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The Marshall Headline for April 10, 2024

The Marshall Headline for April 10, 2024

NASA Space Technology

A group of Marshall and company crew members traveled to Russellville, Arkansas, to help viewers experience the April 8 total solar eclipse through the eyes of NASA.

Science and communications experts from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Stennis Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, and NASA Headquarters provided educational outreach opportunities and participated in panel discussions in Russellville, which experienced an eclipse totality of 4 minutes, 12 seconds.

NASA was also joined by experts representing the Arkansas Air National Guard and the Paris Observatory in Meudon, France. More than 100,000 tourists were expected to visit Russellville for the rare event. Marshall hosted a portion of the agency’s live television broadcast from the city and conducted numerous scientific demonstrations and public events for attendees.

More than 400 NASA employees at 14 locations across the U.S. engaged the public, from Texas to Maine. As of Tuesday afternoon, more than 13 million viewers had watched the broadcast. You can watch NASA’s broadcast coverage of the eclipse here.

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NASA’s 2024Student Launch will send students from colleges, universities, high schools, middle schools, and informal education groups to launch amateur rockets and payloads on April 13, beginning at 8:30 a.m. CDT at Bragg Farms in Toney, Alabama, near NASA’sMarshall Space Flight Center.

Live streaming will begin at 8:20 a.m. CDT on NASA MarshallYouTube andStudent Launch Facebook.

Seventy groups from 24 states and Puerto Rico are taking share this 12 months with 53 groups anticipated to start in-person. Any crew no longer traveling to Alabama may maybe fair conduct remaining take a look at flights at a dwelling start self-discipline.

NASA also welcomes the return of the Rocket Fair on April 12 from 3-6 p.m. at the Von Braun Center East Hall in downtown Huntsville. This event is free and open to the public as students present their rockets and answer questions from the media and NASA engineers.

Agenda of Events

  • April 12: Rocket Launch at the Von Braun Center East Hall.
  • April 13: Launch Day, gates open at 7 a.m. The event runs from 8:30 a.m. to approximately 2:30 p.m. (or until the final rocket launch) at Bragg Farms. Lawn chairs are recommended. Pets are not permitted.
  • April 14:  Tentative rain day on Sunday in case of inclement climate on April 13 initiating at 8:30 a.m. at Bragg Farms.

Winners of the student launch will be announced on June 7 during a virtual awards ceremony once all teams’ flight data has been verified.

Pupil Launch provides relevant, tag-efficient learning and development of rocket propulsion systems and demonstrates the goals of NASA’sArtemis campaign, which aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon.

Every 12 months, the payload part changes to mediate new NASA missions. This 12 months’s payload topic is impressed by theArtemismissions.

Students will design a SAIL (STEMnaut Atmosphere Independent Lander) payload. It must deploy mid-air, safely return to the ground without using a parachute, and be reusable to launch the same day without repairs or modifications. The payload will include a crew of STEMnauts, four non-living objects representing astronauts. Students will determine metrics to evaluate the lander’s endurance, considering appropriate descent and landing parameters.

Middle and high school teams can choose to attempt the lander payload or develop their own science or engineering experiment.

Eligible teams compete for prizes and awards and are scored in nearly a dozen categories including safety, vehicle design, social media presence, and science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) engagement. Teams can also earn the Altitude Award in each division based on how close they come to the altitude they projected their rockets would reach months before launch day.

Marshall’s Office of STEM Engagement hosts Student Launch to encourage students to pursue careers in STEM through hands-on experiences. Student Launch is part of the agency’sArtemis Student Challenges– a series of activities exposing students to the knowledge and skills needed to achieve the goals of the Artemis missions.

In addition to theNASA Office of STEM Engagement’s Next Gen STEM initiative, NASA Space Operations Mission Directorate, Northrop Grumman, National Space Club Huntsville, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, National Association of Rocketry, Relativity Space and Bastion Technologies provide funding and leadership for the competition.

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Hansel Gill has been appointed director at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility, which is managed by the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center.

Gill has been Michoud’s performing director since December after beforehand being the flexibility’s deputy director from 2021 to 2023. He’ll be to blame for managing the day-to-day operations of 1 in all the sector’s ultimate manufacturing facilities, where key parts of NASA’s SLS (Dwelling Launch Machine), and Orion spacecraft are constructed. Michoud, a multi-tenant manufacturing impart sitting on 829 acres with over 2 million square toes of manufacturing impart, furthermore gives facility infrastructure and ability for federal, impart, tutorial, and abilities-primarily primarily based industry partners.

From 2016 to 2021, Gill served as subsystem manager for production within the SLS Phases Related Office, and later within the Block 1B/EUS (exploration upper stage) Development Office, providing technical leadership for SLS core stage production supporting Artemis I and early construction and production planning for the exploration upper stage initiating flight hardware production operations and facility readiness at Michoud.

Gill served as crew lead and acting assistant branch chief for the Metals Joining and Processes Division in Marshall’s Engineering Directorate from 2013 to 2016. He was responsible for materials characterization and process development, product management, and corrosion engineering, supporting advanced exploration and manufacturing capability advancements. While in this role, Gill led the production for the EFT-1 multi-purpose crew vehicle stage adapter (MSA) providing the structural interface for Orion and the Delta IV launch system supporting the EFT-1 Orion Flight Test.

He joined NASA as a student intern in 1990 and was employed full time in 1996 as a materials engineer in Marshall’s Engineering Directorate.

Gill’s awards embody Safety Flight Consciousness Award – Neighborhood Fulfillment; NASA Honor Award – Distinctive Fulfillment Medal; Director’s Commendation Honor Award; Presents & Processes Laboratory Glimpse Award; Systems Engineering Process Administration Tiger Crew Neighborhood Fulfillment; Murky Engineer of the 12 months Award – Up-to-the-minute Day Skills Leader (twenty fourth STEM World Competitiveness Convention); Director’s Commendation – Carbon Nanotube Skills; and a NASA Neighborhood Fulfillment (Safety Excellence) Award.

He earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Oakwood University in Huntsville before earning his master’s in industrial and systems engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

A Huntsville native, Gill and his spouse of 27 years, Arnissa, reside in Huntsville. They have an adult daughter, Addison.

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More than 1,000 high school students on 47 teams from 10 states and 4 countries competed in a robotics game known as “CRESCENDO” during the 2024 FIRST Robotics Rocket City Regional Match.

The event was April 5-6 event took place in Huntsville near NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, which supported the regional competition alongside NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement.

FIRST Robotics is a global robotics competition for students in grades 9-12. The competition challenges teams to raise funds, design a team brand, hone teamwork skills, and build and program industrial-sized robots to play an advanced field game against opponents.

District and regional competitions – such as the Rocket City Regional – are held across the nation during March and April, providing teams an opportunity to qualify for the 2024 FIRST Robotics Competition Championship events held in late April in Houston.

NASA and its Robotics Alliance Mission present grants for college teams and support for FIRST Robotics competitions to address the critical nationwide shortage of students pursuing STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) careers.

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By Heather Keller

The High Voltage Typhoon Ida Location Recovery Crew at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility was awarded the agency’s Silver Community Achievement Award on March 18. The crew of seven was recognized for “exemplary employee dedication and perseverance ensuring the safety of personnel, SLS (Space Launch System) hardware, and facilities” onsite following landfall of the Category 4 storm.

Typhoon Ida made landfall in southeast Louisiana on Aug. 29, 2021, causing catastrophic damage to high-voltage infrastructure and leaving much of the city of New Orleans without power for several weeks. Michoud sustained significant damage from the storm’s 112 mph wind gusts and sustained winds of 80 mph. Immediately after landfall, the Michoud High Voltage Crew methodically and safely energized the 6 MW emergency generator while procedurally transferring power to the facility’s east and west master substations. The transfer provided essential power to the rocket manufacturing facility’s remaining assembly area while coordinating with the SLS Program and Boeing.

The critical transfer also provided essential power for SLS purges for Engine Section and Clean Work Areas to ensure the safety of flight hardware components. The crew additionally supplied power for lighting, enabling the Boeing teams to conduct critical inspections of flight hardware for damage.

The crew furthermore place up and supplied emergency generator energy for vital impart infrastructure, such because the Fly Guard Alternate (CGX), which supplied gasoline for response and recovery personnel and diversified crucial gives.

The High Voltage Crew collaborated with Entergy New Orleans to determine a timeline for Michoud to receive line voltage from the site’s generating facility and was successful in accepting power 5 days post-landfall. They systematically worked to safely bring additional loads online as prioritized and requested by Boeing and the SLS Program, with more than 35 buildings receiving power approximately eight days post-hurricane and enabling facility opening for tenant access.

Keller, a Manufacturing Technical Solutions Inc. employee, works in communications at Michoud Assembly Facility.

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Dear Marshall family,

April is Alcohol Awareness Month, and new data show the rates of alcohol abuse and deaths due to it have risen dramatically over the past few years.

Very early in the COVID-19 pandemic it became apparent that sales of alcohol were rising, and so it has been anticipated that the detrimental impacts connected to this trend would develop as well. Nevertheless I don’t think anyone anticipated just how well they would develop. I know your first inclination may very well be to skip over this, but it’s a brief read, so please take a moment to consider the issue for the sake of your loved ones, friends, and colleagues.

Data from 2020–2021, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, show that 178,000 people died in the U.S. from alcohol abuse and related health considerations over that period. This represents a 29% increase from 2016–2017, when there were an estimated 138,000 deaths. Similarly concerning, data released by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism show that rates of alcohol use disorder rose from 14.5 million adults in the U.S. in 2019 to 29.5 million in 2022.

Since a majority of adults in the U.S. drink alcoholic beverages from time to time, it is becoming increasingly important to be aware of how to decrease the risks of detrimental impacts on our health, and on our lives, in general. The U.S. Department of Agriculture provides guidelines for alcohol consumption aimed at limiting those risks: no more than one standard drink per day for women, and no more than two standard drinks per day for men. While the difference in the numbers may seem unfair, they are primarily based on body mass and metabolism rates.

What constitutes a “frequent drink” depends on what you’re drinking. For example, for beer, it is 12 fluid ounces, for wine, it is 5 fluid ounces, and for liquor, it is 1.5 fluid ounces. While being aware of the number of drinks you’re consuming, it’s also important to remember that even within any given category or type of drink, the alcohol content can vary considerably from one product to another. For example, in Alabama, beer can contain as much as 13.9% alcohol, and wine can contain as much as 24%.

I actually have two requests of you right now. First, please be aware of how much you’re drinking, and be deliberate in reducing your risks, if needed. If you’d like to do a brief assessment of your drinking, an anonymous self-screening tool is available at https://auditscreen.org/test-your-drinking. Also, please consider sharing this information with any of your family members and friends who you believe may be at risk for the health problems and other dangers associated with alcohol abuse.

If you’d like to get more information about alcohol abuse, and the dangers associated with it, a few reliable resources include:

As always, the Employee Assistance Program is here to support Marshall team members in any way we can, related to mental health and well-being. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me by phone at 256-544-7549 or email [email protected].

Rob care,

Dr. Terry Sterry
Licensed psychologist and Marshall Employee Aid Program coordinator

The Employee Aid Program (EAP) is available to assist Marshall crew members with challenges, or to simply facilitate discussions related to psychological health and well-being. For more information, crew members can visit the Employee Aid Program web page on Inner Marshall.

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NASA executed an indispensable milestone on April 3 for the production of new RS-25 engines to support its Artemis campaign to the Moon and beyond, with the completion of a vital engine certification test series at NASA’s Stennis Space Center.

The 12-test series represents a key step for lead engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to fabricate new RS-25 engines using recent processes and manufacturing tactics, for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rockets that will power future lunar missions, beginning with Artemis V.

“The conclusion of the certification test series at NASA Stennis is just the beginning for the next generation of RS-25 engines that will power human spaceflight for Artemis,” said Johnny Heflin, SLS liquid engines manager. “The newly produced engines on future SLS rockets will maintain the high reliability and safe flight operational legacy the RS-25 is known for while enabling more affordable high-performance engines for the next era of deep space exploration.”

Through Artemis, NASA will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration on the Moon; land the first woman, first person of color, and first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface; and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.

Contributing to that effort, the NASA Stennis take a look at crew conducted a stout-length, 500-2nd sizzling fireplace to total the 12-take a look at series on developmental engine E0525, providing vital performance records for the relaxation RS-25 plan certification review. The April 3 sizzling fireplace performed a take a look at series that started in October 2023.

RS-25 engines are derived from space shuttle main engines, upgraded with new components to produce the additional power needed to launch NASA’s SLS rocket. The first four Artemis missions are using modified space shuttle main engines also tested at NASA Stennis. For each Artemis mission, four RS-25 engines, together with a pair of solid rocket boosters, power the SLS rocket, generating more than 8.8 million pounds of combined thrust at liftoff.

“This was a vital test series, and credit goes to the credit goes to the entire test team for their dedication and remarkable abilities that allowed us to meet the schedule and deliver the required performance data,” said Chip Ellis, mission manager for RS-25 testing at NASA Stennis. “The tests conducted at NASA Stennis help ensure the safety of our astronauts and their future mission success. We are proud to be part of the Artemis mission.”

The E0525 developmental engine featured new key components – including a nozzle, hydraulic actuators, flex ducts, and turbopumps – that matched design aspects of those used in an initial certification test series conducted at NASA Stennis last summer.

The 2 certification take a look at series helped test the new engine parts meet all Artemis flight requirements shifting forward. Aerojet Rocketdyne is the use of tactics similar to 3D printing to invent new RS-25 engines extra efficiently, while affirming excessive performance and reliability. NASA has awarded the corporate contracts to invent 24 new engines, supporting SLS launches for Artemis V by Artemis IX.

“Successfully completing this rigorous test series is a testament to the excellent work done by the team to design, implement, and test this upgraded version of the RS-25 that reduces the cost by 30% from the shuttle program,” said Mike Lauer, RS-25 program director at Aerojet Rocketdyne. “We tested the new RS-25 engines to the extreme limits of operation to ensure the engines can operate at the higher power level needed for SLS and complete the mission with margin.”

RS-25 Closing Certification Test Sequence by the Numbers

All RS-25 engines are tested and proven flightworthy at NASA Stennis before use on Artemis missions. RS-25 tests at the center are conducted by a diverse crew of operators from NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Syncom Space Services, prime contractor for ground facilities and operations.

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center manages the SLS Program.

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NASA has selected Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost, and Venturi Astrolab to develop capabilities for a lunar terrain vehicle (LTV) that Artemis astronauts will use to drive across the lunar surface, conducting scientific research throughout the agency’sArtemis campaignon the Moon and preparing for human missions to Mars.

The awards leverage NASA’s abilities in creating and running rovers to fabricate business capabilities that aid scientific discovery and long-term human exploration on the Moon. NASA intends to start using the LTV for crewed operations throughout Artemis V.

“We look forward to the construction of the Artemis generation lunar exploration vehicle to help us achieve what we learn on the Moon,” said Vanessa Wyche, director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center. “This vehicle will significantly enhance our astronauts’ ability to explore and conduct science on the lunar surface while also serving as a science platform between crewed missions.”

NASA will develop the LTV as a service from industry. The indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, milestone-based Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract with firm-fixed-price task orders has a combined maximum value of $4.6 billion for all awards.

Each provider will begin with a feasibility task order, which will also be a 12-month study to develop a system that meets NASA’s requirements by the preliminary design review milestone. The agency will issue a subsequent request for task order proposal to eligible provider(s) for a demonstration mission to continue developing the LTV, deliver it to the surface of the Moon, and validate its performance and safety before Artemis V. NASA anticipates making an award to only one provider for the demonstration. NASA will issue additional task orders to develop unpressurized rover capabilities for the agency’s moonwalking and scientific exploration needs by 2039.

The LTV will be able to handle the demanding requirements at the Moon’s South Pole and should feature advanced technologies for power management, autonomous operation, and state-of-the-art communications and navigation systems. Crews will use the LTV to explore, transport scientific equipment, and collect samples of the lunar surface, reaching areas much farther than they could on foot, enabling greater scientific returns.

Between Artemis missions, when crews are not on the Moon, the LTV will operate remotely to support NASA’s scientific objectives as needed. Outside those times, the service will allow companies to use their LTV for commercial lunar surface activities unrelated to NASA missions.

“We will be capable to use the LTV to lumber to locations we may maybe no longer otherwise be in a place to reach on foot, rising our capability to explore and make new scientific discoveries,” acknowledged Jacob Bleacher, chief exploration scientist within the Exploration Systems Trend Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. “With the Artemis crewed missions, and all over a long way off operations when there’s no longer a crew on the surface, we are enabling science and discovery on the Moon 12 months spherical.”

NASA provided technical requirements, capabilities, and safety standards needed for LTV construction and operations, and the selected companies have agreed to meet the primary agency requirements. The contractrequest for proposalrequired each company to propose a solution for end-to-end products and services, including LTV development, delivery to the Moon, and execution of operations on the lunar surface.

ThroughArtemisNASA will send astronauts – including the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut – to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, technological advancement, economic benefits, and to establish the foundation for crewed missions to Mars. Advanced rovers, along with the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, commercial human landing systems and next-generation spacesuits, and Gateway are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

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An image from the NASA/ESAHubble Space Telescopeshows Arp 72, an interacting galaxy pair that consists of only two galaxies interacting due to gravity: NGC 5996 (the large spiral galaxy) and NGC 5994 (its smaller companion, in the lower left of the image).

Both galaxies lie approximately 160 million light-years from Earth, and their cores are separated from each other by a distance of about 67,000 light-years. The distance between the galaxies at their closest points is even smaller, closer to 40,000 light-years.

While this may sound large, in galactic terms it is relatively close. For comparison, the distance between the Milky Way and its nearest independent galactic neighbor Andromeda is about 2.5 million light-years. On the other hand, the distance between the Milky Way and its largest and brightest satellite galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud (satellite galaxies orbit around another galaxy), is about 162,000 light-years.

Given this and the indisputable truth that NGC 5996 is similar in dimension to the Milky Way, it is not surprising that NGC 5996 and NGC 5994 – separated by only about 40,000 light-years – are interacting with each other. In fact, the interaction likely distorted NGC 5996’s spiral shape. It also caused the formation of the very long and faint tail of stars and gas curving away from NGC 5996, as seen at the top of the image. This “tidal tail” is a frequent phenomenon that appears when galaxies closely interact and is seen invarious Hubble photographyof interacting galaxies.

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Originally reported by nasa.gov. Adapted for our readers.

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