Spacecraft Makers: Europa Clipper's Instrument Integration - planetary science

The Europa Clipper spacecraft is slated for launch in October 2024.It will arrive at Jupiter in 2030.*The propulsion module and one of the instruments were assembled by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel,Maryland.Other instruments were assembled by UCLA;the School of Earth and Space Exploration at Arizona State University;the Souhtwest Research Institute (SwRI);the University of Michigan;the University of Texas Austin;and the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado Boulder.The spacecraft was assembed in the High Bay 1 clean room at NASA JPL-Caltech.

Exploring Dwarf Planet Ceres:NASA,Spacecraft and Industry

On Friday 6 March,NASA's Dawn spacecraft became the first spacecraft in history to orbit a dwarf planet.At 07:39 ET,Dawn began orbiting dwarf planet Ceres,which is in the Main Asteroid Belt,between Mars and Jupiter.Dawn called home to Mission Control at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena,California to say it was in good health and its ion propulsion engine,one of the first to be tested,was thrusting it into orbit.Principal Investigator Chris Russell of the University of California Los Angeles expressed his exhilaration at hearing the news.Also partnering in the mission are the German Aerospace Center;the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research;the Italian Space Agency;and the Italian National Astrophysical Institute.
Formerly classified as an asteroid,Ceres was elevated to dwarf planet status in 2006;while Pluto was demoted from planet to dwarf planet.The average diameter of Ceres is 590 miles.An icy world,it has craters and bright spots on its surface that are not well understood.Dawn will emerge from Ceres' dark side in April and spiral down for ever-closer photos and measurements.When the mission ends in 2016,Dawn will continue to orbit Ceres,which is 3.1 billion miles from Earth.Dawn first explored the giant asteroid Vesta from 2011-13 before going on to Ceres.*
Orbital ATK,based in Dulles,Virginia,designed and built the Dawn spacecraft.Dawn's ion propulsion system,a deep space engine system,is the next step in propulsion technology.The system is called the NASA Evolutionary Xenon Thruster,or NEXT.Dawn's engines ionise,or charge,Xenon fuel atoms and accelerate these ions out of the back using high voltage.NASA says the ion propulsion system's efficient use of fuel and electrical power enable modern spacecraft to travel farther,faster and cheaper.The systems are use for stationkeeping on communications satellites and for main propulsion on deep space probes.*
Orbital Sciences and Alliant Techsystems completed their merger into Orbital ATK on 10 February.The company's more than 12,000 employees are spread across three divisions:
1.Flight Systems Group in Chandler,Arizona-4500 employees.
2.Defense Systems Group in Baltimore,Maryland-4900 employees.
3.Space Systems Group in Dulles,Virginia-2700 employees.
Besides space probes and other satellites,the company produces the Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft under contract to NASA for the International Space Station.Its other products include antennae and radomes;munitions and weapons;as well as rocket engines,missile components and defence electronics.*
Orbital ATK Inc (ATK)

Education Quality Affects Economy

According to noted businessman and philanthropist Eli Broad(rhymes with "road"),too many parents are satisfied with the status quo in education.We've got to get a greater awareness in the public.The business community gets it.We're number 19 in education.We used to be number 1.It's gonna affect their standard of living.
We need our great foundations to get more engaged in funding things our government is not willing to fund-or can't fund right now,in Mr.Broad's opinion.Mr.Broad and his wife Edythe have been major benefactors to UCLA,among other recipients.He is founder of SunAmerica and co-founder of KB Home.

UCLA and Medicine

UCLA's new medical center is already counted among the world's best,Mr.Broad says.The university's medical and life sciences campuses have expanded tremendously in the past few years.They've got great people and a culture that promotes an astounding level of interdisciplinary collaboration,he notes.The Center of Regenerative Medicine & Stem Cell Research at UCLA also bears Mr.Broad's name.He is also effusive about the community beyond UCLA's boundaries.It's worth noting,to Mr.Broad's mind,that Los Angeles hosts a unique regional network of first-rate hospitals,research universities and biotech/biomedical enterprises that fill the horizon in every direction.
That sort of thing happens a lot around here,Mr.Broad muses.Almost without its knowledge or permission,the city of Los Angeles-the Original and Continuing Work In Progress-has become one of the world's great cities,headquarters of the Pacific and the leading exporter of ideas to the rest of the world.Yet if UCLA weren't here,Eli Broad speculates,he's not sure they'd have the intellectual capital they need to be the great city they are today.By concentrating his giving on UCLA,Mr.Broad has ensured his wealth will have a multi-generational impact for urban enhancement.

UCLA and the Arts

Businessman Eli Broad feels that UCLA probably has the best arts school in the country-a distinguished faculty with a student body to match.Could you have the best arts school just anywhere,Mr.Broad asks? No.Does the fact Los Angeles is home to the second largest number of professional artists in America have anything to do with that outcome? You bet,Mr.Broad asserts.The UCLA Art Center bears Eli Broad's name.He is a leading collector of modern art.

Eli Broad:Focused Philanthropist

Eli Broad,founder of SunAmerica and co-founder,with Kaufman,of KB Home,has found in University of California Los Angeles an institution that unites his interests in the visual arts,medical science and public education.To Mr.Broad's mind,UCLA is inextricably linked with Los Angeles.Which came first,UCLA or Los Angeles? Actually,Mr. Broad says,he has no idea.They're stuck together,co-dependent,inseparable.Why don't we just count our blessings,the businessman asks?
Everywhere you look at UCLA,Mr.Broad observes-engineering,architecture,law,performing arts,the B-school,the college-you're watching public education at its finest.You can witness the multiplication of knowledge.You can feel the engine operating at full throttle.You know you're at the center of gravity of this city,Mr.Broad stated.