NASA Advancing Aviation Technology

On March 2, NASA’s acting Administrator, Robert Lightfoot spoke at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s Aviation Summit in Washington, about how the agency’s technology advancements have helped transform the aviation industry. Lightfoot was then joined by Canadian Minister of Transport Marc Garneau, who is a former astronaut and Canadian Space Agency president, and Carol Hallett, counselor to the chamber, for a discussion with NASA’s Shane Kimbrough and Peggy Whitson, via satellite from the International Space Station. The two talked about the vast array of research and technology development conducted aboard the station.

Anniversary of One-Year Crew’s Return

March 2 also marked a year since the station’s one-year crew returned to Earth. On that date, in 2016, Expedition 46 Commander Scott Kelly of NASA and cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko of Roscosmos, wrapped up their 340-day mission gathering valuable biomedical data on how the human body is affected by long-duration spaceflight. That data is being used to help formulate a human mission to Mars in the 2030s.

IceCube SmallSat Ready for Launch

IceCube is a NASA small satellite scheduled to launch on Orbital ATK’s next resupply mission to the International Space Station, which is targeted for no earlier than March 19. After being deployed from the station, IceCube will use a specially-calibrated radiometer to collect cloud ice measurements, which are key variables in weather and climate models. In addition to collecting the first global map of cloud-induced radiances at 883-Gigahertz, the mission seeks to raise the readiness level of the radiometer technology to the highest level currently possible for dependable cloud ice measurements.

Orion Propulsion Qualification Module Installed

At NASA’s White Sands Test Facility, in New Mexico, engineers recently installed the Propulsion Qualification Module (PQM) of the Orion spacecraft’s European service module. The all-steel PQM – used to test the propulsion systems on Orion – will be equipped with a total of 21 engines, including a space shuttle orbital maneuvering system (OMS) engine, eight auxiliary thrusters and 12 smaller thrusters. This and other testing of Orion’s systems is supporting development of the spacecraft that will carry humans farther into the solar system than ever before.

Small Business Industry Awards

NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs recognized its Fiscal Year 2016 Small Business Industry Award winners, Feb. 28 at NASA headquarters. Cepeda Systems and Software Analysis, Inc., Atec, Inc., Jacobs Technology, Inc., and Teledyne Brown Engineering with the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, won the Small Business Prime Contractor, Small Business Subcontractor, Large Business Prime Contractor, and Mentor-Protégé Agreement of the Year awards, respectively. The annual awards are presented to companies for their outstanding support of NASA and its mission.

African American Pioneers in Aviation and Space

NASA astronaut Stephanie Wilson gave a presentation Feb. 25 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, just outside Washington, as part of the museum’s Black History Month program, “African American Pioneers in Aviation and Space.” Earlier in the month, NASA astronaut Victor Glover also gave a presentation as part of this program at the museum’s location in Washington.

And that’s what’s up this week @NASA …