\n<\/p>\n
Artemis II NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch of NASA, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen viewed the core stage for the\u00a0SLS (Space Launch System)\u00a0rocket at the agency\u2019s Michoud Assembly Facility on Nov. 16. The three astronauts, along with NASA\u2019s Victor Glover, will launch atop the rocket stage to venture around the Moon on\u00a0Artemis II, the first crewed flight for Artemis.<\/p>\n
The SLS\u00a0core stage, towering at 212 feet, is the backbone of the Moon rocket and includes two massive propellant tanks that collectively hold 733,000 gallons of propellant to help power the stage\u2019s four RS-25 engines. NASA, Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, along with Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines lead contractor, are in the midst of conducting final integrated testing on the fully assembled rocket stage. At launch and during ascent to space, the Artemis astronauts inside NASA\u2019s Orion spacecraft will feel the power of the rocket\u2019s four RS-25 engines producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust for a full eight minutes. The mega rocket\u2019s twin solid rocket boosters, which flank either side of the core stage, will each add an additional 3.6 million pounds of thrust for two minutes.<\/p>\n
The astronauts\u2019 visit to Michoud coincided with the first anniversary of the launch of Artemis I. The uncrewed flight test of SLS and Orion was the first in a series of increasingly complex missions for Artemis as the agency works to return humans to the lunar surface and develop a long-term presence there for discovery and exploration.<\/p>\n
NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA\u2019s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.<\/p>\n
\u203a Back to Top<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n Mission Success is in Our Hands is a safety initiative collaboration between NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center and Jacobs. As part of the initiative, eight Marshall team members are featured in new testimonial banners placed around the center. This is the first in a Marshall Star series profiling team members featured in the testimonial banners.<\/em><\/p>\n Jeramie Broadway is the center strategy lead for the Office of the Center Director.<\/p>\n Before assuming this role, Broadway was senior technical assistant to the Marshall associate director, technical, from September 2021 to October 2022. In that capacity, he supported the development, coordination, and implementation of Marshall strategic planning and partnering within NASA and across industry and academia. Prior to that detail, he was the assistant manager of Marshall\u2019s Partnerships and Formulation Office, providing strategic planning and business development support and creating new partnering and new mission opportunities for the center.<\/p>\n Broadway, a Dallas, Texas, native who joined NASA full-time in 2008, began his career in Marshall\u2019s Materials and Processes Laboratory, supporting and leading production operations for the Ares I and Space Launch System program. Over the years, he served as project engineer or deputy project manager for a variety of work, including the Nuclear Cryogenic Propulsion Stage Project, for which he led development of advanced, high-temperature nuclear fuel materials. He was assistant chief engineer for launch vehicles for NASA\u2019s Commercial Crew Program and assistant chief engineer for NASA\u2019s Technology Demonstration Mission Program, managed for the agency at Marshall.<\/p>\n Question: <\/strong>What are some of your key responsibilities?<\/p>\n Broadway:<\/strong> Leading and implementing the center director\u2019s strategic vision, leveraging, and integrating the strategic business units across the Marshall Center, one of NASA\u2019s largest field installations, with nearly 7,000 on-site and near-site civil service and contractor employees and an annual budget of approximately $4 billion. Working closely in coordination and collaboration with every center organization to ensure Marshall\u2019s planning, workflow, and business tactics align with the agency\u2019s strategic priorities.<\/p>\n Question: <\/strong>How does your work support the safety and success of NASA and Marshall missions?<\/p>\n Broadway:<\/strong> My work as the center strategy lead is focused on the success and viability for the Marshall of the future. I work to pursue and capture programs, projects, and opportunities for Marshall to maintain ourselves as an engineering center of excellence. We work hard capturing opportunities to develop the skills, capabilities, and expertise to safely deliver on the vision and mission of the agency.<\/p>\n Question: <\/strong>What does the Mission Success Is In Our Hands initiative mean to you?<\/p>\n Broadway:<\/strong> Mission success is the responsibility of every single person at Marshall Space Flight Center, regardless of grade, position, or civil servant or support contractor. Everyone has a vital role in the success of Marshall and our ability to deliver on our mission. We all have the ability to lean forward, break down barriers, and strive for a culture that that says \u2018yes, and\u2026\u2019.<\/p>\n Question: <\/strong>How can we work together better to achieve mission success? <\/strong> Broadway:<\/strong> In this pursuits culture, it will take all of us to achieve the goals and objectives set forward by the agency and center leadership. We have a vibrant future with many opportunities coming our way and it will take all of us to make that vision a reality. It will take both our mission execution and our mission support organizations to get us there.<\/p>\n \u203a Back to Top<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n By Celine Smith<\/em><\/p>\n Team members from NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center participated in the 8th annual Space Days at UA (University of Alabama) on Nov 14-16, where more than 500 students met with experts from NASA and aerospace companies to learn more about the space industry.<\/p>\n During the three-day program, Marshall team members conducted outreach presentations and updates about the Artemis missions, HLS (Human Landing System), and other NASA programs, as well as how students can get involved in NASA\u2019s internship program.<\/p>\n Kicking off the event was Aaron Houin, an engineer on the aerospace vehicle design and mission analysis team at Marshall. Houin delivered a detailed presentation on orbital mechanics and vehicle properties. Houin is no stranger to the classroom, as he is currently earning his doctorate at UA\u2019s Astrodynamics and Space Research Laboratory and was eager to give back to his alma mater.<\/p>\n \u201cHaving been in their position studying the same theories, I emphasized how their coursework directly applies to physics-based modeling and trajectory design,\u201d Houin said. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful sharing my experiences of transitioning from the classroom to the workplace will help others find similar success.\u201d<\/p>\n The Marshall team also conducted an hour-long panel discussion and Q&A segment allowing students to learn more about the fields of aerospace and aeronautic research. Panelists included Christy Gattis, cross-program integration lead, and Kent Criswell, lead systems engineer, both representing the HLS team, as well as Tim Smith, senior mission manager of the TDM (Technology Demonstration Missions) program.<\/p>\n During the panel discussion, attendees were treated with a surprise guest speaker as Eric Vanderslice, stages structures sub element lead with SLS (Space Launch System), connected virtually from the Michoud Assembly Facility. Vanderslice shared insight about \u201cAmerica\u2019s Rocket Factory\u201d and progress for the agency\u2019s Artemis II missions, including the recent installation of all four RS-25 engines onto the 212-ft-tall SLS core stage.<\/p>\n UA students also received a Tech Talk presentation focused on the SCaN (Space Communications and Navigation) program and related internship opportunities from team members from NASA\u2019s Glenn Research Center and NASA Headquarters. Panelists included Dawn Brooks, program specialist at NASA Headquarters; Timothy Gallagher, senior project lead, and Molly Kearns, digital media specialist, all three representing SCaN\u2019s Policy and Strategic Communications office.<\/p>\n And in true \u201cOne NASA\u201d collaboration, joining the Glenn contingency for this Tech Talk was once again, Tim Smith, providing related updates on the Deep Space Optical Communications and the Laser Communications Relay Demonstration experiments.<\/p>\n The annual Space Days event concluded with NASA astronaut Bob Hines delivering a special presentation entitled, \u201cAn Astronaut\u2019s Journey\u201d to nearly 100 students, staff and industry partners. Hines completed his first spaceflight as a mission specialist for NASA\u2019s SpaceX Crew-4 mission, serving as flight engineer of Expedition 67\/68 aboard the International Space Station.\u00a0<\/p>\n Space Days is hosted by the UA College of Engineering and their staff shared how crucial it is to have support from aerospace industry partners willing to visit campus and meet students.\u00a0Key partners exhibiting and presenting included Lockheed Martin, United Launch Alliance, Alabama Space Grant Consortium, and others.<\/p>\n \u201cBy the time our students attend a career fair, apply for an internship, or pursue cooperative education, they will have learned about these companies in a smaller setting and begin to consider the many pathways to success,\u201d said Tru Livaudais, director of external affairs for UA College of Engineering.\u00a0\u201cThis event offers all UA students \u2013 regardless of majors and specialties \u2013 a chance to explore future career possibilities and how to be a part of the cutting-edge research and opportunities in the space industry.\u201d<\/p>\n Smith, a Media Fusion employee, supports the Marshall Office of Communications.<\/em><\/p>\n \u203a Back to Top<\/strong><\/strong><\/p>\n For millennia, musicians have looked to the heavens for inspiration. Now\u00a0a new collaboration\u00a0is enabling actual data from NASA telescopes to be used as the basis for original music that can be played by humans.<\/p>\n Since 2020,\u00a0the \u201csonification\u201d project\u00a0at\u00a0NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Center\u00a0has translated the digital data taken by telescopes into notes and sounds. This process allows the listener to experience the data through the sense of hearing instead of seeing it as images, a more common way to present astronomical data.<\/p>\n A new phase of the sonification project takes the data into different territory. Working with composer Sophie Kastner, the team has developed versions of the data that\u00a0can be played by musicians.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s like a writing a fictional story that is largely based on real facts,\u201d said Kastner. \u201cWe are taking the data from space that has been translated into sound and putting a new and human twist on it.\u201d<\/p>\n This pilot program focuses on data from a small region at the center of our Milky Way galaxy where a\u00a0supermassive black hole\u00a0resides. NASA\u2019s Chandra X-ray Observatory, Hubble Space Telescope, and retired Spitzer Space Telescope have all studied this area, which spans about 400 light-years across.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve been working with these data, taken in\u00a0X-ray, visible, and infrared light, for years,\u201d said Kimberly Arcand, Chandra visualization and emerging technology scientist. \u201cTranslating these data into sound was a big step, and now with Sophie we are again trying something completely new for us.\u201d<\/p>\n In the data sonification process, computers use algorithms to mathematically map the digital data from these telescopes to sounds that humans can perceive. Human musicians, however, have different capabilities than computers.<\/p>\n Kastner chose to focus on small sections of\u00a0the image\u00a0in order to make the data more playable for people. This also allowed her to create spotlights on certain parts of the image that are easily overlooked when the full sonification is played.<\/p>\n \u201cI like to think of it as creating short vignettes of the data, and approaching it almost as if I was writing a film score for the image,\u201d said Kastner. \u201cI wanted to draw listener\u2019s attention to smaller events in the greater data set.\u201d<\/p>\n \nMission Success is in Our Hands: Jeramie Broadway<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Marshall Makes Impact at University of Alabama\u2019s 8th Annual Space Days<\/strong><\/h2>\n
NASA Telescope Data Becomes Music You Can Play<\/strong><\/h2>\n