Space Team Online Puzzle Scoring

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Answers to previous questions:

Question 1:

Who is pictured?
Where are they?
What are they doing?

Here's my answer to question 1, taken from the following URL: www.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/missions/sts-82/images/captions/KSC-97EC-0355.html
Accompanied by former astronaut Michael J. McCulley, several members of the STS-82 crew look at thermal protection system tile under the Space Shuttle Discovery on the runway at the Shuttle Landing Facility shortly after the conclusion of a 10-day mission to service the orbiting Hubble Space Telescope (HST). From left to right, they are Mission Specialist Steven A. Hawley; Michael J. McCulley, currently vice president and associate program manager for ground operations for the United Space Alliance at KSC; Mission Specialists Joseph R. "Joe" Tanner and Steven L. Smith (back to camera); and Payload Commander Mark C. Lee.

Question 2 :

Picture clue:

The Orbiter Landing Facility handles more than the Orbiter landings. Here you see pictures of two other aircraft that use the runway. Identify, if you can, the aircraft and the payload in each of these pictures. Points possible: 5.

Hint: Two recent journals can be a great help: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/journals

Answer from Ashley Green:

This week's puzzle was more of a challenge. The perfectly clear sky in the left-hand picture posed a difficulty because none of the offloadings of ISS elements from NASA's Super Guppy aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility have been under perfectly clear skies! Finally, I realized that the photo shows the S1 truss segment of the ISS (concealed within its standard transport housing) about to be loaded onto the Super Guppy aircraft (Aero Spacelines 377SGT-F) at the Redstone Army Airfield in Huntsville, Alabama, last month (it was offloaded at the Shuttle Landing Facility on 7 October 1999). The S1 truss segment was built by Boeing in Huntington Beach, California. It will become the first starboard (right-side) truss of the orbiting ISS.

The right-hand photo (KSC-99PP-1015) shows the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) called Raffaello being offloaded from a "Beluga" Super Transporter (Airbus Industrie A300-600ST) at the Shuttle Landing Facility on 5 August 1999. One of Italy's major contributions to the ISS program, the MPLM is a reusable logistics carrier and the primary delivery system used to resupply and return station cargo requiring a pressurised environment.

Question 3 :

Although the number of shuttle launch photos are countless, why is this one easy to identify? Identify the mission, crew, orbiter and reason for the easy identification.

Points possible=5.

Answer by Robyn Whitton:

This picture is so easy to identify because of the fact the External Tank is white. We only used a white ET for the first couple of missions and then found out by leaving it unpainted we saved alot of weight....weight that could be better used for heavier payload.

And since Columbia was the first orbiter launched and the only one used when we painted the ET white.....The orbiter is Columbia. The mission was the second one with a crew of Engle and Truly...STS-2.

The reason this is easy is because the sun is out so the sky was bright. They had a 7am launch time for the first mission so the sky was still dark...but STS-2 was about 10am so the sun was bright.

Question 4:

Picture clue:

Where are we? Identify and locate this facility. State what is so "new" about it. Points possible 5.

Hint: Items processed in this facility are manufactured by Boeing (Rocketdyne).
Answer from William:

The picture is of KSC's new 34,000-square-foot Space Shuttle Main Engine Processing Facility(SSMEPF) which officially opened for business July 1998. A major addition to the existing Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 3, the SSMEPF replaced the Shuttle Main Engine Shop located in the VAB. NASA selected Ivey's Construction to build the $6.2 million facility to increase the capacity and efficiency of Shuttle main engine operations. The decision to move these operations out of the VAB was prompted by safety considerations and recent engine processing improvements.

Question 5:

Look at these 2 pictures carefully. Identify the difference. What was done to produce these changes and when did it happen?
Answer from Ashley Green:

The two photos show the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) in the Launch Complex 39 area, before (left) and after (right) getting a facelift with a new coat of paint, and the repainting of the American flag and replacing of the Bicentennial Emblem with the NASA logo. The repainting was done during the summer of 1998, and was completed by 21 September, to honour NASA's 40th anniversary on 1 October 1998.

In order to do the job, workers were suspended on platforms from the top of the 525-foot-high VAB. The paint was donated by ICI Devoe of Louisville, Kentucky. The flag spans an area 209 feet by 110 feet, or about 23,437 square feet, and required 510 gallons of red, white and blue paint. Each stripe is 9 feet wide and each star is 6 feet in diameter. The NASA logo, also known as the "meatball", measures 110 feet by 132 feet, or about 12,300 square feet. The entire fleet of orbiters also received the addition of the NASA logo on their wings and sidewalls.

Question 6:

Picture clue:

The crew of STS-103 spent their Christmas in space repairing Mr. Hubble's Telescope. (see press release) But they aren't the only ones who are not home for the holidays. Apollo 8 astronaut Jim Lovell told his wife, Marilyn, three decades ago that he wouldn't be home for Christmas. "Where on earth do you think you're going to be?" she asked. He sure wasn't on earth as he and his fellow crewmates, Frank Borman and William Anders, became the first to orbit the moon in December 1968.

Pictured at left is another person who will be away from home when the next Christmastime arrives. Who is she, and where will she be?

Answer from Christopher Lui:

The answer to the question is Susan J. Helms.

Helms is currently assigned to STS-102. She will be a member of the second crew to inhabit the International Space Station (ISS-2). Launch is targeted for late 2000. She will be one a three member crew (two American astronauts and one Russian cosmonaut). The crew will install and conduct tests on the Canadian made Space Station Robotic arm (SSRMS), unload the Italian made Logistics module, conduct internal and external maintenance tasks, conduct medical and science experiments. During her stay onboard the Space Station, STS-104 will bring up the Airlock which will be added to the Space Station. Helms will be the SSRMS operator taking the Airlock from the Shuttle and will berth the Airlock to the Space Station. The ISS-2 crew will return on board a Space Shuttle that will transport their replacement crew.

Question 7 :

Picture clue:

Space exploration has provided an abundance of fascinating technologies. Pictured at left, this innovative technology created by Ames Research Center will bridge the gap between autonomy and robots. Name the technology and its 4 main technological goals (listed on its website).

Hint: (this item to be used on the ISS was featured on a NASA "frontpage" headline last year)

Answer from Chris Lui:

The answer is the (11/1/99) Smart Space Robot Will Help Astronauts. Personal Satellite Assistant (PSA) is an astronaut support device designed to move and operate independently in the microgravity environment of space-based vehicles. The PSA will assist astronauts who are living and working aboard the Space Shuttle, Space Station, and during future space exploration missions to the Moon and Mars.

Its 4 main technological goals are:

1. Environmental Monitoring: The PSA patrols astronaut living quarters and laboratories and monitors oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, and other gas levels. The PSA can also monitor experimental data such as microgravity levels, temperature, and atmospheric pressure.

2. Communications: The PSA functions as a remote, mobile data display terminal for system and experimental data. The PSA has both communication input and output capabilities, including a microphone, speakers, camera, and flat display panel. These features allow for video and audio conferencing, as well as a wireless relay to link to hardwired communication systems.

3. Remote Operations Support: Ground Controllers are able to communicate with the PSA and maneuver the device into the desired location. Once in position, the PSA will, for example, use its on board sensors to monitor the status of experimental lab animals in holding bays or provide the Ground Controllers with remote views of mission operations.

4. Crew Worksite Support: The PSA provides astronauts work site access to inventory tracking, location information, and just-in-time-training support. The PSA also has the ability to provide notification updates and alarms related to system events, payload events, or mission experiments.

Question 8:

Picture clue:

A lot of effort is put into the improvement of the shuttle processing flow. The fact-finding tests of the object pictured at left are part of NASA's effort to make operations safer and less strenuous. Name the object in the picture. To what part of the shuttle processing flow is it hoping to improve?

Hint: It isn't related to Sojourner!

Answer from Ashley Green:

The picture (KSC-97PC-1294) shows the MAX Rover unmanned robotic submersible developed by Deep Sea Systems of Falmouth, Massachusetts and JSC's Advanced Systems Development (ASD) laboratory, which was demonstrated at Port Canaveral's Trident pier on 27 August 1997. The MAX Rover system was tested to evaluate its ability to assist divers in the task of recovering spent Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) in the Atlantic Ocean.

The fact finding tests are part of NASA's effort to make SRB recovery operations safer and less strenuous. The twin solid rocket boosters are jettisoned from the Space Shuttle about two minutes after launch and fall into the ocean where they are recovered for reuse.

Currently, scuba divers manually insert the Diver Operated Plug (DOP) into the aft nozzle 60-70 feet below the surface of the ocean. This operation is performed while the SRBs are bobbing in a vertical orientation. After the plug is installed, water is pumped out of the boosters allowing them to float horizontally. They are then towed back to Hanger AF at Cape Canaveral Air Station.

KSC's SRB retrieval team and the ASD laboratory hope that new robotic technology will improve the process of inserting the plug. In the demonstration on 27 August 1997, technicians attached a DOP to MAX Rover and practiced inserting the plug into a simulated SRB nozzle. Official observers evaluated the mobility and maneuverability of the submersible for application in future booster recovery activities.

Question 9 - Due February 14, 2000:

Picture courtesy: The Edmonton Journal

Picture clue: Go STS-99! A successful mission does not takeoff without months -- or even years -- of training both by the crew and the launch/flight teams. It is the countless hours of hard work that culminates into a launch. This week, five astronauts and a NASA flight surgeon are spending their time doing special training. A newspaper article read, "...NASA astronauts had planned to spend this week in -40 C [-40 F] temperatures beating back wind-whipped snow while training at CFB ___________. Imagine their relief when Friday dawned...with bright blue skies and a relatively balmy temperature of -3° C [27° F]." Name this "chilly" training spot and give some reasons why for training in this such location. Hint: "We stand on guard for thee!"

Answer from Ashley Green:

The photo (taken by Greg Southam of The Edmonton Journal) shows astronaut Shannon Lucid and NASA flight surgeon Chris Flynn loaded up with gear during a training exercise at CFB (Canadian Forces Base) Cold Lake in Alberta, Canada.

Shannon Lucid told The Edmonton Journal that the cold weather training will prepare the astronauts for future missions to the International Space Station (ISS). The purpose of this type of training is to teach team dynamics and teach a crew how to work together. The astronauts' program, a gruelling combination of air force survival training and army winter warfare training, was devised by the Canadian Armed Forces. Lt. Col. Brian Houlgate said that NASA orginally looked at shipping the space travellers to the high Arctic, but rejected the idea as too expensive and too risky. CFB Cold Lake offered the benefits of search-and-rescue personnel, medical facilities and military backup. It also has wonderful views of the Northern Lights, which were especially appreciated by astronaut John Phillips, a space plasma physicist.

Survival training would prove to be invaluable in the event of an emergency landing in a remote location. Soyuz 18A cosmonauts Vasili Lazarev and Oleg Makarov made such an emergency landing in April 1975 after their launch to rendezvous with the Salyut 4 space station was aborted just four seconds after second-stage ignition. Their capsule landed in the mountains of Siberia, near Gorno-Altajsk, 200 miles from the border with China and Mongolia. Lazarev and Makarov climbed out unhurt and lit a fire. They had to wait a day to be rescued but were found to be in excellent health despite their ordeal - the first ever manned launch abort. (An unofficial story states that their re-entry module hit the side of a mountain and rolled downhill.)