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By NASA
Six of the seven members of the NASA Kennedy Space Center team recognized by the White House on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, during the Presidential Federal Sustainability Awards stand next to an electric vehicle (EV) charging station in front of Kennedy’s Central Campus Headquarters Building. Those members are, from left to right, center services division chief Gustavo Diaz, partnership development office chief Matthew Jimenez, then branch chief Gerald “Jay” Green, sustainability lead Lashanda Battle, transportation officer Melissa Coleman, and then transportation specialist Spencer Davis. This EV station is one of 28 installed on center through a partnership with local utility provider Florida Power & Light, allowing up to 56 electric vehicles to be charged at the same time. An additional 31 EV stations are planned at Kennedy by fall 2024, increasing the center’s vehicle charging capacity by up to 118 vehicles simultaneously once they’re operational.Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett A team of seven NASA Kennedy employees was recognized by the White House for charging ahead with the expansion of the agency’s sustainable electric vehicle (EV) fleet at Kennedy Space Center. They did so at minimal cost to taxpayers while also offering zero emission EV charging for any workers and visitors willing to pay out of their pocket for the service.
The employees received an honorable mention in the “Electrifying the Federal Fleet” category at the Presidential Federal Sustainability Awards for working with Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), the local utility provider, to deploy FPL EVolution EV chargers throughout the center. Three of them attended the June 25 award ceremony inside the Indian Treaty Room at the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC.
NASA Kennedy’s first EV chargers were installed in August 2021, but the team’s efforts to add more increased after President Joe Biden issued Executive Order (EO) 14057 in December 2021, which mandates that federal agencies lead the way in creating an American electricity sector with no carbon pollution by the year 2035 and net-zero emissions throughout the economy by 2050.
“The team found a way to help NASA take one step closer toward a future of net-zero carbon emissions,” said Janet Petro, director of the Florida spaceport. “We’re proud of how they created a model for other NASA centers and federal government agencies to follow, leaving a cleaner environment for all of us to enjoy.”
The following employees were recognized, all of whom are part of NASA Kennedy’s Spaceport Integration and Services directorate or the Center Planning & Development Office:
Gustavo Diaz, Center Services Division Chief Matthew Jimenez, Partnership Development Office Chief Gerald “Jay” Green, then Branch Chief Lisa Williams, then Deputy Chief of Logistics Lashanda Battle, Kennedy Sustainability Lead Melissa Coleman, Transportation Officer Spencer Davis, then Transportation Specialist The NASA Kennedy team worked closely with FPL to create a customized electrification plan for the center, including design coordination, installation, and operations management for the EV charging infrastructure.
FPL installed 28 dual head charging stations, each of which can charge two vehicles at once, meaning that the center currently has the capacity to charge up to 56 electric vehicles at the same time. An additional 31 stations are scheduled to be operational at Kennedy by September 2024, increasing the center’s charging capacity by up to 118 vehicles simultaneously once they go online.
The FPL EVolution chargers are in the parking lots of various facilities within Kennedy, including the Central Campus Headquarters Building, the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, the Space Station Processing Facility, Operations Support Buildings I and II, and the Logistics Facility. Those locations were chosen by the NASA Kennedy team following consultations with Kennedy employees.
“This partnership gives NASA Kennedy access to FPL’s charging infrastructure, saving the government about $1 million in construction costs,” said Maria Collura, director of NASA Kennedy’s Spaceport Integration and Services. “It also allowed Kennedy to replace 19 gas-powered vehicles in its fleet with electric models, making this a win-win for the American taxpayer and the environment.”
Three of the seven NASA Kennedy Space Center team members recognized by the White House during the Presidential Federal Sustainability Awards ceremony on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, stand in front of the Dwight D. Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C. Those members are then transportation specialist Spencer Davis (top left), sustainability lead Lashanda Battle (center, holding honorable mention certificate), and partnership office chief Matthew Jimenez (top right). The Kennedy team crafted a partnership with local utility provider Florida Power & Light to create 59 electric vehicle charging stations on NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Also in the photo are Denise Thaller (bottom left), deputy assistant administrator, NASA’s Office of Strategic Infrastructure, and Andrew Mayock (bottom right), Federal Chief Sustainability OfficerPhoto credit: Department of Interior/Tami Heilemann NASA Kennedy’s FPL EVolution workplace charging stations have been used over 16,000 times since May 2022, leading to a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions of nearly 230,000 kilograms and a gasoline savings of nearly 40,000 gallons. Personal vehicles make up most of those charging sessions, which users pay for before each charge, so the service comes at no additional cost to taxpayers.
NASA Kennedy is the first of the agency’s centers to offer workplace EV charging for employees and visitors. The team which spearheaded that project is now working with other NASA centers interested in offering the same to their employees and visitors.
To ensure proper use of the chargers and plan future agency-wide transportation efforts, the team collects data from all charging stations and reports it to NASA’s Agency Transportation Officer for inclusion in the yearly Fixing America’s Surface Transportation report submitted to the Department of Energy.
EV chargers are just one way NASA Kennedy is implementing EO 14057’s mandate of zero emissions by 2035. The center also uses hybrid vehicles and alternative fuels such as E85 and biodiesel as part of its comprehensive approach to a cleaner environment.
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By NASA
NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test Astronauts Talk with the National Space Council Representatives
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By NASA
NASA astronauts Suni Williams (pictured left) and Butch Wilmore (pictured right) launched at 10:52 a.m. EDT June 5 as the first crewed flight of Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on the United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.Credits: NASA Following their safe arrival at the International Space Station, NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will participate in a pair of Earth to space calls Monday, June 10, regarding their historic mission aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft:
Known as NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, the duo will speak first at 1 p.m. EDT with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy, Associate Administrator Jim Free, and Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche.
Coverage of the call will stream live on NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website. Learn how to stream NASA TV through a variety of platforms including social media.
At 2:40 p.m., the astronauts will participate in a Q&A moderated by Chirag Parikh, deputy assistant to President Joe Biden and executive secretary for the White House’s National Space Council.
Coverage of the call will stream live on NASA+, NASA Television, and the agency’s website.
Wilmore and Williams launched at 10:52 a.m. June 5, on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission. They docked to the orbiting laboratory at 1:34 p.m., June 6, and will remain for a week-long stay, testing Starliner and its subsystems as the next step in the spacecraft’s certification for rotational missions as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is delivering on its goal of safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station from the United States through a partnership with American private industry. This partnership is opening access to low-Earth orbit and the International Space Station to more people, science, and commercial opportunities. The space station remains the springboard to NASA’s next great leap in space exploration, including future missions to the Moon under Artemis, and ultimately, to Mars.
For more information about the mission, visit:
www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew
-end-
Faith McKie / Josh Finch
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1100
faith.d.mckie@nasa.gov / joshua.a.finch@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Jun 07, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Humans in Space Commercial Crew Commercial Space International Space Station (ISS) ISS Research View the full article
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By NASA
On March 24, 1979, space shuttle Columbia arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for the very first time. Following Presidential direction to build the space shuttle in 1972, Congress quickly approved and funded the program later that year. Construction of the first orbital vehicle, later named Columbia, began in 1975. Four years later, Columbia completed its first transcontinental flight, arriving at KSC to begin preparations for its first mission. The first shuttle flight in April 1981 ushered in an era of reusable space transportation.
Left: NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher, left, presents a model of the space shuttle to President Richard M. Nixon in January 1972. Right: Apollo 16 astronauts John W. Young, left, and Charles M. Duke on the Moon in April 1972.
On Jan. 5, 1972, President Richard M. Nixon directed NASA to build the space shuttle, formally called the Space Transportation System (STS), stating that “it would revolutionize transportation into near space.” NASA Administrator James C. Fletcher hailed the President’s decision as “an historic step in the nation’s space program,” adding that it would change what humans can accomplish in space. Apollo 16 astronauts John W. Young and Charles M. Duke learned of the space shuttle’s approval while exploring the Moon in April 1972. Mission Control informed them that Congress had authorized the development of the space shuttle. Young and Duke both enthusiastically responded to the positive news with “Beautiful! Wonderful! Beautiful!” Young added with some foresight, “The country needs that shuttle mighty bad. You’ll see.” He had no way of knowing that nine years later, he would command the first ship of the space shuttle fleet, Columbia, on its maiden voyage.
Left: Columbia’s crew compartment during assembly in 1976. Middle: Columbia’s aft fuselage and wings during assembly in November 1977. Right: Columbia just prior to rollout from Rockwell’s plant in Palmdale in March 1979.
Once Congress authorized the funds, on July 26, 1972, NASA awarded the contract to the North American Rockwell Corporation of Downey, California, to begin construction of the first orbital vehicle. Officially known as Orbital Vehicle-102 (OV-102), in January 1979 NASA named it Columbia after Captain Robert Gary’s sloop that explored the Pacific Northwest in the 1790s and took the honor as the first American ship to circumnavigate the globe, as well as after the Apollo 11 Command Module. Construction of Columbia’s first components at Rockwell’s Palmdale, California, plant began on March 25, 1975.
Left: Workers roll Columbia out from its hangar at Rockwell’s Palmdale, California, plant. Middle: Workers transport Columbia from Rockwell’s Palmdale facility to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center. Right: Columbia atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft takes off from Dryden to begin the cross-country ferry flight.
Nearly four years later, on March 8, 1979, Columbia rolled out of the Palmdale facility to begin its multi-day transcontinental journey to KSC. For the first step of the journey, workers towed Columbia from Palmdale overland to NASA’s Dryden, now Armstrong, Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) 36 miles away. Two days later, workers there hoisted Columbia onto the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), a Boeing 747 aircraft modified to transport space shuttle orbiters. During a test flight, thousands of the orbiter’s thermal protection system tiles fell off. Workers returned Columbia to a hangar where over 100 men and women worked for nine days reapplying the tiles. Weather then delayed Columbia’s departure until March 20, when the SCA/shuttle duo flew from Dryden to Biggs AFB in El Paso, Texas.
Left: Space shuttle Columbia atop its Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) touches down at Kelly Air Force Base (AFB) in San Antonio for an overnight stop. Middle: Head on view of Columbia atop the SCA. Right: Tina Aguilar, age nine, an aspiring young reporter, interviews astronaut Donald K. “Deke” Slayton in front of Columbia and the SCA at Kelly AFB.
Weather delayed Columbia’s departure for the planned refueling stop at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, until the next day. About 200,000 people went to view the shuttle during its overnight layover in San Antonio prior to its departure on March 23.
Left: The past meets the future, as space shuttle Columbia atop its Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) flies over the Saturn V display at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: Columbia atop the SCA touches down at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF), with the Vehicle Assembly Building visible in the background. Right: At the SLF, NASA Administrator Robert A. Frosch addresses the crowd assembled to welcome Columbia to KSC, as other dignitaries listen.
After another overnight stop at Eglin AFB in Florida, Columbia atop the SCA touched down at KSC’s Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) on March 24, a crowd of about 3,000 cheering its arrival. Dignitaries in attendance at a brief welcoming ceremony at the SLF included NASA Administrator Robert A. Frosch, KSC Director Lee R. Scherer, SCA pilots Joseph S. Algranti and Fitzhugh L. Fulton, program manager for Shuttle Flight Test Operations NASA astronaut Donald K. “Deke” Slayton, and astronauts John W. Young and Robert L. Crippen, designated as the commander and pilot for STS-1, the first space shuttle mission. Also in attendance, U.S. Congressman C. William “Bill” Nelson whose district included KSC and now serves as NASA’s 14th administrator, and Florida Lieutenant Governor J. Wayne Mixson.
Left: Columbia in the Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: Workers hoist Columbia in KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for mating with its external tank and solid rocket boosters. Right: Columbia rolls out of the VAB on its way to Launch Pad 39A.
The next day, after removing Columbia from the back of the SCA, workers towed it into the Orbiter Processing Facility, where the orbiter spent the next 19 months preparing for its first flight. Rollover to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) for mating with its External Tank and the two Solid Rocket Boosters took place Nov. 24, 1980. After a series of integrated tests, the shuttle stack rolled out of the VAB and made the 3.5-mile trip to Launch Pad 39A on Dec. 29, 1980. Young and Crippen flew Columbia’s historic first mission, STS-1, in April 1981, ushering in an era of reusable space transportation.
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Last Updated Mar 21, 2024 Related Terms
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By NASA
By Andrew Chaikin, Independent Space Historian and member of the NESC Human Factors Technical Discipline Team
I recently watched NESC Deputy Director Mike Kirsch stand before a roomful of engineers at the Langley Research Center and tell them that with every passing day, NASA breaks a record: the longest stretch without a major accident in the nation’s human spaceflight program since the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry on February 1, 2003. NASA’s challenge, he told them, was to make sure the record keeps being broken.
Mike’s sobering message set the perfect tone for my presentation of “Principles of Success in Spaceflight,” the class I created with Victoria Kohl on the human behavior elements of success and failure in spaceflight projects. With the NESC’s support, I have given it at every NASA center, and it’s always a rewarding experience. You can’t spend the day with a group of NASA engineers and not experience their keen intelligence, passion, and commitment to excellence. As I lead them through case studies of the Apollo 1 fire in 1967, the Challenger accident in 1986, and Columbia, I tell them that no matter how good we are at the “rocket science,” we invite failure if we don’t pay attention to the attitudes, beliefs, and assumptions we bring to the work—in short, our mindset.
Before the Apollo fire, there was a widespread belief that because Mercury and Gemini had used pure oxygen with no fires, there wouldn’t be any in Apollo. And the Apollo spacecraft program manager missed opportunities to prevent the accident due to his belief that the fire hazard created by combining pure oxygen with exposed wiring and flammable materials was not a “real” problem, one that warranted slowing the train barreling down the tracks to meet John F. Kennedy’s end-of-the-decade deadline for a lunar landing.
When I talk about the Challenger accident, I caution that it’s essential to pay attention to the stories we tell ourselves. NASA had promised itself and Congress that the Shuttle would make spaceflight routine and affordable, a goal that required unrealistically high flight rates. Mounting schedule pressure in the lead-up to Challenger skewed decision makers’ perceptions of the SRB field joint anomalies that had occurred intermittently on previous launches and were not well understood. In the Columbia discussion, I recount the shocking swiftness with which NASA lost the lessons of Challenger and paved the way for another accident with renewed schedule pressure and a belief that external tank foam shedding was “not a safety of flight issue.” Accidents jolt us into new awareness, but Columbia is a painful reminder that awareness has a shelf life.
What will it take to keep breaking the record that Mike spoke about? I believe we must talk to each other regularly about the behaviors that either invite success or lead us down the slippery slope to failure. Are we in the grip of what I call the “reality distortion field,” created by cost, schedule, and/or political pressure, that clouds our perceptions of risk? Are we unconsciously indulging in hard-wired “us vs. them” tribal behaviors that cut us off from the diverse “spotlights of awareness” we must have to navigate the unforgiving demands of human spaceflight? Are we telling ourselves a story that, under clear-eyed scrutiny, doesn’t hold up? These are the questions we need to ask ourselves again and again. The answers are critical.
A section of the fuselage recovered from Space Shuttle Challenger, left, and the flight deck windows recovered from Space Shuttle Columbia at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. View the full article
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