Future NASA Astronauts Speak with Leadership

Future NASA Astronauts Speak with Leadership

A group of 17 people sit and stand in a circle in a meeting area in an office. There are rocket models and space-themed imagery decorating the space. Everyone looks toward NASA administrator Bill Nelson, second from right, as he speaks.
NASA / Joel Kowsky

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, second from right, NASA associate administrator Bob Cabana, far right, and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (back to camera) speak with the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 2023, at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

After two years of training, they could be assigned to missions that involve performing research aboard the International Space Station, launching from American soil on spacecraft built by commercial companies, as well as deep space missions to destinations including the Moon on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.

Get to know the 2021 Astronaut Candidate Class.

Image Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky

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Monika Luabeya

Join NASA to Discuss High-Rate Laser Comms Demo, Space Station Science

Join NASA to Discuss High-Rate Laser Comms Demo, Space Station Science

4 min read

Join NASA to Discuss High-Rate Laser Comms Demo, Space Station Science

ESA / NASA / Thomas Pesquet

NASA will host a media teleconference at 11 a.m. EDT Thursday, Oct. 26, to discuss a laser communications system and new research to understand the interactions between weather on Earth and in space. The investigations are two of many research and technology experiments bound for the International Space Station next month aboard the agency’s SpaceX 29th commercial resupply services mission.

Audio of the media call will stream live at:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Launch is targeted for no earlier than 10:01 p.m. EST Sunday, Nov. 5. The SpaceX Dragon spacecraft, carried on the company’s Falcon 9 rocket, will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The mission will carry scientific research, technology demonstrations, crew supplies, and hardware to the space station to support its Expedition 70 crew, including NASA’s Integrated Laser Communications Relay Demonstration Low Earth Orbit User Modem and Amplifier Terminal (ILLUMA-T) and Atmospheric Waves Experiment (AWE).

To ask questions during the teleconference, media must RSVP no later than two hours before the event to Claire O’Shea at claire.a.o’shea@nasa.gov. NASA’s media accreditation policy is available online. The public can submit questions on social media using #AskNASA.

David Brady, associate program scientist for the International Space Station Program at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, will provide an overview of the research and technology launching aboard the Dragon spacecraft.

Other teleconference participants include:

  • Dr. Jason Mitchell, director for the Advanced Communications and Navigation Technologies Division in the Space Communication and Navigation (SCaN) Program, Space Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington
  • Glenn Jackson, acting project manager for ILLUMA-T, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland
  • David Cheney, program executive for the Heliophysics Science Division, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters
  • Jeff Forbes, deputy principal investigator for AWE, University of Colorado, Boulder

Once installed on the station’s exterior, ILLUMA-T aims to test high data rate laser communications from the space station to the agency’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration in geosynchronous orbit, which will relay the data to Earth. The system uses invisible infrared light to send and receive information at higher data rates than traditional radio frequency systems. Working together, ILLUMA-T and the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration will complete NASA’s first two-way laser communications relay system.

Also installed on the station’s exterior, AWE will use an infrared imaging instrument to measure the characteristics, distribution, and movement of atmospheric gravity waves, which roll through the Earth’s atmosphere when air is disturbed. Researchers also will look at how atmospheric gravity waves contribute to space weather, which affects space-based and ground-based communications, navigation, and tracking systems. Increased insight into atmospheric gravity waves could improve understanding of Earth’s atmosphere, weather, and climate and development of ways to mitigate the effects of space weather. 

Goddard manages ILLUMA-T in partnership with Johnson and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory for SCaN. As a Mission of Opportunity, AWE is under NASA’s Heliophysics Explorers Program. The program is managed by Goddard for the agency’s Science Mission Directorate.

The International Space Station continues to advance scientific knowledge in Earth, space, physical, and biological sciences for the benefit of people living on our home planet. The station also is the world’s leading laboratory where researchers conduct cutting-edge research and technology development that will enable human and robotic exploration of destinations beyond low Earth orbit, including the Moon and Mars.  

Learn more about the space station, including research and technology at:

https://www.nasa.gov/station

-end-

News Media Contacts

Julian Coltre / Lora Bleacher
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
julian.n.coltre@nasa.gov / lora.v.bleacher@nasa.gov

Stephanie Plucinsky
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-876-2468
stephanie.n.plucinsky@nasa.gov

Sandra Jones
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
sandra.p.jones@nasa.gov

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Oct 20, 2023

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Claire A. O’Shea

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Claire A. O’Shea

NASA Invites Media to 2023 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium

NASA Invites Media to 2023 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium

2 min read

NASA Invites Media to 2023 von Braun Space Exploration Symposium

NASA invites media to the 16th Annual von Braun Space Exploration Symposium from Wednesday to Friday, Oct. 25-27, at the University of Alabama in Huntsville. 

Among the NASA participants, Administrator Bill Nelson will provide remarks during the awards luncheon beginning about 1:15 p.m. CDT Oct. 25. The luncheon also includes a discussion on human landing systems.

This year’s theme is “Advancing Space: From LEO to Lunar and Beyond.” Speakers from government, industry, and academia will focus on the latest developments, future opportunities, and challenges in space science and exploration. 

Joseph Pelfrey, acting director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, will deliver opening remarks and moderate an Artemis panel on Wednesday morning. Other Marshall speakers include:

  • Shane Canerday, aerospace engineer
  • John Honeycutt, manager, Space Launch Systems Program
  • Dayna Ise, deputy manager, Science and Technology Office
  • Mallory James, aerospace engineer
  • Mary Beth Koelbl, director, Engineering Directorate
  • Jason Turpin, senior technical leader, Propulsion
  • Lisa Watson-Morgan, manager, Human Landing System Program

To attend, media members must contact American Astronautical Society Executive Director Jim Way at jimway@astronautical.org or 703-866-0021 for credentials.

Media interested in speaking to the administrator must contact Jackie Mcguinness at jackie.mcguinness@nasa.gov.

To request interviews with other NASA speakers, contact Molly Porter at molly.a.porter@nasa.gov or 256-424-5158.

For more information about the symposium and the full program, visit: astronautical.org/events/vbs.

-end-

Molly Porter NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
256-544-0034
molly.a.porter@nasa.gov

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Beth Ridgeway

NASA’s Voyager Team Focuses on Software Patch, Thrusters

NASA’s Voyager Team Focuses on Software Patch, Thrusters

NASA’s Voyager 1 spacecraft is depicted in this artist’s concept traveling through interstellar space, or the space between stars, which it entered in 2012. Traveling on a different trajectory, its twin, Voyager 2, entered interstellar space in 2018.
NASA/JPL-Caltech

The efforts should help extend the lifetimes of the agency’s interstellar explorers.

Engineers for NASA’s Voyager mission are taking steps to help make sure both spacecraft, launched in 1977, continue to explore interstellar space for years to come.

One effort addresses fuel residue that seems to be accumulating inside narrow tubes in some of the thrusters on the spacecraft. The thrusters are used to keep each spacecraft’s antenna pointed at Earth. This type of buildup has been observed in a handful of other spacecraft.

The team is also uploading a software patch to prevent the recurrence of a glitch that arose on Voyager 1 last year. Engineers resolved the glitch, and the patch is intended to prevent the issue from occurring again in Voyager 1 or arising in its twin, Voyager 2.

Thruster Buildup

The thrusters on Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 are primarily used to keep the spacecraft antennas pointed at Earth in order to communicate. Spacecraft can rotate in three directions – up and down, to the left and right, and around the central axis, like a wheel. As they do this, the thrusters automatically fire and reorient the spacecraft to keep their antennas pointed at Earth.

Propellant flows to the thrusters via fuel lines and then passes through smaller lines inside the thrusters called propellant inlet tubes that are 25 times narrower than the external fuel lines. Each thruster firing adds tiny amounts of propellant residue, leading to gradual buildup of material over decades. In some of the propellant inlet tubes, the buildup is becoming significant. To slow that buildup, the mission has begun letting the two spacecraft rotate slightly farther in each direction before firing the thrusters. This will reduce the frequency of thruster firings.

The adjustments to the thruster rotation range were made by commands sent in September and October, and they allow the spacecraft to move almost 1 degree farther in each direction than in the past. The mission is also performing fewer, longer firings, which will further reduce the total number of firings done on each spacecraft.

The adjustments have been carefully devised to ensure minimal impact on the mission. While more rotating by the spacecraft could mean bits of science data are occasionally lost – akin to being on a phone call where the person on the other end cuts out occasionally – the team concluded the plan will enable the Voyagers to return more data over time.

Engineers can’t know for sure when the thruster propellant inlet tubes will become completely clogged, but they expect that with these precautions, that won’t happen for at least five more years, possibly much longer. The team can take additional steps in the coming years to extend the lifetime of the thrusters even more.

“This far into the mission, the engineering team is being faced with a lot of challenges for which we just don’t have a playbook,” said Linda Spilker, project scientist for the mission as NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Southern California. “But they continue to come up with creative solutions.”

Patching Things Up

In 2022, the onboard computer that orients the Voyager 1 spacecraft with Earth began to send back garbled status reports, despite otherwise continuing to operate normally. It took mission engineers months to pinpoint the issue. The attitude articulation and control system (AACS) was misdirecting commands, writing them into the computer memory instead of carrying them out. One of those missed commands wound up garbling the AACS status report before it could reach engineers on the ground.

The team determined the AACS had entered into an incorrect mode; however, they couldn’t determine the cause and thus aren’t sure if the issue could arise again. The software patch should prevent that.

“This patch is like an insurance policy that will protect us in the future and help us keep these probes going as long as possible,” said JPL’s Suzanne Dodd, Voyager project manager. “These are the only spacecraft to ever operate in interstellar space, so the data they’re sending back is uniquely valuable to our understanding of our local universe.”

Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 have traveled more than 15 billion and 12 billion miles from Earth, respectively. At those distances, the patch instructions will take over 18 hours to travel to the spacecraft. Because of the spacecraft’s age and the communication lag time, there’s some risk the patch could overwrite essential code or have other unintended effects on the spacecraft. To reduce those risks, the team has spent months writing, reviewing, and checking the code. As an added safety precaution, Voyager 2 will receive the patch first and serve as a testbed for its twin. Voyager 1 is farther from Earth than any other spacecraft, making its data more valuable.

The team will upload the patch and do a readout of the AACS memory to make sure it’s in the right place on Friday, Oct. 20. If no immediate issues arise, the team will issue a command on Saturday, Oct. 28, to see if the patch is operating as it should.

More About the Mission

The Voyager mission was originally scheduled to last only four years, sending both probes past Saturn and Jupiter. NASA extended the mission so that Voyager 2 could visit Uranus and Neptune; it is still the only spacecraft ever to have encountered the ice giants. In 1990, NASA extended the mission again, this time with the goal of sending the probes outside the heliosphere, a protective bubble of particles and magnetic fields created by the Sun. Voyager 1 reached the boundary in 2012, while Voyager 2 (traveling slower and in a different direction than its twin) reached it in 2018.

A division of Caltech in Pasadena, JPL built and operates the Voyager spacecraft. The Voyager missions are a part of the NASA Heliophysics System Observatory, sponsored by the Heliophysics Division of the Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information about the Voyager spacecraft, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/voyager

News Media Contact

Calla Cofield
Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.
626-808-2469
calla.e.cofield@jpl.nasa.gov

2023-148

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Naomi Hartono

30 Years Ago: The STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences-2 Mission

30 Years Ago: The STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences-2 Mission

On Oct. 18, 1993, space shuttle Columbia lifted off in support of the STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences 2 (SLS-2) mission to conduct cutting edge research on physiological adaptation to spaceflight. The seven-member crew of STS-58 consisted of Commander John E. Blaha, Pilot Richard A. Searfoss, Payload Commander Dr. M. Rhea Seddon, Mission Specialists William S. McArthur, Dr. David A. Wolf, and Shannon M. Lucid, and Payload Specialist Dr. Martin J. Fettman, the first veterinarian in space. Dr. Jay C. Buckey  and Laurence R. Young served as alternate payload specialists. During the second dedicated life sciences shuttle mission, they conducted 14 experiments to study the cardiovascular, pulmonary, regulatory, neurovestibular, and musculoskeletal systems to provide a better understanding of physiological responses to spaceflight. The 14-day mission ended on Nov. 1, the longest shuttle flight up to that time.

STS-58 astronauts David A. Wolf, seated left, Shannon M. Lucid, M. Rhea Seddon, and Richard A. Searfoss; John E. Blaha, standing left, William S. McArthur, and Martin J. Fettman The STS-58 crew patch The Spacelab Life Sciences 2 mission patch
Left: STS-58 astronauts David A. Wolf, seated left, Shannon M. Lucid, M. Rhea Seddon, and Richard A. Searfoss; John E. Blaha, standing left, William S. McArthur, and Martin J. Fettman. Middle: The STS-58 crew patch. Right: The Spacelab Life Sciences 2 mission patch.

As its name implies, SLS-2 was the second space shuttle mission dedicated to conducting life sciences research. Because of an oversubscription in the original Spacelab-4 mission, managers decided to split the research flight into two missions to optimize the science return for the principal investigators. The nine-day SLS-1 mission flew in June 1991, its seven-member crew conducting nine life science experiments. Because of her experience as a mission specialist on SLS-1, managers named Seddon as the payload commander for SLS-2. Eight of the 14 experiments used the astronauts as test subjects, and six used 48 laboratory rats housed in 24 cages in the Rodent Animal Holding Facility.

Liftoff of space shuttle Columbia on the STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences 2 mission View of the Spacelab module in Columbia’s payload bay
Left: Liftoff of space shuttle Columbia on the STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences 2 mission. Right: View of the Spacelab module in Columbia’s payload bay.

Space shuttle Columbia’s 15th liftoff took place at 10:53 a.m. EST on Oct. 18, 1993, from Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, carrying the SLS-2 mission into space. Blaha, making his fourth trip into space and second as commander, and Pilot Searfoss on his first launch, monitored Columbia’s systems as they climbed into orbit, assisted by McArthur, also on his first flight, serving as the flight engineer. Seddon, making her third trip into space, accompanied them on the flight deck. Wolf, Lucid, and Fettman experienced launch in the shuttle’s middeck. Upon reaching orbit, the crew opened the payload bay doors, thus deploying the shuttle’s radiators. Shortly after, the crew opened the hatch from the shuttle’s middeck, translated down the transfer tunnel, and entered Spacelab for the first time, activating the module, and getting to work on the experiments, including the first blood draws for the regulatory physiology experiments. The blood samples, stored in the onboard refrigerator for postflight analysis, investigated calcium loss in bone and parameters of fluid and electrolyte regulation.

Dr. David A. Wolf draws a blood sample from Dr. Martin J. Fettman as part of a regulatory physiology experiment Payload Commander Dr. M. Rhea Seddon processes blood samples William S. McArthur uses a metabolic gas analyzer to monitor his pulmonary or lung function
Left: Dr. David A. Wolf draws a blood sample from Dr. Martin J. Fettman as part of a regulatory physiology experiment. Middle: Payload Commander Dr. M. Rhea Seddon processes blood samples.  Right: William S. McArthur uses a metabolic gas analyzer to monitor his pulmonary or lung function.

During the 14-day mission, the seven-member SLS-2 crew served as both experiment subjects and operators. The majority of the science activities took place in the Spacelab module mounted in the shuttle’s payload bay, with SLS-2 marking the ninth flight of the ESA-built pressurized module since its first flight on STS-9 in 1983. The experiments had, of course, begun long before launch with extensive baseline data collection. For Lucid and Fettman, data collection for one of the cardiovascular experiments began four hours before launch and continued through ascent and for the first day or so of the mission. Both volunteered to have catheters threaded through an arm vein and into their hearts to directly measure the effect on central venous pressure from the fluid shift caused by the transition to weightlessness.

Views of the rotating dome experiment Views of the rotating dome experiment
Two views of the rotating dome experiment, used to measure astronauts’ motion perception, with John E. Blaha, left, and Dr. M. Rhea Seddon, as test subjects.

View of the rotating chair View of the rotating chair
Two views of the rotating chair, with Dr. Martin J. Fettman as the subject and Dr. M. Rhea Seddon as the operator, used to test the astronauts’ vestibular systems.

A group of experiments studied the astronauts’ sensory motor adaptation to spaceflight. In one study, the astronauts placed their heads inside a rotating dome with colored dots painted on its inside surface. Using a joystick, the astronauts indicated in which direction they perceived the rotation of the dots. A rotating chair measured how reflexive eye movements change in weightlessness. Using a bungee harness to simulate falling, astronauts reported on their sensation of and their reflexes to “falling” in microgravity.

Earth observation photographs taken by the STS-58 crew. Memphis, Tennessee Earth observation photographs taken by the STS-58 crew. The Richat Structure in Mauritania Earth observation photographs taken by the STS-58 crew. Cyprus, Türkiye, and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Earth observation photographs taken by the STS-58 crew. Tokyo Bay
A selection of the Earth observation photographs taken by the STS-58 crew. Left: The Memphis, Tennessee, area. Middle left: The Richat Structure in Mauritania. Middle right: Cyprus, Türkiye, and the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Right: Tokyo Bay.

In addition to the complex set of SLS-2 experiments, the STS-58 astronauts’ activities also included other science and operational items. They conducted several experiments as part of the Extended Duration Orbiter Medical Program, including the use of lower body negative pressure as a potential countermeasure to cardiovascular changes, in particular orthostatic intolerance, as shuttle missions flew ever longer missions. The astronauts talked to ordinary people on the ground using the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, or ham radio. As on all missions, they enjoyed looking at the Earth. When not participating as a test subject for the various experiments or needing to monitor Columbia’s systems, Searfoss in particular took advantage of their unique vantage point, taking more than 4,000 photographs of the Earth below. Blaha and Searfoss tested the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Trainer (PILOT), a laptop computer to help them maintain proficiency in landing the shuttle.

STS-58 astronauts William A. McArthur, top, Martin J. Fettman, David A. Wolf, Richard A. Searfoss, John E. Blaha, M. Rhea Seddon, and Shannon M. Lucid inside the Spacelab module McArthur operates the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, or ham radio Pilot Searfoss uses the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Simulator, a laptop computer to practice landing the space shuttle
Left: STS-58 astronauts William A. McArthur, top, Martin J. Fettman, David A. Wolf, Richard A. Searfoss, John E. Blaha, M. Rhea Seddon, and Shannon M. Lucid inside the Spacelab module. Middle: McArthur operates the Shuttle Amateur Radio Experiment, or ham radio. Right: Pilot Searfoss uses the Portable In-flight Landing Operations Simulator, a laptop computer to practice landing the space shuttle.

On their last day in space, the astronauts finished the experiments, Wolf deactivated the Spacelab module, and they strapped themselves into their seats to prepare for the return to Earth. They fired the shuttle’s Orbital Maneuvering System engines to begin the descent from orbit. Blaha piloted Columbia to a smooth landing on Runway 22 at Edwards Air Force Base in California’s Mojave Desert on Nov. 1, after completing 225 orbits around the Earth in 14 days and 12 minutes. The astronauts exited Columbia about one hour after landing and transferred to the Crew Transport Vehicle, a converted people-mover NASA purchased from Dulles International Airport near Washington, D.C. This allowed them to remain in a supine position to minimize the effects of gravity on the early postflight measurements. While Blaha, Searfoss, and McArthur returned to Houston a few hours after landing, Seddon, Wolf, Lucid, and Fettman continued extensive data collection at the Dryden, now Armstrong, Fight Research Center at Edwards for several days before returning to Houston. Ground crews towed Columbia from the runway to the Mate-Demate Facility to begin preparing it for its ferry flight back to KSC atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft and its next mission, STS-62, the United States Microgravity Payload-2 mission.

Space Shuttle Columbia lands at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to end the 14-day STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences 2 (SLS-2) mission The seven STS-58 SLS-2 crew members have exited Columbia and transferred to the Crew Transport Vehicle to begin postflight data collection
Left: Space Shuttle Columbia lands at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to end the 14-day STS-58 Spacelab Life Sciences 2 (SLS-2) mission. Right: The seven STS-58 SLS-2 crew members have exited Columbia and transferred to the Crew Transport Vehicle to begin postflight data collection.

Summarizing the scientific return from the flight, Mission Scientist Howard J. Schneider said, “All of our accomplishments exceeded our expectations.” Program Scientist Frank M. Sulzman added, “This has been the best shuttle mission for life sciences to date.” Principal investigators published the results of the experiments from SLS-1 and SLS-2 in a special edition of the Journal of Applied Physiology in July 1996. Enjoy the crew-narrated video about the STS-58 SLS-2 mission.

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Kelli Mars