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NASA Ames Astrogram – October 2018

The headshot image of Astrid Albaugh

Astrid Albaugh

Oct 31, 2018
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Contents

October 2018 issue of Ames' newsletter, the Astrogram

Astrogram banner

Ames Management Serves 60th Birthday Cake to Employees

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On Oct. 1, 2018, NASA celebrated its 60th birthday. From its inception, our great agency has changed the world for the better and Ames has been there from the very beginning. Ames employees joined in the celebration of NASA’s birthday with a free slice of cake in Mega Bites Café as well as in the Space Bar on Oct. 2, 2018. Ames management, top left photo, right to left, Ames Director Eugene Tu, Senior Advisor to the Director Jack Boyd and Deputy Director Carol Carroll, graciously served the cake to the staff.
Credit: NASA Ames/Don Richey

Honorees Recognized at 2018 Presidential Rank & NASA Honor Awards Ceremony

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At the 2018 Presidential Rank and NASA Honor Awards ceremony on Oct. 18, 2018 at Ames, from left to right: Mark Geyer, Johnson Space Center Director; Jean Nozaki receiving her 55 year service award and special NASA jacket and Dr. Eugene L. Tu, Ames Center Director.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

On Oct. 18, 2018, Ames presented the 2018 Presidential Rank and NASA Honor Awards to 73 employees who were selected for individual awards and to 28 groups who were selected for the NASA Group Achievement Award.  The names of the honorees are listed below.

Congratulations on the outstanding accomplishments of our honorees.

2018 NASA HONOR AWARDS

Presidential Rank of Meritorious Executive

Yvonne Pendleton

Distinguished Service Medal

Hanwant B. Singh

Early Career Achievement Medal

Ivan M. Alvarez

Meredith K. Blasingame

Lauren T. Ladwig

Maria C. Lopez

Rafael A. Medina

Kevin J. Monk

Christine M. Pham

Elisban U. Rodriguez

Christopher A. Teubert

Lindsay A. Westerfield

Early Career Public Achievement Medal

François Cadieux

Richard Corona

Justin B. Haskins

Darrel K. Robertson

Equal Employment Opportunity Medal

Kristen Kallstrom

Exceptional Achievement Medal

Colleen J. Burt

Sylvain V. Costes

Dennis J. Koga

Arash Mazhari

Yung Q. Nguyen

Jessica L. Nowinski

Stanleigh W. Phillips

Stevan Spremo

Savita A. Verma

Exceptional Engineering Achievement Medal

Jessie L. Christiansen

Theodore J. Garbeff

Cole D. Kazemba

Jayanta Panda

Stefan R. Schuet

Zion W. Young

Exceptional Public Achievement Medal

Steven A. Bradley

Franklin Harris

Grover J. Hartman

Marla M. Smithwick

Andrew Vanderburg

Exceptional Public Service Medal

William B. Hunt

Michael Khasin

Sharon E. McKee

Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal

Sharmila Bhattacharya

Eric J. Jensen

Susan E. Mullally

Exceptional Service Medal

John L. Bresina

Naomi Castillo-Velasquez

Kristie L. Dunbar

Kim M. Hubbard

Millie G. Lo

Thomas R. Norman

Leonhard Pfister

George Reyes

Catherine H. Schulbach

Benjamin W. Varnell

Peter T. Zell

Exceptional Technology Achievement Medal

Michael R. Lowry

Larry A. Young

Outstanding Leadership Medal

Catherine R. Becker

Michael D. Bicay

Rupak Biswas

James A. Brass

Mary M. Connors

Mark H. Kliss

West Kurihara

Barry R. Lakinsmith

Paul U. Lee

Mary K. McGuire

Marianne Shelley

Joseph J. Totah

Jeremy C. Vander Kam

Michael D. Wong

Outstanding Public Leadership Medal

Peter J. Gage

Silver Achievement Medal

Lana L. Albaugh

Raj Shea

Carla M. Snow-Broadway

Group Achievement Award

Ames and Armstrong Regionalization Team

ASO Project Autonomous Habitat Demonstration

Asteroid Threat Assessment Project (ATAP)

Autonomy Operating System for UAVs Team

C-HARRIER Team

EcAMSat Project Team

Engineering Risk Assessment (ERA) Team

ExMC Medical Data Architecture Team

Extended TDY Consolidation Team

Fatigue App Development Team

Fruit Fly Lab Mission Team (FFL-02)

K2 Mission Flight Planning Center

Life-detection Mars Analog Project Team

Machine Learning and Data Sciences Team

MADCAT Team

Multicopter UAS Performance Test Team

NASA-Korean Aerospace Research Collaboration Team

NASA-Nissan Partnership Team

Office of Communications

Orion LEAF-Lite Project Team

Rapid Aircraft Modeling and Simulation Team

Rodent Research Project Team

SOFIA Phase 2 Cryocooler Project Team

Stall Recovery Guidance Team

Systems-Health & Operations Open-Data Team

TESS SPOC Commissioning Team

The NASA Archives of Kepler Mission Data

UAS Detect and Avoid Team

Hispanic Heritage Event Acknowledges Diversity and Women’s Contributions

— with Astronaut Ellen Ochoa and Ames Center Director Eugene Tu

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Astronaut Ellen Ochoa presenting at Ames on Oct. 22, 2018, footage from her final mission STS-110, International Space Station (ISS) assembly and current clips from the ISS and recent research.
Credit: NASA Ames/Dominic Hart

The Ames Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity (ODEO) along with the Hispanic Advisory Committee for Employees (HACE) and the Women’s Influence Network (WIN) hosted a special presentation and fireside chat with Dr. Ellen Ochoa, former astronaut and former center director of NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Dr. Eugene Tu, NASA Ames Center Director on Oct. 22, 2018.  Ochoa’s presentation highlighted footage from her final mission STS-110, International Space Station (ISS) assembly and current clips from the ISS and recent research. A fireside chat followed and provided the opportunity for employees attending the presentation to learn about the obstacles Ochoa and Tu faced on their rise to center directors for NASA and how they overcame these challenges and embraced diversity along the way. 

Ochoa became the first Hispanic woman to go to space when she served on a nine-day mission aboard the shuttle Discovery in 1993.  She has flown in space four times, logging nearly 1,000 hours.  Prior to her astronaut career, Ochoa was a research engineer and an inventor, with three patents for optical systems. She was the center director of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston from 2013 until her retirement in May 2018. She currently serves on several boards including as the vice chair of the National Science Board and as chair of the Nomination Evaluation Committee for the National Medal of Technology and Innovation.  She is honored to have six schools named for her and has been inducted into the Astronaut Hall of Fame and the California Hall of Fame.

What is Air Traffic Management Technology Demonstration-1?

— In life and flight arrivals, timing is everything

by Abigail Tabor

A board showing the status of multiple flights arriving at an airport

We’ve all been there: You’re at the end of a long flight, anxious to reach your destination and be on your way, when – Nooo! – instead of landing, you begin circling in the air. Meanwhile, someone at the airport is waiting for your plane to arrive, so they can finally board. Sigh.

No one is happy in this situation, but things may soon change for the better. Working with the Federal Aviation Administration, NASA researchers at Ames and Langley Research Center have developed tools that automate aspects of managing aircraft arrivals at the airport. The latest of these technologies has just been passed on to the FAA to be put into use around the country. These three software solutions, which are part of a project called Air Traffic Management Technology Demonstration-1, or ATD-1, could change the way commercial flights are directed in to the airport. And that could help change the whole experience of flying.

For full story, see: AirTrafficMgt

Magnetic Fields May Be the Key to Black Hole Activity

by Kassandra Bell

Collimated jets provide astronomers with some of the most powerful evidence that a supermassive black hole lurks in the heart of most galaxies. Some of these black holes appear to be active, gobbling up material from their surroundings and launching jets at ultra-high speeds, while others are quiescent, even dormant. Why are some black holes feasting and others starving? Recent observations from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, or SOFIA, are shedding light on this question.

Illustration of the core of Cygnus A, showing the dusty donut-shaped surroundings with magnetic fields trapping the dust in it.
Artist’s conception of the core of Cygnus A, including the dusty donut-shaped surroundings, called a torus, and jets launching from its center. Magnetic fields are illustrated trapping the dust in the torus. These magnetic fields could be helping power the black hole hidden in the galaxy’s core by confining the dust in the torus and keeping it close enough to be gobbled up by the hungry black hole.
Credit: NASA/SOFIA/Lynette Cook

For full story, see: BlackHoleActivity

Astronomers Find First Evidence of Possible Moon Outside Our Solar System

by Alison Hawkes

Using NASA’s Hubble and Kepler space telescopes, astronomers have uncovered tantalizing evidence of what could be the first discovery of a moon orbiting a planet outside our solar system.

This moon candidate, which is 8,000 light-years from Earth in the Cygnus constellation, orbits a gas-giant planet that, in turn, orbits a star called Kepler-1625. Researchers caution that the moon hypothesis is tentative and must be confirmed by follow-up Hubble observations.

Possible first moon outside our solar system ever found.
NASA’s Hubble and Kepler space telescopes have uncovered what could be the first moon outside our solar system ever found. More observations are needed to confirm this discovery.
Credit: NASA/ESA/L. Hustak

For full story, see: PossibleMoon

NASA Drone Traffic Management Researcher Selected for Federal Award

by Darryl Waller

Parimal H. Kopardekar, senior technologist for air transportation systems at NASA Ames, was presented a prestigious medal for government service at a gala in Washington, on Oct. 2, 2018.

Kopardekar was selected from more than 300 nominees to receive a 2018 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal for his vital role in designing a first-of-its-kind traffic management system for unmanned aerial vehicles, paving the way for the safe, expeditious and large-scale use of commercial drones in the national airspace system.

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Parimal Kopardekar
Parimal Kopardekar, senior technologist for air transportation systems and recipient of the 2018 Samuel J. Heyman Service to America Medal, attends a conference at NASA Ames.
Credit: NASA Ames

For full story, see: DroneTrafficResearcher

In Memoriam …

Dani Goldwater, Former NASA Scientist and Technology Transfer Manager, Passes Away

Dr. Danielle Judith Goldwater, M.D., of Pacifica, California, born June 10, 1948 in New Haven, to the late Leah Goldwater (Coleman) and the late Barney Goldwater, passed away at age 70 on July 7, 2018 in Burlingame, California after losing her battle with cancer.

Dr. Danielle (Dani) Goldwater
Dr. Danielle (Dani) Goldwater

Danielle, or Dani as she was known to friends and colleagues, graduated from Smith College in 1970 and Yale Medical School in 1974. She was employed as a scientist at NASA and later also as a Technology Transfer Manager in the Partnerships Division. She was primarily at NASA Ames for more than 40 years until her retirement in December 2017.

Dani is survived by her son, Jason Goldwater Cabot, of San Francisco; brother, Bernard Goldwater; and sister, Pauline Fogel of Northampton, Massachusetts. Those who wish may donate in Dani’s name to the National Domestic Violence Hotline.

If you would like to contact her son, Jason, with any stories and memories you have about Dani, you can email him at: frcabot@gmail.com

Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity Holds Open House

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The Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity (ODEO) staff held an open house Oct. 9, 2018 for Ames employees to gather information about all Ames conflict resolution processes; equal employment opportunity (EEO) information; the Ombuds services, details about the Employee Assistance Program (EAP), Safety at the center, the Negotiated Grievance and the Center Anti- Harassment processes. Snacks and punch also were provided.
Credit: NASA Ames/Domonic Hart

Special Advanced Viewing of “Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow” Shown

"Above and Beyond: NASA's Journey to Tomorrow,"
In celebration of NASA’s 60th birthday on Oct. 1, 2018, employees had the opportunity for an advanced viewing of the 90-minute film, “Above and Beyond: NASA’s Journey to Tomorrow,” in the Syvertson Auditorium, on Oct. 4 in the late afternoon (above photo). This documentary–directed, produced and narrated by Academy Award-nominated and Emmy-winning, Rory Kennedy, niece of President John F. Kennedy–shines a spotlight on NASA’s historic accomplishments in space, from the Moon landing to Mars exploration to journeys to the outer edges of the solar system and beyond. More than a moving portrait of NASA’s many accomplishments in space, “Above and Beyond” also sheds light on the Agency’s lesser-known areas of focus and the vital role NASA has played in measuring the health of our home planet. The documentary will air on the Discovery Channel on Oct. 13, 2018.
Credit: photo by Astrid Albaugh

Statistical Summary of Activities of the Protective Service Division’s Security/Law Enforcement and Fire Protection Services Units for Period Ending September 2018

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firechartSept2018