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This Week at NASA | Spacewalk Preview, Orion Chute Tests, Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

Uploaded 02/20/2015

Spacewalk Preview, Orion Chute Tests, Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission

A Feb. 18 briefing at Johnson Space Center previewed a series of U.S. spacewalks to prepare the International Space Station for new docking ports that will allow future crews launched from Florida, on U.S. commercial spacecraft to dock to the station. On the first EVA, scheduled for no earlier than Feb. 21, NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts will prepare cables and communications gear for the two new International Docking Adapters, built by Boeing and scheduled for delivery on a pair of SpaceX flights this year. The other spacewalks are slated for Feb. 25th, and March 1. Also, Final Automated Transfer Vehicle, Progress supply ship to ISS, Magnetospheric Multiscale mission, Orion chutes in the wind, Pegasus modifications and more.

 

TRANSCRIPT

 

Space station spacewalks

A Feb. 18 briefing at Johnson Space Center previewed a series of U.S. spacewalks to prepare the International Space Station for new docking ports that will allow future crews launched from Florida, on U.S. commercial spacecraft to dock to the station. On the first EVA, scheduled for no earlier than Feb. 21, NASA astronauts Barry Wilmore and Terry Virts will prepare cables and communications gear for the two new International Docking Adapters, built by Boeing and scheduled for delivery on a pair of SpaceX flights this year. The other spacewalks are slated for Feb. 25th, and March 1.

Final Automated Transfer Vehicle

ESA’s fifth and final Automated Transfer Vehicle or ATV undocked from the space station Feb. 14 and disintegrated in Earth’s atmosphere the following day while deorbiting. The European Space Agency’s fleet of five ATVs began servicing the space station in the spring of 2008 – delivering approximately 34 tons of supplies since then. The station continues to be supplied by U.S., Japanese and Russian cargo spacecraft.

Progress supply ship to ISS

In fact… a Russian Progress supply ship launched to the International Space Station on Feb. 17 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan – docking to the station’s Zvezda service module almost six hours later. The Progress delivered three tons of food, fuel, supplies and experiment hardware to the six crew members aboard the orbital laboratory.

Magnetospheric Multiscale mission

A Feb. 18 media event at the Astrotech Space Operations facility in Titusville, Florida focused on NASA’s upcoming Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) mission, scheduled for launch March 12 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The mission will study how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect — converting magnetic energy into particle energy via a mysterious process known as magnetic reconnection. It is a fundamental process that happens throughout the universe.

Orion chutes in the wind

In an effort to improve the safety, reliability and aerodynamic stability of the Orion crew module’s main landing parachutes, a team of investigators led by NASA, recently tested 13 different parachute configurations in one of the National Full Scale Aerodynamics Complex wind tunnels at Ames Research Center in California. Data from the wind tunnel testing and subsequent air drop tests will be used to help decide which parachute configuration will be used on future Orion missions that will send astronauts to deep space destinations and return them home safely.

Pegasus modifications

Work is underway at Conrad Shipyard LLC in Morgan City, Louisiana to retrofit NASA’s Pegasus barge. The barge is being modified to ferry the massive core stage of the Space Launch System rocket, which is being constructed at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. During the space shuttle era, Pegasus transported shuttle external tanks and other hardware from Michoud to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Small Business Industry Day

NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs and Stennis Space Center hosted a one-day Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business Industry Day recently at the INFINITY Science Center, near Stennis. The event provided participants a chance to collect information on small business opportunities and to network with NASA personnel and contractor representatives. Glenn Delgado, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Office of Small Business Programs, was on hand for an awards presentation.

And that’s what’s up this week @NASA.

 

(c)2015 NASA | SCVTV
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