verifying it can help guide 

future voyages to the space station, distant asteroids and Mars. After undocking from the orbiting Jab at 

11:55 p.m. EDT Sunday, pilot Greg Johnson flew Endeavour on a 360-degree flyaround of the station, 

then sent the shuttle on a looping trajectory more than 5 miles above and behind the station. A series of 

thruster firings next propeiJed the ship back toward the outpost, approaching from behind and below as a 

laser system fired pulses 30 times per second to compute range and bearing data. The shuttle halted its 

approach 950 feet below the station, then burned its jets again to exit the Jab's vicinity as Endeavour's 

crew began preparations for their return to Earth early Wednesday. "Over the past year and a half, it's 

been a pleasure to work with the hardware and software developers for STORRM," radioed Drew Feustel, 

the astronaut charged with monitoring the experiment. Endeavour commander Mark KeiJy and pilot Greg 

Johnson oversaw the jet firings from the shuttle's flight deck. The second approach, called arerendezvous in NASA parlance, capped Endeavour's 12-day stay at the space station, which added a $2 

billion particle physics experiment named the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer, delivered a platform full of 

spare parts and helped maintain the lab's finicky oxygen generation and carbon dioxide scrubbing 

systems. Called STORRM, the experiment's objective was to try out a high-tech laser navigation system 

that NASA could use on future voyages to the space station and beyond. STORRM stands for Sensor Test 

for Orion Relative Navigation Risk Mitigation. NASA tapped Endeavour to take the sensor on a test run. 

The shuttle flew back to the space station on a unique trajectory designed to mimic how an Orion 

spacecraft would approach the complex. The Orion capsule, also known as the multi-purpose crew 

vehicle, could use the laser sensor to guide itself to destinations across the solar system, ranging from the 

space station 200 miles from Earth to asteroids millions of miles away. Officials said they will continue 

analyzing data from the STORRM experiment, and workers expect to remove the sensors from the 

shuttle's payload bay about a week after landing. After some initial testing at the Kennedy Space Center, 

the laser and docking camera will be shipped to a Lockheed Martin docking simulation facility in Denver. 

Web posted. (2011). [Space shuttle laser test could help guide asteroid missions [Online). Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 May 30].] 

153 
JUNE 

June 1: Endeavour completes final mission; one flight left for NASA 

The space shuttle Endeavour landed at Kennedy Space Center in Florida early Wednesday, completing its 

25th and fmal mission -- the next-to-last mission for NASA's 30-year-old space shuttle program. 

"Welcome home, Endeavour," Mission Control in Houston said. The spacecraft touched down at 2:34 

a.m. ET at the end of a nearly 16-day mission to the International Space station. "It's sad to see her land 

for the last time, but she really has a great legacy," said shuttle commander Mark Kelly after Endeavour 

rolled to a stop in the darkness of a warm Florida morning. The youngest of the shuttles retires after 25 

space flights. During 299 days in space, Endeavour orbited the earth 4,671 times and logged almost 122.9 

million miles, NASA said. It first went into service in 1993. Endeavour unlocked from the International 

Space Station late Sunday after spending more than 11 days linked to the orbiting laboratory, where the 

astronauts installed a cosmic ray detector. The $2 billion, 15,000-pound machine is already at work 

"gathering infonnation 'that could improve our understanding of the universe," Kelly said. "The 

retirement of Endeavour and the shuttle fleet will not end the human need to explore," Kelly said in 

comments from space that were posted on NASA's website. "It is and always will be part of who we are. 

The United States will build other spaceships better than those of today. Even if they are years in the 

future, they will nevertheless increase our knowledge of the world, generate an enormous benefit to the 

economy and inspire our children." On July 8, space shuttle Atlantis is to make NASA's final shuttle 

flight. Thousands of people turned out Tuesday night at Kennedy Space Center to watch it make the 

three-mile trip from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pad. "Look how majestic it looks 

rolling out to the launch pad," said astronaut Sandy Magnus to reporters. "Look at that and see what we 

can do when we put our minds to it." Web posted. (201 1). [Endeavour completes final mission; one flight 

left for NASA [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ [2011 June 1].] 

Orbiter Atlantis At Pad for Final Shuttle Launch 

Shuttle Atlantis settled in at its Kennedy Space Center launch pad today in advance of NASA's final 

shuttle flight , arriving a little less than an hour after Endeavour landed five miles to the west, winding up 

that orbiter's 25th and final flight. ln what amounted to a historic double-header, Atlantis started rolling 

up onto its launch pedestal at pad 39Ajust about the same time Endeavour rolled to a stop on Runway 15 

at the Shuttle Landing Facility. The shuttle was "hard-down" on the pad at 3:29a.m. Endeavour landed 

2:35a.m., capping a 6.5-miJlion-mile mission. Atlantis departed the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building at 

8:42 p.m. -- 42 minutes later than planned. A hydraulic system seal leak prompted the delay. Atlantis 

completed the 3.5-mile trip in a little less than six hours. Atlantis and four astronauts are scheduled to 

launch at II :38 a.m. July 8 on a two-week supply run to the International Space Station. The mission will 

be the 33rd for Atlantis and the I 35th and final flight for the shuttle program. Web posted. (2011). 

[Orbiter Atlantis At Pad for Final Shuttle Launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 June 1].] 

Shuttle's sonic booms lead to arrests in Kissimmee burglary spree 

Two men were arrested today, accused of breaking into several cars and a home in Kissimmee's 

Remington subdivision. And space shuttle Endeavour gets some of the credit. Deputies responded to a 

call at about 2:31a.m. today at a home on Amanda Kay Way in Kissimmee. The victim told dep~ties she 

had been awakened by the sonic booms of Endeavour passing overhead en route to its final landing at 

Kennedy Space Center. When she looked outside, she saw two men inside her car, which was parked in 

her driveway, the Sheriffs Office said. She then saw the pair run through her yard and get into another 

vehicle. Deputies quickly located the suspects, who provided information about four more car burglaries 

and a residential burglary in the subdivision. The investigation is ongoing, and more charges are pending, 

the Sheriffs Office said. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle's sonic booms lead to arrests in Kissimmee 

burglary spree [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 June l].] 

154 
Boeing Opens Exploration Launch Systems Office in Florida 

Boeing has established an Exploration Launch Systems Engineering and Integration office in Titusville to 

support the operational readiness of NASA's next launch system, currently under study. "This new 

Boeing office near NASA's Kennedy Space Center expands our capability to execute our current Upper 

Stage Production and Instrument Unit Avionics contracts, as well as continue our support ofNASA as it 

lays the groundwork for development of heavy-lift laWlch vehicle concepts," said Jim Chilton, 

Exploration Launch Systems vice president for Boeing. "We plan to ensure critical skills and capabilities 

are retained to provide a smooth workforce transition from the Space Shuttle program that builds on 

accomplishments and investments made to date." The Florida office complements Boeing's ongoing work 

on the Upper Stage Production and Instrument Unit Avionics contracts held at NASA's Marshall Space 

Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and the Michaud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Boeing recently 

submitted trade studies and detailed cost and schedule information to NASA so the agency can evaluate 

the company's heavy-lift launch vehicle system concepts, propulsion technologies and affordability. 

Boeing's 50-year history in human spaceflight and its skilled workforce will enable missions beyond Low 

Earth Orbit to transport payloads such as large-array telescopes and to explore deep space. Web posted. 

(2011). [Boeing Opens Exploration Launch Systems Office in Florida [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://boeing.mediaroom.com/ [2011 June 1].) 

Space shuttle Endeavour not expected to arrive in L.A. until late 2012 

The space shuttle Endeavour is expected to arrive at its permanent retirement home in Los Angeles in the 

latter half of 2012, the president of the California Science Center said Wednesday. Initially, museum 

officials had said the shuttle could arrive by the end of this year. But NASA officials said it would take 

longer to detoxify the space shuttle and prepare it for retirement. Complicating the timeline was the delay 

in Endeavour's fmal mission and preparation for the upcoming mission of the shuttle Atlantis in July, 

which will mark the last voyage of the space shuttle program. In the meantime, Jeffrey Rudolph, the 

California Science Center's president, said the museum, in Exposition Park, is making progress raising 

$28.8 million to pay for Endeavour's cleanup at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida and to bring it 

to Los Angeles. Parsons, a global engineering firm based in Pasadena, is donating its services to cover 

the logistics of transporting the orbiter from LAX to the museum grounds. The orbiter will have to be 

routed on streets that are not obstructed by freeway overpasses, Rudolph said. Rudolph said it would 

have been impractical for NASA to have Endeavour land at Edwards Air Force Base in California, 

because much of the equipment to detoxify the shuttle is in Florida. The $28.8 million being raised is a 

fraction of the $200 million needed to pay off a recent "Ecosystems" expansion of the Science Center and 

to fund a new Air and Space Center that will be home to Endeavour. Rudolph said the museum intends to 

display Endeavour at a temporary home after its arrival in Los Angeles. A more permanent home will 

take at least five years to design and construct. Web posted. (2011). [Space shuttle Endeavour not 

expected to arrive in L.A. until late 2012 [Online]. Available WWW: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/ 

[20 11 June I).) 

Shuttle Endeavour's Next Mission: Getting Cleaned Up for Museum Life 

With its final space mission in the history books, the shuttle Endeavour begins preparations for a life of 

leisure as a museum showpiece. Endeavour touched down at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida 

before sunrise today (June 1), bringing an end to its 16-day STS-134 spaceflight. Only one mission now 

remains for NASA's fleet of space shuttles: the STS-135 flight of Atlantis, scheduled to launch July 8. 

After a lengthy decommissioning process, Endeavour, the youngest orbiter in the fleet, should be ready to 

be shipped out west for display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles by next spring. NASA is 

retiring its space shuttle fleet after 30 years of spaceflight to make way for new deep-space missions 

aimed at visiting an asteroid by 2025 and Mars by the mid-2030s. Transfonning Endeavour from a flightready shuttle into a museum specimen is an involved process that will take months. And it will begin 

almost immediately, NASA officials said. Shortly after landing, Endeavour was rolled into Orbiter 

Processing Facility No. 1 at Kennedy Space Center for technicians to begin removing supplies and cargo, 

155 
. ------------------------------------------------------------------------, 

as they would following any shuttle mission. These activities should take several weeks, NASA officials 

said. When that's done, workers wil l begin the decommissioning process in earnest, taking some of 

Endeavour apart. They'll remove the thruster system inside the shuttle's nose, for example, as well as the 

big engines on either side of its tail. These parts will be shipped to a NASA facility in White Sands, 

N.M., for thorough decontamination. "This is for 'museum-clean,"' said Allard Beutel, NASA spokesman 

at Kennedy Space Center. "They're completely flushing out the system. Twenty years from now, we don't 

want some sort of piping to degrad~ and suddenly drip hydrazine [rocket fuel] on people." The parts will 

then be reattached to Endeavour at KSC, though the main engines will be replicas. NASA will keep the 

original ones, which could be useful references in the design or testing of new equipment, officials have 

said. The decommissioning work, while not old hat for NASA, is not unprecedented, either. The agency 

has already begun the transition work on the shuttle Discovery, which wrapped up its fmal mission, STS133, in March. Discovery sits right next door to Endeavour, in Orbital Processing Facility No. 2, where it 

is being readied for display at the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum in Washington, D.C. Discovery 

should be ready for transport to the Smithsonian by January or February, Beutel said. De-commissioning 

work on Endeavour and then Atlantis will be finished shortly thereafter, in staggered shifts. Atlantis is 

bound for display at the Kennedy Space Center's Visitors Complex. New York City's Intrepid Sea, Air & 

Space Museum will get Enterprise, a prototype shuttle that made some glide tests but never reached 

space. When Endeavour is all scrubbed up and ready for display, it will hitch a ride to Los Angeles 

aboard a modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft. This transport aircraft will have to refuel several times 

during the journey from Florida, Beutel said. NASA is considering turning the refueling stops into meetand-greet sessions with the public, making Endeavour's last journey something of a farewell tour. But 

that's just an idea at the moment, not a definitive plan. "That's all very preliminary," Beutel said. "A lot of 

logistics would have to be worked out." A farewell tour would give more people a chance to know and 

appreciate Endeavour, which made 25 successful missions to Earth orbit and back. "I just love this 

vehicle," STS-134 pilot Greg Johnson told reporters yesterday. "This vehicle is a wonderful machine, and 

it's an honor and a privilege for each one of us to be part of her final flight." Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle 

Endeavour's Next Mission: Getting Cleaned Up for Museum Life [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .space.com/ [20 11 June 1 ].] 

June 2: KSC crews prepare Atlantis for final launch 

Kennedy Space Center teams are preparing Atlantis and launch pad 39A for the final shuttle launch, 

including reviews to make sure nothing was damaged when lightning struck within a half-mile of the pad 

during storms that arrived hours after Atlantis Wednesday morning. The rotating gantry that shields the 

orbiter from weather and provides access for workers was closed this morning. Meanwhile, work is 

under way to begin "safing" Endeavour's hazardous systems after its final return from space early 

Wednesday. In the hangar called Orbiter Processing Facility-1, crews are draining residual cryogenic 

reactants from the fuel cell system powered the orbiter during its 16-day trip to space. The four 

astronauts flying the mission, led by Chris Ferguson, will visit KSC for a launch countdown dress 

rehearsal from June 20 to 23. Web posted. (2011). [KSC.crews prepare Atlantis for final launch [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011 June 2].] 

Cybersecurity, the next frontier for NASA engineers 

If one were to map where the nation's brightest science, technology, engineering and mathematics minds 

are concentrated, the epicenter might fall somewhere along an eastern stretch of central Florida known as 

the Space Coast. The region is best known for the Kennedy Space Center, the launching site of every 

human US space flight since 1968. June 28, however, will mark the space shuttle program's fmal mission, 

when Discovery propels into orbit. Any future voyages of that nature will be conducted by private firn1s, 

with NASA choosing to focus on deep-space exploration, with the eventual goal of landing on Mars. The 

retirement of the shuttle means the end, for now, of the dramatic liftoffs and landings, tragedies and 

triumphs that have come to define America's fascination with outer space. But it also signifies the end of 

something more tangible - the technology here on Earth that bas emerged because of NASA's scientific 

156 
research. The agency is credited with scores of innovations, ranging from smoke detectors and power 

tools to crop dusters and chips for breast biopsies. Some of the most intellectually gifted Americans built 

those products - and now about 8000 of them are expected to be out of a job. But the aerospace 

industry's loss may be the cybersecurity market's gain, according to Deborah Kobza, president and CEO 

of the recently launched nonprofit Global Institute for Cybersecurity and Research (GICSR), founded last 

August. The goal of the nonprofit, located just across the street from the Kennedy Space Center, in a 

business center known as Exploration Park, is to advance cybersecurity education, innovation and 

research by providing the coordination of key players, and generating recommendations and actionable 

policy solutions. Not only is GICSR focusing on helping NASA workers transition to a career in 

cybersecurity - their skill sets make them a ripe fit for a career in network defense - but the group also 

views its mission as much broader. If successful, GICSR, enabled by the resources available at Kennedy 

Space Center, may help generate a new source of American pride that could have as lasting benefits as the 

innovations that grew from the space program. "One global industry and technology sector that represents 

urgent and critical research and workforce education needs and career opportunities across industry, 

government and academia is cybersecurity," Kobza says. "1n addition to defining next-generation 

cybersecurity research, trusted tools and technologies, the demand for skilled security professionals is 

growing dramatically as businesses and governments continue to invest heavily in cybersecurity." It is no 

surprise that education is the chief component of GICSR's strategy. Studies have shown that there is a 

startling shortage of skilled cybersecurity professionals, both in government and the private sector. And 

those who do already work in the industry often lack the necessary skills to best do their jobs. Federal 

officials have estimated that the US government alone needs up to 30,000 security professionals, but only 

about 1000 are capable right now. The goal is to reach not only laid-off space shuttle workers, but also 

the current IT security workforce and students from kindergarten through college. The group already is 

working on a framework for health care- NASA can lend resources because it is well versed in handling 

electronic health records of employees - with plans to extend across all critical infrastructure sectors. To 

achieve its objectives, GICSR is working in concert with a slew of government entities, including NASA, 

the US National Institute of Standards and Technology, the US Department of Homeland Security and the 

US Nati'onal Security Agency, as well as security certification companies and academia. The group is 

partnering with SAIC, a scientific, engineering and technology applications company, to take advantage 

of a 1 0-week CyberNEXS pilot training program, which provides a networking environment that 

simulates real-world operations. The space agency has both a lot to gain from and provide to GICSR. For 

starters, Kobza says, the group is supporting the transition of space shuttle workers, through collaboration 

with the Space Center, local workforce and academic organizations, training providers and certification 

bodies. In addition, NASA's location across the street from GICSR is providing a synergy that could yield 

valuable research and development for the security industry. The NASA Center for Lifecycle Design, 

best known for modeling and simulating space launches, also can extend to other industries. "Modeling 

and simulation is a cross-cutting technology that could be used for training, analysis and operations in a 

number of fields, including cybersecurity," says Priscilla Elfrey, a senior specialist in modeling and 

simulation outreach at Kennedy Space Center. Elfrey says the partnership with GISCR enables NASA to 

build on its highly developed workforce to identify areas in security where new technology is needed. 

This, in turn, raises awareness around the need for qualified security professionals. "If we can make 

people aware of cybersecurity as an employment field, and make it clear what it is you need to know to 

do that, and have GICSR with connections to people who hire, then I think there's a pathway to find 

jobs," she says. Among the capabilities of the GSAC, located at Exploration Park, are: *24/7 physical 

and cybersecurity situational awareness monitoring and analysis GIS; *Satellite imagery; *Two-way 

information sharing; *Modeling and simulation for mock disaster exercises; *Alert/warning notifications 

Incident response; * Countermeasure solutions; * Communications and crisis information management 

solutions; *Security protection and best practice solutions and *Education. Web posted. (2011 ). 

[Cybersecurity, the next frontier for NASA engineers [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.scmagazine.com.au [2011 June 2).) 

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Hot Rod Magazine's Power Tour roars into Brevard 

Thousands of hot rods rumble into Brevard County starting today, a high-octane kickoff to the summer 

tourism season. Upward of3,000 souped-up cars are expected in town-- most from out of the area-- for 

the start of the 17th annual Hot Road Magazine Power Tour, and more than 1,500 hotels rooms have been 

booked for the weekend, said Rob Varley, executive director of the Space Coast Office ofTourism. "It's 

going to be great," he said. "The PR tie to this, the national exposure we're getting, it was worth the event 

itself. It's going to be huge." The Power Tour is a seven-day, seven-city road trip that kicks off Saturday 

in Port Canaveral with a car show featuring thousands of hot rods and about 70 NASCAR-style, tractortrailer rigs selling parts and wares. On Sunday, drivers will leave for Valdosta, Ga., as they head off on a 

1 ,600-mile, seven-city tour that ends in Detroit on June I 0. Kissimmee was a kickoff city a few years 

ago. Cocoa Beach-Port Canaveral is the only other Florida destination chosen as a kickoff city in the 

history of the tour. This year, the Power Tour's Sunday Drive feature involves the KSC Visitor Complex. 

Drivers will be able to loop around the Vehicle Assembly Building and tour Launch Complex 39A. They 

will motor past the countdown clock, the press site and orbiter processing facilities. Hot Rod magazine 

will film the tour for "Hot Rod TV," which airs on the Speed Network. A follow-up story will be printed 

in the magazine this year. Web posted. (2011). [Hot Rod Magazine's Power Tour roars into Brevard 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 June 2].) 

June 3: Tweeters ... in ... spaaaace! 

Has it really been two years since a NASA astronaut sent down the first Twitter update from outer space? 

The online world has changed since then: Every shuttle crew member will be on Twitter for Atlantis' final 

flight, scheduled in July - for the first (and the last) time in the 30~year space shuttle program. But that's 

just one part of NASA's Twitter campaign. Thousands ofTwitter users are waiting to find out if they'll be 

among the lucky 150 to take part in the space agency's last shuttle mission "tweetup." The tweetup 

tradition dates back two years as well, to a time even before astronaut Mike Massimino sent that first 

tweet from orbit ("Launch was awesome!!"). The event makes it possible for Twitter users of all stripes to 

take part in tours and briefings at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, and then see the launch in person from 

the press site. More than 4,000 Twitter users applied to be on hand for Endeavour's launch last month, 

and although the applications for the Atlantis tweetup still have to be fully sorted, NASA says the 

numbers of would-be tweeters is shaping up to be higher. NASA says it will release the list of 150 · 

tweetup participants by June 10. The hashtag #NASAtweetup is already generating a new wave of buzz in 

anticipation of the mission, and the traffic will surely get heavier as the launch date approaches. Web 

posted. (2011). [Tweeters ... in ... spaaaace! [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://cosmiclog.msnbc.msn.com/ [2011 June 3].] 

June 4: Homemade Danish rocket takes off 

A home-made rocket built by two Danes successfully blasted off from a floating launch pad off the 

Danish Baltic island ofBornholm Friday, nine months after its first test flight failed due to a defective 

hair drier. The nine-meter (30-foot), 1.6-tonne rocket and its small capsule have taken space enthusiast 

Peter Madsen, former NASA employee Kristian von Bengtsson and an army of volunteers some three 

years to test and build. Last September, their first launch attempt failed when a hair drier designed to keep 

a valve from freezing failed. There had been fears that Friday's attempt would also go wrong when the 

unmanned rocket's automatic start sequence did not initiate, but after a new countdown began, all systems 

were go and at precisely 4:32pm (1432 GMT), the rocket roared into the sky. It is not yet clear how far 

the rocket rose into the air and whether it reached the altitude of between 14 and 16 kilometers (8.9-9.9 

miles) hoped for by the Copenhagen Suborbitals group. Web posted. (2011). [Homemade Danish rocket 

takes off [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ [2011 June 4].] 

June 5: SLS configuration nears decision point - Two-phase approach rejected 

A decision on the configuration of the Space Launch System (SLS) Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle (HL V) is 

just weeks away, as final evaluations take place into a "staged evolution of a single heavy launcher", after 

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NASA's leadership rejected the two-phase approach, which would have resulted in an open competition 

for the Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) derivative of the SLS. The process to finalize the new path for NASA 

- following the cancellation of the Constellation Program (CxP) - remains under evaluation. The lack of a 

clear direction continues to burden the Agency, something which will continue to be the case even after 

the centerpiece rocket is revealed. Although the ultimate goal for the Agency's exploration plan is 

manned mission to Mars, no definitive roadmap has risen from the ashes of the Ares-based architecture, 

resulting in a path where a Heavy Lift vehicle is being designed before the missions it is set to cater 

for have been set in stone - something which often is pointed out as the wrong way around. Top level 

NASA meetings late last week once again emphasized their agreement with the HL V requirement in the 

Authorization Act - which was based on NASA input during its drafting - noting that all fmdings concur 

there are no real savings in multiple smaller law1ches, which they claim also increase risk. This vehicle, 

which continues to be tagged as the Design Reference Vehicle (DRY) for the purpose of the final report 

to lawmakers, will enable use of core elements, " initially" - the notes claim- utilizing Solid Rocket 

Boosters to allow the SLS to provide back-up in the 2016-early 2017 time-frame for the ISS support 

assurance - as requested in the Authorization Act. A definitive design and basic systems decision is 

expected before the end of June, even though these findings may lack the procurement and management 

strategy at that point. There is understood to be a hard deadline of July 8 - when Atlantis is scheduled to 

launch on the fmal Shuttle mission, STS-135. Web posted. (2011). [SLS configuration nears decision 

point - Two-phase approach rejected [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflighlt.com/ 

[20 11 June 5].] 

June 6: Honeywell receives $96 million contract from NASA's Safety Center 

Honeywell International Inc. said Monday that it has received a $96 million contract from NASA's Safety 

Center for safety and mission assurance services. The diversified manufacturing company said it will 

provide audits and assessments to NASA's centers and suppliers. Its HTSI subsidiary will provide safety 

and mission assurance support to NASA's headquarters, field centers, programs and projects and 

suppliers .. Honeywell is based in Morris Township, N.J. Web posted. (2011). [Honeywell International 

receives $96 million contract from NASA's Safety Center [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.dailyjoumel.net/ [2011 June 6].] 

Space shuttle Atlantis astronauts flying to Kennedy Space Center 

The final crew of space shuttle Atlantis is flying to Kennedy Space Center today. The crew will check 

part of the payload they will deliver to the International Space Station. Some crewmembers will also 

practice landings. Meanwhile, technicians are replacing part of space shuttle Atlantis' Window 

Contamination Control System (WCCS). Officials decided to remove and replace the left outboard 

WCCS dessicant following inspections and an engineering review board meeting last week. The repairs 

should be completed before the shuttle's tanking test next week. Managers said the repairs should not 

delay Atlantis' final launch date. Atlantis is expected to launch Friday, July 8 at 11:40 a.m. Web posted. 

(2011). [Space shuttle Atlantis astronauts flying to Kennedy Space Center [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.cfnews13.com/ [2011 June 6].] 

Explore new worlds at Kennedy Space Center with 'Star Trek' 

They've explored strange new worlds and boldly gone where no man has gone before. And now, items 

from the "Star Trek" television shows and movies will be coming to Kennedy Space Center Visitor 

Complex. On Saturday, "Star Trek: The Exhibition," will begin a four-month run, including a massive 

display of sets, costunles and gadgets like phasers and communicators from more than four decades of 

"Star Trek." Visitors will get to sit in the chair that Capt. James T. Kirk, played by William Shatner, sat in 

when commanding the U.S.S. Enterprise, one of the artifacts that's part of an exhibit replicating the iconic 

command bridge set from the original "Star Trek" television series. They also can take a five-minute 

simulator ride, called "The Star Trek Shuttlecraft Simulator Adventure." "It's very important that we have 

something new," said John Stine, KSC Visitor Complex sales and marketing director, who expects the 

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exhibit to boost visitor complex attendance by I 0 percent to 15 percent this summer. Stine sees the 

exhibit as a way to link the real-life story of the U.S. space program with one of the most popular sciencefiction franchises in history, as well as a way to attract new visitors to the complex. The new attraction 

could help extend to two days their visit to the complex and its sister facility, the U.S. Astronaut Hall of 

Fame. Stine said the visitor complex is spending $1.5 million to bring the "Star Trek" exhibit to Brevard 

County, through a deal with CBS and Event Marketing Service, an Austrian-based company that works 

with CBS. That amount doesn't include the cost of marketing. There will be "Star Trek"-costumed 

characters at the complex to interact with visitors and guide them around the exhibits, and there is a 30-

minute interactive "Star Trek Live" show, which debuted last year and remains as a permanent exhibit. 

The complex, which is operated for NASA by Delaware North Companies Parks & Resorts, is Brevard 

County's most popular paid tourist attraction, drawing 1.5 million visitors a year. Visitors to the Kennedy 

Space Center Visitor Complex's "Star Trek: The Exhibition" attraction this summer will have a chance to 

win a brief trip into space as early as 2012 aboard the two-seat XCOR Aerospace Lynx suborbital 

spacecraft. The total flight time aboard the Lynx vehicle is about 45 minutes, including about 2 minutes 

in space. The vehicle takes off and lands on a runway strip. The prize also includes a six-day, five-night 

hotel stay for two while the winner is trained for the flight. The training and the trip are valued at more 

than $100,000. Web posted. (2011). [Explore new worlds at Kennedy Space Center with 'Star Trek' 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 June 6].] 

Final space shuttle to feature 'nose art' 

When the space shuttle launches on its final mission next month, it will be adorned with the same 

markings it has always been - the United States flag and the NASA logo - with one subtle but special 

addition. Launch spectators may find it difficult to see, but painted on an access door near the top of the 

shuttle's fuel tank will be 'nose art' paying tribute to the winged vehicles' 30 year legacy. It'll be only the 

second time in 135 missions that the space shuttle has lifted off with a commemorative emblem painted 

on its side. The colorful design, which was created and chosen earlier this year through a contest for 

NASA's past and present employees, has already been reproduced on medallions, embroidered cloth 

patches and t-shlrts - some of which have already flown on board previous shuttle missions. This next 

and last launch however, will mark its premiere on the side of a spacecraft. But don't go searching for it 

just yet; even though space shuttle Atlantis arrived on the launch pad last week, the hand-painted hatch is 

still waiting to be installed on the fuel tank during the weeks leading up to liftoff, targeted for July 8. The 

logo, which was designed by an engineer at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, depicts the shuttle 

set against a diamond-shaped background. Artist Blake Dumesnil described his emblem as having been 

inspired by bow the shuttle has been "an innovative, iconic gem in the history of American spaceflight." 

His insignia's jewel-like facets fan out to "evoke the vastness of space and our aim to explore it, as the 

shuttle has done successfully for decades." The logo also evokes an old tagline for the vehicle. When the 

first shuttle launched in April 1981, it was dubbed "The Gem of the Galaxy." The central element of 

Dumesnil's logo, the space shuttle itself, is bounded by panels showing the U.S. flag and two sets of stars: 

14 in memory of the astronauts lost aboard orbiters Challenger and Columbia and five symbolizing the 

shuttle fleet including Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis. The emblem's jewel-shape is cradled by the 

outline of a blue circle, symbolizing the orbiter's realm in Earth orbit but also alluding "to the smoothness 

of the shuttle orbiting the Earth," according to Dumesnil. The artwork is finished with the inscription 

"Space Shuttle Program" and the years that the spaceplanes flew, "1981" through "2011." It was the 

second fuel tank door that irving was tasked to paint. The first, which launched with Endeavour's fmal 

flight last month, featured artwork celebrating that tank's repair after being damaged by Hurricane Katrina 

in 2005. The last time the logo will be seen is when Atlantis' crew turns their cameras back at the tank as 

it falls away from the orbiter. Web posted. (2011). [Final space shuttle to feature 'nose art' [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.collectspace.com/ [201 1 June 6].] 

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June 7: Sachs/Mason-Dixon poll supports continued space exploration 

A poll released today by Ron Sachs Communications and Mason-D ixon Polling Research found that 57 

percent of Americans believe that the U.S. should " continue to be a world leader in maimed space 

exploration." For the poll, 625 adults were surveyed between May 23 and May 24 nationwide. There is a 

4 percent margin of error. Following 2011 , NASA is ending its space shuttle program. Space Shuttle 

Atlantis is slated to launch as the space shuttle program's fmal mission in July. However, NASA will stiU 

likely see billions of dollars in federal funding over the next several years. "Hwnan space flight 

symbolizes American ingenuity, innovation and imagination and any effort to ensure our nation remains 

at the forefront of manned space flight is strongly supported by the American people," said Ron Sachs, 

President of Ron Sachs Communications, in a press release. "The American people are emotional about 

maintaining our nation's leadership in this important scientific endeavor." Web posted. (2011). 

[Sachs/Mason-Dixon poll supports continued space exploration [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 June 7].] 

June 8: NASA salt-mapper poised for West Coast launch 

A salt-mapping NASA science instrwnent housed on an Argentinian-built satellite is about 24 hours from 

launching from the California coast. The $237-million Aquarius mission will map the concentration 

of salt, or salinity, on the surface of oceans around tl1e world. Data from the minimum three-year mission 

will improve understanding of how small changes in salinity influence tile cycle of water between oceans 

and atmosphere, and how climate change affects the pace of that cycle. The satellite known as SA C-D 

also includes seven other instruments from four nations: Argentina, Canada, France and Italy. It is 

scheduled to blast off from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a 128-foot-tall United Launch Alliance Delta 

II rocket at 10:20 a.m. EDT Thursday, the opening of a five-minute launch window. The Air Force's 

30th Weather Squadron anticipates perfect conditions for launch. Kennedy Space Center's Launch 

Services Program is managing tile launch, NASA's first since the failed Glory mission launched in March 

from Vandenberg on an Orbital Sciences Corp. Taurus XL rocket. About 60 KSC personnel are at 

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Vandenberg supporting the launch, along with about 40 Cape Canaveral-based ULA employees. Web 

posted. (20 II). [NASA salt-mapper poised for West Coast launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 II June 8].] 

Mars rover launch may be delayed, NASA warns 

NASA's top watchdog warned Wednesday that the agency's next major mission to Mars, an SUV-sized 

science rover, could miss its fall launch date because of technical problems - a delay that would add 

more headaches to a project already late and over budget. Of particular concern is the possibility that the 

rover's drill bit could contaminate the rock and soil samples it obtains and undermine the prime mission of 

the Mars Science Laboratory, answering whether Mars could support life. Also worrisome to NASA 

Inspector General Paul Martin were problems with the rover's flight software and backup systems. These 

and other glitches could impact whether the $2.5 billion project, already at least $900 million over budget 

and two years late, launches on time from Kennedy Space Center. "Because of technical issues related to 

these three and other items, project managers must complete nearly three times the number of critical 

tasks than originally planned in the few months remaining until launch," noted Martin and his team in a 

52-page report. Investigators also raised concerns about the rover's power output and whether it will be 

affected by a rough landing on the Martian surface, now planned for August 2012. Much is riding on the 

mission. The rover, dubbed "Curiosity," will scoop soil, drill into rocks and use I 0 different scientific 

instruments to help scientists better understand the chemistry of the Martian surface and whether it ever 

was or could be habitable for microbial life. In response, NASA officials said they remained confident 

the rover would launch in late November or early December and added that they had fixed or were fixing 

problems identified in the report. If NASA misses its fall20 11 deadline, however, it'll be another two 

years before it can launch again, as the best chance to time the orbits of Earth and Mars comes around 

only every 26 months. The mission already missed its first attempt in 2009 because of the late delivery of 

several critical instruments. Though the report notes that NASA has solved many of its problems, it bad 

concerns about three others. During testing of the rover, technjcians found that "hydrocarbons from oil 

used during the manufacturing of the drill bits were being released and causing contamination of 

samples." NASA has said it has devised a fix to the problem: basically using software to filter out any 

bad information due to contamination. As for the flight software and backup systems, NASA told 

investigators that they "can be resolved after MSL has been launched," according to the report. Under the 

current plan, the rover would land on Mars in August 20 12 and operate at least two years. Much larger 

than previous Mars rovers, Curiosity aims to travel up to 660 feet per day as it combs Martian rocks and 

soil for clues as to whether the Red Planet ever had conditions to support life. Web posted. (2011). [Mars 

rover launch may be delayed, NASA warns [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 June 8].] 

Delta 2 rocket to launch oceanography craft Friday 

Launch of the Delta 2 rocket originally planned for Thursday morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base 

in California has been postponed 24 hours to sort through a software issue. Officials delayed the Delta 2 

rocket launch carrying Argentina's SAC-D satellite with NASA's Aquarius oceanography instrument to 

allow engineers more time to sort through a software issue. A review of the flight program for steering 

the rocket through high-altitude winds found that the last few seconds of the proftle got truncated and the 

team isn't sure why, a NASA spokesman explained. The time needed to examine the situation and 

determine how best to reload the software data meant a launch attempt wasn't feasible early Thursday. 

Friday's five-minute launch window opens at 7:20 a.m. local time (I 0:20 a.m. EDT; 1420 GMT). 

Weather forecasters predict another I 00 percent chance of acceptable conditions at liftoff time. But the 

marine layer is expected to remain entrenched at Vandenberg, producing very low ceilings and restricted 

visibility with fog. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Delta 2 rocket to launch oceanography craft Friday [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.spaceilightnow.com/ [2011 June 8].) 

June 9: Delta ll, Aquarius blast off from Vandenberg 

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A NASA science satellite designed to monitor the saltiness of the ocean surface is en route to orbit after 

blasting off from the California coast. A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket lifted off from 

Vandenberg Air Force Base on time at 10:20 a.m. EDT. The early phases of flight proceeded without 

incident. Three strap-on solid rocket boosters burned out and separated one minute and 45 seconds into 

flight, and the ftrst stage separated about five minutes in, as the vehicle accelerated past 10,000 mph. The 

rocket's second stage executed its first burn properly. The 16-foot-tall, Argentinian-built spacecraft 

carrying eight instruments including NASA's Aquarius, the primary instrument, was scheduled to separate 

from the rocket's second stage about 56 minutes after launch. The $287-million mission will map ocean 

surface salinity around the globe for three years. Web posted. (2011). [Delta II, Aquarius blast off from 

Vandenberg [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 

June 10].] 

Bill Would Cut Pay For Laid-Off Shuttle Workers 

A bill pending before Florida Gov. Rick Scott would count severance pay for laid-off workers when 

calculating unemployment benefits, a policy that could affect thousands of NASA contractors sidelined 

by the space shuttle's retirement. If Scott, a Republican who supported earlier versions of the bill as it 

wound through the legislative process, signs the new law, known as HB 7005, the double-pay benefits 

would stop effective Aug. 1. NASA currently plans to launch its fmal space shuttle mission, STS-135, on 

July 8 and land on July 20. Two days later, prime shuttle contractor United Space Alliance (USA) intends 

to lay off about 1 ,900 of its workers in Florida. Delays launching Atlantis on its supply run to the 

International Space Station likely would affect when USA's layoffs take effect. Terminations after Aug. 

1 would be subject to the new regulations, if Scott signs the bill. According to the Florida Agency for 

Workforce Innovation, the bill would eliminate unemployment benefits for a particular week if a 

claimant's severance pay is equal to or greater than his or her weekly benefit amount. If severance pay is 

less than the weekly benefit amount, the amount would be deducted from the unemployment 

compensation. Currently, Florida does not take into account severance pay when calculating 

unemployment benefits. Under the new bill, severance pay does not affect the total amount of benefits 

that can be paid on the claim, the agency's press office added. Web posted. (2011). [Bill Would Cut Pay 

For Laid-Off Shuttle Workers [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ [2011 June 

9].] 

June 10: Unions face uphill battle 

Labor unions, already in decline statewide and on the Space Coast, expect to lose even more members in 

Brevard County c this summer as NASA sheds contract workers at Kennedy Space Center in the wake of 

the shuttle program's conclusion. Since 2007, nearly 1,000 union members - a quarter of the union 

work force- have lost their jobs at KSC, where about a third of the workers belong to one of eight 

unions. And several hundred union members likely will be among about 2,000 workers to be laid off July 

22, after the last shuttle flight. Statewide, the number of union workers has fallen by 90,000, or about 19 

percent, since 2008, according to the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation. The higher wages union 

workers receive on federal installations like KSC helps boost income levels and spending power across 

Brevard. The loss of that pay could magnify the already negative impact of the layoffs, experts suggest. 

"The loss of these jobs is beyond union versus non-union," said Sean Snaith, director of the Institute for 

Economic Competitiveness at the University of Central Florida. "It's going to be very difficult for the 

area to recover from the loss of both those blue-collar workers and those rocket scientists." Union leaders 

fear layoffs at KSC will reduce the strength of Brevard unions while eliminating forever the higherpaying jobs their members bold. A lingering question is whether attacks by some states on public workers 

unions will spr~d to the union employees who continue to work under federal contracts in the space 

program. As of last year, Brevard had about 7,200 people in AFL-CIO affiliated unions. That's about 4 

percent of the county's work force. The bulk of them were in two areas: about 2,900 at KSC, and 2,659 

were members of the Brevard Federation of Teachers. The remaining 1,604 work at Cape Canaveral Air 

Force Station or other union businesses. Statewide, the work forc.e is 5.6 percent union, about half of the 

163 
national average. But as the shuttle program ends, those numbers are in flux. After shuttle Atlantis 

rockets skyward for the final time, a launch now scheduled for July 8, the unemployed union workers 

could be more likely to leave the county as they try to find jobs that pay the top wages they earned while 

working at KSC. Unions now anticipate a struggle to protect the pay and benefits of their remaining 

members as the shuttle work force is laid off. The electrical workers union, for example, has about 160 

members employed by United Space Alliance, which expects to have the bulk of the post-shuttle layoffs, 

including more than 130 of those union workers. And NASA's plan to rely on commercial space 

companies to build the next generation of rockets does not promise to help union workers. Private 

companies, unlike federal contractors, have no obligation to accommodate union workers. While union 

electricians are familiar with being laid off and looking for new jobs, they face a job market hostile to 

union members. Many likely will choose to leave Brevard. Federal enclaves, such as KSC and the Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station, traditionally have welcomed unions and have been encouraged to do so by 

federa l regulations. The relationship between federal contractors and the unions they employ bas 

generally been amiable. However, because of concern over the national deficit - and older economic 

arguments about the impact of unions - the acceptance of organized labor is waning in the U.S. "We 

tend to have better benefits and we tend to have better working conditions simply because we have the 

right to collectively bargain," said Kevin Smith, president of the Transport Workers Union, which 

represents 700 workers at KSC, the Air Force station and Patrick Air Force Base. "We are paid well, and 

we'd like to continue that." The union workers are firefighters, paramedics, supply technicians, ordinance 

technicians, and searchlight and generator operators at tracking sites. They also staffTransoceanic Abort 

Landing sites around the world during shuttle launches. The Transport Workers Union operates under 

about a dozen contracts with companies at KSC and the Cape, and past negotiations have not been tense. 

"Our relationships with those companies are fantastic," Smith said. Web posted. (20 11). [Unions face 

uphill battle [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1 June 10].] 

Rocket launched from Wallops to test new tech 

NASA has launched a rocket from Virginia's Eastern Shore to test new technologies. The agency says the 

Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket was launched at 7:16a.m. Friday from its Wallops 

Island Flight Facility. The launch was delayed a day after an unsuccessful attempt on Thursday due to a 

failed ignition caused by a short circuit in a ground electrical support system. The Small Rocket/ 

Spacecraft Technology platform, known as SMART, and the Autonomous Flight Safety System are 

among the technologies to be tested. NASA says it plans another launch of a Terrier-Improved Orion 

later this month to conduct educational experiments. The launch window is June 23 to June 29 between 6 

a.m. and 9 a.m. Web posted. (201 1). [VIRGINIA: Rocket launched from Wallops to test new tech 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.delmarvonow.com/ [201 1 June 10].] 

Atlantis launch preps continue ahead of test 

At launch pad 39A this weekend, Kennedy Space Center teams will continue closing out the aft section of 

shuttle Atlantis in preparation for the targeted July 8 launch of the last shuttle mission. Early next week, 

focus will turn to preparations for a tanking test set to start at 7 a.m. Wednesday. During the test, more 

than a half-million ga llons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen will be pumped into Atlantis' 

15-story external tank and then drained. Starting next Saturday, engineers will spend up to a week taking 

X-ray scans of dozens o f support brackets called "stringers" lining the tank's mid-section, or intertank, to 

make sure they withstood the cold temperatures and flexing from the tanking process. NASA ordered 

reinforcements to the stringers after some cracked on the tank that eventually flew safely with Discovery 

in February. Stringers surround an intertank access door that for only the second time will fly decorated 

with a hand-painted logo. The tank that flew with Endeavour last month carried an image that 

represented the tank's resurrection from damage it and New Orleans suffered during Hurricane Katrina. 

Atlantis' tank, labeled ET -138, sports a logo commemorating the end of the shuttle program, the winner of 

a patch design contest last year. Blake Dumesnil, an engineer at Johnson Space Center in Houston, 

designed the logo. Jon lrving, a Lockheed Martin graphic artist who works at NASA's Michoud 

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Assembly Facility in New Orleans, painted it on the door. Web posted. (2011). [Atlantis launch preps 

continue ahead of test [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog 

[2011 June 10].] 

J une 11: STS-134: Endeavour's brake fire proving to be a mystery 

As engineers continue to safe Endeavour, following her highly successful final mission, an investigation 

into the observed brake fire - as the orbiter came to a stop on the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) runway -

is struggling to find a specific root cause. Elevated to the Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs), the STS-134 

incident is classed as a situation that would not be catastrophic and should not happen again. A large 

amount of work is being carried out on Endeavour inside her Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF-1), as post 

mission safmg and initial deservicing work is carried out on the now-retired orbiter. Engineers have 

already removed the "44 door" for midbody access, removed the Waste Containment System (WCS) and 

are continuing with the removal of the numerous cameras on the Remote Manipulator System (Shuttle 

Robotic Ann). The main focus of work over the next few days revolves around the preparations to 

remove Endeavour's Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS) - which will eventually be shipped to 

White Sands - and the dome heat shields around Endeavour's three Space Shuttle Main Engines 

(SSMEs). "The PLBDs (Payload Bay Doors) were opened earlier in the week. "The SSME controller was 

powered up to troubleshoot a Low Pressure Fuel Turbo Pump (LPFTP) discharge pressure transducer that 

failed low during ascent. Troubleshooting was unable to recreate the anomaly. The sensor will be 

removed and taken to the design center for further analysis." Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne/KSC - who 

care for the engines that may find themselves with a role on the Space Launch System (SLS) - also noted 

that an X-Ray took place on the sensor, which also found nothing amiss. "No anomalies have been found 

so far during testing," confirmed their notes on the Standup report. "The sensor was removed and sent for 

x-rays. A micro-focus X-ray was performed, and no anomalies were found." SSME dome heatshield and 

body flap carrier panel removal began on Friday, while the heatshield removal will continue through the 

weekend. Engineers are continuing to evaluate the observations of a small fire - lasting around 40 

seconds on one of Endeavour's Left Main Landing Gear breaks - at the end of the braking period as the 

orbiter came to a stop on the SLF after landing. With engineers removing the tire/wheel from the left 

hand inboard landing gear, before performing a thorough inspection, no real indications of a fire have 

been observed. Even a couple of strips of plastic tape in the location showed no indications of being over 

heated, which is highly unusual for an incident of this nature. The next step was to apply hydraulic 

pressure to the brakes to see if there are any signs of a hydraulic leak. It was expected that a very small 

hydraulic leak would be observed, leading to a potential root cause. However, the checks came back 

nominal. So far engineers have found no obvious evidence of the fire, and the hydraulic pressurization 

test of the brake pucks did not show any leakage, meaning the event may be classed as an Unexplained 

Anomaly (UA). Web posted. (2011). [STS-134: Endeavour's brake fire proving to be a mystery [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011 June 11].] 

June 13: Tiny tracking site plays gigantic role in space launches 

Before Atlantis lifts off on the final shuttle flight, a tiny, little-known team of experts from Patrick Air 

Force Base will spring into action on a remote, somewhat mysterious island in the southern Atlantic 

Ocean. A mere blip on the globe, many local space workers and military personnel have gone to live on 

the picturesque, but mostly desolate island during five-plus decades to handle critical tracking and 

communications for hundreds of important U.S. space missions -- from the trail-blazing early missile 

shots, to John Glenn's ftrst orbit of Earth, to the Apollo moon shots, and the shuttle missions that 

delivered science and military craft to space and later built the International Space Station. Among its 

many roles is one that's about to be done for the last time tl:lls summer: tracking the space station, as it 

zooms around the Earth at more than 17,000 mph to help pinpoint the precise window of time during . 

which a shuttle launching from Kennedy Space Center needs to take off in order to rendezvous in orbit. In 

addition to launch-tracking and data-relay, Ascension's wide-ranging roles during shuttle missions include 

tracking and communications during the orbiters' re-entries and landings as well as preparing the island's 

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air strip as one of many emergency landing sites around the world. "The mission at Ascension will not 

change with the retirement of the shuttle," said Col. Denette Sleeth, commander of the 45th Operations 

Group at Patrick Air Force Base. In fact, little will change in the day-to-day operations on the island or its 

important role in the space program and national security. Among the other duties of the military and 

contractor personnel on Ascension are surveillance of spacecraft in orbit, rocket pieces left over after 

blastoff and slowly fa lling back into the atmosphere, and other space debris that could endanger important 

satellites or even the crew of the space station. Post-shuttle, they'll also continue tracking the space 

station, launches of military craft, spy satellites and space probes from Cape Canaveral and someday 

again the flights of U.S. astronauts on exploration missions to asteroids, the moon, or other destinations 

beyond Earth's orbit. The island itself is horne to nearly 850 people, including Detachment 2 personnel 

with about 60 U.S. citizens and more than 200 contract workers -- some of whom previously worked on 

Florida's Space Coast for contractors or the military or are on temporary assignment from here-- and 

others from neighboring St. Helena Island. The airfield has served as a refueling and rest stop for long 

ocean-crossing transport flights for decades, beginning in World War II. It also assists with global 

navigation and communications systems. More than 450 aircraft landed and took off from the airfield 

between October and May, including military, government and even civilian flights, from both the United 

States and the United Kingdom. The two countries jointly operate the air base. At only 35 square miles, 

Ascension's just slightly larger in land mass than Merritt Island, and is among the most remote spaceprogram posts anywhere. Volcanic in landscape and desolate in appearance from above, the island is 

surrounded by deep-blue waters as far as anyone can see. Almost everyone who lives on the island is 

associated with --or supports -- the air station, the British Roya l Air Force, the British Broadcasting 

Corporation and other organizations there. Ascension is a British overseas territory and falls under 

United Kingdom jurisdiction. The UK's British Forces Ascension Island Base is home to 17 Royal Air 

Force personnel and 180 contractor workers, sharing operation of the airfield with U.S. military and 

civilian personnel. The closest neighbor to Ascension Island is the island of St. Helena, which is 

accessible only by boat. The islands are part of the British Overseas Territory that also includes the island 

group ofTristan da Cunha. Web posted. (20 11). [Tiny tracking site plays gigantic role in space launches 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 June 13].) 

NASA to Launch Robot Gas Station Experiment on Final Shuttle Flight 

Tucked amid the other gear inside the cargo bay of NASA's last space shuttle to fl y will be a novel 

experiment: a robot gas station for spacecraft that, if successful, could change how satellites are designed. 

NASA engineers are packing up the so-called Robotic Refueling Mission hardware and other equipment 

for delivery to the International Space Station on the shuttle Atlantis, which is set to fly July 8. The flight, 

STS-135, is NASA's last-ever shuttle mission to the station before the 30-year-old orbiter program is 

retired for good. Normally, when a satellite is launched into orbit it, is already carrying all the fuel for its 

entire mission onboard. Once that fuel runs out, the satellite's life is effectively over. That fact makes it 

tough for old satellites - as well as craft launched into the wrong orbit and ones that suffer a malfunction 

- to keep working. But this new in-space refueling project could change things. Developed by NASA's 

Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., the Robotic Refueling Mission experiment wiU include a 

set of tools that could not only gas up satellites in space, but also perform minor repairs. This system's 

first test will be perfonned on the space station using the orbiting lab's Canadian-built Dextre robot to 

check its feasibility. The refueling test hardware includes simulated caps, valves, external thermal 

blankets and ethanol fuel, experiment designers said. Web posted. (2011). [NASA to Launch Robot Gas 

Station Experiment on Final Shuttle Flight [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ [20 11 

June 13).) 

White Sands Space Harbor will permanently close in August 

The White Sands Space Harbor, the landing site for the STS-3 in 1982, will be closing its doors after 35 

years due to the end of the space shuttle program; the last launch is scheduled to take place in July. 

Several NASA officials from Houston and a handful of astronauts were present during an unofficial 

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ceremony June 13 that honored the long hours and hard work White Sands Space Harbor employees 

contributed to shuttle missions and extensive astronaut pilot training. Robert Mitchell, WSSH manager, 

said the organization will officially shut its doors in August so it can remain an alternate landing site for 

the last shuttle launch. Mitchell said the WSSH employees will either retire or will have other jobs 

waiting for them on the range. As for the space harbor equipment, Mitchell said what the range doesn't 

take ownership of will go back to NASA and some of it will be given to Holloman or General Service 

Administration excess. Web posted. (2011). (White Sands Space Harbor will permanently close in 

August [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.alamogordonews.com/ [2011 June 25].] 

June 14: Shuttle's End Leaves NASA a Pension Bill 

The nation's space agency plans to spend about half a billion dollars next year to replenish the pension 

fund of the contractor that bas supplied thousands of workers to the space shuttle program. The shuttle 

program accounts for a vast majority of the business of United Space Alliance, originally a joint venture 

of Boeing and Lockheed Martin. With the demise of the shuttle program, United Space Alliance will be 

left without a source of revenue to keep its pension plan afloat. So the company wants to temlinate its 

family of pension plans, covering 11 ,000 workers and retirees, and continue as a smaller, nimbler concern 

to compete for other contracts. Normally, a company that lost a lifeblood contract would have little 

choice but to declare bankruptcy and ask the federal insurer, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation, to 

take over its pensions. But that insurer limits benefits, meaning not everyone gets as much as they had 

been promised. United Space Alliance's plan also allows participants to take their pensions as a single 

check and includes retiree health benefits, neither of which would be permitted by the pension insurer. 

United Space Alliance, however, has a rare pledge from a different government agency to pay the bill. 

The National Aeronautics and Space Adnlinistration says in its contract with the company that it will 

cover its pension costs " to the extent they are otherwise allowable, allocable and reasonable." NASA 

interprets this to include the cost of terminating its pension plans outside of bankruptcy. The pension 

fund now has about half the amount needed. The president's budget proposal for the 2012 fiscal year 

requests $547.9 million for NASA to provide the rest. That is nearly 3 percent ofthe agency's total 

budget and just about what the Science Mission Directorate at NASA spent last year on all grants and 

subsidies to study climate change, planetary systems and the origins of life in the universe. "We know · 

that it's NASA's obligation to fund this, and NASA will do so," said a spokesman for the space agency, 

Michael Curie. Other federal agencies have made pronlises to pay contractors' annual pension costs -

the Energy Department, for example, for companies that run nuclear sites - and some government 

auditors have been warning for years that investment oversight was lacking and that the potential costs 

had been underestimated. This appears to be the first time, though, that a company's main contract has 

expired and an agency has had to bear the cost of terminating its plans. Although NASA was reimbursing 

the contractor for the annual pension contributions, it had no say over how the money was invested. 

United Space Alliance put most of the money into stocks. The backstop will be unusua!Jy costly because 

of market conditions. While United Space Alliance has made its required contributions every year, the 

fund lost nearly $200 million in the market turmoil of2008 and 2009. When interest rates are very low, as 

they have been, the cost of the promises rises rap1dly as well, creating a bigger shortfall. The cash 

infusion is also being readied at a time when some members of Congress are demanding cuts in spending 

and threatening to block anything that could be construed as a taxpayer baiJout. " It's unfortunate that it's 

coming in this fiscal environment," said Bill Hill, NASA assistant associate administrator for the space 

shuttle. He said that he hoped Congress would appropriate the money before the fiscal year ended on 

Sept. 30. If not, be said, NASA will have to divert funds from space-related activities. Already, United 

Space Alliance has had five rounds of layoffs and has shrunk to about 5,600 employees from a peak of 

10,500. Its workers have performed a wide range of jobs for the space shuttle program, mostly in Florida. 

Beth Robinson, chief financial officer of NASA, said that even if United Space Alliance declared 

bankruptcy at this point, the pension agency would go after NASA for some of the cost. She said the 

contract was issued during a stock market boom, with a clause saying that if the plans should ternlinate 

with a surplus, t11e extra money would go to NASA. At the time, no one expected them to terminate with 

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a deficit. The cost of the termination may fluctuate along with market conditions as Congress considers 

what to do. Web posted . (20 11). [Shuttle's End Leaves NASA a Pension Bill [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.nvtimes.com/ [2011 June 14].] 

NASA Spacecraft to Make Cross Country Voyage 

NASA is inviting the public to view a test version of the agency's next spacecraft that will carry humans 

into deep space. The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, which NASA announced last month would be the 

agency's deep space crew module based on the original work on the Orion capsule, will make three stops 

as it travels by truck from NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Califomia to the Kennedy Space 

Center in Florida. The planned stops are June 15-16 at the Pima Air and Space Museum in Tucson, Ariz.; 

Jw1e 19-20 at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas; and June 24-25 at the 

Tallahassee Challenger Leaming Center in Florida. The module also will be on display June 29-July 4 at 

the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. During a test flight in New Mexico last year, a new launch 

abort system propelled the spacecraft off the launch pad to a speed of almost 445 mph in three seconds. 

The spacecraft then parachuted to the desert floor. The test module eventually will be moved to 

Kennedy's Operations and Checkout FaciUty for further study. The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle's 

propulsion, life support, thermal protection and avionics systems ultimately will enable astronauts to 

travel for extended deep space missions and return safely to Earth. ("NASA Spacecraft to Make Cross 

Country Voyage," NASA Media Advisory #Mll-121, June 14, 20 II.) 

Memo Marks Official End of Constellation 

A senior NASA official has signed the formal death warrant for the Constellation deep space exploration 

program even as work proceeds on one of Constellation's legacy development efforts and agency officials 

continue to ponder the fate of another. "I have signed the letter to close out the Constellation Program," 

Douglas Cooke, associate administrator for NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate, wrote in a 

June I 0 memo. With Constellation's demise now official, the Constellation project office, which "has 

already scaled back in size significantly," will be charged "with transitioning contracts, etc. to the new 

[Space Launch System) and [Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle] programs," Cooke wrote in the memo. NASA 

spokesman Michael Braukus confirmed June I 0 that the letter came from Cooke. The fate of some 

Constellation contracts remains unclear, as NASA has not decided whether to use those contracts to build 

the Space Launch System, a heavy-lift rocket with a 130-ton lift capacity that Congress ordered the space 

agency to construct in the NASA Authorization Act of2010. Boeing Space Exploration, Houston, ATK 

Aerospace Systems, Magna, Utah, and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Canoga Park, Calif., hold contracts 

to build key components of the now-canceled Ares l. NASA is expected to make a decision on the design 

of the congressionally mandated heavy-lifter sometime in the coming weeks. The Multi-purpose Crew 

Vehicle, also mandated by the 20 I 0 authorization act, is the space capsule formerly known as Orion. 

Orion was designed as part of Constellation and NASA said in May that it would adapt the vehicle to 

fulfill Congress' mandate for a new U.S. crew transporter. Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver 

holds the contract to build the capsule. Web posted. (20 11 ). (Memo Marks Official End of Constellation 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [201 1 June 14].] 

June 15: Weather delays start of Atlantis tanking test 

Storms Tuesday have pushed back the expected start of this rooming's shuttle tanking test at Kennedy 

Space Center to II a.m. The loading of Atlantis' 15-story extemal tank with a half-million gallons of 

liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen had been scheduled to start at 7 a.m. NASA reported three lightning 

strikes within a quarter-mile of launch pad 39A yesterday, but don't believe any damage was caused to 

Atlantis or the pad. The pad's rotating gantry has been opened in preparation for the test, revealing 

Atlantis as if it were nearing launch. Today's test will verify the condition of support beams lining the 

tank's mid-section, the tops of which were reinforced after some cracked on an earlier tank. The results 

could take up to a week to confirm following a series of X-ray inspections of the beams. Atlantis is 

targeted to launch the fiina l shuttle mission at II :26 a.m. July 8. Web posted. (20 II). (Weather delays start 

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of Atlantis tanking test [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog 

[2011 June 15].) 

Last Ever Shuttle to Haul Raffaello Logistics Module to the ISS 

The Space Shuttle Era will soon come to a bittersweet close with the final scheduled flight by the Space 

Shuttle Atlantis, dubbed the STS-135 mission. Atlantis is slated to blast off on July 8 from the Kennedy 

Space Center in Florida at about 11:38 a.m. The veteran crew comprises just a quartet of astronauts led 

by Shuttle Commander Christopher Ferguson. Joining him are Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists 

Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. The primary goal of the STS-135 flight is to haul the "Raffaello" 

multipurpose logistics module (MPLM) up to the International Space Station. The 21 foot long cylindrical 

module is mounted inside the shuttle cargo bay during launch and landing. Raffaello is a space 'moving 

van' and loaded with some 5 tons of critical supplies, spare parts and science equipment to stock up the 

station before the shuttles are retired forever, despite the fact that they have many years of service life 

remaining. "We are holding Raffaello open until the last possible moment so that we get every possible 

frnal piece of station hardware and supplies shlpped here and stowed inside before we close up the 

module and put it into the payload canister. We have no plans to get into the MPLM once it is out at the 

pad," Howard Smith, a NASA mission project engineer for the International Space Station {ISS), stated. 

During the 12 day mission, the astronauts will pluck Raffaello out of Atlantis's cargo bay with the robotic 

arm and temporarily berth the module at a docking port on ISS Node 2 on Flight Day 4. The crew will 

then spend several days aggressively transferring the logistics supplies to storage spots aboard the 

orbiting complex. The fresh supplies are being brought aloft now by Raffaello to beef up the ISS with 

sufficient provisions to insure that the station can continue to fully function with a six person crew while 

NASA waits for the commercial space providers - SpaceX and Orbital Sciences - to successfully come 

online. These new and privately developed rockets and cargo vehlcles must take over the cargo delivery 

services formerly perfonned by NASA's three shuttle orbiters or the ISS will enter a dire situation. The 

smaller Russian Soyuz Progress resupply spacecraft will be the primary means of cargo resupply after the 

Shuttles. If the cargo delivery flights of the commercial providers are delayed, the station partners could 

be forced to cut back on the ISS crew staffing or even abandon the ISS in a worst case scenario. That's 

why the STS-135 mission is so critical and was desperately sought for approval by NASA management. 

STS-135 was only added to the shuttle flight manifest in January 2011 as Washington politicians 

wrangled tumultuously over the NASA ibudget and strategic priorities throughout the past year. Raffaello 

is one of three MPLM's, all built by the Italian Space Agency and banded over to the US in exchange for 

flying Italian astronauts and experiments to the orbiting lab complex. "This is the last opportunity to use 

an MPLM to shlp equipment to the ISS so we are closing Raffaello out at the last possible moment. 

Altogether, Raffaello is carrying up about 10,000 pounds of payloads when fully loaded," Smith 

explained. All these logistics and crew provisions carried aloft by the STS-135 mission will supply the 

station residents for about I year. The Russians are providing about 50% of the food. "Raffaello is the last 

train out of here!" Smith said, referring to the imminent retirement of the Space Shuttle program and the 

importance of the STS-135 flight to the stations future. Web posted. (2011). [Last Ever Shuttle to Haul 

Raffaello Logistics Module to the International Space Station [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 June 15).) 

Atlantis fuel tank being drained 

Kennedy Space Center crews are wrapping up shuttle Atlantis' tanking test today by draining more than a 

half-million gallons of supercold propellants from the 15-story external tank. Preliminary inspections 

showed no sign of damage to support beams I ining the tank's midsection, which were the target of the 

test. Starting Saturday, X-ray-like inspections will begin to look below the foam's surface for potential 

cracks on the side of the tank facing the orbiter. Today's test did turn up what would have been a showstopper on a real launch day, unrelated to the stringers. A fuel valve on one of three shuttle main engines 

showed lower than nonnal temperatures, possibly signaling a leak of liquid hydrogen. The engine was 

isolated and the test proceeded. NASA says Atlantis could still make a targeted July 8 liftoff if the valve 

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needs to be replaced at the launch pad. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Atlantis fuel tank being drained [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/thejlame trench blog [2011 June 15].] 

ffiM: 100 years of 'think' 

International Business Machines turns I 00 today without much fanfare. IBM dates to June 16, 1911 , 

when three companies that made scales, punch-docks for work and other machines merged to form the 

Computing Tabulating Recording Co. The modern-day name followed in 1924. The force behind ffiM's 

early growth was Thomas J. Watson Sr. Watson, and later his son, Thomas Watson Jr., guided ffiM into 

the computer age. Its machines were used to calculate everything from banking transactions to space 

shots. Web posted. (2011). [IBM: 100 years of'think' [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 June 15].] 

June 16: KSC crews plan to replace Atlantis engine valve 

NASA expects Atlantis to stay on track Jfor a July 8 launch of the fina l shuttle mission while Kennedy 

Space Center crews replace a main engine fuel valve that fai led during Wednesday's tanking test. The 

valve replacement work will begin Monday and be completed within a week, including leak tests and 

closeout of the engine area, according to a KSC spokesperson. The main fuel valve on one of three 

shuttle main engines showed low temperatures during the test, signaling a possible leak of liquid 

hydrogen. "We found a little bit of a leak in one area," astronaut Chris Ferguson, commander of the 

final mission, told reporters today at Mission Control in Houston after an ascent simulation. "We're going 

to go back and fix that in the course of the normal flow. Hopefully it will preserve our current launch 

date." The leak would have scrubbed a real countdown, disappointing hundreds of thousands of visitors 

expected to gather on the Space Coast for the launch. Ferguson said the upcoming repair work at launch 

pad 39A was "living proof that we have the same capabilities we've always had" despite the loss of 

thousands of shuttle contractors in recent months or soon in layoff planned after Atlantis lands. The 

four-person veteran crew of Atlantis-- also including pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandy 

Magnus and Rex Walheim -- will fly into Kennedy around Monday afternoon for training that culminates 

in a complete launch dress rehearsal Thursday. An official launch date and time will be set during a flight 

readiness review scheduled June 28, just two days after the engine valve replacement work should be 

completed. At the same time the valve work is going on, additional teams will be scanning support 

beams on the mid-section of Atlantis external tank to make sure there are no cracks, which was the 

purpose of this week's tanking test. The launch processing schedule has several contingency days 

available over the July 4 holiday weekend to handle problems without delaying a July 8 launch. Web 

posted. (20 II). [KSC crews plan to replace Atlantis engine valve [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [201 1 June 16].] 

Final shuttle payload heads to launch pad today 

The primary payload for the final shuttle mission is expected to begin rolling toward Kennedy Space 

Center's launch pad 39A at 9 p.m. today. A 48-wheeled transporter will haul a 60-foot-taU, 

environmentally controlled canister holding a cylindrical module packed with more than 8,000 pounds of 

supplies and parts bound for the International Space Station. The flight will be the fourth since 200 l for 

the Italian-built "moving van" named Raffaello. A sister module named Leonardo flew eight times before 

being left on the station as a permanent addition in February. Technically called a Multi-Purpose 

Logistics Module, or MPLM, Raffaello measures 21 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. A separate cargo 

carrier also will be installed in Atlantis' payload bay behind Raffaello, holding a box that wiU be installed 

on the station for tests of in-orbit refueling technologies. On the way down, it will carry a station coolant 

system pump module that failed last summer and will return to Earth for analysis. The cargo is scheduled 

to be lifted into a changeout room in the launch pad's rotating gantry Friday morning and be installed in 

the payload bay Monday -- the same day four Atlantis astronauts fly into KSC for a countdown rehearsal 

and other launch training. Atlantis is targeted to launch at II :26 a.m. July 8. An official launch date will 

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be confirmed June 28. Web posted. (2011). [Final shuttle payload heads to law1ch pad today [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 June 16].] 

Air Force to merge missile ranges 

An Air Force proposal to bring the Eastern and Western Missile Ranges under one management structure 

holds unknown changes for the 900 employees who help operate the Eastern Range from headquarters at 

Patrick Air Force Base and along the East Coast. The Air Force, however, has told one expected bidder 

that it did not want to see a reduction in the work force, 500 of whom are located in Brevard County. "In 

this cost-conscious world, it is imperative that we embrace increased efficiencies and yet remain 

responsive to keep the launch ranges 100 percent mission-ready," said retired Brig. Gen. Greg Pavlovich, 

former commander of the 45th Space Wing, who will lead Boeing's pursuit of the $3.8 billion Launch 

Range Consolidation Contract. Consolidation might help the ranges upgrade more quickly to handle the 

expected increase in commercial launch business, said Frank DiBello, president of Space Florida, the 

state agency that supports the space industry. Consolidation also could speed technology improvements, 

such as the switch to GPS tracking from tracking by radar dishes. The Air Force is expected to request 

proposals to consolidate the existing operations and maintenance, systems engineering and sustainment 

work. The 45th Space Wing at Patrick Air Force Base operates the Eastern Range, which includes Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station; the 30th Space Wing at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California operates 

the Western Range. Web posted. (2011). [Air Force to merge missile ranges [Online]: Available WWW: 

htto://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 June 16].] 

NASA's new crew capsule en route to KSC 

NASA's prototype multi-purpose crew vehicle is making a cross-country tour, with several public 

viewing stops, on its way to Kennedy Space Center. The vehicle, a test module based on Lockheed 

Martin's Orion capsule design, will make three stops as it travels by truck from Dryden Flight Research 

Center in California to KSC: June 15-16 at the Pima Air and Space Musewn in Tucson, Ariz.; June 19-20 

at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas; and June 24-25 at the Tallahassee 

Challenger Learning Center. The test module will be displayed June 29-July 4 at the Kennedy Space 

Center Visitor Complex before moving to KSC's operations and checkout facility for further study. Web 

posted. (2011). [NASA's new crew capsule en route to KSC [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.bi~oumals.com/ [2011 June 16].] 

June 17: NASA's new rocket looks a lot like its old one 

As soon as next week, NASA will announce the design for its next big rocket, and anyone who has seen 

the space shuttle should recognize the key pieces - as the vehicle includes much of the same 30-year-old 

technology. Like the shuttle, the new rocket will use a giant fuel tank and a pair of booster rockets. The 

major difference is that the airplane-like orbiter is gone, replaced by a new Apollo-like crew capsule atop 

the fuel tank, according to industry sources and internal NASA documents. That NASA selected this 

model is not a complete surprise: a 20 l 0 law all but requires agency engineers to reuse shuttle parts or 

remnants from the now-defunct Constellation moon program, and the design does that. But it a lso 

commits the agency's future to hardware - like the main engines taken from the space shuttle - that was 

designed in the 1970s. Officially, NASA officials said that the design still was under review. An 

administration source, not authorized to speak on the record, said that Bolden had approved the design but 

that the White House had yet to approve the plan as of Friday afternoon. The decision finally enables 

NASA to move forward with its manned-space program, ending a period of limbo since President Barack 

Obama moved in February 2010 to cancel the troubled Constellation moon-rocket project that was over 

budget and years behind schedule. NASA's long-term goal is Mars, but the agency acknowledges that 

sending a human to the Red Planet won't happen for decades. It hasn't settled on an interim destination -

the moon and a nearby asteroid are mentioned - and the estimated $14 billion set aside over the next five 

years may not be enough to build the rocket, let alone the related equipment needed to actually land 

somewhere. Cost estimates for the new rocket were not immediately available, although NASA warned 

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in January that it would not have enough money to build it by a congressionally imposed deadline of 

2017. Under the current plan, NASA would launch a smaller version of the Space Launch System using 

the same solid-rocket boosters - made by Alliant Techsystems of Minnesota - that powered the shuttle. 

Then the agency would hold a competition for boosters that would power a larger model of the rocket. 

The decision follows heavy pressure in recent weeks from California and Alabama lawmakers, who have 

written NASA chief Charlie Bolden asking that he compete this part of the rocket. Getting NASA flying 

again soon is critical for Kennedy Space Center, which faces an estimated 7,000 lost jobs once the 30-

year shuttle era ends with the planned July 8 launch of Atlantis. Web posted. (2011). [NASA's new rocket 

looks a lot like its old one [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 June 

17].] 

June 18: Pride, sadness tug at Atlantis payload teams 

The last heavy load a shuttle will haul into space was hoisted high above a Kennedy Space Center launch 

pad Friday, three weeks before its planned blastoff with Atlantis. The roughly 25,000-pound cargo 

container Atlantis will fly to the International Space Station next month is a relatively routine payload by 

shuttle mission standards. But its significance may be felt long after Atlantis returns home to end the 

shuttle program, after a 12-day flight targeted to launch July 8. NASA wants to stock the station with 

enough supplies to last a year, so a crew of six can continue research in orbit even if new commercial 

spacecraft aren't ready to deliver cargo as planned early next year. "It's very important that we buy 

ourselves a little more time to help our commercial partners," said Joe Delai, the NASA payload manager 

for the mission. The shuttle is one of four international vehicles currently shipping cargo to the station, 

but by far the biggest. An unmanned Russian craft scheduled to launch Tuesday from Kazakhstan will 

ferry up nearly 3 tons of food and supplies. Roughly double that mass is packed into the Italian-built 

module, nicknamed Raffaello, that Atlantis wiU carry. Contents of the 21-foot-long, 15-foot-diameter 

module include nearly 2, 700 pounds of food, 800 pounds of clothing and other provisions, 1 ,000 pounds 

of science experiments .and thousands more pounds of spare components. But that's not all Atlantis will 

fly. A nearly 3,000-pou.nd carrier holding an experiment for testing orbital refueling technologies will be 

stowed behind the module in the payload bay, and another ton of stuff will be packed in the orbiter's middeck. The "up mass" is critical, but Atlantis is also the last vehicle that can return any significant quantity 

of cargo down to Earth until SpaceX's Dragon capsule begins flying. Nearly 5,000 pounds of trash, 

unneeded equipment and science experiment samples will return in Raffaello, and a failed station coolant 

pump will ride home in the payload bay. Like so many milestones leading up to the last mission, 

preparation of the last payload was bittersweet for the teams involved. In the vast KSC high bay where 

large station hardware has been readied for flight, a handwritten sign taped on a railing around the 

Raffaello module last week succinctly summed up the situation. "STS-135: The End!" it read, referring to 

NASA's label for the 135th and last shuttle mission. The Boeing Co. team that processed the payloads 

numbered about 200 people at its peak. It's now down to about I 00 and will drop to 30 or 40 after the 

Atlantis mission. Mike Kinslow, Boeing's payload manager, said teams pulled extra hours and shifts to 

ready the Atlantis cargo even as some received layoff notices. " I've been encouraged with the esprit de 

corps, the professionalism that our team has exhibited," he said. "This is in their blood. This is what 

they've done. They're not letting up one iota to get successful missions." The Raffaello module was 

packed differently than usual and in a more compressed timeframe to allow for some late-arriving station 

parts, increasing the challenge, Kinslow said. Raffaello and the refueling experiment are expected to be 

installed in Atlantis' payload bay Monday, which is shaping up as a busy day at KSC. Shuttle workers 

plan to begin replacing a large, 90-pound shuttle main engine valve after it failed during a tanking test 

Wednesday, and continue external tank inspections. About 5 p.m., the four astronauts flying the fmal 

mission are scheduled to arrive for training, including Thursday's countdown dress rehearsal. Web posted. 

(2011). [Pride, sadness tug at Atlantis payload teams [Online]. AvaiJable WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ (20 11 June 18].] 

June 20: Atlantis crew plans to 'savor the moment' 

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The four astronauts preparing to fly the final shuttle mission are soaking in every detail about the 

experience before it's over. "We're just trying to savor the moment," mission commander Chris Ferguson 

said after the crew arrived at the space center Monday afternoon for several days of training. "As our 

children and our children's children ask us, we want to be able to say, 'We remember when there was a 

space shuttle.'" Joining Ferguson at the shuttle runway were pilot Doug Hurley and rrussion specialists 

Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim, all veterans of at least one shuttle ilight. The crew plans to launch with 

Shuttle Atlantis at I I :26 a.m. July 8 on a 12-day rrussion to resupply the International Space Station. 

Shuttle program managers were scheduled to meet today to review the flight's readiness. A follow-up 

meeting planned next Tuesday will set an official launch date. The astronauts' standard pre-launch 

training includes reviews of procedures for escaping the pad during an emergency, fit checks of their 

orange launch-and-entry suits and practice landings. On Thursday, the crew will suit up, ride to the launch 

pad and strap into seats aboard Atlantis for the last dress rehearsal of a shuttle launch. "We're incredibly 

proud to represent this, the final flight," Ferguson said. Web posted. (2011). [Atlantis crew plans to 'savor 

the moment' [OnJine]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 June 20].] 

June 22: Shuttle Atlantis crew takes armored tank for a spin 

Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts Tuesday took turns test-driving an armored tank around Complex 39 as 

part of their emergency training exercises. The tank would be used by the crew to escape the pad 39A 

bunker in a dire scenario during the countdown. Space shuttle Atlantis' astronauts Tuesday took turns 

test-driving an armored tank around Complex 39 as part of their emergency training exercises in the 

Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. The tank would be used by the crew to escape the pad 39A 

bunker in a dire scenario during the space shuttle countdown. Wednesday's opportunity to familiarize 

themselves with the vehicle occurred in the fields adjacent to the launch site. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle 

Atlantis crew takes armored tank for a spin [OnJine]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [201 1 June 22].] 

Online prices soar for space shuttle Atlantis launch tickets 

John Milleker was so disheartened when be saw the prices listed on eBay for tickets to the last shuttle 

launch that he nixed traveling to Florida to watch the final liftoff. Packages of tickets are being offered 

for hundreds of dollars-- and as high as $5,000 --on certain Web sites. That dwarfs the $20 to $65 price 

charged at Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. While a shuttle launch can be seen for free at beaches 

and other spots around Brevard, tickets for a closer view have been in high demand for the final flights. 

At one point, trying to buy tickets from the Visitor Complex's website overwhelmed its servers --and 

forced staffers to take a different approach. For the last four rrussions, tickets have been sold through a 

lottery system, spokeswoman Andrea Farmer said. Twice the number of people registered for the chance 

to buy tickets to the final launch of Atlantis on July 8, when compared to the previous launch, Farmer 

said. She declined to say how many registered or the number of tickets sold. Almost instantly, purchased 

tickets were listed on eBay and other sites. "It's out of our hands," said Farmer, adding that it's not against 

Florida law. Farmer warned anyone looking to buy tickets through a third party to make sure the 

package includes a vehicle placard, which is needed to pass security checkpoints. Web posted. (20 11). 

[Online prices soar for space shuttle Atlantis launch tickets [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 II June 22].] 

NASA offers rare tour of museum-bound space shuttle Discovery 

As I shimmy feet-first through the round batch opening, I know I'm crossing the san1e hallowed threshold 

as 186 astronauts who launched into space aboard shuttle Discovery. Squeezing by a ladder to an upper 

level, I climb into a small, dimly lit room a little taller than I am and noisy with the sound of air blowing 

through a large overhead tube. It takes a moment to realize I'm in Discovery's rruddeck, where up to three 

astronauts sit for launch and landing. It's hard to imagine this is the biggest interior space some crews had 

to roam during entire missions. "That's everybody's initial reaction," says Charlie Bell, a United Space 

Alliance technician. "But compared to a capsule, this is quite large, actually." Journalists on Tuesday got 

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a rare chance to enter an orbiter's crew module as the shuttle program nears its I 35th and final flight next 

month. Inside one of two shuttle hangars still in use at Kennedy Space Center, NASA and USA escorts 

showed off Discovery midway through its preparation for a planned April ferry flight to the Smithsonian 

Institution in Washington, D.C. As at the launch pad, a white hallway leads to the orbiter hatch. 

Signatures from employees and YIPs cover the walls. It's humbling to see the signatures of Mercury 

Seven astronaut Wally Schirra, Apollo moonwalker Gene Ceman and shuttle Columbia's lost crew. 

Someone recently wrote over the faded signature of former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. 

Teams working in Discovery used to wear a full anti-contamination suit --called a "bunny suit" -- to 

maintain its pristine condition between flights. Now, only a pair of red-soled, non-skid booties is 

required. "It's weird," says Jennifer Nufer, NASA's vehicle manager for the last six of Discovery's 39 

flights, who's still adjusting to the relaxed standards. The middeck is much roomier than it would be for 

flight, empty of the three crew seats and walls of lockers that would be packed with cargo. Crawling aft 

through a short tunnel, n reach the airlock where astronauts would enter the Internationa l Space Station, or 

where spacewalkers would float outside. Suddenly, I'm poking my bead out into what seems a vast 

expanse of the shuttle's 60-foot payload bay, sloping up on either side like a half-pipe for skateboarders. I 

imagine seeing the Hubble Space Telescope before it was deployed by a Discovery crew in 1990, or the 

giant cylindrical cargo module recently installed in Atlantis at launch pad 39A. Retreating to the 

middeck, I climb the ladder's seven steps to the more cramped flight deck; its covered windows give it a 

cave-like feel. There's barely enough room to kneel behind the commander and pilot seats, which look 

uncomfortable with minimal cushioning. Switches, dials and digital displays cover every surface, some 

shielded to make sure they're not hit by accident. lt's just another day at the office for 27-year USA 

technician and "spacecraft operator" Bill Powers. He'll be at the controls inside Atlantis when it's towed 

off the runway to end the shuttle program. "We've still got a job to do, and so there's a lot to pay attention 

to," he said. "It'll be bittersweet later." Web posted. (2011). [NASA offers rare tour of museum-bound 

space shuttle Discovery [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 June 22].] 

Shuttle tank inspections going well, valve replaced 

Engineers carrying out X-ray inspections of 50 rib-like "stringers" in the shuttle Atlantis' external tank are 

running ahead of schedule and so far, officials said Wednesday, there are no signs of any temperatureinduced cracks in the wake of a fueling test last week. Working in parallel, another team replaced a 

leaking hydrogen valve in main engine No. 3 on Tuesday. Reassembly and closeout should be complete 

by this weekend, clearing the way for tests to make sure the valve is leak free and working properly for 

launch July 8. Atlantis crew, meanwhile-- commander Christopher Ferguson, pilot Douglas Hurley, 

flight engineer Rex Walheirn and cargo loadmaster Sandra Magnus-- is at the Kennedy Space Center this 

week to review launch pad emergency procedures and to participate in a dress-rehearsal countdown 

Thursday, a major milestone on the road to launch. The astronauts have participated in ftre training, 

inspected the launch pad's emergency slidewire escape system, inspected a safety bunker and practiced 

driving an armored personnel carrier stationed near the pad for an emergency evacuation. The primary 

goal of the I 35th and final shuttle mission is to deliver cargo and supplies to the International Space 

Station to support a six-person crew through 2012 as hedge against problems that might delay commercial 

umnanned cargo ships being built to replace lost shuttle capability. Atlantis also will deliver experimental 

robotic satellite refueling gear and bring back to Earth an ammonia coolant system pump that failed last 

year. NASA managers plan to meet at the Kennedy Space Center next Tuesday to review Atlantis' 

ground processing and to set an official launch date. As of this writing, the shuttle appears on track for 

liftoff at 11:26:46 a.m. EDT (GMT -4) on July 8. NASA will be able to make two launch attempts in three 

days before standing down for the launch of an unmanned Delta 4 rocket July 14. The next shuttle launch 

window opens July 16 and extends through the end of the month. An on-time launch assumes the fuel 

valve replacement and retest go smoothly and that no problems are found with the stringers making up the 

external tank's central compartment. The ribbed intertank section separates the tank's liquid hydrogen and 

oxygen tanks, with the upper dome of the hydrogen tank fitting into the bottom of the intertank and the 

lower dome of the oxygen tank fitting in the top. During an attempt to launch the shuttle Discovery on its 

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final flight last year, engineers discovered stress-relief cracks in several of the stringers making up the 

intertank. After an exhaustive investigation. NASA detennined that the lightweight aluminum-lithium 

alloy used to make the stringers in question came from a lot that was more susceptible to fractures than 

normal. When the tank was loaded with propellants, and the contraction of the oxygen tank puUed the 

tops of the intertank stringers inward, cracks developed. NASA installed structural stiffeners called 

radius block doublers on the top few inches of the stringers to add additional strength, preventing cracks 

that might compromise the tank's structural integrity or cause foam insulation to pop off during ascent. 

Discovery's tank performed normally during the shuttle's eventual launch last February. Because the 

stringers in Atlantis' tank had a similar pedigree, NASA managers ordered installation of radius block 

doublers and ordered a fueling test last week to subject the system to cryogenic conditions. Engineers 

began X-ray inspections of the stringers facing Atlantis on Monday and by Wednesday, the upper sections 

of the 50 stringers on the side <;>f the tank facing Atlantis had been inspected. "So far, they've seen 

nothing amiss," said a NASA spokesman. Web posted. (20 I I). [Shuttle tank inspections going well, valve 

replaced [OnJine). Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [20 11 June 22).] 

June 23: Taurus 0 Engine Sustained Damage In Fire 

An Aerojet AJ26 engine destined to power the Orbita l Sciences Corp. Taurus ll launch vehicle in the runup to commercial resupply flights for the International Space Station (ISS) was badly damaged in a fuel 

fire June 9. "There was significant damage to the engine," Orbital spokesman Baron Beneski said June 

21. NASA is counting on the Taurus WCygnus and the Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) 

Falcon 9/Dragon combinations to help resupply the station when the space shuttle fleet retires after the 

upcoming final flight of shuttle Atlantis. Beneski and Glenn Mahone, a spokesman for Aerojet, say the 

AJ26 engine shut down prematurely after a fuel leak developed during a hot-fire acceptance test, and the 

leaking kerosene fuel ignited. While the engine was damaged, the test stand a t Stennis Space Center 

suffered only minor damage, the spokesmen said in separate telephone interviews. Mahone says a team 

of rocket engine experts from Aerojet, Orbital and NASA is investigating the cause of the mishap and the 

extent of the damage to the engine. The results of the investigation and prognosis for the engine and the 

Taurus II should come together by the end of this week or early next week, Beneski says. Two other AJ26 

engines have completed hot-fire acceptance testing without mishap, according to the Aerojet website. 

Beneski said the engine mishap potentially affects the testing planned to get the Taurus ll ready for 

operational missions to resupply the ISS. The new Taurus n pad at Wallops Island, Va., should be 

completed in two weeks, he says, and ready for a NASA certification process that will take six to eight 

weeks. Web posted. (2011). [Taurus II Engine Sustained Damage In Fire [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.aviationweek.com/ [2011 June 23].] 

STS-135: Atlantis completes TCDT - External Tank deatb camera ready 

With her team ably dea ling with the usual pad flow hiccups, Atlantis is beading towards her July 8 launch 

date with no major issues, with the Tenninal Countdown Demonstration Test (TCDT) completed on 

Thursday. While inspections continue on the numerous stringers on Atlantis' External Tank (ET -138), 

work on the camera modification- designed to film the tank's destructive re-entry- has been completed. 

The TCDT - otherwise known as SOO 17 operations - is a full scale dress rehearsal for the big day, 

allowing the STS- 135 crew to conduct Emergency Egress Training, along with suiting up and ingressing 

Atlantis for a simulated countdown. The operations began at 7:30am local time on Wednesday, ending 

with a simulated countdown to T-0, marked at ! lam local on Thursday. Atlantis' engineers also met with 

the crew at the TCDT L-1 meeting on Wednesday, briefing the astronauts on the health of their orbiter. 

The meeting discussed the brake fire from Endeavour's landing on STS-134 - of which there are no real 

concerns. The engineering teams also presented Commander Chris Ferguson and his crew with a large 

cardboard key to the orbiter with aU the systems engineers' signatures on it. Meanwhile, teams are 

continuing to secure Atlantis' payload, known as S0600 Vertical Payload Operations. This included work 

on the Orbiter Boom Sensor System (OBSS), which was observed to have an issue with a camera on 

Sensor Package l . Technicians are a lso carrying out methodical inspections ofET-138's flanges, 

175 
scanning the Thermal Protection System (TPS) foam for signs of cracks in the underlying stringers. Work 

had also begun to re-activate Diego Garcia (REEF) ground station, while Navy ship-based assets are still 

being investigated. Aircraft options, such as the P3 Orion. were classed as unavailable. With the 

aforementioned work in place, and the camera transmitting through until the tank's destruction, the 

opportunity to gain first-of-its-kind imagery of a tank's death plunge is now on the cards. However, it is 

questionable as to the quality of the footage. Another problem will be the tank's tumble, given there is no 

attitude control for the tank during entry. The FRR presentation also listed the expected problems with 

the footage, adding that technicians will attempt to record the video feed, as opposed to feeding it live to 

NASA TV, etc. Web posted. (201 1). [STS-135: Atlantis completes TCDT - External Tank death camera 

ready [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011 June 23).] 

Rocket carrying 17 education experiments is launched from Virginia 

A rocket carrying 17 educational experiments has been launched from Virginia's Eastern Shore. NASA 

says the Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital rocket was launched at 6:17a.m. Thursday from its Wallops 

Island Flight Facility. The experiments were built by university instructors and students from across the 

country. A U.S. Air Force rocket carrying a Defense Department satellite is scheduled to be launched 

from the Wallops Island facility on June 28. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Rocket carrying 17 education 

experiments is launched from Virginia's Eastern Shore [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 June 23].] 

Final shuttle astronauts practice their countdown 

The Atlantis astronauts followed a realistic countdown sequence today, getting suited up and strapping 

inside the space shuttle for a thorough dress rehearsal that culminated with a pretend ignition and 

shutdown of the three main engines at T-minus 4 seconds. Commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug 

Hurley and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim got dressed in their bright orange 

spacesuits and emerged from crew quarters at 7:45 a.m. The Astrovan delivered the astronauts to the 

seaside pad to begin entering the orbiter and taking their assigned seats for the "dry" countdown, which 

did not involve fueling the shuttle. The final count also practiced holds at the intermediate way points of 

T-minus 5 minutes and T-minus 1 minute, 57 seconds before eventually ticking down to the simulated 

pad abort at I I :05 a.m. EDT. The Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test concluded with the 

astronauts exiting the shuttle at II :25 p.m. to rehearse the "Mode 1" emergency evacuation procedures 

and hopping in the escape baskets hanging on the launch tower. Every shuttle crew undergoes the TCDT 

before a planned launch. While in Florida, the astronauts spent time learning about emergency equipment, 

test-drove an armored tank for evacuating the pad, got some landing practice in the training aircraft and 

toured the payload bay. The astronauts will return to Kennedy Space Center on July 4 to begin their true 

countdown activities to launch. Liftoff remains targeted for July 8 at I I :26 a.m. EDT on a two-week 

flight to deliver a final shuttle-delivered load of supplies, spare part and science equipment to the 

lntemational Space Station. Web posted. (2011 ). [Final shuttle astronauts practice their countdown 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 June 23).) 

US Senate threatens NASA with subpoena 

Unless NASA hands over the documents it wants by June 27, the U.S. Senate committee with NASA 

oversight warned that it would subpoena the agency for drafts and other documents on how NASA plans 

to replace the space shuttle, according to a letter dated Wednesday and made public today. " ... you have 

thwarted our oversight activities by withholding key documents that describe NASA's compliance with 

the 2010 [NASA Authorization] Act," wrote the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation 

committee, alluding to a law that requires NASA to build a replacement to the shuttle built largely from 

shuttle pieces and remnants from the defunct Constellation moon program. "For example, NASA 

infonned Commerce Committee staff during a telephone call on June 7, 20 II, that NASA was 

withholding at least 19 separate drafts of a report ... [that] may contain important information about the 

data and ana lyses NASA has relied on to comply with the 20 I 0 Act's space launch system and crew 

176 
vehicle requirements," noted the letter, which was signed by Chairman John Rockefeller, O-W est 

Virginia, and Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, the top Republican on the committee. U.S. Sen. Bill 

Nelson, 0-Florida, also serves on that committee and has been a champion of the 2010 NASA law. 

NASA has struggled for months to come up with a design after telling Congress in January that it did not 

have the time or resources to build a vehicle that could reach the International Space Station by 2017 - a 

deadline mandated in the NASA authorization act. The agency has since settled on a design - although 

the decision is not public yet. Web posted. (2011). [US Senate threatens NASA with subpoena 

(Online). Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ the write stuffblog [2011 June 23).] 

New Mars rover preparing for launch at KSC 

With its launch still at least five months away, NASA's Curiosity rover, the biggest and most advanced 

built to explore Mars, completed its journey from California to Kennedy Space Center this week. An Air 

Force C-17 transport plane on Wednesday delivered the rover and the descent stage that will help lower it 

to the Martian surface. A cruise stage and aeroshell that will protect the vehicle during its descent were 

already here at KSC. NASA is targeting a blastoff of the $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission 

between Nov. 25 and Dec. 18 atop an Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The launch 

would put the car-size rover and its 10 instruments on track to land on Mars in August 2012, beginning at 

least a two-year science mission intended to detennine whether Mars ever had environmental conditions 

favorable for supporting microbial life. Missing the upcoming window would mean a delay of another 26 

months due to planetary alignments, and an increase in mission costs of at least $570 million, the report 

said. The mission is already two years behind after missing its original window in 2009 due to techrllcal 

issues. NASA officials said they are confident they'll be ready to launch Curiosity later this year without 

scaling back its mission. Web posted. (2011). [New Mars rover preparing for launch at KSC [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 June 24).] 

June 24: NASA Will Host 150 People For Tweetup 

NASA will host a two-day launch Tweetup for 150 of its Twitter followers on Aug. 4 - 5 at the agency's 

Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Tweetup is expected to culminate in the launch of the Jupiterbound Juno spacecraft aboard an Atlas V rocket. The launch window opens at 11:39 a.m. EDT on Aug. 

5. The spacecraft is expected to arrive at Jupiter in 20 16. The mission will investigate the gas giant's 

origins, structure, atmosphere and magnetosphere. Juno's color camera will provide close-up images of 

Jupiter, including the first detailed glimpse of the planet's poles. The Tweetup will provide @NASA 

Twitter followers with the opportunity to tour the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex; speak with 

scientists and engineers from the Juno and other upcoming missions; and, if all goes as scheduled, view 

the spacecraft launch. The event also will provide participants the opportunity to meet fellow tweeps and 

members ofNASA's social media team. Juno is the second of four space missions launching this year, 

making 2011 one of the busiest ever in planetary exploration. Aquarius was launched June 10 to study 

ocean salinity; Grail wi lllaunch Sept. 8 to study the moon's gravity field; and the Mars Science 

Laboratory/Curiosity rover heads to the Red Planet no earlier than Nov. 25. [' 'NASA Will Host 150 

People For Tweetup At Launch Of Jupiter-Bound Mission," NASA Media Advisory #Mll-131, June 24, 

2011.) 

KSC teams completing Atlantis engine r epair 

Kennedy Space Center teams over the weekend will wrap up repair work on an Atlantis engine ahead of a 

Tuesday flight readiness review that will set an official launch date for the !35th and final shuttle mission. 

The launch is tentatively planned for 11:26 a.m. July 8. Technicians this week replaced the main fuel 

valve on shuttle main engine No.3 after a suspected liquid hydrogen leak during a tanking test June 15. 

Leak tests will be performed this weekend. Teams will also complete X-ray-like scans of about 50 

support braces lining the midsection of the external tank, on the side facing the orbiter, to confirm none 

cracked during the tanking test. Some of the braces, called stringers, cracked when Discovery was fueled 

last fall. The stringer tops were reinforced on that tank and the last two to fly. The tops have been 

scanned with no word so far of any concerns. Scans of the stringer bottoms followed. Atlantis' four177 
person crew flew back to Houston Thursday afternoon after completing a launch dress rehearsal. If a July 

8 launch is confirmed, they'll plan to return to KSC on July 4 for the final launch. Atlantis is scheduled to 

fly a 12-day mission to resupply the International Space Station. Web posted. (20 II). [KSC teams 

completing Atlantis engine repair [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame 

trench blog [201 1 June 24].] 

Bracing for impact of shuttle program's end 

As the last shuttle flight approaches, engineers and technicians are considering leaving Brevard County to 

continue their careers. T hey will take their college degrees, their skills and their families with them, 

leaving the Space Coast with less of the talent pool that officials hoped would be a big draw for 

companies that can help rejuvenate the economy. Though its scope is fluid, this brain drain, as the exodus 

of skilled workers often is called, seems inevitable. With the next generation of spacecraft stalled in the 

design stage, any resurgence of aerospace jobs in Brevard will be delayed for several years. Thousands of 

aerospace workers face finding new careers locally or relocating as part of that quest. Hundreds already 

have made the move and hundreds more are expected to follow after another 2,000 space workers become 

unemployed July 22, after the fina l shuttle mission. This decrease of trained workers diminishes what 

Brevard leaders have touted as the county's best asset to attract new industry - an experienced and eager 

work force. But despite programs for retraining and incentives to encourage companies to hire, the 

departure of these people likely will continue until new industries take hold. Brevard's brain drain, 

statistics show, is likely to get worse. In May 201 0, there were 197,800 jobs on the Space Coast. By May 

2011, the number of jobs had fallen by 6,800 to 191,000, according to figures from the state Agency for 

Workforce Innovation. Despite the decrease in the number of jobs, the unemployment rate remained flat 

last month at I 0.8 percent. That means, while some residents stopped looking for work, thousands of 

workers, including skilled workers, probably left the county and therefore no longer show up on the 

employment rolls. And the departures could continue as top-level jobs for aerospace workers continue to 

go away. The last major aerospace layoff on April 8 idled nearly 550 United Space Alliance workers. The 

unemployed included 51 computer specialists, 78 engineers and 163 aerospace technicians, positions that 

require years of education and/or experience. The July 22 layoff will involve engineers, technicians, 

computer programmers and office workers. Brevard's economic development officials are working to 

attract firms that bring high-tech jobs. There have been successes, including major aviation businesses 

that agreed to open at Melbourne International Airport, but the cultivation of jobs that utilize skills of 

aerospace workers is a lengthy - and uncertain - process. Ln the meantime, those workers need 

employment now and are forced to relocate, taking their spouses and families with them, which deprives 

the local economy even more. Web posted. (201 1). [Bracing for impact of shuttle program's end 

[Online]. Available WWW: http:l/www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1 June 24].] 

Shuttle workers prepare Discovery for museum duty 

Technicians preparing the shuttle Discovery for public display say the retired spaceship will be ready to 

leave the Kennedy Space Center in February for its new home at a Smithsonian museum annex near 

Washington. But the veteran spacecraft's piggyback journey atop a modified Boeing 747 carrier aircraft 

will likely not begin until April due to potential wintry weather along the East Coast, according to 

Stephanie Stilson, the NASA manager leading the shuttle retirement work at KSC. The specialized 

Shuttle Carrier Aircraft can only fly through fair weather with an orbiter riding piggyback. Discovery will 

take the place of shuttle Enterprise, a pathfinder vehicle used for atmospheric flight and landing tests in 

the 1970s. Enterprise is currently displayed in the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center of the Smithsonian 

National Air and Space Museum at the Washington Dulles International Airport in northern Virginia. 

Enterprise is heading for the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum in New York City. Inside one of three 

space shuttle hangars at KSC, a team of engineers and technicians are preparing Discovery to leave the 

Florida spaceport for good. The work involves ridding the shuttle of toxic chemicals, removing avionics 

and wiring for inspections and putting the orbiter into the proper configuration for museum duty. The 

same team is busy working on shuttle Endeavour in the hangar next door. Endeavour returned from its 

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final flight June 1. When a shuttle returns from space, officials want to quickly drain propellant, fluids 

and remove its three main engines. Workers finished taking out Endeavour's engines this week, and the 

shuttle's nose steering jets were also scheduled to be removed this week, according to Stilson. The 

standard post-flight procedures are called "down-mission processing" in NASA-speak. Faced with 

cutbacks and layoffs amid the shuttle retirement, managers are overseeing a smaller team of technicians to 

do bands-on work with the vehicles. "We have a scaled-down team compared to when we're processing a 

flight vehicle," Stilson said. "That scaled-down team is focusing all their efforts on Endeavour's downmission processing." After the initial post-flight work, each orbiter will go through months of sating and 

cosmetic preparations for display. Discovery's main engines, tail orbital maneuvering system pods and 

forward thruster system were removed this spring. The OMS pods and nose steering unit are now en route 

to White Sands, N.M., where engineers will pull out plumbing and tanks that contained hazardous 

propellant during the orbiter's service life. The shuttle's thrusters burn a mix of hydrazine and nitrogen 

tetroxide propellants. The fuel and oxidizer compounds are toxic to humans. "We don't want any 

hazardous materials in the vehicle in the museums, so we're gutting those components and taking all the 

piping out," said Kim Guodace, a shuttle vehicle engineer for United Space Alliance. Once the toxic 

systems are removed, NASA will ship the maneuvering units back to Florida to be installed in Discovery 

again. Engineers will place replica main engines on the back of the shuttle before it's moved to a museum. 

The agency plans to retain the shuttle's fleet of hydrogen-fueled engines for potential use on future 

rockets. Discovery's robot arm was also taken out of the payload .bay for inspections. Each orbiter will go 

through a similar series of steps before they are handed over to museums. Endeavour will be displayed at 

the California Science Center in Los Angeles, while Atlantis will move to the Kennedy Space Center 

Visitor Complex. NASA is already decommissioning one of the space center's shuttle hangars, so 

managers are planning a juggling act to shift three vehicles among two processing facilities when Atlantis 

returns from the fmal shuttle mission in July. According to Stilson, Discovery will be rolled next month 

from its current location in Orbiter Processing Facility bay No. 2 to the mammoth Vehicle Assembly 

Building for storage. Atlantis will take Discovery's place in OPF 2 to start its standard post-flight safmg 

procedures. This week, Stilson said teams are modifying part of Discovery's hydraulic system to deploy 

the shuttle's landing gear when it arrives at the Smithsonian display site near Washington, D.C. Although 

its last flight ended March 9, Discovery is still regularly powered up to monitor systems as engineers 

work on the ship. Discovery made 39 trips to space in its 27-year operational career, deploying and 

retrieving satellites, launching the Hubble Space Telescope and helping construct the International Space 

Station. Discovery's last power-up is scheduled for around October, then the orbiter will go dark for 

good. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle workers prepare Discovery for museum duty [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 June 24].) 

June 26: Orion capsule model arrives on tbe Space Coast 

A massive capsule which looks like the Orion Capsule is now on the Space Coast. NASA crews towed it 

on the back of a tractor trailer from Edwards Air Force Base in California. It is called a flight test article, 

17 feet wide, and took up two lanes of traffic. It is looks like the Orion Capsule, but it's not designed to 

travel into space. NASA used it last May to test its effectiveness in the event of an emergency on the 

rocket if the astronauts had to escape. Crew members said it was interesting to see the capsule on busy 

highways. Wayne Hicks is the NASA Operations Engineer who was one of several people who 

transported the massive capsule. Hicks said, "Most of the time we were on two way back roads, so it was 

very interesting that the police that were traveling with us would stop traffic and pull them to the side of 

the road. We were going on a two way highway going 60 miles an hour, that was fun." They stopped at 

three museums in Tucson, Austin, and Tallal1assee. Hicks said it attracted a lot of attention from people as 

they made their voyage across the country. He said NASA wants the public to see their next generation 

space craft, so they are placing it at the press site at the Kennedy Space Center the day of the launch of 

Atlantis-- July 8th. Until then it will be on display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Web 

posted. (2011). [Orion capsule model arrives on the Space Coast [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.cfnews13.com/ [2011 June 26).] 

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NASA back-up plan: Russia to the rescue 

Four astronauts launching on NASA's fmal shuttle flight July 8 have booked a relatively short, 12-day 

round trip to the Lntemational Space Station. But if Atlantis is damaged so severely that it becomes unsafe 

for re-entry, the crew's visit could get a lot longer, with at least one of them unlikely to get home again 

until next May. "We don't have the luxury of having another shuttle that can come up and get us," Atlantis 

mission specialist Rex Walheim said. Since Columbia and seven astronauts were lost during atmospheric 

re-entry in 2003, when heat shield damage went undetected, NASA always has had a second shuttle ready 

for a rescue mission. But this time, there's no backup. Atlantis is outfitted with NASA's last shuttle 

extemal tank and solid rocket boosters. So NASA developed an altemate plan: The crew would stay on 

the station and make staggered retums on Russian Soyuz spacecraft. To accomplish that, NASA would 

forgo the launch of U.S. astronauts to the station to free up seats on the Russian ships. Then one or two at 

a time, the Atlantis astronauts would fly back on already scheduled Soyuz crew rotation missions. A 

Soyuz can carry three people. "It's a well thought out but lengthy process," Atlantis mission commander 

Chris Ferguson said. It's also highly unlikely it will have to be put to use. The exact odds: one in 560, 

according to a technical assessment done by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center, an independent 

organization formed after the Columbia accident to assess high-risk projects. Among its recommendations: limit the Atlantis crew to four people instead of the more typical six or seven. "With a crew of four, 

it takes a year to get everybody down, and that was deemed enough," Atlantis mjssion specialist Sandra 

Magnus said. With six or seven, "it would take close to two years to get everybody down," she said. 

Russia flies four Soyuz spacecraft to and from the station each year. Typically, two blast off between 

March and June, and two launch between September and December. Under NASA's original plan, 

Atlantis already would have been retired. The May 2010 Atlantis mission originally was going to be the 

orbiter's 32nd and final flight, but it was to be prepared for flight in case it was needed to serve as a rescue 

vehicle for Endeavour, which launched May 16 and landed June I. But NASA and Congress decided last 

year to fly Atlantis on a final station supply run if no Endeavour rescue was required. The rescue-turnedlogistics mission is viewed as a hedge agajnst delays in the start-up of post-shuttle commercial cargo 

deliveries. Upon its return, Atlantis now is destined for display in retirement at NASA's Kennedy Space 

Center Visitor Complex. Web posted. (2011). [NASA back-up plan: Russia to the rescue [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.cfnews13.com/ [2011 June 26).] 

Transformers at Space Center 

Brevard- Science fiction meets hard-core science when "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" starts its 

summer-long showing at Kennedy Space Center's Visitor Complex. And it's a homecomillg of sorts: 

Parts of the fi lm were shot at KSC and the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. A military fatigue costume 

wom by actor Josh Duhamel in the film will be on display at KSC's Sci-Fi Summer exhibit. Other tie-ins 

to the robot movie are expected to be announced in coming weeks. The 3D film will be shown at the 

space center's lmax theater starting Wednesday through Sept. 5. Web posted. (20 II). [Transformers at 

Space Center [Online). Available WWW: http://www.myfoxorlando.com/ [201 1 June 26].] 

June 27: Tests Put Atlantis On Track for July 8 Launch 

NASA and contractor engineers successfully performed main engine tests on Atlantis over the weekend, 

putting the winged spaceship back on course for the planned July 8 launch of the nation's 135th and final 

shuttle mission. The frequency response test and the helium signature leak test both were performed to 

make certain a spare fuel valve on Atlantis' No. 3 engine will work properly during flight. The spare was 

installed to replace a valve that leaked during a June 15 extemal tank propellant-loading test. The socalled tanking test was performed to verify the integrity of structural braces on the ribbed center section 

of the shuttle's IS-story extemal tank. No cracks or other problems were detected during a weekend 

review of data from x-ray inspections of the metal alloy braces. The braces were manufactured with an 

alloy batch that proved susceptible to cracking. The engine tests cleared the way for techillcians at 

Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A to start closing out the shuttle's aft compartment. Final ordnance 

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operations will get under way tonight as technicians rig up small explosive devices that will be used to 

separate the shuttle from its mobile launcher platform, solid rocket boosters and external tank in flight. 

Shuttle program managers will meet at KSC on Tuesday for the STS-135 Flight Readiness Review. The 

targeted July 8 launch date is expected to be finned at the conclusion of that review. Web posted. (2011). 

[Tests Put Atlantis On Track for July 8 Launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 June 27].] 

Next GPS satellite moves to Cape Canaveral launch pad 

A Global Positioning System satellite has been loaded aboard its ride to space, arriving Monday at Cape 

Canaveral's Complex 37 for mounting atop the United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket. Liftoff of the 

GPS 2F-2 spacecraft is scheduled for July 14 during a 19-minute window extending from 2:49 to 3:08 

a.m. EDT (0649-0708 GMT). The launch is timed to deliver the satellite into the GPS constellation to 

replace a 20-year craft that has long exceeded its expected lifespan. GPS satellites fly about 11,000 miles 

above the planet and emit continuous navigation signals that allow users to find their precise position in 

latitude, longitude and altitude and determine time. Originally built for the U.S. military, the GPS service 

has spread across the world as an inruspensable commercial utility. Launch base testing, the filling of 

maneuvering propellants and encapsulation within the two-piece rocket nose cone were among the 

activities accomplished at the satellite's cleanroom hangar. A motorized trailer then carried the 3,400-

pound satellite up the road to Complex 37 early Monday. It was positioned on the oceanside of the mobile 

service gantry and hoisted into the pad tower for bolting to the rocket's second stage. Today's GPS 

constellation is comprised of 31 operational satellites, including 11 Block 2A's made by Boeing, 12 Block 

2R's and seven 2R-Modernized spacecraft built by Lockheed Martin, and Boeing's first Block 2F. The 

craft takes over the position held by the GPS 2A-Il satellite, which was launched by a Delta 2 rocket 

from Cape Canaveral on July 3, 1991. Web posted. (201 1). [Next GPS satellite moves to Cape Canaveral 

launch pad [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 June 27].] 

NASA gives documents to Senate 

The deadline Monday passed without a threatened Senate subpoena being issued for NASA documents 

about development of its next heavy-lift rocket. "The agency is working to respond to the Senate 

commerce committee request and compiling the records requested," NASA spokesman J.D. Harrington 

said Monday. Democratic Sen. Jay Rockefeller of West Virginia, chairman of the Senate science 

committee, and the committee's top Republican, Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, threatened on 

Wednesday to subpoena documents they want about the rocket if NASA didn't provide them by 6 p.m. 

Monday. Development of a heavy-lift rocket was key to a congressional compromise in October 

supporting both that program and development of commercial rockets to ferry people to the International 

Space Station in place of the canceled return-to-the-moon Constellation program. But lawmakers have 

been disappointed in the amount of documents that NASA has provided about how it will pursue the 

heavy-lift rocket, which is competing for budget dollars with commercial rockets. And there have been 

concerns that NASA isn't adequately pursuing this policy goal. NASA Administrator Charles Bolden 

wrote lawmakers Thursday that the agency had provided hundreds of pages of contract documents and 

that agency staffers are in regular contact with committee staffers. Senators and their staffers are 

reviewing the documents NASA has provided and no subpoena was issued Monday. Web posted. (2011). 

[NASA gives documents to Senate [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 

June 27].] 

End of the Shuttle Era: Q&A With Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach 

He has been with the shuttle program for the past three decades and has witnessed both its tragedies and 

its triumphs. NASA's Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach reflected on the end of the shuttle era when 

interviewed this week. He talked a bit about his plans for the future as well as what he thinks people can 

expect from both him and his team on launch day. Q: The Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test 

(TCDT) for STS-135 has just wrapped up, is this is a period of accelerated work for you and your team or 

181 
is this a time when you can catch your breath? Leinbach: "This TCDT was a little different; we had a very 

busy period getting the crew ready for this mission. On July 4 we'll have a bit of a break and then things 

will pick right back up again as we get ready for launch." Q: What do you think you will be feeling when 

that fmallaunch occurs? Leinbach: "I don't know, I mean I have thought a lot about this .. .I don't know 

what it's going to be like. For the last flight of Discovery we had one more launch for both Endeavour 

and Atlantis, well now this really and truly the last flight of the shuttle program ... so it's going to be a 

very reflective time." Q: Do you think anything will be special about this mission? Leinbach: "The launch 

itself will be very much any other launch. When the guys are working on the consoles they are very 

serious about what they are doing. They won't be distracted by the fact that it is the last one. Q: Speaking 

of your job - it keeps you very busy, have you had any time to reflect? Leinbach: "For the moment I still 

have a lot to do concluding TCDT, but this Saturday I am pla1ming on driving out to the launch pad and 

just looking up at Atlantis and just soaking it all in, all by myself." Leinbach started working for NASA 

as a structural engineer in 1984, his words are softly spoken which tends to lend them even more weight. 

His first mission as launch director was STS-114. This was the first shuttle launch after the loss of the 

space shuttle Columbia in 2003. Leinbach led the recovery team searching for Columbia's debris in 

Texas. A year later in 2004 Leinbach was awarded the Presidential Rank Award, which is given in 

recognition of long-tenn accomplishments. Atlantis will carry the four person crew of STS-135 to the 

International Space Station on a resupply flight designed to keep the orbiting outpost well stoked after the 

shuttles are decommissioned. The mission is scheduled to last twelve days, launching on July 8 at 11:26 

a.m. EDT. The crew consists of Commander Chris Ferguson, Pilot Doug Hurley and Mission Specialists 

Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim. Tbe Launch Control Center or LCC is where the final "go" "no-go" 

for launch is detennined. Web posted. (2011). [End of the Shuttle Era: Q & A With Shuttle Launch 

Director Mike Leinbach [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.universetoday.com/ [2011 June 27].] 

Atlantis in good shape 

The July 8 target launch date for the nation's final shuttle mission likely will be fmned up today after a 

formal readiness review at Kennedy Space Center. Four astronauts are tentatively scheduled to blast off 

at 11:26 a.m., July 8 on a fmal shuttle supply run to the lnternational Space Station. Weekend engine 

tests and a review of data from X-ray inspections of the shuttle's external tank put NASA back on course 

for launch a week from this coming Friday. Senior NASA executives and managers are expected to 

confirm the launch date and time at the conclusion oftoday's agency-level flight readiness review. "We're 

still looking good for the July 8 target date," KSC spokesman Allard Beutel said. "We still have several 

days of cushion in the schedule." During the weekend, NASA perfonned a valve-cycling test as well as a 

leak test to make certain a spare fuel valve in the No. 3 engine of Atlantis is working properly. The spare 

replaced a valve that leaked during a June 15 external tank propellant-loading test. The tanking test was 

performed to verify the integrity of metal braces on the ribbed center section of the shuttle's 15-story 

external tank. No defects were detected during a weekend review of data from X-ray inspections of the 

braces. The braces came from a manufacturing lot that proved susceptible to cracking. Discovery's 39th 

and final flight was delayed four months so that cracked braces from the same lot could be repaired. The 

same repairs were made on the Atlantis tank. The Atlantis crew is scheduled to arrive at NASA's shuttle 

homeport next Monday --the July 4 holiday. The crew includes commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug 

Hurley and mission specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim. NASA's final shuttle launch 

countdown is slated to pick up at 1 p.m. next Tuesday. Atlantis is scheduled to touch down on KSC's 

shuttle runway at 7:06 a.m. on July 20 -- the 42nd anniversary of the historic Apollo 11 moon landing. 

Web posted. (2011). (Atlantis in good shape [Online]. Ava ilable WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[2011 June 27].] 

J une 28: STS-135: FRR sets July 8 Launch Date for Atlantis 

The Agency Flight Readiness Review (FRR) has - as expected - approved the July 8 launch date, after all 

outstanding issues were confirmed to be out of Atlantis' path for what will be the final Space Shuttle 

mission. Meanwhile, the International Space Station (ISS) crew were put through a contingency event on 

182 
Tuesday, following a late conjunction which missed the orbital outpost. Atlantis will carry the MultiPurpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Raffaello and a Lightweight Multi-Purpose Carrier (LMC) to the 

International Space Station for a 12 days baseline mission, as much as Station managers have requested 

an additional docked day in tbe timeline. Such a decision will be taken during the mission, based on the 

crew's workload, progress on the timeline and Atlantis' consumables status, given she is slightly 

handicapped - when compared to her two sisters - due to the lack of a Station-to-Shuttle Power Transfer 

System (SSPTS). With the Agency FRR approval, engineers out at Pad 39A will continue with their 

preparations for the S0007 Launch Countdown, with final replenishment of the LH2 and LOX spheres at 

the pad complex in work, in tandem with closeouts on the orbiter, final ordnance installation and preps for 

the pressurization of Atlantis' Main Propulsion System (MPS). Web posted. (2011). [STS-135: FRR sets 

July 8 Launch Date for Atlantis - Debris misses ISS [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011 June 28].] 

Minotaur Rocket Launch from NASA Wallops Re-scheduled for 29 June 

NASA's Wallops Flight Facillty in Virginia has rescheduled the launch of an United States Air Force 

Minotaur 1 rocket carrying the ORS-1 satellite for the Department of Defense's Operationally Responsive 

Space Office. Originally set for June 28, the new launch date is June 29. The launch on June 28 was 

postponed due to thunderstorms in the area. The Minotaur 1 will be launched between 8:28 and 11:28 

p.m. The backup launch days are June 30 through July 10. Web posted. (2011). [Minotaur Rocket 

Launch from NASA Wallops Re-scheduled for 29 June (Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011 June 28].] 

June 29: Photographer captures Kennedy Space Center 

Vincent Fournier's photography captures a longing for the space age that lives somewhere between the 

recently made-possible and the science fiction of the 70s and 80s. Inspired by trips to the Paris museum of 

science, Vincent has been fascinated by the machine world since his youth and incorporates it into most 

of his work. In his "Space Project," Vincent pays homage to the world's great centers of space 

exploration and study: Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center in Russia, Mars Desert Research Station in 

Utah, various observatories and antenna arrays, and, most recently, the Ariane Space Center in French 

Guiana. Just this past month, Vincent fmally got permission to shoot in NASA's Kennedy Space Center in 

Florida, home of the soon-to-be-closed space shuttle program, and Vincent's holy grail. Vincent (with us 

tailing him) was graciously afforded an almost all-access behind the scenes tour of Kennedy Space Center 

--mission control was a no-go, unsurprisingly --which included a pilgrimage to launchpad 39A, site of 

the impending STS-135 mission, NASA's last in the Space Transportation System (STS, or Space Shuttle) 

era. He also got a peek at the NASA engine shop, shuttle landing facility and control tower, vehicle 

assembly building, and mobile launch platforms, as well as several other difficult-to-remember locales. 

Throughout our visit, Vincent kept asking the kind NASA public affairs officers if there were "clean 

rooms" or "white rooms" he could photograph in, and they were generous enough to let him navigate his 

way through a handful. At one point, we entered an enormous three-chambered room full of men and 

women working on towering rocket engines. It was akin to stumbling on to the set of Micro Machines: 

the Movie but with the people in miniature. Vincent snapped a few photos but pressed forward quickly, as 

he was more interested in the adjacent airlock room with its almost fully white aesthetic. Here he had a 

little more freedom to kt his cinematic imagination take hold, as well as the option of positioning a 

worker in a clean room suit (aka "bunny suit"). While the trip represented a longtime goal for Vincent, 

there was an overwhelming sense of nostalgia to almost everything we saw. It was bitterswee~ to visit 

NASA while workers were getting their layoff notices and the shuttle program, with all its attendant 

promise and tragedy, was in its final days. Viewing the Atlantis orbiter perched on the launch pad and 

protected by the service structure made it seem very fragile, even though it was made to travel over 100 

times the speed of sound. To see photos from Fournier's shoot at Kennedy Space Center, visit 

Motherboard.tv Web posted. (2011). (Photographer captures Kennedy Space Center in waning moments 

of shuttle program [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ [2011 June 29].) 

183 
June 30: Final Shuttle Crew On Hand For Atlantis Rollout 

Shuttle Atlantis is poised in the Kennedy Space Center Vehicle Assembly for its scheduled rollout to the 

launch pad tonight for NASA's fina l shuttle flight. With the shuttle stacked atop a mobile launcher 

platfonn, a giant crawler-transporter originally built for the Apollo moon-landing project will creep out of 

the 52-story assembly building at 8 p.m. The four astronauts who will fly the STS-135 mission will be on 

band for the rollout. Mission commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists 

Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim will field questions at the Launch Complex 39 Press Site while a floodlit Atlantis moves toward the launch pad in the background. Some 8,000 employees and guests are 

expected to attend the last shuttle rollout. The weather forecast looks good and NASA is working no 

technical show-stoppers at this point. Web posted. (2011). [Final Shuttle Crew On Hand For Atlantis 

Rollout [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ tl1ejlame trench blog [2011 June 

29].] 

Tactical spy sateLUte streaks into space on Minotaur rocket 

A Minotaur rocket roared into orbit from the Virginia coast Wednesday night, successfully deploying a 

small spacecraft to make the benefits of satellite technology more accessible to deployed U.S. military 

forces in Afghanistan and other war zones in the Middle East. The 957-pound spacecraft blasted off at 

11:09 p.m. EDT Wednesday (0309 GMT Thursday) atop a Minotaur I rocket from the Mid-Atlantic 

Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, Va. The seven-story booster, powered by decommissioned 

Minuteman missile stages, streaked into a clear sky and surpassed the speed of sound in the frrst halfminute of flight. The launch was visible up and down the East Coast from North Carolina to New York. 

Web posted. (2011). [Tactical spy satellite streaks into space on Minotaur rocket [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 June 30].] 

184 
JULY 

July 1: Atlantis one week from final shuttle launch 

Four Atlantis astronauts will enter quarantine in Houston today after a fmal ascent simulation, one week 

before their planned blastoff from Kennedy Space Center at 11 :26 a.m. next Friday to begin the !35th and 

last shuttle mission. "It sounds so final," mission commander Chris Ferguson said during press briefings 

Thursday. "I don't think we want any more time, though. We're ready. We're trained. We want to go do it 

and we want to go do it on time." At launch pad 39A today, technicians are working to close out the aft 

compartment of shuttle Atlantis. Earlier this week, teams pressurized the orbiter's propulsion systems 

and closed its payload bay doors for flight. Inside the cargo bay is a module packed with 8,600 pounds of 

supplies and spare parts that will help keep the International Space Station fully stocked and staffed 

through 20 12. Mission commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Sandy 

Magnus and Rex Walbeim plan to fly into KSC around 2:45 p.m. on Independence Day, and the final 

shuttle countdown will pick up at 1 p.m. Tuesday. After a series of media events in recent days and 

weeks, Ferguson said Thursday he was looking forward to quarantine for some quiet time to review notes 

and collect his thoughts before the final shuttle launch. Only medically approved personnel staff and 

family can interact with the crew members during quarantine. They'll start out in Building 259 at Johnson 

Space Center and move into crew quarters in the Operations and Checkout building when they arrive at 

Kennedy. KSC processing teams are scheduled to have the July 4 holiday weekend off, barring any 

severe weather that requires inspections of Atlantis at the pad. Web posted. (201 1). (Atlantis one week 

from final shuttle launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench 

blog [20 II, July I].] 

Shuttle crew focused on fmal mission with fewer bands 

The last astronauts to fly on the space shuttle aren't too worried about their place in history. They're 

worried about their workload. Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to blast off July 8 on a 12-day mission to the 

International Space Station that will also be the final mission of the space shuttle era. In a throwback to 

the beginning of the shuttle's career, Atlantis will have a crew of only four, rather than the now-standard 

six or seven. The result is an intense workload that will tax the last shuttle astronauts - all experienced 

space hands - to their limits. The small crew is a safety precaution. In the past, another shuttle stood 

ready to fetch any crews that got stranded in space. Now NASA has no intact shuttle left to serve as 

rescue vehicles. Shuttles Endeavour and Discovery are already being dismantled in preparation for their 

next role as museum exhibits. If Atlantis can't make it home safely, the astronauts will wait at the space 

station, already home to six people, to be picked up by Russian spaceships. A smaller Atlantis crew 

ensures the astronauts wouldn't run out of food or other supplies while they wait to be evacuated to Earth, 

a gradual process that could take almost a year. Although the shuttle won't carry a full crew, the 

astronauts have a long list of chores. They'll have some 10,000 pounds of supplies to bundle from Atlantis 

on to the station and a similar amount to tote from the station onto the shuttle. To help them cope, shuttle 

officials have asked Mission Control to take over some tasks, such as pointing cameras while the station's 

robotic arm is being used, that are normally performed by astronauts in space. After Atlantis returns to 

Earth, NASA will have no spaceship to send astronauts to orbit. Instead, NASA hopes to farm out that job 

to private companies. In the meantime, astronauts will continue to live on the space station, traveling 

there on Russian rockets, while NASA works on a rocket big enough to carry crews to the moon and 

beyond. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle crew focused on final mission with fewer hands [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.usatoday.com/ [2011 , July 1].] 

Inspector general: NASA faces 'multiple challenges and risks' 

NASA must protect against cost increases in developing commercial rockets while providing a reliable -

and safe - way for people to reach the International Space Station post-shuttle, the agency's inspector 

general warned this week. Demand for commercial rockets will increase after Atlantis' planned July 8 

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launch, the last of the shuttle program. NASA has contracted for seats aboard Russian Soyuz rockets to 

ferry people to the space station until at least June 2016. The hope is that commercial space taxis will be 

flying in 2015. Inspector General Paul Martin warned that "NASA faces multiple challenges and risks" 

as it becomes a full-fledged transportation program. Concerns include: *Verifying that private rocket 

companies have met the agency's health, engineering and safety requirements to carry people. *Finalizing 

a strategy for funding rocket development, expected this summer, so costs don't rise prohibitively. 

President Barack Obama and Congress have agreed to support development of commercial rockets as the 

most cost-effective way to reach the space station, while also backing NASA's development of a heavylift rocket capable of reaching Mars. But the debate over spending priorities remains contentious. Obama 

wants to spend more developing commercial rockets than Congress wants to spend, and key lawmakers 

want to spend more on a heavy-lift rocket than Obama would like. NASA awarded $50 million in 2009 to 

encourage commercial development. ln April, the agency announced another $269.3 million for such 

projects. The agency announced Wednesday that its industry partners have met their initial goals in what 

is called Commercial Crew Development 2 or CCDev2. Web posted. (20 I I). [Inspector general: NASA 

faces 'multiple challenges and risks' [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, 

July 1].] 

July 2: Final NASA shuttle mission clouded by rancor 

The last shuttle, Atlantis, sits on Pad 39A. ready for its valedictory flight. It is the nature of a 

shuttle to look kind oflonely out there on the pad, kept at a safe remove from the control room, 

the hangars, the observation platforms. The pad is not far from the beach, one of the last stretches 

of Florida coastline unblemished by hotels and condos. Beach houses were tom down years ago 

when the federal government showed up with rockets. Old-timers talk of II graveyards and an 

old schoolhouse lurking somewhere out there, the remnants of the era before the coming of the 

spaceport. Now the U.S. space program itself is middle-aged, facing a painful transition. 

Atlantis will blast off, if all goes as planned, at 11 :26 a.m. Friday for a 12-day mission to the 

international space station. And then ... what? NASA's critics say the human spaceflight 

program is in a shambles. They see arm-waving and paperwork rather than a carefully defined 

mission going forward. NASA has lots of plans, but it has no new rocket ready to launch, no 

specific destination selected, and no means in the near term to get American astronauts into 

space other than by buying a seat on one of Russia's aging Soyuz spacecraft. The space agency's 

leaders say everything's on track, that the private sector will soon launch astronauts into orbit 

and let NASA focus on the hard work of deep-space exploration. There is a new heavy-lift rocket 

in the works, one capable of going far beyond the stamping grounds of the shuttle. President 

Obama has picked a destination, a near-Earth asteroid, though he did not say which one. Bob 

Crippen, who was the pilot of the first shuttle mission, STS-1, back in 1981: " I've never seen 

NASA so screwed up as it is right now .... They don't know where they're going." Even one of 

NASA's senior people here at the Kennedy Space Center, Mike Leinbach, the launch director 

who will supervise the final countdown and launch of Atlantis, has blasted his agency for the 

lack of direction. "We're all victims of poor policy out of Washington, D.C. - both at the 

NASA level and the executive branch of the government," Leinbach said recently at a news 

conference here. He said he was "embarrassed" about the lack of guidance. NASA 

Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. said he respects Crippen and Leinbach but "could not 

disagree more" with their comments. "Our future is bright, and the U.S. will continue to be a 

world leader in space exploration for many years to come," he said. Here at the Kennedy Space 

Center, NASA managers say they plan to build a "21 st-century spaceport," but the effort has a 

cart-before-horse problem. NASA is trying to get infrastructure in place for rockets that haven't 

been approved and destinations that haven't been selected. The space center has a new half186 
billion-dollar mobile launcher, soaring 355 feet into the air and designed for Constellation's Ares 

I rocket. But with Ares I defunct, the launcher is an expensive piece of hardware searching for a 

purpose. One of the powerful impressions of the Kennedy Space Center is how antiquated the 

place has become in certain respects. It's not digital, it's analog. The Kennedy Space Center 

wants to be a 2 1st-century spaceport, but there are places where it looks like the Rust Belt of the 

Space Age. The massive structure housing the Delta rv is a reminder that the space program is 

hardly dead. The U.S. military spends more on space than NASA does. The future promises 

many rockets, big and small, civilian and military, public and private. Web posted. (2011). [Final 

NASA shuttle mission clouded by rancor [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.washingtonpost.com/ 

[2011 , July 2].] 

July 3: After last shuttle flight, NASA will focus on 'deep space' 

NASA Adm.inistrator Charles Bolden says that human space flight for America will not end with the 

retirement of the shuttle program. Instead, the space agency plans to refocus its efforts from lower-orbit 

vehicles to deeper space probes. Bolden touted two new NASA programs that will eventually "open up 

the entire solar system to us." A Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle will carry four astronauts for 21-day deep 

space missions, and will be able to land in the Pacific Ocean. "It is designed to be much safer during 

ascent and entry than the shuttle," Bolden said. NASA is near a decision and rumouncement on a new 

heavy-lift rocket space launch system. Shuttle Atlantis is scheduled for liftoff on July 8 for a 12-day 

mission to the International Space Station, marking the final flight for the shuttle program. Last week, 

former astronaut Jolm Glenn expressed his unhappiness with the end of the shuttle program. Glenn called 

it "ridiculous" and says he has objected to the cancellation since President George W. Bush made the 

announcement back in 2004. Web posted. (2011). [After last shuttle flight, NASA will focus on 'deep 

space' [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ [20 11 , July 3].] 

July 4: Shuttle Atlantis astronauts arrive for Friday's launch 

The crew of the shuttle Atlantis celebrated the July Fourth holiday Monday by flying to Florida aboard 

sleek T -38 jet trainers to prepare for launch Friday on the I 35th and final shuttle mission. After a brief 

stop in Mobile, Ala., to refuel, commander Christopher Ferguson, pilot Douglas Hurley, Sandra Magnus 

and Rex Walheim touched down at the 3-mile-long shuttle runway around 2:32 p.m. EDT (GMT -4). The 

shuttle's countdown is scheduled to begin at l p.m. Tuesday, setting up a launch attempt at 11:26:46 a.m. 

Friday, roughly the moment Earth's rotation carries launch complex 39A into the plane oftbe 

lntemational Space Station's orbit. The astronauts have until Sunday to get off the ground or launch will 

slip to July 16 to give the Air Force time to launch a navigation satellite aboard a Delta 4 rocket. 

Assum.ing an on-time liftoff, Ferguson will guide Atlantis to a docking at the station's forward port around 

I I :09 a.m. Sunday. A cargo module loaded with more than 8,000 pounds of supplies and equipment will 

be attached to the station the next day, followed by a spacewalk Tuesday with station astronauts Ronald 

Garan and Michael Fossum. If all goes well, Atlantis will undock around 1 :51 a.m. July 18 and land back 

at the Kennedy Space Center around 6:56a.m. on July 20 to close out the orbiter's thirty-third and final 

flight. "It's such a pleasure to come down here when you have a rocket on the pad and it's got your stuff 

loaded on it," Walheirn sa.id on the shuttle runway. "So we're really excited to be here. I thank you all for 

com.ing out and I hope you have a happy Fourth of July." Web posted. (20 11). [Shuttle Atlantis astronauts 

arrive for Friday's launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, July 4].] 

With shuttle program ending, it's time to see what space station can do 

If the American public can't get excited over research breakthroughs in salmonella vaccines, how 

m.icrogravity affects the human immune system and cosmic-particles analysis, this could be a difficult 

decade for supporters of NASA's manned spaceflight program. Once space shuttle Atlantis delivers a 

pod of equipment and supplies to the International Space Station and retums to Earth later this month, the 

13-year construction phase of the station - like the shuttle program that made it possible - will be over. 

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The station, longer than a football field and costing an estimated $ 100 billion, is the shuttle program's 

ultimate legacy. Now it's time to see what the station can do. "We believe this next 10 years it's 

important to do meaningful science," said Frank DiBeiJo, president of Space Florida, the public-private 

agency designed to promote space-related economic development. "That's a I 0-year period in which the 

nation is going to look at what kind of return on investment can be achieved for the $100 billion." The 

challenge for NASA and its international, corporate and scientific partners in coming years: Can 

meaningful science be carried out more than 200 miles above Earth's surface? The first parts of the 

station were put into orbit in 1998, and research has been under way since the fLrst residents - initially, 

only three members - a rrived in 2000. But it wasn't until this year that the crew - now up to six, thanks 

to expanded livi ng quarters - began focusing on what NASA calls its "utilization phase." The station is 

set to last at least another I 0 years, relying on Russian Soyuz spacecraft for supplies and crew transport 

until private U.S. firms can take over. Meanwhile, NASA will refocus its manned spaceflight program on 

more distant destinations such as Mars, asteroids or the moon. About 120 science projects are under way 

on the station now, involving more than 600 scientists on Earth. The station has four users. A partnership 

of the European Space Agency, Japan, Russia, Canada, Brazil and others, controlled by an international 

board, uses about a quarter of the station:s resources and astronaut time. The rest is divided between 

NASA, the U.S. Department of Defense and a NASA-administered national laboratory open to private 

companies, universities and individual scientists. Web posted. (20 11 ). [With shuttle program ending, it's 

time to see what space station can do [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ 

[20 II, July 4].) 

July S: Weather Iffy for NASA's Last Space Shuttle Launch Friday 

NASA is counting down toward launch the agency's final space shuttle mission on Friday (July 8), but 

Mother Nature may not cooperate. The countdown began this afternoon (July 5) and is ticking down to a 

planned zero at II :26 a.m. EDT (1526 GMT) on Friday, but NASA is keeping a close eye on the weather. 

Forecasts call for a chance of rain and thunderstorms on Friday, meaning that shuttle Atlantis' final 

mission - the last ever for NASA's iconic shuttle program after 30 years of spaceflight - might be 

delayed, officia ls said today in a news briefing here at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. "I wish I had 

better weather for you, a better weather briefmg for you," said shuttle weather officer Kathy Winters. 

"Right now, we're going with a 60 percent chance ofKSC weather prohibiting launch due to the potential 

for showers and isolated thunderstorms in the area." NASA's preparations, for their part, are coming 

along nicely, with no problems apparent at the moment. "All of our preparations for launch countdown 

have been completed or are in work, and we're working no issues at this time," said Jeremy Graeber, 

NASA test director. Atlantis' payloads, which include a year's worth of supplies and spare parts for the 

International Space Station and an experiment to demonstrate robotic refueling of satellites in orbit, are 

also looking good, officials said. And Atlantis' four-astronaut crew is on site and working through their 

flight preparations. Commander Chris Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley and mission specialists Rex 

Waldheim and Sandy Magnus flew in to KSC yesterday afternoon from Houston's Ellington Field, 

arriving aboard two T-38 supersonic jets. If bad weather scrubs Friday's launch, other windows open up 

Saturday morning and Sunday morning. And the outlook improves a bit each day, with the chance of 

weather problems dropping to 40 percent on Saturday and 30 percent on Sunday, Winters said. A delay 

would doubtless disappoint the huge throngs of shuttle-watchers that will descend on Florida's Space 

Coast to watch the last-ever blastoff of America's iconic space plane. NASA expects between 500,000 

and 750,000 people to show up, Graeber said. Atlantis' STS-135 mission is slated to last 12 days to 

deliver supplies and spare parts to the International Space Station. NASA will retire its three-shuttle fleet 

for good to make way for a new program aimed at deep space exploration. The space agency aims to send 

and then on to Mars by the mid-2030s. Atlantis and its fellow orbiters Endeavour and Discovery will 

become museum showpieces. Web posted. (20 11). (Weather Iffy for NASA's Last Space Shuttle Launch 

Friday [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ [2011 , July 5].] 

Prices of collectibles jump at space shuttles' end 

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With the shuttle program set to end this month, collectors say they're already seeing more interest in items 

ranging from autographed crew photographs to small flags that flew into space. Robert Pearlman, editor 

of collectspace.com, said it's difficult to put an across-the-board number on how much shuttle 

merchandise will increase in value, but he expects some prices to double. Part of the increase will depend 

on how much the last flight of Atlantis, schedule for launch Friday, will boost collector interest. Between 

500,000 and I million spectators are expected on the Space Coast to witness the 30-year program's grand 

finale, suggesting the interest is there. One key to the rising value, Pearlman and other experts say, is that 

now there is a definitive number of shuttle missions and shuttle astronauts, so collectors know what they 

need to get a complete set. And many are scrambling now to fill in those missing pieces. The most 

valuable of the official NASA crew photos, Pearlman said, are ones signed by the crews from NASA's 

two shuttle tragedies: Challenger which exploded shortly after launch in 1986 and Columbia which broke 

apart on its way home in 2003. Some of those have sold for more than $ 10,000 apiece. In comparison, 

crew-signed photos from relatively obscure shuttle missions can be bought for $35 to $75. There also is 

growing interest in items that were tied to certain shuttle missions-- particularly the ftrst shuttle mission 

in 1981 , on Columbia. NASA put 10,000 4-inch-by-6-inch American flags on that flight. After the 

mission, the flags were mounted on special commemorative displays that included launch and landing 

photos and other information about the mission. NASA gave those flags to many of its employees, 

contractors and others with connections to the shuttle. Pearlman, who operates a leading website for 

space enthusiasts and space memorabilia collectors, said those collectibles have jumped in value, rising 

from $250 to $500 five years ago to more than $1 ,000 today. Other high-priced memorabilia include 

items from the inaugural flights of the other shuttle orbiters and of missions connected with the Hubble 

Space Telescope. Beyond photos autographed by astronauts and space-flown flags, some space coll.ectors 

tend to focus on more unusual memorabilia, such as spacecraft parts, other space-flown items, and 

manuals used by astronauts in flight or in training. That market has raised concerns about space program 

employees taking space-related property home as souvenirs or to resell. But NASA spokesman Allard 

Beutel said those incidents are rare. "People know the difference" between personal property, such as 

flags or pins that were flown on the shuttle and later given out as awards, and government property, such 

as used shuttle heat-resistant tiles, Beutel said. Even with the end of the shuttle program resulting in 

thousands of layoffs and retirements at Kennedy Space Center, Beutel said he's not worried. "They're 

professionals, and they're good, honest people," Beutel said. He said managers and supervisors reinforce 

the rules, and there are various levels of security in place to track shuttle parts and other NASA property. 

Web posted. {2011). [Prices of collectibles jump at space shuttles' end [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www. tloridatoday.com/ [20 II, July 5].] 

Poll finds support for U.S. space program 

Most Americans consider the space shuttle program to have been a good investment, according to a 

national poll released Tuesday. And they say it's "essential" for the U.S. to remain a world leader in 

human spaceflight. "By a relatively large margin, this is something that Americans think is important," 

said Jocelyn Kiley, a researcher with the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, which 

conducted the survey. Fifty-eight percent of respondents called U.S. leadership in human spaceflight 

"essential." Thirty-eight percent said it is "not essential." The poll marked the first time Pew researchers 

have asked that question. ln addition, 55 percent of respondents said the space shuttle program has been a 

good investment, a smaller percentage than expressed that view during the 1980s when three of four said 

they felt that way. Pew's telephone poll of 1,502 adults was conducted June 15-19. The poll had a margin 

of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. The shuttle program retires with the final flight of Atlantis 

scheduled Friday. The space agency plans to hitch rides to the International Space Station aboard Russian 

Soyuz rockets for several years. Despite the public appetite for space exploration reflected in the Pew 

poll, the agency has struggled in the competition with other agencies for funding. In 2004, the last time 

Pew asked people to rank space exploration among priorities for Congress and the president, only one in 

I 0 people called expanding the space program a " top priority." That ranked it 22nd behind issues such as 

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the economy, crime and a gay-marriage amendment. Web posted. (20 11). [Poll finds support for U.S. 

space program [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , July 5].] 

KSC readies for final shuttle countdown 

· After a long Independence Day weekend off, Kennedy Space Center teams are back at work preparing to 

start the final countdown to a shuttle launch at 1 p.m. today. Atlantis and its crew of four astronauts, who 

arrived at Kennedy Monday, are scheduled to blast off at II :26 a.m. Friday. NASA will host a status 

briefmg today at I 0 a.m. featuring Jeremy Graeber, NASA test director, Joe Delai, mission payload 

manager and Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer. A preliminary launch weather forecast hadn't been 

released by 7 a.m. Launch teams plan to report to their consoles in Firing Room 4 of the Launch Control 

Center at 12:30 p.m. After the three-day countdown begins, processing work today includes final vehicle 

and facility closeouts for launch, checkout of backup flight systems, avionics configuration, review of 

flight software and verification of flight system software in Atlantis' general purpose computers. 

Atlantis will fly a minimum 12-day mission to the International Space Station to keep it stocked with food 

and supplies through next year. Web posted. (2011). [KSC readies for fmal shuttle countdown [OnJine]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the jlame trench blog [2011 , July 5].] 

July 6: Stem CeUs for Space Shuttle Atlantis 

One small South Florida Company with a funny name will be watching NASA's launch of STS-135, 

Space Shuttle "Atlantis," with more than the usual interest this coming Friday, July 8th, 20 II. Miami Fat 

Supply, (funny name, serious business) was chosen to supply a rather unique payload for this historic lastever shuttle flight to the International Space Station - human fat, from which stem cells are derived to 

study the effects of regenerative therapies on astronauts who experience muscle and organ atrophy when 

exposed to long periods of zero gravity. Tissue Genesis lnc. of Honolulu Hawaii, an early pioneer of stem 

cell research is the sponsor of this ground breaking study. TGI was selected by the Dept. ofDefense to 

conduct this particular experiment. This is TGI's 19th shuttle payload involving regenerative cell 

research. Web posted. (2011). [Stem Cells for Space Shuttle Atlantis [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.PRWeb.com/ [2011 , July 6].] 

Space shuttle breathed new Life into Rocketdyne 

It built rocket engines mighty enough to blast Apollo skyward and beat the Soviets to the moon. But when 

Canoga Park-based Rocketdyne won a long-shot bid 40 years ago to help launch a re-useable NASA 

space shuttle, it would enter one of the greatest high-tech races ever. For its space shuttle main engine 

(SSME) would not only power the swiftest winged hot rod but become an uncompromising engineering 

wonder. "Here's what they wanted: a re-useable engine. An engine that could vary its thrust. They also 

wanted the highest-performance rocket engine ever made. And to make it as light as possible," said John 

Halchak, a metallurgical engineer with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne -- a senior fellow, or deacon, of 

modem rocketry. The Rocketdyne space shuttle engine that shot 134 space shuttles into space since 1981 

has never cast an astronaut adrift. And with the final space shuttle launch scheduled Friday, the San 

Fernando Valley rocketeers stand to bat 1.000 for 30 years of engine reliability. "It's unique. And very 

complicated, more so than any other engine," said Bob Biggs, a principal engineer and author of a book 

on the space shuttle engine. "One more flight, and we'll have done the whole program without a 

catastrophic failure of the engine. "The SSME was a tremendous challenge," recalls Byron Wood, former 

president of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, affectionately dubbed "Mr. Rocketdyne," who now lives in 

Santa Barbara. "To start a new program. To build an engine no one had ever built. Using technology no 

one had ever brought to conclusion. "Then construct a factory that would build the engines." The space 

shuttle engine, clustered in a trio beneath the orbiter, would have to survive 50 launches, a fJISt. It would 

have to vary thrusts of up to 500,000 pounds, a first. It would have an onboard rocket engine computer, a 

first. It would have to have what engineers call a high enough specific impulse-- or thrust versus weight 

ratio-- to propel the heavy orbiter between 200 and 400 miles above the earth in a highly efficient way. 

And it would have to burn liquid hydrogen and oxygen at unprecedented combustion chamber pressures 

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of9,000 pounds per square inch. This called for 77,000-horsepower turbine-driven fuel pumps the size of 

a six-cylinder car engine. Which called for a new Rocketdyne copper, zirconium and silver alloy, key to 

cooling the pressurized combustion chamber, to keep it from melting beneath the astronauts. The new 

main shuttle engine looked androgynous -- like the Terminator fused to Scarlett O'Hara in an oversize 

hoop skirt. At 14 feet tall and 7,500 pounds, it had 45,000 parts. It was also sensitive-- turn one knob 

here, get a lot of response there -- a condition known as "high gain." But it would win the hearts at 

NASA, who awarded its contract to Rocketdyne in July 1971. On a hot and humid day in Mississippi four 

years later, it was fired and tested for a half-second. "Barely audible," said Wood, who had been standing 

in the control room. "But it was the sound that ushered in the shuttle." Test and fix. Test and fix. By the 

time the Challenger was launched on April 12, 1981 , its engines had exceeded 300,000 seconds on the 

hot-fire pad --the equivalent of 615 space shuttle missions, according to NASA. After its first flight, 

NASA and the U.S. Air Force demanded its engineers squeeze out 9 percent more power-- an order 

almost as tall as the engine itself. Over the life of the space shuttle, Rocketdyne built 72 SSME engines, 

which took up to three years to make at the plant in Canoga Park. One former company engineer said 

early engines cost $35 million each. In Halchak's office hangs a photograph of the first moon landing 

with an inscription, "Once upon a time there was a nation where anything seemed possible. There still is." 

"We were really fortunate to live when we did," he said. "We worked through the Apollo program. The 

shuttle program. We put guys on the moon. We built a space station. "These were the glory days-- not 

just for this company, but for this country. We could do anything." Web posted. (2011). [Space shuttle 

breathed new life into Rocketdyne [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.dailvnews.com/ [2011 , July 

6].] 

Canaveral-based Guardsmen watch for off-limits boaters 

It could be quite the traffic jam. Anywhere from 2,000 to 5,000 boats are expected to jockey for the best 

viewing spots on the Atlantic Ocean and Banana River to watch the launch of Atlantis on Friday. But 

boaters beware: Violate the off-limits security zone and face a fine as hefty as $40,000. Willfully violate 

the zone, and the penalty could be as much as $250,000, up to 10 years in prison, or both. Led by the 

Coast Guard, a crew of 120 on a few dozen boats will be responsible for keeping clear a massive area of 

water around the launclh site, including inland waterways. "We get a lot of people that are going out for 

the day," Petty Officer 1st Class Robert Martin said. "They don't have a marine radio. It's the private 

boater who may put their boat on auto-pilot and forget about it, then all of a sudden they have a helicopter 

hovering over them." Coast Guard crews and partner agencies began patrolling Tuesday to make sure no 

one violates the security zone that stretches 22 miles along the coast north of Port Canaveral and three 

miles into the Atlantic Ocean. An additional federal safety zone stretches 12 miles out to sea and is in 

effect 45 minutes before launch through 15 minutes afterward. Chief Warrant Officer Jim Dubea, 

commanding officer of Coast Guard Port Canaveral, said the safety zone exists for the protection of the 

shuttle and its crew, as well as the safety of boaters. The launch of Atlantis, the final shuttle flight, is 

expected to draw more than twice the number of boaters as previous launches. Some will be 

inexperienced and others will be unfamiliar with the restrictions. Violators have forced launch delays. 

The April 12, 1985, launch of STS 51-D was delayed 55 minutes when a ship entered a restricted solid 

rocket-booster recovery area, which is in the federal zone. A similar incident occurred on Aug. 27, 1985, 

delaying the launch three minutes, 1 second. Crews mobilized in 1999 upon a sailboat that strayed into 

the restricted area. The Coast Guard ordered the man on the sailboat to anchor the vessel. They then took 

him off the boat and out of the safety zone and the launch proceeded as scheduled. At dusk one day 

before a shuttle launch, six people rode personal watercraft seemingly without a care in a restricted 

security zone in the Banana River. The past six years, about 350 violations of the safety zone have been 

recorded, all were warned to stay away. Thirteen have been repeat offenders. "If we warned you once and 

you come back, you're going to get our attention," said Senior Chief Mark Carstens, program manager for 

Coast Guard Space Flight Security Office at Port Canaveral,. Carstens has worked enforcing waterway 

restrictions for 21 shuttle launches and 42 rocket launches in his 16 years stationed at Port Canaveral. 

Usually a warning over the radio to mariners will prompt them to quickly move out of the zone, but not 

191 
all have radios. For launches, the Coast Guard, which is the primary law enforcement agency on the 

water, calls in reinforcements from its reserve and auxiliary, plus works with marine crews from the 

Brevard Cow1ty Sherifrs Office, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, U.S. Customs and 

Border Enforcement and the Air Force Reserve 920th Rescue Wing. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Canaveralbased Guardsmen watch for off-limits boaters [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/ 

[20 II, July 6].] 

July 7: NASA Signs Commercial Space Agreement With Sierra Nevada 

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is entering into an agreement with Sierra Nevada Space 

Systems (SNSS) of Sparks, Nev., to offer technical capabilities from the center's uniquely skilled work 

force. The umbrella space act agreement is Kermedy's latest step in its transition from a historically 

government-only launch complex to a multi-user spaceport. "We're pleased that our partner Sierra Nevada 

is going to make use of the deep resources existing at the Kennedy Space Center to enhance its ongoing 

work," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Sierra Nevada's agreements with Ketmedy and other 

NASA centers demonstrate its commitment to using the full resources of NASA as the agency facilitates 

commercial cargo and crew capabilities to the lnternational Space Station." Kennedy will help Sierra 

Nevada with the ground operations support of its lifting body reusable spacecraft called "Dream Chaser," 

which resembles a smaller version of the space shuttle orbiter. The spacecraft would carry as many as 

seven astronauts to the space station. Through the new agreement, Kennedy's work force will use its 

experience of processing the shuttle fleet for 30 years to help Sierra Nevada define and execute Dream 

Chaser's launch preparations and post-landing activities. "The partnership is an effort to bring new 

commercial space activities to the center and help transition Kennedy from a government, programfocused, single user launch complex to a diverse, multi-use spaceport, enabling both government and 

commercial space providers," said Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana. Web posted. (201 1). [NASA 

Signs Commercial Space Agreement With Sierra Nevada [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceref.com/ [20 II , July 7].] 

NASA Prepares For Final Shuttle Fuel-Loading 

NASA engineers aim to start fueling the external tank of shuttle Atlantis early Friday, a move that would 

keep the agency on course for the nation's I 35th and final shuttle launch despite stormy weather and a 

grim forecast. Atlantis and four astronauts remain scheduled to launch at I I :26 a.m. Friday, and an initial 

review of lightning strikes near the pad today have raised no red flags. One bolt struck the water tower 

about 500 feet of the shuttle at Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39A. A second hit the beach and two 

more were recorded within close proximity of the shuttle. Lightning strikes can prompt NASA to order up 

retesting of shuttle electrical systems to make sure all still are working as intended -- tests that potentially 

could prompt a delay in launch. However, the initial analyses indicated that no extensive retesting will be 

required. NASA engineers will brief senior mission managers on the lightning strikes during an internal 

meeting at 1 :30 a.m. A decision on whether to proceed with external-tank propellant-loading operations --

the next big milestone in the countdown for launch Friday-- will be made at that time. The weather 

forecast for launch still calls for a 70 percent chance rain showers and thunderstonns will prohibit launch. 

Web posted. (201 1 ). [NASA Prepares For Final Shuttle Fuel-Loading [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [20 11 , July 7].] 

192 
Most memorable space shuttle moments 

For more than 30 years, America's space shuttles have rocketed into orbit. Columbia, Challenger, 

Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour blasted off 134 times from the Kennedy Space Center. They were 

mankind's first reusable space launch vehicles, and the first to glide back to Earth on wings. As the space 

shuttle program ends with the final flight of Atlantis, CNN looks back at key moments that have defined 

this pioneering space program. First shuttle mission - After several years of delays, as well as a computer 

malfunction the day before, America rocketed into the space shuttle era on the morning of April 12, 1981 . 

The shuttle had been through many tests, but for Columbia's first launch into space, Commander John 

Young and Pilot Robert Crippen were in the cockpit. Shuttle firsts - The shuttles have launched many 

"firsts" into space. Physicist Sally Ride became the f1rst American woman in space in 1983. At age 32, 

she also holds the record for the youngest astronaut. That same year, Air Force Col. Guion Bluford Jr. 

became the first African-American in space. In 1983, UlfMerbold, from West Gennany, became the first 

non-American to fly on the shuttle. The first member of royalty and the f1fSt Muslim in space was Sultan 

Bin Salman Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud in 1985. Medical doctor Mae Jemison became the first AfricanAmerican woman in space in 1992. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Sergei Krikalev became the 

first Russian to fly on a space shuttle in 1994. Air Force Col. Eileen Collins became the first woman to 

pilot the shuttle in 1995, and four years later she was the first to command a mission. Challenger disaster 

- January 28, 1986, at 11:38 am ET, space shuttle Challenger blasted off from KelUledy Space Center. 

One minute and 13 seconds later, the ship was engulfed in a fireball which destroyed Challenger and 

claimed the lives of all onboard. NASA later determined the accident was caused when an 0-ring in one 

of the white solid rocket boosters failed because of unusually cold weather. Mir Space Station - Built by 

the Soviet Union, the Mir Space Station opened its doors to the American space shuttle in 1995. The 

shuttle visited the station 10 times and American astronauts spent nearly 1,000 days on board. The 

Shuttle-Mir program laid the cooperative and scientific groundwork for the much larger international 

space station that came later. During the visits, crews and their corresponding ground teams worked out 

everything from how to dock two different spacecraft together, to how to bathe on long duration flights. 

Web posted. (2011). [Most memorable space shuttle moments [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.cnn.com/ [2011 , July 7].] 

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July 8: Atlantis launches on final mission 

Thirty years and 135 missions after its debut, NASA launched a space shuttle for the fina l time on Friday 

as Atlantis streaked into orbit from Kennedy Space Center. The mission was the 33rd for Atlantis which 

first flew on Oct. 3, 1985 on a Department of Defense flight. The II :29 a.m. liftoff thrilled a crowd 

estimated at nearly one million people who packed viewing sites along the Space Coast for one last look 

at a spaceship that captured the imagination and attention of fans around the world. But because of the 

vast expense necessary to maintain and fly the shuttle fleet it was decided the craft bad outlived its 

usefulness and it was brought to an end in a decision that will be debated in space circles for decades to 

come. One of the points of contention is the shuttle should have been flown until a successor was in place 

to both guarantee the nation's leadership position in space and human access to space not to mention 

thousands of jobs that were lost at KSC. With the International Space Station having years remaining in 

its lifetime, U.S. astrona uts will reach the outpost on Russian Soyuz rockets at least through 2016. 

Atlantis and its crew of four veteran astronauts is scheduled to dock with the station about 11 a.m. on 

Sunday to carry out its re-supply mission. Undocking is scheduled for about 2 a.m. on July 18 and landing 

for July 20 at KSC where the shuttle program will officially end with the call of wheel stop. Atlantis is 

destined for its new home in a $20 million building at the KSC Visitor Complex. Web posted. (2011 ). 

[Atlantis launches on fmal mission [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame 

trench blog [20 II, July 8).] 

Famous "Last" Words for the Shuttle Program 

Friday July 8, 20 II was a significant historic day for NASA - one that will go down in history as the day 

of the final space shuttle launch. Here are a few of the historic " last" words spoken by the launch control 

team and the astronauts just before Atlantis headed off into history, as well as words from some other 

notable folks after the launch: Launch director Mike Leinbach's send-off: "OK, Fergie, (commander 

Chris Ferguson) we're starting to feel pretty good here on the ground about this one today, so on behalf of 

the greatest team in the world, good luck to you and your crew on the fi nal flight of this true American 

icon. And so for the fmal time, Fergie, Doug, Sandy and Rex, good luck, Godspeed and have a little fun 

up there." ln reply, Ferguson said, "Hey, thanks to you and your team, Mike and until the very end, you 

all made it look easy. The shuttle's always going to be a re fl ection of what a great nation can do when it 

dares to be bold and commits to follow through. We're not ending the journey today, Mike, we're 

completing a chapter of a journey that will never end. You and the thousands of men and women who 

gave their hearts, souls a nd their lives to the cause of exploration. Let's light this fire one more time, 

Mike, and witness this nation at its best." Web posted. (20 11). [Famous "Last" Words for the Shuttle 

Program [Online). Available WWW: http://www.universetoday.com/ [20 11 , July 9).] 

President Obama congratulates shuttle team, vows "next era" 

President Barack Obama released the following statement about today's launch of the space shuttle 

Atlantis and the closing of NASA's 30-year shuttle program: "Today, Americans across the country 

watched with pride as four of our fellow citizens blasted off from the Kennedy Space Center in the Space 

Shuttle Atlantis, and America reached for the heavens once more. Behind Atlantis and her crew of brave 

astronauts stand thousands of dedicated workers who have poured their hearts and souls into America's 

Space Shuttle program over the past three decades. To them and all of NASA's incredible workforce, I 

want to express my sincere gratitude. You helped our country lead the space age, and you continue to 

inspire us each day. Today's launch may mark the fina l flight of the Space Shuttle, but it propels us into 

the next era of our never-ending adventure to push the very frontiers of exploration and discovery in 

space. We'll drive new advances in science and technology. We' ll enhance knowledge, education, 

innovation, and economic growth. And I have tasked the men and women of NASA with an ambitious 

new mission: to break new boundaries in space exploration, ultimately sending Americans to Mars. I 

know they are up to the challenge- and I plan to be around to see it. Congratulations to Atlantis, her 

astronauts, and the people of America 's space program on a picture-perfect launch, and good luck on the 

rest of your mission to the International Space Station, and for a safe return home. I know the American 

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people share my pride at what we have accomplished as a nation, and my excitement about the next 

chapter of our preeminence in space." Web posted. (2011 ). [President Obama congratulates shuttle team, 

vows "next era" [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , July 8].] 

Feeding astronauts a 'dream job' for Titusville woman 

For 24 years, Dotti Kunde was among a handful of people lucky enough to spend time with the astronauts 

in the hours before they boarded the shuttle. She wasn't a high-up executive for NASA. She wasn't part of 

the team who helped the astronauts get suited up and she wasn't a member of the close-out crew. Kunde 

was one of the women responsible for feeding the astronauts in crew quarters before they embarked on 

their journey. "We in the kitchen are probably some of the last people they kiss and hug before they 

leave," Kunde, 86, said. "We say, 'Have a safe journey. See you when you get back. We'll be here.'" 

Kunde retired from the "dream job" about three years ago. She has since written two cookbooks about her 

time baking cookies, wihipping up omelets and grilling steaks for the people she considered family. "To 

me I felt like they were my children," Kunde said. "They would come in the kitchen and steal cookies 

while we were baking and there were certain things they couldn't have and we would say 'No, you can't 

have that.'" As the shuttle program comes to an end, Kunde reflected on the career that flourished after 

responding to a nondescript newspaper ad looking for a food service technician to work three days a 

week. "It was like a dream," Kunde said. "As 1 think back now, I feel like I was a very lucky person." 

Web posted. (2011). [Feeding astronauts a 'dream job' for Titusville woman [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, July 9].] · 

Final launch attracts dreamers, space-program veterans 

Hoping to fulfill childhood dreams, cross off an item on their bucket lists or relive memories, hundreds of 

thousands of people flocked to the Space Coast on Friday to witness the space shuttle program's fmal 

flight. They came from all over Florida and the nation, not even sure whether their hours of traveling and 

camping out would pay off. As late as Friday morning, Atlantis only had a 30 percent chance of liftoff. 

But the weather cleared just enough, and the shuttle flew. The nearby causeway turned into a jammed sea 

of pedestrians, some of whom had walked for miles after parking their cars along U.S. Highway 1. 

Others stood in the river hoping to get an unobstructed view. During the hours of waiting, friendships 

were forged and e-mail addresses exchanged as shuttle watchers began sharing their life stories with 

strangers. As it got closer to Launch time, the mood turned increasingly jubilant. People cheered and 

clapped. But for some, the long wait had started to take its toll. A boat in the river threatened to block 

people's view. "Move the boat!" some began chanting. "Move the boat!" It did move, a little. Bad 

feelings faded fast as Atlantis lifted into the sky. People cheered and cried. "Godspeed and good luck!" 

someone called out. Someone remarked that it was too bad the clouds blocked the view. But that really 

didn't matter. "It brings tears to your eyes," said Marshall Stauber, an orthopedic surgeon from 

Hollywood. "It's beautiful, l'lJ telJ you." Web posted. (201 1). [Final launch attracts dreamers, spaceprogram veterans [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, July 8].] 

Everyone bas an opinion: 

One thing about the end of space shuttle flight: Everyone has an opinion. A look at some of the views 

from those close to the space program: 

"The shuttle is always going to be a reflection of what a great nation can do when it dares to be bold and 

commits to follow through." - Atlantis commander Christopher Ferguson just before launch. 

"We've got a lot of work to do. We've got another program that we've got to get under way .... We know 

what we're doing. We know bow to get there. We've just got to convince everybody else that we know 

what we're doing." - NASA Administrator Charles Bolden to workers after liftoff. 

"Those vehicles, in my opinion, could fly for another 30 years and could be flown safely." - Robert 

Crippen, pilot of the first space shuttle flight. 

"NASA doesn't have a story right now. Exploration is nothing if not the articulation of a great story." 

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- Astronaut John Grunsfeld, who helped repair the Hubble Space Telescope three times. 

" I think the shuttle program is ending exactly as it should. We built the International Space Station ... and 

we finished really strong. " - Mike Moses, chairman of the mission management team for liftoff. 

"People wanted to get rid of the space shuttle and so they have done so. They have done so in 

condemning it in many different ways, all of which in my opinion were false." -Christopher Kraft, 

founder of Mission Control. 

"There is no embarrassment in setting the bar impossibly high and then failing to clear it. What matters is 

that we strived mightily to do so." - Astronaut Duane Carey. 

"The biggest spinoff (of the shuttle program) in terms of belief in a better future - the adrenaline we get 

from doing something other than dropping bombs." - Astronaut Mae Jemison, first black woman in 

space. 

"It's a strategic mistake for the United States ... to replace the space shuttle for nothing."- Former NASA 

Administrator Michael Griffm. 

"I gotta get back to work. We've got a lot more work to do." - Garrett Reisman, ex-astronaut and 

commercial crew manager for Space Exploration Technologies Corp., which is developing new spacecraft 

and rockets. 

"When we look back on it I think it was the perfect vehicle for its time." - John Glenn, the first 

American in orbit, who also flew a shuttle in 1998. 

"It'll be sad to see it retired. But we are looking forward to new spacecraft, new destinations. We're all 

excited about the future."- Mark Kelly, commander of the next-to-last-space shuttle flight. 

"Winston Churchill said: 'This is not the end. This is not even the beginning of the end. It is perhaps the 

end of the beginning.' That's what I think of all the time ... We're going to the next chapter." -NASA 

chief technology officer Bobby Braun. 

"It's the end of a career, not the beginning of a new one. What we lack is the beginning of a new one." 

- George Mueller, fonner NASA official often called the father of the space shuttle program. Web 

posted. (20 II). [Everyone has an opinion: Some call shuttle 'perfect vehicle;' others look to new 

destinations [Online). Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , July 8).] 

Movie filmed as space shuttle Atlantis took off 

A movie starring actor Jason Ritter was being filmed as space shuttle Atlantis lifted off from Kennedy 

Space Center. "Atlantis" is being filmed in central Florida. It's about strangers who meet and fall in love 

during the buildup to the fmal space shuttle launch. Filming took place on a dock at Space View Park 

while the shuttle lifted off Friday in the background. This was the first launch for Ritter and actress Kate 

French. Ritter, son of the late actor John Ritter, said it was "an important moment in time to capture." 

Space Coast Film Commissioner Bonnie King told Florida Today she was pleased that a ftlm was being 

shot locally that focused on the final shuttle launch. King called it "a tribute to the final shuttle launch." 

Web posted. (2011). [Movie ftlmed as space shuttle Atlantis took off [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.wtsp.com/ [201 1, July 9).] 

JuJy 9: Space station set to host last shuttle today 

Four Atlantis astronauts are closing in on the International Space Station this morning, aiming to become 

the last shuttle crew to dock at the sprawling orbital research complex. After approaching within 600 

feet, Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson about 10 a.m. will guide the orbiter through one of its most 

dramatic in-space maneuvers, a back:flip that will help reveal the condition of its heat shields. Then just 

after II a.m., Atlantis should ease into its port at the station's Hannony node to complete the 37th shuttle 

visit to the $100 billion outpost since its assembly began in 1998. The joining of the two spacecraft 240 

miles above Earth will be one of the defining moments in the !35th and final shuttle mission, said Kwatsi 

Alibaruho, the lead shuttle flight director. "That will be a significant hurdle as far as accomplishing the 

mission and concluding it safely," he said. A successful docking would complete an extremely smooth 

first two days to the mission since its launch from Kennedy Space Center on Friday. Atlantis is 

perforn1ing flawlessly on its 33rd flight since l985, with no reported glitches. Web posted. (2011). 

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[Space station set to host last shuttle today [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[20 II, July 9].] 

Atlantis boosters return to port Sunday 

The last two solid rocket boosters to launch with a shuttle are expected to return to the Space Coast 

Sunday, according to United Space Alliance, whose crews recover the boosters at sea. The recovery ship 

Liberty Star will be ftrst back with one booster. It's expected to arrive at the Port Canaveral jetty around 

noon and continue through the locks a few hours later on its way to Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air 

Force Station. The Freedom Star will follow in the evening with the second booster, with a jetty arrival 

very tentatively planned around 8 p.m. It will dock overnight and pass through the locks early Monday. 

Difficult weather conditions slowed recovery of the boosters from the Atlantic about 140 miles down 

range, off the coast of Jacksonville. The two boosters provide more than 80 percent of the shuttle's thrust 

at liftoff and during the first stage of ascent. The separate two minutes into flight and splash down after 

seven minutes. It's not yet known if the largest solids boosters ever flown have done so for the last time, 

or if they might be reused on a heavy-lift rocket NASA plans to build. Web posted. (2011). [At.lantis 

boosters return to port Sunday [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame 

trench blog [2011 , July 9].] 

Astronauts give Atlantis fuU post-launch inspection 

The Atlantis astronauts inspected the shuttle's heat shield Saturday and fine tuned the shuttle's approach to 

the International Space Station, setting their sights on docking at the Jab's forward port around II :07 a.m. 

EDT (GMT -4) Sunday. Flight Director Kwatsi Alibaruho told reporters that Atlantis, making its 33rd 

and ftnal flight, is operating in near flawless fashion, allowing the crew to work at peak efficiency. "On 

this, the last shuttle mission of the program, I'm very grateful the spacecraft is behaving as well as it is so 

we can finish strong, finish safely," he said. "My team's number one focus is on ending this mission and 

ending the program as safely as we have flown past missions. The great condition of the spacecraft is 

really helping us to do that so far." Space shuttles nonnally fly with crews of six or seven, but just four 

are flying aboard Atlantis --commander Christopher Ferguson. pilot Douglas Hurley, Sandra Magnus and 

Rex Walbeim --to minimize rescue scenarios in case of a major problem that might prevent a safe reentry. But on the flip side, there are fewer hands available to do the same amount of work. "It will be 

challenging to get through that inspection with a reduced crew complement," said Alibaruho said before 

launch. "But this crew has practiced considerably to be able to develop a flow or a routine, if you will, to 

where even though they have fewer bands available in the shuttle they'll be able to get through these 

inspections in the timeframe that's been allotted." The crew did better than that, finishing well ahead of 

schedule. The goal was to inspect the shuttle's heat-resistant nose cap and wing leading edge panels, 

which experience the most extreme heating during re-entry, to make sure no damage was incurred during 

launch Friday. Using an instrumented boom attached to the end of Atlantis' 50-foot-long robot arm, the 

astronauts inspected the right wing first, followed by the nose cap and then the left wing. Based on a 

preliminary assessment of photographs and video taken during Atlantis' climb to space Friday, "we also 

saw very good debris performance from the tank on the way up hj)J," he said. "That also was very 

encouraging to us. We were extremely happy with the launch yesterday as you can imagine." All in all, 

he said, "thls is certainly one of the bett,er starts (to a shuttle mission) that we have seen." Web posted. 

(2011). [Astronauts give Atlantis full post-launch inspection [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , July 9].] 

July 10: Shuttle's last hookup: Dugs, kisses and emotion 

As the miles melted between Atlantis and the International Space Station, the emotions grew- in orbit 

and on the ground. At Mission Control on Sunday, lead flight director Kwatsi Alibaruho declared "this is 

it" as he gave the OK for the final docking in space shuttle history. Flashbacks to the shuttle's very ftrst 

space station docking - with Russia's Mir in 1995 - flooded hls mind as viewed the shuttle on the 

screens. He was a NASA trainee back then. About 240 miles above the Pacific, the station's naval bell 

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chimed a salute - one of many landmarks, or rather spacemarks, of this final two-week shuttle mission 

that are being savored one by one. "Atlantis arriving," called out space station astronaut Ronald Garan Jr. 

"Welcome to the International Space Station for the last time." "And it's great to be here," replied shuttle 

commander Christopher Ferguson. Cries of joy and laughter filled the cormected vessels once the hatches 

swung open and the two crews - 10 space fliers altogether representing three countries - exchanged 

hugs, handshakes and kisses on the cheek. Cameras floated everywhere, recording every moment of the 

last-of-its-kind festivities. Atlantis, carrying a year's worth of supplies, is being retired after this flight, 

the last of the 30-year shuttle program. " I won't say that 1 got close to welling up in the eyes, but I will 

say that it was a powerful moment for me," Alibaruho later told reporters. He tried to keep his feelings 

discreet so as not to distract his team of flight controllers, but said, " I know they were all feeling very 

similar emotions, thinking about where we've come from, how much we've accomplished ... what's 

corning next." Alibaruho said the moment was also powerful for the 10 people in space for the docking: 

six Americans, three Russians and one Japanese. " You could sense a palpable increase in emotion from 

all of the crew members, not just our U.S. astronauts," he said. "They were extremely happy and really 

elated to see their visitors, and I know that they really recognize and appreciate the significance of these 

moments." This was the 46th docking by a space shuttle to a space station. Ferguson was at the controls 

as Atlantis drew closer, leading the smallest astronaut crew in decades. Only four are flying aboard 

Atlantis, as NASA kept the crew to a minimum in case of an emergency. ln the unlikely event that 

Atlantis was seriously damaged, the shuttle astronauts would need to move into the space station for 

months and rely on Russian Soyuz capsules to get back home. A shuttle always was on standby before for 

a possible rescue, but that's no longer feasible with Discovery and Endeavour officially retired now. Two 

days into this historic voyage - the !35th in 30 years of shuttle flight - Atlantis was said by NASA to 

be sailing smoothly, free of notable damage. Sunday's docking proved to be as flawless as Friday's liftoff. 

Atlantis and its crew will spend more than a week at the orbiting complex. The shuttle flight currently is 

scheduled to last 12 days, but NASA likely will add a 13th day to give the astronauts extra time to 

complete all their chores. As for the shuttle's failed computer, AJibaruho said a bad switch throw likely 

knocked it offline. He expects it to be working again once new software is installed Monday. The shuttle 

has five of these main computers; the check-and-balance network provides redundancy during the most 

critical phases of the mission, especially launch and landing. Web posted. (20 11). [Shuttle's last hookup: 

Hugs, kisses and emotion [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, July 10].] 

July 11 : NASA extends shuttle mission one day 

The space shuttle Atlantis will be in space for one more day than originally planned, NASA announced 

Monday. The shuttle, which was scheduled to land July 20, will now make what NASA called a night 

landing at Kennedy Space Center at 5:56a.m. July 21. Atlantis lifted off Friday on NASA's final space 

shuttle mission. On board is a four-person team: mission commander Christopher Ferguson, pilot Doug 

Hurley and mission specialists Sandy Magnus and Rex Walheim. The crew of veteran astronauts docked 

Sunday at the international Space Station to deliver a load of supplies. Web posted. (2011). [NASA 

extends shuttle mission one day [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ [2011 , July 11].] 

Liberty Star picks up rocket booster 

Two reusable solid rocket boosters that helped propel Atlantis on the nation's I 35th and fmal shuttle flight 

should be back on the Space Coast today. A special water cannon sa lute welcomed the Liberty Star as it 

cruised into Port Canaveral on Sunday with the shuttle's right solid rocket booster in tow. The Freedom 

Star and the left-hand booster were expected to be in port late Sunday or early today. NASA and 

manufacturer ATK offload boosters at Hangar AF at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. There, the 

boosters are put in stands and engineers and technicians make certain they are safe for workers to handle. 

Initial post-flight inspections are done, and then the boosters receive the ultimate pressure-washing-- a 

'hydrolasing' process that removes thermal protection system foam from the rockets. Ultimately, the 

segmented boosters are disassembled. Then the segments are shipped by rail back to A TK's 

manufacturing plant in Utah. The Atlantis boosters are destined to make that trip, too. Web posted. 

198 
(201 1). [Liberty Star picks up rocket booster [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

(20 11, July 11].] 

Failed Shuttle Atlantis Computer Recovered 

A failed shuttle computer was resuscitated today as the Atlantis astronauts bolted a supply-filled Italian 

moving van onto the U.S. side of the International Space Station. The faulty General Purpose Computer 

is one of five on the shuttle. It failed prior to the Atlantis rendezvous and docking at the station Sunday. A 

glitchy switch was blamed. Flight controllers reinstalled software on the computer today and put it back 

into operation along with the other four data processors. A similar problem plagued the same computer 

when Atlantis delivered the European Columbus laboratory to the station in early 2008. The shuttle can 

operate with only a single computer running. But the loss oftbre.e of the five GPCs would prompt a return 

to Earth at the earliest opportunity. The computer recovery work was performed as Atlantis mission 

specialist Sandra Magnus and pilot Doug Hurley used the station's robot arm to hoist the Raffaello cargo 

carrier out of the shuttle's payload bay and then berthed it to the Earth-facing side of the U.S. Harmony 

module. Sixteen motor-driven bolts were activated on the port's common berthing mechanism to latch the 

Raffaello module fmnly in place. A series of leak checks will be carried out to ensure a tight seal. The 

module is to be activated and opened later today. Shuttle mission commander Chris Ferguson and his 

crew, which also includes mission specialist Rex Walheim, will spend the next week unpacking the 

Raffaello module, which holds a year's worth of food and supplies. More than 5,600 pounds of surplus 

station gear and trash will be packed back into the module for a return to Earth. Web posted. (2011). 

[Failed Shuttle Atlantis Computer Recovered [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

the flame trench blog [20 11 , July 11].] 

Quilt made of mission patches holds memories of shuttle launches 

Shortly after Vicky Turner began working on the shuttle program in 1979, she started tossing mission 

patches into a shoebox. A few years ago, she realized the box didn't do justice to the three decades of 

memories. So Turner decided to create a quilt -- her first one ever -- of all the patches. It took two years 

to assemble the seven-foot by eight-foot piece of artwork, which is nearly complete. "It's bittersweet," 

said Turner, who provides computer support for ground processing at United Space Alliance. "It's nice to 

see the quilt corning to a finish. It's sad to see the program coming to an end." She's hoping her quilt will 

be displayed for a time at a museum or the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. For now, fellow 

shuttle workers Line up for photos with the masterpiece. Every patch is displayed on a sky blue square and 

framed with a royal blue backing. Each orbiter also is present. Challenger and Columbia surrounded each 

by seven stars, one for every astronaut lost with the vehicles. Web posted. (20 II). (Quilt made of mission 

patches holds 3 decades ofmemories of shuttle launches [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.corn/ [20 11 , July 11 ].] 

Debris poses no danger to station, shuttle, NASA says 

The International Space Station and space shuttle Atlantis are not in danger from an orbiting piece of 

debris after all, NASA said Monday. The agency had been tracking a piece of the COSMOS 375 satellite, 

saying it could come close to the station and the shuttle docked there on Tuesday. But the agency said 

Monday that Mission Control verified that the debris will pass a safe distance from the station and shuttle. 

The scrap is one of more than 500,000 pieces of debris tracked in Earth's orbit, according to NASA. A 

space-debris incident nearly two weeks ago prompted the crew of the International Space Station to take 

shelter inside two Soyuz capsules when the debris came within I, l 00 feet of the station. Atlantis docked 

with the International Space Station on Sunday for a week-long rendezvous, two days after blasting off on 

a historic flight marking the fmalliftoffofthe U.S. shuttle program. Web posted. (2011). [Debris poses 

no danger to station, shuttle, NASA says [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ (2011 , July 

II].] 

July 12: Next GPS satellite launch now targeted for Friday 

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The Delta 4 rocket launch carrying the next Global Positioning System satellite into orbit from Cape 

Canaveral has been delayed by 24 hours. Originally planned for liftoffThursday, the mission has been 

postponed to Friday morning at 2:45a.m. EDT (0645 GMT). A reason for the rescheduling was not 

immediately announced. Weather forecasters are predicting a 70 percent chance of acceptable conditions 

for the predawn blastoff. The chance of lingering cloud cover from evening thunderstomlS will pose the 

main concern during the launch window. The outlook calls for scattered low, mid and high clouds, 

isolated showers or thunderstorms in the area, southwesterly winds of 8 to 12 knots and a temperature of 

78 degrees F. The 20-story rocket will haul the GPS 2F-2 spacecraft directly into the navigation network 

to replace an aging bird for providing highly precise location and timing information for military and 

civilian users around the globe. Web posted. (201 1). [Next GPS satellite launch now targeted for Friday 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [201 1, July 12).) 

Rocket decision stiU weeks away, NASA chief says 

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden told Congress on Tuesday that it could be weeks - or longerbefore the agency unveils the design for its next big rocket, a timeline that prompted lawmakers to 

threaten an investigation into the delay. "We have waited for answers that have not come. We have 

pleaded for answers that have not come," said U.S. Rep. Ralph Hall, the Texas Republican who chairs the 

House science committee. "We have run out ofpatience." Hall then threatened to join a Senate inquiry 

into NASA's delay in releasing information about the new rocket. The uptick in congressional pressure 

comes as emotions are running high with the retirement of the space shuttle and uncertainty about plans to 

replace it. Until last year, NASA planned to transition into a program that would return astronauts to the 

moon, but Congress and the White House cancelled the troubled Constellation project last fall after years 

of technical and financial problems. Instead, lawmakers directed NASA to build a new rocket and crew 

capsule from pieces of the shuttle and Constellation programs and have a plan in place by last January. 

More than six months later, NASA bas yet to deliver that plan on the so-called Space Launch System and 

won't have a decision until late summer at the earliest. "While I would hope to have a fmal decision to 

announce this summer, the absolute need to make sure our SLS program fits within our overall budget 

constraints suggests it could take longer," Bolden said. "We cannot rush a critical decision that will drive 

NASA's activities for several decades." Cost has been a major issue for the new program ever since its 

inception. ln January, NASA told Congress that it could not build a new rocket and capsule by the Dec. 

31, 2016, deadline it had been given. Bolden on Tuesday echoed those concerns and laid out a timeline 

that would have "crewed missions by the early 2020s and a visit to an asteroid in 2025." As it stands, 

Bolden and top NASA officials already have settled on a vehicle design - essentially an Apollo-like 

crew capsule atop the shuttle's external tank, with two strap-on boosters on either side. But Bolden said 

NASA is waiting on cost estimates to ensure it is affordable. Web posted. (20 II). [Rocket decision still 

weeks away, NASA chief says [Online). Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , 

July 12).] 

Melbourne High grad hopes comedy helps ease sting of shuttle shutdown 

It's painful for Lear Bunda to watch the effect the ending of the shuttle program is having on the area he 

grew up in and loves so much. So the 28-year-old Melbourne High graduate wants to use ills talents as a 

film and television writer, director and editor to help his hometown. Bunda is the writer and director for 

the movie "The Space Coast," a teen comedy about a recent hjgh school graduate who dreams of 

becoming an astronaut despite numerous obstacles. Although Bunda now lives in Atlanta where be works 

as an editor for the Cartoon Network, his 90-rllinute film will be shot during the next several months in 

Brevard County. "I feel like people are going to be wanting more (of the shuttle program), and there just 

isn't going to be any and it's kind of sad," be said. "I feel like we're making another mission to keep the 

program living on." He's hoping to have the film finished by February in time for screenings at various 

film festivals. Web posted. (20 II). [Melbourne High grad hopes comedy helps ease sting of shuttle 

shutdown [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, July 12].] 

200 
Coast Guard veteran worked every shuttle liftoff 

The end of shuttle launches will mean the end of a long stint for James Smith helping to keep boaters out 

of the security zone. "I've worked every one of them," Smith said. "It's something I've wanted to do, 

being a part of it all these years." Smith, who spent 28 years in the Coast Guard Reserve and is now in 

the Coast Guard Auxiliary, has been involved from the beginning: the April 12, 1981, launch of shuttle 

Columbia. He's known around Coast Guard Station Port Canaveral as "Grumpy," a nickname that arose 

after Smith got hurt on Ibis civilian job, and his crew mates teased him when be complained about the pain. 

In the early days of shuttle law1ches, Smith helped cook for the crews out on the boats and later made sure 

they had all the supplies they needed. The crews also kept boaters out of the designated safety zone before 

the launches. For three days leading up to the launch, crews maintain the security zone, an area 23 miles 

long stretching three miles off the coast. They pause for a moment at the start of the countdown to watch 

the launch from wherever they are. This one was no different. Web posted. (201 1). [Coast Guard veteran 

worked every shuttle liftoff [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , July 12].] 

July 13: S.RES.233- Honoring the men and women of the National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration Space Shuttle Program on reaching the historic milestone of the 135th and 

final flight of the Space Transportation ... (Agreed to Senate- A TS) 

SRES 233 ATS 

112th CONGRESS 

1st Session 

S. RES. 233 

Honoring the men and women of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle 

Program on reaching the historic milestone of the 135th and final flight of the Space Transportation 

System. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

July 13, 2011 

Mr. NELSON ofFlorida (for himself, Mr. BROWN of Ohio, Mrs. HUTCHISON, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. 

ROCKEFELLER, Ms. MIKULSKI, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. UDALL of Colorado, Mr. WARNER, and Mr. 

VITTER) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to 

RESOLUTION 

Honoring the men and women of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Shuttle 

Program on reaching the historic milestone of the I 35th and final flight of the Space Transportation 

System. 

201 
Whereas the launch of the space shuttle Atlantis on July 8, 20 II, is the I 35th and fmal flight of the 

National Aeronautics and Space Administration Space Transportation System (STS-135) and the 33rd 

flight of the space shuttle Atlantis; 

Whereas the National Aeronautics and Space Administration built 5 space-capable orbiters, the Columbia, 

the Challenger, the Discovery, the Atlantis, and the Endeavour; 

Whereas, with the launch ofSTS-135, 355 individuals will have flown 852 times during the history of the 

Space Shuttle Program, beginning with the launch of the ftrst Space Transportation System lligbt on April 

12, 198 1; 

Whereas a spirit of international partnership bas been fostered among the 16 countries represented on the 

space shuttle missions flown during the history of the Space Shuttle Program, including Belgium, Canada, 

France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, 

Switzerland, Ukraine, and the United States; 

Whereas the space shuttles together have flown 537,11 4,016 miles, with STS-135 adding an additional 

4,000,000 miles; 

Whereas, during the history of the Space Shuttle Program, more than 2,000 on-orbit experiments have 

been conducted in the ftelds of Earth science, biology, fluids, materials sciences, and astronomy; 

Whereas the Space Shuttle Program has executed the launch and service of the Hubble Space Telescope, 

enabling groundbreaking and breathtaking views of the universe outside of our solar system; 

Whereas the space shuttles have docked to 2 different space stations, with 9 missions to Mir, the space 

station of the Government of Russia, and 37 missions to the International Space Station; 

Whereas the Space Shuttle Program has been essential to the on-orbit assembly of the International Space 

Station and vital to ensuring the continued viability and support of the International Space Station; 

Whereas the space shuttles have landed at the Kennedy Space Center 77 times, at Edwards Air Force 

Base 54 times, and at the White Sands Test Facility once; 

Whereas the launch configuration of the entire Space Transportation System contains approximately 

2,500,000 moving parts and, at Lift-off, weighs approximately 4,500,000 pounds; and 

Whereas the space shuttles can travel around the Earth at a speed of approximately 17,500 miles per hour: 

Now, therefore, be it 

Resolved, That the Senate--

(I) congratulates the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on reaching the 

historic milestone of the I 35th and final flight of the Space Transportation System; 

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(2) honors the men and women of the Space Shuttle Program, who worked tirelessly to 

design, build, and operate the Space Transportation System, in order to promote science, 

exploration, and international cooperation; 

(3) remembers the 14 crewmembers lost during the space shuttle Challenger accident, 

which occurred on January 28, 1986, and the space shuttle Columbia accident, which 

occurred on February 1, 2003; 

(4) notes the diligence in applying the lessons learned through the Challenger and 

Columbia tragedies to honor the 14 crewmembers we lost and enhance the safety of the 

crewmembers that followed; 

(5) recognizes that the Space Shuttle Program has inspired generations of children to 

become engineers, scientists, and explorers, which has led to maintaining the precedent 

of leadership in human space exploration set by the United States during the Mercury, 

Gemini, and Apollo missions; and 

(6) acknowledges that the Space Shuttle Program has, through its technological 

advancements and scientific research, driven innovation in the fields of science, 

technology, engineering, and mathematics to benefit the people of the United States and 

all of humankind. 

Web posted. (2011). [--Honoring the men and women of the National Aeronautics and Space 

Administration Space Shuttle Program on reaching the historic milestone of the 135th and final flight of 

the Space Transportation ... [Online]. Available WWW: http://thomas.loc.gov/ [201 1, July 13].] 

165 years after discovery, Neptune completes first orbit 

In no celestial hurry, Neptune has just completed its first orbit around the sun since being discovered 165 

years ago by Earthlings. In 1989, the unmanned Voyager 2 spacecraft snapped a relative close-up of the 

giant, cold ball of hydrogen and helium. Web posted. (20 11). [165 years after discovery, Neptune 

completes first orbit [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , July 13].] 

Elton John gives Atlantis astronauts best wishes 

The astronauts making NASA's Last space shuttle flight received best wishes Wednesday from the 

original "Rocket Man," Elton John. NASA beamed up a prerecorded message by the British superstar, as 

well as a half-minute of his Apollo-era 1972 song, which was inspired by space exploration. Web posted. 

(2011). [Elton John gives Atlantis astronauts best wishes [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.usatoday.com/ [2011, July 13].] 

Couple adds to ULA's record 

Together, United Launch Alliance engineers Christina and Rodney Davignon have played key roles in the 

scheduled predawn launch Thursday of the GPS IlF satellite, which will orbit the Earth 22,000 miles up 

sending a signal that could help lost drivers find the shortest route borne and guide smart bombs to kill 

terrorists. The couple is proud of their contributions to the nation's defense and to the economy. The GPS 

industry supports an estimated 3.3 million U.S. jobs and has an almost $100 billion economic effect. He 

works at the pad, and she often works in the payload processing area. He's on a console on launch day, 

and she's usually working on the next launch by then. The Davignons are among eight married couples 

who work for ULA, which has 671 employees at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. ULA has had 20 

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years of 100 percent mission success. Web posted. (2011). [Couple adds to ULA's record [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, July 13).] 

Space Florida nonprofit scores space station deal 

A Kennedy Space Center-based nonprofit will take over management of the portion of the International 

Space Station designated as a national laboratory, NASA announced Wednesday. The decision is a 

significant victory in local efforts to diversify the area's space operations beyond launching rockets as the 

shuttle program nears its end. The $15 million organization won't employ many people but establishes the 

Space Coast as a gateway for space-based research that could attract additional resources. Space Florida, 

the state's aerospace economic development agency, created the nonprofit Center for the Advancement of 

Science in Space, or CASIS, and led a partnership that submitted a proposal to NASA. The organization 

will be in the Space Life Sciences Lab, a KSC facility opened in 2003 with $30 million in state funding. 

The lab is the anchor tenant of a planned research and technology complex called Exploration Park. A 

forma l contract award won't be made until later this summer after NASA and the new center negotiate 

terms. NASA would not say how many proposals were submitted, or identify Space Florida's partners in 

the initiative. The station was designated a national lab in 2005, but research -- and particularly nonNASA research-- so far has taken a back seat to assembly and maintenance. That's supposed to change 

now that construction is complete and the station's operating life has been extended from 20 15 to at least 

2020. NASA will maintain control of experiments focused on its exploration goals, such as the effects of 

long-duration spaceflight or materials for new spacecraft. But lab facilities used to test materials, grow 

plants and study vaccines in microgravity will be made available to companies, universities and other 

government agencies for their own purposes. The goal, NASA officials have said, is to generate a return 

for taxpayers on their investment in the $100 billion outpost. It will be the new center's job to solicit, 

select and execute non-NASA research proposals. A board of directors will be established with experts in 

various fields to assist in the selection. The center will likely employ 15 to 25 people full-time and begin 

its work in the 2012 fiscal year that starts Oct. I, funded with up to $15 million. The new nonprofit adds 

to other developments that promise to broaden KSC's traditional role, though they won't employ as many 

people as the shuttle program did. A new KSC-based office wiiJ manage the development and flights of 

private space taxis NASA hopes will be ready to fly astronauts to the space station by 20 15 or 2016. 

Final assembly and checkout of the Orion capsule being built for deep space exploration missions also 

will be performed at KSC. Web posted. (2011). [Space Florida nonprofit scores space station deal 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11, July 14).] 

Stripped-down Discovery towed into V AB 

Shuttle Discovery was towed back into Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building on 

Wednesday, looking nothing like it did when it was getting ready for a flight. For starters, Discovery was 

towed on its wheels, not a transporter. It had no main engines or orbital maneuvering engines or thrusters. 

Those are being decommissioned in New Mexico. NASA is moving Discovery into temporary storage in 

High Bay 4 for about a month, opening up a processing hangar for Atlantis upon its planned July 21 

return from the final shuttle mission. Later, Discovery and Endeavour will swap places. Discovery's 

forn1er hangar, Orbiter Processing Facility-3, is being prepared for non-shuttle use. Discovery, 

meanwhile, is being readied for museum display at the Smithsonian Institution, where it is scheduled to 

be ferried in April. By the time it gets there, it will look much like it did after rolling to a stop on its fina l 

flight-- few would notice that its main engines will be replicas, the windows will be spares and some 

pieces of internal plumbing will be gone. Web posted. (20 11). [Stripped-down Discovery towed into 

V AB [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ (2011, July 14].] 

July 15: NASA Commercial Crew Program Forum 

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) will present a status of the Commercial 

Crew Program strategy on Wednesday, July 20, 20 II. The Forum will be held at the Press Site at 

Kennedy Space Center from II :00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The Program Forum's key topics will include: * 

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Background ofNASA's Commercial Crew Strategy; * Key Program Attributes;* Potential Commercial 

Crew Program Strategy; * Short Q&A session. The agenda consists of a 30-minute presentation foiJowed 

by a 30-minute Question and Answer period. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Commercial Crew Program 

Forum [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011, July 15].] 

Delta IV launch scrubbed until Saturday 

The planned overnight launch of a Delta IV rocket was scrubbed for the second time. This time: weather 

is to blame. The launch of the GPS payload was reset for early Saturday. The 19-minute launch window 

will open at 2:41 a.m. Saturday. The forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of favorable weather. United 

Launch Alliance said bad weather prevented the launch team from rolling the Mobile Service Tower 

away from the vehicle tonight. The rocket is carrying a GPS payload for the Air Force. Originally, launch 

had been scheduled for Thursday but was delayed 24 hours to deal with a technical issue. Web posted. 

(2011). [Delta IV launch scrubbed until Saturday [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , July 15].] 

Boeing, KSC in talks about space taxi site 

The Boeing Co. is in negotiations with NASA and Space Florida to build a commercial space taxi in a 

former shuttle hangar at Kennedy Space Center. If it pans out, the deal would bring hundreds of jobs to 

KSC starting in the next 12 to 18 months, when the center's employment will be at its lowest level since 

the end of the Apollo program. John Elbon, the manager overseeing development of Boeing's CST-100 

spacecraft, said Space Florida and KSC were still working out which facilities would be made available, 

including the hangar that formerly housed the orbiter Discovery. Boeing is one of four companies that 

shared in a $270 million award from NASA this year to accelerate development of vehicles that could 

transport astronauts to the International Space Station by the middle of the decade. With the retirement of 

the shuttle fleet, Russian Soyuz spacecraft will provide the only access to the station until those vehicles 

are ready. Boeing wants to locate its manufacturing, engineering, integration and flight teams in the same 

place to increase cost-saving synergies, Elbon said, and is exploring options in multiple states. The work 

would require a high bay facility for manufacturing, test facilities and office space, and Discovery's 

hangar and an adjacent shop have been discussed as a possible fit. The company plans to announce within 

weeks which rocket will launch the CST -l 00 spacecraft, but all the candidates would launch from Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station or KSC. Aside from the faciHties under consideration, proximity to the 

launch site and the availability of experienced former shuttle workers would be advantages in KSC's 

favor. A Space Florida spokeswoman acknowledged the discussions with Boeing to potentially use a 

shuttle hangar but said 1here was no forma l agreement yet with KSC. KSC Director Bob Cabana and 

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden in recent weeks have reported strong commercial interest in some 

shuttle facilities and hinted at "major announcements" soon that might boost hopes about Kennedy's postshuttle future. Web posted. (2011). [Boeing, KSC in talks about space taxi site [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , July 15].] 

July 16: GPS navigation satellite takes nighttime ride to orbit 

Continuing a prolific partnership that has benefited billions of users around the world, the Delta rocket 

family today successfully launched its 50th satellite for the Global Positioning System. The powerful 

Delta 4 booster blasted away from Cape Canaveral's Complex 37 at 2:41 a.m. EDT (0641 GMT) for a 

middle-of-the-night ascent precisely timed to deliver a critical replacement satellite directly into the GPS 

constellation. It was the type of rocket flight that could appear routine. But replenishing the navigation 

network is vital to the military forces, civilian consumers and the blossoming commercial marketplace 

that have come to depend on GPS every day. Known as the GPS 2F-2 satellite, this newest bird will take 

the place of the GPS 2A-11 spacecraft that just celebrated its 20th birthday in orbit, exceeding the wildest 

expectations for longevity. That old craft was deployed by a Delta 2 rocket from Cape Canaveral on July 

3, 1991, during the heydays of launching GPS satellites at a fast and furious rate. The next GPS launch is 

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tentatively targeted for September 2012. Web posted. (20 II). [GPS navigation satellite takes nighttime 

ride to orbit [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, July 16].] 

July 17: Station restocking completed by shuttle Atlantis crew 

The Atlantis astronauts put in a final day of logistics transfer work Sunday, working through off-duty 

time to finish moving a last few items into the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module for return to 

Earth. (fall goes well, the cargo module will be detached from the station's forward Harmony module and 

mounted back in the shuttle's payload bay early Monday, setting the stage for the ship's final departure 

from the lab complex Tuesday morning. Web posted. (2011). [Station restocking completed by shuttle 

Atlantis crew [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, July 17].] 

July 18: NASA Transitions To Commercial Space 

Wheel stop for STS-135 (Atlantis) on Thursday will mark the end of the space shuttle program and 

NASA and its Keru1edy Space Center (KSC) are accelerating their transition to the new era of commercial 

space. The day before the launch of STS-135, KSC signed a Space Act agreement with Sierra Nevada, 

whjch is developing the Dream Chaser spaceplane. The agreement will allow KSC to work with Sierra 

Nevada to define and execute launch preparations and post-landing activities for Dream Chaser. Today, 

three days prior to STS-135's laniling, an unfunded Space Act agreement was signed between NASA and 

the United Launch Alliance (ULA). ULA is a Boeing-Lockheed Martin joint venture that builds and 

launches the Delta IV and Atlas V families of launch vehicles. The agreement will pave the way for 

consideration of using the Atlas Vas a launch vehicle for future crew spacecraft. Right now, SpaceX and 

Orbital Sciences Corp. are developing new launch verucles (Falcon 9 and Taurus II) to launch cargo and 

crews to the Intemational Space Station (ISS) as part of the commercial crew program. Some argue that 

the Atlas V and Delta TV, which already exist and are used to launch spacecraft for critical national 

security space rrussions, could be upgraded for human spaceflight, too. Web posted. (2011). [NASA 

Transitions To Commercial Space [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceoolicyonline.com/ 

[20 II, July 18].] 

Transformers boosting KSC Visitor Complex business 

Teenage brothers Timmy and Alex Bird of Manchester, England, were among the enthusiastic fans who 

left the IMAX theater at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex raving about the new 

"Transformers" movie. "It's a lot better than seeing it on a normal cinema-- a lot better experience," said 

Alex Bird, 14. The action on the screen "really comes out to you. "Another "Transformers" viewer at the 

visitor complex, Nadiya Nabibaks of Rotterdam, the Netherlands, said the lmax 3D format made her feel 

"almost like you're in the movie" itself. The Michael Bay blockbuster, "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" 

has drawn strong crowds to the visitor complex since opening there last month, helping the attraction stay 

on track to reach projections of a I 0 percent to 15 percent boost in attendance this summer, officials there 

say. "We're tracking well with the movie," said John Stine, sales and marking director at the visitor 

complex, which does not disclose attendance figures, other than to say about 1.5 million people a year 

come there, making it Brevard County's most popular paid tourist attraction. "We're very pleased with 

attendance." Bay shot some scenes of his latest of his three "Transformers" films at KSC and Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station, using local residents connected with space and military programs as acting 

extras. Other films replaced "Transformers" at lMAX screens elsewhere in the country trus weekend. So 

the visitor complex now is one of only three places in the eastem half of the United States where viewers 

can see "Transformers" on an lmax screen, the others being Indianapolis and Myrtle Beach, S.C., Stine 

said. It is scheduled to play at the visitor complex through Sept. 5. On the days before and after the July 8 

launch of shuttle Atlantis, the visitor complex hosted actor Peter Cullen, the voice of Autobots leader 

Optimus Prime, for a series of events for complex guests at the theater and at the Rocket Garden. These 

included an event for children called "Design Your Own NASA Transformer with Peter Cullen." Web 

posted. (201 1). (NASA Transitions To Commercial Space [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11, July 18].] 

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Kenneth Bray, then 39, and his son, Chris, 13, watched the first shuttle launch. The pair-- now 69 and 43 

-came back to witness Atlantis blast off July 8 on the final mission of the shuttles I For FLORIDA 

TODAY 

[n 1981, a 13-year-old boy and his 39-year-old father traveled from New York to Brevard Cow1ty to 

watch the first shuttle launch from NASA Causeway. A snapshot taken before the launch captures the 

moment -- Dad looking through binoculars, son holding a camera and staring off in another direction. 

Fast forward 30 years to the fmal shuttle launch. Chris Bray, now 43, and his dad, Kenneth Bray, now 69, 

traveled back to the Space Coast to be part of history, watching as Atlantis lifted off the launch pad on 

July 8. This time, they were at the Astronaut Hall of Fame. The pair decided to re-create that treasured 

photo. Web posted. (2011). [Photos show a history of shuttle fascination [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, July 18).] 

NASA agrees to help modify Atlas 5 rocket for astronauts 

United Launch Alliance and NASA will share technical data to help ready the company's Atlas 5 rocket 

for astronaut passengers, officials announced Monday. The agreement places the Atlas 5 rocket among 

the top competitors to launch the next piloted spacecraft from U.S. soil after the retirement of the space 

shuttle. Colorado-based United Launch Alliance was passed over in NASA's last Commercial Crew 

Development, or CCDev, competition. When the agency announced the winners in April, officials said 

they gave priority to spacecraft developers because rockets would take less time to modify for manned 

flights. NASA divided $270 million among four companies in the April announcement, giving $92.3 

million to Boeing, $80 million to Sierra Nevada Corp., $75 million to SpaceX and $22 million to Blue 

Origin. The competition was the second round of NASA's CCDev program, which provides federal 

funding to U.S. space companies building commercial human-rated spacecraft. All of the winners are 

designing spacecraft to carry astronauts to and from low Earth orbit destinations such as the lntemational 

Space Station. But the space vehicles will need rockets to send them into orbit. Boeing, Sierra Nevada 

and Blue Origin could launch their spacecraft on ULA rockets. Sierra Nevada and Blue Origin have 

selected the Atlas 5 rocket to launch their spaceships. Sierra Nevada is working on a lifting body space 

plane named the Dream Chaser and Blue Origin, headed by Amazon. com founder Jeff Bezos, is 

developing a biconic capsule called the New Shepard. Boeing's CST-100 spaceship is designed to ferry 

up to seven astronauts to and from orbit. The company says the craft is compatible to launch on several 

rockets, including the Atlas 5, but managers plan to select a primary launch vehicle in the coming weeks, 

according to a Boeing spokesperson. Boasting a stellar success record, the Atlas 5 rocket has launched 26 

times with U.S. military payloads, NASA science probes and commercial communications satellites. The 

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Atlas 5's first stage is powered by a kerosene-fueled Russian RD-1 80 main engine, and its Centaur second 

stage features one or two RL I 0 engines burning cryogenic propellant. SpaceX will launch its Dragon 

capsule on the company's own Falcon 9 rocket. NASA's agreement with ULA doesn't provide any 

funding, but it facilitates data sharing among the two entities. Under the agreement, ULA will provide 

technical data on the Atlas 5 rocket to NASA, which will give input based on the agency's extensive 

human spaceflight experience. The space agency will also share draft human-rating certification 

requirements for ULA to review and provide feedback. Web posted. (20 11). [NASA agrees to help 

modify Atlas 5 rocket for astronauts [Online]. Available WWW: http:/lwww.spaceflightnow.com/ 

[20 II, July 19].] 

July 19: Shuttle flexes robotic arm for last time 

Nearly 30 years after its debut, the space shuttle's 50-foot, Canadian-built robotic arm is beginning its last 

operation in space. Atlantis astronauts will drive the Shuttle Remote Manipulator System, known as the 

Canadarm, to perform a fina l inspection of critical heat shields. Attached to the end of the ann is a 50-

foot boom extension equipped with cameras and lasers that will scan reinforced carbon-carbon panels 

lining the orbiter's wing leading edges and nose cap, areas subjected to the most intense heat during reentry. Analysts on the ground will review the images for any sign that micrometeroids or orbital debris 

have dinged the heat shields since an identical inspection was perfonned July 9, the day after Atlantis 

launched the I 35th and final shuttle mission. Mission managers so far have identified no concerns about 

heat shield damage. The Flight Day 2 and "late" inspections are standard procedures implemented after 

the 2003 Columbia disaster. The Canadarm was first used by Columbia pilot Dick Truly on the second 

shuttle mission in November 1981. Since then arms have been used to grab and deploy satellites 

including the Hubble Space Telescope, and helped move and install much of the large, heavy hardware 

that was joined to form the International Space Station. Web posted. (20 II). [Shuttle flexes robotic arm 

for last time [Online]. Available WWW: http:llwww.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 , 

July 19].] 

Early forecast good for Thursday landing 

Less than two days before the final shuttle landing at Kennedy Space Center, planned at 5:56a.m. EDT 

Thursday, preliminary forecasts show no issues that would delay an on-time touchdown. The latest report 

from the Spaceflight Meteorology Group at Johnson Space Center shows scattered clouds and tight winds 

with no violations of landing rules. "We're looking forward to a good entry and landing on Thursday if 

weather holds out for us," NASA's Kwatsi Alibaruho said today during his final status update as a shuttle 

flight director. Additional detail on landing plans is expected during a I p.m. briefing led by LeRoy 

Cain, the deputy shuttle program manager and head of the Mission Management Team, and Mike 

Suffredini, the International Space Station program manager. With Atlantis returning in darkness after 

200 orbits, it's likely the only opportunity for most on the Space Coast to see the fmal shuttle landing will 

come on TV. If necessary, Atlantis could attempt a landing one orbit later for a 7:32a.m. Thursday 

touchdown, or stay aloft until Friday. Web posted. (20 11). [Early forecast good for Thursday landing 

[Online). Available WWW: http:/lwww.floridatoday.com/ the jlame trench blog [2011 , July 19].] 

Cocoa Beach Brewing Company 

Our latest batch of Von Braun Ale is just about ready and will be on tap Thursday to help us celebrate the 

final return of Space Shuttle Atlantis! Web posted. (2011). [Cocoa Beach Brewing Company [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.facebook.com/ [2011 , July 19].] 

July 20: Official Overarching Messages Regarding Shuttle Retirement 

From: Coats, Michael {Jsc-Center-Director}(JSC-AA111); Sent: Wednesday, July 20, 2011 11:31 AM; 

To: JSC-DL-JSC-Civil-Servants; JSC-DL-JSC-Contractors; Subject: FW: Overarching Messages I End of 

the Space Shuttle Program: A Legacy to Build On I * We salute the thousands of men and women who 

have made the shuttle program a success both on the ground and in space. Their legacy is historic, and we 

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will build on it as we develop the next transportation systems to support the human exploration of space. 

*We are not ending human space flight, we are recommitting ourselves to it and taking the necessaryand difficult - steps today to ensure America's pre-eminence in human spaceflight for years to come. I 

Support for the Florida Space Coast I * Florida is critical to the continued success of the U.S. space 

program, and the Obama Administration is making smart investments in the State's future. * The Bush 

Administration in 2004 made the decision to end the Space Shuttle program. President Obama extended 

the program's life by adding two Space Shuttle launches to the manifest. *NASA bas established the 

Commercial Crew Program Office at the Kennedy Space Center to manage the commercial space 

activities that will be critical to the nation's future space flight. *The President's fiscal year 2012 budget 

recommends a nearly $2 billion investment in the programs at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), 

including a launch Infrastructure and modernization program, and $5 million for the Federal Aviation 

Administration's Commercial Spaceflight Technical Center. *The Administration bas approved $15 

million for Brevard county workforce assistance through a National Emergency Grant. Half of these 

funds have been received and the remainder is expected sometime between FYll and FY12. Web 

posted. (201 1). [NASA lnternal Memo: Official Overarching Messages Regarding Shuttle Retirement 

[Online]. Available WWW: http:llwww.spaceref.com/ [2011 , July 20.] 

Merritt Island High team may launch satellite 

After working with NASA engineering mentors last school year, Merritt Island High students were 

selected as the second high school group in the nation to build and potentially launch a small satellite, 

called a CubeSat, from a NASA rocket. The activity is an extra-curricular activity for the students, whose 

numbers vary from eight to a dozen. Teachers Alison Fetig and Julie White and Kennedy Space Center 

mentors worked with the students to meet requirements and pass the first of several reviews. The students 

designed their satellite, which they named StangSat, to communicate with a university satellite about 

launch data. After an initial interview in April, NASA and industry officials commented that the Merritt 

Island High students were well prepared and further ahead than their freshmen and sophomore college 

counterparts. Students currently involved are Daruelle George, Erin McCaskey, Josh Zirkle, Tyler 

Johnson, Vincent Dewan, Tony Calderin, Gurk:irat Kainth, Alyssa Marcoux, Andrew Satorsk:i and Mike 

Glowaczewsk:i. The lead mentors are Rene Formoso and Shaun Daly from LSP Management, but other 

engineers also volunteer with the students, she said. "This is a significant undertaking for these students to 

work on a project of this magnitude at the high school level," said Merritt Island High Principal Gary 

Shiffrin. The students and their mentors are continuing to work on the project over the summer and, with 

fmancial support from LSP, plan to attend a CubeSat workshop Aug. 5-6 and a small satellite conference 

Aug. 7- 10 at Utah State University in Logan. Web posted. (2011). [Merritt Island High team may launch 

satellite [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , July 20.] 

July 21 : 'Mission complete, Houston': Space shuttle program is history 

Atlantis and America's final four shuttle astronauts swept out of a dark sky for an emotional homecoming 

at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, capping 30 years of triumphant, and sometimes tragic, space 

adventures. The International Space Station -- perhaps the greatest legacy left by the shuttle -- flew 

overhead as homebound Atlantis soared over the west coast of Florida. Then for the final time, trademark 

twin sonic booms rattled the Space Coast, shaking the foundations of family homes and businesses whose 

fortunes have followed the exhilarating highs and devastating lows of NASA's shuttle program. 

Touchdown carne at 5:57a.m. Forty-one minutes before the dawn of a new day, Atlantis rolled to a halt 

on Runway 15. "Mission complete, Houston. After serving the world for over 30 years, the space shuttle's 

earned its place in history, and it's come to a fmal stop," Atlantis commander Chris Ferguson said. The 

historic moment was sad for shuttle workers, including I ,510 people being laid off today. "Hard to 

describe the emotions. There were good emotions in that we brought the crew home safely, and the 

mission's complete. Certainly sadness that it's over, and people will be moving on. You hate to see them 

leave. But that's a reality," said NASA Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach. "I saw grown men and 

grown women crying-- tears of joy to be sure. Human emotions came out on the runway, and you 

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couldn't suppress them." Five-and-a-half hours later, hundreds of workers endured stifling heat, many 

waving American flags, many waving fans, to watch Atlantis roll back to its processing hangar. Senior 

NASA officials strived to keep the mood light, and celebratory. But even "The Final Four" astronauts 

acknowledged a somber situation. NASA through at least 2020 will continue flying astronauts to and 

from the lntemational Space Station. For the next several years, the astronauts will fly aboard Russian 

spacecraft. Meanwhile, NASA is investing money in the development of commercial space taxis that will 

be built and operated by U.S. aerospace companies. The idea is to reduce or eliminate reliance on Russia 

while freeing up NASA to develop a super-sized rocket, and the Apollo-style Orion capsule, for missions 

beyond Earth orbit. The goal ultimately is to explore the inner solar system. Target destinations include 

asteroids, the moon, Mars and the Martian moons Phobos and Dei mos. Emotions also were close to the 

surface at Johnson Space Center in Houston, where hundreds of workers gathered to watch history unfold 

900 miles away. NASA Entry Flight Director Tony Ceccacci said the motto in Mission Control is "flight 

controllers don't cry." He tried to remain stoic --like a steely eyed missile man-- after his team guided 

Atlantis and its crew through an era-ending atmospheric re-entry. "This will be the last time this team 

will be together," Ceccacci said, struggling to maintain his composure. The Atlantis touchdown brought 

to a close the nation's 135th and final shuttle flight, a 5.3-million-mile mission to deliver a year's worth of 

supplies to the International Space Station. During those flights, NASA's five shuttle orbiters carried 355 

individuals from 16 nations. Counting frequent fliers, 852 seats ultimately were filled on shuttle 

missions. The fleet enabled the first woman and first African-American, schoolteachers, congressional 

legislators and even a Saudi prince to fly into space. NASA's last shuttle mission was the 33rd flight of 

Atlantis, a spaceship that traveled 125,935,769 miles during 307 days in orbit. Atlantis flew 12 missions 

to the International Space Station, seven to Russia's space station Mir and the fifth and final flight to the 

Hubble Space Telescope. The winged orbiter launched on five flights for the Department of Defense, 

four of which were classified top secret. Atlantis deployed the Galileo spacecraft on its journey to Jupiter, 

the Magellan radar mapper on its voyage to Venus and the $600 million Compton Gamma Ray 

Observatory. Grandstands flanking the three-mile shuttle runway were crowded with about 2,000 NASA 

and contractor workers, visiting YIPs and the families of Ferguson, pilot Doug Hurley, and mission 

specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex WaJheim. A big contingent of senior NASA managers and 

administrators greeted the crew on the runway along with technicians wearing matching "Loud-andProud" Hawaiian shirts-- wardrobe staples at KSC since the shuttle's return to flight after the 1986 

Challenger accident. Mission accomplished. Web posted. (2011). ('Mission complete, Houston': Space 

shuttle program is history [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, July 21.] 

Space shuttle: A legacy to behold 

With Atlantis back home at the Kennedy Space Center, work begins to prepare the orbiter for its starring 

role as the centerpiece of a massive new exhibit at the adjacent visitor complex. The $100 million project 

will be the KSC Visitor Complex's most ambitious ever; it's due to open by the summer of2013. "The 

shuttle program is going to live on in a vibrant way," said Bill Moore, the complex's chief operating 

officer. "We are really honored to be chosen by NASA to display Atlantis." Nearly two dozen museums 

and other attractions competed to display one of the three surviving orbiters. The Smithsonian Institution's 

National Air and Space Museum Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., was picked to display 

Discovery, and the California Science Center in Los Angeles will get Endeavour. Plans call for Atlantis 

to be displayed in a 66,000-square-foot building as if in orbit. The building also will boast major displays 

highlighting the International Space Station and the Hubble Space Telescope-- two hallmark 

accomplishments tied to the 30-year shuttle program. Moore said Atlantis won't look all shiny and new in 

the exhibit, but rather will show signs of its flights --to "show her 'dirty,' " as he puts it. Visitors will be 

able to get close to -- but not quite touch -- Atlantis, getting a good feel for the size of the orbiter and its 

main engines. The exhibit will include a number of interactive exhibits for children and adults, as well as 

simulators based on astronaut training. These may include simulations that demonstrate grabbing a 

satellite, docking at the International Space Station, experiencing re-entry or maneuvering a robotic ann. 

Other displays include a space station gallery showing visitors what it's like to live in space, as well as a 

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model of the space station that children can crawl through. The exhibit will be built on a site near the 

visitor complex's popular Shuttle Launch Experience simulator. The Atlantis exhibit is part of a I 0-year 

master plan to upgrade the visitor complex, which is Brevard County's most popular paid tourist 

attraction, drawing about 1.5 million visitors a year. The complex hopes to boost that by 225,000 with the 

Atlantis exhibit. Web posted. (2011). [Space shuttle: A legacy to behold [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , July 21.] 

July 22: Taurus 2 Debut Delayed Two Months by Launch Pad Issues 

The inaugural flight of Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Taurus 2 rocket will be delayed by about two months, to 

December, to allow time for the completion and certification of rocket propellant and pressurization 

facilities at the vehicle's Wallops Island, Va., launch site, Orbital Chief Executive David W. Thompson 

said July 21. Dulles, Va.-based Orbital still intends to demonstrate its space station cargo vehicle on the 

second Taurus 2 flight about two months after the first successful liftoff, meaning that mission, in which 

the Cygnus capsule will approach the international space station, wiU be delayed to February, Thompson 

said. Web posted. (2011). [Taurus 2 Debut Delayed Two Months by Law1ch Pad Issues [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 , July 22.] 

Shuttle contract workers bead out 

On Thursday, Mark Nappi greeted the final four shuttle astronauts on Kennedy Space Center's runway as 

they climbed out of Atlantis in a triumphant end to a 13-day mission and the 30-year shuttle era. Today, 

the leader of United Space Alliance's Florida operations has many more hands to shake but for a less 

happy occasion. The end of the final mission means the end of shuttle careers today for I ,510 local USA 

employees who will arrive in waves at a Cape Canaveral facility to process layoff paperwork and receive 

parting gifts. As NASA's lead shuttle contractor, Houston-based USA has borne the brunt of longplanned layoffs that began a steady downsizing two years ago. The company's total work force after 

today will be two-thirds less than its peak of 10,500 in 2005, with more cuts planned through August. The 

total at KSC will drop roughly in half to about I ,500 by the end of August, and their future is uncertain. 

KSC hosted an appreciation event that gave center employees and their families a chance to take pictures 

with Atlantis after it was towed back from the rw1way. Bands played and participants waved American 

flags as senior managers and the Atlantis crew offered praise. As the shuttle fleet neared retirement, 

many outside the agency questioned whether the fmal missions could be flown safely amid all the 

distractions of layoffs and the resulting loss of skills and experience. In fact, the last missions reported 

few technical problems. and NASA thinks they were among the safest flown. "They've know that this was 

coming, but yet they performed in an absolutely superlative level right up until the very end," said Bob 

Cabana, KSC's director. "It just shows how good these people are." Additional layoffs are planned 

through Aug. 31 , with much smaller numbers locally and a bigger impact in Houston. Local work force 

officials think the current wave of layoffs could cut about 2,300 KSC jobs including other shuttle 

contractors. The company's primary focus during the next year or so will be closing out the shuttle 

program, but there's other work preparing facilities and equipment for NASA's planned exploration 

capsule and rocket. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle contract workers head out [OnJine]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11, July 22.] 

July 24: Voyages to deep space will originate from shuttle pads 

With demolition nearly complete on Kennedy Space Center's northernmost launch complex, NASA plans 

to put launch pad 39A into mothballs in the coming months for long-tem1 storage until human expeditions 

depart for asteroids or Mars, according to agency officials. After space shuttle Atlantis blasted off July 8 

from pad 39A, technicians started several weeks of standard post-launch cleanup and repairs. But with no 

more missions on the pad's manifest, normal work on the complex will cease in the next few weeks, 

according to a NASA spokesperson. The space shuttle's two beachfront launch pads at the Florida 

spaceport supported a rapid cadence of flights over the last 30 years, but NASA launched its last shuttle 

from launch pad 39B in 2006 as the program entered its final years. After finishing back-up rescue duty 

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for the space shuttle's last servicing mission to the Hubble Space Telescope, pad 39B hosted the test 

launch of the Ares 1-X rocket in October 2009. A private contractor began dismantling the pad's fixed 

and rotating service structures last summer, and the demolition team removed the final major pieces of the 

complex earlier in July. It took 10 months to complete the lion's share of the work due to interruptions 

from shuttle operations at nearby pad 39A, which lies about 1.6 miles south of pad 398 . There's no 

funding for similar safing and demolition of pad 39A. NASA will instead keep the facility in its current 

state for now, according to Bob Cabana, director of the Kennedy Space Center. Cabana said the launch 

pad will go into a "caretaker" status, much like the mammoth Vehicle Assembly Building, which will one 

day be needed for new human expeditions into deep space. NASA officials envision pad 39B as the initial 

home for a heavy-lift rocket to haul humans and cargo into deep space on voyages to asteroids, the moon, 

Mars and other destinations. The space agency is finalizing the design of the Space Launch System, 

whkh will likely use shuttle-derived hardware, engines and other equipment. NASA managers, the White 

House and independent consultants are reviewing the design before it is released to the public and 

contractors. NASA says the SLS won't be flying astronauts until 2020 under current budget projections, 

but Kennedy Space Center aims to have the launch pad ready years before then. "We'll press ahead to 

have it ready as soon as we possibly can for accommodating NASA rocket launches off it," Cabana said. 

Pad 39B's future concept will utilize a clean pad design with no permanent structures. The rocket's 

servicing tower will be bolted to the mobile launch platform and rolled to the pad for final preparations. A 

390-foot-tall mobile launcher designed for the canceled Ares I rocket sits outside the V AB. Although the 

tower doesn't have a mission now, it could be modified for commercial launchers or NASA's heavy-lift 

rocket program. Officials currently foresee pad 39B being tailored for the Ares mobile launcher, 

whatever vehicle it ends up carrying. Engineers are upgrading the pad 39B's computers, electrical 

network and control systems. NASA is also refurbishing propellant tanks at the seaside facility. Three 

600-foot-tallligbtning masts were erected at pad 39B in 2009 as part of a next-generation weather 

protection system for large rockets. The pad's concrete surface, first constructed for the Apollo program in 

the 1960s, will remain intact for the next space program. NASA elected to demolish the pad structures 

with cranes and cutters instead of explosives to ensure the concrete wasn't damaged by fa lling debris. 

Launch pad 398 was first used by the Saturn 5 rocket on the Apollo I 0 mission, a dress rehearsal for the 

first lunar landing. Saturn I B rockets launched crews on missions to the Skylab space station in 1973. 

Three astronauts took off from the pad aboard another Saturn rocket in 1975 on a mission to dock with a 

Soviet Soyuz spacecraft during a detente in Cold War relations. The pad's servicing towers were used to 

prepare 53 space shuttle missions for flight between 1986 and 2006, beginning with the fina l launch of the 

shuttle Challenger. The Ares 1-X test flight also used the pad for its launch in October 2009. Pad 39A was 

the departure point for 82 shuttle flights and every Apollo mission that landed on the moon. Web posted. 

(2011). [Voyages to deep space will originate from shuttle pads [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, July 24.] 

July 25: Hired private cargo ships booked to visit space station 

With the International Space Station stocked with food and clothing by the last space shuttle mission, 

SpaceX and Orbital Sciences are gearing up for test flights of their cargo freighters to the orbiting lab in 

December and February, government and industry officials said. The commercial automated cargo 

vehicles are in the final stages of development and testing before moving to their launch sites in Florida 

and Virginia. NASA has "technically" agreed to combine SpaceX's next two demonstration flights of the 

company's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule, electing to send the next mission all the way to the space 

station, according to Bill Gerstenmaier, the head of the agency's human space programs. The unmanned 

flight would blast off Nov. 30 from Cape Canaveral and reach the space station about one week later, 

where the lab's Canadian robot arm would reach out and grapple the approaching Dragon spaceship. 

SpaceX and NASA are reviewing plans for the mission, which would deliver some limited cargo to the 

complex. lf everything goes as planned, SpaceX's first operational resupply fl ight would launch in the 

first half of20l2. Working under a funded Space Act Agreement with NASA, SpaceX tested the 

medium-lift Falcon 9 rocket on two flights in 20 I 0. The second launch in December demonstrated the 

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blunt Dragon capsule on two orbits around Earth, culminating in a successful splashdown and recovery in 

the Pacific Ocean. The ftrst and second stages of the Falcon 9 rocket for SpaceX's cargo flight are 

already at the company's Cape Canaveral launch pad. The Dragon spacecraft is due to arrive in August or 

September. Two months after SpaceX's first mission to the space station, Orbital Sciences plans to 

launch its inaugural Cygnus resupply ship. The company foresees the mission launching in February 

2012, according to David Thompson, chairman and CEO of Orbital Sciences. Orbital Sciences holds a 

$1 .9 billion Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA to serve the International Space Station 

with eight flights of the Taurus 2 rocket and the robotic Cygnus cargo freighter. The contract requires 

Orbital to deliver 20 metric tons, or about 44,000 pounds, of equipment to the complex over the eight 

missions. SpaceX signed a similar contract worth $1.6 billion for 12 flights of the Falcon 9 rocket and 

Dragon capsule. Both companies have Space Act Agreements, funneling government financing to help 

design, build and test commercial spacecraft for cargo resupply missions to the space station. The NASA 

funding is coupled with private investment. Web posted. {201 1). [Hired private cargo ships booked to 

visit space station [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , July 25.] 

Juno Probe Heads to Launch Pad 

NASA's Juno, an innovative and ambitious mission intended to resolve some long-standing mysteries 

about the formation of Jupiter and the Solar System, beaded to the launch pad in Florida July 25 in 

anticipation of launching Aug. 5. The spacecraft's five-year trek to Jupiter is scheduled to begin with an 

11:34 a.m. EDT liftoff onboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station's Launch Complex 41. The rocket, flying in the 551 vehicle configuration with a five-meter 

faring, five solid-rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage, will propel Juno out as far as 

the orbit of Mars before the spacecraft cycles back around the Sun for a flyby of Earth in October 2013 

and a gravitational boost to Jupiter. Upon arrival in 2016, the solar-powered Juno will be hurling along at 

160,000 mph, the fastest man-made object in history. Web posted. (2011). [Juno Probe Heads to Launch 

Pad [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ [2011 , July 26.] 

July 26: NASA hopes to shuttle former employees into new jobs 

NASA is holding a career fair in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Tuesday to help its former contract 

employees to find new jobs now that the shuttle program is ending. Among those who will be rubbing 

elbows with government and private recruiters are some of the engineers NASA hired to maintain the 

shuttle's 20 different systems- "every part of the shuttle that required a team of engineers and technicians 

to get it ready for the next flight," said Lisa Malone, a NASA spokeswoman." Over the years, NASA has 

been downsizing those teams, with Cape Canaveral seeing the most layoffs, including I ,500 on Friday, 

Malone said. "I would say the lion's share of (the layoffs) has been in Florida," she said. According to a 

fact sheet from NASA, the agency plans to lay off2.223 Florida "shuttle prime contractors" in fiscal 

2011, for a total of 4,37 1layoffs in Florida since 2008. At the end of the year, NASA expects to have la id 

off9,425 shuttle contractors nationwide since 2008. In addition to engineers, NASA's contract employees 

included accountants, human resources personnel, "everything it takes to run an organization," Malone 

said. Workers have known about impending layoffs, in some respect, since President George W. Bush 

announced the end of the shuttle program, Malone said. She said NASA and the recruiters hope about 

1,000 former employees will come to the career fair and apply for new jobs. Web posted. (2011). [NASA 

hopes to shuttle former employees into new jobs [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.cnn.com/ 

[20 11 , July 26.] 

Atlantis Undergoes Post-Flight Servicing 

Five days after finishing NASA's 135th and final shuttle flight, the orbiter Atlantis is undergoing postflight servicing in its processing hangar at Kennedy Space Center. NASA contractor technicians drained 

the orbiter's power-producing fuel cell system this week. The Power Reactant Storage & Distribution 

(PRSD) system combined liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to generate electricity to run spaceship 

systems. The chemical reactants generate water as a byproduct. Technicians today are preparing to open 

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the shuttle's payload bay so that the cylindrical Raffaello module can be removed. The module is filled 

with surplus gear and trash from the International Space Station to clear up storage space on the outpost. 

Rigid steel frames called strongbacks have to be put in place to open the doors. Coming up later this 

week: Technicians will start post-flight servicing of the shuttle's Orbital Maneuvering System and 

Reaction Control System. The OMS features twin engines that were ignited to drop Atlantis out of orbiter 

for its era-ending atmospheric reentry last Thursday. The Reaction Control System features 44 nose-andtail steering thrusters. Atlantis is be prepped for display at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. 

Web posted. (2011). [Atlantis Undergoes Post-Flight Servicing [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011, July 26.] 

July 27: Apollo 15 Celebrates 40th Anniversary at KSC 

Apollo 15 was the first manned lunar mission to use a lunar rover, and the first of the "J" missions that 

would stay on the lunar surface longer and be focused on conducting science. The mission is marking its 

40th anniversary now, and most of the crew (some other Apollo-era astronauts) were present at the 

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex to recall the occasion. The day's events included a tour of the 

launch site at the adjacent Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Shortly after returning to the Visitor 

Complex a panel discussion was held with Apollo 15 astronauts Dave Scott and AI Worden. The 

"moderator" for the event was none other than Apollo 12 Command Module Pilot Dick Gordon. One 

thing that became quickly obvious was that the trio had done this before and were very comfortable with 

one another, clowning around, giving each other a hard time and telling jokes. Meanwhile, Gordon asked 

the two surviving Apollo 15 astronauts (the third member of the crew, James irwin, passed away in 1991) 

questions regarding the mission. This made leaming about the in1portance of the mission both informative 

and fun. Panel discussions can be rather dry affairs - this one was lively and entertaining. The operators 

of the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex spared little expense in ensuring that guests had a full and 

exciting day. The tour drove past several launch complexes including Launch Complex 34 (where the 

Apollo I fire occurred), as well as Launch Complex 39A, where the final shuttle mission launched from 

not too long ago. Each of the buses bad the normal guide from the Visitor Complex, as well as an Apolloera astronaut, who regaled guests with various aspects of past missions. Guests also received a gift bag 

with several items enclosed to commemorate the occasion. Apollo 15 launched on July 26, 1971 , and 

ended with the splash down of the crew on Aug. 7, 1971 . Scott and Irwin spent a total of three days on 

the moon with a little over 18 hours of that time spent in EVA. Apollo 15 was also the first mission to not 

land on a lunar mare, but rather it landed near Hadley Rille, which is located around the area called Pal us 

Putredinus (Marsh of Decay). Having the lunar rover on this mission gave the moon walkers the ability to 

traverse a far greater distance than what was possible on prior Apollo flights. While on the moon the duo 

collected about 170 lbs. of rocks and lunar regolith. While Scott and irwin were on the moon, Worden, 

circling high above in the Command Module compiled a highly detailed map of the lunar surface. A 

satellite was also deployed into lunar orbit on this mission (an Apollo first). Web posted. (20 11). [Apollo 

15 Celebrates 40th Anniversary at KSC [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ 

[20li , July27.] 

DOE, Interior Eye Employees Jettisoned by Space Program 

The Energy Department and the Department of the Interior are among dozens of federal agencies looking 

to hire some of the engineers and scientists from NASA's closing space program. NASA and the Office of 

Personnel Management held a job fair yesterday in Cape Canaveral, Fla., less than a week after the space 

shuttle Atlantis landed. All told, about 5,500 contract employees at Florida's Kennedy Space Center have 

lost their jobs in recent months, and NASA contractors are expected to lay off another 2,000 over the next 

year. For an area nicknamed the ".Space Coast," the end of the space program is a blow. But federal 

agencies are swooping in to take advantage of a pool of employees they say have skills that are usually 

hard to find. It is unclear how many former NASA contractors have found new jobs in the federal 

government. But representatives from 32 federal agencies attended yesterday's job fair, while several 

more are participating in a virtual job fair hosted by OPM and NASA. Among them is DOE's Oak Ridge 

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National Laboratory, where open positions range from nuclear engineers to carbon fiber researchers. 

Human resources director Debbie Stairs said Oak Ridge has hired NASA employees in the past with 

success. One potential area of overlap, she said, is materials research. Interior's Bureau of Land 

Management has also targeted former NASA employees. While officials declined to provide details on 

what positions might best fit those who worked on the space program, listings on USAJOBS.gov included 

positions in the physical and engineering sciences. But such jobs are based all over the country, and many 

former NASA employees may be unwilling or unable to relocate. Brevard Workforce-- which helps find 

jobs for the unemployed in Brevard County -- has been working for four years to line up potential jobs 

openings with an emphasis on keeping workers in Florida. So far, the organization has confirmed that 

about 550 NASA contractors have found new jobs, many locally, said Judy Blanchard, Brevard's director 

of industry relations. Part of the group's goal, she said, is to transform the Space Coast into a robust 

energy market. The pool of laid-off employees essentially consists of three groups: those who performed 

administrative duties, those who had technical jobs such as mechanics and those with high-level degrees 

such as engineers and scientists. But unlike Houston-- where thousands of NASA employees are also 

finding themselves unemployed --Brevard County is not a diversified metropolitan area. Fonner NASA 

workers also do not have as many options in the oil industry if they want to stay close to home, whereas 

Texas lawmakers have urged Interior to retrain space shuttle workers to inspect offshore oil rigs. The 

entirety of Brevard County, meanwhile, has a population of about 600,000 people. Blanchard said local 

companies --such as lighting product manufacturer Lighting Science -- have hired former Kennedy Space 

Center employees, and aviation companies such as AAR Aerospace and Brazil-based Embraer are setting 

up offices in the area. But no one entity is the answer; companies hire five, I 0, maybe 20 employees at a 

time when thousands need jobs. And Brevard County cannot hold them all. Web posted. (20 11). [DOE, 

Interior Eye Employees Jettisoned by Space Program [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.nvtimes.com/ (2011 , July 27.] 

Jupiter-bound Juno probe mounted atop its launcher 

With just 9 days left until blastoff, Juno has been placed atop the United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket 

that will send the spacecraft on its journey to Jupiter. Already packed within the Swiss-made nose cone, 

the satellite was raised off the ground by overhead cranes and gently maneuvered through the open 

doorway of the rocket's vertical assembly hangar just after 9 a.m. this morning. It was positioned over the 

Centaur upper stage and successfully attached at I 0:42a.m. EDT. Work to affix the nose cone's ogive 

section was continuing late into the evening. Functional testing of the spacecraft is planned for Thursday, 

then the combined systems test between Juno and the Atlas vehicle will occur on Friday". "We'll make 

sure the satellite is talking to the rocket, the rocket is talking to the satellite and everything is ready," said 

Mike Woolley of United Launch Alliance. The fully stacked rocket now stands 20 stories tall. The 

vehicle features a main stage fed with refined kerosene and liquid oxygen, five strap-on solid propellant 

boosters, the liquid hydrogen-powered cryogenic Centaur upper stage and a composite payload shroud 16 

feet in diameter. This is the largest, most energetic version of the Atlas 5 rocket currently available. The 

so-called 551 configuration has been used only once in the previous 26 flights by the vehicle, launching 

NASA's New Horizons probe to Pluto in 2006. Web posted. (2011). [Jupiter-bound Juno probe mounted 

atop its launcher [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, July 27.) 

NASA Safety Chief to Step Down from Post 

NASA safety chief Bryan O'Connor, who also is a veteran shuttle pilot and mission commander, is 

leaving the space agency at the end of August. O'Connor said in a statement that the successful 

completion of NASA's 135th and final shuttle mission prompted his decision to depart NASA on Aug. 31. 

Web posted. (201 1). [NASA Safety Chief to Step Down from Post [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www. floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , July 27.] 

July 28: Merritt Island Launch Annex bad little known launch role 

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For 45 years, an unassuming tracking station tucked behind Kennedy Space Center provided critical data, 

telemetry and voice communication links to hundreds of launching rockets, circling satellites and landing 

shuttles. But the station known as MILA -- short for Merritt Island Launch Annex -- supported its last 

mission this month with shuttle Atlantis' launch and safe return. In a ceremony Thursday morning, NASA 

officially decommissioned the aging facility before some components are salvaged for other sites and the 

rest is demolished. "Not only have you participated in some of NASA's boldest adventures, but you've 

made a difference," Gary Morse, the station's NASA director, told dozens of employees and guests. A 

color guard from Patrick Air Force Base lowered and folded an American flag flown outside the control 

center. Then Morse gave the cue to slew one of two 30-feet-wide S-hand radio antennas for the last time 

into its parked position. Inside, chief technician Jim Stefanov pressed a button marked "Auxiliary" and 

the giant dish, which had been angled at the shuttle runway, slowly tilted back to point up at the sky. The 

crowd cheered. MILA supported its frrst launch in July 1966, an unmanned test flight of a Saturn 1-B 

rocket whose upper stage ultimately broke apart in orbit. Data the station received helped define the 

rocket's performance for manned flights and "was critical to going to the moon," said JeffVolosin, 

associate director for exploration and communications at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in 

Maryland, which owned MILA. The station expanded to support launches of expendable rockets and for 

years was staffed around the clock to track NASA satellites as they passed. "There was a time when 

M [LA tracked everything," said George Diller, a Kennedy spokesman. "If it went overhead, they tracked 

it." A space-based system of tracking and data relay satellites gradually phased out the need for many of 

17 ground stations around the world established for Apollo, but MILA endured because of its critical role 

in shuttle launches and landings, its primary function in recent years. During the first roughly seven 

minutes of a shuttle's ascent and the 13 minutes before touchdown, MILA provided information helping 

flight teams assess the health of orbiter systems and its location. MILA never faltered during 

countdowns, when it was one of the teams required to give a "go" in the final minutes for a launch to 

proceed. "You have never, ever been the reason for a launch scrub or a delay," said Mike Leinbach, the 

shuttle launch director. Roughly 50 employees of UT Associates, the contractor that operates the station, 

recently adopted a motto proudly displayed on shirts: "Every mission, every time-- MILA is go." For all 

its reliability, MILA, which cost about $7 million annually to operate, relied on a hodge-podge of modem 

and antiquated systems. Entering the Large, open control room feels like taking a step back in time: rows 

of gray electronics racks and consoles, still bumming and blinking, look as if they might be ready for an 

Apollo countdown. Many systems were upgraded over the years, of course, but a former station director 

said some Apple Ile computers were still in use and managers joked they had to scour Internet auction 

sites like eBay to find some spare parts. MILA's need for a clear line of sight to the shuttle launch pads 

and runway even influenced the shape of some Visitor Complex buildings, officials said. With the shuttle 

program over after 135 missions, about 20 LJT employees will be the first laid off from MILA positions 

today. Its doors will close for good Sept. I. KSC then will oversee demolition of the one-story control 

center and the dishes. NASA eventually plans to build a new, state-of-the-art station in a new location--

on the other side of the Visitor Complex --to support launches of a heavy-lift rocket planned for 

exploration missions. "The legacy of this site will live on well beyond today," said Volosin. Web posted. 

(20 11). [Merritt Island Launch Annex had little known-- but important --launch role [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/ [2011 , July 28.] 

STS-135: ET camera functions through ascent - no usable video of reentry 

Providing stunning images of the grand fmale of the Shuttle Program, the External Tank (ET) camera on 

ET-138 concluded a 22-flight legacy - beaming back images of the tank's performance through ascent. 

However, a camera modification was ultimately unsuccessful in transmitting much more than 

static footage of the tank as it tumbled into Earth's atmosphere for its death plunge into the Pacific Ocean. 

As was the case 21-times before, the ET engineering camera on the LOX feed line of the External Tank 

functioned perfectly through pre-launch and launch activities during Space Shuttle Atlantis' historic and 

sentimental journey to Low Earth Orbit on July 8. During the law1ch of STS-135, the ET camera 

provided NASA managers and DA T (Damage Assessment Team) personnel with an early look at the 

216 
tank's performance as well as any areas of Atlantis' TPS {Therma l Protection System) that might have 

been dinged by small foam liberations from the tank. In all, the quick-look assessment enabled by the ET 

camera led to the understanding that this was one of the most - if not THE most - c lean External Tanks in 

the history of the Shuttle Program: an in-flight tribute to the hard work and dedication of thousands of 

NASA engineers and the honorable workforce at the production fac ility in New Orleans, Louisiana. This 

quick-look assessment of Atlantis' TPS was confinned on FD-2 and FD-3 of the STS-135 mission when 

it was revealed that Atlantis had sustained only one lower-surface TPS ding from ET debris. But while the 

camera (a Sony XC-999) and its systems worked perfectly on every single one of the 22 post-Columbia 

Shuttle missions, the camera actually debuted on STS- 112, providing images up to SRB separation when 

debris covered the camera lens and prevented further clear image downlink. Moreover, the camera's 

primary use on STS-112 - a mission by Atlantis in October 2002 - was for PAO launch coverage purposes 

and not for engineering assessment of the Tank's TPS performance- an ironic use considering the rather 

significant foam liberation event that occurred on STS-1 12 and subsequent foam liberation event on STS107/Columbia that ultimately made the camera mandatory for tank engineering assessment purposes. 

Web posted. (2011). [STS-135: ET camera functions through ascent - no usable video of reentry 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011 , July 28.] 

July 29: Atlas and Delta rockets arrive together 

Another space frrst: The company that launches Atlas and Delta rockets delivered a combined shipment 

of both vehicles for the fLTSt time this week. The United Launch Alliance Delta Mariner sailed into port 

with the Atlas V that will launch NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory in November. The ship 

also carried the Delta IV rocket that will launch an Air Force communications satellite in December. It 

was the first time the ship delivered both Atlas and Delta hardware. A joint venture partnership of Boeing 

and Lockheed Martin, ULA originally manufactured Atlas rockets in Colorado and used cargo aircraft to 

transport them to Cape Canaveral. The company moved that work in 2009 to a Delta IV manufacturing 

plant in Decatur, Ala. The Delta Mariner was built to transport Delta IV rockets from that plant to the 

launch site. Mark Wilkins, vice president of ULA Program Operations, said the combined shipment 

saved the company $800,000. The 312-foot Delta Mariner can travel on rivers and open seas. The trip 

from the plant to the launch site is more than 2, 100 miles and takes eight to 10 days. Web posted. (2011). 

[Atlas and Delta rockets arrive together [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[2011 , July 29.] 

Ex-astronaut Lisa Nowak forced out of U.S. Navy 

A fonner astronaut banished from NASA after she confronted a romantic rival in a bizarre episode is 

being kicked out of the Navy, officials said Thursday. Capt. Lisa Nowak will retire with an "other than 

honorable" discharge and her pay grade will be knocked down one rank, Assistant Secretary of Navy Juan 

Garcia said in a statement. Nowak's conduct "fell well short" of what is expected ofNavy officers and 

she "demonstrated a complete disregard for the well-being of a fellow service member," Garcia said. 

Nowak was accused of confronting Colleen Shipman in the parking lot of the Orlando International 

Airport in February 2007 after driving from Houston. Since her dismissal from the astronaut corps, 

Nowak has been working at the Chief of Naval Air Training station in Corpus Christi, Texas. She will be 

demoted to commander when her retirement takes effect Sept. 1. Web posted. (20 11). [Ex-astronaut Lisa 

Nowak forced out ofU.S. Navy [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, July 

29.] 

Children of Lockheed workers spend day expanding minds and having fun 

Children of Lockheed Martin employees enjoyed a day of mind-expanding activities July 20 through a 

program called Young Minds At Work. The event at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station allows parents to 

showcase their place of work while encouraging youngsters to study and consider potential careers in 

science, engineering, math and technology. Lockheed Martin partnered with United Launch Alliance and 

SpaceTEC for this year's daylon·g program and more than 200 students participated. Various sessions 

217 
include an Atlas V mock launch countdown, Delta N tour, speed mentoring, "Capt. Orion and His 

Amazing Flying Machines, " basic missile telemetry and guidance I 0 I , design I 0 I , and build-and- race 

an edible car workshop. Additional key activities included a SpaceTEC-sponsored workshop on building 

and launching a water rocket, demonstrations by the Merritt Island Robotics Team and the Sea Cadets' 

posting of the colors. Web posted. (2011). [Children of Lockheed workers spend day expanding minds 

and having fun [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , July 29.] 

July 31: Space program's environmental cleanup could take decades 

NASA spent decades to send men to the moon, launch the space shuttles and build a laboratory in space, 

and now it will take a century to clean up the chemical messes left behind. Plumes of carcinogenic 

chemicals used in the launching of the space shuttles, Apollo moon shots and other rockets seeped deep 

into sandy soils beneath launch pads and other structures at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral 

Air Force Station. They form viscous toxic goo that will take $1 billion in cleanup costs agencywide over 

many decades, and could bog down funding for next-generation spacecraft. NASA estimates it will spend 

$96 million in the next 30 years at Kennedy Space Center, including $6 million this year. The Air Force 

says it will take another $50 million to get the rest of its cleanups at Cape Canaveral under way by 2017. 

"In the past, back in Apollo, the normal disposal of the solvent cleaning was down the drain ... out the 

back door," said Rosaly Santos-Ebaugh, Kennedy's remediation program manager, the person responsible 

for leading the cleanup. A Florida Today analysis of hundreds of pages of Kennedy and Cape Canaveral 

Air Force Station cleanup records and extensive databases of toxic spills obtained under the Freedom of 

Information Act found: • At least 2 square miles of chemically contaminated soil and groundwater, some 

of the "plumes" reaching as deep as 90 feet, at Kennedy and the air station, where the earliest rockets 

blasted off. That includes 600 acres of chemical plumes at Kennedy or nearby sites under former NASA 

control and 1,030 acres at Canaveral. *Of267 known contamination sites at Kennedy or under former 

NASA control, 141 are cleaned up. The other half are either under investigation, undergoing treatment or 

left for contaminants to break down naturally. *By far, the most common contaminant is a chlorinated 

solvent called trichloroethylene, or "trike," and its breakdown products-- substances known to cause birth 

defects and cancer and reaching concentrations thousands of times higher than federal drinking water 

standards allow. No one drinks water drawn at the space center, nor the air station, but federal law still 

mandates the cleanup, at taxpayer expense. Other potential harm to humans and wildlife is uncertain. 

Most of the contamination occurred before federal standards and science caught up with the potential 

dangers, and today's lau11Ches contribute little to the environn1ental pollution. Spaceflight was a dirty 

business. And astronauts walked the moon in 1969, a year before President Richard Nixon established the 

Environmental Protection Agency. "So we can put a man on the moon, but we don't have all the 

regulations in place so we can understand the effect of some of the chemicals that were disposed of," 

NASA scientist Jackie Quinn said in describing how the contamination was allowed to occur. From 1959 

to 1968, during Apollo when NASA launched Saturn rockets from Launch Complex 34 at Cape 

Canaveral, trike went straight into the ground. An estimated 88,000 pounds of the solvent soaked into the 

soil and groundwater. Kennedy's sandy, alkaline soils are thought to neutralize most metals and other 

contaminants before they become a problem up the food chain. But trike dies hard. And workers kept 

pouring it into the ground in the early years of the shuttle program, thinking it would evaporate. Industry 

chemists knew as far back as the 1940s that trike could contaminate groundwater, according to research 

by Steven Arnter, an environmental consultant in Washington, who has written a book on the history of 

industrial pollution. Safety guidelines for trike were among the first Chemical Safety Datasheets 

published by manufacturers in 1947, Amter said. They advised users to pour the solvent on "dry sand, 

earth, or ashes at a safe distance from occupied areas" to promote evaporation. That practice since has 

proved ineffective, given all the trike that seeped into groundwater at Kennedy and elsewhere. Few but 

chemical industry insiders and scientists who studied groundwater understood the full implications of the 

early guidelines. "It doesn't say just pour it on the ground and forget it," Amter said. "It was intended to 

promote evaporation, not infiltration into the ground." NASA officials couldn't cite the year Kennedy 

Space Center workers stopped pouring trike on the ground, but said they did so when the Materials Data 

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Safety Sheets first warned against the practice. Dow Chemical's safety sheet in 1974 and General 

Electric's in 1978 recommended used solvents be sent to a licensed disposal company. After Congress 

passed extensive hazardous waste regulations in 1980, Amter said, trike users should have been aware of 

the risks to groundwater. "Anything you didn't want to drink, you shouldn't be putting in the ground." 

Historically, NASA has spent an average of$8 million to $10 million a year treating trike and on other 

cleanups at the space center, at least through 2009. Last year, funding for cleanups dropped to $4 million, 

then increased to $6 million tbis year. Since 1989, NASA has spent $128 million on environmental 

cleanups at Kennedy. Florida environmental regulators enforce cleanup standards at Kennedy, but it was 

federal law that first forced NASA in the 1980s to begin assessing hazards to humans and the 

environment. Ultimately, they unearthed the 267 sites, most with trike as the main contaminant. The 

largest: a 352-acre plume at Canaveral air station's Launch Complex 34 -- site of the 1967 Apollo 1 fire 

that killed three astronauts. NASA, in most cases, can't tell if spills are from the shuttle or other programs 

such as Apollo. Solvents foul surface waters around the main shuttle pad, 39B -- a National Historic Site, 

and the more polluted of the two shuttle launch pads. Flame retardants, arsenic and nickel also penetrate 

the soils there. The pad launched 52 shuttle flights, all three Skylab missions and the Apollo-Soyuz test 

flight. NASA began dismantling the pad earlier this year to clear the way for future, larger rockets. Most 

of the trike at the launch pads is stopped from reaching deeper aquifers -- where drinking water could be 

drawn-- by a natural clay layer about 40 feet underground. But in some spots, the solvents reach depths 

of 90 feet. Left alone, all the trike at Launch Complex 34 would take 300 years to naturally break down, 

NASA officials say. With human intervention, it might still take a century. Traditionally, solvent 

cleanups involved pumping up contaminated groundwater and treating it --a lengthy, expensive and notalways-successful process. The dense liquid solvents are tough to pump. But Quinn's homestyle blender 

churns up promising and cheaper solutions, using tabletop ingredients such as com oil and more-exotic 

substances such as nanoparticles. In a small lab in Kennedy's Operations and Checkout Building, the 

same place astronauts suit up before launch, it sloshes iron powder and com oil into a gray goop. The 

method, called emulsified zero-valent iron (EZVI), requires injecting the salad-dressing-like mix into 

plume hot spots, where it fmds and binds to the similarly dense solvents, rendering them harmless. It does 

the same to heavy metals such as chromium, arsenic and lead. "The technique works well and it works 

fast," said Quinn, an environmental engineer with NASA's Surface Systems Office, who developed EZVI 

along with University of Central Florida scientists. The iron particles float in oily bubble blobs that 

enclose the solvents and break them down into natural, nontoxic salts and gases. Naturally occurring 

bacteria consume the leftover vegetable oil. "It's totally nonhazardous byproducts," Quinn said. The 

idea, wbich began on the back of a napkin, won its inventors a place in NASA's Space Technology Hall 

of Fame in 2007. NASA licensed the technology to several companies, and now 16 states and several 

countries, including France and Japan, use it. But Kennedy Space Center has a long way to go in solving 

its trike troubles. "It's not just a problem that's afftliated with us, it's a global problem," Quinn said. 

"Environmental cleanup science is a very yow1g science." Web posted. (2011). [Space program's 

environmental cleanup could take decades [Online). Available WWW: http://www.usatoday.com/ 

[2011 , July 31.) 

219 
AUGUST 

August 1: NASA Shuttle Fleet Finds New Life in Displays, Parts 

NASA's space shuttle fieet will never fly again, but the agency believes it still has plenty to learn from the 

iconic vehicles. NASA technicians prepping the grounded shuttles for delivery to museums have been 

instructed to pull out and bang onto many different pieces, from the windows near the nose to the huge 

main engines near the orbiters' tails. Agency engineers will study these parts to help inform development 

of future spaceships- and some of the hardware may even be used again. "No other vehicle has had 

anywhere close to the same number of cycles on a lot of this hardware as the shuttle has," said Jonathan 

Krezel, who's in charge of the shuttle transition and retirement program at NASA headquarters in 

Washington, D.C. "Some of this stuff is 25 years old or more. So from the point of view of creating longduration survivable space systems in the future, there's a lot of interest." The touchdown of Atlantis on 

July 21 marked the end of NASA's shuttle program after 30 years of operation and 135 space missions. 

Atlantis and the other two remaining orbiters, Discovery and Endeavour, are headed to museums, where 

they will teach and inspire the public for years to come. Atlantis will retire to the Kennedy Space Center 

Visitor Complex in Florida, Discovery to the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. 

and Endeavour to Los Angeles' California Science Center. But the shuttles aren't being ferried straight 

from the landing strip to the exhibit hall. All three must undergo a lengthy decommissioning process, 

much of which is done for safety reasons. Anything that touched rocket fuel- the thruster system inside 

each shuttle's nose, for example - must be removed and scrubbed clean before it's reattached. Other 

parts will be permanently removed due to safety concerns. For example, flight-ready shuttles are studded 

with small explosive charges that perform various functions, such as deploying landing gear if normal 

systems fail. These pyrotechnics are aU coming off, Krezel said. But safety is not the only driver in this 

spaceship stripping. Research is a key factor as well. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Shuttle Fleet Finds New 

Life in Displays, Parts [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.space.com/ [201 1, August 1).] 

NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitors Could Win a Trip to Space 

Current visitors to the Kennedy Space Center could now win an actual trip into space on board the XCOR 

rocket aircraft. The trip is just one part of a nearly $100,000 prize contest by NASA at the Space Center 

tlus summer. Ln addition to "Star Trek: The Exhibition" which has been running since June, continuing 

through September, KSC is trying to draw more crowds to its visitor's complex with a big summer 

contest. Admission to the complex automatically enters one into the contest. A suborbital flight in a twoseat XCOR Aerospace ILynx spacecraft is part of the two grand prizes in the contest. According to KSC, 

the Lynx will be piloted by retired astronaut Richard Searfoss, who participated in three space shuttle 

missions in the 1990s, center officials said. The flight takes off and lands on a conventional runway and 

should last for about 45 minutes. Winners of the grand prize will spend five days training for the flight 

before the launch. Web posted. (20 11 ). [NASA Kennedy Space Center Visitors Could Win a Trip to 

Space [Online]. Availab le WWW: htto:l/www.newstaar.com/ [2011 , August 1].] 

NASA Bets Big Rover On Novel Landing Scheme 

NASA will try a completely new- and scary- technique to land the largest rover yet on the surface of 

Mars next year, in a spot that scientists hope will tell them whether the planet can, or ever could, support 

life. Crews from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Kennedy Space Center are in the fmal stages of 

preparing the $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) for an Atlas V launch to the red planet as early 

as Nov. 25. If all goes as planned, the probe will reach Mars next August and begin its harrowing 6-min. 

descent through the atmosphere. After an entry that includes a temporary shift in the capsule's center of 

gravity to gain lift before parachute deployment for a precision approach, the la11der will go into a rocketpowered hover and lower the rover to the surface on nylon cords. Engineers at JPL adopted the "Sky 

Crane" landing technique because, at 850 kg (1,870 lb.), the six-wheel rover, dubbed Curiosity, is more 

than twice as heavy as the twin Mars Exploration rovers (MERs) combined. That makes car-sized 

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Curiosity too large for the parachute/airbag combo used so successfully by the Pathfinder mission's 

Sojourner rover and the two MERs, Spirit and Opportunity. Despite the complexity of the mission, the 

project manager says he's confident in his engineering team, given the heritage and testing that went into 

the MSL hardware. His bigger fear, as so often in aerospace, is what he doesn't know about yet, including 

accidents and simple human error. The mission escaped a serious delay in May when a crane operator 

accidentally lifted the spacecraft's composite backshell with a 2,000-lb. aluminum table attached to it. 

The operator had traveled to Kennedy Space Center from JPL to help prepare the spacecraft for launch, 

and mistakenly hit the wrong switch on the crane controls. Web posted. (20 11). [NASA Bets Big 

Rover On Novel Landing Scheme (Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ (2011 , 

August 1).] 

August 2: NASA Eyes Juno Launch Friday & TS Emily 

A powerful Atlas V rocket is being prepped for the planned launch Friday of a $1.1 billion NASA 

mission to Jupiter, but mission managers will be keeping a close eye on Tropical Storm Emily in the 

Caribbean. The United Launch Alliance Atlas and its payload -- NASA's Juno spacecraft-- are slated to 

blast off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 11:34 a.m. Friday. The launch 

window that day will extend until 12:43 p.m. Forecasters at the Air Force 45th Space Wing Weather 

Squadron say there is a 70 percent chance conditions will be acceptable for launch on Friday. However, 

Tropical Storm Emily is expected to strengthen and be in close proximity to central Florida by Saturday. 

Twenty- to 30-k:not winds are expected along with an increasing chance of rain showers. There is a 60 

percent chance weather would force a scrub on Saturday or Sunday. NASA's Juno spacecraft is to be 

launched on a five-year journey to Jupiter. The prime goal of the mission is to yield a better 

understanding of the origin and evolution of Jupiter, which is thought to be the first planet to form after 

the birth of the solar system 4.5 billion years ago. Web posted. (201 1). [NASA Eyes Juno Launch Friday 

& TS Emily [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com the flame trench blog [2011 , 

August 2].] 

Get to know Juno's launcher: The Atlas 5 rocket 

This rocket's family name has been launching robotic explorers throughout the solar system for nearly 50 

years, revolutionizing mankind's knowledge about the planets and our place in the Universe. From a 

Cape Canaveral launch pad Friday [August 5], the start ofNASA's next planetary adventure begins with 

another Atlas rocket hurling a sophisticated probe away from Earth. Liftoff of the Juno spacecraft on its 

five-year journey to Jupiter is scheduled for 11 :34 a.m. EDT (1534 GMT) aboard a United Launch 

Alliance Atlas 5. Towering 197 feet tall and generating two-and-a-half-million pounds of chest-thumping 

thrust, the vehicle will place the 7 ,995-pound satellite on its circuitous route to the king of planets. AtlasCentaur rockets have been used since the 1960s to dispatch ground-breaking missions for NASA, 

including the Surveyors to the Moon, Mariner flights to Mars, Venus and Mercury, and the Pioneers that 

were the first to visit Jupiter and beyond. In its newest generation, the Atlas 5 rocket sent the Mars 

Reconnaissance Orbiter to the red planet in 2005, propelled the New Horizons probe toward Pluto and the 

solar system's outer fringes in 2006 and the doubled up with the dual Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and 

LCROSS impactor to the Moon in 2009. Atlas 5 represents the culmination of evolution stretching back 

several decades to America's first intercontinental ballistic missile. At the dawn of the space age, boosters 

named Atlas launched men into orbit during Project Mercury and became a frequent vehicle of choice to 

haul civil, military and commercial spacecraft to orbit. The rocket launching Juno was born of the Ajr 

Force's competition to develop next-generation Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles. It has flown 26 

times since debuting in 2002, carrying out nine commercial flights with communications spacecraft, eight 

dedicated to the Defense Department, five missions with spy satellites for the National Reconnaissance 

Office and four for NASA. Atlas 5 was built to be more robust and reliable over earlier Atlas and Titan 

heavy-lift vehicles, and streamlined production bas resulted in fewer opportunities for human error. The 

new launcher builds upon the success of its predecessors, using the Russian-made RD-1 80 main engine, a 

stretched Centaur upper stage and its RL-1 0 engine that were proven during the Atlas 3 program. The 

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key piece that set Atlas 5 apart, however, was the rigid body Common Core Booster serving as the 

rocket's first stage. The CCB replaced the "balloon" pressure-stabilized stage used by previous Atlas 

vehicles. As the CCB's name suggests, the stage is common and is used in all the various configurations 

of the Atlas 5 family. The booster stage is I 06.6 feet long and 12.5 feet diameter. There are three distinct 

versions of Atlas 5 rockets -- the 400 series, 500 series and Heavy-- each tailored to launching a certain 

class of satellite. The 400 series uses a four-meter diameter payload shroud and has flown 19 times. The 

500 series, distinguished by a five-meter fairing, has launched 7 times. The proposed Heavy is a future 

Atlas 5 version that would take three Common Core Boosters to form a powerful triple-body rocket. To 

match an Atlas 5 with the size of its payload, up to five solid rocket motors can be strapped to the rocket 

to give extra boost at liftoff and the two different types of nose cones are available to enclose the satellite 

atop the launcher. The various options give Atlas 5 the nickname "dial-a-rocket" because of its flexibility. 

Juno will fly on the 551 configuration, the most powerful version of the Atlas 5 currently available. This 

translates to a rocket with the bulbous five-meter fairing, five solid rocket boosters and one RL-1 0 engine 

on the Centaur upper stage. The energetic version has been used only once in the previous 26 flights by 

the vehicle, launching the Pluto-bound probe New Horizons. Giving the rocket an added kick off the 

launch pad are five solid-propellant boosters made by Aerojet. Considered the world's longest monolithic 

--or single-segment -- solid boosters, the motors provide the extra thrust needed to increase the Atlas 5's 

payload-carrying capacity. Each booster stands 67 feet taU, bas a diameter of just over five feet and 

weighs 102,000 pounds at launch. The slender white rockets have a lightweight graphite epoxy casing 

with an erosion-resistant insulation. The solid fuel is high-performance class 1.3 HTPB propellant. Atop 

the booster is an aerodynamically-shaped graphite epoxy nose fairing. Each motor bas forward and aft 

attachment structures to the Atlas 5's ftiSt stage. The motor nozzle is carbon-phenolic. The motor burns 

for 90 seconds, producing a maximum thrust of approximately 400,000 pounds and an average of 280,000 

pounds. The Russian RD-180 first stage main engine can accomplish the entire job of steering the Atlas 5 

during launch, thus the solid boosters feature simple, fixed nozzles. The Atlas 5 shrouds are the largest 

lightweight composite payload fairings ever built. For Atlas 5's 500-series, the fairings are about 17 feet 

in diameter. A "short" version, which will be used for Juno, is 68 feet long and weighs 7,800 pounds. 

Web posted. (2011). [Get to know Juno's launcher: The Atlas 5 rocket [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com [2011, August 2].] 

Atlantis Final Mission Included Successful Kennedy Plant Experiment 

Atlantis carried many science and research experiments in its middeck during NASA's last shuttle flight, 

STS-135, in July. Among these was a plant experiment developed at Kennedy Space Center's Space Life 

Sciences Laboratory (SLSL) that could have an impact on long duration missions to the moon or Mars. 

Principal Lnvestigators Dr. Gary Stutte and Dr. Michael Roberts with QinetiQ NA, and NASA Project 

Scientist Dr. Howard Levine created the Biological Research in Canisters-Symbiotic Nodulation in a 

Reduced Gravity Environment (BRIC-SyNRGE). A first of its kind to fly on a space shuttle, the purpose 

of the experiment was to study the symbiotic relationship between plants similar to alfalfa, which is in the 

legume family, and specific nitrogen-reacting bacteria in microgravity. "It's a distinct honor to have had 

an experiment onboard Atlantis, the final space shuttle mission, and I am indebted to everyone who 

worked so hard to make it possible to be a part of this historic mission," Stutte said. About four hours 

after Atlantis landed at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility, the BRIC-SyNRGE experiment was retrieved 

and returned to the SLS Laboratory. Stutte said that initial reviews show that there was 100 percent 

germination of the plant seeds and excellent growth was observed. "The SyNRGE science team has 

begun processing the samples and looks forward to learning the effects of microgravity," Stutte said. 

"Plants and the microbial world have b~en of interest at Kennedy for many years." According to Stutte, 

the bacteria were introduced to each plant sample's root hairs in order to study the effect. What be and the 

SyNRGE team are hoping to find is that the plants have fonned specialized nodules where the bacteria 

can convert atmospheric nitrogen into a form the plants can use to produce proteins. The alfalfa-like 

plant, Medicago truncatula, was grown in a plant chamber at the SLSL. The day before Atlantis' launch, 

several laboratory rooms were abuzz with activity. Ln one lab, samples were carefully harvested and 

222 
inserted into Petri dish units. ln another lab, technicians added the nitrogen-fixing bacteria and a liquid 

preservative to the dishes. In yet another room, plant units were inserted into the canisters. A total of 120 

Petri dishes were installed in eight canisters. Each canister contained five units and a temperature sensor. 

The experiment was transported to the launch pad and added to Atlantis middeck as a late stowage item 

the evening before launch. Stutte said this kind of study could provide a path for better food production, 

improve agricultural areas in third world countries, and reduce resupply costs for fertilizer. It could also 

have an impact on how food sources are grown during long duration space missions. "Legumes are a 

major direct source of food for man," Stutte said. "These include soybeans, peas and beans. Also, forage 

for livestock, including alfalfa and clover." During the STS-135 mission, crew members monitored the 

temperature of the BRlC-SyNRGE samples, added a fixing liquid to half of the samples to preserve them 

and left the other half untouched. "We hope that our results provide information on how synergistic 

relationships form between plants and bacteria, and that we use that knowledge to benefit food and fiber 

production on Earth," Stutte said. "We hope our research brings us closer to achieving sustainable life 

support systems that permit long term habitation and colonization of space." Levine said funding for the 

project was initiated in September of2010 for the experiment to fly in July of20ll. "It takes an 

incredible amount of skill and effort on the part of both the science and engineering teams. They are all to 

be commended." Levine commented. Web posted. (2011). [Atlantis Final Mission Included Successful 

Kennedy-Developed Plant Experiment [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.space-travel.com [2011 , 

August 2].] 

Columbia Debris Turns Up In East Texas 

NASA officials and local authorities believe a spherical tank discovered on the banks of an East Texas 

lake is debris from the shuttle Columbia, which disintegrated over the region during an ill-fated 2003 

atmospheric reentry that killed seven astronauts. This photo distributed by the Associated Press via the 

Nacogdoches Police Department shows a four-foot diameter sphere. Low water levels at Lake 

Nacogdoches as a result of an ongoing drought led to the discovery and recovery of the tank. NASA 

officials say the object likely is a shuttle fuel cell system tank. Shuttle orbiters are equipped with three 

fuel cells that combine liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to generate electricity to operate spacecraft 

systems. Potable water is generated as a byproduct. The sphere likely is either a liquid oxygen or liquid 

hydrogen tank from the so-called Power Reactant Storage and Distribution (PRSD) system. Columbia 

and its crew were lost when hot gasses blowtorched through a hole in the shuttle's left wing during 

atmospheric reentry on Feb. 1, 2003. A 1.67-pound chunk of foam broke free from the shuttle's external 

tank during launch, punching a six- to 1 0-inch hole in the wing. The damage went undetected during a 16-

day science mission. Web posted. (2011). [Columbia Debris Turns Up ln East Texas [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www .tloridatoday.com the flame trench blog [20 11, August 2].] 

Atlantis' payload bay emptied 

The final space shuttle payloads were removed from Atlantis' cargo bay Tuesday morning inside Kennedy 

Space Center's orbiter processing hangar. The Italian-made RaffaeJJo logistics module and the failed 

ammonia coolant pump returned from the International Space Station during the July shuttle mission. 

Technicians spent about an hour carefully getting the heavy-duty lifting crane connected to the two 

payloads, then swiftly hoisted the elements out of Atlantis and over to the transportation canister parked 

inside the hangar. The 22,000-pound Raffaello made four trips to the space station to deliver equipment 

and supplies to the outpost. The Atlantis flight took 9,403 pounds of cargo to the outpost, then brought 

5,666 pounds of trash and no-longer-needed items off the station for return to Earth. That 780-pound 

ammonia pump experienced some sort of electrical short on July 31, 20 I 0, knocking out half of the space 

station's thermal cooling system. It was replaced during a series of three spacewalks performed last 

August by the Expedition 24 crew using a spare prepositioned aboard the station. NASA wanted to get 

this failed unit back on the ground so engineers can figure out what caused the malfunction. Web posted. 

(2011). [Photo Gallery: Atlantis' payload bay emptied [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com [2011 , August 2].] 

223 
Atlantis Final Crew, NASA thank Shuttle Workforce with Tribute Banner 

Following the majestic predawn touchdown of Space Shuttle Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) 

to close out the Space Shuttle Era, the final crew of Atlantis, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and 

KSC Director Bob Cabana thanked the Space Shuttle workforce for their dedication and hard work at an 

employee appreciation event held outside the processing hangers where the orbiters were prepared for the 

135 shuttle missions flown by NASA over more than thirty years. The four person crew of Atlantis on 

the STS-135 mission flew a special commemorative baJmer millions of miles to the lntemational Space 

Station and back in honor of the thousands of workers who processed, launched and landed America's 

five space shuttles. They unfurled the banner at the employee event at KSC in tribute to the shuttle 

workers. " It's great to be here in sunny Florida," said STS 135 Commander Chris Ferguson. "Mike 

Leinbach [the Space Shuttle Launch Director] said there was no way he'd let us land in California. We 

want to express our gratitude on behalf of the astronaut office for everything you have done here at KSC, 

the safety you have built into the vehicles, the meticulous care that you take of the orbiter. As soon as we 

got on orbit, I was absolutely amazed that everything in Atlantis works so well. Everything looks 

beautiful on the inside. I hope you all believe that every time we go, we take a little bit of every one of 

you with us," Ferguson emphasized. Atlantis was parked at the event as a backdrop for photo 

opportunities with the thousands of shuttle workers in attendance - along with over a hundred journalists 

including the Universe Today team of Alan Walters and Ken Kremer. "Like Chris said, our one landing 

option was getting back to Florida and you all rather than anywhere else. It felt like being home again. 

Thank you for everything you have all done over the last 30+ years," said Doug Hurley. "We treated 

Atlantis with the utmost respect because we see firsthand how you process this vehicle and it is your 

baby," said Rex Waldheim. "It is clean and well cared for. We did that for you because you all did such a 

great job preparing it for us." "You are such a special work force," added Sandy Magnus. "There is no 

workforce like the space program workforce anywhere in the world. The pride, care, dedication and 

passion you take in your work is what makes it possible to have these very challenging missions and to 

succeed. You have to do everything right all of the time. And you DO. And you make it look easy!! 

Congratulations!" The STS-135 crew then unfurled the colorful banner taken to the ISS aboard Atlantis 

to commemorate NASA's Space Shuttle Era. "We took this banner with us to space and this is our way 

of telling you that you guys rock! We will present this to Mike Leinbach and Bob Cabana as just a sma ll 

token of our appreciation for all the work you've done for us. Thank you for such a wonderful vehicle," 

Ferguson summed up. The crew then waved good bye to the thousands of shuttle workers, posed with 

Atlantis one last time an d departed with their families for a homecoming celebration at their training base 

at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Atlantis was then towed a few hundred yards (meters) 

and came to rest inside the Orbiter Processing Facility to conclude her fina l spaceflight joumey as the last 

ofNASA's flight worthy Space Shuttle Orbiters. She has begun decommissioning activities due to last 

several months to prepare for her future retirement home at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex 

(KSCVC) just a few miles (km) away. Web posted. {2011). [Atlantis Final Crew and NASA thank 

Shuttle Workforce with space flown Tribute Banner [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.universetoday.com [20 11 , August 2].] 

August 3: Who Made Those NASA Logos? 

The return of the space shuttle Atlantis to the Earth's atmosphere two weeks ago marked the close of 

NASA's 30-year space shuttle program. Retirement of this popular and very visible shuttle program 

further strains the already diminished agency. "Space experts say the best and brightest often head for the 

doors when rocket lines get marked for extinction, dampening morale and creating hidden threats," 

according to The Times. This is not the first time in NASA's history when the agency faced publicity 

troubles. Back in 1974, after the success of the Mercury and Apollo programs, but before the initiation of 

the Shuttle Program, NASA was convinced by the National Endowment for the Arts to participate in its 

"Federal Graphics Improvement Program," and do what many companies these days do to revive their 

image: undergo a redesign. Up until that point, NASA had been primarily using an insignia adapted by 

224 
James Modarelli, the bead of NASA's Lewis Research Center Reports Division. This logo, created in 

1959 and affectionately dubbed "The Meatball," relied heavily on multiple visual metaphors. According 

to NASA Web site, " the sphere represents a planet, the stars represent space, the red chevron is a wing 

representing aeronautics (the latest design in hypersonic wings at the time the logo was developed), and 

then there is an orbiting spacecraft going around the wing." Although charming in its quirkiness, the 

meatball proved clifficult to reproduce given the printing technology available at the time and the variety 

of applications it would need to adorn. Enter Richard Danne and Bruce Blackburn. They were hired to 

create, in Danne's words, "a more useful new Logotype." In a recently completed, yet to be published 

memoir, Danne describes the streamlined new design as "clean, progressive, could be read from a mile 

away, and was easy to use in all mediums." Danne and Blackburn replaced the complex meatball with a 

stripped-down, modernist interpretation where even the cross stroke of the A's were removed. During the 

ftrst design presentation, the proposed system was met with some resistance. Danne remembers NASA's 

Administrator, Dr. James Fletcher, and Deputy Administrator, Dr. George Low, having the following 

exchange: Fletcher: 'Tm simply not comfortable with those letters, something is missing." Low: "Well, 

yes, the cross stroke is gone from the letter A." Fletcher: "Yes, and that bothers me." Low: "Why?" 

Fletcher: (long pause) " I just don't feel we are getting our money's worth! " Still, the new program was 

approved and implemented. Seventeen years later, despite its winning the prestigious "Award of Design 

Excellence" by The Presidential Design Awards, NASA scrapped the Danne and Blackburn design and 

re-instated "The Meatball." Danne thinks this was at least partly due to how NASA chose to introduce the 

new logo to its various internal agencies in the first place. He says the redesign was kept secret until 

letters were set out to every center director ... on their new stationery. Those loyal to the old design were 

offended, and a rivalry between "The Meatball" and the new design (unaffectionately dubbed "The 

Wonn") began. Now that NASA ftnds itself in another downturn, I asked Danne if he thought NASA 

would commission another redesign. He didn't think that the budget would allow it, but "if they were to 

change image directions ... they already have one very ftne design program just waiting to be launched 

again." Web posted. (2011). [Who Made Those NASA Logos? [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.nvtimes.com [2011 , August 3].] 

KSC to host special Atlas V launch events 

The Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is offering special viewing opportunities for Friday's 

scheduled launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station of the Jupiter-bound Juno spacecraft aboard an 

Atlas V rocket. The first 2,000 guests to arrive at the complex on Friday will be invited to view the 

launch from the closest possible public viewing area, the Apollo/Saturn V Center. The visitor complex 

will open at 7 a.m. Additional launch viewing opportunities will be available at the Visitor Complex's 

Squttle Plaza. Web posted. (2011). [KSC to host special Atlas V launch events [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [2011 , August 3].] 

ATK lays of 100 in sixth cut in Utah over two years 

A TK Aerospace Systems told employees in June it would conduct another round of layoffs in its 

aerospace systems group. On Wednesday it followed through, cutting 100 in the wake ofNASA's 

shutdown of the U.S. space shuttle program. ATK spokeswoman Trina Patterson said that among the 

number, 28 were volunteers and five were transferred to other divisions. "The reductions were primarily 

in Utah but also affected our Alabama and Florida locations," she said in an ernailed statement. Web 

posted. (2011). [ATK lays of 100 in sixth cut in Utah over two years [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.sltrib.com [2011, August 3).) 

August 4: Adam's legislation 

Congress may be on summer recess now, but it's not entirely devoid of activity. Yesterday Rep. Sandy 

Adams (R-FL) announced Wednesday she bas introduced legislation to support a local economy facing 

thousands of layoffs with the retirement of the Space Shuttle. The "Shuttle Workforce Revitalization Act 

of2011 ", HR 2712, would designate aJI of Brevard County, Florida (home of the Kennedy Space Center), 

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as a Historically Underutilized Business Zone (HUBZone), giving businesses there preferential treatment 

for some federal contracts. The legislation, she notes in the release, would give local businesses a 

"competitive edge" in federal procurements and "will not cost the federal government a single additional 

dollar, nor does it authorize or appropriate any additional funding." Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL) said in the 

release that he supports the Adams bill, although he has not signed up yet as a co-sponsor. Web posted. 

(201 1). [Briefly: Adams's legislation, Wu's resignation [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.spacepolitics.com [2011, August 4].] 

Boeing selects Atlas 5 rocket for initial CST -100 test flights 

Boeing will use United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rockets for initial test flights of the company's proposed 

CST-100 manned spacecraft, a seven-seat capsule being developed for commercial missions to and from 

government and private-sector space stations in low-Earth orbit, company officials announced Thursday. 

John Elbon, vice president and program manager of Boeing commercial crew transportation systems, said 

four test flights of the CST-I 00 spacecraft are envisioned, assuming continued NASA funding, including 

an on-the-launch-pad abort test in 2014 that will not require a booster. The other three flights will use a 

version of the Atlas 5 that includes one solid-fuel strap-on booster and a two-engine Centaur upper stage: 

*An unmanned CST-100 orbital test flight in the first quarter of2015. *An unmanned in-flight test of 

the CST-100 abort system in the middle of the year. *A manned test flight with two Boeing pilots on 

board in the fourth quarter. The agreement announced Thursday includes development of launch pad 

crew access and emergency egress systems and an avionjcs system to detect faults in the Atlas 5 in time 

to trigger the capsule's abort system. If funded, the rockets will be launched from complex 4 1 at the Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station. The Atlas family rockets boasts 97 successful launchings in a row while the 

Atlas 5 family has logged 26 successes and no failures. It is certified to carry high-priority national 

security spy satellites as well as nuclear-powered science missions like NASA's upcoming Mars Science 

Laboratory. Web posted. (20 11}. [Boeing selects Atlas 5 rocket for initial CST-100 test flights [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.spacepolitics.com [2011 , August 4).) 

Atlas 'Go' To Roll Out For Friday Launch 

NASA just gave United Launch Alliance a green light to move a powerful Atlas rocket out to its 

oceanside launch pad, setting the stage for the planned launch Friday of the Juno spacecraft and a six-year 

sojourn to Jupiter. The 197-foot rocket and the Juno spacecraft are scheduled to blast off from Launch 

Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at I I :34 a.m. Friday. The launch window that day will 

extend through 12:43 p.m. The weather forecast calls for a 70 percent chance of acceptable weather. The 

Atlas and its payload should reach the pad surface at complex 41 about I 0 a.m. today. The rollout is 

scheduled to begin at the top of the hour. Launch managers still are keeping a close eye on Tropical 

Storm Emily, which now is meanderingjust south of Hispaniola and is expected to resume a westnorthwest track later this momjng. The storm is expected to be out over the Atlantic Ocean due east of 

Cape Canaveral early Sunday. Web posted. (20 II). [Atlas 'Go' To Roll Out For Friday Launch 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com thejlame trench blog [20 11, August 4).] 

ULA Plans Fix For Delta IV Heavy Launch Flame 

United Launch Alliance and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) are developing short- and longer-term 

solutions to prevent the cloud of burning hydrogen that envelopes the base of the Delta IV Heavy during 

liftoff. Seconds before launch, thousands of pounds of hydrogen are dumped through the three PWR RS68 Common Core Booster first-stage engines to optimize their hydrogen/oxygen mix for ignition. Excess 

gas is deliberately burned off by radial, outwardly fuing igniters or spark generators, prior to ignition. 

However, due to the large volume of hydrogen and possibly the configuration of the vehicle and its 

relatively slow initial ascent profile, some gas bums in pockets of flame that remain close to the booster 

as it clears the launch tower. Although described as a harmless side effect of the standard launch 

procedure, the bum-off phenomenon has garnered attention and initially will be solved by igniting one of 

the three RS-68s slightly earlier than the others prior to liftoff. In the longer term, further design changes 

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are planned, including alterations to the timing of the valves in the hydrogen system and alternate ohmdown methods using cooled helium. Web posted. (201 1). [ULA Plans Fix For Delta IV Heavy Launch 

Flame [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolitics.com [2011 , August 4].] 

August 5: More Than 1,000 Shuttle Workers To Lose Jobs This Month 

More than I ,000 workers at companies that worked on the space shuttle program will leave their jobs for 

good in August. While at least one major space shuttle contractor is laying off more employees than it 

projected in the lead up to last month's final space shuttle mission, at least two - Houston-based United 

Space Alliance (USA) and Chicago-based Boeing - will issue fewer pink slips in August than initially 

predicted. The most significant attrition is at USA, NASA's main shuttle contractor. The BoeingLockheed Martin joint venture expects to end the summer with a work force less than a third the size it 

was following the 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia accident. USA, which laid off 1,550 workers 

immediately following the fmal space shuttle mission's July 21 landing at Kennedy Space Center in 

Florida, will lay off another 515 Aug. 12, spokeswoman Kari Fluegel told Space News Aug. 3. Most of 

these will come out of Houston. "On the 12th of August, that's going to be our biggest layoff in Texas," 

Fluegel said. USA expects to lay off approximately 285 more employees in Houston, Huntsville, Ala., 

and Huntington Beach, Calif., by the end of August, leaving a company that once employed 10,500 with 

just over 3,100 employees. USA bad notified nearly 2,900 employees in mid-May that they would be laid 

off between late July and the end of August. Some of the notified employees, however, either found new 

positions within the company or left USA ahead of the layoffs, Fluegel said. USA's parent companies, 

Boeing and Lockheed, also plan to lay off more shuttle workers in August, representatives of both 

companies said. According to WARN notices filed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne with Florida, 67 

employees at the Kennedy Space Center are to be laid off between July 29 and Dec. 15. Web posted. 

(20 I I). More Than l ,000 Shuttle Workers To Lose Jobs This Month, Including 800 from USA [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com [201 1, August 5].] 

Hammerhead topples at old Titan site 

Earlier this week, workers on south Vandenberg Air Force Base removed the hammerhead portion of 

Space Launch Complex-4 East, the former Titan 4 rocket launch facility that is visible from around the 

Lompoc Valley. The demolition of the historic launch facility is taking place to make way for the new 

Falcon 9 Heavy rocket manufactured by Hawthorne-based Space Exploration Technologies. It's not the 

first time SLC-4 East has undergone modifications since construction originally began in 1961 to ready 

the site to launch the Atlas/Agena space booster. The first Atlas/Agena rocket first flew from SLC-4E in 

1964. Later, the site was used for the Titan 3D, Titan 34D and Titan 4 rockets. Web posted. (20 11 ). 

[Hammerhead topples at old Titan site [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.lompocrecord.com 

[20 II, August 5].] 

Juno spacecraft leaves Earth for its journey to Jupiter 

A powerful United Launch Alliance Atlas 5 rocket roared to life Friday and launched NASA's solarpowered Juno space probe on a five-year voyage to Jupiter, the first step in a $1.1 billion mission to look 

for clues about the origins of the solar system in the hidden heart of its largest planet. The towering 197-

foot-tall Atlas 5, equipped with five solid-fuel strap-on boosters for extra power, ignited with a groundshaking roar at 12:25 p.m. EDT (GMT -4), generating 2.5 million pounds of thrust and instantly pushing 

the spacecraft away from launch complex 41 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. lt was only the 

second launch of a five strap-on Atlas 5, the most powerful version offered by United Launch Alliance. 

Liftoff was delayed 5 1 minutes to resolve two technical issues and to make sure the launch danger zone 

was clear. Climbing away atop a brilliant plume of fiery exhaust, the rocket accelerated through the 

sound barrier 34 seconds after liftoff, arcing away to the East and putting on a spectacular lunchtime show 

for tourists and area residents. The strap-on boosters burned out and peeled off about a minute later and 

the first stage shut down and fell away as planned four-and-a-half minutes after launch. The rocket's 

hydrogen-fueled Centaur upper stage then carried out a six-minute bum to boost the spacecraft into a 

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temporary parking orbit. A second nine-minute Centaur firing 31 minutes later accelerated Juno to 25,000 

mph, or 7 miles per second -- interplanetary escape velocity-- and three minutes later, the 4-ton 

spacecraft separated from the Centaur to fly on its own. Juno's three solar panels then unfolded and initial 

checks showed the spacecraft came through launch in good shape and pointed in the right direction. Web 

posted. (2011). [Juno spacecraft leaves Earth for its journey to Jupiter [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com [2011, August 5].] 

45th Space Wing Supports Successful Atlas V Juno Launch 

The U.S. Air Force's 45th Space Wing provided fl awless Eastern Range support for the successful launch 

of the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA's Juno spacecraft today. The launch occurred at 

12:25 p.m. (EDT) from Space Launch Complex 41. A combined team of military, government civilians 

and contractors from across the 45th Space Wing provided vital support to the Juno launch, including 

weather forecasts, launch and range operations, safety and public affairs. The wing also provided its vast 

network of radar, telemetry, optical and conununications instrumentation to facilitate a safe launch on the 

Eastern Range. Built by Lockheed Martin, Juno will investigate Jupiter's formation, evolution and 

structure from an elliptical orbit. The Atlas V rocket flew in the 551 vehicle configuration with a fivemeter fairing, five solid rocket boosters and a single-engine Centaur upper stage. "As always, the 45th 

Space Wing is pleased to have supported NASA on another successful and safe launch," said Brig. Gen. 

Ed Wilson, conunander, 45th Space Wing. Web posted. (201 1). [45th Space Wing Supports Successful 

Atlas V Juno Launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.patrick.af.mil [2011 , August 5).] 

August 6: KSC Visitor Complex explores options for visitors 

Atlantis will be the main new attraction, but there will be a strong supporting cast of new exhibits and 

features at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in the coming years. Improvements there will 

include moving the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame to the main visitor complex campus, a possible bus tour 

stop at the Vehicle Assembly Building, more interactivity as people wait in line for bus tours, and 

revamping the complex so there is an imaginary "vapor trail" leading visitors from one exhibit to the next. 

Details on a spectrum of the visitor complex upgrades are beginning to emerge, while work continues to 

prepare retired shuttle Atlantis for display in a new 66,000-square-foot building that will be constructed 

there. The visitor complex is Brevard County's most popular paid tourist attraction, drawing about 1.5 

million visitors a year. Visitor complex spokeswoman Andrea Farmer said complex operator Delaware 

North Companies Parks & Resorts is working with NASA on the logistics of having the iconic 525-foottall Vehicle Assembly Building become part of a specialized tour of the space center. The V AB 

originally was built for assembly of Apollo/Saturn vehicles and later was modified to support the shuttle 

program. It has been off-limits to the general public for several years. "We're exploring what can be 

possible," Farmer said. That includes looking for other areas ofKSC that have never been toured or 

haven't been toured in recent years. Visitor complex Chief Operating Officer Bill Moore said, while the 

centerpiece of the complex's l 0-year master plan will be the Atlantis exhibit, other aspects of the plan 

also will create excitement at the facility. Among the plans for the visitor complex, Moore said: * 

Relocate the displays currently housed at the Astronaut Hall of Fame to the main visitor complex to offer 

the experience to more people. The Hall of Fame now is located about 6 miles to the west, near U.S. 1. 

By combining the two attractions at one location, the idea is to boost visitor totals at the Hall of Fame. 

Both attractions are operated by Delaware North, and Hall of Fame admission is included in the cost of a 

visitor complex ticket. What will happen to the current Hall of Fame building is still to be decided. * 

Build a new entry plaza that will bring visitors into the rocket garden area. Create a more sensible traffic 

flow pattern, leading from the new complex entrance through other exhibits, and winding up at the new 

Atlantis ex.hibit and Shuttle Launch Experience simulator. *Provide more of an "experience" while 

waiting on the sometimes long lines leading to the bus tour boarding area, possibly including "a live 

interpreter sharing stories and visuals of the working space center, building anticipation for the tour guests 

are about to embark on." *Make the tour buses themselves more visually pleasing, with space-themed 

graphics. *Add new water features. * Upgrade the food, beverage and retail offerings at the visitor 

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complex. The Atlantis exhibit itself will cost Delaware North $100 million, including the cost to acquire 

the orbiter and construction costs for the still-unnamed exhibit building. The exhibit is due to open by the 

summer of2013. Web posted. (201 1). [KSC Visitor Complex explores options for visitors [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [20 11 , August 6].] 

August 8: ULA Nears Agreement for 2013 Hosted Small Satellite Launch 

United Launch Alliance (ULA) engineers who have worked for years to develop a suite of hardware to 

send small satellites into orbit on Atlas 5 rockets and Delta 4 launchers are close to finalizing an 

agreement to include the first batch of small satellites on a commercial mission in 2013. Although some 

relevant contracts have not yet been signed, the preliminary plan calls for nine small satellites to launch in 

2013 on a Lockheed Commercial Launch Services Atlas 5 rocket, said Jake Szatkowski, small satellite 

project manager for United Launch Alliance. He declined to identify the primary mission for that Atlas 

rocket or the small satellites expected to accompany it, saying only that the group of secondary payloads 

is likely to include spacecraft built by commercial and government customers. Szatkowski, who 

presented details on ULA's ridesharing program July 28 at the NewSpace 20 11 conference here, said the 

deal "will open a new low-cost secondary launch capability for small- to medium-class satellites." The 

20 13 Atlas 5 mission expected to include secondary payloads is slated to carry eight satellites weighing 

approximately 10 kilograms apiece and a single 180-kilograrn spacecraft, Szatkowski said. Each of the 

I 0-kilogram satellites will be housed in a canister called a Poly PicosatelUte Orbital Deployer, or P-POD, 

a spring-loaded device developed at the California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo. All 

eight P-PODs will be housed in a payload adapter developed at the Naval Postgraduate School in 

Monterey, Calif. The Naval Postgraduate School CubeSat Launcher is designed to fit multiple P-PODs 

into one slot of an Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter, a device developed 

by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to deploy six small satellites on Atlas 5 and Delta 4 rockets. 

Many additional types of ridesharing opportunities for secondary payloads are on the horizon, Szatkowski 

said. While ULA typically launches Atlas and Delta rockets into low Earth orbit or geostationary orbit, 

company engineers have developed an electric, third-stage motor designed to send small spacecraft far 

from the primary payload's destination. The third-stage motor could propel small satellites on Earth 

escape trajectories toward the Moon, near-Earth objects or Mars. Szatkowski said that capability may be 

attractive to teams competing for $30 million in awards as part of the Google Lunar X Prize, a race to 

send the first commercial spacecraft to the Moon. ULA's rideshare program is designed to offer low-cost 

launch opportunities for small satellites. Customers who send small satellites into orbit on government 

missions typically will pay only the additional cost incurred to integrate their payload onto the launch 

vehicle, Szatkowski said. Company officials also are striving to keep costs low for secondary payloads 

sent into orbit on commercial missions. It will cost ULA roughly $2 million to place nine additional 

payloads on the 2013 Atlas ilight, be added. ULA plans to offer several different types of ridesharing 

opportunities in the next few years on both commercial and government missions. As part of a NASA 

mission scheduled for launch in approximately a year-and-a-half, ULA will give customers a chance to 

send a 2,270-kilogram satellite into orbit inside a 4-meter Atlas 5 or Delta 4, Szatkowski said. ULA has 

previously flagged NASA's upcoming launches of the Landsat Data Continuity Mission and its newest 

Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System spacecraft as good rideshare opportunities. Web posted. (2011). 

[ULA Nears Agreement for 2013 Hosted Small Satellite Launch [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spacenews.com [20 11 , August 8].] 

A Shuttle Orbiter Curatorial PoUcy Recommendation 

ln a recent National Public Radio interview, fonner NASA space shuttle program director Wayne Hale 

was asked what the shuttle program's most important lesson had been. Without hesitation, he replied 

"safety." Certainly among the most important safety lessons taught during space shuttle operations is the 

vulnerability of the orbiter's thermal protection system (TPS) to debris impacts. Damage from such an 

impact was detennined to be the root cause of orbiter Columbia's destruction, and the loss of its sevenperson crew, during hypersonic atmospheric entry Feb. I , 2003. Debris impacts to orbiter TPS pose 

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relatively little safety risk when incurred on the runway as a mission ends. But damage from these and all 

other impacts accumulated during that mission requires expensive and time-consuming repair before the 

orbiter launches again. If the orbiter lands in California and is to be ferried piggyback atop a Boeing 747 

to Florida, TPS damage must first be treated with a clear sealant to prevent additional damage from 

airflow erosion. With this history in mind, arguably the most compelling story a decommissioned orbiter 

can relate when displayed to the public is told by TPS damage incurred during its final flight. This 

damage should be rendered safe for public viewing, likely by a sealant akin to that used for ferry flights, 

but it should be otherwise faithfully preserved. The only TPS damage subject to repair after a final flight 

should be any arising from deservicing and other postflight activity required by NASA as part of an 

orbiter's decommissioning. Three institutions have been granted an orbiter with flown space mission 

history for display: Discovery to the National Air and Space Museum's exhibit near Washington, Atlantis 

to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, and Endeavour to the California Science Center in Los 

Angeles. These institutions are urged to adopt in-flight TPS damage preservation as a curatorial policy. 

From the heroic operational measures outlined here, such preservation is the only responsible course to 

take from the standpoint of exhibiting aerospace history to our progeny with minimal distortion. The 

message conveyed is that humanity's first attempts to operate with a reusable TPS to and from low Earth 

orbit typically incurred this degree of damage during just one flight. Future aerospace technologists will 

be far better informed by viewing such damage firsthand than by reading secondhand reports. Web 

posted. (20 11 ). [A Shuttle Orbiter Curatorial Policy Recommendation [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spacenews.com [2011, August 8).] 

Orbiters prepare for nose-to-nose meeting 

Two shuttle orbiters are getting ready for a face-to-face meeting this week at Kennedy Space Center. 

Normally sequestered in private hangars, Discovery and Endeavour on Wednesday morning will be 

moved from one facility to another and pass each other on the way. They'll pause for a nose-to-nose 

photo opportunity outside Discovery's former hangar, called Orbiter Processing Facility-3. The shuttle 

program bas released OPF-3 for potential use by a commercial space company. So with only two hangars 

available for three orbiters, they're each taking turns occupying OPF-1 , OPF-2 and an empty high bay in 

the Vehicle Assembly Building. After a month's stay in the V AB, Discovery is returning to OPF-1 for 

more work that will get it ready for display at the Smithsonian Institution, where it is expected to be 

ferried in April. Endeavour, after undergoing standard post-flight safing and inspections in OPF-1 , will 

take Discovery's place in the assembly building until October, when it will swap with Atlantis, now in 

OPF-2. Endeavour wi11 later be ferried to the California Science Center; Atlantis will be displayed by the 

KSC Visitor Complex. Web posted. (2011). [Orbiters prepare for nose-to-nose meeting [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com the.flame trench blog [20 11 , August 8].] 

NASA Announces NIAC Winners 

NASA announced the 30 winners of Phase I awards intended to spur revolutionary space technologies 

through the NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts (NIAC) program today. Each winner gets $100,000 

for one year to better define its concept, with the potential for a Phase 2 award in the future. Phase 2 

awards would be for two more years, funded at $500,000. Hundreds of proposals were submitted 

according to Joe Parrish, director of the early stage innovation division in NASA's Office of Chief 

Technologist (OCT). A peer review process was used to select the winners. NASA hopes to make the 

competition am1Ual, dependent on budget decisions in Congress. Winners from Kennedy Space Center 

included Michael Hogue - Regolith Derived Heat Shield for a Planetary Body Entry and Descent System 

with In-Situ Fabrication, and Laurent Sibille - In-Space Propulsion Engine Architecture based on 

Sublimation of Planetary Resources: from exploration robots to NEO mitigation. Web posted. (2011). 

[NASA Armounces NlAC Winners [Online). Available WWW: http://www.spacepolicyonline.com 

[20 II, August 8).] 

August 9: NASA Selects Seven Suborbital Launch Providers 

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NASA announced today the seven winners of contracts to fly NASA payloads on suborbital missions. 

The two-year indefinite deli very-indefinite quantity (ID IQ) contracts are worth a combined total of $1 0 

million according to the press release. The payloads would be for technology development. NASA's 

Chief Technologist, Bobby Braun, said they would open up opportunities for engineers, scientists and 

technologists to mature technologies for application to future NASA missions. The seven witmers are: 

Armadillo Aerospace; Near Space Corp; Masten Space Systems; Up Aerospace, Inc.; Virgin Galactic; 

Whittinghill Aerospace, LLC; XCOR. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Selects Seven Suborbital Launch 

Providers [Online). Available WWW: http://www.spacepolicyonline.com [2011 , August 9].] 

NASA JG Sizes Up Aging Infrastructure 

NASA Inspector General PaulK. Martin reports significant lapses in the agency's Real Property 

Management System (RPMS), an internal' database that tracks the agency's significant and far-flung 

assets - an estimated 5,000 buildings and structures, including laboratories, launch pads and test stands. 

In total, these properties carry an impressive current replacement value of $26.4 billion - at a time 

NASA and the agency's legislative backers are in search of the financial means to fund future human as 

well as robotic exploration initiatives. Congress and the White House acknowledged as much when the 

NASA Authorization Act of2010 was passed and signed into law. One provision of the legislation, which 

appears to represent the closest example of a policy consensus on NASA's post-shuttle future, includes a 

directive that the agency examine its property rolls and downsize to match the needs of future missions. 

As Martin notes in an Aug. 4 report, "NASA Infrastructure and Facilities: Assessment of Data Used to 

Manage Real Property Assets," 80% of these structures are at least 40 years old and in degraded 

condition. NASA's "aging issue" is peaking at a time when large and growing federal budget deficits are 

straining resources, especially for discretionary agencies like NASA, the report states. In a 2010 fiscal 

year audit, NASA's Inspector General found the RPMS out of date or lacking in information on facility 

utilization, mission dependence and condition - primary criteria that would drive strategic agency 

decisions on whether to maintain, repair, lease or sell properties that fall outside the agency's critical path. 

The audit included 34 facilities at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., Glenn Research Center, Ohio, and 

Marshall Space Flight Center, Ala. Web posted. (2011). [NASA IG Sizes Up Aging Infrastructure 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com [2011 , August 9).] 

August 10: Weather delays shuffle of retired space shuttles 

Stormy weather moving into the Kennedy Space Center has forced NASA to postpone today's relocation 

of the shuttles Endeavour and Discovery until tomorrow. The shuttle Endeavour, now deconfigured from 

her final spaceflight in May, will be rolled out of the hangar around 7:30 a.m. EDT tomorrow and enter 

temporary storage at the Vehicle Assembly Building. Sistership Discovery, which has been parked in the 

V AB for the past month, will be towed to the open hangar bay to resume museum display preparations. A 

brief photo opportunity of the two spacecraft nose-to-nose will occur during the transfer. With three 

orbiters and only two hangars available these days, NASA must periodically shuffle the shuttles around. 

Web posted. (2011). [Weather delays shuffle of retired space shuttles [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com [201 I, August 10].] 

Employees Rank NASA, NRC as Most Innovative Agencies 

More than half of federal workers value creativity and innovation in their jobs, according to a new report 

from a nonprofit organization. The Partnership for Public Service and the Hay Group, a global 

management consulting firm, looked at the factors driving innovation in agencies and found 63.3 percent 

of employees gave the government a positive score on innovation. The percentage was based on the 

average of three innovation-related questions posed in the Office of Personnel Management's annual 

survey offederal employee attitudes. The 2010 survey included more than 263,000 employees from 32 

large agencies, 34 small agencies and 224 agency subcomponents. NASA and the Nuclear Regulatory 

Commission topped the list of most innovative agencies, according to the report. The General Services 

Administration, State Department, and Army rounded out the top five agencies. Employees ranked the 

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Securities and Exchange Commission last for innovation on the list of28 agencies included in the 

snapshot. NASA and NRC were also on the Partnership's 20 12 Best Places to Work list. Web posted. 

(2011). [Employees Rank NASA, NRC as Most Innovative Agencies [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.nationaljournal.com [2011, August I 0].] 

August 11: State vows $7M expansion boost for SpaceX in Brevard 

The state has pledged more than $7 million to help SpaceX increase its local launch rate and potentially 

attract hundreds of jobs to the Space Coast. Hawthorne, Calif.-based SpaceX plans to renovate one 

facility and build another at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station so the company can process multiple 

Falcon 9 rockets and ready spacecraft for launch. "Having extra processing facilities for launch vehicles 

and payloads enables us to increase our launch rate," said SpaceX spokesman Bobby Block. "The greater 

the launch rate, the more activity you have out at the Cape." The Falcon 9 made its first two launches last 

year, including a demonstration mission under a NASA program preparing for deliveries of cargo to the 

International Space Station. Another demonstration for NASA is planned late this year. The company 

currently has 20 launches from the Cape under contract, including 13 for NASA, and hopes to launch 

from there monthly starting in 2015. Space Florida, the economic development agency charged with 

growing the state's aerospace industry, bas not publicly identified SpaceX as its partner in the projects. 

The agency's board in June approved up to $2.3 million through next year to help renovate and expand a 

Cape facility. SpaceX is adapting Hangar AO --a former Delta II facility that the company now calls 

Hangar X-- to process up to two rockets in addition to one at the Falcon 9 pad at Launch Complex 40. 

More recently, a newly comprised Space Florida board approved committing another $5 million toward 

what the agency called a "major construction project" designed to receive, encapsulate and integrate 

payloads onto rockets. The funding is expected to come from the state Department of Transportation, 

whose budget includes $16 million for spaceport infrastructure improvements. Construction could be 

complete within a year. Web posted. (2011). [State vows $7M expansion boost for SpaceX in Brevard 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [2011, August 11].] 

Deal that may bring 600 jobs to KSC could get OK soon 

Kennedy Space Center Director Robert Cabana said be is optimistic a deal will close soon to transfer 

control of a former shuttle hangar to Space Florida. He said that will clear up red tape, and enable what 

he described as "a commercial company" to move into the building known as Orbiter Processing Facility 

Bay 3, where it hopes to employ 500 to 600 people. Cabana provided that nugget of good news during a 

speech Wednesday to more than I 00 members of the Titusville Area Chamber of Commerce. In an 

interview after the chamber luncheon, Cabana declined to disclose the company's identity. But The 

Boeing Co. confirmed in July that it is in negotiations with NASA and Space Florida, the state's aerospace 

economic development agency, to build a commercial space taxi in a former shuttle hangar at KSC. 

During his presentation, Cabana conceded that the local space industry is going through tough times 

following the end of the space shuttle program, as the combined local work force of NASA and spaceindustry contractors has dropped to about 8,200 from a peak of about 18,000. "We have challenges in 

front of us," said Cabana, a former astronaut who flew on four shuttle missions-- two as pilot, then two as 

commander. But be assured the audience at Dixie Crossroads Seafood Restaurant that things will get 

better, partly as a result of increased commercial space activity on the Space Coast. He said he expects the 

combined work force to reach 1 0,000 in about three years. "I want to guarantee you that Kennedy Space 

Center is not shutting," Cabana said, a comment that generated applause. "I promise you we are going to 

get through this." Reflecting on the end of the shuttle program, Cabana said, "We have to accept it. It's 

time to move on now. What was, was. We can't do anything about it. We have to evolve." By partnering 

with commercial space companies in efforts to continue operations of the International Space Station 

through at least 2020, Cabana said, NASA will be able continue its mission, even though "the budget 

constraints are huge" and "we're going to have to tighten our belts." "If we work together, we are going to 

be OK," Cabana said. And, by freeing NASA to look beyond low-Earth-orbit projects, Cabana added, he 

is confident the space agency will be able to "focus on the really tough job of taking us beyond Earth," to 

232 
,~ 

destinations like the moon and Mars. Web posted. (201 1). [Deal that may bring 600 jobs to KSC could 

get OK soon [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [201 I, August II].) 

Shuttle swap spawns nose-to-nose showdown 

Two space shuttle orbiters swapped places at the Kennedy Space Center on Thursday as NASA prepares 

the retired spaceships for public display in museums. The shuttle Endeavour backed out of its processing 

hangar as Discovery was towed from its storage location inside the mammoth Vehicle Assembly 

Building. The orbiters were briefly seen together on the tow road between the processing facilities and the 

V AB. After keeping Discovery inside the V AB since mid-July, workers will renew their focus on 

NASA's shuttle fleet leader and get it ready to depart the space center next spring bound for the 

Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in suburban Washington. 

Endeavour will take a break from retirement preparations as Atlantis continues safmg activities following 

ts return from the last space shuttle flight in July. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle swap spawns nose-tonose showdown [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com [201 1, August I 1).] 

August 12: NASA Unveils New Batch Of Space Shuttle Program Artifacts 

The fmal space shuttle landing July 21 opened new prospects for eligible education institutions, museums 

and other organizations to receive a piece of spaceflight history. On Monday, Aug. 15, the eighth batch of 

artifacts from NASA's space programs will be available on a website that the agency and the General 

Services Administration (GSA) developed. The artifacts are not only from the shuttle era, but also from 

the Apollo, Mercury, Hubble Space Telescope programs. The approximately 2,000 items include: --the 

Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station, an underwater habitat that was used to demonstrate space life 

support system ideas for use on space stations -- shuttle heat shield tiles used to test problems experienced 

during missions -- parts of Apollo and shuttle era spacesuits, including hard upper torso garments to 

protect astronauts from extreme temperatures. Each artifact will be available for 42 days. For the ftrst 21 

days, internal organizations such as NASA visitor centers, agency exhibit managers and the Smithsonian 

Institution may request artifacts. External organizations, including museums, schools, universities, 

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libraries, and planetariums may request artifacts during the following 21 days. After the screening period 

and completion of the request process, organizations will be notified about the status of their application. 

Artifacts are released incrementaUy when NASA no longer needs them, in accordance with export control 

laws and regulations. They are provided free of charge, but requesting organizations must pay for 

shipping and any special handling costs. To date, approximately 29,000 items of historic significance 

have been offered, mainly from the shuttle, with contributions from the Hubble, Apollo, Mercury, 

Gemini, and International Space Station programs. Approximately 3,000 artifacts have been requested. 

The remainder will be considered for federal and state reuse and then offered to the general public for 

sale. Web posted. (20 II ). [NASA Unveils New Batch Of Space Shuttle Program Artifacts [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com [201 1, August 12].] 

NASA combined exploration, operations divisions 

NASA am1ounced Friday it has merged directorates within the agency responsible for exploration and 

human spaceflight operations into a single entity. The Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) Mission 

Directorate combined the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate and the Space Operations Mission 

Directorate into a single organization. Space operations had been responsible for operations of the space 

shuttle, ISS, and related programs, while the exploration directorate had been responsible for the 

Constellation program and, after its cancellation, the MPCV capsule and SLS heavy-lift rocket. Bill 

Gerstenrnaier, who had led the space operations directorate, will lead the new HEO directorate. Web 

posted. (2011). [NASA combined exploration, operations divisions [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .spacetoday. net [20 II , August 12].] 

Twin lunar spacecraft prepared for launch from Cape Canaveral 

Twin moon-bound NASA spacecraft will move to a launch pad early next week, setting the stage for the 

final Delta II rocket launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Now at the Astrotech Space 

Operations processing facility in south Titusville, the spacecraft are slated to launch 8:37a.m. Sept. 8 on a 

$496 million moon-mapping mission. Flying in formation in lunar orbit, the spacecraft will produce a 

high-quality map ofthe moon's gravity field and determine the structure of its interior from crust to core. 

NASA Program Manager David Lehman of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., said the 

spacecraft are identical. "They are mirror images of each other," said Sarni Asmar, NASA's project 

scientist at JPL. The two spacecraft are known by the NASA acronym GRAIL, which stands for Gravity 

Recovery and Interior Laboratory. They will launch side by side on a United Launch Alliance Delta II 

Heavy rocket at Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 17B. About 150 Delta [I rockets have launched from 

Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The first Delta 11 launch was Feb. 14, 

1989. United Launch Alliance still has about five Delta 11 rockets at a manufacturing plant in Alabama. 

But the Sept. 8 launch is the last Delta II rocket currently scheduled to fly from Cape Canaveral. The 

launch also is the last scheduled at Launch Complex 17. The spacecraft are scheduled to arrive early 

Tuesday. Web posted. (2011). [Twin lunar spacecraft prepared for launch from Cape Canaveral [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com (2011 , August 12].] 

NASA readies Mars rover for launch 

The world's biggest, most expensive and most scientificaUy capable Mars rover is being pieced together 

at Kennedy Space Center on Saturday as NASA gears up for a high-stakes launch in late November. 

Planetary scientists involved in the $2.5 biUion Mars Science Laboratory project are anxious to get the 

eight-month journey to the red planet under way. "We've led the charge to get the I 0 (science) 

instruments onboard, and we're ready to go to Mars," NASA science payload manager Jeff Simmonds 

said Friday. The five-ton mobile laboratory is scheduled to blast off aboard a United Launch Alliance 

Atlas V rocket during a launch period that will stretch from Nov. 25 to Dec. 18. Web posted. (2011). 

[NASA readies Mars rover for launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www .floridatoday.com [20 II, 

August 13].] 

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August 14: NASA completes testing of sophisticated Mars rover 

Engineers finished up functional testing of the $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory last week, verifying 

the Curiosity rover can make it to Mars and pursue scientific clues that the planet may have once harbored 

life. NASA will start configuring the car-sized rover for launch this week, then cocoon the sensitive robot 

inside a protective beat shield and ready the craft for liftoff Nov. 25 at I 0:21 a.m. EDT from Cape 

Canaveral, Fla. The Curiosity rover's destination is Gale crater, a scenic impact site carved out of the 

Martian landscape when a comet or asteroid stuck the planet long ago. The crater spans 96 miles across, 

and Curiosity is aiming for a narrow target at the base of a lofty mountain towering nearly three miles 

high. Over the next few weeks, technicians working inside an ultra-clean processing facility will stow the 

rover's high-gain communications antenna, retract and lock the robot arm, latch its camera mast for 

launch, and tuck its six wheels into the configuration for the trip to Mars. The rover arrived at Kennedy 

Space Center on June 22 aboard a U.S. Air Force C-17 cargo plane. The mission's heat shield and 

aerodynamic shell was shipped to KSC in May. Once Curiosity is in launch shape, crews will place the 

rover beneath a rocket-powered descent stage. Similar to previous Mars landers, Curiosity will plow 

through the planet's thin atmosphere safeguarded by a heat shield attached to a nearly 15-foot-wide 

aeroshell, larger than the diameter of the Apollo command module. Engineers will encapsulate the rover 

and descent stage inside the cone-shaped aeroshell this fa ll. The final act will be adding the cruise stage, 

the spacecraft bus that will shepherd the rover from Earth to Mars during the nearly 1 0-month cruise 

through the solar system. Workers will add the rover's plutonium power source when the probe reaches 

the launch pad and is mated to the Atlas 5 rocket. Web posted. (201 1). [NASA completes testing of 

sophisticated Mars rover [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com [20 11 , August 

14].] 

August 15: Falcon 9/Dragon: Preparing to Berth with the International Space Station 

In a SpaceX clean room shown above in Hawthorne (Los Angeles) CaJjfomia, technicians prepare the 

Dragon spacecraft for thermal vacuum chamber testing. NASA has given us a launch date of Nov 30, 

201 1 for Falcon 9 Flight 3, which will send a Dragon spacecra ft to the International Space Station (ISS) 

as part of NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program. NASA has agreed in principle 

to allow SpaceX to combine all of the tests and demonstration activities that we originally proposed as 

two separate missions (COTS Demo 2 and COTS Demo 3) into a single mission. Furthermore, SpaceX 

plans to carry additional payloads aboard the Falcon 9's second stage which will deploy after Dragon 

separates and is well on its way to the ISS. NASA will grant formal approval for the combined COTS 

missions pending resolution of any potential risks associated with these secondary payloads. This week, 

we successfully completed a wet dress rehearsal (WDR) for the Falcon 9 Flight 3 launch vehicle at Space 

Launch Complex 40, Cape Canaveral, Florida. The WDR is a significant test during which we load 

propellant into the vehicle and perform all operations just as we would on launch day right down to T -I 

seconds, at which point we abort and detank the propellant. Demolition work continues at Space Launch 

Complex 4 East, our new launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base on the central coast of California. 

Recently, the crew dropped the big "hammerhead" overhanging structure from the legacy Titan IV 

Mobile Service Tower. Removing the tower is a major step in upgrading the pad for Falcon 9 and Falcon 

Heavy launches. We are targeting late 2012 to bring Falcon Heavy to Vandenberg for vehicle to pad 

integration tests and 2013 for liftoff. Web posted. (2011). [Falcon 9/Dragon: Preparing to Berth with the 

International Space Station [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.onoribt.com [201 1, August 15].] 

August 16: NASA Names Terry Wilcutt Agency Safety Chief 

Terrence W. Wilcutt has been appointed NASA's chief of safety and mission assurance, effective Sept. I. 

Wilcutt is a retired Marine colonel and veteran astronaut who is serving as director of safety and mission 

assurance at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. He will assume the post from Bryan O'Connor, 

who will retire from the agency on Aug. 31. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Names Terry Wilcutt Agency 

Safety Chief [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com [20 II , August 16].] 

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After shuttle, space center looks to make 'something better for future' 

Unemployment and the economy dominate the news, but on Florida's Space Coast, hit bard by the 

shutdown of the shuttle program, efforts to make "something better for the future" are already under way, 

said the Kennedy Space Center's director. "Change is what you make it," said Robert Cabana. "It's hard 

because people become comfortable in what they know, but in order to have something better- you have 

to change. I prefer to think we have a positive future." Cabana, a Catholic, was an astronaut for four 

shuttle mjssions. He also is a veteran, having served for 30 years in the U.S. Marine Corps. "We expected 

transition in the military and took it in stride," he said in an interview with Catholic News Service. "It's 

harder for the folks here that have been here 25-30 years. Trus is what they know and there aren't enough 

jobs to stay here. They have to go elsewhere. Yes, it's djfficult to have something you know come to an 

end, but we have the chance to make something better for the future," said Cabana, a member of Divine 

Mercy Parish in Merritt Island. The space shuttle Atlantis' 12-day mission to the International Space 

Station in July was the last mission in the U.S. space shuttle program. Atlantis landed at the space center 

July 2 1. The 30-year-old shuttle program had 135 missions; two of the craft were tragically lost. 

Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after takeoff Jan. 28, 1986; its seven crew members died. Columbia 

disintegrated Feb. I, 2003, during re-entry into the earth's atmosphere over Texas, killing its seven crew 

members. Cabana said plans call for transforming the Kennedy Space Center "from being a programcentric, government law1ch complex to a multiuser space port that supports both commercial and 

government launches," he told CNS. "We want to enable commercial space operations to lower earth 

orbit so that NASA can focus on the really difficult task of exploring beyond our planet." Web posted. 

(2011). [After shuttle, space center looks to make 'somethlng better for future' [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.uscatholic.org [2011 , August 16].] 

August 17: No foul play suspected in death at KSC 

The body of a 50-year-old homeless man was found earlier today in a vehicle at Dummjtt Cove near 

Mosquito Lagoon, according to the Brevard County Sheriff's Office. Authorities said the man likely djed 

of natural causes and do not suspect foul play. The man's name has not been released pending family 

notification. The body, in a Chevy Suburban covered with palm fronds, was found by Kennedy Space 

Center security officers about I 0 a.m. today. Brevard County Fire-Rescue paramedics responded to the 

scene off Courtenay Parkway, north of the area where Kennedy Parkway intersects with the Max Brewer 

Memorial Parkway. Web posted. (2011). [No foul play suspected in death at KSC [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www. floridatoday.com [20 II, August 17].] 

Renaming Playalioda Beach will bring business, tourists to Titusville 

A groundswell is building to change the name of Playa linda Beach to Titusville Beach as a way to attract 

more buzz and more tourism for the city. Two groups -- the Greater Titusville Renaissance and the 

Titusville Citizen Budget Advisory Committee-- are pushing the plan to change the name of the beach 

that stretches for about I 0 miles in Brevard County from the Titusville area north, along the shore. While 

the beach itself is not in Titusville, the most often used route to the beach is through Titusville and over 

the Indian River via the A. Max Brewer Bridge to Merritt Island. Renaming the beach-- long famous, or 

infamous, as a home for nude sunbathers in its most remote area --after the city "is a very popular idea" 

with the groups. This isn't the first time a proposal has been raised to rename Playalinda as Titusville 

Beach. In 2004, then-Titusville Vice Mayor Ken Ward proposed that name change. But the idea didn't 

get traction at the time, and the Titusville City Council voted down the idea, in a 4-1 vote. Web posted. 

(20 II). [Groups: Renaming Playa linda Beach will bring business, tourists to Titusville [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [2011 , August 17].] 

SLS: Senators' Letters about SLS 

Earlier thjs month came word that a draft letter was circulating on Capitol Hill, reportedly linked to 

Utah's congressional delegation, calling on the administration to publish its design for the Space Launch 

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System (SLS) heavy-lift launch vehicle and ensure it makes use of solid rocket motors. The advocacy 

group Tea Party in Space (TPIS) recently obtained a signed copy of the letter, featuring the signatures of 

five senators, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and four Republicans, most notably 

Orrin Hatch of Utah. TPIS minced no words in its reaction to the letter: "TPIS calls on these five senators 

to renounce this letter and apologize to Administrator Bolden and the hard working men and women at 

NASA." While five western senators signed one letter about the SLS, five southern senators have put 

their names to another letter critical of the administration's work on SLS. The letter to President Obama, 

dated Monday and signed by Republican senators from Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi, called on 

the White House to "immediately provide the Section 309 report to Congress", a reference to the 

provision of the 20 l 0 NASA authorization act that called on NASA to provide Congress with a report the 

reference vehicle designs for the SLS and the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) within 90 days of the 

bill's enactment. The letter notes that the frna l report is now nearly 200 days overdue. "We believe the 

time has come to deliver the report to Congress." That letter is also critical of elements of NASA's 201 1 

operating plan, which includes spending money allocated for SLS on facility work at the Kennedy Space 

Center that the senators believe should not be charged exclusively to SLS. "The misallocation of SLS 

funds and the lack of synchronization between rocket and spacecraft development at NASA seem to 

suggest that this Administration has no intention of properly using appropriated funds," the letter 

concludes, asking for NASA to resubmit an operating plan " to ensure that the funds appropriated for SLS 

are used to develop the 130 metric ton heavy lift vehicle required in both the authorization and 

appropriations acts." Web posted. (201 1). [SLS: Senators' Letters about SLS [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www .spacepolitics.com [20 11 , August 17].) 

August 18: SpaceX looks for an extra base 

Even as SpaceX prepares for its ftrst visit to the International Space Station, it's looking for another 

spaceport to handle a whole different kind of launch traffic. SpaceX CEO Elon Musk has already 

said that SpaceX is thinking about establishing an additional base for launching Falcon rockets, to 

supplement its facilities at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida and the pad that's currently being 

renovated at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. The Vandenberg pad is planned as the home base 

for SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, which is designed to go after the Air Force's satellite launch business. 

"We have our main launch facility, which is Cape Canaveral in Florida. Then we are in the process of 

developing our second launch facility, which is Vandenberg in California. And we do intend to develop a 

third launch facility. Texas is one of the possible states. But we're also looking at a number of other 

locations: Puerto Rico, potentially another location in Florida, potentially Hawaii. And there are a few 

other locations that could work. So we're trying to make the right decision for the long term. "The third 

launch site would open early, in perhaps three or four years. So we want to make sure we make the right 

decision. But we do think we need three launch sites in order to handle all of the Launch demand that we 

have been able to get. "It would be a purely commercial launch site, whereas Cape Canaveral and 

Vandenberg are actually Air Force bases - in the case of Cape Canaveral, it's sort of a joint NASA-Air 

Force activity. So it makes sense to have NASA and Defense Department launches occur from Cape 

Canaveral and Vandenberg, but then probably shift most of our commercial launches to a purely 

commercial launch site that's really aimed at being the best customer for a commercial launch provider. 

Just as there are Air Force bases and commercial airports ... there's some logic to separation." Web 

posted. (20 11). [SpaceX looks for an extra base [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.msnbc.msn.com 

[20 II, August 18].) 

NASA's twin lunar mappers moved to the launch pad 

After 55 years of launches, the historic Complex 17 at the Cape Canaveral received what could be its final 

satellite payload this morning when NASA's twin Moon-mapper probes arrived for mounting atop the 

Delta 2 rocket. The $4'96 million Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory mission is scheduled for 

blastoff September 8 to send the tandem satellites on their lunar voyage that seeks answers to scientists' 

lingering questions about the Moon. Once maneuvered into lunar orbits, the mirror-image craft will 

237 
bounce radio signals off each other to measure subtle changes in the distance between the two formationflying satellites caused by the Moon's gravity. Such data about the gravity field can be used to infer the 

Moon's origins and composition of the lunar's deep interior structure. The venerable booster dispatching 

the spacecraft is United Launch Alliance's Delta 2, a workhorse rocket that will be making its 11 Oth flight 

from Complex 17. But after sending GRAIL to the Moon, no further Florida launches are scheduled for 

the rocket to perform. Long-time users of the vehicle such the Global Positioning System and NASA 

science projects have moved to the larger Atlas 5 and Delta 4 systems, leaving the Delta 2 with an 

uncertain future. The California launch site for sending Delta 2 rockets into polar orbits from 

Vandenberg Air Force Base has one more mission firmly planned this October carrying a weather 

satellite. That pad's long-term viability depends on the potential for NASA or commercial customers to 

purchase five unsold Delta 2 vehicles for satellites being designed in the corning years that require West 

Coast launches. However, the prospects for Delta 2-class launch services needing an East Coast pad to 

reach equatorial orbits or Earth-escape trajectories appear virtually non-existent in the next few years. 

That means GRAIL could be Complex I 7's grand finale unless the future outlook changes --and soon. 

Complex 17 was built by the Air Force for the Thor intermediate range ballistic missile test program. 

Featuring two launch pads and a central blockhouse, construction of the site began in April 1956. Pad 

178 hosted its first Thor launch in January 1957 and pad 17 A supported its initial flight in August 1957. 

The complex, located on the southern end of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, has undergone numerous 

upgrades and modifications over the decades as the Delta family was born and the rockets grew larger. 

NASA's Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory spacecraft have spent the past three months at the 

Astrotech processing facility near Kennedy Space Center getting ready to depart Earth on the lunar 

voyage. Launch remains targeted for September 8 at 8:37a.m. EDT (1237 GMT). Since arriving in 

Florida from Lockheed Martin's factory in Colorado on May 20, the craft have been thoroughly tested, 

communications checked through the Deep Space Network, the power-generating solar arrays and 

internal batteries installed, and the maneuvering propellants loaded aboard. Web posted. (2011). [NASA's 

twin lunar mappers moved to the launch pad [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spacetlightnow.com [2011 , August 18].] 

Futron Study: U.S. Losing Ground In Space 

The U.S. remains top ranked among 10 nations in space competitiveness for 2011, but it is losing ground 

to global competitors as its space policy undergoes a major transition, especially in the area of human 

spaceflight, according to the Futron Corp.'s 2011 Space Competitiveness Index. The U.S. is perched atop 

a list that includes Europe, Russia, China, Japan, India, Canada, South Korea, lsrael and Brazil, reports 

the Bethesda, Md., consultancy this week in its fourth annual ranking study. Futron examined 50 metrics 

in making the rankings, including a trio of overarching indicators: government, human capital and 

industry. "Of the I 0 countries analyzed, only the United States has shown four straight years of 

competitiveness declines," Futron notes in an executive summary. "By contrast, Russia, China and Japan 

have improved their own space competitiveness by 12%, 27% and 45%, respectively, over their relative 

starting points from when Futron's benchmarking process began in 2008." Chinese gains are coming at 

the expense of the U.S. The Asian power matched the U.S. in numbers of launches during 2010 for the 

first time, the index notes. However, over the past decade (200 1-1 0), Russia led all countries, with 248 

orbital launches. The U.S. followed, with 197; next was China, with 70; and Europe, with 63. During the 

same period (200 1-1 0), the U.S. produced the most spacecraft, 388; followed by Russia, with 219; 

Europe, with 188; and China, with 80. Overall trends studied by Futron reveal that cooperation in space 

tends to intensify competition. The report finds that global space activity drives a substantial economic 

engine as well as fostering national pride and advancements in science and exploration. "Moreover, 

whatever the purpose of space investment, it is enabled by a common denominator: human capital," 

according to the 2011 index. "Knowledge, skills and expertise ultimately defme the leading edge of space 

activity. 1n a world where talent is mobile, the ability to educate, attract, retain and continuously enrich a 

base of skilled professionals is a growing determinant of which nations and actors lead in space 

238 
competitiveness." Web posted. (2011). [Futron Study: U.S. Losing Ground In Space [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spacetlightnow.com [201 1, August 18].] 

August 19: KSC Home to New Ground Processing Directorate 

KSC is home to a new organization called the Ground Processing Directorate (GPO), which officially was 

stood up on Aug. 14. GPO will support operations management, as well as strategies and techniques to 

launch future rockets and spacecraft from the center. The d.irectorate will operate under NASA's new 

Human Exploration and Operations Directorate, supporting the International Space Station, Shuttle 

Transition and Retirement, Launch Services Program, the 21st Century Ground Systems Program and the 

Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket. GPO a lso will work with the Center Planoing and Development 

Office for host support to potentia] and new center customers, and integration of launch complex 

operations. E-mail distribution. (2011). [KSC-Employee-Update Re: "KSC Home to New Ground 

Processing Directorate" [Electronic]. August 19, 2011.] 

Atlantis, engines go separate ways 

Removal of the last set of main engines to help propel a space shuttle into orbit is under way at Kennedy 

Space Center. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne crews on Thursday [August 18] pulled out the first of three 

14-foot-long, 7,800-pound engines from Atlantis, which launched July 8 and landed July 21 to end the 

!35th and fmal shuttle mission. Work to remove a second engine was to begin at 8 a.m. today, followed 

by the last on Monday. "It's pretty bittersweet for us," said Candrea Thomas, a KSC spokeswoman. "It is 

a different feeling taking them out knowing that you're not refurbishing them for another shuttle mission." 

While NASA's three orbiters are bound for museums -- Atlantis will be displayed at Kennedy's Visitor 

Complex-- the engines' fate is uncertain. They could be reused by a heavy-lift rocket NASA is charged 

with building, but the agency has yet to release its plans-- prompting subpoenas last month from U.S. 

senators. In the meantime, KSC teams will run the engines through standard post-flight servicing and set 

them aside so they're ready for whatever future flights or tests are determined. Refurbished but wmeeded 

nozzles, each measuring 8 feet in diameter, will be installed in Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavour for 

their public display. In Atlantis' processing hangar, the main engine removal follows the detachment of 

forward thrusters and will be followed by two orbital engine pods flanking the orbiter's tail fm. The nose 

and tail thrusters will be shipped to NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico for complete 

decommissioning, to make sure museum goers won't be exposed to any residual toxic chemicals. Shuttle 

main engines lighted 6. 7 seconds before liftoff and fired for 81/2 minutes, burning more than 535,000 

gallons ofliquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen fed from the shuttle's orange external tank. Web posted. 

(2011 ). (Atlantis, engines go separate ways [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com 

[20 II, August 19].] 

August 21: A rocket's resurrection? 

The familiar green and white Delta 2 rocket now on the cusp of retirement could be given new life to 

launch a handful of NASA climate research satellites later this decade. NASA is considering proposals 

from United Launch Alliance and Orbital Sciences Corp. to add the Delta 2 and Taurus 2 rockets to the 

space agency's stable of launch vehicles for medium-class science satellites, according to industry and 

government sources. The companies submitted bids in an interim "on-ramp" period established by NASA 

to flU a void between lightweight rockets and the more costly intennediate-class Atlas 5 rocket. NASA 

is facing a cost crw1ch in the rocket business as rising launch prices threaten to scale back the agency's 

Earth science satellite program. United Launch Alliance's Delta 2 rocket is the only medium-class rocket 

available that meets NASA requirements to launch the agency's most complex and expensive payloads. It 

has carried 60 percent of NASA's scientific satellites into space over the last decade, and it can haul from 

5,600 pounds to 12,000 pounds into low Earth orbit. But a 1 0-year omnibus contract signed last year 

between NASA and four launch companies didn't include the Delta 2. The Air Force stopped using the 

venerable launcher in 2009, and without a stable anchor customer, the Delta 2's future seemed uncertain. 

When the Air Force retreated from the Delta 2 program, NASA picked up the cost of maintaining the 

239 
rocket's ground infrastructure to ensure it was ready to launch a series of research missions through this 

year. There are now two NASA launches left on the Delta 2's manifest --one from Florida and one from 

California. ULA didn't propose the Delta 2 rocket for the new NASA Launch Services contract awarded 

last year. Instead of picking the Delta 2, NASA ended up selecting ULA's larger Atlas 5 rocket, the 

Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL and Taurus XL launchers, SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and the Athena 

I c and 2c vehicles from Lockheed Martin Corp. The contract's overall value could be as much as $15 

billion for up to 70 missions over the next decade. When the space agency chooses rockets to launch 

unmanned satellites or robotic science probes into the solar system, managers usually must pick one of 

those approved vehicles to launch them from Earth. But as launch costs skyrocket -- rising by 50 percent 

in three years in some cases-- NASA is seeking more cost-effective solutions to launch a slate of Earth 

science satellites. Tightening federal budgets put more pressure on finding less expensive rockets to 

launch NASA payloads. ULA says it has components for five Delta 2 rockets left in its inventory. The 

rocket's production line has already been shut down. Vernon Thorp, ULA's program manager for NASA 

missions, said his company is proposing adding the Delta 2 to the space agency's pool of rocket choices 

for future satellite missions. Web posted. (2011). [A rocket's resurrection? [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com [2011, August 2 1.] 

August 22: More oppose name change to Playalioda Beach 

A backlash has developed to a proposal to rename Playalinda to Titusville Beach -- a move that 

supporters say could spur more tourism and economic activity in Titusville. The plan, recommended by 

the seven-member Titusville Citizen Budget Advisory Committee, will be discussed tonight by the 

Titusville City Council. Titusville Mayor Jim Tulley said he opposes the name change, noting what 

appears to be widespread opposition from the community. Opponents of changing Playalinda's name who 

emailed the five city council members also received email responses from Vice Mayor Walt Johnson and 

council member Rita Pritchett, indicating they are leaning against supporting the proposed name change. 

Titusville Mayor Jim Tulley said he had received about 20 e-mails from residents on the issue-- all but 

two opposed to the name change. He said he personally would oppose pursuing a name change, based on 

the apparent opposition. "I'm not in favor of it," Tulley said. "I think Playa linda is a beautiful name." In 

fact, Playalinda is Spanish for "pretty beach." Myrna Palfrey, superintendent of the Canaveral National 

Seashore, which includes Playalinda, said property specialists at the U.S. Department of the Interior's 

NationaJ Park Service are continuing to research the process for seeking a name change, as well as the 

history of the Playalinda name. Web posted. (2011). [More oppose name change to Playalinda Beach 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [2011 , August 22].] 

Controllers worried plane was threat to Kennedy Space Center 

Air-traffic controllers at Orlando International Airport considered an unresponsive private plane in the 

area to be a potential threat to Walt Disney World and Kennedy Space Center when they instructed a 

Southwest Airlines jet carrying 137 passengers to fly near and inspect the smaller plane, according to a 

new report by the federal agency investigating the March 27 incident. The report, released Friday by the 

National Transportation Safety Board, found that Southwest Airlines Flight 82 1 and the private plane, a 

Cirrus SR-22 en route from Picayune, Miss., to Kissimmee, ultimately came as close as I 00 feet 

vertically and one-tenth of a mile laterally. The minimum required separation is I ,000 feet vertical or 3 

nautical miles lateral. The Federal Aviation Administration, which suspended the controller involved, 

called the instructions "totally inappropriate." But controllers told NTSB that they "considered the Cirrus 

a potential threat to the Disney World complex and the NASA space center, where a space shuttle was on 

a launch pad," NTSB wrote in a fact-finding report detailing the incident. Controllers cited FAA rules 

charging them with providing support for national security and homeland defense. The pilot of the Cirrus 

told investigators that be lost contact with controllers between Eglin Air Force Base in the Panhandle and 

Kissimmee because the frequency he was using became "busier" with other communications. He said he 

attempted to radio controllers in Jacksonville multiple times without success. So the operations manager 

at OlA "considered the flyby a prudent action and had conducted similar actions in the past," NTSB wrote 

240 
m 1ts report. Controllers radioed Southwest 821 , a Boeing 737 jet flying to Orlando from Phoenix, and 

the captain of that flight agreed to the flyby. The Southwest jet approached the Cirrus from below on the 

left side at an altitude of about 11 ,000 feet, and the two planes made a slight left turn together. The 

Southwest pilot reported the silhouette of two people in the Cirrus cockpit but reported no movement. The 

commercial jet then separated and landed at OIA. The Southwest pilot made no mention of the maneuver 

to flight attendants or passengers. Just as the Southwest flight was departing for its landing, controllers in 

Jacksonville re-established communication with the Cirrus. The plane was ordered to contact Orlando 

controllers, who directed it to a safe landing in Kissimmee. Web posted. (201 1). [Controllers worried 

unresponsive plane was threat to Disney World, Kennedy Space Center [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com [2011 , August 22].) 

August 23: Titusville council says no to beach name 

The Titusville City Council unanimously decided tonight against backing a proposal to change the name 

ofPlayalind.a to Titusville Beach. The proposal came from a seven-member Titusville Citizen Budget 

Advisory Committee, which said the name change could spur more tourism and economic activity in 

Titusville. Playalinda is on Merritt Island, not in Titusville. But the most often used route to the beach is 

through Titusville and over the Indian River via the A. Max Brewer Bridge. Playalinda (which means 

"pretty beach" in Spanish) is part of the Canaveral National Seashore, which is overseen by U.S. 

Department of the Interior's National Park Service. Web posted. (2011). [Titusville council says no to 

beach name [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [2011 , August 23].] 

August 24: KSC plans to remain open through Irene 

Kennedy Space Center expects to remain open as the powerful Hurricane Irene, now a Category 3 storm, 

passes by more than 230 miles to the east early Friday, according to the latest forecasts. From Thursday 

evening into Friday, the storm could dump two to four inches of rain on the center and blow sustained 

winds of 35 mph, gusting to 50 mph. But nonnal operations will proceed and no ride-out team is being 

activated. The center remains in its lowest alert level, called Hurricane Condition IV, and has no plans to 

elevate that status pending another status update Thursday morning. Overnight, slightly ahead of 

schedule because of the approaching storm, technicians at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station fitted a 

protective cone around two moon-bound spacecraft sitting atop a United Launch Alliance Delta II Heavy 

rocket. NASA's GRAIL mission remains on track for an 8:37a.m. Sept. 8 blastoff from Launch 

Comple~ 17B. Web posted. (2011). [KSC plans to remain open through Irene [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com the .flame trench blog [201 1, August 24].] 

Station partners assess impacts after cargo launch failure 

The upper stage of a Soyuz-U booster carrying an unmanned Russian Progress supply ship malfunctioned 

and shut down five minutes and 20 seconds after launch Wednesday from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in 

Kazakhstan, NASA officials said, sending 2.9 tons of space station supplies and equipment crashing back 

to Earth in the first post-shuttle launch to the lab complex, officials said. It was the second failure in a 

row for the Russian space program after the Breeze-M upper stage of a more powerful Proton rocket 

malfunctioned last Thursday, stranding a communications satellite in the wrong orbit. The Breeze-M is 

not related to the Soyuz-U's upper stage. The Progress M-12M/44P spacecraft was loaded with 2,050 

pounds of propellant, 110 pounds of oxygen, 926 pounds of water and 2, 777 pounds of U.S. and Russian 

dry cargo. While the supply trajn to the space station is critical for supporting a full-time crew of six, the 

lab complex currently is in good shape, flush with supplies and equipment delivered to the outpost aboard 

the shuttle Atlantis in July. But engineers want to find out what went wrong with the Soyuz-U upper 

stage as soon as possible because it is virtually identical to the third stage used by Russia's manned Soyuz 

spacecraft. Launch of the next manned Soyuz mission is targeted for Sept. 22. Web posted. (2011). 

(Station partners assess impacts after cargo launch failure [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com [2011, August 24].] 

241 
Workshop boosts concept of clusters to generate jobs in Brevard 

Brevard County's days maunching space shuttles are over, but the Space Coast could become a player in 

emerging industries that fly tiny satellites or unmanned aerial vehicles. Those were among ideas 

discussed Tuesday durirng a local workshop to brainstorm business opportunities that participants hope 

could generate growth and jobs in the region. It was the latest in a series of meetings led by consultants 

hired to help the area regroup after the retirement of NASA's space shuttle program and roughly 8,000 

associated layoffs of Kennedy Space Center contractors. The narrative centers on five industry sectors 

already identified as offering the best potential for job growth across Central Florida: clean energy, 

defense, life sciences, information technology and aerospace. Clusters, Ed Morrison, a consultant with 

Strategy-Nets and the Purdue Center for Regional Development, are collaborative networks of companies 

"trying to fmd new markets, new employees, trying to work together in new and different ways." By 

fonning a cluster, companies previously unknown to each other could discover potential for partnerships 

or advocate for policies supporting innovation and jobs. Midwest communities hit by the auto industry 

downturn have used effectively used a cluster strategy to target opportunities in water management and 

solar energy, the consultants said. The nonprofit Space Coast Energy Consortium, including 15 to 20 

energy companies, is one cluster formed through the initiative. For each of the five sectors, about 20 

workshop participants at Brevard Workforce's offices on Barnes Boulevard sought to identify local assets 

and opportunities for collaboration. The energy group sees opportunity in making homes more efficient. 

Defense technology could cross over to keep healthcare records and networks secure. Aerospace 

opportunities included the manufacturing and launch of small satellites, the testing of unmanned vehicles 

and Space Florida's planned management of the International Space Station's National Lab, which could 

draw life science and biotech researchers. A follow-up meeting in October will prioritize three to five 

top growth opportunities before a November "summit" establishes teams and action plans. Web posted. 

(2011). [Workshop boosts concept of clusters to generate jobs in Brevard [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com [20 11 , August 24].] 

August 25: Russian rocket failure likely to delay 1st post-shuttle astronaut launch 

A Russian rocket failure Wednesday likely will delay the first post-shuttle era launch of astronauts to the 

International Space Station and also could force a temporary reduction in the number of people living 

aboard the outpost. American astronaut Ron Garan and two Russian cosmonauts likely will extend sixmonth tours of duty at the space station rather than return to Earth as planned on Sept. 8. The planned 

Sept. 21 launch from Kazakhstan of a new station crew that includes U.S. astronaut Dan Burbank faces an 

indefinite delay while a Russian commission investigates the Soyuz rocket failure and the loss of an 

unmanned Progress supply ship. Station staffing would be cut from six to three if Russia cannot return 

Soyuz rockets to fl ight by late October. But NASA officials say the international crew of six people now 

living and working on the space lab are safe. They have provisions to last through at least March 20 12, 

the result of a supply run flown aboard America's final space shuttle mission in July. And, officials are 

confident that investigators will quickly fmd the cause of the rocket failure. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Russian 

rocket failure likely to delay 1st post-shuttle astronaut launch (Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com [20 I I, August 25].] 

Report: NASA made proper pick for retired shuttles 

NASA acted properly when it picked new homes for the retired space shuttles, the space agency's 

watchdog said Thursday. The shuttles were awarded in April to museums in suburban Washington, Los 

Angeles, Cape Canaveral, Fla., and New York, based on recommendations by a special NASA team and a 

decision by NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, a former shuttle commander. Congressional and local 

officials for two of the losing cities- Houston and Dayton - had asked for an investigation, alleging 

political influences in the bidding process. "We found no evidence that the team's recommendation or the 

administrator's decision were tainted by political influence of any other improper consideration," 

[nspector General Paul Martin wrote in the report released Thursday. "Moreover, we found no attempt by 

White House officials to direct or influence Bolden's decision making." The decision was based on 

242 
attendance, population, funding and the facility. NASA said 13 of the bidders met their requirements and 

rated those on several categories, giving them a numerical score. There was a scoring error for the Air 

Force Museum in Dayton and it should have tied with Cape Canaveral and New York, the inspector 

general found. But NASA chief Bolden told investigators that had he known about the tie, he still would 

have stuck with the cities he selected because they had bigger populations and more international visitors. 

Also Dayton museum officials told him they might not be able to raise enough money. Space Center 

Houston next door to Johnson Space Center ranked near the bottom of the list. It scored low for 

attendance, international visitors, museum accreditation and difficulty transporting a shuttle there. 

Museums in Chicago, Seattle, Riverside, Calif., San Diego and McMinnville, Ore., all scored higher than 

Houston. The Smithsonian Air and Space Museum had already been promised one shuttle for its hangar 

in Dulles, Va. It will get Discovery, and give up the Enterprise, a test vehicle that never flew in orbit. That 

will be shipped to the Intrepid Sea Air and Space Museum in New York City. Atlantis will stay in Cape 

Canaveral and go to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Endeavour will go to the California 

Science Center in Los Angeles. The Florida and California museums, but not the Smithsonian, will have 

to pay at least $20 million to make the shuttles that flew in space safe for display - removing toxic 

materials and fuels - and transportation costs. NASA is picking up the tab for the Smithsonian. The 

shuttles are all still at Kennedy Space Center being decommissioned. Web posted. (2011). [Report: 

NASA made proper pick for retired shuttles [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .orlandosentinel.com [20 I 1, August 25).] 

August 26: NASA Aims To Move Orion Test To Cape 

NASA intends to move a flight test of the abort system for the Orion crew exploration vehicle to Cape 

Canaveral from a missile range in New Mexico, and the agency is targeting March 2014 for the launch. 

The test flight is to be staged at Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, according to an 

agency white paper obtained by Florida Today. The test originally was scheduled to take place at White 

Sands Missile Range because the Orion spacecraft initially was designed to return to Earth and parachute 

down to land. But NASA since has changed that plan, and now, the spacecraft will splash down in water. 

Senior NASA officials this week decided there would be several advantages to launching the test flight 

from Cape Canaveral. A water landing could be executed, and the launch site would be located close to 

Orion assembly, integration and production facilities at Kennedy Space Center. A converted 

Peacekeeper missile will be used to launch an Orion crew module equipped with a Launch Abort System, 

which would use rocket motors to pull the spacecraft away from a booster rocket during a launch 

accident. The test is expected to last 8 minute and 23 seconds. The abort system rockets will be ignited 45 

seconds into flight when the crew module is at an altitude of 40,000 feet. The Orion module will reach an 

altitude of 58,000 feet before parachutes deploy. Splashdown is expected to take place 10 miles off the 

coast of Cape Canaveral. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Aims To Move Orion Test To Cape [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [2011, August 26).] 

August 28: Press To MECO: Documentary released on Shuttle reporting 

For over 30 years, the Space Shuttle Program captured the hearts and minds of millions of people 

throughout the world. From following the missions on TV, in newspapers, on websites, the Shuttle 

program has been lived by people on every continent. And through it all, the missions, the people, and the 

workforce have been brought to life by reporters who have brought missions to the public. It goes 

without saying that the Space Shuttle is a labor of love - not only for the teams that worked their hardest 

to get these graceful vehicles ready for mission after mission, but also for the hundreds of diligent and 

dedicated media representatives who sacrificed in their personal lives to stay up late, get up early, adjust 

their sleeping schedules to bring the missions to life for the general public. Over the course of the Space 

Shuttle Program, numerous documentaries have been made about these magnificent vehicles, including 

their triumphs, their tragedies, and the people who have flown aboard them. But something was lacking: 

the media. In September 2006, a small team of individuals - who were nothing more than fans of the 

Space Shuttle Program - came together to produce a music tribute video for the return to service mission 

243 
of Shuttle orbiter Atlantis on the STS-115 flight of the Shuttle Program: the mission that resumed 

construction of the lnternational Space Station in the wake of the 2003 loss of Shuttle Columbia. The 

music from the video - " Infinity" - would serve as the inspiration for the start of a permanent partnership 

between Larry Sullivan, Brian Papke, and Mike Astles - who played a major role in the formation of 

MaxQ before events in his personal life changed his contribution ability in the following years. Mike was, 

nonetheless, and instrumental figure in MaxQ's fonnative years. Over the years, Nathan Moeller, Steven 

Burgess, and I, Chris Gebhardt, joined the group as pennanent members, serving to expand the 

knowledge base and technical expertise of the group. And from STS-1 15 through STS-I 28, the music 

video tributes for each and every Shuttle mission in that timeframe churned out. But for certain members 

of the group, one thing was missing, something that was only thought to be a far-out dream: witnessing 

the launch of a Space Shuttle from the Kennedy Space Center's press site. In association with 

NASASpaceflight.com, plans for an up-close and persona l music video for the STS-129 flight of orbiter 

Atlantis began in the spring of2009. As the proj ect evolved, three of the MaxQ team members - Larry 

Sullivan, Brian Papke, and Steven Burgess- were fortunate enough to be granted media access to join me 

in covering the launch campaign for STS-129. From there, Larry became a pennanent fixture at the 

Kennedy Space Center, covering numerous Shuttle-based events for every single mission from STS-129 

through the c loseout ofthe program in 2011. Within six months ofthe start of MaxQ filming operations 

at the Kennedy Space Center, the final member of the MaxQ team, Nathan Moeller, was able to dedicate 

a full week of time to filming for the documentary surrounding the launch of Shuttle Atlantis on the STS132 mission in May 20t2. The team would then assemble almost in its entirety again for the final launch 

of Space Shuttle orbiter Discovery and the STS-133 mission. From there, filming continued through 

STS-134 's retirement flight of the Space Shuttle orbiter Endeavour and culminated along with the 

Program with the emotional flight of the Space Shuttle Atlantis and STS-135. The information presented 

in our documentary "Press To MECO" is a compilation of our experiences, our thoughts, our adventures, 

and our passions as we got the humbling opportunity to be up close and personal with three of our United 

States' greatest technological achievements: the Discovery, the Atlantis, and the Endeavour. We hope 

you all enjoy this very special look at what it's like to be a reporter at the Kennedy Space Center. For the 

MaxQ team, the experiences from 2009 through 201 1 were truly some of the greatest and unexpected 

experiences of the team members' lives. And none of it would have been possible with the support of the 

NASASpaceflight.com community and the thousands Space Shuttle workers throughout the United 

States. Web posted. (20 11). [Press To MECO: Documentary released on Shuttle reporting [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com [2011 , August28].] 

August 29: NASA assessing procedures to leave space station vacant 

Engineers are evaluating what steps are necessary to safeguard the International Space Station should the 

orbiting lab be temporarily evacuated in the wake of last week's Soyuz rocket fa ilure. NASA officials are 

hopeful Russia will return the venerable Soyuz booster to service in time to avert such a circumstance, 

which would put the space station at increased risk in the event of serious equipment malfunctions. 

Engineers are analyzing what's needed to keep the station alive in case astronauts have to pull out of the 

international laboratory, according to Michael Suffredini, NASA's space station program manager. 

"There is a greater risk of losing ISS if it were unmanned than if it were manned," Suffredini said 

Monday. "The risk increase is not insignificant." Russia's Soyuz rocket-- the only vehicle able to carry 

astronauts to the space station after the space shuttle's retirement -- has been grounded since the Aug. 24 

failure of a launch with a Progress resupply freighter heading for the outpost. Russia has tentative plans 

to return the Soyuz to flight in October with a pair of unmanned missions, eventually leading to the 

launch of the next space station crew by November. But Russia still must complete its investigation into 

last week's loss and implement corrective actions. Just in case the Soyuz rocket is still grounded in 

November, the space station's international partners assigned engineers to review procedures for 

abandoning the complex in orbit for up to several months. Web posted. (20 II). [NASA assessing 

procedures to leave space station vacant [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com 

[20 II , August 29].) 

244 
New Space Florida Board of Directors Announced 

Earlier this month, the new Space Florida Board of Directors held their first meeting of the 2011-2012 

fiscal year at the Renaissance Tampa International Plaza hotel. During the board meeting, Space Florida's 

20 12 budget and numerous other projects were approved for the coming year. The meeting was held in 

conjunction with Enterprise Florida, due to the fact that the two organizations work closely together and 

now share many of the same board members. During the 2011 Florida legislative session, SB2156 (an 

economic development reorganization biU) was passed that included provisions which altered the 

membership of Space Florida's board. Statute now states that Space Florida "shall be governed by a 12 

member independent board of directors which consists of the members appointed to the board of directors 

of Enterprise Florida, Inc." Six members of this board are appointed by Governor Rick Scott, three by 

Senate President Mike Haridopolos, and three by House Speaker Dean Cannon. Space Florida's board 

members are:- Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, Co-Chair; - Jay Beyrouti, President, Monicarla, Ltd.;- Ron 

Campbell, Director, The Seminole Companies; - Vivian de las Cuevas-Diaz, Partner, Broad and Cassel; -

Debra Duvall, Partner, Water Pointe Realty Group;- John Falconetti, President, Drummond Press;-

Danny Gaekwad, CEO, NDS USA Information Technology & MGM; -Adam Hollingsworth, CEO, 

Parallel Infrastructure, LLC; - Chris Kise, Partner, Foley Lamer; - Fred Leonhardt, Senior Partner, Gray 

Robinson PA;- Don Phillips, Managing Director, Phillips Development and Realty; - Hal Valeche, 

President, York Street Capital Advisors;- Phil Waller, Vice President, MWH Americas, Inc. In addition 

to its new Board, Space Florida will also have an Industry Advisory Council to aid in its governance. This 

15 member advisory council is appointed by the Governor and will be made up of Florida residents with 

expertise in the space industry. Web posted. (2011). [New Space Florida Board of Directors Announced 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com [2011 , August 29].] 

Senators back KSC space projects 

Florida's two U.S. senators have tried to brush back an attempt by colleagues to steer money from 

Kennedy Space Center to other sites involved in the development of NASA's planned heavy-lift rocket for 

exploration missions. In a letter to the White House dated Friday, Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio 

suggest an apparent "misunderstanding" about the need to fund not only the design and construction of a 

rocket, but facilities from which to process and launch it. "These projects have been selected because 

they decrease development and operations costs for the new vehicle," their letter states. Earlier this 

month, a group of five Republican senators from Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi accused the Obama 

Administration of funding KSC upgrades "only tangentially related" to the rocket known as the Space 

Launch System. According to their Aug. 15 letter, NASA planned to "transfer" $340.2 million of the $1.8 

billion allocated for the rocket project in 2011 to upgrade Kennedy infrastructure, rather than focusing on 

design and construction of the rocket and related engine tests. Such work would be performed at NASA 

facilities represented by the letter signers: Richard Shelby, Jeff Sessions, Thad Cochran, Roger Wicker 

and David Vitter. Their letter suggests the dismantling of a shuttle launch pad and modification of a 

crawler-transporter used to haul rockets to the pad, among other projects, should be funded by a separate 

NASA initiative to modernize Cape launch infrastructure, called the 21st Century Launch Complex 

project. Ground systems are essential to the eventual operation ofthe giant rocket and distinct from 

efforts to transition KSC into a multi-user spaceport that supports launches of other types of rockets, they 

argue. By modifying the launch pad and crawler-transporter, they say, "we're saving money and freeing 

up funds for rocket development and testing." Funding for ground support operations was always 

planned within this year's rocket program, as it was under the cancelled Constellation program, according 

a spokesman at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. And members of congressional appropriations 

committees had capped that funding at $250 million -- $90 million below NASA's initial request- even 

before the southern senators' recent challenge. The KSC area more than makes up the difference through 

another $160 million approved for the 21st Century program, for a total of $41 0 million for launch 

infrastructure in 20 II. Despite the skirmish over KSC projects, all the senators agree on one point: That 

NASA should immediately release its design and plans to build the heavy-lift rocket. Congress last year 

245 
approved legislation demanding the rocket be ready to fly by 2016, but NASA has questioned whether 

that is possible with available funding. Web posted. (2011). [Senators back KSC space projects [Online). 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [2011 , August 29).] 

August 30: NASA's Technology Depleted, Report Says 

NASA's technology base is ''largely depleted" and the agency hasn't been producing the breakthroughs 

needed to achieve new goals, the National Research Council said on Tuesday. "Currently available 

technology is insufficient to accomplish many intended space missions," including sending humans to the 

moon or Mars, as well as destinations closer to home, the council, part of the independent National 

Academies of Science, said in a report. With the end of the space shuttle program earlier this year, NASA 

and lawmakers have struggled to define clear-cut goals for the space agency, especially as government 

budgets shrink. On Monday, NASA officials raised the possibility that the International Space Station 

would need to be temporarily abandoned because of trouble with Russian spacecraft, which are now the 

main link to the station. The ambiguity has undermined innovation at NASA and hurt its ability to 

develop new technology, the panel found. "In the modem era, in which the goals of space exploration 

have expanded beyond a single target, the necessary technological developments have become less clear 

and more effort is required to evaluate the best path for a forward-looking technology development 

program," according to the interim report, commissioned on behalfofNASA's Office ofthe Chief 

Technologist as part of an ongoing review of technology development at the space agency. "NASA has 

now entered a transitional stage, moving from the past era in which desirable technological goals were 

evident to all, to one in which careful choices among many conflicting alternatives must be made," the 

research council said. While NASA officials are still reviewing the details, they largely agree with the 

report's observations, Bobby Braun, the space agency's chief technologist, said on Tuesday. A final report 

is expected to be completed by January, in time for FY 2012 budget planning. The fmdings will likely 

bolster NASA's efforts to protect itself from major budget cuts. Noting that " technological breakthroughs 

have long been the foundation of NASA's successes," the report said more stability in the agency's 

programs could help it develop new technology. Next year's final report is expected to include specific 

recommendations for NASA to improve its technology. Web posted. (2011). (NASA's Technology 

Depleted, Report Says [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nationaljoumal.com [2011 , August 30].] 

Russia determines causes of back-to-back launch failures 

Investigators have identified the causes of consecutive launch mishaps with the Proton and Soyuz rockets, 

clearing a major hurdle in preparing to return the workhorse launch vehicles to flight. In an 

announcement Monday. the Russian space agency said the investigation into the Soyuz launch failure 

Aug. 24 was focusing on a malfunction in the rocket's third stage gas generator. The launch was carrying 

an automated Progress cargo ship to the International Space Station, and debris from the mission crashed 

in the Altai region of southern Russia. "Off-nominal performance of [Soyuz third stage) propulsion 

system was found by the board to be due to the gas generator whose operating conditions were disrupted," 

the Russian announcement said. The Soyuz investigation has not formally issued its findings or 

recommended corrective actions. A launch schedule for the next manned flight to the lntemationaJ Space 

Station will not be decided until the commission completes its work. The inquiry into the Aug. 17 launch 

mishap of a Proton rocket and Breeze M upper stage has concluded a programming error doomed that 

flight, the space agency said in a separate statement released Tuesday. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Russia 

detennines causes ofback-to-back launch failures [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com [2011 , August 30].] 

August 31: ULA trimming local jobs 

The number of local jobs launching spacecraft in Florida continues to shrink and not just because of 

NASA's retiring shuttle program. United Launch Alliance, operator of Atlas and Delta rockets, will cut 

up to 70 Cape Canaveral positions and 180 companywide. A key factor is the final two scheduled 

launches of ULA's Delta II rockets, including one set to blast off Sept. 8 from Cape Canaveral Air Force 

246 
Station with a pair of NASA moon-mapping satellites. The company also cites efforts to consolidate 

operations and cut costs since its fonnation nearly five years ago, when The Boeing Co. and Lockheed 

Martin Corp. merged their rocket fleets and formed the joint venture. Since December 2006, the 

company has cut 308 positions overall and 73 at the Cape, leaving a total of3,718 employees and 666 

locally. The current layoffs are expected to affect 55 to 70 Cape employees, some of whom left this 

month through voluntary departures. The rest are expected to receive notice in early September and leave 

about two weeks after launch of NASA's GRAIL mission to the moon. ULA's local reductions come on 

the heels of roughly 2,000 layoffs of Kennedy Space Center contractors that followed completion of the 

final space shuttle mission July 21. Web posted. (2011). [ULA trimming local jobs (Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [2011 , August 31].] 

Space shuttle program officially ends 

NASA on Wednesday officially closed the books on the space shuttle program. Without ceremony, the 

program that launched 135 missions over 30 years --the last in July-- ended and morphed into the new 

Space Shuttle Transition and Retirement Office, which begins operations today. The office is responsible 

for readying orbiters for public display and ensuring unneeded facilities and property are closed down, 

sold or made available to new users. Dorothy Rasco, a former shuttle program business manager who 

was already leading the transition process, heads the office from Johnson Space Center in Houston. John 

Shannon, the shuttle program manager since early 2008, thanked his remaining personnel for its service in 

an Aug. 16 letter. "I would like to personally thank the team for your tremendous dedication and skill," 

he wrote. "Your performance allowed the space shuttle to safely and successfully fly out the manifest, 

providing a strong finish to 30 years of operations." The letter instructed employees to begin billing their 

time to the transition office or their new organization. This week, Shannon was in Japan beginning a new 

assignment in which he will conduct a review of potential deep space human exploration missions and 

opportunities for international collaboration. Closeout of the shuttle program is an enormous effort 

expected to take two years. The program occupied 640 facilities and used more than 900,000 pieces of 

equipment with a value exceeding $12 billion, according to NASA. Much of the work will take place at 

Kennedy Space Center, where orbiters have been maintained and prepared for launch. NASA requested 

$89 million for shuttle transition and retirement work in the 20 12 fiscal year that begins Oct. 1, but 

Congress has not yet approved a budget. Web posted. (2011). [Space shuttle program officially ends 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com [2011, September 1].] 

247 
SEPTEMBER 

September I: Shuttle Update 

Shuttle Atlantis: Technicians in Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., are 

working liquid cooling garment loops 1 and 2 deservicing in Atlantis today. They'll also begin 

disconnecting the small pyrotechnic devices related to the orbiter boom sensor system. Shuttle 

Discovery: Technicians in Orbiter Processing Facility-I are using protective suits as they continue 

component removals from Discovery's auxiliary power units today. NASA's space shuttle fleet began 

setting records with its fLrst launch on April 12, 1981 and continued to set high marks of achievement and 

endurance through 30 years of missions. Starting with Columbia and continuing with Challenger, 

Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour, the spacecraft has can·ied people into orbit repeatedly, launched, 

recovered and repaired satellites, conducted cutting-edge research and built the largest structure in space, 

the International Space Station. The final space shuttle mission, STS-135, ended July 21, 2011 when · 

Atlantis rolled to a stop at its home port, NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As humanity's first 

reusable spacecraft, the space shuttle pushed the bounds of discovery ever farther, requiring not only 

advanced teclmologies but the tremendous effort of a vast workforce. Thousands of civil servants and 

contractors throughout NASA's field centers and across tbe nation have demonstrated an unwavering 

commitment to mission success and the greater goal of space exploration. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle 

Update [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacemankind.com/ [2011 , September 1 ].] 

Climate satellite moves to California launch base 

An advanced polar-orbiting weather observatory took a I ,600-rnile roadtrip from Colorado to California 

this week, arriving at the satellite's Vandenberg Air Force Base launch site after the 40-hour journey. A 

crew of 16 people including team members from satellite-builder Ball Aerospace and NASA's project 

group escorted the spacecraft on the long-awaited shipment. Valued at $1.5 billion. the satellite's mission 

will continue global weather monitoring and climate data records while covering virtually the entire 

planet twice per day from its 512-rnile-high polar orbit. Its launch atop a Delta 2 rocket is scheduled for 

October 25 during a 9-minute window opening at 2:48a.m. local time (5:48 a.m. EDT). Web posted. 

(2011). [Climate satellite moves to California launch base [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , September 1].] 

NASA extends astronaut's stay on space station 

An American astronaut and two Russian cosmonauts will return to Earth on Sept. 15, leaving three others 

onboard the Lnternational Space Station while an investigation into an Aug. 24 Soyuz rocket failure 

continues on the ground. NASA flight engineer Ron Garan and two cosmonaut collagues -- Andrey 

Borisenko and Alexander Samokutyaev -- had been slated to return to Earth on Sept. 8, but their stay was 

extended after the loss of a Soyuz U rocket and a supply-filled Progress cargo carrier. An engine 

powering the third stage of the rocket shut down prematurely, and the Soyuz and Progress broke up in the 

atmosphere. The failure indefinitely delayed the planned Sept. 21 launch of a new station crew that 

includes U.S. astronaut Dan Burbank. The Soyuz FG rocket that launches crews to the station has an 

engine similar to the one that failed Aug. 24 after blasting off from Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 

Web posted. (2011). [NASA extends astronaut's stay on space station [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ [20 II , September I].] 

September 2: Blue Origin vehicle lost on test flight 

A test flight of a suborbital vehicle by secretive venture Blue Origin ended in failure last month, the 

company confirmed Friday. The Wall Street Journal first reported Friday that the vehicle was apparently 

destroyed on a test flight August 24 from the company's test site in a remote area of west Texas. Blue 

Origin founder Jeff Bezos, best known as the founder of Amazon.com, confirmed the test flight failure in 

a post on the company's web site later Friday. The vehicle, known as PM 2 on its experimental permit 

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with the FAA, suffered a "flight instability" at 45,000 feet (13,700 meters) at a speed ofMach 1.2, 

causing the vehicle's range safety system to shut down its engines. The failure appears to be unrelated to 

separate work on an orbital crew vehicle the company is doing under a funded Space Act Agreement with 

NASA as part of the space agency's Commercial Crew Development program. Web posted. (2011). 

[Blue Origin vehicle lost on test flight [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacetoday.net/ [2011 , 

September 2].] 

Florida senators dispute Sen. Richard Shelby's criticism of spending at KSC 

Florida's U.S. senators say Alabama's U.S. senators misunderstand a federal Law they all helped write, a 

law requiring NASA to build a heavy-lift rocket. Alabama Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Tuscaloosa, says the 

two delegations agree on the main point: NASA should start now on the new rocket formally known as 

the Space Launch System (SLS). Yet despite Shelby's focus on the bottom line, the dueling views aired in 

two August letters to the White House, marking a rare public split in the congressional front pushing the 

new rocket. The Alabama senators are furious that the White House has delayed development of Space 

Launch System even though Congress approved it last November in the NASA Authorization Act of2010 

and appropriated $1.8 billion for it for the fiscal year that ends this month. The SLS project office is in 

Huntsville at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Florida's senators share the frustration. So do Texas 

Republican Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison and more than a few House representatives. They've all pressed 

NASA and the White House this year to get started on SLS. But the Shelby/Sessions letter went further 

and accused NASA of wrongly shifting some $341 million to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for 

improvements that they say should go to SLS. Those improvements at Kennedy are only "tangentially" 

related to the heavy-lift rocket project, according to the Alabama senators. Florida's senators sent their 

own letter to the White House 11 days later on Aug. 26 saying "there appears to be a misunderstanding." 

Democrat Sen. Bill Nelson and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio say they wrote to "clarify the intent of the 

law." Spending for improvements at Kennedy was always part ofSLS, the Florida senators said. "A new 

launch vehicle includes much more than just a design and build phase," they said. For example, a new 

rocket needs a new Launch pad and other new supporting infrastructure. Complicating the debate is the 

fact that, in the wake of the space shuttle program, two plans for Kennedy have similar names. One is the 

21st Century Ground Systems project that is part of SLS, and the other involves general construction 

upgrades for what is cailled the 21st Century Launch Complex. It is designed to make Kennedy attractive 

long-term as a launch c,enter. Which plans are supported by which line-items in the budget? That's what 

the dueling letters are all about. Web posted. (201 1). [Florida senators dispute Sen. Richard Shelby's 

criticism of spending at Kennedy Space Center [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.blog.al.com/ 

[2011 , September 2].] 

September 5: Brevard officials devise Canaveral National Seashore \vish list 

The National Park Service wants the public to comment on a draft plan the service will use to guide the 

seashore's management over the next 15 to 20 years. Park officials will be on hand to answer questions 

about the plan at a public meeting 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 19 at Titusville Public Library. The 404-page plan 

spells out four options that range from taking no action at all to increasing staff and spending multimillions for a new headquarters-- a prospect not likely anytime soon, officials said, given such tough 

budget times. The plan's "no action" alternative would leave the park's yearly operating costs at $3.2 

million and staff at 53 positions. But under the park service's "preferred" option, the operating budget 

would grow to $3.9 million and staffing to 63.5 positions, including two more law enforcement rangers. 

The plan does not specify when within the 20-year planning period the rangers would be added. While 

currently there are 53 positions, Lugo said only about 41 are filled. The preferred option also includes 

about $20 million for one-time facilities improvements, which could include design, construction, 

rehabilitation, or reuse of visitor centers, roads, parking areas, administrative facilities, fire stations and 

other facilities. The preferred option also would include $5.3 million to improve visitor access to seashore 

resources. All four options include attending to a $9.5 million maintenance backlog. The preferred option 

emphasizes "retaining the national seashore's relatively undeveloped character and providing uncrowded 

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experiences by dispersing visitors via a shuttle service or canoe, kayak, hiking and walking trails, and 

bicycle trails." Congress created Canaveral National Seashore in 1975. The park includes 58,000 acres of 

barrier island, open lagoon, coastal hammock, pine flat woods and 24 miles of undeveloped beach. The 

seashore also boasts Turtle Mound, a 35-foot-high mound of oyster shells constructed by Native 

Americans between 800 A.D. and 1400 A.D. About 1.5 million to 1.2 million visit the Canaveral 

National Seashore each year. Web posted. (201 1). [Brevard officials devise Canaveral National Seashore 

wish list [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1, September 5].] 

National Space Club's Rising Star award is part of space ceremonies 

For the first time, annual awards presented by the National Space Club Florida Committee will honor a 

rising star in the aerospace industry, along with three lifetime achievers. Megan Jaunich, a system safety 

engineer with Millennium Engineering and integration Co., is the first recipient of the Rising Star award. 

"Megan's dedication to her profession and her strong community outreach is an inspiration for our current 

and future space professionals," club board chairman Stephen Feldman said in a press release. A Florida 

Tech graduate from Satellite Beach, Jaunich has received several NASA certificates and awards for 

recommendations that improved assessment of payloads, spacecraft and instrument subsystems. Jaunich 

will be honored Sept. 13 at the space club's monthly luncheon meeting in Cape Canaveral, along with 

three recipients of annual Lifetime Achievement Awards: * Larry Ellis of Jupiter is a 47-year veteran and 

former director of space shuttle processing and integration, director of expendable vehicles and deputy 

director of [ntemational Space Station work at Kennedy Space Center. * Norman Neiman of Winter Park 

over 50 years has worked on Delta and Atlas rockets. During the Apollo program, he served as Grumman 

Aerospace Corp.'s chief support engineer for lunar module ground systems at KSC. * Chester Wasileski 

of Titusville is a former director of project engineering responsible for all KSC facilities. Projects 

included modifications to Launch Complex 39 in preparation for the shuttle program. Web posted. 

(20 11). [National Space Club's Rising Star award is part of space ceremonies [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , September 5].] 

September 6: Federal budget cuts in Florida likely to hurt 

With hopes dimming that a congressional"super committee" can devise a plan to fix the federal deficit, 

Florida officials already are bracing for $1.2 trillion in budget cuts that automatically would go into effect 

ifpolicymakers can't reach an agreement by year's end. What gets cut, and who is affected, is largely 

undecided. But there is growing concern that the cuts could lead to lost jobs in the defense industry, 

further contractions at NASA's Kennedy space Center and delays or worse for projects such as beach 

restoration and Everglades preservation. "The only thing certain about this is the uncertainty," said 

Marcia Howard, executive director of Federal Funds lnformation for States, which tracks federal 

spending to states. Early clues suggest retirees in Weston would fare better than military contractors in 

Orlando, and low-income and senior "safety-net" programs will be protected. That's a major reason why 

Florida would be hurt less than most states. Most worrisome to Florida business leaders are any defense 

cuts. With about two dozen major bases and command centers, Florida receives about $30 billion in 

defense dollars annually with an total economic footprint nearing $60 billion. "Defense has a huge impact 

on the economic health of Florida," said Joe Marino, president of Florida League of Defense Contractors. 

Web posted. (2011 ). [Federal budget cuts in Florida likely to hurt [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, September 6].] 

Weather Iffy for Delta Rocket Launch Thursday 

NASA aims to launch a mission to the moon this week but stormy weather could conspire to keep a 

United Launch Alliance Delta ll rocket on the ground. The 125-foot Delta 0 Heavy is scheduled to blast 

off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Launch Complex 17B at 8:37a.m. Thursday. A second, 60-

second window will open at 9: 16a.m. if need be. Nestled atop the rocket: NASA's twin GRAIL 

spacecraft. The mirror-image satellites will map the gravitational field of the moon during an 82-day 

science campaign next spring. They are due to arrive at the moon on Dec 31 and Jan. I after a low-energy 

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approach to Earth's sole natural satellite. The weather forecast for launch is a bit iffy. It calls for a 60-

percent chance that thunderstorms or electrically charged clouds would keep the rocket grounded either 

Thursday or Friday. w ,eb posted. (2011 ). [Weather Iffy for Delta Rocket Launch Thursday [Online]. 

AvaiJable WWW: http://www.tloridatoday.com/ theflame trench blog [2011 , September 6].] 

Minotaur launch campaign begins at AJaska spaceport 

Preparations to launch a U.S. Navy communications satellite have kicked off in Alaska three weeks 

before a souped-up Minotaur rocket will pilot the spacecraft to an orbit 7,500 miles above Earth. 

Technicians began transferring the three lower stages of the Minotaur 4 rocket to Launch Pad No. 1 at 

Kodiak Launch Complex on Monday, kicking off assembly of the solid-fueled launcher ahead of its Sept. 

27 blastoff. The Minotaur's ftrst stage, a decommissioned SR 118 Peacekeeper missile motor, was placed 

atop the launch pad's pedestal Monday. The second and third stages of the Minotaur 4 will be stacked 

Tuesday, according to Alaska Aerospace Corp., which operates the oceanfront launch complex. The 

launch site is positioned on the southern shore of Kodiak Island in southern Alaska. Workers inside a 

clean room at Kodiak are finishing up work on TacSat 4, a Navy-led satellite designed to offer additional 

UHF communications channels to U.S. forces in Afghanistan and the Middle East. Once the satellite is 

fueled and configured for launch next week, engineers will enclose the I ,000-pound craft inside the 

Minotaur 4 rocket's 92-inch payload fairing. The Minotaur's fourth stage and nose cone should be moved 

to the launch pad attached to the rocket around Sept. 14, according to the Air .Force, which is providing 

the launch services for the Defense Department's Operationally Responsive Space office. After fina l 

readiness reviews and a mission dress rehearsal, officials will give a fma l go-ahead for liftoff Sept. 27 at 

approximately 1545 GMT (11 :45 a.m. EDT), or just before sunrise at the Alaska launch site. Web 

posted. (2011). [Minotaur launch campaign begins at Alaska spaceport [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, September 6].] 

September 7: Pratt might jettison Rocketdyne 

With support to explore outer space waning in Congress, Pratt & Whitney's president said the company is 

considering a sale of its Rocketdyne division. Pratt, a division of Hartford-based United Technologies 

Corp., acquired Rocketdyne in 2005 for $700 million. Richard Pettibone, an aerospace analyst for 

Newtown-based Forecast International, said U.S. space exploration is facing an uncertain future. He said 

this is the first time since the country ventured beyond the atmosphere that it doesn't have a clearly 

defmed mission. While the space program is bogged down by budgetary concerns and political 

arguments over its direction, exploration will not completely end and that means Rocketdyne "could be 

on the forefront of space technology in four or five years," Pettibone said. But the company is looking at 

some difficulties. Rocketdyne supplied the main engine for the Space Shuttle missions, which have 

been discontinued. However, it does provide the booster for other rockets used for sateiJite launches. A 

Delta ll rocket, using a Rocketdyne booster engine, is scheduled to launch Thursday, carrying the $496 

million Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory project from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Web posted. 

(2011). [Pratt migbtjeUison Rocketdyne [Online]. AvaiJable WWW: http://www.ctpost.com/ [2011 , 

September 7].] 

Meet a moon-walker, Uhur a of 'Star Trek' at KSC 

Crowds at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex viewing Thursday's scheduled launch of the 

GRAIL mission to the moon also will be able to meet an Apollo moon-walker and a Starship Enterprise 

officer. The visitor complex has scheduled four days of activities, beginning today, surrounding the 

mission, including Thursday's appearances by Apollo 16 astronaut Charlie Duke Jr. and Nichelle Nichols, 

who played Lt. Uhura on the original "Star Trek" TV series. With the shuttle program ended, officials of 

the visitor complex and other Space Coast tourism businesses hope to spark growing spectator interest in 

unmanned launches like this one. A United Launch Alliance Delta ll Heavy rocket will carry the twin 

Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory-- or GRAIL -- spacecraft to the moon. The spacecraft will 

orbit the moon for several months, collecting data of the gravity field, helping scientists determine the 

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L 

structure of the lunar interior and to advance understanding of the evolution of the moon. During his visit 

Thursday [September 8th] to the visitor complex, Duke will discuss his experiences on the moon's 

surface, conduct a book signing and host a special "Lunch with an Astronaut" program. Nichols will mark 

the 45th anniversary of the ftrst airing of the original "Star Trek" television series by signing autographs 

and taking photos with people at the visitor complex. In 1977 and 1978, Nichols worked to help recruit 

the first women and minority astronauts for the space shuttle program. Web posted. (20 I I). [Meet a 

moon-walker, Uhura of'Star Trek' at KSC [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[20 I I , September 7].] 

NASA stays positive on Soyuz fixes 

NASA is confident its Russian partners will fmd and fix the cause of an Aug. 24 Soyuz U rocket failure in 

time to avoid evacuating the International Space Station, U.S. space agency chief Charlie Bolden said 

Wednesday. "We're getting to the point where we're going to satisfy ourselves that we can launch an 

unmanned vehicle to demonstrate that Soyuz is still OK, and then we'll fly the crew up on a nonnal Soyuz 

mission later this fall ," Bolden said during a visit at Ketmedy Space Center. An evacuation of the 

International Space Station became a possibility after a robotic Russian supply ship bound for the outpost 

was lost in a launch failure. An engine powering the third stage of the rocket shut down in flight, and the 

Soyuz U and its cargo broke apart during a resulting atmospheric reentry over a remote area in the Altai 

Republic. The Soyuz FG rockets used to launch people to the station have a similar third-stage engine. 

So Russian engineers want to make sure they resolve the problem before launching the next outpost crew. 

That crew "is still in training and ready to go when we say they're going to go," said Bolden, a former 

shuttle pilot and mission commander. Web posted. (2011). [NASA stays positive on Soyuz fixes 

[Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , September 8).] 

September 8: NASA Lunar Launch Delayed Until Saturday 

The planned launch Friday of NASA's twin moon mappers aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta ll 

Heavy has been postponed until Saturday so engineers can review propulsion system data gathered during 

the draining of propellants from the rocket after an scrubbed initial attempt Thursday. The 12-story 

rocket and NASA's lunar gravity field mappers now are scheduled to blast off at 8:29 a.m. Saturday. A 

second opportunity would come at 9:08 a.m. that day if need be. The forecast for Saturday calls for a 60 

percent chance conditions will be acceptable for launch. The exact nature of the propulsion system 

problem was not clear when NASA and United Launch Alliance announced the postponement late today. 

However, the rocket's onboard tanks were drained of all propellant after a launch attempt was scrubbed 

Thursday due to higher-than-allowable upper-altitude winds. Web posted. (20 II). [NASA Lunar Launch 

Delayed Until Saturday [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog 

[20 II , September 8].] 

A TK tests five-segment motor 

Alliant Techsystems (A TK) successfully carried out Thursday the third test of a five-segment 

solid rocket motor that could be used for NASA's Space Launch System and a commercial 

rocket. The test of Demonstration Motor 3 (DM-3), held Thursday afternoon at ATK's Utah 

facilities, was primarily intended to test the motor's performance at hot temperatures. ATK 

officials declared the test a success shortly after the two-minute motor firing. The five-segment 

motor, based on the four-segment motors used for the Space Shuttle program, was originally 

intended for the Ares launch vehicles are to be developed for the Constellation program. Now, 

the motor may be used for the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket that replaced Ares, 

although no formal design decision has been released by NASA. A TK has also announced plans 

for a commercial rocket, Liberty, that would use the motor as its first stage. Web posted. (2011). 

[A TK tests five-segment motor [Online). Available WWW: http://www .spacetoday.net/ [20 I l, 

September 8].] 

252 
September 9: SpaceX Acknowledges Falcon 9 Engine Anomaly 

Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Corp. acknowledged that its Falcon 9 rocket experienced an 

engine anomaly during its December launch of the company's reusable Dragon space capsule. "I'd call it 

an oxidizer-rich shutdown," former NASA astronaut Ken Bowersox, SpaceX's vice president of astronaut 

safety and mission assurance, told Space News in a Sept. 9 interview. "So because of that, when you get 

that mixture change happening, the temperatures can go up higher than you want inside the gas 

generator." That presents an obstacle for SpaceX, which eventually intends to reuse the nine Merlin 

engines that power the Falcon 9. Despite the engine anomaly, Falcon 9 successfully delivered Dragon to 

orbit during the Dec. 8 mission, an orbital demonstration flight conducted under NASA's Commercial 

Orbital Transportation Service (COTS) program. Web posted. (2011). [SpaceX Acknowledges Falcon 9 

Engine Anomaly [Online). Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 , September 9).) 

September 10: NASA selects newly formed nonprofit to manage space station lab research 

The promise of a diverse science portfoho including experiments that could produce valuable products on 

Earth helped a Florida nonprofit win responsibility for non-NASA research on the International Space 

Station. NASA on Friday formally announced a 1 0-year agreement with the Kennedy Space Center-based 

Center for the Advancement of Science in Space, or CASlS, which will manage the portion of the station 

designated a U.S. National Lab. Agency officials said the center's proposal, led by Space Florida, stood 

out from three others because of its process for evaluating not only basic science but experiments that 

might have useful commercial applications. With assembly of the 15-nation, $1 00-billion station 

completed during the final shuttle missions earlier this year, NASA and its partners are focusing attention 

on science research and "utilization" of the complex. Congress designated the outpost a National Lab in 

2005 and NASA was required to tum over its management to an independent entity. The lab offers access 

to U.S., European and Japanese facilities inside and outside the station. Time allotted for U.S. research is 

split 50-50 with NASA, which will continue its own experiments. The station is expected to operate until 

at least 2020, though a recent problem with a Russian rocket has already raised concerns about keeping it 

staffed through this year. The center became a functioning entity last week and is in the process of hiring 

up to 30 or 40 staff members who will be based at the Space Life Sciences Lab at KSC and operate with 

$15 million from NASA. Space Florida, the state's aerospace economic development agency, considers 

the center's selection a key win in its effort to diversify the area's space industry after the shuttle program 

and to rebrand Kennedy as more than a place to launch rockets. Web posted. (2011). [NASA selects 

newly formed nonprofit to manage space station lab research [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, September 1 0].) 

Delta II launches on GRAIL moon mission 

A United Launch Alliance Delta n rocket blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station today, 

setting sail with two NASA moon mappers on the first leg of lunar excursion. The 12-story rocket 

launched at 9:08 a.m., the second of two, one-second opportunities to put the spacecraft on course for a 

three-month journey to the moon. The launch is the first leg of a $496 million mission to map the 

gravitational field of the moon. Doing so will enable scientists to determine the make-up of the moon 

from crust to core. Web posted. (2011). [Delta [J launches on GRAIL moon mission [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, September 10].] 

September 11: NASA set to fund space taxi systems 

NASA next year will fund the development of at least two space taxi systems that could return astronauts 

to orbit aboard U.S. vehicles by late 2016. The agency this week released draft terms of a contract that 

aims to complete designs of those systems by 2014, after which one or more would be chosen for a 

follow-up phase that builds and tests vehicles. The draft request for proposals proves the agency's 

commitment "to outsource our space station transportation so NASA can focus its energy and resources 

on deep space exploration," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said in a statement. Potential providers 

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of the outsourced crew flights, which would launch from the Space Coast, have a month to review and 

comment on the draft before a final version is released late this year. SpaceX is one of the four 

companies that shared nearly $270 million in NASA funding this year to advance designs of spacecraft 

able to fly people to and from the International Space Station. Blue Origin, The Boeing Co. and Sierra 

Nevada Corp. Space Systems were the others. The next contract phase intends to develop integrated 

transportation systems, combining spacecraft with launch vehicles, escape systems and aJI the ground 

systems necessary to launch at least four astronauts to the station. Expected to be awarded next summer, 

the next contract phase could be worth $1.6 billion between 20 12 and 2014, NASA says. NASA last week 

announced it would abandon the use of more simple Space Act Agreements in favor of federal contracts 

that some companies consider more costly and bureaucratic. Representatives of NASA's Commercial 

Crew Program, based at Kennedy Space Center, called the contracts a non-traditional compromise that 

meets legal obligations while limiting burdensome requirements. The contract would award companies 

fixed payments when technical milestones are met and a series of three system and safety reviews 

completed. Web posted. (2011). [NASA set to fund space taxi systems (Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 II , September II).] 

September 12: Rocket assembly underway for Mars launch 

United Launch Alliance has begun assembling the Atlas 5 rocket that will dispatch NASA's Curiosity 

rover to Mars in November, commencing a campaign to prepare the copper and white launcher for liftoff. 

Workers trucked the 106-foot-long first stage of the Atlas 5 rocket Thursday [September 8th] from the 

Atlas Spaceflight Operations Center to Complex 41 , the seaside launch pad from which Atlas vehicles 

blast off with payloads for the U.S. military and NASA. The first stage was lifted upright inside the pad's 

Vertical Integration Facility and placed atop a mobile launch platfonn. United Launch Alliance was 

supposed to start adding four solid rocket boosters around the circumference of the Atlas first stage this 

week. The rocket's Centaur upper stage will be stacked Sept. 20. The rocket's wet dress rehearsal, which 

includes a practice countdown and fueling of the launch vehicle, is scheduled for Oct. 12. Cocooned 

inside the Atlas rocket's five-meter diameter nose cone, the Mars Science Laboratory will be transported 

from its clean room at the Kennedy Space Center to the launch pad in November. Liftoff of the $2.5 

billion mission to Mars is set for Nov. 25. The Curiosity rover will touch down on Mars in August 2012 

to begin searching for clues the Red Planet was once habitable for life. Web posted. (2011). [Rocket 

assembly underway for Mars launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ 

[20 I I , September 12).] 

September 13: Shuttles live on at Kennedy Space Center - Legoland version 

The soon-to-open Legoland Florida has chosen Kennedy Space Center to be among its Miniland USA 

models, and the space shuttle program is alive and well in small block form. The park opens on Oct. 15. 

Web posted. (2011). [Shuttles live on at Kennedy Space Center- Legoland version [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ the write stu.!Jblog [20 11 , September 13].] 

Russia Announces Next Manned Space Flights 

Russia has announced the dates of its next manned space flights, after delaying previously scheduled 

missions following the crash of an unmanned Soyuz rocket carrying cargo to the International Space 

Station. In a statement Tuesday, Russia's space agency Roskosmos said the next manned space flights are 

now set for November 12 and December 20. The Soyuz crash last month prompted Russia to cancel aU 

manned flights pending an investigation into the accident. Roskosmos also announced plans to send an 

unmanned cargo ship to the space station on October 30. Earlier, the Russian space agency said it would 

like to send two unmanned missions up before flying any manned missions. With the retirement of the 

U.S. Space Shuttle fleet, Russia is the only country capable of sending manned missions into space. But 

Roskosmos says it is closely consulting with its colleagues at the U.S. space agency, NASA, regarding 

upcoming missions. The first three of the six astronauts on board the International Space Station are 

scheduled to return to Earth on Friday. NASA raised the prospect of bringing the remaining crew home if 

254 
the space station cannot be resupplied by the end ofNovember. Web posted. (2011). [Russia Announces 

Next Manned Space Flights [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011, September 

13).] 

NASA experts to assist ATK on commercial crew rocket 

NASA and Alliant Techsystems Inc., a leading rocket contractor, announced Tuesday they will share data 

and expertise in helping design and develop the Liberty rocket, a U.S.-European launcher that could haul 

humans into Earth orbit by 2015.ln a press conference at the Kennedy Space Center, government and 

industry officials said the unfunded Space Act Agreement, or SAA, will allow both entities to 

communicate and collectively analyze the design of the Liberty rocket. Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, 

will continue funding development of the Liberty rocket with internal capital under the Space Act 

Agreement, which includes four milestones and runs through March 2012. The company plans to bid for 

NASA funding next year. "An SAA is an approach in which we both share data and we both share ideas 

to move forward with a particular design or a particular concept," said Ed Mango, manager of NASA's 

commercial crew program. "We believe that this effort that we start today will go through next spring and 

will allow ATK and the commercial crew team, our team of managers, engineers and safety folks, to 

explore the Liberty design that ATK is wanting to talk about." ATK's Liberty concept was passed up in 

April when NASA directed funds to four companies designing and testing commercial spacecraft that 

could transport astronaut crews to the International Space Station. The agreement between NASA and 

A TK covers technical exchanges during the preliminary design review phase of the Liberty program, 

according to ATK. Mango said NASA would aid ATK with structural, thermal and vibration analyses, 

plus ·other core engineering disciplines. If Liberty is ultimately approved for operations, it could be ready 

for test flights in 2014 and launching astronauts into orbit by 2015. ATK says the Liberty will cost about 

$180 million per flight. Web posted. (2011). [NASA experts to assist ATK on commercial crew rocket 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , September 13).] 

September 14: NASA unveils next spaceship - a hybrid shuttle 

After months of debate, NASA has settled on plans for its next spaceship - a space shuttle hybrid that 

will fly twice in the next decade and cost $30 billion through 2021, according to senior administration 

officials and internal NASA documents. That NASA decided to recycle elements of the shuttle is not 

unexpected. Last year, Congress and the White House agreed NASA should reuse equipment from old 

programs and the new design - which includes a giant fuel tank and two booster rockets - largely 

reflects that compromise. The most noticeable change is the plane-like orbiter will be replaced by an 

Apollo-like crew capsule atop the tank. What is surprising - and potentially controversial - is the cost 

and scope of the new mission, especially since NASA largely is relying on 30-year-old technology to 

build the new rocket. As scheduled, NASA will fly an unmanned test flight in 2017 and a crewed mission 

in 2021. If NASA stays. on budget, which is far from certain given NASA's history of cost overruns, each 

mission would cost about $15 billion apiece, although planned missions after 2021 would reduce that 

average price tag. Related NASA documents show there would be a flight every year or two after 2021 . 

Unknown, however, is the destination. A senior administration official, who was not authorized to speak 

on the record, said NASA had not picked where it planned to send either the unmanned capsule in 2017 or 

the crewed capsule in 2021. Web posted. (2011). [NASA unveils next spaceship- a hybrid shuttle 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , September 14].] 

By the numbers: NASA's Space Launch System 

Billed as the biggest rocket ever built, NASA's concept for a behemoth heavy-lift booster unveiled 

Wednesday will initially weigh 5.5 million pounds, stand taller than the Statue of Liberty and generate 10 

percent more thrust than the Saturn 5 moon rocket produced at liftoff. Powered from the launch pad on 

its first flight by two solid rocket boosters and three hydrogen-fueled main engines, the Space Launch 

System would initially haul 70 metric tons, or about 154,000 pounds, of payload into low Earth orbit. 

That's more than double the lift capacity of any operational launch vehicle today. NASA says it will cost 

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$10 billion to design and develop the mega-booster in time for its first test launch by the end of 2017. It 

will cost another $6 billion to get the Orion capsule, or Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, ready for flight. 

Modifications and upgrades to launch infrastructure at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida will cost $2 

billion more. The twin five-segment solid rocket motors and three RS-250/E engines are derived from 

equipment used on the space shuttle program. It's likely the early missions of the enormous rocket would 

fly with hardware that helped launch space shuttles. NASA plans to plug its existing inventory of space 

shuttle main engines for the first few heavy-lift rocket flights. The engines are designed to be reusable, 

but they would crash back to Earth and be destroyed with the launcher's 27.5-foot-diameter core stage on 

SLS missions. In its earliest crew configuration, the super rocket will stand 320 feet tall and weigh as 

much as 24 fully-loaded Boeing 747 jumbo jets. Its three main engines and pair of boosters will ramp up 

to 8.4 million pounds of chest-thumping thrust at liftoff, more than the Saturn 5 moon rocket or the space 

shuttle. That thrust level is equivalent to the horsepower of 160,000 Chevrolet Corvette engines, 

according to NASA. With the addition of two more RD-250/E engines on the first stage, the Space 

Launch System's "evolved" architecture would be able to deliver 130 metric tons, or 286,000 pounds, of 

mass to low Earth orbit. Its voluminous nose fairing would carry 9 school buses into space. Its mass 

would increase to 6.5 million pounds and it would stand as tall as a 40-story building. The extra 

propulsion would raise its liftoff thrust to 9.2 million pounds, 20 percent more than the Saturn 5 rocket's 

powerful F-1 first stage engines. Web posted. (2011). [By the numbers: NASA's Space Launch System 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, September 14].] 

September 15: Test flight could bring 2,000 KSC jobs 

Preparations for a 2017 test flight ofNASA's giant new rocket for deep space exploration could add up to 

2,000 jobs at Kennedy Space Center, the center director said Thursday. "Those folks will need to be here 

processing the rocket for the launch," KSC chief Bob Cabana told reporters. Cabana expects the jobs to 

start coming online in 2014 or 2015, reversing the sharp drop in contractors that accompanied the shuttle 

fleet's retirement this year. Total KSC employment is expected to drop to about 8,200 within a year or 

two, down from 15,000 in early 2009. It's now about 9,000. Cabana expects the total to rebound to about 

10,000 "in the 2016 timeframe" as engineers and technicians prepare the 320-foot Space Launch System 

for an unmanned test launch. NASA on Wednesday announced plans to build the rocket and the Orion 

crew capsule at a cost of $3 billion atmually. The job projections are very preliminary, and actual 

numbers will depend on contracts yet to be awarded. But Cabana estimated between 1 ,300 and 1 ,600 

people would be needed to work on the heavy-lift rocket and related ground systems. Another 300 to 400 

would perform fmal assembly and checkout of Orion, which NASA hopes to fly with a crew for the flfSt 

time in 2021. Test flights of Orion and its abort system could occur as early as 2014. But with the first 

crewed flight at least a decade away, some local officials aren't convinced the program will create any 

quick influx of local jobs. "In the early years it's going to use up existing hardware, so if there are jobs 

associated with those early years for Florida, it's not clear that they are significant," Space Florida 

President Frank DiBello said Wednesday. Cabana also pointed to NASA programs readying commercial 

rockets and spacecraft for launches of cargo and astronauts to the International Space Station as the 

nearer-term reason for excitement. "I think what we really need to look forward to is commercial work 

here at the Kennedy Space Center, making sure that commercial space is enabled," he said. NASA hopes 

to see conunercial flights from the cape by 2015 or 2016. Their job impact is unknown, but some 

manufacturing and processing work could be perfonned at KSC. Before any heavy-lift rocket hardware 

arrives, KSC's focus is on transitioning former shuttle facilities to support the new vehicle, work already 

begun under the now-cancelled Constellation program. At pad 39B, the fixed and rotating towers have 

been dismantled, a new lightning protection system erected and state-of-the-art computer and 

communication systems installed. A Vehicle Assembly Building high bay must be configured for the big 

rocket and a mobile launch tower-- originally built to support Constellation's Ares I rocket-- must be 

modified and outfitted. "All of this construction-type work starts right now," Cabana said. "We're just 

going to keep on doing what we've been doing, and KSC will be ready when this rocket comes." Web 

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posted. (2011). [Test flight could bring 2,000 KSCjobs [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www. floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , September 15].] 

September 16: Senate panel OKs $18B for NASA 

A key Senate panel voted Thursday to approve $17.9 billion for NASA in fiscal 2012, a nearly 3 percent 

drop from this year's funding level but enough to move forward with key science and space exploration 

priorities. Approval of the spending bill, which now goes to the full Senate for a vote, comes a day after 

the space agency unveiled its long-awaited $30 billion plan for the mega-rocket it plans to build to reach 

asteroids and Mars. The bill includes $3 billion for the heavy-lift rocket, which is scheduled for an 

unmanned test launch in 2017 and an inaugural crewed flight in 2021. That's roughly the amount the 

House approved earlier this year. The Senate bill also includes $500 million for commercial space 

operations that will continue flights to the International Space Station in the post-shuttle era. That's about 

$200 million more than the House approved. The bill also would provide $530 million to continue 

developing the James Webb Space Telescope, successor to the Hubble Space Telescope and a priority for 

NASA scientists. That amount could finance a 2018 launch of the telescope from Kennedy Space Center, 

said Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Md., who shepherded funding for the project. The House legislation 

would provide no money at all for the telescope, even though work on the project bas been going on for 

years. Lawmakers and administration officials had been told the project would cost $1.6 billion and 

would be launched this year. But the price tag has soared to $8.7 billion with a launch date no sooner than 

2018. Web posted. (2011). [Senate panel OKs $18B for NASA [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.tloridatoday.com/ [2011, September 16].] 

September 19: NASA Releases Commercial Crew Draft RFP 

NASA unveiled Monday an outline of its acquisition strategy to procure transportation services from 

private industry to carry U.S. astronauts to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station. The 

agency also announced the addition of optional milestones for the Commercial Crew Development Round 

2 (CCDev2) initiative. NASA's draft request for proposal (RFP) outlines a contract that will be awarded 

to multiple companies that provide a complete end-to-end design, including spacecraft, launch vehicles, 

launch services, ground and mission operations and recovery. The Integrated Design Contract (IDC) of up 

to $1.61 billion will run from July 2012 through April 2014. "This IDC effort will bring us through the 

critical design phase to fully incorporate our human spaceflight safety requirements and NASA's 

International Space Station mission needs," said NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Ed Mango. 

"We look forward to strong U.S. industry response." Bolden also announced Monday at a speech to the 

Air Force Association's 2011 Air and Space Conference that NASA will fund optional milestones prenegotiated as part of some of the original CCDev2 Space Act Agreements (SAA) to help accelerate 

development. NASA amended Sierra Nevada Corp.'s SAA to include four optional milestones for a total 

of $25.6 million, bringing the potential value of Sierra Nevada's SAA to $105.6 million, if all milestones 

are completed successfully. NASA also amended Boeing's SAA to include three optional milestones for 

a total of $20.6 million, bringing the potential value of Boeing's SAA to $112.9 million, if all milestones 

are reached. "All four CCDev2 partners are performing very well and meeting their milestones," said Phil 

McAlister, director of NASA's Commercial Spaceflight Development. "These additional milestones were 

selected because they sufficiently accelerated the development of commercial crew transportation systems 

to justify additional NASA investment." Web posted. (20 11 ). [NASA Releases Commercial Crew Draft 

RFP, Announces CCDEV2 Optional Milestones [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ 

[2011, September 19].] 

Space shuttle launch gantries gone 

The historic space shuttle gantries that for decades stood at Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center are 

no more. After more than two years of careful "deconstruction" work, demolition crews told NASA last 

week that the pad was clean of the fixed and rotating service structures that supported the launch of 53 

shuttle missions. Started in 2009 in support of NASA's now-canceled Constellation program and its Ares 

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rockets, work to clear the towers was focused on converting 39B to a "clean pad," capable of launching 

different types of manned and unmanned boosters. The pad may now be leased by NASA to companies 

providing commercial rockets to fly astronauts to the International Space Station. Or, together with its 

yet-to-be-cleaned twin pad 39A, Pad 39B could also be used to support NASA's recently revealed heavylift Space Launch System vehicle. Future rockets launching from Pad 398 will arrive with their own 

mobile gantries, similar to how the pad got its start more than 40 years ago. First used to launch the 

Apollo l 0 mission on a Sa tum V rocket in May 1969, Pad 398 was augmented for the shuttle program 

with a 267 -foot fixed service structure assembled in part from one of the mobile launchers that supported 

the earlier moon-bound flights. A 130-foot-high, 1 02-foot-long rotating service structure was also erected 

to protect the shuttle orbiters from the elements and provide access to their cargo bays. Together, Pad 

39B's fixed and rotating towers supported two decades of shuttle launches. The gantries' first shuttle 

launch was the ill-fated Jan. 28, 1986, mission, which ended 73 seconds into flight with the tragic loss of 

Challenger and its crew. Fifty-two missions later, Discovery's STS-116 crew became the last to cross the 

fixed service structure's orbiter access arm and launch on a shuttle from Pad 39B on Dec. 9, 2006. One 

more rocket lifted off from Pad 39B before the towers were removed. NASA's Ares 1-X unmanned test 

flight launched on Oct. 28, 2009, after new lightning protection towers were erected around the pad and 

two of the fixed service struchlfe's access arms had been detached, lowered and removed. NASA paid 

$1.3 million to L V1 Environmental Services of New York to remove the historic towers piece-by-piece to 

avoid damaging the concrete pad foundation. Per the company's contract with the space agency, the 

gantries' scrap metal was recycled. Web posted. (2011). [Space shuttle law1ch gantries gone [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , September 19].] 

September 20: Florida raises concern over Wallops expansion 

In a move to protect their turf, Florida space leaders are sending letters in opposition to a proposed 

expansion at Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia, warning a move to expand the launch range there could 

be "duplicative" of work done at Kennedy Space Center. The concern is not without merit. Wallops 

Flight Facility has a godmother in U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski, D-Maryland, who chairs the powerful 

Senate subcommittee with control of NASA's dollars. If Wallops were to expand its launch capabilities, 

she likely could steer even more dollars there. It's a situation feared by Florida policymakers, as Kennedy 

Space Center already is struggling to develop an identity now the space shuttle era bas ended. State 

leaders want Florida to remain the prime provider of orbital flights for NASA for astronauts to the 

International Space Station. "The most pressing issue for the Florida workforce is the sense of betrayal 

that their tax dollars might be used in establishing a competing orbital human spaceflight launch 

capability in another state when they have so well and ably done the job here in Florida," wrote Lynda 

Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast. 

Added Frank DiBello, president of Space Florida, suggested the work could be "duplicative" and raised 

the possibility of holding a public meeting down in Florida. Web posted. (2011). [Florida raises concern 

over Wallops expansion [Online). Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ the write stuff 

blog [20 11, September 20].] 

September 22: Shuttle Columbia accident cut plans to retrieve now-falling satellite 

Shuttle astronauts could have retrieved the NASA satellite now expected to rain a half-ton of wreckage on 

Earth on Friday, but that option was discarded after the 2003 Columbia accident. Just like NASA's 

flagship Hubble Space Telescope, the 6.5-ton Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was 

designed in the 1980s with a large, pin-like grapple fixture so the shuttle's robot arm could deploy and 

retrieve it. The intent was to enable shuttle astronauts to bring the behemoth home at the end of its 

scientific life. But NASA abandoned that option when the space agency reduced its shuttle mission 

schedule to a bare-bones minimum after the Joss of Columbia and seven astronauts. NASA engineers and 

astronauts in 2001 reviewed concepts for a shuttle mission to retrieve the 35-foot-long satellite, which is 

15 feet in diameter. At least one spacewalk would have been required to safely stow the satellite's powerproducing solar wing and other appendages. But the satellite, which was launched on Discovery in 1991 , 

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operated for 14 years -- more than a decade longer than expected. It wasn't decommissioned until 2005 --

a time when NASA still was struggling to return the shuttle fleet to service. As it stands, the UARS 

spacecraft is expected to reenter the atmosphere this afternoon. Most of the spacecraft will bum up during 

a fiery plunge back through the atmosphere. But analysts expect 26 pieces weighing a total of about 1,200 

pounds to survive and strike Earth. NASA officials and Air Force space surveillance trackers will not 

know exactly where the debris will fall until the reentry takes place. Web posted. (20 11). [Shuttle 

Columbia accident cut plans to retrieve now-falling satellite [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , September 22].] 

September 26: ASAP want NASA to avoid "going native" with CCP partners 

NASA's Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) have recommended that NASA personnel embedded 

at commercial companies should be rotated, in order to avoid them "going native", which they fear 

threatens rule bending as the teams' working relationship becomes closer over time. Meanwhile, SpaceX 

are waiting on decision to see if they can combine their next two Dragon COTS missions. Two main 

arms of commercial association with NASA are currently being worked, with the initial cargo resupply 

efforts via the CRS (Commercial Resupply Services) contracts and the interim work on the returning 

domestic US crew capability for the lntemational Space Station (ISS) via the Commercial Crew 

Development (CCDev) initiatives. In the program which is also known as COTS (Commercial Orbital 

Transportation Services), SpaceX - with their Falcon 9launch vehicle and Dragon capsule - are by far 

the best known commercial company in the public arena, as they aim to build on their cargo resupply 

progress with the role of launching crew to the ISS. As mentioned, NASA are closely tied in with the 

main commercial companies, allowing them to monitor on the progress being made on their CRS and 

CCDev milestones. This embedded approach involves actual NASA managers working alongside the 

commercial companies in an oversight role. Also known as Partner Integration Teams (PIT), their role 

was one of the subjects at the ASAP Third Quarterly (2011) meeting, which cited concerns about NASA 

workers "going native" and becoming too close to their commercial colleagues, which may threaten how 

objective they are in reporting back to their NASA bosses. "Finding: The Commercia.! Crew Program 

(CCP) will utilize embedded PIT members to closely follow and guide commercial partner design 

processes to help ensure that their result meets NASA expectations and requirements. The Panel 

recognizes the importance of this method of obtaining insight and encourages it," noted meeting notes, 

which were sent to NASA administrator Charlie Bolden. "However, caution must be exercised to prevent 

these government representatives from psychologically and culturally becoming part of the partner's team 

mentality, or 'going native.'" As such, the ASAP recommends that embedded NASA PITs should be 

rotated, on a tour of duty cycle, so as to avoid NASA teams getting too close to their assignment. 

"Recommendation: The Panel recommends that the CCP develop a written policy specifying team 

rotation schedules based on tour of duty, milestones, or other appropriate criteria, to ensure a fresh set of 

eyes are always protecting the government's interest for the insight portion of the acquisition strategy. 

"Rationale: History has shown that buyer representatives embedded with supplier development teams are 

subject to "bending the rules" to aid the development team that they begin to feel part of. Preplanned 

rotation is one means of minimizing this effect." Overall, the ASAP appear happy with the roadmap to 

the commercial companies taking over the main role of LEO - thus allowing NASA to focus on Beyond 

Earth Orbit (BEO) exploration. Web posted. (2011). [ASAP want NASA to avoid "going native" with 

CCP partners - SpaceX Latest [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nasaspacellight.com/ [2011 , 

September 26].] 

September 27: HuntonBrady to design KSC facility 

NASA chose HuntonBrady Architects in Orlando to design its central c_ampus complex at Kennedy Space 

Center. The complex will consolidate operations that are currently in multiple buildings. The five-year 

contract comes with five, one-year options and has a maximum potential value of $25 million. FIGG 

Bridge Engineers Inc. of Tallahassee got a similar contract for work on renovation and replacement of 

259 

I 
bridges at the space center and at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Web posted. (2011). [HuntonBrady 

to design KSC facility [OnJine). Available WWW: http://www.bizjournals.com/ [201 1, September 27].] 

Minotaur 4 rocket blazes fiery trail into space 

A Minotaur rocket derived from decommissioned nuclear missile parts blasted off at 1549 GMT (11 :49 

a.m. EDT; 7:49 a.m. Alaska time) today from the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska. The launch is 

carrying a U.S. Navy communications satellite to aid troops deployed in battle zones like Afghanistan and 

Iraq. This is the I OOth launching of an NRL built satellite. Web posted. (20 II). [Minotaur 4 rocket 

blazes fiery trail into space [Online). Available WWW: http://www.usatoday.com/ [2011 , September 

27).] 

September 28: Kennedy Space Center sees plan for landmark overhaul 

NASA is taking its first steps this week toward converting 50-year-old Kennedy Space Center into a 

vibrant modern spaceport where both the agency and commercial companies can operate. With a new era 

of human space exploration and orbital enterprise opening, NASA started architectural design work 

Tuesday aimed at building a new $200 million to $300 million Central Campus Complex in the KSC 

Industrial Area. The landmark NASA Headquarters Building, the Central lnstrumentation Facility, 

several administrative offices and scientific laboratories - all of which played key roles in early U.S. 

space exploration - ultimately will be torn down while a new pedestrian-friendly hub of green buildings 

is raised in six phases ... You're talking about facilities that are 50 years old and getting older," said KSC 

spokesman Allard Beutel. "This is looking ahead to the next 50 years." The idea is to consolidate work in 

a central hub of modem, energy-efficient buildings that provide safer environments for engineers, 

managers and administrative personnel. The footprint of NASA facilities in the area will be reduced to 

450,000 square feet from 900,000 square feet, returning 35 percent of the land to green open space. 

NASA engineering studies show the cost of building anew would be less expensive than renovating 

existing structures, many of which were not designed to meet modern building codes. Among the 

buildings slated for demolition during the 1 0-year project: the Auditorium & Training Building and the 

Occupational Health Facility. NASA's Space Station Processing Facility and the Orion high bay in the 

Operations & Checkout Facility will remain. Beutel sa id the new buildings will be less expensive to 

operate and maintain. NASA expects to save $400 million over 40 years, he said. NASA also plans to 

refurbish or replace a number of bridges around the 140,000-acre center, which includes the Merritt 

Island National Wildlife Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore. Among the bridges to be refurbished 

or replaced: the Indian River and Banana River bridges; the Haulover Canal Bridge, the Jay Jay Railroad 

Bridge and the State Road 405 bridge than crossed over SR3. Web posted. (2011). [Kennedy Space 

Center sees plan for landmark overhaul [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[20 II, September 28].] 

September 29: Government Shutdown Averted - Till Tuesday Anyway 

The House has passed a very short term Continuing Resolution (CR ) to keep the government operating 

over the weekend. The Senate passed it on Monday so it is now ready for the President's signature. This 

"bridge" CR, which exp ires on Tuesday, is necessary because the House is meeting only in pro forma 

session this week. Very few members are in town. The CR passed by unanimous consent of those who 

were present. A multi-week CR that lasts w1til November 18 could be more controversial and House 

members wanted a more formal debate on that measure. Therefore this CR covers the several days until 

that can take place. The CRs are needed because none of the 12 appropriations bills that would fund the 

government for FY20 12 has cleared Congress yet. FY20 12 begins on Saturday, October 1. Web 

posted. (20 11 ). [Government Shutdown Averted-- Till Tuesday Anyway [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/ [2011 , September 29).] 

September 30: House appropriators tell FAA to focus more on air than space 

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Earlier this month the transportation subcommittee of the House Appropriations Committee passed a 

2012 appropriations bill that included only $13 million for the FAA's Office of Commercial Space 

Transportation (AST), less than half the administration's request of$26.6 million and below the FYI! 

level of $15 million. The report accompanying the appropriations bill has recently been released by the 

committee, and it indicates that appropriators believe the FAA should be focusing its resources more on 

aviation issues, including air traffic control, than spaceflight. "Given the challenges facing the Federal 

Aviation Administration with NextGen, safety oversight, rulemak.ing activities, and the operation of the 

world's largest 24 hour air traffic control system, the Committee denies the Administration's request for 

additional staff and resources for this office," the report states, referring toAST. "Given the constrained 

resource envirorunent that is facing the agency, the FAA can ill afford to divert resources away from core 

mission activities to this office." The big losers in the House bill are two new initiatives, a Commercial 

Spaceflight Technical Center in Florida and a proposed $5-million low-cost access to space prize. Neither 

program would receive any money in the House bill, accounting for most of the difference between the 

House bill and the administration's request. Web posted. (2011). [House appropriators tell FAA to focus 

more on air than space [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolitics.com/ [2011, September 

29].] 

NASA Awards Protective Services Contract At Kennedy 

NASA selected Chenega Security & Support Solutions, LLC of Ashburn, Va., to provide protective 

services at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The new finn, fixed price contract begins Dec. 

1 with a possible total performance period of four years, l 0 months. Phase-in begins as soon as 

practicable. The maximum potential value of this contract is approximately $151.9 million. This new 

contract resulted from a competitive small business set-aside. Chenega Security & Support Solutions, 

LLC will provide protective services at Kennedy including: physical security operations; personnel 

security; secure access, such as badging; 911 dispatch; firefighting, frre prevention and fire protection 

engineering; aircraft rescue and firefighting; advance life support ambulance services; emergency 

management and protective services training. ["NASA Awards Protective Services Contract At 

Kennedy," NASA Contract Release #Cll-043, September 30, 2011.) 

NASA Modifies Contract To Continue Ground Operations Work 

NASA signed a $49.4 million contract modification for United Space Alliance (USA) of Houston to 

continue maintaining and sustaining the ground operations capabilities at the Kennedy Space Center 

launch facilities in Florida through Sept. 30, 2012. As a result, these critical systems can be used by future 

space programs. The programs include potential commercial launch vehicle customers, the agency's 

Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle that will take astronauts farther into 

space than ever before, create high-quality jobs here at home and provide the cornerstone for America's 

future human space exploration efforts. USA has provided this support under the Space Program 

Operations Contract since 2006. The contract outlines the flight and ground processing and operations 

requirements. The modification also includes requirements for NASA 21st Century Ground Systems 

modifications to the Crawler Transporter Number 2, Launch Pad 39B life extension and Vehicle 

Assembly Building life extension. Work in support of this contract modification is performed at Kennedy 

and USA's facilities in Cape Canaveral. ["NASA Modifies Contract To Continue Ground Operations 

Work," NASA Contract Release #Cll-042, September 30, 2011 .] 

NASA Modifies Launch Service Contract To Add Delta II Rocket 

NASA announced the modification of its NASA Launch Services (NLS) II contract with United Launch 

Services of Littleton, Colo., to add the Delta II rocket launch service in accordance with the contract's onramp provision. The modification will enable United Launch Services to offer as many as five Delta n 

rockets. The NLS II contracts are multiple award, indefmite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts with 

ordering periods through June 2020. The NLS non-ramp provision provides an opportunity annually for 

new launch service providers to compete for future missions and allows existing launch service providers 

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to introduce launch vehicles not currently on their NLS II contracts. The NLS ll contracts provide for a 

minimum capability of delivering agency payloads weighing approximately 550 pounds or more to a 

minimum 124-rnile-high circular orbit with a launch inclination of28.5 degrees. The launch service 

providers also may offer a range of vehicles to NASA to meet higher payload mass and orbit 

requirements. The NLS n contracts support the goals and objectives of the agency's Human Exploration 

and Operations and Science Mission Directorates. Under the contract, NASA also can provide launch 

services to other government agencies, such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

The Launch Services Program Office at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for 

program management. [''NASA Modifies Launch Service Contract To Add Delta II Rocket," NASA 

Contract Release #Cl 1-044, September 30, 20 11.] 

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OCTOBER 

October 2: Russia resumed launches of its Soyuz rocket today 

A Soyuz-2 rocket boosted a GLONASS-M navigation satelJjte into orbit at 20:15 GMT (16: 15 EDT) 

today from Russia's Plesetsk launch site. Everything seems to have gone well according to a report on 

Ria Novosti. The launch had been scheduled for yesterday (October l ), but was postponed because of 

bad weather. There are several versions of the Soyuz rocket. The Soyuz-2 used today is similar, but not 

identical, to the one that failed in August when launching a Progress cargo spacecraft to the International 

Space Station (ISS). Today's launch is one of two that the Russians are using to recertify the rocket for 

launching crews to the ISS. Next is another Progress launch later this month on a Soyuz U. If that goes 

well, Russia plans to launch the next three ISS crewmembers on November 14 on the Soyuz FG version 

that is used for such missions. Web posted. (2011). [Russia resumed launches of its Soyuz rocket today 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceplicyonline.com/ [2011, October 2].] 

October 3: Former shuttle workers face uncertain future 

By next summer, employment at Kennedy Space Center is expected to fall to its lowest level since before 

the Apollo program blasted astronauts to the moon more than 42 years ago- a fact that doesn't surprise 

folks on the Space Coast but still causes many to wince. It bas been nearly eight years since thenPresident George W. Bush announced plans to retire the space shuttle, yet the region still is struggling to 

find good jobs for thousands of workers whose paychecks disappeared with the end of the shuttle era. 

NASA officials predict the KSC work force will number roughly 8,200 next year- about half the 15,000 

employed there in 2008. A few hundred contractors now are giving the shuttles last rites before they, too, 

join their former colleagues in a brutal job market. According to Brevard Workforce, which tracks localemployment figures, about 550 out of 5,000 aerospace workers who registered with the agency had found 

new employment as of June - although officials note the number could be larger because they rely on 

the workers to self-report. A leading factor contributing to the tough job market is uncertainty at NASA 

itself. As part of Bush's plans to cancel the shuttle, he ordered NASA to launch a new program to send 

astronauts back to the moon that would "conduct the first manned mission no later than 20 14," he said in 

2004. But that program, later dubbed Constellation, was canceled last year, and only in the past month 

has NASA replaced it with a new exploration program, which now aims to have a first manned mission 

around 2021 - to a destination yet to be selected. The repeated delays are especially hard on KSC, 

whose prime purpose has been processing NASA spacecraft for launch. Without launches, there's no need 

to keep a standing army of technicians; the sharp drop in KSC jobs reflects that reality. "The rough 

estimates we have, through the summer, is as low as 8,200, although we may have fewer layoffs than 

that," said KSC spokesman Allard Beutel. KSC employs about 9,000 civil servants and contractors, but 

that nwnber is expected to fall again next year when the workers responsible for closing out the shuttle 

program fmish their assignment. Those remaining, including about 2,100 NASA civil servants, will · 

continue doing other jobs such as engineering work for other agency programs, launch support for science 

missions and space-station research. Beutel estimated that employment would pick up again in 2013 

when NASA gets closer to debuting its new Space Launch System and that KSC would be "back up to 

I 0,000 employees within five years." Web posted. (2011). [Former shuttle workers face uncertain future 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, October 3].] 

October 4: Next SpaceX test may wait until early '12 

SpaceX's next demonstration flight for NASA is likely to slip to next year, the company says. The launch 

of a Falcon 9 rocket and unmanned Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station had been 

targeted for Nov. 30. But ongoing technical preparations and an uncertain schedule of flights to the 

International Space Station after a Russian launch failure in August will push the mission back by at least 

a few weeks. SpaceX has tentatively requested a launch opportunity Dec. 19, but CEO Elon Musk said 

last week in Washington, D.C., that the mission's timing looks "more like January." Hawthorne, Calif.-

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based SpaceX is preparing to deliver cargo to the station under a $1.6 billion NASA contract. A first 

demonstration fl ight last December successfully orbited and recovered a Dragon. SpaceX is awaiting 

NASA's final approval to berth a Dragon at the orbiting research complex on this upcoming flight, paving 

the way for commercial cargo flights as soon as next spring. Web posted. (20 II). [Next SpaceX test may 

wait until early '12 [Online). Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , October 4].] 

NASA, Space Coast EDC renew partnership 

NASA's Kennedy Space Center and the Economic Development Commission of Florida's Space Coast 

renewed their economic development partnership. The five-year Space Act Agreement outlines economic 

development cooperation aimed at supporting NASA's current and future missions. The agreement calls 

for NASA and EDC senior leaders to meet regularly to discuss economic development matters of mutual 

interest. In addition, managers from Kennedy Space Center's Center Planning & Development Office will 

work with the EDC on potential business partnerships and meet with business leaders and committees to 

address space-related and high-tech economic development. They also will collaborate with the EDC on 

industry recruitment initiatives seeking targeted space-related and high-tech companies and on targeted 

industry outreach activities, such as trade shows. They also will promote the commercial use of 

underutilized facilities at KSC. NASA and the EDC entered into their first economic cooperation 

agreement in 2005. Web posted. (2011). [NASA, Space Coast EDC renew partnership [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.bizjournals.com/ [2011 , October4).] 

Houston could land shuttle replica 

The future of the orbiter replica Explorer at Kennedy Space Center is uncertain as the scramble for shuttle 

artifacts and exhibits continues after the fleet's retirement. Controversy surrounding NASA's choice of 

shuttle retirement homes also is resuming as a New York museum aims to house the prototype Enterprise 

in a parking lot near a strip club. Explorer, a fixture at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex since 

the 1990s, might be moved to Houston to make room for the building that will house the real shuttle 

orbiter Atlantis at KSC. Explorer, located next to shuttle extemal tank and rocket booster replicas, is a 

full-scale walk-through exhibit that enables visitors to look into its payload bay and cockpit. KSC 

spokesman Allard Beutel said talks have been ongoing with Space Center Houston, the visitor complex at 

NASA's Johnson Space Center. JSC was not awarded an orbiter in April when NASA selected museums 

to display Discovery, Atlantis, Endeavour and Enterprise. Texans, in particular, felt slighted that 

Enterprise, which never flew in space, ended up in New York and not the home base of the astronaut 

corps and mission control. NASA selected the USS Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum to bouse the 

prototype. But its future is not certain either. The museum planned to house Enterprise in a glass hangar 

beside the Hudson River. However, the New York Times reported that officials now aim to build a 

museum in a parking lot in Hell's Kitchen. Located along a busy highway, the lot is bordered by a bag 

shop, a car wash, storage warehouses and a strip club. Web posted. (20 11). [Houston could land shuttle 

replica [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 II , October 4).] 

October 5: NASA Crawlen vay Evaluation Earns Award 

A project aimed a ensuring Kennedy Space Center's historic crawlerway will be able to support heavy-lift 

rockets won an award this week from the American Society of Civil Engineers. Topped by river rock, the 

130-foot-wide roadway stretches between the KSC Vehicle Assembly Building and launch pads 39A and 

39B. Originally built for the Apollo moon-landing project, the crawlerway also was heavily travelled 

during the 30-year NASA space shuttle program. With the shuttle program winding to an end, NASA in 

2009 put together a team to evaluate the crawlerway and detennine whether it will be able to support the 

weight of a heavy-lift launch vehicle the agency is developing for missions beyond Earth orbit. Potential 

commercial use of the c rawlerway also was evaluated. The two-year evaluation confmned the 

crawlerway could do the job in either case. "Putting all of the different entities together has resulted in an 

outstanding product that the center and the program can stand firmly on," NASA Project Manager Justin 

Junod said in a statement. The award honors the team's outstanding engineering efforts in research, 

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design, construction and management, recognizing the complexity of multi-agency coordination and costeffective engineering advances. Web posted. {2011). [NASA Crawlerway Evaluation Earns Award 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ thejlame trench blog [2011 , October 5].] 

Apple's Visionary Redefmed Digital Age 

Steven P. Jobs, the visionary co-founder of Apple who helped usher in the era of personal computers and 

then led a .cultural transformation in the way music, movies and mobile communications were 

experienced in the digital age, died Wednesday. He was 56. Web posted. (2011). (Apple's Visionary 

Redefined Digital Age [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nvtimes.com/ [2011, October 5].] 

October 7: Kennedy Space Center to build new $300M HQ 

NASA will spend $300 million to turn Kennedy Space Center into a modem spaceport for government 

and commercial rocket launches. That will involve building a new headquarters complex to replace 50-

year-old buildings, roads, bridges and launch pads. The project will " provide job potential through the 

design, engineering and construction to transition KSC from shuttles to new government and commercial 

vehicles," said Lynda Weatherman, president and CEO of the Economic Development Conunission of 

Florida's Space Coast. "This complex keeps talent local and enhances our overall competitiveness on the 

global economic development stage." Web posted. (2011 ). [Kennedy Space Center to build new $300M 

HQ [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.bizjournals.com/ (20 11 , October 7).) 

October 11: NASA Transfers Endeavour Title To California Science Center 

NASA transferred title and ownership of space shuttle Endeavour to the California Science Center (CSC) 

during a ceremony Tuesday at the center in Los Angeles. The transfer is the flrSt step toward CSC 

receiving Endeavour in the latter half of 20 12. "NASA is pleased to share this wonderful orbiter with the 

California Science Center to help inspire a new generation of explorers," NASA Administrator Charles 

Bolden said. "The next chapter in space exploration begins now, and we're standing on the shoulders of 

the men and women of the shuttle program to reach farther into the solar system." Bolden announced 

April 12 that CSC was one of four institutions nationwide to receive a shuttle. After display preparation 

and post-mission work are complete, NASA will deliver Endeavour on the 747 shuttle carrier aircraft to 

Los Angeles International Airport. From there, the shuttle will be driven through the streets of Los 

Angeles to its destination at the Science Center in Exposition Park. "Endeavour now will begin its new 

mission to stimulate an interest in science and engineering in future generations at the science center," 

Ca lifornia Science Center President Jeffrey Rudolph said. ["NASA Transfers Endeavour Title To 

California Science Center," NASA News Release #11-343, October II , 20 12.] 

K SC chief offers positive vision about the future 

Kermedy Space Center managers this morning offered community leaders a positive vision about the 

center's post-shuttle future. "We have an awesome future, and we're going to make it happen," Center 

Director Bob Cabana said at an annual breakfast hosted by the KSC Visitor Complex. That future 

includes important, unmanned science missions such as the planned November launch of the next Mars 

rover, the launch of crews to the space station by the middle of the decade and the launch of an 

exploration mission by 2021. Cabana was addressing several hundred community leaders, business 

executives, educators, community organizers, and state and local government leaders. Also this morning, 

Cabana joined NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden for a tour of the 400-foot mobile launcher tower that 

NASA plans to use for launches of a giant heavy-lift rocket for deep space missions. Built for the 

cancelled Constellation program's Ares I rocket, the Apollo-style mobile launch platform and tower is 

expected to be modified to fit the recently announced Space Launch System. Web posted. (2011). [KSC 

chief offers positive vision about the future [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

the flame trench blog (20 11 , October 11].] 

Next Delta 4 rocket to boost milita ry communications 

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The United Launch Alliance Delta 4 rocket that will deploy a vital communications satellite for U.S. 

military forces overseas was placed atop its Cape Canaveral pad this week. Liftoff is targeted for January 

19 to deliver the Air Force's fourth Wideband Global SATCOM spacecraft into orbit and continue 

ongoing efforts to upgrade the military's main communications infrastructure. Each WGS has l 0 times 

the capacity of the aging Defense Satellite Communications System spacecraft they are replacing. The 

satellites supply communications such as maps and data to soldiers on the battlefield, relay video from 

unmanned aerial reconnaissance drones, route voice calls and data messaging, and even offer quality-oflife considerations like television broadcasts and email delivery to the troops. The bright orange and white 

rocket, stretching 170 feet long, emerged from the Horizontal Integration Facility at 4:30 p.m. EDT 

Monday. Riding a 36-wheel, diesel-powered transporter, the Delta took an hour-long trip down the road 

and up the pad's ramp to Cape Canaveral's Complex 37. Lnitial assembly of the rocket, including mating 

of the cryogenic upper stage with the Common Booster Core first stage using a precision laser alignment 

system, had been completed inside the Horizontal Integration Facility over the past couple of months. 

After the vehicle arrived at the base of the pad, teclmicians went to work Monday evening getting 

equipment ready to raise the rocket vertically. The pallets cradling the Delta were tied down to the Fixed 

Pad Erector and the transporter used to drive the rocket to the pad disengaged to pull away. The erector 

system and its hydraulic pistons then lifted the rocket upright at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday, setting the vehicle 

atop the pad's launch table within 20 minutes. Workers later unhooked the booster from the cradles, 

allowing the erector platform along with the pallets to lower back to the ground at 5 p.m. Over the next 

three months at Complex 37, a full pre-launch test program and the final rocket assembly steps will be 

carried out, including installation of the four strap-on solid-fuel motors to the flfSt stage and attachment of 

the payload. WGS 4 is scheduled for shipment from Boeing satellite manufacturing factory in Los 

Angeles to Cape Canaveral on November 14 to undergo checkouts and fueling before joining its rocket at 

the pad. When fully stacked and its nose cone in place, this Delta 4 Medium+(5,4) rocket will tower 217 

feet tall. It will be 358th launch of a Delta rocket since 1960 and the 18th for the Delta 4 program since 

2002. Web posted. (201 1). (Next Delta 4 rocket to boost military communications [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011, October II].) 

October 12: NASA, KSC chiefs promise brigbt future for Space Coast 

Kennedy Space Center's new 400-foot mobile launch tower became the butt of jokes when the rocket it 

was built for was canceled. Critics suggested it could serve as a bungee jumping attraction, if not a 

platfonn to send astronauts to space. But Tuesday, senior NASA officials pointed to the $290 million 

tower as a symbol of the center's bright post-shuttle future. It will be modified to support a different 

rocket NASA recently announced it would build for human exploration missions. "I believe we have an 

outstanding future," KSC Director Bob Cabana told reporters before a rain shower forced the group to 

take shelter under the tower's base. "We are moving forward. We've made tremendous progress." 

Cabana, NASA Admjnistrator Charles Bolden and senior KSC managers presented the same message to 

hundreds of community leaders during an annual breakfast at the KSC Visitor Complex. After years of 

uncertainty about NASA's direction, the trauma of the shuttle program's last flight in July and thousands 

of associated layoffs, the managers focused on what they said was finally a clear path forward. "I don' t 

know of a time that the Kennedy Space Center bas seen such dynamic change since the end of the Apollo 

program," Cabana told community leaders. The new path envisions KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station as a bustling hub for launches of both NASA's exploration missions and commercial missions 

flying people and satellites. For the first time, KSC is the lead center for management of a major human 

spaceflight program. The Commercial Crew Program is charged with helping private companies design 

and build systems to fly astronauts, and certifying their safety. "It isn'tjust for NASA. We want to create 

a capability that anybody can use," said Ed Mango, the program manager. "The goal is in a generation or 

two, our grand kids would be able to fly to low Earth orbit just like we want to fly from here to Paris, or 

from here to Tokyo." NASA wants the commercial systems ready by late 2016, or sooner if possible with 

limited funding. Those systems will create opportunities for commercial work in and around KSC, Mango 

said, and " that means more jobs." Another new KSC office is responsible for preparing facilities like the 

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Vehicle Assembly Building, launch pad 39B and the mobile launcher to handle the giant rocket NASA 

plans to build for human exploration of the moon, an asteroid or Mars. A first unmanned test flight of the 

Space Launch System is planned for 2017. Available space in the assembly building, former shuttle 

hangars and other facilities will be offered to commercial users. "That is something that has not been 

done before at KSC," said Pepper Phillips, head of the 21st Century Ground Systems Program. The 

mobile launch tower that will carry the heavy-lift rocket, begun under the now-canceled Constellation 

program, represents a shift to a "clean pad" concept for processing rockets that could enable pad 39B to 

support other kinds of rockets. From a recent peak of about 15,000 contractors and civil servants, KSC's 

employment is expected to dip close to 8,000, then around 2013 start a gradual buildup back to 10,000. 

Cabana warned employees of"tough fiscal times" and said people at the center would have to "tighten 

our belts a little bit" in the corning year, putting off some preventative maintenance and forgoing some 

quality-of-life perks. Bolden acknowledged a " long, difficult road ahead" but promised KSC would 

thrive again. Web posted. (2011). [NASA, KSC chiefs promise bright future for Space Coast [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , October 12].] 

Virgin Galactic hires former NASA exec 

Virgin Galactic has hired a former NASA executive to oversee its Spaceport operations in southern New 

Mexico. The company Tuesday announced it has appointed Michael Moses as its vice president of 

operations. Moses comes from NASA's recently retired space Shuttle program, where he served at the 

NASA Kennedy Space Center in Florida as the launch integration manager from 2008 until the landing of 

the final Shuttle mission in July 2011. Moses also served as chair of the Mission Management Team, 

giving ultimate law1ch decision authority for the fina112 missions of the Space Shuttle Program. Virgin 

Galactic, owned by Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Group and Aabar Investments PJS, is on track to be the 

world's first commercial spaceline.lt hopes to launch its first flight within the next year. Web posted. 

(2011). [Virgin Galactic hires former NASA exec [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.alamogordonews.com/ [2011, October 12].] 

NASA 'confident' Russia's Soyuz rocket safe 

The head of manned missions for NASA told a congressional panel Wednesday his agency is confident 

Russian engineers can safely and reliably transport astronauts to the International Space Station despite 

the Aug. 24 failure of a Russian rocket. William H. Gerstenmaier told members of a House Science, 

Space and Technology subcommittee the Russians have kept NASA "well-informed" about the incident, 

appear to have zeroed in on the cause, and have taken important steps to prevent future problems. 

"NASA's confident that our Russian partners identified the most likely failure cause and have a sound 

return-to-flight plan," Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Human Explorations and Operations, told 

lawmakers. Wednesday's congressional hearing was the fLrst held on the crash of the unmanned Progress 

44 cargo ship that was carrying nearly 3 tons of supplies to the space station. Russian investigators have 

traced the cause to a low fuel feed to the third-stage engine's gas generator, a problem most likely 

triggered by contamination during testing. The failure was significant because the third-stage engine is 

similar to one used in Russia's Soyuz FG launchers that propel crews to the space station. And the Soyuz 

is the only crew transport available now that NASA's shuttle program has ended. NASA inspectors agree 

with the conclusion and support the Russian space agency's decision to add inspectors and to videotape 

"critical actions related to component assembly" to improve safety, Gerstenmaier told the panel. A Soyuz 

rocket with three crew members, including an American, is scheduled to launch Nov. 14, headed for the 

space station. Another will launch Dec. 26. Web posted. (2011). [NASA 'confident' Russia's Soyuz 

rocket safe [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , October 13].] 

October 13: Mars rover rocket fueled for practice countdown 

Launch teams today are fueling an Atlas V rocket in a dress rehearsal for next month's planned launch of 

one of NASA's highest-profile science missions, the next Mars rover. The United Launch Alliance rocket 

on Wednesday was rolled from its vertical hangar to the pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's 

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Launch Complex 41 , and its ftrst stage filled with 25,540 gallons of highly refined kerosene. Today, 

oxidizer will be added to the fLrst stage (25,540 gallons) and Centaur upper stage (4,150 gallons) along 

with liquid hydrogen in the Centaur ( 12,680 gallons). With no spacecraft and payload fairing yet 

attached, the topless rocket measures about 148 feet tall. The so-called "wet dress rehearsal" was set to 

begin around 7: 15 a.m. today and culminate in a simulated "T -0" around I p.m. Once the test is 

complete, the cryogenic propellants will be offloaded. The rocket will roll back to its processing tower 

Friday. Separately, crews at Kennedy Space Center continue to process the compact car-sized rover 

named Curiosity for a targeted Nov. 25 launch. The spacecraft is expected to be moved to the pad around 

Nov. 2. Web posted. (2011). [Mars rover rocket fueled for practice countdown [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011, October 13].] 

Florida transportation plan deletes KSC upgrades 

An anticipated $15 million in annual state funding to upgrade Brevard County's space launch facilities -

and create aerospace jobs- may fall victim to the budget ax. The Florida Department of 

Transportation's draft work program for 2013-17 omitted this space-infrastructure funding. Potential 

projects include revamp_ing launch complexes 40 and 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for 

commercial uses. Thursday, Space Coast Transportation Planning Organization members expressed 

alarm during a meeting at the Government Center in Viera. Why was the money taken off the priority 

list? Statewide gasoline tax revenues are projected to tumble $897 million this year because of the sour 

economy, people driving less because of high gas prices and a surge in fuel-efficient vehicles, Mary 

Schoelzel, a DOT manager, said. In July, the TPO requested funding for a list of projects including work 

on the Air Force launch pads, NASA Orbiter Processing Facility upgrades, commercial heavy-lift launch 

complex work, and hangar improvements at the Shuttle Landing Facility. David Pierce of the Kennedy 

Space Center planning and development office; Patrick McCarthy, Space Florida's director of spaceport 

operations; and Tim Franta, a Florida Tech space consultant, lobbied Thursday for the $ 15 milHon space 

eannark. McCarthy cited competition from other states, particularly Virginia's interest in supporting 

human spaceflight missions at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. DOT's District 5 encompasses Brevard 

and eight other Central Florida counties. By 2017, the district's sole highway projects earmarked for 

funding will be the Wekiva Parkway in Orange and Lake Counties and the addition of toll lanes on 

Interstate 4, TPO records show. Rockledge Mayor Larry Schultz, who serves as TPO chairman, quipped 

that "we ought to be praying for money from heaven" for Brevard highway dollars. Web posted. (2011 ). 

[Florida transportation plan deletes KSC upgrades [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , October 14].] 

October 14: Test flights for Orion at KSC on tap for' 13 

NASA is gearing up for two flight tests of the spacecraft being designed to carry U.S. astronauts into deep 

space. The space agency soon will decide which to launch first: an atmospheric re-entry test or a lowaltitude emergency escape mission. Regardless of the order, both unmanned flight tests will be launched 

from the Space Coast to certify the Apollo-style capsule for human expeditions beyond Earth orbit. The 

first test is targeted for launch in late 2013 or early 2014. The second would follow in 2015 or 2016. 

NASA spaceflight Chief William Gerstenrnaier was briefed this week on the two options. The 

atmospheric re-entry test might be flown fust because the Orion capsule for that mission then could be reused for the low-altitude abort test. "Within the next two months, I expect him to make a choice," said 

NASA Orion Program Manager Mark Geyer. A holdover from the canceled Project Constellation moon 

program, the Orion spacecraft is being designed to fly atop NASA's Space Launch System, a heavy-lift 

launch vehicle similar to the Saturn V moon rocket developed for the Apollo program. An initial 

unmanned Orion test flight on the new super-sized Space Launch System is proposed for 2017, with 

human expeditions beyond Earth orbit beginning in 2021. The two upcoming flight tests follow a 2009 

launch-pad abort test performed at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The intent is to show 

Orion can be safely flown during two of the most critical periods of a mission. The first stage of a 

Peacekeeper Intercontinental Ballistic Missile will blast off from Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral 

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Air Force, propelling an Orion capsule over the Atlantic Ocean. The capsule will encounter maximum 

aerodynamic pressure about a minute into flight. At that point, the Orion launch abort system will be 

activated. Powerful motors on an escape pole will pull the spacecraft away from the Peacekeeper. 

Parachutes will open and float the Orion to a splashdown in the ocean. An Orion spacecraft will blast off 

from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station aboard either a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy or Atlas 

V rocket. The rocket will propel the spacecraft to an altitude of about 4,600 statute miles, and Orion will 

reach a speed of about 20,400 mph. That's about 85 percent of the 24,000 mph the capsule would reach 

during an atmospheric re-entry after a moon mission. The idea is to test the spacecraft's heat shield and 

its guidance, navigation and parachute systems during a return to Earth on a lunar trajectory - a much 

more dynamic environment than a return from a mission in low Earth orbit. The Orion spacecraft would 

splash into the Pacific Ocean off the U.S. West Coast. A Pacific splashdown enables a returning crew to 

jettison the Orion Service Module over the ocean rather than a populated area in the continental U.S. A 

landing in the Atlantic Ocean would require the latter. A team from NASA's Kennedy Space Center 

would perfonn the Orion recovery operation. NASA contractor Lockheed Martin will begin delivering 

Orion spacecraft components for the ftrst test in fall 2012. The Orion capsule will be assembled in the 

west wing of the Operations and Checkout Building at KSC. Web posted. (2011 ). [Test flights for Orion 

at KSC on tap for '13 [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1, October 14].] 

October 17: DOD's proposed bulk buy of Atlas, Delta rockets 

A watchdog report expected to be released today could influence how the government buys rockets for 

launches of critical national security payloads, an issue with potentially long-term ramifications for 

companies with neighboring Cape Canaveral launch pads. The Department of Defense plans a bulk 

purchase of United Launch Alliance's Atlas and Delta rockets, which the company says offers the best 

deal to taxpayers and its suppliers. But SpaceX says such a large-scale purchase would effectively shut it 

out of that market for a decade, limiting competition and wasting money. Congress asked the U.S. 

Government Accountability Office to review the plan to buy 40 ULA boosters over five years, starting in 

the 2013 budget year. The report was delivered last month and is now set for public release. Cristina 

Chaplain, the report's author, would not comment on its findings but said her office assessed whether the 

Department of Defense understood ULA's costs, the industrial base and opportunities for competition 

well enough to justify a long-term contract. So-called block purchases of equipment by the military are 

not unusual, she said, but the proposed rocket deal is notable for its size. The Air Force has requested 

nearly $ I 0 billion for l§LA boosters between 20 12 and 2016. The National Reconnaissance Office, whose 

budget is not disclosed, would spend billions more in that period. NASA is not involved in the deal, 

though ULA launches many of the space agency's most important science missions, including a Mars 

rover targeted to blast off from the Cape next month on an Atlas V. ULA says a bulk purchase would 

better leverage the government's buying power and provide needed stability to its industrial base. ULA's 

Atlas V and Delta IV rocket families are the only ones currently certified to fly large, high-value national 

security satellites. The two rockets have launched 29 missions since late 2006, when ULA began 

operations as a 50-50 joint venture between The Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. But SpaceX, 

already under contract to launch NASA cargo to the International Space Station and for a slate of 

commercial payloads, wants a chance to compete for military launches. A five-year deal for ULA would 

mean SpaceX couldn't compete for those missions until 20 18 and fly them for about a decade. The Air 

Force says its internal studies have encouraged block buys to control costs, but it is looking at a range of 

options and has made no decision. Web posted. (20 11). [DOD's proposed bulk buy of Atlas, Delta rockets 

could ground SpaceX plans [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 1, October 

17].] 

October 18: Florida Cabinet vows support of KSC 

Saying Florida faces predatory competition from other states for space-launch business, Florida 

Agriculture Commissioner Adam Putnam Tuesday suggested that Kennedy Space Center be run by an 

authority separate from NASA that could make decisions locally, including development of some land 

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now reserved as a wildlife refuge. Putnam's call came as the Florida Cabinet met at the KSC Visitors 

Complex and heard presentations on the center's future as a multi-use space port, supporting NASA, 

commercial and military launches. In a roundtable discussion that followed, members also heard space 

industry executives urge that business at KSC needs to be easier and quicker to arrange. "I think it's our 

responsibility as the cabinet to help develop a vision," Putnam said. "It's worth exploring options for the 

governance structure of this site so that we can be nimble and agile and close deals." Putnam argued that 

under NASA and Congress, KSC's funding and future role are jeopardized by politics, particularly with 

other states wanting their own space ports. Private firms are building spaceports in Texas and New 

Mexico, while NASA is considering funding construction of one at Wallops Island, Va. Meanwhile, the 

retirement of the space shuttle leaves NASA - and KSC - without a government-owned rocket to launch. 

"That creates an opportunity for vultures from other states to try and come take what we've got," Putnam 

said. "We can't let that happen." Putnam also said he would like to see a study done of the thousands of 

acres of land at KSC set aside for preservation to see if any could be made available for space-related 

development. Lt. Gov. Jennifer Carroll, who chairs Space Florida, the public-private corporation that 

promotes space development, responded that more than I ,000 acres already are available. She told the 

cabinet that NASA's commitment to KSC appears strong - the agency plans to spend hundreds of 

millions of dollars to modernize the facility, if Congress appropriates the money-- but that only "one or 

two" members of the state's congressional delegation have shown strong fight for the Florida space center. 

She said she and the space industry need to do a better job convincing other members. KSC Director Bob 

Cabana, who participated in the roundtable, said later that "there are no changes here in the near future" 

relating to control of Kennedy. But he said that "many, many years in the future," he expects space ports 

to operate more like airports. The cabinet also includes Gov. Rick Scott, Attorney General Pam Bondi 

and Chief Financial Officer Jeff Atwater. All appeared to agree at least with Putnam's desire for more 

Florida influence over KSC' future. Atwater said the message he got from business leaders was: "Make it 

easier." Web posted. (2011). [Florida Cabinet vows support ofKSC [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, October 18].] 

Ex-NASA official hired by UCF 

A former NASA associate administrator for science, S. Alan Stem, has been named director of the Florida 

Space Institute at Kennedy Space Center. Stem will help the institute, a part of the University of Central 

Florida, develop projects with NASA and the space industry in the post-shuttle era - including unmanned 

flights, commercial flight, science missions and technology development. At NASA in 2007 and 2008, 

Stem led NASA's Science Mission Directorate, leading research and scientific exploration programs for 

Earth studies, space weather, the solar system and the universe beyond. Web posted. (2011). [Ex-NASA 

official hired by UCF [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , October 18].] 

October 19: Houston receives "white room" from KSC pad 

Houston may not have received a retired NASA orbiter, but it now has a key piece of a dismantled 

Kennedy Space Center launch pad to showcase. CollectSPACE Editor Robert Pearlman reported that the 

orbiter access arm removed from launch pad 39B, one of two former shuttle pads, had arrived at NASA's 

Johnson Space Center. The "white room" at the end of the arm was a shuttle crew's last stop before 

boarding an orbiter for launch. Space Center Houston is building a facility to display the access arm and 

other important shuttle program artifacts, and Explorer, a shuttle mockup now on display at the KSC 

Visitor Complex. KSC will display the orbiter Atlantis. Web posted. (20 II). [Houston receives "white 

room" from KSC pad [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog 

[20 11, October 19].] 

October 20: NASA: Back space taxis or pay more for Russian rides 

An extra year of buying rides for astronauts to the Lnternational Space Station will cost the United States 

$450 million-- money that would be better spent speeding development of private space taxis, NASA's 

deputy administrator said Thursday. With the retirement this summer of the space shuttles, the United 

270 
States is dependent on Russia to fly astronauts to the space station, a $100 billion project by 16 nations 

that orbits about 225 miles above Earth. Russia charges more than $50 million per person for rides on its 

Soyuz capsules. NASA so far has spent $388 million to bolster the derequested amount, it gives us the 

best chance to be able to replace this foreign government service by 2016. That's the choice," she said. 

Overall, commercial space transportation and related industries generated more than $208 billion of 

economic activity and more than $53 billion in profits in the United States in 2009, a Federal Aviation 

Administration report released in January 2011 shows. "That economic impact is onJy expected to grow," 

Garver said. Web posted. (2011). [NASA: Back space taxis or pay more for Russian rides [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, October 20].] 

October 24: New tour includes stop inside Vehicle Assembly Building 

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex is creating a tour that includes the opportunity to walk inside the 

Vehicle Assembly Building, the structure where space shuttles were assembled for launch. Very few 

people, aside from astronauts and NASA personnel, have been inside the 525-foot V AB in recent years. 

The new KSC Up-Close tour will be offered eight times daily for a limited time beginning Nov. 1. For a 

very limited time, tour guests may see a space shuttle inside the V AB as its prepared for future display in 

Los Angeles, Washington, D.C. or Florida. (The shuttle Atlantis will be displayed at KSC beginning 

2013.) Other stops on the two-hour KSC Up-Close tour will include NASA's KSC Headquarters; the 

Operations & Checkout building which was the astronaut crew quarters before each launch and where 

they boarded to Astrovan to ride to the launch pads; the NASA Causeway and its panoramic view of the 

area and the coast; the Crawlerway, the wide route that led shuttles to the launch platform; Orbiter 

Processing Facilities, where orbiters were processed and maintained between flights; the Solid Rocket 

Booster Storage Areas; the famed countdown clock; and more. Web posted. (2011). [Kennedy Space 

Center: New tour includes stop inside Vehicle Assembly Building [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .orlandosentinel.com/ [20 II, October 24].] 

October 25: Astronaut Scholarship Foundation: Annual Autograph Show 

It all started - with seven. The original seven Mercury astronauts that is. They wanted to give back to the 

nation that had allowed them to reach the heights that they bad achieved, while at the same time inspiring 

the nation's young to follow in their footsteps. What arose was the Astronaut Scholarship Foundation 

(ASF). There are more than 80 astronauts that are working with the ASF to ensure that the United States 

maintains its role as leader in terms of science and technology. The ASF accomplishes this by providing 

scholarships to students studying engineering, science and math. In 1984, the then six surviving Mercury 

astronauts established the 501 (c) 3 organization along with the widow of the seventh (Betty Grissom, 

widow of astronaut Virgil "Gus" Grissom. Astronauts Malcolm Scott Carpenter, L. Gordon Cooper Jr., 

John H. Glenn Jr., Walter M. Schirra, Alan B. Shepard Jr., and Donald K. (Deke) Slayton were also 

joined by the Mercury Program's flight surgeon William Douglas M.D. as well as a local business man, 

Henry Landwirth. What started with scholarships of only $1,000 has grown to $10,000 each. Twenty-six 

of these scholarships are handed out every year for a grand total of $260,000. All total? The ASF has 

handed out $3 million in scholarships to worthy students. The ASF's current Chairman of its Board of 

Directors is Apollo 16 Command Module Pilot Charlie Duke; his vice-chair is shuttle veteran Dan 

Brandenstein. The ASF raises funds by a number of means. Astronaut guest appearance, fund-raisers, 

donations from different entities both public and private and autograph shows. The next of these is 

scheduled to take place at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex located in Florida from Nov. 4-6. 

The annual show contains a wide range of events and tours to allow guests the opportunity to learn about 

the location's history while picking up a signed item from an astronaut. Web posted. (2011). [Astronaut 

Scholarship Foundation: Annual Autograph Show To Raise Funds For STEM Education [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.americaspace.org/ [2011 , October 25].] 

Dollar gap may delay flights 

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The post-shuttle "gap" in astronaut launches from Florida could extend to 2017 if Congress doesn't boost 

funding for commercial space taxis, NASA warns. The U.S. will depend on Russia for access to the 

International Space Station until one or more commercial vehicles are ready. But lawmakers so far have 

offered hundreds of millions less than NASA requested for the commercial effort in 2012, with six times 

as much going to a deep space exploration system that won't fly a crew for a decade. If development of 

commercial spacecraft is slowed, reliance on the Russians - at a cost of roughly $60 million per seat -

would be prolonged. Today, executives from five companies interested in flying astronauts 

commercially, and NASA's head of human spaceflight and inspector general, will discuss their progress 

and challenges before the U.S. House science committee. Chief among the challenges is funding, which 

ranges from $312 million proposed by the House to $500 million by the Senate. Both options are well 

below the Obama administration's request for $850 million in the 2012 budget and subsequent years. It 

was based on the president's request that NASA's Commercial Crew Program laid out plans to certify 

multiple conunercial space-transport systems to resume human launches from Cape Canaveral by late 

2016 - about five years after the last shuttle mission. Companies including The Boeing Co. Sierra 

Nevada Corp. and SpaceX said they could be ready sooner. Records show the commercial Crew 

Program, led by Kennedy Space Center, identified funding as its top risk well before the last shuttle 

mission this July. "The top risk is inadequate funding-- it is not clear that the budget that is currently 

available will support commercial crew transport to the (space station) by 20 16," read minutes from a 

May 24 meeting of the NASA Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel, which was briefed by NASA managers 

a day earlier. Anotl1er independent review panel, the NASA Advisory Council, expressed concern this 

summer about the timetable for developing commercial crew taxis. NASA could proceed with limited 

funding for the commercial vehicles, but impacts could be a longer gap between flights or less 

competition, which is considered important to keeping costs down and sparking other markets. Instead of 

supporting work on three spacecraft next year and picking two finalists, NASA might trim the field to two 

development projects and one ultimate winner. Web posted. (2011). [Dollar gap may delay flights 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.org/ [2011, October 25).) 

October 26: Adequate Funding Key to Commercial Crew Timing 

The overriding message from government and private sector witnesses at yesterday's hearing on NASA's 

commercial crew program is that "adequate" funding will determine how quickly such systems can be 

ready to take astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). The message from most members of the 

House Science, Space and Technology Committee in return is that they remain skeptical that there is a 

market for commercial crew services other than NASA to help defray the costs. Their concern is that the 

government will end up paying dearly for those services in addition to the billions of dollars it plans to 

invest in development costs. The commercial crew program, initiated by President Obama in February 

2010, is a public-private partnership where NASA and private sector companies share the costs of 

developing new crew transportation systems to low Earth orbit (LEO), including the ISS. The systems 

would be operated by the companies, not NASA. NASA would pay the companies to take astronauts to 

the ISS while the agency focuses on developing a new system to take astronauts further into space. With 

the termination of the space shuttle program earlier this year, NASA does not have the capability to 

law1ch anyone into space today. It pays Russia to take astronauts to the ISS. Several committee members 

expressed concern about the overall cost to the taxpayer, which is a combination of the government's 

share of the development costs and payments for services once the systems are operating. Although 

many members have expressed reservations in the past about being reliant on another country for human 

access to space, the concern at this hearing was that it would cost much more for the commercial crew 

option than continuing to pay Russia. The United States is committed to using the ISS only until 2020. If 

the commercial systems are not ready until 2016 or 2017, their utility for ISS operations is 

limited. Committee members wanted to know if U.S. commercial systems would be competitive with 

Russia's prices if the development costs are included in the calculation. Web posted. (2011). [Adequate 

Funding Key to Commercial Crew Timing [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/ [20 11, October 26).] 

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Boeing's spaceship to be assembled at Kennedy Space Center 

The Boeing Co. next week will confirm plans to assemble a commercial space capsule in one of the 

former shuttle hangars at Kennedy Space Center, work that could create more than 500 jobs. The 

company on Tuesday emailed invitations to VIP guests for a 10 a.m. Monday event at a hangar that 

formerly housed the orbiter Discovery. The invitation from John Elbon, head of Boeing's space 

exploration division, promises a "milestone commercial space event." The spacecraft is one of four 

whose development NASA is helping to fund under a program that hopes to launch astronauts to the 

lnternational Space Station from U.S. soil again by the middle of the decade. Boeing plans to launch the 

capsule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. NASA is 

expected to transfer the hangar officially called Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3 to Space Florida, which 

would lease it to Boeing, according to a source knowledgeable about the deal. No other details were 

immediately available, but Boeing and Space Florida, the state's aerospace economic development 

agency, both confmned an agreement had been reached to use NASA facilities at KSC. Space Florida 

expects the capsule work to create 550 jobs by 2015. The space center in January announced its intent to 

make former shuttle facilities available to commercial users if NASA no longer needed them. NASA 

leaders hinted a deal for one of the three shuttle processing hangars was near even before the last shuttle 

mission in July, but it took months longer to complete. Web posted. (2011). [Boeing's spaceship to be 

assembled at Kennedy Space Center [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, 

October 26].] 

October 27: Super-rocket to use mobile launcher, shuttle crawlers 

NASA intends to upgrade one of its Apollo-era treaded crawlers and an inactive mobile platform built for 

the canceled Ares launcher program to support the agency's colossal super-rocket, officially called the 

Space Launch System, in time for a test flight in 2017. The modifications are part of up to $2 billion of 

work to prepare the Kennedy Space Center for the new heavy-lift rocket, which will initially be powered 

off the launch pad by three space shuttle main engines and two five-segment solid rocket boosters also 

derived from the shuttle program. Although questions about its cost still linger, NASA plans to spend 

$1 0 billion to design and develop the Space Launch System for its first unmanned flight in 201 7. 

Assuming the launcher is fully funded and remains near cost projections, it will be able to lift 70 metric 

tons, or about 154,000 pounds, into low Earth orbit on its first mission. The $500 million launch platform 

built for the Ares 1 rocket is being tapped for the much more powerful Space Launch System. Declared 

structurally complete in January 2010, the mobile launch pad will have to be altered to support the heavier 

weight and additional thrust of the heavy-lifter, according to NASA officials. One of NASA's crawlertransporters will be made ready to haul the massive rocket and mobile platform between the Kennedy 

Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building and launch pad 39B. Larry Schultz, the mobile launcher 

project manager, said the biggest changes will be on the platform's base, where engineers will increase the 

size of a 22-square-foot exhaust duct and strengthen the surrounding structure. The SLS will weigh more 

than twice as much as the planned Ares 1 rocket. The thrust cutout will be expanded to a rectangle 

stretching 60 feet by 30 feet, according to Shultz. The modifications will be complete by 2016. The 390-

foot-tall Ares mobile launcher was being eyed as the launch platform for the commercially-developed 

Liberty rocket proposed by A TK, the contractor for the Ares 1 's first stage and the space shuttle and SLS 

solid rocket boosters. Resembling the Ares l, the Liberty rocket would combine a five-segment solid 

motor flfst stage with a second stage from EADS Astrium based on the core of the European Ariane 5 

launcher. According to Bob Cabana, director of the Kennedy Space Center, the Ares platform will be 

solely used by the Space Launch System. Cabana said the space shuttle's mobile Launch platforms, which 

date back to the 1960s, could be available to commercial users interested in launching from KSC. Unlike 

the shuttle platforms, the Ares/SLS mobile launcher features a 345-foot-tall tower on top of a 45-foot-tall 

base. The tower would provide access to va~ious levels of the rocket during assembly and launch 

operations. Pepper Phillips, program manager for 21st century ground systems at KSC, said engineers 

will "up-rate" the capacity of one of the two crawlers at the spaceport. "For the time being, we are 'up273 
rating' the load capacity of one of the crawlers so that it can handle the heavier loads associated with the 

SLS," Phillips said. "We will perform some minor life extension mods to the second [crawler] to keep it 

in service." Crawler-Transporter No.2 will receive steel stiffeners and braces to address overstressed 

structural areas, increasing its lift load to 18 million pounds and extending its service life another 20 

years, according to Amber Philman, a NASA spokesperson. The top of a crawler is 90 feet on each side, 

the size of a baseball infield. It weighs about 6 million pounds by itself and has a top speed of2 mph 

when empty. Other upgrades will made to the crawler's jack, elevation and leveling system, which uses 

hydraulic actuators to eep rockets level on the four-mile journey between the V AB and the launch pad, 

including the trip up the incline to the pad surface. The diesel-powered crawler's roller bearings have 

reached the end of their fatigue life and will also be replaced. In its most powerful configuration, the 

Space Launch System will tower 400 feet tall and weigh 6.5 rniUion pounds, making it the largest rocket 

ever built. The space shuttle weighed 4.5 million pounds at liftoff. Web posted. (2011). [Super-rocket to 

use mobile launcher, shuttle crawlers [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacetlightnow.com/ 

(2011, October 27].] 

October 28: Venerabie Delta 2 rocket launch flawless again 

Not knowing if the future will bring it more law1ch business, the workhorse Delta 2 rocket successfully 

deployed a vital climate and weather observatory this morning before riding into an uncertain state of 

limbo. The United Launch Alliance-made rocket, one of the world's most reliable space boosters ever 

built, pierced a star-filled sky for its middle-of-the-night ascent to deploy the NPP spacecraft. Liftoff 

occurred from Vandenberg Air Force Base along California's central coastline at 2:48a.m. PDT (5:48 

a.m. EDT; 0948 GMT). NPP is flying five instruments, including four that are advanced versions from 

previous eras. The sensors will be evaluated on NPP for their inclusion in the future program that hopes to 

begin launching NOAA's new-era observatories in 2017. Web posted. (2011). (Venerable Delta 2 rocket 

launch flawless again [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacetlightnow.com/ [2011, October 28].] 

October 30: Progress launch eases station concerns 

Three crew members are on track for a Nov. 13 launch to the International Space Station that would 

ensure the outpost isn't left untended for the first time in more than a decade. Sunday's successful flight 

of an Wlmanned Russian cargo ship, the first since one failed to reach orbit in August, demonstrated it 

was safe to resume launches of people on similar rockets. NASA officials congratulated the Russians in a 

statement released after the 6:11 a.m. launch from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. Web 

posted. (2011). [Progress launch eases station concerns [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ (20 11, October 30].] 

October 31: Boeing to build space capsules at KSC 

The Boeing Co. announced this morning that it will assemble and operate its commercial manned space 

capsule from Kennedy Space Center, bringing 550 jobs to the space coast by 2015. Gov. Rick Scott 

along with officials from Boeing, NASA and Space Florida gathered to announce the details of the plan to 

support Boeing's CST-100 space capsule program at a 10 a.m. ceremony at KSC. Space Florida, the 

state's space development agency, leased from NASA one of the orbiter processing facilities that had 

supported space shuttles for 30 years before that program ended in July. The hangar-like garage will be 

subleased to Boeing to lbe the headquarters for the CST-100. Boeing expects to employ 140 people by 

June 2013 and peak at 550 by the end of2015 when Boeing expects to launch test flights. Web posted. 

(2011). [Boeing to build space capsules at KSC [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .orlandosentinel.corn/ [20 11 , October 31].] 

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------------------~---l 

NOVEMBER 

November 1: Mingle with astronauts at KSC complex 

This weekend is your chance to mingle with space heroes. More than 35 astronauts and special guests 

representing every era of America's space program will be at the Astronaut Autograph & Memorabilia 

Show. "The show offers everyone the opportunity to actually meet American space legends, men and 

women who have left Earth, some who even walked on the surface of the moon, in a setting that is very 

laid back and inviting," said Linn LeBlanc, executive director of the astronaut Scholarship Foundation, 

which puts on the annual event. The event, which lasts two days, includes astronaut lectures, space 

memorabilia and of course a chance to get astronauts' autographs and even photographs. Proceeds from 

the show, dinner and auction go to the nonprofit Astronaut Scholarship Foundation, which provides 

college scholarships to science, technology, engineering and math students. Web posted. (2011). [Mingle 

with astronauts at KSC complex [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , 

November 1].) 

Boeing brings space jobs back to Brevard 

Inside a Kennedy Space Center hangar where shuttle orbiters were once prepared for flight, The Boeing 

Co. on Monday announced plans to assemble a privately operated spacecraft that could become the next 

vehicle to fly astronauts from Florida. A package of state incentives worth up to $50 million helped seal a 

first-of-its-kind deal that symbolized the space center's effort to transition from the retired shuttle 

program to a future that embraces commercial space operations and creates jobs. f anyone had any 

doubt that Kennedy Space Center would remain open for business, this new agreement ... should put that 

notion to rest," said Lori Garver, NASA's deputy administrator. Boeing expects that work to assemble, 

test and refurbish its CST -100 capsule for trips to the International Space Station will create 550 local 

jobs by 2015, though that outcome depends on winning NASA contracts and federal funding to help 

develop commercial spacecraft. Under an agreement more than a year in the making, KSC turned over 

use of the hangar called Orbiter Processing Facility-3 for at least the next 15 years to Space Florida, the 

state's aerospace economic development agency. Space Florida in tum will lease the facility and adjacent 

office space to Boeing, which will base its program office for commercial astronaut flights at KSC. Over 

the next year, state and ,company funding will renovate the 64,000-square-foot processing hangar to fit 

Boeing's needs, including tearing out tiers of access platforms that in recent years framed the orbiter 

Discovery. It's hoped commercial vehicles like the reusable CST-100, which can fly up to seven people, 

will reduce the cost of trips to the space station, attract new customers and let NASA focus more 

resources on exploration. The CST-100 is one of four commercial spacecraft whose development NASA 

helped support with $270 million this year, with Blue Origin, Sierra Nevada Corp. and SpaceX also 

awarded funding. Under a best-case scenario, Boeing expects the number of local jobs tied to work on 

the CST -100 to rise from the current 30 to 140 by 2013. Once the final design is set for the CST -I 00, 

employment would ramp up to 550 by late 2015, when the company aims to complete test flights and be 

ready for NASA missions with two operational capsules. About 70 percent of the positions are classified 

as engineering jobs. Web posted. (2011). [Boeing brings space jobs back to Brevard [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , November 1).) 

White House Honors NASA With GreenGov Presidential Award 

NASA has won a GreenGov Presidential Award from the White House Council on Environmental 

Quality. The GreenGov awards celebrate exceptional efforts to promote sustainability in federal agency 

operations. NASA is being recognized in the "Lean, Clean and Green" category for consistently moving 

toward sustainable and efficient operations by setting exemplary goals in agency-wide energy and water 

efficiency, reduced emissions, and greater renewable energy usage. Several of NASA's sustainability 

solutions address the communities where agency facilities are located. GreenGov awards honor federal 

civilian and military personnel, agency teams, agency projects and facilities, and agency programs that 

exemplify President Obama's charge to lead by example towards a clean energy economy. "NASA 

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consistently has been a leader in federal sustainability efforts -- from the work NASA has undertaken in 

its facilities to its commitment to involve colleagues throughout the organization," said Michelle Moore, 

the president's federal environmental executive. "The GreenGov Presidential Award recognizes their 

exemplary performance." NASA's sustainability policy is to execute the agency's mission without 

compromising Earth's resources so future generations can meet their needs. SustainabiJity also involves 

taking action now to provide a future where the environment and living conditions are protected and 

enhanced. "NASA's commitment is exemplified by the collection of centers, such as the Langley 

Research Center in Hampton, Va., Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., Kennedy Space Center 

in Florida and Jolmson Space Center in Houston, which have addressed sustainability with creative, 

lasting and effective methods," according to the White House council. Kennedy was nominated for its 

"Propellants North" project, commissioned to replace existing, w1inhabitable structures dating to the 

1960s. Kennedy also was nominated for its Data Center Consolidation project to unite technology assets 

across the center's campus. A third KSC nomination, "Building a Sustainable Future," implemented 

"systematic and deliberate change to weave sustainability throughout the center's entire operations," the 

award statement said. ["White House Honors NASA With GreenGov Presidential Award," NASA News 

Release #11-371, November 1, 2011.] 

State will run tiny-satellite competition 

Space Florida will manage a $2 million competition intended to advance technologies and markets for 

tiny satellites, NASA announced Tuesday. To win the prize, participants in the Nano-Satellite Launch 

Challenge must launch a satellite weighing at least 2.2 pounds into Earth orbit twice within a week. A 

first launch attempt is expected next summer. A new nonprofit called the Space Florida Small Satellite 

Research Center will be set up to manage the competition, one of22 Centennial Challenges funded by 

NASA since 2005. Space Florida's board of directors is expected to approve the agency's creation of the 

nonprofit and management of the competition at a 2:30p.m. meeting today in Fort Lauderdale. The nanosatellite challenge hopes to stimulate innovations in low-cost launch technology, according to a NASA 

press release. Web posted. (2011). [State will run tiny-satellite competition [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11, November I).] 

Senate offers NASA more than House 

The Senate voted Tuesday to give NASA $17.9 billion in fiscal 2012, significantly more than the agency 

would get from the House. Both chambers are far apart on two key initiatives. One is the James Webb 

Telescope, the successor to the Hubble Telescope. The other is a commercial crew program in which 

NASA and private rocket companies are working together to develop a replacement for the space shuttle. 

The Senate bill includes $500 million for the program, compared to $312 million in the House measure. 

The James Webb telescope, which would get $530 million from the Senate, would get nothing under the 

House bill. NASA officials say both programs would be delayed if the House prevails. The House bill 

would provide $16.8 biUion for NASA in fiscal 2012, which began Oct. 1. The Obama administration 

had requested $850 million for the program, which would launch the rockets from Kennedy Space Center. 

Web posted. (20 11 ). [Senate offers NASA more than House [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , November I).] 

November 2: Excalibur Almaz, NASA sign commercial spaceflight deal 

NASA's roster of partners developing commercial vehicles to possibly fly astronauts has expanded to 

include Houston-based Excalibur Almaz Inc., which plans to fly upgraded versions of capsules originally 

designed to serve Soviet military space stations. Excalibur and NASA signed a Space Act Agreement that 

includes no NASA funding but allows collaboration between engineering teams. A NASA statement says 

the company's system for flying crews to the International Space Station would use its planned reusable, 

three-person space tourmst vehicle with an intennediate stage, flown on a commercially available launch 

vehicle to be determined. Excalibur Alrnaz is the seventh company to partner with NASA in the second 

round of the Commercial Crew Development program, or CCDev-2. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Excal ibur 

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Almaz, NASA sign commercial spaceflight deal [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , November 2].] 

KSC opens Vehicle Assembly Building for tours 

Tennessean Margaret Mason is no shuttle rookie. She saw her first space shuttle launch here in 2006, and 

then watched six of the last seven majestic liftoffs of the nation's recently retired flying machines. But 

Tuesday marked the first time the 64-year-old educator had an opportunity to amble into the longrestricted Vehicle Assembly Building, the landmark where NASA first put together the Saturn V moon 

rockets and later space shuttles. It was the first time since 1978 that the 525-foot-tall cathedral opened to 

the general public, and the first time tourists could see a shuttle orbiter - Endeavour- here at NASA's 

prime launch operations center. So Mason made a 700-mile trip from Nashville to be part of it. " I wanted 

to be here for the opportunity - the first public opportunity - to see an orbiter up close," she said. 

Access to the building for years has been rigorously restricted. Tour buses have driven right past. After 

all, highly flammable shuttle solid rocket booster segments were stacked inside the facility. Hazardous 

operations were the norm. But on Tuesday afternoon, Mason was among 51 people who poured out of a 

tour bus and into the facility, one of the largest buildings by volume in the world. They entered through a 

door on the north end, and a door to the south was open as well. Consequently, they walked into windtunnel conditions that would have lifted Mary Poppins aloft. They all stood in a 700-foot-long corridor 

that separated towering High Bays 1 and 3 on the east side of the building, and High Bays 2 and 4 on the 

west side. A guide recited the history of the building, and then the group was led toward the floor of High 

Bay 4, where Endeavour is being prepped for display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. 

Web posted. (2011). [KSC opens Vehicle Assembly Building for tours [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [201 _1, November 2].] 

November 3: Efforts evolving to reshape tbe Cape 

On a color-coded chart of Kennedy Space Center facilities, blue represents the center's new way of doing 

business and the Space Coast's hopes for a thriving space industry. That's the color designating former 

space shuttle and other government-only facilities that are now being opened to commercial users, like the 

hangar The Boeing Co. this week announced it would use to build a privately operated human spaceflight 

capsule. "KSC is being compelled to reinvent itself," said Joyce Riquelme, manager of the center's 

planning and development office. "Unlike the Apollo transition, this time we have a vision and a plan." 

The plan to reshape the Cape as a hub for commercial space activity was the subject of a panel discussion 

Thursday at the SunComm 2011 conference, hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and 

Electronics Association at the Cocoa Beach Oceanfront Hilton. Government and industry officials 

promised greater diversity in local space operations and missions in the coming years, but no guarantees 

that the more than 8,000 contractor jobs lost with the 30-year shuttle program would easily be replaced. 

Boeing's work on the CST-100 spacecraft is part of a NASA program supporting development of 

commercial systems for flying astronauts to the International Space Station and potentially private 

stations. Carol Scott, with NASA's Kennedy-based Commercial Crew Program, said her office is busy 

working with six other companies and finalizing technical requirements for the vehicles and how their 

safety will be certified. "We've got to get the government out and we' ve got to go let industry go do this," 

Scott said of transportation to low Earth orbit. SpaceX, another company involved in the crew program, 

is preparing to launch a second demonstraHon flight of its Dragon spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Air 

Force Station before beginning a $1.6 billion contract for cargo space station shipments. ATK is another 

company vying to fly NASA's crews on its Liberty rocket. The company is also working with Space 

Florida to refurbish the state-run Launch Complex 46 to support launches of Athena and Minotaur rockets 

for smaller payloads. At Launch Complex 36, Space Florida is working with the much smaller Masten 

Space Systems to perform a series of low-altitude test flights of its Xaero suborbital vehicle, which takes 

off vertically and returns to the pad for landing. "We would like very much to be able to have ongoing 

operations here out of Florida at some point in the near future,'.' said Sean Mahoney, chief operating 

officer of the 12-person company based in Mojave, Calif. Space Florida says it is in negotiations with 

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companies that could produce more than 4,800 jobs over the next several years. Web posted. (2011). 

[Efforts evolving to reshape the Cape [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ (2011 , 

November3].] 

November 4: Star Lab: Space Science on the Wings of Starfighters 

A New Space company based out of New Port Richey in Florida is working to provide suborbital access 

to space for fmns with scientific payloads. The Star Lab project is an experimental suborbital launcher, 

designed to provide frequent, less expensive access to sub-orbit. This could allow educational and 

scientific institutions across the nation to conduct experiments that would normally be impractical. "If 

Star Lab proves itself viable, as we feel it will, this could open the door to a great many scientific 

institutions conducting their research by using the Star Lab vehicle," said Mark Hornnick the CEO of 

4Frontiers Corporation. On Oct. 27th, the Star Lab launcher was tested out while attached to the F-104 

carrier aircraft via a series of fast-taxis up and down NASA's Shuttle Landing Facility located in Florida. 

4Frontiers is working to launch their Star Lab sounding rocket vehicle into sub-orbital space via an F-1 04 

Starfighter that is pa.rt of the Starfighters demo team based out of Kennedy Space Center. 4Frontiers 

hopes to launch a prototype early next year with commercial flights to follow about six months later. On 

Thursday Oct. 27, Star Lab began the first of its tests as it was mounted to a F-1 04 Starfighter and the 

aircraft then conducted several fast-taxi runs up and down NASA's Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) with 

the Star Lab vehicle affixed to one of its pylons. On the last of these fast taxis, the jet aircraft deployed its 

drag chute. These maneuvers were conducted to collect data to test the Star Lab vehicle's response. In 

terms of providing access to space, compared to more conventional means, the Star Lab project is 

considered to be an innovative and cost-effective means for scientific firms to test their experiments in the 

micro-gravity environment. The Star Lab suborbital vehicle is an air-launched sounding rocket, which is 

designed to be reusable and can reach a maximum altitude of about 120km. The project was created 

through a cooperative agreement between the 4Frontiers Corporation, Starfighters Aerospace, EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University and the University of Central Florida with funding provided by the NASA 

Florida Space Grant Consortium. Web posted. (20 11 ). [Star Lab: Space Science on the Wings of 

Starfighters [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.universetoday.com/ [2011, November 4].] 

November 7: NASA Administrator Names Peck Agency's Chief Technologist 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden has named Cornell University Professor Mason Peck to be the 

agency's chief technologist, effective in January. Peck will serve as the agency's principal advisor and 

advocate on matters concerning technology policy and programs. Web posted. (2011). [NASA 

Administrator Names Peck Agency's Chief Technologist [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceref.com/ (2011 , November 7).] 

KSC encourage employees to apply for the latest astronaut class 

Kennedy Space Center (KSC) employees have been encouraged to apply for NASA's latest astronaut 

class, as the transition from purchased seats on Russian Soyuz vehicles to the International Space Station 

(ISS), to the fleet of commercial vehicle options in the middle of the decade, and eventually with Orion 

and the Space Launch System (SLS), picks up. As one of the most popular career choices as a young 

child, wanting to be an astronaut still holds the same lofty excitement as it always has, despite the 

retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet from NASA missions. While there has been a level of negative 

impact to the public's perception that NASA has given up on the Human Space Flight game, NASA is 

working on the awareness of the future roadmap for domestic human launches - set to begin no earlier 

than 2015 - even within their own centers. "Even as we prepare KSC to support hwnan exploration 

beyond our home planet, NASA is still in the human space flight business, with a permanent crew on the 

Intemational Space Station (ISS) until at least 2020," noted a memo sent to the KSC workforce. 

Although the bulk of astronaut training takes place at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), the encouraging of 

KSC employees to apply is no surprise, especially with KSC Center Director Bob Cabana being a former 

astronaut himself. A list of requirements were also listed in the memo, showing what remains strict rules 

278 
on being able to apply to the astronaut class - barriers which will soon be broken down via the onset of 

commercial space flight, especially in the area of suborbital space tourism. However, if you want the 

honor of flying as a NASA astronaut, which will also come with the history and esteem that was enjoyed 

by US citizens over the past 50 years, education, experience and good health are the three key drivers. 

Applications for the latest class will be accepted from this month for an unspecified period of time. Web 

posted. (2011). [KSC encourage employees to apply for the latest astronaut class [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/ [2011, November 7].] 

November 8: Coveted Space Awards Go To Banke, Hurst 

A veteran aerospace journalist and the director of external relations at Kennedy Space Center today won 

prestigious news and communications awards named for the former managing editor of Aviation Week 

and Space Technology magazine. During a National Space Club Florida Committee luncheon in Cape 

Canaveral, the 2011 Harry Kolcum News and Communications Awards went to Jim Banke and Cheryl 

Hurst. Banke and Hurst joined the likes of the late, longtime Associated Press Aerospace Writer Howard 

Benedict and Jack King, NASA's Voice of Apollo, in winning the awards. The awards are presented 

annually to the news and public affairs professionals who excel in communicating the story of space 

exploration within the state of Florida and throughout the world. Banke, a former Florida Today reporter, 

is an award-wiruling journalist, writer, producer, consultant, analyst and project manager who has covered 

the nation's space program for more than a quarter century. In 2006, he served on the Governor's 

Commission on the Future of Aeronautics and Space in Florida. The group's recommendations led to the 

creation of Space Florida, a state economic development organization. Banke was honored by NASA with 

a Distinguished Public Service Medal the following year. Hurst is director of education and external 

relations at KSC. In this position she provides guidance and direction to KSC's strategic communications 

team, government relations representatives, public outreach programs, guest operations, protocol and 

education programs. She communicates NASA's messages to internal and external audiences, including 

senior management, business and community leaders, legislators, dignitaries, academic institutions, KSC 

guests and the general public. Hurst also manages the KSC Visitor Complex concession agreement and 

has oversight of the KSC History Program and Speaker's Bureau. Hurst specializes in promoting public 

awareness of the importance and excitement of the nation's space program and has played key roles in 

connecting NASA with national media. She fostered partnerships with ABC-TV's Extreme Makeover, 

Discovery's Cake Boss, Carnival Cruise Lines, BilJ Nye The Science Guy and the Tom Joyner Morning 

Show. In the months leading up to the retirement ofNASA's shuttle fleet, she oversaw efforts to allow 

workers to bring their families to see key nlilestone such as shuttle rollouts to the launch pad. She was 

instrumental in champiotling a celebration of the 30-year shuttle program with new and unique 

opportunities for workers and the public. More recently, Hurst has spearheaded an expansion of events 

surrounding expendable rocket launches, increasing opportunities for NASA guests and visitors at the 

launches ofNASA space science and planetary exploration missions. Web posted. (2011). [Coveted 

Space Awards Go To Banke, Hurst [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/thejlame 

trench blog [20 ll, November 8].] 

NASA Aims for 2014 Orion Test Flight at Cape 

NASA aims to launch an early test flight of its Orion crew exploration vehicle from Cape Canaveral in 

2014 to test its heat shield and other atmospheric reentry systems, officials said today. The most likely 

launch vehicle: A United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy that would fly out of Launch Complex 37 at 

Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Officials at NASA Headquarters said the agency is proposing to add 

the unmanned flight test to the Orion development contract it bas with American aerospace giant 

Lockheed Martin. The flight test would support the development of the Space Launch System, a heavylift rocket NASA aims to develop to send astronauts on missions beyond Earth orbit. Exploration Flight 

Test, or EFT-I, would fly two orbits to a high-apogee, with a high-energy re-entry through Earth's 

atmosphere. Orion will make a water landing in the Pacfic Ocean. The spacecraft would be recovered by 

Kennedy Space Center workers using operations planned for future human exploration missions. Web 

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posted. (2011). [NASA Aims for 2014 Orion Test Flight at Cape [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ theflame trench blog [2011 , November 8].] 

November 9: NASA buyouts may trim KSC's work force further 

Roughly 150 Kennedy Space Center employees are eligible for voluntary buyouts NASA is offering to 

trim its civil service work force. The reductions, if fulfilled, would be the first notable drop in the 

center's govemment ranks since the shuttle program's end this summer, which saw thousands of 

contractors let go, though agency officials say the two issues aren't directly related. "We're just trying to 

maintain the level of work force necessary to perfom1 long-range work," said Grey Hautaluoma, a 

spokesman at NASA headquarters in Washington, D.C. NASA on Tuesday could not immediately 

provide the total number of buyouts being offered across the agency, which has nearly 19,000 civil 

servants, or how many centers were involved. The deal offers up to $25,000 to eligible employees who 

would leave the agency in January. The eligibility criterion varies by center, Hautaluoma said. At 

headquarters, 14 7 positions were identified as eligible but only 50 buyouts will be accepted. A similar 

number of eligible positions were "targeted" at KSC, but the total departing isn't yet confirmed. About 

100 buyouts are expected out of 400 eligible employees at Johnson Space Center in Houston, a 

spokeswoman said. KSC had 2,178 civil servants as of Oct. 1, a number that has held steady for years. 

The center's contractor workforce, on the other band, dropped precipitously with the shuttle program's 

end, from 13,000 in early 2009 to a current total of about 6, 700. KSC Director Bob Cabana expects the 

combined contractor and civil servant work force to climb back to 10,000 in the coming years as work on 

new commercial space taxis and exploration vehicles ramps up. The agency last offered buyouts in 2005, 

Hautaluoma said. "Nobody's required to take it," he said of the current offers. "We're always trying to 

make sure we have the right work for the task at hand, so we offered this incentive to people, but it's 

totally voluntary." Web posted. (2011). [NASA buyouts may trim KSC's work force further [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , November 9].] 

Congress moves to fund space shuttle contractors' pensions 

Congress is getting nearer to closing a roughly $500 million gap in a pension fund for thousands of 

former space shuttle contractors. The Senate last week approved a $17.9 billion budget for NASA in 

fiscal 2012 that includes the pension money. Senators still must negotiate a final spending plan with the 

House, where lawmakers have proposed giving NASA $16.8 billion. But because the House proposal also 

includes the pension contribution, it's expected to survive in a final House-Senate compromise. The 

funding could constitute as much as 3 percent ofNASA's fiscal2012 budget, a significant amount for an 

agency already facing delays in important projects due to because of congressional belt-tightening. But 

the government agreed ,early on to cover any pension shortfall for shuttle contractors, and advocates for 

the private-sector workers say the nation owes them the retirement benefits they're due. NASA has 

routinely included pension funding as part of its contracting for the shuttle program, which ended in July 

when Atlantis flew the tina! flight. Dozens of space shuttle program contracts were consolidated in 1996, 

when Boeing and Lockheed Martin created United Space Alliance to allow NASA to deal with a single 

contractor. Roughly 11,000 people are eligible for the pension program. The value of the money set aside 

and invested to pay the pensions is now worth about half of what workers are owed, thanks largely to 

steep declines in the stock market. When United Space AJiiance decided to close its pension plan as a 

result of the shuttle's retirement, the government had to step in and come up with the money to close the 

gap, agency spokesman Mike Curie said. "There's no concem at all that the employees will not get their 

benefits," Curie said. "By law, the govemment has to do this." Web posted. (2011). [Congress moves to 

fund space shuttle contractors' pensions [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[2011 , November 9].] 

November 10: NASA preps rover flight to Mars 

NASA scientists said Tihursday the launch of its Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft in about two weeks 

could yield a potential "home run" in space exploration. The new rover Curiosity, bigger and better than 

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its predecessors, is at th.e forefront of NASA's effort to investigate Mars for the possibility of habitable 

life. The $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory spacecraft is scheduled for liftoff at 10:25 a.m., November 

25 from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Once the sedan-sized Curiosity launches, it will 

travel about nine months to the surface of the Mars, landing around August 2012. If weather does not 

pennit liftoff on the scheduled day, NASA has made preparations to launch up until December 18, the 

agency said. Web posted. (2011). [NASA preps rover flight to Mars [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.cnn.com/ (2011 , November 10].] 

New appointments at ISS National Lab nonprofit 

The Kennedy Space Center-based nonprofit tasked with overseeing non-NASA research on the 

International Space Station today annow1ced several new appointments. Joining the Center for the 

Advancement of Science in Space, or CAS IS, according to a press release, are: -- Duane Ratliff, director 

of operations. Ratliff most recently served as Senior Vice President at Dynamac Corporation. -- Brian 

Harris, director of marketplace development. Harris is a certified program manager and most recently 

served as Director of Business and Program Development at Aerojet. --Charles Resnick, director of 

economic valuation. Resnick is a business executive with more than 25 years of experience in global and 

financial management, private equity/venture capital, start-ups, and operations and strategic positioning 

focusing on technology, banking and consumer products. "CASIS is growing quickly and we are thrilled 

to have these high caliber professionals join our team," CASIS Director Jeanne Becker said in a 

statement. "CASIS bas a major responsibility to American citizens, the research and education 

community, and to NASA to maximize utilization ofiSS National Lab for enhancing life on Earth. These 

new executives will help us fulfill that mission." The center also announced two new managers: --

Melissa Schwaller, Ph.D., J.D., will serve as Intellectual Property and Compliance Manager. --Diane 

Matthews will serve as STEM Manager for CASIS, promoting education initiatives in Science, 

Tech.nology, Engineering and Math. Web posted. (2011). [New appointments at ISS National Lab 

nonprofit [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011, 

November 1 0].] 

Pegasus sails from KSC into uncertain future 

The barge NASA used to deliver space shuttle external fuel tanks from New Orleans to Florida set sail 

from Kennedy Space Center this morning, possibly for the last time. The Pegasus, towed by a crew of 

th.ree seamen and one technician aboard the Freedom Star solid booster recovery ship, is bound for Bay 

St. Louis, Miss., where it will remain in storage until a new use is determined, NASA said in a press 

release. The 266-foot-long, 50-foot-wide covered barge is expected to complete the It's 900-mile journey 

Nov. 16. The Pegasus sailed 41 times and delivered 31 space shuttle external tanks between 1999 and 

2011. This time it is carrying ground support equipment that wa~ used to install space shuttle main 

engines in orbiters. The Kennedy shop where the engines were stored and processed between flights is 

among the facilities turned over to Space Florida for future use by The Boeing Co., which on Oct. 3 1 

announced plans to manufacture its CST -100 commercial crew capsule at KSC. The engines will be 

utilized in testing and early flights of the giant rocket NASA is developing for deep space exploration, the 

Space Launch System. The Marshall Space Flight Center's Shuttle-Ares Transition Office in Huntsville, 

Ala. is responsible for determining the fate of the Pegasus and ground support equipment. Web posted. 

(2011). [Pegasus sails from KSC into uncertain future [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , November 10].] 

November 11: SpaceX scouting sites for launch 

Anticipating a sharp increase in its launch rate in the coming years, SpaceX is hunting for a new launch 

pad and considering several sites outside the Space Coast. CEO Elon Musk wants a pad exclusively to 

serve commercial customers, one that might be based in Texas, Virginia, Puerto Rico or as far away as 

Hawaii. Flights of government missions such as NASA cargo, astronauts and defense payloads, if SpaceX 

wins the business, would continue from Air Force stations here and in California. With an all-con:imercial 

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launch site, SpaceX is seeking more freedom to law1ch when and how it wants, with fewer of the 

restrictions on launch opportunities and access that apply on secure military facilities. The increased 

flexibility could enable more rapid launches, attract customers and reduce costs. On the flip side, many of 

the new sites under consideration wouJd require expensive infrastructure and each carries geographic 

chaUenges, from launch trajectories that fly over populated areas to inconvenient distances from other 

company operations. Florida is working to keep as many launches as possible in the state, which recently 

invested $7 million to help SpaceX expand its Cape Canaveral Air Force Station facilities to enable more 

frequent flights. SpaceX hopes to launch Falcon 9 rockets from Launch Complex 40 as often as once a 

month by 2015. Use of an additional Cape pad, a former shuttle pad at Kennedy Space Center or even a 

South Florida site could be offered to help sustain that rate. The Cape options, however, can't eliminate 

the potential problem of schedule conflicts with other rocket launchers and higher-priority national 

security payloads. Wherever it ends up, state officials don' t think Musk's commercial-only pad concept 

is likely to significantly dilute the company's local operations. Web posted. (2011). [SpaceX scouting 

sites for launch [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , November 11].] 

November 12: Happy 30th birthday, Canadarm 

The iconic Canadarm, which first flexed its mechanical muscles on a space shuttle 30 years ago, has 

grown up - and it's gotten smaller along the way. It was on Nov. 13, 1981 , that the first robotic space 

limb was deployed on U.S. Space Shuttle Columbia. The anniversary, and the recent end of the shuttle 

program, provide an occasion to remember the past of the Canadian robotics sector and consider where it 

goes from here. Over 30 years, the Canadann has helped build the lnternational Space Station, repaired 

satellites in space and even fixed broken toilets. The huge robotic arm with its Canada wordmark retired 

last July after making the last of its 90 shuttle missions and voyages totalling over 624 million kilometres. 

Two other robotic anns - Canadann2 and DEXTRE, a two-armed, $200-million (Obot- are still on the 

job on the space station. MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MD A), built five Canadarms. The 

original Canadarm will soon be brought back to Canada, sometime after the end of the year. The robotic 

arm was last used on the Shuttle Endeavour during its final space mission, which ended June l. Web 

posted. (20 11 ). [Happy 30th birthday, Canadann; milestone comes at pivotal moment for Canadian 

robotics [Online]. Available WWW: http://thetyee.ca/CanadianPressl [2011, November 12].] 

NASA Hitches a Ride on a Russian Craft 

A Russian Soyuz rocket with three astronauts - two Russians, one American - is set to lift off from 

Kazakhstan on Monday morning, ferrying the men to the lntemational Space Station. Ordinarily, the 

launching of a Soyuz, Russia 's workhorse rocket for decades, is a mundane event. But this time the future 

of the space station - and, indeed, the space programs of Russia and the United States- may be riding 

on the mission's success. There are now three crew members living on the space station, and they are 

scheduled to return to Earth this month; ifthe three relief astronauts do not arrive before then, the space 

station will be empty for the first time in more than a decade. The flight is also the beginning of a new 

chapter for NASA, which ended its space shuttle program in July and is now turning to foreign 

governments and commercial enterprises for space transportation. Monday's launching will be the first 

trip by astronauts to orbit since the retirement of the shuttles. Daniel C. Burbank, Anton N. ShkapJerov 

and Anatoly A. I vanishin are scheduled to launch at 10: 14 a.m. Monday - which is I 1 : 14 p.m. Sunday 

Eastern time - from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. The trip, which was supposed to take 

place in September, was postponed after the failure in August of a Russian unmanned cargo rocket. 

NASA officials expressed confidence that their Russian counterparts had diagnosed and corrected the 

problem. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Hitches a Ride on a Russian Craft, and Begins a New Dependent 

Phase [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nytimes.com/ [2011 , November 12].) 

November 13: SpaceX, NASA schedule next Dragon flight for early 2012 

The first SpaceX demonstration flight to the International Space Station will launch no sooner than 

January as NASA awaits ftnal delivery of flight software before clearing the mission to proceed, 

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according to space agency sources. A NASA manifest document shows the launch set for Jan. 12. SpaceX 

has a date on the Air Force-run Eastern Range for liftoff Jan. 7, at the earliest. But an agency official 

familiar with the mission described the date as chaiJenging and said February is a more likely timeframe 

for the flight. SpaceX and NASA previously stated Dec. 19 was the earliest the mission could blast off 

from Cape Canaveral, Fla. Web posted. (2011). [SpaceX, NASA schedule next Dragon flight for early 

2012 [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacetlightnow.com/ [2011 , November 13].] 

November 14: Senate Committee Announces Witnesses for Thursday's NASA Hearing 

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee has announced the witnesses for its 

hearing on Thursday concerning NASA's human space exploration program. All are from NASA. The 

hearing, "NASA's Human Space Exploration: Direction, Strategy, and Progress," is being convened by 

the Science and Space subcommittee chaired by Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL). According to 

the committee's website: "At this hearing, the Subcommittee will consider NASA's plans for human 

exploration, including the programs, projects, and activities for developing the Space Launch System, 

crew vehicle, and ground support. This hearing will provide an opportunity to articulate NASA's goals for 

human exploration and how they complement International Space Station support and utilization, 

technology development, international collaboration, and commercial activities." Panel I consists only of 

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. Panel 2 consists of three NASA center directors: Robert Cabana, 

Kennedy Space Center; Michael Coats, Johnson Space Center; and Robert Lightfoot, Marshall Space 

Flight Center. Web posted. (201 1). [Senate Committee Announces Witnesses for Thursday's NASA 

Hearing [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/ [2011, November 14].] 

November 15: NASA budget cuts could delay new jobs at KSC 

A reduced NASA budget set to pass Congress this week could slow White House plans to use commercial 

rocket companies as a lifeline to the International Space Station -- and delay hundreds of jobs slated for 

Kennedy Space Center. The proposed $17.8-billion budget is roughly $650 million less than what NASA 

received this year and includes about $400 million to fund commercial rocket companies -- less than half 

the amount requested by President Barack Obama. While that's more than the $3 12 million the program 

received in 2011 , industry advocates have argued that more money is needed to speed development of 

human-rated spacecraft. Chief among them is Boeing, which one top official said earlier this year could 

launch astronauts to the station by 2015 if NASA funded commercial efforts at $850 mmion annually 

over the next five years - as sought by the White House. John Elbon, manager of Boeing's commercial 

crew program, bas warned that Jess funding could mean delays of a year or more for its planned crew 

capsule, potentially impacting the company's aims to hire 550 workers on the Space Coast. NASA is 

developing its own rocket and capsule, called the Space Launch System, intended for missions to nearby 

asteroids or the moon. That program, which isn't expected to have a crewed flight before 2021 , will get 

the lion's share of $3.8 !billion budgeted next year for the agency's exploration division. Another program 

that stands to gain under is the troubled James Webb Space Telescope. U.S. House appropriators 

proposed canceling the Webb this summer, after its price rose to an estimated $8.7 biiJion --a $5.2-billion 

increase-- and its launch date slipped by seven years to 2018. Web posted. (2011). [NASA budget cuts 

could delay new jobs at KSC [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011 , 

November 15].] 

NASA grows audience, credibility through tweetups 

Rocket science isn't easily explainable in 140 characters, but NASA is asking a group of people to do just 

that with a series of VIP tours for some of its ardent Twitter followers. The events called tweetups offer 

ordinary science fans a behind-the-scenes look at the space agency's facilities that can include its 

astronauts and scientists. In exchange, many participants_ whose day jobs range from church office 

worker to baker _ narrate their day through tweets, photographs and videos. NASA's imaginationgrabbing work gives it a bigger pool of fans to draw from than many companies or government agencies, 

and it sets itself apart further with its egalitarian approach to social media. While it's not unusual for an 

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organization to give special access to journalists or influential bloggers, experts say NASA sets itself 

apart by inviting people who may only have a few dozen followers. Participants are chosen through a 

lottery. While some end up being self-described techies who blog regularly about space, it's important to 

NASA that it draws people with a wide range of interests who can tweet with authentic voices to a varied 

audience. NASA's first tweetup was in 2009, and it's held a total of30. Some have coincided with news 

events like rocket launches, and one is planned in Florida the week of Thanksgiving for the Mars rover 

launch. The events can last from two hours to two days, ranging from a few dozen participants to more 

than 100. Participants pay their own travel expenses. While it's not clear how many new Twitter 

followers NASA has gained from the tweetups, the nwnber is expanding rapidly. Since June, nearly 

600,000 people have started following the agency_ about 4,000 to 5,000 per day_ for a total of about 1.6 

million. NASA tweetup alwnni closely monitor their reach and noted that when 150 participants were 

invited to Kennedy Space Center in Florida this August for the Juno spacecraft launch their tweets _ 

through the power of retweets _ had 29.9 million potential views. Web posted. (2011). (NASA grows 

audience, credibility through tweetups [Online]. Available WWW: http://azdailysun.com/ [2011 , 

November 15].] 

November 16: Mobile launcher on the move at KSC 

The mobile launch tower that will support NASA's next exploration rocket is on its way to launch pad 

39B at Kennedy Space Center. The crawler-transporter hauling the 6.8-million pound launcher--

towering some 400 feet off the ground-- began rolling from a park site next to the Vehicle Assembly 

Building at 9: 15 a.m. The 4.2-mile trip to the pad will give engineers data on how much the tower sways 

and wiggles during the journey. Then two weeks of tests at the pad will provide a comprehensive "fit 

check." It's only the second time the mobile launcher has been moved. The first time it only moved a few 

hundred feet, from its construction site west of the assembly building to a parking area on the eastern side. 

The Apollo-style mobile launcher was built for the cancelled Constellation program's Ares I rocket. The 

base and tower structures have cost $238 million to date. NASA expects to spend roughly $100 million 

to rebuild the base to support the much heavier Space Launch System, the new heavy-lift rocket planned 

for human exploration of deep space. Then the structure will have to be outfitted with the various 

systems needed to support the rocket and an Orion capsule, at a so far unconfirmed cost. The mobile 

launcher is supposed to be completed in time to support an uncrewed 2017 test launch of the new vehicle 

from pad 39B. Web posted. (2011). [Mobile launcher on the move at KSC [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [2011, November 16].] 

November 17: KSC to get as much as $484 million in construction money 

A dark year for Kennedy Space Center got a bit brighter Thursday when a key Florida lawmaker 

announced that the aging NASA facility would get as much as $484 million over the next year to upgrade 

its launch infrastructure. That's more than expected and would put KSC back on track to meet President 

Barack Obama's goal of spending $1.9 billion over five years to transform the half-century-old center into 

what his administration has dubbed a "21st century launch complex. "This is reaL These are real dollars," 

said U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fiorida, who successfully pressed to secure the money. However, $316 

million is subject to NASA's discretion on where to spend it. A bill that includes NASA funding - and 

money for KSC - passed the U.S. House Thursday afternoon and cleared the Senate hours later. The 

money for KSC is intended to help the center transition·from its 30-year-old mission of launching space 

shuttles, an assignment that ended with the final flight of Atlantis in July. NASA is pressing ahead on 

two fronts: hiring commercial rocket companies to re-supply the lnternational Space Station - some 

would launch from KSC - and investing in a new heavy-lift launch vehicle that could send astronauts to 

the moon or a nearby asteroid sometime in the 2020s or later. KSC Director Bob Cabana, on Capitol Hill 

for a Thursday hearing on NASA's future, said the $484 million would help both endeavors by upgrading 

center faci lities so they could handle new types of rockets. "Primarily, it's going into Launch Complex 39 

to prepare for the heavy-lift vehicle and do those things we need to do support commercial operations 

there," he said. He also said there was "a lot of work to be done" in aging the Vehicle Assembly Building 

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to ready it for the· new rocket and its companion capsule. Cabana wouldn't comment on how many jobs 

the money would generate, other than to note that many would be construction-, rather than space-related, 

in the early going. KSC employment is expected to drop to 8,200 workers next year, and center officials 

have aimed to bring that number back to 10,000 in the next five years as NASA gets closer to launching 

its new rocket and capsule. The agency is planning two unmanned flights - one in 2014, the other in 

2017 - to test the new system, with a first manned mission scheduled for 2021. While $484 million is 

the top-end in funding for KSC, not all the money is guaranteed. Nelson said $168 million would come 

from a NASA fund devoted exclusively to upgrading KSC and that as much as $316 million could be 

steered to the launch complex to prepare it to handle NASA's new rocket and capsule. Details were not 

immediately available on how much of that money would go to KSC next year. Web posted. (2011). 

[KSC to get as much as $484 million in construction money [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [20 11 , November 17).] 

NASA Ponders Orion Abort Test 

Engineers on NASA's multi-purpose crew vehicle (MPCV) would like to conduct an ascent-abort test 

before sending their capsule around the Moon on the first flight of the heavy-lift Space Launch System in 

2017, but first they must find another $163 million to fund the recently announced flight test of its 

planetary re-entry system in 2014. Michael Coats, director of Johnson Space Center in Houston, where 

the Orion-based deep-space crew vehicle is managed, told the Senate Commerce science and space 

subcommittee Nov. 17 that the program still hasn't identified the entire $372 million cost of the 2014 

flight test. That test, announced earlier this month, will subject the vehicle's advanced heat shield to 

temperatures and loads approaching those it will experience on a direct return from the Moon or beyond. 

Tentative plans call for the test to re-enter at 84% of lunar re-entry speed. Coats confrrmed that the 

capsule, which Lockheed Martin started developing under the old Constellation program and will 

continue under the new MPCV approach, will be launched on a Delta IV rocket. Lockheed Martin plans 

to refurbish the first ground test article for the flight test, and had been considering the Delta IV as the 

launch vehicle. Robert Cabana, director of Kennedy Space Center, said the 2014 test flight will give 

recovery crews based at his Florida launch center a chance to check out procedures they are developing to 

recover the capsule at sea. NASA's going-in plan for the 2017 flight would use an early version of the 

SLS to send an unmanned capsule on a lunar flyaround to conduct additional testing of the thermal 

protection system. A second flight with a crew is scheduled in 2021. Administrator Charles Bolden told 

the panel that funding for the SLS/Orion development to support those dates will be reflected in the fiscal 

2013 budget request NASA submits in February. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Ponders Orion Abort Test 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www .aviationweek.corn/ [20 11, November 18].] 

November 18: NASA Announces Space Shuttle Closeout Contract Modification 

NASA announced the Space Shuttle Program and subcontractor closeout modification to the Space 

Program Operations Contract (SPOC) with United Space Alliance (USA) of Houston, valued at $232.9 

million. The contract covers SPOC closeout actions from Oct. I, 2011 through Sept. 30, 2013, including: 

-- Making orbiters Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour safe for public display; -- Ferry operation activities 

for Discovery; --Property, information technology systems and records disposition by USA; --

Subcontract closeout activities including property disposition, information technology systems disposition 

and records disposition by 31 subcontractors through finn-fixed-price contracts and five subcontractors 

through five cost-plus type contracts. The principal locations of the various work elements are USA's 

facilities in Houston, Huntsville, Ala.; and Titusville, Cocoa Beach and Kennedy Space Center in Fla. 

This is a cost-plus-award-fee-reimbursement contract. ["NASA Announces Space Shuttle Closeout 

Contract Modification," NASA Contract Release #Cll-046, November 18, 2011.) 

SpaceX has short list for commercial launch site 

SpaceX is eyeing Puerto Rico, Texas, Hawaii, or Florida to be home of a new commercial launch facility 

for its Falcon rocket family, the company's founder and chief executive tells Spaceflight Now. The site 

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would handle commercial missions, while flights for federal government customers could continue to be 

based from Cape Canaveral, Fla., or Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. SpaceX has launched two 

medium-lift Falcon 9 rockets from launch pad 40 at Cape Canaveral, and it's developing a facility at 

Vandenberg to handle polar orbit satellite missions, including early test flights of its Falcon Heavy, which 

would be the world's most powerful launcher. According to Elon Musk, the founder and CEO of SpaceX, 

the search is focusing on U.S. territory due to trade restrictions that could be imposed by International 

Traffic in Anns Regulations, which were intended to inhibit the transfer ofU.S. weapons technology to 

other countries. The company says it has more than $3 billion in revenue on the books through 2017, and 

it has sold more than 40 missions on the Falcon 9 rocket. More than half of those flights are for 

commercial customers, according to SpaceX. Logistics costs wiU be a factor in the decision. Web posted. 

(2011). [SpaceX has short list for commerciallaw1ch site [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , November 18).) 

November 19: NASA Mars Science Laboratory Launch Delayed 

According to NASA PAO: "The launch of a United Launch Alliance Atlas V carrying NASA's Mars 

Science Laboratory (MSL) has been delayed one day to allow time for the team to remove and replace a 

flight termination system battery. The launch is rescheduled for Saturday, Nov. 26 from Space Launch 

Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The one hour and 43 minute launch window 

opens at 10:02 a.m. EST." Web posted. (2011). [NASA Mars Science Laboratory Launch Delayed 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.nasawatch.com/ [2011 , November 19].] 

November 20: Happy 9th birthday to the Delta 4 rocket 

Sunday marks the 9th anniversary of the flrst Delta 4 rocket launch from Cape Canaveral carrying a 

commercial European communications satellite into orbit. Take a look back to our coverage of that 

maiden mission. Web posted. (201 1). [Happy 9th birthday to the Delta 4 rocket [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [2011 , November 19].] 

November 21: Battery swap on tap for Curiosity 

A faulty battery on a critical public-safety system will be replaced on an Atlas V rocket today, clearing 

the way for a holiday weekend launch of NASA's $2.5 billion Mars Science Laboratory mission. The 19-

story United Launch Alliance rocket is scheduled to blast off from Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral 

Air Force Station at 10:02 a.m. Saturday - a day later than initially planned. The launch slipped to give 

engineers and technicians time to replace a faulty battery on the rocket's Flight Termination System. The 

system would enable range safety officers to deliberately destroy the Atlas V in flight if the rocket veered 

off course and threatened populated towns and cities surrounding the launch base. Engineers started 

activating a spare battery during the weekend. The process takes several days to complete. 

"Unfortunately, it's not like going to Ace Hardware and getting a battery off the shelf," NASA Kennedy 

Space Center spokesman George Diller said Monday. The installation of the spare battery is expected to 

take place today. Tests will be perforn1ed to ensure range safety officers could send an encrypted signal to 

receivers on the rocket if it strays off course. The receivers would route the signal to small explosive 

devices that would rip apart the errant rocket. The deliberate destruction of the rocket would enable range 

safety officers to keep any falling debris within a launch hazard area that is cleared before flight. The 

need to perform the battery swap did not prevent NASA from proceeding over the weekend with other 

key preparations for the flight. A countdown dress rehearsal was conducted on Sunday. The training 

exercise enables a NASA-ULA law1ch team to go through a simulation of the procedures that will be 

carried out during the course of the real countdown. NASA has until Dec. 18 to launch the Mars Science 

Lab and its Curiosity rover. A slip past then would force NASA to delay the launch two years until Earth 

and Mars could once again come into alignment for the flight. The launch window on Saturday will 

extend through 11 :45 a.m. NASA and ULA would have launch opportunities every five minutes during 

that one-hour, 43-rninute chance to get the mission under way. The launch must be precisely timed to put 

the rocket and the spacecraft on course. A launch on any day between Friday and Dec. 18 would result in 

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an arrival at Mars between l a.m. and l :30 a.m. EDT on Aug. 6, 2012. The arrival date and time for the 

Mars Science Lab are precise to make certain NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter and Mars Odyssey 

spacecraft - also an orbiter - are in place to monitor atmospheric entry, descent and landing. Web 

posted. (2011). [Battery swap on tap for Curiosity [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, November 21].] 

November 26: Curiosity rover is off to Mars 

Mounted atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, the high-profile payload blasted off from Cape 

Canaveral Air Force Station with a brilliant burst of flame and a giant whoosh of hot white exhaust. Now 

speeding away from Earth, NASA's Mars Science Laboratory and its Curiosity rover aim to land on the 

red planet next August. Science instruments onboard cannot detect life directly. But they can yield 

evidence of all the key building blocks of life as we know it. They can determine whether Mars is, or once 

was, habitable - suitable to sustaining microbial life. More than 13,000 NASA YIPs crowded launch 

viewing sites at nearby Kennedy Space Center. Thousands watched along the banks of the Indian River in 

Titusville, Jetty Park in Port Canaveral, Cocoa Beach and other prime public viewing sites. The Curiosity 

rover runs on a nuclear battery - a generator that converts heat from the natural decay of Plutonium-238 

into electricity. The Atlas V rocket gave the Mars Science Lab a problem-free first leg of a 354 millionmile interplanetary journey. During the next eight months, flight controllers will keep the lab and its rover 

on course for an arrival at Mars between 1 and 1:30 a.m. EDT Aug. 6. Then comes what many believe is 

the most daring, most treacherous part of the mission - landing inside a gaping crater just below the 

equator on the eastern side of the planet. The Mars Science Lab will hit the upper reaches of the Martian 

atmosphere at 13,200 mph. The 2-ton Curiosity rover is about the size of a Mini Cooper. It's much too 

heavy to use the type of airbag landing system employed by NASA's Pathfinder, Spirit and Opportunity 

rovers. So engineers designed a scheme that combines parachutes, retrorockets and a sky crane to put 

Curiosity on the ground. The arrival will involve the fList-ever guided entry through the Martian 

atmosphere. The spacecraft will maneuver like a shuttle on its way toward the landing site, using 

aerodynamic lift and S-turns to bleed off speed. Web posted. (2011). [Curiosity rover is offto Mars 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , November 27].] 

NASA's Curiosity rover flying to Mars with autographs on board 

NASA's Mars Science Laboratory with its car-size Curiosity rover is now on its way to the Red Planet, 

after its launch from Cape Canaveral, Fla. on Saturday. Outfitted with the most advanced scientific gear 

ever sent to Mars in an effort to learn whether conditions there can support microbial life, the rover is also 

equipped with an autograph collection, starting with the signature of the President of the United States. 

Starting with a liftoff at 10:02 a.m. EST ( 1502 GMT) atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V 

rocket, the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) spacecraft set off on an 8 1/2 month trip to Mars. The 

Curiosity rover is expected to land on the planet on Aug. 6, 2012 following a parachute- and retrorocketassisted descent that will culminate in a sky crane carefully lowering it the final 66 feet (20 meters) to the 

surface. Hidden in plain sight on the rover's deck, or its top, is a plaque inscribed with the signatures of 

President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, in addition to other administration and NASA 

leaders. The etched metal plate, which continues a more than 40-year tradition of sending presidential 

plaques on planetary missions, is only one of the signature collections on board Curiosity. Elsewhere on 

the rover is the autograph of the 14-year-old girl from Kansas who gave Curiosity its name along with 

millions of digital signatures from members of the public who signed up through NASA. Curiosity itself 

will also add its own signature to the martian surface, courtesy of its specially-treaded wheels. Each 20-

inch (50.8-centimeter) aluminum wheel features a tread specially designed to allow Curiosity to leave 

behind the autograph of its maker, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. As Curiosity drives over the martian 

terrain, the groves in each wheel will form a string of 'dash' and 'dot' imprints - morse code that will 

spell out "J-P-L." Web posted. (2011). (NASA's Curiosity rover flying to Mars with Obama's, others' 

autographs on board [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.collectspace.com/ [2011 , November 26].] 

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Plutonium disaster plan back on shelf 

At the Brevard County Emergency Operations Center, more than 30 emergency and safety responders, 

along with representatives from the Department of Energy, breathed a sigh of relief 50 seconds into 

Saturday's launch. "We're clear of any risk at this point," said EOC Director Bob Lay, 55 seconds after 

the Atlas V rocket carrying the Mars rover Curiosity launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 

Starting at 6 a.m., representatives from multiple agencies, including Port Canaveral Police, Patrick Air 

Force Base, Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County Fire-Rescue, the state Department of Transportation 

and Florida Department of Law Enforcement, were poised to respond to any launch disaster that might 

have occurred. Those agencies had worked with NASA on an emergency response plan based on any 

potential human exposure to the plutonium on board Curiosity - even though NASA officials said the 

threat of exposure would have amounted to little more than the equivalent of a dental X-ray. "This was 

four or five years in the making," Lay told responders on hand Saturday morning. "We're happy it's done. 

It's over with, and the next launch, I understand, isn't planned until 2016. " It was a good, safe law1ch. If 

something had happened, we would have been somewhat busy here, but thank goodness we didn't have to 

put that all into play." Web posted. (20 11 ). [Plutonium disaster plan back on shelf [Online]. Available 

WWW: http://www .floridatoday.com/ [20 11, November 27].] 

November 27: Stolen space treasures rescued from auction 

The identification badges of three astronaut heroes who were killed in the line of duty. Heat-shielding 

tiles plucked from the space shuttle orbiters. A humongous rocket engine. Those are some of the items 

stolen by space workers who apparently tried to sell them, through a friend or via auction houses or 

websites like eBay. The crimes were foiled by agents working for NASA's inspector General, the 

taxpayer-watchdog ann of the nation's space agency. Over the course of the last half year, they've also 

identified and tried to suggest fixes to problems that led to the waste of millions of dollars of taxpayer 

money, put astronauts or other space workers in danger or threatened the security of critical computer 

systems at NASA sites across the country. But it's the theft of space artifacts and hardware that jump out 

of the public records documenting the inspector general agents' work. Times are tough and perhaps no 

tougher than for space agency workers trying to fmd a way to transition to new lives, either as part of the 

downsized program or in new jobs. But it's troubling to read some of the stories outlined by the inspector 

general about swiped space stuff. Consider just these few: A fonner top security official at the Kennedy 

Space Center kept secret for 44 years the fact that he, somehow, had secured the identification badges of 

Gus Grissom, Roger Chaffee and Ed White, the three astronauts who died in a fire during a pad test at the 

beginning of the Apollo moon shot program. Their sacrifice at the Cape that day helped pave the way for 

the eventually successful Apollo moon landings, but also spurred exhaustive safety reforms throughout 

NASA that no doubt saved the lives of astronauts and space workers for decades to come. They defmitely 

earned the moniker hero. The badges are valuable collectibles apparently. The IG determined, with the 

help of auction experts, that they could have fetched anywhere from $20,000 to $30,000 at sale. They 

clearly determined that the person who'd kept them hidden all these years intended to sell them "for 

monetary gain." ln a story that got more attention when it happened, a shuttle contract worker was 

making far less by swiping heat-shielding tiles and auctioning them on eBay. By the time the inspector 

general's office agents busted the scam, about 12 tiles had sold, but none for more than about $900. 

Perhaps the most bizarre story, though, was this one: the mysterious appearance of an RL-1 0 rocket 

engine for sale. The inspector general's office traced the item after it appeared in an advertisement on an 

online auction site. The seller told investigators the engine, which is of the type utilized in the upper stage 

of the Saturn moon rocket, was obtained from another person who had gotten it from an unidentified 

NASA worker. The engine is a very valuable piece of machinery, valued at about $200,000, and one with 

historic prowess. It's the United States' first liquid-fueled rocket engine. Perhaps more intriguing is its 

size, and the questions the incident raises about how someone could have somehow spirited away a 300-

pound rocket engine, presumably from a guarded NASA facility. It's also considered a major security 

risk. The RL-IO's technology is governed by international trade laws aimed at preventing such 

capabilities from falling into the hands of potential enemies such as Iran. So it's against the law to sell it 

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or even give it away to the general public (let alone steal and fence it). All told, reaching beyond just the 

thefts, lnspector General Paul Martin's office is responsible for saving or recovering millions of dollars in 

taxpayer funds and perhaps spurring changes that could save more. Web posted. (2011). (John Kelly: 

Stolen space treasures rescued from auction [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[201 1, November 27].] 

Shuttle launch director to leave NASA 

The steady hand who led NASA's shuttle launch team through International Space Station assembly, 

recovery from the 2003 Columbia accident and shuttle fleet retirement is leaving the space agency this 

week after almost three decades of service. Veteran Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach will be 

joining "a major aerospace company," taking a job that will keep him and his wife, Charlotte, on Florida's 

Space Coast. They reside in Scottsmoor. He didn' t disclose the name of the company. Web posted. 

(2011). [Shuttle launch director to leave NASA [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ [20 11, November 27].] 

November 29: KSC Visitor Complex making room for Atlantis 

Cranes this morning are removing a pair of shuttle solid rocket boosters and an external tank that have 

been prominently displayed for years in Shuttle Plaza at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. 

Moving the equipment will begin to make room for the $1 00-million facility the visitor center plans to 

build to bouse the retired orbiter Atlantis, which could arrive on site by late next year. The mockup 

orbiter Explorer is expected to be moved within two or three months, bound for Space Center Houston, 

Johnson Space Center's visitor center. The boosters include real and replica components, and the external 

tank is real, restored hardware. Two cranes operated by Beyel Bros. will lift and move each piece onto a 

transporter. They'll be transferred to a temporary storage on Ransom Road on KSC property. Web 

posted. (2011). [KSC Visitor Complex making room for Atlantis (Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.tloridatoday.com/ the .flame trench blog [2011 , November 29].] 

November 30: Mobile launcher returns from KSC pad today 

After a two-week "fit check," the mobile launcher for NASA's next exploration rocket began rolling off 

launch pad 398 at Kennedy Space Center this morning. The roughly 400-foot mobile launch tower and 

platform made its first trip to the pad Nov. 16, rolling atop the same type of crawler-transporter that 

carried space shuttles. Engineers wanted to see how much the tower wiggled during the 4.2-mile journey 

at speeds up to 1.1 mph, data that will be useful in designing the new heavy-lift Space Launch System 

rocket expected to launch on a test flight in 2017. (Less than two inches of movement was anticipated.) At 

the pad, the structure was hooked up to power, water and other systems for what NASA project manager 

Larry Shultz described as fit checks. The mobile launcher was designed for the cancelled Ares I rocket, 

but NASA plans to modify it for the SLS. NASA has spent $238 million so far. A contract to redesign 

the base, strengthening it and widening an exhaust hole, is expected to be awarded soon. The modification 

may cost around $100 million. Then the structure will need to be outfitted with systems needed to launch 

the new rocket, an unspecified cost. The 6.8-million pound mobile launcher today will return to a park 

site northeast of the Vehicle Assembly Building. The move began at 10:27 a.m. EST. Web posted. 

(2011). [Mobile launcher returns from KSC pad today [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .floridatoday.com/ the flame trench blog [20 11 , November 30].) 

289 
DECEMBER 

December 1: Reducing the Space Coast's congressional space voice 

A Florida congressional redistricting proposal could cut the Space Coast region's voice in Congress by 

hal f. Currently the region has two members in Congress: Rep. Bill Posey, whose 15th district covers the 

southern part of the region, including the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station; and Rep. Sandy Adams, 

whose 24th district covers the northern part, including Kennedy Space Center. Under the proposal 

released this week by the state senate, the 15th district would be redrawn to cover the entire region, from 

north of Titusville to far south of even the broadest defmitions of the Space Coast. Adams's 24th district 

would move inland, including portions of the Orlando area. This has Jed to some concerns that the region 

will lose some of its clout in Congress, which could, in turn, affect space policy. Adams, for example, 

serves on the House Science Committee; whether she would continue to do so under her new district, or if 

Posey would seek a seat on that committee, is unclear. Florida state senator Thad Altman tells Florida 

Today that he's confident Adams would continue to support KSC even after redistricting. Wbat's not 

mentioned in the article, though, is that both Space Coast representatives have largely had supporting, not 

leading, roles in recent space policy issues. Neither is an appropriator and their lack of seniority- Adams 

is in her first term and Posey his second-also limits their influence. Web posted. (2011). [Reducing the 

Space Coast's congressional space voice [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacepolitics.com/ 

[2011 , December 1].] 

December 2: Military's secret shuttle passes test, remains in orbit 

A U.S. military mini-shuttle is flying overtime this week after successfully cruising through nine months 

of classified operations in low-Earth orbit. Launched atop an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force 

Station last March, the unmanned X-37B spacecraft was designed to fly in orbit up to 270 days. It 

surpassed that mark Wednesday, and Air Force officials are keeping the winged ship aloft for an 

additional, undefined period of time. "We're extremely proud of this accomplishment," Air Force Lt. 

Col. Terry Mcintyre, X-378 systems program director, said in a statement. Web posted. (2011). 

[Military's secret shuttle passes test, remains in orbit [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.tloridatoday.com/ [20 11, December 2].] 

Space Forum results months away 

A report due within 90 days should shed more light on the results from two days of invitation-only space 

policy meetings this week in Orlando that sought to improve cooperation among states. Representatives 

from eight states and at least four federal agencies met Tuesday and Wednesday at the U.S. States and 

Federal Government Space Forum, Space Florida confumed in a press release Thursday. The conference 

gathered state and federal policy experts "to discuss ways to increase productive engagement regarding 

space-related issues in the corning months and years," said Space Florida President Frank DiBello. 

Partnering to make the U.S. more competitive globally by maintaining a skilled space workforce and 

lowering costs will become more important in an era of tight government budgets and increased reliance 

on commercial space activity, according to the meeting's agenda. Participants agreed on opportunities for 

near-term collaboration, but it may be several months before the U.S. Air Force Academy's Eisenhower 

Center for Space and Defense Studies, which facilitated the event, produces a report summarizing those 

key ideas and initiatives. The state aerospace agency cited the use of"Chatham House" procedural rules 

that promised attendees their comments would remain unattributed to ensure open discussion. In addition 

to Florida, the agency said state participants came from Alabama, Alaska, California, Virginia, 

Massachusetts, New York and Ohio. Federal agencies represented included NASA, the Department of 

Defense, Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Homeland Security. Industry participants 

included senior executives from United Launch Alliance, SES, SpaceX and Virgin Galactic. NASA 

Administrator Charles Bolden and Space Foundation CEO Elliott Pulliam delivered keynote speeches, 

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according to the agenda. An " update meeting" is planned in April at a major space conference in 

Colorado Springs, Colo. Web posted. (2011). [Space Forum results months away [Online). Available 

WWW: htto://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, December 2).] 

NASA to issue solicitation for development of SLS 

NASA expects to issue a draft solicitation around Dec. 12 for $200 million worth of research awards it 

intends to make late next year for the development of advanced booster concepts for the Space Launch 

System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket. NASA intends to use solid rocket boosters from the space shuttle 

program to power the SLS core stage on the rocket's early flights - the first of which is targeted for 2017 

- and eventually transition to advanced solid- or liquid-fueled boosters promising improved 

affordability, performance and reliability. Industry will be given until Jan. 13 to comment on the draft 

solicitation, NASA said in a Dec. 1 synopsis posted on the Federal Business Opportunities website. A 

fmal version is tentatively planned for release in February and NASA intends to make a minimum of two 

awards by October. The contracts would run through March 20 15 and are expected to be worth around 

$25 million to $100 million each, the synopsis said. Web posted. (2011). [News Briefs [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 , December 2).] 

December 6: Replica engines installed in Discovery 

Teclmicians at Kennedy Space Center are outfitting Discovery with replica main engines just over four 

months before the retired orbiter's planned ferry flight to the Smithsonian Institution. The first of the 

three replica engine nozzles was installed Monday inside Orbiter Processing Facility-1, where Discovery 

is being readied for public display. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne pieced together the eight-foot 

diameter nozzles from test articles. An expert in space artifact restoration detailed their black exterior coat 

of paint to make them look more like flown engines. NASA is keeping 15 flyable shuttle main engines 

for future use by the Space Launch System, the new heavy-lift rocket being developed for a marmed 

exploration mission by 2021. The engines are expected to be shipped from KSC to NASA's Stennis 

Space Center in Mississippi, clearing out an.engine shop that the Boeing Co. plans to take over for work 

on a commercial space capsule. NASA is targeting a mid-April ferry flight of Discovery to the 

Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Va., where it 

will replace Enterprise. Enterprise, a prototype, will be shipped to the Intrepid Sea, Air and Space 

Museum in New York and Endeavour to the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Atlantis will be 

towed to the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Web posted. (2011). [Replica engines installed in 

Discovery [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ the.flame trench blog [2011 , 

December 6].] 

Armadillo Aerospace Launches Successfully from Spaceport America 

New Mexico Spaceport Authority (NMSA) officials announced today a successful launch over the 

weekend of an advanced sounding rocket designed and built by Armadillo Aerospace. The launch took 

place from Spaceport America's vertical launch complex on Sun., Dec. 4. The test flight was a non-public, 

unpublished event at the request of Armadillo Aerospace, as the company is testing proprietary advanced 

launch technologies. Saturday's Armadillo launch successfully lifted off at approximately 11:00 a.m. 

(MST), which was within the dedicated, five-hour launch window, and reached its projected sub-orbital 

altitude of 137,500 feet. Web posted. (2011). (Armadillo Aerospace Launches Successfully from 

Spaceport America [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spaceref.com/ [2011, December 6].] 

December 7: ULA chief urges NASA to get moving 

The head of the joint venture vying to be part of the effort to deliver NASA astronauts to the International 

Space Station on a commercial spacecraft wants NASA to decide soon who will win that contract. A 

speedy decision would provide certainty as the space agency deals with budget pressures roiling 

Washington, Michael Gass, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance, told an audience at the 

National Press Club on Tuesday. ULA is a partner of three of the four companies competing for the 

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commercial crew contract. That means ULA can't favor one partner over another as NASA mulls a fmal 

decision, and doesn't have a motive to invest in any one entry, Gass said. ULA is a joint venture fonned 

five years ago by aerospace giants Lockheed Martin and Boeing. In the 60 months since it was formed, 

ULA has launched 56 Atlas and Delta rockets successfully. Three of the four companies competing for 

the NASA contract - Boeing, Sierra Nevada and Blue Origin - have proposed using ULA's Atlas V 

rocket to carry a crew capsule to the space station. The fourth company, SpaceX, is developing its own 

rocket, the Falcon 9. The Commercial Crew Development Program, as NASA calls it, already is hitting 

bumps. In February, the Obama administration requested $850 million for the program to proceed with a 

2015 launch. But a spending deal lawmakers reached last month would provide only $406 million. NASA 

officials say they still are evaluating what that will mean for the program, but it's expected to delay a 

launch until at least 2017 unless funding significantly increases in future years. Web posted. (2011). 

[ULA chief urges NASA to get moving [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ 

[2011 , December 7).) 

Brevard effect: Space Florida skirts cuts in Scott's plan 

Funding to attract space industry jobs and upgrade facilities would escape cuts next year under Florida 

Gov. Rick Scott's proposed budget, a victory at a time when overall spending must be cut significantly. 

Space Florida, the state's aerospace economic development agency, would receive flat funding of $10 

million for operations in the fiscal year starting July I, 2012, if Scott's proposal becomes reality. And the 

state Department of Transportation would chip in another $15 million for infrastructure improvements 

expected to help transition some former space shuttle facilities at Kennedy Space Center to new 

commercial users. Space Florida is working to diversify the state's space industry while it rebounds from 

the retirement of NASA's space shuttle program this year, which has resulted in about 6,000 layoffs of 

local contractors since 2009. The agency is partnering with the space center to take over some facilities 

for potential lease to commercial space companies, such as a shuttle hangar where The Boeing Co. plans 

to assemble an astronaut capsule. Transportation department funds provided this year are contributing to 

the refurbishment of that hangar and will help SpaceX expand its Cape Canaveral launch complex to 

enable more frequent launches, which could produce more jobs. Local officials successfuJiy lobbied for a 

repeat of that funding next year after the department had omitted it from a five-year work plan. The state 

money and required matching private investment would go toward renovation of all three shuttle hangars 

at KSC and work to upgrade existing launch pads for use by commercially operated heavy-lift rockets. 

Web posted. (2011). [Brevard effect: Space Florida skirts cuts in Scott's plan [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [20 11 , December 7).] 

December 9: NASA Sets Feb. 7 Target for SpaceX Launch to Station 

Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) is scheduled to launch its Dragon space capsule toward 

the international space station Feb. 7 in a flight demonstration that would clear the way for the 

Hawthorne, Calif.-based company to begin regular cargo runs to the orbital outpost. NASA Deputy 

Administrator Lori Garver announced the target launch date Dec. 9 during a speech at the NASA Future 

Forum in Seattle. SpaceX, which has received $376 million from NASA's Commercial Orbital 

Transportation Services. (COTS) demonstration program si nce 2006, originally planned to conduct two 

Dragon demo flights before sending the vehicle to berth with the space station for the first time. But after 

Dragon's Falcon 9 launcher made a successful debut in June 2010, SpaceX began pushing to combine its 

final two COTS flights :into a single mission. In a press release issued immediately after Garver's 

announcement, NASA said it has conditionally approved SpaceX's request to berth with the station 

during the upcoming mission. Before Dragon is cleared to berth with the station, NASA said, Dragon will 

have to prove itself through a series of tests that will include a fly-by of the station at a distance of3.2 

kilometers and a demonstration of the craft's ability to abort a rendezvous already in progress. If Dragon 

passes these tests, it will perform a final approach to the ISS while the astronauts on board grapple the 

craft with the station's robotic arm and attach it to the Earth-facing side of the Harmony node. " If the 

rendezvous and attachment to the station are not successful, SpaceX will complete a third demonstration 

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flight in order to achiev,e these objectives as originally planned," NASA said in the release. Once SpaceX 

proves that Dragon can safely rendezvous and berth with the station, the company will be cleared to begin 

making regular cargo resupply flights to the ISS under a $1.6 billion NASA contract it was awarded in 

2008. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Sets Feb. 7 Target for SpaceX Launch to Station [Online). Available 

WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 , December 9].) 

December 11: Space shuttle model moves to make room for exhibit 

After nearly two decades, a full-scale space shuttle model is being moved from the Kennedy Space Center 

Visitor Complex which will make room for a new exhibit. NASA crews moved the model Sunday from 

the Central Florida complex to the Launch Complex 39 tum basin, about four miles away. It will remain 

there temporarily until being transported by barge in several months to Texas for display at Space Center 

Houston. The space shuttle's external tank and twin solid rocket boosters were removed in November. A 

NASA report said the move will also help clear the way for the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex 

to begin building a new facility next year. The Visitor Complex will house retired orbiter Atlantis, whose 

33 missions included the !35th and last by a shuttle in July. Officials will break ground in early 2012. 

Web posted. (2011). [Space shuttle model moves to make room for exhibit [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.cfnews13.com/ [2011, December 11].] 

December 12: Orbital Sciences renames Taurus 0 rocket "Antares" 

Orbital Sciences Corporation announced Monday that it is renaming the Taurus II rocket it is developing 

to launch cargo missions to the ISS to "Antares". Company officials explained that a rocket the "scale and 

significance" of the Taurus II, tl1e largest rocket developed by the company, deserved its own name. The 

name change also avoids any confusion with the different, smaller Taurus XL rocket, which suffered 

failures in its last two launch attempts. Antares will initially be used to launch Cygnus cargo spacecraft to 

the ISS under a contract with NASA, although the company seeks to use the rocket for other mediumclass payloads as well. The first Antares launch, a demonstration mission, is planned for early 2012. Web 

posted. (2011). [Orbital Sciences renames Taurus II rocket "Antares" [Online). Available WWW: 

http://www.spacetoday.net/ [201 1, December 13).] 

U.S. Air Force Plans Reusable Space Booster 

Stretched between growing operational space demands and shrinking budgets, the U.S. Air Force is 

funding the first major research phases of a reusable booster system (RBS) intended to replace its costly 

expendable launchers. Although the value of the initial contracts to Andrews Space, Boeing and 

Lockheed Martin is only $2 million each, the agreements are potentially worth up to $250 million over 

the next five years. More importantly, the awards come on the eve of unprecedented budget cutbacks and 

appear to underline the importance the Air Force attaches to a concept that promises to slash launch costs 

by more than 50% compared to the conventional Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EEL V). The RBS 

consists of a vertically launched reusable first stage and expendable upper stages. After deploying the 

upper stack containing tile payload, the rocket-powered, winged first stage will return to make an 

autonomous, aircraft-like horizontal landing near the launch site. Although this and similar jet-powered 

concepts have been proposed over the years, the Air Force Research Laboratory's RBS Flight and Ground 

Experiments (RBS-FGE) program is the first to support a funded demonstrator, as well as the first to fom1 

part of a sanctioned Air Force Space Command spacelift plan. However, the RBS faces major technology 

hurdles on the path to planned deployment beyond 2025, when it could begin to replace the current Atlas 

V and Delta IV vehicles. At the top of the list of challenges is a preferred "rocket-back" maneuver, which 

was selected by the AFRL over first-stage designs that glide back to land or return using high-speed 

turbine engines. The focus for the RBS-FGE design is a Liquid oxygen/kerosene rocket-powered vehicle 

that wiU be able to achieve staging at a higher Mach number than the other options. Following release of 

the second stage, which could also evolve to a fully reusable vehicle, the first stage will tum around 180 

deg. so that its rocket engine is firing in the direction of the velocity vector. This rocket-back maneuver, 

involving extremely high angles of attack and sideslip, will be tested by a sub-scale RBS Pathfinder 

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vehicle built by one of the three initial RBS-FGE contractors. The AFRL will select the winning 

Pathfmder design in the second half of 2012, with flight tests expected to begin in 2015 and run into 

2016. Individual contractor designs remain under wraps, but all are similar to the 15-ft.-long reference 

target Pathfmder that AfRL revealed in 2010, and all are expected to be ground- or air-launched on up to 

three flights to test different rocket-back maneuvers. Web posted. (2011). [U.S. Air Force Plans Reusable 

Space Booster [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.aviationweek.com/ [2011, December 12].] 

December 13: Plan for massive space plane unveiled 

A dream team of entrepreneurs announced plans on Tuesday to build the biggest aircraft in history as a 

way to launch crew and cargo into space-- with flights possibly launching from Kennedy Space Center 

by the end of the decade. Organized under the name Stratolaunch Systems, the new effort includes 

luminaries such as Microsoft co-founder Paul Alien, SpaceShipOne designer Burt Rutan, SpaceX head 

Elon Musk and former NASA chief Mike Griffin. The group aims to manufacture a massive aircraft--

about twice the size of a 747 with a wingspan of 385 feet-- that would carry a missile-like capsule into 

the atmosphere. Once high enough, the plane would drop the missile, which then would blast itself into 

orbit with whatever cargo or crew it would be carrying. The executives declined to say how much the 

vehicle would cost, although they noted it would be an "order of magnitude" greater than SpaceS hi pOne, 

estimated to cost $25 million to develop. Much of the work on the project will be done in California, 

although company officials hinted that launches ultimately could fly from KSC. Indeed, a video 

showcasing a simulation of the plane's takeoff featured the center's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building in 

background. That possibility prompted U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fiorida, to write Gov. Rick Scott and 

ask that the two politicians work together to ensure Stratolaunch chooses the state as a launch site. The 

KSC area has been hurt badly the retirement of the space shuttle, which cost the region thousands of jobs. 

With its unveiling, the Stratolaunch spacecraft becomes the latest competitor in the fledgling commercial 

space business that has emerged in the dusk of the shuttle era. After the final shuttle flight this summer, 

NASA set on a course to use commercial carriers to ferry crew and cargo to the International Space 

Station so the agency can concentrate on building a new spacecraft that one day could carry astronauts 

back to the moon or to nearby asteroids. But the commercial vehicles won't be ready until mid-decade at 

the earliest and so NASA must rely on Russia to ferry its astronauts to the station until then. The situation 

has sparked a race among U.S. aerospace companies to develop cheap and reliable spacecraft that can 

blast into low-Earth orbit. Web posted. (20 II). [Plan for massive space plane unveiled [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, December 13].] 

December 14: Shuttle Enterprise's future home now visualized 

With the ownership title now in hand, the Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum has unveiled artwork 

depicting bow the space shuttle Enterprise will be displayed within a protective bubble on the aircraft 

carrier's flight deck starting next summer. NASA's prototype orbiter that performed landing tests in the 

1970s will be moved to New York City in April, leaving the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. 

Udvar-Hazy Center outside Washington, D.C., where it had been an exhibit since that facility opened in 

December 2003. The process begins in mid-April when Discovery, the most-flown shuttle with 39 flights 

to its credit, leaves her homeport at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida atop the modified 747 carrier 

aircraft for the trek up the eastern seaboard to Washington's Dulles International Airport. Once there, 

teclm.icians will use a mobile crane system to offload Discovery for handover to the Smithsonian. 

Enterprise then gets hoisted atop the same aircraft to depart Washington and head for John F. Kennedy 

International Airport in New York, according to a NASA spokesman. Enterprise will enter temporary 

storage at the airport before taking a summertime cruise aboard a barge to reach the Intrepid museum 

complex located at Pier 86 on the Hudson River. Discovery is headed inside the Smithsonian's UdvarHazy Center where Enterprise had been parked. National Air and Space Museum took dibs on the mostflown of the surviving orbiters, having orbited the planet 5,830 times and traveled 148 million miles. 

Enterprise was used in 1977 for approach and landing test flights at Edwards Air Force Base in 

California, making five free-flights with two alternating crews to demonstrate a shuttle's ability to 

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perform a powerless touchdown on a runway. Web posted. (2011). [Shuttle Enterprise's future home now 

visualized [Online]. Available WWW: htto://www.spaceflightnow.com/ [20I1, December 14].] 

December 15: Capsule builders gain new options 

NASA, which is getting only half the money it wanted to develop privately operated spacecraft, changed 

course on how it plans to launch ilie next stage of that program - a move that will provide the space 

agency with less oversight but more flexibility amid funding uncertainties. The agency's top spaceexploration official also told reporters Thursday that NASA is not expecting a new vehicle to be ready 

until at least 2017 - a year later than initially planned. William Gerstenrnaier, associate NASA 

administrator for the human exploration and operations mission directorate, said the lack of funding made 

it " really tough" to lock in a finn fixed-price contract with enough companies to keep moving forward on 

the plan to develop a commercial vehicle to ferry U.S. astronauts to the International Space Station. So 

they opted for a more flexible contracting procedure under the Space Act that will keep at least two, 

possibly more, private companies in the running and stilJ allow NASA to sign off when the companies 

achieve certain milestones. "It gives us some flexibility from a budget standpoint to make as much 

progress during this time as we inove forward," he said. More details about the Space Act agreements, 

which would extend until early 2014, are expected next week. But the goal would be to advance the 

development work enough to head to a design certification process and the eventual awarding of a 

contract. NASA used a Space Act agreement for the first two development phases for the crew taxis and 

to guide the ·tow-cost development of vehicles to deliver cargo to the station. NASA had hoped to have 

more than one commercial system ready to fly by late 2016, ending U.S. reliance on Russian vehicles 

since the space shuttle's retirement in July. Web posted. (20 II). [Capsule builders gain new options 

[Online]. Available WWW: http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011 , December 15].] 

Kennedy Space Center celebrates 'Holidays in Space' with ice rink and more 

Celebrate the holidays aboard the International Space Station without leaving the ground as the Kennedy 

Space Center hosts "Holidays in Space" through Jan. 1. All the ISS partners- Belgium, Canada, 

Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, 

United Kingdom and the United States - are represented. At the Rocket Garden, a 42-inch Christmas 

tree features an ISS theme with hundreds of miniature flags, and information from holiday customs of 

each partner country will be available. Through Dec. 24, Santa and his better half, Mrs. Claus, will be on 

band for photos. If you get the munchies, the Cookie Space Station will serve holiday cookies from 

around the world. Throughout the "Holidays in Space" celebration, part of the Rocket Garden will 

become an ice skating rink. Enjoy a 20-minute session around the 40-foot rink at a cost of $10 for adults 

and $8 for children ages 3 toll. Web posted. (20I1). [Kennedy Space Center celebrates 'Holidays in 

Space' with ice rink, holiday cookies and more [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, December 15].] 

December 16: Discovery's historic cargo bay goes dark 

After deploying 21 satellites from expansive confines, including the Hubble Space Telescope, commercial 

spacecraft and military eavesdroppers, hosting scientific platforms and hauling key pieces of the 

International Space Station, the payload bay of space shuttle Discovery was closed and locked as the 

spacecraft was powered off for the fmal time Friday. With commands sent from the firing room in the 

nearby Launch Control Center, the port door swung shut first, followed by the starboard door. Then the 

orbiter was powered down forever. The decommissioned ship is getting ready to sail from her Florida 

spaceport one last time in April. But instead of thundering into orbit she will be departing piggyback atop 

a 747 carrier jet headed for public display at the Smithsonian. Technicians at the Kennedy Space Center 

shut the 60-foot-long, clam-shell doors inside Orbiter Processing Facility bay 1 as the "transition and 

retirement" process winds down on the most-flown shuttle. Discovery's rich history of service featured 

39 spaceflights, spanning 148,221 ,675 miles and 5,830 orbits ofEarth. Discovery carried out both shuttle 

return-to-flight missions in 1988 and 2005 to help America's space program rebound after tragedies, 

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performed daring satellite repair missions in the early 1980's, deployed the Hubble Space Telescope and 

the Ulysses solar probe during launches in 1990, did the first rendezvous with the Russian space station 

Mir in 1995 and final joint shuttle docking in 1998, and played an integral role in building the 

International Space Station. Construction of Discovery began in August 1979 and the spacecraft was 

rolled out of the Palmdale factory in October 1983. It became NASA's third operational space shuttle with 

its maiden voyage in August 1984. As the payload bay goes dark a final time, we remember the 

remarkable spacewalks that took place in that cargo hold to retrieve a pair of broken spacecraft by Joe 

Allen and Dale Gardner in November 1984 and successful work to flX a wayward Navy communications 

satellite by Ox Van Hoften and Bill Fisher in August 1985, Hubble being hoisted out by the robotic arm 

in April 1990 to open a new window on the Universe or two subsequent return visits to service the 

observatory by spacewalkers in 1997 and 1999, Mark Lee and Carl Meade floating w1tethered above the 

bay in September 1994 to test new emergency jet-powered backpacks, and massive sections of the 

International Space Station like the Harmony node and Japanese laboratory riding up to the outpost 

aboard Discovery. It's a bygone era not to be seen again in the foreseeable future. Web posted. (2011). 

[Discovery's historic cargo bay goes dark [Online). Available WWW: http://www.spaceflightnow.com/ 

(20 II , December 16].] 

December 19: California Science Center gains additional NASA hardware 

The California Science Center will acquire additional NASA hardware to accompany its planned exhibit 

of the retired space shuttle Endeavour. The Los Angeles Times reports Monday that the space agency 

will also give the center a shuttle external fuel tank and two solid-rocket boosters. The huge external tank 

and twin boosters had previously been on display at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Endeavour is 

expected to be brought to Los Angeles late next year. Web posted. (2011). [California Science Center 

gains additional NASA hardware for space shuttle exhibit [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/ [2011, December 19).] 

December 21: NASA Official: Commercial Crew Solicitation Expected in February 

NASA will solicit proposals in February for the third phase of a program aimed at developing 

commercially operated astronaut transportation systems, an agency official said Dec. 20. NASA wants to 

pick at least two winners by August, Ed Mango, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager, said 

during a conference call. Mango described the next phase of NASA's commercial crew program as a 

"pretty big jump" from the previous two rounds, which focused on developing only individual 

components of crew transportation systems. "Obviously, this next phase bas to be a lot bigger than 

element designs," Mango said on the Dec. 20 call. In the third phase of the program, NASA hopes to get 

at least two competing crew transportation systems ready to enter production. More details about the 

award will be discussed in advance of the solicitation on a public conference call tentatively set for early 

February, Mango said. With the U.S. space shuttle fleet retired, NASA is looking to get commercially 

operated successors up and running by 20 17. In the interim, U.S., Canadian, Japanese and European 

astronauts will ride to the space station aboard Russian Soyuz craft at NASA's expense. NASA's 

Commercial Crew Program has now switched gears twice in 2011. The agency was to have released a 

solicitation Dec. 19 for a "Commercial Crew Integrated Design Contract" - a 21-montb fixed-price 

contract culminating in a critical design review of at least two proposed astronaut taxi systems. However, 

the agency announced Dec. 15 that because of budget uncertainty, it was scrapping that contracting 

vehicle in favor of a similar program funded by Space Act agreements, which are not bound by the 

Federal Acquisition Regulation that governs traditional government contracts. NASA says it can use 

Space Act Agreements to fund development efforts - as the agency has done in previous rounds of the 

commercial crew program - but not to purchase hardware or services. In announcing the shift to Space 

Act Agreements, NASA human spaceflight chief William Gerstenmaier said the strategy would save the 

government money, but that NASA would sacrifice its ability to manage the design and manufacturing 

processes. Space Act Agreements do not give the agency legal authority to dictate requirements to 

industry, Gerstenmaier said. NASA requested $850 million for its commercial spaceflight activities in 

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2012 and received an appropriation of$406 million. The NASA Authorization Act of2010, which made 

funding recommendations for the agency through 2013, authorized only $500 million for commercial 

spaceflight. It is not yet clear how much of the $406 million NASA received for commercial spaceflight 

activities in 2012 will be used for the third round of the Commercial Crew Program. "It will not be $406 

million, I can tell you that," Mango said. He added that "the vast majority" of the 2012 funding will be 

used to continue activities initiated under the Commercial Crew Development 2 program, which began in 

April and is set to wrap up next July. Web posted. (2011). [NASA Official: Commercial Crew 

Solicitation Expected in February [Online]. Available WWW: http://www.spacenews.com/ [2011 , 

December 21].] 

December 22: Atlantis put to sleep after 26 years loyal service 

Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis was powered down for the fmal time on Thursday, following a 26 year, 33 

mission career. With her retirement, the world-famous space ship will at least remain at the Kennedy 

Space Center (KSC), a spaceport which is continuing to transition its shuttle facilities - as seen with the 

upping of the pace for " releasing" OPF-1 (Orbiter Processing Facility). The fourth operational orbiter of 

NASA's fleet, Shuttle Atlantis was named, like her sisters, after previous Earth-bound vessels of 

exploration. However, unlike her three operational sisters to come before her, Atlantis was named after 

only one ship and is the only Shuttle orbiter named after a 20th century Earth-bound sailing ship. Atlantis 

is also the only Shuttle orbiter named after an Earth-bound American research vessel. Specifically, the 

orbiter Atlantis takes her name from the 1930-1966 two-mastered boat that served as the primary research 

vessel for the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute ofMassachusetts. Construction of the fourth and 

originally final Space Shuttle orbiter for NASA's fleet began on January 29, 1979 when NASA awarded 

the contract to build OV -104 (Orbiting Vehicle 1 04) to Rockwell InternationaL Start of structural 

assembly of OV -1 04's crew module began on March 30, 1980, before engineers at Palmdale began final 

assembly of0V-l04's constituent parts - a procedure which was complete on AprillO, 1984. After an 

additional full year of end-to-end testing of all of her systems, construction was complete, and on April 6, 

1985 the new Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis was rolled out of her construction facility. Three days after 

Shuttle Atlantis' rollout ceremony at Palmdale, she was transported overland to Edwards Air Force Base, 

CA where final preparations were made for her cross-country ferry flight - culminating in delivery to the 

Kennedy Space Center on April 13, 1985: 4 years and one day after the very first Shuttle flight. Atlantis' 

flrst mission would be STS-51J, which launched on October 3, 1985. Her Department ofDefence (DOD) 

mission involved her deploying a classified payload, before returning to Earth to landing at Edwards Air 

Force Base, California at 13:00.08 EDT on runway 23 on October 7. Her final mission was the last flight 

of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP). Carried out flawlessly, STS-135 was a late addition to the manifest, 

allowing Atlantis the honor of closing out the program when she returned back to the Kennedy Space 

Center in July. "It's bittersweet as Atlantis comes home where she will forever stay. I couldn' t have more 

pride in this Space Shuttle team for your service to KSC, NASA, and America. What this team has 

accomplished over the past 30 years will be talked about and admired for generations to come," noted 

KSC Director Bob Cabana in an emotional address to the workforce. Work will continue on Atlantis, as 

she is prepared for going on display in a new facility at the visitor center, which will become her new 

home late in 2012, or early in 2013. However, with the final task requiring a powered up status - the 

stowing of the Ku-Band antenna - Thursday morning saw the orbiter put to sleep for one final time. The 

event - which engineers present at the time noted - was ~ghly emotional, as the "Vehicle Powered" sign 

was turned off, as it has already been for Discovery, never to be lit again. Web posted. (2011). (Atlantis 

put to sleep after 26 years loyal service - OPF turnovers [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .nasaspacefl ight.com/ [20 ll, December 22].] 

December 29: Secondary payloads dropped from SpaceX demo 

SpaceX won't launch a pair of small communications satellites during its next demonstration flight for 

NASA, which is targeted for launch Feb. 7 from Cape Canaveral. The company now plans to launch the 

prototype Orbcomm satellites as a secondary payload one mission later, during tl1e flrst commercial 

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delivery of cargo to the International Space Station, the companies announced in a joint Dec. 28 press 

release. NASA had been reviewing plans to deploy the Orbcomm payloads on the next flight to ensure 

they wouldn't interfere with the Dragon capsule's ftrst visit to the station. The press release says the 

revised launch plan reduces risk for Orbcomm and allows SpaceX to focus on its upcoming 

demonstration under NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program. "SpaceX will fully 

verify the mission performance on the COTS mission and focus on the successful berthing of the Dragon 

spacecraft to the International Space Station," the release says. In total, SpaceX plans to launch a 

constellation of 18 Orbcomm OG2 satellites by 2014 on its Falcon 9 rocket. Web posted. (20 ll ). 

[Secondary payloads dropped from SpaceX demo [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www.floridatoday.com/ [2011, December 29].] 

AP: Last shuttle flight is Fla.'s top story 

The end of the space shuttle program after more than three decades of flights to low-earth orbit launched 

past Gov. Rick Scott's shakeup of state government and the Casey Anthony murder trial as Florida's top 

story of 20 11 , according to a poll of newspaper editors conducted by The Associated Press. Atlantis' 

rolling stop on a Kennedy Space Center runway in July marked the end of the 30-year-old space shuttle 

program. It was a moment of celebration and apprehension for NASA's thousands of workers and 

contractors, many of whom lost jobs with the last shuttle flight. The mission itself was pro forma: 

Atlantis' four astronauts restocked the international space station with a year's worth of supplies and 

released a satellite. But on the ground, the end of the mission ushered in an era of unprecedented 

uncertainty for Florida's Space Coast, the site of every shuttle launch, as well as for the nation's space 

agenda. U.S. astronauts must now depend on Russian Soyuz vehicles for rides to the space station in the 

near future, and NASA is outsourcing the logistics of sending supplies and astronauts to the space station 

to private companies. Tihe three remaining active shuttles are being shipped to museums in Florida, Los 

Angeles and Washington. Thousands of skilled space workers are now looking for jobs in a state with a 

1 0 percent unemployment rate. Web posted. (20 11 ). [ AP: Last shuttle flight is Fla.'s top story [Online]. 

Available WWW: http://www.news-journalonline.com/ [20 11 , December 29].] 

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APPENDIX A 

2011 SPACE SHUTTLE MISSIONS 

Mission: STS-133 

Space Shuttle: Discovery [OV-1 03] 

Primary Payload: Permanent Multipurpose 

Module (PMM) 

L aunch Date: Feb. 24, 2011 

Launch Time: 4:53:24 p.m. EST 

Launch Pad: LC-39A 

Landing: March 9, 2011 

Landing Time: 11 :57 a.m. EST 

Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 

M ission Duration: 13 days 

Inclination/ Altitude: 51.6 degrees/122 nautical 

miles 

Mission Elapsed Time: 12 days, 19 hours, 3 

minutes, 53 seconds 

Total Miles Traveled: more than 5.3 million 

Official Landing Times: 

Main gear touchdown: 11 :57:17 a.m. EST 

Nose gear touchdown: 11:57:28 a.m. EST 

Wheels stop: 11:58:14 a.m. EST 

Mission: STS-134 

Space Shuttle: Endeavour [OV -1 05] 

Primary Payload: Alpha Magnetic 

Spectrometer and ELC-3 

Launched: May 16,2011 

Launch Time: 8:56 a.m. EDT 

Launch Pad: LC-39A 

Landing: June 1, 2011 

Landing Time: 2:35a.m. EDT 

Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center, Fla. 

Mission Duration: 16 days 

Inclination/ Altitude: 51.6 degrees/ 122 nautical 

miles 

Mission Elapsed Time: 15 days, 17 hours, 38 

minutes, 51 seconds 

Total Miles Traveled: more than 6.5 million 

Official Landing Times: 

Main gear touchdown: 2:34:51 a.m. EDT 

Nose gear touchdown: 2:35:04 a.m. EDT 

Wheels stop: 2:35:36 a.m. EDT 

Mission: STS-1 35 

Space Shuttle: Atlantis 

Primary Payload: Raffaello Multi-purpose 

Logistics Module 

Launch Date: July 8. 2011 

Launch Time: 11 :29 a.m. EDT 

Launch Site: Kennedy Space Center's Launch 

Pad 39A 

Landing Date: July 21, 2011 

Landing Time: 5:57a.m. EDT 

Landing Site: Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle 

Landing Facility 

Mission Duration: 13 days 

Inclination/Altitude: 51.6 degrees/ 122 nautical 

miles 

Mission Elapsed Time: 12 days, 18 hours, 28 

minutes, 50 seconds 

Total Miles Traveled: more than 5.2 million 

Official Landing Times: 

Main gear touchdown: 5:57:00 a.m. EDT 

Nose gear touchdown: 5:57:20 a.m. EDT 

Wheels stop: 5:57:54 a.m. EDT 

Web posted. (2011). [Launch Archives, Space Shuttle Launches [Online]. Available WWW: 

http://www .nasa.gov/centerslkennedy/shuttleoperations/archives/2005 .html [20 12, February 28] .] 

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APPENDIX B 

20 I I NASA EXPENDABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE MISSIONS 

Spacecraft: Glory 

Launch Vehicle: Taurus XL 

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, 

Calif. 

Launch Date: March 4, 2011 

Launch Time: 5:09:43 a.m. EST 

Spacecraft: Aquarius 

Launch Vehicle: Delta II 

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, 

Calif. 

Launch Date: June 9, 201 1 

Launch Time: 10:20 a.m. EDT 

Spacecraft: Juno 

Launch Vehicle: Atlas V 

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 

Fla. 

Launch Pad: Complex 4 I 

Launch Date: August 5, 201 I 

Launch Time: 12:25 p.m. EDT 

Spacecraft: GRAIL 

Launch Vehicle: Delta ll Heavy 

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 

Launch Pad: Complex 17B 

Launch Date: September I 0, 20 11 

Launch Time: 9:08:52 a.m. EDT 

Spacecraft: Suomi National Polar-orbiting 

Patnership 

Launch Vehicle: Delta 11 

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, 

Calif. 

Launch Date: October 28, 2011 

Launch Time: 5:48a.m. EDT 

Spacecraft: Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity 

Rover 

Launch Vehicle: Atlas V 

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station 

Launch Pad: Complex 4 I 

Launch Date: November 26, 20 11 

Launch Time: I 0:02 a.m. EST 

Web posted. (20 11 ). [2011 Expendable Launch Vehicle Missions [Online]. Availabl e WWW: 

http://www.nasa.gov/centerslkennedy/launchingrockets/archives/20 1 I .html [20 12, February 28].] 

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APPENDIXC 

OTHER 2011 U.S. LAUNCHES 

Mission: NRO 

Launch Vehicle: Delta IV 

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, 

Calif. 

Launch Date: January 20, 2011 

Mission: NROL-66 

Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, 

Calif. 

Launch Date: February 6, 2011 

Mission: X-37B 

Launch Vehicle: Atlas V 

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 

Fla. 

Launch Date: March 5, 2011 

Mission: NRO 

Launch Vehicle: Delta IV 

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 

Fla. 

Launch Da te: March 11 , 201 1 

Mission: NROL-34 

Launch Vehicle: Atlas V 

Launch Site: Vandenberg Air Force Base, 

Calif. 

Launch Date: April 14, 2011 

Mission: SBIRS 

Launch Vehicle: Atlas V 

Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, 

Fla. 

Launch Date: May 7, 2011 

Mission: SMART 

Launch Vehicle: Terrier Improvedl Orion 

Launch Site: Wallops Flight Facility 

Launch Date: June 10, 2011 

Mission: SMART 

Launch Vehicle: Terrier lmproved Orion 

Launch Site: Wallops Flight Facility 

Launch Date: June 23, 2011 

Mission: DOD 

Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 

Launch Site: Wallops Flight Facility 

Launch Date: June 30, 2011 

Mission: NRL 

Launch Vehicle: Minotaur 

Launch Site: Kodiak, Alaska 

Launch Date: September 27, 2011 

301