Author: nasaedge

Where have you gone, Neil Armstrong?!!!!!!!!

Yes, Freedom 7 is still alive.  But history took a hit in the late hours last night as LRO blasted past Apollo 11 at 10 minutes to midnight.  LRO, the satellite that will eventually launch and study the Moon, beat the monumental, historic, manned mission to the Moon.  LRO will not deliver America’s most profound quote regarding accomplishment.  It will, however, bring boatloads of scientific data, images, and possibly a tournament trophy.

Check out the match ups and then get ready to vote.

The Co-Host

I want to address the notion of multiple voting versus single voting.  Many of you are upset that users are allowed to vote multiple times.  As you know, one of the negatives to multiple voting is that an aggressive group can skew the results.  Unfortunately, NASA HQ is not able to put controls in place that would only allow each computer to register one vote as it would violate NASA’s privacy policy.  This is out of our (NASA EDGE) hands.  For some the controversy makes the contest rather interesting and for others a sour taste in his/her mouth.  From our standpoint, we felt that we at least needed to be upfront about the rules of the contest.  We had planned to explain the rational after the contest was finished, but after several folks expressed their concern, we thought we should clear the air.

At the buzzer!!!!!!!!

For the moment, forget SPB, forget the Hubble breakdown, forget it all.  A couple of match ups came down to a few last minute votes.

IF the results hold (and they should,) Voyager 1 & 2 beat Cassini by 29 votes and Expedition 1 beat MRO by 84 votes.  Throughout the day, these missions swapped leads and battled for advantage.  You can whine about SPB and multiple voting all you want, but there was drama at 11:59pm, and it was AWESOME! 

The Co-Host

Here are some pics of the Ares 1-X Crew Module/Launch Abort System (CM/LAS) being loaded into an Air Force C-5 cargo plane.  Enjoy.

Credit:  Ron Beard, NASA EDGE

Credit: TBD

**Before I begin this post, let me warn you ahead of time that anything typed in another color other than black should be taken very lightly.  The Co-host has been color happy lately.**

The NASA EDGE team is in Promontory, Utah at the ATK Test Facility covering the Orion Launch Abort Motor full-scale test firing.  If you’ve never been to the test facility here’s what you see as you drive up to the main entrance.   I actually suggested that they refer to this event as a test hiring rather than a test firing.  I got nothing.

ATK Test Facility, Promontory, Utah.  Credit: NASA EDGE/Chris Giersch

On November 20, NASA, ATK, and the Orion Project team will conduct the first full-scale test fire of the Launch Abort Motor for the Orion crew exploration vehicle.  A full-scale test like this has not been conducted since the days of the Apollo Program.  This test and earlier motor and component tests are paving the way for the Pad Abort-1 Flight Test scheduled for the spring of 2009. 

The Abort Motor stands over 17 feet tall, spans three feet in diameter and is equipped with a manifold that has four nozzles and turns the flow of the flames to create a pulling motion.

Abort Motor attached to the vertical test stand.  Credit: NASA EDGE/Chris Giersch

It is the primary motor in the Orion Launch Abort System (LAS).  The LAS will be able to pull the crew module to safety away from the Ares I launch vehicle in the event of an emergency on the pad or during the initial phase of ascent up to 300,000 feet.  Speaking of scale, this thing is huge.  It always seems smaller in the animations we use on the show.

In the picture above, the Abort Motor is fitted into the vertical test stand, with the nozzles pointed skyward.  The burn time for the test is five seconds.  I believe the flames exiting the nozzles may reach a height of 100 feet.  So we’ll see what happens during burn time.  Should be fun.

Today we had a chance to view the dry test run from the control room.  The dry run took about 45 minutes and involved a series of checks before a they ignited a small charge.   Import Dry Run Note: Remember not to drink a 64 oz. cafe latte before the test.  The script doesn’t call for bathroom breaks.

Control room for the Abort Motor test firing.  Credit: NASA EDGE/Chris Giersch

The team from ATK did a great job and I think everyone is ready for the test on Nov. 20.  Our coverage of the Abort Motor test is part of a NASA EDGE vodast we are doing on the Orion Launch Abort System.  Today we had a chance to conduct a few interviews for the vodcast. 

Chris and Blair interviews Heather Angel from Lockheed Martin.  Credit: Linda Singleton
WHAT!?!?!?!  Ron is a set therapist for ATK too!

Heather Angel is a propulsion engineer for Lockheed Martin.  She’s been with the company for a little over six months and has done an outstanding during her short tenure.  We expect big things from her in the years to come.

Blair, Steve Gaddis, Barry Meredith, and Chris.  Credit: NASA EDGE/Ron Beard
Did you notice the gradual increase in height from left to right?  For the record, we were on a slant.

We can’t produce a LAS vodcast without interviewing the head honcho for LAS, Barry Meredith.  Barry currently works at NASA Langley Research Center and has been with NASA for 40 years.  He works in the same directorate as me at Langley.  I can’t say enough about Barry.  He’s a straight shooter who knows how to get the job done.  Unfortunately Barry is leaving us in December and is retiring from NASA.  I am definitely looking forward to his retirement party.  And for his final act before retirement, Berry Meredith names Blair Allen as the nations top Medianaut with an emphasis in Magnetospherence!  If that doesn’t work, I can always emcee his retirement party.  I just bought a new karaoke machine.

Anyway enough rambling for one day.  Hey, the test firing is right around the corner and I think Ron is setting up the cameras.  We’ll be back to give you our take on the test firing and see if Blair’s hotdogs survived the burn.

All the best,
Chris
 

Blair had a problem with a power converter on his T-34 heading to Tashi Station, and Mos Nocohost was the nearest place that sold power converters.   As we approached Black Point Lava Flow, we happened to see a bunch of tents in the distance.  Using stealth like techniques, we decided to investigate.  Avoiding all imperial entanglements, we managed to get some cool pics of a very cool looking small pressurized rover concept.

Small Pressurized Rover Concept.  Credit: NASA EDGE

NASA is now testing a new generation of rovers that will be used when we return to the moon by the end of the next decade.  One of these rover concepts is the Small Pressurized Rover or SPR.  The SPR consists of a Mobility Chassis and an SPR cabin module. 

SPR showing the “crab style” movements.  Credit: NASA EDGE

The SPR concept offers many advantages over the rovers of the Apollo days.  It will increase the potential range of exploration, provide protection for the astronauts, reduce the amount of time astronauts must wear pressurized suits and allow for more scientific research.

The SPR in action.  Credit: NASA EDGE

Another unique advantage of the SPR system is the crew lock concept, providing a rapid EVA ingress/egress.  The crew lock will allow the crew to enter and exit the EVA suit while never having to bring the suit inside, keeping the internal space mostly free of dust.

EVA mock-up suit. Credit: NASA

Well, the second power converter died on the T-34 and we were stuck out on the lava flow with no transport to get to Mos Nocohost.  As the Sun drifted away below the horizon and temperatures falling near freezing, I asked Blair if we had a back up plan.  “Back up plan?” responded Blair.   Have no fear, SPR is here.   The SPR team is a great group of engineers and technicians. They definitely have the “right stuff” and have been working hard the past couple of years on lunar rover concepts.  In fact, they managed to find time to bail us out and provide a lift into town.

SPR in action at night.  Credit: NASA

We had a great time covering the SPR test at Black Point Lava Flow in Arizona.  Look for an NE@ segment in the next month or so featuring Astronaut Mike Gernhardt taking us on a test drive in the SPR.

All the best,
Chris
Host

Last week the NASA EDGE team traveled to NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, MD to shoot a segment on the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter (LRO).  LRO is the first mission in the US Space Exploration Policy, a plan to return to the moon and then to Mars and beyond.

LRO in the clean room at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center.  Credit: Chris Giersch, NASA EDGE

You can learn more about LRO at www.nasa.gov/LRO.   Special thanks goes to Stephanie Stockman, Education and Public Outreach Lead for the mission.  She handled all the logistics from her end and made our life very easy during the shoot. 

Stephanie Stockman and Chris Giersch discuss LRO’s mission objectives. Credit: Ron Beard, NASA EDGE

Below are a couple of pics from the shoot.

The Host interviewing Noah Petro, Planetary Geologist and Expert Lunar Guru (ELG). Credit: Franklin Fitzgerald, NASA EDGE

The NASA EDGE Team (Ron, Chris, Blair, and Franklin) in front of LRO.  Credit: Cindy Taylor

Finally, here’s a pic for the LRO team.  We found this in their conference room.  We need to look into getting one for NASA EDGE.

Even LRO has their own neon sign.  Pretty cool.  Credit: Chris Giersch, NASA EDGE

We look forward to now producing a segment on LCROSS because LRO and LCROSS are going up on the same spacecraft.  I guess we are off to Ames in the near future.  Thanks again to the LRO team for a great time up at NASA Goddard!

Chris
NASA EDGE Host

The following proposal was offered officially during our most recent Vodcast, NASA EDGE: Daytona 500.  I am posting it here in order to officially begin my campaign.

It’s true.  Both Chris and I were on the Mike and Mike show for our 15 minutes of fame.  Ron better sharpen up his ego management skills.  He is going to need it.  We had an absolute blast.

First, everyone at ESPN was awesome.  Golic is every bit the giant that he is rumored to be, and “Greeny” is obviously the brains of the outfit.  From top to bottom both, along with their entire team, were extremely nice and courteous.  Golic even continued to talk to us as he plowed through NASA’s space version of fiesta chicken when the segment went off the air.  Greeny simply asked more and more questions about NASA.  It was awesome.  And I have to admit that I was totally star struck.  These guys are our heroes.

Second, they are very excited about their upcoming interview with Astronaut Ken Ham during STS-124.  Before the show went live, you could sense their genuine giddiness about it.  It was really cool to see their excitement about NASA and NASA’s future, which we try to promote everyday.

I also want to thank Michele Perchonok and all of the folks at JSC that provided the space food.  Golic admittedly doesn’t like tomatoes or fruity deserts, but he still gave them high marks.  Of course, we could find no evidence of the shrimp cocktail or the fiesta chicken by the end of the interview.  Clearly those more than passed the Golic test.  It was quite impressive considering that we didn’t even cook the space food in zero gravity*.

What a Day!

*I recognize that the official term may not be “zero gravity.”  Please accept this term in the spirit that it was intended… to be a punch line directed at our amateur preparation of the food.