By Jim Gerard, KSC, FL
A great LiveChat last night with Katie Presson and Stephanie Dudley from the Payload Operations Integration Center (POIC) at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. That is 'Mission Control' for all the science payloads on the International Space Station. The two ladies were able to chat with us from inside an ISS mockup where they can check out the experiments that are flying aboard the ISS. We don't get to see the work place that often because our guest speakers chat with us after hours from home.
Did you know the ISS has been continuously crewed since October of 2000? That means 12+ years of science experiments that have flown aboard. The POIC is the place that makes those experiments happen, and provide the ground control to help the astronauts in performing them. Hundreds of experiments, from crystal growth and ultrasound to materials science and earth photography have made their way to orbit. And this is just the start, as commercial vendors begin providing access to the ISS, the opportunities will be even greater.
To download a flyer about the POIC, click here. You must be logged into the OLC to download.
Next week, we will learn about mini-robots from Jet Propulsion Laboratory engineer Paolo Younce. Don't forget to come early and visit the INSPIRE Cafe!
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Friday, May 31, 2013
Tuesday, May 28, 2013
Greetings from the Astrophysics Institute of Potsdam!
By Zachary Bierstedt, Senior
Greetings from the Astrophysics Institute of Potsdam!
During my stay here in Germany, I have been fortunate enough to participate in not one, but two 1-week internships at places here in Germany. Last week I was at Rolls Royce Deutschland, and this week (Feb. 4-8) I have been at the Leipnitz Institute of Astrophysics. Many of you might remember earlier in the year I asked where you all wanted to me to focus on, fiber optics or solar. In the end, I ended up with neither.
Tuesday had the potential to be a really good day, since I attended a lecture on the origins and the models of dark energy. Unfortunately, it was the last in a series designed for German university students, so I didn’t understand the language, the math, or any of the background. A couple of the models are covered in the YouTube video on dark energy, which, while far from detailed, is good for getting a basic idea of both the start of the universe and what dark energy is. The link is at the bottom.
Left is the physics building of the University of Potsdam in Golm, which is where the lecture was held.
Wednesday was back at the AIP. First I was asked to program the Monte-Carlos method for determining pi. Basically, the concept is that you have a square of side length 1. Within this square, there is a quarter-circle of radius 1. Using a random number generator, the number of points that land inside the circle divided by the total number of points is about the same as the area of the quarter circle divided by the area of the square, and from this you can find pi. The more points you have placed in the square, the more accurately you’ll be able to approximate pi. Following this was a meeting on dark matter halos. From what I understood, every galaxy or galaxy cluster has a halo of dark matter surrounding it. We can’t see them, but we can observe the impact the rotation of the halo has on the motion of the galaxy, and from that we can determine the density of the halos. Determining the density of the halos helps us understand what impact they have on galaxies.Thursday was even more programming. First was programming to find an approximation of the integral of a function using Simpson’s Rule. This was not too difficult once I figured out what to write, and then I plotted the integral approximation in a spreadsheet program. Following this was the first cosmological programming I’ve done, with 2-point correlation functions. This basically tells us how the density of galaxies within 2 spheres or circles of space are correlated. In a uniformly distributed field, the correlation function is equal to 0. However, by a complete accident the formula wasn’t explained well to me, so I got impossible answers without having an error in my program.
Friday was learning much more about the 2-point correlation equation. The function actually tells us how the density is correlated to the distances between points in a cube of space of an arbitrary size. I chose to use 50 megaparsecs for each side of the cube. Then, simulating a random distribution of 100,000 points within the cube, I wrote a program to find the distances between each point and every other point. I did get the program to work after a while. The computer just took nearly 5 minutes to run the full program. Then I moved all the points to within a circle with a radius of 10Mpcs, and ran the program again. The correlation function is, within each distance category, the number of distances of that length with the data set divided by the number of distances of the same length in the random set minus 1, or f(x)=(DD/RR)-1. There is a symbol used instead of f(x), but I don’t recall what it is. Overall, I did enjoy this internship. While I much preferred the work at Rolls Royce, the work I did at the AIP, despite it having no value to any of the projects underway at the AIP, is still very useful to know how to do before entering a career, and it involved a lot of programming, which I like to do.
Links: SciShow Dark Energy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ATwVApurIQ4.
2-Point correlation functions: http://www.astro.rug.nl/~weygaert/tim1publication/lss2007/computerII.pdf
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Thursday, May 23, 2013
How Model Rocketry Works
By Koa Halpern
Model rockets are small and simple compared to the rockets that launch into the vacuum of space. Yet model rocketry relies on many of the same basic principles of flight. In this blog post I will be talking about the wonders of model rocketry, and how it helped me understand how rockets work.
I’ll start off with the rocket engines that make model rockets fly. Model rocket engines are generally filled with either a gunpowder-like substance known as black powder or a more powerful propellant, ammonium perchlorate (AP), which was the fuel used in the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters. Regardless of propellant type, these engines are designed to burn at a predetermined rate: too fast of a launch and the rocket airframe could shred apart (I’ve seen it happen!), too slow and the rocket could just sit on the ground without going anywhere. The length of the rocket’s burn and the amount of thrust it produces are dependent on the type and amount of propellant, the size of the combustion chamber and the shape of the rocket nozzle. All of these variables influence the thrust level and efficiency of any rocket, including those launched into orbit.
After selecting a proper motor, rocketeers must consider the problem of keeping a rocket stable. In model rockets, stability is generally enhanced with several fins at the base of the rocket. These fins increase drag near the back of the rocket, causing the less draggy (front) end to stay pointed straight up throughout the boost. (Think of holding an umbrella. As windspeed increases, the umbrella would turn so that its draggy end was opposite the wind direction.) If fins were not added to smaller rockets, they would fly very erratically. So, why do larger rockets not need fins? Generally, these spacecraft are steered by gyroscopes, which subtly alter the position of the rocket nozzle throughout boost to keep the craft pointed straight up. This procedure, known as “gimballing,” eliminates the need for fins.
Finally, rockets need to be recovered. Both large and small rockets are often recovered using parachutes. Many model rocket motors have a built-in “ejection charge,” which is a small blast that pops the parachute out a given number of seconds after launch. However, this approach has some problems: If the delay is too short, the rocket’s parachute may open too early, sometimes when the rocket is travelling upwards at hundreds of miles per hour. If the delay is too late, however, the rocket may plummet to the ground before it deploys the ‘chute. Some model rocketeers have added electronics to their rockets to solve these problems: sensors detect when the rocket is beginning to arc over, then deploy the parachute at the maximum altitude. Spacecraft use more sophisticated electronic equipment to deploy the parachute at exact altitudes, but the basic principle is the same.
All of these factors combine to make rocketry at all scales a very challenging but extremely rewarding pursuit. Rockets of all sizes require very specific conditions to fly successfully, and regardless of the rocket size, you can’t help but cheer when everything goes right.
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Model rockets are small and simple compared to the rockets that launch into the vacuum of space. Yet model rocketry relies on many of the same basic principles of flight. In this blog post I will be talking about the wonders of model rocketry, and how it helped me understand how rockets work.
I’ll start off with the rocket engines that make model rockets fly. Model rocket engines are generally filled with either a gunpowder-like substance known as black powder or a more powerful propellant, ammonium perchlorate (AP), which was the fuel used in the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters. Regardless of propellant type, these engines are designed to burn at a predetermined rate: too fast of a launch and the rocket airframe could shred apart (I’ve seen it happen!), too slow and the rocket could just sit on the ground without going anywhere. The length of the rocket’s burn and the amount of thrust it produces are dependent on the type and amount of propellant, the size of the combustion chamber and the shape of the rocket nozzle. All of these variables influence the thrust level and efficiency of any rocket, including those launched into orbit.
After selecting a proper motor, rocketeers must consider the problem of keeping a rocket stable. In model rockets, stability is generally enhanced with several fins at the base of the rocket. These fins increase drag near the back of the rocket, causing the less draggy (front) end to stay pointed straight up throughout the boost. (Think of holding an umbrella. As windspeed increases, the umbrella would turn so that its draggy end was opposite the wind direction.) If fins were not added to smaller rockets, they would fly very erratically. So, why do larger rockets not need fins? Generally, these spacecraft are steered by gyroscopes, which subtly alter the position of the rocket nozzle throughout boost to keep the craft pointed straight up. This procedure, known as “gimballing,” eliminates the need for fins.
Finally, rockets need to be recovered. Both large and small rockets are often recovered using parachutes. Many model rocket motors have a built-in “ejection charge,” which is a small blast that pops the parachute out a given number of seconds after launch. However, this approach has some problems: If the delay is too short, the rocket’s parachute may open too early, sometimes when the rocket is travelling upwards at hundreds of miles per hour. If the delay is too late, however, the rocket may plummet to the ground before it deploys the ‘chute. Some model rocketeers have added electronics to their rockets to solve these problems: sensors detect when the rocket is beginning to arc over, then deploy the parachute at the maximum altitude. Spacecraft use more sophisticated electronic equipment to deploy the parachute at exact altitudes, but the basic principle is the same.
All of these factors combine to make rocketry at all scales a very challenging but extremely rewarding pursuit. Rockets of all sizes require very specific conditions to fly successfully, and regardless of the rocket size, you can’t help but cheer when everything goes right.
Here’s a video of the “Inspire” rocket flying perfectly with
a video camera onboard…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xcmn5o9QPzg Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Welcome to Rolls Royce Deutschland
By Zachary Bierstedt, Senior
As many of you know, I have been fortunate enough to do my senior year in high school in the wonderful land of Germany. But of all the super cool and amazing things to do in Germany, so far the best one has been the Praktikum. The Praktikum is a student internship lasting one or two weeks at a place of the student’s choice. They are mandatory in the 9th class, but anyone can do them. This past week (Jan 28th to Feb 1st), I did a Praktikum at Rolls Royce Deutschland (RRD).
Here’s a bit about RRD. First, it’s not Rolls Royce Germany, it’s Rolls Royce Deutschland. That’s its name, so don’t translate it. Second, RRD works on jet engines. There are 2 centers in Germany: one in Oberursel and one in Dahlewitz near Berlin. I’m at Dahlewitz. Oberursel is the location of most part manufacturing within RRD and specializes in “Blisks,” which are a single component consisting of the blade and disk, while in Dahlewitz the engines are assembled and tested. Dahlewitz specializes in 2-shaft turbofan engines. Third, employees may work any time between 6 am and midnight, provided that they do NOT work more than 10 hours, which due to labor laws is illegal and would get RRD into a lot of trouble. Finally, the site is secured. I was not allowed to take any photographs. The pictures in the blog are from the Internet.
Because of the sheer amount of stuff I did at RRD, the rest of this blog post is split into what I did each day. Monday was the day to be trained in safety and basic operations, get all the safety equipment, and get introduced to the site of RRD. The first thing was a program called “Journey Through a Jet Engine.” This is provided by Rolls Royce, and is a thorough explanation of how turbofan jet engines work. Anyone can watch this, and it is in English. The link is below, and anyone even remotely interested in aircraft should look at it. And just a random fun fact from that: In temperatures of more than 600oC and in places where it can rub on other metals, titanium can burn. Following this was some boring safety stuff, most of which didn’t even apply to me since I don’t have a car and I wasn’t at RRD long enough to let me handle anything truly important. One of my guide’s colleagues also gave me a really interesting book published by Rolls Royce about jet engines, though I was not allowed to take it off site to read it. Then I acquired steel toed shoes and goggles for use on site before going on a tour of the test chambers.
The test chambers are two large chimney-like places jokingly called Adam and Eve, which I shall also refer to them as. Within the test chambers, run time, endurance, noise, and fuel consumption tests are run on every engine produced by RRD. After the test the engines are inspected for any damage before being shipped off. In Adam there was actually a test running, so I wasn’t able to observe for long. Eve, however, was empty, so I was able to stand within the test chamber itself and see how massive the chamber actually is. Following the test chambers I was taken through the production area. About 3 engines are finished each day, and RRD has over 700 yet to be made, so they actually need to increase production a bit. I also got to see each part of the engine up close. Also, for those of you who wonder how airplanes slow down so well, apart from the flaps on the wings there is also a “thrust reverser” within the engine that serves as a wall after landing, deflecting thrust up and out the top and bottom of the engine cases and decelerating the plane. The day was closed with watching an LED in a fancy oven to determine at what temperature the LED would fail. Up to the maximum test temperature of 130 degrees Centigrade, the LED didn’t fail.
Tuesday was more focused on beginning work, though first was another tour. This was to MTOC, or Materials and Operations Testing Center. In 3 words, what they do is “shake and break.” MTOC is in charge of characterizing all the attributes of the components of the engine (especially any blade) and to determine if the component is strong enough to easily survive the forces it experiences in flight. To do this, they use vibration testing on the components, vibrating them and recording their motion until they break. This serves the dual purpose of finding the failure point, which should be well above average conditions, and validating the computer models, which are used since titanium and nickel alloys aren’t cheap, and pixels are. MTOC also uses special ovens and lasers to heat the components to running temperature before pulling on them to determine at what force the component breaks, since the titanium fan blades need to survive forces equivalent to the weight of 13 African elephants while at speed. Finally, MTOC runs the Blade-Off and Bird Strike tests. Both of those are exactly what they sound like. In Blade-Off, a small explosive charge is used to break one of the blades off a fan, and the fan casing has to keep all of the debris within the engine and direct the debris in such a way that it would not make the engine completely unusable. Bird Strike involves MTOC shooting specially raised dead poultry at a fan to see how much damage it does. For all of the Bird Strikes tests the engine still needs to be usable, and for more of them the engine needs to only suffer a maximum decrease in performance of 20%. There are high speed videos of both, which links are below, but as a warning, the Bird Strike video is a bit messy.
The rest of the day was spent working. I wrote up the report to the LED test, which was used as the actual official report, and then also tested an inclinometer. This measures incline in the X and Y directions (of for you who like degrees of freedom, pitch and roll) up to 80 degrees, and will be used for people who use really long tools in really dark places, allowing them to know if they have put the tool in without any incline so it does not scratch part of the engine. At the end of the day I was writing up the report before I left so I didn’t miss my bus home.
Wednesday was sensor day. The entire day had something to do with sensors, including MI cables, pressure sensors, flow meters, accelerometers, thermocouples, strain gauges, and thermal paints. All of these are used on engines to determine the kind of loads the engine components are receiving. Strain gauges in particular were interesting because they measure the amount of bending and twisting a component receives since the expansion of the component also expands the strain gauge, changing its resistance. More on how they work is in a link below. Thermal paints were by far the coolest thing, though. They measure the maximum temperature a part receives by changing color as the temperature, and thus energy imparted into the paint, increases. There are about 15 different types of paint, all with different ranges and shift points. However, one limitation of them is that they are time dependent, meaning that in the test to determine temperature they run the engine with the paint for 10 minutes acceleration, 3 minutes exactly at speed, and 10 minutes deceleration. Any more or less would change how much energy the paint received. There is a second method, silver melt-off, which will measure where the temperature is more than 980oC, independent from time.
The first thing that happened Thursday is that I got to see the mobile data acquisition trailer, called MIDAS. It has been all across Europe, including elsewhere in Germany, France, Spain, and England. It has to be able to be ready for use with just a couple weeks warning because tests can pop up at any time. Currently, there are no tests in the near future, so they are renovating the trailer. Following MIDAS I was introduced to how thermocouples work. Thermocouples consist of 2 unlike metals that, when exposed to heat, generate a voltage, and how large the voltage is (after being corrected for any extension wires of a different metal) can be used to find the temperature difference from a point of known temperature. There are many, many different types that can be used for temperatures above 2100oC all the way to about -250oC. Currently, thermocouples need to be used in high temperature material tests at MTOC because the heat causes the strain gauges to expand, changing their resistance and displaying a load even when no load is present.
Friday (last day. :’( ) was much less exciting than the other days. Most of what I did was pick up packages, delivery the measurement tools for the thermocouples and strain gauges to MTOC, and read a fascinating book about jet engines. I still did get introduced to 2 new sensors, though. They are fishbone strain gauges and accelerometers.
Fishbone strain gauges are 2 strain gauges set at 45 degree angles. The angle allows them to compensate for temperature, force, and other unwanted measurements, so fishbone strain gauges are only used to measure torque on an engine component. The way they work is the same as regular strain gauges, though.
As most people know, accelerometers measure acceleration or vibration. But the output from an accelerometer isn’t the actual acceleration of the component. When an accelerometer is attached to a component, it is recommended that they are attached with a screw. However, at Rolls Royce this isn’t always possible because they can’t damage the component. Instead, they glue it to the component using either epoxy or HBM adhesive. They also place a piece of aluminum tape before applying adhesive since it is difficult at best to remove the glue. However, the glue isn’t as rigid as a screw, and so something called dampening occurs. Dampening is the absorption of some of the vibration by the adhesive. Lower dampening coefficients mean the more effective the energy transfer is, and the more accurate the accelerometer is. Following this, it was time for me to check out, and my internship came to an end. It is a memory I will take with me for a long time, though, and I am glad I had the opportunity to work at Rolls Royce. If any of you ever get a chance to do a short work session at any company, I strongly recommend taking that chance, as there is a lot of how companies work, what they do, and how what you are learning actually applies that you simply cannot get in school.
All links are below, and if you have any questions or comments, please leave a message on the discussion board or personal message me. I will gladly answer any questions you have.
Right: RRD Dahlewitz main entrance
Links:
Journey through a jet engine: http://www.rolls-royce.com/interactive_games/journey03/index.html Want more Rolls Royce games/activities? http://www.rolls-royce.com/about/education/resources/12_19_year_olds/index.jsp
Blade-Off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek6adm4iV4Y
Bird Strike for those of you who do want to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2OS2pwrZTI
Strain gauges: www.sensorland.com/HowPage002.html
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
As many of you know, I have been fortunate enough to do my senior year in high school in the wonderful land of Germany. But of all the super cool and amazing things to do in Germany, so far the best one has been the Praktikum. The Praktikum is a student internship lasting one or two weeks at a place of the student’s choice. They are mandatory in the 9th class, but anyone can do them. This past week (Jan 28th to Feb 1st), I did a Praktikum at Rolls Royce Deutschland (RRD).
Here’s a bit about RRD. First, it’s not Rolls Royce Germany, it’s Rolls Royce Deutschland. That’s its name, so don’t translate it. Second, RRD works on jet engines. There are 2 centers in Germany: one in Oberursel and one in Dahlewitz near Berlin. I’m at Dahlewitz. Oberursel is the location of most part manufacturing within RRD and specializes in “Blisks,” which are a single component consisting of the blade and disk, while in Dahlewitz the engines are assembled and tested. Dahlewitz specializes in 2-shaft turbofan engines. Third, employees may work any time between 6 am and midnight, provided that they do NOT work more than 10 hours, which due to labor laws is illegal and would get RRD into a lot of trouble. Finally, the site is secured. I was not allowed to take any photographs. The pictures in the blog are from the Internet.
Because of the sheer amount of stuff I did at RRD, the rest of this blog post is split into what I did each day. Monday was the day to be trained in safety and basic operations, get all the safety equipment, and get introduced to the site of RRD. The first thing was a program called “Journey Through a Jet Engine.” This is provided by Rolls Royce, and is a thorough explanation of how turbofan jet engines work. Anyone can watch this, and it is in English. The link is below, and anyone even remotely interested in aircraft should look at it. And just a random fun fact from that: In temperatures of more than 600oC and in places where it can rub on other metals, titanium can burn. Following this was some boring safety stuff, most of which didn’t even apply to me since I don’t have a car and I wasn’t at RRD long enough to let me handle anything truly important. One of my guide’s colleagues also gave me a really interesting book published by Rolls Royce about jet engines, though I was not allowed to take it off site to read it. Then I acquired steel toed shoes and goggles for use on site before going on a tour of the test chambers.
 |
| Adam and Eve. Adam is closer to the camera |
Tuesday was more focused on beginning work, though first was another tour. This was to MTOC, or Materials and Operations Testing Center. In 3 words, what they do is “shake and break.” MTOC is in charge of characterizing all the attributes of the components of the engine (especially any blade) and to determine if the component is strong enough to easily survive the forces it experiences in flight. To do this, they use vibration testing on the components, vibrating them and recording their motion until they break. This serves the dual purpose of finding the failure point, which should be well above average conditions, and validating the computer models, which are used since titanium and nickel alloys aren’t cheap, and pixels are. MTOC also uses special ovens and lasers to heat the components to running temperature before pulling on them to determine at what force the component breaks, since the titanium fan blades need to survive forces equivalent to the weight of 13 African elephants while at speed. Finally, MTOC runs the Blade-Off and Bird Strike tests. Both of those are exactly what they sound like. In Blade-Off, a small explosive charge is used to break one of the blades off a fan, and the fan casing has to keep all of the debris within the engine and direct the debris in such a way that it would not make the engine completely unusable. Bird Strike involves MTOC shooting specially raised dead poultry at a fan to see how much damage it does. For all of the Bird Strikes tests the engine still needs to be usable, and for more of them the engine needs to only suffer a maximum decrease in performance of 20%. There are high speed videos of both, which links are below, but as a warning, the Bird Strike video is a bit messy.
The rest of the day was spent working. I wrote up the report to the LED test, which was used as the actual official report, and then also tested an inclinometer. This measures incline in the X and Y directions (of for you who like degrees of freedom, pitch and roll) up to 80 degrees, and will be used for people who use really long tools in really dark places, allowing them to know if they have put the tool in without any incline so it does not scratch part of the engine. At the end of the day I was writing up the report before I left so I didn’t miss my bus home.
Wednesday was sensor day. The entire day had something to do with sensors, including MI cables, pressure sensors, flow meters, accelerometers, thermocouples, strain gauges, and thermal paints. All of these are used on engines to determine the kind of loads the engine components are receiving. Strain gauges in particular were interesting because they measure the amount of bending and twisting a component receives since the expansion of the component also expands the strain gauge, changing its resistance. More on how they work is in a link below. Thermal paints were by far the coolest thing, though. They measure the maximum temperature a part receives by changing color as the temperature, and thus energy imparted into the paint, increases. There are about 15 different types of paint, all with different ranges and shift points. However, one limitation of them is that they are time dependent, meaning that in the test to determine temperature they run the engine with the paint for 10 minutes acceleration, 3 minutes exactly at speed, and 10 minutes deceleration. Any more or less would change how much energy the paint received. There is a second method, silver melt-off, which will measure where the temperature is more than 980oC, independent from time.
The first thing that happened Thursday is that I got to see the mobile data acquisition trailer, called MIDAS. It has been all across Europe, including elsewhere in Germany, France, Spain, and England. It has to be able to be ready for use with just a couple weeks warning because tests can pop up at any time. Currently, there are no tests in the near future, so they are renovating the trailer. Following MIDAS I was introduced to how thermocouples work. Thermocouples consist of 2 unlike metals that, when exposed to heat, generate a voltage, and how large the voltage is (after being corrected for any extension wires of a different metal) can be used to find the temperature difference from a point of known temperature. There are many, many different types that can be used for temperatures above 2100oC all the way to about -250oC. Currently, thermocouples need to be used in high temperature material tests at MTOC because the heat causes the strain gauges to expand, changing their resistance and displaying a load even when no load is present.
Friday (last day. :’( ) was much less exciting than the other days. Most of what I did was pick up packages, delivery the measurement tools for the thermocouples and strain gauges to MTOC, and read a fascinating book about jet engines. I still did get introduced to 2 new sensors, though. They are fishbone strain gauges and accelerometers.
Fishbone strain gauges are 2 strain gauges set at 45 degree angles. The angle allows them to compensate for temperature, force, and other unwanted measurements, so fishbone strain gauges are only used to measure torque on an engine component. The way they work is the same as regular strain gauges, though.
As most people know, accelerometers measure acceleration or vibration. But the output from an accelerometer isn’t the actual acceleration of the component. When an accelerometer is attached to a component, it is recommended that they are attached with a screw. However, at Rolls Royce this isn’t always possible because they can’t damage the component. Instead, they glue it to the component using either epoxy or HBM adhesive. They also place a piece of aluminum tape before applying adhesive since it is difficult at best to remove the glue. However, the glue isn’t as rigid as a screw, and so something called dampening occurs. Dampening is the absorption of some of the vibration by the adhesive. Lower dampening coefficients mean the more effective the energy transfer is, and the more accurate the accelerometer is. Following this, it was time for me to check out, and my internship came to an end. It is a memory I will take with me for a long time, though, and I am glad I had the opportunity to work at Rolls Royce. If any of you ever get a chance to do a short work session at any company, I strongly recommend taking that chance, as there is a lot of how companies work, what they do, and how what you are learning actually applies that you simply cannot get in school.
All links are below, and if you have any questions or comments, please leave a message on the discussion board or personal message me. I will gladly answer any questions you have.
Links:
Journey through a jet engine: http://www.rolls-royce.com/interactive_games/journey03/index.html Want more Rolls Royce games/activities? http://www.rolls-royce.com/about/education/resources/12_19_year_olds/index.jsp
Blade-Off: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ek6adm4iV4Y
Bird Strike for those of you who do want to watch it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2OS2pwrZTI
Strain gauges: www.sensorland.com/HowPage002.html
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Monday, May 20, 2013
NASA Ideas
By Grace Renninger, College Student, The Golden Ratios
If you haven’t seen it already, you really should go see astronaut Chris Hadfield’s cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity right after you read this blog. Right now it has over six million views on YouTube. The video got me thinking about ways NASA publicizes its work. Most astronauts have twitter accounts, which they use, there have been several viral videos online, and in one of my favorite stunts, NASA put fake Mars rocks in public places that said “Get Curious” with a QR code that people could scan to learn more about Mars rover Curiosity.
Still, throughout all this, I still get people telling me that NASA is closing, and I had one student who was a Chemistry Major tell me he had no idea that we had an International Space Station. Why? Why don’t people know about what NASA is doing?
There is more work to be done, my fellow Inspirians. At last years Un-Conference, many students said that they wanted to become similar to a NASA ambassador – sharing NASA’s work with others and getting the news out there that NASA still exists and that it’s doing really, really cool things. I’ve come up with a list of 25 things that you can do to help publicize NASA’s work. They range from the simple to the elaborate. The seemingly obvious to the “Well, that’s pretty weird.” Since NASA has already played real life angry birds in space, I figured everything was up for grabs. Please feel free to come up with more ideas in the discussion board!
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
If you haven’t seen it already, you really should go see astronaut Chris Hadfield’s cover of David Bowie’s Space Oddity right after you read this blog. Right now it has over six million views on YouTube. The video got me thinking about ways NASA publicizes its work. Most astronauts have twitter accounts, which they use, there have been several viral videos online, and in one of my favorite stunts, NASA put fake Mars rocks in public places that said “Get Curious” with a QR code that people could scan to learn more about Mars rover Curiosity.
Still, throughout all this, I still get people telling me that NASA is closing, and I had one student who was a Chemistry Major tell me he had no idea that we had an International Space Station. Why? Why don’t people know about what NASA is doing?
There is more work to be done, my fellow Inspirians. At last years Un-Conference, many students said that they wanted to become similar to a NASA ambassador – sharing NASA’s work with others and getting the news out there that NASA still exists and that it’s doing really, really cool things. I’ve come up with a list of 25 things that you can do to help publicize NASA’s work. They range from the simple to the elaborate. The seemingly obvious to the “Well, that’s pretty weird.” Since NASA has already played real life angry birds in space, I figured everything was up for grabs. Please feel free to come up with more ideas in the discussion board!
- Make posters –making posters outlining some of NASA’s current projects is a really simple way to advertise what NASA is doing. You can add QR codes that link to NASA’s website, and ask your school or local library if there is a place where you can hang them up.
- Host a NASA talk– Have a favorite NASA project? Host a lecture at your local library or science center where you make a power point and talk about it, and see if you can get an ad for the talk in your local newspaper.
- Use your school newspaper—If you like to write, write a column about one of NASA’s projects. If you don’t like to write, then stop by your school newspaper to let them know about NASA projects, tweetups, or other events.
- Chalk it up – People use chalk everywhere at my college. Write on the sidewalks using chalk to write down websites, advertise events, or NASA tweet-ups.
- Start a Science/NASA club – Or, join one, if one already exists at your school. Your club can compete in NASA competitions (and get it covered by your school newspaper).
- Host a NASA Astronaut Speaker – This one takes some money. You can let your school, library, or local science center know that you think it would be really cool to have an astronaut come and speak. Many schools/organizations have money set aside for events like these, and if you have a science/NASA club, you can help raise the money!
- Tell schools about NASA Resources – This can be as simple as an e-mail. Let local science teachers know about NASA CORE, which sells NASA materials specifically for teachers. Also let them know about NASA’s Educator website.
- Tell Teachers About Student Opportunities – Again, as simple as an email. Let local teachers know about opportunities that they can pass on to their students.
- Dress Up like a Mars Rover for Halloween – Weird? Maybe. Effective? Yes. Who isn’t going to ask you what you’re dressed up as? What better way to launch into a description of NASA’s research with the Curiosity Rover? Or satellite? Or James Webb Telescope?
- Make a Music Video – Make a parody music video off of a song, related to NASA. Post online. Wait to go viral.
- Make a Video of a Really Cool Experiment – Some of you have already done this. Film your experiments and post them online. At the end, say a quick blurb about how this relates to NASA’s work.
- Make a Video of a Rube Goldberg Machine – I’ve always thought it would be cool to make a really long Rube Goldberg machine, and film it. However many steps you’ve included relate it to NASA. For example, if you included 20, you could have said, “We’re doing this in honor of NASA’s twentieth annual Moon Buggy race.”
- Order a Spinoff—Order a Spinoff magazine (They’re free), and donate them to your school or public library, or science center. Ask them if it can be on display somewhere for a little while.
- Use Facebook or Twitter – If you have a Facebook or Twitter account, post some update whenever NASA is doing something cool. This is a great way to spread the news with your friends and family.
- Start a Blog—Start a NASA blog where you talk about NASA news and events. This is a great place to post pictures if you went to the Un-Conference. Tell your school newspaper about it, they may do a story on you. If you use social media, advertise your blog on there, or ask your friends to advertise your blog for you.
- Use School Projects as an Outlet – When given a choice of subject matter for a school project, consider using NASA as your topic. I’ve made power points, written speeches, and made brochures on NASA for school projects before.
- Word of Mouth – The simplest of all. Talk to people. Let your excitement about NASA show.
- Enter Art/Writing Contests – Are you artistic? Enter some contests, and consider using NASA as an inspiration for your artwork. I’ve written some poems about NASA history, and I know there have been INSPIRE students who have written short stories about NASA. If your school has a literary magazine, submit these to it!
- Tell Teachers about NASA history – In high school, I always let certain teachers know when it was an important day in NASA history. They’re usually really excited to tell students about it.
- Ask me about… Buttons – I was a staff member for our school’s literary magazine. When it came time to sell magazines, we all wore buttons that said, “Ask me about our literary magazine.” EVERYBODY ASKS. Why not wear a button that says, “Ask me about NASA’s Spinoffs” or “Ask me about NASA projects”?
- Wear NASA apparel – Again, really easy. I had a space shuttle necklace, and had a surprising number of people ask me about it. It’s also a really great way to meet other students who are interested in NASA. I met a girl in an elevator who wants to work for NASA just by wearing a Kennedy Space Center T-Shirt.
- Make an info-mercial Video – A lot of these ideas are videos, but that’s because they’re proven to be effective. Make an info-mercial about NASA spinoffs, or a NASA project you’re interested in. Post it online.
- Use Local Astronomy Clubs—Many cities have local astronomy clubs, and they usually hold public telescope viewings. Ask them if they’re hosting any public events in the near future, and ask them if you can hand out brochures or fliers when people come in to the event. If your town has a planetarium, ask them the same thing. If your community has a Young Eagles club, ask if you can do the same thing.
- Make a weather Balloon—I believe I heard from another INSPIRE student that they started a science club at an elementary school and sent off a weather balloon. This is beyond awesome. If you’re up for it – contact an elementary school and ask them if it’s okay if you can help make and launch a weather balloon with/for their students. It’s easy to use this as an opportunity to talk about NASA
- Host NASA themed contests – This is a great way to get people involved with NASA who may not be interested in science. If your school has a science club, host a contest centered around NASA. It can be an art contest, a writing contest, a video contest, a musical score contest. Make the topic something like, “The Future of Space Exploration,” and ask that the entries be displayed somewhere in the school. If you’re homeschooled, try doing this at your local library.
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Friday, May 17, 2013
LiveChat Round Up 5/17/13
By Jim Gerard, INSPIRE Education Specialist, KSC, FL
It has been awhile since the last LiveChat Round Up, mostly because I have had many Friday's off due to illness, flexible scheduling and personal leave for visiting family. I do want to share with you some important news about this summer's LiveChat schedule. But first, a brief update on last night's chat!
Once again we hosted the Georgia Tech team visiting the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, whose six member team had two INSPIRE alumni, Commander Christine Redmond and Communications Officer Shelby Bottoms. Unlike in the past when we had a reular style chat where the whole crew participated, this year it was during the middle of their scheduled comm window with Mission Control so bandwidth was very limited. To get around this, Shelby sent their Power Point with an imbedded audio narration. This way they would not have to use audio and can preserve bandwidth. Unfortunately, the Blackboard Collaborate program does not allow extra files when you upload a presentation, so I needed another way to share that with you.
My solution was to hookup my laptop audio out to my desktop audio in, and while I changed the slides in the chat room I could follow along with my laptop Power Point and click and play the recording. But I found in doing so my speakers cut off and I could not hear the narration, and if I wanted to speak I have tor go into tools and reset the microphone. I solved this problem by using my iPad and entering in as a student, which allowed me to hear and talk. It worked pretty well (after I remembered to press my talk button on the desktop!) we were eventually joined by Shelby to answer questions. Remember, where there is a will, there is a way!
Now our LiveChat news: Next week is our annual end-of-school chat NASA @ The Movies which I will host. It should be a lot of fun so make sure to tune in! But it is not the end of the LiveChat, as we will continue through the summer! every Thursday night at 8pm CT will be new chat. Some of these will be host to subject matter experts for our Virtual STEM Experiences (sign up now!) but we wanted to share them with a larger audience and free up time for more instruction so we moved them to the LiveChat.
We are also having a very special chat just for students who reach Level 10 on the Leaderboard. It will be Tuesday, July 23 at 11am CT (that is during the day!) and will give an opportunity to have a more intimate conversation with a returning LiveChat guest. Just a teaser for now, but more details will be coming soon! Until then, continue to work to build up your points to reach the top of the Leaderboard!
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
It has been awhile since the last LiveChat Round Up, mostly because I have had many Friday's off due to illness, flexible scheduling and personal leave for visiting family. I do want to share with you some important news about this summer's LiveChat schedule. But first, a brief update on last night's chat!
Once again we hosted the Georgia Tech team visiting the Mars Desert Research Station in Utah, whose six member team had two INSPIRE alumni, Commander Christine Redmond and Communications Officer Shelby Bottoms. Unlike in the past when we had a reular style chat where the whole crew participated, this year it was during the middle of their scheduled comm window with Mission Control so bandwidth was very limited. To get around this, Shelby sent their Power Point with an imbedded audio narration. This way they would not have to use audio and can preserve bandwidth. Unfortunately, the Blackboard Collaborate program does not allow extra files when you upload a presentation, so I needed another way to share that with you.
My solution was to hookup my laptop audio out to my desktop audio in, and while I changed the slides in the chat room I could follow along with my laptop Power Point and click and play the recording. But I found in doing so my speakers cut off and I could not hear the narration, and if I wanted to speak I have tor go into tools and reset the microphone. I solved this problem by using my iPad and entering in as a student, which allowed me to hear and talk. It worked pretty well (after I remembered to press my talk button on the desktop!) we were eventually joined by Shelby to answer questions. Remember, where there is a will, there is a way!
Now our LiveChat news: Next week is our annual end-of-school chat NASA @ The Movies which I will host. It should be a lot of fun so make sure to tune in! But it is not the end of the LiveChat, as we will continue through the summer! every Thursday night at 8pm CT will be new chat. Some of these will be host to subject matter experts for our Virtual STEM Experiences (sign up now!) but we wanted to share them with a larger audience and free up time for more instruction so we moved them to the LiveChat.
We are also having a very special chat just for students who reach Level 10 on the Leaderboard. It will be Tuesday, July 23 at 11am CT (that is during the day!) and will give an opportunity to have a more intimate conversation with a returning LiveChat guest. Just a teaser for now, but more details will be coming soon! Until then, continue to work to build up your points to reach the top of the Leaderboard!
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Thursday, May 16, 2013
To Be in the Right Place, Dawn Catches Up With Time
By Marc Rayman, Chief Engineer, JPL, CA
Nearly three times as far from Earth as the sun is, the Dawn spacecraft is making very good progress on its ambitious trek from Vesta to Ceres. After a spectacular adventure at the second most massive resident of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Dawn used its extraordinary ion propulsion system to leave it behind and undertake the long journey to a dwarf planet.
Ceres orbits the sun outside Vesta's orbit, yet Dawn is now closer to the sun than both of these alien worlds. How can it be that as the probe climbs from one to the other, it seems to be falling inward? Perhaps the answer lies in the text below; let's venture on and find out!
On Halloween we discussed why Dawn is heading in toward the sun, but this question is different. Vesta also is getting closer to the sun, but what's of interest now is that Dawn, despite its more remote destination, has been approaching the sun more quickly. That earlier log stands out as the best one ever written on this exciting mission in the entire history of October 2012, but if you prefer not to visit it now, we can summarize here the explanation for the spacecraft moving toward the sun. Like all members of the sun's entourage, Vesta and Ceres follow elliptical orbits, their distances from the master of the solar system growing and shrinking as they loop around it. Even Earth's orbit, although nearly round, certainly is not perfectly circular. Our planet is a little closer to the sun in the northern hemisphere winter (southern hemisphere summer) than it is in the summer (southern hemisphere winter). Dawn's orbit is elliptical as well, so it naturally moves nearer to the sun sometimes, and now is such a time. But that does not address why it is currently closer to the sun than Vesta, even though it is seeking out the more distant Ceres.
Because it will orbit Ceres, and not simply fly past it (which would be significantly easier but less valuable), Dawn must make its own orbit around the sun be identical to its target's. But that is not the entire story. After spending 14 months orbiting Vesta, Dawn's challenge is more than to change the shape of its orbit to match Ceres's. The spacecraft also must be at the same place in Ceres's heliocentric orbit that Ceres itself is.
It would not be very rewarding to follow the same looping path around the sun but always be somewhere else on that path. You can visualize this if you have one of the many defective -- er, exotic clocks from the Dawn gift shop on your planet that have two minute hands. If the clock starts with one hand pointed at 12 and another pointed at 1, they will take the same repetitive route, but neither hand will ever catch up with the other. For Dawn's goal of exploring Ceres, this would not prove satisfying. Therefore, part of the objective of the ion thrusting is to ensure the spacecraft arrives not only on the same heliocentric course as Ceres but is there when Ceres is also.
This is a problem familiar to all readers who have maneuvered in orbit, where the principles of orbital mechanics are the rules of the road. To solve it, we rely on one of the laws that we have addressed many times in these logs: objects in a lower orbit travel faster. We described this in more detail in February, and we can recall the essential idea here. The gravitational attraction of any body, whether it is the sun, Earth, a black hole, or anything else, is greater at shorter ranges. So to balance that strong inward pull, an orbiter is compelled to race around quickly. At higher orbits, where gravity is weaker, a more leisurely orbital pace suffices.
We can take advantage of this characteristic of orbits. If we drop to a slightly lower orbit, we travel along more swiftly. That is precisely what Dawn needs to do in order to ensure that when it finishes expanding and tilting its orbit in 2015 so that it is the same as Ceres's, it winds up at the same location as its target. This would be like speeding up the minute hand that had begun at the 12, allowing it to catch up with the hand that would otherwise always be leading it.
Dawn's orbital maneuvering is a little bit more complicated than that of clock hands, but thanks to the ingenuity and creativity of the operations team and the unique capability of its ion propulsion system, the interplanetary ship is sailing on a carefully plotted course to its next celestial port. As soon as it departed from Vesta's gravitational embrace in September, it slipped in closer to the sun. Today, Vesta is 2.53 AU from the sun, and Dawn is 2.51 AU, so the spacecraft is three million kilometers (1.9 million miles) nearer to the sun. (Dawn is farther from Vesta than that, because they are not aligned with the sun. The spacecraft has also moved ahead of the rocky behemoth.)
Of course, eventually Dawn will climb to higher altitudes from the sun than Vesta, because its destination lies beyond. As they progress on their own independent orbits, with Dawn constantly reshaping its, they will be at the same solar distance on July 31, 2013. After that, the robotic explorer will never again be as close to the sun as Vesta. By then, they will be 18 million kilometers (11 million miles) apart. But they will always be connected. Dawn was Earth's first probe to take up residence in the main asteroid belt, and Vesta was its first target. The exotic world had beckoned to humankind for over two centuries before the spacecraft obtained its richly detailed view. Now what was little more than an indistinct point of light is known as a complex and fascinating place with a unique character. And as it follows its repetitive orbit around the sun, its erstwhile companion seeks to reveal the secrets of another extraterrestrial enigma, Ceres. Great treasures await Dawn as it patiently continues its extraordinary deep-space expedition.
Dawn is 10 million kilometers (6.3 million miles) from Vesta and 56 million kilometers (35 million miles) from Ceres. It is also 2.99 AU (448 million kilometers or 278 million miles) from Earth, or 1,215 times as far as the moon and 2.97 times as far as the sun today. Radio signals, traveling at the universal limit of the speed of light, take 50 minutes to make the round trip.
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Nearly three times as far from Earth as the sun is, the Dawn spacecraft is making very good progress on its ambitious trek from Vesta to Ceres. After a spectacular adventure at the second most massive resident of the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter, Dawn used its extraordinary ion propulsion system to leave it behind and undertake the long journey to a dwarf planet.
Ceres orbits the sun outside Vesta's orbit, yet Dawn is now closer to the sun than both of these alien worlds. How can it be that as the probe climbs from one to the other, it seems to be falling inward? Perhaps the answer lies in the text below; let's venture on and find out!
On Halloween we discussed why Dawn is heading in toward the sun, but this question is different. Vesta also is getting closer to the sun, but what's of interest now is that Dawn, despite its more remote destination, has been approaching the sun more quickly. That earlier log stands out as the best one ever written on this exciting mission in the entire history of October 2012, but if you prefer not to visit it now, we can summarize here the explanation for the spacecraft moving toward the sun. Like all members of the sun's entourage, Vesta and Ceres follow elliptical orbits, their distances from the master of the solar system growing and shrinking as they loop around it. Even Earth's orbit, although nearly round, certainly is not perfectly circular. Our planet is a little closer to the sun in the northern hemisphere winter (southern hemisphere summer) than it is in the summer (southern hemisphere winter). Dawn's orbit is elliptical as well, so it naturally moves nearer to the sun sometimes, and now is such a time. But that does not address why it is currently closer to the sun than Vesta, even though it is seeking out the more distant Ceres.
Because it will orbit Ceres, and not simply fly past it (which would be significantly easier but less valuable), Dawn must make its own orbit around the sun be identical to its target's. But that is not the entire story. After spending 14 months orbiting Vesta, Dawn's challenge is more than to change the shape of its orbit to match Ceres's. The spacecraft also must be at the same place in Ceres's heliocentric orbit that Ceres itself is.
It would not be very rewarding to follow the same looping path around the sun but always be somewhere else on that path. You can visualize this if you have one of the many defective -- er, exotic clocks from the Dawn gift shop on your planet that have two minute hands. If the clock starts with one hand pointed at 12 and another pointed at 1, they will take the same repetitive route, but neither hand will ever catch up with the other. For Dawn's goal of exploring Ceres, this would not prove satisfying. Therefore, part of the objective of the ion thrusting is to ensure the spacecraft arrives not only on the same heliocentric course as Ceres but is there when Ceres is also.
This is a problem familiar to all readers who have maneuvered in orbit, where the principles of orbital mechanics are the rules of the road. To solve it, we rely on one of the laws that we have addressed many times in these logs: objects in a lower orbit travel faster. We described this in more detail in February, and we can recall the essential idea here. The gravitational attraction of any body, whether it is the sun, Earth, a black hole, or anything else, is greater at shorter ranges. So to balance that strong inward pull, an orbiter is compelled to race around quickly. At higher orbits, where gravity is weaker, a more leisurely orbital pace suffices.
We can take advantage of this characteristic of orbits. If we drop to a slightly lower orbit, we travel along more swiftly. That is precisely what Dawn needs to do in order to ensure that when it finishes expanding and tilting its orbit in 2015 so that it is the same as Ceres's, it winds up at the same location as its target. This would be like speeding up the minute hand that had begun at the 12, allowing it to catch up with the hand that would otherwise always be leading it.
Dawn's orbital maneuvering is a little bit more complicated than that of clock hands, but thanks to the ingenuity and creativity of the operations team and the unique capability of its ion propulsion system, the interplanetary ship is sailing on a carefully plotted course to its next celestial port. As soon as it departed from Vesta's gravitational embrace in September, it slipped in closer to the sun. Today, Vesta is 2.53 AU from the sun, and Dawn is 2.51 AU, so the spacecraft is three million kilometers (1.9 million miles) nearer to the sun. (Dawn is farther from Vesta than that, because they are not aligned with the sun. The spacecraft has also moved ahead of the rocky behemoth.)
Of course, eventually Dawn will climb to higher altitudes from the sun than Vesta, because its destination lies beyond. As they progress on their own independent orbits, with Dawn constantly reshaping its, they will be at the same solar distance on July 31, 2013. After that, the robotic explorer will never again be as close to the sun as Vesta. By then, they will be 18 million kilometers (11 million miles) apart. But they will always be connected. Dawn was Earth's first probe to take up residence in the main asteroid belt, and Vesta was its first target. The exotic world had beckoned to humankind for over two centuries before the spacecraft obtained its richly detailed view. Now what was little more than an indistinct point of light is known as a complex and fascinating place with a unique character. And as it follows its repetitive orbit around the sun, its erstwhile companion seeks to reveal the secrets of another extraterrestrial enigma, Ceres. Great treasures await Dawn as it patiently continues its extraordinary deep-space expedition.
Dawn is 10 million kilometers (6.3 million miles) from Vesta and 56 million kilometers (35 million miles) from Ceres. It is also 2.99 AU (448 million kilometers or 278 million miles) from Earth, or 1,215 times as far as the moon and 2.97 times as far as the sun today. Radio signals, traveling at the universal limit of the speed of light, take 50 minutes to make the round trip.
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
Shadowing at NASA Glenn
By Kelly DeRees, 10th grade, Imagineers
On April 24th, I had the opportunity to shadow a physicist at NASA Glenn Research Center. My mentor, Dr. Theresa Benyo, is doing theoretical research in magnetohydrodynamics for supersonic and hypersonic flight (magnetohydrodynamics deals with the motion of electrically conductive fluids through a magnetic field). Dr. Benyo creates computer models that simulate how jet engines would work with the technology she is researching.
The problem she is trying to solve through her research lies in the huge amounts of energy involved in hypersonic flight (speeds Mach 5 and above). For such high speeds, special materials must be used that won’t melt under the heat produced by the engines. Dr. Benyo is working to find a way around this problem by modifying already developed supersonic engines to fly at hypersonic speeds. To do this, three things must be done: 1. Slow the air flow from Mach 5 and above to somewhere around Mach 3 (supersonic speed). 2. Send the air through the engine for combustion. 3. Accelerate the exhaust from the engine back up to hypersonic speeds and kick it out the back of the engine to produce thrust. Step One: this is where the MHD comes in. An MHD generator is placed at the front of the engine. This ionizes and slows the air by removing energy from the airflow (the energy is either transferred to the back of the engine to the accelerator or used for onboard operations). The airflow’s speed has been reduced to Mach 3, a necessary step for the supersonic engine, since it can’t handle hypersonic air speeds. Step Two: the supersonic engine acts as it would at supersonic speeds, using combustion to produce exhaust that will produce thrust for the aircraft. Step Three: the energy from the MHD generator is transferred to the accelerator, which accelerates the exhaust, sending it out the back of the engine at hypersonic speeds.
Using this technique, aircraft could fly at very high speeds without using drastically different engines from what we have right now. This is all theoretical right now, but Dr. Benyo predicts that within the next year, the concept will be tested with small scale models in a 1X1 (one foot by one foot) test chamber at Glenn Research Center.
While I was at Glenn, I also got to go see two guys doing a Digital Learning Network broadcast. The two are educators and Wilbur and Orville Wright impersonators, and one of them is also an aerospace engineer. After their forty-five minute discussion with a class in Virginia, I got to try on a spacesuit. The pants were gigantic, but other than that, it wasn’t too bad. (:
After lunch, we toured some of the facilities at GRC. We went to the G-VIS lab, where interns and high school students in the area made a Lego Mindstorms Mars rover that they drive around in a simulated Mars environment. In the GRUVE lab, we saw 3D virtual reality simulations of a hydrogen tank in space and a 3D x-ray of a tank (in 3D, we could spin the x-ray around and look all the way through it on-end. This allows engineers to see where fractures occur in the material).
We saw a photovoltaics lab where solar cells are grown downstairs and tested upstairs. We went to the hangar and got a quick overview of each of the planes. The Learjet (lower left), a research aircraft, was originally owned by a drug dealer. The FBI tracked him down, confiscated the airplane, and ended up giving it to NASA (NASA didn’t pay for any of the planes in the hangar- most came from the military, like the S-3 Viking below on the right).
After the hangar, we made one more stop…
The SLOPE Lab! The guy who talked to us about the SLOPE Lab on our visit was the same guy who did an INSPIRE LiveChat a few weeks ago! He let us put our hands in the “sink tank,” a big sand box with very fine sand called fillite.
We got to pass around the lunar tires and see how each one worked, and we saw the Scarab vehicle, a test rover used in the lab.
Shadowing at Glenn Research Center was an incredible experience. It was only the second NASA center I’ve visited (the other is Kennedy Space Center), so seeing the differences between them really opened my eyes to see how unique each NASA center is. I hope I’ll get to visit every NASA center someday, and I plan to visit Glenn again sometime in the near future.
“STEM education is very important to us because you, the students, are one of NASA’s most valuable assets.” -Steve Sanderson, Chief of External Programs Division, Glenn Research Center
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
On April 24th, I had the opportunity to shadow a physicist at NASA Glenn Research Center. My mentor, Dr. Theresa Benyo, is doing theoretical research in magnetohydrodynamics for supersonic and hypersonic flight (magnetohydrodynamics deals with the motion of electrically conductive fluids through a magnetic field). Dr. Benyo creates computer models that simulate how jet engines would work with the technology she is researching.
The problem she is trying to solve through her research lies in the huge amounts of energy involved in hypersonic flight (speeds Mach 5 and above). For such high speeds, special materials must be used that won’t melt under the heat produced by the engines. Dr. Benyo is working to find a way around this problem by modifying already developed supersonic engines to fly at hypersonic speeds. To do this, three things must be done: 1. Slow the air flow from Mach 5 and above to somewhere around Mach 3 (supersonic speed). 2. Send the air through the engine for combustion. 3. Accelerate the exhaust from the engine back up to hypersonic speeds and kick it out the back of the engine to produce thrust. Step One: this is where the MHD comes in. An MHD generator is placed at the front of the engine. This ionizes and slows the air by removing energy from the airflow (the energy is either transferred to the back of the engine to the accelerator or used for onboard operations). The airflow’s speed has been reduced to Mach 3, a necessary step for the supersonic engine, since it can’t handle hypersonic air speeds. Step Two: the supersonic engine acts as it would at supersonic speeds, using combustion to produce exhaust that will produce thrust for the aircraft. Step Three: the energy from the MHD generator is transferred to the accelerator, which accelerates the exhaust, sending it out the back of the engine at hypersonic speeds.
Using this technique, aircraft could fly at very high speeds without using drastically different engines from what we have right now. This is all theoretical right now, but Dr. Benyo predicts that within the next year, the concept will be tested with small scale models in a 1X1 (one foot by one foot) test chamber at Glenn Research Center.
While I was at Glenn, I also got to go see two guys doing a Digital Learning Network broadcast. The two are educators and Wilbur and Orville Wright impersonators, and one of them is also an aerospace engineer. After their forty-five minute discussion with a class in Virginia, I got to try on a spacesuit. The pants were gigantic, but other than that, it wasn’t too bad. (:
After lunch, we toured some of the facilities at GRC. We went to the G-VIS lab, where interns and high school students in the area made a Lego Mindstorms Mars rover that they drive around in a simulated Mars environment. In the GRUVE lab, we saw 3D virtual reality simulations of a hydrogen tank in space and a 3D x-ray of a tank (in 3D, we could spin the x-ray around and look all the way through it on-end. This allows engineers to see where fractures occur in the material).
We saw a photovoltaics lab where solar cells are grown downstairs and tested upstairs. We went to the hangar and got a quick overview of each of the planes. The Learjet (lower left), a research aircraft, was originally owned by a drug dealer. The FBI tracked him down, confiscated the airplane, and ended up giving it to NASA (NASA didn’t pay for any of the planes in the hangar- most came from the military, like the S-3 Viking below on the right).
After the hangar, we made one more stop…
The SLOPE Lab! The guy who talked to us about the SLOPE Lab on our visit was the same guy who did an INSPIRE LiveChat a few weeks ago! He let us put our hands in the “sink tank,” a big sand box with very fine sand called fillite.
We got to pass around the lunar tires and see how each one worked, and we saw the Scarab vehicle, a test rover used in the lab.
Shadowing at Glenn Research Center was an incredible experience. It was only the second NASA center I’ve visited (the other is Kennedy Space Center), so seeing the differences between them really opened my eyes to see how unique each NASA center is. I hope I’ll get to visit every NASA center someday, and I plan to visit Glenn again sometime in the near future.
“STEM education is very important to us because you, the students, are one of NASA’s most valuable assets.” -Steve Sanderson, Chief of External Programs Division, Glenn Research Center
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
Wednesday, May 1, 2013
Launching American Astronauts from U.S. Soil
By Charlie Bolden, NASA Administrator
NASA is committed to launching our astronauts on American spacecraft from U.S. soil as soon as possible. Since the end of our Space Shuttle Program in 2011, NASA has relied on the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) for the launch and safe return of astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) aboard its Soyuz spacecraft. While our Russian counterparts have been good partners, it is unacceptable that we don't currently have an American capability to launch our own astronauts.
That’s why the Obama Administration has placed such a high priority on correcting this situation. Three years ago, the Administration put forward a public-private partnership plan, the Commercial Crew Program (CCP), to ensure that American companies would be launching our astronauts from U.S. soil by 2015. It's a plan that supports the U.S. human spaceflight program, boosts our economy, and helps create good-paying American jobs. If NASA had received the President's requested funding for this plan, we would not have been forced to recently sign a new contract with Roscosmos for Soyuz transportation flights.
Because the funding for the President's plan has been significantly reduced, we now won’t be able to support American launches until 2017. Even this delayed availability will be in question if Congress does not fully support the President's fiscal year 2014 request for our Commercial Crew Program, forcing us once again to extend our contract with the Russians. Further delays in our Commercial Crew Program and its impact on our human spaceflight program are unacceptable. That’s why we need the full $821 million the President has requested in next year’s budget to keep us on track to meet our 2017 deadline and bring these launches back to the United States.
I am pleased with the progress our commercial crew providers are making. We now have an American company resupplying cargo to the ISS -- launching from U.S. soil -- and another company on track to join in this competition. I'm confident that our ambitious plan for U.S. crew transportation, if fully funded, will allow U.S. commercial companies to launch our astronauts in just a few short years.
I'm bullish on the American aerospace industry, and I'm committed to gaining the support of the U.S. Congress to fully fund our investments in these companies and bring untold benefits to our economy.
For more information about NASA's partnerships with industry to launch cargo and astronauts to space, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/commercial
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
NASA is committed to launching our astronauts on American spacecraft from U.S. soil as soon as possible. Since the end of our Space Shuttle Program in 2011, NASA has relied on the Russian Space Agency (Roscosmos) for the launch and safe return of astronauts to and from the International Space Station (ISS) aboard its Soyuz spacecraft. While our Russian counterparts have been good partners, it is unacceptable that we don't currently have an American capability to launch our own astronauts.
That’s why the Obama Administration has placed such a high priority on correcting this situation. Three years ago, the Administration put forward a public-private partnership plan, the Commercial Crew Program (CCP), to ensure that American companies would be launching our astronauts from U.S. soil by 2015. It's a plan that supports the U.S. human spaceflight program, boosts our economy, and helps create good-paying American jobs. If NASA had received the President's requested funding for this plan, we would not have been forced to recently sign a new contract with Roscosmos for Soyuz transportation flights.
Because the funding for the President's plan has been significantly reduced, we now won’t be able to support American launches until 2017. Even this delayed availability will be in question if Congress does not fully support the President's fiscal year 2014 request for our Commercial Crew Program, forcing us once again to extend our contract with the Russians. Further delays in our Commercial Crew Program and its impact on our human spaceflight program are unacceptable. That’s why we need the full $821 million the President has requested in next year’s budget to keep us on track to meet our 2017 deadline and bring these launches back to the United States.
I am pleased with the progress our commercial crew providers are making. We now have an American company resupplying cargo to the ISS -- launching from U.S. soil -- and another company on track to join in this competition. I'm confident that our ambitious plan for U.S. crew transportation, if fully funded, will allow U.S. commercial companies to launch our astronauts in just a few short years.
I'm bullish on the American aerospace industry, and I'm committed to gaining the support of the U.S. Congress to fully fund our investments in these companies and bring untold benefits to our economy.
For more information about NASA's partnerships with industry to launch cargo and astronauts to space, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/commercial
Discuss this blog here: http://tinyurl.com/bloginspire12
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