NASA Presents Quality Awards to Teledyne and Barrios

Feb. 6, 2007

J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5241

RELEASE: 07-22

NASA PRESENTS QUALITY AWARDS TO TELEDYNE AND BARRIOS

WASHINGTON - NASA presented its highest honor for quality and
technical performance, the George M. Low Award, to two companies
committed to innovative management, process quality and customer
service. The awards, containing a medallion alloyed with material
flown to the moon on Apollo 11, were presented Tuesday at NASA's
fourth annual Project Management Challenge Conference in Galveston,
Texas.

Teledyne Brown Engineering, nominated by NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center, Huntsville, Ala., received the large business service award.
Barrios Technologies, nominated by NASA's Johnson Space Center,
Houston, received the small business service award. Three finalists
also were acknowledged - Honeywell Technology Solutions Incorporated,
Columbia, Md., Arcata Associates, Las Vegas, Nev., and Delaware North
Companies Parks and Resorts, Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

Senior managers and engineers from government and industry attend the
Project Management Challenge Conference. The conference is a forum
for NASA and its contractor partners to exchange ideas, success
stories and lessons learned. It provides participants the opportunity
to learn about quality management and improved communication
practices to apply in their own organizations.

Established in 1985, NASA's Excellence Award for Quality and
Productivity recognizes those in the contractor community whose
quality management practices can be a global benchmark for
excellence. In 1990, the award was renamed in memory of George M.
Low, an outstanding NASA leader who contributed greatly during his 27
year tenure and was deputy administrator from 1969-1976. Low was a
leader in the early development of NASA's space and manned space
flight programs.

For more information about the George M. Low Award, visit:

www.hq.nasa.gov/office/codeq/gml/

For more information about George M. Low, visit:

http://history.nasa.gov/Biographies/low.html

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181 Things To Do On The Moon

181 Things To Do On The Moon from PhysOrg.com

If you woke up tomorrow morning and found yourself on the moon, what would you do? NASA has just released a list of 181 good ideas.[***]

Ocean Planets on the Brink of Detection

Ocean Planets on the Brink of Detection from PhysOrg.com

Imagine a world with no land at all, merely the impenetrable depths of a seething ocean. Models of planet formation predict the existence of such worlds, even though our own solar system has none. Indeed, their formation should actually be rather common — and new satellites may soon detect them around other stars.[~~~]

NASA's Shuttle Atlantis Set for Move to Vehicle Assembly Building

Feb. 2, 2007

Katherine Trinidad
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-3749

Jessica Rye
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468

MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-017

NASA'S SHUTTLE ATLANTIS SET FOR MOVE TO VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Media are invited to witness an important
milestone for the upcoming space shuttle Atlantis mission, designated
STS-117. On Wednesday, Feb. 7, Atlantis is scheduled to move from the
Orbiter Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center to the
Vehicle Assembly Building. Once there, crews will attach Atlantis to
its external fuel tank and twin solid rocket boosters.

The first motion of the shuttle aboard the Crawler-Transporter is
expected at 6 a.m. EST. Media must arrive at Kennedy's News Center by
5:15 a.m. to attend the event.

Atlantis' targeted launch window opens March 15. During its 11-day
mission to the International Space Station, the STS-117 crew of six
astronauts will deliver a fourth segment for the station's backbone.
They also will unfurl new solar arrays and fold up an old set of
arrays during the 21st shuttle mission to the station.

Permanently badged media should contact Kennedy's News Center at
321-867-2468 by Feb. 6 to attend. Event dates and times are subject
to change. Schedule updates are available by calling 321-867-2525.
Media without Kennedy credentials must pick up badges by 4 p.m. on
Feb. 6, after submitting badge requests via the accreditation Web
site:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov/

Video of the rollover will air on NASA TV's Video File. For NASA TV
downlink, streaming video and scheduling information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about the STS-117 mission and its crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

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NASA Moon-Impactor Mission Passes Major Review

Feb. 2, 2007

Beth Dickey/J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/5241

John Bluck
Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
650-604-5026/9000

RELEASE: 07-21

NASA MOON-IMPACTOR MISSION PASSES MAJOR REVIEW

WASHINGTON - NASA's drive to return astronauts to the moon and later
probe deeper into space achieved a key milestone recently when agency
officials approved critical elements of a moon impact mission
scheduled to launch in October 2008. NASA's unmanned Lunar Crater
Observation and Sensing Satellite, known as LCROSS, will strike the
moon near its south pole in January 2009. It will search for water
and other materials that astronauts could use at a future lunar
outpost.

Scott Horowitz, associate administrator of the agency's Exploration
Systems Mission Directorate, led a confirmation review panel that
recently approved the detailed plans, instrument suite, budget and
risk factor analysis for the satellite.

NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., manages the
mission. The mission is valued at $79 million, excluding launch
costs. The mission will help NASA gain a new foothold on the moon and
prepare for new journeys to Mars and beyond.

The confirmation review authorized continuation of the lunar impactor
project and set its cost and schedule. Another mission milestone, the
critical design review, is scheduled for late February. That review
will examine the detailed Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite system design. After a successful critical design review,
the project team will assemble the spacecraft and its instruments.

"The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite project represents
an efficient way of doing business by being cost capped, schedule
constrained and risk tolerant," said Daniel Andrews, project manager
at Ames for the lunar impactor mission.

The lunar impactor will share a rocket ride into space with a second
satellite, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter. After the orbiter
separates from the Atlas V launch vehicle for its own mission, the
LCROSS will use the spent Centaur upper stage of the rocket as a
4,400-pound lunar impactor, targeting a permanently shadowed crater
near the lunar South Pole.

According to scientists, the Centaur's collision with the moon will
excavate about 220 tons of material from the lunar surface. The Lunar
Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite will observe the plume of
material with a suite of six instruments to look for water ice and
examine lunar soil. The satellite will fly through the plume, also
impacting the lunar surface. That second impact will be observed from
Earth.

The prime contractor for the satellite is Northrop Grumman Space
Technologies of Redondo Beach, Calif.

For information about the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing
Satellite on the Web, visit:

http://lcross.arc.nasa.gov

For information about NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate
on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/exploration

For information about NASA and agency programs on the Web, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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NASA to Highlight Next Space Station Component

Feb. 1, 2007

John Yembrick
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0602

Tracy Young
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468

MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-016

NASA TO HIGHLIGHT NEXT SPACE STATION COMPONENT

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - On Tuesday, Feb 6, at 10:30 a.m. EST, NASA's
Kennedy Space Center in Florida will showcase the next element to be
added to the International Space Station. The starboard 3/4 truss
segment will launch aboard Space Shuttle Atlantis on mission STS-117,
targeted for March 15.

The element will be added to the 11-segment integrated truss
structure, the station's backbone. The integrated truss structure
eventually will span more than 300 feet. The S3/S4 truss has two
large solar arrays and will provide one-fourth of the total power
generation for the completed station. The S3/S4 truss is expected to
be loaded into a transportation canister on Wednesday, Feb. 7, in
preparation for its targeted journey to the launch pad on Feb. 12.

NASA and Boeing mission managers involved in processing the element
for flight will be available for a question-and-answer session during
Tuesday's event.

Reporters planning to attend the event should arrive at Kennedy's
press site by 9:30 a.m. for transportation to the Space Station
Processing Facility. All participants must be dressed in full-length
pants, shirts with sleeves and flat shoes that entirely cover the
feet. Members of the media without permanent Kennedy credentials
should submit their request to attend via the online accreditation
Web site at:

https://media.ksc.nasa.gov

For information on the STS-117 mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For information on the space station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

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Commercial Space Transportation Capabilities Agreements Signed

Feb. 1, 2007

Beth Dickey/J. D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/5241

Kelly Humphries
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111

RELEASE: 07-20

COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION CAPABILITIES AGREEMENTS SIGNED

On Wednesday, NASA agreed to cooperate with PlanetSpace Inc. of
Chicago and Transformational Space Corp. (t/Space) of Reston, Va., to
facilitate the commercialization of low-Earth orbit as they develop
capabilities to transport goods and people to orbital destinations.

The non-reimbursable Space Act agreements signed by NASA and the two
companies involve no agency funding to the companies. The pacts
establish milestones and objective criteria by which the companies
can gauge their own progress, as part of the agency's Commercial Crew
and Cargo Program.

Under the agreements, NASA will share information that will help the
companies understand projected requirements for space station crew
and cargo transportation launch vehicles, spacecraft and NASA human
rating criteria.

PlanetSpace and t/Space will work to develop and demonstrate the
vehicles, systems and operations needed to transport crews and cargo
to and from a low-Earth orbit destination. NASA will acknowledge the
companies' milestone accomplishments.

"NASA is proud to reach agreements with two more private companies
dedicating their own resources toward establishment of a robust
commercial launch industry," said Scott Horowitz, NASA associate
administrator for Exploration Systems. "By stimulating the growth of
commercial space enterprise, NASA will free itself to focus on
long-range exploration of the moon and Mars."

"The importance of these agreements is that they demonstrate the
willingness of entrepreneurs to invest their own resources with
NASA's commitment to help develop a whole new sector of the
commercial space industry," said Alan Lindenmoyer, manager of the
Commercial Crew and Cargo Program Office at Johnson Space Center,
Houston.

The program administers NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation
Services project. Its overarching goals are to stimulate commercial
enterprises in space; facilitate U.S. private industry development of
reliable, cost-effective access to low-Earth orbit, and to create a
market environment in which commercial space transportation services
are available to government and private customers.

Last year, NASA signed funded agreements with Space Exploration
Technologies of El Segundo, Calif., and Rocketplane Kistler of
Oklahoma City. t/Space was a finalist in that competition.

Once industry has demonstrated safe and reliable capabilities, NASA
plans to enter the next phase of the Commercial Crew and Cargo
Program and may purchase transportation services from commercial
providers to support the International Space Station.

For more information on NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/home

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