|
   |
 |
                 
|
UPDATE # 52 - September 26, 1998 PART 1: Hurricane Georges challenges the
Challenge Crew HURRICANE GEORGES CHALLENGES THE CHALLENGE CREW
Special bulletin for Challenge Project watchers: The Orlando Sentinel headlines this morning read: "Keys take a direct hit More than 20,000 homes in Key West flooded or suffered wind damage." The road into the Keys is damaged, and residents will not be able to return until tomorrow (Sunday). The challenge team, see http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/challenge, plans to head back Sunday (therefore scheduled events will be suspended) and resume online activities on Monday with the hopes that we can extend an additional day to accommodate the number of participants who have changed their schedules so they may still join us in Key Largo next week to continue this Challenge journey. Since last I wrote from Key Largo, we were gearing up for the Challenge Mission. I even had the nerve to complain about a bit of rain. Well, can anyone have missed the weather we've had since? At this point I am writing from Orlando where the Challenge Mission team has taken refuge from Hurricane Georges after being evacuated from Key Largo. All the hotels are full of people with similar plights. We did begin our undersea adventure with James Cameron, our first guest crew member, and we had a terrific chat. I will be placing a journal or two online soon relating that adventure in photos. We missed the afternoon webcast due to forced evacuation, but soon we will have the video online of a terrific interview with Mr. Cameron done by Krisstina Wilmoth. Also visiting were students and staff from the Indiana School for the Deaf. These students took turns swimming into the Scott Carpenter Space Analog Station to interact with Jim. I'm sure there is some frustration for those of you who prepared for an event that didn't happen. We do hope you'll continue to check the schedule for activities in which you can participate. Our current plan, if the waters continue to recede as anticipated, is to resume activities on Monday, beginning with the scheduled chat. It sound right now like the morning will include Eugene Roddenberry and Christopher Roosa being on site. Just use the Monday registration at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/challenge/events/9-28.html and plan to join us. Again, Sunday will be a travel day, so activities will be suspended. All for now, Linda UPCOMING CHATS
I would like to suggest that on the challenge chats, you continue to monitor the top page of the Challenge Project: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/challenge which will be updated daily to reflect the new schedule as participants reconfirm their ability to get back to Key Largo. Other Space Team Online Chat: Thursday, October 1, 1998, 11 AM Pacific Time: Leslie Ringo, flight simulation engineer The Vertical Motion Simulator at NASA Ames is the world's largest motion simulator. Leslie is one of the engineers responsible for ensuring this simulator responds exactly as a real aircraft would in the air. Read Leslie Ringo's bio at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/aero/team/ringo.html prior to joining this chat. [Editor's note: As test project engineer at Kennedy Space Center, Michael focuses on all of the Orbiter systems along with the full compliment of systems on the external tank and solid rocket boosters.] KEEPIN' THE SUMMER ALIVE
by Michael Ciannilli Interviewer: Brandt Secosh September 15, l998 As the warm summer breezes give way to the brilliant fall colors, I thought I would put down a few lines to let you know how things have been going at the Cape. This time of year also signals the start of a new school year. To all of you who are heading back to school, I would like to wish you a successful and fun school year. Well, although the Space Shuttle flight rate has been low for the past several months, I have kept quite busy. As a new Test Project Engineer (TPE), my activities have become diversified. The primary focus over the past several months has been to continue rather intensive training on all Space Shuttle systems. In addition, the TPE group has been undergoing a process in which it has been receiving increased responsibility and an even greater role in Firing Room test operations. For example, the previous role of a TPE in the Firing Room was to conduct the process of "powering up" the orbiter in the morning to prepare it for daily testing. "Powering up" is actually the procedure by which commands are sent from the Firing Room (in the Launch Control Center) to the orbiter. They turn on the various systems needed for daily testing and troubleshooting on the vehicle. These would include such systems as both ground and onboard electrical power, onboard computers, instrumentation systems, and cooling systems. Previously, each separate function was performed by the particular engineer representing that system. For the past several months the TPE's have been undergoing a training and certification process to allow us to perform all the engineering functions during orbiter power up and power down. This has been a really good experience for me. Not only have I been getting extensive training on the orbiter's critical systems, but I also have been meeting some really talented people. Although I work with all the orbiters and all the components that comprise the shuttle, I am primarily involved with the Space Shuttle Columbia. This means I closely follow all the processing activities on this orbiter from landing until launch. In addition, I attend scheduling meetings and all other meetings associated with the vehicle. As a member of the Columbia team I also track all the engineering and equipment problems and their resolution. Working on Columbia has been an extra special experience for me. As a kid in Junior High School I used to build models of Columbia. Now I have the opportunity and honor of helping prepare her for launch. For me this is a totally awesome experience. Most recently I have also had the opportunity to join a group of two others to become a member of the Launch Countdown Simulation Team, or "Sim Team". As a member of this team, I will be responsible for preparing and conducting a training exercise for the entire launch team. Prior to every launch we will conduct a mock countdown from the T-20 minute point to T-0, or liftoff. We will be throwing simulated failures at the other members of the launch team. Our part is to create, research, and implement the failures, then "keep an eye" on the system guys to make sure they solve the problems both in the right way and as quickly as possible. This simulation test, also known as S0044, is a great way to keep the launch team sharp and ready to go. For me, as a member of the Sim Team, it will be a high boost to my overall knowledge. Also, I think this will be a lot of fun - getting to pretend to launch the Space Shuttle often...yeah, it will be pretty cool! Only a few days ago I returned from my vacation. I went back home to my hometown of Syracuse, New York. It was AWESOME! I got to spend a lot of time with my mom and Dad, which was GREAT. Definitely a relaxing time. The weather was real nice and a lot cooler than down here. I also managed to get some boating, hiking and sailing in on our lake. It is always great to go back home!! WE'RE OUTA HERE - FOR NOW
by Linda Conrad September 24, l998 Little did I know when I came to Florida for the Challenge Project that it would be a segue into one of the big up-and-coming projects at Quest Learning Technologies Channel, a project focused on hurricanes called Eye of the Storm! It begins this Friday and airs weekly for four weeks, climaxing the final week with footage of our host Russell Tewksbury as he flies along with the Hurricane Hunters into the eye of hurricane Bonnie! See http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/eos/index.html for more information. There I gave my ad, now let me tell you what it felt like to be evacuated! The word came before breakfast. The hotel would be closing by mid- morning, and we were to leave the Keys. We made plans to use a buddy system on the turnpike and set off for Orlando. Driving down the access roads toward Route 1, it was hard not to notice how close to the roads the waterways that lined them were. It was no great surprise that flooding is one of the greatest causes of damage. As I mentioned in my early journals, Florida has gotten a lot of rain this summer so the ground is already saturated with water. It might have been a coincidence, but the only birds I saw as we drove down the road was a flock of buzzards swooping down by the side of the road. Some of the trees showed evidence of wind, but otherwise the weather couldn't have been more ideal. As I drove, the radio kept interrupting with updates on Georges - still over Cuba but still determined to turn our way. I had not noticed them before, but as we entered the outskirts of Miami, there were large (permanent looking) signs indicating the location of shelters. I don't remember noticing those when I took Bill to the airport. The highway department had suspended tolls on the turnpike all the way up to Orlando, so although we slowed down going through them, we rolled through the toll booths. The rest of the trip was uneventful. We were surprised that the traffic was not bad, especially since little by little the areas around Miami were being encouraged to evacuate as well. It gave me a weird feeling as we left all that gorgeous weather and drove into a storm in the Orlando area. Hmmm - I thought we were coming up here to avoid this! As I type, the news report from Naples shows a reporter on the beach walking among people in their lawn chairs. Georges is 255 miles southeast of Key West, and, at this point, they are saying that it may be a category 3 hurricane by the time it hits the Keys. I think I'm glad I'm here despite the thunder and lightning! SUBSCRIBING & UNSUBSCRIBING: HOW TO DO IT!
If this is your first message from the updates-sto list, welcome! To catch up on back issues, please visit the following Internet URL: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/updates To subscribe to the updates-sto mailing list (where this message came from), send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, write these words: subscribe updates-sto CONVERSELY... To remove your name from the updates-sto mailing list, send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, write these words: unsubscribe updates-sto If you have Web access, please visit our "continuous construction" site at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space |
||
|
|
|
