National Aeronautics and Space Administration, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA

October 2008

www.nasa.gov

NASA Ames and the National Hispanic University (NHU) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding 

(MOU) which identifies areas of mutual interest leading to unique educational and research collaborations 

between the two organizations. The official signing of the MOU by the President of NHU Dr. David López, 

right, and Paul Agnew, Ames’ chief financial officer, left, served as a kick-off for the Sixth Annual Hispanic 

Heritage Golf Tournament at the Golf Club at Moffett on Sept. 26, 2008. Also present in the audience from 

NHU were the Provost, the Vice-Provost, the Chairman of the Math and Science Department and two 

students who participated in the Pre-Service Teachers Institute (PSTI) program held at Ames this summer. 

For full story, please see page 3. 

Ames’ Lewis S. G. Braxton, III 

has been confirmed as Ames Deputy 

Center Director effective Oct. 12, 2008. 

Braxton has been acting in the position 

since the end of July. 

Braxton holds a bachelor of science 

degree in accounting from California 

State University, Fresno, a degree in 

general management from the Harvard Graduate School of Business and 

has been recognized by NASA for his 

management and service excellence. 

He also received a Meritorious Presidential Rank Award (2007). 

Lewis Braxton III named Ames’ deputy center director

Braxton has served as NASA 

Ames' chief financial officer and the 

center’s director for center operations. 

He also is qualified as a certified government financial manager (CGFM) 

through the Association of Government Accountants and maintains the 

certification. 

Braxton received NASA’s Exceptional Service Award in 1998 and a 

NASA Group Achievement Award 

for his involvement with the Dryden 

Separation Team in 1996. 

In 1995, he received the NASA 

Lewis S. G. Braxton, III, recently confirmed 

as Ames’ deputy center director.

NASA photo by Tom Trower

NASA photo by Eric James

On behalf of NASA, the Universities Space Research Association, 

Columbia, Md., has selected three 

astronomers to participate in the first 

scientific observations to be conducted 

by the Stratospheric Observatory For 

Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a highly 

modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that 

carries a 2.5-meter (98-inch) diameter 

airborne infrared telescope.

CFO Award for development and 

presentation of the agency’s Financial 

Management Crosscutting Report. He 

also has been recognized in numerous 

group achievement awards and for 

his contributions to the Ames AfricanAmerican Advisory Group.

Scientists selected for new airborne eye on the universe

by Michael Mewhinney and Nicholas Veronico Naming researchers from the

astronomy community is a milestone 

on SOFIA’s journey to become the 

most versatile airborne telescope in 

the world. The flying observatory will 

begin its short science, or “first light” 

observations, in early summer 2009, 

and will continue its program of celestial observations for the next 20 years.

“We are extremely pleased at the 

level of enthusiasm and the number and scope of the applications we 

received for the SOFIA short science 

program,” said Eric Becklin, SOFIA 

chief scientific advisor. “The proposals we received set a high standard for 

future observation projects onboard 

SOFIA.”

David Neufeld of Johns Hopkins 

University, Baltimore, Md., was selected to study the chemistry of warm 

continued on page 10

Page 2 - Ames 2008 Combined Federal 

 Campaign kicks off

Page 3 - Ames successfully observes and

 documents spacecraft re-entry

Page 4 - NASA Ames Hall of Fame 70th

 Anniversary class members named

Page 5 - NASA reinstalls main mirror in

 SOFIA Airborne Observatory

Page 12 - Ames ongoing monthly events

On the Inside . . .

Ames, NHU sign historic agreement
2 Astrogram October 2008

The Combined Federal Campaign 

(CFC) supports and promotes philanthropy through an employee-focused, 

cost-efficient and effective program by 

providing all federal employees an opportunity to improve the quality of life 

for all of those who are disadvantaged.

 The campaign was established 

in 1961 by President John F. Kennedy 

to consolidate numerous charitable 

campaigns, allowing for a single annual campaign in all federal, postal 

and military agencies. Donations to 

the CFC support more than 4,000 local, 

national and international charities.

This year’s campaign theme is 

“Be a Star in Someone’s Life.” An 

employee’s donation, regardless of 

size, can make a difference. Employees can save lives, feed the hungry, 

fight diseases, comfort, heal, mentor, 

encourage, preserve, enlighten, enable 

and enrich the lives of people here at 

home and around the world by giving 

through payroll deduction or cash 

donation.

 The 2007 CFC campaign at NASA 

Ames kicked off on Oct. 15 and will 

wrap up on Nov. 19. The kick-off 

event for the 2008 campaign was held 

Oct. 15 in the Main Auditorium at the 

center. During this time, a group of 

volunteers facilitated contributions 

through WebTADS or via cash donation. 

 All of the information about the 

CFC charities, as well as an employee’s pay period contributions, is on the 

Ames 2008 Combined Federal Campaign launched by Miriam Glazer WebTADS site, making it extremely

easy and convenient to click in an 

employee’s contribution. The goals 

for the 2008 campaign are total contributions of $285,000 and 100 percent 

participation by the Ames civil service 

employees.

 Last year, 

federal employees and retirees 

at Ames contributed more than 

$280,000 to CFC, 

exceeding the 

Ames campaign 

goal by more 

than $35,000. 

The center can 

do even better 

this year, particularly since 

even the smallest 

contributions 

can make a big 

difference to the 

receiving organizations. Ames 

Center Director S. Pete Worden and all 

organization directors at Ames enthusiastically support a successful 2008 

Campaign.

 The center has a terrific CFC 

team this year, including CFC Chair 

Paul Pinaula (Code J); Deputy CFC 

Chair Miriam Glazer (Code QH); CFC 

publicity Paul Espinosa (Code PX); 

CFC recorder Gerald DePerio (Code 

JS); CFC advisor Don Durston (Code 

AOX); CFC advisor Tony Gross (CodeT); CFC advisor Jeff Cross (Code 

VCE); CFC gift distribution Lupe 

Sanchez (Code SS); and CFC finances 

Diana Frontella (Code SS). Together 

the team will provide employees with 

all of the relevant information to facilitate their contributions, keep them 

informed as to how the center is doing 

toward meeting its goals and bring in 

representatives from some of the many 

CFC organizations to help employees 

see how effective CFC contributions 

really are. There will be special CFC 

events during the campaign period.

 Note that the Combined Federal 

Campaign has been designed to allow employees to easily specify the 

agencies of their choice to donate to, 

or employees may wish to give to the 

CFC in general, which then distributes 

the money in proportion to the monies 

received by the charities designated 

by other donors. The CFC brochure 

lists hundreds of agencies to consider 

and can be viewed on the Inside Ames 

Web site.

 Here are just a few of the good 

reasons to give to the CFC:

Assist the military who are returning from Iraq and their families; assist 

the Gulf states hurricane and flood 

relief effort; help struggling families in 

our communities; and benefit from IRS 

deductions for your charity donation.

 Finally, the center pays special 

tribute to Don Durston again this year 

for his incredibly long service to the 

CFC and to Ames. Since 1991, he has 

been the thread of continuity for a 

succession of chairpersons, developing detailed procedures and tracking 

tools, and most importantly, providing 

advice and council through the years. 

In addition, the center would like to 

acknowledge Diana Frontella for her 

12 years of service to the CFC. Congratulations, to both Don and Diana 

for a job very well-done.

 For further information, or the 

answers to any questions about the 

2007 CFC, contact the campaign chair 

Paul Pinaula, at ext. 4-1122 or by 

e-mail at Paul.A.Pinaula@nasa.gov. 

Employees can also contact the deputy 

chair Miriam Glazer at ext. 4-5172 or 

by e-mail at Marjorie.M.Glazer@nasa.

gov.

The NASA Ames 2008 Combined Federal Campaign Team, left to right, Don 

Durston, Jeff Cross, Paul Espinosa, Lupe Sanchez, Ames Center Director S. 

Pete Worden, Deputy CFC Chair Miriam Glazer, Deputy Center Director Lewis 

Braxton III, CFC Chair Paul Pinaula and Gerald DePerio. Not pictured: Diana 

Frontella and Tony Gross.

 NASA photo by Dominic Hart

NASA photo by Eric James

Ames employee Mary Williams and her 

Delta Society Pet Partner Vader (CFC ID 

11650, Pet Partners) were guest presenters 

at the CFC keyworker training/kick-off that 

took place Oct. 15 at Ames. Other presenters 

were Jim Hill from Global Impact and Kim 

Reeves of the United Way, Santa Clara.
3 Astrogram October 2008

Motivating Hispanic youth to pursue science and engineering careers 

is one of the main thrusts of a joint 

agreement signed Sept. 26 by NASA 

and the National Hispanic University 

(NHU), San Jose, Calif. The memorandum of understanding (MOU) identifies areas of mutual interest leading 

to unique educational and research 

collaborations between the two organizations.

 "We are delighted to work with 

the National Hispanic University," 

said Ames Center Director S. Pete 

Worden. "We look forward to sharing 

Motivating Hispanic youth is goal of NASA University agreement by Ruth Dasso Marlaire elements of our world-class facilities

people and educational and technical resources with NHU. For NASA 

Ames, it is an important priority to 

ensure that we reach out to all of 

our citizens and inspire our youth to 

pursue careers in science, mathematics 

and technology."

 NHU is a private, four-year university that was founded to meet the 

specific education needs of HispanicAmerican students at both the college 

and college preparatory levels. The 

signing of this MOU expresses the 

intention of NHU and NASA Ames to 

work together in pursuing definitive 

agreements between NHU and Ames. 

 "We will perform joint research 

and educational outreach with the 

National Hispanic University to develop information technology in support 

of students of Hispanic background," 

said Adriana Cardenas, Ames’ chief 

of the Equal Opportunity Programs 

Office, who is the NASA Ames main 

point of contact for the agreement.

 According to the agreement, the 

parties recognize that their collaboration may lead to significant scholastic 

advancement for Hispanic students as 

well as technical, scientific and economic benefits.

What weighed 13 tons, took four 

minutes to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere 

at more than 170 miles an hour and 

could be seen almost 250 miles away? 

Was it a bird? A plane? It was the 

European Space Agency (ESA)’s “Jules 

Verne” spacecraft. 

 During the week before “Jules 

Verne” was scheduled to re-enter 

Earth’s atmosphere, NASA Ames’ 

Peter Jenniskens, who also works for 

the SETI Institute in Mountain View, 

Calif., and a team of more than 30 

international scientists from across 

NASA, ESA and astronomical institutes began to prepare for their mission: to capture four minutes of flame 

and fragmentation as “Jules Verne” 

descended over the South Pacific 

Ocean. 

 This was no small feat – pulling 

together a mission like this requires 

immense amounts of coordination. 

Ames’ Dave Jordan, the observation campaign manager, along with 

NASA’s Headquarters, Washington; Dryden Flight Research Center, 

Edwards, Calif.; and ESA’s automated 

transfer vehicle (ATV) spacecraft control center in Toulouse, France; worked 

to ensure everything went smoothly 

and according to plan – from fueling 

the planes to feeding the crewmembers. 

“The spectacular success of the 

mission validates the time we devoted 

to preparation,” Jordan said.

Ames successfully observes and documents spacecraft re-entry 

 Preparation included hanging up 

black curtains to block out in-cabin 

lights inside NASA’s Douglas DC-8 

airborne laboratory and a Gulfstream 

V jet; checking camera stands; plugging in laptops and camera controllers; addressing the global positioning 

satellite and timing signals; testing 

communications with ESA’s ATV 

control center and between the two 

observation airplanes. It also meant 

installing time inserters for the 

video cameras; using bright calibration lamps to measure the cameras’ 

sensitivity and wavelength response; 

completing instrument check-outs; 

and adjusting the team members’ 

biological clocks to a “graveyard shift” 

since “Jules Verne” was scheduled to 

make its grand entrance at 3 a.m. (6 

a.m. PDT), and everyone needed to be 

alert. 

On Tuesday, Sept. 23, 2008, with a 

little less than a week before re-entry, 

Jenniskens, the “Jules Verne” airborne 

campaign principal investigator and 

science team lead, and the team boarded the DC-8 for a two-hour evening 

test flight. The science team flew two 

hours to verify all the spectroscopes, 

high-frame-rate and infrared cameras 

were working properly onboard the 

aircraft, and to be sure the windows 

did not ice over when flying at high 

altitudes – a simple but serious showstopper.

 By Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008, both 

the DC-8 and Gulfstream V aircraft 

by Rachel Pruce

continued on page 11

Chris Kitting of California 

State University, East Bay 

in Hayward, Calif., peers 

through his telescopeimaging camera during the 

recent transit flight from 

Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, 

Calif., to Tahiti in French 

Polynesia. This camera was 

used to study the small 

trailing fragments during 

the later stages of fragmentation during the re-entry 

of the European Space 

Agency’s “Jules Verne” 

spacecraft. 

NASA photo by Eric James
4 Astrogram October 2008

In honor of its 60th anniversary, 

Ames inducted 12 of its most distinguished colleagues, past and present, 

into the NASA Ames Research Center 

Hall of Fame. 

In honor of the 70th, their ranks 

have been bolstered by the addition 

of nine new members "whose contributions have had the most sustained and far-reaching influence on 

the direction and mission of NASA 

Ames, and/or whose work at NASA 

Ames has generated fundamental 

advancements in either a scientific or 

engineering field."

Here are the 70th anniversary 

class members of the NASA Ames 

Hall of Fame:

John Billingham

John W. Boyd

Estelle P. Condon

Alfred J. Eggers

Heinz Erzberger

Henry McDonald

Emily Morey-Holton

Alvin Seiff

Paul F. Yaggy

They stand in excellent company. The 60th anniversary class 

of Hall of Fame inductees included 

Harvey Allen, Bill Ballhaus, Dean 

Chapman, George Cooper, Smith 

DeFrance, Charlie Hall, R.T. Jones, 

Chuck Klein, Harvard Lomax, Hans 

Mark, Jim Pollack and Sy Syvertson. 

 The Hall of Fame provides an 

informative and friendly venue 

where the entire Ames community can reflect upon the careers of 

outstanding leaders and differencemakers who have shaped our center 

and paved the way for our future 

– and perhaps inspire us to do the 

same. 

 More information about the 

newly-inducted members, as well as 

the current members, can be found 

at http://history.arc.nasa.gov. 

An induction ceremony is being 

planned soon to kick off a year of 

special events leading up to Ames’ 

70th anniversary on Dec. 20, 2009. 

Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden (right, at microphone) recently presented another “Pete’s Hot Topics” as part of the series of informational update sessions for 

the center. Ames Deputy Center Director Lewis Braxton, III, sits to his left. Worden gave the status on NASA programs in a short overview and opened the floor 

up to questions from attendees during the informal event held at Mega Bites Cafeteria at the center. Snacks and beverages were provided.

NASA photos by Eric James

“Pete’s Hot Topics” useful venue for center updates

British Minister of Science 

Lord Drayson viewed the Hover 

Test Vehicle with Ames Center 

Director S. Pete Worden, Programs 

and Projects Director Alan Weston 

and Small Spacecraft Division 

Chief Butler Hine in Building 45 

on Oct. 16, 2008. 

Drayson also toured NASA 

Research Park, watched an autonomous robotic demonstration 

at the Marscape and visited hyperwall-2 at the NASA Advanced 

Supercomputing facility.

NASA photo by Jon-Pierre Wiens

British minister of 

science visits Ames

NASA Ames Hall of Fame, 70th 

anniversary class members named
5 Astrogram October 2008

NASA Ames staff from the Stratospheric 

Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) 

education and public outreach (E&PO) office 

supported the Dryden Public Affairs Office’s 

participation at the 19th annual “Salute to 

Youth” career day held Sept. 26 at the Los 

Angeles Palmdale Regional Airport in Palmdale, Calif. 

During the event, students were able to 

see the SOFIA 747 aircraft inside its hangar 

at the Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility 

at U.S. Air Force Plant 42. A Dryden-based 

NASA F/A-18 Hornet was also on display 

outside the hangar.

More than 2,500 Antelope Valley high 

school 11th and 12th grade students attended 

the event and met with a variety of employers, ranging from public service agencies, 

information technology companies, aerospace and agriculture business to discuss 

potential education and career paths. 

NASA and SOFIA featured at “Salute to Youth” Career Day

Darlene Mendoza, right, assistant to the the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy 

(SOFIA) education and public outreach office director, discussed the capabilities of SOFIA’s infrared 

telescope with two students from the local area during the recent 19th annual “Salute to Youth” 

career day held at Los Angeles Palmdale Regional Airport.

by Nicholas Veronic

Photo by Nicholas Veronico

Engineers and technicians from 

NASA, the German Space Agency 

and the Deutsches SOFIA Institut 

recently reinstalled the German-built 

primary mirror assembly into NASA's 

Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared 

Astronomy (SOFIA). 

 Technicians removed the glass 

mirror from the modified Boeing 

747SP airborne observatory in April 

2008 and transported to NASA's Ames 

where it received its reflective aluminum coating in a vacuum chamber in 

June 2008. The coating, five one-millionths of an inch thick, will be reapplied as necessary during the 20-year 

life of the program. 

 “We had completed system tests 

of our mirror coater but this is the first 

time we’ve actually coated SOFIA’s 

mirror. The team and equipment performed flawlessly and the results are 

magnificent,” said Ed Austin, SOFIA 

science project manager at NASA 

Ames.

 The mirror assembly was transported back to NASA's Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, 

Calif., in mid-September and reinstalled Oct. 8, 2008.

 "The reinstallation of the mirror is 

a significant program milestone on the 

path to science observations with the 

SOFIA observatory in the summer of 

2009," said Bob Meyer, SOFIA program 

manager at NASA’s Dryden Flight 

Research Center, Edwards, Calif.

 In coming months, both the 

telescope and the aircraft's telescope 

cavity door system will be adjusted, 

leading to open-door ground operational testing. These activities will be 

followed by six to eight open-door 

flight tests next spring to study the 

NASA reinstalls main mirror in SOFIA Airborne Observatory by Michael Mewhinney

continued on page 14

NASA photo by Carla Thomas

Engineers and technicians 

from NASA, the German 

Space Agency and the 

Deutsches SOFIA Institut 

reinstalled the Germanbuilt primary mirror 

assembly into NASA’s 

Stratospheric Observatory 

for Infrared Astronomy 

(SOFIA). 
6 Astrogram October 2008

Brightly colored balloons tussled 

in the warm, gentle breeze to form 

a playful fence around the Sally 

Ride Science Festival held on the 

green grass of Shenandoah Plaza at 

NASA’s Ames Research Park on a 

sunny Saturday afternoon. 

On Sept. 27, 2008, more than 

500 San Francisco Bay Area middle 

school girls, their parents and teachers, attended the fourth-annual 

interactive exploration of science, 

technology, engineering and mathematics. As part of the festival, they 

heard from former NASA astronaut, 

Wendy Lawrence, a veteran of four 

space flights, including the STS-114 

Shuttle Discovery Return to 

Flight mission in 2005 and 

who has logged more than 

1,225 hours in space.

During the festival’s 

street fair, girls built toothpick and sugar-coated 

gum drop structures that 

sparkled and glowed in the 

sunshine, constructed spaghetti noodle and marshmallow bridges, tried on a 

space helmet and gloves, 

experimented with dry ice 

and launched brightly colored paper rockets they constructed 

into clear, blue skies by jumping onto 

bright pink and blue air bags. 

 Girls then spent two hours in 

Discovery Workshops, with enticing 

topics that ranged from astrobiology to veterinary medicine, such as 

‘Rocks, Mud and Bones: Reading 

the Diary of Earth’s Past;’ ‘Explosive 

Volcanic Eruptions: Rockets Made 

of Rocks?;’ ‘Meteorites: Rocks from 

Outer Space!!!;’ ‘Solar Technology 

and How Big is BIG?’ 

Workshops and exhibits were 

led by professionals at the Federal 

by Rachel Pruce

Sally Ride Festival brings science, fun to Ames

Aviation Administration, 

GaryAir, Moffett Field; 

Google Inc., Mountain 

View; Marine Science 

Institute, Redwood City; 

Planners Collaborative 

Inc., Boston, Mass.; Roche 

Palo Alto LLC, Palo Alto; 

San Jose State University 

(SJSU), San Jose; Santa 

Clara University, Santa 

Clara; Stanford University, 

Stanford; the Universities 

of California, Santa Cruz 

and Berkeley; Temecula 

Rocket Group, Temecula, Calif.; and 

the Women in Science and Engineering at San Jose State University. 

NASA photos by Dominic Hart

More than 500 girls attended the recent Sally 

Ride Festival recently held at Ames. Attendees 

participated in many educational and fun 

scientific activities and met former Astronaut 

Wendy Lawrence.
7 Astrogram October 2008

Popular Ames Chili Cook-Off turns up the heat

The “Hawaii 5-0” team earned the trophy for best presentation/theme at the recent chili cook-off 

held at the center.

NASA photo by Eric James

NASA photo by Eric James

First place in the prized People’s Choice category went to the 

‘Wild Ones’ led by John Torres of Code RMX. The Wild Ones 

were double winners, also caring the award in the Five Alarm 

category.

NASA photo by Eric James

Attendees at the recent chili cook-off tasted the 

variety of chili samples to help decide which 

team’s chili they prefered the most.

NASA photo by John Schultz

NASA photo by Jon-Pierre Wiens

Overhead view of the recent chili cook-off.

Samples of chili were passed out by the 

various teams at the chili cook-off to 

help attendees pick their favorite.

The Exchange offers hearty congratulations to the trophy winners and 

sincere thanks to all of the teams and 

tasters who participated in the 12th 

annual Exchange-sponsored Ames 

Chili Cook-Off in October. Hard work, 

creativity and enthusiasm made this 

year’s 50's-themed event one of the 

best the center has ever held. 

First place in the prized People's 

Choice category went to the 'Wild 

Ones' led by John Torres of Code 

RMX. The Wild Ones were double 

winners, also taking the award in the 

Five Alarm category. The second place 

People's Choice winners were the 'Go 

Green' team from the Center for Engineering Innovation led by Michael 

Hines. Go Green also impressed the 

panel of judges, landing first place in 

that category. Finally, third place in

continued on page 8

NASA photo by Eric James

The People’s Choice award went to the creative ‘Adventures in Wonderland’ 

team and their amazing Alice (Terry Brugger, third from left) representing 

OpenAmes and captained by Bert Beattie.
8 Astrogram October 2008

Ames Sailing Club members were joined by 

Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden during 

the 100th anniversary of San Francisco's Fleet 

Week celebration Sunday, Oct. 12. 

One hundred years ago, in May 1908, 16 U.S. 

Navy battleships and 14,000 sailors entered San 

Francisco Bay for two months. Called the "Great 

White Fleet" because the ships were painted 

white, this was considered the first San Francisco 

Fleet Week. 

The objective then was to ensure Americans 

were aware of the reasons for having a strong 

and capable Navy and to let them see those capabilities first-hand. This same objective remains 

100 years later: to provide a spectacular air show 

featuring the U.S. Naval Flight Demonstration 

Squadron, the Blue Angels F/A-18 U.S. and 

many opportunities to celebrate San Francisco's 

rich naval history.

photo by Melinda Burnside

by Shirley Bur

A day on the Bay and the sounds of freedom

A View of San Francisco Bay from Jeff Smith’s boat, Iansa, with 

the Navy’s Blue Angels seen in the upper right hand corner of 

the sky during Fleet Week held in October.

Above photo: Anchored near 

Alcatraz Island on a recent trip 

to San Francisco Bay during 

Fleet Week, the crew aboard Jeff 

Smith’s boat, Iansa, left to right, 

Shirley Burek, Anna Bui, Jeff 

Smith,(Skipper) Ames Center 

Director S. Pete Worden (at the 

helm), Dave Hoffman and Nate 

Burnside.

photo by Shirley Burek

Recently, the Ames Center for Exoplanet Studies (ACES) hosted a colloquium by Dr. David Latham 

of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics entitled "Super Earths and Life." Latham spoke 

about observations of extra-solar planets that pass in front of their host stars. This unique geometry has 

allowed us to learn much about the atmospheres of the giant planets of other stars and is expected to soon 

reveal whether small Earth-sized planets are common or not. The Ames-led Kepler mission, of which 

Latham is a co-investigator, will be the first observatory capable of making this determination.

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

Extra-solar planets discussed at recent colloquium

People's Choice went to the 

creative 'Adventures in Wonderland' 

team and their amazing Alice (Terry 

Brugger) representing OpenAmes 

and captained by Bert Beattie. Perennial favorites the Moffett Field/NASA 

Ames Fire Department was the second 

place winner in the Judge's category, 

while the fashion-conscious team from 

'Hawaii 5-0' took home the trophy for 

best presentation/theme.

Sincere thanks to all of the entrants 

from the Native American Advisory 

Group, the NASA Lunar Science Institute, the UARC, NFAC, Procurement, 

Logistics, Hazmat

 Congratulations to James Brown 

and his winning 1970 SS Chevelle in 

the 'car show' that featured 32 spectacular vehicles, both cars and motorcycles. The response was terrific and 

the center looks forward to sponsoring 

future such events.

continued from page 7

Popular Ames Chili Cook-Off turns up the heat
9 Astrogram October 2008

An Aeronautics Technical Seminar presentation recently was held at 

the center with Rodger Mueller, pictured below, entitled,"Pilot Force 

Measurement with Inertia and Gravity Compensation.” The NASA 

Ames Vertical Motion Simulator is world renowned for flight control 

research. In this seminar, he offered an interesting behind-the-scenes 

look at some of the research that goes into creating high-fidelity, pilotcontrol loader simulation experiences for pilots and astronauts.

Ames employees were invited to another Aeronautics Technical Seminar presentation 

in mid October to listen to Dr. John-Paul Clarke, pictured above, an associate professor 

in the School of Aerospace Engineering and the Director of the Air Transportation 

Laboratory at the Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Clarke is well known 

for his work in optimization and robustness in aircraft and airline operations and air 

traffic management, as well as his research on the environmental impact of aviation. 

Thought-provoking aeronautics technical seminars held

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

NASA photo by Eric James

NASA photos by Dominic Hart

On Sept. 26, 2008, the United Kingdom’s 

Government Chief Scientific Adviser, John 

Beddington, visited NASA Ames. He met 

with Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden 

and toured the NASA Research Park, Building 45 (aka “Area 51”), and the hyperwall-2 

at the NASA Advanced Supercomputing 

facility. At Building 45, Ames’ Small 

Spacecraft Division’s Chief Technologist 

John Hines shows Professor Beddington 

an example of the small payload satellite 

projects Ames is pioneering.

British chief science advisor tours Ames
10 Astrogram October 2008

Chris McKay of Ames, standing left, recently hosted 

a discussion in the Exploration Center at Ames about 

the use of rovers in the exploration of Earth, the moon 

and Mars. This was a unique opportunity to discuss 

the latest findings on Mars and plans for the moon for 

those who attended the event. In addition, attendees had 

the opportunity to visit the latest exhibits on display 

throughout the Exploration Center before and after the 

event.

Discussion held about rover exploration of Earth, Moon and Mars NASA photo by Eric James

interstellar gas using data obtained by 

the German Receiver for Astronomy 

at Terahertz Frequencies (GREAT). 

The instrument is a spectrometer 

developed specifically for the SOFIA 

program by a consortium of German 

research institutes, led by Rolf Güsten 

at the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Bonn, Germany. Neufeld 

will use data from GREAT to probe the 

chemistry of the warm gas by observing emissions from molecules, such as 

carbon monoxide (CO). The study will 

help researchers understand the nature 

of chemical reactions taking place in 

the warm gas, which is found around 

forming stars as well as other regions 

in the interstellar medium.

The other two researchers selected 

to participate in the “first light” flights, 

Mark Morris of the University of 

California at Los Angeles, and Paul 

Harvey of the University of Colorado, 

Boulder, will join the team using the 

Faint Object InfraRed Camera for the 

SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST), a midspectrum infrared camera developed 

by Terry Herter of Cornell University, 

Ithaca, N.Y.

Morris will collaborate with the 

FORCAST team to study the center 

of the Milky Way Galaxy, a dynamic 

region of extreme gas densities and 

high-energy content. In the central 

region which spans a distance of 1,000 

light years, the high concentration of 

molecular gas results in a high rate of 

massive star formation.The FORCAST 

instrument will be used 

to develop the clearest 

view of the hot dust in 

the region. Harvey will 

work with the FORCAST 

team to interpret observations of bright 

star-forming regions 

to determine the current and future imaging 

capabilities of the SOFIA 

telescope.

SOFIA observes 

radiation generated by 

cosmic objects across 

the widest wavelength 

range of any observatory, from 0.3 microns to 

1.0 millimeters, spanning 

the visible, infrared, and 

sub-millimeter portions of the electromagnetic spectrum. Missions typically 

will last between 10 and 12 hours, and 

the aircraft flies from 40,000 to 45,000 

feet (12 to 14 km). Flying at these altitudes puts SOFIA’s infrared telescope 

above 99.8 percent of the water vapor 

in Earth’s atmosphere. This enables 

a greater range of observations in the 

infrared spectrum.

Following the first light observations, SOFIA will begin its “basic 

science” program in late 2009 with 

approximately 15 flights. Proposals for 

the basic science flights will be solicited in December 2008.

SOFIA is a joint program between 

NASA and the German Space Agency, 

Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und 

Scientists selected for new airborne eye on the universe

continued from front page

NASA’s Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, SOFIA, 

lifted off from Edwards Air Force Base at mid-day Oct. 11, 2008, on 

the first in a series of flight tests intended to verify the flight performance of the highly modified Boeing 747SP to its design capability. 

NASA photo by Tony Landis

Raumfahrt (DLR). Bonn, Germany. 

The SOFIA program is currently managed at NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., and the 

aircraft is based at the Dryden Aircraft 

Operations Facility, Palmdale, Calif. 

NASA’s Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif., manages the SOFIA 

science and mission operations in cooperation with the Universities Space 

Research Association (USRA), Columbia, Md., and the Deutsches SOFIA 

Institut (DSI) Stuttgart, Germany.
11 Astrogram October 2008

were fully outfitted and on Friday, 

Sept. 26, 2008, instruments, researchers and scientists were ready to begin 

the mission. Later that evening, a crew 

of photographers from NASA’s Ames 

Research Center arrived at NASA’s 

Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility at 

Palmdale, Calif., and loaded their HD 

video, still cameras and gear onto the 

two airplanes for their “red-eye” flight 

to Papeete, Tahiti in French Polynesia. 

 “We loaded up, strapped in and 

went,” said Jesse Carpenter, a videographer at NASA Ames who helped 

document the re-entry. “The attitude 

was like, OK let’s do it!”

 In his mission blog, Jenniskens 

said, “A sense of anticipation is rising...We all very much want to make 

this mission a success. This morning's 

moon was just a sliver, reminding us 

that the entry is just days away.” The 

re-entry was scheduled to happen at 

3:34 a.m. (6:34 a.m. PDT) over a new 

moon night sky, free of anything but 

starlight. The observers would be free 

to witness the spectacle in ideal and 

virtually unchanging conditions far 

above the clouds.

 On the way to Papeete, the scientists took spectra of stars through 

the planes’ windows and practiced 

aircraft positioning maneuvers before 

landing in Tahiti the following morning. To adjust their internal clocks, 

team members slept during the day 

and started their final preparations by 

holding crew briefings for that night’s 

flight at 5 p.m. (8 p.m. PDT). At 11 

p.m. (2 a.m. PDT) on Sunday, Sept. 

28, 2008, the two aircraft took off and 

headed southwest to rendezvous with 

the “Jules Verne” spacecraft during its 

fiery descent. 

 “Since it was so humid and hot on 

the ground, we super-refrigerated the 

cabin after buttoning up the plane to 

try to prevent the windows from fogging up with ice,” said Carpenter. “It 

was a bizarre temperature shift.” 

 “Even though it was cold in the 

airplane, that didn’t stop the sweat 

from flowing,” said Bill Moede, an 

Ames videographer on the documentation team. During the fourhour flight to the target safe zone, 

the NASA Ames video team set-up 

a custom-designed camera rig on an 

off-set plate, similar to the rig they 

used during the Stardust observation 

campaign, featuring a pivot point near 

the front of the camera’s long zoom, 

image-stabilized lens. 

“Operating the camera was like 

holding a wheel barrel with all the 

weight in the back,” Carpenter explained. “Or maybe more like painting fine brush stokes with a 50-pound 

paintbrush,” he joked.

 Even though both aircraft were 

positioned to give everyone onboard a 

prime view of the event, many researchers and scientists weren’t able to 

see the 3:34 a.m. to 3:38 a.m. (6:34 a.m. 

to 6:38 a.m. PDT) re-entry with their 

naked eyes, because they were too 

busy capturing it with their cameras 

and equipment. 

 “I just can’t get my head around 

what we saw right in front of us,” said 

Ed Schilling, lead videographer for 

the mission. “A tiny glittering red star 

grew into this huge Roman candle, 

like at a fourth of July fireworks show 

– then vanished into the night.”

 “The final minutes of ATV were 

more glorious than we had expected,” 

wrote Jenniskens in his mission blog. 

“It was just beautiful; very majestic. It 

looked like a bright green fireball with 

a veil of hundreds of vivid orange 

fragments.”

 With the observation complete, 

the crew headed back to Dryden and 

Ames Research centers with a wealth 

of new spectrographic and re-entry 

data. During the flight, the video 

team played back their re-entry tape 

multiple times for entranced mission 

members. 

 “We had the pilots, the mission 

managers and almost every researcher 

on board watching our little monitor 

as we played back the re-entry,” said 

Moede. “‘Oohs’ and ‘Aahs’ were very 

common during the playback!”

 “Documenting in so much detail 

how ATV broke upon entry in such an 

exciting international mission was a 

fitting contribution to NASA’s 50th anniversary today,” Jenniskens reflected 

on his Oct. 1, 2008 return. 

continued from page 3

Ames successfully observes and documents spacecraft re-entry 

Prognostics Industry Day will 

be held Nov. 19, 2008 from 8:30 a.m. 

- 3:30 p.m., in Building 943. The 

Prognostics Center of Excellence at 

NASA Ames develops cutting-edge 

approaches to damage-propagation 

mechanisms in safety-critical electrical, electronic and mechanical 

systems for aeronautics, as well as 

space exploration. It is also in the 

process of extending a test bed that 

will allow the comparative analysis 

of different prognostic algorithms. 

Prognostics enables a better 

understanding of component and 

Prognostics Industry Day scheduled at Ames Nov. 19

systems health issues and provides the 

ability to estimate the remaining life of 

a particular component or system enabling intelligent decision-making for 

life- and mission-critical applications. 

Prognostics offers significant benefits 

for NASA mission applications, as 

well as for industry and other government agencies. 

Kai Goebel, a senior scientist and 

lead at NASA Ames for the Prognostics Center of Excellence, and Serdar 

Uckun, manager of the Embedded 

Reasoning Area at Palo Alto Research 

Center, are the keynote speakers. 

Attendees will learn the importance and scope of prognostics in the 

engineered systems of today and the 

future. The industry day will also feature demonstrations of various experiments where the latest diagnostic and 

prognostic technology is at work. 

Attendees will also learn how to 

leverage NASA’s resources to develop 

system health management programs 

relevant to their own domains and to 

NASA’s broad research and development directives. For more information, contact Shirley Fauth, mailto: 

Shirley.A.Fauth@nasa.gov
12 Astrogram October 2008

Ames emergency 

announcements

To hear the centerwide status record- ing, call (650) 604-9999 for informa- tion announcements and emergency 

instructions for Ames employees. You 

can also listen to 1700 KHz AM radio 

for the same information.

Ames Ongoing Monthly Events Calendar

Security/Law Enforcement Activity

Fire Protection Activity

A statistical summary of activities of the Protective Services Division’s 

Security/Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Services units for the month 

of September 2008 is shown below.

Protective Services monthly activity

 Safety Data 

 NASA-Ames Occupational

 Illness-Injury Data for 

 Calendar Year-to-Date 2008

 Jan. 1, 2008 - Sept. 30, 2008

 Civil Contractors

 Servants

 

 First aid cases 18 15

 Lost Workday cases 1 2

 Recordable cases 2 5

 Restricted duty days 0 3

 Above data are as of Sept. 30, 2008. 

 May be subject to slight adjustment in

 the event of a new case or new informa- 

 tion regarding an existing case.

Ames Amateur Radio Club, third Thurs., of 

ea. month, 12 noon, N-T28 (across from N-255). 

POC: Michael Wright, KG6BFK, at ext. 4-6262. 

Ames Ballroom Dance Club, Classes on 

Tuesdays. Beginning classes meet at 5:15 p.m. 

Higher-level class meets at 5:50 p.m. Held in 

Bldg. 944, the Rec. Center. POC: Helen Hwang 

at helen.hwang@nasa.gov, ext. 4-1368.

Ames Bicycling Club, every third Wednesday 

of each month, 12 noon - 1 p.m., Bldg. N-245 

Auditorium. POC: Julie Nottage at jnottage@

mail.arc.nasa.gov, ext. 4-3711. 

Ames Bowling League, Homestead Lanes on 

Thursday nights at 6:20 p.m. Seeking substitute 

bowlers. Questions to sign up: Mike Liu at ext. 

4-1132. 

Ames Child Care Center Board of Directors 

Mtg., every other Monday, 1 - 2:30 p.m., Bldg. 

N-262/Rm 180. POC: Sally Miller, ext. 4-5411.

Ames Contractor Council Mtg., first Wednesday of ea. month, 11 a.m., Bldg. N-200, Committee Room. POC: Kathleen Starmer, ext. 4-6959

Environmental Forum, first Thursday every 

other month, 9 a.m. - 10 a.m., T20-G conference 

Rm. 129. URL: http://q/qe/events/EHSseries/ POC: Stacy St. Louis, ext. 4-6810.

Ames Federal Employees Union (AFEU) Mtg, 

third Wednesday ea. month, noon. Bldg. N-247, 

Rm. 109.. Guests welcome. Info at: http://

www.afeu.org. POC: Paul K. Davis, ext. 4-5916. 

The Hispanic Advisory Committee for 

Excellence (HACE) Mtg., first Thursday of each 

month, 11:45 a.m. - 12:45 p.m., Bldg. N-255, Rm. 

101C. POC: Eric Kristich, ext. 4-5137 and Mark 

Leon, ext. 4-6498.

Jetstream Toastmasters, Mondays, 12 p.m. 

- 1 p.m., Bldg. N-269/Rm.179. POC: Miwa 

Hayashi, ext. 4-1397, mhayashi@mail.arc.nasa.

gov. Web: http://jetstream.freetoasthost.com

Ames Mac Support Group Mtg., third Tuesday 

of each month, 11:30 a.m.to 1 p.m., Bldg. N-262, 

Rm 180. POC: Tony ext. 4-0340.

Ames Model Aircraft Club, flying radio-controlled aircraft at the north end of Parsons Ave. 

on weekend mornings. POC: Mark Sumich, ext. 

4-6193.

Moffett Aikido Club, Monday and Wednesday evenings, 6:30 p.m., Bldg. 944, across from 

former McDonalds. Aikido is a non-competitive, defensive martial art known as the 

“Way of Harmony.” POC: Diane Pereda (650) 

575-9070 or Robert Dean (650) 787-1007, email: 

mfaikido@aol.com

Native American Advisory Committee Mtg., 

fourth Tuesday each month, 12 noon - 1 p.m., 

Bldg. 19, Rm 1096. POC: Mike Liu, ext. 4-1132.

Ames Nimble Knitters Club, every Tuesday 

at 11:30 a.m., Bldg. N-241/Rm 237. POC: 

Rosalyn Jung, knitfan2@yahoo.com or Diane 

Alexander at ext. 4-3140. URL: http://knit.arc.

nasa.gov

Ames Safety Committee, third Thursday of 

each month, 10 a.m. - 11 a.m., Bldg. N-237, 

Rm. 201. POC: John Livacich, jlivacich@mail.

arc.nasa.gov, ext. 4-3243 or Terry Reichert, 

treichert@mail.arc.nasa.gov, ext.-4-0375.

Ames Sailing Club Mtg., second Thursday of 

each month (March through November), from 

12 p.m. - 1 p.m., Bldg. N-260, Rm. 113. URL: 

http://sail.arc.nasa.gov/. POC: Clif Horne, 

ext. 4-4571.
13 Astrogram October 2008

The Ames Cat Network needs help finding 

homes for cats trapped at Moffett. They 

range from feral to abandoned/lost pets. 

Tested, altered and inoculated. Call Iris at 

ext. 4-5824 if you or someone you know are 

interested in fostering or adopting a cat.

Ames Cat Network

Golf Tournament At Ruby Hill Golf Course on 

Nov. 3, 2008 which also benefits Make a Wish 

foundation. With $1,000,000 Shootout and $50,000 

Hole in one. Fees $250 which includes green 

and cart fees, breakfast, lunch and dinner with 

music and dance. Monty (408) 930-9180, or email 

gswaiss@yahoo.com for a PDF file .

Many questions regarding the impact on the PM Challenge of the recent 

direction regarding conferences in the 

NASA Authorization Bill have been 

asked. Since PM Challenge is clearly 

a training event, we are cautiously 

optimistic that the event will be held at 

the time and place scheduled with only 

minor modifications. 

NASA Management is currently 

developing instructions to implement 

the bill direction. Final instructions 

should be in place soon. In the meantime, please save the date, Feb. 24-25, 

2009 and check back for updates on the 

status at http://pmchallenge.gsfc.nasa.

gov/index.htm 

by Mike Ryschkewitsch,NASA Chief 

Make a Wish Golf Tournament Set

Ames Classifieds

Exchange Information

Beyond Galileo Gift Shop N-235 in 

the cafeteria , 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., ext. 4-6873

Don’t forget to purchase your baby shower, birthday, holiday gifts at Ames’ two gift shops!

Mega Bites Cafeteria N-235, 6 a.m. to 

2 p.m., ext. 4-5969/Catering ext. 4-2161

Visitor Center Gift Shop N-943 

M-F, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., ext. 4-5412

NASA logo merchandise, souvenirs, toys, gifts and 

educational items. 

Ongoing Vacation Opportunities

Information about products, services and opportunities provided to the employee and contractor 

community by the Ames Exchange Council. Visit 

the web site at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov

NASA Lodge (N-19) 603-7100

Tickets, etc... N-943 outside the main gate, 

10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., ext. 4-5412 and Beyond 

Galileo, 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. ext. 4-6873

See daily menu at: http://exchange.arc.nasa.gov

The pool is heated year round! The pool is currently available for lap swim, pool parties and 

special events. POC -Chana Langley, Pool Manager 

(650) 603-8025. Memberships: single memberships: $40/yr. Family memberships: $60/yr. After 

purchasing a membership, there is an entrance fee: 

daily entrance fee - $3/day or lap pass fee - $40 for 

20 uses. Platinum membership - $360/yr. (no daily 

fee). Special events: include military training, swim 

team events, kayak role practice, etc. The cost for 

special events is $50/hr.

Ames Swim Center (N-109) 603-8025

Ads for the next issue should be sent to astrogram@

mail.arc.nasa.gov and must be resubmitted for each 

issue. Ads must involve personal needs or items; (no 

commercial/third-party ads) and will run on a spaceavailable basis only. First-time ads are given priority. 

Ads must include home phone numbers; Ames extensions and email addresses will be accepted for carpool 

and lost and found ads only. Due to the volume of 

material received, we are unable to verify the accuracy 

of the statements made in the ads. Caveat emptor! 

RV Lots Available Call to reserve a 

space at (650) 603-7100/01.

 Civilian/Contractors, $50/mo; military $25/mo

Where to stay when you’re too tired to drive home? 

What about the lodge?! Two types of rooms: Bldg. 

19 (43 rooms), rate: $55/night ($5 ea add’l adult); 

Bldg. 583 (150 rooms), rate: $45/night ($5 ea. add’l 

adult) 

Moffett Field Golf Club with ‘Tee minus 

1’ Grill and Sports Bar. Call (650) 603-8026.

Lake Tahoe-Squaw Valley Townhse, 3bd/2ba, 

View of slopes, close to lifts. Per night: $250, plus 

$145 cleaning fee. Two night minimum. Includes 

linens, propane fireplace, fully equipped. Call (650) 

968-4155, DBMcKellar@aol.com.

Bass Lake vacation rental, 4 mls south of Yosemite. 

3bd/1.5 ba, TV, VCR, MW, frplc, BBQ, priv. boat 

dock. Sleeps 8. $1,050/wk. Call (559) 642-3600 or 

(650) 390-9668.

Big Sur vacation rental, secluded 4bd/2ba house 

in canyon setting. Fully eqpd kitchen. Access to 

priv. beach. Tub in patio gdn. Halfway between 

Carmel and Big Sur. $175/night for 2; $225 for 4 

and $250 for more, plus $150 cleaning dep. Call 

(650) 328-4427.

Pine Mountain Lake vacation home. Access to golf, 

tennis, lake, swimming, horseback riding, walk 

to beach. Three bedrooms/sleeps 10. $100/night. 

Call (408) 799-4052 or (831) 623-4054.

Incline Village, Forest Pines, Lake Tahoe condo, 3 

bdrms/2 ba, sleeps 8, fireplace, TVs/VCR/DVD, 

stereo w/CD player, microwv, W/D, jacuzzi, 

sauna, outdoor pool. Walk to lake. Close to ski 

areas. Visit web site for pictures: http://www.

ACruiseStore.com $135/night spring and fall, 

$173/night summer and winter (holidays higher) 

plus $125 cleaning fee and 12 percent Nevada 

room tax. Charlie (650) 743-8990.

New York, 5th Ave., one fully furnished bedroom 

apt. in 24 hour security fbldg. overlooking

Washington Square Park, $1,000/week or

3,000/month, negotiable. Call (650) 430-6977.

Paris/France: Fully furnished studio. 5th arr, Latin 

Quarter, Notre Dame and Lie-St. Louis, $1,400/

week, negotiable.Call (650) 430-697

Santa Cruz townhouse, 2 bedrooms plus study, 

2 baths, decks, totally furnished, 3 blocks from 

beach, available July, August, September; $1,600 

per month. Call (831) 423-5777 (H) or (831) 277-

8476 (C).

Lake Tahoe cabin rental in Agate Bay, North Shore. 

4bd/3ba tri-level, AEK, cable TVs, fireplace, BBQ, 

deck, sleeps 10. Closest skiing is Northstar, Alpine 

and Squaw. Rates are $375 a weekend, $1,000 a 

week. Call (408) 867-4656.

Florida west coast vacation in St. Petersburg, 

beautiful 2bd/2ba condo, fully equipped kitchen 

and furnished, sunset views, 1/4 mile from St. Pete 

Beach, monthly or 2 week minimum rentals only. 

Call (703) 299-8889 or e-mail: jdgoehler@aol.com

Monterey Bay vacation rental at Pajaro Dunes, 20 

miles south of Santa Cruz, 3bd/2ba beach house 

with distinctive architecture. Beautiful ocean and 

valley views, only 150 ft from the beach, first-class 

tennis courts. $700/wkend, $2,100/wk including 

cleaning by the maid service when you depart. 

Call (408) 252-7260.

South Lake Tahoe large cabin surrounded by 

protected forest, 8 miles from Stateline Sleeps 12 

comfortably, 4 bd/3ba. Hot tub/pool table/65” TV 

Matt (408) 482-5286

South Lake Tahoe cozy home backs up to large 

open meadow, 1 mile from Heavenly Valley. Sleeps 

11, 3 bd/2.5 ba. Large deck with hot tub. Matt (408) 

482-5286.

Astrogram deadlines

Please submit articles, calendar 

and classified advertisements to 

astrogram@mail.arc.nasa.gov no later 

than the 10th of each month. If this 

falls on a weekend or holiday, then the 

following business day becomes the 

deadline. For Astrogram questions, 

contact Astrid Olson at the aforementioned e-mail address or ext. 4-3347. 

None for this issue.
14 Astrogram October 2008

NASA Deputy Administrator 

Shana Dale’s corner on InsideNASA this month features an article 

entitled, “Transforming Airspace 

One Plane at a Time.” Following is 

an excerpt from the article.

An innovation in aeronautics 

technology has already made flying in challenging terrain safer for 

thousands of pilots and may help 

our future national airspace accommodate more planes.

Today, the positions of most 

aircraft in flight are tracked by radar. 

Antennas on the ground bounce radio waves off an airplane in the sky, 

interpret the signals reflected back 

from the airplane and send them to 

air traffic controllers.

For the past decade, aeronautics 

researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center and NASA’s Langley 

Research Center have been supporting research and testing of a new 

tracking system called Automatic 

Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast, 

or ADS-B, and how it can be used for 

air traffic management.

The biggest plus of ADS-B is 

that it uses satellite-based Global 

Positioning System signals instead 

of ground-based radar signals. The 

system automatically provides information with pinpoint accuracy about 

how far one airplane is from another 

in the sky, as well as an airplane’s 

position to the control tower. This 

exchange of information occurs realtime, so both the pilot in the cockpit 

and the air traffic controller on the 

ground “see” the same data at the 

same time. To learn more about this 

system, visit http://insidenasa.nasa.

gov/nasa_stories/AP_Transforming_Airspace.html

What’s on InsideNASA . . .

handling qualities of the aircraft as 

air flows over and into the telescope 

cavity.

 The upper rigid cavity door will 

be opened incrementally at various altitudes to determine the aeroacoustic effects, or buffeting, on the 

aircraft and telescope systems. NASA 

and Deutsches SOFIA Institut (DSI) 

engineers considered the challenges of 

aero-acoustic effects on the telescope 

when designing the cavity system, 

completing wind tunnel tests and 

computational fluid dynamics analyses to minimize these effects.

SOFIA's state-of-the-art infrared 

telescope and some of the observatory's scientific instruments will be 

tested on the ground in the next few 

months in preparation for the first 

open-door test flights.

 The optical performance of the 

telescope system will be checked using 

the High-speed Photometer for Occultations, or HIPO, science instrument 

built for SOFIA at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Ariz. HIPO takes images of the sky rapidly at wavelengths 

the human eye can see. Once HIPO 

has been used to check the basic characteristics of the SOFIA observatory, 

the two infrared instruments intended 

for the first scientific flights will be 

mounted for more ground observation 

tests.

 After these ground tests are complete, a short series of initial astronomical science flights are planned. During 

the six scheduled flights, the Faint 

Object Infrared Camera, (FORCAST), 

from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., 

and the German Receiver for Astronomy at THz Frequencies (GREAT) from 

the Max Planck Institute for Radioastronomy in Bonn, Germany, will 

conduct SOFIA's first science observations.

 SOFIA incorporates a 2.5-meter 

diameter infrared telescope in a 747SP 

aircraft that will carry the telescope 

into the stratosphere to conduct astronomical research. The observatory 

also includes a ground-based science 

center. 

 SOFIA is a joint program between 

NASA and the German Space Agency, 

Deutsches Zentrum fur Luft- und 

Raumfahrt (DLR). The SOFIA program is currently managed at NASA 

continued from page 5

NASA reinstalls main mirror in SOFIA airborne observatory

Dryden and the aircraft is based at the 

Dryden Aircraft Operations Facility, 

Palmdale, Calif. NASA Ames manages the SOFIA science and mission 

operations in cooperation with the 

University Space Research Association (USRA) and the DSI. 

 For more information about 

SOFIA, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/

sofia For information about SOFIA's 

astronomical science mission, visit: 

http://www.sofia.usra.edu

The NASA Account Management 

System (NAMS) is a new Web-based 

application that provides account 

management for NASA. It is a replacement of ARC Form 772.

NAMS allows NASA employees, 

contractors and remote users such 

as educators and other collaborators 

to request new application accounts, 

modify and close existing accounts. 

Users and managers can submit 

account requests and track progress 

online easily through this new system. 

Employees may access NAMS via 

https://idmax.nasa.gov .

Ames employees can use NAMS 

instead of ARC Form 772 to apply for 

center application accounts such as 

VPN/RSA or Brio Reports access. 

NASA Account Management System 

(NAMS) replaces ARC Form 772

By the end of FY2010, employees will use NAMS to request and 

manage all of their center and agency 

application accounts. However, their 

existing accounts will be “grandfathered” into NAMS so they won’t 

have to reapply for accounts they 

already have.

The NAMS training also is 

available on SATERN at https://

satern.nasa.gov for the following 

modules: Overview, First Time User 

and User. Civil servant and contractor supervisors should complete the 

Sponsor module.

For more information, visit the 

NAMS information Web site at 

http://nams.arc.nasa.gov .

The Ames Astrogram is an official publication of 

Ames Research Center, National Aeronautics and 

Space Administration.

Managing Editor......................Michael Mewhinney

Editor, Layout and Design...................Astrid Olson

You can reach the Astrogram Office at: astrogram@

mail.arc.nasa.gov or by phone at (650) 604-3347. 

Astrogram Web site: http://www.nasa.gov/

ames/astrogram.