NASA News: NASA Unveils New Batch Of Space Shuttle Program Artifacts
WASHINGTON -- The final space shuttle landing July 21 opened new
prospects for eligible education institutions, museums and other
organizations to receive a piece of spaceflight history. On Monday,
Aug. 15, the eighth batch of artifacts from NASA's space programs
will be available on a website that the agency and the General
Services Administration (GSA) developed.
The artifacts are not only from the shuttle era, but also from the
Apollo, Mercury, Hubble Space Telescope programs. The approximately
2,000 items include:
-- the Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station, an underwater habitat
that was used to demonstrate space life support system ideas for use
on space stations
-- shuttle heat shield tiles used to test problems experienced during
missions
-- parts of Apollo and shuttle era spacesuits, including hard upper
torso garments to protect astronauts from extreme temperatures
To view and request space artifacts, visit:
http://gsaxcess.gov/NASAWel.
Each artifact will be available for 42 days. For the first 21 days,
internal organizations such as NASA visitor centers, agency exhibit
managers and the Smithsonian Institution may request artifacts.
External organizations, including museums, schools, universities,
libraries, and planetariums may request artifacts during the
following 21 days.
After the screening period and completion of the request process,
organizations will be notified about the status of their application.
Artifacts are released incrementally when NASA no longer needs them,
in accordance with export control laws and regulations. They are
provided free of charge, but requesting organizations must pay for
shipping and any special handling costs.
To date, approximately 29,000 items of historic significance have been
offered, mainly from the shuttle, with contributions from the Hubble,
Apollo, Mercury, Gemini, and International Space Station programs.
Approximately 3,000 artifacts have been requested. The remainder will
be considered for federal and state reuse and then offered to the
general public for sale.
For information about NASA's space shuttle transition and artifacts, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/transition
http://artifacts.nasa.gov
In addition to artifacts, NASA also is offering a Shuttle Training
Aircraft (STA) through another GSA hosted web-based site:
http://gsaxcess.gov/
The STA is a modified Gulfstream II that allowed pilots to simulate
orbiter landings under controlled conditions. Other STAs will be
displayed at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Dryden Flight
Research Center in California, and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center
in Huntsville, Ala.
For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
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TEDxNASA@Siliconvalley On Aug. 17 Will Be Streamed Online
MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- The TEDxNASA@SiliconValley event, which will
feature presentations on "extreme green ideas," will be streamed live
online on Wednesday, Aug. 17, from 2:30 p.m. to 8 p.m. PDT.
NASA's four research centers -- Ames Research Center in Moffett Field,
Calif; Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif.; Glenn
Research Center in Cleveland; Langley Research Center and the
National Institute of Aerospace, both in Hampton Va. -- are
co-hosting the event. It is modeled after the TED (Technology,
Entertainment, Design) conferences that bring together visionaries in
technology, entertainment and design to create a dialogue about
important global challenges.
"Each of our presenters has a unique perspective on how to achieve a
greener world," said Jan Aikins, the lead TEDxNASA organizer from
Ames. "Together, at TEDxNASA, they will create a vehicle for
discovery, an opportunity for exposure to new ideas and a revisiting
of traditional ideas for a new perspective."
Speakers include a research scientist making "ecological forecasts,"
engineers building sustainable projects in developing countries, a
researcher designing aircraft inspired by nature, a former
experimental test pilot, and one of the "Women Shaping the 21st Century."
General registration for the event at the San Francisco Marriot
Marquis hotel is full. Members of the public who join the online
stream at the TEDxNASA website also can participate in a chat forum.
The recorded presentations will be posted after the event at:
http://www.tedxnasa.com
News media representatives must contact Jessica Culler at
jessica.culler@nasa.gov by noon PDT on Tuesday, Aug. 16, to register
for the event.
TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people
together to share an experience. These events are branded TEDx, where
"x" means an independently organized TED event. TED is a non-profit
organization founded in 1984. TED presentations are available for free at:
http://www.ted.com
For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov
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