Aeronautics and Space Report of the President: Fiscal Year 2014 Activities
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Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2014 Activities 2014 Year • Fiscal and Space Report of the President Aeronautics Aeronautics and Space Report of the President Fiscal Year 2014 Activities Aeronautics and Space Report of the President Aeronautics and Space Report OF THE PRESIDENT Fiscal Year 2014 Activities The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 directed the annual Aeronautics and Space Report to include a “comprehensive description of the programmed activities and the accomplishments of all agencies of the United States in the field of aeronautics and space activities during the preceding calendar year.” In recent years, the reports have been prepared on a fiscal-year basis, consistent with the budgetary period now used in programs of the Federal Government. This year’s report covers activities that took place from October 1, 2013, through September 30, 2014. Please note that these activities reflect Aeronautics and SpaceAeronautics Report of the President the Federal policies of that time and do not include subsequent events or changes in policy. On the title page, clockwise from the top left: 1. NASA engineers conducting low-light test on new technology for the NASA James Webb Space Telescope at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. Credit: NASA/Goddard/Chris Gunn. 2. Nitrogen dioxide data, averaged over 2011 for the north- eastern United States. Credit: Goddard’s Scientific Visualization Studio. 3. Hubble Space Telescope image of Messier 83, otherwise known as the Southern Pinwheel Galaxy. Credit: NASA, the European Space Agency, and the Hubble Heritage Team (STScI/AURA); acknowledgment: William Blair (Johns Hopkins University). 4. Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, lowering one of the largest composite cryotanks ever built into a structural test stand. Credit: NASA/ Marshall. 5. Image of the Gulf of Alaska collected on May 2, 2014, by Aqua–Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS). Credit: NASA/Goddard/OceanColor/MODIS. 6. Mid-level solar-flare image captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) on December 16, 2014. Credit: NASA/Goddard/SDO. TABLE OF CONTENTS National Aeronautics and Space Administration . 1 Activities 2014 Year Fiscal • Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate 1 • Science Mission Directorate 22 • Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 39 • Space Technology Mission Directorate 53 Department of Defense . 57 Federal Aviation Administration . 75 Department of Commerce . 83 Department of the Interior . 101 Federal Communications Commission . 125 U.S. Department of Agriculture. 131 National Science Foundation . 141 Department of State. 151 Department of Energy. 157 Smithsonian Institution . 165 Appendices • A-1 U S Government Spacecraft Record 172 • A-2 World Record of Space Launches Successful in Attaining Earth Orbit or Beyond 173 • B Successful Launches to Orbit on U S Vehicles 174 • C Human Spaceflights 176 • D-1A Space Activities of the U S Government—Historical Table of Budget Authority in Millions of Real-Year Dollars 177 • D-1B Space Activities of the U S Government—Historical Table of Budget Authority in Millions of Inflation-Adjusted FY 2014 Dollars 178 • D-2 Federal Space Activities Budget 179 • D-3 Federal Aeronautics Activities Budget 180 Acronyms . 181 1 Fiscal Year 2014 Activities 2014 Year Fiscal NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) continued its focus on research and technology development in FY 2014. Space Exploration Technologies Corporation (SpaceX) and Orbital Sciences Corporation completed two commercial cargo mis- sions apiece during FY 2014. The ISS also marked 15 years on orbit and 13 years of human presence on the ISS in November 2013. In January 2014, the Obama administration announced its intention to extend the life of the ISS, scheduled to end in 2020, to at least 2024. The extension presents new opportunities to develop the tools we need for future missions to deep space and to facilitate commercial low-Earth orbit (LEO) activity while reaping large benefits for humanity. The ISS began FY 2014 with Expedition 37 ISS Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin (Roscosmos), Karen Nyberg (NASA), Luca Parmitano (European Space Agency [ESA]), Oleg Kotov (Roscosmos), Sergey Ryazanskiy (Roscosmos), and Mike “Hopper” Hopkins (NASA) on board. Two Russian Soyuz vehicles, one Russian Progress cargo spacecraft, a European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV), and an Orbital Sciences Corporation Cygnus vehicle were all attached to the ISS. The Cygnus spacecraft, on its first and only demonstration flight, with 1,300 pounds of cargo, including food, clothing, and student experiments, was berthed to the ISS. The Cygnus was unloaded and reloaded with trash during its short stay and 2 was released on October 22, 2013, then maneuvered away from the ISS and toward a destructive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere on October 23, 2013. Similarly, the ATV spacecraft was also loaded with items no longer needed on board the ISS, undocked from the ISS, and maneuvered away from the ISS to make a planned destructive reentry into Earth’s atmosphere on October 28, 2013. On November 1, 2013, ISS Commander Fyodor Yurchikhin, Karen Nyberg, and Luca Parmitano boarded their Soyuz to move it to another port on the ISS, opening up the primary docking port for the next arriving Soyuz. On November 6, 2013, new ISS Commander Oleg Kotov, Sergey Ryazanskiy, Mike Hopkins, Fyodor Yurchikhin, Karen Nyberg, and Luca Parmitano were joined by Koichi Wakata (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency [JAXA]), Rick Mastracchio (NASA), Mikhail Tyurin (Roscosmos), and the Olympic torch, which was taking an out-of-this-world route—as part of the torch relay—to Fisht Stadium in Sochi, Russia. Their arrival marked the first time since October 2009 that nine people had served together on board the ISS without the presence of a Space Shuttle. Cosmonauts Kotov and Ryazanskiy conducted a spacewalk on November 9, 2013, to participate in the Olympic torch relay, prepare a pointing platform for the installation of a high-resolution camera system on a future spacewalk, and deac- tivate an experiment package. On November 10, 2013, Fyodor Yurchikhin, Karen Nyberg, and Luca Parmitano returned to Earth after spending 166 days in space, ending Expedition 37. They returned the Olympic torch, which was then used to Aeronautics and SpaceAeronautics Report of the President light the Olympic flame at Fisht Stadium in Sochi, Russia, marking the start of the 2014 Winter Games in February. On November 29, 2013, a Russian Progress vehicle carrying three tons of food, fuel, and supplies docked to the ISS. NASA astronauts Mastracchio and Hopkins conducted contingency spacewalks on December 21, 2013, and December 24, 2013, to repair a faulty pump module required for ISS cooling. On December 27, 2013, and January 27, 2014, Russian cosmonauts Kotov and Ryazanskiy conducted spacewalks to install two high-fidelity cameras, remove and install several experiments, and prepare worksites for future spacewalks. The spacewalk in December 2013 was the longest Russian spacewalk in history at eight hours and seven minutes. Orbital Sciences Corporation’s first cargo delivery flight under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract, carrying 2,780 pounds of supplies, including vital science experiments, crew provisions, spare parts, and other hardware, berthed to the ISS on January 12, 2014. After the crew unloaded 3 this cargo and reloaded the cargo carrier with items no longer needed on the ISS, Activities 2014 Year Fiscal Cygnus was released using the robotic arm and maneuvered away from the ISS toward a destructive reentry on February 18, 2014. Prior to that, a Russian Progress vehicle also carrying trash undocked on February 3, 2014, and destructively reen- tered the atmosphere. Another Russian Progress vehicle carrying several tons of supplies replaced it on February 5, 2014. Finally, to close out Expedition 38, ISS Commander Oleg Kotov, Sergey Ryazanskiy, and Mike Hopkins undocked their Soyuz vehicle from the ISS and landed in Kazakhstan on March 10, 2014. Expedition 39 began on March 10, 2014. ISS Commander Koichi Wakata, Rick Mastracchio, and Mikhail Tyurin remained on board and were joined on March 27, 2014, by Steve “Swanee” Swanson (NASA), Oleg Artemyev (Roscosmos), and Alexander Skvortsov (Roscosmos) when their Russian Soyuz docked to the ISS after a two-day rendezvous. On April 7, 2014, a Russian Progress vehicle carry- ing trash undocked from the ISS and headed toward a destructive reentry; it was replaced on April 9, 2014, with another Russian Progress vehicle carrying several tons of supplies. A SpaceX Dragon vehicle docked to the ISS on April 20, 2014, carrying 5,000 pounds of scientific equipment and supplies, departed on May 18, 2014, and splashed down in the Pacific Ocean off the Baja California coast, returning more than 3,500 pounds of scientific samples and equipment to Earth. The Russian Progress vehicle, 53P, undocked on April 23, 2014, and redocked on April 25, 2014, after performing testing for the Kurs-NA rendezvous and dock- ing system. Also on April 23, 2014, NASA astronauts Mastracchio and Swanson performed a contingency spacewalk to replace a failed multiplexer/de-multiplexer. Expedition 39 ended on May 13, 2014, when Koichi Wakata, Rick Mastracchio, and Mikhail Tyurin undocked their Soyuz from the ISS and landed in Kazakhstan.