NASA s Activities in Europe Presented by Dr. Bill Barry NASA European Representative November 10, 2009 at the 2009 International Workshop on Environment and Alternative Energy
2 Current Activities The International Space Station ISS has been on orbit 11 years - 9 years of uninterrupted crew operations Crew size doubled to six this year All the major laboratories are on orbit Expedition 21 The first European Commander of the ISS Frank De Winne of Belgium Will complete a six month mission with a landing on December 1
3 Current Activities The International Space Station Construction phase currently scheduled to end in 2010 with the last Space Shuttle flight Utilization of the ISS is just beginning
4 Current Activities Space Shuttle Shuttle Atlantis scheduled to launch next Monday Stocking the ISS with critical spare parts & preparing for Node 3 Five more Space Shuttle flights planned after STS-129
5 Current Activities Hubble Space Telescope May 2009 STS-125 the fourth and final Hubble servicing mission. Installed 2 new instruments, repaired 2 inactive instruments, replaced gyroscopes and batteries Expect Hubble to operate until at least 2014 To be replaced by the James Webb Space Telescope
Current Activities Mars Spirit and Opportunity continue their 90 day mission on Mars, started nearly 6 years ago Mars Phoenix completed its mission near the Martian North Pole In Orbit: Mars Odyssey, Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter, ESA Mars Express 6
7 Current Activities Barnstorming the Solar System I Messenger s third Mercury fly-by 29 September Discovered iron and titanium on surface not predicted by current theories Revealed much about Mercury s atmosphere Messenger will settle into orbit in March 2011
8 Current Activities Barnstorming the Solar System II On November 2 nd Cassini flew through the plume of material venting from the south pole of the Saturn moon Enceladus (100 km from surface)
9 Current Activities Barnstorming the Solar System III New Horizons Probe on its way to Pluto Took this composite picture of Jupiter and Io when it passed by in February 2007 Now about half way between the orbits of Saturn and Uranus Will fly past Pluto in July 2015
Current Activities Close to Home 10
11 International Cooperation: Overview International cooperation at NASA: Is directed by the National Aeronautics and Space Act that created NASA in 1958 and continues to be part of national space policy Has been a cornerstone of NASA s activities throughout its history Includes over 3,000 agreements with over 100 nations Brings multiple benefits Is developed through a combination of choice and necessity Current international cooperation: 453 active international agreements 10 partners account for 50% of the agreements (France, Germany, ESA, Japan, UK, Italy, Canada, Russia, Australia, Spain) By Mission Directorate: 2/3 are in the Science Mission Directorate
12 Guidelines for International Cooperation NASA international partners are generally government agencies due to the significant level of investment and legal requirements Each Partner funds its respective contributions, but contributions need not be equivalent. No exchange of funds Cooperation must be consistent with U.S. foreign policy objectives Projects/Partnerships: Must have scientific and technical merit Must demonstrate a specific benefit to NASA Are structured to protect against unwarranted technology transfer Are structured to establish clearly defined managerial and technical interfaces to minimize complexity Are documented in a written, binding agreement, closely coordinated with the Department of State and other USG agencies via the interagency approval process Coordinated by NASA Headquarters Office of External Relations
13 Challenges to Cooperation Management Complexity Decision-making complexity grows with number of partners timing of decisions who is in charge? Communications difficulties Differing specifications, standards and assumptions Technical and Programmatic Risk The critical path issue Interfaces difficult to manage at a distance Harder to monitor progress and get early warning of problems Political Risk Budgetary and bureaucratic uncertainties Potential linkage to political activities
Current International Cooperation Total International Agreements (including GLOBE) = 453 Canada (13) Central and South America (30) Argentina (3) Bolivia (3) Brazil (3) Chile (3) Peru (3) 14 Other Countries (15) UN (1) Europe (255) France (52) Germany (47) ESA (33) UK (24) Italy (17) 34 Other Countries and Organizations (68) Africa and the Middle East (47) Kenya (4) South Africa (4) Israel (3) 32 Other Countries (36) Multilateral (4) Russia (13) South and South East Asia (25) India (6) Philippines (3) Thailand (3) 11 Other Countries (13) Japan (35) East Asia (13) Korea (6) China (2) Mongolia (2) Taiwan (2) APCC (1) Pacific (17) Australia (9) New Zealand (3) 5 other countries (5) as of 2009-09-25 14
15 International Agreements by Region UN, 1 Multilateral, 4 East Asia, 13 Canada, 13 Russia, 13 Pacific, 17 Europe, 255 South & Southeast Asia, 25 Central & South America, 30 Japan, 35 Africa & the Middle East, 47
16 International Agreements by Program Aeronautics Research, 18 Cross Cutting, 13 Space Operations, 29 Exploration Systems, 25 Space Science, 154 Earth Science, 96 Education & Other, 113
17 European Perspectives By far, the region with the most cooperative agreements with NASA Cooperation with NASA is implemented through ESA and bilaterally through national programs Most notably France, Germany and Italy Lisbon Treaty gives European Commission a role in space policy As a partner, Europe makes key contributions to all aspects of NASA s programs
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