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

NASA Ranks First in a Survey of the "Best Places to Work in the Federal Government"

The Partnership for Public Service and American University's Institute for the Study of Public Policy Implementation recently released the results of a comprehensive survey of federal government employees on various aspects of job satisfaction. NASA ranked first among all federal agencies in the survey. The results reflect the positive attitude of our workforce and their involvement in the NASA mission.

This first ever survey of more than 100,000 government employees graded all the federal agencies on several categories related to employee satisfaction. Survey questions were drawn from the Office of Personnel Management's Federal Human Capital Survey.

More about the survey and the results on the web at: http://www.bestplacestowork.org.

SOHO Celebrates 8 Years in Space!

On December 2, 2003 SOHO celebrated the 8th Anniversary in space since its launch on December 2, 1995. SOHO has been one of the most successful space
missions in history. Since its launch, the Solar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO) has provided an unparalleled breadth and depth of information about the
Sun, from its interior, through the hot and dynamic atmosphere, and out to the solar wind. SOHO has continued to revolutionize our understanding of the Sun
with its 24 hour per day observations of our daylight star. The SOHO spacecraft was nearly lost in space in 1998. Thanks to one of the most amazing rescue operations in space ever, the satellite is still in very good shape and continues to deliver excellent science data.

Recently 23.990 people participated in selecting the most popular SOHO image. The winning images was: The Sun as a sparkling diamond....
http://sohowww.nascom.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/top30_detail?TRICOLOR

Native American History Month Activities at Goddard

Astronaut John B. Herrington recently visited Goddard Space Flight Center. Herrington is the first declared tribally enrolled Native American (Chickasaw) astronaut to fly into outer space.

Herrington spent the morning meeting with students from surrounding communities to share his experience of a dream come true, venturing into outer space. Not only was STS-113 his first flight, he was also able to participate in several space walks. Aboard Endeavour, Herrington logged over 330 hours in space, including 3 EVAs (Extra Vehicular Activity), totaling 19 hours and 55 minutes.

His visit highlighted of a month of activities at Goddard in observance of Native American History Month. "Celebrating Our Journey, Sharing Our Vision," is the theme for this year's national observance of Native American history throughout the month of November.

According to Wanda David, Native American Program Manager at the Equal Opportunity Employment Office, "Goddard's observance is intended to enlighten our communities about contributions made by Native Americans in support of NASA missions." Herrington was recently acknowledged for his participation in the recovery efforts of space shuttle Columbia. Herrington was assigned to the command center in Lufkin, Texas, coordinating helicopter searches from the operations office.

NASA Funded Earth Alert System to Aid MEMA in Disasters

The Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) has recently deployed a new communications system, based on NASA technology, that is designed to aid emergency management professionals when natural or man-made disasters occur.

During a one-year pilot program, MEMA officials are testing the Earth Alert Emergency Management System, which was developed by 3e Technologies International (3eTI), Rockville, Md., and funded by NASA Goddard Space Flight Center's Technology Commercialization Office. For more information and images on the Internet, visit:
http://www.gsfc.nasa.gov/topstory/2003/1010earthalert.html

Goddard Hosts One NASA Workshop and Takes Part in SMS Week

Last month, GSFC hosted a special One NASA Workshop, one in a series being held at every NASA Center to expand the knowledge and understanding of the NASA Vision and Mission and introduce employees to key leaders from across the Agency.

This workshop, along with other activities underway, is one of the early actions to result from the Agency-Wide One NASA effort. One of the findings from the One NASA survey was that Agency strategy must be aligned with working level efforts and that NASA would benefit from more collaboration among centers in strategy implementation. So this meeting is designed to start a process of discussion and information sharing around Agency visions and goals.

The speakers included GSFC Director A. V. Diaz; Bill Readdy, the Associate Administrator for the Office of Space Flight; Roy Bridges, Visiting Center Director from NASA's Langley Research Center; Dr. Julian Earls, Director of the Glenn Research Center; and Johnny Stephenson who chairs the One NASA Implementation Team.

The week of November 17 - 21 marked NASA's Safety and Mission Success (SMS) week. During this week, all NASA employees, civil servant and contractor, at every NASA Center and installation across the Agency was encouraged to discuss the Columbia Accident Investigation Board (CAIB) Report with their supervisors. The intent of the week was to begin an on-going dialog about how the CAIB Report has relevance for every employee and how they can use it as a guide to help improve the way the Agency does business.

NASA's Deputy Administrator Frederick D. Gregory Honored

NASA Deputy Administrator Frederick D. Gregory has been selected as one of the 50 Most Important African-Americans in Technology for 2004. The award is from the editors of Blackmoney.com and U.S. Black Engineer & Information Technology magazine. Gregory will be featured in the January/February issue of the publication.

Honorees are annually selected for this list based on their work in making technology part of global society. Their accomplishments are upheld as examples of the important contributions made on a daily basis by the half-million African-Americans in high-tech jobs.

"I'm pleased that Fred's commitment to NASA and his ongoing efforts to make this agency's mission relevant are being recognized," said NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe. "He is a role model for a new generation of explorers, and I'm sure the entire NASA family joins me in congratulating Fred's selection for this award."

He will receive the award at a ceremony Feb. 20, 2004, in Baltimore. Additional information about Gregory is available on the Internet at:
http://www.nasa.gov/about/highlights/AN_Feature_Deputy.html

Goddard Flying Club Provides Exhibit to Celebrate Wright Brother's Legacy

A First Flight Centennial Celebration will take place December 12-17 at the Wright Brothers' Memorial site in Kitty Hawk, NC, culminating a yearlong commemoration honoring the Wright brothers and a century of powered flight. For several months, members of the Goddard Flying Club have been working with the National Park Service to provide replicas of two wing sections for a 1903 Wright Flyer, which will be displayed for public viewing during the six-day celebration.

Last year, Goddard Flying Club President Bruce Milam spoke with club members to solicit their interest in supporting the First Flight Centennial Celebration. After an enthusiastic response, Milam called the National Park Service to see how the club could help. He was told the National Park Service needed the wing sections for display inside the camp buildings the National Park Service refurbished early this year at the base of Kill Devil Hill.

Goddard employees and groups who contributed to this Centennial of Flight effort: Bruce Milam, Courtney Smith, Bob Bridgers, Tom Paradis, Jill Holz, Dave Kelbel, Frank D'Annunzio, Alex Chuchra, George L. Daelemans, Charlie Adams, Walt Goodale, Ken Rehmann, Tom Kenny, Dave Quinn, Russell Carpenter, Bo Naasz, Sarah Macpherson, Diane Schuster, Doug Caprette, Goddard Employee Welfare Association, Annapolis Wood Workers Guild, Ed Stabler and his students at Eleanor Roosevelt High School, Greenbelt, Destiny Support, Inc. For detailed information about the First Flight Centennial Celebration, go to:
http://www.firstflightcentennial.org/december_celebration.html

Mars "Rocks" With Launch of Innovative Educational Tour

NASA and several partners, including the National Science Foundation (NSF) and Passport to Knowledge (P2K), launched Marsapalooza, an innovative, cross-country educational tour of youthful NASA Mars mission scientists and engineers, during a "rock" concert-style kickoff event at the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) in New York City.

Marsapalooza is part of NASA's Mars 2004 ('M2K4') effort to promote the Mars Exploration Rovers mission and NASA Mars education programs. The initiative features its own stars - the Marsapalooza Team (the "M-Team") - six accomplished young scientists and engineers, who will encourage other young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM). The M-Team will visit five major cities across the country during a fast-paced week of events to raise public literacy about the Mars mission, to reach out to students in under-served communities, and to serve as role models to inspire the next generation of explorers. For a complete listing of Marsapalooza events, and information about the Web cast, visit: http://www.nasa.gov

NASA Selects Small Business Research Proposals

NASA has selected 310 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and 45 Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) research proposals for Phase 1 contract negotiations. The SBIR contracts will be awarded to 246 small high technology firms in 38 states. The STTR contracts will be awarded to 40 small high technology firms in 20 states. Funding for the selected projects may total approximately $26 million.

The NASA SBIR/STTR Program Management Office, located at the Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md., manages the program for NASA's Office of Aerospace Technology, Washington. Individual SBIR and STTR projects are managed by NASA's 10 Centers. A list of the selected companies is available on the Internet at: http://sbir.nasa.gov