The i-series Of U.S. Space Spacecraft Missions

The Project Mercury was the primary crewed i-series of U.S. space missions. Taking position between 1961 and 1963, the 6 missions aimed to orbit humans approximately Earth, explore a human's aptitude to survive in space, and successfully return both the spacecraft and its occupants to Earth. Alan Shepherd's Mercury Freedom 7 mission frightened President Kennedy to such a level that he straight away pronounced his goal of landing an American on the Moon previous to the end of the 1960s.

Project Gemini consisted of 10 crewed spaceflights between 1962 and 1966. This second series of missions set out to test the period of humans and gear in space, to dock with other spacecraft at present in orbit, to further our knowledge of incoming and leaving Earth's atmosphere, and to effort controlled landings on Earth's surface. Gemini spacecraft superior upon the Mercury designs, and the intended docking allowed for testing and consideration of how a Moon land might work.

NASA Dawn Spacecraft Captures First Image Of Nearing Asteroid

NASA's Dawn spacecraft has obtained its first image of the giant asteroid Vesta, which will help fine-tune navigation during its approach. Dawn expects to achieve orbit around Vesta on July 16, when the asteroid is about 117 million miles from Earth. The image from Dawn's framing cameras was taken on May 3 when the spacecraft began its approach and was approximately 752,000 miles (1.21 million km) from Vesta. The asteroid appears as a small, bright pearl against a background of stars. Vesta also is known as a protoplanet, because it is a large body that almost formed into a planet. "After plying the seas of space for more than a billion miles, the Dawn team finally spotted its target," said Carol Raymond, Dawn's deputy principal investigator at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "This first image hints of detailed portraits to come from Dawn's upcoming visit."

Vesta is 330 miles (530 km) in diameter and the second most massive object in the asteroid belt. Ground- and space-based telescopes obtained images of the bright orb for about two centuries, but with little surface detail. Mission managers expect Vesta's gravity to capture Dawn in orbit on July 16. To enter orbit, Dawn must match the asteroid's path around the sun, which requires very precise knowledge of the body's location and speed. By analyzing where Vesta appears relative to stars in framing camera images, navigators will pin down its location and enable engineers to refine the spacecraft's trajectory. Dawn will start collecting science data in early August at an altitude of approximately 1,700 miles (2,700 km) above the asteroid's surface. As the spacecraft gets closer, it will snap multi-angle images allowing scientists to produce topographic maps.

Dawn will later orbit at approximately 120 miles (200 km) to perform other measurements and obtain closer shots of parts of the surface. Dawn will remain in orbit around Vesta for one year. After another long cruise phase, Dawn will arrive in 2015 at its second destination, Ceres, an even more massive body in the asteroid belt. Gathering information about these two icons of the asteroid belt will help scientists unlock the secrets of our solar system's early history. The mission will compare and contrast the two giant asteroids shaped by different forces. Dawn's science instruments will measure surface composition, topography and texture. Dawn also will measure the tug of gravity from Vesta and Ceres to learn more about their internal structures. The spacecraft's full odyssey will take it on a 3-billion-mile (5-billion-km) journey, which began with its launch in September 2007.

NASA's Gravity Probe B Confirms Two Einstein Space-Time Theories

NASA's Gravity Probe B (GP-B) mission has confirmed two key predictions derived from Albert Einstein's general theory of relativity, which the spacecraft was designed to test. The experiment, launched in 2004, used four ultra-precise gyroscopes to measure the hypothesized geodetic effect, the warping of space and time around a gravitational body, and frame-dragging, the amount a spinning object pulls space and time with it as it rotates. GP-B determined both effects with unprecedented precision by pointing at a single star, IM Pegasi, while in a polar orbit around Earth. If gravity did not affect space and time, GP-B's gyroscopes would point in the same direction forever while in orbit. But in confirmation of Einstein's theories, the gyroscopes experienced measurable, minute changes in the direction of their spin, while Earth's gravity pulled at them.

"Imagine the Earth as if it were immersed in honey. As the planet rotates, the honey around it would swirl, and it's the same with space and time," said Francis Everitt, GP-B principal investigator at Stanford University. "GP-B confirmed two of the most profound predictions of Einstein's universe, having far-reaching implications across astrophysics research. Likewise, the decades of technological innovation behind the mission will have a lasting legacy on Earth and in space." GP-B is one of the longest running projects in NASA history, with agency involvement starting in the fall of 1963 with initial funding to develop a relativity gyroscope experiment. Subsequent decades of development led to groundbreaking technologies to control environmental disturbances on spacecraft, such as aerodynamic drag, magnetic fields and thermal variations. The mission's star tracker and gyroscopes were the most precise ever designed and produced.

GP-B completed its data collection operations and was decommissioned in December 2010. "The mission results will have a long-term impact on the work of theoretical physicists," said Bill Danchi, senior astrophysicist and program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "Every future challenge to Einstein's theories of general relativity will have to seek more precise measurements than the remarkable work GP-B accomplished." Innovations enabled by GP-B have been used in GPS technologies that allow airplanes to land unaided. Additional GP-B technologies were applied to NASA's Cosmic Background Explorer mission, which accurately determined the universe's background radiation. That measurement is the underpinning of the big-bang theory, and led to the Nobel Prize for NASA physicist John Mather.

Teams to Replace APU Heater Power Box; Launch No Earlier than May 8

Technicians and engineers at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida have identified the likely source of what caused heaters on a fuel line for space shuttle Endeavour's auxiliary power unit-1 (APU-1) to fail on Friday, scrubbing the first launch attempt for the STS-134 mission. The failure appears to be a power problem within the aft load control assembly-2 (ALCA-2), a box of switches controlling power feeds. "That basically means the power is not getting out to the heaters that weren't working on launch day," said Space Shuttle Program Launch Integration Manager Mike Moses.

The plan is to remove and replace the box, but that work and related testing will take several days to complete. Once the new box is installed, the team must verify it's working properly at least a two-day process and perform forensics on the failed box. "We can tell you, pretty much, that it's not going to be any earlier than (May 8)," Moses said. "We're really not even setting the schedules today. There's still a whole lot of short-term work that has to be done."

Endeavour's six astronauts have returned to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston for a few days of additional training before they report to Kennedy for the next launch attempt, and the crew's families also are going to return home today. The launch team is backing out of launch countdown operations. "Responding to problems is one of the things we do best around here, and the team always likes a good challenge," said Shuttle Launch Director Mike Leinbach. "I'm sure we're going to be really glad when Endeavour's finally on orbit, but right now, the team is upbeat and ready to execute."

Discovery’s last crew arrive at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center

Arriving in their trademark T-38 Talon jets, the crew that will fly the final mission of the space shuttle Discovery inwards at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The astronauts landed at the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at 3:45 p.m. EDT and took a little moments to speak to members of the media and pose for pictures before heading off to train for their 11-day mission. Discovery is now slated to begin its mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with liftoff taking place at 4:50 p.m. EDT Thursday, Feb. 24. The STS-133 mission is Discovery’s last planned flight.

However, STS-132, which took place this past May, was shuttle Atlantis’ final planned flight now that orbiter is scheduled to close out the shuttle program when it whole mission STS-135, which is scheduled to take place late this summer. The crew will convey the Leonardo Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM) to the space station. The PMM was customized from the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) Leonardo which was fundamentally a cargo container. Now, Leonardo will be a permanent fixture on the orbiting outpost given that additional storage for the station’s crew. On the way to orbit, the PMM will carry, among further things, the first human-like robot ever flown in space, Robonaut 2 (R2).

R2 will stay onboard the place and will be used to test the viability of related robots in assisting astronauts on future long-duration missions. One of the things that the station can forever use is more spare parts. STS-133 will deliver various division and the Express Logistics Carrier 4, a platform that holds great equipment. The crew consists of Commander Steve Lindsey, Pilot Eric Boe and Mission expert Alvin Drew, Steve Bowen, Michael Barratt and Nicole Stott. Bowen is a final minute addition to the crew.

With A-List Help, Glory Aims to Unravel Uncertainties About Aerosols

Engineers and technicians at Vandenberg Air Force base, Calif., are preparing the Earth observing satellite Glory for launch on Feb. 23. In orbit, the satellite's two science instruments will study key aspects of the climate that will help make it possible to produce more accurate global and regional climate models. Last week, a team from Orbital Sciences Corporation stowed the Glory spacecraft in a protective nose cone called the payload fairing. The payload fairing, a two-pieced and bullet-shaped part, will shield Glory from the intense aerodynamic pressures and heating that Glory's launch vehicle will encounter during its ascent.

After the successful completion of these encapsulation operations, Glory was transported to an outdoor processing tent near the launch pad. Following its arrival, engineers attached the satellite and payload fairing to the third stage of a Taurus XL, the four-stage, solid-fuel launch vehicle that will propel Glory into orbit. At first glance, the Glory spacecraft might look unassuming. At 1.9 meters (6.2 feet) by 1.4 meters (4.6 feet), Glory is neither the largest nor the heaviest of NASA’s Earth-observing satellites. The whole of the Glory spacecraft which is set to launch from Vandenberg on Feb. 23 at 2:09 a.m. Pacific Standard Time (PST) is not much taller than most people or wider than an oil barrel. It weighs about 528 kilograms (1,164 pounds), about half the weight of a vintage Volkswagen Beetle.

Despite its small size, Glory will deploy an innovative aerosol sensing instrument called the Aerosol Polarimetry Sensor (APS) that many specialists predict will produce dramatic improvements in measuring airborne particles, as well as an important sensor that will help maintain a 32-year record of the sun's irradiance. And, in Glory's case, the value of the mission exceeds that of its parts because the spacecraft will fly in formation with a group of other Earth observing satellites known as the A-Train. For most people, "A-Train" likely conjures up visions of jazz legend Billy Strayhorn or perhaps New York City subway trains rather than climate science, but the little-known convoy of satellites has emerged as a critical tool for climatologists.

Taurus XL Ready to Launch Glory Spacecraft

The Glory spacecraft and its Taurus XL launch vehicle are coming together at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California as NASA gets ready to launch its first Launch Services Program mission of 2011. Researchers are looking for more puzzle pieces to fill out the picture of Earth's climate and Glory was designed to give them the pieces relating to the role tiny particles known as aerosols play in the planet's weather. The spacecraft, about the size of a refrigerator, is also equipped with an instrument to measure the sun's impact on Earth's conditions. Glory is to lift off Feb. 23 at 5:09 a.m. EST. "The Glory satellite will help us understand the interaction of what's called aerosols in our environment," said Chuong Nguyen, LSP's mission integration manager for Glory.

The particles Glory will measure are small enough to float in the atmosphere and affect weather conditions by either absorbing sunlight or reflecting it. The particles can also affect rain patterns by seeding clouds and have other effects. The Glory mission is to also find out how long-lasting the effects for aerosols and how far their effects reach. The effects of some aerosols are limited to those parts of the world that generate them. For example, cities in developing nations often produce the most "black carbon," or soot, and it is in those areas that the effects are seen most dramatically, sometimes even in the form of health problems. However, other aerosols including dust from the Sahara desert, reach high enough into the air that they are transported across the oceans. In the case of the Sahara, its dust has been seen in the Caribbean.

While the spacecraft will get due attention, many eyes also will be on the Taurus XL rocket that will lift Glory. The four-stage, solid-fueled rocket was last used in February 2009 to launch the Orbiting Carbon Observatory. However, the payload fairing protecting the spacecraft during the early part of launch did not separate and the spacecraft never reached orbit. "Glory is going to do some fantastic stuff as far as mapping out aerosols in the atmosphere, but it's also a groundbreaker in that this is the first flight after a failure of the Taurus XL vehicle," said Omar Baez, launch director for the Glory mission. "So we're excited to be doing this and Glory just happens to be the science that we're taking up with us this time." Compared with other rockets that have launched many hundreds of times, the Taurus XL is quite young and Baez said the trouble with the last launch is part of any new system's growing pains.

Secret satellite mission by United States military teams

The federal Labor government has secretly hosted US military group supporting the operation of new ballistic missile defence satellites while trying to dodge a backlash on the matter from the party's Left faction. The Defence Department has established that two elite teams from the US Air Force, and satellite tracking and communications equipment, were deployed in Australia in 2009 to give communication links to two new Space Tracking Surveillance System (STSS) satellites. In what was codenamed Project Crok, personnel from the USAF space test group/space test action squadron were deploy from Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico to HMAS Stirling south of Perth and Fort Direction near Hobart.

The US teams worked in Australia for more than two months to support the primary operations of two STSS satellites launch from Cape Canaveral on September 25, 2009. Details of the co operation have been out in secret US embassy cables get by WikiLeaks and provided exclusively to The Age. According to the US Air Force, the space test process squadron uses "highly mobile ground systems or particularly designed maritime platforms" to offer "telemetry, tracking and commanding from locations worldwide" in support of the testing and evaluation of US military space systems. Built by aerospace giant Northrop Grumman, the low-earth orbiting STSS satellites sense ballistic missile launches using infrared sensors.

They are intended to complement US geostationary early warning satellites with advanced capabilities to sense and track ballistic missiles during the boost and midcourse phases of flight, ''substantially improving the presentation of ballistic missile defences''. In some trials conduct last year, the two expression STSS satellites successfully detected "threat-representative" missiles launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California and communicate "trajectory data" to US ballistic missile defence ground stations. Federal Labor's contract to host Project Crok followed briefings of US embassy official by then Defence Department deputy secretary Mike Pezzullo on the government's missile defence policy. 

Nasa map to direct Chandrayaan-2 on moon

The first ever entire map of moon’s surface being developed by the US’s National Aeronautics & Space Administration (Nasa) will show India’s second unmanned lunar mission Chandrayaan-2 the method around on moon. The map, which is being ready by Nasa’s Goddard Space Flight Centre by using its lunar reconnaissance orbiter (LRO) spacecraft that is orbiting moon, will help India’s 2013 planned Chandrayaan-2 decide its precise landing point on the lunar surface, resource in the Indian Space Research Organisation (Isro) told DNA.

As a associate of the international lunar exploration working group, India is in line to obtain Nasa’s lunar map data when the work will be complete, for a time in 2013, in time for Chandrayaan-2 to be launched. The Chandrayaan-2 will comprise a 1,200 kg Russian intended and developed moon lander carrying a single 15 kg rover developed by Isro in collaboration with Russia. The lander will also carry a 35 kg scientific payload powered by solar panels, an equipment to analyse the lunar soil and notice the presence of water, a seismometer, a laser reflector, and will place a landing beacon to assist future moon landings.

According to them, the data being compiled will contain digital elevations and terrain maps which will act as fundamental reference for future scientific and human examination missions to the moon, beginning with Chandrayaan-2. “The data will be used by space scientists for a time of six months before being put into the free domain,” RR Navalgund, director of Ahmedabad-based Space Application Centre (SAC), told DNA. Chandrayaan-2 will pick up from where Chandrayaan-1 (October 2008-August 2009) left off after recording the discovery of water and water ice on moon, chiefly in moon’s polar region.

NASA Repairs On Discovery restart Monday

Technicians working on space shuttle Discovery's outside fuel tank in the Vehicle Assembly structure at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida are off for the New Year holiday weekend, however, Monday, they will start repairs on three support beams, called stringers, that newly were detect to have small cracks on their tops. Engineers at different NASA centers continue to examine data from testing and X-ray type image scans gather during the past week of all 108 stringers on the outer of the external tank's ‪intertank section. The image scans showed four little cracks on three stringers on the opposite area of the tank from Discovery. Managers determined Thursday to have those cracks repaired in a like fashion to repairs complete on cracks on two stringers found after Discovery's Nov. 5 launch attempt.

The repair work is predictable to take two to three days. Any further work will be evaluate thoroughly during the week after extra data and analysis are reviewed. Managers also carry on to evaluate an option to perform recognized and practiced modifications on some stringers. Before breaking for the holiday, technicians reconfigured scaffolding to give access for the alteration work, should it be required. A result may be made on that work as early as Monday. The next obtainable launch date for Discovery's STS-133 mission to the International Space Station remainder Feb. 3 at the opening of a window that expand through Feb. 10.

NASA Awards Systems Engineering Contract For In-Space Servicing

NASA has awarded a sole source contract to Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company (LMSSC) of Greenbelt, Md., for Systems Engineering for In-Space Servicing (SEISS). This cost-plus-fixed-fee, 18-month contract has a value of $31.2 million. LMSSC will provide systems and discipline engineering support to develop and execute two demonstrations to test and verify new robotic servicing capabilities using the Dextre robot aboard the International Space Station. The Canadian Space Agency's Special Purpose Dexterous Manipulator, or Dextre, is a two-armed robotic system designed to perform intricate maintenance and servicing tasks, which previously would have required spacewalks.

The first demonstration will use a customized payload task box, Dextre and specialized tools to robotically demonstrate refueling and repair tasks in orbit. Tasks will include locating, accessing and uncapping valves and transferring simulated liquid fuel. During the second demonstration, Dextre will test and evaluate a variety of tools, sensors and instruments to support autonomous rendezvous and capture capabilities for orbiting spacecraft systems. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., is developing both demonstration payloads. These demonstrations are intended to increase NASA's technical capability to conduct robotic in-space servicing. The contract encompasses requirements definition and verification, hardware design, support of flight and ground hardware/software development, and mission planning support.

Astronaut Alan Poindexter Leaves NASA

Veteran NASA astronaut Alan Poindexter has left the agency to return to the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. Poindexter, a U.S. Navy captain, earned a Master of Science degree in aeronautical engineering from the school in 1995. He will return to serve as the dean of students and executive director of programs. "Dex was a well-respected leader within our office," said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "We will miss him being part of our team and wish him the best in his new role as he continues his service to the Navy and the country."

A veteran of two spaceflights, Poindexter logged more than 669 hours in space. In 2008, he was the pilot on the STS-122 space shuttle mission to deliver and install the European Space Agency's Columbus laboratory to the International Space Station. In 2010, he was the commander for STS-131, a resupply mission to the station that delivered more than 13,000 pounds of hardware and equipment. He was selected as an astronaut candidate in June 1998 and served in the Astronaut Office Shuttle Operations Branch as the lead support astronaut at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. He also served as a spacecraft communicator, or capcom, for several missions.

The SpaceX Gears Up for Orbital Flight

Space pioneer Elon Musk expect to put his name in the history books once again next week, with the planned launch and recovery of the first commercially function spacecraft from orbit. But to make this point, his closely held company, Space Exploration Technologies Corp., previously has managed to overcome regulatory hurdles never before encountered by the aerospace industry. And federal documents free on Friday underscore the bureaucratic complexities and huge technical risks confronting the pioneering effort. In June, SpaceX, as the company is recognized, launched its 18-story Falcon 9 rocket and successfully flew it for more than nine minutes. It was the first privately fund U.S. rocket launch in decades.

This week's scheduled mission to launch and return an unmanned, reusable Dragon pill from low earth orbit, predictable to last for hours, poses many more challenges. Placing the vehicle into a such an orbit at speeds more than 17,000 miles per hour, then maneuvering through a fiery reentry and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean will need a flawless trajectory, a dependable heat shield and finally, perfect operation of the superfluous parachutes, according to space experts. Based on a ground test finished Saturday, SpaceX said blastoff could occur as early as Tuesday. In an October interview, Mr. Musk said "the likelihood of us receiving everything right "may be no added than 50% on the first try. Considering the difficulty of both the launch and the reentry, he said, in the end "the possibility of mission success may be less than that."

In addition to the stake for SpaceX, the flight will amount to a unique public test of President Barack Obama's controversial effort to use NASA to fund and care for a variety of such commercial spacecraft. The policy continues to face resistance from many lawmakers, established aerospace contractors and even some Air Force officials concerned about relying too heavily on untested private rockets and spacecraft to replace the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's reserved fleet of space shuttles. But a successful reentry would propel Mr. Musk, a former Internet capitalist who has invested more than $100 million of his personal chance in the scrappy startup, further into the guide for such ventures.

Cassini Back to Normal, Ready for Enceladus

NASA's Cassini spacecraft resumed normal operations today, Nov. 24. All science instruments have been turned back on, the spacecraft is properly configured and Cassini is in good health. Mission managers expect to get a full stream of data during next week's flyby of the Saturnian moon Enceladus. Cassini went into safe mode on Nov. 2, when one bit flipped in the onboard command and data subsystem computer. The bit flip prevented the computer from registering an important instruction, and the spacecraft, as programmed, went into the standby mode.

Engineers have traced the steps taken by the computer during that time and have determined that all spacecraft responses were proper, but still do not know why the bit flipped. The flyby on Nov. 30 will bring Cassini to within about 48 kilometers (30 miles) of the surface of Enceladus. At 61 degrees north latitude, this encounter and its twin three weeks later at the same altitude and latitude, are the closest Cassini will come to the northern hemisphere surface of Enceladus during the extended Solstice mission. During the closest part of the Nov. 30 flyby, Cassini's radio science subsystem will make gravity measurements.

The results will be compared with those from an earlier flyby of the Enceladus south pole to understand the moon's interior structure better. Cassini's fields and particles instruments will sample the charged particle environment around Enceladus. Other instruments will capture images in visible light and other parts of the light spectrum after Cassini makes its closest approach. The Cassini-Huygens mission is a cooperative project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Italian Space Agency. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the mission for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington, D.C. 

NASA Schedules News Conference About Next Space Shuttle Launch

NASA managers will hold a news conference at 2 p.m. CST today from the agency's Johnson Space Center in Houston to provide the status of the next space shuttle mission, STS-133, and the progress of repairs since Discovery's launch was delayed Nov. 5. The news conference will follow today's Space Shuttle Program Requirements Control Board. Program officials reviewed repairs and engineering evaluations associated with cracks on two 21-foot-long, U-shaped aluminum brackets called stringers on the shuttle's external tank.

The briefing participants are:

-- Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Space Operations
-- John Shannon, Space Shuttle Program manager

The news conference will air live on NASA Television and the agency's website. Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA centers or by calling into a phone bridge. To use the phone bridge, reporters must have valid media credentials issued by a NASA center or issued specifically for the STS-133 mission. Journalists planning to use the phone bridge must contact the Johnson newsroom at 281-483-5111 no later than 15 minutes before the news conference. Newsroom personnel will verify credentials and transfer reporters to the phone bridge. Capacity is limited and available on a first-come, first-serve basis.

NASA Engineer to Blog about Upgrades at McMurdo Station

What are you doing for the holidays this winter? Spending time with family and friends? More than a dozen Near Earth Network engineers and support personnel from NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., and Wallops Flight Facility in Va., will be packing their bags and spending their holidays far away from their families at McMurdo Station, Antarctica, for the austral summer. McMurdo Station is one of three permanent National Science Foundation (NSF) stations in Antarctica. At McMurdo Station, which is the main U.S. station in Antarctica and 850 miles (1,360 km) north of the South Pole, the mean annual temperature is 0 F (-18 C). Temperatures can reach 46 F (8 C) in the austral summer and -58 F (-50 C) in the austral winter. The average wind is 14 miles per hour, but winds have exceeded 115 miles per hour.

The team will perform crucial upgrades and maintenance activities to the NASA Near Earth Network at McMurdo Ground Station in support of European Space Agency’s latest meteorological satellite, MetOp, which launched in October 2006. MetOp-A is the first in a series of three European meteorological operational satellites procured by ESA to serve as the space segment of the European Organisation for the Exploitation of Meteorological Satellites' EUMETSAT Polar System. Under a memorandum of agreement between NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration , the McMurdo Ground Station’s support will begin in March 2011 and also will support MetOp-B and C over the next 15 years.

In collaboration with the NSF, NASA owns and operates a single 10-meter antenna, hidden inside the radome in this photo, and associated electronics equipment that has provided countless hours of space to ground communications support to dozens of Expendable Launch Vehicles and polar-orbiting satellites owned by NASA, other government agencies and international partners. In addition to having a station at McMurdo, the Near Earth Network combines other NASA-owned stations with services purchased from commercially owned stations to provide support to a long list of missions. The upgrades will involve replacing a majority of the electronics systems in the ground station. 

NASA Chat: Antarctic Fliers, Live

Since Oct. 26, researchers have been making flights over Antarctica on NASA's DC-8 flying science laboratory to map ice surfaces and the features hidden below. Data collected are critical for understanding the dynamics of ice in West Antarctica and its impact on sea-level rise. The flights are part of NASA's Operation IceBridge mission, wrapping up its second year of field campaigns at the end of November. The aircraft, crew and instrument teams are based in Punta Arenas, Chile, where they make flights weather permitting to the remote continent. Once there, teams operate any of the seven instruments to characterize the snow, ice, and bedrock.

On Thursday, Nov. 18, IceBridge scientists will be on hand from the field to answer your questions about the mission. Joining the chat is easy. Simply visit this page on Wednesday, Nov. 17 Thursday, Nov. 18, from 1 to 2 p.m. EST. The chat window will open at the bottom of this page starting at 12:30 p.m. EST. You can log in and be ready to ask questions at 1 p.m. Project scientist Michael Studinger, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., makes sure missions run smoothly. The mission also includes scientists, crew and technicians from Goddard; Wallops Flight Facility, in Wallops Island, Va.; NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.; NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif.

The Earth Institute at Columbia University in Palisades, N.Y.; the University of Kansas; and the University of Washington. NASA's DC-8 is a modified jetliner that supports instruments used to collect data for field research. Some instruments on the DC-8 complement measurements made by satellites, providing a close up look at specific regions, while other instruments are intended only for aircraft. The DC-8 has made Arctic and Antarctic flights in 2009 and 2010.

NASA Selects Astronaut Leland D. Melvin to Lead Office of Education

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced Tuesday the selection of Leland D. Melvin as the agency's new associate administrator for education, effective immediately. He succeeds James L. Stofan, who had served in an acting capacity since the spring. Since April 2010, Melvin has been assigned to the Office of Education at Headquarters leading the Education Design Team. His job was to develop a strategy to improve NASA's education offerings and to assist the agency in establishing goals, structures, processes and evaluation techniques to implement a sustainable and innovative science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education program. He also served as the partnership development manager for the agency's new Summer of Innovation education initiative, aimed at engaging middle school students in STEM activities during the summer break.

"I am delighted to have Leland lead the Office of Education at a time when engaging more students in STEM-related studies and careers is so critical not only to NASA but to our nation," Bolden said. "With his dedication and passion, I know we will have a bright future in education under his leadership." "I also want to thank Jim Stofan for the outstanding job he has done leading the Office of Education since April," Bolden added. "He launched several key new education programs during his tenure and will continue to be a valued asset as he resumes his previous role as deputy associate administrator."

As associate administrator, Melvin will be responsible for the development and implementation of the agency's education programs that strengthen student involvement and public awareness about NASA's scientific goals and missions. "My passion for education was inspired by my parents, who were both middle school teachers," Melvin said. "I witnessed the direct impact that educators can have in a community and on an individual's destiny. NASA's people, programs and resources are unparalleled. Our unique assets are poised to engage students, to captivate their imagination and to encourage their pursuit of STEM-related studies that are so vital to their future. This is an exciting challenge and I am ready to work with Administrator Bolden, my colleagues at NASA, our partners, and students across the country to usher in a new era of opportunity to inspire that next generation of explorers."