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NASA retires its last IBM Z9 mainframe

February 15th, 2012
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All the high-end space projects and space travel that go on at NASA require some serious computing power. For a lot of years NASA has operated IBM Z9 mainframe computers. NASA describes the Z9 mainframe as reliable, highly available, secure, and powerful. These machines were used mostly for transaction oriented needs that required lots of input and output such as reading and writing data from storage devices.

These old school mainframe computers roughly the size of a refrigerator have been replaced by smaller and cheaper Linux and UNIX systems that are also faster and easier to manage. These mainframe computers certainly served an important role in NASA’s early space exploration programs. NASA is calling the retirement of its last Z9 the end of an era.

NASA doesn’t mention what it will do with all the retired computer hardware. I would imagine the last Z9 would end up being sold off in some government auction. Apparently, the mainframe had been kept operating at NASA to support applications that NASA knew would eventually be retired. Once those applications were retired, there was no need to continue to maintain the Z9 mainframe.

Source:http://www.slashgear.com/nasa-retires-its-last-ibm-z9-mainframe-14213344/

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NASA turns off its last mainframe computer

February 14th, 2012
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NASA’s space programs have been around for decades now, and behind all their explorations and missions, have been large spacecrafts and rockets. Behind the scene, however, there have also been computers – mainframes as they’ve been called. Traditionally, mainframes were large computers, often designed to do application-specific operations. NASA will now be turning off the last of their mainframes – an IBM Z9, according to NASA CIO, Linda Cureton’s blog post. Mainframes were best known for their reliability and their performance. All of the tasks that mainframes handled are now being handled by more complicated pieces of hardware that are able to run most of these processes under virtual environments, like virtual machines and using thin clients.

Linda writes that the mainframes of today are like refrigerators, but the old ones used to be many times that size. Linda used to be a system programmer for mainframes at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. Back then, the IBM 360-95 mainframe was used to perform calculations necessary for space flight. Things have evolved since then and some of the easier tasks can now be handled by even mobile phones using apps designed to do the same task. The IBM 360-95 was capable of doing a lot – calculating 14-digit multiplications, for example at 330 million times a minute. Linda clarified that although NASA has chosen to shut down its last mainframe, there’s a constant need for dedicated, reliable, secure computing machines that are designed to perform a set of tasks.

The IBM Z9, the one being shut down is one of the newer mainframes to be launched. They were first launched in 2005. These mainframes didn’t come cheap. The z9 started with a price tag of around 50 lakh and high-end models were much more expensive. The z10 was the successor to the z9 and was launched in 2008. NASA has been spending a ton of money maintaining and buying these mainframes. It appears, more affordable and efficient options are now taking the place of these sophisticated machines.

Source:http://tech2.in.com/news/science-and-technology/nasa-turns-off-its-last-mainframe-computer/281082

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NASA Signs $2.5B Contract With HP

December 31st, 2010
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NASA has just signed a huge contract with Hewlett-Packard for IT goods and services.

the $2.5 million, 10-year deal includes computer networks, hardware, software, peripherals and “everything that’s plugged into the wall,” as NASA spokesperson Michael Sweigart told Bloomberg.

HP is taking over many services currently provided by Lockheed Martin.

Hewlett-Packard has had an interesting year, one perhaps most significantly marked by a CEO-shakeup saga. In early August, HP ousted then-CEO Mark Hurd following sexual harassment claims. Shortly after Hurd’s firing, he was hired as Oracle’s new co-president.

Still, while the company’s leadership saw some big changes, it finished the year strongly, reporting decent fourth-quarter revenue growth. We’re sure a hefty contract from NASA will help the company’s financials as well as help direct attention away from CEO issues and toward what looks to be a promising new year.

Source:http://mashable.com/2010/12/30/nasa-signs-2-5b-contract-with-hp/

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NIST to help retrain NASA employees as cyber specialists

September 10th, 2010
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The top cybersecurity educator at the National Institute of Standards and Technology is helping a public-private consortium to open a research institute that would retrain NASA contractors who will be laid off from the shuttle program as early as next month.

Nearly 9,000 employees representing a total income of $600 million could be displaced by the termination of the space shuttle program next year, particularly along the space coast, a 72-mile-long area in east-central Florida where the Kennedy Space Center is located. United Space Alliance expects to layoff on Oct. 1 between 800 and 1,000 employees in its Florida-based shuttle workforce, company officials announced in July. Layoffs already have begun elsewhere in the country, and more are expected as the shuttle is retired in 2011, NASA spokesman Michael Curie said on Friday. But NASA is not reducing its workforce.

The Obama administration has committed $40 million to help the unemployed in Florida transfer their skills to other fields, including information technology and national security. On Sept. 1, the Commerce Department began a competition for $35 million in grants to fund projects that align the talents of affected workers with the economic needs of the region. One example of an initiative that might qualify for funding is the Global Institute for Cybersecurity and Research headquartered near the Kennedy Space Center, said Ernest McDuffie, lead for NIST’s National Initiative for Cybersecurity Education.

“They’re going to take this workforce that’s getting ready to be laid off, fired, and retrain them to keep them employed,” McDuffie said. “They really need to have something up and running within three to six months.”

Quickly cultivating new cybersecurity specialists is critical for the government. Current shortages of qualified information assurance staff have weakened agencies’ defenses against cyberattacks, according to federal officials. The CIA has estimated that about 1,000 security experts in the nation possess the skills to safeguard cyberspace, but the country needs about 30,000.

McDuffie traveled to Kennedy Space Center in late August for a daylong meeting with officials from NASA, National Security Agency, Homeland Security Department, local schools and the business community to help start the institute.

The timeline for retraining contract workers in cybersecurity could vary from six months to four years, depending on the person’s interests, McDuffie said. Most of the affected employees are engineers, hardware technicians and other staff with scientific and management backgrounds, according to a federal interagency Task Force on Space Industry Workforce and Economic Development.

McDuffie said the personnel will have an advantage in starting a new career because they are accustomed to taking continuing education courses.

“Everyone who is in a sophisticated field has to embrace the culture of continual learning. Going back to school to learn additional technical skills is probably a no-brainer for them. The hardest part depends on what their individual skills are,” he said.

The institute will coordinate a range of educational opportunities, including noncredit courses, undergraduate programs and masters degrees, said Deborah Kobza, executive director of the new initiative.

Skills that can be acquired within six months include cybersecurity professional development courses and certification tracks for cyber IT management, network defense, forensics and system administration, she added.

A person who has high-level technical skills in computer science may need only a six-month course to find new work, McDuffie said. A less-experienced job seeker may opt to complete a two-year program at a vocational school or obtain a four-year degree at a college, he noted.

Source:http://www.nextgov.com/nextgov/ng_20100910_7598.php?oref=topnews

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NASA ISS On-Orbit Status 6 August 2010

August 8th, 2010
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All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.

Upon wake-up, FE-5 Yurchikhin performed the regular daily early-morning check of the aerosol filters at the Russian Elektron O2 generator which Maxim Suraev had installed on 10/19/09 in gaps between the BZh Liquid Unit and the oxygen outlet pipe (filter FA-K) plus hydrogen outlet pipe (filter FA-V). [FE-5 will inspect the filters again before bedtime, currently a daily requirement per plan, with photographs to be taken if the filter packing is discolored.]

Also at wake-up, FE-2 Caldwell-Dyson & FE-4 Wheelock completed another run of the Reaction Self Test (Psychomotor Vigilance Self Test on the ISS) protocol. [The RST is performed twice daily (after wakeup & before bedtime) for 3 days prior to the sleep shift, the day(s) of the sleep shift and 5 days following a sleep shift. The experiment consists of a 5-minute reaction time task that allows crewmembers to monitor the daily effects of fatigue on performance while on ISS. The experiment provides objective feedback on neurobehavioral changes in attention, psychomotor speed, state stability, and impulsivity while on ISS missions, particularly as they relate to changes in circadian rhythms, sleep restrictions, and extended work shifts.]

Afterwards, Caldwell-Dyson & Wheelock continued preparations for their EVAs. [Activities included configuring tools needed during the spacewalks such as equipment tethers, wire ties, etc. and making further preparations in the A/L EL (Airlock Equipment Lock), checking on EMU DIDBs (Disposable In-suit Drink Bags) filled from PWD (Potable Water Dispenser), confirming the presence of emergency provisions in the A/L, taking O2 (oxygen) readings with the CSA-O2 units 1041 & 1045 for notifying MCC-Houston and verifying proper function of the vacuum manometer for pressure readings.]

Tracy & Doug also spent ~1h45m on reviewing latest EVA procedures. [The review included uplinked PM (Pump Module) supplemental information, PM R&R cuff checklist pages, workaround crib sheets for bolt removal problems and FQD (Fluid Quick Disconnect) malfunction cases, plans for PM tie-down on the S1 truss, P-clamp tie-down, etc.]

A teleconference by Doug, Shannon & Tracy with EVA specialists at MCC-Houston wrapped up the preps at ~1:30pm.

FE-5 Yurchikhin configured the hardware for the Russian MBI-21 PNEVMOKARD experiment, then conducted the 1h15m session, his 2nd, which forbids moving or talking during data recording. The experiment is controlled from the RSE-med A31p laptop and uses the TENZOPLUS sphygmomanometer to measure arterial blood pressure. The experiment was then closed out and the test data were downlinked via OCA. [PNEVMOKARD (Pneumocard) attempts to obtain new scientific information to refine the understanding about the mechanisms used by the cardiorespiratory system and the whole body organism to spaceflight conditions. By recording (on PCMCIA cards) the crewmember’s electrocardiogram, impedance cardiogram, low-frequency phonocardiogram (seismocardiogram), pneumotachogram (using nose temperature sensors), and finger photoplethismogram, the experiment supports integrated studies of (1) the cardiovascular system and its adaptation mechanisms in various phases of a long-duration mission, (2) the synchronization of heart activity and breathing factors, as well as the cardiorespiratory system control processes based on the variability rate of physiological parameters, and (3) the interconnection between the cardiorespiratory system during a long-duration mission and the tolerance of orthostatic & physical activities at the beginning of readaptation for predicting possible reactions of the crewmembers organism during the their return to ground.]

Afterwards, Yurchikhin continued the SOTR Thermal Control System in the SM (Service Module) IFM (Inflight Maintenance), removing old SMOK condensate lines and replacing them with new spares (last time done: September 2009). [Fyodor had ~4 hrs to complete Part 3, replacing pipelines, T-joints and caps between the NOK1 & NOK2 condensate pumps, and between the KR1 control valve and the SK1 valve assembly. More to follow. The R&R involves around two dozen flexible hoses (ZSMOK) and line components.]

CDR Skvortsov continued the relocation of stowage items from “unauthorized” FGB locations to alternate sites, performing a storage bag audit before equipment relocation and updating all relocations in the IMS (Inventory management System).

Skvortsov terminated battery recharge for the Russian DZZ-12 RUSALKA (“Mermaid”) payload and then set up the experiment at SM window #9 for another sun-glint observation session, using the bracket-mounted spectrometer (without use of the TIUS three-stage rate sensor), synchronized with a coaxially mounted NIKON D2X camera for taking snapshots, and later downloading the data to laptop RSE1 for subsequent downlink via OCA. [RUSALKA is a micro spectrometer for collecting detailed information on observed spectral radiance in the near IR (Infrared) waveband for measurement of greenhouse gas concentrations in the Earth atmosphere.]

Later, Alex terminated battery recharge for the GFI-8 “Uragan” (hurricane) earth-imaging program with NIKON D2X digital camera photography.

The CDR also completed the routine daily servicing of the SOZh system (Environment Control & Life Support System, ECLSS) in the SM. [Regular daily SOZh maintenance consists, among else, of checking the ASU toilet facilities, replacement of the KTO & KBO solid waste containers and replacement of EDV-SV waste water and EDV-U urine containers.]

Fyodor Yurchikhin did the daily IMS maintenance, updating/editing its standard “delta file” including stowage locations, for the regular weekly automated export/import to its three databases on the ground (Houston, Moscow, Baikonur).

Mikhail Kornienko had another 3 hrs for transferring excessed hardware and trash to the Progress M-06M/38P cargo ship for disposal, based on an uplinked preliminary list of 127 items. [38P undocking is scheduled on 9/7.]

Afterwards, FE-3 also performed periodic service of the RS (Russian Segment) radiation payload suite “Matryoshka-R” (RBO-3-2), recording data from 8 radiation detectors in the Bubble-dosimeter reader and stowing the dosimeters. [Bubble dosimeter detectors are positioned at their exposure locations around the RS. Measurements were taken today from 8 dosimeters located in the SM starboard crew cabin. Their measurements (exposure duration, bubble quantity, dose) were recorded in the Reader on PCMCIA memory card and reported to TsUP via log sheet over OCA. The complex Matryoshka payload suite is designed for sophisticated radiation studies. Note: Matryoshka is the name for the traditional Russian set of nested dolls.]

Meanwhile, FE-6 Shannon Walker –
Closed the protective shutters of the windows in the US Lab, Kibo JPM (JEM Pressurized Module) and Node-3 Cupola,
Powered up the Cupola RWS DCP (Robotic Workstation Display & Control Panel) for additional video coverage of her SSRMS (Space Station Remote Manipulator System) ops tomorrow,
Studied uplinked briefing material on NH3 (ammonia) decontamination procedures and hardware,
Reviewed Robotics procedures and DOUG (Dynamic Onboard Ubiquitous Graphics) setup for supporting the EVA-15, and
Configured the low pressure O2 tank of the ACS (Atmospheric Control System) to supply O2 to the high pressure oxygen system.

FE-2 & FE-4 had another standard pre-EVA PMC (Private Medical Conference), via S- & Ku-band audio/video, Wheels at ~10:00am, Tracy at ~10:15am EDT.

Misha Kornienko set up the video equipment to capture his workout session on the ARED advanced resistive exerciser for subsequent biomechanical evaluation of the crewmember and hardware status at MCC-H.

The crew worked out on today’s 2-hr physical exercise protocol on the CEVIS cycle ergometer with vibration isolation (FE-6), TVIS treadmill with vibration isolation & stabilization (CDR, FE-5), ARED advanced resistive exercise device (FE-2, FE-3, FE-4, FE-6), T2/COLBERT advanced treadmill (FE-2, FE-4), and VELO bike ergometer with bungee cord load trainer (CDR). [T2 snubber arm inspection is no longer needed after every T2 session but must be done after the last T2 session of the day.

Source:-http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=34663

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NASA ISS On-Orbit Status

August 6th, 2010
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All ISS systems continue to function nominally, except those noted previously or below.

>>>Note: The US PM R&R spacewalks to replace the failed ETCS Loop-A ammonia PM (Pump Module) have been rescheduled for 8/7 (Saturday) and 8/11 (Wednesday) to allow ground teams and crew additional preparation time.

Upon wake-up, CDR Skvortsov performed the regular daily early-morning check of the aerosol filters at the Russian Elektron O2 generator which Maxim Suraev had installed on 10/19/09 in gaps between the BZh Liquid Unit and the oxygen outlet pipe (filter FA-K) plus hydrogen outlet pipe (filter FA-V). [The CDR will inspect the filters again before bedtime, currently a daily requirement per plan, with photographs to be taken if the filter packing is discolored.]

Afterwards, Skvortsov & FE-3 Kornienko spent several hours continuing the transfer of excessed hardware and trash, stowing it on Progress M-06M/38P for disposal, based on an uplinked preliminary list of 127 items. [38P undocking is scheduled on 9/7.]

FE-2 Caldwell-Dyson & FE-4 Wheelock jointly continued preparations for their EVAs, configuring tools needed during the spacewalks not yet deployed in the A/L (Airlock) and readying numerous tethers (e.g., one 55-ft & three 85-ft safety tethers, four waist tethers & four D-ring extenders).

Source:-http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=34657

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NASA’s Webb telescope passes key mission design review milestone

April 28th, 2010
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WASHINGTON — NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope has passed its most significant mission milestone to date, the Mission Critical Design Review, or MCDR. This signifies the integrated observatory will meet all science and engineering requirements for its mission.

“I’m delighted by this news and proud of the Webb program’s great technical achievements,” said Eric Smith, Webb telescope program scientist at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The independent team conducting the review confirmed the designs, hardware and test plans for Webb will deliver the fantastic capabilities always envisioned for NASA’s next major space observatory. The scientific successor to Hubble is making great progress.”

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Md., manages the mission. Northrop Grumman, Redondo Beach, Calif., is leading the design and development effort.

“This program landmark is the capstone of seven years of intense, focused effort on the part of NASA, Northrop Grumman and our program team members,” said David DiCarlo, sector vice president and general manager of Northrop Grumman Space Systems. “We have always had high confidence that our observatory design would meet the goals of this pioneering science mission. This achievement testifies to that, as well as to our close working partnership with NASA.”

The MCDR encompassed all previous design reviews including the Integrated Science Instrument Module review in March 2009; the Optical Telescope Element review completed in October 2009; and the Sunshield review completed in January 2010. The project schedule will undergo a review during the next few months. The spacecraft design, which passed a preliminary review in 2009, will continue toward final approval next year.

The review also brought together multiple modeling and analysis tools. Because the observatory is too large for validation by actual testing, complex models of how it will behave during launch and in space environments are being integrated. The models are compared with prior test and review results from the observatory’s components.

Although the MCDR approved the telescope design and gave the official go-ahead for manufacturing, hardware development on the mirror segments has been in progress for several years. Eighteen primary mirror segments are in the process of being polished and tested by Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. in Boulder, Colo. Manufacturing on the backplane, the structure that supports the mirror segments, is well underway at Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, in Magna, Utah. This month, ITT Corp. in Rochester, N.Y., demonstrated robotic mirror installation equipment designed to position segments on the backplane. The segments’ position will be fine-tuned to tolerances of a fraction of the width of a human hair. The telescope’s sunshield moved into its fabrication and testing phase earlier this year.

The three major elements of Webb – the Integrated Science Instrument Module, Optical Telescope Element and the spacecraft itself – will proceed through hardware production, assembly and testing prior to delivery for observatory integration and testing scheduled to begin in 2012.

The Webb is the premier next-generation space observatory for exploring deep space phenomena from distant galaxies to nearby planets and stars. The telescope will provide clues about the formation of the universe and the evolution of our own solar system, from the first light after the Big Bang to the formation of star systems capable of supporting life on planets like Earth. The telescope is a joint project of NASA, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency.

Source:-http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2010/apr/HQ_10-099_Webb_Telescope_Milestone.html

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