The first hatchlings from endangered sea turtle eggs at possible risk by the BP
oil spill were released into the Atlantic Ocean off the Kennedy Space Center on
July 11.
"There they go. Yeah! That’s awesome."
"This is the very first gulf coast nest from the BP Horizon oil spill."
After their collection at a Florida Panhandle beach, the eggs of twenty-two
Kemp’s ridley turtles were brought to a secure, climate-controlled facility at
Kennedy where the nest was monitored until incubation was complete.
"Tonight we’ll take the hatchlings and put them in here; we’ll reduce the amount
of sand cause it’s too heavy. We’ll put them in here and take them to the beach
in this."
Federal and state agencies and conservationists hope to relocate and release
over the next several months about 700 sea turtle nests deposited on Gulf coast
beaches in Florida and Alabama.
"This means they survived the excavation process, they survived the trip across
the state of Florida, they made it into our facility, and they are doing what
they normally would do and this is just great."
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STS-134 EXTERNAL TANK ARRIVAL – KSC
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The last external fuel tank scheduled to fly on a space shuttle mission arrived
at the Kennedy Space Center after a 900-mile journey from New Orleans to
Florida. The tank designated ET-138, will be mated to the orbiter Endeavour and
two solid rocket boosters for STS-134.
ET-138 is the 134th external fuel tank built by Michoud workers and delivered to
the Space Shuttle Program over a span of 37 years.
The STS-134 mission to deliver the Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer experiment and
other hardware to the International Space Station is targeted to launch from
Kennedy on February 26.
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MINI SATELLITE READY FOR LAUNCH - ARC
==================================
A new satellite, about the size of a loaf of bread, is being readied for launch.
NASA’s Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital Stresses, or O/OREOS, will launch
into orbit aboard a Minotaur IV rocket from Kodiak Island, Alaska, as part of a
mission to demonstrate and conduct low-cost science experiments on
nanosatellites. It’s the first cubesat, or miniature autonomous satellite, to
carry two distinct science experiments simultaneously. One will test how
microorganisms survive and adapt to the stresses of space; the other will
monitor organic molecule stability in space. Nanosatellites can reduce costs
and, with multiple payloads, increase the frequency of research missions in
space. O/OREOS is scheduled to launch no earlier than September 1.
Former Star Trek star and avid NASA supporter, Nichelle Nichols, took of a tour
of the Johnson Space Center as part of the Traveling Space Museum, or TSM,
project. TSM partners with schools to promote space studies and provide
mentoring to underserved students in the STEM disciplines of science,
technology, engineering, and math. Accompanying Nichols was 11-year-old Imanee
Magee, whose family was displaced from its east New Orleans home by hurricane
Katrina; after relocating to the Houston area, they were sent packing again,
this time by hurricane Rita.
Документальный фильм "NASA TV's This Week @NASA, July 16 2010"
