I’d like to start something new in our INSPIRE Blog. It is called ‘Live Chat Roundup’. The morning after the chat, we will post a synopsis of the event, along with links to the chat archive. By clicking on the blue title above you can jump to the blog website and leave questions and/or comments. This week we start with my chat last night on "Secrets of the Kennedy Space Center".
The chat went very well, with 64 students joining in for the night. I enjoy working at KSC and had a great time sharing some of the stories I know about it. I also enjoyed the Q&A. This was always one of the favorite parts of the live programs I used to do. There were a few questions that got tossed in at the end that I’d like to try to answer:R.V. says: Why launch from Kennedy Space Center as opposed to centers in California or other parts of the country?
Answer: We do launch unmanned rockets and satellites from other locations, but to launch humans requires a little more infrastructure. That is only found now at KSC. This legacy from the beginning of the space program continues with the International Space Station in an orbit accessible by all of its international partners. In other areas, launching to the ISS would require launching over populated areas, something KSC does not have to worry about.
B.M. says: how does KSC pick people to lead missions? or are the mission heads planned years before?
Answer: If you are talking about astronauts, that is done at JSC (we have a speaker from JSC next week so save your question!). KSC launches the shuttle, and launch directors are chosen from a small pool of engineers who have worked their way up through the consoles. Maybe we could get one to write a blog about it!
L.L. says: Is NASA working on a new way for astronauts to experience zero-g's without going up in a plane or shuttle?
Answer: Not that I know of. I can only think of two ways to accomplish this: block or turn off gravity in a given location, or produce an exact counter-force that would neutralize the effect of gravity. Neither one of these is feasible at the moment. Can you think of other ways?
J.C. says: What will likely be the next visible set of goals of NASA if the Moon project is sidelined?
Answer: We may find out more next week when the President addresses the Space Coast on the 15th. But I have heard some exciting plans of sending astronauts to an asteroid, and a group has said it could place a tele-operated robot on the surface of the Moon in 6 months. Imagine putting on 3-D goggles and seeing the surface of the Moon! Then, move a joystick and off you go – looking behind to see the tracks YOU are making on the Moon! Stay tuned!
Again, thanks for the great evening, and thanks to Beth Ingrum, Beth Ann White, and Amanda Glasgow for assisting during the event. See you next week when Tess Caswell from Johnson Space Center will talk about the upcoming mission of Discovery, STS-131!
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