National Environmental Policy Act; Genesis Mission
[Federal Register: April 24, 2001 (Volume 66, Number 79)]
[Notices]
[Page 20688-20690]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr24ap01-92]
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice (01-051)]
National Environmental Policy Act; Genesis Mission
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Finding of no significant impact.
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969
(NEPA), as amended (42 U.S.C. 4321, et seq.), the Council on
Environmental Quality (CEQ) Regulations for Implementing the Procedural
Provisions of NEPA (40 CFR parts 1500-1508), and NASA policy and
procedures (14 CFR part 1216 subpart 1216.3), NASA has made a finding
of no significant impact (FONSI) with respect to the proposed Genesis
mission, which would involve a flight to a libration point (L1 point)
in the Sun-Earth system, (i.e., where the gravitational pulls of the
Sun and the Earth are balanced). The spacecraft would be placed into a
halo orbit about the L1 point to collect incoming solar wind ions.
After 2 years of sample collection, the spacecraft would return the
samples to Earth.
The baseline mission calls for the Genesis spacecraft to be
launched aboard a Delta II 7326 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station
(CCAFS), Florida during the launch opportunity beginning in June 2001,
as well as the recovery of the sample return capsule (SRC) at the Utah
Test and Training Range (UTTR) approximately 65 kilometers (40 miles)
southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, no earlier than June 2004, depending
on the actual launch date.
DATES: Comments must be provided in writing to NASA on or before May
24, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Comments should be addressed to Steve Brody, NASA
Headquarters, Code SD, 300 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20546. The
Environmental Assessment (EA) prepared for the Genesis mission which
supports this FONSI may be reviewed at:
1. NASA Headquarters, Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street, SW, Washington,
DC 20546.
2. NASA, Spaceport USA, Room 2001, John F. Kennedy Space Center,
Florida 32899 (321-867-2622). Please call Penny Myers beforehand at
321-867-9280 so that arrangements can be made.
3. Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Visitors Lobby, Building 249, 4800 Oak
Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109 (818-354-5179).
4. Tooele City Public Library, 128 West Vine Street, Tooele, UT 84074
(435-882-2182).
Other locations where the EA may be examined are listed in the
Supplementary Information section below.
A limited number of copies of the EA are available for persons
wishing a copy by contacting Mr. Brody at the address or telephone
number indicated herein.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Steve Brody, 202-358-1544.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The EA may be examined at the following
additional public libraries:
1. Salt Lake City Public Library, Main Library, 200 East 500 South,
Salt Lake City, UT 84111 (801-524-8200).
2. Weber County Library, 2464 Jefferson Avenue, Ogden, UT 84401-2488
(801-627-6913).
3. West Wendover Branch Library, 590 Camper Road, West Wendover, NV
89883 (775-664-2510).
The EA may also be examined at the following NASA locations by
contacting the pertinent Freedom of Information Act Office:
1. NASA, Ames Research Center, Moffet Field, CA 94035 (650-604-1181).
2. NASA, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA 93523 (661-258-
3689).
3. NASA, Glenn Research Center, 21000 Brookpark Road, Cleveland, OH
44135 (216-433-2755).
4. NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (301-286-
6255).
5. NASA, Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058 (281-483-8612).
6. NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23665 (757-864-2497).
7. NASA, Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL 35812 (256-544-
1837).
8. NASA, Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (228-688-2164). NASA has
reviewed the EA prepared for the Genesis mission and has determined
that it represents an accurate and adequate analysis of the scope and
level of associated environmental impacts. This FONSI summarizes and
incorporates the EA by reference.
NASA is proposing to launch the Genesis mission, which would
deliver a single spacecraft into a halo orbit about the L1 point,
approximately 1.5 million kilometers (km) [0.93 million miles (mi)]
away from the Earth (approximately 1 percent of the Earth-Sun
distance). This would also place the spacecraft well beyond Earth's
magnetic field (magnetosphere), which shields the Earth from the
charged particles emitted by the Sun, thus preventing instruments
within the Earth's magnetosphere from acquiring accurate measurements
of ions in the solar wind. After arrival at the L1 point, the mostly
ultra-pure silicon collectors would be exposed to the incoming solar
wind (i.e., material erupting from the Sun's corona). The ions from the
solar wind would be accumulated as they implant in the collector
materials. After 2 years of sample collection, the spacecraft would
stow the collectors into a sealed canister in the SRC to protect the
purity of the solar wind particles collected for return to Earth and
subsequent recovery at UTTR. The spacecraft would not carry any
radioactive material. Current plans call for using a Delta II 7326
expendable launch system to inject the Genesis spacecraft into its low
energy trajectory to the L1 point during the launch opportunity
beginning in June 2001.
Depending on the actual launch date in 2001, the Genesis spacecraft
would return to Earth in June 2004 or sometime thereafter. At a
prescribed time during its approach to Earth, a command sequence would
be sent to the spacecraft to orient itself for separation
[[Page 20689]]
from the SRC. After separation from the spacecraft, the SRC would
directly enter the atmosphere to be captured midair via helicopter as
it descends over UTTR. Following mid-air retrieval, the SRC would be
removed to a staging area at UTTR where it would be prepared for
transport to the planetary materials curatorial facility at the Johnson
Space Center in Houston, Texas. Should conditions, such as weather over
the recovery site, be unfavorable, there is an opportunity at entry
minus 12 hours to enter a 19-day parking orbit for one or two
revolutions (19 or 38 days) prior to a second Earth entry opportunity.
In the unlikely event of bad weather on a second entry opportunity, the
mid-air retrieval would not be possible, so the SRC would descend to
the surface on a parafoil. The SRC and canister are designed to stay
intact in the event of a parafoil landing.
The overall science objectives of Genesis are as follows:
(1) Measure the isotopic compositions of solar matter. Most
chemical elements consist of more than one isotope. In some cases
(e.g., oxygen and nitrogen) the relative amounts of the isotopes of a
given element are not the same for different types of planetary
materials. (An isotope is an atomic species of a chemical element with
different atomic mass and physical properties, e.g., carbon-12 versus
carbon-14.) However, at the required level of precision, the isotopic
composition of solar matter is not available for comparison. Genesis
could provide the data to fill this gap. The solar data are of major
importance to planetary science because the outer regions of the Sun
preserve the average composition of the solar nebula from which all
planets in the solar system formed.
(2) Significantly improve our knowledge of the abundance of
elements originating in the Sun. A remarkable feature of the solar
system is the great diversity of planetary objects. However, this
diversity was produced from a solar nebula, which is widely accepted to
have been homogeneous in chemical composition. How this transition from
solar nebula to planets took place has both fascinated and mystified
scientists. Partial answers are available from the study of the
elemental and isotopic composition of solar system bodies which
suggests that moons, planets, and even asteroids are significantly
different in composition. These objects are ``fossil residues'', and
differences in basic elements and isotopic compositions provide
invaluable insight into how the solar nebula evolved. Using these
differences, scientists can model various evolutionary processes, but
have been hampered by missing information about the composition of the
original solar nebula.
The Sun, which contains well over 99 percent of all the material in
the solar system, may help provide the answer. While its interior has
been modified by nuclear reactions, the outer layers of the Sun are
composed of very nearly the same material as the original solar nebula.
Some of the Sun's composition can be determined by the characteristics
of the light it emits, but the abundance of many elements and nearly
all isotopes is as yet unknown.
By stationing a spacecraft outside Earth's magnetic field, solar
wind particles can be captured and returned to Earth where high
precision analyses can be carried out. Comparing the Sun's isotopic
composition and abundance against known planetary composition data sets
may provide another piece of the puzzle in the continuing search for
origins. The goal of Genesis is to improve the accuracy in the measure
of each element's abundance by at least a factor of three.
(3) Provide a reservoir of solar matter for the 21st century. A
great advantage of sample return missions is that curated materials are
available to address the advanced questions that arise in the normal
course of scientific study. When the need arises for improved knowledge
of solar isotopic or elemental abundance beyond that provided in the
initial studies, the curated Genesis materials would be available to
address these needs.
Alternatives to the Genesis mission that were evaluated include:
(1) No-Action (i.e., no Genesis mission); (2) launch vehicle options,
including the Space Shuttle, Taurus, and Atlas configurations, as well
as other Delta configurations; (3) alternative launch sites; and (4)
alternative recovery sites. Of the launch vehicles evaluated, the Delta
II 7326 launch system most closely matches the Genesis mission
requirements within the cost constraints of this Discovery Mission.
Expected impacts to the human environment associated with the
mission arise almost entirely from the normal launch of the Delta II
7326, and to a much lesser extent, the entry, descent, and recovery
operations of the sample return. Air emissions during the launch
produced by the solid propellant graphite epoxy motors and liquid first
stage primarily include carbon monoxide, hydrochloric acid, aluminum
oxide in soluble and insoluble forms, carbon dioxide, and deluge water
mixed with propellant by-products. Air impacts would be short-term and
not substantial. Short-term water quality and noise impacts, as well as
short-term effects on wetlands, plants, and animals, would occur in the
vicinity of the launch complex. These short-term impacts are of a
nature to be self-correcting, and none of these effects would be
substantial. No impact on threatened or endangered species or critical
habitat, cultural resources, or floodplains is anticipated. In addition
to the impacts that might be expected to arise from a normal launch,
launch accident scenarios have been addressed and indicate no expected
significant impact to the environment.
The second stage would be ignited at an altitude of 111 kilometers
(69 miles). Although the second stage would achieve orbit, its orbital
decay time would fall below the limit NASA has set for orbital debris
consideration. After burning its propellant to depletion, the second
stage would remain in low-Earth orbit until its orbit eventually
decayed. The second stage is designed to burn up as it reenters Earth's
atmosphere. The Genesis mission planning has followed NASA guidelines
regarding orbital debris and minimizing the risk of human casualty for
uncontrolled reentry into the Earth's atmosphere. No other impacts of
environmental concern have been identified.
The level and scope of environmental impacts associated with the
launch of the Delta II 7326 vehicle are well within the envelope of
impacts that have been addressed in previous FONSIs concerning other
launch vehicles and spacecraft. No significant new circumstances or
information relevant to environmental concerns associated with the
launch vehicle have been identified which would affect the earlier
findings.
The Genesis mission has been categorized by the NASA Planetary
Protection Officer as a Planetary Protection Category V mission,
``Unrestricted Earth Return'', because there is essentially zero chance
of extraterrestrial biological contamination during sample collection
at the L1 point, and thus an insignificant chance of back contamination
by returning a novel organism to Earth. Nonetheless, prior to Earth
return, the most recent scientific data related to the Genesis sample
collection would be considered by the NASA Planetary Protection
Advisory Committee in its review of this categorization for NASA.
Upper altitude emissions associated with reentry of the SRC would
include ablation (i.e., vaporization) products of the thermal
protection system on the forebody. The SRC would enter the Earth's
atmosphere directly above UTTR's South Range. At an altitude of
[[Page 20690]]
2.8 km (9200 ft) mean sea level, a recovery helicopter would intercept
the SRC and initiate a mid-air retrieval operation above the UTTR
surface. The intercept altitude would permit multiple passes, if
necessary, to effect capture. A back-up helicopter would provide
redundant capability. The proposed material to be used for the forebody
heatshield is a carbon-carbon (C-C) composite. The peak heating would
occur at approximately 60 seconds after reentry begins, which
corresponds to an altitude of approximately 60 km (196,860 ft) above
the Earth. The ablation would continue for about twenty seconds. Models
conservatively predict that less than five percent [2.05 kg (4.5 lb)]
of the total C-C material would ablate during reentry. The chemical
species produced during ablation would be dissipated in the shock wave
behind the SRC. The ablation process and thus the production of
ablation products would cease more than 48 km (157,000 ft) above the
Earth. Therefore, these concentrations would disperse in the large
volume of air in the upper atmosphere and would not constitute a danger
to health or life on Earth. The SRC heatshield would be rapidly cooling
during the subsonic portion of the descent, and would not emit to the
lower atmosphere. UTTR is primarily used by the U.S. Air Force as a
bombing and artillery test and training range. The entry, descent, and
recovery operations for the 225-kg (495-lb) SRC would be well within
the bounds of the day-to-day operations carried on at UTTR. No impact
on threatened or endangered species or critical habitat, cultural
resources, wetlands, or floodplains is expected. Recovery scenarios
wherein the SRC is not retrieved via helicopter in mid-air have also
been addressed and do not lead to substantial environmental impacts.
Current plans call for commanding the remaining spacecraft bus to
perform a controlled maneuver to burn the remaining on-board propellant
approximately one hour after releasing the SRC. This ``deboost''
maneuver would result in the spacecraft entering the upper atmosphere
high above the Pacific Ocean, where it would burn up due to atmospheric
friction. The proposed Genesis deboost maneuver would comply with the
guideline for footprint clearance of land masses [46 km (25 nautical
miles) from U.S. soil, 370 km (200 nautical miles) from any non-U.S.
land mass].
Based on the Genesis Spacecraft Breakup Analysis, the main
spacecraft composite structure is conservatively predicted to break
apart at altitudes above 68 km (223,108 ft). Even in the worst case
wherein the spacecraft bus reenters the atmosphere along the same
trajectory as the SRC, all components have been shown by independent
modeling to burn up above 47 km (154,000 ft). The small quantities of
gases produced during burnup of the Genesis spacecraft are left at
these extreme altitudes.
Failure to undertake the Genesis mission would disrupt the
execution of NASA's Solar System Exploration program as defined by the
agency's Solar System Exploration Committee. Solar wind samples
returned by the Genesis mission could significantly improve our
knowledge of the average chemical and isotopic composition of the solar
system. Cancellation of the proposed mission would result in no or
minimal environmental impact, but the loss of the scientific knowledge
and database from carrying out the mission could be significant.
On the basis of the Genesis EA, NASA has determined that the
environmental impacts associated with the mission would not
individually or cumulatively have a significant impact on the quality
of the human environment. NASA will take no final action prior to the
expiration of the 30-day comment period.
Edward J. Weiler,
Associate Administrator for Space Science.
[FR Doc. 01-10070 Filed 4-23-01; 8:45 am]
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