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Proceedings from the 2001 NASA Occupational Health Conference: Risk Assessment and Management in 2001

This Conference convened approximately 86 registered participants of invited guest speakers, NASA presenters, and a broad spectrum of the Occupational Health disciplines representing NASA Headquarters and all NASA Field Centers. Two days' Professional Development Courses on Exposure Assessment Strategies and Statistics and on Advanced Cardiac Life Support training and recertification preceded the Conference. With the theme, 'Risk Assessment and Management in 2001,' conferees were first provided updates from the Program Principal Center Office and the Headquarters Office. Plenary sessions elaborated on several topics: biological terrorism, OSHA recordability, Workers' Compensation issues, Federal ergonomic standards, bridging aerospace medicine and occupational health-especially in management of risk in spaceflight, and EAP operations with mission failures. A keynote address dealt with resiliency skills for 21st century workers and two NASA astronaut speakers highlighted a tour of the Johnson Space Center. During discipline specific breakout sessions, current issues in occupational health management and policy, credentialing and privileging, health risk assessment, measurement and standardization, audits, database development, prevention and rehabilitation, international travel and infection control, employee assistance, nursing process, and environmental health were presented.

Roberson, Sheri↗

Commercial Space Policy in the 1980s: Proceedings of a Roundtable Discussion

The Space Business Archives and the NASA History Office signed a Memorandum of Understanding in March of 1999. The MOU outlines several opportunities for cooperative endeavors between the two agencies in historical programming. This oral history, and subsequently this publication, are the first products of that cooperation. In accordance with the purpose of the Space Business Archives--to provide an impartial forum for lessons learned in the development of the commercial space industry--the idea for this roundtable discussion seemed appropriate as the Archives first public program. With the combined resources of the Archives and the NASA History Office we were fortunate to assemble a panel of individuals that served in both industry and government during the 1980s, many working in both sectors during that time. When envisioning the focus of this oral history, we decided that it was appropriate to highlight space policy in the 1980s, with an emphasis on the emerging commercial industry. Panelists were sent several documents in preparation, such as the Land Remote Sensing Commercialization Act and the Commercial Space Launch Act of 1984, President Reagan's 1982 National Space Policy, and other memoranda and letters that outline important policy issues of the decade. This discussion, we think, fills in some of the gaps that would otherwise be left unfilled when simply reading through the documents themselves. Some of these gaps include: how were these policy directives, legislation and decisions introduced and developed, by whom, and at what political and financial cost? This transcript is meant to serve as a reference to some of the issues, organizations and individuals involved in the creation and development of space policy during the 1980s. It is also the result of the first of many future roundtable discussions aimed at providing an open exchange of ideas concerning past success and failure in order to provide a stronger base for future endeavors in governmental, civil and commercial cooperation in space.

Dahlstrom, Neil↗

An Overview of SIMBIOS Project Activities and Accomplishments During FY00

In FY00, the Sensor Intercomparison and Merger for Biological and Interdisciplinary Oceanic Studies (SIMBIOS) Project brought a number of activities to fruition and laid the groundwork for new initiatives in FY01 of particular importance was ensuring that the SIMBIOS program was renewed and a new science team selected in FY00. With Sea-Viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) continuing to perform well, the Terra platform and Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) being launched in December 1999, and several other global missions scheduled for launch (e.g., the Aqua platform with a second MODIS (2001), the ENVISAT mission with the Medium Resolution Imaging Spectrometer (2001), and Advanced Earth Observing Satellite-2 with GLI and Polarization and Directionality of the Earth's Reflectances (POLDER)), the first real opportunities to merge global data sets can be pursued. NASA Headquarters did approve a three-year continuation of the science team under an NASA Research Announcement (NRA) and the Project Office. As it is taking some time for the MODIS team to work through the initial on-orbit processing issues, merger activities within the Project Office have been a low priority with most of the emphasis being on other program objectives which will provide a broader foundation and capabilities for working with multiple global data sets in the future. These activities and accomplishments are described.

Fargion, Giulietta S.↗

NASA Alternate Access to Station Service Concept

The evolving nature of the NASA space enterprise compels the agency to develop new and innovative space systems concepts. NASA, working with increasingly strained budgets and a declining manpower base, is attempting to transform from operational activities to procurement of commercial services. NASA's current generation reusable launch vehicle, the Shuttle, is in transition from a government owned and operated entity to a commercial venture to reduce the civil servant necessities for that program. NASA foresees its second generation launch vehicles being designed and operated by industry for commercial and government services. The "service" concept is a pioneering effort by NASA. The purpose the "service" is not only to reduce the civil servant overhead but will free up government resources for further research - and enable industry to develop a space business case so that industry can sustain itself beyond government programs. In addition, NASA desires a decreased responsibility thereby decreasing liability. The Second Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) program is implementing NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to enable industry to develop the launch vehicles of the future. The Alternate Access to Station (AAS) project office within this program is chartered with enabling industry to demonstrate an alternate access capability for the International Space Station (ISS). The project will not accomplish this by traditional government procurement methods, not by integrating the space system within the project office, or by providing the only source of business for the new capability. The project funds will ultimately be used to purchase a service to take re-supply cargo to the ISS, much the same as any business might purchase a service from FedEx to deliver a package to its customer. In the near term, the project will fund risk mitigation efforts for enabling technologies. AAS is in some ways a precursor to the 2nd Generation RLV. By accomplishing ISS resupply with existing technologies, not only will a new category of autonomous vehicles deliver cargo, but a commercial business base will be incubated that will improve the likelihood of commercial convergence with the next generation of RLVs. Traditional paradigms in government management and acquisition philosophy are being challenged in order to bring about the objective of the AAS project. The phased procurement approach is proving to be the most questionable aspect to date. This work addresses the fresh approach AAS is adopting in management and procurement through a study of the AAS history, current solutions, key technologies, procurement complications, and an incremental forward plan leading to the purchase of a service to deliver goods to ISS. Included in this work is a discussion of the Commercial Space Act of 1998 and how it affects government purchase of space launch and space vehicle services. Industry should find these topics pertinent to their current state of business.

Bailey, Michelle D.↗

Avionics Simulation, Development and Software Engineering

During this reporting period, all technical responsibilities were accomplished as planned. A close working relationship was maintained with personnel of the MSFC Avionics Department Software Group (ED14), the MSFC EXPRESS Project Office (FD31), and the Huntsville Boeing Company. Accomplishments included: performing special tasks; supporting Software Review Board (SRB), Avionics Test Bed (ATB), and EXPRESS Software Control Panel (ESCP) activities; participating in technical meetings; and coordinating issues between the Boeing Company and the MSFC Project Office.

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Science and Observation Recommendations for Future NASA Carbon Cycle Research

Between October 2000 and June 2001, an Agency-wide planning, effort was organized by elements of NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to define future research and technology development activities. This planning effort was conducted at the request of the Associate Administrator of the Office of Earth Science (Code Y), Dr. Ghassem Asrar, at NASA Headquarters (HQ). The primary points of contact were Dr. Mary Cleave, Deputy Associate Administrator for Advanced Planning at NASA HQ (Headquarters) and Dr. Charles McClain of the Office of Global Carbon Studies (Code 970.2) at GSFC. During this period, GSFC hosted three workshops to define the science requirements and objectives, the observational and modeling requirements to meet the science objectives, the technology development requirements, and a cost plan for both the science program and new flight projects that will be needed for new observations beyond the present or currently planned. The plan definition process was very intensive as HQ required the final presentation package by mid-June 2001. This deadline was met and the recommendations were ultimately refined and folded into a broader program plan, which also included climate modeling, aerosol observations, and science computing technology development, for contributing to the President's Climate Change Research Initiative. This technical memorandum outlines the process and recommendations made for cross-cutting carbon cycle research as presented in June. A separate NASA document outlines the budget profiles or cost analyses conducted as part of the planning effort.

McClain, Charles R.↗

Alternative Perspectives on Risk: Individual Differences in Problem Structuring

Team decision making involves contributions of multiple players toward a common goal. While much has been written about the importance of developing shared mental models in order for teams to work together effectively, little has been done to determine the value of alternative perspectives on problem solving and decision making. Early studies of expertise contrasted experts with novices and noted that the two groups differ in the way they structure problems and in their selection of information as salient. Little attention has been given to differences among experts who differ in their specializations. A series of experiments was conducted to determine: (1) what dimensions of flight-related problem situations pilots judge to be most important when making flight-relevant decisions; and (2) whether pilots in different crew positions differ in the way they interpret problems relating to flight decisions. A sorting task was used to identify underlying dimensions judged as salient to individual pilots. Captains, first officers, and flight engineers from two major carriers participated in the study. Twenty-two flight scenarios were developed based on ASRS reports. Pilots were required to make judgments about how they would respond in each case and to sort the scenarios on the basis of similarity of decision factors. They were also asked to provide a verbal label that described each of their sorted categories. A second study required a different group of pilots (also captains, first officers and flight engineers) to sort on predetermined bases.

Orasanu, Judith↗

NASA's Hypersonic Program: A Status Report

NASA's has established long term goals for access-to-space. NASA's third generation launch systems are to be fully reusable and operational in approximately 25 years. The goals for third generation launch systems are to reduce cost by a factor of 100 and improve safety by a factor of 10,000 over current conditions. The Advanced Space Transportation Program Office (ASTP) at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL has the agency lead to develop third generation space transportation technologies. The Hypersonics Investment Area, part of ASTP, is developing third generation launch vehicle technologies in two main areas, propulsion and airframes. The current program's major investment is in hypersonic airbreathing propulsion since it offers the greatest potential for meeting the third generation launch vehicles goals thus enabling the opening of new space markets. The program will methodically improve the technologies in three key propulsion areas, scramjets, rocket-based combined cycle and turbine-based combination cycle. Ground and flight propulsion tests are planned. A airframe technologies will be matured through ground testing. The invited paper describes NASA's activities in hypersonic. Current programs, future plans and technologies that are being pursued by the Hypersonics Investment Area under the Advanced Space Transportation Program Office will be discussed.

Hueter, Uwe↗

Business is Beaming

Terabeam has developed a Fiberless Optical(TM) Network that transmits broadband data from office buildings to the nation's wide-area networks (WANs), without digging up the streets. A key component of Terabeam's Fiberless Network is Large Aperture Holographic Optic technology, developed by Ralcon Development Lab, of Paradise, Utah. Ralcon developed the Holographic Optical Element (HOE) technology with assistance from a NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Terabeam further developed the HOE technology and incorporated it into its Fiberless Optical Network-sending an immeasurable amount of information soaring overhead. Terabeam developed its Fiberless Optical Network using a proprietary HOE to transmit data. The unit is mounted near an office window and has the ability to beam safe, low-power, invisible data through the air at gigabits-per-second speeds to anywhere in the service area. Gigabits-per-second speeds are thousands of times faster than the speeds of current broadband transmissions. This allows businesses to connect to local-area networks (LANs) as well as WANs, in a quick and affordable manner.

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Activation Energy

Teaming is so common in today's project management environment that most of us assume it comes naturally. We further assume that when presented with meaningful and challenging work, project teams will naturally engage in productive activity to complete their tasks. This assumption is expressed in the simple (but false) equation: Team + Work = Teamwork. Although this equation appears simple and straightforward, it is far from true for most project organizations whose reality is a complex web of institutional norms based on individual achievement and rewards. This is illustrated by the very first successful team experience from my early Air Force career. As a young lieutenant, I was sent to Squadron Officer School, which was the first in the series of Air Force professional military education courses I was required to complete during my career. We were immediately formed into teams of twelve officers. Much of the course featured competition between these teams. As the most junior member of my team, I quickly observed the tremendous pressure to show individual leadership capability. At one point early in the course, almost everyone in our group was vying to become the team leader. This conflict was so intense that it caused us to fail miserably in our first outdoor team building exercise. We spent so much time fighting over leadership that we were unable to complete any of the events on the outdoor obstacle course. This complete lack of success was so disheartening to me that I gave our team little hope for future success. What followed was a very intense period of bickering, conflict, and even shouting matches as our dysfunctional team tried to cope with our early failures and find some way to succeed. British physician and researcher Wilfred Bion (Experiences in Groups, 1961) discovered that there are powerful psychological forces inherent in all groups that divert from accomplishing their primary tasks. To overcome these restraining forces and use the potential power of the team, greater emphasis must be placed on establishing and maintaining group cohesiveness. This relationship is expressed in the revised (true) mathematical equation: Team + Work (on the Team) = Teamwork.

Gadeken, Owen↗

Structural Analysis and Design Software

Collier Research and Development Corporation received a one-of-a-kind computer code for designing exotic hypersonic aircraft called ST-SIZE in the first ever Langley Research Center software copyright license agreement. Collier transformed the NASA computer code into a commercial software package called HyperSizer, which integrates with other Finite Element Modeling and Finite Analysis private-sector structural analysis program. ST-SIZE was chiefly conceived as a means to improve and speed the structural design of a future aerospace plane for Langley Hypersonic Vehicles Office. Including the NASA computer code into HyperSizer has enabled the company to also apply the software to applications other than aerospace, including improved design and construction for offices, marine structures, cargo containers, commercial and military aircraft, rail cars, and a host of everyday consumer products.

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ASK Talks With Judy Stokley

In the summer of 1997, Judy Stokley took over as Program Director of the Air-to-Air Joint System Project Office (JSPO) at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. As the JSPO Program Director, she directed much of her attention to reforming the Advanced Medium Range Air to Air Missile (AMRAAM) program, which had been operational since 1991 and was presently being produced for the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps, and many international customers. Upon careful analysis of the program, she found it rife with problems. Two of the most pressing included a bloated Average Unit Procurement Cost and an Air Force mandated draw down plan that had not been met. In this interview, following her presentation at the Fourth NASA Masters Forum of Program and Project Managers in Dallas last February, Stokley discusses some of the difficulties she experienced in carrying out the AMRAAM reforms. Stokley is presently Air Force Program Executive Officer for Weapons in Washington, D.C. She is responsible for the cost, schedule, and technical performance of a portfolio of air-to-air and air-to-ground weapons programs. These programs represent the leading edge of weapons technology, including developing the next generation of precision-guided munitions -- 'smart' bombs -- and air superiority missiles.

Stokley, Judy↗

STS-113 Flight Day 7 Highlights

The STS-113 seventh flight day begins with a view of the Russian Segment of the International Space Station from a camera at the end of the S1 truss. Live footage of Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington are shown aboard the International Space Station. A change of command ceremony is presented to welcome the Expedition Six Crew and to say farewell to the Expedition Five crew. Commander Valery Korzun, Flight Engineer Sergei Treschev, NASA ISS Science Officer Peggy Whitson, Expedition Six Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin, NASA ISS Science Officer Don Pettit, Commander Jim Wetherbee, Pilot Paul Lockhart and Mission Specialists Michael Lopez-Alegria and John Herrington are all are shown during the ceremony.

Source record↗

NASA's Advanced Space Transportation Hypersonic Program

NASA's has established long term goals for access-to-space. NASA's third generation launch systems are to be fully reusable and operational in approximately 25 years. The goals for third generation launch systems are to reduce cost by a factor of 100 and improve safety by a factor of 10,000 over current conditions. The Advanced Space Transportation Program Office (ASTP) at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL has the agency lead to develop third generation space transportation technologies. The Hypersonics Investment Area, part of ASTP, is developing the third generation launch vehicle technologies in two main areas, propulsion and airframes. The program's major investment is in hypersonic airbreathing propulsion since it offers the greatest potential for meeting the third generation launch vehicles. The program will mature the technologies in three key propulsion areas, scramjets, rocket-based combined cycle and turbine-based combination cycle. Ground and flight propulsion tests are being planned for the propulsion technologies. Airframe technologies will be matured primarily through ground testing. This paper describes NASA's activities in hypersonics. Current programs, accomplishments, future plans and technologies that are being pursued by the Hypersonics Investment Area under the Advanced Space Transportation Program Office will be discussed.

Hueter, Uwe↗

Bank Record Processing

Barnett Banks of Florida, Inc. operates 150 banking offices in 80 Florida cities. Banking offices have computerized systems for processing deposits or withdrawals in checking/savings accounts, and for handling commercial and installment loan transactions. In developing a network engineering design for the terminals used in record processing, an affiliate, Barnett Computing Company, used COSMIC's STATCOM program. This program provided a reliable network design tool and avoided the cost of developing new software.

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STS-114 Crew Interview: Soichi Noguchi

Soichi Noguchi, Mission Specialist 1 (MS1) representing Japan's National Space Development Agency (NASDA) is seen during a prelaunch interview. He discusses the main goals of this flight which are to take expedition 7 to the International Space Station and bring back expedition 6 to the Earth. He is also responsible for all Extravehicular (EVA) work on this mission. Expedition seven includes: Mission Specialist and Commander Yuri Malenchenko; NASA ISS Science Officer Edward Lu; and Flight Engineer Alexander Kaleri. Expedition Six includes: Commander Kenneth Bowersox; NASA ISS Science Officer Donald Petit; and Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin. Noguchi explains the Utilization and Logistics Flight 1 (ULF1) Mission which entails the exchange of crewmembers, various supplies and experiments and the replacement of a control component on the International Space Station. This is also will be Soichi Noguchi's first spacewalk.

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University Program Management Information System

As basic policy, NASA believes that colleges and universities should be encouraged to participate in the nation's space and aeronautics program to the maximum extent practicable. Indeed, universities are considered as partners with government and industry in the nation's aerospace program. NASA's objective is to have them bring their scientific, engineering, and social research competence to bear on aerospace problems and on the broader social, economic, and international implications of NASA's technical and scientific programs. It is expected that, in so doing, universities will strengthen both their research and their educational capabilities to contribute more effectively to the national well-being. This annual report is one means of documenting the NASA-university relationship, frequently denoted, collectively, as NASA's University Program. This report is consistent with agency accounting records, as the data is obtained from NASA's Financial and Contractual Status (FACS) System, operated by the Financial Management Division and the Procurement Office. However, in accordance with interagency agreements, the orientation differs from that required for financial or procurement purposes. Any apparent discrepancies between this report and other NASA procurement or financial reports stem from the selection criteria for the data. This report was prepared by the Education Division/FE, Office of Human Resources and Education.

Gans, Gary↗

University Program Management Information System: NASA's University Program Active Projects

As basic policy, NASA believes that colleges and universities should be encouraged to participate in the nation's space and aeronautics program to the maximum extent practicable. Indeed, universities are considered as partners with government and industry in the nation's aerospace program. NASA's objective is to have them bring their scientific, engineering, and social research competence to bear on aerospace problems and on the broader social, economic, and international implications of NASA's technical and scientific programs. It is expected that, in so doing, universities will strengthen both their research and their educational capabilities to contribute more effectively to the national well being. This annual report is one means of documenting the NASA-university relationship, frequently denoted, collectively, as NASA's University Program. This report is consistent with agency accounting records, as the data is obtained from NASA's Financial and Contractual Status (FACS) System, operated by the Financial Management Division and the Procurement Office. However, in accordance with interagency agreements, the orientation differs from that required for financial or procurement purposes. Any apparent discrepancies between this report and other NASA procurement or financial reports stem from the selection criteria for the data. This report was prepared by the Office of Education/N.

Gans, Gary↗