NASA Glenn’s AeroSpace Frontiers Newsletter Takes a Bow

Since April 1999, the AeroSpace Frontiers (AF) newsletter has shared information monthly on NASA Glenn Research Center’s people, projects, and progress. If you were looking for news on any of these topics, there was a good chance you could read all about them in AF each month. 

The newsletter has evolved in the last 26 years, changing with the times, to improve how and when we communicate with our audiences. From updating the hard copy layout to offering the issue online, we adjusted and enhanced AF to meet our customers’ needs.  

As methods of sharing news and information are now available that allow us to reach you sooner, we are shifting our focus to these platforms and discontinuing our monthly newsletter. This September issue will be our last.  

We hope you’ll stay connected with us through our official website and social media channels: Facebook, X, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube. We thank you for your readership!  

Before closing, we want to celebrate and reflect on the newsletter’s remarkable tenure (and interesting names) over the years. 

The Story Behind the Name: A Look Back 

While the center published a newsletter continually (with a brief pause in the early 1960s) since its opening in 1942, its name, layout, and content evolved over the decades. It began in 1942 as Wing Tips, an internal biweekly newsletter, and was later renamed Orbit in October 1958 as the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics transitioned to NASA. In 1961, the center paused the newsletter’s publication to focus its resources on the early space program. 

The publication reemerged in 1964 as Lewis News and expanded to a larger newsletter format in 1969, in conjunction with the Apollo 11 Moon landing. This format continued until 1995, when Lewis News moved to a monthly schedule with expanded, but physically smaller, issues as part of an overall effort to reduce spending.  

Then, in 1999 – prior to the center being renamed NASA’s John H. Glenn Research Center – employees and center management were surveyed for a new newsletter title that would not be tied to future changes in research activities or center names. The group selected AeroSpace Frontiers to represent the modernization of the newsletter’s appearance and its expanded subject matter. It was now a monthly news magazine that included a variety of graphics and photographs, as well as additional content that addressed audiences beyond the center.  

About Our Amazing Editor

Doreen Zudell has served as the editor of AeroSpace Frontiers (AF) since the first issue in 1999 and has been a driving force behind the publication ever since. In addition to writing and editing stories each month, she also has navigated many format changes over the years.  

“We appreciate Doreen’s knowledge, experience, and passion for sharing Glenn’s news and accomplishments with AF readers,” said NASA Glenn Office of Communications Director Kristen Parker. “Her compassion, journalistic flair, and dedication to putting employees’ needs first is evident in everything she does.”  

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Glenn Highlights Space Exploration at Minnesota State Fair 

NASA brought the excitement of space exploration to the Minnesota State Fair from Aug. 21–24, offering exhibits and interactive experiences for the whole family. Led by NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, the agency showcased the future of space exploration and the technologies making it possible — from next-generation spacesuits to the Artemis missions that will return humans to the Moon. 

A major attraction was Glenn’s “Suits and Boots” exhibit, along with an Apollo 15 Moon rock, which drew large crowds to the North End Event Center. Glenn staff, joined by Mike Lammers, deputy chief of the Flight Director’s Office at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, engaged with both media and fairgoers to highlight spacesuit advancements, Glenn’s unique role as the only NASA center in the Midwest, and upcoming plans for returning to the Moon and journeying to Mars through Artemis. 

The team reached an estimated 57,000 people directly, with additional exposure through traditional and social media efforts. 

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NASA Names Glenn’s Steven Sinacore to Lead Fission Surface Power 

NASA leadership has named NASA Glenn Research Center’s Steven A. Sinacore as the agency’s program executive for Fission Surface Power with Lindsay Kaldon as deputy program executive. 

Sinacore will lead a team within the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate dedicated to advancing fission surface power technology in support of lunar exploration, providing high power energy generation on Mars, and strengthening national security.   

Sinacore has more than 20 years of leadership and project management experience. Most recently, he served as director of Aeronautics at NASA Glenn in Cleveland. Prior to that, he was deputy project manager of the Gateway Power and Propulsion Element. After joining NASA Glenn in 2005, Sinacore held numerous systems engineering, project management, and mission operations positions, and he has been instrumental in developing and executing intergovernmental partnerships.  

His strong background leading cross-agency teams, combined with NASA Glenn’s longstanding expertise in space power technology development, will equip the agency to further advance U.S. competition and lunar surface leadership under the Artemis campaign. 

Last month, NASA declared its intent to put a system that would provide at least 100 kilowatts of electrical power on the Moon by fiscal year 2030. NASA then surveyed industry for their interest and feedback on an announcement for partnership proposals. 

This new effort builds on previous Glenn-led work to advance fission surface power technology development and concept designs.  

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NASA Awards Atmosphere Research Support Contract

NASA has selected Science and Technology Corp. of Columbia, Maryland, to support atmospheric science research and development at the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

The Atmosphere Support is a cost-plus-fixed-fee, single-award indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a maximum ordering value of $163.1 million. The contract will have an effective date of Monday, Nov. 3, 2025, for a period of five years.

Under the contract, the awardee will assist NASA Goddard’s Earth Science Division with all atmospheric science research and development and will conduct a comprehensive atmospheric science research and technology development program directed toward observing, monitoring, characterizing, modeling, understanding, and advancing knowledge of the Earth’s atmosphere.

For information about NASA and agency programs, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov

-end-

Tiernan Doyle
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
tiernan.doyle@nasa.gov

Robert Garner
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
301-286-5687
rob.garner@nasa.gov

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Tiernan P. Doyle

NASA Awards Company to Attempt Swift Spacecraft Orbit Boost

Driving rapid innovation in the American space industry, NASA has awarded Katalyst Space Technologies of Flagstaff, Arizona, a contract to raise a spacecraft’s orbit. Katalyst’s robotic servicing spacecraft will rendezvous with NASA’s Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory and raise it to a higher altitude, demonstrating a key capability for the future of space exploration and extending the Swift mission’s science lifetime.

NASA’s Swift launched in 2004 to explore the universe’s most powerful explosions, called gamma-ray bursts. The spacecraft’s low Earth orbit has been decaying gradually, which happens to satellites over time. However, because of recent increases in the Sun’s activity, Swift is experiencing more atmospheric drag than anticipated, speeding up its orbital decay. While NASA could have allowed the observatory to reenter Earth’s atmosphere, as many missions do at the end of their lifetimes, Swift’s lowering orbit presents an opportunity to advance American spacecraft servicing technology.

“This industry collaboration to boost Swift’s orbit is just one of many ways NASA works for the nation every day,” said Nicky Fox, associate administrator, Science Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters in Washington. “By moving quickly to pursue innovative commercial solutions, we’re further developing the space industry and strengthening American space leadership. This daring mission also will demonstrate our ability to go from concept to implementation in less than a year — a rapid-response capability important for our future in space as we send humans back to the Moon under the Artemis campaign, to Mars, and beyond.”

The orbit boost is targeted for spring 2026, though NASA will continue to monitor any changes in solar activity that may impact this target timeframe. A successful Swift boost would be the first time a commercial robotic spacecraft captures a government satellite that is uncrewed, or not originally designed to be serviced in space.

“Given how quickly Swift’s orbit is decaying, we are in a race against the clock, but by leveraging commercial technologies that are already in development, we are meeting this challenge head-on,” said Shawn Domagal-Goldman, acting director, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters. “This is a forward-leaning, risk-tolerant approach for NASA. But attempting an orbit boost is both more affordable than replacing Swift’s capabilities with a new mission, and beneficial to the nation — expanding the use of satellite servicing to a new and broader class of spacecraft.”

Swift leads NASA’s fleet of space telescopes in studying changes in the high-energy universe. When a rapid, sudden event takes place in the cosmos, Swift serves as a “dispatcher,” providing critical information that allows other “first responder” missions to follow up to learn more about how the universe works. For more than two decades, Swift has led NASA’s missions in providing new insights on these events, together broadening our understanding of everything from exploding stars, stellar flares, and eruptions in active galaxies, to comets and asteroids in our own solar system and high-energy lightning events on Earth.

NASA has awarded Katalyst $30 million to move forward with implementation under a Phase III award as an existing participant in NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program, managed by the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. This approach allowed NASA to pursue an orbit boost for Swift on a shorter development timeline than would otherwise be possible, given the rapid rate at which Swift’s orbit is decaying.

“America’s space economy is brimming with cutting-edge solutions, and opportunities like this allow NASA to tap into them for real-world challenges,” said Clayton Turner, associate administrator, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. “Orbital decay is a common, natural occurrence for satellites, and this collaboration may open the door to extending the life of more spacecraft in the future. By working with industry, NASA fosters rapid, agile technology development, advancing capabilities to benefit the missions of today and unlock the discoveries of tomorrow.” 

The NASA SBIR program is part of America’s Seed Fund, the nation’s largest source of early-stage, non-dilutive funding for innovative technologies. Through this program, entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses with less than 500 employees can receive funding and non-monetary support to build, mature, and commercialize their technologies, advancing NASA missions and helping solve important challenges facing our country.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, manages the Swift mission in collaboration with Penn State, the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico, and Northrop Grumman Space Systems in Dulles, Virginia. Other partners include the UK Space Agency, University of Leicester and Mullard Space Science Laboratory in the United Kingdom, Brera Observatory in Italy, and the Italian Space Agency.

To learn more about the Swift mission, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/swift

-end-

Alise Fisher / Jasmine Hopkins
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2546 / 321-432-4624
alise.m.fisher@nasa.gov / jasmine.s.hopkins@nasa.gov

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Gerelle Q. Dodson