NASA people

NASA Administrator Remembers Mission Control Pioneer Chris Kraft

Retrieved on: 
Monday, July 22, 2019
American people of German descent, Christopher C. Kraft Jr., NASA, Jim Bridenstine, International Space Station, Spaceflight, Military personnel, United States, NASA people

WASHINGTON, July 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on the passing of Chris Kraft, who died Monday in Houston at the age of 95:

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, July 22, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine on the passing of Chris Kraft, who died Monday in Houston at the age of 95:
    "America has truly lost a national treasure today with the passing of one of NASA's earliest pioneers flight director Chris Kraft.
  • "Chris was one of the core team members that helped our nation put humans in space and on the Moon, and his legacy is immeasurable.
  • Chris' engineering talents were put to work for our nation at the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, before NASA even existed, but it was his legendary work to establish mission control as we know it for the earliest crewed space flights that perhaps most strongly advanced our journey of discovery.
  • For more information about Chris Kraft, visit:
    View original content to download multimedia: http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/nasa-administrator-remembers-mis...

Prime Minister announces new Lieutenant Governor for Saskatchewan

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 17, 2019
Westminster system, Government of Canada, Legislatures, French Quebecers, Countries, Officers of the Order of Canada, Julie Payette, NASA people, Lieutenant governor, Governor General of Canada, Prime Minister of Canada, The Right Honourable

OTTAWA, July 17, 2019 /CNW/ -The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the appointment of RussellMirasty as the new Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.

Key Points: 
  • OTTAWA, July 17, 2019 /CNW/ -The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the appointment of RussellMirasty as the new Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan.
  • His appointment follows that of the former Lieutenant Governor, the Honourable W.Thomas Molloy, who passed away earlier this month after a battle with cancer.
  • As Lieutenant Governor of Saskatchewan, I know he will continue to make a difference for the people of his province and all Canadians, and inspire others to create change in their communities."
  • Lieutenant Governors are appointed by Her Excellency the Right Honourable Julie Payette, Governor General of Canada, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister.

Angelia Walker's Surprise Opportunity Leads to 3 Decades with NASA

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 10, 2019
States of the United States, United States, NASA people, Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area, Huntsville, Alabama, Huntsville, Texas, ALABAMA, Country subdivisions

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., July 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Angelia Walker wasn't sure how NASA found her.

Key Points: 
  • HUNTSVILLE, Ala., July 10, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Angelia Walker wasn't sure how NASA found her.
  • But she returned South to get married and be with her husband, Sam, who was attending Emory University in Atlanta.
  • One Friday, just before leaving her house for class, Walker got a call from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
  • Unbeknownst to Walker, a college friend's sister worked at Marshall, and Walker's resume found its way to Marshall's human resources department.

NASA Scientists, Engineers Honored with Presidential Early Career Awards

Retrieved on: 
Wednesday, July 3, 2019
Awards, Career awards, NASA people, National Science Foundation, National Science Foundation CAREER Awards, Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers, Carlos Del Castillo, Alon Halevy

WASHINGTON, July 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- President Trump has named 18 NASA researchers as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, July 3, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- President Trump has named 18 NASA researchers as recipients of the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE).
  • These recipients, and 296 other federal researchers, will receive their awards later this year at a ceremony in Washington.
  • The PECASE Award is the highest honor given by the U.S. government to scientists and engineers who are beginning their research careers.
  • "These PECASE winners represent some of the brightest early career researchers that NASA supports," said James Green, NASA chief scientist.

NASA Selects Teams to Study Our Moon, Mars' Moons, and More

Retrieved on: 
Friday, June 28, 2019
Geography of Hawaii, Solar System Exploration Research Virtual Institute, Contents, NASA, Honolulu, Ames, Materials science, NASA people, Lunar regolith simulant

CLASS also will create soil simulants that will help other teams and the broader science community in this research area.

Key Points: 
  • CLASS also will create soil simulants that will help other teams and the broader science community in this research area.
  • Interdisciplinary Consortium for Evaluating Volatile Origins(ICE FIVE-O),led byJeffrey Gillis-Davis at the University of Hawai'i at Mnoa in Honolulu.
  • Based and managed at Ames, SSERVI was created in 2014 as an expansion of the NASA Lunar Science Institute.
  • SSERVI members include academic institutions, non-profit research institutes, commercial companies, NASA centers and other government laboratories.

NASA Invites Media to Renaming Ceremony for West Virginia Facility

Retrieved on: 
Friday, June 21, 2019
Legislatures, United States, NASA people, BBC 100 Women, Katherine Johnson, Members of the United States Congress, Jim Bridenstine, Moore Capito, NASA, Eggers

WASHINGTON, June 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Media are invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday, July 2, celebrating the renaming of NASA's Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation ( IV&V ) Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, after the West Virginia native and storied NASA icon.

Key Points: 
  • WASHINGTON, June 21, 2019 /PRNewswire/ --Media are invited to a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. EDT Tuesday, July 2, celebrating the renaming of NASA's Katherine Johnson Independent Verification and Validation ( IV&V ) Facility in Fairmont, West Virginia, after the West Virginia native and storied NASA icon.
  • Senator Shelley Moore Capito, U.S. Representative David McKinley and NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine are among the dignitaries presiding over the ceremony along with Johnson's daughters, Joylette and Katherine.
  • The ceremony will be followed by a reception featuring a number of keynote speakers and a special presentation to Johnson's daughters.
  • To cover the ceremony and reception, media must email their name, affiliation and telephone number to Jeremy Eggers at [email protected] by 4 p.m. Friday, June 28.

BWXT Names Leland D. Melvin to Board of Directors

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Energy, Manufacturing, Other Manufacturing, Nuclear, Given names, MEN, Leland D. Melvin, BWX Technologies, Space Shuttle, NASA, Melvin, NASA people

BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) announced today that Leland D. Melvin has been appointed to its board of directors.

Key Points: 
  • BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:BWXT) announced today that Leland D. Melvin has been appointed to its board of directors.
  • He served twice on board the space shuttle Atlantis as a mission specialist to support the International Space Station.
  • In addition, Melvin served as NASAs associate administrator for education until he retired in 2014.
  • Melvin served as the United States representative and chair of the International Space Education Board, a global collaboration in space education that fosters interest in space, science and technology among students worldwide.

NASA Invests $45M in US Small Businesses for Space Tech Development

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, June 18, 2019
Business, Articles, Economy, Small Business Administration, Small Business Innovation Research, NASA, Small business, DIRECT, NASA people, Advanced General Aviation Transport Experiments

"We are excited about the entrepreneurial, innovative ideas that these small businesses are bringing to the table," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).

Key Points: 
  • "We are excited about the entrepreneurial, innovative ideas that these small businesses are bringing to the table," said Jim Reuter, associate administrator for NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).
  • Nearly a hundred of the selected companies will be first-time recipients of a NASA SBIR or STTR contract.
  • More than 20% of the businesses are from underrepresented communities, including minority and women-owned businesses.
  • The selected proposals will support aeronautics, human space exploration and operations, science, and space technology.

The Office of Naval Research (ONR) Selects Houston Mechatronics for Multi-Million Dollar Award to Develop Robotic Hands and Intelligent Behaviors for Subsea Missions

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, June 4, 2019
Robotics, Robotic manipulation, NASA people, Nic Radford, Robot, Manipulator

HOUSTON, June 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston Mechatronics, Inc. (HMI) announced a new award by the Office of Naval Research to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI)powered robotic hands for subsea manipulators.

Key Points: 
  • HOUSTON, June 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Houston Mechatronics, Inc. (HMI) announced a new award by the Office of Naval Research to develop Artificial Intelligence (AI)powered robotic hands for subsea manipulators.
  • Robotic systemsare increasingly serving in more importantroles within the naval battle space as technology matures and desired warfighter stand off distance increases.
  • Typically, robots in the ocean do not have the manipulation dexterity of their land-based counterparts and therefore are not capable of approaching human-levelperformance.
  • The team at HMIis developing and fielding highly dexterous robotic hands that use AI grasping behaviors which will be demonstrated withtheir revolutionary subsea transforming robot Aquanaut.

Student Winners Ignite the Spark of Innovation with NASA OPSPARC 2019

Retrieved on: 
Tuesday, May 14, 2019
Greenbelt, Maryland, Goddard Space Flight Center, NASA, Goddard, NASA people, Washington, D.C., Cities in the United States, Baltimore–Washington metropolitan area

NASA is pleased to announce the winners of the OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Promotion and Research Challenge (OPSPARC) 2019.

Key Points: 
  • NASA is pleased to announce the winners of the OPTIMUS PRIME Spinoff Promotion and Research Challenge (OPSPARC) 2019.
  • With three distinct missions, OPSPARC 2019 generated international engagement from students in the United States, Canada (excluding Quebec) and the United Kingdom.
  • Mission 1 challenged students of all ages to explore their world in search of spinoffs and submit them to NASA using Adobe Spark, a new OPSPARC collaborator.
  • NASA has invited all winners to Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland for a two-day Winner's Workshop and Awards Ceremony.