www.nasa.gov www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov 1

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

A publication of NASA Research Park Fall 2008

NRP Post

“We’ve been humbled and amazed by the warm welcome given our airship,” said Alex Hall. “We want the community to be as proud of this 

airship as they have been of the Navy airships that were based here.”

Keynote speakers included NASA Ames’ historian Jack Boyd; 

Ret. U.S. Marine Corps Col. William Moffett III, grandson 

of U.S. Navy Adm. Moffett; Congresswoman Zoe Loefgren; 

and City of Mountain View and Sunnyvale council members. 

Many shared personal memories of Moffett Field’s history and 

all expressed congratulations and excitement to Alex and Brian 

Hall for achieving their vision of returning the first lighterthan-air vehicle to the Bay Area since 1935. 

The program included Wolfgang Von Zeppelin, great-greatgrandnephew of airship pioneer Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin, Thomas Brandt, CEO of Zeppelin Luftshifftechnik, Rolf 

Schutte, Consul General of Germany and Hiroyuki Watanabe, 

President, Nippon Airship Corporation. Also attending were 

honorary dignitaries with connections to World War II airship 

operations, including former pilots.

To conclude the event, Brian Hall announced Chris Humphrey 

as the winner -- from more than 1,500 entries -- of the contest 

to name the airship. Chris revealed the airship’s name -- Eureka, which means ‘I found it!’ The tethered airship, moving 

elegantly in the light wind during the program, then flew into 

the clear blue sky, amazing all who saw it for the first time.

 

NASA collaborates with more than 50 academia, industry 

and non-profit entities in the NRP to stimulate innovation 

and education in science and research disciplines critical to 

Peace

75th Anniversary continued on page 2 

Airship Ventures’ 246-foot-long Zeppelin over San Francisco, CA

“NASA is proud to be a part of aviation history today as the airship 

returns to Moffett Field on its 75th anniversary,” said Ames Director 

S. Pete Worden, opening the Diamond Jubilee Ceremony. 

Ames and Airship Ventures Celebrate Moffett 

Field’s 75th Anniversary and Airship’s Return

On Nov. 21, 2008, NASA Ames and Airship Ventures, a NRP 

Partner, celebrated Moffett Field’s 75th Anniversary and the 

return of the “Lighter-than-Air” airship to Moffett Federal 

Airfield. Hundreds of Ames employees and the general public 

attended the 1930s era celebration that featured great sounds 

of jazz music, a vintage car display and members of the Bay 

Area Art Deco Society dressed in 1930s fashion.

Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden opened the program 

highlighting Moffett Field’s creation for lighter-than-air aviation led by U.S. Navy Admiral William Moffett, and the development of Hangar One to house the 785-foot USS Macon 

airship in 1933. Hangar One is now a historical monument 

planned for reuse. 

Worden noted that future collaboration with Airship Ventures 

will utilize lighter-than-air technologies for NASA’s remote 

sensing and atmospheric research, and contribute to the 

development of cleaner and more efficient transportation for 

tourism. Alexandra and Brian Hall, the founders of Airship 

Ventures, told their personal stories of passion for aviation and 

aerospace, and how they formed Airship Ventures.

NASA photo by Dominic Hart

Photo by Roger Cain
NRP Post

2 www.nasa.gov

NRP Welcomes New Tenants

International Network Solutions, Inc.

Building 19, Aug. 1 and Building 554, Oct. 1

KleenSpeed Technologies, Inc.

Building 554, Sept. 1

Planetary Ventures LLC (Google)

Ground Lease, May 14

NASA Ames Team Wins the San Jose Business 

Journal “Deal of the Year” Award for Google Lease 

One of the largest development deals struck in Silicon Valley 

in the past year will affect the way the nation’s space agency 

enacts public-private partnerships well into the future.

The first phase of construction of the Google Inc. campus on 

42.2 undeveloped acres at NASA Ames Research Center isn’t 

scheduled to begin until 2013, but infrastructure work will start 

in mid-2009. Ames’ team involved in the lengthy and complicated lease process are being asked to guide other NASA 

facilities in such ventures.

The multiyear, multiphase development project was announced 

jointly by Google and NASA in June. The project began in 

2005, when NASA and the publicly traded company announced 

plans to collaborate on a number of research and development 

projects. The agreement included plans for collaboration in 

large-scale data management, massively distributed computing, the convergence of biotech, information technology and 

nanotechnology, and encouraging an entrepreneurial space 

industry.

“The campus lease agreement calls for Google to build as much as 1.2 

million square feet of office and research space at Ames. Under the lease 

terms, Google must commence the first phase of construction by the end of 

2013. A second phase is to commence by 2018 and a third by 2022. In 

addition to the office and research space, Google plans to construct housing 

and numerous amenity spaces, including dining, sports and fitness and a 

child-care center, as well as conference space and parking structures,” said 

NASA project manager Mejghan Haider.

Google will complete three infrastructure projects prior to the 

first phase of office construction. In the first, Google will submit designs for a water tank that holds as much as three days’ 

worth of water in case of a natural disaster, and the company 

will select a contractor for that project by mid-2009.

NRP dealmakers (L to R): Mark Beskind, Trish Morrissey, Geoff Lee, 

Mejghan Haider, Michael Marlaire, Larry Singer, David Shiver

Google continued on page 5 

75th Anniversary continued from front page

75th Anniversary continued on page 9

New NRP Partner KleenSpeed Chairman Timothy Collins (c) 

with THRUXAR electric race car at the Nov. 21 Diamond Jubilee 

exhibits. KleenSpeed is an advanced R&D firm focusing on scalable electric propulsion systems for transportation

space exploration. Airship Ventures, which brought the first 

airship to fly over the United States in more than 70 years, 

is one of NASA’s newest NRP partners. Three of only 12 

remaining airship hangars in the U.S. are at Moffett Field. 

Founders Alex and Brian Hall leased Hangar 2 and Building 20 

under NASA’s Enhanced Use Leasing authority on October 1, 

2008. Hangar 2 is used to store and perform maintenance on 

the airship and Building 20, in historic Shenandoah Plaza at 

NRP, is Airship Ventures’ corporate office, guest terminal and 

event facility. The Zeppelin NT airship incorporates modern 

aviation technologies, provides exciting passenger trips, and 

is available for unprecedented marketing opportunities. The 

airship will provide guests with breathtaking views across the 

San Francisco Bay Area and close aerial views of the Silicon 

Valley, with future locations being planned. For info and to 

book flights visit: www.airshipventures.com.

 The airship’s arrival at Moffett Field comes at a celebrated 

time in the airfield’s history. In 1933, the United States 

Government commissioned Sunnyvale Naval Air Station, Photo by Diane Farrar

Photo by Christine Nolasco
NRP Post

www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov 3

Tibion Wins Silicon Valley Emerging Technology 

Award (ETA) for Medical Devices

Tibion's Robotic Knee Offers More Than Support

Dec. 5 - Silicon Valley / 

San Jose Business Journal - 

by Janet Rae-Dupree

Remember Steve Austin, 

the Six Million Dollar 

Man of 1970s television 

fame? Today’s bionics can’t 

rebuild him yet, but it can 

make him better, stronger 

and (recover) faster.

The initial goal of Tibion 

Corp., the winner in the 

medical devices category, is 

to use new bionic technologies to help knee surgery 

patients regain strength and mobility faster than they could 

through traditional physical therapy. Using a newly patented 

linear motion motor as well as an embedded computer and 

sensors, researchers at Tibion have developed a therapeutic 

knee brace that robotically enhances the wearer’s movements.

Based at NASA Research Park at Moffett Field since 2003, the 

startup also is working with space travel researchers to develop 

bionic enhancements that may prevent muscle atrophy during 

long stretches in microgravity. The company’s PowerKnee also 

has shown promise in helping stroke patients recover as well as 

helping elderly people with weak joints stand, sit, climb stairs 

and walk.

Tibion, which has raised about $4 million in venture capital to 

date, expects to bring the first of its products to market in 2009.

-- Dec. 5 Business Wire --

“It is an honor to be recognized as an innovator in technology among medical device 

companies,” said Kern Bhugra, CEO and co-founder of Tibion. “With this technology, we have the potential to profoundly impact the lives of patients dealing with 

loss of muscle function due to surgery, stroke, or chronic diseases such as multiple 

sclerosis.” 

The ETA program was created by the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business 

Journal to recognize the innovations and significant accomplishments of 

technology-oriented companies in Silicon Valley. Tibion, along with winners in additional categories, was recognized at an awards ceremony at the 

Computer History Museum in Mountain View, CA, on December 4. 

Intrinsyx Technologies Receives NASA Ames 

2008 Award for Small Business Subcontractor 

of the Year

By Kathleen Burton

Gleaming on the long conference table of 

Intrinsyx Technologies’ sunny office in Bldg. 

19 is a small glass obelisk inscribed with the 

words: “NASA Ames Research Center/Small 

Business Subcontractor of the Year Award”.

President and CEO Arshad Mian just returned from a trip to NASA Headquarters 

to accept the Small Business Industry Award 

(SWIA) from NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale on November 18.

“It was a very positive experience,” Mian said, noting that the company 

is a subcontractor to Lockheed-Martin. “We briefed a group including 

Dale, Glenn Delgado, NASA Director of Small Business Programs, 

and other representatives from NASA Centers and outside businesses.” 

The award acknowledged Intrinsyx’ excellence in its support 

of all aspects of the Constellation Data Systems Projects at 

NASA Ames including: systems engineering, requirements 

management, enterprise architecture, IT security, 

semantic modeling and software 

development for 

a large number of 

enterprise applications. Intrinsyx is 

also solely responsible for developing the Security 

Operations Center 

(SOC) Incident 

M a n a g e m e n t 

System implementation. In September 2008, two Intrinsyx personnel received an Ames Honor Award 

for their work on the Security Operations Center. 

Intrinsyx is also developing collaboration tools and data 

warehousing solutions for the Ames Aeronautics Division. 

Intrinsyx Technologies Corporation provides innovative engineering & information technology solutions 

and services to Federal, State and Commercial clients.

For info: www.intrinsyx.com or Mike Schultz at 650-210-9220.

L to R: NASA Deputy Administrator, Shana Dale 

(outgoing); Intrinsyx Technologies Corporation 

President, Arshad Mian; and NASA Assistant 

Administrator - Office of Small Business Programs, 

Glenn Delgado

Intrinsyx’s 

SWIA Award

Tibion PowerKnee in action

Photo courtesey of Tibion
NRP Post

4 www.nasa.gov

GaryAir Partners with Ames’ Flight Deck Display 

Research Lab (FDDRL)

By Dave Guerrieri

You may have seen a small aircraft at Yuri’s night, or the Sally 

Ride Science Festival, and wondered – how is this relevant to 

NASA?

Before it became well known as a space agency, NASA’s roots 

were in aviation, as the National Advisory Committee for 

Aeronautics (NACA). NACA began as an emergency measure 

in 1915 during World War I to promote industry/academic/

government coordination on war-related projects.

NACA’s purpose was “to supervise and direct the scientific 

study of the problems of flight with a view to their practical 

solution, and to determine the problems which should be experimentally attacked 

and to discuss their 

solution and their application to practical 

questions.” 

In the early 1920s 

NACA adopted a new 

and more ambitious 

mission: to promote 

military and civilian 

aviation through 

applied research that 

looked beyond current needs. This mission still exists today 

at NASA, although its 

notoriety is somewhat dwarfed by the space program. 

Today’s United States’ air transportation system is complicated 

and overwhelmed with demand -- especially at large airports 

and higher altitudes where transport category jet aircraft 

fly. To alleviate complexity and overcrowding, one approach is 

to return to the simpler days of the barnstormers, who picked 

up passengers at remote strips and took one or two of them at 

a time for a ride. 

In 2005 NASA’s promotion of this concept culminated in the 

Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS). A few technologies developed from SATS, and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) studies with bush pilots in Alaska, are now ready to 

be implemented throughout the country. 

GaryAir continued on page 7

Intelligent Systems Research and Development 

Support Contract Goes to Stinger Ghaffarian 

Technologies (SGT, Inc.) 

Greenbelt, MD – SGT, Inc., a leading provider of Science, 

Engineering, IT, and 

Program Management 

Services announced September 29 it was awarded 

the Intelligent Systems 

Research and Development Support (ISRDS) 

contract to provide direct 

support to the Intelligent 

Systems Division of the 

Exploration Technology 

Directorate at NASA 

Ames Research Center. 

NASA Ames conducts 

scientific research, develops technologies, builds applications and infuses and deploys 

advanced information systems technology into NASA missions 

and other federal projects. Under the ISRDS Contract, SGT 

will support activities in Autonomous Systems and Robotics, 

Collaborative and Assistant Systems, Discovery and Systems 

Health, Robust Software Engineering and Software Systems 

Engineering. SGT’s ISRDS Program Manager is Dr. Michael 

Redmon. 

“SGT has tremendous pride in our ability to deliver complete, balanced 

and technically sound approaches to meet our customer’s technical requirements,” said Dr. Joy Colucci, SGT VP of West Coast Operations. 

“SGT is committed to partnering with NASA Ames in support of its 

important role in research.” 

The SGT ISRDS Team includes Perot Government Systems, 

Mission Critical Technologies, ASANI Solutions, Craig Technologies, and Carnegie Mellon University. ISRDS is a CostPlus-Fixed-Fee (CPFF) contract with a maximum potential 

of five years of performance. The maximum contract value, 

including options, is $300M.

SGT, Inc. is a privately held company headquartered in Greenbelt, MD providing aerospace engineering, earth and planetary 

science modeling and analysis, information systems and project 

management, operational support and technical services to 

NASA, NOAA, USGS and other government and commercial 

organizations. SGT, Inc. joined NRP in Dec. 2007.

For more information visit: http://www.sgt-inc.com/

Dr. Joy Colucci, SGT VP of West Coast 

Operations and Dr. Michael Redmon, 

ISRDS Program Manager

Photo by Christine Nolasco

The flight deck display of a prototype NextGenequipped aircraft maneuvering around hazardous weather. Image courtesy of FDDRL
NRP Post

www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov 5

Kentucky Space Celebrates Successful Launch 

On Oct. 11, 2008, at 09:56 PDT, a rocket carrying a payload 

built by students from Kentucky 

Space was launched outside Mojave, 

CA. Designated Prospector 12A, the 

mission was a sub-orbital test flight 

to verify liquid fueled propulsion 

technologies being developed by 

Garvey Spacecraft. Kentucky students 

designed and built the payload to 

measure details of the rocket’s trajectory in flight. The payload was successfully recovered and analysis of the flight data continues.

Kentucky Space students worked with Garvey Spacecraft engineers, and students and faculty from California State University 

Long Beach and Stanford University on Oct. 10 to integrate the 

Kentucky payload atop the 23.8 foot, 25 inch diameter rocket. 

The rocket launched from the edge of the Koehn Dry Lake Bed, 

25 miles northeast of Mojave, CA. Analysis of the data recovered from the computers on-board the Kentucky payload shows 

very detailed information on the performance and trajectory of 

the rocket. The payload included an inertial measurement unit 

(IMU) consisting of accelerometers and gyroscopes on three 

axes that allowed the motion of the rocket in 3-dimensions 

to be precisely measured. With this data the students were 

able to recover details of the motion of the rocket throughout its flight with a sub-millisecond resolution. This mission 

marked another milestone for Kentucky Space, and provided 

students with invaluable hands-on experience as they develop 

technologies for future sub-orbital and orbital space missions.

Kentucky Space Consortium members are: University of 

Kentucky, Morehead State University, 

University of Louisville, Murray State 

University, Western Kentucky University, Kentucky Community and Technical 

College System, Kentucky Space Grant 

Consortium, Belcan, Kentucky Council 

on Postsecondary Education, Kentucky 

Science and Engineering Foundation 

and Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation (KSTC) Managing 

Partner. 

KSTC has been a NRP Partner four years.

For more information visit http://www.kentuckyspace.com 

reQall Shines at Stanford Summit CEO Showcase

reQall, Inc. was selected by Always On as one of “100 hottest 

companies breaking out of the 

pack in 2008” and presented July 

23 at the Summit at Stanford.

reQall is a voice operated “virtual assistant” software program 

that makes it easy to capture, retrieve, and share ideas and tasks 

—- anywhere, anytime. reQall 

was created by Qtech Inc., a 

NASA Research Park partner 

since 2004. 

A free task and time management application, reQall integrates 

mobile devices -- via voice messaging -- with email, web, text 

messaging, IM, online calendars and RSS feeds to create a 

unified memory tool. reQall is available as a web-based application or as a download for the Apple iPhone or the RIM 

BlackBerry smartphone. (from Wikipedia)

“reQall works with any phone via a toll-free number, but downloadable applications on the iPhone and Blackberry allow it to shine,” said Chief Product 

Officer Vemuri. Vemuri introduced reQall noting it was his birthday - near 

Apollo 11’s landing date - and that he was named after Apollo Astronaut 

Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon.

The July 22 - 24 Summit at Stanford convened experts from 

Silicon Valley and the global technology industry to cut strategic 

deals, invest in and build the next generation of startup companies. The CEO Showcase featured over 78 private company 

CEOs from entertainment, media, on-demand computing and 

green tech who pitched their technologies and market strategies. 

Google, Salesforce.com, Skype, YouTube, Blue Lithium and 

Quigo presented in past years while still privately held startups. 

For more information visit: www.reQall.com

Prospector 12 Flight Test 

Team, Mojave Desert

Dr. Sunil Vemuri at CEO Showcase, 

Summit at Standford

Prospector 12 launch, 

Oct. 11, 2008

Google continued from page 2

In the second, Google will design and construct a 7.37-acre 

park on the south part of its planned campus, where it will 

build housing in the future. The third project has Google 

designing and building a security gate.

The initial 40-year lease allows for periodic rent adjustments. 

Following the initial 40 years, Google has an option to extend 

the lease for three 10-year terms, while two additional 10-year 

terms must be jointly agreed upon by NASA and Google.

Photo by Diane Farrar
NRP Post

6 www.nasa.gov

MAX the rover went to the Arctic alone, without his instruction manual. Scientists and teachers found him friendly and 

hardy. 

“CMIL’s (Carnegie Mellon Innovation Lab) intelligent rover is designed 

for ease of use in the field, like a geologist’s hammer. Everyone was able 

to easily use the MAX rover due to its well designed and intuitive control 

system. The rover operated well over the rocky terrain...”, said Dr. Khalid 

Al Ali, father of MAX and Director of Research at Carnegie Mellon 

University Silicon Valley Campus.

CMIL’s MAX Goes to the Arctic Alone

Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley Grads Toss Hats 

at NASA Research Park 

By Sylvia Leong

On August 9, 2008, Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley campus celebrated its sixth annual commencement ceremony. Forty-four 

graduates walked during the ceremony and received graduate 

degrees in Software Engineering. 

Guy Kawasaki, founding partner of Garage Technology 

Ventures, delivered the keynote address. He addressed the 

graduates and audience with a speech entitled, "How to Kick 

@$$!", a top ten list of tips for doing well in technology, business and life. 

Minh Nguyen, winner of the Outstanding Service Award from 

the university, gives Carnegie Mellon credit for teaching him 

the importance of team building and soft skills.

"Understanding the importance of these skills, and honing them throughout my two years, has helped me not only professionally, but personally 

as well," said Nguyen. "Defining team charters and meeting processes, 

having meeting agendas with specific goals, and avoiding pitfalls when 

working in remote teams are things that I've been able to apply to both 

my professional and non-profit work. As a result, I'm able to build 

high-performing and successful teams."

The Class of 2008 presented the campus with a class gift - the 

Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley Fence. The fence has been 

constructed and placed behind Building 23, in the courtyard 

area, and serves as a west coast version of Carnegie Mellon 

Pittsburgh campus' Fence - a certain fence that traditionally 

is painted and re-painted by students and student groups to 

advertise events or send messages to the entire campus community. The Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley Fence was painted 

and dedicated to the late Professor Randy Pausch, whose "Last 

Lecture" became an Internet sensation, an international media 

story and a best-selling book now published in 35 languages.

Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Carnegie Mellon Silicon 

Valley continues the tradition of offering world-class graduate programs in software engineering, software management, 

information technology, and innovation. A team-oriented, 

project-based curriculum provides the opportunity to learn 

invaluable skills and apply them successfully. For more information on the graduate programs, contact Sylvia Leong, 

admissions@sv.cmu.edu or 650-335-2808.

Sylvia Leong, Director of Admissions, CMU Silicon Valley

NASA Research Park, Building 23 (MS 23-11)

Join our Facebook group:

http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#/pages/mountainview-CA/Carnegie-Mellon-Silicon-Valley/36021521184 

or visit out website: http://sv.cmu.edu

The MS Software Engineering, Program Management graduates pose with 

their class gift - the Carnegie Mellon Silicon Valley Fence

MAX continued on next page 

August 9 graduation ceremony at Building 23, NASA Research Park

Photo courtesey of Carnegie Mellon

Photo courtesey of Carnegie Mellon

by Diane Farrar 
NRP Post

www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov 7

NASA’s Spaceward Bound expedition to Axel Heiberg Island 

in the Canandian High Arctic (July-August 2008) proved the 

“laptop on wheels” can be run with almost no training and 

very little guidance.

MAX excels in exploring fragile terrains. 

Previously tested in 

the Atacama (Chile) 

and Mojave (California) deserts, MAX 

does his job without 

leaving tracks. MAX 

explored the Mojave 

Desert without crushing delicate microbial 

communities in the soil’s crust. Able to explore regions that 

are dangerous to humans, he can also explore regions where 

humans are dangerous to the environment. 

Spaceward Bound, developed by NASA Ames Research Center’s Education Division, is a participatory expedition designed 

to engage students and teachers. This field trip was comprised 

of NASA scientists and teachers from California, New York 

and Canada studying microbes living in the high Arctic permafrost. Scientists believe in Mars early history it may have been 

home to life in places similar to Earth’s icy polar regions. 

MAX is the first commercial off-the-shelf rover to travel to 

the Arctic and the Atacama Desert. The Arctic expedition was 

the first for MAX without CMIL sending a trained engineer, or 

training an expedition participant prior to the trip. 

MAX, designed for 

cost, utility and viability, was born and raised 

in a “NASA Research 

Park made” company 

– Senseta. 

“We began in 2003 with 

a blank sheet of paper, 

created a rover, and spun 

off a company. 

“Our plan now is to select 

and install science instruments 

on MAX, said Al-Ali.

Dr. Chris McKay receives an introduction to 

MAX from Ritchie Lee prior to departure to the 

Arctic. McKay is Deputy Program Scientist 

for NASA’s Constellation Program to return to 

the moon and establish a lunar base.

MAX 5R in front of Canadian Arctic Glacier

L to R: Ritchie Lee, Dr. Chris McKay, Andrew 

Klofas and Dr. Khalid Al-Ali at Carnegie Mellon 

Silicon Valley in NASA Research Park Technology based on Global Positioning System (GPS) allows 

aircraft to broadcast their position to each other directly, enabling their operation in remote areas where it is too expensive 

to provide radar coverage. 

This capability, along with the need to accommodate new types 

of airspace users such as unmanned systems and commercial 

spaceflight, is revolutionary. Former Transportation Secretary 

Norm Mineta promoted collaboration between all federal 

agencies using U.S. airspace and the private sector, to share 

information and avoid duplicating efforts.

So NASA combined forces with six federal agencies (FAA; 

Departments of Defense, Transportation, Commerce and 

Homeland Security; and the President’s Office of Science and 

Technology) to ensure an efficient and cost-effective roll out 

of this new system -- the Next Generation Air Transportation 

System, or NextGen.

 

NRP Partner GaryAir is an aviation services company. GaryAir’s collaboration with NextGen is a good fit for NASA 

Research Park, and advances Ames’ (formerly a NACA center) 

vision for public-private partnerships. 

GaryAir and Ames’ Flight Deck Display Research Laboratory 

(FDDRL) have a Non-Reimbursable Space Act Agreement 

allowing GaryAir to provide usability data to NASA based on 

flying FDDRL’s 4-dimensional NextGen flight display. The 

display allows a pilot to see much of the same information that 

air traffic controllers see; and in some cases, such as hazardous 

weather, to see even more. The software, called an Electronic 

Flight Bag, runs on standard equipment very inexpensive to 

operate. It is little more than a standard Microsoft Tablet 

computer with a pen-enabled screen that the pilot can use to 

operate the display, rather than buttons or a keyboard. 

GaryAir continued from page 4

MAX continued from previous page

GaryAir continued on page 9

NASA photo by Paul Langston

NASA photo by Paul Langston

Photo courtesey of Carnegie Mellon
NRP Post

8 www.nasa.gov

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif.—NASA 

released this newly restored 42-year-old 

image of Earth on Nov. 13. The Lunar 

Orbiter 1 spacecraft took the iconic 

photograph of Earth rising above the 

lunar surface in 1966. Using refurbished machinery and modern digital 

technology, NASA produced the image 

at a much higher resolution than was 

possible when it was originally taken. 

The data may help the next generation 

of explorers as NASA prepares to 

return to the moon.

“We are in a renaissance of lunar exploration, 

this time the whole world is going forward,” 

said Ames Center Director S. Pete Worden.

In the late 1960s, NASA sent five 

Lunar Orbiter missions to photograph 

the surface of the moon and analyze 

landing sites for Apollo missions. 

Data were recorded on large magnetic 

tapes and transferred to photographic 

film for scientific analysis. When these 

images were first retrieved from lunar 

orbit, only a portion of their true 

resolution was available because of the 

limited technology available.

The Lunar Image Recovery Project team at the former McDonald’s (Bldg. 596) at NASA Research Park is converting 

analog data from 48,000 lbs. of original 2” tapes from the Lunar Orbiters into digital form, and reconstructing the images. 

“This is an unprecedented opportunity to see how the moon has changed in 40 

plus years,” said Greg Schmidt of NASA’s Lunar Science Institute, who is 

hosting this project. These are still the highest resolution images taken of the 

lunar surface. This resolution will be matched by the Lunar Recognizance 

Orbiter (LRO), scheduled for launch April 2009, Schmidt said. 

International Space University students attending the 2009 Space 

Studies summer session at NASA Research Park plan to set up 

labs to compare Lunar Orbiter data with the new LRO data.

The restored high quality Lunar Orbiter will provide a baseline 

to measure changes that have occurred on the moon since 

the 1960s. This could help mission planners assess the longterm risk to lunar inhabitants from 

small meteor impacts, and establish 

longitude and latitude lines for lunar 

mapping.

The processed Lunar Orbiter images 

are submitted to the Planetary Data 

System, managed by NASA Headquarters in cooperation with NASA’s 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and are 

calibrated with standard mapping 

coordinates from the U.S. Geological 

Survey’s Astrogeology Research Program in Flagstaff, AZ. NASA Research 

Park Partner International Network 

Solutions, Inc. provided infrastructure 

to transmit this imagery.

“This effort was made possible by the vision 

and dedication of Apollo-era NASA 

employees, independent researchers, and a 

true veteran team of engineers and young 

students,” said Dennis Wingo, the image 

recovery program lead for the project. 

NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission 

Directorate and Innovative Partnerships Program Office in Washington 

provided initial funding for the 

project. Engineering and logistics for 

the project team were provided by Wingo of SkyCorp, Inc., 

Huntsville, Ala., with donated services by Keith Cowing from 

SpaceRef Interactive, Inc., Reston, Va., under the auspices of 

Alliance of Commercial Enterprises and Education for Space, 

and the NASA Lunar Science Institute.

Images will be made available when they are fully processed 

and calibrated. The intent of this project is to facilitate, wherever possible, the broadest dissemination and public use of 

these images. 

To view the image and for more information about the Lunar 

Orbiter Image Recovery Project visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/topics/moonmars/features/LOIRP

and http://www.moonviews.com

For more information about NASA’s exploration program, visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

NASA’s historic and newly restored image of Earth rising 

taken in 1966 by the Lunar Orbiter 1 Spacecraft

Historic Lunar Orbiter Image Recovery at NASA Research Park
NRP Post

www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov 9

The Future Comes to NASA

Partners Support International Space University Coming 

to NASA Research Park

By Lindsey Yee

On June 29, 2009, NRP will open its doors to the International 

Space University’s (ISU) Space Studies Program (SSP). 

NRP Partner SGT, Inc. is organizing the ISU opening ceremony to 

welcome an international cadre of professors and graduate students 

to ISU’s summer session to be held June-Aug. 2009 at NRP. 

Current plans call for a line up of notable speakers, a welcome 

video from NASA’s International Space Station crew, music, 

multimedia, exhibits and VIP receptions. 

NASA and the International Space University will welcome 

students from over 25 countries for a nine week program 

covering diverse disciplines related to space exploration and 

the space economy. These areas include space science, space 

engineering, systems engineering, space policy and law, business and management, and space and society. 

NRP and SGT, Inc. are collaborating with several Silicon Valley companies and notable universities to enhance the value 

of the summer program. Contact: Joy Colucci, VP West Coast 

Operations SGT, Inc., jcolucci@sgt-inc.com, 650 - 965-8616

Additional partner support includes International Network 

Solutions, Inc.’s collaboration with Ames Network and Communications Branch to provide WIFI 24/7 for all ISU participants. Contact: Andrew Gold, CEO, INET, Inc.

agold@intnetworksolutions.com, 831-224-4595

Also, NRP Partner Planners Collaborative is leading the 

Hospitality Team to make all guests for the ISU experience 

- participants, staff, faculty, alums, partners, friends or family 

- feel especially welcome. Contact: Jennifer Kremer, Planners 

Collaborative, Jennifer.L.Kremer@nasa.gov, 650-604-4052

“Sometimes it is the smallest detail that makes a visitor feel welcome, 

and I appreciate all NRP Partners’ support,” said Donald James, ISU 

Project Manager.

L to R: Lisa Soohoo, ISU Project 

Support, Lindsey Yee, SGT, Inc. 

Project Coordinator; Joy Colucci, SGT, Inc. VP West Coast 

Operations; Lauren Fletcher 

,Ames Space Science Division; 

Jessica Cullers, Ames Small 

Spacecraft Division

“The convergence of PCs and Internet in other industries, like phones and 

television, is making its way to aviation,” said Dave Guerrieri, GaryAir Vice 

President for Business Development.

Walter Johnson, FDDRL’s Principal 

Investigator, is delighted that a NRP 

partnership enables cooperation with a 

local airline utilizing its repositioning 

flights for free test time in real world conditions. “GaryAir provides the perspective 

of the low-altitude, small aircraft operator 

in our human factors and usability studies. We have done many studies involving 

large airlines, most notably simulation 

studies with UPS, but our experience with 

smaller operators has been limited until now,” he said.

GaryAir, in its association with the Personal Air Transportation Alliance representing early adopters of SATS technology, 

participates in the NextGen Institute’s Net-Centric Operations 

Working Group. Mr. Guerrieri, co-chair of the Infrastructure 

Standing Committee, hopes to encourage a flexible air-ground 

communications system that can take best advantage of commercial developments through the use of emerging global wireless standards such as Mobile WiMax and IMT-Advanced. 

“I hope we involve more traditionally non-aviation private industry telecommunications equipment providers, such as Intel, Qualcomm and others, 

in aviation systems. The most successful government programs in the recent 

past -- Internet and GPS -- work well and cost little because they work for 

everyone, not just a small group of users. I would like to see this concept 

applied to aviation communications systems. I hope we can encourage a 

global wireless communications standard that accommodates air-air and 

air-ground operations as well as terrestrial use,” Guerrieri concluded.

For more info: http://www.informart.com/GaryAir/

GaryAir continued from page 7

75th Anniversary continued from page 2

which was later renamed Naval Air Station Moffett Field. 

The station’s original mission was to serve as a home base 

for the Navy dirigible, the USS Macon, as part of the Navy’s 

lighter-than-air aviation program. Later, the National Advisory 

Committee for Aeronautics established what would eventually 

become NASA Ames Research Center, adjacent to the naval 

air station. Moffett Field was closed as a military base on July 

1, 1994, and NASA Ames took over supervision of Moffett 

Field’s many facilities, including two runways and three aircraft 

hangars. NASA now operates Moffett Field as part of NASA 

Ames Research Center. Adaptive re-use of historic buildings 

is implemented by NASA at NASA Research Park (NRP) 

established in 2002.

Nextgen predicts probable route conflict 

more than 7 minutes in advance, giving 

pilots more time to think strategically

Image courtesy of FDDRL
NRP Post

10 www.nasa.gov

The full-service venue includes the 18-hole course, electric golf 

carts, restaurant, bar, Golf Shop, outdoor deck and driving 

range. The Golf Shop has an excellent selection of merchandise at very reasonable prices. The merchandise includes men’s 

and women’s golf clubs, putters, apparel, shoes, golf balls and 

accessories and NASA-logo items. Demo and used clubs are 

available for rent, and a golf club repair service is offered.

For relaxing, the golf course dining room looks out on the 

practice area and tenth-hole tee. It can be reserved for afterwork events for up to 100 people, as can the outdoor deck and 

gas barbeque for larger parties. The grill offers a varied menu 

and is open for breakfast, lunch and snacks. The bar serves 

beer, wine, cocktails and appetizers.

Consider a visit to the Golf Club at Moffett Field soon. 

General manager Mike Hill and the entire staff are friendly 

and accommodating. You don’t want to miss the exciting golf 

experience right at your doorstep. 

A new Thursday after-work, 9-hole scramble for employees, 

contractors and partners is being planned – we’d like to see 

you there!

A Challenging Golf Experience at Your Doorstep

By Betty Larson and David Morse

If you haven’t had the opportunity to play the Golf Club at 

Moffett Field yet, it’s definitely worth looking into. NASA onsite contractors, partners, federal employees and the military 

can call ahead to learn access options and request tee times.

A major redesign has thoroughly transformed the old course. 

The uniformly flat fairways, offering little more than a “walk in 

the park,” have been replaced by a course offering variety, fun 

and a real golf challenge.

The Ames Exchange Council invested 18 months of renovation to modernize and upgrade the old course, which now 

features meandering fairways, large sand features and elevated 

tees. There is a terrific practice area designed to improve your 

putting and chipping game, and several new car paths. What 

hasn’t changed are the spectacular views and vast array of birds 

and animals that make the place a veritable wildlife preserve.

Playing the Golf Club at Moffett has never been easier -- simply 

call ahead to the Golf Shop at (650) 603-8026 for information 

and to make arrangements. You’ll be surprised at the course’s 

old-world affordability -- fees range from an incredibly low 

super twilight rate of $10, to $32 during peak weekend hours. 

Whenever you play, the 6,517-yard, par 72 course is sure to 

delight you and your sponsored guests.

The golf course is the perfect venue for recreational activity 

-- a golf tournament or league, a bucket of balls at the driving 

range, putting contest, barbeque, luncheon or after-work social. 

The course can host groups as large as 144 golfers for shotgun 

tournaments and fundraisers. Special events can be booked up 

to one year in advance by calling Sales and Marketing Director, 

Betty Larson, at (650) 254-1808. 

Aerial view of redesigned Golf Club at Moffett

Golf Shop at Tee Minus One Clubhouse

Aerial view of Tee Minus One Clubhouse at the Golf Club at Moffeff Field
NRP Post

www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov 11

R. T. Jones, an Ames genius, designed (in 1945) the sweptback wing for all high 

speed aircraft. With the world’s best collection of wind tunnels, Ames aeronautic 

researchers broke ground in every flight regime - subsonic, transonic, supersonic, and 

hypersonic. Ames created the blunt body concept used on all spacecraft to survive 

planetary reentry, and the lifting body design. 

 

NASA’s mechanical emissaries successfully mapped the solar system’s inner rocky 

planets Mercury, veiled Venus, Mars and our Moon. NASA launched Pioneers 

10 & 11 to trail blaze through the asteroid belt, with mission control at Ames. 

After the first flybys of Jupiter and Saturn, Pioneer 10 was the first human-made 

object to leave the solar system. Advanced Voyager spacecraft later returned close up 

images of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune, discovering numerous jovian and 

saturnian moons, during the Golden Age of Planetary Exploration. We observed 

the cosmic background radiation - a relic of the big bang - and peering back in 

time, determined the age of our universe.

In 1958 President Dwight D. Eisenhower, resisting competition from military 

agencies wanting command of the new United States’ space agency, established 

NASA on Oct. 1 as an independent agency reporting directly to Congress. The 

National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 provided for research into problems 

of flight, within and outside the Earth’s atmosphere, and other purposes. 

The Space Act dedicated NASA’s legacy of discovery from exploring space to 

peaceful purposes and the benefit of all mankind, and required the widest possible 

dissemination of new knowledge.

Within fourteen years, twelve American men, Apollo Astronauts, walked the 

surface of the Moon. NASA’s men and women launched intelligent spacecraft to 

map our inner solar system, and in 1976 landed the Mars Vikings, the first of 

many robot explorers, on Mars. The Viking Life Detection experiment, managed 

by Ames, was the first experiment performed on another planet.

50 years continued on back page

NASA Celebrates 50 years of Discovery
12 www.nasa.gov

NRP Post

www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov

Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Diane Farrar

Layout and Design . . . . . . . . . .Christine Nolasco

NRP Post deadlines

Please submit articles on or before February 27, 2009 for the 

next issue.

Phone: (650) 604-2NRP

Website: www.researchpark.arc.nasa.gov

NASA’s Ames and Langley researchers recently received the 2007 Collier Trophy 

for developing the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) that 

uses Global Positioning System satellite information (rather than radar) to give 

pilots and controllers highly accurate traffic data, as well as displays that update 

in real time. 

In 1998, the Ames managed Lunar Prospector mission, 

NASA’s first Moon mission in 25 years, discovered water 

at the lunar pole. Now we are planning to return to the 

Moon, this time to stay. 

-Editor

“...We came in Peace for all Mankind”

Apollo 11 Plaque, July 1969 

NASA launched the reusable space shuttles and planned the International Space 

Station, to be built with this Space Transportation System. International teams 

of men and women now permanently occupy Freedom, an orbiting scientific outpost, 

and have for more than a decade, buoyed by life science research including fundamental discoveries on bone loss and muscle atrophy in microgravity at Ames. 

We dropped a probe into giant Jupiter, “splatted” down on Saturn’s methane 

shrouded moon Titan, landed on an asteroid and Stardust brought home comet 

dust after a 5 billion kilometer journey. We returned to Mars with an array of 

small rovers that uncovered geologic evidence of standing seas on early Mars. We 

know where the ground water is in our solar system. Following the water, our 

scientists search for fossil records of a ‘second genesis” to help crack the elusive 

origin of life mystery.

 

Daily the Hubble Space Telescope reveals the magnificent immensity of our galactic 

neighborhood. We understand the life cycle of stars and know that when stars 

form, solar system formation is a common occurrence. University and other teams 

have now discovered more than 200 extra solar planets. We track the formation 

of heavy, life forming elements in the death throes/fusion explosions of supernova. 

We observe organic molecules across interstellar space. We understand the evolution 

of planetary atmospheres -- greenhouse gases, ozone depletion and global climate 

change -- thanks to NASA. We map fires, storms, global rainfall patterns, ocean 

temperature and coastal health. 

Ames deep roots in aeronautics supported Mercury, Gemini, Apollo and space 

shuttle missions, the development of thermal protection systems, simulation technology and the V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft. Aircraft are faster, safer, quieter, with 

better air traffic management and advanced de-icing techniques. A team including 

50 years continued from page 11