[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 15 (Wednesday, January 23, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 4013-4014]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-1066]
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NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION
[Notice 08-006]
National Environmental Policy Act; Constellation Program
AGENCY: National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)
ACTION: Notice of availability of the Final Constellation Programmatic
Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)
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SUMMARY: Pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, as
amended (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. 4321 et. seq.), the Council on Environmental
Quality Regulations for Implementing the Procedural Provisions of NEPA
(40 CFR Parts 1500-1508), NASA's NEPA policy and procedures (14 CFR
Part 1216, subpart 1216.3), and Executive Order 12114, NASA has
prepared and issued the Final PEIS for the proposed Constellation
Program to assist in the NASA decision making process.
The Proposed Action (Preferred Alternative) is to continue
preparations for and to implement the Constellation Program. The focus
of the Constellation Program is the development of the flight systems
and Earth-based ground infrastructure required to enable the United
States to have continued access to space and to enable future human
missions to the International Space Station, the Moon, Mars, and
beyond. The Constellation Program also would be responsible for
developing and testing flight hardware, and performing mission
operations once the infrastructure is sufficiently developed. The only
alternative to the Proposed Action discussed in detail is the No Action
Alternative where NASA would not continue preparations for nor
implement the Constellation Program and therefore, would forego the
opportunity for human exploration of space using U.S. space vehicles.
DATES: NASA will issue a Record of Decision (ROD) for the proposed
Constellation Program based on the Final PEIS no sooner than February
18, 2008, or 30 days from the date of publication in the Federal
Register of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's notice of
availability of the Final PEIS, whichever is later.
ADDRESSES: The Final PEIS may be examined at the following locations:
(a) NASA Headquarters, Library, Room 1J20, 300 E Street, SW.,
Washington, DC 20546-0001 (202-358-0168)
(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, George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, AL
35812 (256-544-1837)
(e) NASA, Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, MD 20771 (301-
286-4721)
(f) NASA, John C. Stennis Space Center, MS 39529 (228-688-2118)
(g) NASA, John F. Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 (321-867-2745)
(h) NASA, John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field, Cleveland,
OH 44135 (866-404-3642)
(i) NASA, Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX 77058 (281-
483-8612)
(j) NASA, Langley Research Center, Hampton, VA 23681 (757-864-2497)
(k) Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109 (818-393-6779).
Limited hard copies of the Final PEIS are available, on a first
request basis, by contacting Kathleen Callister, NASA HQ, Environmental
Management Division, 300E Street, SW., Washington, DC 20546, telephone
1-202-358-1953, or electronic mail at [email protected].
The Final PEIS also is available on the internet in Adobe[reg] portable
document format at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/peis.html. NASA's ROD will be made available, once issued, on the
same Web site as above and by request to the contact information
provided above.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: ZA/Environmental Manager,
Constellation Program, NASA Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, 2101 NASA
Parkway, Houston, Texas 77058, telephone (toll free) 1-866-662-7243, or
electronic mail at [email protected]. Additional Constellation
Program information can also be found on the internet at http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/index.html. Information
specific to the Constellation Program NEPA process can be found at
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/exploration/main/eis.html.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Final PEIS addresses the environmental
impacts associated with continuing preparations for and implementing
the Constellation Program. The Constellation Program would build a new
crew vehicle called the Orion and two new launch vehicles, Ares I to
transport crew and Ares V to transport cargo (for lunar or Mars
missions). The environmental impacts of principal concern are those
that would result from fabrication, testing, and launch of the Orion
spacecraft and the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles.
The Constellation Program would be an extremely large and complex
program spanning decades and requiring the efforts of a broad spectrum
of talent located throughout NASA and many commercial entities. Under
NASA's Proposed Action, Constellation Program activities would be
expected to occur at the following NASA sites:
--John F. Kennedy Space Center, Brevard County, Florida
--John C. Stennis Space Center, Hancock County, Mississippi
--Michoud Assembly Facility, New Orleans, Louisiana
--Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas
--George C. Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama
[[Page 4014]]
--John H. Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio
--Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California
--Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia
--Johnson Space Center White Sands Test Facility (and the U.S. Army's
White Sands Missile Range), Las Cruces, New Mexico
--Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, California
--Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland
--Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, California.
Activities associated with the Constellation Program also would
occur at two Alliant Techsystems-Launch Systems Group locations in
Promontory and Clearfield, Utah and at various other commercial
facilities throughout the United States.
Organizationally, the Constellation Program would consist of a
single Program Office at NASA's Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center which
would have overall responsibility for management of the Constellation
Program, and multiple Project Offices including Project Orion, Project
Ares, the Ground Operations Project, the Mission Operations Project,
the Lunar Lander Project, and the Extravehicular Activities Systems
Project. Each Project Office would focus on specific technology and
systems development and operational capabilities for the Constellation
Program. As additional mission requirements are developed, additional
Project Offices would be established with the responsibility to develop
the systems to meet such requirements (e.g., Lunar Surface Systems and
Mars Surface Systems). Collectively, these Project Offices would
develop the mission systems (i.e., crew vehicles, launch vehicles, and
mission hardware) and the infrastructure needed to support crewed
missions to the International Space Station and human exploration of
the Moon, Mars, and beyond.
NASA published a Notice of Availability (NOA) of the Draft
Constellation Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement on August 17,
2007 (72 FR 46218). NASA mailed over 300 hard copies and/or compact
disks (CDs) of the Draft PEIS to potentially interested Federal, State,
and local agencies; organizations; and individuals. In addition, the
Draft PEIS was made publicly available in electronic format on NASA's
Web site. NASA also sent electronic mail (e-mail) notifications to
potentially interested individuals who had submitted scoping comments
via e-mail but who had not provided a mailing address.
The public review and comment period for the Draft PEIS closed on
September 30, 2007. NASA received a total of 21 submissions (letters
and e-mails) from Federal, State, and local agencies; organizations;
and individuals, of which, 14 submissions contained comments regarding
the Constellation Program. Seven submissions only requested to be added
to the mailing list to receive a copy of the Final PEIS. The comments
are addressed in the Final PEIS in Appendix B. No alternatives to the
Proposed Action were raised during the public review of the Draft PEIS.
Jeffrey A. Parker,
Deputy Assistant Administrator for Infrastructure and Administration.
[FR Doc. E8-1066 Filed 1-22-08; 8:45 am]
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