Right Around the Corner
A Publication for the Baltimore/Washington Area
from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
April 2003

GALEX Launch on the Horizon

The Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX) is an orbiting space telescope that will observe galaxies in ultraviolet light across 10 billion years of cosmic history. Such observations will tell scientists how galaxies, the basic structures of our Universe, evolve and change. Additionally, GALEX will probe the causes of star formation during a period when most of the stars and elements we see today had their origins.

The GALEX mission was developed under NASA’s Explorers Program, which is managed by the Goddard Space Flight Center. The missions affiliated with this program are small-to-medium sized missions, moderate in cost, that are capable of being built, tested, and launched in a short time interval.

The GALEX mission is a partnership between the California Institute of Technology and NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, along with universities, science institutes, laboratories, and commercial technology providers from around the world. GALEX is scheduled for launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force station by a Pegasus XL rocket no earlier than April 26. For more information visit: http://www.galex.caltech.edu/

Dedication of First Federal Landfill Gas Facility

Did you know that landfill gas is fueling boilers at Goddard Space Flight Center? In fact, NASA is making history as the first federal agency to burn landfill gas on federal property. To celebrate this environmental achievement, NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator, Governor Christie Todd Whitman plan to participate in a ribbon cutting ceremony at Goddard on May 8.

NASA and EPA partnered with TORO Energy, Inc. and Prince George’s County to make this worthwhile energy project a reality.

NASA expects to save taxpayers an estimated $3.5 million in fuel costs over the next 10 years while increasing energy security by relying on a locally available renewable fuel source. The greenhouse gas benefits are roughly equivalent to removing the emissions of more than 35,000 cars during every year of the project’s lifetime.

NCPC Approves GSFC Facilities Master Plan

The National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) approved the Facilities Master Plan for Goddard Space Flight Center’s Greenbelt site on April 3, 2003. The NCPC commended Goddard for a number of technical aspects of the plan, and took note of the close coordination with external stakeholders including the Center's many residential neighbors. Completing the master plan is an important step in changing Center facilities to enable efficient, effective conduct of GSFC's mission in future years. Plans and designs are proceeding for early implementation projects including rerouting Soil Conservation Road and consolidating Space Science activities from across the site. For more information visit: http://gsfc-facilities.gsfc.nasa.gov/index.html

GISS Is Recognized for “Caring”

NASA/Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), in New York has been awarded the prestigious Leadership Trophy from the Combined Federal Campaign of New York City. This trophy is awarded to the federal agency with the highest per-capita gift, $359, in the New York City campaign. Although per-capita is the only factor taken into consideration for the Agency Leadership Trophy, NASA had many other impressive achievements including one of the highest average gifts, $478 and a 75 percent participation rate. On March 21, Carolyn Paurowski, CFC coordinator for GISS, and GISS Chief Dr. James Hansen were presented the first-time ever trophy at an Awards ceremony at the United Nations.

NASA Invention of the Year

The winner of the NASA Government Invention of the Year is a mathematical method called Computer Implemented Empirical Mode Decomposition Method, also known as the Hilbert-Huang Transformation (HHT) Method. Dr. Norden E. Huang, Director, Goddard Institute of Data Analysis at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, invented it.

The HHT Method has many diverse applications. The Method can be applied in a variety of fields to study things such as: basic nonlinear mechanics, climate cycles, solar neutrinos variations, earthquake engineering, geophysical exploration, submarine design, structural damage detection, satellite data analysis, nonlinear wave evolution, turbulence flow, blood pressure variations and heart arrhythmia.

This Method is also used to analyze sea surface temperature data collected by NASA satellites and instruments. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration uses Huang's method to analyze images from some of its Earth orbiting spacecraft. It has proven successful in connecting environmental changes to El Nino phenomena with weather changes.

Goddard Engineer Inducted Into National Inventors Hall of Fame

Frank J. Cepollina, a Goddard engineer who leads the team responsible for the on-orbit missions that keep NASA's Hubble Space Telescope in peak condition, was one of 17 inductees named to the National Inventors Hall of Fame.

The Hall of Fame is the nation's preeminent center for the recognition of invention and creativity. Cepollina was chosen for his pioneering concept of on-orbit satellite servicing by astronauts. Cepollina will be officially inducted to the Hall of Fame in May.

NASA Selects PSL for Balloon Program Support Contract

NASA has selected the Physical Science Laboratory (PSL) at New Mexico State University, Las Cruces, for the award of a contract for the operation and maintenance of scientific balloon facilities and engineering support for the NASA Scientific Balloon Program. The contract has a potential value of $238.7 million.

The new follow-on contract is for services currently being provided by contractor support at the National Scientific Balloon Facility, Palestine, Texas, and Fort Sumner, N.M., and the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va.

NASA Names New Chief Information Officer

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe announced recently, Patricia L. Dunnington is the agency's new Chief Information Officer (CIO).

"Pat brings a wealth of experience and expertise to our management team, " Administrator O'Keefe said. "She has an intimate knowledge of the agency, and she will be a key leader, planner and manager as we continue to apply cutting edge information technology to NASA," he said.

The CIO reports directly to the NASA Administrator and is responsible for the development of an integrated focus on information resource management strategies, policies, and practices. These encompass strategic planning; standards in computing, networking, and security; establishment of system and information architectures; and incorporation of life-cycle management concepts into information technology acquisitions and management.

Asteroid Named for Goddard Astronomer

Years spent charting a shadow dance between the Moon and the Sun paid off last month for Goddard astronomer Fred Espenak, an alumnus of Wagner College, Staten Island, N. Y., with an asteroid that bears his name. The organization that assigns official names to celestial objects, the International Astronomical Union (IAU), designated "minor planet 14120" as "Espenak" in the Smithsonian Astrophysics Center Minor Planet Circular #48157, issued March 18.

"It's quite an honor to have a piece of real estate in the solar system named after you," said Espenak, who is a world-renowned authority on solar eclipse predictions at Goddard. "I have to be humble, though, because it's a small piece, probably just 5 to 10 miles in diameter," he adds with a laugh. The IAU cited Espenak as "widely recognized for his calculations of solar eclipses, his magnificent maps of these phenomena, and his book 'Totality: Eclipses of the Sun'."

Pioneering NASA Spacecraft Celebrates 20 Years of Service

NASA's original Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS-1), launched from the Space Shuttle Challenger (STS-6) in April 1983, went from almost being "lost in space," to a remarkable example of the agency's 'can do, never quit' attitude. On April 4, TDRS-1 celebrates 20 years of outstanding service and 'firsts.'

After deployment, the spacecraft's upper stage failed. NASA engineers at the Goddard Space Flight Center came to TDRS-1's rescue using the spacecraft's tiny, one-pound thrusters. They used the thrusters, over several months, to nudge the satellite into a geosynchronous Earth orbit. Because TDRS-1 has been inclining in its orbit almost one degree per year since its deployment, this satellite has been used in ways never expected.

Revised Center Security Status as of April 17

Effective April 17, GSFC moved to Force Protection Condition Bravo (Modified), which is our response to the Department of Homeland Security lowering the nation's security posture from Level Orange to Level Yellow. As a result, many of the security enhancements implemented on March 20 will be modified commensurate with the current threat level. For further information, regarding visitor access, vehicle inspections, and other security related maters please contact GSFC’s Security Office at 301-286-8661.