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S P A C E T E A M O N L I N EUPDATE # 84 - May 25, 1999 PART 1: We're going out with a blast! WE'RE GOING OUT WITH A BLAST!
Two major events are scheduled for this Thursday, May 27 that should take us out-of-school in style. We're hearing from many of our class-rooms that the end of the year campus activities are squeezing out any ability to take on additional things. We hope you'll reconsider when you see what's in store! 1. The good news for our U.S. schools is: The Launch of STS-96 will not to conflict with your school schedule! Beginning at 5:30 a.m. Eastern time (9:30 a.m. GMT) we will be coming to you live in RealVideo format from Kennedy Space Center with the launch of STS-93. Notice this time I listed Kennedy Space Center's hour. That beats mentioning that it will be 2:30 a.m. Pacific Time. Now, you may be asking, "Do you really think anyone is going to be up at that hour?" Good question, and I have two answers: First, this may be a terrific opportunity for our other-side-of-the-planet friends who often urge us to consider their clock when scheduling activities. Second, for those of you who just cannot bring yourselves to join us live, we will be re-broadcasting at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time (1:00 p.m. Eastern). The re-broadcast will be missing the chance for you to help shape the program with your questions. See details at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/ltc/sto/launch/sts96 2. The International chat extravaganza is shaping up well. The rescheduled launch may have cost us some participants (They really are involved actively in the Space program, you know!) We anticipate participation from 14 sites around the globe. Beginning at 4:00 a.m. PDT (11:00 a.m. GMT) and ending at 9:00 a.m. PDT (4:00 p.m. GMT) we will have a team of NASA experts online, forum style to answer your questions. You may see chatting in several languages and covering several Space Shuttle and International Space Station topics. See the schedule of events, including links to the profiles of these team members at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/chats/#May24 There! I hope I've enticed some of you to join us, Linda Conrad Space Team Online project manager NASA Quest Team FEMALE FRONTIERS PUZZLE
This is the final question of the Female Frontiers puzzle.
The online version is at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ffpuzzle
Question #9: Answers due by Wednesday, June 2
Of which specific NASA program is the Chandra X-ray Observatory a mission?
What are the three main goals of this mission?
Send your answers to Student Ambassador, Stephanie Wong:
wongtong@connect.ab.ca
Check your personal score at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ffpuzzle/scoring.html
Answer to Question #8:
What is the advantage of having an X-ray observatory in space rather than
on the ground?
Answer: The atmosphere absorbs the X-rays.
Answer to Question #7:
What is Space Shuttle Columbia going to after STS-93 (give the word(s) the
KSC engineers use)?
Answer: Orbiter Maintenance Down Period (OMDP)
[Editor's note: Tony has recently been working as a Flight Test Engineer (FTE) on the X-38 Project, a prototype of the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) that will be used as a "lifeboat" to return the crew back to Earth safely from the International Space Station (ISS), if an emergency should occur when the Shuttle is not docked to the ISS. The following journal includes pictures online at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/journals/ceccacci/05-18-99.html ] FLYING WITH THE CREW RETURN VEHICLE PROTOTYPE
By Tony Ceccacci http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/ceccacci.html May 18, 1999 Interviewer: Lori Keith I have been busy working the X-38 project. I spend about 95 percent of my time on that. Basically, my group's job is to get the X-38 vehicle ready for flight. We're involved with developing and maintaining procedures and flight rules, and we participate hands on when we can. In February, we did the actual drop test from a B-52 bomber. This has been a really neat job. I love all the different aspects I get involved with. I have met a bunch of new people. I've learned how the engineering side works on flight test vehicles. When I worked as a flight controller, it might take a year to get a change made on the shuttle, where on this project it might take a couple of weeks. The vehicle, for this project, is smaller and less complex and so is the chain of events needed for action. For this project, I have had interaction with all the flight test engineers and crew chiefs and other flight test personnel at Dryden Air Force Base, in California. I really enjoy it out there. I have done a lot of traveling in the last nine months, more than all the years before. Presently, we have two test vehicles -- Vehicle 131 and Vehicle132. In February, we had our second flight of Vehicle 131. For this test, I was one of the people involved in the walk around, which involves checking it out from front to back and all around. We worked all the procedures we had to follow to get the vehicle built and ready to go and then we walk all around the vehicle checking it out. It's such a great feeling to know you went from here to there and to see the result. For this test flight, I got to ride on the helicopter that flies beside the test vehicle checking it out in flight. It was so cool! The perks of this job! This vehicle uses a parafoil, and a helicopter follows it around. So here I am riding in a UH1 huey helicopter watching V-131 fly. It was so cool! I have really enjoyed working on this project. During this time, we've also done the second flight of Vehicle 132, which was its first free flight. The 132 is the vehicle my work has concentrated on the most. I have followed it since its arrival at Dryden until it got dropped, working all the procedures and integration required to get it flight ready. That was really neat. As with V-131 FF2, I got to ride in the UH1 Huey helicopter again. This time I was Helo chase. I was hanging out the helicopter door in only a "monkey harness" (so I wo uldn't fall out) and making all the calls of parafoil performance while it flies/glides to the ground. Like I said before, I have really enjoyed working this project. We will be doing another drop in June and then in August. When the X-38/132 is dropped, it is attached up under the wing of a B-52 bomber and then taken up to a chosen altitude (the last one was taken up to 26,000 feet). The 132 has active aero surfaces (like flaps and rudders) so it can control its free flight. With each successive test, we will drop from higher altitudes to continue to expand and test the flight control systems. This vehicle is the prototype for the Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) which will be housed on the International Space Station (ISS) and used for ISS evacuation. It will be able to carry seven people. The vehicles we are testing are at 80 percent scale, or 80 percent of the true actual size. They are building the space flight test vehicle for the CRV, Vehicle 201, here on site at JSC. This vehicle will be brought up in and deployed from the shuttle so it can be thoroughly tested, including its aerodynamic controls. It will be completely autonomous and it will be unmanned. Once through de-orbit burn, when it hits 25,000 feet, it should start its parachute sequence and then land. This is still sometime away, planned for June 2001. The unique thing about this project is that it is being built in-house with some of the parts being supplied by the European Space Agency, like the nose cap for instance. Since my last journal I got the opportunity to see the STS-95 launch with my dad. He had never seen a launch, and my friend Curt Brown invited me to go and watch. Curt was the commander for STS-95. My dad flew down from Detroit and then we drove out to Kennedy, in Florida. We took the tours of Kennedy Space Center and the launch pad. This launch was also a huge media event, and we saw many famous people - Steven Tyler and the rock group Aerosmith, Lauren Hutton, and I even got to shake Evander Holyfield's hand. It was so nice to just hang with my dad for awhile, and it was the first time we had been able to in a long time. We really had a great time. [Editor's note: Mike is oversees projects from design to implementation, taking care to see that the different engineers involved are coordinated and communicating with one another. His areas of expertise are system design integration, failure inspection and resolution (steel & concrete), and project management.] by Michael Olka http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/olka.html Interviewer: Brandt Secosh May 17, 1999 Each Launch Pad at Kennedy Space Center was originally designed for the Apollo program and has been modified for Space Shuttle launch operations. Major changes have included the erection of a new Fixed Service Structure (FSS), a Rotating Service Structure (RSS), and the replacement of the Saturn flame deflectors with three new flame deflectors. Pads 39-A and 39-B are identical and roughly octagonal in shape. The pad base contains 68,000 cubic yards of concrete. The ramp leading up to the pad is inclined at a 5% grade. The flame trench is 42 ft deep, 450 ft long and 58 ft wide. The orbiter flame deflector is 38 ft high, 72 ft long and 57.6 ft wide. The SRB deflector is 42.5 ft high, 42 ft long and 57 ft wide. As you might expect, the launch pads are subject to some very extreme conditions due to launch activities and environmental conditions. Immediate maintenance is required after each launch because of the intense heat, shock waves, and fuels that are used. The structure is also exposed to the salty air from the ocean that has a cumulative effect. A Sound Suppression System is designed to suppress the sound for the flight elements of the Shuttle. In fact the blanket of sound suppression water concentrates the sound, especially the low frequency sound energy on the pad. Its water tank is 290 ft high and has a capacity of 300,000 gallons. Because of this, it behooves us to design for the acoustical loading experienced with each launch. Considering all of these elements, a major refurbishment is currently taking place at launch pad 39-A. Michael Olka and his team are responsible for this major project and he have provided these photographs to demonstrate some of the work that is taking place. In this before shot, you can see the severe corrosion on the corrugated metal. Much of this corrosion is due to the salty environment from the Atlantic Ocean. The Corrugated metal siding is riveted on. The rivets allow a certain amount of flexibility as well as a spot for corrosion to get a foot hold. The decision to go from a metal siding to a concrete siding is based on ability to withstand the abrasion and corrosive atmosphere with less continual maintenance. [See the online versions for some photos with descriptions: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/journals/olka/05-17-99.html Mike assures me that there are many projects going on around Kennedy Space Center, and he will periodically keep us updated on his group's progress! STATUS OF COLUMBIA PROCESSING
Below, we provide reports on the processing of Shuttle Columbia taken from the detailed daily reports found at the NASA Shuttle Status web site at http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/status/status.htm At times these reports will contain jargon and unfamiliar terms; our intent is not to confuse you but to provide a glimpse at all the steps involved. Functional checks of Columbia's orbiter maneuvering system and potable water servicing continue. Leak checks continue on the exhaust ducts for auxiliary power units No. 1 and No. 3. Payload bay close-outs were scheduled to begin last week. Meanwhile at the VAB: On Saturday, May 15, 1999, KSC workers made the necessary flight hardware moves to accommodate this week's repair work on Shuttle Discovery's external tank. On Saturday, the STS-93 solid rocket boosters and external tank were rolled out of VAB high bay 1 and then on Wednesday, May 19th was moved to a temporary lightning protection area on the east side of the VAB. By now the STS-93 solid rocket boosters and external tank should be back in high bay 1, inside the VAB to continue processing for its planned July launch. SUBSCRIBING & UNSUBSCRIBING: HOW TO DO IT!
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