Orion Medical Blog

Kipling, Dante and Buzz Aldrin collide beautifully in this unique collection of images from the Apollo missions. Alastair Smart talks to the man who introduced NASA’s most hard-bitten astronauts to their inner poets

Blame Hollywood special effects; blame Richard Branson; or perhaps blame Lisa Marie Nowak, the troubled female astronaut who crossed America to kill a love rival. No matter whose fault it is, it seems society has become blasé – dismissive, even – about space exploration in recent years. Not Leslie Cantwell, though. ‘The early astronauts were the greatest explorers ever,’ says Britain’s leading space enthusiast and collector, still clearly in awe of the men and their mission after all these years. ‘They left the planet and went up into the dark unknown, knowing they’d very likely not come back. Their achievement was so great and so incomprehensible, it’s no wonder people reckon the moon landings were a hoax.’  Read more

There are only about 16 flights left before NASA’s space shuttle fleet retires in 2010, but an ambitious plan is in place to have a replacement spacecraft ready by 2013.

This is two years earlier than NASA’s previously stated goal of getting the next generation Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle and the Ares I and Ares V rockets ready by 2015.

“There is a two-thirds statistical likelihood of being successful in meeting that [2015] date, but our plan is much more aggressive than that,” said Jeff Hanley, program manager for NASA’s Constellation program. “We’re trying to get the [initial operating capabilities] by as early as 2013.” Read more

Dennis V. Byrnes, a veteran engineer at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, fired off a 1,300-word letter to his congressman in April complaining of “unwarranted intrusion” into his life.

Byrnes was disturbed by a new government requirement that workers at JPL and other NASA centers undergo background checks to get access to buildings and computers.

“I have now been at JPL for nearly 30 years, have never been accused of a crime, nor have I committed any,” wrote the 64-year-old chief engineer of flight dynamics.

Byrnes is among some three dozen JPL workers who contacted Capitol Hill in recent months protesting the new security checks. Congress is taking notice, with several lawmakers complaining to Bush administration officials that the checks could violate people’s privacy and drive away talented employees.  Read more

The spacesuit that Ed White wore 42 years ago this week during the first American spacewalk is on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.

Within the same building, visitors can see the spacesuits that Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin wore during the first moonwalk.

Indeed, all 31 spacesuits worn by astronauts while either space- or moon-walking during the Gemini, Apollo and Skylab programs are now owned by the Smithsonian and are either on exhibit, on loan or being preserved for study by researchers and historians. Read more

A fluid that can operate within and outside the warm confines of a spacecraft’s habitable volume is the goal of ongoing NASA thermal control work for its Constellation exploration systems programme.

The fluid would be part of an active thermal control system to help create a suitable environment for crew and equipment on board the Orion crew exploration vehicle or lunar lander.

Historically thermal control systems have used fluid loops with cold plates to collect, transfer and reject waste heat from sources including crew life support, avionics, motors and refrigeration systems.  Read more

The Brevard Workforce Development Board is seeking a $5 million federal grant to help workers at Kennedy Space Center find new jobs in the area as NASA plans to phase out the space shuttle program in coming years.

The Brevard Workforce Development Board has applied for the U.S. Department of Labor grant with the Florida High Tech Council, a coalition of economic-development organizations and community colleges promoting high-tech industry in Central Florida.  Read more