LiveChat Round Up 12/20/2012

By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

Did you miss our holiday party last night during the LiveChat? 43 were in attendance to play some games, here a story, and receive a gift. Did you miss out? Well, take a look in the archive, press play, and listen to Mr. Gerard talk about Santa Tech. See, according to Mr. Gerard's 5 year old granddaughter, the Santa at the mall is not the real Santa. No, the REAL Santa is at Disney World! Or, the North Pole (he has to make his toys!). So Mr. Gerard used some contacts at WDW to get some info from the big man himself. He found that Santa is a little more high-tech then you might think, and relies on help from NASA as well!

See for yourself in the archive how Santa does his job utilizing the latest technology and advanced knowledge of physics and time/space. You can also watch our OLC members compete in a game of Pictionary! And at the end, everyone received a free gift: a downloadable desktop image. But, it is the holiday season, so this gift is also available to all those who read this blog! Here is a snapshot of the desktop:

Take a close look. Each one of those little squares is an image of a galaxy! Even the script 'Merry Christmas'! To download this large file (3.1 MB), you must be logged into the OLC website and then click here. You should then be able to download it.

From the staff of INSPIRE at Oklahoma State University, Marshall Space Flight Center, and Kennedy Space Center, we wish a joyous holiday and a very merry Christmas!

Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12

ide The J-2X Doghouse: Beyond the Gas Generator Cycle

By William Greene, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL

Okay, I admit it: I'm a sucker for the Olympics.  I watch with rapt attention to sporting events that I would otherwise never consider viewing other than under the once-every-four-years heading of the Olympics.  Why is that?  Perhaps that is somehow a measure of my shallowness as a sports fan.  Nevertheless, I was truly on the edge of my seat watching the women's team archery semi-finals and finals.  Great drama.  Wonderful competitors.  Exceptional skills.  Bravo ladies!

Another thing that I find fascinating about the Olympics is the fact that it brings together such a broad range of people.  No, I’m not going to trail off in a chorus of Kumbayah.  You simply cannot deny, however, that during the opening ceremonies you see people of every possible color and shade, from every corner of the planet, straight hair, curly hair, black hair, blonde hair, red hair, eye colors to fill a rainbow, and most startlingly, such an amazing collection of body types.  These are all world-class athletes and yet they're often so different from each other.  I like seeing the six-foot-seven volleyball player walking next to the four-foot-ten gymnast.  I like seeing the contrast of the marathoner and the shot-putter.  We're all the same species, but, my goodness, we come in an amazing array of shapes and sizes and various accoutrements.

The Pivot to Topic
Rocket engines, too, come in an array of shapes and sizes and various accoutrements (…I bet that you were wondering when or how I'd turn the conversation on topic).  I know that this is a blog dedicated nominally to J-2X development, but I think that it's important to understand where the J-2X fits in this family of rocket engines.  So, let's start with a table of top-level engine parameters.

Note that is list is nowhere close to being comprehensive.  There are lots and lots of rocket engines out there including those currently in development or in production and many that have been retired (like the F-1A in the table).  And if you open the window a little wider to include engines originating from beyond our shores, then you've got many more Soviet/Russian, European, Japanese, and Chinese engines to consider.  All I want to do here is expose you to some basic yet significant differences between this small set of examples.  Interestingly, if you can understand these few engines, then you can understand most of rest of the ones out there as variations on these basic themes.

Please allow me to introduce you to the engines listed in the table. 
• Of course, the J-2X needs no further explanation for anyone who reads this blog regularly. 
• The RL10 is a small engine that has been the product of Pratt & Whitney since the late 1950's.  Over the past sixty years it's evolved and matured.  It was actually used on a NASA vehicle back in the 1960's, the Saturn I launch vehicle upper stage (S-IV).  Today it's used, in different variants, as an upper stage and in-space engine for both the Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles. 
• The RS-25 is another name for the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME).  The development of the SSME began with research efforts in the late 1960's, using a great deal of knowledge gathered from the development of the original J-2, and it was first tested in 1975 and first flew on STS-1 in 1981.  The RS-25 engine is now designated to be the core stage engine for the next generation of launch vehicles under the Space Launch System (SLS) Program. 
• The F-1A was an upgraded version of the F-1 engine that powered the first stage (S-IC) of the mighty Saturn V launch vehicle that first took man to the Moon.  The F-1A was a more powerful version of the F-1 with a handful of design changes intended to make it cheaper yet more operable and safe.

The Key is in the Power
In a blog article here over a year and a half ago, I introduced you to the gas generator cycle engine.  The key philosophical point discussed in that article about what makes a rocket engine an engine is the fact that it feeds and runs itself.  It does this by finding a means for providing power to the pumps that move the propellants.  The origin for this power is the key to any rocket engine cycle.  In a gas generator engine, this power is generated by having a separate little burner that makes high-temperature gases to run turbines that makes the pumps work.  Below is a schematic for such a system.  You've seen this schematic before and it is very much like J-2X.

Where:
      MCC = Main Combustion Chamber
      GG = Gas Generator
      MFV = Main Fuel Valve
      MOV = Main Oxidizer Valve
      GGFV = Gas Generator Fuel Valve
      GGOV = Gas Generator Oxidizer Valve
      OTBV = Oxidizer Turbine Bypass Valve

Behold Now Behemoth
The F-1A power cycle is similar to the gas generator cycle shown above in that it is still a gas generator cycle, but rather than two separate turbopump units, there was only a single (huge) unit that contained both pumps.  So, a single turbine was used to power both pumps rather than having two separate turbines like J-2X.  Going back to the table, you will see that the F-1A was different from the J-2X also in the fact that the propellants were different.  The J-2X uses hydrogen for fuel and the F-1A used RP-1 (FYI, RP-1 stands for "rocket propellant #1" and is actually just highly purified, high quality kerosene).  The chief difference between hydrogen and kerosene is chemistry.  A hydrogen-fuel engine will get higher specific impulse than a kerosene-fuel engine but kerosene engines have the distinct advantage of being able to generate more thrust for a given engine size.  With a kerosene engine, you are simply throwing overboard more massive, high-velocity propellants in the form of combustion products.  Hydrogen is light and efficient from a "gas mileage" perspective but kerosene gets you lots and lots of oomph.  That's why you typically use it for a first stage application like on the Saturn V vehicle.  You want to have lots of oomph to get off the ground.  Later, on the upper stages, you can better use the greater gas mileage afforded by hydrogen.

Note, however, that you could theoretically build a hydrogen engine as large as the F-1A in terms of thrust.  The RS-68 (also a gas generator cycle engine) on the Delta IV vehicle puts out around three quarters of a million pounds-force thrust so that's pretty big.  Also, back in the 1960's, there was conceptual design work performed on an enormous hydrogen fuel, gas generator cycle engine called the M-1.  On paper, that behemoth put out 1.5 million pounds-force of thrust just like the F-1 on the Saturn V.  But that project was abandoned and here's why: hydrogen is very, very light so if you want to carry any appreciable amount, you need to have truly huge tanks.  Huge tanks mean huge stages.  Huge means heavy.  Eventually it becomes a game of diminishing returns at the vehicle level.

What this discussion of J-2X and F-1A (and RS-68 and even M-1) shows you is the extreme versatility of the gas generator cycle.  It can be used with nearly any reasonable propellant combination and it can be scaled from pretty darn small to absolutely enormous.

Shaving with Occam's Razor
Occam's Razor is the notion that one should proceed with simplicity until greater complexity is necessary.  Along these lines, I will introduce you to a simpler engine cycle: the expander cycle.  For this engine cycle, you do not use a gas generator to drive your turbine(s) so you don't have a second, separate combustion zone apart from the main combustion chamber.  That makes everything simpler.  Instead, you use only the heat gathered in the cooling the thrust chamber assembly (i.e., the main combustion chamber walls and that portion of the nozzle regeneratively cooled).  See the schematic below.

See?  I got rid of not just the gas generator but also the two valves that fed the gas generator.  That's huge in terms of simplification.  And whenever you can make an engine simpler you’ve usually made it cheaper and more reliable just because you have fewer things to build and fewer things that could break.  Cool!

Here, however, is the problem: How much power do you really have just from the fluid cooling the walls?  The answer can be found by looking at the table and seeing, for example, the RL10 thrust output is less than one-tenth of J-2X.  You just can't pull that much energy through the walls.  There have been attempts to increase heat transfer by various means including making the main combustion chamber longer than typical so that you have more heat transfer area or even by adding nubs or ridges onto the wall to gather up more heat.  Using the longer chamber notion, the European Space Agency is working on an engine called the Vinci that almost doubles the thrust output from the RL10, but getting much further beyond that is darn tough.  Also note that hydrogen is a wonderful coolant based upon its thermodynamic properties.  Being a wonderful coolant means that it picks up a lot of heat.  It is difficult to imagine using the expander cycle engine with another fuel beside hydrogen (though maybe methane might work … haven't examined it).

On the plus side, in addition to the simplicity, what the cycle shown offers is what is called a "closed cycle" meaning that no propellants are thrown overboard other than through the main injector.  In a gas generator cycle engine, after the gas generator combustion gases pass through the turbine(s), it's dumped into the nozzle (or, in other schemes, dumped overboard in other ways).  Any propellants or combustion products that do not exit the rocket engine through the main injector and through the main combustion chamber throat represent an intrinsic loss in performance.  "But," you'll say, "the specific impulse for the RL10 and the J-2X in the table are the same."  Well, that's a little bit of apples and oranges because it's based upon the nozzle expansion ratio.  Another model of the RL10, the B-2, has a much larger nozzle extension and the vacuum specific impulse for that model is over 462 seconds (minimum).  The European Vinci engine that I mentioned above has a projected vacuum specific impulse of about 465 seconds.  Those are darn impressive numbers that make the mouths of in-space stage and mission designers drool.

A couple of final notes about the expander cycle engine.  First, the RL10 is not quite like the schematic shown.  It only has one turbine with one pump driven directly and the other pump driven through a gear box.  Thus, the OTBV goes away (making it even simpler!).  Second, there are versions of the expander cycle engine concept that are not closed cycles.  In these versions, you dump the turbine drive gas overboard in a manner similar to what you do in a gas generator cycle.  You are still using the heat from the chamber walls to drive the turbine(s), so it's still an expander, but with an overboard dump you can also leverage a larger pressure ratio across the turbine(s) and thereby get a bit more oomph out of the cycle.  You sacrifice a bit of performance for more oomph.  The Japanese LE-5B engine is an open expander cycle engine like this (also called an "expander bleed" cycle).

"We do these things not because they are easy…"
So, you've seen the incredibly versatile gas generator cycle engine.  And, you've seen the simple yet limited expander cycle engine.  So what do you do if you say, "The heck with it, I want the Corvette"?  What if you want a closed cycle, high performance engine not limited to lower thrust levels and you're willing to accept consequent greater complexity?  The answer is staged combustion.  Below is a simplistic schematic for a staged-combustion engine.

Where:
      CCV = Coolant-Control Valve
      PBOV = Preburner Oxidizer Valve

In a staged combustion cycle engine, we rename the gas generator and call it the "preburner."  The biggest difference between a gas generator cycle and a staged combustion cycle is what you do with the turbine exhaust gases.  In a gas generator cycle, the turbine exhaust gases effectively get dumped overboard.  In a staged combustion cycle, the turbine exhaust gases get fed back into the main injector and get "burned again."  This is possible since the combustion in the preburner is off from stoichiometric conditions, meaning that in addition to combustion products you also have lots of leftover propellant (either fuel or oxidizer depending on the scheme). The leftover propellants from the turbine exhaust then become part of the mix of propellants in the main combustion chamber.

That sounds simple, right?  It's just a twist on the gas generator cycle theme, right?  Well, there are larger implications.  First, think about the pressure drops through the system.  On a gas generator cycle engine, the pressure in the gas generator can be lower than the main chamber.  After all, the downstream side of the turbine(s) is effectively ambient, external conditions.  In a staged combustion cycle, the preburner pressure has to be substantially higher than the main chamber pressure sitting downstream of the turbine(s) or you don't get enough flow to power the turbine(s).  Insufficient turbine power and the cycle doesn't work.  So, in general, a staged-combustion cycle engine has higher system pressures than a gas-generator cycle engine of comparable size.  Next, think about starting the system.  In a gas generator cycle engine, the two combustion zones are effectively disconnected.  In a staged combustion cycle engine, the two combustion zones are on either side of the turbine(s) so there is effectively communication between these two zones.  Now, try to imagine getting these two combustion zones ignited and up to pressure and the turbine(s) spun up to speed in an orchestrated manner during the start sequence.  It ain't easy.

 
So, what do you get for this complexity and higher operating conditions?  Well, you get a closed cycle, high performance, and high thrust engine design choice.  The RS-25 (SSME) is the American example of such an engine.  If you put a higher expansion ratio nozzle on the RS-25, just as with the RL10 discussion, the specific impulse value would be as much as ten seconds higher than J-2X.  However, if you go out and find a schematic of an SSME, what you'll see is a heck of a lot more complexity than even I've shown in my simplified sketch.  Because the pressures are so high, there are actually four separate turbopumps and a boost pump in the SSME.  The design relies on putting pumps in series to achieve the necessary pressures and fluid flow rates through system.  And, the SSME has not one but two separate preburners, one for the high pressure fuel turbopump and one for the high pressure oxidizer turbopump.  It's a very complex engine, but it has extraordinary capabilities.

The RS-25 (SSME) is a staged combustion cycle engine with hydrogen as the fuel.  The preburners are run fuel-rich such that the generated gases contain excess hydrogen for injection in the main chamber.  Back in the days of the Soviet Union, they developed a whole series of staged combustion cycle engines that instead used kerosene as the fuel.  In these engines, the preburner is run oxidizer-rich so that the gases run through the turbines and then through the main injector have excess oxidizer to be used for final combustion in the chamber.  The Russian-supplied RD-180 that is currently used for the Atlas V launch vehicle is an example of such an engine.  It too is an extremely complex, high pressure, and high performance engine.

So, staged combustion cycle engines are not easy.  Their complexity and operating conditions suggest, generically, greater expense and lower reliability.  But if you can make the trade-off between high performance and the adverse issues, then they can function quite impressively.  Nearly thirty years of Space Shuttle flights are an indisputable demonstration of this fact.

Just One Bolt
Can you imagine opening a hardware store and selling just one kind of bolt?  That would be it.  One brand.  One diameter.  One length.  And just one bin full of identical versions of this one bolt in your store.  It sounds really kind of stupid.  The unavoidable truth is that you need different bolts for different applications.  It's kind of like trying to imagine telling the Olympic gymnastics team that they now had to play basketball and the basketball players to do gymnastics.  I don’t know about you, but I'd love to see Lebron James have a go at the pommel horse.

Well, over the last fifty-plus years, we've developed different rocket engines and rocket engine concepts for a variety of different applications.  Just one design does not fit all applications.  Each design has advantages and disadvantages.  If you can understand the basics of what I've discussed in this article, however, then you will have a fundamental understanding of at least 90% of the engines spanning that fifty-plus years of history.  And that, in turn, might help you better appreciate why one bolt is chosen over another or why, for example, shot-putters tend to be a bit more beefy than cyclists.

Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12

LiveChat Round Up 12/6/12

By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE Specialist, KSC, FL

Are you tired of seeing me do the LiveChat? Our goal is to use the LiveChat to connect the OLC to NASA personnel. We try to schedule our subject matter experts weeks and months in advance, but when schedules change I will step in to provide the chat. Yes, it is something I really enjoy doing, and from your comments, it seems you enjoy them, but we strive to bring in the leaders of the field to share with you. With that in mind, I again stepped in to talk about Ground Processing at Kennedy Space Center.

In a nutshell, our job at KSC is to assemble and launch rockets. Specifically, crewed rockets. This art of coordinating the various pieces and erecting them into a safe, functional booster is called Ground Processing. Every rocket, from the first Explorer to the final space shuttle underwent some ground processing. There are logistics involved, plus re-purposing of resources and lots of ingenuity. But once in place, an 'assembly-line' can lead to safer and faster launches. In this chat, I discuss all that is involved with getting a crewed vehicle up in space.

Next week, my good friend Steve Cullivan from Stennis Space Center will further discuss engine testing and other rocket technogies at Stennis. And the next week, get ready for our annual INSPIRE Holiday LiveChat, a virtual party you will not want to miss! See you then!

Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12

Safety Is Everyone’s Job

By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

One of the paramount tenants of NASA culture is safety. Working with the most complex machines ever devised, with fuels and chemicals that are extremely toxic, and in environments where a false step could lead to a deadly drop or an alligator’s mouth, we must always put safety first. The testament to this ingrained culture of safety is the low rate of accidents occurring at NASA. But we must never let success lead to complacency. Agency meetings begin with a safety tip. Even NASA’s upcoming holiday parties will start with ways to keep ourselves safe. As one LiveChat speaker said, “The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” And for NASA, the MAIN thing is safety.

Part of NASA’s safety culture is learning how to properly use the many tools we use. Sometimes it looks easy, but like they say on Mythbusters, “Don’t try this at home: we’re professionals!” And sometimes our familiarity with the tools we use every day and our close work with similar minded workers we see every day, causes us to fail stressing safety when speaking to others. While you always keep track of your fellow workers, YOU are ultimately responsible for your own safety. I am required, even though I work in an office building far from any industrial setting, to take yearly training to be aware of hazards, to learn and know alarms and signals that indicate danger, and even how to stick my head in a plastic bag connected to a portable oxygen tank to be used if evacuation is needed from a toxic environment.

Likewise, you must watch out and be responsible for your own safety. We try very hard to ensure all activities posted to the INSPIRE website have gone through a safety check, and should be able to be performed and completed without supervision (but let your folks in on the fun!). We know how motivated you all are, and many of you independently seek out other websites and activities to build on your INSPIRE experience.  Be aware these outside sources may contain instructions to use tools or perform actions that may not be as safe (again, the Mythbuster’s disclaimer). Any use of power tools, knives, or chemicals should be done under parental supervision, and always look for safer alternatives.

The 1980’s cop show ‘Hill Street Blues’ would always close the daily briefing with the Sargent saying, “Hey let’s be careful out there!”  We here with INSPIRE could say no less.

Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12

LiveChat Round Up 11/29/12

By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE Specialist, KSC, FL

Do you like technology? Is 'T' your favorite part of STEM? Then you should have been with us last night to hear Dayna Ise of Marshall Space Flight Center present on An Introduction to Liquid Fueled Rockets! 60 OLC members were on hand to learn the whys and hows of designing and testing liquid fueled rocket engines.

Scattered through her presentation, which delved into the physics and chemistry of rocket propulsion, were a selection of 'baseball cards' depicting various rocket engines in use to day. These provided a way to see the practical applications of the theories behind rocketry.

The chat ended with this summary:

• It is the responsibility of propulsion to propel the launch vehicle to its destination or hold it at an intended destination by providing a force (push) referred to as “Thrust” 
• This thrust, in most modern rockets, is delivered by engines burning liquid fuel 
• Liquid rocket engines are barely controlled explosions that provide extremely high energy for very small mass and volume 
• Failures with liquid rocket engines are inevitable, but when they’re on a test stand, fun!

The fun was emphasized with a video showing various mishaps testing the SSME.

The rocket science continues all month, with next weeks presentation be Eddie Jefferies, also of MSFC. Remember, no sign up needed, just click the link on the Home page calendar or the INSPIRE Cafe button to join us! See you there!

Photographing Endeavour

By Allan Ko, the Imagineers

“Wait, wait, quiet—listen!” We fell silent as the music on the radio faded out and the DJs began discussing the space shuttle Endeavour’s flyover of the San Francisco Bay Area on its way to its future home at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. On the morning of September 21, I was following my journalism advisor Sandra Cohen with two other editors from my school newspaper to Van’s Restaurant on the Hill in Belmont (near San Mateo) in hopes of getting a glimpse of Endeavour’s final flight, the last time a space shuttle would ever be airborne.

“So hear me out,” said a male voice. “The space shuttle’s sort of like an airplane, right? So what I don’t get is, why can’t it just fly itself to SoCal? Why does it need to be flown by another airplane?”

We collectively groaned as a second voice, evidently baffled, expressed agreement and the explanation of “maybe they didn’t want to wear it out.” The shuttle has no jet engines, and uses its wings only for gliding during landings. Using its rocket engines during its flyover would be not only noisy, but also difficult to control and terribly inefficient.

It was nevertheless heartening that everyone in the Bay was seemingly as excited as we for this once-in-a-lifetime chance to see an actual NASA space shuttle piggybacking on a modified Boeing 747. As we drove up to the restaurant parking lot, we passed a row of similarly expeditious people armed with binoculars and cameras, scanning the skies and checking their phones for updates on Endeavour’s flight path.

The four of us headed up to the second floor of the restaurant and set ourselves up with two Nikon D-SLR cameras, three lenses, two pairs of binoculars, and a laptop. We opened all the windows, set up our cameras, and scanned the panoramic view of the Bay, wondering about possible flight paths and Googling up-to-the-minute news updates to get a sense of when the shuttle would fly over. We knew that it had circled the Golden Gate Bridge about an hour ago, and that it was headed towards Moffett Field at Ames Research Center, but the exact flight path had not been released. Mrs. Cohen even called the newsroom of the San Jose Mercury News only to learn that the flight had taken a turn over the peninsula somewhere south of the San Mateo bridge.

After a number of false alarms from commercial airplanes, the people gathered in the parking lot below started pointing excitedly towards the northern horizon. “I think that’s it,” someone said. “Where?” said someone else. “There—no, there! Look, look, look, do you see the white dot?” Angie and I aimed our cameras and captured exactly three shots before we realized that the airplane was turning and flying northwest—away from the restaurant. We lowered our cameras and examined our shots. All of them consisted of blurry, distant images of an indistinct white smudge, barely identifiable as the space shuttle.

We were about to give up when we realized the shuttle would have to turn around at some point and loop back in order to make it to Moffett Field, and a few minutes later, it came into view again, headed almost directly towards our vantage point. Prepared, we aimed our viewfinders and held down the shutter, taking as many pictures as we could through the tree and the power lines that blocked our otherwise clear view of Endeavour. Leaning over each other out of the windows, we followed the shuttle with our cameras as it came closer, and closer, finally disappearing around the side of the hill. We scrambled over to the other side of the restaurant, dodging chairs and tables in hopes of catching a few more shots as Endeavour emerged on the other side, but when it did, it was already off in the distance, fading into the southern horizon.

As we reviewed our pictures, our hopes weren’t too high; the power lines and the tree had proven bothersome obstacles and we weren’t sure our lenses had been powerful enough for a clear image. After a few minutes of browsing, we found the perfect shot: the shuttle on top of its carrier, centered exactly between two power lines in front of an azure, cloudless sky.

Loath to return to the relative mundanity of school after having witnessing the historical finale of a 30-year space program, an enduring symbol of human ingenuity and international cooperation, we grudgingly packed up our supplies and piled back into the car.

“Not bad, guys, not bad,” we said to each other as we headed onto the highway. “It’ll make a great front-page photo.”

The Stars Will Align

By Michael Lin, JSC Co-op, Houston, TX

Hello INSPIRE Students,

Welcome to or welcome back to INSPIRE! I hope you have had a great semester at school so far and will continue to do well in school this year, as you also try to move up the leaderboard in INSPIRE.

I was in INSPIRE in 2010-2011, so two years ago. For those of you who did not know me, I will tell you a little bit about myself. I was born in Kansas, where I lived for 7 years. I moved to Plano, TX, at the turn of the century, where I basically spent my entire grade school life. I graduated from Plano Senior High School in June of 2011. I loved basketball and played on the school team. My junior year of high school, I was a member of High School Aerospace Scholars (HAS), which helped bring me to INSPIRE. I was in INSPIRE for only one year, my senior year of high school. I was able to do an internship through INSPIRE during the summer before my freshman year of college. I attended the University of Texas at Dallas my freshman year and will be soon transferring to University of Texas at Austin so Hook ‘Em! I am currently a co-op at Johnson Space Center on my first tour.

During my INSPIRE internship, which was also here at JSC, I worked on MPCV (Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle) through Lockheed Martin. It was an engineering-type of internship, as I did not know what I wanted to do in college. I have since moved over to the business office (yes, NASA has a business office, if you go down that path) and am working on budgets for the Space Station program.

I encourage you to take full advantage of INSPIRE! Use all the resources you have and ask all the questions you think of, as you are not only helping yourself for a very impressive college application but also beginning to build professional connections in the NASA community. I know the budgets were a little tighter for INSPIRE this past year, so there may not have been the same opportunities I had my year in INSPIRE, but still do the best job you can possibly do. My INSPIRE internship not only helped me get a co-op here at JSC, but this past summer I also interned at a company called Lewis and Ellis, where I worked on bid proposals for the Medicare program. NASA will not just open the doors for you and your future, it will blow them open, as recruiting managers light up when those four letters are on a resume. Keep this in mind, as it can only help as you grow older.

I have met several astronauts here at JSC, as they work in the same building that I am working in. I want to leave you with two pieces of advice that they told me. When I was in Scott Tingle’s office, he told me something along the lines of, “Look Michael, there isn’t anything that one of us on this floor is doing that you cannot do, if you work hard towards it.” He was referring to all of the astronauts, as they all sit on the same floor in the building I am working in. For some reason that has given me a determination to work toward my lofty goals, even harder, as the advice comes straight from an astronaut himself. Jack Fischer encouraged me to always prepare for the next step. For him, he always wanted to be an astronaut, and so he read all the bios of NASA astronauts to see how he could become more like them. He would always look one step ahead and see how he had to move up through the military to give him a better NASA application.

If you are in need some inspiration, look up the name Ginger Kerrick. She is a flight director here at JSC that I had the chance to meet. Her story is so heartbreaking and heartwarming, almost like falling into the Grand Canyon three times!

Just work as hard as you possibly can and the stars will align for you! Let Mr. Gerard know if you have any questions and he can pass them along to me!

Good luck,

Michael 

Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12

LiveChat Round Up 11/16/12

By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

The Big Bang Theory was on last night. No, not the TV show (well, yes it was - did you see Sheldon open that intradimensional portal? Whoops, spoilers!), but our LiveChat featuring Dr. Edward Wollack from Goddard Space Flight Center who talked about his work developing instruments to measure the Big Bang. 54 OLC members were present for this high-level briefing.

COBE - Cosmic Background Explorer Launched 1989

Dr. Edward talked about the astronomical history leading up the big bang hypothesis and the dicovery of the microwave background radiation, the remnant of the bang. The COBE probe enabled scientists to create the first microwave map of the universe, showing the homogeneity of the remnant.

Also discussed was the extent of the universe - whether it is flat and extends forever, curved into a closed system, or open with curved space that extends infinitely. This created some discussion as thoughts about what might be outside this universe 'space' were entertained. 'Multi-verses' and 'branes' were offered to explain what may be out there. As I mentioned, it was BBT IRL*!

Closed, curved and open universes

Next week's LiveChat is on the 'Mastication and Peristalsis of Meleagris gallopavo'. Actually, it is Thanksgiving Day, so no LiveChat next week! We'll meet again on Thursday, November 29 with Dayna Ise of Marshall Space Flight Center who will start our month of Rocketry. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

(*Big Bang Theory in real life!)
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12

Tiger Cruising - Part 2

By Fiona McGroarty, Grade 12, Imagineers

The next day, we got up bright and early to voluntarily participate in EOD PT. EOD PT can be translated into living death. EOD is the Explosive Ordinance Disposal; they have to be fit, and if they’re running the PT everyone else will be too.

After that, we were rewarded for surviving with one of the best parts of the day: aircraft launch. The planes have to leave before the ship pulls into port, otherwise they’ll have to be lifted off by crane, which is both difficult, time consuming, and very expensive. The launch is truly incredible to watch. The flight deck crew guides the plane into alignment with the catapult and the pilot throttles the engine. A crewman crawls underneath the plane to attach the catapult, and two more crewmen kneel under the wings to ensure that everything is moving properly. The catapult crewman runs as soon as the catapult is attached, and the moment the wing crewmen see that things are working properly they give the thumbs up to the Shooter and run. The Shooter is giving the pilot all the commands, and when the second he gets the OK from the control, he signals the pilot and then ducks as low as he can to prevent being hit by the plane. Other crewmen on the flight deck are Emergency Medical Response, Crash and Fire Rescue, and Fuel and Mechanics. Working on the flight deck is one the most dangerous jobs in the world; sailors can be killed by being hit by planes, caught in propellers, and blasted off the ship. Average age is 18-23, but even 17 year olds work on it. It’s truly incredible the risks they take, and how they grow and mature and are able to work safely to minimize those risks.

Since I said nothing about how the planes land, I’ll mention it here, even though I really saw it yesterday after the air show. Four slightly raised wires are laid across the aft of the flight deck. The pilot puts the engines onto full throttle and lowers the landing gear, which includes a tail-hook for a Navy plane. The aim is to catch the second wire; if the pilot is too far back she can still catch the first, and if she’s too far forward she can catch the third or fourth. If the wire is caught, it is a successful landing and the plane will be dragged to a stop by the wire. Flight deck crew will direct the pilot to the side of the carrier, where she is towed onto the elevators that will bring the plane down to the hanger bay. If the landing is not successful, the pilot is able to “bolt”, that is, pull up and circle around to reattempt the landing (this is why she throttles the engines before she tries to land, in case she misses she will have enough power to bolt and not crash into the sea).

After we watched the planes, we went back down. My dad is the Floss Boss, meaning he’s in charge of Dental, so he had to meet a tour group that was coming through. This left Robert and me on our own for a few hours. We were going to just wander around and see what we could find, but we heard an announcement inviting Tigers to come onto the flight deck for a shooting demo by the Nitze and the Willy, more officially known as the USS Nitze DDG-94 and USS James E. Williams DDG-95. Each destroyer took turns firing a shot from their 5 inch cannons, and each time achieved a range of approximately 11-12.5 miles. It was marvelous; each time there would be a loud bang and a lot of smoke from one of the ships. We never actually saw the cannon, but after a few seconds we would see a huge pillar of water almost out near the horizon. There were about 5 shots total in the demo, enough to finish off a crate, since opened crates of ammo can’t be brought into port.

We took a picture of the entire group of Tigers with our sponsors, and then we saw the USS Truman pass by, and all ran to the edge to wave. There were two planes from the Truman circling around, and they landed for us to watch. After they had passed, it was time for another old Navy tradition: firing the boots. Navy tradition is that the last shots fired from a ship on a deployment are the boots of her officers. The boots were tied to a catapult and shot off the ship six times. It was glorious!
Robert and I met two of our friends at the demo. Their dad is in flight ops and also has Watch Duty on the Bridge. We hung out and wandered around the ship together for a while. We went down to the very bottom of the ship and saw the engines. The engines are each separated so that if water leaks into one and shuts it off, the other three can still move the ship. In addition, control of the ship can be accessed directly in an emergency.

Since our friends’ dad had Watch Duty, we all headed up the Bridge to hang out for a while. Unfortunately, there’s not much I can say about the Bridge, and I could only take one or two pictures for security. The Bridge was off limits to everyone except those on duty and their Tigers unless they were part of a tour group. Mostly there were just instruments, radar, and maps. The Captain and the Gator have the most comfortable chairs imaginable; I guess if you have to sit somewhere for 6 hours, you want it to be comfortable. They even have their meals brought to them on the Bridge, so their chairs have very nice little trays. We mostly hung out and asked lots and lots of questions. We asked so many questions that a Master Chief told us he couldn’t tell us anything and then started talking into his headset about sending in the SEALS and closing off the flight deck and having lifeboats ready. It was very interesting to listen to, and he made sure we were listening (he later confessed the joke). After a few hours, my dad came up and joined us and we mostly just sat around and talked to the Bridge crew. Besides bother the crew, we also got to take the helm and steer the ship, which was really awesome. As Robert said, before he’s even backed the car out of the driveway, he’s already driven an aircraft carrier.

We left the Bridge to eat dinner, and when we came back, we got to see a spectacular sight. It turns out that the Enterprise had a lot of leftover ammo that had to be either fired or thrown overboard. So in order to prevent waste, security officers stood in the Crow’s Nest and aimed lasers down at the ocean. Sharpshooters took turns aiming for the laser point. It was glorious, the lights were brilliant shades of red, orange, green, and blue, and the little beams of light combined with explosive noises was a marvel to behold.

By then it was getting late, so we went back down and had ice cream to celebrate the end of the final deployment of the USS Enterprise CVN-65. We sat around and played Phase 10 with our friends before going to bed.

Next morning was the big day: the day the Carrier Strike Group 12 came home at last. After 8 months at sea, the USS Enterprise, USS Nitze, USS James E. Williams, the USS Porter, and the USS Vicksburg all pulled into port in Norfolk, VA and were warmly welcomed home. The homecoming of a ship is a huge deal. The newly returned ship gets a special red, white, and blue streamer to hang from the bow. Huge crowds swarm the pier and the area outside the gate, waiting to welcome the returned sailors. To pull into port, the ship is guided in by little tugboats. Lines are tossed ashore and the ship is moored securely into place. The anchor on the side away from the pier is lowered to counter the lines, and the brail is secured. The ship is now home, and the deployment is officially over.

The Tiger Cruise was one of the most splendiferous experiences of my life. Seeing how the Navy crews live every day was amazing, and actually being part of it was even better. I think the best part was being able to spend time with my dad after the deployment, but after that, I would have to say the planes. What that flight deck crew does is nothing short of miraculous, and they and the pilots are so brave to risk their lives like that. And the best thing about this deployment? No deaths from anything besides one natural cause, no flight deck accidents or fires to cost the lives of the crew!

Tiger Cruising- Part 1

By Fiona McGroarty, Grade 12, Imagineers

My brother, Robert, and I were lucky enough to be invited to the final Tiger Cruise of the USS Enterprise CVN-65. The Tiger Cruise is a special short trip that the Navy ships do as a fun thing to do for the families of the Sailors on board, usually at the end of a deployment. This year, the Tigers (that’s us) met the ship at its final port call in Mayport, Florida to come back on board to the homeport of Norfolk, Virginia.

We boarded the bus that would take us to Florida at Norfolk Naval Station and left about 1800, or 6 pm. We rode in more or less quiet for about an hour and a half, until we hit a dead buck lying in the road. So we pulled over and stopped, and the four other buses behind us all stopped as well, I guess they had to stick together or something. We hung out around the side of the road for a while until they determined that the tire was too flat and the headlight was too shattered and a bunch of other things were broken and it was unsafe. So we turned around and all drove to a gas station about a mile back, where we sat around outside wrapped in blankets and drinking ice cold lemonade because the gas station had it on sale. After about two hours of this, the replacement bus came and we got back underway.

We pretty much did nothing for a while until we remembered that we had brought The Avengers with us. Instantly popular, we watched that and then sat around and swapped stories, most of which were probably grossly exaggerated. We then just dozed off until about 1 am, when we got to a rest area. We spent about an hour here because someone on the bus didn’t call loud enough when they took roll, so we were waiting for her for a while until it was finally realized that she was on board and had been for an hour. By now it was about 2 am, so it was decided that we should see a video about safety on board the ship; so not walking through propeller blades, not crossing certain points on the flight deck, etc. I guess some people paid attention, though I personally was mostly asleep. After 16 hours in the bus and 18 hours with no food, we finally arrived and were rewarded with Krispy Kreme doughnuts, courtesy of the ship. The security dogs ensured that all the baggage was safe and we boarded the proud Big E.

The first thing we did was on board was eat, and trust me, those galley officers can cook like you wouldn’t believe. Even the fish on board is delicious, and the macaroni and cheese is marvelous. The galley officers on the Enterprise could make a meal out of nothing but Brussels sprouts, fish, and fried squash and it would be the best thing you could imagine.

At about 12, the ship pulled out of port. The helicopters were out circling and the security boats were patrolling for about an hour before, making sure that the area was secure. The little tugboats latched to the sides of the ship and pulled her out away from the pier. We turned out to sea and headed away. There are other ships that go out with the Enterprise, and we could see them out a little ways past. In addition to their regular ship functions, the smaller ships have the extremely important job of being ready to rescue anyone who falls overboard from the flight deck and any pilots from downed aircraft. Since the Enterprise is too big to safely retrieve people, they rely on the battleships, helicopters, and lifeboats.

There was an air demonstration, of course. It was really awesome, though, and not like a typical air show at all. For one thing, it was over water, and we got to see the planes take off and land while on the flight deck. There were helicopters that dropped flares that are used for search and rescue and to light up an area to make sure it’s ok to land. There were some planes that did some really neat flight patterns. The coolest thing though was that they were able to drop bombs. Nothing powerful was used, of course, and all way out over the ocean, but enough to make a big boom and cause everyone on the ship to jump. They also demonstrated how Sailors and Marines slide down from the helicopters. It was sooo awesome!

Music to my Ears

By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL

A recent activity was offered titled "Music to my Ears" that asked students to compose new lyrics to songs to explain a STEM concept. The INSPIRE staff has been impressed by many of these submissions, and will occasionally post some here in the blog. Today we begin this feature with a couple of songs from Nicholaus Dettmer and Rebecca Bussard. Enjoy!

Home in the Sky
(Original Song: Home on the Range)
By Nicholaus Dettmer

Oh help me to learn, how the thrusters should burn,
In the air as we conquer all fears.
And of how I should be, free of all gravity,
When our final trajectory nears.

Home, here in the sky,
As the world down below lumbers by.
From our orbit we’ll wave, to the home of the brave,
And together the higher we’ll fly.

When I look up at night, algebraic delight,
See the dance of the planets and stars.
And I know in my heart, that someday I’ll take part,
In a NASA manned mission to Mars.

Home, here in the sky,
As the world down below lumbers by.
From our orbit we’ll wave, to the home of the brave,
And together the higher we’ll fly.

But for now while I yearn, many pages I’ll turn,
As I grow my STEM science command.
For I know there’s a goal, that inspires my soul,
Reaching heights not yet conquered by man.

Home, here in the sky,
As the world down below lumbers by.
From our orbit we’ll wave, to the home of the brave,
And together the higher we’ll fly.
______________________________________________

Hale-Bopp Comet
(Original Song: We Will Rock You)
By Rebecca Bussard

Seven years ago, when it was found
Flying with three tails, streaking through the sky, no way!
It had lots of argon, and sodium
Maybe even some deuterium!

Hale-Bopp, Hale-Bopp, Comet!
Hale-Bopp, Hale-Bopp, Comet!

 Noticed by two men, good men,
Working in their labs, gonna help with science that way!
They were called Hale and Bopp,they didn’t stop
Studied the comet known as Hale-Bopp!

Hale-Bopp, Hale-Bopp, Comet!
Hale-Bopp, Hale-Bopp, Comet!

Soaring through the great sky, our sky
Level of dust high, a magnitude of 10.5
Was named the Great Comet, because it met,
Expectations of its brightness that were set

Hale-Bopp, Hale-Bopp, Comet!
Hale-Bopp, Hale-Bopp, Comet!

LiveChat Round Up 11/1/12

By Jim Gerard, NASA INSPIRE Specialist, KSC, FL

It's Physics Month, and what better way to kick it off than some fun and games on the International Space Station! 48 OLC members participated in last nights fun. Since we could not all go visit the station, the LiveChat hosted Digital Learning Network specialist Scott Anderson from Marshall Space Flight Center to talk about the toys and games he helped send up to the ISS in his talk "Toys in Space". While the toys may be somewhat elementary (or primitive) consideration of astronaut safety had to be paramount. No sharp edges, small objects which could float off, or even the pain or plastic which could give off gasses that the air recyclers could not handle. The main goal was to compare the way these common toys behaved in a microgravity environment, so students could compare to their own observations of use here on earth.

In the time allotted, Scott presented four toys: boomerang, ball in cup, jump rope, and soccer ball. Each of these was shown in use in the freefall of the ISS, and then compared to the way they normal work. In this way, a visual confirmation of Newton's three laws of motion could be ascertained. Fortunately, the audio was included which indicated the astronauts were have a great time doing these demonstrations and playing with the toys! In fact, some were left behind for future crews to play with!

Next week we continue our physics theme with one of the greatest mysteries of the universe: Black Holes. Ann Cardiff of the Goddard Space Flight Center will be on hand to share the latest knowledge concerning these celestial wonders. And don't forget to come early for the INSPIRE Cafe, especially if you missed the New OLC Orientation chat in September, as Mr. Gerard will give it again for any who would like to find out more about the OLC and INSPIRE. See you next week!

You Won't Believe What I Did This Summer!!!

By Dhruv Narayanan

At the very beginning of this summer, I was given a chance to go to a HOBY leadership camp. For those of you that don't know, Hugh O'Brian Youth leadership seminars occur all over the country, and are available for high school sophomores to apply and attend, representing their high school. The camp consisted of many speakers, activities, and a community service project to help the ambassadors (that's what they called us) learn how to be better leaders in our communities. This camp was eventful, exciting, and helped me make a whole bunch of new friends. I strongly encourage you to apply and attend this wonderful opportunity, as I believe this is a life-changing experience. The only problem was the camp started on the day of the AP World History exam, an exam I was taking, so that day was just a little stressful...

Life changing experiences set aside, this summer I was given the amazing opportunity to go with my family to India to visit my relatives. It was absolutely amazing! Reunions with families half-way across the globe are usually pretty exciting, but the sight-seeing made it even more memorable. I went to Kanyakumari, the southern most tip of India where the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, and Arabian Sea all meet. It was amazing! I encourage each and every one of you to go to India, stand in the throngs of millions of people, and just.... enjoy the culture. Stand there with your head in the warm breeze and let it all soak in. Just don't stand out there too long and get sunburned.

Besides that relatively long excursion, I also got a chance to drive from upstate New York all the way back home in Texas with my Dad. I personally love to drive – I relish every opportunity to get behind the steering wheel, turn the key in the ignition (or hit the start button – soooo much more 21^st century), and feel the power of a ferocious V8 growling under the hood (or in my case, more of a purr from a economic V4 of a Civic...). Either way, driving is just my thing. We covered the 1500+ miles in 3 days (so about 500 miles a day) with lots of stops for sight-seeing. I didn't even know a corvette museum existed in Bowling Green, KY until we saw a sign pointing at it. Nor did I have any idea how beautiful I-65 would be with its rolling green hills and mountains through Kentucky and Tennessee. Road trips really open your eyes to the subtle beauty of America. Yes, they also end up making sure you play every song on your iPod twice, but music aside, I learned so much from just driving on highways, stopping at local landmarks and taking a second to let the history (and the view) sink in. You guys should definitely go for a relatively long road-trip, if given the chance.

This summer also inaugurated my junior year of high school and made me start seriously thinking about future plans. Fellow juniors, and even freshmen/sophomores, if you haven't started yet, I highly encourage you to do so! I know, like some of you guys here, that I want to major in Engineering. More specifically, Mechanical Engineering. I have seriously started looking at colleges both in Texas, as well as from California to Florida to Oregon to Massachusetts. Unfortunately, I have no real idea of where I want to go – my only criteria on collegeboard.org is whether or not the school offers Mechanical Engineering and has an orchestra (haha). I'm still working on that...

All in all, I had a very eventful summer, full of exciting, new adventures around almost every corner. Now, junior year is here, and I'm T-Minus 70 weeks (of school) and counting till graduation! One last thing, my fellow INSPIRE-ees: Did anyone else have as awesome of a summer as me? Tell us about it!

Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12