NASA Holds Briefing on Status of Space Shuttle Discovery

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA managers will hold a news conference no earlier than 6:30 p.m. EDT to discuss the status of space shuttle Discovery's launch to the International Space Station. The launch was postponed Wednesday due to a leak associated with the gaseous hydrogen venting system outside the external fuel tank. The system is used to carry excess hydrogen safely away from the launch pad. At 2:37 p.m., managers officially scrubbed the launch for at least 24 hours.

Mission managers are holding a meeting that started at 5 p.m. to discuss potential repair options and Discovery's launch attempt opportunities. The news conference will follow the meeting's conclusion and will air live on NASA Television and the agency Web site.

Discovery's STS-119 flight is delivering the space station's fourth and final set of solar array wings, completing the station's truss, or backbone. The arrays will provide the electricity to fully power science experiments and support the station's expanded crew of six in May. The 14-day mission will feature four spacewalks to help install the S6 truss segment to the starboard, or right, side of the station and the deployment of its solar arrays. The flight also will replace a failed unit for a system that converts urine to potable water.

Commander Lee Archambault is joined on STS-119 by Pilot Tony Antonelli and Mission Specialists Joseph Acaba, Steve Swanson, Richard Arnold, John Phillips and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency astronaut Koichi Wakata. Wakata will replace space station crew member Sandra Magnus, who has been aboard the station for more than four months. He will return to Earth during the next station shuttle mission, STS-127, targeted to launch in June 2009.

For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For the latest information about the STS-119 mission and its crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/shuttle

For information about the International Space Station, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

NASA TV to air Tuesday's Space Station Spacewalk

HOUSTON -- NASA Television will provide live coverage of the March 10 spacewalk of Expedition 18 Commander Mike Fincke and Flight Engineer Yury Lonchakov. The pair will complete unfinished work from their December 2008 excursion outside the orbiting laboratory.

Fincke and Lonchakov will don Russian spacesuits for the spacewalk out of the Russian Pirs Docking Compartment airlock. Flight Engineer Sandra Magnus will monitor the spacewalk from inside the station. It will be the sixth spacewalk of Fincke's career and the second for Lonchakov.

NASA TV coverage of the spacewalk will begin at 11 a.m. CDT Tuesday. The spacewalk will start at approximately 11:20 a.m. and last five and a half hours.

The centerpiece of the spacewalk will be the installation of a European materials science experiment, which allows short and long-term exposure to space conditions and solar UV-radiation, on the hull of the Zvezda service module. The experiment, known as Expose, was installed on Zvezda during the December spacewalk but had to be removed and brought back inside the station because of a cable problem. That problem has been repaired.

For information about NASA TV streaming video, downlink and schedule information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the space station and the Expedition 18 crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

NASA And Honeywell Launch 2009 FMA Live! Spring Tour

WASHINGTON -- NASA and Honeywell are kicking off the Spring 2009 tour of their award-winning science education program FMA LIVE!

This innovative, traveling hip-hop science concert will reach more than 17,000 middle-school aged students during its 10-week, 20 city tour of the United States. Named for Sir Isaac Newtons's second law of motion (force = mass x acceleration) FMA Live! uses professional actors, original songs, music videos and interactive science demonstrations to teach middle school students Newton's three laws of motion and universal law of gravity.

Created in 2004, FMA Live! is a collaboration between NASA and Honeywell International of Morristown, N.J. It is the only nationally touring, multi-media, science-education production of its kind.

"Our nation's future scientists, engineers and explorers are in middle school classrooms today," said Joyce Winterton, NASA's assistant administrator for Education. "The NASA Honeywell innovative partnership, represented by the FMA Live! production and its 2009 tour, makes science, technology, engineering and mathematics relevant to students. FMA Live!'s dynamic performers capture the attention of students and inspires them to learn, work hard in school and prepare for science and engineering careers."

During each FMA Live! performance, students, teachers and school administrators interact with three professional actors in front of a live audience to experience Newton's laws firsthand. A giant sticky wall is used to demonstrate inertia; go-carts driven across the stage illustrate action and reaction; and "extreme" wrestling and a huge soccer ball show that force is determined by mass multiplied by acceleration.

All three of Newton's laws are demonstrated simultaneously when a futuristic hover chair collides with a gigantic cream pie
"Science and math education are top priorities for Honeywell and NASA," said Tom Buckmaster, president of Honeywell Hometown Solutions. "With FMA Live! we help students learn about science and math in a fun and engaging way and inspire them to become the next generation of engineers and scientists."

For more information about the program and for touring dates and locations, visit:

http://www.fmalive.com

For information about NASA education opportunities, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/education

Team Reports Discovery on Track for Launch

At the STS-119 mission management's morning news conference, the team reported the weather for launch is looking very good, and there are no technical issues unresolved. The next milestone in Discovery's preparation is fuel cell loading this afternoon at 3 p.m. EDT.

"We had a very short meeting today, which is a record for us for STS-119," said Mission Management Team Chair Mike Moses. "Today we transitioned from readiness to launch ops. We really didn't have that many issues to discuss."

"Yesterday the crew got in on time and are excited to be here. We started the countdown on time and the next major event is fuel cell load this afternoon," added Launch Director Mike Leinbach. "RSS retract is Tuesday night-Wednesday morning. We're not tracking any issues, so the team is anxious to go."

Kathy Winters, shuttle weather officer, gives Discovery a 90 percent chance of good weather for liftoff, and all the transatlantic abort sites will also have favorable weather.

For more information visit here

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NASA's Kepler Mission Rockets to Space in Search of Other Earths

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kepler mission successfully launched into space from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II at 10:49 p.m. EST, Friday. Kepler is designed to find the first Earth-size planets orbiting stars at distances where water could pool on the planet's surface. Liquid water is believed to be essential for the formation of life.

"It was a stunning launch," said Kepler Project Manager James Fanson of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our team is thrilled to be a part of something so meaningful to the human race -- Kepler will help us understand if our Earth is unique or if others like it are out there."

Engineers acquired a signal from Kepler at 12:11 a.m. Saturday, after it separated from its spent third-stage rocket and entered its final sun-centered orbit, trailing 950 miles behind Earth. The spacecraft is generating its own power from its solar panels.

"Kepler now has the perfect place to watch more than 100,000 stars for signs of planets," said William Borucki, the mission's science principal investigator at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. Borucki has worked on the mission for 17 years. "Everyone is very excited as our dream becomes a reality. We are on the verge of learning if other Earths are ubiquitous in the galaxy."

Engineers have begun to check Kepler to ensure it is working properly, a process called "commissioning" that will take about 60 days. In about a month or less, NASA will send up commands for Kepler to eject its dust cover and make its first measurements. After another month of calibrating Kepler's single instrument, a wide-field charge-couple device camera, the telescope will begin to search for planets.

The first planets to roll out on the Kepler "assembly line" are expected to be the portly "hot Jupiters" -- gas giants that circle close and fast around their stars. NASA's Hubble and Spitzer space telescopes will be able to follow up with these planets and learn more about their atmospheres. Neptune-size planets will most likely be found next, followed by rocky ones as small as Earth. The true Earth analogs -- Earth-sized planets orbiting stars like our sun at distances where surface water, and possibly life, could exist -- would take at least three years to discover and confirm. Ground-based telescopes also will contribute to the mission by verifying some of the finds.

In the end, Kepler will give us our first look at the frequency of Earth-size planets in our Milky Way galaxy, as well as the frequency of Earth-size planets that could theoretically be habitable.

"Even if we find no planets like Earth, that by itself would be profound. It would indicate that we are probably alone in the galaxy," said Borucki.

As the mission progresses, Kepler will drift farther and farther behind Earth in its orbit around the sun. NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, which was launched into the same orbit more than five years ago, is now more than 62 million miles behind Earth.

Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission. Ames is the home organization of the science principal investigator and is responsible for the ground system development, mission operations and science data analysis. JPL manages the Kepler mission development. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., is responsible for developing the Kepler flight system and supporting mission operations. NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., managed the launch service including payload integration and certifying the Delta II launch vehicle for NASA's use.

For more information about the Kepler mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/kepler

NASA'S Kepler Mission Set For Launch

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Kepler mission to seek other Earth-like planets is undergoing final preparations for liftoff Friday, March 6, from Pad 17-B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft launch aboard a Delta II rocket has two windows of opportunity Friday, from 10:49 to 10:52 p.m. and 11:13 to 11:16 p.m. EST.

Kepler is designed to find the first Earth-size planets orbiting stars in habitable zones -- regions where water could pool on the surface of the planets. Liquid water is believed to be essential for the formation of life.

"This mission attempts to answer a question that is as old as time itself -- are other planets like ours out there?" said Ed Weiler, associate administrator for NASA's Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "It's not just a science question -- it's a basic human question."

After the clock ticks down to liftoff, the Delta II's first-stage main engine and six strap-on solid rocket boosters will ignite. Three remaining boosters will ignite 65.5 seconds later, and the first-stage main engine will continue to burn for 4.5 minutes. The second stage will then ignite, carrying Kepler into a circular orbit 115 miles above Earth less than 10 minutes after launch. After coasting for 43 minutes, the second-stage engine will fire again, followed by second-stage shutdown and separation. The third stage will then burn for five minutes.

Sixty-two minutes after launch Kepler will have separated entirely from its rocket and will be in its final Earth-trailing orbit around the sun, an orbit similar to that of NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope. "We are very excited to see this magnificent spacecraft come to life when it reaches space," said James Fanson, Kepler project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

After a commissioning period lasting about two months, Kepler will begin its job of staring at more than 100,000 stars for three-and-one-half years, looking for planets. Its isolated perch behind Earth will give the telescope an unobstructed view of a single, very large patch of sky near the Cygnus and Lyra constellations.

"We will monitor a wide range of stars; from small cool ones, where planets must circle closely to stay warm, to stars bigger and hotter than the sun, where planets must stay well clear to avoid being roasted," said William Borucki, science principal investigator for the mission at NASA's Ames Research Center at Moffett Field, Calif. Borucki has been working on the mission for 17 years. "Everything about the mission is optimized to find Earth-size planets with the potential for life, to help us answer the question -- are Earths bountiful or is our planet unique?"

Kepler will find planets by looking for periodic dips in starlight. Planets that happen to pass directly in front of their stars from Earth's point of view cause the stars to dim by almost imperceptible amounts. Kepler's powerful camera, the largest ever flown in space, can see the faintest of these "winks."

"Trying to detect Jupiter-size planets crossing in front of their stars is like trying to measure the effect of a mosquito flying by a car's headlight," said Fanson. "Finding Earth-sized planets is like trying to detect a very tiny flea in that same headlight."

If the mission does find Earth-sized planets in the habitable zones of stars, it should find them first around stars that are smaller than our sun. This is because the habitable zone is closer for small stars; planets circling in this region would take less time to complete one lap and, theoretically, less time for Kepler to find them and for other ground-telescopes to confirm their existence. Any Earth-size planets orbiting in the habitable zones of stars like our sun -- the true Earth analogs -- would take at least three years to be confirmed.

Kepler is a NASA Discovery mission. Ames is the home organization of the science principal investigator and is responsible for the ground system development, mission operations and science data analysis. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the Kepler mission development. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. of Boulder, Colo., is responsible for developing the Kepler flight system and supporting mission operations. NASA's Launch Services Program at NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., manages the launch service including payload integration and certifying the Delta II launch vehicle for NASA's use.

For more information about the Kepler mission, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/kepler

Earth-Observing Landsat 5 Turns 25

132,969 ... 132,970 ... 132,971. Like a trusty watch counting up the minutes, the Landsat 5 satellite keeps on ticking, orbit after orbit around Earth. Well beyond its design lifetime of 15,000 orbits, the satellite's trajectory could go askew or its instruments could malfunction at any moment.

But not today.

Still observing the Earth after 25 years -- 22 beyond its three-year primary mission lifetime -- Landsat 5 collects valuable scientific data daily. Some attribute the satellite's longevity to over-engineering. Others say it's a long run of good luck. Whatever the reason, no one who attended the satellite's March 1984 launch could have expected it would still be working today.

A Digital Family Photo Album

Landsat 5 is one of seven satellites in the Landsat Program, designed, built and launched by NASA, and operated by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Only Landsat 5 and 7 are still operational. With the launch failure of the privately built Landsat 6 in 1993 and the launch of Landsat 7 in 1999, scientists would have had a 12-year gap in observations if Landsat 5 had only lasted for its primary mission lifetime.

"Such a gap would have been a scientific disaster," said Darrel Williams, Landsat project scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. Continuity is important because it's only through consistent observation that scientists can clearly identify human impacts on Earth and natural changes.

Since 1972, a Landsat satellite has collected hundreds of thousands of digital images for the planet's photo album. The "sun-synchronous" orbit guarantees that each Landsat spacecraft will observe the same location on Earth at the same time of day every 16 days, making it easy to observe changes. Landsat 5 alone has gathered more than 700,000 images.

The Just-Right-Satellite

Those images are much more than pretty pictures. They provide robust scientific information about a changing planet.

The Thematic Mapper (TM) instrument on Landsat 5 was built in the late 1970s with a resolution fine enough to resolve blocks of land about 100 feet wide per pixel -- at a time when most people didn't know what a pixel was. It was a second-generation imaging instrument in the Landsat program, flying alongside and eventually surpassing the older Multispectral Scanner System (MSS), which had a resolution of about 250 feet.

TM cannot resolve individual houses or trees, but it can see areas where houses have been constructed or forests have been cleared. If the resolution were any finer, Landsat might not have been able to capture large-scale land changes. The satellite's resolution has been called "just-right" by Earth systems scientists.

"The data provided by the Landsat series of satellites over the past 35 years are among the most valuable scientific assets available to the Earth science research community," Williams noted. "These data provide the most consistent, reliable documentation of global land-cover change ever assembled."

Landsat 5 has charted urban growth in Las Vegas, monitored fire scars in Yellowstone National Park, and tracked the retreat of a Greenland glacier. Data from the satellite turns up frequently in scientific literature, and should continue to do so, particularly now that the images are available free of charge or copyright.

Beyond observations of change, the individual, static images have also proven useful in unforeseen ways. Cell phone companies -- most of which did not even exist when the satellite was launched -- now use Landsat images to scout the best locations for cell towers. Pilots in training see Landsat images when they enter a flight simulator. The Landsat catalog provides the backbone of Google Earth. The list goes on.

"Landsat is no longer an experiment," Williams said. "It is a fundamental part of the country's infrastructure."

The Mother of Invention

The circumstances that have kept Landsat 5 orbiting long enough to celebrate its 25th anniversary are part engineering ingenuity and part luck.

Engineers originally designed Landsat 5 to be retrievable by the space shuttle, so they added an auxiliary fuel tank to allow the satellite to meet the shuttle half-way during a rendezvous. When the idea of shuttle retrieval was scrapped, Landsat 5 found itself with a bounty of extra fuel, which it has used to maintain its orbiting altitude of 705 kilometers (438 miles).

The quarter-century in space, however, has been rough on the satellite and its instruments. "If you created a cartoon of Landsat 5, it would look like a mummy wrapped in bandages," Williams said, "with only a small hole for the instrument's 'eye' to look down at Earth."

All of those "bandages" have been applied remotely through quick thinking and innovation by engineers who have worked around and adapted to at least 22 mission anomalies. For instance, Landsat 5 has no on-board data recorder to capture acquired data for later downlink; everything must be relayed to ground antennas in real time.

"We've lost batteries, star trackers, Earth sensors, skew wheels -- all of which have been overcome through engineering and operational workarounds," said Steven Covington, a flight systems manager for Landsat 5 and 7 and an employee of the Aerospace Corporation at NASA Goddard.

"The notion that certain component failures will mean the demise of a mission is wrong," Covington said. "From an engineering standpoint, necessity has been the mother of invention."

The Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 satellites have proven to be resilient. Refined projections of fuel usage computed by USGS suggest that Landsat 5 and Landsat 7 could have sufficient fuel to operate at least through 2012, exceeding previous expectations. The next NASA land surface imaging mission is called the Landsat Data Continuity Mission and is scheduled for launch in December 2012.

For more information visit

http://www.nasa.gov