NASA News: NASA Awards Launch Contract For Goes-R And Goes-S Missions

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA has selected United Launch Services, LLC
of Englewood, Colo., to launch the Geostationary Operational
Environmental Satellites-R and S, or GOES-R and GOES-S. The
spacecraft will launch in October 2015 and February 2017,
respectively, aboard Atlas V 541 rockets from Space Launch Complex-41
at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.

The total cost of the GOES-R and GOES-S launch services is
approximately $446 million. This estimated cost includes launch
service for the Atlas V and additional services under other contracts
for payload processing, launch vehicle integration, mission unique
launch site ground support and tracking, data and telemetry services.

The advanced spacecraft and instrument technology used on GOES-R and
GOES-S will result in more timely and accurate weather forecasts. It
will improve detection and observation of meteorological phenomena
that directly affect people's lives.

The GOES-R and GOES-S Flight Projects Office, which oversees the
development of the Space Segment, is managed by NASA's Goddard Space
Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., The overall GOES-R and GOES-S
Program is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration (NOAA). NASA's Launch Services Program based at the
Kennedy Space Center in Florida is responsible for Atlas V launch
vehicle program management and launch services.

For information about NASA and its missions, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

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NASA Science Chief Statement on Naming of Space Telescope Science Institute's Astronomical Database for Senator Mikulski

WASHINGTON -- The following is a statement from NASA's Chief
Scientist, Waleed Abdalati, on the Space Telescope Science Institute
naming its astronomical database the Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for
Space Telescopes (MAST). MAST holds science data from the Hubble
Space Telescope and 14 other NASA missions.

"The Space Telescope Science Institute's decision to name its database
for Senator Mikulski is an honor very much deserved. She is a
tremendous advocate and supporter for science, NASA and the
astrophysics community.

"Thanks to Hubble and other space observatories, our view of the
universe and our place within it has forever been changed. Space
research holds tremendous benefits for our lives here on Earth.
Images and data capture the imagination of people everywhere,
especially of our youth. Images from this collection have permeated
American society and culture and are internationally recognized icons
of science and exploration.

"We live in an age of extraordinary scientific advancement with
astronomy at the forefront. NASA is committed to conducting
world-class science from our space observatories, and the data that
will be returned to the Barbara A. Mikulski Archive for Space
Telescopes are sure to yield many exciting new discoveries."

For more information about NASA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

For more information about MAST, visit:

http://archive.stsci.edu/

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NASA Holds News Conference with Station Crew Members

HOUSTON -- Three of the six crew members living aboard the
International Space Station will take questions from reporters during
a news conference on Wednesday, April 11, at 9:15 a.m. CDT. The
conference will air live on NASA Television and will be streamed on
the agency's website.

The news conference will link up reporters with NASA Expedition 30
Commander Dan Burbank and Flight Engineers Don Pettit and European
Space Agency astronaut Andre Kuipers.

The crew members will discuss research they are conducting, the myriad
of cargo delivery vehicles visiting the station -- including SpaceX
Dragon, the first American commercial vehicle -- and the return of
Burbank and cosmonauts Anton Shkaplerov and Anatoly Ivanishin in
their Soyuz spacecraft later this month.

Media can ask questions from NASA's Johnson Space Center or by
telephone. To participate in the news conference in person, U.S.
journalists must call the Johnson Space Center newsroom by 4 p.m. on
Tuesday, April 10. To participate in the briefing by phone,
representatives from accredited media organizations must call the
Johnson newsroom 15 minutes before the start of the conference at
281-483-5111. Journalists participating in person will be given
priority; phone questions will be taken as time permits.

NASA also will include questions from the public via social media by
using the hashtag #askStation on Twitter.

The exact time of the news conference is subject to change. For NASA
TV streaming video, schedule and downlink information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about the International Space Station and its
crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

To follow Twitter updates from Burbank, Pettit and Kuipers, visit:

http://twitter.com/AstroCoastie
http://twitter.com/Astro_Pettit
http://twitter.com/astro_andre

Source:

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