NASA Daily News Summary For Release: April 13, 2000 Media Advisory m00-73 SUMMARY NEWS RELEASES: NASA TECHNOLOGY SAFELY STRIPS SHIPS OF LOOSE CHIPS ----- VIDEO VIDEO FILE: ITEM 1 - NASA AND NATIONAL CANCER INSTITUTE JOIN TO DEVELOP NANO-EXPLORERS FOR THE HUMAN BODY ITEM 2 - IO COLOR IMAGES - JPL ITEM 3 - ROBOTIC PAINT STRIPPER - JPL REPLAYS ITEM 4 - ULTRASONIC DRILL UNDERGOES TESTING - JPL ITEM 5 - HYPERGOLS SCRUBBER - KSC LIVE TELEVISION EVENTS THIS WEEK ***************************** NEWS RELEASES NASA TECHNOLOGY SAFELY STRIPS SHIPS OF LOOSE CHIPS A new robotic device that safely strips paint from the hulls of ships without polluting the environment is based on NASA robotics technology. The system, which has received kudos from environmentalist and undersea explorer Jean-Michel Cousteau, could revolutionize paint removal in the shipping industry. Current sandblasting methods potentially can contaminate waters surrounding harbors. The robot was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA; the Robotics Engineering Consortium at Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA; and UltraStrip Systems, Inc., Stuart, FL., and consists of an automated robotic device that is magnetized to the ship, a set of high-pressure jet streams, and a controller that helps the robot navigate along the surface of the ship. The water is filtered and then reused, while the paint residue is collected in a container and can then be disposed of safely. Using this method, no toxic dust or paint flakes are generated to pollute nearby areas or to be inhaled by system operators. Contact at NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Donald Savage (Phone: 202/358-1727). Contact at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA: Nancy Lovato (Phone 818/354-0474). For full text, see: ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/pressrel/2000/00-061.txt ----------------------------- If NASA issues any news releases later today, we will e- mail summaries and Internet URLs to this list. Index of 2000 NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/2000/index.html Index of 1999 NASA News Releases: http://www.nasa.gov/releases/1999/index.html ***************************** VIDEO LIVE TELEVISION EVENTS THIS WEEK: April 13, Thursday - *6:00 - 8:30 am - NASA and National Cancer Institute Nano- Explorer Live News Interviews - HQ April 14, Friday - 9:30 am - Noon - FY 2001 Budget Posture Hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies; Appropriations Committee (recorded 4/13/00) - HQ - TBD - FY 2001 Budget Posture Hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies; Appropriations Committee (recorded 4/13/00) - HQ - 5:30 - 10:00 pm - New Sonic Drill for Space Research Live News Interviews - JPL April 15, Saturday - TBD - FY 2001 Budget Posture Hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies; Appropriations Committee (recorded 4/13/00) - HQ April 16, Sunday - TBD - FY 2001 Budget Posture Hearing before the Senate Subcommittee on VA-HUD-Independent Agencies; Appropriations Committee (recorded 4/13/00) - HQ ----------------------------- Unless otherwise noted, ALL TIMES ARE EASTERN. ANY CHANGES TO THE VIDEO LINE-UP WILL APPEAR ON THE NASA VIDEO FILE ADVISORY ON THE WEB AT ftp://ftp.hq.nasa.gov/pub/pao/tv-advisory/nasa-tv.txt WE UPDATE THE ADVISORY THROUGHOUT THE DAY. The NASA Video File normally airs at noon, 3 p.m., 6 p.m., 9 p.m. and midnight Eastern Time. NASA Television is available on GE-2, transponder 9C at 85 degrees West longitude, with vertical polarization. Frequency is on 3880.0 megahertz, with audio on 6.8 megahertz. Refer general questions about the video file to NASA Headquarters, Washington, DC: Ray Castillo, 202/358-4555, or Fred Brown, 202/358-0713, fred.brown@hq.nasa.gov During Space Shuttle missions, the full NASA TV schedule will continue to be posted at: http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/realdata/nasatv/schedule.html For general information about NASA TV see: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv/ ***************************** Contract Awards Contract awards are posted to the NASA Acquisition information Service Web site: http://procurement.nasa.gov/EPS/award.html ***************************** The NASA Daily News Summary is issued each business day at approximately 2 p.m. Eastern time. Members of the media who wish to subscribe or unsubscribe from this list, please send e-mail message to: Brian.Dunbar@hq.nasa.gov ***************************** end of daily news summary