NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft takes off from Manchester, N.H., carrying the heat shield that will protect Orion on its first mission, Exploration Flight Test-1, to Kennedy Space Center for installation. (Credit: NASA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA’s Orion spacecraft is just about ready to turn up the heat. The spacecraft’s heat shield arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida Wednesday night aboard the agency’s Super Guppy aircraft.

The heat shield, the largest of its kind ever built, is to be unloaded Thursday and is scheduled for installation on the Orion crew module in March, in preparation for Orion’s first flight test in September 2014.

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NASA astronaut Michael Hopkins conducts a session with the Capillary Flow Experiment. (Credit: NASA)

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. (NASA PR) — NASA and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) are enabling research aboard the International Space Station that could lead to new stem cell-based therapies for medical conditions faced on Earth and in space.

Scientists will take advantage of the space station’s microgravity environment to study the properties of non-embryonic stem cells.

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Rocket Crafters concept vehicle (Credit: Rocket Crafters)

The Miami Herald reports that the jobs incentives deals that Gov. Rick Scott has crafted to lure businesses to the Space Coast have been a mixed bag. On the plus side, Brevard County’s unemployment rate, which peaked after the end of NASA’s space shuttle program, has been reduced from more than 11 percent to 7 percent.  Deals with large companies such as Boeing and Embraer promise to eventually add thousands of additional jobs in the area.

On the other hand, a $7 million incentives deal with start-up company Rocket Crafters appears to have augered in. And  even positive achievements appear to rely heavily on federal contracts, not necessarily on private sector growth, limiting the ability of the area to diversify its economy away from government spending.

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The inside of the Virgin Galactic Gateway to Space at Spaceport America during its dedication ceremony in October 2013. (Credit: Douglas Messier)

The Sante Fe New Mexican has an in-depth story on what’s at stake for poverty-stricken Sierra County, whose residents a tax hike to build Spaceport America nearly six years ago. Residents are antsy about the years-long delays on the $225 million project, and they are worried they will not see the economic benefits they were promised once Virgin Galactic begins commercial space flights from the facility.

Reaping spaceport-related tourism dollars is key for the county and its largest town, Truth or Consequences, which lies closest to the spaceport. The county, whose per-capita income is only about 40 percent that of the U.S. 2012 average of $42,693, relies heavily on tourism.

Russian President Vladimir Putin tours RSC Energia. (Credit: Russian Federation Government)

Last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree to establish the United Rocket and Space Corporation, an entity designed to consolidate much of the nation’s space industry under one entity while reducing inefficiencies and redundancies.

The move comes after three years of embarrassing and costly launch failures overseen by the Russian space agency Roscomos, which will have its role shifted to contracting, coordination and policy implementation.

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KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL, December 5, 2013 (Florida Space Day) – Representatives from Florida’s aerospace industry will visit Tallahassee on March 12, 2014, to participate in Florida Space Day and share with legislators the opportunities the industry brings to Florida and the nation’s space program.

“Aerospace means business and that translates into high tech, high paying jobs for Florida,” said Patty Stratton, chair of Florida Space Day 2014. “The decisions made in both Tallahassee and Washington D.C. in regard to the space program will greatly affect the state.” Florida has the third largest space industry in the nation.

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The diaphragm for Exploration Flight Test (EFT)-1 is joined to an adapter prototype for pressurized testing. (Credit: NASA/MSFC)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — Hardware that will keep harmful gases away from the Orion spacecraft during its first trip to space proved it won’t bend under pressure during a recent test at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

The diaphragm for Exploration Flight Test (EFT)-1 was joined to an adapter prototype for pressurized testing. The adapter will connect Orion to a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket being constructed at ULA’s facility in nearby Decatur, Ala.

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TechEdSat-3p deploys from the Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer aboard the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA)

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (NASA PR) — Mission controllers have confirmed that a small satellite launched from the International Space Station has successfully entered its orbit. Soon it will demonstrate two new technologies including an “exo-brake” device to demonstrate a new de-orbit technique as well as a communications system to provide precise information about the spacecraft’s position.

The satellite, dubbed “TechEdSat-3p,” arrived at the station aboard a Japanese H-II Transfer Vehicle Aug. 3. It was released at 2:58 a.m. EST Nov. 20, from the same Japanese Small Satellite Orbital Deployer aboard the station that launched its smaller predecessor – TechEdSat – in 2012.

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NASA astronaut Rick Mastracchio works with BioLab hardware. BioLab is used to perform space biology experiments on microorganisms, cells, tissue cultures, plants and small invertebrates.(Credit: NASA)

ISS Science Highlights
Week of Nov. 25, 2013

John Love, Lead Increment Scientist
Expedition 37/38

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata performed his first Body Measures session aboard the International Space Station. It is anticipated that body measurements will change due to microgravity and fluid shifts. The goal of this study is to gather preliminary data to better understand the magnitude and variability of these changes. This data is important to be able to determine the changes that may occur during long-duration spaceflight and to be able to apply the changes to suit fit, suit sizing and workstation design for future missions to maximize performance, prevent injury, and reduce crew time for altering or adjusting their suits, workstation, etc., to accommodate their anthropometrics. This investigation will benefit people on Earth by providing information for the design of medical devices and provide a better understanding of how bed rest, similar to spaceflight, can affect body changes. This investigation also will potentially update the Neutral Body Posture that is widely used for design standards for Earth applications.

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Space News has an extensive Q&A with Yuriy Boyko, Ukraine’s Vice Prime Minister for Ecology, Natural Resources, Energy and Space. The interview primarily focuses on the nation’s space program, its joint Cyclone 4 launch vehicle program with Brazil, and its efforts to increase cooperation with the United States and China. Some of the highlights: Ukraine’s main launch vehicles include Zenit (Sea Launch, Land Launch), Dnepr (joint program with Russia), Cyclone […]