This Week @ NASA, September 11, 2015
 
Aboard the International Space Station, the Expedition 45 crew - including new
Commander Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren of NASA, said goodbye to Gennady
Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency, Andreas Mogensen of ESA (European
Space Agency) and Aidyn Aimbetov of the Kazakh Space Agency (Kazcosmos) as the
trio climbed aboard their Soyuz spacecraft for the return trip to Earth. The
Soyuz landed safely in Kazakhstan on Sept. 11 Eastern time, Sept. 12 in
Kazakhstan -- closing out a 168-day mission for Padalka and an 8-day stay on
the station for Mogensen and Aimbetov.
 
First Orion crew module segments welded
 
Engineers at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have welded
together the first two segments of the next Orion crew module - bringing NASA
a small step closer to sending astronauts to Mars. The primary structure of
Orion's crew module is made of seven large aluminum pieces welded together
using a state-of-the-art technique called friction-stir welding to produce an
incredibly strong bond. This Orion will be launched on NASA's new Space Launch
System (SLS) rocket on a combined flight test beyond the far side of the moon.
 
SLS Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter
 
At Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama panels for a test
version of the Space Launch System's Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter, or LVSA are
being welded together. This key piece of hardware connects two major sections
of the SLS -- the core stage and the upper stage. When test versions of all
the rocket's parts are completed, engineers will move the 56-foot tall
structure to a test stand to verify the integrity of the hardware.
 
New Ceres imagery
 
Images from NASA's Dawn spacecraft are giving scientists the closest-yet views
of the gleaming bright spots from Occator crater on the dwarf planet Ceres.
The images - a composite view made from two different shots, and virtual
fly-around animations of the crater, including a topographic map, have about
three times better resolution than the images from a previous Dawn orbit of
Ceres in June.
 
New Horizons update
 
The expected year-long data download begun recently by NASA's New Horizons
spacecraft, includes new high resolution images that reveal the diversity and
complexity of the Pluto system. Some of the early imagery appears to feature
possible dunes; ice flows that apparently oozed out of mountainous regions
onto plains; ice lakes; and even networks of valleys that may have been carved
by material flowing over Pluto's surface. The images downloaded so far have
more than doubled the amount of Pluto's surface seen at resolutions as good as
440 yards per pixel.
 
9/11 tribute
 
A memorial event for the Sept. 11, 2001 attack on New York's World Trade
Center was held at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
 
The event at the center's Fire Station 1, paid tribute to the 343 fire and
rescue personnel who lost their lives during the attack. A piece of the World
Trade Center also was also on display at the ceremony.
 
On that day, 14 years ago - astronaut Frank Culbertson - the only American off
the planet at that time, captured footage of the aftermath from the
International Space Station.
 
National Preparedness Month
 
September is National Preparedness Month . a perfect opportunity to take
advantage of emergency training activities offered by your community or place
of work. Some employees at NASA headquarters took a CPR class recently. The
Emergency Management Teams at all NASA facilities encourage everyone to visit
www.ready.gov to learn more about what to do at work and home to prepare for
the unexpected.
 
And that's what's up this week @NASA .
 
For more on these and other stories follow us on social media and visit
www.nasa.gov/twan.
 
 
Last Updated: Sep. 11, 2015
 
Editor: Sarah Loff
 
 
Regards,
 
Roger

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 * Origin: NCS BBS - Houma, LoUiSiAna (1:3828/7)