GALEX launched
Yesterday the Orbital Science L-1011 aircraft took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station with the Pegasus XL/GALEX attached underneath. The satellite was released at 7:59 a.m. After the space observatory separated from the rocket's third stage - at 11 minutes and 5 seconds after release from the L-1011 carrier aircraft -- it entered into Earth orbit at an altitude of 690 kilometers (429 miles). The space-craft's signal was acquired at about 8:21 a.m. EDT by the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System. At 8:45 a.m., the satellite deployed its solar arrays and locked on to the Sun. A tracking station near Perth, Australia, then acquired the spacecraft's signal at 8:54 a.m. After one month of in-orbit checkout, the science mission will begin. It will last for up to 28 months. GALEX will observe a million galaxies across 10 billion years of cosmic history to help astronomers determine when the stars and galaxies we see today had their origins. The spacecraft will make the first ultraviolet scan of the whole sky beyond the Milky Way galaxy.

Feedback sought for Environmental & Energy Awareness Week 2003

The EEAW Committee thanks everyone who participated in this year's 2003 Environmental & Energy Awareness Week held April 21-23. Approximately 170 employees attended the Opening Ceremony held April 21 in the Training Auditorium with guest speaker Dr. Stuart Strahl from Audubon of Florida. Awards were presented to KSC employees for their outstanding efforts contributing to Environmental & Energy projects.

The slogan contest winner this year was Mike Cressy, with Jacobs/ Sverdrup, and a special recognition award went to Jim Thornton, SGS, for his outstanding leadership role in support of EEAW. About 2,500 employees participated in the two-day event held in the Industrial Area and LC-39 Areas.

Your feedback is important to the EEAW Team! Please take a few minutes and fill out the survey form at http://environmental.ksc.nasa.gov/eeaw/eeaw2003/survey.htm

NASA Science
Imagine pulling up to a filling station, inserting the nozzle into the tank and the gas flowing into your tank is ... hydrogen. The key to storing this next-generation fuel could be a rocky hydrogen-absorbing sub-stance grown onboard the International Space Station. Read the full story on the Web at http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2003/17apr_zeolite.htm

ISS receives new crew
A major step in assuring the continued permanent human presence in space aboard the International Space Station was realized with the flawless launch Saturday of Expedition 7 Commander Yuri Malenchenko and Flight Engineer Ed Lu, who will become the NASA ISS Science Officer, aboard a Russian rocket (left). The two lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan, at 11:54 p.m. EDT. They docked with the orbiting complex at 1:58 a.m. EDT Monday. After a six-day handover of responsibilities aboard the station, Malenchenko and Lu will take over duties from the Expedition 6 crew of Commander Ken Bowersox, Flight Engineer Nikolai Budarin and ISS Science Officer Don Pettit. After being in orbit more than 160 days, the three will travel home in a Soyuz spacecraft that has been docked to the station for six months. Undocking from the complex May 3, they are scheduled for landing at 10:03 p.m. EDT in Kazakhstan the same day. Malenchenko and Lu will remain aboard the ISS conducting a series of scientific and educational activities until October.