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Reviewing the past 12 monyhs, KSC enters 2004



 
 
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Old December 24th 03, 04:32 PM
Jacques van Oene
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Default Reviewing the past 12 monyhs, KSC enters 2004

NASA News
National Aeronautics and
Space Administration

John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899
AC 321-867-2468
__________________________________________________ __________________________
_______________________________
Bruce Buckingham
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
December 23, 2003
(Phone: 321/867-2468)

RELEASE: 100-03

REVIEWING THE PAST 12 MONTHS, KSC ENTERS 2004 WITH EXPECTATIONS OF GREAT
THINGS TO COME

Expanding technological boundaries and blazing new trails are part of
NASA-Kennedy Space Center's (KSC) daily endeavors, and 2003 comprised a full
year of these achievements.

The upcoming year is no exception, as KSC will continue demonstrating its
leadership. Four expendable launch vehicles (ELV) will launch in 2004. Space
Shuttle missions STS-114 and STS-121 are scheduled to launch no earlier than
September. Both are International Space Station and developmental missions
designed to test new return to flight safety measures.

In June, Center Director Roy D. Bridges Jr., was named director of NASA's
Langley Research Center, effective Aug. 10. James W. Kennedy, an engineer
transplant from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and KSC's deputy
director since November 2002, was appointed his successor. Dr. Woodrow
Whitlow Jr., director of Research and Technology at NASA's Glenn Research
Center since 1998, became KSC's deputy director.

Following the catastrophic February loss of Columbia and the STS-107 crew
members, the Center resolved to remedy concerns and excel in exploration.
Although KSC's perseverance was tested in 2003, this year's exciting
milestones confirm that the Center's excellence prevailed.

"As we celebrate [NASA's] 45th anniversary, and indeed 2003, we pause to
both celebrate the tremendous successes that we have enjoyed as well as to
reflect upon the tragic losses that we have all had to endure," said Center
Director Jim Kennedy. "We are an Agency that is literally defined by the
highest of our highs... We have had the highest of highs. We have also had
to endure the lowest of lows... While we mourn these losses and we are
determined to learn from them, we cherish and we will never forget those who
gave their lives and we promise to come back smarter, stronger and better
than ever before."


Missions
KSC managed seven ELV launches during 2003. These successful missions
included the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat) and Cosmic
Hot Interstellar Plasma Spectrometer (CHIPSat), Jan. 12; the Solar Radiation
and Climate Experiment (SORCE), Jan. 25; the Galaxy Evolution Explorer
(GALEX), April 28; two Mars Exploration Rovers (MER) - MER-A "Spirit," June
10, and MER-B "Opportunity," July 7; the Scientific Satellite Atmospheric
Chemistry Experiment (SCISAT), Aug. 12; and the Space Infrared Telescope
Facility (SIRTF), recently renamed the Spitzer Space Telescope in honor of
the late Dr. Lyman Spitzer Jr., Aug. 25. Two of these were launched from
Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., and five from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station, adjacent to KSC, Fla.

The single 2003 Space Shuttle mission, STS-107, launched Jan. 16 from Pad
39A. The Extended Duration Orbiter mission was a microgravity research
flight. At approximately 9 a.m. EST, Feb. 1, Columbia broke up during
re-entry over Texas en route to a 9:16 a.m. landing. This disaster claimed
the lives of crew members Rick Husband, Willie McCool, Michael Anderson,
Dave Brown, Laurel Clark, Kalpana Chawla and Israel's Ilan Ramon. Despite
the devastating accident, several experiment containers survived the fall to
earth. Two of the experiments could lead to development of life-saving
treatments for cancer and severe lung infections.

Columbia Recovery and Reconstruction
Altogether, there were 870 KSC civil service and contractor employees among
the 25,000 personnel who helped with the search and recovery efforts in East
Texas. The ground area searched was a corridor 250-miles-long by
10-miles-wide near Lufkin.

The RLV hangar at the Shuttle Landing Facility was chosen to be the staging
area for the debris shipped to KSC from the collection point at Barksdale
Air Force Base, Shreveport, La. A Columbia Reconstruction Project team was
assembled and tasked with identifying the pieces of debris as they arrived
and placing them on a grid approximating the shape of the orbiter marked off
on the hangar floor. The approximately 150 employees on the team were able
to identify 83,013 pieces out of the 83,833 pieces retrieved. At the
conclusion of the search, about 38 percent of the dry weight of Columbia had
been recovered.

In September, the debris was moved into long-term, accessible storage in the
Vehicle Assembly Building. Parts of the orbiter will be made available to
scientific, academic and governmental organizations for studies of
hypersonic and thermodynamic properties and their affects on spacecraft
parts and may assist in the design and flight safety of future spacecraft.

Return to Flight
At year-end, orbiters Atlantis and Discovery were undergoing parallel
processing for flight in September 2004. Atlantis is the primary vehicle
for the STS-114 launch, a 12-day mission.

Orbiter Major Modifications (OMM) on Discovery concluded during 2003, and in
turn, began on orbiter Endeavour. During this planned down time, every
aspect of the orbiter -- from the wiring, control panels and black boxes to
the tubing and components of the gaseous and fluid systems -- were examined.
These systems were deserviced, disassembled, inspected, modified,
reassembled, checked out and reserviced, as were most other systems onboard.
A Multifunction Electronic Display Subsystem (MEDS) - a state-of-the-art
"glass cockpit" - was installed on Discovery and is scheduled for
installation on Endeavour in 2004.

The Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) currently houses eight
International Space Station (ISS) elements, in various stages of processing
and testing, as NASA looks forward to resuming assembly. Among these are
the Japanese Experiment Module (JEM); the U.S. Node 2; the as yet unflown
Multi-Purpose Logistics Module Donatello, as well as its companion modules
Raffaello and Leonardo; the 12A and 13A element power modules equipped with
solar arrays; and various truss hardware.

The Multi-Element Integrated Test (MEIT) of the Node 2 and Japanese
Experiment Module (JEM) Kibo Pressurized Module was successfully completed
in September. Only the third test of its kind to be performed in the SSPF,
an international and multi-organizational team was assembled from among the
ISS partners. Hardware and software were transported to KSC from other NASA
centers, as needed. The test involved connecting cables between the modules
to provide electrical power in order to validate the compatibility of the
systems. Node 2 testing included emulating the ISS on-orbit configuration,
and testing the command and track systems that support the audio and video
systems on-orbit and the caution and warning systems that monitor life
support systems in the module.

When the Space Shuttle launches again, KSC's tracking and imaging
capabilities on ascent will be improved to conform to the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board's recommendation R3.4-1. Video camera positions added
to the short-range tracking cameras at the launch pads will be increased to
six, and continue to be supported by 42 fixed cameras. The five existing
medium-range trackers along the coast and at the Shuttle Landing Facility
will be increased to seven. The positions of the long-range trackers north
and south of the pads have been re-evaluated and will now reach from 38
miles north of the pads at Ponce Inlet to 11 miles south of the pads at
Complex 46 on Cape Canaveral.

Partnerships
In 2003, KSC ventured into a number of professional partnerships with
various government and industry interests. The following are examples of
some of those partnerships.

KSC, the Air Force, the Secretary of Defense office and the Federal Aviation
Administration addressed space launch needs associated with low-cost,
routine and safe space access. As a result, Future Interagency Range and
Spaceport Technology Program (FIRST) emerged. FIRST develops key
technologies to achieve global, interoperable spaceports and ranges.

NASA, Dynamac Corp., Bionetics and University of Florida researchers and
scientists moved to the new 100,000-square-foot Space Life Sciences (SLS)
Laboratory. This facility serves as a research hub for plant growth
experiments, resource recovery and microbiology/microbial ecology studies.
Built by the state of Florida and NASA, the laboratory also contains
analytical chemistry labs, spaceflight experiment facilities and a flight
hardware development growth chamber. It replaces the World War II era
Hangar L facility used for life science research and experiments on the Cape
Canaveral Air Force Station.

KSC, Dynamac Corp., 45th Space Wing, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and National Marine Fisheries
Service developed a passive acoustic monitoring systems prototype. These
systems exhibit vital fishery life history activities such as reproduction,
as well as human activity. The Naval Undersea Warfare Center and U.S. Coast
Guard Research and Development Center may deploy these technologies for
homeland security endeavors.

KSC, GeoSyntec Environmental Consultants, the Department of Defense and the
U.S. Navy tested the NASA-developed Emulsified Zero-Valent Iron
envionmental cleanup technique. This technology uses environmentally
friendly oil and water to neutralize contaminating chemicals in ground
water.

KSC and Phoenix Systems International Inc. developed an application of the
Center's oxidizer scrubber technology for use at coal- and oil-fired
electric power plants. The new system should be more cost effective, reduce
nitrous oxide emissions and extend the nation's coal reserves.

NASA's Office of Space Science selected KSC, Cornell University, the Florida
Institute of Technology, the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and
Arctic Slope Regional Corp. to develop a Mars dust particle analyzer for
future landers or rovers. Meeting stringent size, weight and power
guidelines, this miniaturized instrument intends to perform real time,
simultaneous measurements of Mars dust particles.

Environmental Leadership
The Merritt Island Spaceflight Tracking and Data Network won the Federal
Energy and Water Management Award. They were chosen by the Department of
Energy for their long-term efforts to improve energy efficiency at the
Tracking and Data Relay Station. This group saved the Center approximately
$100,000 annually in energy bills.

A Florida Power and Light (FPL) alternatively financed project remedied some
of the Center's inefficient energy operations. FPL provided a loan for
up-front project costs and KSC uses energy bill savings generated by the
project for financing.

A high bay project, in Space Station Processing and Operations and Checkout
facilities, produced significant energy savings within its existing
operations/maintenance budget. Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
system energy costs were reduced to one-tenth previous levels while
improving temperature and humidity conditions.

KSC is home to 25 threatened and endangered species, both permanent
residents and annual migraters. Efforts to increase population and habitat
usage included controlled burning, wetlands enhancement and exotic, invasive
plant removals.

Technology
This is the fourth consecutive year KSC earned more Space Act Award dollars
than any other NASA civil service center. The fiscal year 2003 award amount
of $195,700 is proportionately divided among award areas.


Among the 100 inventors, who individually received $500 to $21,000, was NASA
retiree and exceptional Space Act Award recipient, Adam Kissiah. He finally
received recognition for inventing the cochlear implant 25 years ago, and
also received $21,000-the largest award to a single inventor in the Center's
history.

The Technology Commercialization Office received 128 New Technology Reports
for innovations developed at the Center, and signed seven license agreements
and five Space Act Agreements. The Office also managed 50 Small Business
Innovation Research/Small Business Technology Transfer contracts valued at
$18.1 million. Some examples of these new technical innovations follow.

The Signal Conditioning Amplifier Recorder (SCAmpR) provides signal
conditioning, amplifying and recording capabilities in a single circuit
board. SCAmpR significantly improves reliability, reduces cost and provides
more flexibility than pre-existing systems used during Space Shuttle
launches.

Developed for use around Space Shuttle launch pads, the Multi-Sensor Array
pressure transducer records physical phenomena. The technology enables
sensors to uniquely monitor their own health and estimate their remaining
lifetime.

KSC engineers developed a scaling device to assess Space Shuttle external
tank damage following hailstorms. Software calibrates a pattern in a photo
image to compute the distance scale for the entire image, saving valuable
time in establishing and documenting measurements.

The Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) emissions reducer used in fossil fuel-burning
power plants reduces costs and eliminates hazardous waste streams. This
technology could directly apply to the Space Shuttle launch pad NOx
scrubbers and Center boiler plants. Participation under this agreement
demonstrates NASA's commitment to environmental stewardship.

Due to the Center's proximity to the Atlantic Ocean, KSC is a corrosive
environment. The corrosion-inhibiting technology-Galvanic Liquid Applied
Coating System-slows or stops corrosion of reinforcing steel inside concrete
structures, thus protecting launch support structures, highway bridges and
buildings.

The ultraviolet/infrared hydrogen flame detector reduces false alarms from
reflections of a known flame source or from non-flame sources that emit UV,
such as lightning or welding arcs.

The Advanced Data Acquisition System develops command, control, and
monitoring systems to collect data and make command decisions.

Free software for researching KSC technologies was made available to the
U.S. public online at http://www.openchannelfoundation.org/cosmic/. Each
technology's forum provides outlets for user comments and is monitored by
innovators, allowing users direct contact with NASA experts.

P.I. EXPERT ensures Shuttle maintenance operations run efficiently. The
prototype integrates traditional tools with robust techniques in a
user-friendly format. It is a critical technology for businesses
restructuring or accelerating operations in order to gain a competitive
edge.

The Temperature and Moisture Acquisition System (TMAS) measures moisture in
small root modules used for plant research in microgravity and provides
precise moisture readings. NASA's Space Station Biological Research Program
for Space Station experiments uses TMAS in a budding plant growth facility.

The Electronic Portable Information Collection (EPIC) system is the first
paperless system used to launch rockets into space. EPIC supported two Atlas
V launches recently. The system records and maintains hundreds of
mission-critical procedures. To manage those resources, EPIC offers a
wireless network that communicates a series of work authorization procedures
almost in real time.

Education
KSC also helped implement a new Agency initiative-the NASA Explorer Schools
Program. Five KSC regional service area schools are participating to acquire
new teaching resources and technology tools for their fifth to eighth grade
classes. The Center welcomed 22 Florida and Georgia educators for an
intensive, hands-on summer workshop including a Station link-up to interact
with the Expedition 7 crew.

Educators and students depend on the Center continuously for on- and
off-site space-related workshops that provide curriculum material and
classroom techniques. Education hosted approximately 498 K-12 schools,
46,004 K-12 students and 15,406 K-12 teachers. The Education Programs and
University Research division supported the development and implementation of
NASA's Educator Astronaut Program. Nearly 9,000 nominations generated from
KSC's service area.

Safety and Health
After two years, KSC became Voluntary Protection Program (VPP) qualified by
the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). VPP ensures
continuous safety and health program enhancements, and certification as a
"Star" site constitutes recognition as an exemplary safety and health
program. At least 78 percent of KSC's workforce, including two major
contractors, is now VPP Star certified. The Center is currently the only VPP
qualified federal site in the region (Florida, Georgia, Mississippi and
Alabama).

KSC not only complied with approximately 500 OSHA requirements, but several
areas were also recognized as best industry practices. These included the
Center Director's use of electronic communications to the entire workforce
highlighting safety and health aspects such as roles and responsibilities,
employee rights such as "stop work authority," incident and close call
reporting, and unannounced monthly workplace inspection results.

OSHA also noted the establishment of "RehabWorks" (an on-site occupational
health rehabilitation center), employee VPP awareness and knowledge, the
Center's Employee Safety and Health Pocket Guide, and KSC's Business World
Web site with safety and health links.

KSC's Occupational Health Program continuously promoted employee wellness
with activities such as physical exams, inoculation programs, health
education and screening programs, and the Employee Assistance Program (EAP).
The Fitness Centers offered motivational programs such as the President's
Adult Active Lifestyle Award, which promoted physical fitness. Screening
programs include cardiovascular disease risk reduction and breast and
colorectal cancer screenings. An employee health and fitness day taught
employees about community health and wellness programs. Additionally, the
workforce can receive free flu shots, as well as counseling services,
through the EAP.

In a first-ever comprehensive survey of 100,000 federal government employees
on various aspects of job satisfaction conducted by the Partnership for
Public Service and American University's Institute for the Study of Public
Policy Implementation in 2003, NASA ranked first among all federal agencies
in several categories related to employee satisfaction. The results reflect
the positive attitude of the KSC employees and their belief in the NASA
mission. The KSC workforce welcomes the new year with the determination to
meet Center Director Kennedy's challenge to honor the memory of Columbia and
her crew by doing their part to make the agency smarter, stronger and better
than ever before.



-end


--
-------------------

Jacques :-)

Editor: www.spacepatches.info


 




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