Oct. 29, 2010 Vol. 50, No. 22 Spaceport News John F. Kennedy Space Center - America’s gateway to the universe

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Mock countdown marks Discovery’s final TCDT By Elaine M. Marconi Spaceport News Follow along from the firing room 3, 2, 1 and … and well, no launch. It’s not an aborted liftoff; Scheduled to launch Nov. 1 at it’s TCDT, the Terminal Countdown 4:40 p.m., Discovery and its STS- Demonstration Test. 133 crew will embark on an 11-day Prior to every launch, the current mission to deliver a new module, mission’s and ground critical spare parts and a humanoid crews participate in launch-related helper to the International activities at Kennedy Space Center Space Station. for their final on-site preparations before liftoff. The week of Oct. 11, Live countdown coverage from Firing Discovery’s STS-133 Room 4 of Kennedy Space Center’s crew members were here prior to NASA/Jim Grossmann Launch Control Center will begin with their scheduled Nov. 1 launch to the Kevin Heard with NASA Quality Control, left, and Closeout Crew Lead Travis Tod Thompson assist fueling commentary International Space Station. STS-133 Mission Specialist Michael Barratt during a simulated launch countdown Oct. 15. at 7:10 a.m. on NASA TV or at During a few days at Kennedy, www.nasa.gov/ntv. Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot TCDT frequently is the first time for them to get comfortable with us Continuous launch coverage will Eric Boe, and Mission Special- members of the crew have an op- and their surroundings -- it’s just a begin at 11:15 a.m. NASA’s Launch ists , Michael Barratt, portunity to see the flight hardware big help. The dress rehearsal helps Blog begins simultaneously at www. and Tim Kopra checked and launch pad. Until this time, to get rid of a lot of butterflies, plus nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/ the fit of their spacesuits, practiced training has been on simulators and gives us more time with them to launch/launch_blog.html. Follow emergency evacuation procedures with computer programs at their learn what they’re going to need on Kennedy on Twitter at at the launch pad, checked out their home base at NASA’s Johnson launch day,” said Thompson. “Any- www.twitter.com/nasakennedy mission’s cargo in the shuttle’s Space Center in Houston. thing we can do to make launch day or on facebook at payload bay, reviewed firefighting This training allows them to go smooth is well worth it.” www.facebook.com/nasakennedy. methods, and participated in brief- familiarize themselves with the The astronauts also received in- ings on security and range safety. spacecraft, become acclimated with struction on hopping into the launch Closeout Crew Lead Travis Tod the safety equipment and proce- pad’s slidewire baskets and drove used for an emergency. But if the Thompson, with United Space Al- dures and become comfortable with the M-113 armored personnel car- White Room had to be evacuated liance, has been assisting each mis- the White Room and the emergency riers as part of their emergency pad quickly, fire nozzles that spray sion’s crew for more than 27 years measures that may have to be put escape training. heavy amounts of water would during TCDT and on launch day. into action, if necessary, on launch According to Thompson, the activate and the teams would only Thompson’s first assignment was day. slidewire baskets have been part of be able to see their feet. Painted on supporting the crew of Challenger’s “It’s great for us to get comfort- the pad’s emergency egress system STS-8 mission in 1983. able with them during TCDT and since STS-1, but have never been See TCDT, Page 2

Inside this issue . . . Keeping time 2010 Tour de KSC a huge success Disability Mentoring Day Nobel laureate speaks

Page 2 Page 3 Page 6 Page 7 Page 2 SPACEPORT NEWS Oct. 29, 2010

NASA/Jim Grossmann Mentors share expertise on Disability Mentoring Day More than 40 mentors shared information about their jobs with people with disabilities on Disability Mentoring Day around Kennedy Space Center. The event, on Oct. 20, is part of a nationwide effort to promote career development for students with disabilities through hands-on career exploration. Right: NASA Education Program Specialist Helen Kane, left, shows Melbourne High sophomore Autumn Tillis how to enter data setting up a meeting presentation at Headquarters. Above: Graphic Specialist Jerry Forney, with Abacus Technology Corp., right, introduces Adobe Photoshop to Palm Bay senior Zachery Page. Left: NASA Design Engineer Dr. Felix A. Soto-Toro, right, demonstrates to Eau Gallie High senior Anthony Pagan the ground support equipment fabricated by NASA Prototype Shop technicians. These prototype umbilical plates are constructed to prove the design concept for the flight-to-ground interface used during preflight processing and testing of a flight vehicle.

NASA/Frankie Martin NASA/Jim Grossmann

to simulate the orbiter’s unpow- From TCDT, Page 1 ered, high-speed glide -- at Ken- the open grating of the pad floor is nedy’s Shuttle Landing Facility. a bright-yellow path marked with TCDT has changed and evolved black chevrons, or arrows, which throughout the years, recalls point the way to the slidewire Thompson. “We’ve grown in crew baskets. Thompson mentioned that size, from two crew members on these path markings are commonly STS-1 through 5, and then it was referred to as “the yellow brick expanded to four, and then up to road.” seven.” Another aspect of TCDT, ex- Thompson’s crew shows up at plained Thompson, is the M-113 ar- the launch pad at about 5 a.m. for mored personnel carrier emergency the full launch dress rehearsal and egress vehicle driver training. In- prepares the White Room, lo- struction is provided by Kennedy’s cated in the pad’s rotating service fire chief and every crew member structure, for the astronauts’ arrival gets a chance to ride in and drive about three hours later. NASA/Kim Shiflett the M-113. Typically, Thompson That’s when the launch count- The STS-133 crew takes a break from a simulated launch countdown to ham it up on the 195-foot level joins the crew in the field, and this down moves into its final phase. of Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy Space Center. From left are, Pilot Eric Boe, Mission Specialist Michael Barratt, Commander Steve Lindsey, and Mission Specialists Tim Kopra, Nicole Stott, and Alvin Drew. is the first time he meets them. It takes about 50 minutes for the “This exercise gives me a good flight crew to board the shuttle and ning through it that frosts up and And it doesn’t happen every day. time to get to know the crew a little the hatch to be closed, Then, they develops an ice buildup. Before It only happens on launch day -- bit on a comfortable basis -- before run through all of the operations the flight crew arrives, Thompson it’s special.” we really have to do a lot of work. and communications checks of a scrapes the STS mission number in It’s evident how much satisfac- And it’s fun for them and they like real launch, right down to a mock the frost along with a “thumbs-up” tion Thompson and his team gets it,” Thompson said. engine start. print. out of the work they do keeping In addition to pad and field train- Thompson talked about a tradi- “It’s kind of our way of telling the astronauts safe and comfortable ing, Lindsey and Boe practiced tion he’s followed through the them we’re behind them . . . kind during training and on launch day. touch-and-go landings in NASA’s years at the pad on launch day. He of a personal note to them. It’s one “I take a lot of pride in that, and Shuttle Training Aircraft -- Gulf- tells of a large pipe on the 195th of the cool things about the pad that I’m happy that I can say that some stream jets that have been modified level that has liquid oxygen run- many people don’t know about. of them are my friends.” Oct. 29, 2010 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 3 Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer already collecting data

By Steven Siceloff Spaceport News “Expert opinion is he Alpha Mag- based on existing netic Spectrometer-2 knowledge. T(AMS) destined for the International Space Discovery breaks Station already is collecting down existing cosmic ray signatures, even as it sits in a work stand at knowledge.” the Space Station Process- ing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, said Professor Professor Samuel Ting, the principal Samuel Ting, investigator for the program. Massachusetts It’s not making any Institute of Technology grand discoveries yet, since the particles it is picking up were stripped of some will pick up the ray’s move- of their qualities when they ments, in particular how passed through Earth’s at- their paths change as they mosphere. But once in place pass through the magnets. aboard the space station, Ting said different particles NASA/Jim Grossmann the 7 1/2-ton AMS will see leave unique signatures charged particles as they ex- Professor Samuel Ting talks to employees about the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer-2 (AMS) on Oct. 15 in the Training Audi- torium at Kennedy Space Center. Ting is the particle physics detector’s principal investigator at the Massachusetts Institute that researchers will comb ist in the vacuum of space. of Technology. AMS is designed to operate as an external module on the International Space Station. It will use the unique through to determine how Space shuttle Endeav- environment of space to study the universe and its origin by searching for dark matter. AMS will fly to the station aboard much anti-matter exists and space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-134 mission targeted to launch Feb. 27, 2011. our is to carry the AMS to the nature of it. the station in February 2011, The device also requires and mount it on the truss that those on NASA’s Hubble up of the same two kinds of capable of, he said. specialized electronics that holds the orbiting labora- Space Telescope. subatomic particles, quarks, Ting’s work on AMS run 10 times faster than tory’s main solar arrays. The AMS is to be the that make up all the known started in 1994 with a current space electronics. So what does Ting ex- first to study charged par- matter on Earth. meeting with then-NASA The electronics have to be pect AMS to find? Speaking ticles in space, he said. Designing such an Administrator Dan Goldin. so much faster because the to a standing-room-only One of his desires is experiment, especially one The project grew from there cosmic rays AMS will detect audience for the Kennedy that the particles recorded by that works in the harsh and to incorporate more than move so fast. Engineering Academy on AMS prove the existence of unforgiving environment 500 physicists in some 16 The AMS detector was Oct. 19, Ting said he doesn’t a parallel universe made up of space, did not happen nations around the world. tested in a couple ways. know what the detector will of anti-matter, or particles quickly and Ting says he Mostly built in Europe and find. that are, in electrical charge was taken aback by how dif- Asia, the AMS effort also re- First, a smaller prototype “Expert opinion is based and magnetic properties, the ficult it was. ceived help from its project was flown on board space on existing knowledge,” exact opposite of regular “I did not realize there office at NASA’s Johnson shuttle Discovery in 1998 he said. “Discovery breaks particles. Such a universe is really a big difference be- Space Center and from the to prove the concept would down existing knowledge.” has been theorized, but not tween doing an experiment Department of Energy. work. Shortly before being Ting won the Nobel proven. The discovery of on the ground and doing an The experiment is filled flown to Kennedy, the AMS Prize in Physics in 1976 massive amounts of anti- experiment in space,” he with cutting-edge technolo- was placed in the Large along with Burton Richter matter could answer funda- said. gy. It relies largely on a ring Hadron Collider at Cern, for their discovery of a mental questions about the Although new particle of powerful magnets that in- Switzerland. The particle ac- heavy elementary particle. universe’s origin. accelerators were being built fluence the particles as they celerator, the world’s largest, Though he doesn’t “Unless you do the on Earth, Ting said he set move through the AMS. The was used to help set up the know exactly what to ex- experiments, you don’t out to study cosmic rays in magnets were changed after AMS instrumentation. pect, Ting has several ideas know who is right,” Ting space because, “no matter Ting’s team opted to replace Buoyed by extensive of what he hopes to find us- explained. how large an accelerator you the superconducting versions support in the scientific com- ing the AMS, including the Ting also is searching build, you can’t compete that would last three years munity, Ting said he was possibility that it opens up for proof of what makes up with space.” with magnets which did able to overcome numerous an entirely new field of par- dark matter, the theoretical For example, cosmic not need to be cooled, but sticking points along the ticle physics. Up until now, material that is thought to rays produce particle would let the experiment run way to get AMS built and he said, the study of cosmic make up a large part of the energy almost a hundred many years longer, possibly ready to launch on a shuttle. rays has been limited to universe. Also, AMS may million times more powerful as long as the space station “If people believe in measuring light using tele- point out whether all mat- than the world’s largest itself is operational. you, they will find a way to scopes and instruments like ter in the universe is made particle accelerator is A series of detectors support you,” he said. Page 4 SPACEPORT NEWS Oct. 29, 2010 Oct. 29, 2010 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 5 Scenes Around Kennedy Space Center

NASA/Carl Winebarger Eric Reyier with Innovative Health Applications LLC, left, along with Harold Morrow and James NASA/Kim Shiflett Lyon with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service help a green sea turtle move into deeper water For NASA Business leaders interested in learning more about government contracting and what local and national vendors have to offer walk through the Business Opportunities Expo 2010 in Cruise Terminal 3 at Port Canaveral, Fla., on at the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge on Oct. 14. The female turtle, weighing about Kennedy Space Center’s Education Office and Space host 19 undergraduate students from the University of Oct. 19. The annual trade show is sponsored by Kennedy Space Center’s Prime Contractor Board, the 45th Space Wing and Canaveral Port Authority. It featured about 175 business and government exhibitors from across the 350 pounds, became stuck on an impoundment in fresh water near Kennedy Space Center’s Miami on Oct. 15. This photo was submitted by visit organizer and Space Florida Academy alumna Kiran Bhimani. nation and Brevard County. NASA’s Central Industry Assistance Office provides support to small businesses that want to do business at Kennedy. This office works with the Kennedy Prime Contractor Board, which consists of Launch Pad 39A.The refuge is a habitat for more than 310 species of birds, 25 mammals, many of the center’s prime contractors to help small businesses learn how to navigate in the world of government contracting. By co-sponsoring the expo, the board helps provide a one-stop shop for buyers and sellers. 117 fishes and 65 amphibians and reptiles.

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KSC-Spaceport- NASA/Jim Grossmann News@mail. For NASA Gilberto “Gil” Colón, special assistant to the deputy director at Goddard Space Flight Center, addresses attendees of the 2010 Hispanic nasa.gov Photo courtesy of Al Scotti Photography In the Space Life Sciences Laboratory, from left, Tracy Gibson, Sarah Snyder, Steve Trigwell and Lily Fitzpatrick honor Heritage Luncheon on Oct. 14. The event, sponsored by the Hispanic Outreach and Leadership Alliance, was held in the Debus Center The National Space Club Florida Committee hosts its annual Space Ball on Oct. 16 at the Radisson Resort at the Port in Cape Canaveral. ‘Pink Friday’ on Oct. 15 by donning pink to help raise awareness in the fight against breast cancer. at the Kennedy Visitor Complex. This year’s theme is “Heritage, Diversity, Integrity and Honor: the Renewed Hope of America.” URS Corp., pictured above, was one of 19 industry companies that bought a table at the event. Page 6 SPACEPORT NEWS Oct. 29, 2010 Timing crew keeps eye on launch countdown clock By Linda Herridge several panels of timer con- Spaceport News trols. Above the panels are digital clocks that display ll eyes will be various times, including the riveted on the giant launch window remaining, Adigital display clock hold time remaining, the at Kennedy Space Center’s countdown clock time and Press Site as countdown GMT time. commences for the upcom- They also support ing launch of space shuttle preflight tests, such as the Discovery. Terminal Count Demonstra- The famous landmark tion and the Shuttle Final displays the precise hours, Countdown Phase Simula- minutes and seconds leading tion, a launch team training up to and after spectacular exercise. shuttle liftoffs. “Timing is critical to The countdown clock us,” said Steve Payne, who and many other clocks is a NASA shuttle test direc- around the center are tor at Kennedy. “The launch maintained and exactly set window is very limited and by the IMCS Timing and it is very important that all NASA/Kim Shiflett Imaging Technical Support of the clocks are displaying Lead Electronic Technician Robert Wright, with the IMCS Timing and Imaging Technical Support Group, monitors several panels of timer controls during a launch dress rehearsal called the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. Group with QinetiQ. From a and counting down the cor- room in the Launch Control rect time.” have redundant systems in During launch count- Center, Lead Electronic For shuttle launches, case there are power failures down, timing signals also Technician Robert Wright “We double and triple Payne said call to stations is or glitches in the system.” are sent to a predetermined and several timing check our times. usually 73 hours before the Wright said they also number of universal camera technicians monitor and actual launch time. send the precise timing sig- sites located near and We target launch distribute the official time At that time, the NASA nal to around the launch pads and times down to the to facilities at the center, in- test director communicates in Houston, Marshall Space the Banana Creek view- second, and things cluding the Launch Control with the Ground Launch Se- Flight Center in Huntsville, ing site for the high-speed Center firing rooms. happen quickly as we quencer engineers and they Ala., NASA Headquarters, cameras. During launch count- approach T-0.” in turn, talk to the timing Wallops Flight Facility in The countdown clock at down and preflight tests, the group and give the “go” to Wallops Island, Va., God- Kennedy’s News Center will timing room is staffed 24/7. start the countdown clock. dard Space Flight Center in begin ticking down at 2 p.m. Steve Payne, The group sets and monitors “We double and triple Greenbelt, Maryland and the on Oct. 30 for Discovery’s NASA shuttle test check our times. We target Morrell Operations Control STS-133 mission to the In- director at Kennedy launch times down to the Center at Cape Canaveral ternational Space Station at Space Center second, and things happen Air Force Station. 4:40 p.m. Nov. 1. quickly as we approach T-0. These numbers are critical to us and they must be cor- rect,” Payne said. The group sends the timing signals to all of the computer system servers in the firing rooms, the ground launch sequencers, Launch Complex 39, the Shuttle Landing Facility Control Tower, Vehicle Assembly Building, Orbiter Process- ing Facilities, Central Instrumentation Facility, Operations and Checkout Building, Space Station NASA/Kim Shiflett Processing Facility, and the Lead Electronic Technician Robert News Center. Wright, with the IMCS Timing and “We are the source for Imaging Technical Support Group, NASA/Jim Grossmann says the group sends the precise timing the official launch and land- The countdown clock is one of the most watched timepieces in the world. On Jan. 21, 2000, the clock at Kennedy Space signal to locations nationwide. ing time,” Wright said. “We Center’s Launch Complex 39 Press Site was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. Oct. 29, 2010 SPACEPORT NEWS Page 7

NASA/Jack Pfaller The 2010 Tour de KSC started at 8 a.m. and went until noon Oct. 23 at Kennedy Space Center. The diverse group included experienced riders pedaling faster than 25 mph at times. More than 600 registered. Second annual Tour de KSC kicks off CFC By Steven Siceloff way offered employees Complex then up to the Spaceport News and their guests photo Vehicle Assembly Building. opportunities with space The diverse group undreds of bicy- shuttle Discovery on Launch included experienced riders clists mingled with Pad 39A. pedaling faster than 25 mph spacecraft Oct. 23 as H The entry fee for each at times, complete with Kennedy Space Center em- person included a donation colorful spandex cycling ployees, families and guests to the Combined Federal “kits,” children making their pedaled around the center Campaign and organizers first distance rides and plenty for the second Tour de KSC. of this year’s event were of recreational wheelers who Grouped by speed and able to contribute $10,215 were happy to have the rare skill levels, some riders to the annual fundraising opportunity to see the space covered all the landmarks drive. Riders also received a center on two wheels. Kennedy has to offer, T-shirt. This was the second including the Vehicle Kennedy Center Tour de KSC. Last year’s Assembly Building, both Director Bob Cabana, a inaugural event also opened shuttle launch pads and the former astronaut and avid the CFC season. NASA/Jack Pfaller Shuttle Landing Facility. cyclist, led a group out Officials plan to host the Kennedy Center Director Bob Cabana holds a check showing a donation of Plenty of stops along the from the Kennedy Visitor event again next year. $10,215 to the Combined Federal Campaign from the 2010 Tour de KSC.

NASA/Jack Pfaller NASA/Jack Pfaller Bicyclists covered all the landmarks Kennedy Space Center has to offer, including the Vehicle Assembly Building, left, both shuttle launch pads, the Shuttle Landing Facility and the crawlerway, right. Page 8 SPACEPORT NEWS Oct. 29, 2010

Upcoming events . . . ON THE Oct. 30 KSC Fall Flea Market; 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; KARS Park I, WORD STREET 1300 East Hall Road; All KSC and CCAFS employees invited. POC: Annette Myers, 867-0431 What should NASA do to commemorate the final launch of the space shuttle? Oct. 31 KSC Fall Festival on Halloween; 5 to 9 p.m.; KARS Park I, Area 1; Badged employees and their families. POC: Amy O’Brien, 867-8408 or “Erect a bronze monument at Space View Park or the Rocket [email protected] Garden. Something that will stand the test of time.” Donna Masters, Oct. 31 to STS-133 Camp and View at KARS Park 1; For questions with United Space Alliance Nov. 1 about camping rates and to make reservations, call Annette Myers at 867-0431. POC: Amy O’Brien, 867-8408 or [email protected] “Bring in the Blue Angels, the Thunderbirds . . . along with a Nov. 2 BlackBerry and iPhone training classes; 5 to 9 p.m.; huge fireworks show shot from a barge in the Atlantic Ocean.” Headquarters, Room 2157. POC: Lisa Valencia, 525-9614 Terry Zaperach, or [email protected] with QinetiQ

Nov. 16-18 The SharePoint Power Users training; 8 a.m. to noon; Operation and Checkout Building, Room 2245; Registration is open until Nov. 12. POC: Laura Thayer, 867-2149 or [email protected] “Have an employee party in and around the Vehicle Assembly Building immediately after the STS-135 launch.” Robert Holl, with NASA Looking up and ahead . . .

Nov. 1 Launch/KSC: Discovery, STS-133; 4:40 p.m. EDT

Targeted for Nov. 15 Launch/CCAFS: Delta IV Heavy, NROL-32; TBD “Family members of workers should get to come in. Especially those whose who have to work during launch.” No Earlier Than Nov. 18 Launch/CCAFS: SpaceX Falcon 9, COTS-1; Harvey Johnson, Launch Window 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. EST with QinetiQ

Targeted for Launch/CCAFS: Atlas V, SBIRS GEO-1; TBD Jan. 22, 2011

Targeted for February Launch/CCAFS: Atlas V, GPS IIF-2; TBD “Open up the gates to children ages 6 to 16 because ultimately they are the ones who are our future.” Feb. 23, 2011 Launch/VAFB: Taurus, Glory; 5:10 a.m. EST Brad A. Lawrence, with United Space Alliance Targeted for Launch/KSC: Endeavour, STS-134; 3:38 p.m. EST Feb. 27, 2011

No Earlier Than April 14, 2011 Launch/CCAFS: SpaceX Falcon 9, Dragon C2; TBD

No Earlier Than June 6, 2011 Launch/CCAFS: SpaceX Falcon 9, Dragon C3; TBD John F. Kennedy Space Center No Earlier Than June 9, 2011 Launch/VAFB: Delta II, Aquarius / SAC-D Satellite; TBD Spaceport News Aug. 5, 2011 Launch/CCAFS: Atlas V, Juno; Launch Window 11:54 a.m. to 12:24 p.m. EDT Spaceport News is an official publication of the Kennedy Space Center and is published on alternate Fridays by External Relations in the interest of KSC civil Aug.15, 2011 Launch/ Kwajalein Atoll, Reagan Test Site: service and contractor employees. Pegasus, NuSTAR; TBD Contributions are welcome and should be submitted three weeks before publication to the Media Services Branch, IMCS-440. E-mail submissions can be sent to [email protected] Sept. 8, 2011 Launch/CCAFS: Delta II Heavy, GRAIL; 8:35:52 a.m. and 9:14:35 a.m. EDT Managing editor ...... Candrea Thomas Editor ...... Frank Ochoa-Gonzales Oct. 18, 2011 Launch/VAFB: Delta II, NPP; TBD Copy editor ...... Rebecca Regan

No Earlier Than Launch/CCAFS: Atlas V, Mars Science Laboratory; TBD Editorial support provided by Abacus Technology Corp. Writers Group. Nov. 25, 2011 NASA at KSC is on the Internet at www.nasa.gov/kennedy USGPO: 733-049/600142