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The Soft Skills of International Project Management
The Soft Skills of International Project Management

By Jay Grinstead   When I took the International Project Management (IPM) course at Kennedy Space Center in the winter of 2012, I had already had some experience working with NASA’s international partners. In fact it was that work, which introduced me to some of the cultural and organizational complexity of working internationally, that convinced […]

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The Thermal Design Challenge
The Thermal Design Challenge

By Mike Menzel   The James Webb Space Telescope (JWST), scheduled for launch in 2018, is expected to show us the most distant galaxies that formed in the early life of the universe. To do this, it has light-gathering capability unprecedented in a space telescopeits 6.5-meter-diameter mirror has more than six times the light-collecting area […]

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Bioreactors Drive Advances in Tissue Engineering
Bioreactors Drive Advances in Tissue Engineering

By Bo Schwerin   It was an unlikely moment for inspiration. Engineers David Wolf and Ray Schwarz stopped by their lab around midday. Wolf, of Johnson Space Center, and Schwarz, with NASA contractor Krug Life Sciences (now Wyle Laboratories Inc.), were part of a team tasked with developing a unique technology with the potential to […]

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NASA Astronaut Sunita Williams appears to touch the bright sun during a third session of extravehicular activity. Williams and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Astronaut Aki Hoshide (visible in the reflections of Williams’ helmet visor) completed installation of a main bus switching unit. Photo Credit: NASA
The Toothbrush Hack

By Haley Stephenson   Collaborative problem solving, a jumper lead, and a toothbrush turned around an unsuccessful late-August spacewalk.

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From the Academy Director: Toward Knowledge Resilience

By Ed Hoffman   Eleven years ago, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued a report about NASA’s effectiveness—or lack of effectiveness—as a knowledge organization.

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In This Issue by Don Cohen
In This Issue (ASK 49)

Don Cohen, Managing Editor   In her reflection on seven years of learning and writing about NASA projects (“What I’ve Learned from NASA”), ASK editor Kerry Ellis identifies adequate testing as an essential contributor to mission success.

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The Knowledge Notebook by Laurence Prusak
The Knowledge Notebook: Saying the F Word

By Laurence Prusak I’d like to talk about an F word that is probably heard less in most organizations than that other F word—the one you thought I meant. The F word I have in mind is “failure.”

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Interview with Alan Lindenmoyer
Interview with Alan Lindenmoyer

By Don Cohen Originally a co-op student at Goddard Space Flight Center, Alan J. Lindenmoyer has worked on human spaceflight programs for more than thirty years. In 2005, he was appointed manager of the Commercial Crew and Cargo Program, which manages Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS), at the Johnson Space Center.

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