|
   |
 |
                 
|
S P A C E T E A M O N L I N EUPDATE # 85 - June 7, 1999 PART 1: Shall we chat? SHALL WE CHAT?
We recognize that many of you are already on summer break and many are still in that mad dash to the finish. But some of us will be working through the summer and we'd like to offer you a special opportunity. If you have a group that would commit to showing up to chat with a NASA expert, write to me directly (not to the list!) and let me know: * When you would like to chat. Please be reasonable in your expectation, remembering that most experts are in U.S. time zones. * With whom you would like to chat (We will try to accommodate to the best of our ability and the team member's availability) See the list at: http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team * How many are in your group/classroom. We naturally would want to be able to include others, but yours would be first priority. Now's your chance to shape the direction of NASA Quest's summer chats. Let us hear from you, Linda Conrad Space Team Online project manager NASA Quest Team FEMALE FRONTIERS PUZZLE
We have reached the final stage of this puzzle. As you probably know, even
if you've solved just a little of this puzzle, the mystery picture is a
collage of women, each of which is outstanding for pioneering an aspect of
their career area.
The online version is at:
http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/events/ffpuzzle
Final challenge - Due June 26, 1999:
Your job is to identify as many of the subjects pictured as you can and
give at least one area in which each was a significant "first."
Additionally, select one of the pictured frontierswomen (whose profile is
not a part of the Female Frontiers project) and write a 50 word essay
reflecting on how you "think" (this is an opinion question) this person
has made a difference to today's society.
Scoring will be based on timely, accurate, and complete responses and the
level of research evident (12 points possible).
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 #9:
Of which specific NASA program is the Chandra X-ray Observatory a mission?
What are the three main goals of this mission?
Answer:
NASA's SEU (Structure and Evolution of the Universe) program
Goals:
*To explain the structure of the Universe and forecast our
cosmic destiny
*To explore the cycles of matter and energy in the evolving
Universe
*To examine the ultimate limits of gravity and energy in the
Universe
[Editor's note: Kurt works at the Graphical Research and Analysis Facility Laboratory, or GRAF Lab for short. He makes computer models of tasks and equipment in order to test processes before they are done in real life. As he says, "It is like making a NASA version of 'Toy Story'."] TRANSHAB IS ON THE MOVE http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/bush.html June 1, 1999 Hello, all! I thought it was about time to write another journal. I don't know why I do as few of them as I do. After all, I like doing them. To begin things, I am now working on the Transhab design and animation again. The Transhab is a space module they want to add to the International Space Station. The design is still being tweaked and fine tuned, but it is a great design. It provides more storage for food and crew, provides more protection than other modules, and has a few extras. These extras make it unique. They include wide open areas; a table that seats twelve by the kitchen, fridge, and freezer; an exercise area; and showers and medicine cabinets - a space home away from home. I am helping them with the assembly of this module. I make a virtual assembly in the computer and check for any problems that might come up. This way the Transhab team can eliminate these problems now and not have to deal with them when it is in space. The animation of the virtual assembly helps find the best way to build it up and helps with educational purposes. The animations have also been used to demonstrate, in a simple manner, how the Transhab gets assembled on orbit and provides an easy way to train the astronauts on what to do to assemble it. The animation is much easier to remember than pages and pages of assembly instructions. I bet everyone would agree to this one. I animate the module and show it to the other designers. This gives them a better feel on how the assembly sequence operates. Then with their input, an improved version gets made and is then reevaluated. This helps the people designing one part of the Transhab see the work done by other groups designing different parts of the Transhab. Now that you know what's going on with me at work, I'll tell you what's been going on in my personal life. Those crazy cats of mine are still quite nuts. I got a new computer game yesterday and I can't wait to play it. Oh, I saw the new Star Wars movie and was quite impressed with the graphics. I heard that Toy Story 2 is coming out and that it will be quite a good show. My wife and I are planning on going on a short weekend vacation to Las Vegas with a bunch of friends, so that should be a lot of fun. Last time we were there, Las Vegas got their yearly amount of rain in one night, two or three inches, and they freaked out about it. Being from Houston, Texas, two or three inches can be considered the weekly, daily, or hourly amount of rain depending on what month it is. Needless to say, we were not impressed by the rainfall and did not know what the big deal was. I also showed the lab to Lori Keith, a Space Team Online member, and let her see the various things the lab does -- lighting analysis, virtual reality machines and gear, animations, computer modeling, computer programming, and other elements were all shown. A lot of what we do deals with math and science, not just computers. I know when I write these journals that fact does not come across very well, but if it did it wouldn't be a journal, it would be a boring technical report. I'm sure you like this style better so just remember that lots of math goes into what I do when you read these journals of mine. [Editor's note: Diane has recently taken a new role as Space Station Payload Integration Manager. In this job she gets payloads stowed on the shuttle and then transferred and integrated onto the ISS (International Space Station) to do science experiment/research work.] WORKING ON EARLY EDUCATION PAYLOADS FOR ISS
By Diane McMahon http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/mcmahon.html May 6, 1999 Interviewer: Lori Keith I think I mentioned in my last journal that I was changing jobs. I am beginning to get settled in the Payloads Office/OZ2. My new job is fun and kind of crazy since the launch manifest keeps changing. In my new job as a Payload Integration Manager, I ensure my assigned payloads get integrated on to the International Space Station (ISS). Many milestones must be met before a payload gets on the ISS. It must have a stowage location, it must meet safety criteria and pass design reviews, crew training must be done, procedures documented, and operational requirements defined and met -- to name some of the activities. I provide any help the payload developers may need to make their payload flight ready, whether it's facilitating activities or getting payload representatives in touch with the right people to answer questions. I work several payloads for different launches/ missions at the same time. Once everything is done, and the payload is operational on the ISS, my duties are complete for that payload. NASA wants to start science activities on the ISS as soon as possible, so we are working to prepare early payloads for flight. Payloads that could qualify for early flights are fairly uncomplicated with few resource requirements. Some of the early payloads I am working on right now are education payloads. They are not on the payload manifest yet, but we have been given the go-ahead to target them for early flights. For one of these early payloads, which we call the Education payload, astronaut Bill Shepherd has been trained to do an experiment about the germination of seeds in space. Live downlinks are planned as part of these JASON Foundation activities. We have also planned to videotape some of the on-orbit activities for future use in the classroom. Bill Shepherd is scheduled to go to the ISS on a Russian spacecraft in January 2000, along with two cosmonauts. Our early shuttle flights are already heavily committed to putting up other system and payload hardware, and our challenge is to get the necessary Education payload items on the ISS by the deadline of February 2000. Another early education payload I am working is EarthKAM, which we expect to launch on 5A (April 2000). EarthKAM has previously flown a lot of missions on the shuttle. (EarthKAM stands for Earth Knowledge Acquired by Middle schools.) This payload is geared towards middle school students, who decide on the photographs taken on orbit. The crew will set up an electronic still camera in the window of the U. S. lab. The camera will operate on its own for 18 hours at a time, for four 18-hour stints a month for six non-consecutive months. The Window Observation Research Facility (WORF) is a standard rack being specially adapted to fit over the U. S. lab window. When the WORF rack goes up on UF 2, it will be used by EarthKAM, Crew Earth Observations (CEO), and other payloads. The CEO is another early payload. It has been around for years and will be an ongoing payload activity. This is not an education payload, but there will be a lot of crew photography that will be downlinked using the same electronic still camera that EarthKAM uses. Some of my time is spent working on two protein crystal growth payloads, one going up on 7A (August 2000) and the other on 8A (March 2001). These payloads will help investigators understand how crystals grow in zero gravity. A rather large payload I work with is the BRP (Biological Research Project), out of Ames Research Center, in California, where non-human life sciences research is done. (Human life science research is done at JSC.) When the BRP is on orbit, it will be the largest research facility on the ISS. It will have a centrifuge 2.5 meters in diameter and a life sciences glovebox. There will be a habitat holding rack -- which is a standard rack adapted to house insects, aquatic organisms, small animals, and plants. Flight UF3 is when major components of the BRP will begin go up to the ISS. Marshall Spaceflight Center, in Alabama, is the facility responsible for making all the ISS racks. The racks are composed of layers and layers of human-made material (like fiberglass) and cured at high temperatures. This makes the racks very strong. To help me with my responsibilities at NASA, I belong to Toastmasters. Toastmasters is an international organization that helps people overcome their nervousness associated with public speaking. You become a Certified Toastmaster (CTM) after giving 10 speeches, which can be done in a year or less. I have been in it about 3 years and have done nine speeches. I plan on doing my tenth speech this spring, so I can earn my CTM. I have really enjoyed this experience, and it has truly helped me get over my fear of speaking in front of others. We all owe it to ourselves to face our fears and deal with them. One of my sons works here at JSC and just returned from a 2-week trip to Russia. He was there training the Russians to use the American Space Suits. My family is going camping later this month, so I will tell you how that went in my next journal. Lori's note: Another cool EarthKAM site is: http://k12unix.larc.nasa.gov/projects/earthkam/teachers/connect.html 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. Columbia is hardmated to the external tank and solid rocket booster stack in VAB high bay 1 Friday, June 4. Saturday, the Shuttle Interface Test was concluded and over the weekend workers prepared for Monday's (today, June 7) Shuttle roll out to Launch Pad 39B at about 2 a.m. EDT The Chandra X-ray Observatory and Inertial Upper Stage are undergoing interface verification testing. 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 send a message to: listmanager@quest.arc.nasa.gov In the message body, write ONLY 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 ONLY these words: unsubscribe updates-sto If you have Web access, please visit our "continuous construction" site at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space |
||
|
|
|
