Space & Astronomy/Space and Astronomy (October 1993).iso/mac/TEXT/DAILY_1/921130.DFC

Text File | 1992-12-18 | 25KB | 538 lines

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30-Nov-92 Daily File Collection
   These files were added or updated between 29-Nov-92 at 21:00:00 {Central}
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11/30/92:  NASA SEEKS PUBLIC COMMENT ON NEW PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES

HQ 92-211/NEW PROCUREMENT PROCEDURES


David W. Garrett
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.             November 30, 1992



RELEASE:  92-211


     NASA plans to publish a request in the Federal Register for public and
industry comment on new procedures to simplify and expedite the award of
mid-range contracts, which account for 80 percent of the agency's procurement
actions.

     "It is incredible to think that these contracts, which range from $25,000
to $2.5 million, frequently require as much paperwork and time to complete as
contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.  This is a costly, wasteful
situation that discourages small business, and we aim to change it," said NASA
Administrator Daniel S. Goldin.

     Goldin said that under the proposed procedures, both solicitations by the
agency and documentation required of potential contractors would be greatly
simplified.  The goal is to reduce cost, improve the quality of goods and
services purchased by NASA, and encourage small and disadvantaged business to
participate in the nation's space and aeronautics research programs.

     "This procurement reform is perhaps the most revolutionary approach to
government contracting in many years," Goldin said. "This will merge the
capabilities of electronic technologies of the 1990s with greater empowerment
of people directly responsible for the process, straightforward evaluation and
documentation simplification.  We aim to create a system -- with input from the
public and industry -- which will significantly reduce the time and effort
involved in procurement."

     After the 45-day public comment period, the new mid- range procedures
initially will be tested at a NASA field center.  Based upon the results of
this test, the agency will seek authority to expand mid-range procedures to the
remainder of its centers.


Electronic Bulletin Board to Speed Process

     An electronic bulletin board -- called the NASA Acquisition Bulletin Board
(NABB) -- would be used as the primary means of publicizing requirements and
providing copies of solicitations.  There would be no charge for access to the
NABB other than the user cost of a phone call.  This would eliminate the
inherent delays in using Commerce Business Daily to publicize requirements and
the mails to provide copies of solicitations.

     NASA mid-range solicitations would clearly explain requirements considered
of major importance.  A buying team -- a group of two to four people intimately
familiar with the procurement requirements and unburdened by layers of
bureaucracy -- will focus on these key aspects in the evaluation and source
selection.

     "Mid-range solicitations would be stripped of much of the 'boilerplate'
language associated with government procurement.  Small firms would be
encouraged to do business with the government rather than be intimidated.  The
buying team's documentation requirements would be relaxed to a more reasonable
standard," Goldin said.

     All procurement decisions would be made by the buying team.  It is
expected that these new, simplified procedures could ultimately be used for all
but the most complex procurements.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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KSC SHUTTLE STATUS 11/30/92



                     SPACE SHUTTLE STATUS REPORT
                      Monday, November 30, 1992

George H. Diller
Kennedy Space Center


Vehicle: OV-103/Space Shuttle Discovery
Current Location: Launch Pad 39-A
Mission: STS-53/DoD   Inclination: 57 degrees
Launch:  Dec. 2  6:59 a.m.  Landing: KSC  Dec. 9  12:53 p.m.
Mission duration: 7 days 5 hours 54 minutes    Crew Size: 5


IN WORK TODAY:

- launch countdown in LCC Firing Room 1
- loading fuel cell cryogenic reactants
- activating orbiter navigation system
- troubleshooting pyrotechnic initiator cable on left-hand booster holddown
  post
- preparations to retract rotating service structure


WORK SCHEDULED:

- remove and replace holddown post initiator cable this afternoon
- re-test holddown post initiator cable tomorrow morning
- retract orbiter midbody umbilical tonight
- astronaut T-38 flights Tuesday morning
- retract rotating service structure Tuesday at 11 a.m.


WORK COMPLETED:

- orbiter potable water sampling
- crew arrival Sunday afternoon
- crew medical exams and flight suit fit check this a.m.
- commander and pilot Shuttle Training Aircraft flights this a.m.




ISSUES AND CONCERNS: The weather forecast calls for a 60% chance of violating
the weather rule prohibiting launch if there is a steady-state wind below 5
knots with a temperature less than 47 degrees for longer than 30 consecutive
minutes.

SPECIAL TOPICS: In the Vehicle Assembly Building, the Space Shuttle Endeavour
was powered up this morning to begin the Shuttle Interface Test. The rollout to
Pad 39-B is scheduled for Thursday morning at 8 a.m. if Discovery is launched
on Wednesday.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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DAILY NEWS/TV SKED 11/30/92

Daily News
Monday, November 30, 1992  24-hour audio service at 202/755-1788

 % Discovery countdown operations proceeding smoothly, cold weather predicted;
 % Hubble astronomers to present image of furthest-yet cluster of galaxies
   tomorrow;
 % Galileo scientists and managers to report on results of spacecraft's last
   Earth flyby;
 % Tech 2002 technology conference opens in Baltimore, more than 6,000
   expected;
 % Fourth NASA Town Meeting to be held in Southern California this Thursday.

Kennedy Space Center test director Mike Leinbach this morning said the
countdown process for Discovery's launch Wednesday at 6:59 am EST is proceeding
well and on schedule.  Leinbach said they picked up the count three hours early
to give themselves extra time today for cryogenic tank operations.  At 7:00 pm
the launch and mission control teams will put the vehicle through the standard
communications checks.  The Rotating Service Structure will be retracted
tomorrow at 11:00 am EST. Preparations for loading of the main External Tank
begin at 10:39 pm Tuesday.

KSC weather officer Ed Priselac is predicting cold and dry air in the launch
vicinity through Wednesday. Another cold front is expected to move through
Florida tomorrow and will reinforce the dry and cold nature of the local air
mass.  The temperature on Launch Pad 39-A last night was 44 degrees F, however
Priselac said that with last night's winds the launch commit criteria would
have been met this morning.  Priselac is predicting 100 percent green
conditions for the tanking period, but based on the possibility of low
temperatures, there is presently only a 60 percent probability of meeting the
launch commit criteria Wednesday morning.  Priselac said the weather looks
slightly better for a Thursday launch with a possibility of clouds coming from
offshore.  Friday weather improves to an 80 percent probability of meeting the
launch criteria.

Tomorrow, beginning at 8:30 am EST, NASA and the Air Force will hold a series
of briefings on mission preparedness and the NASA and Department of Defense
secondary payloads.  The primary payload is classified and will not be
discussed.  At 11:00 am, NASA will hold the traditional pre-launch news
conference.  These briefings will be shown live on NASA Select television.

This mission will be the 15th flight for Discovery and the 52nd in the Space
Shuttle program.  It will also be the last scheduled Department of Defense
mission aboard a shuttle.  Because this is a classified mission, there will be
limited NASA Select television coverage until the Dept. of Defense operations
have been concluded.  Also, for this mission only, there will be no NASA Select
daily two-hour summaries made available via satellite to Alaska and Hawaii.

Nominal mission duration is 7 days and 5 hours with a scheduled end-of-mission
landing at Kennedy's Shuttle Landing Facility at 12:53 pm on Wednesday, Dec. 9.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Also tomorrow, at 1:00 pm in the NASA Headquarters auditorium, astronomers and
astrophysicists working with the Hubble Space Telescope will present the first
detailed images of galaxies more than 4 billion light- years distant at a
special science seminar.  The science team will also present Hubble telescope
images serendipitously taken of what may be the farthest-yet- seen cluster of
galaxies at a distance of 10 billion- light years.  Presenting these findings
will be Dr. Alan Dressler, Carnegie Institution, Washington, D.C., and Dr.
Peter Stockman, acting Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute,
Baltimore. The science briefing will be shown live on NASA Select television.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

And tomorrow afternoon, at 2:00 pm EST, scientists and managers from the Jet
Propulsion Laboratory will discuss the last Earth flyby of the Jupiter-bound
Galileo spacecraft.  Galileo will fly by Earth at a distance of 370 kilometers
(slightly over 230 miles) over the Indian Ocean at 10:09 am EST Tuesday ,
December 8.  This will be Galileo's third and final gravitational maneuver in
its long trip to the first of the giant gas planets - Jupiter. In addition to
picking up the last bit of angular momentum it needs to alter its solar orbit
to actually get to Jupiter, Galileo will include first-time ever polar surveys
of Earth's moon.  Galileo will also observe its home planet for a period of
more than a week following its flyby for scientific and calibration purposes.
The JPL briefing will feature project manager William O'Neil and project
scientist Dr. Torrence Johnson, and will be shown live on NASA Select
television.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Tomorrow morning NASA opens the third national technology transfer conference -
Technology 2002 - at the Baltimore Convention Center. The three-day conference
is sponsored by NASA, the NASA Tech Briefs magazine and the Technology
Utilization Foundation, and will spotlight leading-edge technologies from NASA
and other federal agencies which can be used by U.S. industry to develop new or
improved products or services.  The conference this year will feature more than
120 presentations highlighting inventions which have potential commercial use
in the fields of manufacturing, advanced materials, computing, communications,
microelectronics, biotechnology, energy, and environmental science.  In
addition, the conference hosts will hold several workshops on patent licensing,
cooperative research and Small Business Innovation Research grants.

Since its inception three years ago, the conference has more than tripled in
attendance.  Nearly 6,000 engineers and business managers are expected for this
year's technology showcase.  More than 60,000 square feet of display space will
be filled with exhibits from all nine NASA centers, other government agencies,
universities and a diverse array of high-technology firms.  For additional
information, please contact 800/944-6272.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

The fourth in NASA's series of Town Meetings will take place this Thursday,
Dec. 3, in Southern California, on the campus of California State University
Dominguez Hills. The Town Meetings include presentations by top NASA officials
and invited individuals from universities and industry in the region of the
meeting.  Members of the audience have several opportunities during the 4-hour
long events to raise questions or comment on the presentations.  As with the
previous three meetings, the Dominguez Hills Town Meeting will be covered live
on NASA Select television beginning at 4:00 pm EST.

   Here's the broadcast schedule for Public Affairs events on NASA Select TV.
Note that all events and times may change without notice, and that all times
listed are Eastern. Live indicates a program is transmitted live.

Monday, November 30, 1992
  12:00 pm  The Best of NASA Today.
  12:15 pm  STS-53 countdown status briefing, a replay from 9:00 am this
            morning.
  12:30 pm  Eating and Sleeping in Space.
   1:00 pm  A remarkable Flying Machine.
   1:30 pm  Birth of NASA.
   2:00 pm  Starfinder program #18.
   2:30 pm  Life in the Universe series: The Moon.
   3:00 pm  Total Quality Management program #6 from
                 the University of New Mexico series.
   4:00 pm  8:00 pm & 12:00 am-NASA Today and subsequent programming repeats.

Tuesday, December 1, 1992
Live   8:30 am  Countdown status briefing from Kennedy Space Center.
Live   9:00 am  Department of Defense STS-53 secondary payloads briefing from
               KSC.
Live  10:00 am  Other STS-53 payloads briefing from KSC.
Live  11:00 am  Pre-launch press briefing with NASA and Air Force officials
                from KSC.

Wednesday, December 2, 1992
Live   2:00 am  Live coverage for STS-53 launch begins.
Live   6:59 am  Scheduled launch of Discovery for the STS-53 mission.

NASA Select TV is carried on GE Satcom F2R, transponder 13, C-Band, 72 degrees
West Longitude, transponder frequency is 3960 MegaHertz, audio subcarrier is
6.8 MHz, polarization is vertical.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:921130A.REL

11/30/92:  SOYUZ AS SPACE STATION EMERGENCY VEHICLE IS FOCUS OF MEETING

HQ 92-212/NASA-RUSSIAN ACRV MEETING


Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.              November 30, 1992

Billie Deason/Kyle Herring
Johnson Space Center, Houston


RELEASE:  92-212

     A group of NASA and Russian officials began 2 weeks of working group
meetings today at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, to discuss the
feasibility of using the Soyuz TM capsule as a means of returning Space Station
Freedom crews to Earth in an emergency when the Space Shuttle is not docked at
the orbiting laboratory.

     NASA and NPO-Energia, a Russian company, will meet for the next 2 weeks
for a final review on the feasibility of using the Soyuz TM spacecraft as an
Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) for astronauts aboard the space station.
Various concepts are being considered for the ACRV, one of which is the Soyuz
spacecraft.

     "Many configurations have been analyzed to support the space station, and
the Soyuz TM with its three-person capability may provide an interim solution
to allow an early permanently-manned capability for Freedom," said Jerry Craig,
ACRV Project Manager.

     This meeting continues efforts between NASA and NPO- Energia that began
earlier this year when the two entered into a study contract.

     A number of the Russian participants in the working group sessions were
previously involved with the highly successful Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
conducted between the U.S. and USSR during the 1970-1975 time period.  This
will be their first visit to JSC since that time.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_12_14.TXT

11/30/92:  SOYUZ AS SPACE STATION EMERGENCY VEHICLE IS FOCUS OF MEETING

HQ 92-212/NASA-RUSSIAN ACRV MEETING


Mark Hess
Headquarters, Washington, D.C.              November 30, 1992

Billie Deason/Kyle Herring
Johnson Space Center, Houston


RELEASE:  92-212

     A group of NASA and Russian officials began 2 weeks of working group
meetings today at the Johnson Space Center (JSC), Houston, to discuss the
feasibility of using the Soyuz TM capsule as a means of returning Space Station
Freedom crews to Earth in an emergency when the Space Shuttle is not docked at
the orbiting laboratory.

     NASA and NPO-Energia, a Russian company, will meet for the next 2 weeks
for a final review on the feasibility of using the Soyuz TM spacecraft as an
Assured Crew Return Vehicle (ACRV) for astronauts aboard the space station.
Various concepts are being considered for the ACRV, one of which is the Soyuz
spacecraft.

     "Many configurations have been analyzed to support the space station, and
the Soyuz TM with its three-person capability may provide an interim solution
to allow an early permanently-manned capability for Freedom," said Jerry Craig,
ACRV Project Manager.

     This meeting continues efforts between NASA and NPO- Energia that began
earlier this year when the two entered into a study contract.

     A number of the Russian participants in the working group sessions were
previously involved with the highly successful Apollo-Soyuz Test Project
conducted between the U.S. and USSR during the 1970-1975 time period.  This
will be their first visit to JSC since that time.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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Suited for Spacewalking

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:6_8_3_4_37.TXT

MGN STATUS 11/30

Magellan Status

Status report of Magellan for Monday, November 30, 1992:

1.  Magellan continues to operate normally, transmitting a
    carrier plus 40 bps X-band signal which is precisely
    tracked by the DSN stations to provide gravity data.

2.  The spacecraft continues to operate under the G2325
    command sequence.  All except two starcals over the 4-day
    holiday were successful.  On board counters indicate the
    occurance of another double TWTA SSO.

3.  Spacecraft temperatures remain in the expected range.  Bay
    7, which contains the CDS, is at 51 deg. C. with a cycle
    depth of 6 degrees.  Transmitter B is at 52.7 deg.  C.
    which is below the temp where satisfactory performance at
    1200 bps is found.

4.  The spacecraft has completed 6211 orbits of Venus; 575 so
    far in Cycle 4, which will end on May 25, 1993.

5.  Doug Griffith, Project Manager, left Saturday for Nagoya,
    Japan, where he will present at paper at the 1993
    International Space Symposium.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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    The first line of the file:

VOYAGER NEPTUNE SCIENCE SUMMARY

     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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=--=--=START=--=--= NASA Spacelink File Name:7_14.TXT

NASA TO HOLD TOWN MEETINGS ACROSS AMERICA

        As part of NASA's on-going effort to develop a shared vision for the
future of the U.S. Civil Space Program, the space agency will hold a series of
town meetings across the country in November and December. All members of the
public are invited and encouraged to attend.

        The objectives of the town meetings are threefold: to expose the public
to the new vision of NASA emerging from the internal review teams; to reach out
to firms, especially small and disadvantaged businesses, currently uninvolved
in NASA programs; and to get public comments on how to achieve NASA's goals
less expensively yet more effectively within the NASA strategic planning
process.

        NASA Administrator Daniel S. Goldin announced details for a series of
town meetings across the nation to involve Americans in developing a shared
vision for the future of the U.S. civil space program.

        "The space program belongs to the American people.  For our space
program to be successful, we must have a shared vision," Goldin said.

        "The town meetings will give the public an opportunity to learn about
NASA's programs and to talk about what they believe should be the aspirations
of the civil space program.  We want every American to feel 'a pride of
ownership' in their civil space program," Goldin said.

        "In the cold-war era race to space, Americans clearly understood and
supported NASA's missions," Goldin said. "The world is undergoing tremendous
change, America is facing economic difficulties and we are reexamining our
priorities.  NASA wants to work closely with the public in realigning our
mission to create a national agenda for the agency."

Roles, Missions and Values

        This summer, review teams within NASA have been working to streamline
the agency's major ongoing programs.  The ultimate goal is to reshape all of
NASA's activities to produce more world-class science and technology with
greater efficiency and quality.  In the process, NASA hopes to free up the
resources necessary to push forward with new exploration projects.

        As currently drafted, NASA's vision states: "As explorers, pioneers and
innovators, we will boldly expand the frontiers of air and space for the
benefit of all."

        Elements of the emerging vision include sustaining human presence
beyond Earth; increasing knowledge of planet Earth, the solar system and
beyond; advancing aeronautics and astronautics through research; enhancing U.S.
competitiveness and enabling private-sector involvemment in aerospace through
cooperation with industry, academia, and other government agencies, and;
encouraging math and science education through discovery and example.

Town Meetings

        The town meetings are to acquaint the public with the emerging NASA
mission and vision, to reach businesses not involved with NASA and to gain
inputs on how to accomplish the agency's programs.

        As part of the process of consensus, NASA has reached out to employees,
to members of Congress and the White House, to professional societies and to
the aerospace industry.  Now, NASA is going to listen to academia -- both
scholars and students -- to non- aerospace industries and to the American
people.

        NASA Administrator Daniel Goldin and a panel of other senior agency
officials are scheduled to appear at each meeting, along with panels of local
researchers and business people.


Following is the schedule for the six town meetings:

Monday, November 9, 2:00-6:30pm            Jane S. McKimmon Center
                                           North Carolina State University
                                           Gorman Street and Western Blvd
                                           Raleigh, NC

Tuesday, November 17, 2:00-6:30pm          Lincoln Theater
                                           University of Hartford
                                           200 Bloomfield Ave.
                                           Hartford, CT

Friday, November 20, 2:00-6:30pm           University Place Conference Center
                                           Indiana University - Purdue
                                            University Campus at Indianapolis
                                           Indianapolis, IN

Thursday, December 3, 2:00-6:00pm          University Theater
                                           Calif. State Univ., Dominguez Hills
                                           1000 E. Victoria St.
                                           Carson, CA  90747

Friday, December 11, 2:00-6:00pm           Theater 1
                                           University of South Florida
                                           4202 East Fowler Ave.
                                           Tampa, FL

Tuesday, December 16 , 2:00-6:00pm         Student Union Building (Ball Room)
                                           University of Washington
                                           Upper Campus
                                           Seattle, WA


        Town meetings will be carried live on NASA Select TV, Satcom F2R, 72
degrees West longitude, transponder 13.

Call 202/453-3006 for further information.
     Source:NASA Spacelink    Modem:205-895-0028  Internet:192.149.89.61
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