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UPDATE # 122 - May 15, 2000 PART 1: Let us hear from you LET US HEAR FROM YOU:
As the scholastic year wraps ups, we are anxious to hear from our NASA Quest users so that we can reflect your suggestions and comments in our plans for scholastic year 2000/2001. There are two ways that we would like to solicit your response. You are all invited to participate in an informal survey from our management. To express your views on NASA Quest and Space Team Online go to: http://quest.nasa.gov/common/feedback.html Those responding will receive an assortment of NASA pictures and posters as our thanks for your inputs. In the next couple of weeks we will have an online survey that attempts to key in on the sections of NASA Quest that you use and wish to see continued, the activities that you would like to see more of, and areas that perhaps are no longer relevant and could be phased out. Your inputs are crucial to our continuing efforts to serve your needs. This is just a heads-up so the survey doesn't get buried in the end of the year rush. We know this is a busy time of year. Thanks for your cooperation, Linda Conrad lindac@quest.nasa.gov UPCOMING EVENTS:
Note: Most chats require pre-registration, so please plan ahead. If you need some help with how to chat, see the NASA QuestChat Information Center at: http://quest.nasa.gov/qchats/ ->Tuesday, May 16, 9-10am PDT (Noon-1pm EDT, 4-5pm GMT) Chat with Lonnie Moffitt Lonnie follows hardware developments for improving the aging orbiter fleet. He works closely with different astronaut crews, and keeps the crew office updated on the status any orbiter hardware problems. See Lonnie's profile at: http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/moffitt.html Join the chat from: http://quest.nasa.gov/common/events.cgi?prj_sto ->Tuesday, May 16, There will be three Tours: 7-7:30am PDT (10-10:30am EDT, 1-2:30pm GMT) 9:45-10:30am PDT (12:45-1:30pm EDT, 4:45-5:30pm GMT) 10:45-11:30am PDT (1:45-2:30pm EDT, 5:45-6:30pm GMT) Webcast from the International Space Station Mock-Up and Training Facility at Johnson Space Center. See: http://quest.nasa.gov/space/events/iss99 [Editor's note: Liz manages the assembling of racks designed to accommodate the extra requirements of carrying Earth things into space aboard the shuttle.] I'M READY FOR EXPRESS RACK TO LAUNCH! http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/bauer.html May 4, 2000 My current "feeling" is I am in a holding pattern, like an airplane waiting for a runway. Instead of landing, I'm ready to launch!! This past year, we completed several hardware items for the International Space Station (ISS). We are just waiting to launch it. Sometimes this "hold" drains my enthusiasm as a hardware developer and project manager. But then, I get to do something cool that re-energizes me. In late March, two co-workers and I traveled to Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, for some testing. Our goal was to complete a fit check in an EXpedite the PRocessing of Experiments to Space Station (EXPRESS) rack. A fit check is like making sure the puzzle pieces go together. The puzzle pieces we brought were a Ku-Band Receiver and 2 ISS Single Stowage Lockers. This was actually two of my projects coming together at one time. That was pretty cool! Anyway, the overall purpose of the test was to take acoustic measurements of an integrated rack. All systems for space flight are tested to measure how much noise is generated. The reason for that is to make sure the crew will not be exposed to a noisy environment. So, we brought our hardware to complete a fit check while the MSFC team wanted to complete acoustic testing. The test was interesting because we had to work it at two different NASA centers. We had to commonly agree to requirements, write test procedures, figure out an approximate test schedule, etc. It all came together the week of March 27, 2000. Everyone and everything got to MSFC without a problem. On Monday, we did some acoustic testing of the Ku-Band Receiver outside the rack. We went to a special chamber with foam padding on the walls and ceiling. Microphones were positioned in the room and noise measurements were taken. The four little fans in our drawer do not generate much noise, so we had good readings. We then slid the receiver drawer into the rack Tuesday afternoon. The true receiver test was when we went to power it. All of the lights went on like they should. One item good, with two to go. We installed the lockers Wednesday afternoon. Lockers are not powered, so we knew it was a success once the last fastener was tightened. From the picture, you can see our hardware in the rack. The lockers are the two beige boxes on the right side. The receiver is the beige drawer at the lower right corner. The other items were test lockers and drawers, not for flight. Everything went in the rack like we expected. It was great! This fit check was a major accomplishment on many levels. Obviously, I am selfishly pleased the receiver and lockers fit. On a more grand scale, this check proved that hardware built at two different centers would fit together. The only reason this works is because the interfaces (where things connect) are well documented in drawings and design definition documents. Personally, I was glad to put a voice to a face by meeting people I had only spoken to on the phone. Most importantly, I saw hardware in use at the next stage. It may not have been on an orbiting ISS, but an integrated rack is a good thing to see anywhere. I was reminded of why I work where I work, and I was definitely excited to return to Johnson Space Center and continue it. [Editor's note: As those who chatted with Brion last week found out, any school can participate in the EarthKAM project. Read this first in a series of three journals about this Kid driven project that flew on the shuttle.] STS-99 Record-Breaking Flight for EarthKAM http://quest.nasa.gov/space/team/au.html May 10, 2000 Interviewer: Lori Keith This is my first field journal since becoming a member of Space Team Online. I work on the EarthKAM project. You can read a little about the background of EarthKAM in a previous STO journal. EarthKAM, an electronic still camera controlled by middle school students, flew for the sixth time on shuttle flight STS-99. This flight centered on the Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM), which captured some fantastic radar images of the Earth. While the SRTM was imaging the Earth, EarthKAM was busy taking pictures for a continuous 225 hours (over nine days), capturing 2715 images. This consisted of about 11 gigabytes of data, with all of the data being down-linked within hours of the camera being shut down. More pictures were taken on this mission than on all the other previous missions put together. The largest number of images captured prior to this during one mission was 689, during STS-86. All of the information (images) gathered can be viewed and downloaded from the EarthKAM Web Site listed below. During the mission, we did have a few hiccups - a few pictures out of focus, a few computer problems - but nothing the crew couldn't quickly fix. During the mission, I worked on console in the TeleScience Center, here at JSC. Overall, STS-99 was a record-breaking flight providing unbelievable coverage, even going online 16 hours early. The entire STS-99 crew really bent over backwards to make EarthKAM a tremendous success on this flight. As I mentioned earlier, the camera is controlled by middle school students. This is how they do it! Prior to a mission, students train on converting geographic positions to the position of the orbiter as it circles the globe. A command for the image is generated which contains the Mission Elapsed Time or MET for the precise second that the orbiter will be over the geographic location. The image requests from all of the schools participating are compiled into a single camera control file. The camera control file is up-linked to a laptop on the orbiter which in-turn controls when the camera captures the images. This occurs for each orbit! After the pictures are taken, they are downloaded to JSC, where the Digital Imaging Lab makes a copy for the archive. Then the images are sent to the University of California - San Diego (UCSD), which is the EarthKAM Mission Control Center. Once UCSD receives the images, and after Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) does the photo interpretation, they post them up on the Internet and notify the schools that requested the images. These pictures are available for viewing and download from the EarthKAM Web Page. Check out the mission summary at: http://www.earthkam.ucsd.edu/ STATUS OF ORBITER PROCESSING
RE: MISSION: STS-101, 3rd ISS Flight (2A.2a) - carrying SPACEHAB The countdown clock for launch of Atlantis began on time today at 9:30 a.m. EDT at the T-43 hour mark, and the crew of mission STS-101 arrived at KSC overnight. Work at the launch pad continues on schedule today with no technical issues being worked. The aft engine compartment has been closed for flight, and preparations are proceeding on schedule to begin loading the on-board cryogenic reactants beginning at about 5:30 a.m. tomorrow. Weather forecasters are currently predicting only a 10 percent chance of weather violating launch constraints on Thursday. The only concern is for possible ground fog. Clouds are expected to be few at 3,000 feet; visibility 7 miles; temperature 71 degrees F; humidity 93 percent; and winds from the south at 8 knots peaking to 12 knots.
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