Right Around the Corner
A Publication for the Baltimore/Washington Area
from NASA Goddard Space Flight Center
December 2001

TIMED/JASON

The launch of the TIMED and Jason 1 spacecraft aboard a Boeing Delta II rocket is scheduled to occur on Friday, Dec. 7 from NASA's Space Launch Complex 2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. The 20-minute launch window extends from 6:58 - 7:18 a.m. PST.

NASA's TIMED spacecraft will conduct the first global study of a critical region of Earth's atmosphere, known as the mesosphere, lower thermosphere and ionosphere. The two-year mission will study the influences of the Sun as well as humans on this least explored and understood region located between 40 - 110 miles (60 - 180 kilometers) above the Earth's surface. Data provided by TIMED will improve our understanding of this "gateway region" and its effects on spacecraft and communication. TIMED is a NASA satellite managed by Goddard.

Jason 1 is a joint U.S./French oceanography mission to monitor world ocean circulation, study interactions of the oceans and atmosphere, improve climate predictions and observe events like El Nino. For more information visit:http://stp.gsfc.nasa.gov/missions/timed/timed.htm

HESSI

The High Energy Solar Spectroscopic Imager (HESSI), currently scheduled to launch no earlier than Jan. 24, 2002, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, will study gigantic explosions in the atmosphere of the Sun with a unique kind of X-ray vision, and produce the first high-fidelity color movies of solar flares in their highest energy emissions. For more information visit HESSI web site at:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/gsfc/spacesci/hessi/hessi.htm

White House Nominates Sean O'Keefe as New NASA Administrator

President George W. Bush recently nominated Sean O'Keefe, Deputy Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), as NASA's new Administrator.

With the President's nomination and anticipated confirmation, Mr. O'Keefe will succeed Administrator Daniel S. Goldin, who resigned after nearly ten years as the agency's chief.

Prior to his appointment at OMB, Mr. O'Keefe was the Louis A. Bantle Professor of Business and Government Policy, an endowed chair, at the Syracuse University Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He also served as the Director of National Security Studies, a partnership of Syracuse University and Johns Hopkins University for delivery of executive education programs for senior military and civilian Department of Defense managers.

Facilities Master Plan Update

During the past month, GSFC took steps to ensure that employees and the public are fully informed of and involved with the preparation of Goddard's draft Facilities Master Plan (FMP). At workshops held on October 16th and 18th it was announced that Goddard would delay submitting their draft FMP to the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC) for several months. During that time additional traffic data will be collected and additional analyses performed on the East and West alternatives for re-aligning Soil Conservation Road. With the assistance of a facilitator, the additional time will be used so that employees and the public will have:

· an appropriate opportunity for input into the draft FMP
· an ongoing, interactive role in the FMP process
· an objective analysis of controversial issues
· an understanding of the NCPC review process and the public's role in that review
· an opportunity, along with GSFC, to establish communication and cooperation on this and future matters

A Community Council has been formed with representatives from nearby community associations and coalitions. This Council will work directly with the facilitator and GSFC staff. The first meeting of the Council was held on November 15, 2001. For the latest information on Goddard's FMP visit the web site at: http://gsfc-facilities.gsfc.nasa.gov/plans.html

King Receives Nordberg Award

Dr. Michael King, senior project scientist for NASA's Earth Observing System (EOS), is the 2001 recipient of the William Nordberg Memorial Award for Earth Sciences. The award was presented November 16 at the Goddard Space Flight Center. King is the eighth recipient since the Goddard honor was first introduced in 1994.

Nordberg was a past director of Space Applications at Goddard and a pioneer in using remote sensing to investigate the Earth and its environment. The award named in his honor is given annually a Goddard employee "who best exhibits qualities of broad scientific perspective, enthusiastic programmatic and technical leadership on the national and international levels, wide recognition by peers and substantial research accomplishments in understanding Earth science processes".

King has been the senior project scientist for the EOS since 1992. In this position, he has skillfully orchestrated the day-to-day interfacing of the Earth Science community with NASA's Earth Science Enterprise to ensure that both scientific and programmatic requirements for the program are met. He is honored for his leadership and his scientific contribution in the field of radiative transfer and its application to ground-based, airborne and satellite remote sensing techniques of clouds and aerosols.

NASA's MAP Spacecraft Named One of the Best Innovations By Popular Science

NASA's Microwave Anisotropy Probe (MAP) is cited as one of the best innovations in aviation and space in the December issue of Popular Science. "Tremendous public attention and excitement surrounded the launch of the MAP mission this past summer," said Dr. Charles L. Bennett, MAP Principal Investigator from Goddard.
"The selection of MAP as one of the 'Best' of the year by Popular Science magazine highlights that excitement as our nation continues to produce great science and technology."

Each recipient is chosen for its ability to improve in some way the quality of life. Throughout the year, Popular Science reviews new products and technologies and features the top 100 in its annual Best of What's New edition.

MAP will scan the sky for over two years, gathering information on the faint cosmic glow. Scientists hope to determine the content, shape, history, and the ultimate fate of the universe, by constructing a full-sky picture of the 14 billion-year-old light left over from the Big Bang. The patterns in this light across the sky contain a wealth of details about the nature, composition and destiny of the universe. More information is available on the Internet at: http://map.gsfc.nasa.gov

Phil Sabelhaus Named New Earth Observing System Program Manager

Mr. Phil Sabelhaus has been named the new Earth Observing System (EOS) Program Manager at Goddard. In his new position, Sabelhaus will be responsible for managing EOS activities throughout the U.S. and internationally with an annual budget of approximately $800M to design, build, launch and operate the EOS suite of missions.

These missions form the centerpiece of NASA's contribution to the multi-Agency Global Change Research Program. Included in these activities is the development and implementation of the ground systems, including the science data processing and satellite command and control centers, for the EOS missions at the GSFC.

Shuttle Set to Fly in early December with Goddard's MACH-1 Aboard

Space Shuttle Endeavour is scheduled to fly with possibly the most varied collection of scientific, technological and student experiments in the history of the Space Shuttle Small Payloads Project (SSPP), involving dozens of researchers and hundreds of students.

Snug inside the shuttle's payload bay is the MACH-1 payload - the Multiple Application Customized Hitchhiker - carrying experiments as varied as a cosmic ray background experiment proposed by a Nobel laureate, to an experiment designed to simulate how planets formed, to Goddard's own Capillary Pump Loop Experiment (CAPL-3) to demonstrate technology that may be vital to future spacecraft.

Students in schools worldwide, from first grade to undergraduates, will also be closely following the progress of the mission, which is loaded with nearly 40 experiments designed to engage students in space and scientific exploration. The Space Shuttle Small Payloads Project (SSPP), based at Goddard and Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va., is in charge of the MACH-1 payload. For more on the MACH-1 payload, go to: http://sspp.gsfc.nasa.gov/hh/mach1.html
For more on the STS-108 mission, go to: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov

Tips for Official Business Visits to Goddard -
Goddard is operating under heightened security procedures, which include 100% escorting of visitors.

· Visitors on official business must sign in at the Main Gatehouse and be escorted during their entire visit.
· Be prepared to show photo identification.
· Be prepared for random vehicle inspections.