“Here’s some of the stories trending This Week at NASA!”
NASA conducted the latest successful test of the Orion spacecraft’s parachute system
on March 8 in the skies above the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona.
The test was designed to evaluate the parachutes’ performance in an emergency abort situation
that would require Orion to be jettisoned from the agency’s Space Launch System rocket
during a launch.
Even at this relatively low altitude, the parachutes are designed to fully deploy and
safely return Orion and its crew to Earth.
NASA’s Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Research, Jaiwon Shin, was recently honored
by Aviation Week, with its prestigious Innovation Laureate for 2017.
Shin has directed the agency’s team of aeronautical innovators since 2008.
The publication recognized him for his efforts focusing the agency’s research around long-range
strategies, such as NASA’s Environmentally Responsible Aviation, and other programs aimed
at meeting the global challenges facing aviation during the years ahead.
Members of the media were invited to see Orbital ATK’s Cygnus spacecraft March 9, at NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center, in Florida.
The Cygnus, which has been dedicated to late NASA astronaut and U.S. Senator, John Glenn,
is targeted to launch from nearby Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on a resupply mission to
the International Space Station.
The cargo Cygnus will carry includes 38 CubeSats, studies on plant physiology, growing fresh
food in space and an investigation to increase the effectiveness and decrease the side effects
of chemotherapy treatment.
On March 8, NASA announced the selection of 133 proposals from U.S. companies under Phase
II of the agency’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, to develop technologies
for space exploration, aeronautics, science, and human exploration and operations.
Phase II projects expand on results of recently completed Phase I projects.
NASA’s SBIR program is a competitive, awards-based program that encourages American small businesses
to engage in federal research, development and commercialization.
Engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory are preparing the agency’s Deep Space Atomic
Clock (DSAC) for a year-long technology demonstration mission to validate a miniaturized, ultra-precise,
mercury-ion atomic clock.
It uses precise radio frequency technology to determine position, and is orders of magnitude
more stable than today’s best navigation clocks.
This technology is vital to the success of a range of deep-space exploration missions.
The payload is scheduled for launch into Earth orbit in September 2017.
In celebration of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, NASA unveiled
an educational virtual tour on March 8.
The Modern Figures Tour, available via the free Google Expeditions mobile app, takes
students inside the careers of seven women at NASA who work in science, technology, engineering
and math (STEM) fields.
The tour, which builds on NASA’s participation with the 20th Century Fox film, “Hidden
Figures,” is the first NASA-themed career tour available as part of Google Expeditions.
In recognition of National Engineering Month, NASA Aeronautics sponsored a “Night of Flight”
event at Amidon-Bowen Elementary School in Washington.
Students were honored as NASA Aero Junior Ambassadors for planning and creating STEM
related activities.
The event, which was inspired by the “Museum in a Box” series, was designed to help students
understand the physical science of flight, and encourage them to pursue STEM related
careers.
And that’s what’s up this week @NASA …