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October 2004 Volume 3, Number 10 Team News about Jacobs Sverdrup, Allied Aerospace, ERC, Morgan, Qualis, and Raytheon (Continued on Page 3) In This Issue Schedules Accelerated for ECLSS - PAGE 1 Outlook: Mirroring MSFC's Structure - PAGE 2 Machine Limits Raise Safety Concerns - PAGE 2 Management Retreat Focuses on Change - PAGE 2 Spirited Competition Raises Funds - PAGE 3 Workload for Some Includes Schoolwork - PAGE 3 NASA Database Available - PAGE 3 Awards Presented to MSFC Group - PAGE 4 Herdy Takes Diabetes Fight Personally - PAGE 4 Fatigue Can Cause Accidents - PAGE 6 Saturday Selected for Holiday Banquet - PAGE 6 Join America On the Move! - PAGE 7 Meals on Wheels Volunteers Needed - PAGE 7 Columns Birthdays - PAGE 8 Calendar - PAGE 8 Committee Corner: EMWC - PAGE 6 In the Spotlight - PAGE 7 Physical Focus - PAGE 6 Safety Pays - PAGE 7 Way to Go! - PAGE 5 Who's Who at MSFC - PAGE 5 Schedules Accelerated for ECLSS By Jamie Miernik & Sarah Lincoln Recent concerns about the International Space Station (ISS) Oxygen Generation System (OGS) have prompted accelerated project schedules for the Environmental Control & Life Support Systems (ECLSS) Project Team at Marshall. About 20 MSFC Group teammates currently support every aspect of ECLSS, including scheduling, design, fabrication, manufacturing, assembly, software development, analysis, testing, procurement, materials, ground sup- port equipment and human factors. The three Russian-built oxygen units currently on the ISS are the last of their kind and operate on older, less efficient technology. With NASA’s new emphasis on exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, ECLSS capability is a must for long-dura- tion manned vehicles in addition to accommodating a larger astronaut crew on the ISS. So the OGS and Water Recov- ery System (WRS) rack fabrication, delivery and testing at MSFC has been accelerated to complete the regenerable ECLSS capability as soon as possible. Cheryl Kromis (Raytheon) was responsible for initiating and completing a schedule rebaselining effort in an intensive, four-week period, which resulted in heightened procurement activities and a flurry of activity to design and build over a dozen flight hardware test assemblies. Pat Fulda (Qualis) and Rex Graves (AA) of the ECLSS Test Team will produce CAD mod- els, begin fabrication and test the test assemblies. NASA now plans to fly the OGS and WRS racks a year earlier than previously planned. The ECLSS racks will now be accommodated temporarily in the U.S. Destiny Lab module, a change of location from the previously planned Node 3 module. According to Andy Johnston (JS), GSE & Mechanisms Design Team Lead, “A recent critical milestone was the completion of manufac- turing on four of seven Orbital Replacement Units (ORU) of the Urine Proces- sor Assembly (UPA) within the WRS, which are now being tested. Spare ORUs are also being built which can be interchanged on-orbit in the future.” The WRS Rack 2 contains the UPA and a portion of the WPA. MSFC Group mem- bers were responsible for a significant portion of the UPA and the overall rack integration design.

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Page 1: Schedules Accelerated for ECLSS - ITAsitevelho.ita.br/online/2005/noticias05/iteanonasa_arquivos/GCOct04… · ery System (WRS) rack fabrication, delivery and testing at MSFC has

October 2004 Volume 3, Number 10

Team News about Jacobs Sverdrup, Allied Aerospace, ERC, Morgan, Qualis, and Raytheon

(Continued on Page 3)

In This IssueSchedules Accelerated for ECLSS - PAGE 1 Outlook: Mirroring MSFC's Structure - PAGE 2 Machine Limits Raise Safety Concerns - PAGE 2Management Retreat Focuses on Change - PAGE 2Spirited Competition Raises Funds - PAGE 3Workload for Some Includes Schoolwork - PAGE 3NASA Database Available - PAGE 3Awards Presented to MSFC Group - PAGE 4Herdy Takes Diabetes Fight Personally - PAGE 4Fatigue Can Cause Accidents - PAGE 6Saturday Selected for Holiday Banquet - PAGE 6Join America On the Move! - PAGE 7Meals on Wheels Volunteers Needed - PAGE 7

ColumnsBirthdays - PAGE 8Calendar - PAGE 8Committee Corner: EMWC - PAGE 6In the Spotlight - PAGE 7Physical Focus - PAGE 6Safety Pays - PAGE 7Way to Go! - PAGE 5Who's Who at MSFC - PAGE 5

Schedules Accelerated for ECLSSBy Jamie Miernik & Sarah Lincoln

Recent concerns about the International Space Station (ISS) Oxygen Generation System (OGS) have prompted accelerated project schedules for the Environmental Control & Life Support Systems (ECLSS) Project Team at Marshall. About 20 MSFC Group teammates currently support every aspect of ECLSS, including scheduling, design, fabrication, manufacturing, assembly, software development, analysis, testing, procurement, materials, ground sup-port equipment and human factors.

The three Russian-built oxygen units currently on the ISS are the last of their kind and operate on older, less efficient technology. With NASA’s new

emphasis on exploration missions to the Moon and Mars, ECLSS capability is a must for long-dura-tion manned vehicles in addition to accommodating a larger astronaut crew on the ISS.

So the OGS and Water Recov-ery System (WRS) rack fabrication, delivery and testing at MSFC has been accelerated to complete the regenerable ECLSS capability as soon as possible. Cheryl Kromis (Raytheon) was responsible for initiating and completing a schedule rebaselining effort in an intensive, four-week period, which resulted in heightened procurement activities and a flurry of activity to design and build over a dozen flight hardware test assemblies. Pat Fulda (Qualis) and Rex Graves (AA) of the ECLSS Test Team will produce CAD mod-els, begin fabrication and test the test assemblies. NASA now plans to fly the OGS and WRS racks a year earlier than previously planned.

The ECLSS racks will now be accommodated temporarily in the U.S. Destiny Lab module, a change of location from the previously

planned Node 3 module. According to Andy Johnston (JS), GSE & Mechanisms Design Team Lead, “A recent critical milestone was the completion of manufac-turing on four of seven Orbital Replacement Units (ORU) of the Urine Proces-sor Assembly (UPA) within the WRS, which are now being tested. Spare ORUs are also being built which can be interchanged on-orbit in the future.”

The WRS Rack 2 contains the UPA and a portion of the WPA. MSFC Group mem-bers were responsible for a significant portion of the UPA and the overall rack integration design.

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2 MSFC Group Connection 3MSFC Group Connection

Mirroring MSFC's Organization

By Lon Miller, General ManagerOutlook « «

Machine Limits Raise Safety Concerns

We have a new structural organization in the MSFC Group today as we realigned our personnel to mirror the new organization chart of the Marshall Space Flight Center, effective October 12. The Center’s own restructuring involves more than 2,000 employees and final changes will take some time to implement. As a result, some of you wondered why we didn’t wait to reorganize our MSFC Group until “the dust settled.” But the MSFC Group management team felt that it was important to show our customers immediate support for their changing organizations and to closely align ourselves with the missions and charter of NASA and MSFC as quickly as possible. The managers spent many long hours carefully identifying ways to structure our organization in a manner that would have the least impact on employees while ensuring that we created teams that would be effective immediately. MSFC Group organization charts are available on our Intranet for you to review and I would encourage you to talk with your Team Leads and Managers so we can identify any areas that may need further review. On our org charts, you’ll see several positions listed as Acting. We appreciate the folks who agreed to serve in those roles as we started our realignment process. The “acting” positions will be filled within the next couple of weeks. In the meantime, there is a substantial amount of work facing us as we not only realign people, but reissue Subtask Directives or make neces-sary SD revisions to match the programs and projects that Marshall is now directing, as well as their new organization structure. I ask for everyone’s patience and commitment to the process. Together we’ll build an even stronger organization and further demonstrate to our customers our re-sponsiveness and commitment to support the new challenges they face.

The 2004 MSFC Group Management Team Retreat focused on the timely topic of enhancing the team’s ability to lead and manage in a changing environment. Workshop leader Roger Mellott, a frequent NASA presenter and international expert in common sense people skills and problem solving, spoke on a variety of topics which heightened our Group’s awareness of how a management team affects the outcome of reorganization activities. Bob Ludwig, publisher of The Huntsville Times, also related his direct experience of managing a team in a dramatically changing environment. He described how, in less than 78 days, the newspaper changed from an evening publication to morning delivery.

Two break-out sessions were also held during the two-day retreat in Guntersville, providing each leader with the opportunity to work on unique problems that our management team faces during the reorganization.

Management Retreat Focuses on Change

Roger Mellott (standing) was the key presenter on the first day of the MSFC Group Management retreat in early October.

David Moody (Morgan) called a “Time-out for Safety” when he was asked to do a hot isostatic press (HIP) on powdered metal. The HIP requirements were close to what David thought were the limits of the machine, so he checked the documentation and in the process uncovered some specific limitations that caused him concern. He decided it was in the best interests of safety to not proceed with the job. Instead he called in the pressure experts and safety people to check the HIP machine and certify that it is safe for operation. During the investigation, David and Allen Kinworthy (Morgan) discovered a pressure relief valve and burst disk in the HIP system that needed to be recertified and replaced. David received the September MSFC Group Safety Star for his exceptional efforts.

A Safety Star Honorable Mention went to Doug Davenport (ERC), who recently arranged to place simple, but effective, child resistant covers in two electrical outlet boxes next to two lathes in the new machine shop in the Propulsion Research Center. The boxes were anchored to the floor behind the lathes in an area where metal chips could fall into the open outlet slots, potentially shorting out the power. The temporary covers will help protect people, hardware, equipment and the building’s power source from damage until a permanent solution can be implemented.

Aquita Wherry (JS) also received an Honorable Mention as a Teaming for Safety Captain who has demon-strated a superior performance rating for the Business Services Directorate. Aquita takes the time each month to assist with a Safety Moment and to participate in safety walk throughs. Many safety mishaps occur within the office area because of complacency. The department has become depen-dent on Aquita’s commitment to safety for her fellow co-workers.

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2 MSFC Group Connection 3MSFC Group Connection

Schedules Accelerated for ECLSS (Continued from PAGE 1) The OGS uses electricity to separate oxygen and hydrogen gases from

water. The WRS consists of the Water Processor Assembly (WPA) that uses ion exchange and multi-filtration beds to clean wastewater (sweat, hand-wash water, urine condensate and other waste streams) and the UPA that processes urine with a low-pressure phase change distillation process.

According to MSFC Group teammates, design challenges also include building the ECLSS system to operate in a close space in a microgravity environment, which means the unit must be quiet, produce little vibration and be crew-friendly.

While design, manufacturing and testing operations are among the most visible aspects of the project, other facets should not be forgotten. Several teammates serve in critical roles in the areas of analysis, project support and human factors. Some MSFC Group members have worked on aspects of ECLSS since 1997and as many as 40 or 50 teammates have participated over the years in the build-up to today’s activities.

Spirited Competition Raises Funds

for United Way A bounty of more than $900 for United Way was raised last month in various online competitions among MSFC Group teammates. A Silent Auction of 32 items brought in $567. The largest bid of $150 was posted by Camilla Canty (JS), who earned an aerial tour in a private plane piloted by our own MSFC Group General Manager Lon Miller. Two Huntsville Symphony tickets brought a top bid of $55 and a child’s overstuffed rocker gained $52 in bids. An online Trivia Pyramid game, posted by tough trivia master Helen Jones (JS), raised $178 with 18 people competing. Pyramid winners were entered in a drawing for a portable DVD player, which was won by Rick Somers (Qualis). Other competitions included an online football game, which ended in a tie between Alabama and Auburn with one touchdown apiece. The Candy Jar Guess was won by JS ITSS Business Manager Clay Sherrill, who came the closest to identifying the 201 pieces of candy stuffed inside.

Full time jobs leave precious time for outside activities, but many of our MSFC Group employees are spend-ing their spare time pursuing degrees.

Angela Holcomb (JS) is work-ing on a BS degree in Accounting at Calhoun Community College. David Teague (AA) expects to complete his MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Alabama Hunts-ville next year. Martin Draper (JS) will receive a BS in Professional Studies in Organizational Leadership in Au-gust 2005 from the Tennessee Board of Regents. Karen Murphy (Morgan) will receive an MS Degree in Space Studies from the University of North Dakota in December 2005. 2006 graduates will include Michael Bell (Qualis), whose stud-ies in Electrical Engineering will earn him an MS degree from the Univer-sity of Alabama Birmingham in May 2006; Christy Shockney (JS), who will graduate in December 2006 with a BBA degree in Human Resources Management from Athens State Uni-versity; and Michelle Vanterpool (JS), who is studying for her MS degree in Management at the FIT Redstone Graduate Center.

Workload for Some Includes Schoolwork

The NASA Aeronautics and Space Database is a multidisci-plinary resource tool which contains over 3.6 million records relevant to NASA’s mission dating from 1915 to today. Over 220,000 documents are currently available in full-text search-able Adobe Acrobat PDF. Open access to the database is available to anyone within the nasa.gov Internet domain. Registered users gain added benefits, including viewing limited distribution material and requesting that NASA docu-ments not currently in full-text PDF be scanned and added to the data-base for viewing and downloading.

NASA Database Available

Heisenberg’s Uncertainty Principle: The location of all bodies in the universe cannot be known simultaneously.Murphy's Corollary: If an object is located, something else will disappear, usually right before it is needed.

Researchers say 85 percent of what we know is learned through listening. But most people absorb only 25 percent of what they hear. To hear more and learn more, commu-nications experts say it’s important to let people finish their thoughts and sentences; stop what you’re doing and give the speaker your complete attention; and let them know the outcome of their ideas. People will offer more ideas if they think they’ll get feedback.

Listen Up!

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Awards Presented to MSFC GroupBy Sarah G. Lincoln

At the recent All Hands meeting, several MSFC Group teammates received Group awards. Christy McCain (JS) received the Program Support Award for her on-going support and training of teammates and civil servants in various accounting areas. Christy is the only contractor who is an Accounts Payable Superuser for SAP. In nominating Christy, co-worker Kristen Weldon (JS) noted, “Christy is a great supporter to both her co-workers and customers, has knowl-edge of company policies and procedures and is a group motivator as well.” Ricardo Yague (JS), who is based in Italy, was honored with a Continu-ous Improvement Award for researching and determining that a new bus test requirement for the Environmental Control and Life Support System (ECLSS) racks was unnecessary. In identifying that existing tests would suffice to detect manufacturing flaws, Ricardo saved NASA an estimated $700,000. An Outstanding Task Award was presented to Cheryl Kromis (Raytheon) for initiating a major schedule re-baselining effort for the ECLSS Project Office, which was completed in an intensive, four-week period. This new schedule procedure was critical to the Project’s success and saved NASA an estimated $100,000. Two Vehicle Integrated Performance Analysis (VIPA) subtasks received Outstanding Task Awards. Sunil Bellani (Raytheon) was recognized for his work on the MSFC 2nd Generation Flight Mechanics Assessment task, which analyzed launch vehicles using the VIPA team processes. The subtask in-vestigated the feasibility of the integrated Orbital Space Plane spacecraft and Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle from a performance, loads and control-lability perspective. The VIPA Institutional Design Support subtask team of Gary Corder (JS), James Owens (Qualis), Paul Tidwell (AA) and Wade Short (JS) earned the Outstanding Task Award for completing a projected six-month development and analysis project in only 28 days for the Shuttle-derived Heavy-Lift Task. The high level of detail included more than 300 CAD models and a 126-page report. The Gravity Probe B (GP-B) Debris Risk Assessment team of Erich Engler and Jennifer Robinson (both Morgan) was honored for completing a foreign object debris impact damage assessment for the GP-B solar array cables and a Meteoroid and Orbital Debris damage risk assessment. Their work was accomplished in a non-traditional manner and within demanding program schedules at the customer’s request.

Jennifer Robinson and Erich Engler received Outstanding Task Awards from Tim Hopper, Lon Miller and Bob Guzowski (Morgan).

These VIPA Institutional Design team members (holding plaques) were hon-ored with Outstanding Task Awards (l-r) James Owens, Tim Hopper (JS), Wade Short, Gary Corder, Lon Miller, Roger Herdy (AA) and Paul Tidwell.

Cheryl Kromis is congratulated on her Outstanding Task Award by Lon Miller, Adrian Ritchie (Raytheon) and Rick Houston (JS).

Roger Herdy’s (AA) interest in serving as Huntsville’s Corporate Chairman for the 2004 American Diabetes Association annual Walk for America on October 8 was highly personal. His father was diagnosed 10 years ago with diabetes, his paternal grandmother died from the disease and diabetes damaged his brother Dreux’s heart, contribut-ing to his sudden heart attack and death this last May. Roger has no symptoms of this silent killer, but he

is very interested in supporting the cause and finding a cure. For Roger, raising individual awareness of this disease is equally important to raising funds. Alabama’s estimated 440,000 diabetics is one of the highest percentages in the U.S. “The increased rate of diabetes in our community is something we all need to be aware of,” Roger says. “Last year’s Huntsville Walk raised $175,000 for research. This year Lon Miller, who was last year’s ADA

Chairman, generously matched funds from Jacobs Sverdrup’s collection for this year’s Walk.” With the JS dona-tion of $1,000, a total of $2,910 was turned in by our MSFC Group.

Roger encourages anyone in the MSFC Group to join this fight and be-come ADA Corporate Chairman next year. “You don’t have to be a manag-er to get involved,” Roger notes. “It would be great for the MSFC Group to show our commitment to the cause again next year and lead the way in the fight against diabetes.”

Herdy Takes Diabetes Fight PersonallyBy Kathy Morawe

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Way to Go!David Berry

Who’s Who at MSFC Group

Denny Bartlett (AA) was awarded a NASA Group Achieve-ment Award for “demonstrating the highest levels of professional exper-tise, initiative and personal resource-fulness to meet the ever increasing and demanding needs of the Office of Exploration Systems”.

Richard Altstatt (JS), Paul Tidwell and Joel Clark (both AA) received NASA Group Achievement Awards for development and pre-sentation of models, simulations and expertise supporting the Agency-wide assessments of Simulation Based Acquisition resources.

NASA Group Achievement Awards were presented to MSFC Group members of the Exploration Transportation Task “Tiger Team”, formed to respond to time-critical tasks assigned by NASA Headquar-ters Code T. Recipients included: Denny Bartlett, Jim Bishop, Ladd Lewis, David Teague (all AA), David Evans, Andy Hardin, Tamra Ozbolt (all ERC), Teresa Harris, Ron Olsen, Leah Engler (all Mor-gan), Michael Bell, Robert Bender, Scott Jordan, Katrina Norris, Regina Pope (all Qualis), Rosa Snyder (STS), Regina Adcock, BJ Bartee, Bradley Biehn, Shannon Brown, Stephen Brown, Bob Col-bert, Gary Corder, Marjie Davis, Phillis Gaines, David Goggin, Walter Hammond, Jana Killebrew, Tamara Mahan, Philip Nerren, Wade Short, Donnie Smith, Greg Smith and Ron Staschke (all JS).

Terri Hill, Angela Holcomb, Christy McCain, Christy Shockney and Kristen Weldon (all JS) re-ceived NASA Letters of Appreciation for an excellent job done during the past year in Accounting Operations.

Donna Patterson (JS) received two Letters of Appreciation from NASA, first recognizing her exem-plary work ethic, support to In-Space

This column covers the awards that people in the MSFC Group receive. Let David Berry know if you receive or know somebody who receives an award in the future, including any Group awards, individual company awards or teammate awards.

Propulsion Project Team and sup-port of the Business and Administra-tive Office of the Space Transporta-tion Directorate and second honor-ing her outstanding performance and contribution to the In-Space Propulsion Office, Solar Sail team and ISP Project Office.

NASA Letters of Apprecia-tion were presented to Don-nie Smith and Greg Smith (both JS) for their outstanding support, efforts and accom-plishments in supporting the Project Analysis organization at MSFC.

Receiving individual NASA Letters of Appreciation recently were Cathy Gant (JS) for outstanding support to the Transportation Directorate Business and Administrative Office; Camilla Canty (JS) for her initiation and development of Earned Value Management Implementation Planning activities; Amy Taylor (JS) for her outstanding willingness, performance and for being a team player; and Aquita Wherry (JS) for her high standard of excellence in work performance and her personal dedication to Cost Reporting and Analysis.

James Owens received a Qua-lis Attaboy Award for his recognition by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Labora-tory for his work on the Jupiter Icy Moons Orbiter Gimble Systems. An Attaboy also went to Louis Coons for receiving a NASA Peer Award. Teresa Kinney was awarded a Qualis YugoGirl Award for receiv-ing a NASA Group Achievement Award for her work on the Debris Impact Analysis Team.

An Allied Aerospace Teamwork Award was presented to James Drake for his “outstanding knowl-edge of flight hardware require-ments, skill with managing people and perseverance” in work on the

Demonstration for Autonomous Rendezvous Technology Advanced Video Guidance Sensor and Orbital Express programs.

James Drake (center) received an AA Teamwork Award from AA Teammate Principal Roger Herdy (left) and MSFC Group Science Directorate Director Ron Belz (JS).

Gary Martin joined JS as the MSFC Group courier. Gary and wife, Deana, have a son, a daughter and three granddaughters. His interests in-clude automobiles and on-line poker.

Ben Phillips joined JS in Space Trans-portation. Ben is single and lists his hobby as “food”.

James Sloan joined ERC in Flight Projects. A golfer, James and wife, Michele, have two children.

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Physical FocusJamie Miernik

Employee Morale and Welfare Committee

Committee CornerWendy Joseph

Mission: To provide functions where all employees of the MSFC Group can interact in a social environment outside of normal work activi-ties. All of the primary teammate companies on the contract contribute funds to the committee to use for functions. Focus: Organizes social functions that meet the needs of the employ-ees and encourage participation so the diverse MSFC Group employees have opportunities to meet each other informally. Functions are generally held once per month and include cookouts, ice cream socials, outings to sporting events, breakfasts for Valentines and Halloween, the Thanksgiv-ing lunch, and the MSFC Group Holiday Awards Party. The committee also organizes a summer family acitivity. Members: Dennis Lambert (Raytheon), chairman; Susan Brown, Surinder Sankar, John Cooper, Alison Engel, Mickey Grigsby, Melody Levert, Ashley Keeble (all JS), Cheryl Kromis (Raytheon), Walt McGregor (Morgan), Dean Carter (Qualis), Ladd Lewis (AA), Art Lapietra and Jamie Miernik (ERC).The management representative is Roger Herdy (AA). Meetings: The committee conducts their planning meeting each fall, after the start of the Contract Year. Subsequent meetings are held monthly to finalize the details of each function. To learn more or to join the commit-tee, contact any of the members.

Getting behind the wheel when you’re short on sleep is very risky business. In the U.S. alone, drowsy driving is blamed for at least 100,000 accidents, 71,000 injuries, and 1,550 deaths each year. In fact, being awake for 24 hours has the same effects on your body as being legally drunk.

People think that driver fatigue means falling asleep at the wheel, but that is only the most extreme form of fatigue. Fatigue also includes tired-ness, weariness or exhaustion. You can become fatigued enough to impair your driving long before you actually “nod off” at the wheel.

Signs of fatigue include forgetful-ness, becoming fixated, poor decision making, a lack of interest, slowed reac-tion times, lethargy, reduced vigilance, moodiness and not communicating well. Like alcohol, fatigue slows reaction time and impairs judgment and vision.

Failure to get enough sleep is the most commonly known cause of fa-tigue. If your sleep debt gets too large, your brain will eventually go to sleep involuntarily, known as micro-sleep. Periods of micro-sleep only last a few

Fatigue Can Cause Accidentsseconds but are extremely dangerous if you’re driving.

Sleep loss may be caused by disorders that disrupt the quality and quantity of sleep a person gets, such as sleep apnea. Our bodies have a built-in clock that coordinates daily activity cycles, known as circadian rhythms. This internal clock programs us to feel very sleepy between 3 and 5 a.m., and to experience a secondary peak in sleepiness between 3 and 5 p.m. At these times you will experi-ence your worst physical and mental performance of the day.

Late-night driving, long trips and monotonous roads can make you tired, especially if you’re alone. Even small amounts of alcohol will increase the effects of fatigue and narcotics. Some medications and some antihis-tamines can also make you drowsy.

To avoid driver fatigue, get plenty of sleep, drive during daylight hours, take breaks every two hours, allow fresh air to blow into the vehicle, stay hydrated and eat small meals, avoid using “cruise-control”, avoid taking medications and don’t speed.

MSFC Safety Day – The Safety Day Kickoff begins October 28 at 9:15 a.m. in Morris Auditorium. A Safety Day Stroll, approximately 1 mile, leaves the center area of the Building 4200 complex at 11:00 am, walking to the Activities Building 4316. Pe-dometers will be handed out after the walk. The annual Safety Day Fair in the Activities Building will begin after the Stroll and last until 2:00 pm.

Healthier Feds Challenge – Get healthy and help MSFC win the six-week Government-wide Healthier Feds Physical Activity Challenge, which runs through November 26. Contractors should register using the NASA Group ID #22824. Your Challenge activity goal is only 30 minutes a day. Get in the spirit and get moving! Basketball – The MSFC Group “C-Dogs” need a new team captain. Players are invited to practice with the team Tuesdays 5:00-6:30 p.m. at the NASA gym for the upcoming season in the MSFC MARS league. Contact Jamie Miernik, 544-6534, if you’re interested in playing. Bicycle After Work – NOTE: After work rides will cease October 29 as daylight savings time ends. Visit the Spring City Cycling Club website for scheduled weekend rides for all levels.

Our EMWC group has announced that this year’s annual Holiday Awards Banquet will be held on Saturday, December 11, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Please mark your calendars now to enjoy heavy hors’douvres, music by Jimmy Fish (JS) and his band, The Purple Ravens, a year-end review, awards presentation and door prizes. Watch your e-mail for more details.

Saturday Selected for Hol iday Banquet

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Safety Pays!Nadine Washington

In the SpotlightKathy Morawe

Join America On the Move!

Despite warnings and safety meetings, slips, trips and falls collectively remain the number one cause of accidents at the Marshall Space Flight Center. Slips, trips and falls represent a major cause of accidental death and injury equally at home or work. Approximately one-seventh of all accidental deaths are due to injuries sustained because of a fall and nearly 12,000 lives are lost annually.

Four variables contribute to slips, trips and falls: a foreign object on the walkway, a flaw in the walking surface, an individual’s impaired physical or mental condition and a slippery surface. Most falls can be prevented by using common sense and keeping a safety attitude at all times.

To effectively deal with slips, trips and falls, countermeasures can be taken which reduce the probability of an accident. For example, stairs represent a change in walking conditions, increasing the chance of tripping. By holding the handrail, which is a severity reduction countermeasure, a person tripping would normally suffer less of a loss than if they fell down the stairs.

At MSFC and at home, you should proactively prevent situations that can cause slips, trips or falls. If you see anything on the floor, pick it up or wipe it up. Don’t climb or stand on unstable objects. Don’t leave file draw-ers open in the path of travel. Remove cords from walkways.

Report damaged walkways or unsafe conditions at MSFC. Call 544-HELP to request facilities attention, notify the building manager or a super-visor, or enter a report in the Safety Concerns Reporting System (SCRS) online. Visit the National Safety Council and American Society of Safety Engineers websites for more details.

America On the Move Day is No-vember 5, a day when all American’s are encouraged to add an extra 2000 steps to your day and choose a way to eat 100 fewer calories. You can register online to Take the Pledge and sign up to help Alabama earn the title of “Healthiest State on the Move.” It’s free and registrants are entered in a drawing for prizes like an Apple iPod and $100 American Express gift cards.

Debby (JS) Hernandez and husband, Stu, welcomed Ethan Nelson to the world on October 1. He weighed in at a whopping 9 lbs, 5 oz and was 19.5 inches long.

Sharon Carswell’s (ERC) daughter, Brandy, and hus-band, Ryan Bene-field, presented Sharon with her first granddaugh-ter, Brynn Avery, on September 14.

Brynn was 5 lbs, 3 oz and 19 inches long. Sharon is a little frustrated be-cause Muscadin, AL is a three-hour drive for Mimi!

Cathey Turney (AA) partici-pated in the Liz Hurley Ribbon Run October 16 to benefit Liz’s Breast Cancer Foundation at Huntsville Hospital. A cancer survivor, Cathey walked with many others in the Sur-vivor Lap at the Huntsville Middle School track. We were saddened to learn of the passing of some of our team-mate’s relatives recently, including John Keegan’s (JS) brother, Michael Keegan, who passed away September 25, and BJ Bartee’s (JS) sister, Jane Boswell, who died September 28.

We’re looking for news about events and milestones in your life, such as short notations of marriages, births, deaths, graduations, promotions, job changes, etc. Contact Kathy Morawe and we’ll print as many items as we can each month. If you have digital images, send those along too!

Brynn Benefield

Ethan Nelson

For nearly 12 years, many of our MSFC Group teammates have volun-teered a couple of hours of personal time each month to help deliver meals to many of the hundreds of Huntsville households who rely on Meals on Wheels to bring them their only hot meal of the day.

Lisa Johnston (ERC) has helped co-ordinate our Group’s participation, which has come primarily from the Stress and Dynamics Department. But new volun-teers are now needed. “It only takes two people less than two hours every 2-3 months during a lunch period if we get enough volunteers,” Lisa says. “I want to thank those people who have donated time in the past and encourage addition-al volunteers to take just one lunch hour to realize how fortunate we are.”

The Huntsville Senior Center coor-dinates the Meals on Wheels program. Volunteers go out in pairs, pick up the packaged food at the Center and typi-cally cover the same route, seeing the same faces each week. “You can’t be-lieve how grateful people are to receive this service. It’s truly heart-warming for us when they welcome us each time,” Lisa notes.

Current volunteers include David Berry, Gordon Carey, Rebeca Violett, Sam Ayala, Randy Lycans, Wes New-man (all JS), Leslie Wood (Morgan), Brenda Anding (ERC), Phil Shaw (Qualis), Johna Brazeal (Qualis) and Lisa Johnston (ERC). Contact Lisa at 544-7884 to sign up and help out.

Meals On Wheels Volunteers Needed

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8 MSFC Group Connection

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Meals on Wheels Delivery

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MSFC Group Connection Volume 3/Number 10

2004 Jacobs Sverdrup All rights reserved.

The MSFC Group Connection is published monthly by Jacobs Sverdrup as an internal employee newsletter for the team-mates working on the ESTS Contract at the Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL. It includes teammate news about Jacobs Sverdrup (JS), Allied Aerospace (AA), ERC, Morgan, Qualis & Raytheon. Contributions should be submitted no later than the first Monday of every month to MSFC Group Connection or to the individuals listed below by clicking on their names. MSFC Group Connection reserves the right to edit or refuse publication of any material submitted and accepts no advertising or information on outside commercial activities.

Editor—Sarah Lincoln/Accredited Consultants (971-5516); Assistant Editor—Renaee Gregory/JS (544-5781); Layout—Karen Murphy/Morgan; Photography: Gordon Carey/JS; Editorial Board: David Berry/JS, Jimmy Fish/JS, Wendy Joseph/JS, Ladd Lewis/AA, Jamie Miernik/ERC, Kathy Morawe/JS; Contributors: Kurt Everhart/ERC, Pamela Perez/JS, Nadine Washington/JS; Proofreaders: Beth Fitzsimmons/JS, Mickey Grigsby/JS.

NYC Marathon

Election Day

America Recycles

EMWC Thanksgiving

Lunch

Fast Facts

Wooten, ErnieBell, MichaelCronin, JasonFitzsimmons, Beth Belt, Joann Capizzo, PeterSkipworth, William McDougal, KrisBiehn, BradleyKirk, LarryNeeley, James Berry, JacobyMonaco, LisaBrown, ShirleyBlackwell, BillClewis, RayWales, KenGuendel, HerbPerez, PamTurner, ChrisBartlett, DennyWilliams, TomDowns, WillShaw, PhilBurk, MelissaBender, BobGiller, GeorgeGlasscock, TrumanSomers, RickBrown, BobPassero, AnthonyDraper, Martin.Murray, Michael Sharpe, Tammy Carothers, PaulDonovan, DanWeibert, MikeClounch, JeffEllet, HaroldTowner, RobertLeslie, Curtis Fulda, PatJoseph, WendyTeague, DavidWhisenant, Carrie

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Veterans Day

Thanksgiving Day

Meals on Wheels Delivery

Did you know a 1920 New York Times editorial on Robert Goddard’s rocket work claimed, “Professor Goddard...does not know the relation of action to re-action, and the need to have something better than a vacuum against which to react....he only seems to lack the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools.” The Times printed a retraction in 1969, when the Apollo 11 astronauts were on their way to the Moon!

Did you know that among the items taken to the moon on the Apollo 16 mission were 25 U.S. flags and one state flag for each of the 50 U.S. States? The flags were 4 inches x 6 inches.