Kennedy Space Center

NASA Swarmathon University Challenge Yields Recognition for Student Teams

Swarmathon University Challenge first place winners for 2019. — The Swarmathon team from Cabrillo College received first place in NASA’s Swarmathon University Challenge IV, during a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on June 12, 2019. At far left is Melanie Moses, a professor of computer science at the University of New Mexico, the host location for Swarmathon. Third from left is Theresa Martinez, Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP) Science Technology Education and Math (STEM) engagement manager, at Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

Students from Cabrillo College in Aptos, California, received the top honors for this year’s NASA Swarmathon University Challenge. They received the recognition for developing an algorithm that they programmed, which was used in a set of Swarmie robots who scurried about collecting coded cubes and depositing them in a predetermined location.

“The Swarmathon has been a huge inspiration to my students. I saw their skill and confidence grow,” said Michael Matera, faculty team mentor at Cabrillo College. “The Swarmathon has immeasurably enriched my students’ education, and I’m very grateful to your team for organizing it.”

To culminate the fourth and final year of the Swarmathon challenge, a Swarmathon Robotics Workshop was held at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida on June 11, 2019. Students and mentors showcased the best of their work in Swarmathon. They heard from guest speakers, delivered a presentation during the poster session, talked to NASA employees and received information about NASA internships. The award ceremony was held at the visitor complex on June 12, 2019. Teams not able to attend the workshop or award ceremony joined in virtually.

This year’s competition started with a virtual competition, with 16 teams from colleges and universities in the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The top eight teams competed physically at the host location, the University of New Mexico, in May 2019. Teams built their Swarmies, small robotic vehicles equipped with sensors, a webcam, a GPS system and Wi-Fi antenna, to test their code during development. The Swarmies were programmed by the students to communicate and interact autonomously as a collective swarm.

“Real-world applications of college school work is a proven method of helping students absorb new topics and gain a thorough understanding of new concepts. It is well documented that ’hands-on’ projects for students lead to higher rates of recruitment and retention within STEM majors,” said Theresa Martinez, Minority University Research and Education Program (MUREP) Science, Technology, Education and Math (STEM) engagement manager at Kennedy Space Center.

The NASA Swarmathon challenge is an innovative swarming robotics competition for university students. The challenge has been administered by the University of New Mexico through a NASA MUREP grant in partnership with a technical NASA subject matter expert at the Swamp Works facility at Kennedy.

Swarmathon students gain experience with code integration, hardware testing, software engineering, project management and team collaboration critical to their future success in robotics and computer science. The students’ efforts advance swarm robotics technology for future NASA space exploration missions.

SpaceX Falcon Heavy Successfully Launches STP-2

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifts off from Launch Complex 39A at 2:30 a.m. EDT on June 25, 2019, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket successfully launched from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A in Florida on June 25, 2019, at 2:30 a.m. EDT for the Department of Defense’s (DoD) Space Test Program-2 (STP-2) mission. Twenty four satellites were on board, including four NASA payloads:

Enhanced Tandem Beacon Experiment (E-TBEx) – twin cube satellites (CubeSats) that will measure the disruption of radio signals from natural-forming bubbles in the Earth’s upper atmosphere. Understanding these disruptions and how to overcome them ultimately will improve the reliability of radio and GPS signals, which we rely on so heavily.
Deep Space Atomic Clock (DSAC) – a technology demonstration that aims to change the way we navigate our spacecraft by making the spacecraft more autonomous.
Green Propellant Infusion Mission (GPIM) – a “green” alternative to hydrazine, a highly toxic propellant currently used. If successful, this low-toxicity fuel and compatible propulsion system could replace hydrazine in future spacecraft and ease handling concerns on Earth.
Space Environment Testbeds (SET) – studies how to protect satellites in space by characterizing the harsh space environment near Earth and how that affects the spacecraft and its instruments. Understanding this can be used to improve design and engineering in order to further protect the spacecraft from harmful radiation derived from the Sun.

Each of NASA’s four payloads deployed successfully. For a full recap of this morning’s launch, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-technology-missions-launch-on-spacex-falcon-heavy

Natives in Florida: An Integral Part of Our Past and Present

Daniel Murphree, Ph.D., associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida, presents information to NASA Kennedy Space Center employees on the impact Florida natives have had on, and how they were affected by, Atlantic World events from 1492 to the present on June 11, 2019. — Daniel Murphree, Ph.D., associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida, presents information to NASA Kennedy Space Center employees on the impact Florida natives have had on, and how they were affected by, Atlantic World events from 1492 to the present. The presentation took place June 11, 2019, in Kennedy’s Training Auditorium and was brought to Kennedy by the Native American Heritage Initiative (NAHI) Employee Resource Group. One of eight resource groups at the Florida spaceport, NAHI aims to bring employees together, provide networking opportunities and inform the Kennedy workforce about Native American heritage. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Swanson

Native Americans in Florida have been largely affected by world events, but they also played an important role in influencing the outcomes of the world. Kennedy Space Center employees had the opportunity to attend a presentation on this topic June 11.

The presentation was brought to Kennedy by the Native American Heritage Initiative (NAHI) Employee Resource Group. One of eight resource groups at Kennedy, NAHI aims to bring employees together, provide networking opportunities and inform the workforce about our heritage.

Daniel Murphree, Ph.D., associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida, spoke on the history of native peoples in Florida and how their influences on the world continue even into today. “I always like to remind people that indigenous people were here before us,” he said. “The indigenous people who were here before us really paved the way for us to be here.”

NASA Kennedy Space Center employees attend a presentation on June 11, 2019, on Native American presence in Florida in Kennedy’s Training Auditorium. Daniel Murphree, Ph.d., associate professor of history at the University of Central Florida, spoke on the impact Florida natives have had on, and how they were affected by, Atlantic World events from 1492 to the present. — NASA Kennedy Space Center employees attend a presentation on June 11, 2019, on Native American presence in Florida in Kennedy’s Training Auditorium.

Native peoples played a large role in the European colonization of Florida, participated in revolutionary activity during the American Revolution, and served in 20th and 21st century wars. They also contributed to the economics of the world by selling gold they would salvage from shipwrecks back to the Europeans, providing fish and farm produce to Florida settlers, and supplying materials, such as deerskins, alligator hides and exotic bird feathers, that were used in London and New York fashion.

More presently, Native Americans contribute to tourism in Florida and have capitalized on the gaming industry. A large number of casinos are found on reservations mainly because many state restrictions on gambling don’t apply on the reservations due to Native American sovereignty. “The Indians didn’t create the same kind of laws restricting gambling that you would see in the states and, therefore, they became the places people would go,” said Murphree.

They also have influenced world views, sparking the debate on what savagery and civilization mean, the understanding of what conquest and sovereignty mean, and have been key to the societal acceptance of the gender roles that we enjoy today.

“Instead of Native Americans being outside of this Atlantic World that was formed, they were an integral part of it,” said Murphree. “They weren’t just affected by it, but they affected it themselves.”

Triage Forces on Display During Familiarization Training

Kennedy Space Center personnel and American Medical Response (AMR) contractor paramedics prepare to load a “patient,” a KEMCON Fitness Center staff member, into a NASA helicopter during a medical support training course in the Space Florida hangar at the spaceport’s Shuttle Landing Facility on May 17, 2019. The course was designed to familiarize the AMR paramedics with the center’s Triage Forces deployment, which included medical team members, fire/rescue personnel, environmental health specialists and flight operations crew members, as well as a helicopter, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) tactical vehicle, fire pumper truck and triage vehicles. The AMR paramedics will assist the agency in contingency planning for the return of human spaceflight from Kennedy. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

Kennedy Space Center personnel and American Medical Response (AMR) contractor paramedics gathered at the Florida spaceport’s Shuttle Landing Facility on May 17, 2019, for a medical support training course.

A Kennedy Space Center fire pumper truck stands at the ready during a medical support training course at the Florida spaceport’s Shuttle Landing Facility on May 17, 2019. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

The course was designed to familiarize the AMR paramedics with the center’s Triage Forces deployment, which included medical team members, fire/rescue personnel, environmental health specialists and flight operations crew members, as well as a helicopter, Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) tactical vehicle, fire pumper truck and triage vehicles.

Signs indicated the “dirty side,” where patient off-loading and decontamination would take place, and the “clean side,” used for patient evaluation and medevac.

The AMR paramedics will assist the agency in contingency planning for the return of human spaceflight from Kennedy.

Update from Everest: Hintze, Gateway Flag Reach Base Camp

Hintze wrote, “The NASA Gateway flag has made it to Everest Basecamp! That’s @OceanDebra, me, Bhalakaji our porter, and Dambar our guide!”

Dr. Paul Hintze of NASA’s Exploration Research and Technology Programs is trekking Nepal and has reached his final destination: Everest base camp. With him is a NASA flag representing the Kennedy Space Center team supporting the Gateway.

Keep up with Dr. Hintze on Twitter @KSCPaul.

On a Roll! Ascent Abort Test-2 Flight Test Article Moves to Launch Pad 46

The flight test article for Orion’s Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test passes by the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on its 21.5-mile-trek to Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on May 22, 2019. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux

Engineers rolled a test version of the Orion spacecraft integrated with the Launch Abort System for the Ascent Abort-2 flight test from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Abort System Facility to Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in preparation for its launch this summer.

The 21.5 mile trek began around 6 p.m. on May 22, and finished at 3:18 a.m. on May 23. The team will be stacking all the AA-2 elements together at the launch pad over the next several weeks.

During the flight, planned for July 2, a test version of Orion will launch on a booster to more than six miles in altitude, where Orion’s launch abort system will pull the capsule and its crew away to safety if an emergency occurs during ascent on the Space Launch System rocket.

The test helps pave the way for Artemis missions at the Moon and will enable astronauts to set foot on the lunar surface by 2024.

Orion Flight Test Article Attached to Launch Abort System for Ascent Abort-2

The Launch Abort System flight test article for AA-2 is stacked inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy Space Center. — Inside the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a test version of the Orion crew module has been integrated with the Launch Abort System (LAS) on May 18, 2019. It is being lifted by crane for transfer to a KAMAG transporter. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

The 46,000-pound flight test article that will be used for a test of Orion’s Launch Abort System (LAS) was lifted and mated to its transportation pallet inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on May 18, 2019. The flight test article includes the Orion test article, a separation ring created for this test, and the LAS. This operation marks the completion of the flight test article integration and checkout operations necessary for NASA’s Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test scheduled for July. Next, the system will roll to Pad 46 where the team will be stacking all the AA-2 elements together at the launch pad over the next several weeks.

The flight test vehicle for AA-2 is integrated inside the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy Space Center. — Inside the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are completing the integration of a test version of the Orion crew module with the Launch Abort System (LAS) on May 18, 2019. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson

AA-2 will demonstrate the abort system can activate, steer the spacecraft, and carry astronauts to a safe distance if an emergency arises during Orion’s climb to orbit as the spacecraft faces the greatest aerodynamic pressure during ascent. AA-2 is an important test to verify Orion’s design to safely carry astronauts on deep space missions as NASA works to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024

During the three-minute test, the LAS with the Orion test article will launch atop a booster from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, to an altitude of about six miles and traveling at more than 1,000 mph. The abort motor will quickly whisk the crew module away from the booster, and the attitude control motor will maneuver the assembly into position to jettison the crew module. Test data from 890 sensors will be sent in real-time to ground sites as well as recorded on board by 12 data recorders. The 12 data recorders will eject from the crew module before Orion reaches the water and will be retrieved after the test.

With no astronauts on board, the test concludes after the data recorders are ejected and does not include parachutes or recovery of the test capsule. AA-2 is focused on testing Orion’s ability to abort during ascent, and NASA has already fully qualified the parachute system for flights with crew through an extensive series of 17 developmental tests and 8 qualification tests completed at the end of 2018.

The LAS was designed and built by NASA and Lockheed Martin with motors provided by Northrop Grumman and Aerojet Rocketdyne. NASA’s Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs, contractors Jacob’s, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center’s Launch Operations branch and the 45th Space Wing will perform flight operations for AA-2.

10th Annual First Nations Rocket Launch

Students show off their rockets at the 10th annual First Nations Launch on April 26, 2019. Photo credit: Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium/Lars Ullberg

As winter storm Xyler approached southern Wisconsin, a group of 15 tribal college teams gathered in the cold to launch high-powered rockets at the 10th annual First Nations Launch in Kansasville, Wisconsin. The competition was bumped up a day early to avoid the storm. On Friday April 26, 2019, in spite of a couple anomalies, all Native American college teams were successful in launching a rocket that they hand-built.

A team's rocket lifts off at the 10th annual First Nations Launch on April 26, 2019. — A team’s rocket lifts off at the 10th annual First Nations Launch on April 26, 2019. Photo credit: Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium/Lars Ullberg

Students were evaluated for rocket aesthetics, team spirit and altitude, among other criteria. The competition was separated into two subcategories, the Tribal Challenge and the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) Challenge. The Tribal Challenge required students to build a high-powered rocket equipped with a camera and to create a montage of photos and videos showing construction, preparation, flight and recovery. Target apogee was between 2,400 and 3,000 feet above ground level for Tribal teams. The AISES Challenge required students to build a rocket with a microcontroller system installed to capture critical flight data. Target apogee for AISES teams was between 3,500 and 5,000 feet.

The event, which is funded by NASA’s Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium, was supported by a number of NASA employees. Rob Cannon and Theresa Martinez, from Kennedy Space Center’s Academic Engagement Office; James Wood, chief engineer of the Launch Services Program at Kennedy; Orson John from Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland; and Joseph Connolly from Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio, all attended to oversee the competition and issue awards.

Fifteen student teams gathered in the cold in Kansasville, Wisconsin to compete in the high-powered rocket competition on April 26, 2019. Photo credit: Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium/Lars Ullberg

NASA Flag from Kennedy’s Gateway Team en Route to Mount Everest

On the way to Everest Base Camp, the NASA flag made a stop at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, where shuttle Endeavour is displayed. Photo credit: Paul Hintze

A NASA flag representing the Kennedy Space Center team supporting the Gateway—the agency’s “base camp” for the Moon—is on its way to the base camp for one of the most challenging exploration destinations on Earth: Mount Everest.

Hintze with Kanccha Sherpa and NASA flag — Hintze wrote, “This is me with Kanchha Sherpa. He is the last surviving member of the team that enabled Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary to reach the summit of Everest. He pointed to a picture Hillary and Norgay and said he carried the oxygen bottles they were using.”

Gateway is a lunar outpost that will enable the first woman and next man to set foot on the Moon in 2024. Mark Wiese, Gateway Logistics Element manager at Kennedy, is assembling the team that will provide logistics to the Gateway.

One of those team members, Dr. Paul Hintze of Exploration Research and Technology Programs, is in Kathmandu, Nepal. The flag, signed by Kennedy’s Gateway team members, is among the supplies he’s carrying on his journey. After leaving Florida, Hintze made a stop at the California Science Center in Los Angeles, where he took out the flag for a photo op with shuttle Endeavour, on display at the museum. Next stop: Nepal.

Hintze with flag in Kathmandu — Hintze wrote, “In Kathmandu and our Gateway flag has its first Nepali signatures! Snow Leopard Trek is providing logistics for our two passes trek to EBC. That’s our guide, Dambar, on the right.”

According to Wiese, complex exploration campaigns require planning, professionals that know the route, and detailed staging of supplies in order to create a base camp from which the final leg of the trip can be carefully monitored and initiated… not unlike the logistical needs of an Everest adventure.

To keep up with Dr. Hintze, follow him on Twitter @KSCPaul.

Crew Safety A Top Priority

NASA and the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support (HSFS) Office Rescue Division conducted a crew rescue training event April 25 and 27, 2019, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida in support of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

For commercial crew flights, we plan for any scenario that may arise, including unlikely emergencies, such as a spacecraft abort and subsequent splashdown in the Atlantic Ocean. Recently, two NASA astronauts as well as a team from the Department of Defense Human Space Flight Support Office Rescue Division practiced what they will do in that very scenario. The DoD team is responsible for quickly and safely rescuing astronauts in the unlikely event of an emergency during ascent, free flight or landing. To learn more about both team’s practices, check out our crew rescue feature.