Criticism: Delays to completing the International Space Station

Criticism: Delays to completing the International Space Station

Currently, the International Space Station (ISS) relies on the Shuttle fleet for all major construction shipments. The Shuttle fleet lost two spacecraft and fourteen astronauts in two disasters: Challenger in 1986, and Columbia in 2003. While the 1986 loss was mitigated by building the Space Shuttle Endeavour from replacement parts, NASA has no plans to build another shuttle to replace the second loss, and instead will be transitioning to a new spacecraft called Orion.
The ISS was envisioned to eventually have a crew of seven, but following the Columbia Shuttle accident, the permanent space station crew of three was reduced to two, comprising one Russian and one American for six months at a time. The result was that European and Japanese astronauts could not stay for longer missions. As of 2006, the station has been restored to a crew of three, and plans call for an increase to six in 2009, during Expedition 19.

NASA Advisory Council

NASA Advisory Council

With the creation of NASA in 1958, the NACA was abolished, and its research centers. Ames Research Center, Lewis Research Center, and Langley Aeronautical Laboratory--were incorporated within the new space and aeronautics agency along with some elements of the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy. In 1967, Congress directed NASA to form an Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) to advise the NASA Administrator on safety issues and hazards in NASA's aerospace programs. In addition, there were the Space Program Advisory Council and the Research and Technology Advisory Council.
In 1977, these were all combined to form the NASA Advisory Council (NAC) which is the successor to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics.

Spaceflight missions

Spaceflight missions
NASA has had many successful space missions and programs, including over 150 manned missions. Many of the notable manned missions were from the Apollo program, a sequence of missions to the Moon which included the achievement of the first man to walk on the Moon, during Apollo 11. The Space Shuttle program has also been a success, despite the loss of two of the Space Shuttles, Challenger and Columbia which resulted in the deaths of their entire crews. The Space Shuttles were able to dock with the space station Mir while it was operational, and are now able to dock with the International Space Station – a joint project of many space agencies. NASA's future plans for space exploration are with the project Constellation.
There have been many unmanned NASA space missions as well, including at least one that visited each of the other seven planets in our Solar System, and four missions (Pioneer 10, Pioneer 11, Voyager 1, and Voyager 2) that have left our solar system. There has been much recent success with the missions to Mars, including the Mars Exploration Rovers, the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. NASA remains the only space agency to have launched space missions to the outer solar system beyond the asteroid belt.

Mission statement

Mission statement

NASA's 50th Anniversary Logo.From 2002, NASA’s mission statement, used in budget and planning documents, read: “To understand and protect our home planet; to explore the universe and search for life; to inspire the next generation of explorers ... as only NASA can.” In early February 2006, the statement was altered, with the phrase “to understand and protect our home planet” deleted. Some outside observers believe the change was intended to preserve the civilian nature of the agency, while others suspected it was related to criticism of government policy on global warming by NASA scientists like James Hansen. NASA officials have denied any connection to the latter, pointing to new priorities for space exploration. The chair and ranking member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs wrote NASA Administrator Griffin on July 31, 2006 expressing concerns about the change. NASA also canceled or delayed a number of earth science missions in 2006

Apollo program

Apollo program
Main article: Apollo program
The Apollo program was designed to land humans on the Moon and bring them safely back to Earth. Apollo 1 ended tragically when all the astronauts inside died due to fire in the command module during an experimental simulation. Because of this incident, there were a few unmanned tests before men boarded the spacecraft. Apollo 8 and Apollo 10 tested various components while orbiting the Moon, and returned photographs. On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11, landed the first men on the moon, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. Apollo 13 did not land on the Moon due to a malfunction, but did return photographs. The six missions that landed on the Moon returned a wealth of scientific data and almost 400 kilograms of lunar samples. Experiments included soil mechanics, meteoroids, seismic, heat flow, lunar ranging, magnetic fields, and solar wind experiments.

NASA's Ares I First Stage Igniter Successfully Tested

NASA's Ares I First Stage Igniter Successfully Tested

The Marshall Center's Ares Projects has completed the successful test firing of the igniter that will be used to start NASA's Ares I first stage motor. The test paves the way for the first ground test of the Ares I first stage later this year. The test, conducted at ATK Launch Systems test facilities near Promontory, Utah, generated a flame almost 200 feet in length. Initial data showed the igniter performed as expected.

Exploration at NASA

Exploration at NASA
At the core of NASA's future space exploration is a return to the moon, where we will build a sustainable long term human presence. As the space shuttle approaches retirement and the International Space Station nears completion, NASA is building the next fleet of vehicles to bring astronauts back to the moon, and possibly to Mars and beyond.

SHORT DETAIL ABOUT NASA

NASA Details Earthquake Effects on the Earth.

NASA scientists using data from the Indonesian earthquake calculated it affected Earth's rotation, decreased the length of day, slightly changed the planet's shape, and shifted the North Pole by centimeters. The earthquake that created the huge tsunami also changed the Earth's rotation.Dr. Benjamin Fong Chao, of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md. and Dr. Richard Gross of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif. said all earthquakes have some affect on Earth's rotation. It's just they are usually barely noticeable. "Any worldly event that involves the movement of mass affects the Earth's rotation, from seasonal weather down to driving a car," Chao said. Chao and Gross have been routinely calculating earthquakes' effects in changing the Earth's rotation in both length-of-day as well as changes in Earth's gravitational field. They also study changes in polar motion that is shifting the North Pole. The "mean North pole" was shifted by about 2.5 centimeters (1 inch) in the direction of 145º East Longitude. This shift east is continuing a long-term seismic trend identified in previous studies.They also found the earthquake decreased the length of day by 2.68 microseconds. Physically this is like a spinning skater drawing arms closer to the body resulting in a faster spin. The quake also affected the Earth's shape. They found Earth's ob lateness (flattening on the top and bulging at the equator) decreased by a small amount. It decreased about one part in 10 billion, continuing the trend of earthquakes making Earth less oblate. To make a comparison about the mass that was shifted as a result of the earthquake, and how it affected the Earth, Chao compares it to the great Three-Gorge reservoir of China. If filled the gorge would hold 40 cubic kilometers (10 trillion gallons) of water. That shift of mass would increase the length of day by only 0.06 microseconds and make the Earth only very slightly more round in the middle and flat on the top. It would shift the pole position by about two centimeters (0.8 inch).The researchers concluded the Sumatra earthquake caused a length of day (LOD) change too small to detect, but it can be calculated. It also caused an oblateness change barely detectable, and a pole shift large enough to be possibly identified. They hope to detect the LOD signal and pole shift when Earth rotation data from ground based and space-borne position sensors are reviewed.The researchers used data from the Harvard University Centroid Moment Tensor database that catalogs large earthquakes. The data is calculated in a set of formulas, and the results are reported and updated on a NASA Web site. The massive earthquake off the west coast of Indonesia on December 26, 2004, registered a magnitude of nine on the new "moment" scale (modified Richter scale) that indicates the size of earthquakes. It was the fourth largest earthquake in one hundred years and largest since the 1964 Prince William Sound, Alaska earthquake.The devastating mega thrust earthquake occurred as a result of the India and Burma plates coming together. It was caused by the release of stresses that developed as the India plate slid beneath the overriding Burma plate. The fault dislocation, or earthquake, consisted of a downward sliding of one plate relative to the overlying plate. The net effect was a slightly more compact Earth. The India plate began its descent into the mantle at the Sunda trench that lies west of the earthquake's epicenter.
Nasa details Moon and Mars plan.
The US space agency Nasa has announced detailed plans for sending humans back to the Moon and eventually onwards to Mars.
Nasa wants to send a crew of four to the Moon in 2018 for a one-week stay.
The Crew Exploration Vehicle, the spacecraft that will take them there, should be ready by 2012, officials say.
Astronauts on the 2018 mission might return to the Moon in a capsule similar to those used in the Apollo programme but using space shuttle technology.
Humans have not set foot on the Moon since the Apollo 17 mission in 1972
Nasa is charged with implementing the vision for space exploration, laid out in January 2004 by President George W Bush.
This vision aims to return humans to the Moon, to use it as a staging point for a manned mission to Mars.
Expensive plans
The American space agency briefed congressional committees on Friday on its plans to spend a reported $100bn developing the spacecraft and associated technology for the lunar programme.
Research aboard the International Space Station is also expected to be cut.
The space shuttle is to be retired by 2010 in order to pay for its replacement, known as the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV).
Nasa would begin the lunar expedition by lifting a lunar landing capsule and a propulsion stage into space.
It would then launch the CEV atop a new launcher using existing shuttle rocket technology.
The CEV would dock with the lunar lander and the propulsion stage and start its journey to the Moon.
Nasa also envisions the possibility of building a semi-permanent lunar base, where astronauts would make use of the Moon's natural resources for water and fuel.
Even before the official announcement, there has been recognition that the proposals will be tough to see through, given the US government's commitments to the Iraq war and recovery from Hurricane Katrina.
"This plan is coming out at a time when the nation is facing significant budgetary challenges," Representative Bart Gordon, a Tennessee Democrat on the US House Science Committee, said in a statement.
"Getting agreement to move forward on it is going to be heavy lifting in the current environment, and it's clear that strong presidential leadership will be needed."