NASA Legends Awarded Congressional Gold Medal

Leaders of Congress honored astronauts John Glenn, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins with congressional gold medals in a ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda on Nov. 16, 2011. The Gold Medal, Congress' highest expression of national appreciation for distinguished achievements and contributions, was first given to George Washington in 1776.

Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth, achieving the feat aboard Friendship 7 on Feb. 20, 1962. On July 20, 1969, Armstrong and Aldrin became the first humans to set foot on the Moon, while Collins piloted Apollo 11's command module."We stand on the shoulders of the extraordinary men we recognize today," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden at the ceremony. "Those of us who have had the privilege to fly in space followed the trail they forged."

"When, 50 years ago this year, President Kennedy challenged the nation to reach the moon, to "take longer strides" toward a "great new American enterprise," these men were the human face of those words," said Bolden. "From Mercury and Gemini, on through our landings on the Moon in the Apollo Program, their actions unfolded the will of a nation for the greater achievement of humankind."

NASA Announces Design for New Deep Space Exploration System

NASA is ready to move forward with the development of the Space Launch System -- an advanced heavy-lift launch vehicle that will provide an entirely new national capability for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit. The Space Launch System will give the nation a safe, affordable and sustainable means of reaching beyond our current limits and opening up new discoveries from the unique vantage point of space.

The Space Launch System, or SLS, will be designed to carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, as well as important cargo, equipment and science experiments to Earth's orbit and destinations beyond. Additionally, the SLS will serve as a back up for commercial and international partner transportation services to the International Space Station.

"This launch system will create good-paying American jobs, ensure continued U.S. leadership in space, and inspire millions around the world," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "President Obama challenged us to be bold and dream big, and that's exactly what we are doing at NASA. While I was proud to fly on the space shuttle, tomorrow's explorers will now dream of one day walking on Mars."

NASA Honors Pioneer Astronaut Alan Shepard With Moon Rock

NASA will posthumously honor Alan B. Shepard Jr., the first American astronaut in space who later walked on the moon, with an Ambassador of Exploration Award for his contributions to the U.S. space program. Shepard's family members will accept the award on his behalf during a ceremony at 5:30 p.m. EDT on Thursday, April 28, at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum, located at 74 Greenbury Point Road in Annapolis, Md. His family will present the award to the museum for permanent display. NASA's Chief Historian Bill Barry will represent the agency at the event, which will include a video message from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden.

Shepard, a 1945 graduate of the Naval Academy, was one of NASA's original seven Mercury astronauts selected in April 1959. On May 5, 1961, he was launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., aboard the Freedom 7 spacecraft on a suborbital flight that carried him to an altitude of 116 miles. Shepard made his second spaceflight as the commander of Apollo 14 from Jan. 31 to Feb. 9, 1971. He was accompanied on the third lunar landing by astronauts Stuart Roosa and Edgar Mitchell. Maneuvering the lunar module "Antares" to a landing in the hilly upland Fra Mauro region of the moon, Shepard and Mitchell deployed and activated a number of scientific instruments and collected almost 100 pounds of lunar samples for return to Earth.

Reporters interested in covering the award ceremony must contact the Naval Academy's public affairs office at 410-293-2292 or mediarelations@usna.edu by noon, Wednesday, April 27, for access information. NASA is giving the Ambassador of Exploration Award to the first generation of explorers in the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo space programs for realizing America's goal of going to the moon. The award is a moon rock encased in Lucite, mounted for public display. The rock is part of the 842 pounds of lunar samples collected during six Apollo missions from 1969 to 1972. The astronauts or family members receiving the award present it to a museum of their choice, where the moon rock is placed on public display. 

NASA Awards Next Set Of Commercial Crew Development Agreements

NASA has awarded four Space Act Agreements in the second round of the agency's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev2) effort. Each company will receive between $22 million and $92.3 million to advance commercial crew space transportation system concepts and mature the design and development of elements of their systems, such as launch vehicles and spacecraft.

The selectees for CCDev2 awards are:
-- Blue Origin, Kent, Wash., $22 million
-- Sierra Nevada Corporation, Louisville, Colo., $80 million
-- Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX), Hawthorne, Calif., $75 million
-- The Boeing Company, Houston, $92.3 million

"We're committed to safely transporting U.S. astronauts on American-made spacecraft and ending the outsourcing of this work to foreign governments," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "These agreements are significant milestones in NASA's plans to take advantage of American ingenuity to get to low-Earth orbit, so we can concentrate our resources on deep space exploration." The goal of CCDev2 is to accelerate the availability of U.S. commercial crew transportation capabilities and reduce the gap in American human spaceflight capability. Through this activity, NASA also may be able to spur economic growth as potential new space markets are created.

Once developed, crew transportation capabilities could become available to commercial and government customers. "The next American-flagged vehicle to carry our astronauts into space is going to be a U.S. commercial provider," said Ed Mango, NASA's Commercial Crew Program manager. "The partnerships NASA is forming with industry will support the development of multiple American systems capable of providing future access to low-Earth orbit." 

NASA Hosts Green Aviation Summit; Bolden Highlights Importance of Issue to Future of NASA

NASA has a "critical responsibility" to the flying public to develop environmentally responsible solutions to the nation's most pressing aviation problems, Administrator Charles F. Bolden Jr. said Wednesday. Addressing the Green Aviation Summit under way through Thursday at NASA's Ames Research Center, Bolden said air travel is one of the safest modes of transportation and vital to the U.S. economy, but increasing air traffic is taking a toll on the environment and the nation's aviation infrastructure. "We need to make some changes both in the design of aircraft and in the way they transit through our skies to not only maintain, but improve safety and efficiency," Bolden said. "That's a huge challenge, but we at NASA enthusiastically accept it."

The Green Aviation Summit is highlighting the depth and breadth of NASA's work to develop aviation technologies that are designed to make air transportation cleaner and quieter for the environment, with fewer delays for travelers. "Our critical responsibility is [to] those who feel anxious because of the long distance they have to travel to reach an airport; the crowding they experience upon arrival at the terminal; the departure, enroute, or arrival weather; or concerns that the technology on the planes may not be up to dealing with problems that may be encountered in the sky," Bolden told the summit.

The two-day meeting has brought together about 200 experts from NASA, other federal government organizations, industry and academia. Keynote presentations by leading policymakers as well as detailed technical presentations and panel discussions are focusing on state-of-the-art and emerging technologies that can reduce aircraft noise, emissions and fuel consumption and ensure the safe and manageable growth of the aviation system. Jaiwon Shin, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics research, said NASA technology will become increasingly important because of the lack of available space for new airports. "We really are helping the country to advance to the next generation of air transportation and aviation by working together," he said. "This summit signifies our strong commitment."

NASA Chief Says Funding Woes Force Moon plan Slowdown

NASA's Constellation program is facing a potential $1 billion funding shortfall in the remaining four months of the present budget year, a situation that likely will force contractors to level back work on major elements of the program before the agency obtains the congressional power it needs to officially terminate the effort.

In a June 9 letter to key U.S. lawmakers, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said the work slowdown could result in "contractor workforce reductions expected at 30-60 percent of the current population, or 2,500-5,000, for the balance of the year."

According to the letter, NASA is confronting an estimated $994 million in potential costs linked with ending the Constellation program, which NASA has proposed doing next year. "Once these termination liability estimates are accounted for, the overall Constellation program is confront a total estimated shortfall of $991 million for continued program effort for the balance of the year, compared with the revised FY 2010 plan," the letter states.

NASA And Commerce Present Update On Space Industry Task Force

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke will present an update about the Presidential Task Force on Space Industry Work Force and Economic Development at 10 a.m. EDT on Friday, June 4.The event will be held in the ballroom of the Orlando Airport Hyatt Hotel, Intercontinental Ballroom, Section 5, 9300 Airport Blvd., Orlando, Fla.

The event will be carried live on NASA Television and also available on line. The administration recently launched a $40 million, multi-agency initiative for regional economic growth and to prepare space industry workers for future opportunities. Task force activities will complement local and federal economic and workforce-development efforts.