Dec. 16, 2013 Vol. 53, No. 23 Spaceport News John F. Kennedy Space Center - America’s gateway to the universe

International Space Station 15 years of science and cooperation

NASA, SpaceX work toward Launch Complex 39A deal, Pages 2-3 Page 2 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 16, 2013 Dec. 16, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3 Negotiations to begin for SpaceX use of LC-39A NASA News Report ASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies Corporation N(SpaceX) of Hawthorne, Calif., to begin negotiations on a lease to use and operate historic Launch Complex (LC) 39A at Kennedy Space Center. Permitting use and operation of this valuable national asset by a private- sector, commercial space partner will ensure its continued viability and allow for its continued use in support of U.S. space activities. The reuse of LC-39A is part of NASA’s work to transform Kennedy into a 21st century launch complex capable of supporting both govern- ment and commercial users. Kennedy is having success attracting signifi- cant private sector interest in its unique facilities. The center is hard at work assembling NASA’s Orion spacecraft and preparing its infrastructure for the Space Launch System rocket, which will launch from LC-39B and take American astronauts into deep space, including to an asteroid and Mars. NASA made the selection decision Dec. 12 after the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied a protest filed against the Agency by Blue Origin LLC on Sept. 13. In its protest, Blue Origin raised concerns about the competitive process NASA was using to try to secure a potential commercial partner or partners to lease and use LC-39A. Blue Origin had argued the language in the Announcement for Proposals (AFP) favored one proposed use of LC-39A over others. The GAO disagreed. While the GAO protest was underway, NASA was prohibited from selecting a commercial partner for LC-39A from among the proposals submitted in response to the agency’s AFP that had been issued on May 23. However, while the GAO considered the protest, NASA continued evaluating the proposals in order to be prepared to make a selection when permitted to do so. After the GAO rendered its decision Thursday in NASA’s favor, the agency completed its evaluation and selection process. NASA notified all proposers on Friday of its selection decision concern- ing LC-39A. Further details about NASA’s decision will be provided to each proposer when NASA furnishes the source selection statement to the proposers. In addition, NASA will offer each the opportunity to meet to discuss NASA’s findings related to the proposer’s individual proposal. NASA will release the source selection statement to the public once each proposer has been consulted to ensure that any proprietary information has been appropriately redacted. NASA will begin working with SpaceX to negotiate the terms of its lease for LC-39A. During those ongoing negotiations, NASA will not be able to discuss details of the pending lease agreement. Since the late 1960s, Kennedy’s launch pads 39 A and B have served as the starting point for America’s most significant human spaceflight endeavors -- Apollo, Skylab, Apollo-Soyuz and all 135 space shuttle missions. LC-39A is the pad where Apollo 11 lifted off from on the first manned moon landing in 1969, as well as launching the first space shuttle mission in 1981 and the last in 2011.

More online For more information about Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A and ongoing work to transform the center into a 21st century launch complex, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy.

For more information about NASA’s missions and programs, visit: http://www.nasa.gov. NASA file/2006 This aerial view, taken March 1, 2006, during the Space Shuttle Program, shows Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. NASA has selected SpaceX to begin negotiations on the use of the historic launch pad. Page 4 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 16, 2013 Dec. 16, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 5 Space station: 15 years and counting By Bob Granath to capture the Zarya module the final space shuttle mis- Spaceport News even though the view for sion, STS-135, in July 2011. Endeavour’s crew was partially During that time the station he first elements of the In- obscured by the large Unity grew from two modules to ternational Space Station T module. having more livable room than now have been in orbit for 15 “Here’s this 45,000 pound a conventional five-bedroom years. Assembly of the largest mass (Zarya), and you can’t house, with two bathrooms, a spacecraft ever built was a see it out the window because gymnasium and a 360-degree global, cooperative effort and Unity was there,” Cabana said. bay window. began with the STS-88 space “There’s a point where you lose “It is truly incredible when shuttle mission in December sight of it in the overhead win- you think about when Zarya 1998. NASA file/1998 dows and you’re relying on the launched fifteen years ago and The orbiting outpost now Once Unity and Zarya were docked, mission centerline television cameras where it is now,” said current serves as a unique laboratory specialists Jerry Ross, left, and Jim Newman (in the payload bay) and on station resident Mike Hopkins, where teams from around the conducted three spacewalks to connect power and data cables between the two the end of the arm and two TV an Expedition 37/38 flight world are performing scientific station elements. In this image they were monitors to keep us precisely engineer. “It is a testament to NASA file/1998 research only possible in the photographed working together on the third positioned. So when it is about the work of people from all STS-88 commander Bob Cabana, left, and Russian cosmonaut Sergei Krikalev prepare to spacewalk Dec. 12, 1998. microgravity environment of three feet from the end of the the participating countries, all move from shuttle Endeavour’s airlock into the U.S.-built node 1, also known as the Unity space. set the tone for the whole space arm, Nancy Currie can move in the crews, all the flights from module Dec. 10, 1998. Soon after, they entered the Russian-built Functional Cargo Block module, also known as Zarya. Kennedy Space Center station assembly.” and grab it.” shuttles to Soyuz to resupply Director Bob Cabana, a former The first module placed in Once Zarya and Unity vehicles.” explorers. station can be a stepping stone space shuttle astronaut, com- orbit was the functional cargo were joined together, mission NASA file/1998 Cabana considers interna- “I want to show and tell in venturing beyond human- manded the flight that began In this large-format IMAX camera view from the Space Shuttle Endeavour’s cargo bay, the crew of STS-88 block, named “Zarya” -- Rus- specialists Ross and Newman began construction of the International Space Station. Mission specialist Nancy Currie used Endeavour’s Can- tional cooperation an essential children on Earth what life in kind’s current reach. one of history’s landmark sian for dawn. It was built by conducted three spacewalks adarm remote manipulator system to grapple Zarya and join it to the U.S.-built Unity node Dec. 6, 1008. element of space exploration space looks like, how space is “We still have a lot to learn engineering achievements. Boeing and the Russian Federal to begin activation of systems going forward. wonderful, how our planet is about human physiology in “STS-88 was a phenomenal station to prepare it for the inhabitants with the ground, the engineers, every- Space Agency and launched by between the two modules. “I believe it’s the model for wonderful,” he said in a pre- extended periods of time in mi- mission,” said Cabana. “It was a Proton rocket from the Bai- “The spacewalks were de- of the first expedition. body,” he said. how we are going to explore flight interview. crogravity, how to protect from just perfect from start to finish. konur Cosmodrome in Kazakh- signed to attach all the electri- After 12 days in space, the STS-88 Permanent occupancy of the space beyond planet Earth,” he said. Krikalev sees the station as radiation,” he said. “We’ve Everything just flowed, and it stan on Nov. 20, 1998. cal and data connectors before crew returned to Kennedy, landing station began with the Expedition 1 “Right now we’ve got the part of a logical progression in been to the moon, we know Two weeks later, on Dec. 4, we went inside,” said Cabana. Dec. 15, 1998. According to Cabana, crew, launched Oct. 31, 2000, estab- United States, Japan, Canada, explorations beyond Earth. 1998, the space shuttle Endeav- “Part of what they did was to teamwork was the key to the highly lishing a continuous human presence Russia, ESA and all its partners “Bringing our efforts to- how to operate in low-Earth our lifted off from Kennedy ensure the pieces could never successful mission. in space that endures today. working together as one up gether to build the International orbit, now let’s go to another with Cabana, pilot Rick Sturck- come apart.” “It went so well because of the While ISS expedition crews came there. When we leave planet Space Station, I would say, is planet. Our ultimate goal is ow, mission specialists Nancy Flight day eight was a histor- team -- the crew working together and went, assembly continued through Earth, we’re not going to leave just the next step to joint explo- to put boots on Mars and, one Currie, Jerry Ross, Jim New- ic milestone as the International as any one nation, we’re going ration of the universe,” he said, day, explore beyond our solar man and Russian cosmonaut Space Station was opened for to leave as the people from Cabana agrees that the space system.” Sergei Krikalev. They carried the first time. planet Earth.” with them the first American- “I think it was really special The 11 members of ESA launched station element, node when we got to go inside the -- the European Space Agency 1, called “Unity.” The 12-day space station,” Cabana said. -- include Belgium, Denmark, STS-88 shuttle flight was high- “When it came time to actually France, Germany, Italy, the lighted by connecting Unity to go through the hatch, I waved Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Zarya. Sergei up and opened the hatch Sweden, Switzerland and the “We had to take Unity out and the two of us went in side United Kingdom. More than of the payload bay and attach it by side -- a Russian and an 100,000 people in space agen- to the orbiter docking station,” American into a space station. cies and contractor facilities in NASA Cabana said. “Then, we had to It was an International Space 37 U.S. states and throughout Dr. Howard Levine, chief scientist in the International Space Station Ground rendezvous with the Russian Station and international crew. the world are involved in this Processing and Research Directorate, functional cargo block.” We were setting the tone for the massive endeavor. watches as Michele Koralewicz of QinetiQ Next, came one of the most future. It was one team working Expedition 38 commander North America assembles a Biological challenging portions of the together.” NASA file/2011 Oleg Kotov believes the space Research in Canisters, or BRIC, experi- NASA file/1998 Together with other mem- Orbiting by Earth’s horizon and the blackness of space, the almost-complete International Space Station is station’s value goes well into ment package. BRIC-17 was delivered to operation. Mission specialist featured in this image photographed May 29, 2011, by an STS-134 crew member on Endeavour. At 357 feet Aided by television monitors, mission specialist Nancy Currie operates the controls of the space station on the SpaceX CRS-2 Currie used the remote ma- bers of the crew, they started end-to-end, it almost spans the length of a football field, including the end zones. With 33,023 cubic feet of the future as an inspiration to Endeavour’s remote manipulator system arm to ease the Russian-built Zarya module onto mission March 1, 2013. nipulator system robotic arm unpacking gear to activate the pressurized volume the space station now has more livable room than a conventional five-bedroom house. the next generation of space the U.S.-built Unity connecting module in the shuttle’s cargo bay Dec. 6, 1998. Page 6 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 16, 2013 Dec. 16, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 7 Did you know...

The ISS solar arrays generate between 75-90 kilowatts of electricity - enough to power up to 40 homes.

The

5 times larger than SKYLAB

almost 4 times larger than MIR

The International Space Station has the support of 15 nations. Page 8 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 16, 2013 Celebration marks 15 years of space station era

By Bob Granath big if not a bigger role than any Spaceport News crew member in building that space station and you should be n Dec. 10, three of the six proud of it.” members of the space shut- O Ross noted that the ongoing tle crew that began assembly of research now is helping pave the International Space Station the way for future endeavors in held a reunion at NASA’s Ken- space exploration. nedy Space Center in Florida. Launched 15 years ago aboard “There is a crew of six up the space shuttle Endeavour, the there working 365 days a year crew of STS-88 carried to orbit doing tremendous science,” he the first American space station said. “We’re going to continue element. to do that, pushing back the frontiers of knowledge. We’re Kennedy’s Director, Bob Ca- NASA/Jim Grossmann going to be learning what we bana, who commanded STS-88, On Dec. 10, three of the six members of the space shuttle crew that began assembly of the welcomed mission specialists International Space Station held a reunion at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Kennedy’s need to know to go beyond Nancy Currie and Jerry Ross to Director, Bob Cabana, right, who commanded STS-88, hosted the employee celebration at low-Earth orbit and go on to KARS Park 1. From the left are Nancy Currie, Jerry Ross and Cabana. a celebration for space center Mars.” Cabana explained that the employees in the Pavilion area lev, a Russian cosmonaut. microgravity environment of space station and the team that of the Kennedy Athletic, Recre- The STS-88 shuttle flight low-Earth orbit. made it possible gives him a ational and Social Organization, was highlighted by connecting Burnett praised those at positive view going forward. or KARS, Park I. Unity to Zarya, three space- Kennedy who helped make the “You guys are the most “What we imagined 15 years walks to attach electrical and orbiting laboratory possible. ago is a reality today,” he said. “I want to thank all of you amazing team anywhere,” he data connectors, and activa- “The space station is now a who were a part of making the said. “I know we are going to tion of systems inside the two world-class scientific test bed International Space Station a be successful. We are going modules. in orbit.” success story,” she said. to develop a vehicle that will After 12 days in space, the The STS-88 crew members Currie echoed that sentiment eventually take us to Mars. We participated in a panel discus- STS-88 crew returned to Ken- encouraging everyone to take are going to have a commercial sion and were introduced by nedy, landing Dec. 15, 1998. the opportunity to watch the capability. We are going to Josie Burnett, NASA’s Inter- Over the past 15 years, space space station pass overhead. continue to provide outstanding national Space Station Ground station assembly has resulted in “Take your family outside launch services for our NASA Processing and Research the largest spacecraft ever built, and point to the night sky and science mission. We are going director at Kennedy. She, too, providing a global platform of say, ‘I had a part of that,’” she to be successful because of reflected on the achievements unprecedented research in the said. “You guys have at least as you.” on the ISS. “Can you believe it’s been 15 years?” she said. “As many as 69 countries have flown experi- ments, allowing the scientific community to improve human life back here on Earth.” The Russian Space Agency’s functional cargo block, named “Zarya,” was launched from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Ka- zakhstan on Nov. 20, 1998. Two weeks later, on Dec. 4, Endeav- our lifted off from Kennedy on STS-88 with node 1, called “Unity.” In addition to Cabana,

Currie and Ross, the crew also NASA included pilot Rick Sturckow, The STS-88 crew poses on Endeavour’s middeck on Dec. 14, 1998. From the left, are Jerry Ross, Jim Newman, Bob Cabana, Rick along with mission specialists Sturckow, Nancy Currie and Sergei Krikalev. Krikalev would later be assigned as a member of the first International Space Station expedi- Jim Newman and Sergei Krika- tion. A banner representing the participating countries for space station is in the background. Dec. 16, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 9

Did you know? Take a tour of ISS “Space Station Live” airs weekdays with Suni Williams at 11 a.m. EST on NASA TV. It fea- n her final days as commander of the In- tures live views from the International Iternational Space Station, Suni Williams Space Station, updates on the crew’s recorded an extensive tour of the orbital daily activities, enhanced content and laboratory. The tour includes scenes of each NASA interviews on space station science of the station’s modules and research facili- and features on how that science ties. To take the tour click on the photo. ‘Space to Ground’ benefits life on Earth. series premieres he “Space to Ground” web series, Send a Holiday Tweet to a Tavailable every Friday, features a short wrap-up of the week’s activities aboard the NASA Astronaut on ISS International Space Station that showcases Send a holiday tweet to NASA astro- the diversity of activities taking place nauts Michael Hopkins (@AstroIllini) aboard the world’s only orbiting labora- tory. and Rick Mastracchio (@AstroRM), NASA file/2007 If you have questions or comments, both of whom are living and working Astronaut Suni Williams works with the Lab-on-a-Chip tweet #spacetoground to interact with aboard the International Space Sta- Application Development-Portable Test System during tion throughout the holiday season. Expedition 14 on March 31, 2007. The test system is a “Space to Ground.” To watch the first handheld device for rapid detection of biological and chemi- video, click on the photo. cal substances onboard the station. Research Achievements aboard the International Space Station

While the International Space Station is an unparalleled global engineering achievement, it now is yielding unprecedented results from scientific research that has been ongoing for more than a decade. The following is a sampling of some of the results achieved by research in the time that the space station has been permanently staffed since November 2000.

Air Purification --A novel air scrubber developed drug solutions, providing better drug delivery for for a space flight plant growth chamber is now in several diseases including cancer and diabetes. widespread use on Earth for food preservation, hospitals, homes and offices, killing 98 percent of Ultrasound from a Distance -- Training methods airborne pathogens that pass through it. developed for space flight have been used by the American College of Surgeons to teach Fluid Flow Models -- Capillary flow experiments ultrasound to surgeons, and could be adapted on the International Space Station produced for diagnosis of injuries and illnesses in remote the first space-validated models describing fluid locations on Earth, including rural areas, disaster areas and the battlefield. behavior, and may lead to models predicting fluid flows such as groundwater and high performance NASA Vaccine Development -- Studies of Salmonella wicks used in electronics cooling. NASA astronaut Karen Nyberg works with a plant experi- bacteria conducted on the space station have ment in the Destiny laboratory of the International Space identified the controlling gene responsible for its Station during Expedition 37 on Oct. 25, 2013. Planetary Contamination Monitoring -- A hand- increased virulence in microgravity, resulting in held device used for rapid detection of biological Durability of Materials -- The study of various the discovery of a candidate vaccine. Salmo- and chemical substances on surfaces on the ISS materials and how they withstand the harsh space nella is one of the most common forms of food has the potential to monitor the spread of Earth- environment provide a better understanding of poisoning and a major cause of childhood death derived biological material on lunar and planetary their durability, with important applications to future worldwide. surfaces after landings. spacecraft design. The Naval Research Laboratory and Boeing have used the ISS materials test bed More online Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy -- Large, high to shorten development time for satellite hardware For more on benefits quality crystals of the HQL-79 protein were grown components by as much as 50 percent. from the International on the space station, allowing researchers to Space Station: http:// more accurately determine its three-dimensional Cancer Treatment Delivery -- The microgravity en- www.nasa.gov/mis- structure and develop a more potent form. This vironment on the space station led the way for better sion_pages/station/ research/index.html protein is part of a candidate treatment for inhibit- methods of micro-encapsulation on Earth, which is a ing the effects of Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy. process of forming micro-balloons containing various Page 10 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 16, 2013 Slosh: designed to improve rocket safety By Bob Granath operate in more varied environments Spaceport News from high g loads to zero gravity. “The issues we see now go well be- ince Robert Goddard’s first launch yond the pogo effect,” he said. “Upper of a liquid propellant rocket in S stages are now firing multiple times 1926, experts have worked to perfect and operating in microgravity after engine propulsion systems. As launch reaching space. We need to have a bet- vehicles have grown in size, fuel and ter understanding of how propellants oxidizer tanks have become more com- ‘slosh’ around in their tanks so we can plex resulting in unexpected changes compensate for changes in a rocket’s in thrust, potentially endangering flight performance.” Photos courtesy of Florida Institute of Technology/Dr. Daniel Kirk crews and mission success. A team of A better understanding of fluid slosh The SPHERES robots will be attached to a metal frame at opposite scientists and engineers at Kennedy could not only decrease this uncer- ends. In the center of the frame is a clear plastic 18-inch by eight-inch Space Center is studying how to bet- tainty, but increase efficiency, reduce pill-shaped tank that is partially filled with green-colored water. A pair of ter understand this phenomenon and costs and allow additional payloads to high-resolution cameras will record the movement of the liquid inside the tank as the experiment is pushed around by the SPHERES robots. reduce its potential impacts to flight be launched. Several inertial measurement units will accurately record the position of safety. Schallhorn is serving as principal the experiment as it moves within the space station. As the large Saturn V rockets were investigator for research to gain more will be attached at opposite ends of a metal frame. In being tested for the Apollo Program in reliable data on the slosh anomaly. the center of the frame is a clear plastic 18-inch by the late 1960s, up and down oscilla- To further understand liquid propel- eight-inch pill-shaped tank that is partially filled with tions of the launch vehicle, called the lant slosh, engineers with NASA have water. “pogo” effect, sometimes resulted in teamed up with researchers at the The SPHERES are bowling-ball-sized robots that potentially dangerous variations in Florida Institute of Technology and the use small carbon dioxide gas thrusters to maneuver as engine performance. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. they free-float inside the space station. They oper- According to Paul Schallhorn, The Slosh Project is funded by ate on a set of well-defined instructions for various Ph.D., chief of NASA’s Environ- NASA Space Technology Mission maneuvers. ments and Launch Approval Branch of Directorate’s Game Changing Devel- “Modern computer models try to predict how Kennedy’s Launch Services Program, opment (GCD) program. GCD is de- liquid moves inside a propellant tank,” said NASA’s larger rockets now are expected to signed to investigate innovative ideas and approaches that have the potential Brandon Marsell, co-principal investigator on the to revolutionize future space missions Slosh Project. “Now that rockets are bigger and go- and provide solutions to significant ing farther, we need more precise data. Most of the national needs. models we have were validated under 1 g conditions “I believe the results from this ex- on Earth. None have been validated in the surface periment can help rocket launch com- tension-dominated microgravity environment of panies design better tanks and control space.” systems which will make a significant Scientists have had success accurately validating impact,” said Stephen Gaddis, director how propellants perform on the ground. However, in of the Game Changing Development the absence of gravity, the physics changes drasti- Program. cally and liquids behave differently. A key element of the team’s studies NASA’s Jacob Roth, also a co-principal investiga- will be an experiment involving the tor on Slosh, explains that the reactions of fluids will Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, be photographed by a pair of high-resolution cameras Reorient, Experimental Satellites, or that will record the movement of the liquid inside SPHERES, which already is opera- the tank as the experiment is pushed around by the tional on the space station. The Slosh experiment will be carried to the space SPHERES robots. station aboard a Cygnus spacecraft “The free-floating experiment will perform typical scheduled to lift off from NASA’s upper-stage vehicle maneuvers within the station,” he said. “The liquid will be photographed and measured NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia in with the data transmitted back to Earth for use in vali- The SPHERES-Slosh experiment will be carried to December 2013. the International Space Station aboard a Cygnus The hardware for the Slosh experi- dating current computational fluid dynamics models.” spacecraft like this one launched atop an Antares ment was developed by students at The data will be used to check computer simula- rocket Sept. 18, 2013. The Orbital 1 Commercial Florida Tech. Once aboard the space tions currently predicting rocket performance, ulti- Resupply Services flight is scheduled to lift off Dec. 18 from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at the station, astronaut crew members will mately leading to launch vehicles and spacecraft that Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. assemble the package. The SPHERES are more reliable, cost effective and safer. Dec. 16, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 11 Emergency egress vehicles arrive at KSC

By Linda Herridge Spaceport News

ith crewed launches on WNASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft fast approaching, the Ground Systems Develop- ment and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy Space Center led the effort to select an emergency egress vehicle that future astronauts could quickly use to leave the Launch Complex 39 area in case of an emergency. The first of four refurbished Mine-Resistant Ambush-Protected (MRAP) vehicles was shipped from the U.S. Army Red River Depot in Texarkana, Texas, and arrived at the center Dec. 5. During crewed launches, NASA/Jim Grossmann the MRAP will be stationed The first of four new emergency egress vehicles, called Mine-ResistantAmbush-Protected, or MRAP, vehicles arrived at Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 5, from the U.S. Army Red River Depot in Texarkana, Texas. Astronauts will be able to use the MRAP to quickly leave the by the slidewire termination Launch Complex 39 area in case of an emergency. area at the pad. In case of an emergency, the crew will ride then transported to the Rotation, a team of people from NASA vehicles with a normal front a slidewire to the ground and Processing and Surge Facil- centers and programs. The team view, except the windows are immediately board the vehicle ity near the Vehicle Assembly selected the slidewire system four inches thick. Inside, the for safe egress from the pad. Building for temporary storage. and the army’s MRAP Cai- closed and sealed environment The existing bunkers around The vehicles will undergo some man, a military vehicle that was contains fold-down chairs for the pads would be used only if modifications to meet NASA’s used for operations in Iraq and up to eight passengers. evacuation was not possible. emergency egress requirements. Afghanistan. The 40,000-pound, heavy- All four vehicles were trans- Danny Zeno, a GSDO opera- The study team included duty vehicles will provide ferred from the army at no cost tions integration engineer, led representatives from Ken- protection against chemicals to NASA. As each one arrives, a two-year study of several nedy, Johnson Space Center’s and projectiles that could be they will be processed in and emergency egress concepts with Flight Crew Office, NASA carried through the air during a Headquarters, Marshall Space catastrophic event at the pad. Flight Center, NASA Protective “We’re in line with NASA’s Services, Engineering, Safety philosophy of saving money and Mission Assurance, Ground and acquiring a multiuse Processing, SLS, Orion, and vehicle that also could be used several contractor organiza- by our Commercial Crew tions. Program partners,” said Tom “This is definitely an upgrade Hoffmann, a GSDO operations from the space shuttle-era integration engineer and mem- M-113 tank design,” said Zeno. ber of the study team. “Working across agencies Currently, two URS Fed- helped us to select the most eral Services workers on the versatile vehicle possible for Institutional Services Contract NASA’s purpose.” have been trained to operate The MRAPs have increased the MRAP. Zeno said there are NASA/Kim Shiflett operability, field of vision plans to set up training scenari- Crew members of space shuttle Discovery’s STS-133 mission go for a ride in an M-113 and capacity, and can travel os for the SLS Program similar armored personnel carrier during the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test at Kennedy Space Center Oct. 13, 2010. The M-113 was available for emergency egress during at speeds up to 65 mph. They to those that were used to teach NASA’s Space Shuttle Program. are driven like other common operators to handle the M-113. Page 12 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 16, 2013 NASA, Industry Discuss Launching Astronauts

By Steven Siceloff Spaceport News

he first U.S. companies to Tlaunch people into space from American soil may have been in the room Wednesday when NASA officials dis- cussed an upcoming oppor- tunity that culminates with operational missions carrying astronauts to the International Space Station. A pre-proposal conference by NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) at Kennedy Space Center occurred about two weeks after CCP asked for proposals from aerospace NASA/Greg Lee companies that would lead to NASA’s Commercial Crew Program plans to safely launch astronauts using commercially developed space transportation capabilities by crewed missions to the station the end of 2017. in 2017 or earlier. Proposals from commer- has done since the Skylab development of their own all the commercial cargo mis- cial companies will result in program in the early 1970s human-rated commercial sions under COTS to ensure award of one or more con- when an Apollo spacecraft re- spacecraft. public safety. The FAA has tracts for the development and mained docked to the station “We want to keep the un- a similar partnership with certification of a Commercial for less than three months. A derlying philosophy of a part- CCP to achieve safe crew Crew Transportation Capabil- station lifeboat needs to stay nership,” said Phil McAlister, transportation missions under ity (CCtCap). CCtCap is the in space for many months at NASA’s director of Commer- CCtCap. This partnership was second phase of a two-phase a time. cial Spaceflight Development. formalized in a Memorandum certification plan for com- The conference took place CCtCap will include at of Understanding between the mercially built and operated within a month of the suc- least one flight test to verify agencies for the achievement integrated crew transporta- cessful conclusion of NASA’s the commercial spacecraft can of mutual goals in human tion systems. One or more groundbreaking Commercial dock to the station and its sys- space transportation dated contracts may be awarded Orbital Transportation Servic- tems perform as expected. At June 2012. following an open competi- es (COTS) effort to facilitate the successful conclusion of “This partnership seeks tion; however, all companies the development of privately NASA’s certification activities to avoid conflicting require- interested in submitting operated cargo spacecraft that under CCtCap, commercial ments, multiple sets of stan- proposals must be at a level can ferry cargo to low-Earth companies will be awarded a dards, and to advance both consistent with the first phase orbit, including the station. minimum of two and a maxi- public and crew safety,” Un- of certification efforts dur- COTS saw two American mum of six post-certification derwood said. “Collaboration ing the Certification Products companies, Space Explora- missions to provide NASA and partnership between our Contract (CPC). Through its tion Technologies of Haw- with commercial crew trans- agencies will further provide a certification efforts, NASA thorne, Calif., better known as portation services to meet its stable framework for the U.S. ensures that a commercial SpaceX, and Orbital Sciences station crew rotation require- space launch industry.” transportation system has met of Dulles, Va., design, build ments. There has been no short- NASA’s safety and perfor- and launch a pair of new The contract further em- age of companies looking to mance requirements. spacecraft on rockets that also phasizes NASA’s partnership work with NASA during this Kathy Lueders, acting pro- were newly designed. with the Federal Aviation development and certification gram manager of CCP, noted Demonstration and resup- Administration (FAA) for phase for crewed missions, NASA’s hope that CCtCap ply missions began in 2012 commercial human space- including aerospace giants will allow commercial indus- and continued into 2013. flight. Commercial launch and and several start-ups. try to provide the agency with NASA already has signed re-entry activities for post- NASA engineers continue the most innovative solutions Commercial Resupply Servic- certification missions will be to work closely with several to a safe, cost-effective and es contracts with the compa- licensed by the FAA under commercial companies as reliable transportation capa- nies to deliver more cargo and CCtCap. they refine their certification bility. She also emphasized critical science experiments to Pam Underwood in the plans and test new equip- the need for the spacecraft to the station. FAA’s Office of Commercial ment in increasingly realistic be able to serve as a lifeboat The space agency also Transportation said the agen- scenarios to develop safe hu- for the station, something that has used the COTS model cy worked closely with NASA man spaceflight transportation no other American spacecraft to facilitate U.S. companies’ and its partners in licensing capabilities. Dec. 16, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 13 Blue Origin test-fires new rocket engine By Steven Siceloff flight of the company’s suborbital New The BE-3 is the first new liquid-hydrogen Spaceport News Shepard vehicle by thrusting at 110,000 rocket engine built for production since the pounds in a 145-second boost phase, shut- RS-68, which was developed more than a ASA commercial crew partner Blue ting down to simulate coast through apogee. decade ago for the Delta IV rocket family. Origin of Kent, Wash., announced it N The engine then restarted and throttled has tested a new, hydrogen- and oxygen- down to 25,000 pounds thrust to simulate fueled engine designed to lift the company’s controlled vertical landing. crewed Space Vehicle on future missions Blue Origin’s Orbital Launch Vehicle out of Earth’s atmosphere. Blue Origin is will use the BE-3 engine to propel the one of the American companies develop- company’s Space Vehicle into orbit. Unlike ing next generation rockets and spacecraft other boosters that burn once and then fall capable of carrying humans to low-Earth away to never be used again, the Reusable orbit. Booster System is designed to send a crew Blue Origin conducted the test of its into space and then make a soft landing on BE-3 rocket engine on a stand at the com- Earth before being refurbished for another pany’s West Texas facility near Van Horn on mission. The Space Vehicle is envisioned to Nov. 20. The engine fired for 2 1/2 minutes, carry people into orbit and could potentially then paused for several minutes before carry astronauts to the International Space re-igniting for a minute in a pattern that Station. simulated a suborbital mission. “Working with NASA accelerated our NASA’s Commercial Crew Program BE-3 development by over a year in prepa- (CCP) has been working with the company ration for flight testing on our New Shepard on several aspects of the engine’s develop- suborbital system and ultimately on vehicles ment. The program supported testing of carrying humans to low-Earth orbit,” said the BE-3 under the agency’s Commercial Rob Meyerson, president and program man- Crew Development Round 2 initiative and ager of Blue Origin. “The BE-3 is a versa- continues to offer technical support. NASA tile, low-cost hydrogen engine applicable to and Blue Origin also are partnered in review NASA and commercial missions.” and tests of the company’s Space Vehicle The engine firing comes about a year design. after the BE-3’s thrust chamber was tested “Blue Origin has made steady progress at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Missis- since the start of our partnership under sippi. Developing a new rocket engine is the first Commercial Crew Development one of the most difficult aspects of launch round,” said Phil McAlister, NASA’s vehicle design because of the dynamics director of Commercial Spaceflight De- involved with creating a powerful machine velopment. “We’re thrilled to see another that can safely operate in a range of -423 NASA/Lauren Harnett successful BE-3 engine test fire.” degrees Fahrenheit, the temperature of Blue Origin test fires a powerful new hydrogen- and oxygen- During the test, the engine demonstrated liquid hydrogen, to more than 6,000 degrees fueled American rocket engine at the company’s West a full mission duty cycle, mimicking the Fahrenheit in the engine during a firing. Texas facility Nov. 20.

NASA/Lauren Harnett Blue Origin test fired a powerful new hydrogen- and oxygen-fueledAmerican rocket engine at the company’s West Texas facility Nov. 20. During the test, the BE-3 engine fired at full power for more than two minutes to simulate a launch, then paused for about four minutes, mimicking a coast through space before it re-ignited for a brief final burn. Page 14 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 16, 2013 ‘Skip’ Mackey remembered by colleagues By Linda Herridge “When I arrived, Skip was Spaceport News already there. He ran the telemetry station and also was rthur J. “Skip” Mackey instrumental in building the Jr. was the “Voice of A telemetry station at Vandenberg NASA” in the 1960s and 70s Air Force Station in California,” during countdown broadcasts Looschen said. “He also man- for NASA’s rocket launches aged the contractor support for from Cape Canaveral Air Force the stations.” Station in Florida. Mackey, who Looschen said Mackey was was branch chief for Telemetry a true gentlemen and a friend. and Communications in the “It would be hard to put a agency’s Expendable Launch value on his many significant Vehicle Program and then the contributions to the U.S. space Launch Services Program (LSP) programs,” Looschen said. “His for 39 years, passed away in legacy will definitely live on.” Fort Lauderdale on Nov. 19. Charlie Thompson worked Eric Anderson, chief of the for various contractors from Ground Systems Integration 1985 to 2009 as a communica- Branch for LSP, worked with tions engineer. He recalled that Mackey from 1993 to 1996. a camera was first set up in “When I started at Ken- the telemetry lab and followed nedy, I originally worked for Mackey around during his the Space Shuttle Program,” launch countdown commentary Anderson said. “During a tour for commercial launches. of Hangar AE, I heard Skip give NASA Arthur J. “Skip” Mackey attended the 50th Anniversary celebration of the Hangar AE “Skip was a gentleman. He a talk about the rocket industry Mission Director’s Center at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., on Sept. 24, 2013. allowed people to be creative and what role communications and try new ideas,” Thompson work for him and I have worked ascent into space. He worked on and telemetry played in the said. “Looking back, Skip held in the same office ever since,” all of the uncrewed vehicle pro- launches. together a diverse and highly Anderson said. grams up to and including the “His passion and energy dedicated group of people with When NASA began to broad- Delta program, which was the for the work and the people very different personalities. He cast launch countdowns to the last one he worked on before he inspired me like no one else realized the value of each one of had before or since. When a public for the first time, it was retired. Anderson’s position is the his employees.” position came up in his office, Mackey’s voice that was heard Claire Neptune served as I jumped at the opportunity to during the launch vehicle’s same one that Mackey held, but it was consolidated into the Mackey’s office assistant and program in 1998 when Ken- recollects what a hard worker nedy began to manage LSP for Mackey was. “He expected NASA. that from all of us and kept Mackey had a talent for everything running smoothly,” technical flight commentary for Neptune said. launches. Anderson said the job In a Florida Today feature required the technical ability dated Nov. 8, 1992, former to read telemetry data from the NASA Expendable Launch Ve- launch vehicle and recognize hicle Program Director Robert what was going on and then be Gray was quoted as saying, “I able to improvise the commen- suspect that Skip Mackey has tary from this data “on the fly.” directly supported more space George Looschen, an engi- launches than anyone else in the neering scientist with QinetiQ world. It’s probably in the hun- on the ELVIS-2 contract in dreds. And once a rocket lifts Denver, Colo., started his career off, everyone turns on Skip’s NASA file with NASA in 1964 at the channel because they want to Skip Mackey received an Exceptional Service Medal from NASA in 1988. Mackey is seen Goddard Space Flight Center in know what is going on with the here at one of the telemetry consoles May 19, 1989. Greenbelt, Md. vehicle.” Dec. 16, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 15 Scenes Around Kennedy Space Center

NASA/Tim Jacobs Engineers remove a protective covering from around the TDRS-L satellite inside the high bay at the Astro- tech payload processing facility in Titusville Dec. 6.

NASA/Charisse Nahser The heat shield for the Orion spacecraft is offloaded from the Super Guppy aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center NASA/Daniel Casper Dec. 5. The largest of its kind ever built, the heat shield will be installed Crawler-transporter 1 (CT-1) approaches the top of Launch Pad 39A after traveling along the crawlerway on the Orion crew module in March 2014. Orion is scheduled to make its Dec. 3. New jacking, equalizing and leveling, or JEL, hydraulic cylinders were installed on the crawler and first unpiloted flight test, Exploration Flight Test-1 in September 2014. are undergoing a leveling and turning test as CT-1 travels along the slope.

NASA/Kim Shiflett The first free flight test of the Project Morpheus prototype lander begins as the engine fires and the lander lifts off at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center Dec. 10. During the 54-second test, it ascended about 50 feet and hovered for about 15 seconds. It then flew forward and landed on its pad about 23 feet from the launch point. Page 16 SPACEPORT NEWS Dec. 13, 2013 Happy Holidays!

John F. Kennedy Space Center Spaceport News

Spaceport News is an official publication of the Kennedy Space Center. Contributions are welcome and should be submitted three weeks before publication to Public Affairs, IMCS-440. Email submissions can be sent to [email protected]. Managing editor ...... Chris Hummel Editor ...... Frank Ochoa-Gonzales Assistant editor ...... Linda Herridge Copy editor ...... Kay Grinter Editorial support provided by Abacus Technology Corp. Writers Group. NASA at KSC on the Web, at http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy SP-2013-11-266-KSC • NASA Kennedy Space Center Public Affairs