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Inflatable fabric airlock breezes through testing

Space just got skinnier: an inflatable fabric airlock could become standard equipment on future space stations after breezing through its prototype testing in April. The inflatable airlock, developed in conjunction with Clemson University’s Clemson Apparel Research, is a prototype designed to permit astronauts to exit from vehicles and structures into space. It’s part of NASA Johnson Space Center’s Advanced Inflatable Airlock (AIA) program.

NASA Email Discussion of Possible Landing Gear Failure Modes

During the STS-107 mission, the review of the potential effects of the debris hit to Columbia?s left wing at ~80 seconds after liftoff resulted in a determination that there should not be any adverse affect on mission safety. On January 28, Tuesday, when the thermal analysis was completed, engineers and flight controllers at the NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) responsible for mechanical systems, including the landing gear system, contacted counterparts at the NASA Langley Research Center (LaRC) to get an assessment of potential outcomes in the unlikely event that the landing gear door or wheel well was breached during the orbiter?s reentry into Earth?s atmosphere.

The interchange is typical of what takes place during a mission. Often, the broader NASA community is involved in evaluating potential issues. The Langley engineer identified no new concerns or failure conditions that had not previously been examined by Johnson engineers and flight controllers. For this reason, there was no reason to elevate the points raised in the discussion to the Mission Management Team.

Read Email Exchange (.pdf)

NASA Mission Control Center Status Report #21

NASA engineers continued to review data and recover debris from the Space Shuttle Columbia today as the analysis of what caused the orbiter to break up Saturday en route to landing continued. Space Shuttle Program Manager Ron Dittemore told an afternoon briefing that several teams of engineers are making progress in their study of data and video from Columbia’s launch and entry, but cautioned that it is a “massive job” requiring round-the-clock efforts to piece together the events that led to a loss of communications with the Shuttle over north central Texas 16 minutes prior to touchdown.

NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe's Statement

As my press officer indicated earlier, we will make a statement now and a little later this afternoon, about 3 o’clock eastern time, there will be a full technical briefing conducted from the Johnson Space Center. So at this point, we?re just going to give you the circumstances, as we understand them, leading up to this particular tragedy today. We will not take questions from the media.

NASA develops new design process for future spacecraft

Building the next Starship Enterprise may have just gotten a little simpler. NASA has announced what it says is an efficient, timely, revolutionary process that may help design the next generation of space vehicles. Engineers at NASA Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, in collaboration with astronauts from NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, are using the Virtual Flight Rapid Integration Test Environment (VF-RITE) to develop and evaluate vehicle designs that may eventually ferry astronauts to and from the International Space Station. The new process quickly and efficiently incorporates virtual test-flight data into the design process, creating a continuous dialog between test pilots and vehicle designers.