On January 14, 2004, President George W. Bush announced a new vision for America’s civil space program that calls for human and robotic missions to the Moon, Mars, and beyond. This vision set forth goals of: returning the Space Shuttle safely to flight; completing the International Space Station (ISS); phasing out the Space Shuttle when the ISS is complete (about 2010); sending a robotic orbiter and lander to the Moon; sending a human expedition to the Moon as early as 2015, but no later than 2020; conducting robotic missions to Mars in preparation for a future human expedition; and conducting robotic exploration across the solar system. Such a focus for the American space program has not existed since the Apollo era and establishes a much-needed direction and purpose for our national space efforts. The Commission sought extensive input for their deliberations, from within the U.S. government and directly from the public in the United States and abroad. The Commission held five televised public hearings, meeting in: Washington, D.C.; Dayton, Ohio; Atlanta, Georgia; San Francisco, California; and New York City. The Commission heard public testimony from 96 individuals representing academia, industry, media, teachers, students, entrepreneurs, astronauts, labor unions, state governments, federal …

This is a bimonthly publication of the McDonald Observatory discussing research, news, and other topics of interest related to astronomy and science. The publication offers key featured articles, miscellaneous astronomy information, a a current star chart, a calendar of astronomical events, and a Q&A titled Dear Merlin.

Space exploration is a uniquely human activity. As humans continue to push the limits of exploring the unknown, they have sought knowledge supporting the sustenance of life in outer space. New technologies, advancements in medicine, and rethinking what it means to be a “community” will need to emerge to support life among the stars. Crews traveling beyond the Moon will rely on the development of new technologies to support the technological aspects of their missions as well as their quality of life while away from Earth. Likewise, through advancements in medicine, scientists will need to address remaining questions regarding the effects of long-duration spaceflight on the human body and crew performance. Space explorers must learn to utilize these new technologies and medical advancements while learning to adapt to their new environment in space and as a space community. It is important that researchers address these issues so that human survival beyond Earth is not only achievable but so that life among the stars is worth living and sustaining. This thesis addressed these issues in an attempt to extend the trajectory of space exploration to new horizons.

Other written product issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) total portfolio of major projects saw cost and schedule growth that remains low compared to GAO's first review of the portfolio. Some projects in this year's portfolio launched within their cost and schedule baselines; however, several others are undergoing replans, which could temper the portfolio's positive performance. For example, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN project launched on time and cost about $35 million less than its baseline estimate, but NASA officials are reporting that issues with the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite-2 project's primary instrument are driving costs to exceed the original baseline by at least 15 percent, and that the project will miss its committed launch date."

The current trend towards miniaturization of modern consumer electronic devices significantly affects their design. The demand for efficient all-in-one appliances leads to smaller, yet more complex and powerful nanoelectronic devices. The increasing complexity in the design of such nanoscale Analog/Mixed-Signal Systems-on-Chip (AMS-SoCs) presents difficult challenges to designers. One promising design method used to mitigate the burden of this design effort is the use of metamodeling (surrogate) modeling techniques. Their use significantly reduces the time for computer simulation and design space exploration and optimization. This dissertation addresses several issues of metamodeling based nanoelectronic based AMS design exploration. A surrogate modeling technique which uses geostatistical based Kriging prediction methods in creating metamodels is proposed. Kriging prediction techniques take into account the correlation effects between input parameters for performance point prediction. We propose the use of Kriging to utilize this property for the accurate modeling of process variation effects of designs in the deep nanometer region. Different Kriging methods have been explored for this work such as simple and ordinary Kriging. We also propose another metamodeling technique Kriging-Bootstrapped Neural Network that combines the accuracy and process variation awareness of Kriging with artificial neural network models for ultra-fast and accurate process aware metamodeling design. …

Spaceflight fascinates and inspires many Americans, but in a time of constrained federal budgets, it must compete with a multitude of other national priorities. As the 114th Congress conducts oversight and considers authorization and appropriations legislation for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), an overarching question will be how NASA should move forward within budget constraints. This report discusses a number of issues that arise within the framework of that question. This report begins with some context: a brief survey of NASA’s organization and programs, a summary of recent NASA authorization legislation, and an overview of NASA’s budget.

Bimonthly publication of the McDonald Observatory discussing research, news, and other topics of interest related to astronomy and science.

This report will track and describe actions taken by the Administration and Congress to provide FY2014 appropriations for Commerce, Justice, and Science (CJS) accounts. It also provides an overview of FY2013 appropriations for agencies and bureaus funded as a part of the annual appropriation for CJS.

Daily newspaper from Mineral Wells, Texas that includes local, state and national news along with advertising.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) project is generally executing to its September 2011 revised cost and schedule baseline; however, several challenges remain that could affect continued progress. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) has requested funding that is in line with the rebaseline and the project is maintaining 14 months of schedule reserve prior to its launch date. Performance data from the prime contractor indicate that generally work is being accomplished on schedule and at the cost expected; however, monthly performance declined in fiscal year 2013. Project officials have maintained and enhanced project oversight by, for example, continuing quarterly NASA and contractor management meetings and instituting a tool to update cost estimates for internal efforts. Program officials, however, are not planning to perform an updated integrated cost/schedule risk analysis, as GAO recommended in 2012, stating that the project performs monthly integrated risk analyses they believe are adequate. Updating the more comprehensive analysis with a more refined schedule and current risks, however, would provide management and stakeholders with better information to gauge progress."

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

This is a bimonthly publication of the McDonald Observatory discussing research, news, and other topics of interest related to astronomy and science. The publication offers key featured articles, miscellaneous astronomy information, a a current star chart, a calendar of astronomical events, and a Q&A titled Dear Merlin.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Bimonthly publication of the McDonald Observatory discussing research, news, and other topics of interest related to astronomy and science.

Texas State University magazine detailing campus events, notable students and alumni, and other university information.

Daily newspaper from Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

A letter report issued by the Government Accountability Office with an abstract that begins "According to assessments by the National Research Council (NRC) and the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), U.S. energy infrastructure is increasingly vulnerable to a range of climate change impacts--particularly infrastructure in areas prone to severe weather and water shortages. Climate changes are projected to affect infrastructure throughout all major stages of the energy supply chain, thereby increasing the risk of disruptions. For example:"

Daily newspaper Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper Baytown, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Chickasha, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Daily newspaper from Sapulpa, Oklahoma that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.

Weekly newspaper from Alvin, Texas that includes local, state, and national news along with advertising.