Neil Armstrong Memorial

Apollo 13 Astronaut Jim Lovell, left, former NASA Administrator Dan Goldin, Sen. John Glenn, third from left, and NASA Administrator Charles Bolden, right, talk at a private memorial service celebrating the life of Neil Armstrong, Aug. 31, 2012, at the Camargo Club in Cincinnati. Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon during the 1969 Apollo 11 mission, died Saturday, Aug. 25. He was 82.

Photo Credit: (NASA/Bill Ingalls)

NASA Administrator Statement on Neil Armstrong's Death

Bob Jacobs/David Weaver

NASA Headquarters

202-358-1600

bob.jacobs@nasa.gov/david.s.weaver@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Charles Bolden regarding the death of former test pilot and NASA astronaut Neil Armstrong. He was 82.

"On behalf of the entire NASA family, I would like to express my deepest condolences to Carol and the rest of the Armstrong family on the passing of Neil Armstrong. As long as there are history books, Neil Armstrong will be included in them, remembered for taking humankind's first small step on a world beyond our own.

"Besides being one of America's greatest explorers, Neil carried himself with a grace and humility that was an example to us all. When President Kennedy challenged the nation to send a human to the moon, Neil Armstrong accepted without reservation.

"As we enter this next era of space exploration, we do so standing on the shoulders of Neil Armstrong. We mourn the passing of a friend, fellow astronaut and true American hero."

Additional information about Armstrong is available on the Web at http://www.nasa.gov and http://www.neilarmstronginfo.com

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NASA Administrator Announces New Commercial Crew And Cargo Milestones

David Weaver

Headquarters, Washington     

202-358-1600

david.s.weaver@nasa.gov

 

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden announced Thursday new milestones in the nation's commercial space initiatives from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The latest advances made by NASA's commercial space partners pave the way for the first contracted flight of cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) this fall and mark progress toward a launch of astronauts from U.S. soil in the next 5 years.

Bolden announced Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has completed its Space Act Agreement with NASA for Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS). SpaceX is scheduled to launch the first of its 12 contracted cargo flights to the space station from Cape Canaveral in October, under NASA's Commercial Resupply Services Program.

"We're working to open a new frontier for commercial opportunities in space and create job opportunities right here in Florida and across the United States," Bolden said. "And we’re working to in-source the work that is currently being done elsewhere and bring it right back here to the U.S. where it belongs."

Through the COTS program, NASA provides investments to stimulate the American commercial space industry. As part of its COTS partnership, SpaceX became the first commercial company to resupply the space station in May, successfully launching its Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft to the orbiting complex. During the historic mission, the Dragon was captured by astronauts using the station's robot arm, unloaded and safely returned to Earth carrying experiments conducted aboard ISS. Later this winter, Orbital Sciences Corp. plans to carry out its first test flight under COTS.

Bolden also announced NASA partner Sierra Nevada Corp. has conducted its first milestone under the agency's recently announced Commercial Crew integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative. The milestone, a program implementation plan review, marks an important first step in Sierra Nevada's efforts to develop a crew transportation system with its Dream Chaser spacecraft.

CCiCap is an initiative of NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP) and an Obama administration priority. The objective of the CCP is to facilitate the development of a U.S. commercial crew space transportation capability with the goal of achieving safe, reliable and cost-effective access to and from the space station and low Earth orbit. After the capability is matured, it is expected to be available to the government and other customers. NASA could contract to purchase commercial services to meet its station crew transportation needs later this decade.

While NASA works with U.S. industry partners to develop commercial spaceflight capabilities, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will expand human presence beyond low Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system.

For more information about NASA's commercial space initiatives and programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov/commercial.

For more information about the present and future of American human spaceflight, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration.

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New NASA Mission to Take First Look Deep Inside Mars

Dwayne Brown

Headquarters, Washington                                   

202-358-1726

dwayne.c.brown@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected a new mission, set to launch in 2016, that will take the first look into the deep interior of Mars to see why the Red Planet evolved so differently from Earth as one of our solar system's rocky planets.

The new mission, named InSight, will place instruments on the Martian surface to investigate whether the core of Mars is solid or liquid like Earth's and why Mars' crust is not divided into tectonic plates that drift like Earth's. Detailed knowledge of the interior of Mars in comparison to Earth will help scientists understand better how terrestrial planets form and evolve.

"The exploration of Mars is a top priority for NASA, and the selection of InSight ensures we will continue to unlock the mysteries of the Red Planet and lay the groundwork for a future human mission there," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "The recent successful landing of the Curiosity rover has galvanized public interest in space exploration and today's announcement makes clear there are more exciting Mars missions to come."

InSight will be led by W. Bruce Banerdt at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. InSight's science team includes U.S. and international co-investigators from universities, industry and government agencies. The French space agency Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, or CNES, and the German Aerospace Center, or DLR, are contributing instruments to InSight, which is scheduled to land on Mars in September 2016 to begin its two-year scientific mission.

InSight is the 12th selection in NASA's series of Discovery-class missions. Created in 1992, the Discovery Program sponsors frequent, cost-capped solar system exploration missions with highly focused scientific goals. NASA requested Discovery mission proposals in June 2010 and received 28. InSight was one of three proposed missions selected in May 2011 for funding to conduct preliminary design studies and analyses. The other two proposals were for missions to a comet and Saturn's moon Titan.

InSight builds on spacecraft technology used in NASA's highly successful Phoenix lander mission, which was launched to the Red Planet in 2007 and determined water existed near the surface in the Martian polar regions. By incorporating proven systems in the mission, the InSight team demonstrated that the mission concept was low-risk and could stay within the cost-constrained budget of Discovery missions. The cost of the mission, excluding the launch vehicle and related services, is capped at $425 million in 2010 dollars.

"Our Discovery Program enables scientists to use innovative approaches to answering fundamental questions about our solar system in the lowest cost mission category," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters. "InSight will get to the 'core' of the nature of the interior and structure of Mars, well below the observations we've been able to make from orbit or the surface."

InSight will carry four instruments. JPL will provide an onboard geodetic instrument to determine the planet's rotation axis and a robotic arm and two cameras used to deploy and monitor instruments on the Martian surface. CNES is leading an international consortium that is building an instrument to measure seismic waves traveling through the planet's interior. The German Aerospace Center is building a subsurface heat probe to measure the flow of heat from the interior.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Discovery Program for the agency's Science Mission Directorate in Washington.

For more information about the Discovery Program, visit http://discovery.nasa.gov.

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov.

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NASA Administrator Offers Condolences on the Passing of Former Kennedy Center Director Forrest McCartney

David Weaver

Headquarters, Washington  

202-358-1600

david.s.weaver@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden issued the following statement Wednesday on the death of former Kennedy Space Center Director Forrest McCartney:

"On behalf of the entire NASA family, I wish to express our condolences on the passing of Retired United States Air Force Lt. General and former Kennedy Space Center Director Forrest S. McCartney.

After 35 years of distinguished service in the Unites States Air Force, McCartney was named Kennedy Space Center director in 1987, only months after the fateful Challenger accident had shocked the nation and put the shuttle program on hiatus. McCartney's visionary leadership resulted in the shuttle's return-to-flight and a stellar safety record during his five-year tenure.

In the 50-year history of Kennedy Space Center there have been only 10 directors. Forrest McCartney was one of the finest. As an engineer, a patriot and a leader, McCartney leaves an indelible mark on America's space program. His service to his country and to Kennedy earned him distinguished service medals from both the Air Force and NASA.

We are grateful for his many contributions and we honor his legacy by rededicating ourselves to the values of exploration, education and inspiration that were the hallmarks of his life. Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife Ruth and the McCartney family."

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NASA Administrator Bolden To Help Open Intrepid Space Shuttle Pavilion

David Weaver

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-1600

david.s.weaver@nasa.gov

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will attend the Thursday opening of the Space Shuttle Pavilion at New York's Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum.

Bolden, who on April 12, 2011, announced Intrepid would receive space shuttle Enterprise, will join museum officials and three of the four original Enterprise pilots at an 11 a.m. EDT ceremony on Intrepid’s Flight Deck, located at Pier 86 (46th Street and 12th Avenue) in Manhattan.

Immediately following the ceremony, officials will participate in a ribbon cutting in front of the pavilion, officially marking the opening of Enterprise to the public. Bolden and Intrepid officials will be available for media interviews after the ribbon cutting, and the pavilion will be open to media from noon until 5 p.m.

Enterprise was NASA's first space shuttle, a prototype that conducted critical tests in Earth's atmosphere in 1977. These pioneering tests paved the way for the successful orbital flights of later shuttles, beginning with the first flight of the space shuttle Columbia in 1981.

For Bolden’s biography, visit http://go.nasa.gov/qawpxG.

For more information about NASA, visit http://www.nasa.gov.

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