NASA News: Space Station Astronauts Connect Live With D.C. Students
WASHINGTON -- To highlight International Education Week (IEW), NASAand the U.S. Department of Education will host a live, long-distance
call for students with International Space Station resident and
Expedition 29 Commander Mike Fossum. Schools and students
participating have strong military connections and were selected in
collaboration with the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity.
NASA Associate Administrator for Education Leland Melvin and Deputy
Secretary of Education Tony Miller will join students to discuss
living and working in space with Fossum. The downlink is scheduled
for Tuesday, Nov. 8, from 9:55 to 10:15 a.m. EST, and will air live
on NASA Television and the agency's website.
Media representatives interested in attending should contact Sara Gast
at the Department of Education at sara.gast@ed.gov by 5 p.m., Monday,
Nov. 7. The event will take place at the Department of Education
auditorium, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., in Washington.
This year's IEW theme is "Inspiring Students Locally to Succeed
Globally." The event continues a long-standing partnership between
NASA and the Education Department that celebrates the benefits of
international education and exchange worldwide.
The live, in-flight education downlink is one of a series with
educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching
and learning in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It
is an integral component of Teaching From Space, a NASA Education
program that promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships
with the education community using the unique environment of space
and NASA's human spaceflight program.
For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv
For information about NASA's education programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/education
For information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/station
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White House Honors NASA With GreenGov Presidential Award
WASHINGTON -- NASA has won a GreenGov Presidential Award from theWhite House Council on Environmental Quality. The GreenGov awards
celebrate exceptional efforts to promote sustainability in federal
agency operations.
NASA is being recognized in the "Lean, Clean and Green" category for
consistently moving toward sustainable and efficient operations by
setting exemplary goals in agency-wide energy and water efficiency,
reduced emissions, and greater renewable energy usage. Several of
NASA's sustainability solutions address the communities where agency
facilities are located.
"We are extremely gratified and grateful that NASA has been honored by
the White House for its ongoing commitment to environmental
sustainability," said Olga Dominguez, assistant administrator of the
NASA Office of Strategic Infrastructure. "NASA's vision has always
been to reach new heights, and we'll continue to do that in space
exploration and here on Earth in protecting our environment."
GreenGov awards honor federal civilian and military personnel, agency
teams, agency projects and facilities, and agency programs that
exemplify President Obama's charge to lead by example towards a clean
energy economy.
"NASA consistently has been a leader in federal sustainability efforts
-- from the work NASA has undertaken in its facilities to its
commitment to involve colleagues throughout the organization," said
Michelle Moore, the president's federal environmental executive. "The
GreenGov Presidential Award recognizes their exemplary performance."
NASA's sustainability policy is to execute the agency's mission
without compromising Earth's resources so future generations can meet
their needs. Sustainability also involves taking action now to
provide a future where the environment and living conditions are
protected and enhanced.
"NASA's commitment is exemplified by the collection of centers, such
as the Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., Ames Research Center
in Moffett Field, Calif., Kennedy Space Center in Florida and Johnson
Space Center in Houston, which have addressed sustainability with
creative, lasting and effective methods," according to the White
House council.
Kennedy was nominated for its "Propellants North" project,
commissioned to replace existing, uninhabitable structures dating to
the 1960s. Kennedy also was nominated for its Data Center
Consolidation project to unite technology assets across the center's
campus. A third KSC nomination, "Building a Sustainable Future,"
implemented "systematic and deliberate change to weave sustainability
throughout the center's entire operations," the award statement said.
NASA Langley was nominated for "Greening NASA Langley through Energy
Conservation." The project included construction of a new,
energy-efficient administrative building and implementation of
several energy and water conservation and renewable energy projects
to prevent pollution and assist in meeting federal and center energy
and water reduction goals. Langley also was nominated for
incorporating the concept of sustainable revitalization into its
Master Planning and Environmental Management System.
NASA Johnson was nominated for its "Biobased Coolant Pilot Project,"
which converted a building and its machinery to biobased alternative
fuels and coolants, and dramatically reduced costs. Johnson also was
nominated for its electronic waste collection events held in
conjunction with its Contractor Environmental Partnership and federal
and local community volunteers. Four events have been held since
2008, and the partnership diverted more than 561,500 pounds of
e-waste from local landfills.
NASA Ames' new "Sustainability Base" used unique NASA technologies to
build a 50,000- square-foot mixed-use facility intended as a
sustainability technology demonstration, test-bed and dissemination tool.
Nine NASA projects submitted by four NASA centers and the agency's
Headquarters in Washington were nominated for GreenGov Awards.
For more information about the GreenGov awards, visit:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/
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NASA And Space Florida Small Satellite Research Center Partner In Space Launch Challenge
WASHINGTON -- NASA has signed an agreement with the Space FloridaSmall Satellite Research Center of Cape Canaveral, Florida, to manage
the Nano-Satellite Launch Challenge, one of the agency's new
Centennial Challenges prize competitions.
The Nano-Satellite Launch Challenge is to launch satellites with a
mass of at least 2.2 pounds (1 kg) into Earth orbit, twice within the
span of one week. The new challenge has a NASA-provided prize purse
of $2 million.
The objective of the competition is to encourage innovations in
propulsion and other technologies, as well as operations and
management relevant to safe, low-cost, small payload delivery system
for frequent access to Earth orbit. Innovations stemming from this
challenge will be beneficial to broader applications in future launch
systems. They may enhance commercial capability for dedicated
launches of small satellites at a cost comparable to secondary
payload launches -- a potential new market with government,
commercial, and academic customers.
"Monday's agreement between NASA and Space Florida for use of
facilities at the Kennedy Space Center even better positions the
organization for managing this new Nano-Satellite Launch Challenge,"
said Michael Gazarik, director for NASA's Space Technology Program at
NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Space Florida has extensive
experience working with NASA, the FAA, the Air Force, commercial
spaceflight companies and universities to advance their plans for
spaceflight operations. We look forward to having the Space Florida
Small Satellite Research Center overseeing the competition and
bringing together innovative teams with creative problem-solving ideas."
Space Florida submitted a proposal last spring in response to a NASA
solicitation for this partnership opportunity. They will now begin
detailed preparations for the challenge, publishing rules and then
registering competitors. The first competition launch attempt is
expected to take place in the summer of 2012.
The Centennial Challenges seek unconventional solutions to problems of
interest to NASA and the nation. Competitors have included private
companies, student groups and independent inventors working outside
the traditional aerospace industry. Unlike contracts or grants,
prizes are awarded only after solutions are successfully demonstrated.
NASA's Centennial Challenges program provides the prize purse for the
technology and innovation competitions. The competitions are managed
by non-profit organizations that cover the cost of operations through
commercial or private sponsorships.
In October, NASA awarded the largest prize in aviation history
following Pipistrel-USA's win of the agency's CAFE Green Flight
Challenge, sponsored by Google. NASA's $1.35 million first prize and
a $120,000 second prize recognized competitors using electric
airplanes to break all previous fuel efficiency records. The
technology and innovation used in electric aircraft may end up in
general aviation aircraft, spawning new jobs and new industries for
the 21st century.
There have been 22 Centennial Challenges competition events since
2005. NASA has awarded nearly $6 million to 15 different
challenge-winning teams. Centennial Challenges is one of the ten
Space Technology programs, managed by NASA's Office of the Chief
Technologist. For more information about the program and descriptions
of each of the challenge competitions, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/challenges
For more information about Space Florida and updates on the
Nano-Satellite Launch Challenge, visit:
www.spaceflorida.gov/r-d
For more information about NASA's Office of the Chief Technologist, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/oct
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