NASA Sept. 12 released a request for proposals for the first of two contract phases to certify commercially developed space systems in support of crewed missions to the International Space Station. Through these certification products contracts, NASA’s Commercial Crew Program will ensure commercial missions are held to the agency’s safety requirements and standards for human…

NASA’s Mars Curiosity team is almost finished robotic arm tests in preparation for the rover to touch and examine its first Martian rock. Tests with the 7-foot (2.1-meter) arm have allowed the mission team to gain confidence in the arm’s precise maneuvering in Martian temperature and gravity conditions. During these activities, Curiosity has remained at…

NASA Television will provide live coverage of events surrounding three International Space Station crew members who are scheduled to end four months on the orbiting laboratory with a landing in Kazakhstan Sept. 16. Expedition 32 Flight Engineer Joe Acaba of NASA and Commander Gennady Padalka and Flight Engineer Sergei Revin of the Russian Federal Space…

NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter data have given scientists the clearest evidence yet of carbon dioxide snowfalls on Mars. This reveals the only known example of carbon dioxide snow falling anywhere in our solar system. Frozen carbon dioxide, better known as “dry ice,” requires temperatures of about minus 193 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 125 Celsius), which is…

NASA and the German Aerospace Center have signed two cooperative agreements to advance air traffic management benefiting airline passengers and citizens of both nations. The agreements were signed Sept. 11 at a Berlin Air Show ceremony by NASA’s Associate Administrator for Aeronautics Research Dr. Jaiwon Shin and DLR’s Executive Board Member for Aeronautical Research Rolf…

The mission team for NASA’s long-lived Mars Exploration Rovers Spirit and Opportunity will be awarded the Haley Space Flight Award. The team will receive the award Sept. 12 during the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Space 2012 Conference and Exposition in Pasadena, Calif. The award is presented for outstanding contributions by an astronaut or…

At the Sept. 4 meeting of the East Kern Airport District, CEO Stuart Witt noted passage of AB 2243. The board approved applying for state matching funds for the new FAA Airport Improvement Program grant, and it also approved a change in the airport security contractor. The California legislature unanimously approved bill 2243, Space Flight…

After driving more than a football field’s length since landing, NASA’s Mars rover Curiosity is spending several days preparing for full use of the tools on its arm. Curiosity extended its robotic arm Wednesday in the first of 6-10 consecutive days of planned activities to test the 7-foot (2.1-meter) arm and the tools it manipulates….