Press Release

NASA Daily News Summary – Media Advisory m99-254

By SpaceRef Editor

December 9, 1999

Filed under NASA HQ

NASA Daily News Summary
For Release: Dec. 9, 1999
Media Advisory m99-254

SUMMARY:

CHANDRA PLOUGHS UP A SNAKE IN HYDRA A

Video File for Dec. 9, 1999

NOTE: ALL TIMES EASTERN

ITEM 1 – HYDRA A GALAXY CLUSTER – CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY IMAGE

ITEM 2 – EL NIÑO’S DRAMATIC IMPACT ON OCEAN BIOLOGY

ITEM 3 – INSTRUMENTS SELECTED FOR MISSION TO PROVIDE
FIRST STEREO VIEWS OF SOLAR ERUPTIONS – GSFC (replay)

ITEM 4 – STS-103 CREW TRAINING – JSC (replay)

ITEM 5 – HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SERVICING MISSION 3 – HQ (replay)

ITEM 6 – HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE MISSION – (replay)

ITEM 7 – STS-103 CREW INTERVIEWS – JSC (replay)

NOTE: The Video File will run almost 2 hours today.

LIVE TELEVISION EVENTS THIS WEEK:

Due to the rescheduling of Space Shuttle Misison STS-103, the
third Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Mission, our television
schedule is under review. We will post a revised schedule here
as soon as it is finalized. The launch has been rescheduled to no
earlier than December 16, at 9:18 p.m.

*****************************

CHANDRA PLOUGHS UP A SNAKE IN HYDRA A

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the Hydra A galaxy
cluster has revealed a possible solution to a Herculean puzzle
about the fate of the largest objects in the universe.

For years astronomers have been searching unsuccessfully for
large quantities of matter they believed must be flowing into the
central regions of galaxy clusters. The Chandra image of Hydra A
displays for the first time long snake-like strands of 35 million
degree gas extending away from the center of the cluster. These
structures show that the inflow of cooling gas is deflected by
magnetic fields produced by explosions from a central black hole.

Contact at Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL: Steve
Roy (Phone 205/544-0034).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Donald Savage
(Phone 202/358-1547).
Contact at Chandra X-ray Observatory Center, Harvard-Smithsonian
Center for Astrophysics, Cambridge, MA: Dr. Wallace Tucker (Phone
617/496-7998).

For full text, see:
ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/1999/99-142.txt

—————————–

If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e-
mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list.

Index of 1999 NASA News Releases:
http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html

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Video File for Dec. 9, 1999

ITEM 1 – HYDRA A GALAXY CLUSTER – CHANDRA X-RAY OBSERVATORY IMAGE

ITEM 1a – HYDRA A: A CLUSTER OF GALAXIES——————TRT :15
IN THE CONSTELLATION HYDRA

This image shows a radio (green and maroon) overlay of the Chandra
X-ray (pink, and blue) image of Hydra A. Large magnetized bubbles
of radio-emitting high energy particles expanding from the center
of the cluster have pushed through the 40 million degree X-ray
emitting gas. As the largest gravitationally bound objects in the
universe, galaxy clusters provide crucial clues for understanding
the origin and fate of the universe. Hydra A is 840 million light
years from Earth.

ITEM 1b – X-RAY IMAGE OF HYDRA A GALAXY CLUSTER———–TRT :15

NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory image of the Hydra A galaxy
cluster has revealed a possible solution to a Herculean puzzle
about the fate of the largest objects in the universe. For years
astronomers have been searching unsuccessfully for large
quantities of matter they believed must be flowing into the
central regions of galaxy clusters. The Chandra image of Hydra A
displays for the first time long snake-like strands of 35 million
degree gas extending away from the center of the cluster. These
structures show that the inflow of cooling gas is deflected by
magnetic fields produced by explosions from a central black hole.
As the largest gravitationally bound objects in the universe,
galaxy clusters provide crucial clues for understanding the origin
and fate of the universe.

ITEM 1c – Interview Excerpts——————————TRT 1:48

Mary Weisskopf, Chandra Project Scientist, NASA Marshall Space
Flight Center, Huntsville, AL

http://chandra.nasa.gov

ITEM 2 – EL NIÑO’S DRAMATIC IMPACT ON OCEAN BIOLOGY——TRT 14:00

Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD:
Cynthia O’Carroll (Phone 301/614-5563).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: David E. Steitz
(Phone 202/358-1730).

Synopsis: The 1997-98 El Niño/La Niña had an unprecedented
roller-coaster effect on the oceanic food chain across a vast
swath of the Pacific, plunging chlorophyll levels to the lowest
ever recorded in December 1997 and spawning the largest bloom of
microscopic algae ever seen in the region the following summer.
According to new results published in the December 10 issue of the
journal Science, El Niño also dramatically reduced the amount of
carbon dioxide normally released into the atmosphere by the
equatorial Pacific Ocean.

ITEM 2a – AN IMMENSE PACIFIC BLOOM

This sequence illustrates the vast size and intensity of the
ocean’s biological rebound from El Niño. Satellite imagery from
NASA’s Sea-viewing Wide-Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) instrument
showed nearly a complete lack of plankton along the equatorial
Pacific during El Niño. The cool waters associated with La Niña
brought nutrients from the below the surface and enabled an
enormous plankton bloom (shown in green).

ITEM 2b – REBOUND FROM EL NIÑO

The SeaWiFS data revealed surprisingly low levels of plankton
coinciding with El Niño’s strongest phase. The cooler waters
associated with La Nina brought a huge plankton bloom along the
equator (shown in green).

ITEM 2c – EXPLOSION IN THE GALAPAGOS

SeaWiFS documented the rapid demise of El Niño in the waters
around the Galapagos Islands. The images show an explosion in
plankton growth as the warm El Niño waters blamed for choking off
essential ocean nutrients are replaced by deep cold upwelled
waters. The false color images, which document plankton
concentrations from May 9-24 1998, show that life in the region to
the west archipelago has returned in remarkable abundance. High
concentrations are shown in red. Areas occluded by clouds are
shown in white.

ITEM 2d – THE CARBON CONNECTION – PHYSICAL PROCESSES

By understanding the magnitude of the huge plankton bloom,
scientists were able to calculate how changes in biologic activity
caused massive changes in carbon dioxide. Scientists determined
that El Niño cut the amount of carbon dioxide released into the
atmosphere by 700 million metric tons. The deep ocean waters
normally release large amounts of carbon dioxide. During El Niño,
the carbon dioxide-rich waters were held below the surface.

ITEM 2e – THE CARBON CONNECTION – BIOLOGICAL PROCESSES

Nutrients in the cooler waters associated with La Niña were
brought to the surface and helped fuel a huge plankton bloom.
This animation shows how the tiny plants can lock up carbon when
they die.

ITEM 2f – THE 1997-98 EL NIÑO

The 1997-98 El Niño was truly a global event. The sequence shows
a superimposition of sea surface temperature anomalies on
anomalies of the sea surface elevation. Warmer than normal
temperatures are shown in red and cooler than normal temperatures
are shown in blue.

ITEM 2g – 3-D EL NIÑO

The space-based perspective provided by satellite observations
trace the evolution of El Niño (shown in red) from its beginning
in early 1997 through its decline in early 1998. The onset of La
Niña can be seen as the emergence cooler than normal temperatures
(shown in blue) along the equator.

ITEM 2h – PHYTOPLANKTON — UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL

Images of phytoplankton and zooplankton. Plankton are lowest
rungs in the oceanic food chain.

ITEM 2i – BUOY ARRAY

Scientists also used data from the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s Tropical Atmosphere Ocean array.

ITEM 2j – EYE IN THE SKY – SEAWIFS

NASA’s Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-View Sensor (SeaWiFS) gave
researchers an unprecedented view into the extreme biological
effects of this El Niño/La Niña event.

ITEM 2k – HOW SEAWIFS “SEES” PLANKTON

The SeaWiFS instrument detects subtle differences in ocean color
and is used to determine the concentrations of chlorophyll found
in plankton.

ITEM 2l – SCIENTISTS B-ROLL

Scientists at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center study El Niño and
La Niña.

ITEM 2m – INTERVIEW EXCERPTS

Dr. Gene Feldman, Research Oceanographer, NASA Goddard Space
Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD.

ITEM 3 – INSTRUMENTS SELECTED FOR MISSION TO PROVIDE——TRT :58
FIRST STEREO VIEWS OF SOLAR ERUPTIONS – GSFC

Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Wade
Sisler (Phone 301/286-6256).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Donald Savage
(Phone 202/358-1547).

The Solar Solar TErrestrial RElations Observatory (STEREO)
mission, designed to study the origin, evolution and
interplanetary consequences of coronal mass ejection (CME), will
fly in 2004. Selection of the instruments to be flown on the
mission was announced today. STEREO will study CMEs, some of the
most massive disturbances in our solar system, by using two
identical spacecraft in orbit with the Earth — one well ahead and
one behind the Earth’s path. This, along with Earth-based
observations, will provide a unique 3-dimensional view of these
phenomena. The STEREO mission will consist of an international
collaboration involving participants from France, Germany, the
United States, and the United Kingdom. It is the third mission
selected for NASA’s Solar-Terrestrial Probe (STP) Program, under
the Agency’s Sun-Earth Connections Theme.

ITEM 4 – STS-103 CREW TRAINING – JSC (replay)————TRT 12:30

Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX: Kyle Herring
(Phone 281/483-5111).

The STS-103 crew trains for the next shuttle mission, scheduled
for departure from Kennedy Space Center on Dec. 11, 1999. Mission
objectives include repair of the Hubble Space Telescope.

ITEM 5 – HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SERVICING MISSION 3 – HQ (replay)

ITEM 5a – STS-61 AND STS-82 FOOTAGE———————–TRT 8:48

Description – Mission highlights from STS-61 and STS-82 Hubble
Space Telescope repair missions.

Item 5b – STS-103 ANIMATION——————————-TRT 1:33

Description – Computer animation highlighting STS-103 rendezvous,
docking, EVA, and deploy activities.

ITEM 6 – HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE SCIENCE MISSION – (replay)

Contact at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD: Wade
Sisler (Phone 301/286-6256).
Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Donald Savage
(Phone 202/358-1547).

Synopsis: NASA officials decided to move up part of the servicing
mission that had been scheduled for June 2000 after three of the
telescope’s six gyroscopes failed. Having fewer than three
working gyroscopes would preclude science observations, although
the telescope would remain safely in orbit until a servicing crew
arrived. In addition to replacing all six gyroscopes on the STS-
103 flight, the crew will replace a guidance sensor and the
spacecraft’s computer. The new computer will reduce the burden of
flight software maintenance and significantly lower costs. A
voltage/temperature kit will be installed to protect spacecraft
batteries from overcharging and overheating when the spacecraft
goes into safe mode. A new transmitter will replace a failed
spare currently aboard the spacecraft, and spare insulation will
replace telescope insulation that has degraded. The insulation is
necessary to control the internal temperature on the telescope.

ITEM 6a – GYROSCOPE ANIMATION—————————–TRT 1:01

Astronauts will replace all six of the Telescope’s gyroscopes
during STS-103. Currently three of Hubble’s six gyros are not
working, leaving only the minimum number needed to continue its
mission. The gyroscopes are needed for pointing the telescope.
The pointing system is comprised of reaction wheels that actually
move the telescope, gyros that report its position, star trackers
that provide reference points, and the onboard computer that
controls the pointing process. Based on nearly one and a half
years of intensive chemical, mechanical and electrical
investigations, the HST team believes that the thin wires are
being corroded by the fluid in which they are immersed and
ultimately this corrosion causes them to break.

ITEM 6b – THERMAL BLANKET LAYER ANIMATION——————TRT :33

During the mission astronauts will cover Hubble’s electronic bay
doors with seven permanent coated-stainless steel foil sheets
called the New Outer Blanket Layer (NOBL). The crew will also
carry seven rolls of special fabric, called the Shell/Shield
Replacement Fabric (SSRF) which will be installed on Hubble’s
forward shell and light shield if time is available. The NOBL
covers and SSRF pieces are designed to protect Hubble’s external
blankets and prevent its insulation from further degradation.
Animation shows how these “thermal blankets” are replaced.
Blankets are attached with “bottle-stopper” fasteners and then are
unrolled like “wallpaper”. This multi-layer insulation protects
the Telescope from the severe and rapid temperature changes as it
moves through its 90-minute orbit from very hot sun to very cold
night.

ITEM 6c – TECHNICIANS “QUILT” SSRF B-ROLL——————TRT :56

B-roll of technicians at the Goddard Space Flight Center
“quilting” the Shell/Shield Replacement Fabric (SSRF). The fabric
pieces are stored in rolls for their trip to orbit. The fabric is
composed of flexible, aluminized Teflon with rip-stop material
bonded to the back side. Seven pieces up to 22 feet (7 meters)
long will cover 80 percent of the sun-side light shield and
forward shell. This special fabric was designed and tested to
ensure that it can withstand exposure to charged particles, X-
rays, ultraviolet radiation, and thermal cycling for at least ten
years.

ITEM 6d – STS-103 CLEANROOM B-ROLL————————TRT 2:12

Astronauts training for the Hubble Space Telescope Third Servicing
Mission in the cleanroom at the Goddard Space Flight Center.
Footage includes astronauts working with gyroscopes and applying
thermal blankets to a full-sized mock-up of the Hubble Space
Telescope. The seven-member crew will rendezvous with the
Telescope, capture it with the Space Shuttle Discovery’s robotic
arm and dock it in the Shuttle bay. Working in teams of two, four
astronauts will outfit the Hubble with new equipment, including
six gyroscopes, a Fine Guidance Sensor, Solid State Recorder, new
Main Computer, New Outer Blanket Layers (NOBL), and a transmitter.
The astronauts will take more than 150 crew aids and tools on this
service call.

ITEM 6e – ACTIVITY IN STOCC———————————TRT:26

Activity in Space Telescope Operations Control Center (STOCC) at
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD, during the
mission. Working 24 hours a day, ground controllers command and
control the Hubble Space Telescope. Commands are sent to the
Telescope to direct the observation of astronomical targets all
across the sky. Hubble operators monitor the Telescope’s health
and safety while they control flight operations and science
activities.

ITEM 6f – HUBBLE SPACE TELESCOPE ANIMATION——————TRT:22
(5 glamour shot sequences)

ITEM 6g – THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM (animation)———-TRT:15

Animations of the electromagnetic spectrum, the communication
path, and the Hubble Telescope.

ITEM 6h – HUBBLE TRACKING/SATELLITE RELAY ANIMATIONS

Cut 1: Animation of HST Communication——————–TRT :17

Communications through the Tracking & Data Relay Satellite System
(TDRSS), White Sands, NM, and DOMSAT, to the Goddard Space Flight
Center (GSFC).

Cut 2: TDRSS Animation————————————TRT :22

Animation of the Tracking & Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS)
Communications Satellite depicting the data flow from TDRSS to
Earth, equivalent to a set of encyclopedias every second.

ITEM 6i – INTERVIEW EXCERPTS——————————TRT 2:02

Dr. David Leckrone, Sr. Project Scientist Hubble Space Telescope

ITEM 6j – INTERVIEW EXCERPTS——————————TRT 3:38

Dr. John Campbell, Associate Director, Hubble Space Telescope

ITEM 7 – STS-103 CREW INTERVIEWS————————-TRT 49:40

Contact at NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX: Kyle Herring
(Phone 281/483-5111).

ITEM 7a – COMMANDER CURTIS L. BROWN——————–TRT 6:30

Curt Brown was born in Elizabethtown, NC. He received a B.S.
degree in electrical engineering from the U.S. Air Force Academy
and became a pilot. He has logged over 6,000 hours in flight time
in jet aircraft. On this mission, Brown will become the fifth man
to fly in space six times. Brown will be the prime crew member
for the rendezvous and retrieval of the Hubble Space Telescope,
and is responsible for vehicle operation following the Telescope1s
release again into orbit. Brown served as pilot for STS-47, STS-
66, and STS-77, and as commander for spce shuttle flights STS-85
and STS-95, the flight that carried Astronaut John Glenn back into
space.

ITEM 7b – PILOT SCOTT J. KELLY—————————-TRT 6:10

Scott Kelly, one of twin astronauts, was born in Orange, NJ. He
received a B.S. degree in electrical engineering from the State
University of New York Maritime College, received his commission,
and became a naval aviator. Following deployments to the North
Atlantic, Persian Gulf, and Mediterranean Sea, Kelly later
graduated from U.S. Naval Test Pilot School. Kelly has logged
over 2,000 flight hours in more than 30 aircraft. During this
mission, he will be responsible for many orbiter systems during
launch and landing and will backup Curt Brown during the
rendezvous. This is his first shuttle mission.

ITEM 7c – MISSION SPECIALIST 1 STEVE SMITH—————-TRT 6:00

Steve Smith was born in Phoenix, AZ, and raised in San Jose, CA.
He received a B.S. , M.S., and M.B.A. in electrical engineering
from Standford University. He joined NASA in 1989 in the Payload
Operations Branch, with duties including payload integration. He
was selected as an astronaut in 1992. As a crew member and payload
commander, he will have primary responsibility for the servicing
and operation of the Hubble Space Telescope. He will be the lead
space walker in the mission, using his experience from the Hubble
servicing mission in 1997.

ITEM 7d – MISSION SPECIALIST 2 JEAN-FRANCOIS CLERVOY—-TRT 7:07
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

Clervoy was born in Longeville-les Metz, France. He graduated
from Ecole Polytechnique, Paris, and furthered his education to
become a flight test engineer. He was selected as a French
astronaut in 1985 and reported to NASA for training in 1992. He
is the prime crew memeber for the operation of Discovery1s robot
arm and will assist other crew members with navigation tools for
the grapple of Hubble. As flight engineer, he will monitor key
Shuttle systems on the flight deck during launch and landing.
Clervoy flew with NASA on STS-66 and STS-84.

ITEM 7e – MISSION SPECIALIST 3 JOHN M. GRUNSFELD, PH.D.—TRT 6:18

John Grunsfeld was born in Chicago, IL. He received a B.S. degree
in physics from M.I.T. and an M.S. and Ph.D. in physics from the
University of Chicago. Among numerous awards, Dr. Grunsfeld has
received the W.D. Grainger Postdoctoral Fellowship in Experimental
Physics, as well as a NASA graduate student research fellowship.
Dr. Grunsfeld will be examining the science of the mission. He
will be teamed with Steve Smith on the third spacewalk and will
open the doors of Discovery1s cargo bay in preparation for the
Telescope. He has also flown aboard STS-67 and STS-81.

ITEM 7f – MISSION SPECIALIST 4 C. MICHAEL FOALE, PH.D.—-TRT 6:18

Michael Foale was born in Louth and raised in Cambridge, England.
He attended the University of Cambridge, Queens College, and
earned a B.A. degree in physics, National Sciences Tropos, and
then earned a Ph.D. at Queens in laboratory astrophysics. A
veteran of four space flights, including a 4-1/2 month experience
aboard the Russian space station MIR, on this mission Foale will
serve as a science expert, walking on the second and fourth EVAs
and conducting intravehicular operations during the first and
third walks. Now on his sixth mission, Foale has logged over 173
days in space.

ITEM 7g – MISSION SPECIALIST 5 CLAUDE NICOLLIER———–TRT 7:04
EUROPEAN SPACE AGENCY

Claude Nicollier was born in Vevey, Switzerland. He received a
B.S. in physics from the University of Lausanne and an M.S. degree
in astrophysics from the University of Geneva. He has conducted
research in the field of stellar photometry and was selected as an
astronaut by ESA in 1978. Nicollier will be teamed with Mike
Foale for the second and fourth spacewalks. He previously visited
Hubble for its first servicing in 1993 as the robot arm operator
and will be manning the arm during the first and third spacewalks.

—————————–

Unless otherwise noted, ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN.

ANY CHANGES TO THE LINE-UP WILL APPEAR ON THE NASA VIDEO FILE
ADVISORY ON
THE WEB AT ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt
WE UPDATE THE ADVISORY THROUGHOUT THE DAY.

The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m.
and midnight Eastern Time.

NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees
West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0
megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz.

Refer general questions about the video file to NASA Headquarters,
Washington, DC: Ray Castillo, 202/358-4555, or Elvia Thompson,
202/358-1696, elvia.thompson@hq.nasa.gov

During Space Shuttle missions, the full NASA TV schedule will
continue to be posted at:
http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html

For general information about NASA TV see:
http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/

*****************************

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Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition information
Service Web site: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html

*****************************

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end of daily news summary

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