[Spacetalk] https://spaceflightnow.com; https://www.nasa.gov/index.html

Wed Jan 25 23:03:19 CST 2017

Good morning all,
 I hope you are having a great week, I can not believe how fast time is going…..I feel I am pretty much control of everything I do, certainly how I deal with it….but this is one thing that escapes me….it seems I blink once, a week goes by, twice, a month….all the more reason to focus on and enjoy the day we are in…I added the info about the link up with the station….as a reminder to give it a try, it will be such an experience for your kids and the school….as well as national exposure for your school….I hope you will find a few minutes to share the undocking and release of the Japanese cargo Ship from the ISS on Friday…see  http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv <seehttp://www.nasa.gov/nasatv> and info below…on Monday I will be leaving for Georgia speaking with the kids at…Waynesville Primary, Colbert Elem, Hull Elem, IIa Elem return on Wed night leave Friday morning for a fun day with the kids at Lawton Chiles Elem, the return Friday night….I had some great news in that I have been asked to go to Brazil to be a keynote speaker in a very special event…the First Brazil Science night…what an honor….have also been asked to be a speaker at SunNFun in April…I strongly recommend you go, if you can…it is an amazing week long event for teachers with many workshops, exhibits, and presenters….it was where I met many of you and I always enjoy the opportunity to share some time with you…you can go to either of the subject links for updates on all international launches/missions... we have to remember to always do our best, enjoy everything we do, live in the present, make each day special, let those we care about most know, smile and have fun... Gabe 

Oklahoma Students to Speak to NASA Astronaut on Space Station 

NASA astronaut Shane Kimbrough, commander of International Space Station Expedition 50.

Credits: NASA

Students from Jenks Middle School in Jenks, Oklahoma, will have the opportunity to speak with a NASA astronaut currently living and working aboard the International Space Station at 10:35 a.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 26. The 20-minute, Earth-to-space call will air live on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Space station Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough <https://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/kimbrough-rs.pdf>, who launched to the space station on Oct. 19 for a four-month stay, will answer questions from eighth grade students currently studying Earth and space. Media interested in covering the event should contact Rob Loeber at rob.loeber at jenksps.org <mailto:rob.loeber at jenksps.org>. The event will take place at the Jenks High School Performing Arts Center, located at 205 East B St. This in-flight education downlink is an integral component of the NASA Office of Education’s efforts to improve science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) teaching and learning in the United States. Linking students directly to astronauts aboard the space station through the agency Office of Education’s STEM on Station activity provides authentic, live experiences in space exploration, space study and the scientific components of space travel, while introducing the possibilities of life in space. For NASA TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv <http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv> For more information, videos and lesson plans highlighting research on the International Space Station, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation <http://www.nasa.gov/stemonstation>

NASA TV to Broadcast Cargo Ship Departure from Space Station

The Japanese H-II Transport Vehicle-6 (HTV-6) cargo vehicle is seen grappled by the International Space Station's robotic arm after arrival on Dec. 13, 2016. Six weeks after delivering more than 4.5 tons of supplies and experiments to the space station, the unpiloted Japanese cargo spacecraft is scheduled to depart the station Friday, Jan. 27.

Credits: NASA

Six weeks after delivering more than 4.5 tons of supplies and experiments to the International Space Station, an unpiloted Japanese cargo spacecraft is scheduled to depart the station Friday, Jan. 27. Live coverage of the departure will begin at 10 a.m. EST on NASA Television and the agency’s website. Ground controllers will use the station’s Canadarm2 robotic arm to unberth the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency’s (JAXA’s) H-II Transport Vehicle-6 (HTV-6) several hours before its release. Space station Flight Engineer Thomas Pesquet of ESA (European Space Agency), with back-up support from Expedition 50 Commander Shane Kimbrough of NASA, will then command the station’s robotic arm to release HTV-6, loaded with station trash, at 10:30 a.m. The cargo ship will move to a safe distance below and in front of the station for about a week’s worth of data gathering with a JAXA experiment <http://www.ard.jaxa.jp/eng/research/kite/kite.html> designed to measure electromagnetic forces using a tether in low-Earth orbit. JAXA is scheduled to deorbit the craft around Feb. 5 and have it burn up harmlessly over the Pacific Ocean. The HTV-6 launched from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan on Dec. 9 and arrived at the station on Dec. 13. It delivered water, spare parts and experiment hardware to the six-person station crew, including six new lithium-ion batteries and adapter plates that replaced the nickel-hydrogen batteries previously used on the station to store electrical energy generated by the station’s solar arrays. These were installed through a blend of complex robotics and two spacewalks <https://blogs.nasa.gov/spacestation/2017/01/13/second-spacewalk-of-2017-successfully-complete/> this month. Check out the full NASA TV schedule and video streaming information at: http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv <http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv> Keep up with the International Space Station, and its research and crews, at: http://www.nasa.gov/station <http://www.nasa.gov/station> Get breaking news, images and features from the station on Instagram and Twitter: http://instagram.com/iss <http://instagram.com/iss>
NASA Restarts Rigorous Vibration Testing on the James Webb Space Telescope
Testing on the James Webb Space Telescope successfully resumed last week at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Maryland. On December 3, 2016, vibration testing automatically shut down early due to some sensor readings that exceeded predicted levels. After a thorough investigation, the James Webb Space Telescope team at NASA Goddard determined that the cause was extremely small motions of the numerous tie-downs or “launch restraint mechanisms” that keep one of the telescope’s mirror wings folded-up for launch.

 <https://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/otisvibeaxischng.jpg>
NASA engineers and technicians position the James Webb Space Telescope (inside a large tent) onto the shaker table used for vibration testing.
Credits: NASA/Chris Gunn
“In-depth analysis of the test sensor data and detailed computer simulations confirmed that the input vibration was strong enough and the resonance of the telescope high enough at specific vibration frequencies to generate these tiny motions. Now that we understand how it happened, we have implemented changes to the test profile to prevent it from happening again,” said Lee Feinberg, an engineer and James Webb Space Telescope Optical Telescope Element Manager at Goddard. “We have learned valuable lessons that will be applied to the final pre-launch tests of Webb at the observatory level once it is fully assembled in 2018. Fortunately, by learning these lessons early, we’ve been able to add diagnostic tests that let us show how the ground vibration test itself is more severe than the launch vibration environment in a way that can give us confidence that the launch itself will be fully successful.” The team resumed testing last week picking up where they left off in December.  The test was successfully completed. Now that vibration testing along this one direction or “axis” is finished, the team is now moving forward with shaking the telescope in the other two directions to show that it can withstand vibrations in all three dimensions. “This was a great team effort between the NASA Goddard team, Northrop Grumman, Orbital ATK, Ball Aerospace, the European Space Agency, and Arianespace,” Feinberg said. “We can now proceed with the rest of the planned tests of the telescope and instruments.” The James Webb Space Telescope is the world’s most advanced space observatory. This engineering marvel is designed to unravel some of the greatest mysteries of the universe, from discovering the first stars and galaxies that formed after the Big Bang to studying the atmospheres of planets around other stars. Before the Webb is declared ready for launch, engineers and technicians rigorously test it to demonstrate all aspects of the mission and launch survivability. “Testing on the ground is critical to proving a spacecraft is safe to launch,” Feinberg said. “The Webb telescope is the most dynamically complicated article of space hardware that we’ve ever tested.” At Goddard, engineers test space hardware in vibration and acoustics test facilities that simulate environment to ensure that functionality is not impaired by the rigorous ride on a rocket into space. Rocket launches create high levels of vibration and noise that rattle spacecraft and telescopes. Ground testing is done to simulate the launch induced vibration and noise to ensure a solid design and assembly of the telescope before launch. “Due to its immense size, Webb has to be folded-up for launch and then unfolded in space. Prior generations of telescopes relied on rigid, non-moving structures for their stability. Because our mirror is larger than the rocket fairing we needed structures folded for launch and moved once we’re out of Earth’s atmosphere.  Webb is the first time we’re building for both stability and mobility.” Feinberg said. “This means that JWST testing is very unique, complex, and challenging.” In addition to the mirror, many other parts of JWST must deploy, and each have their own unique set of challenges for testing and launch. NASA is working with ESA and their launch company, Arianespace, to ensure that the adjustments just made to Webb’s vibration testing adequately envelopes the launch vibration environment, plus some margin. The mission continues to be on track and within budget for a 2018 launch. The most powerful space telescope ever built, the Webb telescope will provide images of the first galaxies ever formed, and explore planets around distant stars. It is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. For more information about the Webb telescope, visit: www.jwst.nasa.gov <http://www.jwst.nasa.gov/> or www.nasa.gov/webb <http://www.nasa.gov/webb>

Endeavour Lifts Off…love the shuttle launches and night time was simply spectacular….

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