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By NASA
Rotor Optimization for the Advancement of Mars eXploration (ROAMX) team members and test stand at NASA Ames Research Center.NASA During 2024-2025, helicopter blades optimized for Mars were tested in the Planetary Aeolian Laboratory (PAL) at NASA Ames Research Center as part of the Rotor Optimization for the Advancement of Mars eXploration (ROAMX) project. The experimental test-chamber of the PAL can be depressurized to create atmospheric air pressures of different planetary bodies such as Mars. The full-scale ROAMX blades were spun in hover configuration up to 4000 RPM at an atmospheric density of Mars (approximately 0.015 kilograms per cubic meter). The Ingenuity blades were also tested in the PAL to compare the performance of the optimized blades against the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter Technology Demonstrator. The test was conducted to validate computational models of the performance of the optimized blades. Simulations show that the optimized ROAMX blades perform significantly better than the Ingenuity blades, allowing helicopters on Mars to fly farther, faster, and carry a science payload. The next phase of testing will occur with higher RPMs and additional collective angles.
Rotor Optimization for the Advancement of Mars eXploration (ROAMX) hover test stand with ROAMX blades installed in the Planetary Aeolian Laboratory (PAL) low-pressure chamber at NASA Ames Research Center.NASAView the full article
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By NASA
Official NASA portrait of Norman D. Knight. Credit: NASA NASA has selected Norman Knight as acting deputy director of Johnson Space Center. Knight currently serves as Director of Johnson’s Flight Operations Directorate (FOD), responsible for astronaut training and for overall planning, directing, managing, and implementing overall mission operations for NASA human spaceflight programs. This also includes management for all Johnson aircraft operations and aircrew training. Knight will serve in this dual deputy director and FOD director role for the near term.
“It is an honor to accept my new role as acting deputy director for Johnson,” Knight said. “Human spaceflight is key to our agency’s mission and our Johnson team is unified in that goal. The successes we see every day are the evidence of that. It never ceases to amaze me what our team is capable of.”
Knight began his career at the Johnson Space Center as a Space Shuttle mechanical systems flight controller, working 40 missions in this capacity. He progressed through management roles with increasing responsibility, and in 2000, he was selected as a flight director and worked in that capacity for numerous International Space Station expeditions and Space Shuttle missions. In 2009, he became the deputy chief of the Flight Director Office and participated in a NASA fellowship at Harvard Business School in general management. In 2012, Knight was selected as the chief of the Flight Director Office and then in 2018 as deputy director of the Flight Operations Directorate after serving a temporary assignment as the assistant administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. In 2021, Knight was selected as the director of FOD.
“Norm has an accomplished career within the agency,” said Steven Koerner, Johnson acting director. “His leadership, expertise, and dedication to the mission will undoubtably drive our continued success.”
Throughout his career, Knight has been recognized for outstanding technical achievements and leadership, receiving a Spaceflight Awareness Honoree award for STS-82. He also received several center and agency awards, including two Exceptional Achievement medals, multiple Johnson and agency group achievement awards, two Superior Accomplishment awards, an Outstanding Leadership medal, the Johnson Director’s Commendation award, and the Distinguished Service medal.
Knight earned a bachelor’s degree in aeronautical engineering from the Embry Riddle Aeronautical University in 1990.
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By NASA
NASA An apprentice at Langley Laboratory (now NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia) inspects wind tunnel components in this image from May 15, 1943. During World War II, the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA), the precursor to NASA, employed apprentices (which NASA has since transitioned into internships) to support meaningful jobs in data computing, testing, and mechanical work.
Make your own mark on NASA history. Apply to the agency’s summer internships by 11:59 p.m. EST Feb. 28.
Image credit: NASA
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By NASA
Acting Director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center, Steve Koerner. Credit: NASA/Norah Moran NASA has selected Stephen Koerner as acting director of Johnson Space Center. Koerner previously served as Johnson’s deputy director.
“It is an honor to accept my new role as acting director for Johnson,” Koerner said. “Our employees are key to our nation’s human spaceflight goals. I am continually impressed with what our workforce accomplishes and am proud to be named the leader of such an incredible team dedicated to mission excellence.”
Koerner previously served as deputy director of NASA Johnson beginning in July 2021, overseeing strategic workforce planning, serving as Designated Agency Safety Health Officer (DASHO), and supporting the Johnson Center Director in mission reviews. Before his appointment to deputy director, Koerner served as director of the Flight Operations Directorate (FOD) for two years. In that role, he was responsible for selecting and protecting astronauts, and for the planning, training, and execution of human space flight and aviation missions. He managed an annual budget of $367 million, 600 civil servants and military personnel, and 2300 contractor personnel. He oversaw the Astronaut Office, the Flight Director Office, the Mission Control Center, human spaceflight training facilities, and Johnson’s Aviation Operations Division. During this tenure he was also responsible for FOD’s flight readiness of the first commercial human spaceflight mission, ushering in a new era of domestic launch capability and the return of American astronauts launching from American soil.
Prior to assuming his position as director of Flight Operations, Koerner served in several senior executive roles, including:
Johnson Space Center Associate Director from 2018 to 2019 Johnson Space Center Chief Financial Officer (CFO) from 2017 to 2018 Deputy Director of Flight Operations from 2014 to 2017 Deputy Director Mission Operations from 2007 to 2014 Koerner joined Johnson full-time in 1992. He has extensive operations experience including serving as an environmental systems space shuttle flight controller, where he supported 41 space shuttle flights in Mission Control. Since that time, he has served in a series of progressively more responsible positions, including lead for two International Space Station flight control groups, chief of the space station’s Data Systems Flight Control Branch, chief of the Mission Operations Directorate’s Management Integration Office, and as the Mission Operation Directorate’s manager for International Space Station operations.
Additional special assignments throughout his career include:
Project manager for Johnson’s Crew Exploration Vehicle Avionics Integration Lab (June 2007 –June 2008) Member of NASA’s Human Exploration Framework Team (April 2010 –October 2010) Member of NASA’s Standing Review Board that provided an independent assessment at life cycle review milestones for the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Program, the Space Launch System Program and the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program (October 2011 – August 2014) Lead of NASA’s Mission Operations Capability Team (October 2015 –April 2017) “Steve has an accomplished career serving human spaceflight. His vision and dedication to the Johnson workforce makes him the perfect person to lead the Johnson team forward as acting director,” said Vanessa Wyche, NASA acting associate administrator. “Steve is an asset to the center and the agency—as both a proven technical expert and a leader.”
Throughout his career, Koerner has been recognized for outstanding technical achievements and leadership, receiving two Superior Accomplishment Awards, the Outstanding Leadership Medal, the Johnson Space Center Director’s Commendation Award, two group achievement awards, the Exceptional Service Medal, and the Presidential Rank Award.
Koerner is a native of Stow, Ohio. He earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Akron in Ohio, and a master’s degree in business administration from LeTourneau University in Longview, Texas.
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By NASA
NASA has selected Mary Beth Schwartz as director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center Center Operations directorate. Schwartz previously served as the directorate’s deputy director.
“I’m excited to embark on my new role as director for Johnson’s Center Operations directorate,” Schwartz said. “It is an honor to lead an organization that is foundational to the center’s mission success.”
Ms. Schwartz began her NASA career as a NASA intern and has since held a variety of key roles. These include serving as a space shuttle flight controller, chair of the PSRP (Payload Safety Review Panel) for both the International Space Station and Space Shuttle programs, where she led establishment of PSRP franchises with international partners. She also served as the manager of the Safety and Mission Assurance business office, leading efforts in consolidation and budget integration, and as the associate director of Johnson engineering responsible for budget and facility functions.
Throughout her career, Schwartz has been recognized for her contributions to NASA, receiving the NASA Exceptional Service medal, as well as the NASA Honor and Silver Snoopy awards.
“Mary Beth has a unique perspective of Center Operations, not only as a mission and customer-focused organization, but as an organization that is key to employee experience,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “I appreciate her vision for the organization, commitment to the mission, and overall genuine respect of the workforce. I am extremely pleased to announce her selection for this position.”
Ms. Schwartz earned her Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Houston.
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