Nov 20 2014
From The Space Library
CONTRACT RELEASE C14-047 NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for Ionospheric Connection Explorer
NASA has selected Orbital Sciences Corporation of Dulles, Virginia, to provide launch services for the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) mission.
ICON is targeted to launch in June 2017 from the Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands aboard a Pegasus XL launch vehicle from Orbital's "Stargazer" L-1011 aircraft.
The total cost for NASA to launch ICON is approximately $56.3 million, which includes the firm-fixed launch service costs, spacecraft processing, payload integration, tracking, data and telemetry and other launch support requirements.
ICON will study the interface between the upper reaches of Earth's atmosphere and space in response to a recent scientific discovery that the ionosphere, positioned at the edge of space where the sun ionizes the air to create charged particles, is significantly influenced by storms in the lower atmosphere. ICON also will help NASA better understand how atmospheric winds control ionospheric variability.
NASA's Launch Services Program at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for management and oversight of the Pegasus XL launch services. The ICON mission is led by the University of California, Berkeley, with oversight by the Explorers Program at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.
RELEASE 14-321 NASA Selects Student Teams for High-Powered Rocket Challenge
NASA has selected eight teams from middle and high schools across the country to participate in the 2014-2015 NASA Student Launch Challenge, April 7-12, organized by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The Student Launch Challenge engages students in a research-based, experiential exploration activity. Teams participating in the challenge must design, build and launch a reusable rocket, with a scientific or engineering payload, capable of reaching an altitude of one mile.
Eligible teams pre-qualified by successfully completing the NASA Advanced Rocketry Workshop, and either the 2012-2013 Student Launch Challenge, Team America Rocketry Challenge, or 2014 Rockets for Schools competition.
The 2014-2015 middle and high school teams who will compete are:
- Durham Area Rocketry, Durham, North Carolina
- Krueger Middle School, San Antonio, Texas
- Madison West High School (Land Imaging), Madison, Wisconsin
- Madison West High School (Muons), Madison, Wisconsin
- Plantation High School, Plantation, Florida
- Spring Grove High School, Spring Grove, Pennsylvania
- St. Vincent-St. Mary High School, Akron, Ohio
- Victory Christian Center School, Charlotte, North Carolina
“The NASA Student Launch – now in its 15th year – has engaged hundreds of students and educators in real-world scenarios that solve complex engineering challenges,” said Tammy Rowan, manager of the Academic Affairs Office at Marshall, which organizes the event. “Each team must meet rigorous standards and review processes, just like those applied in the NASA workplace.”
During the design and testing process, the student designs must undergo in-depth technical reviews and follow actual flight safety guidelines, mentored throughout the process by NASA scientists, engineers and educators. These technical reviews mirror current criteria in NASA’s engineering design lifecycle and safety protocol, including preliminary design, critical design, flight readiness and analysis of vehicle systems.
NASA Student Launch engages two target audiences – middle and high school students, and university and college students. Programs for middle and high school students focus on advancing education in science, technology, engineering and math and exposing the students to careers in aeronautics and aerospace.
The Student Launch Challenge is supported by NASA’s Office of Education, the Academic Affairs Office at Marshall and ATK Aerospace Group of Promontory, Utah.
