National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA): Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array (NuSTAR) Mission, 31071-31073 [E9-15203]

Agencies

• National Aeronautics and Space Administration

[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 123 (Monday, June 29, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31071-31073]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-15203]


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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);

[[Page 31073]]

    (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 https://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]
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