BRANDT'S RANDOM GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASES

Sunday, September 7, 2014

U.S. EXTENDS BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE OF ANDORRA ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Statement on the Occasion of Andorra's National Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

September 7, 2014

On behalf of President Obama and the American people, I extend my best wishes to the people of Andorra as they celebrate Our Lady of Meritxell’s Day on September 8.

Our strong bilateral ties with Andorra expand beyond our almost 20 years of diplomatic relations. Andorra is a valued partner with the United States in the United Nations and other international organizations, where we have collaborated extensively based on our common values of democracy, human rights, and justice for all.

I wish all Andorrans a happy holiday and success and prosperity in the coming year.

Space Launch System milestone on This Week @NASA

NASA VIDEO: SCANNING A SNOW STORM

WHITE HOUSE VIDEO: PRESIDENT OBAMA HOLDS A PRESS CONFERENC AT THE NATO SUMMIT

WHITE HOUSE VIDEO: WEST WING WEEK 09/05/14

ALLEGED SECURITIES KICKBACK SCHEMERS GET CAUGHT BY FBI UNDERCOVER OPERATION

FROM: U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Judgments Entered Against Company and Former CEO in Securities Kickback Scheme

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that on September 4, 2014, the federal court in Boston, Massachusetts, entered judgments against Massachusetts corporation ZipGlobal Holdings, Inc. and its former Chief Executive Officer and President, Michael Lee of Hingham, Massachusetts, in a fraud action that was filed in December 2011. The fraud involved a kickback scheme that was exposed by an undercover operation of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's Boston office. Among other things, ZipGlobal and Lee were permanently enjoined from violating an antifraud statute, Lee was held liable for disgorgement of $105,603 of ill-gotten gains, and Lee was permanently barred from serving as an officer or director of public companies or participating in offerings of penny stock.

ZipGlobal and Lee are two of several parties charged on December 1, 2011 by both the Commission and the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts, alleging that they used kickbacks and other schemes to trigger investments in various thinly-traded stocks. According to the Commission's complaint, the schemes involved secret kickbacks to an investment fund representative in exchange for having the investment fund buy stock in certain companies; the kickbacks were to be concealed through the use of sham consulting agreements. What the participants in the scheme did not know was that the purported investment fund representative was actually an undercover agent of the FBI.

The Commission's complaint alleged that in October 2010, Lee met with an individual who purported to be a Boston, Massachusetts-based representative of a major hedge fund. In fact, the hedge fund representative was an undercover FBI agent. The complaint alleged that Lee and the hedge fund representative agreed to a scheme whereby the hedge fund would purchase $5 million of ZipGlobal stock in return for the payment of kickbacks to the hedge fund representative. Lee and the hedge fund representative agreed to structure the transaction in such a way that it would avoid detection by the hedge fund's compliance personnel and securities regulators. Among other things, they agreed to structure the transaction into smaller "tranches" of securities purchases, and to make the kickback payments to the hedge fund representative through a shell corporation pursuant to a consulting agreement to make it appear that the kickback payments were compensation for consulting services. The complaint alleged that, from November 2010 to January 2011, ZipGlobal and Lee followed through by entering agreements whereby the hedge fund purchased a total of $113,775 worth of ZipGlobal stock and kickbacks totaling $39,821 were funneled back to the hedge fund representative.

In the related criminal action, Lee was sentenced on March 6, 2014 to three years of probation (the first nine months to be served in home confinement with electronic monitoring) and was ordered to forfeit $105,603 after pleading guilty on January 11, 2012 to one count of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy.

The judgments in the Commission's action permanently enjoin ZipGlobal and Lee from violating Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 ("Exchange Act") and Rule 10b-5 thereunder. The judgment as to Lee holds him liable for $105,603 in disgorgement, but deems his disgorgement satisfied by the forfeiture order for the same amount of money in the related criminal action. The judgment also prohibits Lee from acting as an officer or director of any issuer that has a class of securities registered under Section 12 of the Exchange Act or that is required to file reports pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act, and prohibits Lee from participating in any offering of penny stock, pursuant to Section 21(d)(6) of the Exchange Act.

The Commission suspended trading in the stock of ZipGlobal on December 1, 2011.

The Commission's cases remain pending against James Wheeler, MicroHoldings US, Inc., Edward Henderson, and Paul Desjourdy, who were also charged on December 1, 2011 as a result of the FBI undercover operation.

ENGINEERS INSPECT THE MICRO SHUTTER ARRAY OF WEBB TELESCOPE

Image Credit: NASA Goddard/Chris Gunn.

FROM: NASA

NASA engineers inspect a new piece of technology developed for the James Webb Space Telescope, the micro shutter array, with a low light test at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Developed at Goddard to allow Webb's Near Infrared Spectrograph to obtain spectra of more than 100 objects in the universe simultaneously, the micro shutter array uses thousands of tiny shutters to capture spectra from selected objects of interest in space and block out light from all other sources. The James Webb Space Telescope is a large space telescope, optimized for infrared wavelengths. It is scheduled for launch later in this decade. Webb will find the first galaxies that formed in the early universe, connecting the Big Bang to our own Milky Way galaxy. Webb will peer through dusty clouds to see stars forming planetary systems, connecting the Milky Way to our own solar system. Caption Credit: Laura Betz, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland.

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF BRAZIL ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Brazil's Independence Day

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

September 5, 2014

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Brazil as you celebrate the 192nd anniversary of Brazilian independence on September 7.

Our two nations share a long and rich history. The United States was the first country to recognize Brazil’s independence. Today, as the two largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere, our relationship has steadily deepened and expanded.

I first visited Brazil as a U.S. Senator more than 20 years ago when I traveled to your country for the UN Earth Summit. The global community came together in your country and acknowledged the existential threat of climate change that year. But what I’ll never forget were the long dinners in Rio de Janeiro and singing hymns in Portuguese with my future wife, Teresa, at a local church. In the streets of Rio, I remember feeling the pulse and energy of a people on the rise.

As Secretary of State, I’ve seen firsthand the spirit of progress and innovation that runs through Brazil's veins to this day. When I traveled to Brasilia last August, I discussed Brazil’s tremendous progress with President Dilma Rousseff and then-Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota.

I also had the opportunity to meet every day Brazilians working to make a difference. I spoke with students like 23-year old Pedro Nehme, who is studying electrical engineering and will become the second Brazilian to ever go to space next year, and 28-year old Thiago Rocha, who is working to innovate prosthetic limbs for the next generation.

On this day of pride and accomplishment, we join Brazilians around the world in celebrating your vibrant culture, your history of achievement, and the close friendship between our two peoples and countries.

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Weekly Address: Time to Give the Middle Class a Chance

SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON ANNIVERSARY OF MURDER OF MUNIR SAID THALIB

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Tenth Anniversary of the Murder of Human Rights Activist Munir Said Thalib

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

September 6, 2014

To the Indonesians who loved him, he was simply known as Munir. He spent his life working to make his country more democratic, more free, and more humane. Ten years ago today someone assassinated him because they feared he just might succeed.

Still today, justice has not been served. Full accountability for all those allegedly involved remains elusive. In 2004, President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono recognized that the credible resolution of Munir’s murder case would be a key test of Indonesian democracy. That is still true today. We support all efforts to bring those who ordered Munir assassinated to account.

Munir was a voice of conscience and clarity. He inspired a generation of activists, scholars, and public servants who today are transforming Indonesia. So many today, including his widow Suciwati, serve his memory by carrying on his mission.

Today we join with the Indonesian people to commemorate the legacy of Munir Said Thalib, and we call for the protection of all who work for peace, democracy, and human rights around the world.

NASA VIDEO: SCIENCECASTS: MYSTERY IN THE OZONE LAYER

UNDER SECRETARY NOVELLI MAKES REMARKS ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Internet Governance Forum Opening Ceremony

Remarks

Catherine A. Novelli

Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment

Istanbul, Turkey

September 2, 2014

Good afternoon. It is a great pleasure to be here today. I am grateful to our gracious Turkish hosts, the IGF Secretariat, and the Multistakeholder Advisory Group for organizing this year’s Internet Governance Forum.

For centuries, Istanbul connected continents, people and cultures through ancient networks of trading routes and cultural exchanges. This week, I am pleased that we are here to discuss the future of our newest “network of networks,” the Internet.

This year, the international community celebrates the 45th anniversary of the first Internet log-on and the 25th birthday of the Worldwide Web. In this short span of time, the Internet has proven to be a revolutionary force for economic growth, but also a fragile one that all of us must work to preserve.

Across the world, the Internet bridges the gap between talent and opportunity. For example, three Nigerian university students have already helped tens of thousands of Africans secure jobs by creating a job search website called “Jobberman.com.” As West Africa’s most popular online career resource, Jobberman connects talented individuals with job opportunities.

Today, the Internet’s economic benefits are increasingly shifting to the developing world. In fact, in Turkey, SMEs that use the web experienced revenue growth 22 percent higher than those that did not. Overall, the Internet economy contributes 5 to 9 percent to total economic growth in developed markets; and in developing markets, the Internet economy is growing at 15 to 25 percent per year.

The Internet’s enormous impact on economic growth makes it critical that we adopt policies and practices to ensure its future viability. We have a shared responsibility to be good stewards of the internet. I believe complacency is one of the biggest threats to the internet as we know it. I see three critical challenges ahead.

First is broadband access. As a community, our shared challenge is to promote global policies and practices that increase everyone’s access to broadband, particularly in the developing world.

Second is ensuring an open internet. We must strengthen the ability of citizens to access information on the Internet regardless of where they live so that people can freely obtain information and express their opinions.

Third is misuse of the internet, such as cyber-attacks, identity and Intellectual Property theft. We have many tools to address misuse, including technology. However, we must use these tools with precision, so that they address the misuse while preserving internet openness to the greatest degree possible.

Because of these formidable challenges, there are some that advocate for replacing the multi-stakeholder system with centralized intergovernmental regulation. Ideas range from governments imposing international taxes on the transmission of content; mandates on how information has to be routed or stored; and regulated pricing between networks.

This type of regulation would only result in a cumbersome and more expensive Internet that would not be capable of driving positive change in education, health care and the overall economy. Think about the consequences of taxing every Skype call, or regulating the types of information that flow across the Internet through multilateral governmental mandates. This could cripple the user experience and greatly diminish the Internet’s effectiveness as an engine of growth.

We must continue to demonstrate to the world that only the multi-stakeholder approach, that brings together government policy-makers, businesses, NGOs and Internet experts on an equal footing, can effectively overcome today’s challenges and preserve the Internet’s future.

The first step for the continued success of the IGF is to support its long-term sustainability beyond 2015. The United States strongly supports the continuation of the IGF, and I encourage all participants here to join us in supporting extension of the IGF’s mandate at the UN General Assembly this fall.

In conclusion, as I mentioned at the outset, I urge all stakeholders to work together to fulfill our shared responsibility to preserve the Internet’s future.

I am excited to engage with all of you to ensure that the Internet remains vibrant and continues to be a conduit to better the lives of people worldwide.

NOAA VIDEO: AL POWELL - ON THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE SHIFTS ON ECOSYSTEMS

ASSISTANT SECRETARY RIVKIN'S REMARKS ON U.S.-CHINA FILM RELATIONSHIP

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Keynote Address at Motion Picture Association Reception

Remarks

Charles H. Rivkin

Assistant Secretary, Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs

Beijing, China

September 5, 2014

Remarks as prepared

Thank you. I am so delighted to have the opportunity to attend this movie reception. It doesn’t matter where we go in the world, movies are magical.

From Santa Monica, where I spent almost 20 years working in the entertainment sector, to Paris, France, where I most recently served four years as U.S. Ambassador, I have witnessed firsthand people’s excitement and reverence for films.

I think it’s because movies – on screens large and small – reach so deeply into the things that matter to us: personal aspirations, our desire to pursue happiness and be free. They connect people across borders, across cultures, and they transcend languages.

I am very excited to be in China today to discuss the burgeoning U.S.-China film relationship. Back when I started in the entertainment industry, I would not have imagined that China would be on pace to become the largest film market in the world. The news that Transformers: Age of Extinction broke $300 million in the China market alone is truly remarkable.

However, I would like to take a step back from the numbers and remember why I got into this business so many years ago.

At the Jim Henson Company, I had the privilege to work with the creators of the Muppets and Sesame Street. Jim Henson once told me that media can be an enormous source of good in the world. He lived that philosophy through the programs that he made, such as Sesame Street.

I also attribute a great deal of the American success to telling great stories, even the dark ones.

Last year, I was equally parts horrified and captivated when I watched 12 years a Slave, a movie that tells a true story of a free black man who is kidnapped in Washington, D.C. and sold into slavery. This film, which won the Oscar for best picture, immerses the audience in the pure brutality of being a slave in the United States.

This is a terrible chapter in our history and is difficult to watch. But the freedom, and I would say the bravery, of directors, writers, and producers to point this critical lens at our past, resulted in an authentic movie that touched people and made an important artistic and historical contribution to society.

A great story must be told in a captivating way. We often use technology as a vehicle to believably deliver our story. Tonight in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, we will see technology that truly dazzles. This great new example of science fiction draws on breakthroughs in movie technology.

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes’ visuals prove that there are no longer any boundaries between computer-generated characters, as the apes feel just as real as the actors playing human roles.

The technological advances that shape the movie experience and allow the audience to get lost in the story are one part of the complex production process and viewing experience. Advanced technologies in the movie theaters, such as IMAX, 3D, and thunderous surround-sound make powerful contributions to the audience experience in the theater.

Of course these technologies were developed through painstaking research and trial and error, and funded by millions of dollars of investment.

From my former vantage as a CEO, it is clear to me that strong intellectual property rights and open markets are also critical components to developing a thriving film industry.

Making a $200 million bet on a new movie or film technology is difficult if a company cannot adequately protect its intellectual property.

The patents and licenses for these break-through technologies, and the trademarks and copyrights vital to creating thrilling and enduring movies, allow rights holders to earn profits and recoup the cost to develop and commercialize their creative ideas.

And as Assistant Secretary of State for the U.S. State Department’s Economic and Business Bureau, safeguarding intellectual property rights is one of my key priorities.

When we talk about intellectual property rights, we’re not talking about abstractions. We’re really talking about people.

Yes, movies matter to us as consumers. But they also matter to the people who create the ideas, the products and the technology that make them possible. And not just the ones who invented it, but the ones who work on it.

There’s a whole industry of men and women – all over the world, not just in the United States – who develop, produce, create, distribute or promote motion pictures and television programs. And whether they are artists or technicians, their livelihoods depend on the creation of these films that enrich our lives.

This IPR problem is not limited to the entertainment industry, but impacts businesses – small and large – across all sectors. Prior to coming to Beijing, I met with entrepreneurs and small businesses in Myanmar, Singapore, and Hong Kong, all of whom voiced their concern about losing their ideas to intellectual property theft.

Returning to the film industry, I am also deeply concerned about digital piracy, which is a real threat to U.S. and Chinese content creators alike. Some films are adversely impacted because pirated versions are available prior to the films’ official opening, decreasing the number of potential moviegoers, as we have seen in the very recent case of The Expendables 3.

Increased movie revenues have the potential to benefit both foreign and domestic stakeholders, both of whom should care deeply about intellectual property protection.

In fact, I just had a wonderful discussion this morning with Mr. Wang, Chairman of Wanda, one of China’s largest entertainment companies. Many of you are probably familiar with Chairman Wang and Wanda’s 2012 acquisition of the U.S.-based movie theater operator, AMC. In our conversation, he agreed with me that intellectual property rights are critical for the future growth of China.

The boom in the Chinese box office, which reached sales of $3.6 billion in 2013 has been wonderful for Chinese filmmakers and the industry as a whole, but the Chinese film and television industry has more to offer than simply a large audience: it has the possibility to develop further as a mature, self-sustaining, economically and creatively successful industry.

There truly is so much potential for our industries to flourish and further excite audiences around the world. I look forward to continued cooperation among our governments, industries, and creative sectors to develop our film industries and protect intellectual property. After all, if we want to continue to see the movies we love, we need to reward those who create them.

U.S.STATEMENT: MOZAMBIQUE GOVERNMENT'S AGREEMENT WITH RENAMO FORCES TO END HOSTILITIES

FROM: THE STATE DEPARTMENT

U.S. Commends Mozambique for Agreement To End Hostilities

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

September 5, 2014

The United States congratulates the people of Mozambique for the agreement reached to bring an end to hostilities between the government of Mozambique and Renamo forces.

President Armando Guebuza and Renamo leader Afonso Dhlakama demonstrated statesmanship by publicly endorsing the agreement and signing a Memorandum of Understanding today. This agreement underscores the power of negotiation and the possibilities for peace when a political leadership is committed to dialogue. The people of Mozambique demand and deserve a more peaceful, prosperous, and secure future. This agreement is a historic step forward along that path.

The United States encourages the Government of Mozambique and Renamo to ensure full implementation of the agreement and to continue to use dialogue as a tool for reaching political consensus. Free, fair, and transparent national elections in October are a critical next step, which will help pave the way for a brighter, democratic future for Mozambique.
The United States stands in partnership with Mozambique as it continues on its remarkable journey. We celebrate this important milestone along with friends of Mozambique around the world and extend our best wishes for a future of peace, prosperity, and progress.

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS ON BUILDING ANTI-ISIL COALITION

FROM: U.S. STATE DEPARTMENT

Remarks at Top of Meeting on Building an Anti-ISIL Coalition Co-Chaired by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, U.K. Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond, and U.K. Defense Secretary Michael Fallon

Remarks

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Celtic Manor

Wales, United Kingdom

September 5, 2014

Good morning, everybody. We are very appreciative for everyone who made the time to get here early (inaudible) in order to start the day with another meeting, with an extra meeting. But we thought it was really critical given the urgency of (inaudible) with respect to ISIL (inaudible) everybody together in order to try to get on the same page and talk through the margins of the NATO summit what we can do over the course of the next days.

We’re operating under a little bit of a time constraint. I promised Philip – and we’re very grateful, Philip, for your willingness to cohost this effort and provide facilities, and thank you, again, for the stewardship of this NATO summit. There’s a flyby taking place at 7:45 (inaudible). Okay, (inaudible). The – yeah. And we’re going to try – we’re absolutely going to (inaudible) time so that we can get up there and (inaudible).

Everybody here understands what ISIL is and the challenge that it represents. I would say to all of you, including those of you – the defense ministers who are now with us, but we had a very provocative conversation last night among the foreign ministers regarding some of the overall challenges we all face, the number of failed states and the challenges of disorder in so many countries. In many ways, I believe ISIL presents us with an opportunity. And it’s an opportunity to prove that we have the ability to come together, that our capacities for defense are not so frozen in an old model that we can’t’ respond to something like ISIL, that we can’t pull ourselves together and effect the coalition of clearly the willing and the capable to be able to deal with ISIL.

Contrary to what you sort of heard in the politics of our country, the President is totally committed; there is a strategy that is clear, becoming more clear by the day. And it really relies on a holistic approach to ISIL. That is to say that we need to do kinetic, we need to attack them in ways that prevent them from taking over territory, that bolster the Iraqi security forces, others in the region who are prepared to take them on, without committing troops of our own, obviously. I think that’s a redline for everybody here, no boots on the ground. Nevertheless, there are many ways in which we can train, advise, assist, and equip. There are kinetic operations we can run in direct support of Iraqi security forces.

And we’ve proven the model in the last weeks – breaking the siege on Sinjar Mountain, breaking the siege of Amirli, breaking of momentum that was moving towards Erbil, and in effect picking up enough intel to understand that the minute we hit them, these guys are not 10 feet tall. They’re not as disciplined as everybody thinks. They’re not as organized as everybody thinks. And we have the technology, we have the know-how. What we need is obviously the willpower to make certain that we are steady and stay at this.

There is no contain policy for ISIL. They’re an ambitious, avowed genocidal, territorial-grabbing, Caliphate-desiring, quasi state within a regular army. And leaving them in some capacity intact anywhere would leave a cancer in place that will ultimately come back to haunt us. So there is no issue in our minds about our determination to build this coalition, go after this. I’ll give you a quick take at what we are looking for and what we’re going to do.

When we say holistic, we mean every aspect of this group, and I think this could become conceivably a model that can help us with Boko Haram, could help us with Shabaab, with other groups if we can do this successfully. And NATO needs to think of it that way as we consider sort of our role in this new world we’re living in. We need to go after their financing mechanisms and sources, and we need to elicit broad-based support within the world of (inaudible) as well as in the world of normal banking and cover entities, businesses and so forth. Which means our law enforcement and intelligence agencies are going to need to coordinate and work together that have a clear part of an agenda within this framework.

We need a major humanitarian component that needs to be coordinated with the economic component, which will be real, to help Iraq get on its feet. We need a foreign fighter component. President Obama is going to be leading a National Security Council meeting in New York in the course of UNGA. We want – hope everybody will take part in that and help us lay down a critical agenda with respect to how we deal, all of us, with foreign fighters, which is a challenge to every country here, which is partly why we are all here.

In addition, we need an all-military aspect. Some people will not be comfortable doing kinetic. We understand that. Or some people don’t have the capacity to do kinetic. But everybody can do something. People can contribute either ammunition or weapons or technical know-how or intel capacity. People can contribute advisors. We’ve just put another 350 people on the ground in an effort to build up our advisor capacity. We’re building up our ISR platform and intel capacity. We also are building up the kinetic capacity, and that will be a clear part of this.

We very much hope that people will be as declarative as some of our friends around the table have been in order to be clear about what they’re willing to commit, because we must be able to have a plan together by the time we come to UNGA, we need to have this coalesce. We need a clarity to the strategy, and a clarity to what everybody is going to undertake.

So we’re convinced that in the days ahead we have the ability to destroy ISIL. It may take a year, it may take two years, it may take three years. But we’re determined it has to happen. There are obviously implications about Syria in this, and we can talk about that if we want in the course of the morning. But let me turn to Philip, and then I’d – after the defense secretaries have each had a chance to say something, I’d like to get our friends from France and Australia to weigh in, because we’ve already been able to have some conversations. And in that order if we can, and then we’ll just move very quickly around the room.

So Philip, thank you.

Friday, September 5, 2014

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR SEPTEBER 5, 2014

FROM: U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT

CONTRACTS

NAVY

CDM-AECOM Multimedia Joint Venture, Fairfax, Virginia, is being awarded a maximum amount $85,000,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, architect-engineering contract for architectural-engineering services involving preparation of studies, plans, specifications, design, reports, cost estimates and all associated engineering services in support of Navy and other Department of Defense environmental compliance programs for Navy, Marine Corps and other Defense Department installations and federal agencies within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Atlantic area of responsibility (AOR) worldwide. The services include petroleum storage tank and assets compliance, oil preparedness and planning compliance, Air Quality and Clean Air Act compliance, Safe Drinking Water Act compliance, Clean Water Act compliance (stormwater), Clean Water Act compliance (wastewater) and waste management. No task orders are being issued at this time. All work on this contract will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other Defense Department installations and federal agencies within the NAVFAC Atlantic AOR world-wide including, but not limited to, California (20 percent); Virginia (20 percent); North Carolina (20 percent); Europe (20 percent); Florida (5 percent); Maryland (5 percent) Washington, District of Columbia (5 percent); and Georgia (5 percent). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of September 2019. Fiscal 2014 operation and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are being obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with three proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-14-D-9016).

Lockheed Martin Corp., Littleton, Colorado, is being awarded a $45,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the production, installation and continued sustainment of a General Service, Cross Domain Solution (CDS), Radiant Mercury (RM). RM is a CDS that brokers the exchange of data between different security domains by sanitizing, downgrading, guarding and transliterating formatted data between different security compartment levels. The contract has a five-year ordering period, up to the contract award amount. Work will be performed in Littleton, Colorado, and is expected to be completed by Aug. 31, 2019. No contract funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated as individual delivery orders are placed. No contract funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured because it is a sole source acquisition pursuant to FAR 6.302-1(a)(2) and FAR 6.302-1(a)(2)(ii)(A) and (B). The Space and Navy Warfare Systems Command, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N00039-14-D-0013).

Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Hurst, Texas, is being awarded a $41,776,269 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of three UH-1Y flight training devices, one AH-1Z flight training device, aircraft and/or trainer driven revisions, aircraft common operational equipment, provisioned spares, associated technical data required for operational and maintenance support, and three months of initial operation evaluation period for each flight training device. Work will be performed at Broken Arrow, Oklahoma (46 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (33 percent); St. Louis, Missouri (15 percent); and Austin, Texas (6 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2018. Fiscal 2012 aircraft procurement (Navy Reserve) and 2014 aircraft procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $41,776,269 is being obligated on this award, $29,120,770 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was not competitively procured pursuant to FAR 6.302.1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contract activity (N61340-14-C-1000).
Dawson-Hawaiian Builders I,* Honolulu, Hawaii, is being awarded a $16,231,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the design and construction of a low-rise building for the Third Radio Battalion Complex at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. The contract also contains one unexercised option, which if exercised would increase cumulative contract value to $17,003,000. The complex includes offices for Battalion Headquarters, Headquarters and Service Company, Company A and Company B. The project also provides for classroom and other training spaces and offices, platoon command offices and workspaces, mail room, family readiness and career planning offices, and other workspaces needed to support Third Radio. Work will be performed in Kaneohe, Hawaii, and is expected to be completed by October 2016. Fiscal 2010 and 2014 military construction (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $16,231,000 are being obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with nine proposals received. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Pacific, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii, is the contracting activity (N62742-14-C-1310).

Raytheon Co., El Segundo, California, is being awarded $11,403,294 for firm-fixed-price delivery order 7040 under a previously awarded Basic Ordering Agreement (N00383-10-G-005H) for the repair of 288 radar component units consisting of 18 different weapons repairable assemblies used in support of the F/A-18 Active Electronically Scanned Array Radar System. Work will be performed in El Segundo, California; and work is expected to be completed March 27, 2015. Fiscal 2014 Navy working capital funds in the amount of $11,403,294 will be obligated at the time of award and funds will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured in accordance with 10 U.S.C. 2304 (c)(l). The NAVSUP Weapon Systems Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity.
Central Texas College, Killeen, Texas, is being awarded a $9,410,083 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, firm fixed-price task orders contract for the provision of education courses to sailors, both instructor led and distance learning, to include courses for academic skills, undergraduate and graduate levels. The contract will include a one-year base period and four one-year option periods, which if exercised, will bring the amount to $48,898,382. Work will be performed onboard various Navy ships (64 percent); San Diego, California (15 percent); Norfolk, Virginia (15 percent); Mayport, Florida (2 percent); Bremerton/Everett, Washington (2 percent); and Yokosuka, Japan (2 percent), and work is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2015. If all options are exercised, work will continue through Sept. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2015 operations and maintenance (Navy) in the amount of $10,000 will be obligated at the time of award and will not expire before the end of the current fiscal year. The contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received in response to this solicitation. NAVSUP Fleet Logistics Center, Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia Office, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity (N00189-14-D-Z038).

ATAP, Inc., Eastaboga, Alabama, is being awarded an $8,268,000 firm-fixed-price contract for Inspect Repair Only As Necessary (IROAN) of the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) Cougar. Work will be performed in Eastaboga, Alabama, and is expected to be completed September 2015. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $8,268,000 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via solicitations to the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with four proposals received. The Marine Corps Logistics Command, Albany, Georgia, is the contracting activity (M67004-14-C-0029).

ARMY

Harry Pepper & Associates, Inc., Jacksonville, Florida, was awarded a $44,953,484 firm-fixed-price contract for the demolition and removal of the existing Herbert Hoover Dike culverts 12 and 2, and the construction of new water control structures S-274 and S-278. Fiscal 2014 other funds in the amount of $44,953,484 were obligated at the time of the award. Work will be performed in Clewiston, Florida, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 8, 2019. Bids were solicited via the Internet with two received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Jacksonville, Florida is the contracting activity (W912EP-14-C-0025).

Gilbane Federal, Walnut Creek, California, was awarded a $32,929,672 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a general purpose warehouse at a defense distribution depot in San Joaquin, California. Fiscal 2014 military construction (Army) funds in the amount of $32,929,672 were obligated at the time of the award. Work will be performed in Stockton, California, with estimated completion date of Nov. 8, 2016. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 14 received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, California is the contracting activity (W91238-14-C-0049).

Olgoonik Diversified Services, LLC,* Saint Robert, Missouri, was awarded a $24,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for a job order for various minor construction projects within the geographical boundaries of the Little Rock District and Southwestern Division Corps of Engineers. Work and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2017. Bids were solicited via the Internet with 10 received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Little Rock, Arkansas, is the contracting activity (W9127S-14-D-0016).

Nova Group, Inc., Underground Construction, Joint Venture, Napa, California, was awarded a $13,407,419 firm-fixed-price contract for fuel island upgrades at Hunter Army Airfield. Fiscal 2011 and fiscal 2013 military construction (Army) funds in the amount of $13,407,419 were obligated at the time of the award. Work will be done at Hunter Army Airfield, Georgia, with estimated completion date of March 15, 2016. Bids were solicited via the Internet with four received. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia the contracting activity (W912HN-14-C-0011).

Blackhawk enterprise Incorporated*, Waynesboro, Virginia, was awarded a $7,738,213 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to ensure the intelligence production and dissemination software applications and intelligence mission data, technology forecasting, and foreign material management software applications are continually maintained for appropriate security posture. Work and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 4, 2017. Bids were solicited via the Internet with five received. U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command Engineers Charlottesville, Virginia is the contracting activity (W911W5-14-D-0001)

STG, Inc., Reston, Virginia, was awarded a $7,561,521 modification (P00004) to contract (W911QX-14-F-0019) for nine months of information technology support services, with an options for two one-month periods. Fiscal 2014 operations and maintenance (Army) funds, and research, development, test and evaluation funds, in the amount of $2,575,160 were obligated at the time of the award. Work will be performed in Adelphi, Maryland, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2015. Bids were solicited with one received. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Adelphi, Maryland, is the contracting activity.

AIR FORCE

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Sunnyvale, California, has been awarded a $42,880,040 modification (P00003) to previously awarded contract FA8810-13-C-0001 for dual band telemetry, tracking and communications capability for the Space-Based Infrared System Geosynchronous Earth Orbiting 5-6 space vehicles. Contractor will redesign the interfacing, software, power, thermal, and structures to accommodate the new dual band capable transponder box and cabling. This effort also adds a Unified S-Band uplink frequency and modulation scheme to the existing Space to Ground Link System L-Band uplink capability. Work will be performed at Sunnyvale, California, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2021. Fiscal 2012 missile procurement funds in the amount of $10,673,074 are being obligated at the time of award. Space and Missile System Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, California, is the contracting activity.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics, Marietta, Georgia, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $34,721,663 modification (P00270) to previously awarded contract FA8625-11-C-6597 for C-130J Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) acquisition, integration, and installation. Work will be performed at Marietta, Georgia, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2019. This contract involves foreign military sales to the government of Australia. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.

L-3 Communications-Platform Integration Division, Waco, Texas, has been awarded a $10,092,484 not-to-exceed, undefinitized contract action to provide C-27J aircrew and maintenance training to Australian Air Force personnel. Work will be performed at Waco and Arlington, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 31, 2017. This contract involves foreign military sales for the government of Australia. This award is the result of a country directed sole-source acquisition. The 338th Specialized Contracting Squadron, Joint Base San Antonio, Randolph Air Force Base, Texas, is the contracting activity (FA3002-14-D-0014).

Sahara Palms, Inc., Fruitland, Utah, has been awarded $7,091,268 firm-fixed price contract for paint bay equipment and renovation. Contractor will procure semi-off-the-shelf equipment and components, merge contractor equipment design with government design and specifications to renovate six existing paint bays to include: supply air fans, heating coils, humidity sections, exhaust fans, environmental controls, motors, and variable frequency drives. Work will be performed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and is expected to be completed by Nov. 5, 2015. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and unlimited offers were solicited; two offers were received. Fiscal 2014 working capital funds in the amount of $7,091,268 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Materiel Command, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8224-14-C-0063).

DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY

Exelis, Incorporated, Clifton, New Jersey, has been awarded a maximum $15,380,162 cost-plus- fixed-fee contract for form, fit and function replacement of electronic countermeasures sets. This contract was a sole-source acquisition. Location of performance is New Jersey, with a March 3, 2017, performance completion date. Using military service is the Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2014 through fiscal 2017 Air Force working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia (SPRWA1-14-C-0006).
*Small business

U.S. SENDS BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE OF KINGDOM OF SWAZILAND ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY

FROM: THE STATE DEPARTMENT

Swaziland National Day Message

Press Statement

John Kerry

Secretary of State

Washington, DC

September 5, 2014

On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I send best wishes to the people of the Kingdom of Swaziland on your independence day.

I am proud of our work together to fight HIV/AIDS and improve the health of all Swazis. Our partnership has helped us make steady progress towards an AIDS-free generation.

The United States appreciated King Mswati III’s participation in the historic U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit. We look forward to a continued and productive relationship between our two countries.

I wish all Swazis a festive 46th anniversary of your independence.

WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS DEATH OF THE LEADER OF AL-SHABAAB

FROM: THE WHITE HOUSE

Statement by the Press Secretary on the Death of Ahmed Godane

Today, the Department of Defense confirmed that Ahmed Godane, the leader of al-Shabaab, is dead as a result of a U.S. military targeted airstrike in Somalia undertaken over the weekend. Godane’s removal is a major symbolic and operational loss to the largest al-Qaida affiliate in Africa and reflects years of painstaking work by our intelligence, military and law enforcement professionals. Even as this is an important step forward in the fight against al-Shabaab, the United States will continue to use the tools at our disposal – financial, diplomatic, intelligence and military –to address the threat that al-Shabaab and other terrorist groups pose to the United States and the American people. We will also continue to support our international partners, particularly the African Union Mission in Somalia, that are working to support the Federal Government of Somalia build a secure and stable future for the Somali people.

The U.S. Department of State named al-Shabaab a Foreign Terrorist Organization under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as amended) on February 26, 2008, and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity under Executive Order 13224 on February 29, 2008.

In September 2013, Godane publicly claimed al-Shabaab was responsible for the Westgate Mall attack, which killed and injured dozens in Nairobi, Kenya, calling the attack “revenge” for Kenyan and Western involvement in Somalia and highlighting its proximity to the anniversary of the attacks of September 11, 2001. Under his leadership, the group has claimed responsibility for many bombings—including various types of suicide attacks—in Mogadishu and in central and northern Somalia, typically targeting officials and perceived allies of the Somali Government as well as the former Transitional Federal Government (TFG) of Somalia. Godane has also continued to oversee plots targeting Westerners, including U.S. persons, in East Africa. In recent months, al-Shabaab claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing in Djibouti that killed a Turkish national and wounded several Western soldiers as well a car bomb at the Mogadishu airport that targeted and killed members of a United Nations convoy. Al-Shabaab was responsible for the twin suicide bombings in Kampala, Uganda, on July 11, 2010, which killed more than 70 people, including one American. The group has also been responsible for the assassination of Somali peace activists, international aid workers, numerous civil society figures, and journalists. In February 2012, al-Shabaab and al-Qaida announced their formal alliance through a statement in which Godane swore allegiance to al-Qaida and promised to follow “the road of jihad and martyrdom in the footsteps that our martyr Osama bin Laden has drawn for us.”

NASA VIDEO: SCIENCECASTS: SPACE-TIME VORTEX

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NORTH SEA WITH BLOOMING PHYTOPLANKTON

Despite its cold waters and harsh winds, the North Sea is a fertile basin for phytoplankton blooms. The drifting, plantlike organisms tend to be most abundant in late spring and early summer due to high levels of nutrients in the water and increasing sunlight. The intense winds blowing over the relatively shallow North Sea causes a lot of vertical and horizontal mixing that brings nutrients to the surface, as does runoff from European rivers. This image, acquired on June 11, 2015, by the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Aqua satellite, shows a mass of phytoplankton blooming between Denmark, the United Kingdom, and Germany. As compared to a June 6 image showing a different stage of the bloom cycle, areas of concentrated phytoplankton are smaller and most have the milky color characteristic of coccolithophores; there are few to no green areas. The change could be due to the short life span of phytoplankton—two to six days—and differences between the species. Some outlast others because of their ability to survive at lower nutrient levels. Some researchers have found that numbers of plankton can actually begin to increase in the middle of winter, when growth conditions would seem to be at their worst. Studies suggest that winter storms churn the ocean and cause deep water mixing. This water mixing allows for phytoplankton to grow and live at depth without being spotted by their predators. When spring arrives, phytoplankton can fully bloom because not only are the nutrients available, but there is a longer period of sunlight. Image Credit: NASA Earth Observatory images by Jesse Allen, using data from the Level 1 and Atmospheres Active Distribution System (LAADS). Caption: Rachel Carlowicz with Mike Carlowicz

WATCHING YOUNG STARS SPARKLE

While fireworks only last a short time here on Earth, a bundle of cosmic sparklers in a nearby cluster of stars will be going off for a very long time. NGC 1333 is a star cluster populated with many young stars that are less than 2 million years old, a blink of an eye in astronomical terms for stars like the Sun expected to burn for billions of years. To make a detailed study of the X-ray properties of young stars, a team of astronomers, led by Elaine Winston from the University of Exeter, analyzed both the Chandra X-ray data of NGC 1333, located about 780 light years from Earth, and of the Serpens cloud, a similar cluster of young stars about 1100 light years away. They then compared the two datasets with observations of the young stars in the Orion Nebula Cluster, perhaps the most-studied young star cluster in the Galaxy.The researchers found that the X-ray brightness of the stars in NGC 1333 and the Serpens cloud depends on the total brightness of the stars across the electromagnetic spectrum, as found in previous studies of other clusters. They also found that the X-ray brightness mainly depends on the size of the star. In other words, the bigger the stellar sparkler, the brighter it will glow in X-rays. Image credit: X-ray: NASA/CXC/SAO/S.Wolk et al; Optical: DSS & NOAO/AURA/NSF; Infrared: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

ARTIST GRAPHIC OF PLUTO'S OCCULATION

The Stratosphere Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) is a modified Boeing 747SP aircraft that makes celestial observations with its German-built 100-inch telescope. The telescope is enhanced to collect infrared radiation, and is able to detect energy at a wider range of wavelengths than any other ground-based or space telescope. SOFIA can fly anywhere in the world, and operates at altitudes up to 45,000 feet, putting the observatory above more than 99 percent of Earth's atmospheric water vapor that blocks infrared radiation from celestial objects. SOFIA is flying out of Christchurch, New Zealand, where its telescope can study celestial objects more easily observed from the Southern Hemisphere. Starting June 28 through the 29th, instruments on the plane will observe Pluto as it passes in front of a background star. Data returned from the observations will be provided to the New Horizon team who is preparing for Pluto's occultation, July 13 through the 15th. Image is an artist's conception of the Pluto occultation seen close-up, not a photo. Credits: NASA Graphic.

SHOOTING STARS IN SPACE

Caption Credit: NASA. Astronaut Ron Garan, Expedition 28 flight engineer, tweeted this image from the International Space Station in August, 2011 with the following caption: “What a `Shooting Star’ looks like from space, taken yesterday during Perseid Meteor Shower.” A special camera to record meteor showers will launch to the International Space Station aboard SpaceX's Dragon cargo craft, currently scheduled to launch on June 28, 2015, from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The Meteor investigation should be installed in the station’s Window Observational Research Facility by the end of July, enabling scientists to learn more about the composition and behavior of asteroids and comets that cross paths with Earth. The investigation's camera is programmed to record known major meteor showers during its two-year orbit and could spot unpredicted showers as well. Image Credit: NASA.

SUNSET ON MARS

Curiosity used its Mast Camera (Mastcam) to record the sunset during an evening of skywatching on April 15, 2015. The imaging was done between dust storms, but some dust remained suspended high in the atmosphere. The sunset observations help researchers assess the vertical distribution of dust in the atmosphere. "The colors come from the fact that the very fine dust is the right size so that blue light penetrates the atmosphere slightly more efficiently," said Mark Lemmon of Texas A&M University, College Station, the Curiosity science-team member who planned the observations. "When the blue light scatters off the dust, it stays closer to the direction of the sun than light of other colors does. The rest of the sky is yellow to orange, as yellow and red light scatter all over the sky instead of being absorbed or staying close to the sun." Just as colors are made more dramatic in sunsets on Earth, Martian sunsets make the blue near the sun's part of the sky much more prominent, while normal daylight makes the rusty color of the dust more prominent. Photo/Caption Credit: NASA.

AN IMPACT LEFT ON MARS

The High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter acquired this closeup image of a "fresh" (on a geological scale, though quite old on a human scale) impact crater in the Sirenum Fossae region of Mars on March 30, 2015. This impact crater appears relatively recent as it has a sharp rim and well-preserved ejecta. The steep inner slopes are carved by gullies and include possible recurring slope lineae on the equator-facing slopes. Fresh craters often have steep, active slopes, so the HiRISE team is monitoring this crater for changes over time. The bedrock lithology is also diverse. The crater is a little more than 1-kilometer wide. Image Credit: NASA/JPL/University of Arizona. Caption: Alfred McEwen.

A LOOK AT GALAXY NSG 6503

Caption Credit: NASA.Most galaxies are clumped together in groups or clusters. A neighboring galaxy is never far away. But this galaxy, known as NGC 6503, has found itself in a lonely position, at the edge of a strangely empty patch of space called the Local Void. The Local Void is a huge stretch of space that is at least 150 million light-years across. It seems completely empty of stars or galaxies. The galaxy’s odd location on the edge of this never-land led stargazer Stephen James O’Meara to dub it the “Lost-In-Space galaxy” in his 2007 book, Hidden Treasures. NGC 6503 is 18 million light-years away from us in the northern circumpolar constellation of Draco. NGC 6503 spans some 30,000 light-years, about a third of the size of the Milky Way. This Hubble Space Telescope image shows NGC 6503 in striking detail and with a rich set of colors. Bright red patches of gas can be seen scattered through its swirling spiral arms, mixed with bright blue regions that contain newly forming stars. Dark brown dust lanes snake across the galaxy’s bright arms and center, giving it a mottled appearance. The Hubble Advanced Camera for Surveys data for NGC 6503 were taken in April 2003, and the Wide Field Camera 3 data were taken in August 2013. The Hubble Space Telescope is a project of international cooperation between NASA and the European Space Agency. NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the telescope. The Space Telescope Science Institute (STScI) in Baltimore conducts Hubble science operations. STScI is operated for NASA by the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy, Inc., in Washington, D.C. Photo Credit: NASA, ESA, D. Calzetti (University of Massachusetts), H. Ford (Johns Hopkins University), and the Hubble Heritage Team.

FIRST AMERICAN WOMAN FLIES INTO SPACE ON SPACE SHUTTLE CHALLENGER

On June 18, 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman to fly in space when the space shuttle Challenger launched on mission STS-7 from Pad 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The STS-7 crew consisted of astronauts Robert Crippen, commander, the first two-time space shuttle astronaut; Frederick H. Hauck, pilot; and three mission specialists -- Ride, John M. Fabian and Norman E. Thagard. This high-angle view of the shuttle liftoff, showing a lengthy stretch of Florida Atlantic coastline and a number of large cumulus clouds, was photographed with a handheld 70mm camera by astronaut John W. Young, who piloted the Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA) for weather monitoring at launch and landing sites for STS missions. One of Sally Ride's jobs was to call out "Roll program" seven seconds after launch. "I'll guarantee that those were the hardest words I ever had to get out of my mouth," she said later. Image Credit: NASA.

ON EDGE SPIRAL GALAXY NGC 5023

Caption Credit: NASA. This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image shows an edge-on view of the spiral galaxy NGC 5023. Due to its orientation we cannot appreciate its spiral arms, but we can admire the elegant profile of its disk. The galaxy lies over 30 million light-years away from us. NGC 5023 is part of the M51 group of galaxies. The brightest galaxy in this group is Messier 51, the Whirlpool Galaxy, which has been captured by Hubble many times. NGC 5023 is less fond of the limelight and seems rather unsociable in comparison — it is relatively isolated from the other galaxies in the group. Astronomers are particularly interested in the vertical structure of disks like these. By analyzing the structure above and below the central plane of the galaxy they can make progress in understanding galaxy evolution. Astronomers are able to analyze the distribution of different types of stars within the galaxy and their properties, in particular how well evolved they are on the Hertzsprung–Russell Diagram — a scatter graph of stars that shows their evolution. NGC 5023 is one of six edge-on spiral galaxies observed as part of a study using Hubble’s Advanced Camera for Surveys. They study this vertical distribution and find a trend which suggests that heating of the disc plays an important role in producing the stars seen away from the plane of the galaxy. In fact, NGC 5023 is pretty popular when it comes to astronomers, despite its unsociable behavior. The galaxy is also one of 14 disk galaxies that are part of the GHOSTS survey — a survey which uses Hubble data to study galaxy halos, outer disks and star clusters. It is the largest study to date of star populations in the outskirts of disk galaxies. The incredible sharp sight of Hubble has allowed scientist to count more than 30,000 individual bright stars in this image. This is only a small fraction of the several billion stars that this galaxy contains, but the others are too faint to detect individually even with Hubble. European Space Agency Credit-ESA-NASA

U.S. SAILORS RECOVER NASA TEST VEHICLE

A CROWDED NEIGHBORHOOD OF STARS

This NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope image presents the Arches Cluster, the densest known star cluster in the Milky Way. It is located about 25,000 light-years from Earth in the constellation of Sagittarius (The Archer), close to the heart of our galaxy, the Milky Way. It is, like its neighbor the Quintuplet Cluster, a fairly young astronomical object at between two and four million years old. The Arches cluster is so dense that in a region with a radius equal to the distance between the sun and its nearest star there would be over 100,000 stars! At least 150 stars within the cluster are among the brightest ever discovered in the Milky Way. These stars are so bright and massive that they will burn their fuel within a short time (on a cosmological scale that means just a few million years). Then they will die in spectacular supernova explosions. Due to the short lifetime of the stars in the cluster the gas between the stars contains an unusually high amount of heavier elements, which were produced by earlier generations of stars. Despite its brightness the Arches Cluster cannot be seen with the naked eye. The visible light from the cluster is completely obscured by gigantic clouds of dust in this region. To make the cluster visible astronomers have to use detectors which can collect light from the X-ray, infrared, and radio bands, as these wavelengths can pass through the dust clouds. This observation shows the Arches Cluster in the infrared and demonstrates the leap in Hubble’s performance since its 1999 image of same object. Image credit: NASA/ESA. Text credit: European Space Agency

SECOND TEST OF NASA'S LDSD

The second flight test of NASA's Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) will be attempted on Tuesday, June 2 at no earlier than 1:30 p.m. EDT (7:30 a.m. HST), launching a rocket-powered, saucer-shaped test vehicle into near-space from the Pacific Missile Range Facility on the island of Kauai in Hawaii. The LDSD project, led by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, and sponsored by NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate in Washington, is conducting this full-scale flight test of two breakthrough technologies: a supersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator, or SIAD, and an innovative new parachute. These devices potentially will help us deliver double the current amount of payload — 1.5 metric tons — to the surface of Mars. They also will greatly increase the accessible surface area we can explore, and will improve landing accuracy from a margin of approximately 6.5 miles to a little more than 1 mile. All these factors will dramatically increase the success of future missions on Mars. The LDSD project's successful first flight test was launched on June 28, 2014. In this photograph, a full mission dress rehearsal is held for the LDSD project, Friday, May 29, 2015, at the U.S. Navy Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF) in Kauai, HI. Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

NASA SUPPORTS F-15 PROGRAM

NASA pilot Jim Less and photographer Jim Ross pull their F-15D #897 aircraft away from a KC-135 refueling tanker. NASA is supporting the Edwards Air Force Base F-15 program with safety and photo chase expertise. NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center currently flies an F-15D Eagle aircraft for research support and pilot proficiency. NASA research support aircraft are commonly called chase planes and fill the role of escort aircraft during research missions. Chase pilots are in constant radio contact with research pilots and serve as an "extra set of eyes" to help maintain total flight safety during specific tests and maneuvers. They monitor certain events for the research pilot and are an important safety feature on all research missions. Chase aircraft also are used as camera platforms for research missions that must be photographed or videotaped. Aeronautical engineers use this pictorial coverage (photos, motion pictures, and videotape) extensively to monitor and verify various aspects of research projects. The F-15D is also used by Armstrong research pilots for routine flight training required by all NASA pilots. Image Credit: NASA/Jim Ross.

SDO IMAGES OF THE SOLAR ATMOSPHEREE

Caption Credit: NASA. The Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) instrument aboard NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) images the solar atmosphere in multiple wavelengths to link changes in the surface to interior changes. Its data includes images of the sun in 10 wavelengths every 10 seconds. When AIA images are sharpened a bit, such as this AIA 171Å channel image, the magnetic field can be readily visualized through the bright, thin strands that are called "coronal loops". Loops are shown here in a blended overlay with the magnetic field as measured with SDO's Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager underneath. Blue and yellow represent the opposite polarities of the magnetic field. The combined images were taken on Oct. 24, 2014, at 23:50:37 UT. Image Credit: NASA SDO.

DEPRESSION ON SURFACE OF MARS

Caption Credit: NASA. This image of a circular depression on the surface of Mars was acquired on Jan. 5, 2015 by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO). The spacecraft has been orbiting Mars since March 2006 and completed its 40,000th orbit around Mars on Feb. 7, 2015. The target of this observation is a circular depression in a dark-toned unit associated with a field of cones to the northeast. At the scale of an image taken by MRO's Context Camera, which provides wide area views to provide context for high-resolution analysis, the depression appears to expose layers especially on the sides or walls, which are overlain by dark sands presumably associated with the dark-toned unit. The HiRISE camera's resolution, which is far higher than that of the Context Camera and its larger footprint, can help identify possible layers. HiRISE is one of six instruments on the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Image Credit-NASA-JPL-Caltech-University of Arizona.

FLEET WEEK NEW YORK 2015

Caption Credit: U.S. Navy. 150520-N-PJ969-213 NEW YORK (May 20, 2015) The amphibious transport dock ship USS San Antonio (LPD 17) enters New York harbor during the Parade of Ships to start Fleet Week New York 2015. Fleet Week New York, now in its 27th year, is the city's time-honored celebration of the sea services. It is an unparalleled opportunity for the citizens of New York and the surrounding tri-state area to meet Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen, as well as witness firsthand the latest capabilities of today's maritime services. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Abe McNatt/Released)

22,000 LIGHT YEARS TO EARTH: NGC 6535

This image captures the stunning NGC 6535, a globular cluster 22,000 light-years away in the constellation of Serpens (The Serpent) that measures one light-year across. Globular clusters are tightly bound groups of stars which orbit galaxies. The large mass in the rich stellar centre of the globular cluster pulls the stars inward to form a ball of stars. The word globulus, from which these clusters take their name, is Latin for small sphere. Globular clusters are generally very ancient objects formed around the same time as their host galaxy. To date, no new star formation has been observed within a globular cluster, which explains the abundance of aging yellow stars in this image, most of them containing very few heavy elements. NGC 6535 was first discovered in 1852 by English astronomer John Russell Hind. The cluster would have appeared to Hind as a small, faint smudge through his telescope. Now, over 160 years later, instruments like the Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) and Wide Field Camera 3 (WFC3) on the NASA/ European Space Agency (ESA) Hubble Space Telescope allow us to marvel at the cluster and its contents in greater detail. European Space Agency Credit: ESA/Hubble & NASA, Acknowledgement: Gilles Chapdelaine.

HEAVY RAINFALL FALLS ON AUSTRALIAN COASTS

Caption Credit: NASA. The rainfall accumulation analysis above was computed from data generated by the Integrated Multi-satellite Retrievals for GPM (IMERG) during the period from April 28 to May 3, 2015. During this period IMERG algorithms continuously merged and interpolated satellite passive microwave precipitation estimates and microwave-calibrated infrared (IR) satellite estimates over the entire globe. Rainfall from cyclone Quang fell over the west coast and a non-tropical system pounded the east coast of Australia simultaneously during the past weekend. Cyclone Quang formed in the South Indian Ocean northwest of Australia on April 28, 2015. Quang's peak intensity of 115kts (133 mph) occurred while it was well off western Australia's coast. The heaviest rainfall with cyclone Quang also occurred during this period when the tropical cyclone was far out in the Indian Ocean northwest of Australia's coast. Total rainfall there was measured at over 454 mm (17.9 inches). Heavy rainfall of over 448 mm (17.7 inches) was also found by this analysis in the Coral Sea off Australia's southeast coast. Rainfall totals of above 356 mm (14.0 inches) were analyzed with the passage of the low pressure center over southeastern Australia. Flooding in this area caused the reported deaths of at least four Australians. Credits-SSAI-NASA, Hal Pierce.

SOMEWHERE OVER THE GRAND CANYON

From the International Space Station, NASA astronaut Terry Virts took this photograph of an early morning sunrise over the Grand Canyon and posted it to social media on May 10, 2015. Because the station completes each trip around the globe in about 92 minutes, the crew experiences 16 sunrises and sunsets each day. The space station and its crew orbit Earth from an altitude of 220 miles, traveling at a speed of approximately 17,500 miles per hour. Because the station completes each trip around the globe in about 92 minutes, the crew experiences 16 sunrises and sunsets each day. Image Credit: NASA. Last Updated: May 13, 2015. Editor: Sarah Loff

THE ISS SOALR ARRAY

Caption Credit: NASA. Expedition 43 Flight Engineer Samantha Cristoforetti of the European Space Agency (ESA) photographed the giant solar arrays on the International Space Station on Feb. 12, 2015. The space station's solar arrays contain a total of 262,400 solar cells and cover an area of about 27,000 square feet (2,500 square meters) -- more than half the area of a football field. A solar array's wingspan of 240 feet (73 meters) is longer than a Boeing 777's wingspan, which is 212 feet (65 meters). Altogether, the four sets of arrays can generate 84 to 120 kilowatts of electricity -- enough to provide power to more than 40 homes. The solar arrays produce more power than the station needs at one time for station systems and experiments. When the station is in sunlight, about 60 percent of the electricity that the solar arrays generate is used to charge the station's batteries. At times, some or all of the solar arrays are in the shadow of Earth or the shadow of part of the station. This means that those arrays are not collecting sunlight. The batteries power the station when it is not in the sun. Image Credit: ESA/NASA

THE ATMOSPHERE ON MERCURY

Caption Credit: NASA. The Mercury Atmosphere and Surface Composition Spectrometer (MASCS) instrument aboard NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft was designed to study both the exosphere and surface of the planet Mercury. To learn more about the minerals and surface processes on Mercury, the Visual and Infrared Spectrometer (VIRS) portion of MASCS has been diligently collecting single tracks of spectral surface measurements since MESSENGER entered Mercury orbit on March 17, 2011. The track coverage is now extensive enough that the spectral properties of both broad terrains and small, distinct features such as pyroclastic vents and fresh craters can be studied. To accentuate the geological context of the spectral measurements, the MASCS data have been overlain on the monochrome mosiac from the Mercury Dual Imaging System (MDIS), an instrument with wide- and narrow-angle cameras to map the rugged landforms and spectral variations on Mercury’s surface. Click on the image to explore the colorful diversity of surface materials in more detail! The MESSENGER spacecraft is the first ever to orbit the planet Mercury, and the spacecraft's seven scientific instruments and radio science investigation are unraveling the history and evolution of the solar system's innermost planet. In the mission's more than four years of orbital operations, MESSENGER has acquired over 250,000 images and extensive other data sets. MESSENGER's highly successful orbital mission is about to come to an end, as the spacecraft runs out of propellant and the force of solar gravity causes it to impact the surface of Mercury near the end of April 2015. Image Credit: NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington

NASA'S GREASED LIGHTNING BATTERY PLANE

Caption Credit: NASA. A team at NASA's Langley Research Center is developing a concept of a battery-powered plane that has 10 engines and can take off like a helicopter and fly efficiently like an aircraft. The prototype, called Greased Lightning or GL-10, is currently in the design and testing phase. The initial thought was to develop a 20-foot wingspan (6.1 meters) aircraft powered by hybrid diesel/electric engines, but the team started with smaller versions for testing, built by rapid prototyping. During a recent spring day the engineers took the GL-10 to test its wings at a military base about two hours away from NASA Langley. The remotely piloted plane has a 10-foot wingspan (3.05 meters), eight electric motors on the wings, two electric motors on the tail and weighs a maximum of 62 pounds (28.1 kilograms) at take off. This photograph captures the GL-10 prototype taking off in hover mode like a helicopter. Image Credit: NASA Langley/David C. Bowman

3-D PRINTER AND MANUFACTURING IN SPACE

Caption Credit: NASA. The International Space Station’s 3-D printer has manufactured the first 3-D printed object in space, paving the way to future long-term space expeditions. The object, a printhead faceplate, is engraved with names of the organizations that collaborated on this space station technology demonstration: NASA and Made In Space, Inc., the space manufacturing company that worked with NASA to design, build and test the 3-D printer. This image of the printer, with the Microgravity Science Glovebox Engineering Unit in the background, was taken in April 2014 during flight certification and acceptance testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, prior to its launch to the station aboard a SpaceX commercial resupply mission. The first objects built in space will be returned to Earth in 2015 for detailed analysis and comparison to the identical ground control samples made on the flight printer prior to launch. The goal of this analysis is to verify that the 3-D printing process works the same in microgravity as it does on Earth. The printer works by extruding heated plastic, which then builds layer upon layer to create three-dimensional objects. Testing this on the station is the first step toward creating a working "machine shop" in space. This capability may decrease cost and risk on the station, which will be critical when space explorers venture far from Earth and will create an on-demand supply chain for needed tools and parts. Long-term missions would benefit greatly from onboard manufacturing capabilities. Data and experience gathered in this demonstration will improve future 3-D manufacturing technology and equipment for the space program, allowing a greater degree of autonomy and flexibility for astronauts. Image Credit-NASA-Emmett Given.

AEGIS BALLISTIC MISSILE DEFENSE SYSTEM COMPLETES SIMULATED ENGAGEMENTS

Caption Credit: U.S. DOD. February 24, 2015 Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense System Completes Successful Tracking and Simulated Engagements of Three Short-Range Ballistic Missiles. This test was designated Flight Test Other (FTX)-19. This was the first flight test to assess the ability of the Aegis BMD 4.0 weapon system to simulate engagements of a raid consisting of three short-range, separating ballistic missile targets. This was also the first time Aegis BMD 4.0 ships used the DWES capability with live targets. The MDA will use test results to improve and enhance the Ballistic Missile Defense System and support the advancement of Phase 2 of the Phased Adaptive Approach for missile defense in Europe to provide protection of U.S. deployed forces and our European allies and partners.

FROSTY MARS

Caption: Livio Tornabene, Ryan Hopkins, Kayle Hansen and Eric Pilles. This image of an area on the surface of Mars, approximately 1.5 by 3 kilometers in size, shows frosted gullies on a south-facing slope within a crater. At this time of year, only south-facing slopes retain the frost, while the north-facing slopes have melted. Gullies are not the only active geologic process going on here. A small crater is visible at the bottom of the slope. The image was acquired on Nov. 30, 2014, by the High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera, one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates HiRISE, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colorado. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/University of Arizona.

USS THEODORE ROSEVELT SUPPORTING OPERATIONS IN SYRIA AND IRAQ

U.S. NAVY DISPLAYS 28,000 POUNDS OF COCAINE

Caption Credit: U.S. DOD. 150416-N-UL721-037 SAN DIEGO (April 16, 2015) More than 28,000 pounds of cocaine, worth over $424 million, seized in 19 separate interdictions awaits its offload aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Boutwell (WHEC 719) at Naval Base San Diego. U.S. Navy, U.S. Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy ships have seized more cocaine in the last six months than in all of fiscal year 2014. Joint, interagency, and international relationships strengthen U.S. 3rd Fleet's ability to respond to crises and protect the collective maritime interests of the U.S. and its allies and partners. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Corey T. Jones/Released)

SPACEX FALCON 9 ROCKET CARRYING SUPPLIES FOR ISS

Caption Credit: NASA. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station carrying the Dragon resupply spacecraft on the sixth commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff was at 4:10 p.m. EDT, Tuesday, April 14. Research that will help prepare NASA astronauts and robotic explorers for future missions to Mars is among the two tons of cargo on its way to the International Space Station aboard Dragon. The mission is the company's sixth cargo delivery flight to the station through NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract. Dragon's cargo will support approximately 40 of the more than 250 science and research investigations that will be performed during Expeditions 43 and 44, including numerous human research investigations for NASA astronaut Scott Kelly's one-year mission in space. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

SEA ICE OFF COAST OF EAST ANTARCTICA

On April 5, 2015, the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite acquired this natural-color image of sea ice off the coast of East Antarctica’s Princess Astrid Coast. White areas close to the continent are sea ice, while white areas in the northeast corner of the image are clouds. One way to better distinguish ice from clouds is with false-color imagery. In the false-color view of the scene here, ice is blue and clouds are white. The image was acquired after Antarctic sea ice had passed its annual minimum extent (reached on Feb. 20, 2015), and had resumed expansion toward its maximum extent (usually reached in September). More information: NASA's Earth Observatory Image Credit: NASA/Jeff Schmaltz, LANCE/EOSDIS Rapid Response. Caption: Kathryn Hansen.

WATER, WATER EVERYWHERE?

Caption Credit: NASA. As NASA missions explore our solar system and search for new worlds, they are finding water in surprising places. Water is but one piece of our search for habitable planets and life beyond Earth, yet it links many seemingly unrelated worlds in surprising ways. Perhaps the most surprising water worlds are the five icy moons of Jupiter and Saturn that show strong evidence of oceans beneath their surfaces: Ganymede, Europa and Callisto at Jupiter, and Enceladus and Titan at Saturn. Scientists using NASA's Hubble Space Telescope recently provided powerful evidence that Ganymede has a saltwater, sub-surface ocean, likely sandwiched between two layers of ice. In this artist’s concept, the moon Ganymede orbits the giant planet Jupiter. The Hubble Space Telescope observed aurorae on the moon generated by Ganymede’s magnetic fields. A saline ocean under the moon’s icy crust best explains shifting in the auroral belts measured by Hubble. More: The Solar System and Beyond is Awash in Water Image Credit: NASA/ESA.

HEIST TESTED AT ARMSTRONG FLIGHT RESEARCH CENTER

Caption Credit: NASA. Leading Edge Asynchronous Propeller Technology (LEAPTech) project researchers at NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center are performing ground testing of a 31-foot-span, carbon composite wing section with 18 electric motors. The LEAPTech project will test the premise that tighter propulsion-airframe integration, made possible with electric power, will deliver improved efficiency and safety, as well as environmental and economic benefits. The experimental wing, called the Hybrid-Electric Integrated Systems Testbed (HEIST), is mounted on a specially modified truck. Testing on the mobile ground rig assembly will provide valuable data and risk reduction applicable to future flight research. Instead of being installed in a wind tunnel, the HEIST wing section will remain attached to load cells on a supporting truss while the vehicle is driven at speeds up to 70 miles per hour across a dry lakebed at Edwards Air Force Base. LEAPTech to Demonstrate Electric Propulsion Technologies Image Credit: Joby Aviation.

MINERAL VEINS ON MOUNT SHARP, MARS

Caption Credit: NASA. This view from the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars rover shows a network of two-tone mineral veins at an area called "Garden City" on lower Mount Sharp. The veins combine light and dark material. The veins at this site jut to heights of up to about 2.5 inches (6 centimeters) above the surrounding rock, and their widths range up to about 1.5 inches (4 centimeters). Figure 1 includes a 30-centimeter scale bar (about 12 inches). Mineral veins such as these form where fluids move through fractured rocks, depositing minerals in the fractures and affecting chemistry of the surrounding rock. In this case, the veins have been more resistant to erosion than the surrounding host rock. This scene is a mosaic combining 28 images taken with Mastcam's right-eye camera, which has a telephoto lens with a focal length of 100 millimeters. The component images were taken on March 18, 2015, during the 929th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Feature: Curiosity Eyes Prominent Mineral Veins on Mars. Image Credit-NASA-JPL-Caltech-MSSS.

A LOOK AT SUPER TYPHOON MAYSAK FROM ISS

Caption Credit: NASA. Typhoon Maysak strengthened into a super typhoon on March 31, reaching Category 5 hurricane status on the Saffir-Simpson Wind Scale. ESA Astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti captured this image while flying over the weather system on board the International Space Station. The Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) and Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) satellites, both co-managed by NASA and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, captured rainfall and cloud data that revealed heavy rainfall and high thunderstorms in the strengthening storm. The TRMM satellite has been collecting valuable scientific data since November 1997. Early on March 30, the satellite collected rainfall data as it flew directly above Maysak at 04:14 UTC (12:14 a.m. EDT) when maximum sustained winds were near 85 knots (98 mph). Rainfall data was collected by TRMM's Microwave Imager (TMI) and Precipitation Radar (PR) instruments and showed heaviest rainfall southwest of the center, and in fragmented bands of thunderstorms northeast of the center. In both of those places rainfall was in excess of 50 mm/2 inches per hour. More information. Image Credit-ESA-NASA-Samantha Cristoforetti.

U.S. AIR FORCE THUNDERBIRDS PERFORM DEMONSTRATION AT NELLIS AFB

WAITING FOR TAKEOFF ABOARD USS BOHNOMME RICHARD

Caption Credit: U.S. Navy. EAST CHINA SEA (March 24, 2015) A Naval Aircrewman awaits takeoff on an MH-60S Sea Hawk helicopter assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 25 aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD 6). Bonhomme Richard is the lead ship of the Bonhomme Richard Amphibious Ready Group (ARG) and, along with the embarked 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit (31st MEU), is underway in the U.S. 7th Fleet area of responsibility. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Kevin V. Cunningham (Released) 150324-N-UF697-009.

SOYUZ TMA-16M SPACECRAFT ROLLS OUT

The Soyuz TMA-16M spacecraft is seen after having rolled out by train to the launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, Wednesday, March 25, 2015. NASA astronaut Scott Kelly and Russian cosmonauts Mikhail Kornienko and Gennady Padalka of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) are scheduled to launch to the International Space Station in the Soyuz at 3:42 p.m. EDT, Friday, March 27 (March 28, Kazakh time). As the one-year crew, Kelly and Kornienko will return to Earth on the Soyuz TMA-18M in March 2016. Most expeditions to the space station last four to six months. By doubling the length of this mission, researchers hope to better understand how the human body reacts and adapts to long-duration spaceflight. This knowledge is critical as NASA looks toward human journeys deeper into the solar system, including to and from Mars, which could last 500 days or longer. More: A Year in Space Image Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

OPPORTUNITY'S VIEW OF MARATHON VALLEY

This view from NASA's Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity shows part of "Marathon Valley," a destination on the western rim of Endeavour Crater, as seen from an overlook north of the valley. The scene spans from east, at left, to southeast. It combines four pointings of the rover's panoramic camera (Pancam) on March 13, 2015, during the 3,958th Martian day, or sol, of Opportunity's work on Mars. The rover team selected Marathon Valley as a science destination because observations of this location using the Compact Reconnaissance Imaging Spectrometer for Mars (CRISM) instrument on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter yielded evidence of clay minerals, a clue to ancient wet environments. By the time Opportunity explores Marathon Valley, the rover will have exceeded a total driving distance equivalent to an Olympic marathon. Opportunity has been exploring the Meridiani Planum region of Mars since January 2004. This version of the image is presented in approximate true color by combining exposures taken through three of the Pancam's color filters at each of the four camera pointings, using filters centered on wavelengths of 753 nanometers (near-infrared), 535 nanometers (green) and 432 nanometers (violet). Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell Univ./Arizona State Univ.

MAGNETOSPHERIC MULTISCALE SPACECRAFT LAUNCH

Caption Credit: NASA. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket with NASA’s Magnetospheric Multiscale (MMS) spacecraft onboard launches from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 41, Thursday, March 12, 2015, Florida. NASA’s MMS mission studies the mystery of how magnetic fields around Earth connect and disconnect, explosively releasing energy via a process known as magnetic reconnection. MMS consists of four identical spacecraft that work together to provide the first three-dimensional view of this fundamental process, which occurs throughout the universe. Photo Credit: NASA/Aubrey Gemignani.

RETURN OF SOYUZ TMA-14M SPACECRAFT

The Soyuz TMA-14M spacecraft is seen as it lands with International Space Station Expedition 42 commander Barry Wilmore of NASA, Alexander Samokutyaev of the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) and Elena Serova of Roscosmos near the town of Zhezkazgan, Kazakhstan. The landing took place on the evening of Wednesday, March 11 in the U.S, and early in the morning on Thursday, March 12, in Kazakhstan. The three crew members returned to Earth after a 167-day mission on the orbital outpost that included hundreds of scientific experiments and several spacewalks to prepare the orbiting laboratory for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew spacecraft. Credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

GIVING ORION A LIFT

Caption Credit: NASA. Engineers across the country have been busy taking a closer look at NASA's Orion spacecraft and the data it produced during its successful flight test in December 2014. Inside the Launch Abort System Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Orion was lifted using a special crane for removal of its heat shield on Feb. 13, 2015. In the background, technicians move the heat shield on a work stand. The spacecraft’s heat shield protected Orion as it reentered Earth’s atmosphere at searing temperatures. Removing the back shell allows the team to get a closer look at Orion’s systems to see how they fared during the trip to space. The heat shield was removed in preparation for shipment to NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where special equipment will be used to remove its ablative material. From there, the heat shield will be shipped to NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, where it will be outfitted on a test article for water impact testing. Meanwhile, NASA and Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor for Orion, continue to take a look at the data the flight test produced to validate pre-flight models and improve the spacecraft’s design. Analysis of data obtained during its two-orbit, four-and-a-half hour mission Dec. 5 will provide engineers detailed information on how the spacecraft fared. Photo Credit-NASA-Jim Grossmann.

DAWN ARIVES TO DWARF PLANET CERES

Caption Credit: NASA. NASA's Dawn spacecraft has become the first mission to achieve orbit around a dwarf planet. The spacecraft was approximately 38,000 miles (61,000) kilometers from Ceres when it was captured by the dwarf planet’s gravity at about 4:39 a.m. PST (7:39 a.m. EST) Friday, March 6. This image of Ceres was taken by the Dawn spacecraft on March 1, just a few days before the mission achieved orbit around the previously unexplored world. The image shows Ceres as a crescent, mostly in shadow because the spacecraft's trajectory put it on a side of Ceres that faces away from the sun until mid-April. When Dawn emerges from Ceres' dark side, it will deliver ever-sharper images as it spirals to lower orbits around the planet. The image was obtained at a distance of about 30,000 miles (about 48,000 kilometers) at a sun-Ceres-spacecraft angle, or phase angle, of 123 degrees. Image scale on Ceres is 1.9 miles (2.9 kilometers) per pixel. Ceres has an average diameter of about 590 miles (950 kilometers). Dawn's mission is managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California, for NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. Dawn is a project of the directorate's Discovery Program, managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The University of California, Los Angeles, is responsible for overall Dawn mission science. Orbital ATK Inc., in Dulles, Virginia, designed and built the spacecraft. The German Aerospace Center, the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research, the Italian Space Agency and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute are international partners on the mission team. Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/UCLA/MPS/DLR/IDA

COMET C/2014 Q2 KNOWN AS LOVEJOY

Comet C/2014 Q2 (Lovejoy) is one of more than 32 comets imaged by NASA's NEOWISE mission from December 2013 to December 2014. This image of comet Lovejoy combines a series of observations made in November 2013, when comet Lovejoy was 1.7 astronomical units from the sun. (An astronomical unit is the distance between Earth and the sun.) The image spans half of one degree. It shows the comet moving in a mostly west and slightly south direction. (North is 26 degrees to the right of up in the image, and west is 26 degrees downward from directly right.) The red color is caused by the strong signal in the NEOWISE 4.6-micron wavelength detector, owing to a combination of gas and dust in the comet's coma. Comet Lovejoy is the brightest comet in Earth's sky in early 2015. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech.

USS CARL VINSON SUPPORTS STRIKES IN IRAQ, SYRIA

ISS VIEW OF THE ISLAND OF HAWAII

Caption Credit: NASA. From the International Space Station, European Space Agency astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti (@AstroSamantha) took this photograph of the island of Hawaii and posted it to social media on Feb. 28, 2015. Cristoforetti wrote, "And suddenly as we flew over the Pacific... the island of #Hawaii with its volcanoes! #HelloEarth".Crewmembers on the space station photograph the Earth from their unique point of view located 200 miles above the surface as part of the Crew Earth Observations program. Photographs record how the planet is changing over time, from human-caused changes like urban growth and reservoir construction, to natural dynamic events such as hurricanes, floods and volcanic eruptions. Astronauts have used hand-held cameras to photograph the Earth for more than 40 years, beginning with the Mercury missions in the early 1960s. The ISS maintains an altitude between 220 - 286 miles (354 - 460 km) above the Earth, and an orbital inclination of 51.6˚, providing an excellent stage for observing most populated areas of the world. Image Credit: NASA/ESA/Samantha Cristoforetti.

GETTING READY FOR VISITORS IN SPACE

Caption Credit: NASA. NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore works outside the International Space Station on the first of three spacewalks preparing the station for future arrivals by U.S. commercial crew spacecraft, Saturday, Feb. 21, 2015. Fellow spacewalker Terry Virts, seen reflected in the visor, shared this photograph on social media. The spacewalks are designed to lay cables along the forward end of the U.S. segment to bring power and communication to two International Docking Adapters slated to arrive later this year. The new docking ports will welcome U.S. commercial spacecraft launching from Florida beginning in 2017, permitting the standard station crew size to grow from six to seven and potentially double the amount of crew time devoted to research. The second and third spacewalks are planned for Wednesday, Feb. 25 and Sunday, March 1, with Wilmore and Virts participating in all three. Image Credit: NASA.

"LIVE LONG AND PROSPER"

SMAP LAUNCHES INTO SPACE

Caption Credit: NASA. A United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with the Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) observatory onboard is seen in this long exposure photograph as it launches from Space Launch Complex 2, Saturday, Jan. 31, 2015, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. SMAP is NASA’s first Earth-observing satellite designed to collect global observations of surface soil moisture and its freeze/thaw state. SMAP will provide high resolution global measurements of soil moisture from space. The data will be used to enhance scientists' understanding of the processes that link Earth's water, energy, and carbon cycles. )Photo Credit-NASA-Bill Ingalls.

2015: THE YEAR OF LIGHT

The year of 2015 has been declared the International Year of Light (IYL) by the United Nations. Organizations, institutions, and individuals involved in the science and applications of light will be joining together for this yearlong celebration to help spread the word about the wonders of light. NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory explores the universe in X-rays, a high-energy form of light. By studying X-ray data and comparing them with observations in other types of light, scientists can develop a better understanding of objects likes stars and galaxies that generate temperatures of millions of degrees and produce X-rays. To recognize the start of IYL, the Chandra X-ray Center is releasing a set of images that combine data from telescopes tuned to different wavelengths of light. From a distant galaxy to the relatively nearby debris field of an exploded star, these images demonstrate the myriad ways that information about the universe is communicated to us through light. In this image, an expanding shell of debris called SNR 0519-69.0 is left behind after a massive star exploded in the Large Magellanic Cloud, a satellite galaxy to the Milky Way. Multimillion degree gas is seen in X-rays from Chandra, in blue. The outer edge of the explosion (red) and stars in the field of view are seen in visible light from the Hubble Space Telescope. Chandra Celebrates the International Year of Light. Image Credit: NASA-CXC-SAO.

NASA SENDS SOUNDING ROCKETS INTO AUROAS

The interaction of solar winds and Earth’s atmosphere produces northern lights, or auroras, that dance across the night sky and mesmerize the casual observer. However, to scientists this interaction is more than a light display. It produces many questions about the role it plays in Earth’s meteorological processes and the impact on the planet’s atmosphere. To help answer some of these questions, NASA suborbital sounding rockets carrying university-developed experiments -- the Mesosphere-Lower Thermosphere Turbulence Experiment (M-TeX) and Mesospheric Inversion-layer Stratified Turbulence (MIST) -- were launched into auroras from the Poker Flat Research Range in Alaska. The experiments explore the Earth’s atmosphere’s response to auroral, radiation belt and solar energetic particles and associated effects on nitric oxide and ozone. This composite shot of all four sounding rockets for the M-TeX and MIST experiments is made up of 30 second exposures. The rocket salvo began at 4:13 a.m. EST, Jan. 26, 2015. A fifth rocket carrying the Auroral Spatial Structures Probe remains ready on the launch pad. The launch window for this experiment runs through Jan. 27. Image Credit: NASA-Jamie Adkin.

THE FIRST BIG SOLAR FLARE OF 2015

AIR FORCE BUILDS AN ICE BRIDGE IN ALASKA

K2: PROFILE OF A PLANET HUNTER

Caption Credit: NASA. The artistic impression shows NASA's planet-hunting Kepler spacecraft operating in a new mission profile called K2. In May the spacecraft began its new mission observing in the ecliptic plane, the orbital path of Earth around the sun, depicted by the grey-blue line marked by opaque cross-like shapes. Each shape represents the field-of-view of an observing campaign. The K2 mission observes a specific portion of the distant sky for approximately 80 days, until it is necessary to rotate the spacecraft to prevent sunlight from entering the telescope. The spacecraft orbits the sun every 372 days as it trails Earth, allowing for four full campaigns per orbit or year. The arching band of stars is the plane of the Milky Way Galaxy. Using publicly available data collected by the spacecraft in February 2014 during the performance concept test to prove K2 would work, astronomers have confirmed the first exoplanet detected by the K2 mission. The newly confirmed planet, HIP 116454b, is 2.5 times the diameter of Earth, and closely orbits a star smaller and cooler than our sun once every nine days, making the planet too hot for life as we know it. The star and planet are 180 light-years from Earth toward the constellation Pisces. In May 2013, data collection for Kepler's extended prime mission came to an end when the second of four reaction wheels used to stabilize the spacecraft failed. Without at least three functioning reaction wheels, Kepler couldn’t be pointed at the original field with sufficient stability to precisely measure the dimming of starlight caused by a planet when it passes or transits in front of a distant star. Rather than giving up on the stalwart spacecraft, a team of scientists and engineers crafted a resourceful strategy to use pressure from sunlight as a virtual reaction wheel to help control the spacecraft while observing the sky in the ecliptic plane. The resulting K2 mission promises to not only continue Kepler’s planet hunt, but to expand that search to bright nearby stars which harbor planets that allow scientists to study them in detail to better understand their composition. K2 will also introduce new opportunities to observe star clusters, active galaxies, and supernovae. Link to full NASA press release: NASA’s Kepler Reborn, Makes First Exoplanet Find of New Mission Credit: NASA Ames-JPL-Caltech-T Pyle.

MARS ROVER VISITS THE LAKE

Caption Credit: NASA. This evenly layered rock photographed by the Mast Camera (Mastcam) on NASA's Curiosity Mars Rover shows a pattern typical of a lake-floor sedimentary deposit not far from where flowing water entered a lake. The scene combines multiple frames taken with Mastcam's right-eye camera on Aug. 7, 2014, during the 712th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars. It shows an outcrop at the edge of "Hidden Valley," seen from the valley floor. This view spans about 5 feet (1.5 meters) across in the foreground. The color has been approximately white-balanced to resemble how the scene would appear under daytime lighting conditions on Earth. Figure A is a version with a superimposed scale bar of 50 centimeters (about 20 inches). This is an example of a thick-laminated, evenly-stratified rock type that forms stratigraphically beneath cross-bedded sandstones regarded as ancient river deposits. These rocks are interpreted to record sedimentation in a lake, as part of or in front of a delta, where plumes of river sediment settled out of the water column and onto the lake floor. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, manages the Mars Science Laboratory Project for NASA's Science Mission Directorate, Washington. JPL designed and built the project's Curiosity rover. Malin Space Science Systems, San Diego, built and operates the rover's Mastcam. Related: NASA’s Curiosity Rover Finds Clues to How Water Helped Shape Martian Landscape Image Credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS

THE END OF THE MISSION IN AFGHAISTAN

Caption Credit: U.S. DOD. A U.S. Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter lands while coalition troops prepare for the International Security Assistance Force Joint Command and U.S. Army XVIII Airborne Corps end-of-mission ceremony on North Kabul International Airport in Afghanistan, Dec. 8, 2014. The command's five-year mission was to neutralize the insurgency in specified areas and support improved governance and development, in order to protect the Afghan people and provide a secure environment for sustainable peace. U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Perry Aston

NASA DEVELOPING TECH TO IMPROVE FUEL EFFICIENCY, NOISE POLUTION

Caption Credit: NASA. NASA's green aviation project is one step closer to developing technology that could make future airliners quieter and more fuel-efficient with the successful flight test of a wing surface that can change shape in flight. This past summer, researchers replaced an airplane’s conventional aluminum flaps with advanced, shape-changing assemblies that form seamless bendable and twistable surfaces. Flight testing will determine whether flexible trailing-edge wing flaps are a viable approach to improve aerodynamic efficiency and reduce noise generated during takeoffs and landings. For the initial Adaptive Compliant Trailing Edge (ACTE) flight, shown in this image, the experimental control surfaces were locked at a specified setting. Varied flap settings on subsequent tests will demonstrate the capability of the flexible surfaces under actual flight conditions. ACTE technology is expected to have far-reaching effects on future aviation. Advanced lightweight materials will reduce wing structural weight and give engineers the ability to aerodynamically tailor the wings to promote improved fuel economy and more efficient operations, while reducing environmental impacts. NASA Tests Revolutionary Shape Changing Aircraft Flap for the First Time Image Credit: NASA/Ken Ulbrich.

ORION PASSES SPACEPORT VEHICLE ASSEMBLY BUILDING

Caption Credit: NASA. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the agency's Orion spacecraft passes the spaceport's iconic Vehicle Assembly Building as it is transported to Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on the evening of Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014. After arrival at the launch pad, United Launch Alliance engineers and technicians will lift Orion and mount it atop its Delta IV Heavy rocket. Orion began its journey to the launch pad at at the Launch Abort System Facility, where a 52-foot-tall protective fairing and the launch abort system were attached to the 10-foot, 11-inch-tall crew module. Resting atop a specialized Kamag transporter, Orion was moved to Space Launch Complex 37B at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The move began at 8:54 p.m. EST and concluded at 3:07 a.m., Wednesday, Nov. 12. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. Orion is scheduled to launch Dec. 4, 2014 atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket in its first unpiloted flight test, and in 2018 on NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett.

NuSTAR FINDS ENERGETIC PULSAR

Image and caption credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/SAO. The blue dot in this image marks the spot of an energetic pulsar -- the magnetic, spinning core of star that blew up in a supernova explosion. NASA's Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array, or NuSTAR, discovered the pulsar by identifying its telltale pulse -- a rotating beam of X-rays, that like a cosmic lighthouse, intersects Earth every 0.2 seconds. The pulsar, called PSR J1640-4631, lies in our inner Milky Way galaxy about 42,000 light-years away. It was originally identified by as an intense source of gamma rays by the High Energy Stereoscopic System (H.E.S.S.) in Namibia. NuSTAR helped pin down the source of the gamma rays to a pulsar. The other pink dots in this picture show low-energy X-rays detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. In this image, NuSTAR data is blue and shows high-energy X-rays with 3 to 79 kiloelectron volts; Chandra data is pink and shows X-rays with 0.5 to 10 kiloeletron volts. The background image shows infrared light and was captured by NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope.

ULTRA VIOLET EXTREME

NASA Caption: The sun emitted a significant solar flare on Oct. 19, 2014, peaking at 1:01 a.m. EDT. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory, which is always observing the sun, captured this image of the event in extreme ultraviolet wavelength of 131 Angstroms – a wavelength that can see the intense heat of a flare and that is typically colorized in teal. This flare is classified as an X1.1-class flare. X-class denotes the most intense flares, while the number provides more information about its strength. An X2 flare is twice as intense as an X1, and an X3 is three times as intense. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. > More: NASA's SDO Observes an X-class Solar Flare. Image Credit-NASA-Solar Dynamics Observatory.

GLACIERS AND MOUNTAINS OF WEST ANTARTICA

Caption Credit: NASA. Glaciers and mountains in the evening sun are seen on an Operation IceBridge research flight, returning from West Antarctica on Oct. 29, 2014. NASA is carrying out its sixth consecutive year of Operation IceBridge research flights over Antarctica to study changes in the continent’s ice sheet, glaciers and sea ice. This year’s airborne campaign revisits a section of the Antarctic ice sheet that recently was found to be in irreversible decline. IceBridge uses a suite of instruments that includes a laser altimeter, radar instruments, cameras, and a gravimeter, which is an instrument that detects small changes in gravity. These small changes reveal how much mass these glaciers have lost. Researchers plan to measure previously unsurveyed regions of Antarctica, such as the upper portions of Smith Glacier in West Antarctica, which is thinning faster than any other glaciers in the region. The mission also plans to collect data in portions of the Antarctic Peninsula, such as the Larsen C, George VI and Wilkins ice shelves and the glaciers that drain into them. The Antarctic Peninsula has been warming faster than the rest of the continent. In addition to extending the data record of NASA’s Ice, Cloud and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat), which stopped collecting data in 2009, IceBridge will also help set the stage for ICESat-2 by measuring ice the satellite will fly over. > Operation IceBridge Antarctic 2014 Campaign Image Credit: NASA/Michael Studinger.

ANTARES ROCKET EXPLODES DURING LAUNCH

Attention: Antares rocket explodes on liftoff Monday, Oct. 27. NASA Caption: Orbital Antares Rocket at the Launch Pad: The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket, with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, is seen on launch Pad-0A, Sunday, Oct. 26, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Antares will launch with the Cygnus spacecraft filled with over 5,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. The Orbital-3 mission is Orbital Sciences' third contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA. Launch is scheduled for Monday, Oct. 27 at 6:45 p.m. EDT. Image Credit-NASA-Joel Kowsky.

THE ULTIMATE IN SUNBLOCK

A partial solar eclipse was visible from much of North America before sundown on Thursday, Oct.23. A partial eclipse occurs when the moon blocks a portion of the Sun from view. The Hinode spacecraft captured images of yesterday’s eclipse as it passed over North America using its X-ray Telescope. During the eclipse, the new moon eased across the Sun from right to left with the Sun shining brilliantly in the background. And as a stroke of good luck, this solar cycle’s largest active region, which has been the source of several large flares over the past week, was centered on the Sun’s disk as the moon transitted! Hinode is in the eighth year of its mission to observe the Sun. Previously, Hinode has observed numerous eclipses due to its high-altitude, sun-synchronous orbit. As viewed from Hinode’s vantage point in space, this eclipse was annular instead of partial, which means that the entire moon moved in front of the Sun but did not cover it completely. In this situation, a ring of the Sun encircles the dark disk of the moon. Led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA), the Hinode mission is a collaboration between the space agencies of Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe. NASA helped in the development, funding and assembly of the spacecraft's three science instruments. Hinode is part of the Solar Terrestrial Probes (STP) Program within the Heliophysics Division of NASA's Science Mission Directorate in Washington. NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Hinode science operations. The Lockheed Martin Corp. in Palo Alto, Calif., is the lead U.S. investigator for the Solar Optical Telescope. Image Credit: NASA

SUPERNOVA EXPLOSION IN X-RAY LIGHT

Caption Credit: NASA. The destructive results of a powerful supernova explosion reveal themselves in a delicate tapestry of X-ray light, as seen in this image from NASA’s Chandra X-Ray Observatory and the European Space Agency's XMM-Newton. The image shows the remains of a supernova that would have been witnessed on Earth about 3,700 years ago. The remnant is called Puppis A, and is around 7,000 light years away and about 10 light years across. This image provides the most complete and detailed X-ray view of Puppis A ever obtained, made by combining a mosaic of different Chandra and XMM-Newton observations. Low-energy X-rays are shown in red, medium-energy X-rays are in green and high energy X-rays are colored blue. These observations act as a probe of the gas surrounding Puppis A, known as the interstellar medium. The complex appearance of the remnant shows that Puppis A is expanding into an interstellar medium that probably has a knotty structure. Supernova explosions forge the heavy elements that can provide the raw material from which future generations of stars and planets will form. Studying how supernova remnants expand into the galaxy and interact with other material provides critical clues into our own origins. A paper describing these results was published in the July 2013 issue of Astronomy and Astrophysics and is available online. The first author is Gloria Dubner from the Instituto de Astronomía y Física del Espacio in Buenos Aires in Argentina. Image credit: NASA/CXC/IAFE/G.Dubner et al & ESA/XMM-Newton.

ORBITING CARBON OBSERVATORY-2 IS ABOARD DELTA II ROCKET

Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) Aboard Delta II Rocket. The launch gantry is rolled back to reveal the United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket with the Orbiting Carbon Observatory-2 (OCO-2) satellite onboard, at the Space Launch Complex 2, Monday, June 30, 2014, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. OCO-2 will measure the global distribution of carbon dioxide, the leading human-produced greenhouse gas driving changes in Earth’s climate. Launch of OCO-2 is now scheduled for Wednesday, July 2 at 5:56 a.m. EDT (2:56 a.m. Pacific) at the opening of a 30-second window. Image Credit-NASA-Bill Ingalls. Caption Credit-NASA.

TEST VERSION OF ORION SPACECRAFT FLOATS

Caption Credit: NASA. A test version of NASA's Orion spacecraft floats inside the well deck of the U.S.S. Anchorage on Aug. 2, 2014, during recovery tests off the coast of California. A combined NASA and U.S. Navy team practiced recovery techniques over the weekend, in preparation for Orion's first trip to (and return from) space in Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in December. Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities. After traveling 3,600 miles into space on the uncrewed EFT-1, Orion will return to Earth at a speed of 20,000 miles per hour and endure temperatures near 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit before landing in the Pacific Ocean. > NASA Prepares for Second Orion Underway Recovery Test Image Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Gary Keen

PROTOTYPE ROBOT WITH SMARTPHONE TO TEST3-D MAPPING, NAVIGATION

Image and Story Credit: NASA/Ames. Orbital Sciences Corporation's Cygnus spacecraft will carry 3,293 pounds (1,493.8 kg) of cargo on its upcoming commercial resupply mission to the International Space Station, including crew supplies, nanosatellites, student research and this prototype free-flying space robot equipped with a smartphone, known as Smart SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient Experimental Satellites). NASA has been testing SPHERES on the space station since 2011. This summer, astronauts will upgrade these existing space robots to use Google’s "Project Tango" smartphone, which features a custom 3-D sensor and multiple cameras. NASA will then use the Smart SPHERES to test free-flying 3-D mapping and navigation inside the space station. NASA is developing the Smart SPHERES to perform work on the space station that requires mobile sensing, such as environmental surveys to monitor levels of radiation, lighting and air quality. They also will be used to monitor inventory and conduct experiments. The development and testing of Smart SPHERES is funded by the Space Technology Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NASA'S NEW POWERFUL ROCKET

NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS, will be the most powerful rocket in history. The flexible, evolvable design of this advanced, heavy-lift launch vehicle will meet a variety of crew and cargo mission needs. In addition to carrying the Orion spacecraft, SLS will transfer important cargo, equipment and science experiments to deep space, providing the nation with a safe, affordable and sustainable means to expand our reach in the solar system. It will allow astronauts aboard Orion to explore multiple deep-space destinations including an asteroid and ultimately Mars. The first configuration of the SLS launch vehicle will have a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit to test the performance of the integrated system. As the SLS is evolved, it will be the most powerful rocket ever built and provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions even farther into our solar system. Image Credit: NASA.

THE GRANDEST CANYON IN THE SOLAR SYSTEM

Valles Marineris: The Grand Canyon of Mars: Explanation: The largest canyon in the Solar System cuts a wide swath across the face of Mars. Named Valles Marineris, the grand valley extends over 3,000 kilometers long, spans as much as 600 kilometers across, and delves as much as 8 kilometers deep. By comparison, the Earth's Grand Canyon in Arizona, USA is 800 kilometers long, 30 kilometers across, and 1.8 kilometers deep. The origin of the Valles Marineris remains unknown, although a leading hypothesis holds that it started as a crack billions of years ago as the planet cooled. Several geologic processes have been identified in the canyon. The above mosaic was created from over 100 images of Mars taken by Viking Orbiters in the 1970s. Image and story credit: Viking Project, USGS, NASA.

A LOOK AT THE DUNES OF MARS

Nili Patera is one of the most active dune fields on Mars. As such, it is continuously monitored with the HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) camera, a science instrument aboard NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, with a new image acquired about every six weeks. By monitoring the sand dune changes, we can determine how winds vary seasonally and year-to-year. This observation is one of the more recent Nili images, acquired on March 1, 2014. Compared to an image acquired on Nov. 22, 2012, changes are obvious. The ripples on the dunes have moved, as well some of the dune boundaries, such as the one at upper left. New landslides on the central dune's lee face are apparent. Such changes, in just 16 months (and finer scale changes have been seen in just a couple of weeks), demonstrate the effectiveness of wind in modifying the Martian landscape. HiRISE is one of six instruments on NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. The University of Arizona, Tucson, operates the orbiter's HiRISE camera, which was built by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp., Boulder, Colo. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, manages the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter Project for the NASA Science Mission Directorate, Washington. > More information and image products Image Credit-NASA-JPL-Caltech-Univ. of Arizona Caption: Nathan Bridges.

ROBONAUT 2 GETS HIS SPACE LEGS

NASA has built and is sending a set of high-tech legs up to the International Space Station for Robonaut 2 (R2), the station's robotic crewmember. The new legs are scheduled to launch on the SpaceX-3 commercial cargo flight to the International Space Station, scheduled launch Monday, April 14 at 4:58 p.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. These new legs, funded by NASA's Human Exploration and Operations and Space Technology mission directorates, will provide R2 the mobility it needs to help with regular and repetitive tasks inside and outside the space station. The goal is to free up the crew for more critical work, including scientific research. Once the legs are attached to the R2 torso, the robot will have a fully extended leg span of nine feet, giving it great flexibility for movement around the space station. Each leg has seven joints and a device on what would be the foot, called an "end effector," which allows the robot to take advantage of handrails and sockets inside and outside the station. A vision system for the end effectors also will be used to verify and eventually automate each limb's approach and grasp. Image Credit: NASA.

THE BLUE ANGELS 2014 AIR SHOW SEASON BEGINS MARCH 15

BIG FLARE BUT NO REAL SCARE

On Feb. 24, 2014, the sun emitted a significant solar flare, peaking at 7:49 p.m. EST. NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO), which keeps a constant watch on the sun, captured images of the event. These SDO images from 7:25 p.m. EST on Feb. 24 show the first moments of this X-class flare in different wavelengths of light -- seen as the bright spot that appears on the left limb of the sun. Hot solar material can be seen hovering above the active region in the sun's atmosphere, the corona. Solar flares are powerful bursts of radiation, appearing as giant flashes of light in the SDO images. Harmful radiation from a flare cannot pass through Earth's atmosphere to physically affect humans on the ground, however -- when intense enough -- they can disturb the atmosphere in the layer where GPS and communications signals travel. Image Credit: NASA/SDO.

GALAXY SHOCK

FROM NASA: Roguish runaway stars can have a big impact on their surroundings as they plunge through the Milky Way galaxy. Their high-speed encounters shock the galaxy, creating arcs, as seen in this newly released image from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope. In this case, the speedster star is known as Kappa Cassiopeiae, or HD 2905 to astronomers. It is a massive, hot supergiant moving at around 2.5 million mph relative to its neighbors (1,100 kilometers per second). But what really makes the star stand out in this image is the surrounding, streaky red glow of material in its path. Such structures are called bow shocks, and they can often be seen in front of the fastest, most massive stars in the galaxy. Bow shocks form where the magnetic fields and wind of particles flowing off a star collide with the diffuse, and usually invisible, gas and dust that fill the space between stars. How these shocks light up tells astronomers about the conditions around the star and in space. Slow-moving stars like our sun have bow shocks that are nearly invisible at all wavelengths of light, but fast stars like Kappa Cassiopeiae create shocks that can be seen by Spitzer’s infrared detectors. Image Credit-NASA-JPL-Caltech

THE FIRST FLAG ON THE MOON

Photo taken by Neil Arstrong of Buzz Aldrin with U.S. flag on the Moon. (mission time: 110:10:33) Buzz salutes the U.S. Flag. His fingertips are visible on the far side of his faceplate. Note the well-defined footprints in the foreground. Buzz is facing up-Sun. There is a reflection of the Sun in his visor. At the bottom of Buzz's faceplate, note the white 'rim' which is slightly separated from his neckring. This 'rim' is the bottom of his gold visor, which he has pulled down. We can see the LEC straps hanging down inside of the ladder strut. In the foreground, we can see the foot-grabbing loops in the TV cable. The double crater under Neil's Lm window is beyond Buzz and the LM shadow

JAPANESE H-IIA ROCKET LAUNCHES FROM TANEGASHIMA SPACE CENTER

A LOOK AT THE CRAB NEBULA

This image shows a composite view of the Crab nebula, an iconic supernova remnant in our Milky Way galaxy, as viewed by the Herschel Space Observatory and the Hubble Space Telescope. Herschel is a European Space Agency (ESA) mission with important NASA contributions, and Hubble is a NASA mission with important ESA contributions. A wispy and filamentary cloud of gas and dust, the Crab nebula is the remnant of a supernova explosion that was observed by Chinese astronomers in the year 1054. The image combines Hubble's view of the nebula at visible wavelengths, obtained using three different filters sensitive to the emission from oxygen and sulphur ions and is shown here in blue. Herschel's far-infrared image reveals the emission from dust in the nebula and is shown here in red. While studying the dust content of the Crab nebula with Herschel, a team of astronomers have detected emission lines from argon hydride, a molecular ion containing the noble gas argon. This is the first detection of a noble-gas based compound in space. The Herschel image is based on data taken with the Photoconductor Array Camera and Spectrometer (PACS) instrument at a wavelength of 70 microns; the Hubble image is based on archival data from the Wide Field and Planetary Camera 2 (WFPC2). Image credit: ESA/Herschel/PACS/MESS Key Programme Supernova Remnant Team; NASA, ESA and Allison Loll/Jeff Hester (Arizona State University).

FUTURE FLIGHT

Aeronautics: New Ideas for Greener Aircraft We are accelerating the nation’s transition to the Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) and making commercial aviation safer, more fuel efficient, quieter, and more environmentally friendly through investments in revolutionary concepts for air vehicles and air traffic management. Three industry teams spent 2011 studying how to meet NASA's goals for making future aircraft burn 50 percent less fuel than aircraft that entered service in 1998, emit 75 percent fewer harmful emissions; and shrink the size of geographic areas affected by objectionable airport noise by 83 percent. Image Credit: NASA

AIR FORCE SPACE BASED INFRARED SYSTEM PAYLOAD IS LAUNCHED

What Is Wrong With The Sun?

Something unexpected is happening on the Sun. 2013 was supposed to be the year of "solar maximum", the peak of the 11-year sunspot cycle. Yet 2013 has arrived and solar activity is relatively low. Sunspot numbers are well below their values from 2011, and strong solar flares have been infrequent. The quiet has led some observers to wonder if forecasters missed the mark. Conventional wisdom holds that solar activity swings back and forth like a simple pendulum. At one end of the cycle, there is a quiet time with few sunspots and flares. At the other end, solar max brings high sunspot numbers and frequent solar storms. It’s a regular rhythm that repeats every 11 years. Image Credit: NASA/SDO

SPACEX DRAGON LAUNCHES

The Launch of SpaceX Dragon KSC-2012-2913 (22 May 2012) --- On Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Space Launch Complex-40 is ablaze as the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifts off at 3:44 a.m. (EDT) May 22, 2012. The launch is the company's second demonstration test flight for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services, or COTS, program. During the flight, the Dragon capsule will conduct a series of check-out procedures to test and prove its systems, including rendezvous and berthing with the International Space Station. If the capsule performs as planned, the cargo and experiments it is carrying will be transferred to the station. The cargo includes food, water and provisions for the station's Expedition crews, such as clothing, batteries and computer equipment. Under COTS, NASA has partnered with two aerospace companies to deliver cargo to the station. Photo credit: NASA

HOME WORLD EARTH

"A 'Blue Marble' image of the Earth taken from the VIIRS instrument aboard NASA's most recently launched Earth-observing satellite - Suomi NPP. This composite image uses a number of swaths of the Earth's surface taken on January 4, 2012. The NPP satellite was renamed 'Suomi NPP' on January 24, 2012 to honor the late Verner E. Suomi of the University of Wisconsin. Suomi NPP is NASA's next Earth-observing research satellite. It is the first of a new generation of satellites that will observe many facets of our changing Earth. Suomi NPP is carrying five instruments on board. The biggest and most important instrument is The Visible/Infrared Imager Radiometer Suite or VIIRS.

BRANDT'S RANDOM GOVERNMENT PRESS RELEASES

Sunday, September 7, 2014

U.S. EXTENDS BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE OF ANDORRA ON THEIR NATIONAL DAY

Space Launch System milestone on This Week @NASA

NASA VIDEO: SCANNING A SNOW STORM

WHITE HOUSE VIDEO: PRESIDENT OBAMA HOLDS A PRESS CONFERENC AT THE NATO SUMMIT

WHITE HOUSE VIDEO: WEST WING WEEK 09/05/14

ALLEGED SECURITIES KICKBACK SCHEMERS GET CAUGHT BY FBI UNDERCOVER OPERATION

ENGINEERS INSPECT THE MICRO SHUTTER ARRAY OF WEBB TELESCOPE

U.S. CONGRATULATES PEOPLE OF BRAZIL ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY

Saturday, September 6, 2014

Weekly Address: Time to Give the Middle Class a Chance

SECRETARY KERRY'S STATEMENT ON ANNIVERSARY OF MURDER OF MUNIR SAID THALIB

NASA VIDEO: SCIENCECASTS: MYSTERY IN THE OZONE LAYER

UNDER SECRETARY NOVELLI MAKES REMARKS ON INTERNET GOVERNANCE

NOAA VIDEO: AL POWELL - ON THE IMPACT OF CLIMATE SHIFTS ON ECOSYSTEMS

ASSISTANT SECRETARY RIVKIN'S REMARKS ON U.S.-CHINA FILM RELATIONSHIP

U.S.STATEMENT: MOZAMBIQUE GOVERNMENT'S AGREEMENT WITH RENAMO FORCES TO END HOSTILITIES

SECRETARY KERRY'S REMARKS ON BUILDING ANTI-ISIL COALITION

Friday, September 5, 2014

U.S. DEFENSE DEPARTMENT CONTRACTS FOR SEPTEBER 5, 2014

U.S. SENDS BEST WISHES TO PEOPLE OF KINGDOM OF SWAZILAND ON THEIR INDEPENDENCE DAY

WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMS DEATH OF THE LEADER OF AL-SHABAAB

NASA VIDEO: SCIENCECASTS: SPACE-TIME VORTEX

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