May 29 News Items

NASA Launches New Education Initiative with Disney (Source: NASA)
The liftoff of space shuttle Discovery kicks off a new education initiative between NASA and Disney Parks. A 12-inch-tall Buzz Lightyear action figure will be carried aboard the shuttle as part of the partnership to encourage students to pursue studies in science, technology and mathematics, one of NASA's main educational goals. Disney's Youth Educational Series and NASA have developed an online program known as the Space Ranger Education Series. It includes fun educational games for students, as well as materials for educators to download and integrate into their classroom curriculum. (5/29)

After Delay, NASA Releases Arm of Mars Lander (Source: AIA)
NASA on Wednesday began releasing the robotic arm of its new Mars lander. A radio glitch delayed the release by one day. Scientists say the lander is in excellent shape. Associated Press (5/29)

NASA Selects Small Explorer Projects for Concept Studies (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected six candidate mission proposals for evaluation as part of the agency's Small Explorer (SMEX) Program. The proposals will study the far reaches of the universe, including the Earth's thermosphere and ionosphere, the sun, black holes, the first stars, and Earthlike planets around nearby stars. The selected proposals include: Coronal Physics Explorer (Naval Research Laboratory); Gravity and Extreme Magnetism SMEX (Goddard Space Flight Center); Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph (Lockheed Martin Space Systems); Joint Astrophysics Nascent Universe Satellite (Pennsylvania State University); Neutral Ion Coupling Explorer (University of California, Berkeley); and Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). (5/29)

NASA Awards Marshall Operations Support Services Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected EG&G Technical Services Inc. of Gaithersburg, Md., to provide facility operations and maintenance services at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. The contract begins on July 1, 2008, with a one-year base period, followed by four one-year options. It is a firm-fixed price contract with an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity portion. The maximum potential value of this contract is approximately $153 million. (5/29)

University of Colorado Wins Snow and Ice Archive Contract (Source: NASA)
NASA has selected the University of Colorado at Boulder for the management and operations of the Earth Observing System Data and Information System Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center. The maximum value of the cost, no-fee contract is $32 million over a five-year period. The Snow and Ice Distributed Active Archive Center focuses on receiving, archiving, transforming, validating and distributing digital and analog snow and ice data products generated from numerous Earth observation satellite. (5/29)

Khrunichev Purchases Majority Interest in International Launch Services (Source: ILS)
ILS International Launch Services Inc. announced that Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center acquired the shares of ILS owned by majority shareholder, Space Transport Inc. Financial details were not disclosed. The transaction was completed today. "For ILS employees and customers, there will be no change in operations or management and we will continue our focus on performance. The completion of this transaction only strengthens the relationship with our launch partner, Khrunichev.” (5/29)

Giant Space Vegetables Now On Earth (Source: Space.com)
Giant space vegetables grown from seeds sent into space have been grown in China. In 2006, 2,000 seeds were blasted into space in a Shijan 8 satellite. After germinating, the best seeds were then selected for further breeding. The harvest includes extra-large pumpkins, two-foot long cucumbers, fourteen pound aubergines and chili plants that resemble small trees. Looks like you might want to order the small-sized portion of take-out the next time you are in orbit. The plants are claimed to offer harvests that are higher than normal; important news for China, a country with limited arable land and 1.3 billion people. (5/29)

KSC Layoffs Could Devastate Brevard Economy, Officials Say (Source: Orlando Sentinel)
The news about what Brevard County -- and Central Florida -- would lose if NASA orders mass layoffs at Kennedy Space Center just gets worse. The space agency says it could eliminate 6,400 positions at KSC after it retires the space shuttle in 2010. Now, a new NASA economic study puts a dollar sign on what those layoffs -- and related job losses -- would cost. The total: $879 million a year. NASA and local economic-development officials say this is a "worst case" scenario that might not come to pass. But, they acknowledge, it could happen, with devastating effects on the local economy. (5/29)

UF Scientists, Students Contribute to Mars Phoenix Spacecraft (Source: Alligator)
A research partnership between scientists and students from UF and the University of Central Florida has resulted in innovative technology that is literally out of this world. Phoenix was equipped with a device created with the help of a UF team. The device will allow the lander’s camera to capture accurate photos of the Martian terrain. (5/29)

Embry-Riddle Graduate Launches Aboard Shuttle (Source: ERAU)
NASA Astronaut Col. Ronald Garan, an alumnus of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, is making his first space shuttle flight aboard Discovery on Mission STS-124. Garan graduated from Embry-Riddle’s Worldwide Campus in 1995 with a master’s degree in aeronautical science. Several officials from Embry-Riddle were present at the launch to honor Col. Garan's accomplishment. (5/29)

Where Man Boldly Goes, Bacteria Follow (Source: Eurekalert)
Are we contaminating space? Life in outer space is an absolute certainty, and it is likely to be more familiar than we might think, according to an article in the May issue of Microbiology Today. Ever since the start of the space race we have sent more than just satellites and astronauts into space: spacecraft are not routinely decontaminated and are teeming with microbial life. The Russian space station Mir was launched in 1986 and microbial studies investigated the diversity of bacteria living alongside the astronauts. In 1998, free-floating blobs of water found during a NASA mission to the station were analyzed and discovered to contain microbes including faecal bacteria like E. coli, plague bacterium-related species of Yersinia, and even what was suspected to be Legionella, as well as fungi, amoebae and protozoa. (5/29)

Countdown Begins for Shuttle Launch (Source: Florida Today)
Several hours after Discovery's crew arrived at Kennedy Space Center, the launch countdown began at 3 p.m. Wednesday. Later that night, a 35-pound spare part to repair the space station toilet was stowed aboard the orbiter. On Thursday at 9 a.m., the Mission Management Team will meet to give final approval for the 5:02 p.m. EDT launch Saturday. At 11 a.m. Thursday, technicians will begin loading liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into Discovery's power producing fuel cells. (5/29)

NASA Space Missions Fuel Massive Storage Projects (Source: Byte and Switch)
NASA’s Mars mission may be grabbing headlines this week, but there has been a vast storage infrastructure underpinning the nine-month, 422-million-mile trek to the Red Planet. Data storage projects are playing an increasingly important role for NASA as the administration plans more ambitious space missions and a myriad of cutting-edge research. Officials have already teamed up with Google, for example, around "large-scale data management" and will host a joint conference with the IEEE in September devoted to designing and building “mass storage systems." (5/29)