[Federal Register: June 29, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 123)]
[Notices]
[Page 31071-31073]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr29jn09-107]
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice: (09-059)]
National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): Nuclear Spectroscopic
Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
ACTION: Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI).
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of
1969, as amended (42 U.S.C. 43321 et seq.), the Council on
Environmental Quality 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 NuSTAR
mission. The proposed action would be the launch of the NuSTAR mission
on a Pegasus XL launch vehicle from the Reagan Test Site (RTS) at U.S.
Army Kwajalein Atoll (USAKA), the Republic of the Marshall Islands
(RMI) in August 2011. The only other alternative that was considered in
detail was No Action.
DATES: Written comments on this FONSI should be submitted to Mark
Sistilli at the address provided below and must be postmarked no later
than 30 days from publication of this FONSI. While hard copy comments
are preferred, NASA will accept e-mail addressed to Mark Sistilli at
the address provided below so long as the e-mail is sent no later than
30 days from publication of this FONSI.
ADDRESSES: The environmental documentation that supports and serves as
a basis for this FONSI may be reviewed at the locations listed under
the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION in this notice.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Mark Sistilli, NASA Headquarters,
Science Mission Directorate, Astrophysics Division, NASA Headquarters,
300 E St., SW., Mail Suite 3Y33, Washington, DC 20546-0001, Phone: 202-
358-2242, E-mail: mark.j.sistilli@nasa.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The proposed NuSTAR spacecraft has been
reviewed in accordance with the Routine Payload criteria established by
the ``Final Environmental Assessment for Launch of NASA Routine
Payloads on Expendable Launch Vehicles from Cape Canaveral Air Force
Station Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base California,'' (NRP EA)
dated June 2002 and FONSI dated June 18, 2002. This review shows that
the NuSTAR spacecraft meets all of the Routine Payload Criteria, with
the exception of criteria 3 which specifies the launch vehicle and
launch site conditions. The baseline launch vehicle for NuSTAR is the
Pegasus XL, which is also covered under the Routine Payload criteria.
However, the launch site proposed is USAKA, in the RMI. Council of
Environmental Quality (CEQ) regulations encourages adoption of existing
documents where applicable (`` * * * an agency may adopt appropriate
environmental documents prepared by another agency (Sec. 1506.3)''). In
addition, NASA Procedural Requirements (NPR) 8580.1, section K.2.17
encourages the adoption of other agency existing NEPA documents. The
environmental impacts of the launch of spacecraft from USAKA have been
reported in previous NEPA documentation, therefore these NEPA documents
are hereby incorporated by reference in this FONSI. This FONSI formally
adopts existing FAA and DOD environmental documentation for Pegasus
launches from USAKA.
[[Page 31072]]
At a minimum, NASA will take no final action prior to 30 days
following the publication of this FONSI. Public comments on the
environmental aspects of the proposed NuSTAR mission are hereby
solicited and will be considered before NASA makes its final decision.
The NuSTAR mission was proposed and selected in response to NASA's
Announcement of Opportunity for the Explorer Program in 2003. The
Explorer program provides frequent, low-cost access to space missions
for small-to mid-sized spacecraft. The Explorer program enables the
definition, development and implementation of mission concepts through
a variety of modes to meet the need of the scientific community and the
NASA space science enterprise. NuSTAR's scientific goals include
helping scientists answer fundamental questions about the universe,
such as:
1. How black holes are distributed throughout the cosmos?
2. How the elements of the universe were created?
3. What powers the most extreme active galaxies?
With answers to these and other questions, NuSTAR would expand
NASA's understanding of the origins and destinies of stars and
galaxies.
NuSTAR would study the sky through the use of high energy x-rays.
It consists of a single spacecraft which would be placed into an
equatorial orbit around the Earth. The objective of the NuSTAR mission
is to conduct a census for black holes on all scales, achieved through
deep, wide-field surveys of extragalactic fields and the Galactic
center, map radioactive material in young supernova remnants in order
to study the birth of the elements and to understand how stars explode,
to expose relativistic jets of particles from the most extreme active
galaxies in order to understand what powers giant cosmic accelerators,
to study cosmic ray origins and the extreme physics around collapsed
stars and would respond to targets of opportunity including supernovae
and gamma-ray bursts.
NuSTAR would achieve its science objectives with a combination of
surveys and pointed observations. It would consist of a single
instrument containing two identical grazing incidence hard X-ray
telescopes that would effectively enlarge the X-ray collecting area.
The grazing incidence mirrors would focus onto two shielded solid-state
pixel detectors, separated by a mast that would extend the focal length
to ten meters (33 feet) after launch. A laser metrology system (class
3B) would monitor the mast alignment and remove mast flexure that would
ease mast stability requirements. The optics would extend the frequency
range and field of view over that achievable with standard metal
surfaces. Cadmium Zinc Telluride (CdZnTe) detectors would provide
excellent spectral resolution and high quantum efficiency without
requiring cryogenic operation. There would be a single mechanical
interface to the 3-axis stabilized spacecraft bus provided by Orbital
Sciences Corporation, who also manufactures the Pegasus launch vehicle.
NuSTAR would launch from United States Army Kwajalein Atoll, Republic
of the Marshall Islands, aboard a single Pegasus XL launch vehicle in
August 2011.
NuSTAR Adoption of Existing Environmental Documentation Applicability
The Pegasus XL launch vehicle would be processed and the NuSTAR
spacecraft would be integrated to the launch vehicle at Vandenberg Air
Force Base (VAFB), California. The Pegasus would be attached to its
dedicated L-1011 aircraft at VAFB, and then ferried to RTS for launch.
Limited testing operations on the spacecraft would be conducted at RTS.
On the day of launch, the L-1011/Pegasus would depart from RTS and then
the Pegasus would be released from the L-1011 aircraft at an altitude
of approximately 35,000 to 45,000 feet over the Pacific Ocean, at a
point southwest of the Kwajalein Atoll.
RTS is located on the USAKA, a subordinate command of the U.S. Army
Space and Missile Defense Command, located in the RMI, approximately
3,700 kilometers (2,000 nautical miles) southwest of Hawaii. USAKA
consists of all or portions of 11 of the 100 islands that enclose a
2,850 square kilometer (1,100 square mile) lagoon, the largest lagoon
in the world. Kwajalein is one of 11 islands in the Marshall Islands
leased by the U.S. government.
The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Aviation
Administration (FAA) has analyzed the potential impacts of Pegasus
launches at RTS in previous documents (FAA, 1994, OSC, 1999, and FAA,
2004) and has determined that the activities associated with the
Pegasus operations at RTS will not individually or cumulatively
significantly impact the quality of the human or natural environment.
NASA has analyzed the potential impacts of missions with spacecraft
that are considered routine payloads in an environmental assessment
(NRP EA). Spacecraft defined as routine payloads utilize materials,
quantities of materials, launch vehicles and operation characteristics
that are consistent with normal and routine spacecraft preparation and
flight activities. The environmental impacts of launching routine
payloads fall within the range of routine, ongoing and previously
documented impacts that have been determined not to be significant.
Spacecraft covered by the NRP EA meet specific criteria ensuring that
the spacecraft and its operation and decommissioning do not present any
new or substantial environmental or safety concerns. The NuSTAR mission
meets the criteria for a NASA routine payload (NASA, 2009) with the
exception of criteria 3 concerning launch site conditions that are
covered in DOT environmental documentation (FAA, 1994, OSC, 1999, and
FAA, 2004). The mission does not present any unique or unusual
circumstances that could result in new or substantial environmental
impacts.
Based on the analyses set forth in the NRP EA and previous FAA
documents, NASA has determined that the environmental impacts
associated with the NuSTAR mission will not individually or
cumulatively have a significant impact on the quality of the human
environment. Therefore, an Environmental Impact Statement is not
required. In making this determination, NASA not only considered that
the NuSTAR mission satisfies the criteria set forth in the NRP EA for
spacecraft impacts, but it considered the potential site specific
impacts of the NuSTAR mission set forth and detailed in the DOT
documentation identified above.
The environmental documentation that supports and serves as a basis
for this FONSI may be reviewed at the following locations:
Alele Public Library, P.O. Box 629, Majuro, Republic of the Marshall
Islands 96960.
Grace Sherwood and Roi-Namur Libraries, P.O. Box 23, Kwajalein,
Marshall Islands APO, A.P. 96555.
The environmental documentation may also be examined at the
following locations by contacting the pertinent Freedom of Information
Act Office:
(a) NASA, John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 (321-867-2745);
(b) NASA, Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, CA 94035 (650-604-
3273);
(c) NASA, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, CA 93523 (661-
276-2704);
(d) NASA, Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland, OH 44135
(1-866-404-3642);
(e) NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (301-
286-4721);
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(f) NASA, John C. Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (228-688-2118);
(g) NASA, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058 (281-
483-8612);
(h) NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681 (757-864-
2497);
(i) NASA, Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, LA 70189 (504-
257-2629); and
(j) NASA, White Sands Test Facility, Las Cruces, NM 88004 (505-524-
5024);
(k) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Visitors Lobby, Building 249, 4800
Oak Grove Drive, Pasadena, CA 91109.
Limited hard copies of the specific environmental documentation
named below that supports this FONSI are available on a first-request
basis by contacting Mark Sistilli at the address, telephone number, and
e-mail address indicated wherein.
References
A complete list of all references cited in this rule is available
on the Internet at http://oim.hq.nasa.gov/oia/emd/ep.html or by e-
mailing a request to nepa@hq.nasa.gov.
Edward J. Weiler,
Associate Administrator for Science Mission Directorate.
[FR Doc. E9-15203 Filed 6-26-09; 8:45 am]