NASA Builds Success Based on the Vision for Space Exploration

NASA started the year on an upbeat and positive note, when
President George W. Bush announced the Vision for Space
Exploration on January 14. His announcement at NASA
Headquarters in Washington of a robust space exploration
program to advance U.S. scientific, security and economic
interests became the keystone for NASA’s transformation.

“NASA has a new face and new approach to operations and
programs,” said NASA Administrator Sean O’Keefe. “We’ve taken
the recommendations of the Columbia Accident Investigation
Board, the President’s Commission on Implementation of U.S.
Space Exploration Policy, and input from other key advisory
panels, and applied them to our return-to-flight efforts,
International Space Station operations, and our implementation
of the Vision for Space Exploration,” he said.

President Bush said in June, “The Vision for Space Exploration
is a sustainable and affordable long-term human and robotic
program to explore space. We will explore space to improve our
lives and lift our national spirit.”

“The enthusiastic support of the Congress, both in spirit and
as reflected in NASA’s fiscal year 2005 budget, will allow us
to begin implementing the Vision for Space Exploration and to
continue our exciting and extensive exploration projects,”
Administrator O’Keefe said.

“As we approach the return to Space Shuttle operations, NASA is
facing the most exciting time in the agency’s 46 year history.
How we meet the technical and cultural challenges and how we
successfully change this agency will guide our path within the
Vision for Space Exploration for decades,” Administrator
O’Keefe said. “We expect continued success as NASA leads the
efforts to explore the Earth and the universe through space-
based research,” he said.

NASA is enthusiastically approaching restoration of Space
Shuttle operations, completion of the International Space
Station and scientific exploration in a safe, milestone-driven
manner. NASA’s budget is an endorsement of the Vision for Space
Exploration and agency efforts to understand and protect the
Earth; explore the universe; search for life; and inspire the
next generation of explorers, as only NASA can.

NASA AGRESSIVELY PURSUES TRANSFORMATION

NASA transformed into a mission-oriented agency during the
year. Four major mission directorates — Exploration Systems,
Space Operations, Science and Aeronautic Research were formed
to manage agency operations. Mission support offices, including
the Independent Technical Authority, were established to ensure
safety, quality assurance and effective program management.
Transformation of NASA’s organization structure was designed to
streamline the agency and create a framework that affixes clear
authority and accountability, while positioning the agency to
implement the Vision for Space Exploration.

SCHOOLS ACROSS THE NATION CATCH THE VISION

NASA’s 2004 Explorer Schools Program provided information and
interactive activities for more than 20,000 elementary-to-high-
school pupils in 46 states and Washington. The three-year
partnership between NASA and selected schools in diverse
communities offers opportunities and materials for teachers to
spark interest in science, technology and math. Applications
for 2005 Explorer Schools Program are being accepted.

NASA’S ROVERS A BIG HIT ON MARS AND EARTH

NASA successfully landed the mobile geology labs Spirit and
Opportunity on Mars on January 3 and January 24, respectively.
Opportunity discovered evidence its landing site was a standing
body of water in the distant past, raising the possibility key
ingredients for life might have existed on Mars. In April, both
rovers successfully completed their primary three-month
missions and went into bonus overtime work. Spirit completed a
two-mile trek to the Columbia hills. Opportunity descended into
Endurance Crater and found layers of rocks bearing evidence of
having once been drenched in water.

WEB PORTAL IS WINDOW TO THE WORLD

Highlighting agency-wide programs and missions, the NASA portal
served up more than 17 billion hits and 1.6 billion page views
during 130 million visits. It sent out more than one million
webcast streams of NASA TV. Interest peaked quickly with the
landings of the Mars Rovers in January, as nearly 50,000 people
watched the live webcasts during the landings. Portal traffic
had a four-fold increase from 2003 to 2004, and a ten-fold
increase from 2002.

TOUGHER SPACE SHUTTLE READIED FOR RETURN TO FLIGHT

Shuttle processing activities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center,
Fla., assumed a pre-launch rhythm, after almost two years of
innovative and intensive agency-wide effort to make the fleet
safer. The most significant Return to Flight work was on the
Shuttle External Fuel Tank, which was redesigned to eliminate
debris from striking the spacecraft. NASA also focused on the
ability to assess the condition of Shuttles in orbit. The first
Shuttle mission since the Columbia accident, Discovery (STS-
114), has a launch window opening in mid-May.

CENTENNIAL CHALLENGES TAPS TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES

NASA developed the initial Centennial Challenges prize
competition to tap the nation’s ingenuity to make revolutionary
advances to support the Vision for Space Exploration.

INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION ENTERS FIFTH YEAR OF OPERATIONS

Three crews lived on the Station during 2004, as the orbiting
laboratory entered its fifth year as a staffed facility. Each
two-person crew, working with ground teams, did its part to
keep the Station safely operating. Crews made unprecedented
repairs to an oxygen generator, a crucial piece of exercise
equipment and a U.S. spacesuit. They also performed a spacewalk
to restore power to a gyroscope.

YEAR OF FIRSTS FOR SPACE STATION CREWMEMBERS

All three U.S. crewmembers had personal milestones. Expedition
8 Commander Mike Foale returned to Earth as the U.S. record-
holder for time in space, logging 374 days, 11 hours and 19
minutes over several missions. Expedition 9 Flight Engineer
Mike Fincke is the first U.S. astronaut to have a child born,
while he was in orbit. Expedition 10 Commander Leroy Chiao is
the first U.S. citizen to vote from space in a presidential
election.

NEXT GENERATION OF EXPLORERS SELECTED

NASA announced the 2004 astronaut candidate class, the first
focused on fulfilling the Vision for Space Exploration. The
class includes three educator astronauts, three military
pilots, a Navy SEAL, an astrophysicist, two physicians and an
engineer.

SPACE STATION RESEARCH YIELDS NEW HEALTH INFORMATION

A NASA-funded study revealed how bone loss increases the risk
of injuries, highlighting the need for additional measures to
ensure the health of spacecraft crews. This research may aid
people on Earth who suffer from similar conditions including
osteoporosis. Space Station astronauts, using ultrasound
techniques developed by NASA, demonstrated the ability to
quickly and remotely transmit medical data to the ground. These
techniques are directly transferable for Earth use to improve
patient care in remote locations.

CASSINI-HUYGENS FIRST MISSION TO ORBIT SATURN

After a seven-year, two billion mile journey, Cassini-
Huygens became the first spacecraft to go into orbit around
Saturn. The NASA, European and Italian Space Agencies’ mission
found the planet roiled by storms, detected lighting,
discovered a new radiation belt, found four new moons, a new
ring around Saturn, and mapped the composition of the planet’s
rings. Cassini flew within 745 miles of Titan, the closest any
spacecraft has come to Saturn’s largest moon.

NEW SUPERCOMPUTER IMPROVES RESEARCH AND FORECASTING

NASA named its newest supercomputer Columbia to honor the crew
of the Shuttle Columbia. It is one of the world’s most powerful
supercomputing systems. It will dramatically increase NASA’s
capacity for conducting scientific research, modeling,
forecasting and engineering. Improvements in the
supercomputer’s climate model are being used to explore the
Earth’s atmosphere. Results from the model indicate significant
improvements in forecast accuracy for major storms and
hurricanes.

PROPOSALS SELECTED FOR EXPLORATION RESEARCH & TECHNOLOGY

NASA selected proposals from industry and academia to support
the research, technology goals and objectives of the Vision for
Space Exploration. The selections were part of the effort to
develop new partnerships among NASA, industry and academia.
NASA also awarded the first contracts to conduct preliminary
concept studies for human lunar exploration and the development
of the Crew Exploration Vehicle.

GENESIS CRASH-LANDS BUT BRINGS HOME PRECIOUS SAMPLES

The Genesis solar-sample return mission made a hard landing in
the Utah desert, but NASA managed to preserve a significant
portion of the precious samples of the sun it brought back from
space. Genesis scientists believe they will achieve the most
important portions of their science objectives, which should
tell us about the conditions when the sun and planets were
created more than five billion years ago. Genesis was launched
in August 2001.

STARDUST MAKES HISTORIC COMET FLYBY

NASA’s Stardust mission flew within 147 miles of the comet Wild
2. Sent to collect samples, images and other data, the flyby
yielded the most detailed, high-resolution comet images ever —
revealing a rigid surface dotted with towering pinnacles,
plunging craters, steep cliffs, and dozens of jets spewing
material into space. Launched in 1999, Stardust is headed back
to Earth with its payload of thousands of captured particles.
The sample return capsule is scheduled for a soft landing in
the Utah desert in January 2006.

SPITZER SPACE TELESCOPE UNVEILS STRANGE COSMIC SIGHTS

The Spitzer Space Telescope pierced cosmic dust to reveal
previously hidden objects. It unmasked a family of newborn
stars whose birth was triggered by the death of another star; a
dying star surrounded by a mysterious donut-shaped ring; a
cannibalistic galaxy and what may be the youngest planet ever
detected. Spitzer identified one of the farthest galaxies yet
seen, measuring its age and mass for the first time. Spitzer
was launched August 24, 2003.

SWIFT OFFERS NEW POSSIBILITIES TO SPOT BIRTH OF BLACK HOLES

NASA’s Swift satellite will pinpoint the location of distant,
fleeting explosions that appear to signal the births of black
holes. Each gamma-ray burst is a short-lived event, and Swift
should detect several weekly. Swift, launched Nov. 20, is a
mission with British and Italian participation designed to
solve the mystery of the origin of gamma-ray bursts.

HUBBLE SEES FARTHER THAN EVER

Astronomers used NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope to take the
deepest portrait ever of the visible universe. The Hubble Ultra
Deep Field revealed the first galaxies to emerge from the time
shortly after the big bang, when the first stars reheated the
cold, dark universe. The image should offer new insights into
what types of objects reheated the universe. The image exposed
galaxies too faint to be seen by ground-based telescopes.

AURA SPACECRAFT WILL HELP US UNDERSTAND THE AIR WE BREATHE

NASA’s Aura, a next generation Earth-observing satellite
launched on July 15, is supplying the best information yet
about the health of Earth’s atmosphere. Aura will help
scientists understand how atmospheric composition affects and
responds to Earth’s changing climate; help reveal the processes
that connect local and global air quality; and track the extent
Earth’s protective ozone layer is recovering.

JUPITER ICY MOONS ORBITER ENTERS DESIGN PHASE

NASA selected Northrop Grumman Space Technology, Redondo Beach,
Calif., to co-design the Prometheus Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter
(JIMO) spacecraft. JIMO will be the first NASA mission using
nuclear electric propulsion. The system will enable the craft
to orbit Jupiter’s three planet-sized moons, Callisto, Ganymede
and Europa. JIMO will perform extensive investigations of their
composition, history and potential for sustaining life.

SCRAMJET BREAKS SPEED RECORD, FLIES NEAR MACH 10

NASA’s X-43A scramjet-powered research vehicle successfully
broke its own speed record, flying nearly Mach 10 (7,000 mph).
It showed promise for developing more airplane-like operations
in ultra high-speed flights within the atmosphere, increased
affordability, flexibility and safety for the first stage to
Earth orbit.

EARTHQUAKE PREDICTION PROGRAM SCORES BIG

A NASA-funded earthquake prediction program has an amazing
track record. Published in 2001, the forecast has accurately
predicted the locations of 15 of California’s largest
earthquakes this decade, including September’s California
tremors. Of 16 earthquakes, magnitude five and higher occurring
since Jan. 1, 2000, 15 fell on hotspots identified by the
forecasting program.

SATELLITES ACT AS THERMOMETERS IN SPACE

NASA satellites, acting as thermometers in space, confirmed
Earth has experienced an increasing “fever” for decades.
Satellites were used to develop a record from 1981 to 1998 of
global land-surface temperatures. The research provided better
proof Earth’s snow-free land surfaces, on average, warmed
during this period. This unique satellite record is more
detailed and comprehensive than previously available ground
measurements.

MOON SHEDS LIGHT ON EARTH’S CLIMATE

A NASA-funded study found insights into Earth’s climate might
come from the moon. During the 1980s and 90s, the Earth bounced
less sunlight out to space. The trend reversed during the past
three years. The apparent change in the amount of sunlight
reaching Earth in the 1980s and 90s is comparable to doubling
the effects of greenhouse-gas warming since 1850. Increased
reflectance since 2001 suggests change of a similar magnitude
in the opposite direction.

SATELLITES AND BALLOONS SPOT AIRBORNE POLLUTION

NASA scientists, using multiple satellites and balloon-borne
sensors, discovered pollution could catch an airborne wind
current from Asia all the way to the southern Atlantic Ocean.
Scientists believe, during certain seasons, as much as half the
ozone pollution above the Atlantic may be speeding down a track
of air and precipitation from the Indian Ocean.

EXTENDED TRMM OPERATIONS HELP FORECASTERS

NASA extended the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM).
The extension ensured data for forecasters and researchers
during worldwide storm seasons TRMM data aids government
agencies and others researching, monitoring and predicting
rainfall and storms.

GENE STUDIES HELP UNDERSTAND DISEASE

NASA scientists and their academic colleagues provided valuable
insights into how DNA encodes instructions to control basic
biological functions. This research may change the
understanding of human diseases and will help NASA ensure
astronauts’ well being during long-duration space missions.

DUST BOWL DROUGHT FINALLY EXPLAINED

NASA scientists used a computer model developed with satellite
data to look at the climate over the past 100 years. The study
found cooler-than-normal tropical Pacific Ocean surface
temperatures combined with warmer tropical Atlantic Ocean
temperatures turned America’s breadbasket into a dust bowl from
1931 to 1939.