[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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