1 00:00:00,630 --> 00:00:03,830 "Here's some of the stories trending This Week at NASA!" 2 00:00:03,830 --> 00:00:10,170 NASA's TDRS-L satellite launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas rocket January 3 00:00:10,170 --> 00:00:13,650 23, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. 4 00:00:13,650 --> 00:00:19,179 TDRS-L, the second of three next-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellites, provides 5 00:00:19,179 --> 00:00:24,289 tracking, telemetry; command and data return services for NASA science and human exploration 6 00:00:24,289 --> 00:00:25,999 missions. 7 00:00:25,999 --> 00:00:30,980 Kennedy Space Center's transformation into a multi-user spaceport for commercial and 8 00:00:30,980 --> 00:00:34,000 government customers continues. 9 00:00:34,000 --> 00:00:39,960 Administrator Charlie Bolden and Center Director Bob Cabana were on hand as Sierra Nevada Corporation 10 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:45,870 announced plans for a November 2016 orbital flight of its Dream Chaser spacecraft from 11 00:00:45,870 --> 00:00:47,720 Florida's Space Coast. 12 00:00:47,720 --> 00:00:53,370 SNC will establish an operation center at KSC, use the former Shuttle Landing Facility 13 00:00:53,370 --> 00:00:59,940 runway and utilize the services of other aerospace companies in the area. 14 00:00:59,940 --> 00:01:05,339 President Obama signed into law a congressional resolution to re-designate NASA's Dryden Flight 15 00:01:05,339 --> 00:01:09,500 Research Center as the Neil A. Armstrong Flight Research Center. 16 00:01:09,500 --> 00:01:14,649 The resolution also re-names the center's Western Aeronautical Test Range as the Hugh 17 00:01:14,649 --> 00:01:17,299 L. Dryden Aeronautical Test Range. 18 00:01:17,299 --> 00:01:22,859 Hugh Dryden and Neil Armstrong were aerospace pioneers who made historic contributions to 19 00:01:22,859 --> 00:01:27,819 the agency and the nation. 20 00:01:27,819 --> 00:01:35,509 The next International Space Station crew spoke to media during a news conference on 21 00:01:35,509 --> 00:01:37,079 NASA TV. 22 00:01:37,079 --> 00:01:43,939 Expedition 39/40 -- NASA astronaut Steve Swanson and Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skvortsov 23 00:01:43,939 --> 00:01:51,259 and Oleg Artemyev are scheduled to launch March 25 from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan. 24 00:01:51,259 --> 00:01:56,899 The crew will be the first to share its final weeks of mission preparations and flight experiences 25 00:01:56,899 --> 00:01:59,630 on Instagram. 26 00:01:59,630 --> 00:02:04,090 The A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center has been outfitted with a new thrust frame 27 00:02:04,090 --> 00:02:09,070 adapter that will enable testing of RS-25 rocket engines. 28 00:02:09,070 --> 00:02:14,830 The RS-25 will power the core stage of NASA's new Space Launch System rocket. 29 00:02:14,830 --> 00:02:21,140 Testing is scheduled to begin in mid-summer, after test stand modifications are completed. 30 00:02:21,140 --> 00:02:26,200 The latest test of the Orion spacecraft's parachute system in Yuma, Arizona increased 31 00:02:26,200 --> 00:02:31,700 the complexity of the tests and was the first to provide in-air data on the system that 32 00:02:31,700 --> 00:02:37,540 jettisons Orion's forward bay cover -- a shell that protects the spacecraft during launch, 33 00:02:37,540 --> 00:02:40,930 orbital flight and re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. 34 00:02:40,930 --> 00:02:45,810 When Orion returns from space, the cover must come off before the spacecraft's parachutes 35 00:02:45,810 --> 00:02:47,340 can deploy. 36 00:02:47,340 --> 00:02:52,710 Further testing of the cover is planned before Orion's Exploration Flight Test-1 in September. 37 00:02:52,710 --> 00:02:58,250 For the first time in more than a decade, NASA will launch five Earth science missions 38 00:02:58,250 --> 00:03:03,550 in a single year -- opening new and improved eyes on our changing planet. 39 00:03:03,550 --> 00:03:08,210 The five missions in 2014 are part of the agency's planned Earth science activities 40 00:03:08,210 --> 00:03:09,510 for the year. 41 00:03:09,510 --> 00:03:13,930 Two missions will deliver instruments to the International Space Station, inaugurating 42 00:03:13,930 --> 00:03:19,550 use of the orbiting laboratory as a 24/7 Earth-observing science platform. 43 00:03:19,550 --> 00:03:25,960 New data on 2013 global temperatures and climate released by NASA and the National Oceanic 44 00:03:25,960 --> 00:03:31,580 and Atmospheric Administration show that Earth continues to experience warmer temperatures 45 00:03:31,580 --> 00:03:36,820 than those measured several decades ago -- a trend researchers believe is the result of 46 00:03:36,820 --> 00:03:42,650 continued increases in greenhouse gas levels in Earth's atmosphere. 47 00:03:42,650 --> 00:03:47,320 A news conference sponsored by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory celebrated ten years 48 00:03:47,320 --> 00:03:52,910 of accomplishments on Mars by the Exploration Rover Opportunity -- which landed on Mars 49 00:03:52,910 --> 00:03:59,070 Jan. 24, 2004, Pacific Time, three weeks after its twin, Spirit. 50 00:03:59,070 --> 00:04:02,540 Both rovers made important discoveries on the Red Planet. 51 00:04:02,540 --> 00:04:07,880 Spirit stopped communicating in 2010, but Opportunity is still sending home scientific 52 00:04:07,880 --> 00:04:09,710 results from Mars. 53 00:04:09,710 --> 00:04:11,750 And that's what's up ... This Week at NASA.