Agency

Jan. 20, 2011
MEDIA ADVISORY

HOUSTON — The launch of the H-II Transfer Vehicle “Kounotori2” (HTV2)
planned for Thursday, Jan. 20, was rescheduled due to a forecast for
weather conditions that would exceed launch restrictions. The Japan
Aerospace Exploration Agency reset the launch for 11:37 p.m. CST on
Friday, Jan. 21.

NASA still plans live television coverage of the launch from
Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan. With an adjusted
rendezvous plan, the grapple and attachment of the cargo ship to the
International Space Station remain planned for Thursday, Jan. 27, and
also will be covered live on NASA Television.

NASA TV’s updated programming schedule for HTV2 events includes (all
times CST):

Friday, Jan. 21:
11 p.m. — Launch coverage, anchored from NASA’s Johnson Space Center
in Houston, begins. Launch is scheduled at 11:37 p.m.

Thursday, Jan. 27:
5 a.m. — Grapple coverage, anchored from Johnson, begins. The grapple
of HTV2 is scheduled at 5:44 a.m.
8 a.m. — Berthing coverage, anchored from Johnson, begins. The
attachment should be complete at approximately 10 a.m.

HOUSTON — NASA plans live television coverage of the launch, grapple and berthing of the second unpiloted Japanese cargo ship that will deliver more than four tons of food and supplies to the International Space Station.

The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) is scheduled to launch an H-IIB rocket from the Tanegashima Space Center in southern Japan at 12:29 a.m. CST (3:29 p.m. Japan time) on Thursday, Jan. 20. The launch vehicle will send the Kounotori2 H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV2) orbit on a week-long rendezvous with the station. “Kounotori” is the Japanese word for white stork, emblematic of delivering happiness and joy.

On Jan. 27, Expedition 26 Flight Engineers Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli will command the station’s robotic arm, Canadarm2, to reach out, grapple Kounotori2, and attach it to the Earth-facing port of the Harmony module.

In the following days, a pallet loaded with spare station parts will be extracted from a slot in the cargo ship and attached to an experiment platform outside the Japanese Kibo module. Other cargo will be transferred internally to the station.

The cargo vehicle will be filled with trash, detached from the station and sent to burn up in the Earth’s atmosphere at the end of March.

NASA Television’s programming schedule for HTV2 events includes (all times CST):

Thursday, Jan. 20:

12 a.m. — Launch coverage, anchored from NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, begins. Launch is scheduled at 12:29 a.m. Thursday, Jan. 27:

5 a.m. — Grapple coverage, anchored from Johnson, begins. The grapple of HTV2 is scheduled at 5:44 a.m.

8 a.m. — Berthing coverage, anchored from Johnson, begins. The attachment should be complete at approximately 10 a.m.

HOUSTON — After a decade working in various roles, astronaut Jose Hernandez has left NASA for a position in the aerospace industry.

“Jose’s talent and dedication have contributed greatly to the agency, and he is an inspiration to many,” said Peggy Whitson, chief of the Astronaut Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “We wish him all the best with this new phase of his career.”

The son of Mexican migrant farm workers, he joined NASA in 2001 as a materials research engineer at Johnson. He was promoted to the Materials and Processes Branch chief in 2002 and served there until he was selected as a NASA astronaut in 2004.

During the STS-128 shuttle mission in 2009, he managed the transfer of more than 18,000 pounds of supplies and equipment between the shuttle and International Space Station and assisted with robotics operations. He also served as a flight engineer in the shuttle’s cockpit during launch and landing.

WASHINGTON — NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will travel to his hometown of South Carolina to participate in three events on Jan. 18 to celebrate the life and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. Media representatives may attend the presentations.

Bolden, NASA’s first African-American administrator, will deliver the keynote address at the annual Martin Luther King Jr. business and professional breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. EST in the Exhibition Hall, Gaillard Municipal Auditorium, located at 77 Calhoun St. in Charleston. There will be a media availability at approximately 8:50 a.m.

Following the breakfast, Bolden will visit the Ron McNair School at 3795 Spruill Ave. in North Charleston to discuss the importance of science, technology, engineering and mathematics education. Reporters can speak to the administrator following the event at 11:30 a.m. outside the school.

Bolden will deliver the annual Heyward E. McDonald Lecture on Peace and Justice at 7 p.m. in the University of South Carolina Russell House Ballroom A/B on campus at 1400 Greene St. in Columbia. He will speak about the role of science and public schooling in advancing social justice. The lecture will be followed by a short question-and-answer session for attendees.

NASA UPDATES SHUTTLE TARGET LAUNCH DATES FOR TWO FLIGHTS

WASHINGTON — NASA is targeting 4:50 p.m. EST on Thursday, Feb. 24,
for the launch of space shuttle Discovery’s STS-133 mission to the
International Space Station. The liftoff of shuttle Endeavour’s
STS-134 flight is planned for 7:48 p.m. EDT on April 19, from NASA’s
Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The target dates were selected Thursday during the Space Shuttle
Program’s weekly Program Requirements Control Board meeting.

NASA sets official launch dates for each shuttle mission following
agency Flight Readiness Reviews, which typically occur about two
weeks prior to launches. All target launch dates are subject to
change.

WASHINGTON — International Space Station residents Scott Kelly, Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli will speak on Tuesday, Jan. 11, to 150 students from Kathleen High School’s Central Florida Aerospace Academy (CFAA) in Lakeland, Fla.

The CFAA prepares students to go into advanced aerospace education or the aerospace industry. In 2009, the academy received an agency grant to develop a NASA-based science, technology, engineering and , or STEM, curriculum.

The station astronauts will answer student questions on Jan. 11, from 11-11:20 a.m. EST. In preparation for the conversation with astronauts in space, the students have been participating in science activities, exploring careers in science with local scientists and engineers, studying a floor plan of the International Space Station and learning about experiments in microgravity.

The event will air live on NASA Television and on the agency’s website. Media interested in attending this event should contact Obie Young at 407-341-3072 by 2 p.m. Monday, Jan. 10.

The live downlink will be shared with other students through the Florida Aviation Network, the Federal Aviation Administration Training Network and the Government Educational Training Network. This will give approximately 93,000 students in Polk County’s K-12 classrooms the opportunity to watch the event.

NASA astronauts Kelly and Coleman and Nespoli of the European Space Agency are conducting science experiments aboard the space station. Kelly serves as the Expedition 26 commander until March when he returns home. Coleman and Nespoli will complete their station mission in May.

This live, in-flight education downlink is one in a series with educational organizations in the U.S. and abroad to improve teaching and learning in STEM subjects. It is an integral component of Teaching From Space, a NASA education program. Teaching From Space promotes learning opportunities and builds partnerships with the education community using the unique environment of space and NASA’s human spaceflight program.

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

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

WASHINGTON — NASA has selected 101 of its high-performing interns and
fellows for the agency’s Student Ambassador Program. The students
will represent NASA at a variety of education and outreach events at
schools and universities to help inspire future students interested
in science, engineering, mathematics and technology, or STEM,
opportunities.

The new ambassadors represent 31 states and 64 different universities.
This third group of student ambassadors, known as Cohort III, joins
189 other student ambassadors selected in 2009 and 2010. NASA
managers and mentors nominated the ambassadors from hundreds of
current interns and fellows who have participated in various NASA
Education projects.

“The ambassadors have demonstrated their ability to motivate students
to enter the STEM workforce,” said Leland Melvin, associate
administrator for education at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “They
play an important role in our effort to develop the next generation
of explorers, because they can engage fellow students in a meaningful
peer-to-peer dialogue. That’s something that more traditional
approaches cannot accomplish.”

The new student ambassadors will join a virtual web-based community,
which allows them to interact with NASA staff and other ambassadors
to share information and make professional connections. Through the
website, the ambassadors also will have access to the latest NASA
news, cutting-edge research and career resources.

WASHINGTON — NASA awarded on Dec. 27 a 10-year contract to HP
Enterprise Services of Herndon, Va., for Agency Consolidated End-user
Services, or ACES.

This firm-fixed-price, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity
contract has a maximum value of $2.5 billion and four-year base
period with two three-year option periods. The contract will be
managed at the NASA Shared Services Center (NSSC) in Mississippi.

The ACES contract will develop a long-term outsourcing arrangement
with the commercial sector to provide and manage most of NASA’s
personal computing hardware, agency-standard software, mobile
information technology (IT) services, peripherals and accessories,
associated end-user services, and supporting infrastructure.

NASA personnel use IT to support NASA’s core business, scientific,
research and computational activities. HP Enterprise Services will
provide, manage, secure and maintain these essential IT services for
the agency.

The NSSC is a partnership among NASA, Computer Sciences Corporation
and the states of Mississippi and Louisiana. The NSSC performs
selected business activities for all 10 NASA centers.