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NASA Invites Media to Briefing on Research Launching to Space Station
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By NASA
NASA has awarded Bastion Technologies Inc., of Houston, the Center Occupational Safety, Health, Medical, System Safety and Mission Assurance Contract (COSMC) at the agency’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley.
The COSMC contract is a hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract, with an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity component and maximum potential value of $53 million. The contract phase-in begins Thursday, Jan. 2, 2025, followed by a one-year base period that begins Feb. 14, 2025, and options to extend performance through Aug. 13, 2030.
Under this contract, the company will provide support for occupational safety, industrial hygiene, health physics, safety and health training, emergency response, safety culture, medical, wellness, fitness, and employee assistance. The contractor also will provide subject matter expertise in several areas including system safety, software safety and assurance, quality assurance, pressure system safety, procurement quality assurance, and range safety. Work will primarily be performed at NASA Ames and NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, as needed.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
-end-
Tiernan Doyle
NASA Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.p.doyle@nasa.gov
Rachel Hoover
Ames Research Center, Silicon Valley, Calif.
650-604-4789
rachel.hoover@nasa.gov
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By NASA
NASA’s Human Landing System (HLS) will transport the next astronauts that land on the Moon, including the first woman and first person of color, beginning with Artemis III. For safety and mission success, the landers and other equipment in development for NASA’s Artemis campaign must work reliably in the harshest of environments.
The Hub for Innovative Thermal Technology Maturation and Prototyping (HI-TTeMP) lab at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, provides engineers with thermal analysis of materials that may be a prototype or in an early developmental stage using a vacuum chamber, back left, and a conduction chamber, right. NASA/Ken Hall Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are currently testing how well prototype insulation for SpaceX’s Starship HLS will insulate interior environments, including propellant storage tanks and the crew cabin. Starship HLS will land astronauts on the lunar surface during Artemis III and Artemis IV.
Marshall’s Hub for Innovative Thermal Technology Maturation and Prototyping (HI-TTeMP) laboratory provides the resources and tools for an early, quick-check evaluation of insulation materials destined for Artemis deep space missions.
“Marshall’s HI-TTeMP lab gives us a key testing capability to help determine how well the current materials being designed for vehicles like SpaceX’s orbital propellant storage depot and Starship HLS, will insulate the liquid oxygen and methane propellants,” said HLS chief engineer Rene Ortega. “By using this lab and the expertise provided by the thermal engineers at Marshall, we are gaining valuable feedback earlier in the design and development process that will provide additional information before qualifying hardware for deep space missions.”
A peek inside the conductive test chamber at NASA Marshall’s HI-TTeMP lab where thermal engineers design, set up, execute, and analyze materials destined for deep space to better understand how they will perform in the cold near-vacuum of space. NASA/Ken Hall On the Moon, spaceflight hardware like Starship HLS will face extreme temperatures. On the Moon’s south pole during lunar night, temperatures can plummet to -370 degrees Fahrenheit (-223 degrees Celsius). Elsewhere in deep space temperatures can range from roughly 250 degrees Fahrenheit (120 degrees Celsius) in direct sunlight to just above absolute zero in the shadows.
There are two primary means of managing thermal conditions: active and passive. Passive thermal controls include materials such as insulation, white paint, thermal blankets, and reflective metals. Engineers can also design operational controls, such as pointing thermally sensitive areas of a spacecraft away from direct sunlight, to help manage extreme thermal conditions. Active thermal control measures that could be used include radiators or cryogenic coolers.
Engineers use two vacuum test chambers in the lab to simulate the heat transfer effects of the deep space environment and to evaluate the thermal properties of the materials. One chamber is used to understand radiant heat, which directly warms an object in its path, such as when heat from the Sun shines on it. The other test chamber evaluates conduction by isolating and measuring its heat transfer paths.
NASA engineers working in the HI-TTeMP lab not only design, set up, and run tests, they also provide insight and expertise in thermal engineering to assist NASA’s industry partners, such as SpaceX and other organizations, in validating concepts and models, or suggesting changes to designs. The lab is able to rapidly test and evaluate design updates or iterations.
NASA’s HLS Program, managed by NASA Marshall, is charged with safely landing astronauts on the Moon as part of Artemis. NASA has awarded contracts to SpaceX for landing services for Artemis III and IV and to Blue Origin for Artemis V. Both landing services providers plan to transfer super-cold propellant in space to send landers to the Moon with full tanks.
With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of Mars. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems, and Orion spacecraft, along with the HLS, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.
For more on HLS, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/humans-in-space/human-landing-system
News Media Contact
Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256.544.0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov
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By Space Force
Over the past two years, the first U.S. space service component has tripled in size, established a 24/7 space watch cell and executed three Tier 1 Combatant Command exercises.
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By NASA
The future of human space exploration took a bold step forward at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston on Nov. 15, 2024, as Texas A&M University leaders’ broke ground for the Texas A&M University Space Institute.
Texas state officials, NASA leaders, and distinguished guests participated in the ceremony, held near the future development site of Johnson’s new Exploration Park, marking an important milestone in a transformative partnership to advance research, innovation, and human spaceflight.
NASA’s Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche gives remarks at the Texas A&M University Space Institute groundbreaking ceremony in Houston on Nov. 15, 2024. NASA/Robert Markowitz “This groundbreaking is not just a physical act of breaking ground or planting a flag,” said Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche. “This is the moment our vision—to dare to expand frontiers and unite with our partners to explore for the benefit of all humanity—will be manifested.”
The Texas A&M University Space Institute will be the first tenant at NASA’s 240-acre Exploration Park to support facilities that enhance commercial access, foster a collaborative development environment, and strengthen the United States’ competitiveness in the space and aerospace industries.
Chairman Bill Mahomes Jr. of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents, left, Chancellor John Sharp of the Texas A&M University System, and Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche hold a commemorative plaque celebrating the establishment of the Texas A&M University Space Institute at Exploration Park. NASA/Robert Markowitz Exploration Park aims to foster research, technology transfer, and a sustainable pipeline of career development for the Artemis Generation and Texas workers transitioning to the space economy. The park represents a key achievement of Johnson’s 2024 Dare | Unite | Explore commitments, emphasizing its role as the hub of human spaceflight, developing strategic partnerships, and paving the way for a thriving space economy.
Research conducted at the Space Institute is expected to accelerate human spaceflight by providing opportunities for the brightest minds worldwide to address the challenges of living in low Earth orbit, on the Moon, and on Mars.
Senior leadership from Johnson Space Center gathers for the groundbreaking ceremony of the Texas A&M University Space Institute. NASA/Robert Markowitz Industry leaders and Johnson executives stood alongside NASA’s Lunar Terrain Vehicle and Space Exploration Vehicle, symbolizing their commitment to fostering innovation and collaboration.
Texas A&M University Space Institute director and retired NASA astronaut Dr. Nancy Currie-Gregg and Dr. Rob Ambrose, Space Institute associate director, served as the masters of ceremony for the event. Johnson leaders present included Deputy Director Stephen Koerner; Associate Director Donna Shafer; Associate Director for Vision and Strategy Douglas Terrier; Director of External Relations Office Arturo Sanchez; and Chief Technologist and Director of the Business Development and Technology Integration Office Nick Skytland.
Also in attendance were Texas State Rep. Greg Bonnen; Texas A&M University System Board of Regents Chairman William Mahomes Jr.; Texas A&M University System Chancellor John Sharp; Texas A&M University President and Retired Air Force Gen. Mark Welsh III; and Texas A&M Engineering Vice Chancellor and Dean Robert Bishop.
Texas A&M University Space Institute Director and retired NASA astronaut Nancy Currie-Gregg plants a Texas A&M University Space Institute flag at Johnson Space Center, symbolizing the partnership between the institute and NASA.NASA/Robert Markowitz The institute, expected to open in September 2026, will feature the world’s largest indoor simulation spaces for lunar and Martian surface operations, high-bay laboratories, and multifunctional project rooms.
“The future of Texas’ legacy in aerospace is brighter than ever as the Texas A&M Space Institute in Exploration Park will create an unparalleled aerospace, economic, business development, research, and innovation region across the state,” Wyche said. “Humanity’s next giant leap starts here!”
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By NASA
From left to right, Dr. Peter Parker, Astronaut Victor Glover and Dr. Shih-Yung post for a photo after the 2024 Silver Snoopy Awards ceremony.NASA/Mark Knopp Two employees from NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia recently earned the prestigious Silver Snoopy award, an honor given to NASA employees and contractors across the agency for outstanding achievements related to astronaut safety or mission success. Dr. Shih-Yung Lin and Dr. Peter Parker received the awards during a Space Flight Awareness (SFA) award ceremony at Langley on Nov. 21. Lin earned the award for exceptional engineering and technical leadership contributions to the Orion program. Parker earned the award for outstanding leadership and technical contributions in support of the International Space Station (ISS).
NASA astronaut Victor Glover visited Langley to present the awards. Glover is currently assigned as the pilot of NASA’s Artemis II mission to the Moon. He piloted the SpaceX Crew 1 mission to the International Space Station in 2018 and served as a flight engineer on expeditions 64 and 65.
“This, for me, feels like how I felt when I received my astronaut pin. This is us giving you our team pin,” said Glover. He later added, “This is something to wear with honor. You are a very special part of our safety and mission assurance culture.”
Astronaut Victor Glover presents the 2024 Silver Snoopy Awards to Dr. Shih-Yung at NASA Langley Research Center.NASA/Angelique Herring The Silver Snoopy is the astronauts’ personal award and is presented to less than one percent of the total NASA workforce annually. The significance of the award was not lost on the honorees, who both brought family members to share in the moment.
“I’m involved with lots of research projects, but they don’t all involve loss of human life,” said Parker. “It definitely is a more prestigious, more impactful, more consequential type of project that I’m being recognized for.”
Lin, who recently retired, echoed that sentiment.
“You set a very high standard in order to achieve the safest conditions for all the astronauts,” he said. “For me, if we get a good mission out of it, or multiple missions, I would consider that my personal lifetime goal for my career. That’s what it means to me.”
Lin and Parker each received a sterling Silver Snoopy lapel pin that has flown in space, plus a certificate of appreciation signed by Glover and an authentication letter. The pins awarded to Langley’s recipients flew aboard Space Shuttle Endeavour during an assembly mission to the International Space Station, STS-118, August 8-21, 2007. The award depicts Snoopy, a character from the “Peanuts” comic strip created by Charles Schulz.
An avid supporter of the U.S. space program, Schulz gave NASA astronauts permission to adopt Snoopy as their personal safety symbol during the Apollo era and has long served to promote excellence in every phase of space flight to help ensure the success of NASA missions. The Snoopy emblem reflects NASA and industry’s sense of responsibility and continuing concern for astronaut flight safety.
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