National Aeronautics And Space Administration News

A new seminar is the first maritime autonomy training program to allow the federal workforce to train on state-of-the-art, commercial, off-the-shelf autonomous technologies.Sea Machines Robotics’ in partnership with The University of Southern Mississippi (USM) Roger F. Wicker Center for Ocean Enterprise in Gulfport, Miss. has developed the Maritime Autonomy Operational Seminar through USM's Center of Higher Learning at the John C. Stennis Space Center.Participants plan missions that transform USM's R/V Ken Barbor…

The good news is that work has commenced on the first new heavy polar icebreaker for the United States Coast Guard in 43 years. The bad news is that when it enters service, projected to occur in FY2024, it will be the first new heavy polar icebreaker for the USCG in 47 years.Meanwhile, Russia has approximately 30 active polar icebreakers, including four that are nuclear powered. Arktika, the first of a new class of three heavy polar icebreakers, has commenced sea trials in the Gulf of Finland, with the other two under construction.

Florida's governor on Friday urged residents in the state to stock up on at least a week's worth of food, water and medicine and to prepare to lose power and cellphone service for days after Hurricane Dorian makes landfall early next week.The slow march and rising intensity of the storm, which is moving in a northwestern direction to the Bahamas, has alarmed forecasters who worry parts of Florida will be walloped by strong winds, a storm surge and heavy rain for an extended period."I think there’s a pretty high degree of certainty that this is going to be a major hurricane…

As in most if not all industries, the maritime sector experiences many more near-misses than actual casualties. And yet, information regarding near-misses is seldom shared outside the particular company or vessel/facility involved. This is a needless waste of valuable learning opportunities.The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) established the first formal confidential near-miss reporting system in the federal government in 1975. The Aviation Safety Reporting System (ASRS) was transferred in 1976 to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for collection of information…

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today released proposed regulations that would provide additional clarity and certainty for its Marine Minerals Program regarding negotiated, non-competitive leases for Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) resources such as sand, gravel and shell. The proposed rule describes the negotiated, non-competitive agreement process for qualifying projects, and codifies new and existing procedures for using OCS sand, gravel and shell resources for shore protection, beach restoration or coastal wetlands restoration projects undertaken by federal, state and local governments. It also addresses the use of OCS resources for construction projects authorized or funded by the federal government.

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) have announced a five-year agreement allowing BSEE to capitalize on the best risk management approaches from the aeronautics industry to inform stakeholders and further strengthen worker and environmental safety protections on the Outer Continental Shelf. “Both BSEE and NASA work in harsh and uncompromising environments, relying on cutting edge technology to go deeper and further than previously thought possible,” said BSEE Director Brian Salerno. •    assess failures and near miss occurrences using the resources and expertise of NASA's accredited failure analysis laboratory at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration say there was once more water on the planet Mars than in the Arctic Ocean on Earth. In a new study in the journal Science, space agency researchers say they compared the ratio of two different types of water found in the Martian atmosphere with the ratio of those waters trapped in a Martian meteorite dating back 4.5 billion years. “Our study provides a solid estimate of how much water Mars once had, by determining how much water was lost to space,” said Geronimo Villanueva, a scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, and lead author of the new paper. They say more than 4 billion years ago, Mars was covered with water 137 meters deep and that nearly all of it has since evaporated.

Techno-Sciences, Inc. (TSi), the recently-acquired company of McMurdo Group, the end-to-end search and rescue (SAR) and maritime domain awareness division of Orolia (NYSE Alternext Paris – FR0010501015 – ALORO), announced that is has been selected by the Governments of Cyprus, Brunei, Argentina and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) in the United States to deploy their SAR network infrastructure solutions and next-generation MEOSAR (Medium Earth Orbit Search and Rescue) systems, totaling nearly $6 million. The wins fortify McMurdo Group’s global SAR leadership and include the deployment of a six-channel MEOSAR system in South America, a two-channel MEOSAR extension in the U.S. and Rescue Coordination Center (RCC) software for a European and Asian SAR authority.

U.S. U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx and Acting Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen today visited the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) to celebrate the rechristening of the Academy’s new training vessel, the Kings Pointer. They were joined by Academy leadership, as well as Senator Charles Schumer and Representatives Timothy Bishop and Steve Israel. “The new Kings Pointer is yet another example of this Administration’s commitment to ensuring first-rate training and facilities for the Academy’s midshipmen,” said Secretary Foxx.

The funeral of the United States' fourth astronaut to fly in space, and the second to orbit the Earth, U.S. Navy Cmdr. Malcolm Scott Carpenter (retired), was held at St. John's Episcopal Church in Boulder, Colo., with full military honors. Carpenter, 88, died Oct. 10 at the Denver Hospice following complications from a stroke. He was, a dynamic pioneer of modern exploration, and earned the unique distinction of being the first human to penetrate both inner and outer space, thereby acquiring the dual titles of astronaut and aquanaut from NASA. He was commissioned in the U.S.

The first installment of a new and historic partnership between the Department of Defense and National Aeronautics and Space Administration begins as the amphibious transport dock 'USS Arlington' (LPD 24) conducts a stationary recovery test of the Orion crew module while berthed at Pier 12, Naval Station Norfolk. During this test, a waterborne Orion crew module (a 16-foot, four-personnel upgrade of the Apollo capsule, which was half the size and carried a crew of three), assisted by divers and small boats, is winched into a cradle in Arlington’s well deck.

Next year, developers hope to start building offshore wind turbines in the U.S., which is already a leader in on-land wind generation. As turbines spin off the coast in a dozen other countries, particularly the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany, global offshore wind capacity has expanded nearly six-fold since 2006. Most of these installations are in shallow water though winds are stronger out further. If the U.S. is to have offshore turbines, many residents want them distant enough so they can’t be seen or heard.

Science Applications International (SAIC) awarded US Navy DARPA contract for Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Unmanned Vessel. The contract by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel (ACTUV) program phases two through four to design, build and test a new prototype unmanned autonomous surface vessel. The DARPA ACTUV program aims to develop an unmanned autonomous surface vessel with the ability to track a quiet diesel-electric submarine overtly for months over thousands of kilometers, with minimal human input. SAIC provided conceptual design services in phase one of the program, creating an innovative wave piercing trimaran solution.

Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus announces that the first Armstrong-class Auxiliary General Oceanographic Research (AGOR) ship will be named 'Neil Armstrong'. Mabus named the future R/V Neil Armstrong (AGOR 27) to honor the memory of Neil Armstrong, best known for being the first man to walk on the moon. Armstrong was an aeronautics pioneer and explorer for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) serving as an engineer, test pilot, astronaut and administrator. Armstrong also served as a naval aviator flying nearly 80 combat missions during the Korean War.

Department of Transportation Secures New Training Vessel for U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood today announced that the Department’s Maritime Administration has secured a new training vessel for the U. S. Merchant Marine Academy in Kings Point, NY. In an agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), the Academy will receive a space shuttle solid rocket booster recovery ship, the MV Liberty Star, which will provide a hands-on learning environment on which midshipmen can train using modern navigational technology…

NAMEPA’s Environmental Intelligence in Maritime seminar held yesterday in Anchorage, Alaska was the forum for an examination of regulations surrounding resource extraction, and the readiness of response organizations and the government to address environmental challenges posed by this activity in Arctic regions. RADM Tom Ostebo, USCG District 17 Commander was joined by Marilyn Crockett of Alaska Oil and Gas Association, Mark Myers of the University of Alaska, Cam Toohey of Shell Oil Company, Larry Cotter of APICDA, RADM Duncan Smith of Blank Rome, Charles Parks of Tesoro and Ian Dutton of Alaska SeaLife Center. NAMEPA’s Founding Chairman, Clay Maitland, used the forum to issue a call for recognition of the critical opportunity presented by the Arctic, and the risks involved.

As oil from BP's sub-sea well laps coastal Louisiana, most ships in the Gulf have avoided contact with the spill but owners fear that regulations will be tightened after the disaster, raising their costs. “We've seen no delays from the spill, and it hasn't affected the operations of any of our ships,” said Dean Taylor, president of Tidewater Inc. in late May. Four vessels owned by Tidewater, which is headquartered in New Orleans, have been involved in recovery efforts. The company's work boat Damon B.

The National Snow and Ice Data Center, sponsored by the University of Colorado and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), issued its report on Arctic sea ice. The ice in the Arctic Ocean has reached its minimum extent for 2009 and is starting to reform. This year’s minimum extent is above the record and near-record minimums of the last two years, but lower than the average minimums of the past 30 years. (9/17/09). (Source: Bryant’s Maritime News)