By Gail Koske Phillips and Patrick Koske-McBride
'Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the stars
Not a creature was stirring, not even on Mars.
The space boots were hung by the airlock with care,
In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there.
The robots were nestled all snug on their tires,
As visions of upgrades danced through their wires;
Mom put on her headset while I counted prime numbers,
We had settled our brains for a long winter's slumber,
When out on the dome there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from my sack to see what was the matter.
Away to the porthole I flew like a flash,
And tore open the air filter with a great clash.
The moons on the crest of a new volcano,
Gave an alien luster to objects below.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a small UFO, and eight rocket reindeer,
With a little old driver so lively and quick,
I knew in a moment it must be St. Nick.
More rapid than light, his rockets they came,
And he whistled, and shouted and called them by name:
"Now Saturn! now, Sputnik! now, Titan and Atlas!
On, Redstone! on, Delta! Apollo, Polaris!
To the top of the dome! to the top of the wall!
Now blast away! blast away! blast away all!"
As meteors blaze through the heavens up high,
When they meet with the atmosphere and burn in the sky,
So up to the dome-top the rockets they flew,
With a ship full of toys, and St. Nicholas, too.
And then in a twinkling, I felt on the ceiling
The heat of the thrusters and landing tiles peeling.
As I covered my head, and was turning around,
Through the airlock old Santa Claus came with a bound.
He was dressed all in plastics, from his feet to his head,
And his clothes were all covered in dust that was red;
A bundle of toys he had flung on his back,
And he looked like a scientist opening his pack.
His visor- how it twinkled! his filter how scary!
His gloves were from Earth, the logos quite merry!
His space boots, how costly! they played songs and glowed!
The frost on his suit was as cold as Pluto;
The stump of his air tube held tight in his teeth,
And oxygen swirled round his head like a wreath;
He had a broad face and a little round belly
That shook, when he laughed, like a bowlful of jelly.
He was chubby and plump, a right jolly old elf,
and I laughed when I saw him in spite of myself;
A wink of his eye and a nod of his head,
Soon gave me to know I had nothing to dread;
He spoke not a word, but went straight to his work,
And filled all the space boots; then turned with a jerk,
And spreading his fingers just like Dr. Spock,
He quietly exited out the airlock.
He sprang to his sleigh, to his team gave a whistle,
And away they all flew like a high flying missile.
But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight,
"Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night."
Friday, December 24, 2010
Monday, December 20, 2010
Inside The J-2X Doghouse: The Gas-Generator Cycle Engine
By Bill Greene, MSFC, AL
Welcome back to the J-2X Doghouse. The last time that we met here, we discussed the fundamentals of what exactly makes something a rocket. As I explained, on the conceptual level, rockets aren't really "rocket science." You get the propellants together, light them on fire, and eject them out the back end of the vehicle. Simple enough.
Okay, but how do you move that much propellant and make that much smoke and fire, enough to propel something as big as, say, the Saturn V that was over 300 feet tall and weighed millions of pounds? That's where things get interesting and technically difficult. As I said before it is all a matter of power. And to get power you use an engine.
What makes a rocket engine an engine is the fact that it contains more than just a combustion chamber where the propellants mix. It is an arrangement of machinery that, once started, feeds and powers itself. During operation, a rocket engine uses some cycle – some circuit of piping and thermodynamics and combustion and valves and control system and rotating machinery – to keep itself up and running and generating thrust.
Think about your car engine. You turn the key, the engine gets up and going, and then it can sit there for hours idling, running happily all by itself, converting gasoline and air into mechanical energy, with no additional input from you. You don't have to manually pump the gas into the injectors (or the carburetor). You don't have to plug it into an outlet to feed it more electrical energy. It's self-sufficient until you turn it off or until you run out of gas. That's what truly makes it an engine. It's similar with a rocket engine except that the product is not mechanical energy; the product is very fast moving gases generating lots of thrust.
For rocket engine conceptual design, in terms of making it an engine, the goal is always, "How do you keep the pumps pumping?" These are extremely powerful pumps moving lots and lots of fluid, so you need some powerful energy source to drive them. The answer is to use what you've already got in the engine: the propellants. There are different ways to do this and thus you have different engine "cycles," i.e., component arrangements. The most common rocket engine cycles are the gas-generator cycle (examples include J-2X, J-2, F-1, RS-68, and Vulcain 2 – see pictures above), the expander cycle (examples include RL10 and Vinci), and the staged-combustion cycle (examples include Space Shuttle Main Engine and RS-170/180). In addition to these, there are many other cycles and variations as well. Each different cycle has advantages and disadvantages and, usually, constraints linked to physics. Choosing the right cycle to fit the mission application is generally the first decision that an engine designer has to make. Because this is a blog dedicated to J-2X, I will focus on the gas-generator cycle engine.
Ideally, what you would want to do with a rocket engine is use all of your propellants in as efficient manner as possible meaning that you would want to use all them in the production of thrust. In a gas-generator engine, however, you concede right up front to a loss of some efficiency to achieve greater engine simplicity. You use a certain amount of the propellants brought into the engine almost entirely to keep the engine running rather than for generating thrust. In practice what this means is that you have a separate, small combustion chamber within the engine that does nothing but produce gases to drive the turbines connected to the propellant pumps. As compared to the large quantities of propellants being pumped through the whole engine, the amount going to the gas generator is small (less than 3% for J-2X), but once used to drive the turbomachinery, the exhaust is drained of much of its thrust-generating energy.
Below is a simplified schematic of a gas-generator cycle rocket engine like the J-2X. The propellants, liquid hydrogen (fuel) and liquid oxygen (oxidizer), enter the engine and go immediately into the pumps: the fuel turbopump (FTP) and the oxidizer turbopump (OTP). There, the mechanical energy of the spinning pumps is turned into high pressures in the liquid propellants.
After exiting the pumps, a small amount of each propellant is tapped off to supply the gas generator (GG). The GG is, in essence, a small rocket engine embedded within the larger rocket engine. It makes hot, high-pressure combustion products, steam and gaseous hydrogen, that are used to drive first the turbine connected to the fuel pump and then the turbine connected to the oxidizer pump. After driving the two turbines, this still-warm gas is used first to warm the helium flowing through the heat exchanger (HEX) that is used to pressurize the oxygen tank of the stage and is then dumped along the walls of the nozzle extension to keep that relatively cool. The video below is a component test of the J-2X GG performed at NASA MSFC. Even with the relatively small amount of propellant that the GG burns, an enormous amount of energy is released to drive the turbopumps.
The rest of the liquid oxygen coming out of the oxidizer pump, meaning that which is not going to the GG, is directed through the main injector and into the main combustion chamber (MCC). The main injector is analogous to a fuel injector in a car engine except that here it injects two propellants through hundreds of injector elements. The effectiveness of this injection and the mixing of the propellants are crucial for overall engine performance.
The hydrogen circuit after the fuel pump is more complicated. This is because the hydrogen is used to cool the nozzle and combustion chamber walls. The walls of these two components are essentially hollow. They contain hundreds of passages for the hydrogen to flow thereby keeping the walls from melting due to the extreme high temperatures of the contained combustion zone. After doing its job as coolant, the hydrogen is then directed through the main injector and into the MCC. Not shown on the diagram is the fact that a very small amount of the warm hydrogen gas is tapped off prior to entering the main injector and is routed back to the stage to pressurize the hydrogen tank (like the helium through the HEX on the oxygen side).
It is in the MCC where the mixed hydrogen and oxygen combust to make steam and residual hydrogen gas. The temperature of that combustion is approximately 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit and in the J-2X the pressure is approximately 1,300 pounds per square inch. These combustion products are then accelerated to sonic velocity at the converging throat of the MCC and then to supersonic velocities down the diverging nozzle and nozzle extension. As discussed previously, it is the high-velocity expulsion of these hot gases that produces thrust.
Note that the turbine exhaust gases dumped along the nozzle extension still generate some thrust, but not as effectively as the combustion products that are accelerated through the nozzle throat. This loss of effectiveness is the price that you pay for this relatively simple engine cycle. As a comparison to a more complex engine cycle, do a web search for the schematic for Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME).
FYI, the other items denoted on that GG-cycle schematic above are the control valves: the main fuel valve (MFV), the main oxidizer valve (MOV), the gas-generator fuel valve (GGFV), and the gas-generator oxidizer valve (GGOV). These primary valves, along with several other minor ones, are used to control the engine during the start and shutdown of the engine.
So that's how a gas-generator cycle engine like the J-2X works. As this blog continues and as we head towards testing next year, I will continue to report on the progress of the components that make up the engine.
Welcome back to the J-2X Doghouse. The last time that we met here, we discussed the fundamentals of what exactly makes something a rocket. As I explained, on the conceptual level, rockets aren't really "rocket science." You get the propellants together, light them on fire, and eject them out the back end of the vehicle. Simple enough.
Okay, but how do you move that much propellant and make that much smoke and fire, enough to propel something as big as, say, the Saturn V that was over 300 feet tall and weighed millions of pounds? That's where things get interesting and technically difficult. As I said before it is all a matter of power. And to get power you use an engine.
What makes a rocket engine an engine is the fact that it contains more than just a combustion chamber where the propellants mix. It is an arrangement of machinery that, once started, feeds and powers itself. During operation, a rocket engine uses some cycle – some circuit of piping and thermodynamics and combustion and valves and control system and rotating machinery – to keep itself up and running and generating thrust.
Think about your car engine. You turn the key, the engine gets up and going, and then it can sit there for hours idling, running happily all by itself, converting gasoline and air into mechanical energy, with no additional input from you. You don't have to manually pump the gas into the injectors (or the carburetor). You don't have to plug it into an outlet to feed it more electrical energy. It's self-sufficient until you turn it off or until you run out of gas. That's what truly makes it an engine. It's similar with a rocket engine except that the product is not mechanical energy; the product is very fast moving gases generating lots of thrust.
For rocket engine conceptual design, in terms of making it an engine, the goal is always, "How do you keep the pumps pumping?" These are extremely powerful pumps moving lots and lots of fluid, so you need some powerful energy source to drive them. The answer is to use what you've already got in the engine: the propellants. There are different ways to do this and thus you have different engine "cycles," i.e., component arrangements. The most common rocket engine cycles are the gas-generator cycle (examples include J-2X, J-2, F-1, RS-68, and Vulcain 2 – see pictures above), the expander cycle (examples include RL10 and Vinci), and the staged-combustion cycle (examples include Space Shuttle Main Engine and RS-170/180). In addition to these, there are many other cycles and variations as well. Each different cycle has advantages and disadvantages and, usually, constraints linked to physics. Choosing the right cycle to fit the mission application is generally the first decision that an engine designer has to make. Because this is a blog dedicated to J-2X, I will focus on the gas-generator cycle engine.
Ideally, what you would want to do with a rocket engine is use all of your propellants in as efficient manner as possible meaning that you would want to use all them in the production of thrust. In a gas-generator engine, however, you concede right up front to a loss of some efficiency to achieve greater engine simplicity. You use a certain amount of the propellants brought into the engine almost entirely to keep the engine running rather than for generating thrust. In practice what this means is that you have a separate, small combustion chamber within the engine that does nothing but produce gases to drive the turbines connected to the propellant pumps. As compared to the large quantities of propellants being pumped through the whole engine, the amount going to the gas generator is small (less than 3% for J-2X), but once used to drive the turbomachinery, the exhaust is drained of much of its thrust-generating energy.
Below is a simplified schematic of a gas-generator cycle rocket engine like the J-2X. The propellants, liquid hydrogen (fuel) and liquid oxygen (oxidizer), enter the engine and go immediately into the pumps: the fuel turbopump (FTP) and the oxidizer turbopump (OTP). There, the mechanical energy of the spinning pumps is turned into high pressures in the liquid propellants.
After exiting the pumps, a small amount of each propellant is tapped off to supply the gas generator (GG). The GG is, in essence, a small rocket engine embedded within the larger rocket engine. It makes hot, high-pressure combustion products, steam and gaseous hydrogen, that are used to drive first the turbine connected to the fuel pump and then the turbine connected to the oxidizer pump. After driving the two turbines, this still-warm gas is used first to warm the helium flowing through the heat exchanger (HEX) that is used to pressurize the oxygen tank of the stage and is then dumped along the walls of the nozzle extension to keep that relatively cool. The video below is a component test of the J-2X GG performed at NASA MSFC. Even with the relatively small amount of propellant that the GG burns, an enormous amount of energy is released to drive the turbopumps.
The rest of the liquid oxygen coming out of the oxidizer pump, meaning that which is not going to the GG, is directed through the main injector and into the main combustion chamber (MCC). The main injector is analogous to a fuel injector in a car engine except that here it injects two propellants through hundreds of injector elements. The effectiveness of this injection and the mixing of the propellants are crucial for overall engine performance.
The hydrogen circuit after the fuel pump is more complicated. This is because the hydrogen is used to cool the nozzle and combustion chamber walls. The walls of these two components are essentially hollow. They contain hundreds of passages for the hydrogen to flow thereby keeping the walls from melting due to the extreme high temperatures of the contained combustion zone. After doing its job as coolant, the hydrogen is then directed through the main injector and into the MCC. Not shown on the diagram is the fact that a very small amount of the warm hydrogen gas is tapped off prior to entering the main injector and is routed back to the stage to pressurize the hydrogen tank (like the helium through the HEX on the oxygen side).
It is in the MCC where the mixed hydrogen and oxygen combust to make steam and residual hydrogen gas. The temperature of that combustion is approximately 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit and in the J-2X the pressure is approximately 1,300 pounds per square inch. These combustion products are then accelerated to sonic velocity at the converging throat of the MCC and then to supersonic velocities down the diverging nozzle and nozzle extension. As discussed previously, it is the high-velocity expulsion of these hot gases that produces thrust.
Note that the turbine exhaust gases dumped along the nozzle extension still generate some thrust, but not as effectively as the combustion products that are accelerated through the nozzle throat. This loss of effectiveness is the price that you pay for this relatively simple engine cycle. As a comparison to a more complex engine cycle, do a web search for the schematic for Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME).
FYI, the other items denoted on that GG-cycle schematic above are the control valves: the main fuel valve (MFV), the main oxidizer valve (MOV), the gas-generator fuel valve (GGFV), and the gas-generator oxidizer valve (GGOV). These primary valves, along with several other minor ones, are used to control the engine during the start and shutdown of the engine.
So that's how a gas-generator cycle engine like the J-2X works. As this blog continues and as we head towards testing next year, I will continue to report on the progress of the components that make up the engine.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Live Chat Roundup: December 16, 2010
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
Thursday night's Live Chat was a special one. Our guests were the host and co-host of the widely acclaimed NASA EDGE video program, Blair Allen and Chris Geirsch. It was Live Chat's first time having two guests at once, and went very well as Blair and Chris are so used to working with each other. We had 85 in attendance, which was by 'invitation only' to the first 100 OLC members to sign up. We will tentatively be using this method for future chats, so watch her and the eINSPIRE communication for more details.
Chris and Blair began the hour with a short overview of the NASA EDGE program and how it is produced. Chris has a background in engineering and education, while Blair brings experience in production. They also introduced us to the rest of their team, and told of everyone's role in putting a production together. They also told of the many places (iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, etc.) where you can find episodes of NASA EDGE. The guys were thrilled to hear we keep the NASA EDGE RSS feed on the Home page. You can check it for the latest news from NE.
We had a lot of time for questions and answers, which Blair and Chris enjoyed as much as I hope the students did. We also had many questions remaining when time ran out. These were copied and sent to the guys who promised to answer. These will be posted on the Discussion Board thread. Remember too that those of you who view the Live Chat from archive can post questions on the Board that will be forwarded to the guest spacers.
The Live Chat will take a break over the holidays, returning on January 6, 2011 with a presentation about the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Look for the January 3rd edition of eINSPIRE for more information on how to join us.
Wishing you all a Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas!
Thursday night's Live Chat was a special one. Our guests were the host and co-host of the widely acclaimed NASA EDGE video program, Blair Allen and Chris Geirsch. It was Live Chat's first time having two guests at once, and went very well as Blair and Chris are so used to working with each other. We had 85 in attendance, which was by 'invitation only' to the first 100 OLC members to sign up. We will tentatively be using this method for future chats, so watch her and the eINSPIRE communication for more details.
Chris and Blair began the hour with a short overview of the NASA EDGE program and how it is produced. Chris has a background in engineering and education, while Blair brings experience in production. They also introduced us to the rest of their team, and told of everyone's role in putting a production together. They also told of the many places (iTunes, YouTube, Facebook, etc.) where you can find episodes of NASA EDGE. The guys were thrilled to hear we keep the NASA EDGE RSS feed on the Home page. You can check it for the latest news from NE.
We had a lot of time for questions and answers, which Blair and Chris enjoyed as much as I hope the students did. We also had many questions remaining when time ran out. These were copied and sent to the guys who promised to answer. These will be posted on the Discussion Board thread. Remember too that those of you who view the Live Chat from archive can post questions on the Board that will be forwarded to the guest spacers.
The Live Chat will take a break over the holidays, returning on January 6, 2011 with a presentation about the Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. Look for the January 3rd edition of eINSPIRE for more information on how to join us.
Wishing you all a Happy Holiday and a Merry Christmas!
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Poll of the Week: Top Planet
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
Here are the final results from last weeks poll:
Here is a list of current NASA planetary projects:
While Jupiter and Venus are not currently on the list, both planets have been visited multiple times in the past, including orbiters.
We do apologize for not linking to the Discussion Board with this poll, as it is great to hear your opinions. We'll make sure this is available for every poll here on.
This weeks poll as how much risk you are willing to forgo to take a ride to space. Make sure to save your response and then leave a comment in the Discussion Board!
Here are the final results from last weeks poll:
Mercury 16 7.2%As can be seen, Mars came in first, Saturn was second, followed closely by Jupiter and Venus. Interesting, as this closely correlates with NASA expenditures for missions to the Solar System.
Venus 34 15.2%
Mars 67 30.0%
Jupiter 37 16.6%
Saturn 42 18.8%
Pluto 27 12.1%
Here is a list of current NASA planetary projects:
Mercury
MESSENGER
MarsMars Express
Mars Odyssey
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
Saturn
Cassini
Pluto
New Horizons
While Jupiter and Venus are not currently on the list, both planets have been visited multiple times in the past, including orbiters.
We do apologize for not linking to the Discussion Board with this poll, as it is great to hear your opinions. We'll make sure this is available for every poll here on.
This weeks poll as how much risk you are willing to forgo to take a ride to space. Make sure to save your response and then leave a comment in the Discussion Board!
Monday, December 13, 2010
J-2X Progress: Turbomachinery - The Rotating Components
By William Breene, MSFC, AL
It was once pointed out to me that most of a rocket engine really isn't a whole lot more than a jumbled bunch of specialized plumbing. Notable exceptions to that general rule are the engine controller -- the brain of the engine -- and the rotating components, i.e., the turbomachinery. Of course, the person who was telling me this was a turbomachinery person, which means that I cannot entirely concede the point lest I yield my traditional posture of giving them a hard time. But there is no denying that rocket engine turbopumps are truly remarkable pieces of machinery.
What is a rocket engine turbopump? Typically, and this is true for J-2X, a turbopump consists of two parts: a turbine and a pump (hence the name). Pump portion is what draws in the propellants into the engine the pushes that fluid through all of the "plumbing" that leads, ultimately, to its fiery, thrust-generating expulsion. The turbine portion is what provides power to drive the pump. The turbine converts the power of hot gases into the power of rotational machinery. The pump converts the power of rotational machinery into fluid power otherwise known as pressure (thousands of pounds-force per square inch) within the propellant being pumped. For J-2X, there are two turbopumps: one for pumping liquid hydrogen (fuel) and one for pumping liquid oxygen (oxidizer, or often called "LOX").
Soon, I will be writing an article for this blog that further explains the system-level workings of a gas-generator-cycle rocket engine like J-2X. So, stay tuned.
Recently, the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) / NASA turbomachinery team has made significant progress toward completing the final assemblies of the hydrogen and oxygen turbopumps for the first J-2X development engine (E10001). The first two images show two major milestones for the liquid oxygen turbopump. In the first picture, the turbine-end manifold (top of the photo) is shown being mated to the pump-end volute that is secured in the build dolly.
The second picture shows that the oxygen turbopump has now been flipped over with the pump end now near the top of the image and the turbine manifold below. It is sitting in an oven where it underwent a drying operation after successful insertion of the first-stage turbine disk and the turbopump shaft.
The hydrogen turbopump has also made good progress by completing all pump-end assembly operations and the turbine manifold installation. The first picture of the fuel turbopump below was taken after the successful assembly of the impeller into the bearing support, and subsequently that bearing support assembly being installed into the pump end volute, which has been chilled in cryogenic liquid nitrogen. The nitrogen was used to create the proper fit for the volute and the bearing support to prevent hydrogen leakage under engine operating conditions.
The process of (1) chilling one metal piece so cold that it shrinks, (2) heating another metal piece so warm that it expands, and (3) then fitting the two pieces together in those states is a process used throughout engine assembly on many different components. It is a means for accomplishing an "interference fit" (also called a "compression fit" or a "press fit"), which means that the two parts, machined to their appropriate tight tolerances, would otherwise not quite fit together -- almost but not quite. At room temperature, the pieces would interfere with each other if you tried to push them together. The chill/heat process during assembly allows them to fit together very, very tightly.
The second fuel turbopump picture below shows the successful installation of the turbine manifold onto the turbine bearing support representing a major milestone in the assembly process.
In the beginning of this article, I told you that rocket engine turbopumps are remarkable pieces of machinery. Yet, what I have shown you in the pictures are mostly images of shiny-metal external pieces, big hulking manifolds and volutes. For reasons largely having to do with export control considerations (Rule #1: blog author does not go to prison!), I cannot show you pictures or detailed schematics of the inner workings. I can describe them by saying that on the pump side you have an inducer, which looks like a fluid screw, and that feeds an impeller for a typical centrifugal pump. On the turbine side, I can tell you that there are two rotating disks of turbine blades and, effectively, two rows of stationary blades called stators or nozzles. And in between the pump ends and the turbine ends are a series of seals that separate the two ends. Ideally, the only contact between the pump and turbine ends would be the mechanical power of the rotating shaft.
To give you a better appreciation of the "remarkable" aspects of these units, let's consider these machines in terms of their output. In terms of horsepower, the table below compares various machines with which you are likely familiar. At only 30 inches long and 20 inches in diameter, the J-2X hydrogen turbopump produces an incredible 16,000 horsepower. This power level is equivalent to more than 120 automobiles, or 90 light aircraft, or even 5 diesel-electric locomotives. In terms of energy generated in a small package, the J-2X fuel pump provides almost as much power as a large aircraft engine on the Boeing 747.
The two turbopumps for the first J-2X development engine are currently on track to complete assembly in December. These units will then be boxed up, shipped to NASA Stennis Space Center, and await engine assembly. So, the first development engine coming soon! And then, it's on to testing!
Note that thanks are due to Jeff Thornburg, Upper Stage Engine Element Deputy Turbomachinery Subsystem Manager, for providing the largest portion of the technical updates and pictures that informed this article.
It was once pointed out to me that most of a rocket engine really isn't a whole lot more than a jumbled bunch of specialized plumbing. Notable exceptions to that general rule are the engine controller -- the brain of the engine -- and the rotating components, i.e., the turbomachinery. Of course, the person who was telling me this was a turbomachinery person, which means that I cannot entirely concede the point lest I yield my traditional posture of giving them a hard time. But there is no denying that rocket engine turbopumps are truly remarkable pieces of machinery.
What is a rocket engine turbopump? Typically, and this is true for J-2X, a turbopump consists of two parts: a turbine and a pump (hence the name). Pump portion is what draws in the propellants into the engine the pushes that fluid through all of the "plumbing" that leads, ultimately, to its fiery, thrust-generating expulsion. The turbine portion is what provides power to drive the pump. The turbine converts the power of hot gases into the power of rotational machinery. The pump converts the power of rotational machinery into fluid power otherwise known as pressure (thousands of pounds-force per square inch) within the propellant being pumped. For J-2X, there are two turbopumps: one for pumping liquid hydrogen (fuel) and one for pumping liquid oxygen (oxidizer, or often called "LOX").
Soon, I will be writing an article for this blog that further explains the system-level workings of a gas-generator-cycle rocket engine like J-2X. So, stay tuned.
Recently, the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) / NASA turbomachinery team has made significant progress toward completing the final assemblies of the hydrogen and oxygen turbopumps for the first J-2X development engine (E10001). The first two images show two major milestones for the liquid oxygen turbopump. In the first picture, the turbine-end manifold (top of the photo) is shown being mated to the pump-end volute that is secured in the build dolly.
 |
| J-2X Liquid Oxygen Turbopump after Successful Turbine Manifold Installation |
 |
| J-2X Liquid Oxygen Turbopump Following First Stage Turbine Disk and Shaft Installation |
 |
J-2X Liquid Hydrogen Turbopump After Successful Mating of Volute and Turbine Bearing Support |
The second fuel turbopump picture below shows the successful installation of the turbine manifold onto the turbine bearing support representing a major milestone in the assembly process.
 |
| J-2X Liquid Hydrogen Turbopump Turbine Manifold Installed Onto Bearing Support |
To give you a better appreciation of the "remarkable" aspects of these units, let's consider these machines in terms of their output. In terms of horsepower, the table below compares various machines with which you are likely familiar. At only 30 inches long and 20 inches in diameter, the J-2X hydrogen turbopump produces an incredible 16,000 horsepower. This power level is equivalent to more than 120 automobiles, or 90 light aircraft, or even 5 diesel-electric locomotives. In terms of energy generated in a small package, the J-2X fuel pump provides almost as much power as a large aircraft engine on the Boeing 747.
Note that thanks are due to Jeff Thornburg, Upper Stage Engine Element Deputy Turbomachinery Subsystem Manager, for providing the largest portion of the technical updates and pictures that informed this article.
Friday, December 10, 2010
Live Chat Roundup: December 9, 2010
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
Would you expect to find water in the asteroid belt? Dawn mission researchers hope the ion propelled spacecraft will help them answer that question.
Dawn Education Outreach Director Britney Schmidt from the University of Texas chatted with 34 Senior OLC members on Thursday, December 9th during our Live Chat. Ms. Schmidt, a planetary geologist, told INSPIRE about the important science that can be accomplished by studying these cast-offs from the creation of the Solar System.
The largest member of the asteroid belt, Ceres, is actually a dwarf planet that has differentiated itself into a spherical body with an iron core, and a great possibility of water beneath it's surface. To study these interesting artifacts in greater detail, NASA launched Dawn to rendezvous with asteroids Vesta and Ceres.
Seniors attending the chat asked many questions, all of which can be heard by viewing the archive of the evening, found in the Archives from the Live Chat link on the Connect page, or as a MP3 or Quicktime file (available on Monday) in the Home Page Archive.
Next week's Live Chat will feature the hosts from the NASA EDGE program. It will be open to all grade levels. Because we can only have 100 students in our Elluminate chat room, a sign-up thread will open on Monday, December 13 at 8:00pm CT. The first 100 names will be invited to the chat. Students who are not invited will have the archive available. See you then!
Would you expect to find water in the asteroid belt? Dawn mission researchers hope the ion propelled spacecraft will help them answer that question.
Dawn Education Outreach Director Britney Schmidt from the University of Texas chatted with 34 Senior OLC members on Thursday, December 9th during our Live Chat. Ms. Schmidt, a planetary geologist, told INSPIRE about the important science that can be accomplished by studying these cast-offs from the creation of the Solar System.
The largest member of the asteroid belt, Ceres, is actually a dwarf planet that has differentiated itself into a spherical body with an iron core, and a great possibility of water beneath it's surface. To study these interesting artifacts in greater detail, NASA launched Dawn to rendezvous with asteroids Vesta and Ceres.
Seniors attending the chat asked many questions, all of which can be heard by viewing the archive of the evening, found in the Archives from the Live Chat link on the Connect page, or as a MP3 or Quicktime file (available on Monday) in the Home Page Archive.
Next week's Live Chat will feature the hosts from the NASA EDGE program. It will be open to all grade levels. Because we can only have 100 students in our Elluminate chat room, a sign-up thread will open on Monday, December 13 at 8:00pm CT. The first 100 names will be invited to the chat. Students who are not invited will have the archive available. See you then!
Thursday, December 9, 2010
Seeking Feedback on a New Approach to NASA.gov Navigation
By Jason Townsend
We're working on a new approach to our navigation menus and we want to hear what you think of them. The primary goal of the new menu design is to surface popular and hard-to-find contents so they are easier for you to get to.
We've been listening to our users through a variety of channels including satisfaction surveys, e-mail and social media to learn what information you're seeking on NASA.gov. Our new menus highlight this information, making it easier for you to get to, along with the standard sub-categories and links to featured and most popular content.
The new menus can be found below. We really want to perfect these before launching them on our site so take a look at them and let us know what you think. And if you know of other Web sites that do navigation even better feel free to share them with us. Thanks in advance for your valuable input!
› View Full Size Images (.png)
To comment, click here.
› View Full Size Images (.png)
We're working on a new approach to our navigation menus and we want to hear what you think of them. The primary goal of the new menu design is to surface popular and hard-to-find contents so they are easier for you to get to.
We've been listening to our users through a variety of channels including satisfaction surveys, e-mail and social media to learn what information you're seeking on NASA.gov. Our new menus highlight this information, making it easier for you to get to, along with the standard sub-categories and links to featured and most popular content.
The new menus can be found below. We really want to perfect these before launching them on our site so take a look at them and let us know what you think. And if you know of other Web sites that do navigation even better feel free to share them with us. Thanks in advance for your valuable input!
› View Full Size Images (.png)
To comment, click here.
› View Full Size Images (.png)
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
Dawn Science
By Britney Schmidt, University of Texas, Austin, TX
Hi! I'm Dr Britney Schmidt from the University of Texas. I received my PhD at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in June of 2010. Most of my work at UCLA involved studying large asteroids that we call "protoplanets," especially those who have or once had large amounts of water in them. My Thesis involved using Hubble Space Telescope and theoretical models to study Pallas and Vesta. While at UCLA, I was supported by the Dawn mission and now continue my work as a member of the Dawn Education and Public Outreach team as a science advisor.
I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) in Austin. Here, I can continue my love of ice by studying cryospheres of the solar system, focusing specifically on Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter, and the Earth's polar regions. I use Galileo spacecraft data and Earth analogs to study Europa's ice shell and how radar can be used to study this moon. At UTIG, I'm a member of the ICECAP project that studies the Earth's poles. I have just returned from my first season working out of a DC-3 aircraft flying over Antarctica studying the ice, ocean and geophysics of the continent below the ice using ice penetrating radar, magnetometry, gravity, and altimetry.
I am excited to talk about all of the great science and exciting aspects of the Dawn Mission, and will be happy to answer questions about Dawn, the asteroids, and given time, even some about my work with Europa and the Earth.
Hi! I'm Dr Britney Schmidt from the University of Texas. I received my PhD at University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in June of 2010. Most of my work at UCLA involved studying large asteroids that we call "protoplanets," especially those who have or once had large amounts of water in them. My Thesis involved using Hubble Space Telescope and theoretical models to study Pallas and Vesta. While at UCLA, I was supported by the Dawn mission and now continue my work as a member of the Dawn Education and Public Outreach team as a science advisor.
I am currently a postdoctoral fellow at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG) in Austin. Here, I can continue my love of ice by studying cryospheres of the solar system, focusing specifically on Europa, an icy moon of Jupiter, and the Earth's polar regions. I use Galileo spacecraft data and Earth analogs to study Europa's ice shell and how radar can be used to study this moon. At UTIG, I'm a member of the ICECAP project that studies the Earth's poles. I have just returned from my first season working out of a DC-3 aircraft flying over Antarctica studying the ice, ocean and geophysics of the continent below the ice using ice penetrating radar, magnetometry, gravity, and altimetry.
I am excited to talk about all of the great science and exciting aspects of the Dawn Mission, and will be happy to answer questions about Dawn, the asteroids, and given time, even some about my work with Europa and the Earth.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Poll of the Week: One Way Trip?
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
Here are the results of last weeks poll : Would you make a one-way trip to Mars? While the majority said they would not a good number said they were willing. Here are some comments from the Discussion Board:
This week, our poll question is, "Which planet deserves more study?" With probes in progress, in orbit, and on the way in all parts of our Solar System, which planet deserves our concentration? Don't forget to add you comments to the Discussion Board in the "Poll of the Week" Topic.
Here are the results of last weeks poll : Would you make a one-way trip to Mars? While the majority said they would not a good number said they were willing. Here are some comments from the Discussion Board:Alex D.: Certainly. In fact, I'd go alone. One man, one way. I'd go to start building the base, to inflate the greenhouses, scout the territory, plant the homing beacons for larger landers, to dig the trenches for the habitats, and to build up in preparation for the larger crew.
David A.: Being a pioneer for a human civilization on a different planet would be awesome!! Although, it would be hard leaving the people that I care about the most behind (specifically close family).Most were not so sure:
Tristan Z.: I don't think I would go. Right now that is my decision but I could be swayed... I don't think though I could stand not having a living companion.Although the poll is closed, you can still leave your thoughts on the topic in the Discussion Board.
Fiona M.: I don't think I could leave my family and friends forever. Maybe for a few years, if I knew I would come back, but not indefinitely.
This week, our poll question is, "Which planet deserves more study?" With probes in progress, in orbit, and on the way in all parts of our Solar System, which planet deserves our concentration? Don't forget to add you comments to the Discussion Board in the "Poll of the Week" Topic.
Monday, December 6, 2010
J-2X Extras: Rebuilding the Past
By William D. Greene, MSFC, AL
Several years ago, I was determined and ready to buy a new vehicle. I happened to be at my grandparents place at the time in upstate New York and my grandfather saw me perusing the local paper for dealerships making good deals. I told him that I was interested in getting a new pickup truck, something that I could use to go back and forth to grad school and carry all my stuff.
"Well, I'll tell you what," he said, "the best darn vehicle I ever had was a 1937 Ford Pickup. That thing just ran forever, it seems to me." Then he winked, smiled, and added, "And, even better, I met your grandmother while I was driving that thing."
So I went on down to the local Ford dealership and announced to the salesman wearing a plaid jacket and striped tie that I wanted to buy a pickup truck. My new best friend smiled a huge smile, shook my hand, and led me over to the part of the showroom dedicated to their latest line of beautiful F-150s.
"No, no," I said, "I want to buy a 1937 pickup."
"But we don't sell used cars here, son, and certainly not classics like that."
"I don’t want a used 1937 pickup," I replied. "I want a new 1937 pickup."
"There is no such thing," he said, in an obvious state of confusion or maybe annoyance.
I scratched my head. "I don't understand. I mean, you guys still have the drawings and such, right? And if you can build these big, shiny new things, then you can certainly go back and build something more simple, right? My granddad told me not to get suckered in. He said that I don’t need all these new-fangled bells and whistles."
For the next hour, the salesman, named Pete by way (Pistol Pete, he chuckled to himself), tried to talk me into buying one of the current year models. He showed me everything, explaining with fast-talking expertise the dramatic advantages that his trucks had over the competition and even, he tossed in for me, far older models. But I was not totally convinced. Pistol Pete just shrugged and gave me his business card with a scribbled phone number for someone at their corporate headquarters who might be better able to help me. I left thinking that might have just lost the best friend I'd had for the last ninety minutes.
The next day, I called the corporate headquarters and tried to make clear what I wanted. I got bumped from department to department several times until I finally got someone named George seemingly willing to indulge me.
I told George what I wanted, but I also told him that I was impressed with what Pistol Pete the salesman had shown me. I said, "I'd really like to get that 1937 pickup with an automatic transmission, with overdrive, and cruise control. I would really like more speed and better handling. Better gas mileage too. Also, I'm thinking that I need more safety stuff, so I'd like that pickup to have air bags, modern crushable bumpers, and the latest auto glass. Plus, I'd like a bit more life and reliability, so building in that self-diagnostic system and computer would be good. And I read that some new body materials are less prone to corrosion, so build it out of new stuff."
"So," said George, who sounded perpetually half asleep when he spoke, "you want a 1937 pickup truck, with all modern features, built to all modern standards, with more performance, with better reliability, and with greater safety. Do I have that right?"
"Finally," I said, "someone who understands! You've got it! That's exactly what I want!"
"Right, then we will have to design you a new vehicle from scratch. That will take about two years of design effort, building a few prototypes, and then another couple of years of road testing and then certification from the federal highway authorities -- which, by the way, will result in a bunch more changes unless you only want to drive it on Sundays and holidays like an antique car. Overall then I'm projecting that we’re talking, maybe, forty or fifty millions dollars as a starting point."
"Huh? What are you talking about? That's outrageous," I yelled into the phone in dismay. "You built this thing 50 years ago, didn't you? It didn't cost that much then for goodness sake, even with inflation. Surely you've got the drawings just lying around somewhere, right?"
"No, actually we don't," said George in his tired monotone. "And even if we did and we had to build exactly a 1937 pickup, as it was built back then, it would be a project. To start, we would have to rebuild all of the tooling, recreate the materials we used back then, and reconstitute suppliers who have long since gone out of business. Add to that all of your new requirements and, well, you've got a whole new vehicle, right? So, basically, we'll just have to start from scratch."
I hung up the phone in an utter daze. Several weeks later, I bought a little Toyota pickup. I drove it for lots of years. I plan to someday tell my grandson that it was the greatest thing ever on four wheels and see where that leads…
One of the first questions that I got when I started this blog was why we didn't just dust off the drawings of the old J-2 used for the Apollo Program and use that rather that launching into the J-2X development effort. Hopefully this little story provides a bit of insight by way of analogy. As we go along, I will tell you about the actual changes between the Apollo-era J-2 and the J-2X of today.
Several years ago, I was determined and ready to buy a new vehicle. I happened to be at my grandparents place at the time in upstate New York and my grandfather saw me perusing the local paper for dealerships making good deals. I told him that I was interested in getting a new pickup truck, something that I could use to go back and forth to grad school and carry all my stuff.
"Well, I'll tell you what," he said, "the best darn vehicle I ever had was a 1937 Ford Pickup. That thing just ran forever, it seems to me." Then he winked, smiled, and added, "And, even better, I met your grandmother while I was driving that thing."
So I went on down to the local Ford dealership and announced to the salesman wearing a plaid jacket and striped tie that I wanted to buy a pickup truck. My new best friend smiled a huge smile, shook my hand, and led me over to the part of the showroom dedicated to their latest line of beautiful F-150s.
"No, no," I said, "I want to buy a 1937 pickup."
"But we don't sell used cars here, son, and certainly not classics like that."
"I don’t want a used 1937 pickup," I replied. "I want a new 1937 pickup."
"There is no such thing," he said, in an obvious state of confusion or maybe annoyance.
I scratched my head. "I don't understand. I mean, you guys still have the drawings and such, right? And if you can build these big, shiny new things, then you can certainly go back and build something more simple, right? My granddad told me not to get suckered in. He said that I don’t need all these new-fangled bells and whistles."
For the next hour, the salesman, named Pete by way (Pistol Pete, he chuckled to himself), tried to talk me into buying one of the current year models. He showed me everything, explaining with fast-talking expertise the dramatic advantages that his trucks had over the competition and even, he tossed in for me, far older models. But I was not totally convinced. Pistol Pete just shrugged and gave me his business card with a scribbled phone number for someone at their corporate headquarters who might be better able to help me. I left thinking that might have just lost the best friend I'd had for the last ninety minutes.
The next day, I called the corporate headquarters and tried to make clear what I wanted. I got bumped from department to department several times until I finally got someone named George seemingly willing to indulge me.
I told George what I wanted, but I also told him that I was impressed with what Pistol Pete the salesman had shown me. I said, "I'd really like to get that 1937 pickup with an automatic transmission, with overdrive, and cruise control. I would really like more speed and better handling. Better gas mileage too. Also, I'm thinking that I need more safety stuff, so I'd like that pickup to have air bags, modern crushable bumpers, and the latest auto glass. Plus, I'd like a bit more life and reliability, so building in that self-diagnostic system and computer would be good. And I read that some new body materials are less prone to corrosion, so build it out of new stuff."
"So," said George, who sounded perpetually half asleep when he spoke, "you want a 1937 pickup truck, with all modern features, built to all modern standards, with more performance, with better reliability, and with greater safety. Do I have that right?"
"Finally," I said, "someone who understands! You've got it! That's exactly what I want!"
"Right, then we will have to design you a new vehicle from scratch. That will take about two years of design effort, building a few prototypes, and then another couple of years of road testing and then certification from the federal highway authorities -- which, by the way, will result in a bunch more changes unless you only want to drive it on Sundays and holidays like an antique car. Overall then I'm projecting that we’re talking, maybe, forty or fifty millions dollars as a starting point."
"Huh? What are you talking about? That's outrageous," I yelled into the phone in dismay. "You built this thing 50 years ago, didn't you? It didn't cost that much then for goodness sake, even with inflation. Surely you've got the drawings just lying around somewhere, right?"
"No, actually we don't," said George in his tired monotone. "And even if we did and we had to build exactly a 1937 pickup, as it was built back then, it would be a project. To start, we would have to rebuild all of the tooling, recreate the materials we used back then, and reconstitute suppliers who have long since gone out of business. Add to that all of your new requirements and, well, you've got a whole new vehicle, right? So, basically, we'll just have to start from scratch."
I hung up the phone in an utter daze. Several weeks later, I bought a little Toyota pickup. I drove it for lots of years. I plan to someday tell my grandson that it was the greatest thing ever on four wheels and see where that leads…One of the first questions that I got when I started this blog was why we didn't just dust off the drawings of the old J-2 used for the Apollo Program and use that rather that launching into the J-2X development effort. Hopefully this little story provides a bit of insight by way of analogy. As we go along, I will tell you about the actual changes between the Apollo-era J-2 and the J-2X of today.
Friday, December 3, 2010
Live Chat Roundup: December 2, 2010
By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
I had the pleasure of not only hosting but also presenting last night’s Live Chat, ‘Secrets of Kennedy Space Center’. This chat was for 9th grade OLC members, 43 of whom were in attendance. During the chat, I talked about the history of KSC, it’s current mission, and some of the interesting, little-known facts about KSC. This chat is available now in the Live Chat archive (Connect>Live Chats>Archive). On Monday, look for the podcast versions on the Home Page archive.
We had plenty of questions, and not enough time for all, so I asked students who did not get answers to send on their questions. Here are the answers:
Thanks for all the questions and the great time! Next week, our chat will be for 12th grade OLC members and feature a mission update of Dawn’s journey to the asteroid belt by Britney Schmidt of the University of Texas.
I had the pleasure of not only hosting but also presenting last night’s Live Chat, ‘Secrets of Kennedy Space Center’. This chat was for 9th grade OLC members, 43 of whom were in attendance. During the chat, I talked about the history of KSC, it’s current mission, and some of the interesting, little-known facts about KSC. This chat is available now in the Live Chat archive (Connect>Live Chats>Archive). On Monday, look for the podcast versions on the Home Page archive.
We had plenty of questions, and not enough time for all, so I asked students who did not get answers to send on their questions. Here are the answers:
Jonathan S.: Can astronauts play video games in space?
Answer: There are computers on board the ISS that astronauts can use to send and retrieve email and watch DVD movies. I would not doubt that their may be some games as well. I’ll try to find out more and pass it on.
Tristan Z.: How do you make sure birds (like the bald eagle) don't get in the way of the shuttle launch and potentially get hurt? Also, Why is the runway surrounded by water?
Answer: Although the pad area is deserted at launch (except, of course, for the astronauts!) there is still plenty of activity and noise coming from the vehicle and its associated support equipment. Most birds and animals have learned to steer clear of this. Our wildlife specialists also remove nesting opportunities (dead trees, branches, etc.) to discourage birds from nesting too close to the pad. We have, however, on occasion had a bird strike.
Sean H.: Is there a specific type of launch pad to launch different rockets? If so, what constitutes this difference?
Answer: Yes, each launch vehicle has specific requirements that must be met with pad support equipment. This would be fuel and electrical connections, hold down bolts and vehicle support, and in the case of the Shuttle, crew access. Typically, a new pad was designed and built for each ne launch vehicle, but modern pads can be configured to launch several types.
Ryan S.: Why are you ending the space shuttle program before you have a replacement?
Answer: NASA works under the direction of Congress. After the Columbia accident in 2003, President Bush gave NASA a new direction to complete the ISS, retire the Shuttle, and develop a new launch system, Constellation, to service the ISS and return to the Moon. Retiring the Shuttle was meant to free up funds for development of Constellation, so the budget would remain the same. This year, the Obama direction called for the elimination of Constellation and the shift toward commercial development of a space vehicle. NASA work still continues on Orion, a space capsule that may be launched by a commercial booster.
Ezekiel H.: How many locations are there for landing the space shuttle?
Answer: Besides Kennedy Space Center, and Edwards Air Force Base in California, there is another landing strip at White Sands in New Mexico. This was only used once in 1983. There are also three main abort landing sites, and nine emergency sites around the world.
Dashiell D.: What will kennedy's purpose be in the future beyond the missions you've described? Or will Kennedy be closed down?
Answer: KSC is positioning itself as the premier launch location in the world, updating facilities and infrastructure to support any client, NASA or commercial, that needs to place a payload in space. We expect it to be around for many, many years!
Thanks for all the questions and the great time! Next week, our chat will be for 12th grade OLC members and feature a mission update of Dawn’s journey to the asteroid belt by Britney Schmidt of the University of Texas.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
J-2X Progress: The J-2X Test Stands
By William Green, MSFC, AL
Okay, so now you've got a great big rocket engine. What are you going to do with it? Well, fire it, of course. Make great big and noisy smoke and fire. There's really not much that is more thrilling than an engine test…although, I guess, launches qualify (says the old engine guy reluctantly).
But where are you going to do this? It's not like you can do it in your garage. You'd blow away your entire neighborhood in the matter of a few seconds and the authorities tend to frown on such antics. Take a look (and listen) again at the video clip from the "What is a Rocket?" blog article to get an idea of what I’m talking about. Also, it's not even like you can simply hire a company that specializes in testing stuff and there are many fine companies that do just that for all kinds of products big and small. No, rocket engine testing is an endeavor that requires its own dedicated facilities and infrastructure.
Over the past fifty years, NASA has developed a number of rocket engine test facilities, but by far the single largest and dedicated site is in southern Mississippi, Hancock County to be exact, today called the NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC). This facility is just about an hour from New Orleans. It is in a very secluded, woody bayou area far from any population centers. And that was the point when it was established. Given the size of the place needed to test rocket engines and rocket stages and given the noise that such testing makes, having no neighbors is basically a requirement.
Testing for the J-2X engine is currently planned in the "A-Complex" test area. That area is composed of three test stands. There are stands A1, A2, and A3 (no, it's not an especially colorful naming scheme, I admit).
Stands A1 and A2 were designed to look like and function like the large test stand here at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. They were built in the 1960's and were originally stage test facilities to accommodate testing of the S-II stage, the second stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle that took humans to the moon. The S-II stage was, of course, powered by the original J-2 rocket engine. Then in the early 1970's, these two stands were converted into single-engine test stands to facilitate the development of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). Test stand A2 remained dedicated to SSME up until last year. Test stand A1 over the last thirty-five years was used primarily for SSME, but it was also used in the late 1990's for the XRS-2200 linear aerospike engine development (which used a number of heritage J-2 and J-2S component designs) intended to support the X-33 vehicle.
Test stand A3 is a new facility currently being built specifically to accommodate development of the J-2X engine. It is unique in that it simulates the atmospheric pressures at high altitudes. Because the J-2X is being designed for maximum performance and for engine start at high altitudes, it is only within such a test facility as A3 that the complete configuration of the J-2X engine can be tested. The altitude simulation capability is produced by encapsulating the entire engine within a test chamber and using a system of steam ejectors to "suck down" the chamber using the Bernoulli effect familiar to students of fluid dynamics. Basically, what you have on A3 is a series of rocket engines, powered by liquid oxygen and alcohol, used to make a huge amount of high-velocity steam that creates a low-pressure environment into which the J-2X fires (itself also making a huge amount of steam). When A3 is up and running, the J-2X testing conducted there is going to be even more impressive than the usual engine tests.
The J-2X puts out approximately 300,000 pounds-force of thrust when fully configured and operating in space. As currently rigged, each of these three test stands can handle 600,000 pounds-force of thrust and, with some modifications, significantly more (the current thrust measurement systems being the limiting factor). Back when they were testing the S-II stages on A1 and A2, those stands were seeing nearly one million pounds-force of thrust with five J-2 engines firing simultaneously.
Within the last month, I had the opportunity to tour NASA SSC and see the progress of the work being done on these test stands to support the J-2X test campaign. Below are a series of photos with some accompanying commentary.
Above is a picture looking up and into the flame bucket on Stand A2. To give you an idea about dimensions, notice the person in the blue jacket and orange hardhat down on the right-hand wide. During an engine test, this entire area is deluged with water for the purposes of cooling and sound suppression. The flame bucket diverts the rocket exhaust from shooting downwards to shooting outwards and away from the stand. The long tube-like structure in the middle is a feature unique to Stand A2. It is a passive diffuser that creates simulated high-altitude conditions while the engine is running. The difference between this passive diffuser and the active diffuser on A3 is the fact that A3 can simulate higher altitudes and can do so even when the engine is not firing.
This is a shot taken near the top of stand A3. They have not yet built in the elevator so I know firsthand that the walk to the top is just about 23 flight of stairs, give or take a couple. I’ve marked stand A2 and also stand B1, which is currently used for RS-68 engine testing that supports the Delta IV launch vehicle. Stand A1 is off to the left, out of the frame of this picture. The low white building in the middle of the picture is the control room from where they conduct engine tests on A1 and A2. The control room for A3 will be in a different building.
Above is a picture of Jason Turpin (Liquid Engine Systems Branch, ER21, NASA MSFC) and Rick Ballard (Upper Stage Engine Element Systems Engineering and Integration Manager) standing on the Level 5 deck of stand A1 with the A3 construction site in the background. The water that you see behind them is part of a canal system that runs throughout the test area. On these canals they bring in barges filled with the propellants used for the testing. Back in the day, these canals were used to float in the assembled Saturn stages. This is not, however, necessary for engine testing since a single engine can be loaded onto a truck.
Overall, this tour of the facilities showed that NASA SSC is making tremendous progress in getting the test stands ready for the J-2X development test series campaign. In only a few months, we will be making smoke and fire (mostly steam!) and rumbling the acres of swampy woodlands that surround the site. I can hardly wait!
Okay, so now you've got a great big rocket engine. What are you going to do with it? Well, fire it, of course. Make great big and noisy smoke and fire. There's really not much that is more thrilling than an engine test…although, I guess, launches qualify (says the old engine guy reluctantly).
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Engine Test at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center |
Over the past fifty years, NASA has developed a number of rocket engine test facilities, but by far the single largest and dedicated site is in southern Mississippi, Hancock County to be exact, today called the NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC). This facility is just about an hour from New Orleans. It is in a very secluded, woody bayou area far from any population centers. And that was the point when it was established. Given the size of the place needed to test rocket engines and rocket stages and given the noise that such testing makes, having no neighbors is basically a requirement.
Testing for the J-2X engine is currently planned in the "A-Complex" test area. That area is composed of three test stands. There are stands A1, A2, and A3 (no, it's not an especially colorful naming scheme, I admit).
Stands A1 and A2 were designed to look like and function like the large test stand here at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. They were built in the 1960's and were originally stage test facilities to accommodate testing of the S-II stage, the second stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle that took humans to the moon. The S-II stage was, of course, powered by the original J-2 rocket engine. Then in the early 1970's, these two stands were converted into single-engine test stands to facilitate the development of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). Test stand A2 remained dedicated to SSME up until last year. Test stand A1 over the last thirty-five years was used primarily for SSME, but it was also used in the late 1990's for the XRS-2200 linear aerospike engine development (which used a number of heritage J-2 and J-2S component designs) intended to support the X-33 vehicle.
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| Test Stand A2 Under Construction, Early 1960’s |
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| S-II Stage being Hoisted into A2 in 1967 and the First SSME Test on A1 in May 1975 |
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| Test Stand A2 Today |
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| Test Stand A3 Under Construction Today |
Within the last month, I had the opportunity to tour NASA SSC and see the progress of the work being done on these test stands to support the J-2X test campaign. Below are a series of photos with some accompanying commentary.
Overall, this tour of the facilities showed that NASA SSC is making tremendous progress in getting the test stands ready for the J-2X development test series campaign. In only a few months, we will be making smoke and fire (mostly steam!) and rumbling the acres of swampy woodlands that surround the site. I can hardly wait!
Friday, November 19, 2010
Live Chat Roundup: November 18, 2010 - Update
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
The NASA Spacesuit, otherwise known as the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), is a complex machine whose sole purpose is to keep humans alive in the extreme environment of outer space. 64 members of the INSPIRE Online Learning Community were led through a presentation by spacesuit engineer Mallory Jennings from the Johnson Space Center. Ms. Jennings chatted to students about the parts of the EMU, including her specialty, the Portable Life Support System (PLSS). Students were then introduced to some new designs, and shown ways they are being tested. As usual, the chat ended with questions and answers.
A special chat next week for parents/caregivers will occur on Tuesday night, November 23. We will hold two chats, at 7:00pm CT and again at 8:00pm CT. Featuring INSPIRE Project Manager Steve Chance, it will be a time to ask questions about INSPIRE and the OLC. To participate, parents must sign up on the Discussion Board under either the 7:00 or 8:00 thread. Parents participants will then enter the chat through the Connect page.
Don't forget, if you missed the chat you can still view it in the archives by clicking the Live Chats link on the Connect page.
The NASA Spacesuit, otherwise known as the Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU), is a complex machine whose sole purpose is to keep humans alive in the extreme environment of outer space. 64 members of the INSPIRE Online Learning Community were led through a presentation by spacesuit engineer Mallory Jennings from the Johnson Space Center. Ms. Jennings chatted to students about the parts of the EMU, including her specialty, the Portable Life Support System (PLSS). Students were then introduced to some new designs, and shown ways they are being tested. As usual, the chat ended with questions and answers.
A special chat next week for parents/caregivers will occur on Tuesday night, November 23. We will hold two chats, at 7:00pm CT and again at 8:00pm CT. Featuring INSPIRE Project Manager Steve Chance, it will be a time to ask questions about INSPIRE and the OLC. To participate, parents must sign up on the Discussion Board under either the 7:00 or 8:00 thread. Parents participants will then enter the chat through the Connect page.
Don't forget, if you missed the chat you can still view it in the archives by clicking the Live Chats link on the Connect page.
Thursday, November 18, 2010
Inside the J-2X Doghouse: What is a Rocket?
By William D. Green, MSFC, AL
Posted on the J2X Engine Blog
For as long as anyone can remember here at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the collection of engineers who analyze and evaluate rocket engine test and flight data results have been called "Datadogs." However, that time-honored moniker is a title that must be earned. It's not automatic based upon your job assignment. It is based upon your ability to create a coherent technical narrative derived from hundreds of pieces of data spanning pre-start purge schedules, through engine start to mainstage operation, through shutdown transients and, finally, post-test inspections. With every engine firing we ask: What happened and, more importantly, why? The Datadogs provide the answers.
So, as a regular part of the J-2X Blog, I will be inviting you into the J-2X Doghouse just to ramble a bit about rockets and rocket engines in preparation for the upcoming J-2X development testing next year.
The most basic question is, of course, what is a rocket? Often, when lost in the mountain of ten thousand details of fabrication processes and assembly procedures and structural analyses and operational manuals and information of all flavors, even rocket scientists sometimes lose sight of the most basic concepts. Yet any child who has ever blown up a balloon and then let it fly across the room as it deflates has experimented in rocketry. A rocket is simply a vehicle that is self-contained and self-propelled. It takes in nothing from its external environment and it achieves motion from Newton's principle of a reaction resulting from every action. A rocket effectively throws stuff out the back end while what remains in the rocket moves forward thereby balancing the net sum of inertia.
In technical terms, the balloon flying across the room -- likely landing in your uncle's soup thereby causing a minor family crisis -- is a pressure-fed, mono-propellant rocket. The stretchy plastic of the balloon supplies the pressure and the single propellant is the breath with which the balloon was filled. The pressure from the plastic pushes the air out the back end. The air goes one way rapidly and the balloon itself goes hurtling through space in the opposite direction. Ta-da, a rocket! And now you are privy to the NASA secret that rockets, at their most basic, conceptual level, are pretty darn simple.
So, what makes a rocket engine different than a child's balloon? Power. In order to throw thousands of pounds of a launch vehicle into the sky and accelerate it to thousands of miles per hour, you need lots and lots of power. Rather than relying on pressure to push the working fluid out the back end, a large rocket engine like J-2X uses very powerful pumps. And, rather than relying on just the velocity generated by moving the fluids, a large rocket engine taps into the chemical energy released by combustion.
For example, during every second of operation the J-2X pumps hundreds of pounds of hydrogen and oxygen into a chamber not much bigger than a large spaghetti pot. There, these fluids combust, making steam (and residual hydrogen gas) at blistering hot temperatures of thousands of degrees. That tremendous amount of energy is then directed out the back end, accelerating the hot gases down the length of the nozzle to supersonic speeds, converting thermal energy to kinetic energy all along the way.
How much steam does this make? Well, if you ever have the opportunity to see a J-2X engine test, bring an umbrella. A full duration test will make enough steam to make its own rain cloud in the sky. Below is a video of a Space Shuttle Main Engine test in stand A2 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Tests of the J-2X will look quite similar.
Thus, the tough part about rocket engines is not their basic concept. That's simple. The tough part is building a device that can harness the power necessary to make that simple concept useful. As we go along, we'll discuss that tough part in more detail.
Posted on the J2X Engine Blog
For as long as anyone can remember here at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the collection of engineers who analyze and evaluate rocket engine test and flight data results have been called "Datadogs." However, that time-honored moniker is a title that must be earned. It's not automatic based upon your job assignment. It is based upon your ability to create a coherent technical narrative derived from hundreds of pieces of data spanning pre-start purge schedules, through engine start to mainstage operation, through shutdown transients and, finally, post-test inspections. With every engine firing we ask: What happened and, more importantly, why? The Datadogs provide the answers.
So, as a regular part of the J-2X Blog, I will be inviting you into the J-2X Doghouse just to ramble a bit about rockets and rocket engines in preparation for the upcoming J-2X development testing next year.
The most basic question is, of course, what is a rocket? Often, when lost in the mountain of ten thousand details of fabrication processes and assembly procedures and structural analyses and operational manuals and information of all flavors, even rocket scientists sometimes lose sight of the most basic concepts. Yet any child who has ever blown up a balloon and then let it fly across the room as it deflates has experimented in rocketry. A rocket is simply a vehicle that is self-contained and self-propelled. It takes in nothing from its external environment and it achieves motion from Newton's principle of a reaction resulting from every action. A rocket effectively throws stuff out the back end while what remains in the rocket moves forward thereby balancing the net sum of inertia.
In technical terms, the balloon flying across the room -- likely landing in your uncle's soup thereby causing a minor family crisis -- is a pressure-fed, mono-propellant rocket. The stretchy plastic of the balloon supplies the pressure and the single propellant is the breath with which the balloon was filled. The pressure from the plastic pushes the air out the back end. The air goes one way rapidly and the balloon itself goes hurtling through space in the opposite direction. Ta-da, a rocket! And now you are privy to the NASA secret that rockets, at their most basic, conceptual level, are pretty darn simple.
So, what makes a rocket engine different than a child's balloon? Power. In order to throw thousands of pounds of a launch vehicle into the sky and accelerate it to thousands of miles per hour, you need lots and lots of power. Rather than relying on pressure to push the working fluid out the back end, a large rocket engine like J-2X uses very powerful pumps. And, rather than relying on just the velocity generated by moving the fluids, a large rocket engine taps into the chemical energy released by combustion.
For example, during every second of operation the J-2X pumps hundreds of pounds of hydrogen and oxygen into a chamber not much bigger than a large spaghetti pot. There, these fluids combust, making steam (and residual hydrogen gas) at blistering hot temperatures of thousands of degrees. That tremendous amount of energy is then directed out the back end, accelerating the hot gases down the length of the nozzle to supersonic speeds, converting thermal energy to kinetic energy all along the way.
How much steam does this make? Well, if you ever have the opportunity to see a J-2X engine test, bring an umbrella. A full duration test will make enough steam to make its own rain cloud in the sky. Below is a video of a Space Shuttle Main Engine test in stand A2 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Tests of the J-2X will look quite similar.
Thus, the tough part about rocket engines is not their basic concept. That's simple. The tough part is building a device that can harness the power necessary to make that simple concept useful. As we go along, we'll discuss that tough part in more detail.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Poll of the Week
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
You may have noticed on the Home Page a new feature in the upper right hand column: Poll of the Week. Each Tuesday we'll post a new question and look for your answers. During the week, you can go to the Discussion Board to compare answers, champion your opinion and debate the issue. Some questions will be serious, and some just for fun. But whatever the question, don't forget to leave your answer! You can only vote once, but during the week you can click the 'View Results' link and see where everyone else voted. After the poll closes, we'll recap it here in the Blog.
Last weeks' question: Who is your favorite astronaut?
Results: Buzz Aldrin 55 votes 27.8%
John Glenn 43 votes 21.7%
Neil Armstrong 100 votes 50.5%
As you might expect, this poll was just for fun and to do a live test of our polling software. We knew your favorite astronaut might not be one of the three we listed (maybe we should have had an 'Other' option) but it was interesting to see the tallies go up during the week. We expected Neil Armstrong would be selected, but are always ready to be surprised by your opinions! Watch each Tuesday for a new poll question. We'll tweet out when it is there, or check when you can.
You may have noticed on the Home Page a new feature in the upper right hand column: Poll of the Week. Each Tuesday we'll post a new question and look for your answers. During the week, you can go to the Discussion Board to compare answers, champion your opinion and debate the issue. Some questions will be serious, and some just for fun. But whatever the question, don't forget to leave your answer! You can only vote once, but during the week you can click the 'View Results' link and see where everyone else voted. After the poll closes, we'll recap it here in the Blog.
Last weeks' question: Who is your favorite astronaut?
Results: Buzz Aldrin 55 votes 27.8%
John Glenn 43 votes 21.7%
Neil Armstrong 100 votes 50.5%
As you might expect, this poll was just for fun and to do a live test of our polling software. We knew your favorite astronaut might not be one of the three we listed (maybe we should have had an 'Other' option) but it was interesting to see the tallies go up during the week. We expected Neil Armstrong would be selected, but are always ready to be surprised by your opinions! Watch each Tuesday for a new poll question. We'll tweet out when it is there, or check when you can.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Live Chat Roundup: November 11, 2010
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
A great chat on Wednesday about the history and legacy of Virginia's Langley Research Center, presented to 34 10th graders by Karen Ricks. Ms. Ricks showed how important Langley has been for the development of aeronautics, the training of NASA's first astronauts, to developing robotic spacecraft to land on Mars. INSPIRE students asked many questions and appreciated the time spent by our presenter. All members of the OLC now have an opportunity to check the archive and watch for themselves. Don't forget to take the quiz to get your points!
Due to the Veterans Day holiday, the chat was held on a Wednesday. Since next weeks Live Chat would fall on Thanksgiving, it too will be scheduled for Wednesday. More news on next weeks chat will be found in the Nov. 22 issue of the eINSPIRE communication.
A great chat on Wednesday about the history and legacy of Virginia's Langley Research Center, presented to 34 10th graders by Karen Ricks. Ms. Ricks showed how important Langley has been for the development of aeronautics, the training of NASA's first astronauts, to developing robotic spacecraft to land on Mars. INSPIRE students asked many questions and appreciated the time spent by our presenter. All members of the OLC now have an opportunity to check the archive and watch for themselves. Don't forget to take the quiz to get your points!
Due to the Veterans Day holiday, the chat was held on a Wednesday. Since next weeks Live Chat would fall on Thanksgiving, it too will be scheduled for Wednesday. More news on next weeks chat will be found in the Nov. 22 issue of the eINSPIRE communication.
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Did You Notice?
By INSPIRE Staff
Improvements to the the Online Learning Community have been made this week. Some provide for more interaction while others are informative. We hope they improve your online experience and give you a reason to come back often. Here is what you will find:
Home Page
Improvements to the the Online Learning Community have been made this week. Some provide for more interaction while others are informative. We hope they improve your online experience and give you a reason to come back often. Here is what you will find:
Home Page
- Poll of the Week - Each week a new poll question will be offered for your opinion. A Discussion Board Topic folder will give you a place to champion/challenge the choices.
- TW@N - Link to the This Week at NASA vodcast.
- Points Leaderboard - Updated weekly based on current point totals. Are you there?
- Activity Archive - Rearrangement of Archive icons.
- NASA Social Networks - Links to connect with NASA on Twitter and Facebook
- INSPIRE Schedule - Calendar of weekly themes, Live Chats, and other important dates
- Patch Competition - See entries to this years Patch Design Challenge
- ISS Challenge - View finalists from this summer's ISS Design Challenge
- Inspire contact information added
- Added disclaimer: Best when viewed in Safari or Firefox
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
The J-2X Blog
By William D. Green, MSFC, AL
Hello! Welcome to the J-2X Blog.
I would say that it's a pretty safe bet that a large (very large) majority of the American population is unaware that we stand on the brink of testing the first new, large, human-rated liquid rocket developed in this country since Gerald Ford was President. I might even venture to suggest that a majority of the diverse and busy population supporting NASA also don't know that this is the case.
Back then, during the Ford administration, the new engine was called the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). Its initial development at the conceptual level began in the late 1960's. The Space Shuttle itself wouldn't fly until 1981, nearly six years after the first attempted engine test. Today, the engine is called J-2X and this blog represents an attempt to inform those who want to follow the exciting progress of this development effort as we approach full engine testing in early 2011.
As the name suggests, the J-2X has its roots in the Apollo Program with the J-2 engine used for the second and third stages of the Saturn V rocket that first took humans to the moon. In many ways, the original J-2 was the technological predecessor of the SSME. The J-2X design is the beneficiary of over fifty years of rocket engine experience spanning the original J-2, the SSME, the experimental J-2S, and the RS-68 engine that today powers the Delta IV commercial rocket.
The J-2X is being developed by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the home of the propulsion systems for the Apollo Program and the Space Shuttle Program. Our contracted partner in this development is Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne located in Los Angeles, California. Appropriately, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, taking into account corporate name changes over the years, was the developer of the liquid rocket engines that powered the Apollo Program and still powers today the Space Shuttle Program. Thus, we have assembled an experienced, formidable, and knowledgeable team for J-2X.
Your humble chronicler for this journey into the exciting final stages of J-2X development is William D. Greene. I am currently the Upper Stage Engine Element Associate Manager. The Upper Stage Engine Element is the NASA office responsible for J-2X engine design and development. For the first three and a half years of this project, I was the Systems Engineering and Integration Manager for this office. I have 22 years of experience, most of which has been in support of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and much of which has be dedicated to liquid rocket engine analysis, development, production, and testing. I will be charting the progress of the J-2X development effort, introducing you to the extraordinary team responsible for this effort, and sharing what I know about both this activity as well as about rocket engines in general.
This is going to be fun! C'mon along for the ride! For more information about the J-2X project, see the link to the video starring some of the key people engaged in this historic effort.
Hello! Welcome to the J-2X Blog.
I would say that it's a pretty safe bet that a large (very large) majority of the American population is unaware that we stand on the brink of testing the first new, large, human-rated liquid rocket developed in this country since Gerald Ford was President. I might even venture to suggest that a majority of the diverse and busy population supporting NASA also don't know that this is the case.
Back then, during the Ford administration, the new engine was called the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME). Its initial development at the conceptual level began in the late 1960's. The Space Shuttle itself wouldn't fly until 1981, nearly six years after the first attempted engine test. Today, the engine is called J-2X and this blog represents an attempt to inform those who want to follow the exciting progress of this development effort as we approach full engine testing in early 2011.
As the name suggests, the J-2X has its roots in the Apollo Program with the J-2 engine used for the second and third stages of the Saturn V rocket that first took humans to the moon. In many ways, the original J-2 was the technological predecessor of the SSME. The J-2X design is the beneficiary of over fifty years of rocket engine experience spanning the original J-2, the SSME, the experimental J-2S, and the RS-68 engine that today powers the Delta IV commercial rocket.
The J-2X is being developed by the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, the home of the propulsion systems for the Apollo Program and the Space Shuttle Program. Our contracted partner in this development is Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne located in Los Angeles, California. Appropriately, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, taking into account corporate name changes over the years, was the developer of the liquid rocket engines that powered the Apollo Program and still powers today the Space Shuttle Program. Thus, we have assembled an experienced, formidable, and knowledgeable team for J-2X.
Your humble chronicler for this journey into the exciting final stages of J-2X development is William D. Greene. I am currently the Upper Stage Engine Element Associate Manager. The Upper Stage Engine Element is the NASA office responsible for J-2X engine design and development. For the first three and a half years of this project, I was the Systems Engineering and Integration Manager for this office. I have 22 years of experience, most of which has been in support of the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center and much of which has be dedicated to liquid rocket engine analysis, development, production, and testing. I will be charting the progress of the J-2X development effort, introducing you to the extraordinary team responsible for this effort, and sharing what I know about both this activity as well as about rocket engines in general.
This is going to be fun! C'mon along for the ride! For more information about the J-2X project, see the link to the video starring some of the key people engaged in this historic effort.
Friday, November 5, 2010
Live Chat Roundup: November 5, 2010
By Jim Gerard, KSC INSPIRE Education Specialist
While KSC was preparing to launch Robonaut 2 to the space station (UPDATE: Launch scheduled for today was scrubbed until Monday), 44 INSPIRE ninth grade community members heard from one of its creators, Curtis Frodge, a mechanical engineer from Johnson Space Center, Texas. Curtis shared his experience working in the robotics branch at JSC, from getting Robonaut ready to fly to designing and constructing the Chariot mobility robot. He talked of how robots will be used to aid the astronuts in the tasks, from carrying tools and supplies to performing repetitive tasks. He even chatted about working with three INSPIRE interns during the summer! You can learn more about Robonaut below.
Next week our chat will take place one day earlier than usual. Because Thursday is Veterans Day, a federal holiday, we will chat on Wednesday night with Karen Ricks from Langley Research Center. Langley is the oldest of the NASA centers, and 10th graders are welcome to come an ask questions about aeronautics, the Orion spacecraft, and other NASA programs taking place at Langley.
Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour to reflect the end of Daylight Saving Time at 2am Sunday, November 7. Set you alarm Saturday night for 2am. When you wake up, reset it to 1am (don't forget to turn your alarm off or you'll wake back up in an hour!). Or you could do it before you go to bed but that would be cheating! ;)
While KSC was preparing to launch Robonaut 2 to the space station (UPDATE: Launch scheduled for today was scrubbed until Monday), 44 INSPIRE ninth grade community members heard from one of its creators, Curtis Frodge, a mechanical engineer from Johnson Space Center, Texas. Curtis shared his experience working in the robotics branch at JSC, from getting Robonaut ready to fly to designing and constructing the Chariot mobility robot. He talked of how robots will be used to aid the astronuts in the tasks, from carrying tools and supplies to performing repetitive tasks. He even chatted about working with three INSPIRE interns during the summer! You can learn more about Robonaut below.
Bonus question:
Question: Does the robonaut have any sense of balance or way to pick themselves up if they collapse?Robert S.
Answer: That is being developed right now. Since he is currently hard mountedhe doesn't need to know about balance but he is aware of body positionand forces he places on objects so once legs are incorporated abalance feature shouldn't be far behind and a way to pick himself upwill be on the to do list. It should just be an algorithm though sincehe is rather robust and capable.Curtis
Next week our chat will take place one day earlier than usual. Because Thursday is Veterans Day, a federal holiday, we will chat on Wednesday night with Karen Ricks from Langley Research Center. Langley is the oldest of the NASA centers, and 10th graders are welcome to come an ask questions about aeronautics, the Orion spacecraft, and other NASA programs taking place at Langley.
Don't forget to set your clocks back one hour to reflect the end of Daylight Saving Time at 2am Sunday, November 7. Set you alarm Saturday night for 2am. When you wake up, reset it to 1am (don't forget to turn your alarm off or you'll wake back up in an hour!). Or you could do it before you go to bed but that would be cheating! ;)
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Robots Tonight!
Freshmen are invited to tonight's Live Chat with Johnson Space Center engineer Curtis Frodge. Mr. Frodge will chat about Robonaut 2, its mission on the International Space Station, and other NASA robots. Before the chat, Mr. Frodge would like for all attendees to watch these two videos:
Tonight's chat begins at 8 pm CT with the room open 15 minutes earlier. See you there!
Tonight's chat begins at 8 pm CT with the room open 15 minutes earlier. See you there!
Wednesday, November 3, 2010
The Discussion Board
By INSPIRE Staff
The unique aspect of NASA INSPIRE is our Online Learning Community (OLC). Our community members have been selected because of their desire to learn more about STEM related topics and how they relate to NASA careers, and the pursuit of those occupations. The OLC offers many opportunities to learn; from fun, educational activities to Live Chats with NASA experts. But in order to have a community, members must be able to communicate with each other in open discourse. For this, we have the Discussion Board.
The Discussion Board (DB) is YOUR place to communicate with your fellow members. It is structured for peer-to-peer interaction, whether it is seeking help and helping others with INSPIRE and school activities, or just having fun discussing topics of an interest to you. Knowing how the DB is set up will help you find exactly where to post your ideas.
The Discussion Board is divided into several Forums to help focus conversations. Each Forum contains several Topics, which further clarify the interactions. Topics are subdivided into Threads, which is where the conversation takes place. While Forums and Topics are created by INSPIRE staff, Threads may be started by anyone. Any student may post to any Thread (with the exception of some created for specific activity groups), so some rules are in order to ensure everyone feels welcome and invited. When you joined INSPIRE, you signed on to the following rules:
I also would like to add a couple of very important reminders.
You will now see these posted at the head of the DB. We will enforce these rules.
Once again please note that the Discussion Board is intended for peer-to-peer interaction. Unless indicated in the Topic description, you can expect to find answers and comments from your fellow INSPIRE community members. Inspire staff will monitor the Threads and may add a comment or two, but this is YOUR conversation. To ask questions for INSPIRE staff, email to nasainspire@okstate.edu.
We appreciate all of you and hope to provide an exciting place to find other students like yourselves. Your help and cooperation will ensure everyone feels welcome to contribute to our community.
The unique aspect of NASA INSPIRE is our Online Learning Community (OLC). Our community members have been selected because of their desire to learn more about STEM related topics and how they relate to NASA careers, and the pursuit of those occupations. The OLC offers many opportunities to learn; from fun, educational activities to Live Chats with NASA experts. But in order to have a community, members must be able to communicate with each other in open discourse. For this, we have the Discussion Board.
The Discussion Board (DB) is YOUR place to communicate with your fellow members. It is structured for peer-to-peer interaction, whether it is seeking help and helping others with INSPIRE and school activities, or just having fun discussing topics of an interest to you. Knowing how the DB is set up will help you find exactly where to post your ideas.
The Discussion Board is divided into several Forums to help focus conversations. Each Forum contains several Topics, which further clarify the interactions. Topics are subdivided into Threads, which is where the conversation takes place. While Forums and Topics are created by INSPIRE staff, Threads may be started by anyone. Any student may post to any Thread (with the exception of some created for specific activity groups), so some rules are in order to ensure everyone feels welcome and invited. When you joined INSPIRE, you signed on to the following rules:
- Stay on topic. Other readers expect the posts they see here to deal with the topic at hand.
- No personal attacks. Criticism of decision-making and operational management, including the names of the individuals involved, is legitimate. Criticism on a purely personal level is not.
- No profanity. No spam. No sexually explicit or discriminatory material.
- Comments about politics and politicians must, like everything else, be on-topic and free from personal attacks.
- Because of security concerns and NASA’s legal obligation no commercial goods or services can be endorsed on the discussion board/chats
I also would like to add a couple of very important reminders.
- Peer to peer help and advice may be found and given on the Discussion Board. However to communicate with INSPIRE staff please email nasainspire@okstate.edu.
- All DB comments will be moderated by INSPIRE staff and may be removed at any time. Abuse of these rules may result in removal from the community.
You will now see these posted at the head of the DB. We will enforce these rules.
Once again please note that the Discussion Board is intended for peer-to-peer interaction. Unless indicated in the Topic description, you can expect to find answers and comments from your fellow INSPIRE community members. Inspire staff will monitor the Threads and may add a comment or two, but this is YOUR conversation. To ask questions for INSPIRE staff, email to nasainspire@okstate.edu.
We appreciate all of you and hope to provide an exciting place to find other students like yourselves. Your help and cooperation will ensure everyone feels welcome to contribute to our community.
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
10th Anniversary of Crews Aboard the International Space StationBy
By Charles Bolden, NASA Administrator – Nov. 2, 2010
Today, we celebrate ten years of humans living and working continuously aboard the International Space Station. This global milestone is tremendously significant, both for NASA and our partners. It recognizes the success of an amazing feat of engineering and a magnificent leap forward in the story of human achievement. I congratulate the entire station team and the thousands of people worldwide who have helped us reach this anniversary.
Since Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev first boarded the station as the Expedition 1 crew, more than 196 people have visited the complex, and by the exact time of the anniversary this morning, the station will have completed 57,361 orbits of the Earth, traveling some 1.5 billion miles.
More than 600 different research and technology development experiments have been conducted on the station, many of which are producing advances in medicine, recycling systems and a fundamental understanding of the universe. On Oct. 25, the station set a record for being the longest continuously inhabited spacecraft. On that day, the space station eclipsed the previous record of 3,644 days set by the Russian Mir Space Station. The station is our toehold in space, and it will be an essential part of our work to send humans on missions beyond low Earth orbit in the future.
With passage of the NASA Authorization bill, we will now be able to extend the life of the station to at least 2020. Representatives of the five international agencies that built and operate the outpost have also agreed on this in principle. Indeed, one of the station's greatest legacies is the international partnerships we have forged to create something awe-inspiring that benefits people all over the world. Partnerships with other nations will be essential to the global exploration enterprise of the future, and with each new day, NASA and its partners are pushing the envelope of human achievement in space into uncharted territory.
On board the station right now are six talented and courageous travelers representing NASA and our Russian partners. Tomorrow, the crew of STS-133 is expected to lift off on its way to the International Space Station aboard the last flight of shuttle Discovery. As we enter the station's second decade, our path forward will take us deeper into space and expand humanity's potential farther. The lessons we learn on the station will carry us to Mars and beyond. I want to give a heartfelt thank you to the six crew members on orbit and all the teams over the years that have helped us get to this milestone day.
Charlie B.
Today, we celebrate ten years of humans living and working continuously aboard the International Space Station. This global milestone is tremendously significant, both for NASA and our partners. It recognizes the success of an amazing feat of engineering and a magnificent leap forward in the story of human achievement. I congratulate the entire station team and the thousands of people worldwide who have helped us reach this anniversary.
Since Bill Shepherd, Yuri Gidzenko and Sergei Krikalev first boarded the station as the Expedition 1 crew, more than 196 people have visited the complex, and by the exact time of the anniversary this morning, the station will have completed 57,361 orbits of the Earth, traveling some 1.5 billion miles.
More than 600 different research and technology development experiments have been conducted on the station, many of which are producing advances in medicine, recycling systems and a fundamental understanding of the universe. On Oct. 25, the station set a record for being the longest continuously inhabited spacecraft. On that day, the space station eclipsed the previous record of 3,644 days set by the Russian Mir Space Station. The station is our toehold in space, and it will be an essential part of our work to send humans on missions beyond low Earth orbit in the future.
With passage of the NASA Authorization bill, we will now be able to extend the life of the station to at least 2020. Representatives of the five international agencies that built and operate the outpost have also agreed on this in principle. Indeed, one of the station's greatest legacies is the international partnerships we have forged to create something awe-inspiring that benefits people all over the world. Partnerships with other nations will be essential to the global exploration enterprise of the future, and with each new day, NASA and its partners are pushing the envelope of human achievement in space into uncharted territory.
On board the station right now are six talented and courageous travelers representing NASA and our Russian partners. Tomorrow, the crew of STS-133 is expected to lift off on its way to the International Space Station aboard the last flight of shuttle Discovery. As we enter the station's second decade, our path forward will take us deeper into space and expand humanity's potential farther. The lessons we learn on the station will carry us to Mars and beyond. I want to give a heartfelt thank you to the six crew members on orbit and all the teams over the years that have helped us get to this milestone day.
Charlie B.
An Update from Leland Melvin
By Leland Melvin, NASA Associate Administrator for Education
Greetings students, educators, families, and organizations and welcome to my first education blog.
I have had an exceptional first week as associate administrator for education at NASA. I traveled to Langley Research Center to attend a senior staff retreat and met with my team at NASA Headquarters. I also conducted a media roundtable and live shot television interviews on Wednesday, October 20. But it really was a pleasure to close out this week by attending the first USA Science and Engineering Festival on Sunday.
The USA Science & Engineering Festival launched earlier this month with activities in schools in the DC area. The festival concluded with a huge event this past weekend on the National Mall and other spots in DC. NASA had a large presence with over 28 booths and joined nearly 500 other groups. I spent time at the NASA areas on the Mall and also at Freedom Plaza interacting with people of all ages. It was great to see so many young people out there getting involved with science and engineering. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden came by, and Nobel Prize winner John C. Mather, who is an astrophysicist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, gave a talk. This was a treat for festival participants, and I am grateful that they were able to participate. Charlie has established an unprecedented NASA focus on math and science education, and John is an inspiration to all of us.
The many NASA booths featured a variety of hands-on activities, demonstrations, exhibits, and banners. Kids had their photos taken inside a full-size spacesuit, tested how their grip changes when wearing a spacesuit glove, teamed up to practice docking the space shuttle, and watched a wind tunnel demonstration. Those are just a few highlights of the amazing things that were happening.
All who visited the NASA booths could also see the exciting NASA Summer of Innovation calls to action everywhere - “Imagine it. Explore it. Do it!” This is what we have been urging the nation’s middle school students to do since June when we kicked off this project in response to the president’s Educate to Innovate campaign. I am proud of the national effort that took place to engage middle school students in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math activities during the summer break. We reached more than 75,000 students, and I anticipate many more in years to come.
The pursuit of the minds and career ambitions of America’s youth is as challenging and important to humanity as the quest for space. I can say from personal experience that both journeys are equally exciting and rewarding. They are also dependent upon one another, because our continued discovery and progress on Earth and in space will require the energy and innovation of the next generation. I turn to this new frontier in education with the knowledge that this is a team effort and will require dedication of countless individuals.
I want to thank everyone – the NASA staff supporting our booths, the other organizations exhibiting at the expo, and the families and organizations that brought young people to this amazing event. Everything you are doing is helping inspire tomorrow’s explorers today. I truly believe in our power to change lives, and this weekend’s activities are true examples of this. We are empowering our youth to take charge of their destiny and help create a better future for us all.
Reach for the Stars!
Leland
Greetings students, educators, families, and organizations and welcome to my first education blog.
I have had an exceptional first week as associate administrator for education at NASA. I traveled to Langley Research Center to attend a senior staff retreat and met with my team at NASA Headquarters. I also conducted a media roundtable and live shot television interviews on Wednesday, October 20. But it really was a pleasure to close out this week by attending the first USA Science and Engineering Festival on Sunday.
The USA Science & Engineering Festival launched earlier this month with activities in schools in the DC area. The festival concluded with a huge event this past weekend on the National Mall and other spots in DC. NASA had a large presence with over 28 booths and joined nearly 500 other groups. I spent time at the NASA areas on the Mall and also at Freedom Plaza interacting with people of all ages. It was great to see so many young people out there getting involved with science and engineering. NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden came by, and Nobel Prize winner John C. Mather, who is an astrophysicist at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, gave a talk. This was a treat for festival participants, and I am grateful that they were able to participate. Charlie has established an unprecedented NASA focus on math and science education, and John is an inspiration to all of us.
The many NASA booths featured a variety of hands-on activities, demonstrations, exhibits, and banners. Kids had their photos taken inside a full-size spacesuit, tested how their grip changes when wearing a spacesuit glove, teamed up to practice docking the space shuttle, and watched a wind tunnel demonstration. Those are just a few highlights of the amazing things that were happening.
All who visited the NASA booths could also see the exciting NASA Summer of Innovation calls to action everywhere - “Imagine it. Explore it. Do it!” This is what we have been urging the nation’s middle school students to do since June when we kicked off this project in response to the president’s Educate to Innovate campaign. I am proud of the national effort that took place to engage middle school students in hands-on science, technology, engineering and math activities during the summer break. We reached more than 75,000 students, and I anticipate many more in years to come.
The pursuit of the minds and career ambitions of America’s youth is as challenging and important to humanity as the quest for space. I can say from personal experience that both journeys are equally exciting and rewarding. They are also dependent upon one another, because our continued discovery and progress on Earth and in space will require the energy and innovation of the next generation. I turn to this new frontier in education with the knowledge that this is a team effort and will require dedication of countless individuals.
I want to thank everyone – the NASA staff supporting our booths, the other organizations exhibiting at the expo, and the families and organizations that brought young people to this amazing event. Everything you are doing is helping inspire tomorrow’s explorers today. I truly believe in our power to change lives, and this weekend’s activities are true examples of this. We are empowering our youth to take charge of their destiny and help create a better future for us all.
Reach for the Stars!
Leland
Friday, October 29, 2010
Live Chat Roundup: October 28, 2010
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
The International Space Station is the greatest engineering feat of modern technology, and was the subject of our Live Chat last night with electrical engineer Sharish patel from Kennedy Space Center. 46 12th grade seniors heard a brief overview of the mission of the ISS, and had an extended Q & A with Mr. Patel. Mr. Patel answered questions about the future of the ISS, careers in computer engineering, and even the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence! This chat will available in the Live Chat Archive as an Elluminate file, an MP3 audio file, and a Quicktime video for downloading to your portable media device. Next week, Curtis Frodge from Johnson Space Center will talk about Robotics and Robonaut 2 to our freshman class. Be there at 8 pm CT on Thursday November 4!
One technical aspect of last nights chat that was unique was that I moderated it from a hotel room in Oklahoma City. I and my fellow INSPIRE education specialist spent the week at home base in Stillwater, Oklahoma with our valued staff at Oklahoma State University. They do so much to provide the support we need to have a viable, thriving virtual community. We planned for the remainder of the school year, and you are going to enjoy seeing some of the changes and improvements in the OLC over the coming months.
One more thing - I will be tweeting live from the Monday November 1 launch of Discovery. Follow @Nasainspire and leave me questions.
The International Space Station is the greatest engineering feat of modern technology, and was the subject of our Live Chat last night with electrical engineer Sharish patel from Kennedy Space Center. 46 12th grade seniors heard a brief overview of the mission of the ISS, and had an extended Q & A with Mr. Patel. Mr. Patel answered questions about the future of the ISS, careers in computer engineering, and even the possibility of extraterrestrial intelligence! This chat will available in the Live Chat Archive as an Elluminate file, an MP3 audio file, and a Quicktime video for downloading to your portable media device. Next week, Curtis Frodge from Johnson Space Center will talk about Robotics and Robonaut 2 to our freshman class. Be there at 8 pm CT on Thursday November 4!
One technical aspect of last nights chat that was unique was that I moderated it from a hotel room in Oklahoma City. I and my fellow INSPIRE education specialist spent the week at home base in Stillwater, Oklahoma with our valued staff at Oklahoma State University. They do so much to provide the support we need to have a viable, thriving virtual community. We planned for the remainder of the school year, and you are going to enjoy seeing some of the changes and improvements in the OLC over the coming months.
One more thing - I will be tweeting live from the Monday November 1 launch of Discovery. Follow @Nasainspire and leave me questions.
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
I Knew Them When
David Hitt, MSFC, AL
One of the cool things about working and writing for NASA is that you get the chance to meet and talk to astronauts. It adds something to watching a shuttle launch when I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of the people on board. It makes it a little more personal, a little more real.
And it’s always very cool to me when a shuttle mission flies carrying an astronaut that I met "back when."
The crew of STS-133, for example, includes three astronauts that I’ve had the chance to meet. First, there’s Alvin Drew. When I met Drew, he had just returned from the fairly high-profile STS-118 mission that flew the first education mission specialist astronaut, and had been named by People magazine as one of the nation’s hottest bachelors.
Eric Boe and Tim Kopra, on the other hand, I met fairly early in their careers. Both of them had not yet flown in space the first time I saw them. I met each when they piloted planes to bring other astronauts to Marshall Space Flight Center to talk about recent missions.
Since then, Kopra has gone on to spend two months in space as a crew member on the International Space Station, and Boe was part of a space shuttle mission that added a bathroom, kitchenette, two bedrooms and gym equipment to the space station.
And the “fourth” member of the crew I met “back when” -- Robonaut 2.
Except he wasn’t Robonaut 2 when I met him; he was still just Robonaut. I saw an early version, still in development in a lab in the back of Johnson Space Center’s Building 9, best known as the home of spacecraft mock-ups used in astronaut training. But the coolest thing -- I got to look through his eyes. Robonaut’s head features two cameras, that let a remote operator see what’s in front of Robonaut via a 3-D headset. And I got to put on the headset, and see what Robonaut saw. Very cool. And now he’s about to fly into space for the first time. Even cooler.
Cooler still, thanks to Robonaut 2’s Twitter account, @AstroRobonaut, you’ll be able to do the social networking equivalent of what I did -- see spaceflight through Robonaut’s eyes. Look how far he’s come.
I’m excited about seeing what Boe, Drew and Kopra (and their crewmates) will do on the STS-133 mission. But I have to admit that, personally, I’m even more excited about following Robonaut 2’s adventures in space. I’m enough of a science-fiction geek that I find the idea of real-life robots working on a real-life space station somewhat futuristic and more than a little cool. Granted, Robonaut 2 won’t be the first robot on the space station. There are the robot arms and Dextre, the “robot hand,” mounted on the outside of the station. And there are the free-floating bowling-ball-sized SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) that can fly through the space station -- and which can run programs written by college and high school students on Earth!
But Robonaut 2 is a little different. R2 is a little closer to the science-fiction ideal of the “android” member of a spacecraft’s crew, a little slice of “Star Wars” or “Star Trek” brought to life. I had the opportunity to write a feature for students about Robonaut 2 recently, and the potential R2 presents down the road is pretty incredible -- humanoid robots performing spacewalks to repair the space station, or even exploring the surface of other worlds. As the old saying goes, tomorrow’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science fact!
One of the cool things about working and writing for NASA is that you get the chance to meet and talk to astronauts. It adds something to watching a shuttle launch when I’ve had the opportunity to meet some of the people on board. It makes it a little more personal, a little more real.
And it’s always very cool to me when a shuttle mission flies carrying an astronaut that I met "back when."
The crew of STS-133, for example, includes three astronauts that I’ve had the chance to meet. First, there’s Alvin Drew. When I met Drew, he had just returned from the fairly high-profile STS-118 mission that flew the first education mission specialist astronaut, and had been named by People magazine as one of the nation’s hottest bachelors.
Eric Boe and Tim Kopra, on the other hand, I met fairly early in their careers. Both of them had not yet flown in space the first time I saw them. I met each when they piloted planes to bring other astronauts to Marshall Space Flight Center to talk about recent missions.
Since then, Kopra has gone on to spend two months in space as a crew member on the International Space Station, and Boe was part of a space shuttle mission that added a bathroom, kitchenette, two bedrooms and gym equipment to the space station.
And the “fourth” member of the crew I met “back when” -- Robonaut 2.
Except he wasn’t Robonaut 2 when I met him; he was still just Robonaut. I saw an early version, still in development in a lab in the back of Johnson Space Center’s Building 9, best known as the home of spacecraft mock-ups used in astronaut training. But the coolest thing -- I got to look through his eyes. Robonaut’s head features two cameras, that let a remote operator see what’s in front of Robonaut via a 3-D headset. And I got to put on the headset, and see what Robonaut saw. Very cool. And now he’s about to fly into space for the first time. Even cooler.
Cooler still, thanks to Robonaut 2’s Twitter account, @AstroRobonaut, you’ll be able to do the social networking equivalent of what I did -- see spaceflight through Robonaut’s eyes. Look how far he’s come.
I’m excited about seeing what Boe, Drew and Kopra (and their crewmates) will do on the STS-133 mission. But I have to admit that, personally, I’m even more excited about following Robonaut 2’s adventures in space. I’m enough of a science-fiction geek that I find the idea of real-life robots working on a real-life space station somewhat futuristic and more than a little cool. Granted, Robonaut 2 won’t be the first robot on the space station. There are the robot arms and Dextre, the “robot hand,” mounted on the outside of the station. And there are the free-floating bowling-ball-sized SPHERES (Synchronized Position Hold, Engage, Reorient, Experimental Satellites) that can fly through the space station -- and which can run programs written by college and high school students on Earth!
But Robonaut 2 is a little different. R2 is a little closer to the science-fiction ideal of the “android” member of a spacecraft’s crew, a little slice of “Star Wars” or “Star Trek” brought to life. I had the opportunity to write a feature for students about Robonaut 2 recently, and the potential R2 presents down the road is pretty incredible -- humanoid robots performing spacewalks to repair the space station, or even exploring the surface of other worlds. As the old saying goes, tomorrow’s science fiction is tomorrow’s science fact!
Friday, October 22, 2010
Live Chat Roundup: October 21, 2010
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
Our Live Chat last night featured engineer/scientist Phil Chamberlin from Goddard Space Flight Center. Phil is the deputy project manager for the Solar Dynamics Observatory. His presentation about studying the Sun also included the SOHO and SORCE observatories. 43 11th grade students were on hand to watch the presentation and ask questions.
Next week, we travel back to Kennedy Space Center where my good friend Shirish Patel will talk about the International Space Station. This chat is for 12th grade OLC members and will begin at 8:00pm CT. Other grades will be able to view the chat in the archives.
Just a reminder about the archives: You can actually find chats archived in to different places. You can access the Elluminate file in the Online Room Area as early as Friday morning after the chat. From the Connect page, click the Live Chats link, then click the Archives link in the top left window. Clicking a file here will open an Elluminate window and play the chat as a recording: use the arrow buttons in the lower left of the window to control the video.
The second way to see a file is by going to the Archives on the lower left column on the Home Page. Click Live Chat Archive, and you'll find archived files cataloged by month and year. Here, the chat is available as an Elluminate file as well as in MP3 and QuickTime format. These can be downloaded to your computer or media device for later viewing. These files will usually appear on Monday morning.
So remember: if you don't see the chat in the Home Page Archive, check the Live Chat archive off the Connect page. And don't forget to go to 'Quizzes' on the Discover page to take the quiz! You'll find the quiz passcode at the end of each chat. Good luck!
Our Live Chat last night featured engineer/scientist Phil Chamberlin from Goddard Space Flight Center. Phil is the deputy project manager for the Solar Dynamics Observatory. His presentation about studying the Sun also included the SOHO and SORCE observatories. 43 11th grade students were on hand to watch the presentation and ask questions.
Next week, we travel back to Kennedy Space Center where my good friend Shirish Patel will talk about the International Space Station. This chat is for 12th grade OLC members and will begin at 8:00pm CT. Other grades will be able to view the chat in the archives.
Just a reminder about the archives: You can actually find chats archived in to different places. You can access the Elluminate file in the Online Room Area as early as Friday morning after the chat. From the Connect page, click the Live Chats link, then click the Archives link in the top left window. Clicking a file here will open an Elluminate window and play the chat as a recording: use the arrow buttons in the lower left of the window to control the video.
The second way to see a file is by going to the Archives on the lower left column on the Home Page. Click Live Chat Archive, and you'll find archived files cataloged by month and year. Here, the chat is available as an Elluminate file as well as in MP3 and QuickTime format. These can be downloaded to your computer or media device for later viewing. These files will usually appear on Monday morning.
So remember: if you don't see the chat in the Home Page Archive, check the Live Chat archive off the Connect page. And don't forget to go to 'Quizzes' on the Discover page to take the quiz! You'll find the quiz passcode at the end of each chat. Good luck!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Orionid Meteor Shower This Week
By John Entwistle, NASA Explorer Schools
A stream of meteors believed to be leftovers from Halley's Comet is expected to streak across the skies this week, but a full harvest moon will compete for attention and may obstruct some of the show.
The meteors are called the Orionids because they appear to shoot from the second-brightest star in the Orion constellation, or from the hunter's elbow. On Oct. 20-22, observers in the Northern Hemisphere may see around 20 meteors per hour at maximum, while observers in the Southern Hemisphere may see around 40 meteors per hour. The radiant of the shower will be observed north of Betelgeuse, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, the Mighty Hunter.
The annual show usually happens from Oct. 17 to Oct. 25, and this year it'll peak before dawn on Thursday. But that's also when a full moon will appear over North America, perhaps dimming the light of the meteors. So the best viewing times should be earlier in the week, when the moon isn't as bright. The best places from which to view the meteor shower are in locations with no light pollution.
For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/19oct_orionids/.
A stream of meteors believed to be leftovers from Halley's Comet is expected to streak across the skies this week, but a full harvest moon will compete for attention and may obstruct some of the show.
The meteors are called the Orionids because they appear to shoot from the second-brightest star in the Orion constellation, or from the hunter's elbow. On Oct. 20-22, observers in the Northern Hemisphere may see around 20 meteors per hour at maximum, while observers in the Southern Hemisphere may see around 40 meteors per hour. The radiant of the shower will be observed north of Betelgeuse, the brightest star in the constellation Orion, the Mighty Hunter.
The annual show usually happens from Oct. 17 to Oct. 25, and this year it'll peak before dawn on Thursday. But that's also when a full moon will appear over North America, perhaps dimming the light of the meteors. So the best viewing times should be earlier in the week, when the moon isn't as bright. The best places from which to view the meteor shower are in locations with no light pollution.
For more information, visit http://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2009/19oct_orionids/.
Monday, October 18, 2010
I Never Knew What to Expect
By Chelsea Partridge, 2010 KSC SSE Intern
As I grow up and go on throughout my life, my experience with NASA INSPIRE is one I will always look back on and feel the same excitement and joy that I’ve felt throughout my time in the program. This is my second, and last, year in INSPIRE, and the program has blessed me with some of the greatest opportunities and memories in my life. I started the OLC when I was a junior, and participated in most of the activities, chats, and was active in the discussion boards. Through this, I met and talked with a lot of awesome people that had similar interests to me, which was something that I wasn’t really used to. Then, amazingly, I was selected to participate in the Residential Internship at Kennedy Space Center. This summer was, by far, the best summer of my life. I spent the summer in the Prototype Development Lab, working with some of the coolest people I ever met. I was able to see and go to many places within Kennedy that many people do not, and was able to do work and designs for the Shuttle Program and more. I never knew what to expect from day to day, because each day there brought something new and amazing. Interning at Kennedy created so many life-long memories and friends. And now, thanks to INSPIRE, I have the ambition to co-op and work with NASA someday- it’s the only thing I want to do! I am beyond grateful for how INSPIRE has shaped me, and am ever thankful for INSPIRE and their wonderful and caring staff. Thanks for everything you have done for me, INSPIRE. You have changed my life.
As I grow up and go on throughout my life, my experience with NASA INSPIRE is one I will always look back on and feel the same excitement and joy that I’ve felt throughout my time in the program. This is my second, and last, year in INSPIRE, and the program has blessed me with some of the greatest opportunities and memories in my life. I started the OLC when I was a junior, and participated in most of the activities, chats, and was active in the discussion boards. Through this, I met and talked with a lot of awesome people that had similar interests to me, which was something that I wasn’t really used to. Then, amazingly, I was selected to participate in the Residential Internship at Kennedy Space Center. This summer was, by far, the best summer of my life. I spent the summer in the Prototype Development Lab, working with some of the coolest people I ever met. I was able to see and go to many places within Kennedy that many people do not, and was able to do work and designs for the Shuttle Program and more. I never knew what to expect from day to day, because each day there brought something new and amazing. Interning at Kennedy created so many life-long memories and friends. And now, thanks to INSPIRE, I have the ambition to co-op and work with NASA someday- it’s the only thing I want to do! I am beyond grateful for how INSPIRE has shaped me, and am ever thankful for INSPIRE and their wonderful and caring staff. Thanks for everything you have done for me, INSPIRE. You have changed my life.
Friday, October 15, 2010
Live Chat Roundup: October 14, 2010
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
Last night’s Live Chat started with a little excitement as we announced live the winner of the INSPIRE Team Patch Challenge. Cindy Zheng, a junior from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, created the winning entry with her design featuring the Big Dipper and an elaborate math equation. Cindy was on hand to talk about her design, which can now be seen in the Online learning Community banner. Congratulations to Cindy, and big thanks to all students who submitted designs for the challenge. You’ll soon see many of these on the Showcase page.
After that excitement, we proceeded into the presentation by Erin McKinley about the Goddard Space Flight Center (our scheduled speaker had a last minute conflict and will be rescheduled). Erin talked of the formation of GSFC in 1959 and it’s mission to study the Earth and space environment. 74 students were present, with many asking questions of Ms. McKinley. The chat is now available in the Live Chat archive and will appear in the Home Page archive soon. Don’t forget to use the pass code to take the quiz for 50 points!
Next week’s chat will be for our junior class and feature Goddard’s Phil Chamberlain talking about the Solar Dynamics Observatory and other spacecraft that monitor the Sun. We’ll see you then!
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