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Sept. 20, 2013 Vol. 53, No. 19 Spaceport News John F. - America’s gateway to the universe

UAV contest challenges engineers By Steven Siceloff Research Center judged the results. experience,” said Steve Sullivan, chief en- Spaceport News “There was a plaque, but other than brag- gineer for the Kennedy team. “If you go to ging rights, that was about it,” said Mark class, build something and fly it, that stays ompetition was in high gear at Kennedy Ross, a NASA test director who coordinated with you. I think it keeps your brain sharp.” Space Center recently as three teams pi- C the competition. The principle of diversifying engineers’ loted unique remote-controlled and autono- The technology could be implemented in skills also is in keeping with Kennedy’s mous aircraft through a demanding series of a number of different ways, including locat- push to operate as a multi-user spaceport search-and-rescue tasks, capping off months ing a crew returning from space or rescuing with expertise in many different areas, Sul- of work that pushed NASA engineers out- stranded hikers, pilots or boaters. The real livan said. side their usual specialties. point of the competition, though, was to add Working outside their areas of expertise Using helicopters, rotorcraft and a built- new skills to established engineers’ portfo- excited the engineers from all the centers from-scratch, radio-controlled airplane, the lios and to give young engineers a taste of and made them work together intently, said teams scanned a mock airplane crash site the process that goes into developing a full Jan Lomness, project manager for the Ken- with sensors and software they developed project. nedy aircraft. and installed in the aircraft. The flights took “There was a lot of realization that this “I think the team camaraderie and ex- place at the north end of the Shuttle Landing was a rare to see things from change of information was really impor- Facility at a time when the airspace around cradle to grave, to see something from tant,” Lomness said. it was closed so the craft wouldn’t interfere idea to actually flying,” Ross said. “They Peter Ma, an engineer with the Mar- with runway operations. also learned a good bit about the systems shall team, said the hardest part about the Although human operators were at the engineering process, which was the whole software design was getting the machine to flight controls of the aircraft, the sensors intent behind this and how to apply it in a recognize people. The Marshall group went had to identify the aircraft, a replica “black practical way.” on to win the competition. box” and several crash dummies. Later, the Kennedy’s Rocket University developed “People can be in a lot of different posi- aircraft were sent on endurance runs. the fixed-wing, remote-control aircraft used tions, make a lot of shapes,” he said. NASA field centers Kennedy, Johnson in the competition. The group built the The aircraft went through a full safety Space Center and Marshall Space Flight airframe from scratch, along with designing and air worthiness review before being al- Center took part in the competition while the software to operate it. lowed to fly at Kennedy, despite being very engineers from , “The whole purpose is to use low-cost, small and not carrying a crew, said Tom Dryden Flight Research Center and Langley high-capability equipment to get hands-on Friers, the chief of Flight Operations.

A remote-controlled helicopter with a unique set of sensors and software flies during a competition Sept. 11 at Kennedy Space Center. NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis Page 2 SPACEPORT NEWS Sept. 20, 2013 Innovation Expo unites spaceport’s efforts By Bob Granath Spaceport News Nearly 1,000 attend event ennedy Space Center’s annual Innovation Expo is The 2013 Kennedy Space Center reach outside their day-to-day routine and about the 2013 Innovation Expo and I K Innovation Expo came to a close make substantial improvements to how we couldn’t agree more,” said Cabana. “Not designed to spark creativity and Sept. 13. Nearly 1,000 Kennedy operate and to the products we create.“ only did the expo highlight new tech- new ideas to aid in transitioning employees attended the four-day event, The expo was designed to provide a nologies, showcase technology initiatives the spaceport from a histori- which included a showcase, kick-start, forum for individuals to learn about ongoing being worked across the center through cally government-only launch guest speaker engagement, tours of the activities at Kennedy, to break down organi- the different lectures and tours, and facility to a multi-user space- center and a finale. zational silos that hinder collaboration and to provide the opportunity for innovators port. On Sept. 10, as part of “The Innovation Expo was created to establish relationships where expertise can to kick off projects through our KSC the four-day event, Kennedy’s kindle a creative and collaborative culture be shared cross-organizationally. KickStart program, but it also brought Center Planning and Develop- within the Kennedy workforce,” said Der- Center Director Bob Cabana believes together 17 of our center partners for an rick Bailey, expo chair and NASA mission innovation is the key to success for future unprecedented display of the different ment Directorate (CPD) hosted safety engineer. “The Innovation Expo missions, endeavors and business at collaborations being worked centerwide. displays by partners, bringing Team wants the Kennedy workforce Kennedy. I am proud of what we accomplished together center employees with to know opportunities exist for them to “I’ve received a lot of positive feedback this year.” many of the organizations that are helping build the center’s Innovation Expo.” president and chief executive principal investigators multiple future. Kennedy employees had an officer of Diversified Industries innovative ways to flight test Innovation is defined as opportunity to meet many of C&IS Inc. their new space technologies. the introduction of something NASA’s partners. Additionally, Booths representing CPD “One of the agency’s biggest new or a fresh idea, method or representatives from partner or- focused on Spaceport Plan- challenges is space testing and device. Kennedy’s Innovation ganizations had an opportunity ning, Partnership Development, Expo highlights just that -- space qualification of promis- to interact with each other and Research and Technology, groundbreaking efforts facili- ing new technologies that are learn how each adds value to Technology Evaluation for tated by both civil service and needed to extend our presence developing the Kennedy Space Environmental Risk Mitiga- contractor employees, as well farther out into the Center of the future. tion and Flight Opportunities as partner organizations. The and beyond,” he said. “The invitation to Kennedy’s Programs. exhibits and presentations allow During the Innovation Innovation Expo provided us According to Robert Ash- those who are developing new Expo, Howard Biegler, Human approaches to share how they an opportunity to meet and col- ley, Kennedy’s manager of the Launch Services lead for Unit- plan to implement their ideas. laborate with other companies Flight Opportunities Program in ed Launch Alliance, showed “We hope this will lead to and space center employees, NASA’s Research and Technol- off a Dual Satellite System-5 some ‘out-of-the-box’ think- which was very positive for our ogy Management Office, the model that provides the V company.” said Martin Belson, program gives engineers and ing about Kennedy becoming and Delta IV rockets with the a multi-user spaceport,” said capability of launching two Scott Colloredo, director of payloads to different orbits on a CPD. “We also hope this will single . be a forum to encourage inter- “By utilizing dual-launch action between partners, result- technology, ULA provides effi- ing in developing relationships cient use of excess performance that will lead to collaborative margins on launches, which in efforts.” turn provides lower mission Center Planning and Devel- cost and operational flexibility opment is the “front door” for to our customers,” Biegler said. partnerships with Kennedy. With a partnership, the agency Other organizations repre- can allow industry to operate sented in the partner exhibits a facility or provide services were: The Boeing Company, NASA wants to maintain. Craig Technologies, Juntura, “Through partnerships with Micro Aerospace Solutions, industry and academia, KSC PaR Systems Inc., Quantum is truly becoming a multi-user Innovative Technologies, Space NASA/Charisse Nahser Coast Energy Consortium, spaceport,” Colloredo said. At the 2013 Innovative Expo Sept. 11, Howard Biegler, right, Human Launch Services lead “This is the first time we’ve had for United Launch Alliance, describes a model of his company’s payload fairing, which United Paradyne Corp. and the partner displays at Kennedy’s could deploy multiple satellites on a single launch vehicle. University of Central Florida. Sept. 20, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3 Boeing completes MCC interface test By Rebecca Regan Spaceport News More online For more information about or the first time, the Mission Control NASA’s , visit: FCenter (MCC) at NASA’s Johnson http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew. Space Center in Houston has tested commu- “As low- orbit opens to a growing nications with a commercial made, crew- commercial space industry, the ability of capable , as The Boeing Company new spacecraft to communicate with exist- conducted an interface test between the ing space infrastructure is critical.” MCC and software planned for the com- Through a reimbursable Space Act pany’s CST-100 spacecraft. Boeing has partnered with NASA to Agreement with NASA’s Mission Op- develop a fully integrated crew transporta- erations Directorate, which began during tion system, with its CST-100 spacecraft CCP’s second phase of development, Boe- and United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, ing is collaborating with the agency on mis- in partnership with NASA’s Commercial sion planning, training and flight operations Crew Program (CCP). New commercial for its CST-100. capabilities being developed by “Our continued partnership with the NASA partners through commercial crew NASA Mission Operations Directorate initiatives could eventually provide services brings valued experience to our Commer- to transport to and from the cial Crew Program,” said John Mulholland, International Space Station, launching from vice president of Boeing Commercial Crew U.S. soil. Programs. “This fully integrated team will The August test verified that Boeing ensure that we can safely and affordably could send and receive data from its Avion- conduct missions.” ics Software Integration Facility to the Additional interconnectivity assessments MCC. The company’s software facility and conducted by Boeing will include software

CST-100 spacecraft simulator are serving avionics testing for the ascent phase of flight Courtesy of United Launch Alliance as precursors to integrated flight operations and demonstrations that will put a human at This is an artist concept of The Boeing Company’s training. the controls of the spacecraft simulator. A CST-100 spacecraft atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) “Every day, our connection to the humans pilot will run through the critical phases of Atlas V rocket. living and working in space comes through flight, including rendezvous and docking by the historic and hallowed MCC in Houston,” firing thrusters, navigating state changes and said Ed Mango, NASA’s CCP manager. adjusting the spacecraft attitude. CCP rocking steady NASA’s Commercial Crew Program (CCP) Hot-fire thruster test milestone completed is four years old and continues to build mo- mentum toward space. After beginning with artist concepts and designs, spacecraft developers now are testing full-size models and taking steps to qualify subsystems. The agency’s astronauts are practicing launches and landings in simulators to iron out the details in critical software. CCP’s progress so far is the result of diligent and relentless efforts to reshape America’s program. Spacecraft developed by CCP partners will be the safest, most reliable and cost- effective transportation systems to and from low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

Courtesy of Boeing NASA and CCP stand on a path leading A thruster glows red during a hot-fire test of Boeing’s CST-100 spacecraft orbital maneuvering and (OMAC) to launch from American soil in 2017. To system. During the tests at NASA’s White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M., Boeing and partner Aerojet Rocketdyne see the progress to date, watch this video: tested two thrusters to demonstrate stable combustion and performance in a vacuum, simulating a space environment. http://go.nasa.gov/150ryFH. Two additional thrusters were tested in a vacuum to demonstrate long-duration mission survivability. The 24 thrusters that compose the CST-100’s OMAC system will be jettisoned with the service module after deorbit burn, prior to re-entry. Page 4 SPACEPORT NEWS Sept. 20, 2013 Self-healing metal SMASHes fatigue By Bob Granath aircraft structural parts, such as Spaceport News where the wings attach to the fuselage or areas that involve future spacecraft landing repetitive motion such as the on a distant may A landing gear.” have an improved margin of Wright points out that for safety due to innovative metal spacecraft traveling far from alloys being developed at Ken- Earth, a repair shop would not nedy Space Center. Called be an option. “SMASH,” Shape Memory Al- “This is all about finding loy Self-Healing is a technology ways to mitigate potential dam- that creates metals that, when age from stress and coming damaged, can repair themselves. up with a good answer to that Aircraft and spacecraft can problem,” she said. be subject to material fatigue, “Once a spacecraft is well the progressive and localized beyond Earth, anything we can structural damage that occurs do to stop crack propagation and when a material is subjected to prevent a failure will improve repetitive stress. NASA/Bob Granath our safety margins.” “This technology could be Clara Wright, a materials engineer in NASA’s Engineering and Technology Directorate, dis- The SMASH technology used on deep-space missions plays one of the Shape Memory Alloy Self-Healing, or SMASH, samples during Kennedy’s begins by adding to metal alloys to destinations such as Mars or 2013 Innovation Expo Sept. 10. The principal investigator for the SMASH project, Wright explained the effort to guests at an exhibit in the lobby of the Operations and Checkout “shape-memory wire,” similar for high-performance aircraft,” Building. to that used in dental braces. said Clara Wright, a materials “Once shaped, memory wire engineer in NASA’s Engineer- ulty Award, the SMASH team modeling to determine the best will want to return to its original ing and Technology Directorate developed structural alloys that alloy reinforcement, while form,” said Wright, “so if stress and the principal investigator for could self-repair fatigue cracks. Langley will be supporting bends a metal component out of the project. The Phase II SMASH team fabrication and potential ap- its designed shape, it will want NARI is part of the agency’s researchers include Catherine plications for both aeronautical to return to its proper form.” Aeronautics Research Mission Brinson, Ph. D., professor and vehicles and spacecraft. The key to shape-memory Directorate (ARMD) and was chair of Mechanical Engineer- “The alloys being devel- wire returning to its designed established to invest in innova- ing at Northwestern University oped are to be used in critical shape is heat. tive, early-stage and potentially in Illinois, and Terryl Wallace, locations where fatigue crack “In the case of dental braces, revolutionary aviation concepts Ph. D., of Structural Materials propagation fractures would the heat in the person’s mouth and technologies. Engineering at NASA’s Langley likely occur,” Wright said. keeps the braces in the correct This is the first time that a Research Center in Virginia. “We’d use them in areas where shape, pulling the teeth in the Kennedy-led team has been For Phase II, Northwestern we can predict stress localiza- desired position,” she said. “For selected for both the Phase I will be using finite element tion that might cause fatigue on the SMASH aerospace alloys, and Phase II seedling award in if a fatigue crack begins, the this type of project. The NARI shape-memory alloys’ reinforce- Seedling Fund provides NASA ments will stretch across the civil servants the opportunity to crack.” perform research, analysis and Wright explains that putting proof-of-concept development the technology to work in actual of ideas that have the potential aircraft or spacecraft is still to meet national aeronautics about eight to 10 years away. needs. “In the Failure Analysis Lab, Wright works in Kennedy’s we are usually trying to figure Materials and Process Engi- out why something failed,” she neering Branch and within the said. “The SMASH Project is Failure Analysis Laboratory NASA/Bob Granath giving us an opportunity to de- where experts determine why A display at the Innovation Expo Sept. 10 illustrates how SMASH technology begins by termine how to prevent failures structures break down and how reinforcing metal alloys with “shape-memory wire,” similar to that used in dental braces, but in the first place.” to avoid future malfunctions. with much higher performance (top). Under repeated loading, metal can break over time (middle). Before full failure, heating can force the shape-memory wire to return the sample For the complete story, go to During Phase I, and leverag- to its original form (bottom), and continued heating causes a low melting phase in the metal http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy ing a NASA Early Career Fac- alloy matrix to fill in the gap where the crack occurred. Sept. 20, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 5 Scenes Around Kennedy Space Center

NASA Kennedy Space Center’s Education Programs and University Research Division supported the Allstate Tom Joyner Family Reunion Event Aug. 29 to Sept. 1 at the Gaylord Palms Re- sort and Convention Center in Orlando. The event hosted 22,967 participants. The Educa- tion Office provided hands-on science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) activities, NASA-related education booths, an Exploration Design Challenge activity, an appearance by retiree Winston Scott, and a robot demonstration by FIRST Robotics team, the Bionic Tigers. NASA’s participation in this event engages families, educators, and com- munity groups to increase awareness in STEM. The aim is to inspire the next generation of scientists, engineers, and explorers. The venue serves as a means to communicate the NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis NASA story to the public and share educational opportunities with students and educators. An airship from the British Broadcasting Corp., or BBC, flies over Launch Complex 39 past the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Sept. 18. A team of scientists from the BBC’s television project “Cloud Lab” is conducting a number of experiments aboard the airship as it flies across the U.S., exploring all aspects of the Earth’s atmosphere. One of the experi- ments is NASA’s Microorganisms in the Stratosphere, or MIST, which is designed to mea- sure the microbial survival and cellular responses to exposure in the upper atmosphere.

NASA/Jim Grossmann Brevard County Sheriff Wayne Ivey, a nationally acknowledged expert on the subject of identity theft prevention, gave a one-hour presentation in the KSC Training Auditorium on how to avoid being the victim of identity theft to Kennedy workers Sept. 10. Sheriff Ivey said more than 10 million people are victimized and Florida has the highest rate of occurrence in the nation.

NASA/Jim Grossmann NASA/Glenn Benson A Program time capsule was enshrined Sept. 9 in a secured vault within the Carol Craig, founder and CEO of Craig Technologies, discusses technology transfer walls of the 90,000-square-foot home inside the Kennedy Space Sept. 12 with attendees at the Technology Transfer Forum of the Economic Development Center Visitor Complex. The time capsule, containing artifacts and other memorabilia as- Commission of Florida’s Space Coast. A goal of the session was to showcase ways com- sociated with the history of the program is designated to be opened on the 50th anniversary mercial businesses can work with NASA to develop new, and apply existing, technology to of the shuttle’s final landing following STS-135. commercial uses. Page 6 SPACEPORT NEWS Sept. 20, 2013 Engineers test MAVEN communications By Steven Siceloff Spaceport News

t’s not easy to simulate Imillions of electroni- cally, but that’s what engineers did recently as they tested the all-important communications system the MAVEN spacecraft will use to relay its study results from Mars orbit to Earth-bound researchers. Working from their consoles at Kennedy, a team of test engineers from the Jet Propul- sion Laboratory in California, better known as JPL, conducted more than a week of evaluations on the antennas and circuitry aboard the spacecraft. They beamed signals to the NASA/Kim Shiflett low-gain and high-gain anten- Engineers and technicians deploy the Electron Analyzer boom on the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) nas on MAVEN and basically spacecraft Sept. 16 inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at Kennedy. The analyzer will measure the solar wind and electrons in treated the machine as though it the ionosphere of the Red Planet. MAVEN is being prepared for its scheduled launch in November from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station really were flying on a 10-month atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. Positioned in an orbit above the Red Planet, MAVEN will study the upper atmosphere of journey from Earth to Mars and Mars in unprecedented detail. For more information, click on the photo. then studying the upper atmo- tors at Goddard Space Flight antennas almost as big as a foot- Launch Annex. Every time a sphere of the Red Planet. Center in Maryland. ball field to communicate with spacecraft comes to Kennedy Such work is critical, mission To mimic the distances the spacecraft that are using for launch preparations, a team managers said, because there between the spacecraft and their own much smaller anten- of engineers sets up racks of is no way to fix a spacecraft’s Earth, the electronic signals sent nas and more limited power communications system once it equipment and servers between the two during testing sources. before beginning several days of leaves Earth. are run through a cabling system It’s the system NASA uses 12-hour shifts to make sure the “It doesn’t matter what we do that quickly ramps down the to communicate with all of its mission’s communications sys- out there if we can’t get the data power by going through various interplanetary probes and some back to Earth,” said Jeff Coyne, wiring networks. of the spacecraft studying Earth, tem and interface with the Deep Lockheed Martin’s Assembly “We’ll try to squeeze the sig- as well. In addition to Voy- will work. Test and Launch Operations nal down to its lowest possible ager 1, whose signal is incred- With the spacecraft checked manager for the project. point,” said Chris Green, an ibly weak because of the vast out, the team takes its gear back MAVEN is short for Mars engineer with Exelis who super- distance it is from Earth, the to California and gets ready Atmosphere and Volatile Evolu- vised the testing. “It’s a machine network is picking up signals for launch day, knowing that it tioN. It is scheduled to launch and we test its actual flight from newer spacecraft such as won’t hear anything from the in November aboard a United performance -- every scenario , which is - spacecraft until well after liftoff. Launch Alliance Atlas V. of flight configuration it would ing toward . Cassini in In the case of MAVEN, the “I say this is one of the most be in is what we go through in orbit around , on its engineers and scientists won’t important things, because if we testing.” way to and the Curios- find out if the testing really was can’t talk to it . . . ,” said Sheryl NASA has an intricate system ity rover operating on Mars all successful until 54 minutes after Bergstrom, manager of JPL’s of antennas in California, Spain relay their data to Earth on the launch from Cape Canaveral Cape Operations Office at Ken- and Australia to pick up and DSN and get their commands when MAVEN makes its initial nedy. transmit signals to its fleet of from ground operators through The testing was standard stuff spacecraft that now reaches out the same network. contact with the DSN. for the engineers, but nonethe- beyond the solar system in the Kennedy’s portion of the “When the signal is ac- less mind-bending considering form of Voyager 1. DSN structure is a testing facil- quired,” said Bergstrom, a that the spacecraft will operate Called the Deep Space ity called MIL-71, a reference to veteran of long wait-times for millions of miles from Earth and Network and referred to by its the time when the space center good missions and bad, “that’s rely on commands from opera- acronym, DSN, the system uses was known as the Merritt Island when we get to breathe.” Sept. 20, 2013 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 7 At 36, Voyager 1 enters interstellar space NASA News Report ASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft officially is Nthe first human-made object to venture into interstellar space. The 36-year-old probe is about 12 billion miles from our . New and unexpected data indicate Voy- ager 1 has been traveling for about one year through , or ionized gas, present in the space between stars. Voyager is in a transi- tional region immediately outside the solar bubble, where some effects from our sun are still evident. A report on the analysis of this new data, an effort led by Don Gurnett and the plasma wave science team at the Univer- sity of Iowa, Iowa City, was published in a recent edition of the journal Science. “Now that we have new, key data, we believe this is mankind’s historic leap into interstellar space,” said Ed Stone, Voyager project scientist based at the California Insti- tute of Technology, Pasadena. “The Voyager team needed time to analyze those observa- tions and make sense of them. But we can now answer the question we’ve all been ask- ing -- ‘Are we there yet?’ Yes, we are.” Kennedy Space Center had the privilege of launching the now-historic vehicle into space back in 1977. Jim Womack, former propulsion mechanical branch chief, recalls the excitement from launch. “We were all smiles – we all knew the [Voyager] missions would be around for a long time,” he said. “Though I expected a very successful mission, I’m shocked and NASA file/1977 proud to know how far it’s actually gone.” A / rocket carrying Voyager 1 lifted off from Launch Complex 41 at 8:56 a.m. Sept. 5, 1977. It joined sister Voyager 1 and its twin, , were spacecraft, Voyager 2, on a mission to the outer . launched 16 days apart in 1977. Both space- craft flew by Jupiter and Saturn. Voyager 2 also flew by and . Voyager instruments are transmitted to Earth typically 2, launched before Voyager 1, is the longest at 160 bits per second, and captured by 34- continuously operated spacecraft. It is about and 70-meter NASA Deep Space Network 9.5 billion miles away from our sun. stations. Traveling at the speed of , a sig- Steve Francois, former Launch Services nal from Voyager 1 takes about 17 hours to Program manager, worked alongside Wom- travel to Earth. After the data are transmitted ack in the late . to JPL and processed by the science teams, “I’ve been following the Voyager mis- Voyager data are made publicly available. sions for 36 years and was thrilled to hear “Voyager has boldly gone where no probe this latest news,” said Francois. “Though it has gone before, marking one of the most didn’t have the prestige of a manned launch, significant technological achievements in we knew Voyager 1 and 2 would do great the annals of the history of science, and things.” adding a new chapter in human scientific Voyager mission controllers still talk to or dreams and endeavors,” said John Grunsfeld, receive data from both Voyagers every day, NASA’s associate administrator for science though the emitted signals are currently very in Washington. “Perhaps some future deep dim, at about 23 watts -- the power of a re- space explorers will catch up with Voyager, NASA artist conception frigerator light bulb. By the time the signals our first interstellar envoy, and reflect on how This artist’s concept shows the Voyager 1 spacecraft get to Earth, they are a fraction of a billion- this intrepid spacecraft helped enable their entering the space between stars. billionth of a watt. Data from Voyager 1’s journey.” Page 8 SPACEPORT NEWS Sept. 20, 2013 Looking up and ahead . . . Cygnus en route for * All times are Eastern

2013 rendezvous with ISS NASA News Report Sept. 25 Mission: Expedition 37/38 hile the newest commer- Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 36 (TMA-10M) cial cargo vehicle to join Launch Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan W Launch Time: TBD the International Space Sta- Description: Soyuz TMA-10M will carry three Expedition 37/38 crew tion’s resupply fleet launched members to the International Space Station. They are NASA Flight Engineer Sept. 18 on its demonstration Michael Hopkins, Soyuz Commander Oleg Kotov and Russian Flight Engineer flight, the Expedition 37 crew Sergey Ryzansky. aboard the orbiting complex was hard at work with medical Nov. 6 Mission: Expedition 38/39 research, emergency simulation Launch Vehicle: Soyuz 37 (TMA-11M) training and preparations for Launch Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan arrival Sept. 22 of the new Launch Time: TBD space freighter. Description: Soyuz TMA-11M will carry three Expedition 38/39 crew NASA commercial space members to the International Space Station. They are NASA astronaut Rick partner Orbital Sciences Corp. Mastracchio, Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata and Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Tyurin. of Dulles, Va., launched its NASA Cygnus cargo spacecraft aboard NASA commercial space partner Orbital Nov. 18 its Antares rocket at 10:58 a.m. Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., launches its Mission: Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN (MAVEN) EDT from the Mid-Atlantic Cygnus cargo spacecraft aboard its Antares rocket at 10:58 a.m. EDT Sept. 18. Launch Vehicle: Atlas V Regional Spaceport Pad-0A at Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station NASA’s Wallops Flight Facil- Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 41 the launch of Cygnus. Nyberg Launch Time: TBD ity in Virginia. At the time of then sent her congratulations to Description: MAVEN is the first mission devoted to understanding Mars’ launch, the space station was Orbital Sciences via her Twitter upper atmosphere. The mission’s goal is to determine the role that loss of flying about 261 miles above account. atmospheric gas to space played in changing the Martian climate through time. the southern Indian Ocean. Nyberg and Parmitano began Cygnus will deliver 1,300 their workday aboard the space Nov. 20 pounds of cargo, including food Mission: ISS Resupply station reviewing Cygnus’ Launch Vehicle: ISS Progress 53 and clothing, to the space sta- cargo manifest and discussing Launch Site: Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan tion’s Expedition 37 crew. with ground teams the plan to Launch Time: TBD All three Expedition 37 crew unload the cargo. During the Description: Progress 53 will carry supplies, hardware, fuel and water to the members -- Commander Fy- month that Cygnus is berthed to International Space Station. odor Yurchikhin and Flight En- the station, the crew will unload gineers Karen Nyberg and Luca its 1,300 pounds of cargo and Dec. 9 Mission: SpaceX-3 Commercial Resupply Services flight Parmitano -- gathered around a reload it with trash for disposal Launch Vehicle: Falcon 9 laptop computer screen in the when Cygnus departs for a de- Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station station’s Destiny laboratory to structive re-entry in the Earth’s Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 40 watch a live video stream of atmosphere. Launch Time: TBD Description: SpaceX-3 will be the third commercial resupply mission to the ISS by Technologies (SpaceX). John F. Kennedy Space Center

2014 Date: January Spaceport News Mission: Tracking and Data Relay Satellite-L (TDRS-L) Spaceport News is an official publication of the Kennedy Space Center. Launch Vehicle: Atlas V Contributions are welcome and should be submitted three weeks before publication to Public Launch Site: Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Affairs, IMCS-440. Email submissions can be sent to [email protected]. Launch Time: TBD Managing editor ...... Chris Hummel Launch Pad: Space Launch Complex 41 Editor ...... Frank Ochoa-Gonzales Description: TDRS-L is the second of three next-generation satellites Assistant editor ...... Linda Herridge designed to ensure vital operational continuity for the NASA Space Network. Copy editor ...... Kay Grinter Editorial support provided by Abacus Technology Corp. Writers Group. To watch a NASA launch online, go to http://www.nasa.gov/ntv. NASA at KSC on the Web, at http://www.nasa.gov/kennedy SP-2013-09-213-KSC • NASA Kennedy Space Center Public Affairs