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Spaceport News John F June 15, 2012 Vol. 52, No. 12 Spaceport News John F. Kennedy Space Center - America’s gateway to the universe Inside . NuSTAR reaches intended orbit Spreading the space station word 41st Pegasus rocket launch begins mission without a hitch By Steven Siceloff Spaceport News Page 2 he Nuclear Spectro- scopic Telescope Revamped firing Array, known as room takes shape T NuSTAR, is going through early mission preparations in orbit following a flawless launch June 13, aboard an Orbital Sciences Pegasus rocket. The scientific spacecraft soared into space from Kwa- jalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands at noon Eastern time NASA/Randy Beaudoin, VAFB Page 3 to start a mission that is ex- This Orbital Sciences Corp. Pegasus XL rocket carrying NASA’s NuSTAR spacecraft was launched at noon June 13, drop- pected to show astronomers ping away from the L-1011 Stargazer aircraft and racing into space. Pegasus was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet, ISU opens with 117 nautical miles south of the Kwajalein Atoll at a latitude of 6.75 degrees north of the equator. NuSTAR spacecraft separa- international flair more details about black tion from the rocket occured 13 minutes, 14 seconds after deployment from the L-1011. For more on the NuSTAR mission, holes and other structures in click on the photo. the universe. network. The spacecraft Launch Alliance Atlas V Fifty-five members of the "The performance will deploy its 32-foot-long rocket from Cape Canaveral KSC-based Launch Services of the Pegasus boom about a week after Air Force Station. The flight Program, or LSP, joined launch vehicle was launch. Observations will will see twin probes survey the Orbital launch team right on the money." begin following checkouts the radiation belts around on a flight to Kwajalein in and calibrations of the op- Earth. the western Pacific Ocean Tim Dunn, tics that will focus on high- After that, another Pega- to oversee the Pegasus/ NuSTAR assistant energy X-rays. sus is set to loft the Interface Page 5 NuSTAR flight. A team at launch director Once operational and Region Imaging Spectro- Kennedy also played a part making observations, the graph, or Iris, spacecraft Research draws in the operation. NuSTAR spacecraft is into orbit to study the sun's students to labs time and then separating "It was a terrific day expected to reveal details of processes and solar wind. for the Launch Services from NuSTAR. black holes and exploded That launch is targeted for Program," said Tim Dunn, "The performance of the stars previously obscured by Dec. 1 from Vandenberg Air assistant launch director. Pegasus launch vehicle was dust or other objects. Force Base in California. "We're ready to get into right on the money," Dunn The launch was the first of The team then will turn the science portion of the said. the year for LSP and begins its attention to an Atlas V NuSTAR mission." The spacecraft's solar a cycle that is expected to due to deliver NASA's latest The air-launched Pegasus array unfurled minutes include three more flights Tracking and Data Relay performed well during the after reaching orbit, and it this year. The next up is Satellite, known as TDRS- launch, from dropping away communicated with ground Page 6 the Radiation Belt Storm K, to orbit. That launch from its L-1011 aircraft, to controllers through NASA's Probes, or RSBP, targeted to also will take place at Cape igniting its three stages on space communications launch Aug. 23 on a United Canaveral Air Force Station. Page 2 SPACEPORT NEWS June 15, 2012 Training program emphasizes space station utilization By Anna Heiney pointed out that science Spaceport News doesn't work at the same pace as engineering: It takes pace enthusiasts and NASA employees two to five years for new are accustomed to findings to be peer-reviewed S and ready for publication. hearing questions and con- cerns from people who are "Usually, with a discov- unfamiliar with the scien- ery, you don't know what tific and economic benefits economic benefit that's go- of the International Space ing to generate right away," Station. Robinson said, adding that Dr. Julie Robinson, ISS over time many discoveries program scientist at Johnson lead to valuable new infor- Space Center in Houston, mation, or products, services hears them, too. To bet- and other economic benefits ter help agency employees right here on Earth. spread the word about bene- Research results are find- fits already realized from the ings that stem from specific assembly of the Internation- studies in which scientists al Space Station, Robinson designed an investigation NASA developed the "ISS Ambas- seeking specific knowledge. This picture, recorded by one of the Expedition 31 crew members aboard the International Space Station, features Aurora sador" training program. On A spinoff, on the other June 4 and 5, she shared her Australis with star streaks while the vehicle was over the South Pacific Ocean. For more on space station research and technology, click on the photo. hand, is a technology that knowledge and enthusiasm starts out as a solution to a with employees at Kennedy ing research facility is an hardware fit-checks on the construction phase was not problem or need in space Space Center. engineering marvel, home ground. easy, though. exploration, but is then "Often, in a social setting, to the only U.S. National The five official partner "We were basically trying I meet someone who knows Laboratory in a micrograv- agencies involved in the sta- to do surgery while someone adapted and applied for use I work for NASA, and they ity environment. With six tion are the Canadian Space was building the operating on Earth. say, 'Oh, I'm so sorry to hear resident crew members Agency (CSA), European room," Robinson recalled. Rather than competing about NASA. What are you representing a variety of na- Space Agency (ESA), Japan By fall 2011, the orbit- for priority, research and going to do now?' " Robin- tions, ground teams around Aerospace Exploration ing laboratory already had exploration really are two son said. When asked if any- the globe stand ready to sup- Agency (JAXA), NASA and served about 1,300 scientists sides of the same human one else in port station activities on a the Russian Federal Space by hosting more than 1,200 advancement that drives our the room daily basis. Agency (Roscosmos). experiments conducted by economy, Robinson said. had had "The 24/7 ongoing hu- "The ISS partnership, by researchers in more than 60 "Over the next decade, a similar man space operations are being international in scope, countries. that's our goal: to get the experi- really the great engineer- is the first time that, instead Scientific and technologi- most research, new knowl- ence, most ing achievement of the last of a nation doing explora- cal advancements discov- edge, new applications of those decade," Robinson said. tion all by itself for its own ered or developed aboard for exploration, and new seated in Until the development of economic gain, humans the space station serve as an benefits back here on Earth, Robinson the audito- the space station, humans have banded together to economic engine. Robinson out of that laboratory." rium raised had never undertaken a do something even bigger their hands. project like it. The facility that no one nation could do "That is an amazing far surpasses previous space alone," Robinson said. opportunity," Robinson stations in both size and "And that's exciting be- explained, "because the next scope. cause the endeavor is com- thing you can say is, 'I've Never before had mul- mitted to the advancement got a lot to do, and it's really tiple nations collaborated of all humankind, not just a exciting, and here's why.' " so closely on such an effort, single nation." After a full decade of con- bridging language barriers These achievements serve struction, the outpost was and engineering cultures for as a model for future coop- completed in 2011, kicking a common goal. eration in the development off the "utilization era," a One by one, components of exploration missions, and period in which science and built around the world the utilization era that's just technology research have were lofted into space and beginning holds the promise become the primary focus of successfully added to the of scientific discovery and NASA station activities. station, proving it was pos- economic benefits for the Expedition 30 Commander Dan Burbank, left, uses the Health Maintenance Sys- Flying more than 200 sible to coordinate such a entire world. tem Tonometry payload to perform an intraocular pressure test on Flight Engineer Don Pettit in the International Space Station's Destiny Laboratory on April 6. The miles above Earth's surface, massive, global engineering Trying to carry out activity was supervised via live Ku-band video by medical ground personnel. To the 357-foot-long orbit- project without requiring research during the station's follow "A Lab Aloft," the station blog, click on the photo. June 15, 2012 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3 Spaceport goals take shape in revamped firing room By Steven Siceloff Spaceport News he firing room of the future isn’t confined Tto the future any- more. An extensive renova- tion of everything from the consoles in the Young- Crippen Firing Room to the computer servers in the Launch Control Center and Launch Pad 39B and all the cables and networks con- necting them will produce a nerve center for rockets and spacecraft befitting a national spaceport. The room will be as plugged-in to the status and preparations of vehicles in facilities of Kennedy Space Center as it was for space NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis shuttles, but the infrastruc- Curtis Williams, a design engineer, details some of the upgrades to consoles in Kennedy Space Center's Young-Crippen Firing Room on May 31.
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