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“Here’s some of the stories trending This
Week at NASA!”

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An Oct. 11 opinion article written by President
Barack Obama and published by CNN, outlined

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a vision for the future of space exploration.

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In it, the president echoed the words in his
2015 State of the Union address about the

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importance of sending humans on a roundtrip
mission to Mars by the 2030s, and developing

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technology to help us stay on the Red Planet
for an extended time.

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That same day in a blog post, NASA Administrator
Charlie Bolden and John Holdren, assistant

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to the President for Science and Technology,
discussed two NASA initiatives that build

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on the president’s vision and use public-private
partnerships to enable humans to live and

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work in space in a sustainable way.

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The first was the selection of six companies
to develop habitation systems as part of the

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agency’s Next Space Technologies for Exploration
Partnerships or “NextSTEP” program, designed

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to lay the groundwork for deep space missions.

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And this fall as part of the second initiative,
NASA will start the process of providing companies

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with a potential opportunity to add their
own modules and other capabilities to the

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International Space Station.

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The move is in-line with NASA’s plan to
support and foster the growing community of

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scientists and entrepreneurs conducting research
and growing businesses in space.

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On Oct. 13, NASA and the Journey to Mars were
among the featured topics at the White House

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Frontiers Conference.

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The national gathering, convened and co-hosted
by President Obama, the University of Pittsburgh

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and Carnegie Mellon University, focused on
building U.S. capacity in science, technology,

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and innovation, and the new technologies,
challenges and goals that will continue to

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shape the 21st century and beyond.

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NASA Deputy Administrator Dava Newman, Chief
Scientist Ellen Stofan and astronaut Serena

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Auñón-Chancellor were among the agency representatives
at the event, which also included several

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NASA exhibits and displays.

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NASA’s Kennedy Space Center resumed operations
on Oct. 11 after being closed for several

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days due to Hurricane Matthew.

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During a news briefing, Kennedy Center Director
Bob Cabana and his Damage Assessment and Recovery

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Team (DART) chief, Bob Holl gave an update
on the center’s status and recovery efforts.

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The hurricane passed close to Kennedy as it
moved up Florida’s east coast Oct. 7, causing

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some isolated roof damage, a few downed power
lines, and limited water intrusion.

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There were no reports of any injuries.

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Engineers at Glenn Research Center’s Plum
Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio recently completed

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a series of vibration tests with a full-size
test version of the service module for NASA’s

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Orion spacecraft.

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A mechanical vibration table was used to test
the 55,000-pound service module to ensure

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it can withstand the forces it will encounter
when it launches on the agency’s Space Launch

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System (SLS) rocket in 2018.

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Provided by ESA, (the European Space Agency)
and built by Airbus Defence & Space, the service

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module is designed to power and cool Orion,
in addition to providing air and water for

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the astronauts onboard.

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At NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New
Orleans, teams have finished welding the liquid

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hydrogen tank that will hold the rocket fuel
SLS and Orion’s first spaceflight test will

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use in 2018.

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Standing more than 130 feet tall, the liquid
hydrogen tank is the largest cryogenic fuel

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tank for a rocket in the world.

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It and a liquid oxygen tank will hold about
733,000 gallons of propellant and feed the

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rocket’s four RS-25 engines – to produce
a total of 2 million pounds of thrust.

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SLS will have the power and payload capacity
needed to carry crew and cargo on future exploration

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missions to deep space, including NASA's Journey
to Mars.

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A video message from NASA Administrator Bolden
was played during a recent open house at the

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Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) facility
near NASA’s Ames Research Center at Moffett

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Field, California, to congratulate ASRS on
its 40th anniversary.

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The ASRS is a joint-partnership between NASA
and the FAA that provides pilots, ground crews,

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air traffic controllers, and other aviation
professionals a confidential way to report

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potential risks.

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In the past decades, over 1.6 million reports
have been filed, resulting in more than 6,200

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alerts – many of which have led to safety
improvements.

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And that’s what’s up this week @NASA …