Intern Week 3: Graveyard Shift

Olaf Image from film: Frozen. Dir. Chris Buck and Jennifer Lee Lee. Prod. Peter Del Vecho. Perf. Kristen Bell,

NASA Co-Op Week 10: Rocket Science Is Hard

I get frustrated with NASA asking “Why don’t we just build a rocket and go?”, looking and sounding like a doofus in a horse head. NASA Johnson and Kennedy interns met up at Cape Canaveral to watch the Atlas V launch. Visiting Kennedy Space Center reminded me about how much goes into a rocket launch, sending humans or satellites into space. Of course budget and the ability to set and maintain ten year plus political space exploration goals would speed up the process. Those variables aside I want to share what goes into a rocket launch.

Fishing For Rockets Surprisingly NASA does indeed reuse rocket parts, I thought this idea was unique to SpaceX but has been in the works for decades. Following shuttle era launches skirts of rockets and other parts were retrieved from the ocean. They would be inspected, refurbished and reused. Shuttle rocket parts will be used on the new Space Launch System (SLS). Signs labeled parts that will be used for the EM-1 Orion launch. Protective materials preventing heat damage often get reapplied to these parts. Parts of the rocket get so hot it reaches 6000 degrees Fahrenheit while others get so cold ice forms. The technology used to mix these epoxies in mid air is the same technology that coats M&Ms and Doritos. Talk about spin off technologies!

Monster Tank So you made rocket parts. Great, but how do you expect to assemble and transport something so huge? This was a problem my robotics team ran into as well. We had to make sure the robot we built would fit through the door. Once you have all the rocket parts they will be assembled in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), the tallest one story building in the world at 526 feet. It takes 45 minutes for the main door to be opened. Clouds have been known to form inside the VAB and rain has fallen too. Despite how big the VAB may be when transporting one of the rockets into an assembly segment it needed to be tilted at a 45 degree angle. Upgrades are currently being made for the massive SLS. Once the rocket is assembled it is transported on the Crawler-transporter moving at a back breaking speed of one mile per hour. This transporter insures the rocket reaches the launch pad safely limiting the movement of rocket to less than a diameter of a basketball.

Blast Off Wave goodbye to your creation because it will soon launch, release its payload, tumble into the sea repeating the cycle. A successful launch is dependent of many variables including launch pad hardware, windspeed, humidity, weather, and simply fishing boats in the line of debris reentry. If launch is a go bolts the size of your lower leg explode freeing the beast from the ground. If the bolts do not successfully release the rocket don’t care, it will continue to lift off and tear its restraints off like King Kong.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED Consider touring Kennedy Space Center. While Johnson Space is the home of the human aspect of space flight Kennedy is in charge of getting is up there: https://www.kennedyspacecenter.com/

Write your congress members and senators encouraging them to support space exploration: http://www.house.gov/representatives/find/

Discover accomplishments made this week at NASA: http://youtu.be/_a9og3pAqxY

Watch highlights from the latest launch by United Launch Alliance of AtlasV carrying a GPS into orbit: https://www.youtube.com/embed/NPcRziWDigQ

Best Moments from a Year in Space

Creepily enough I have not meet Astronaut Scott Kelly in person, yet through my experience as a NASA Johnson Space intern I have followed his whole journey. While sitting in Mission Control I would see Kelly float through the International Space Station (ISS) to his next experiment, struggle with space food and occasionally pull a space prank. After a record breaking year in space Kelly will return to Earth March 1st and you can watch here 9:15pmCT. He has had many great moments and below are my personal favorites...

Extra Terrestrial Lettuce

Scott Kelly taking a selfie with space lettuce - NASA

Astronauts consumed a space grown harvest for the first time! Kelly,  Kjell Lindgren, and Kimiya Yui tried crisp red romaine lettuce, first plain and then with vinaigrette. NASA was testing the effectiveness of a plant growth facility, Veggie, using rooting "pillows," which contain the seeds. Providing fresh food for astronauts, NASA plans to grow food on spacecrafts and on other planets in the future.

Space flowers, zinnia, were also grown in the Veggie during Kelly's mission blooming with oddly curled petals. NASA ground support treated Kelly like an autonomous gardener with only a one page flower care guide. These zinnia were not the first flowers to bloom on the ISS, in 2012 Astronaut Don Pettit grew a sunflower, broccoli and zucchini plant for a personal experiment. The zucchini bloomed a yellow flower but did not produce a full zucchini with the time allotted. Pettit wrote a "Diary of a Space Zucchini" from the perspective of the orbiting zucchini plant. The first flower to bloom in space was a Arabidopsis flown on board the then Soviet Union’s Salyut-7 space station in 1982.

Space Selfies

Scott Kelly taking a selfie during his first space walk Oct 28th, 2015 - NASA

Selfie during Kelly's space walk December 21st, 2015 - NASA

While there is a lot of science to get excited about in space sometimes its acceptable to take a moment to appreciate a good space selfie. Kelly was pretty selfie happy religiously posting to Twitter and sneaking in a few selfies during down time on space walks. In addition to selfies Kelly has taken thousands of stunning photos of Earth from his extraterrestrial perspective. During his over 5,000 orbits around the Earth Scott Kelly has taken thousands upon thousands of photos documenting Earth's beauty and fluid environment. He has captured Northern Lights, illuminated cities, painted deserts, reaching rivers and looming storms. All of these photos that make Earth look like an unknown planet can be found on his Instagram and Twitter. For the record Buzz Aldrin the took first space selfie in 1966.

Green Goo

Scott Kelly observing a tablet fizzing in water - NASA

Unfortunately this is not a slime ball alien. Scott Kelly dissolved a fizzing tablet and food coloring in a floating ball of water. This bubbling phenomenon was captured using a camera ultra high-definition cameras. NASA explains that higher resolution images and higher frame rate videos can reveal more information when used on science investigations. The floating sphere's form was disturbed by its internal popping and bubbling. Personally I thought this experiment was the most hypnotic.

Watch this odd ball I deem to be better than a lava lamp.

Halfway There

Scott Kelly admiring fresh fruit delivered halfway into his yearlong mission - NASA

Woah, livin' on a prayer!

Seriously though, a year in space takes some serious endurance. A sane completion of half a year in space is well worth a celebration. On board the crew received a delivery of fresh fruit in late August on the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV4) Kounotori, a Japanese cargo ship. On ground, Mission Control celebrated with cupcakes and Skyped with Kelly. Kounotori was one of nine cargo ships Kelly welcomed to ISS. The successful docking of a cargo ship is critical as they carry needed food, experiments, tools and replacement equipment.

15 Years of the International Space Station

Expedition 45 Crew celebrates ISS' 15th birthday - NASA

Scott Kelly celebrated the International Space Station's 15th birthday on November 2nd, 2015 celebrating the first crew's docking back in 2000. Over 1,760 research investigations have been conducted on board including Kelly's Twin Study.

Read about all that has been accomplished on ISS.

Jitters In Orbit

Scott Kelly's set up for Space Cup test - NASA

Liquid in Earth Gravity (right) and low gravity (Left) - NASA

Poor Scott Kelly had to sip coffee for hours to observe patterns of liquid tension in the new Space Cup. It was amusing to hear Kelly claim he took the longest sip of coffee in history. Although bags of coffee are already used on ISS, drinking a cup off coffee is more natural like back on Earth boosting astronaut moral. These Space Cups are engineered to accommodate to liquid's behavior in low gravity. Liquid is very "sticky" in space desiring to adhere to surfaces and pooling. This phenomenon became a hazard when coolant leaked in astronaut Luca Parmitano's space suit during an EVA (Extra Vehicular Activity/ Space Walk) in 2013. By studying the tendencies of liquid in space we can better understand chemical and biological processes in space.

Extra Vehicular Activity

Scott Kelly’s second space walk - NASA

Myself logging during Kelly's second EVA - NASA

During Scott Kelly's second ever space walk I got to follow along with their procedure and log when they successfully completed tasks. Honestly the procedure book is full of engineering jargon that the astronauts may not complete int he desired order, I never had a dull moment trying to keep up! I can't imagine the focus space walkers must have following the procedure, fixing parts on the ISS, staying safe all for many hours without a bathroom and a granola bar. Kelly and Kjell Lindgren spent 7 hours and 48 minutes working outside the International Space Station. They fixed ISS' ammonia cooling system. Scott Kelly performed three EVAs during his year in space.

Scott Kelly taking a selfie with the Earth - NASA

Fragile Exploration

The whole point of Scott Kelly's year long mission is to observe the long term effects of space on a human's body and mind. Humans are the most fragile thing we send up to space. Unfortunately we are not a robot society because by now we would have personally explored each planet in our solar system. To explore, humans have to leave Earth, exist in low gravity and land on other planets SAFELY. Scott Kelly's year in space is a huge step in the right direction to identify our boundaries and expand them. With Scott Kelly on board and his twin brother Mark Kelly as the control on Earth we have a unique look at the effects of zero gravity. Once Scott Kelly lands the science has just begun! Scientists will evaluate the effects on the body in low gravity, observe how Scott Kelly adjusts to Earth's gravity, and observe other changes Scott Kelly has experienced. It is so neat we get to watch this scientific exploration unfold!

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Time Inc. produced a net video series called "A Year In Space" about Scott Kelly's mission.

PBS and Time Inc. will team up to produce a two part series about the mission too.

Launch your career in aerospace.

Watch Scott Kelly's Year In Space wrap up coverage on NASA TV here is the schedule:

NASA Super Bowl Wrap Up: NASA Co-Op #3 Week 3 & 4

Houston, we have ourselves a ball game! A byproduct of a Houston based Super Bowl is the media's fascination with NASA and desire to team up with NASA to make some awesome football space crossover clips. Fox Sports descended upon Johnson Space Center last week to shoot a promo in a trainer Mission Control room called the White Front Control Room. Flight Controllers were invited to sit on NFL themed consoles and take orders from Jimmy Johnson, announcer for Fox Sports, posing as the Flight Director. Other Mission Control employees were invited to the viewing room, a fellow Co-Op and I got to watch the promo filming. Jimmy was a natural Flight Director, passionately and powerfully presenting the script. Here is a clip with Jimmy's Mission Control segment. Fox Sports announcers also had the opportunity to film in orange flight suits and on top of a Space Shuttle mock-up.

Over the past few years NASA's media presence has been increasing due to human exploration themed movies and now the Super Bowl. Love the public's interest in space from those in lab coats who studies ripples in time space to view gravity to those who think watching a rocket launches are cool. Science literacy is for everyone!

Work wise, user testing was conducted for a stowage app that can assist astronauts with (un/re)loading cargo ships. We performed tests in the Space Vehicle Mock-Up Facility inside International Space Station nodes.

Photos by NASA and Fox Sports

High School Women - Aspirations In Computing Award

Due November 7th!

High school women, check out the questions for the NCWIT Aspirations In Computing award, your qualification may surprise you! Seriously gals, apply. You will get internships/ job shadowing opportunities, access to college $$$ and most importantly meet peers with similar interests. This award made me look at computer science as a serious major, awarded me a new iPad and CAD software, gave me the opportunity to visit the white house to advocate for project based learning during a Champions of Change Event and encouraged me to attend Grace Hopper Computing Conference. At least look at the questions because you qualify more than you think, I promise. I talked on WDIO's Good Morning Northland about NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Award for high school women which may provide some insight. Teachers, relatives and friends of HS women, please encourage them to apply.

Hey there, oh wait... there’s no one inside.

Sensing Mars: NASA Co-Op #2 Week Nine

Running trials with the new humidity on my fluid rig showed the fruits of my labor finally ripened. This week I ran three trials to collect data determining if a small business designed Humidity Sensor makes accurate measurements. NASA collaborates with small businesses to solve problems related to upcoming missions. The small business designed this Humidity Sensor so it could measure the humidity on Mars without corroding due to the planet’s chemistry.

Using sensors that NASA is familiar with I ran trial cases to get three different data points and compared those measurements to the new sensor. I created a low humidity environment with a desiccant (drier), created a moderate humidity with ambient air and a high humidity environment with a water bubbler. Using a National Instruments cDAQ (compact data acquisition) I collected data from a thermocouple, pressure gauge and a Vaisala humidity sensor that measures dew point (the temperature at which air can no longer “hold” all of the water vapor which is mixed with it) and mixing ratio (mass of water vapor over the mass of dry air). The new humidity sensor simply gives me the parts per million (ppm) of water using it’s ultrasensitive laser absorption spectroscopy. My other sensors don’t give me a ppm value so I have to calculate it using equations from my mentors “Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics” book.

Building this trial rig was a unique experience because it required knowledge in electronics to interpret the signals sent by the sensors, computer science to write the data acquisition program and VNC (Virtual Network Computing) and chemical engineering to interpret data reported and use correct thermodynamics principles and equations. Next week will be looking at the data and get tangible values about how accurate the new Humidity Sensor is.

WAYS TO GET INVOLVED

Check out the AstrOlympics

See what NASA was up to this week

Apply for a NASA Co-Op

Apply for a NASA Internship

Watch an SLS Booster test live today 6/28/2016 at 10:05amCT. This booster will slingshot an unmanned Orion Space Craft around the Moon in 2018:

How easy would it be for someone to get an internship at NASA, or what would be some typical requirements? I'm only a high school student in engineering and want to know what paths would be really... appreciated I guess? Thx, and love your blog!

Are there any NASA internship requirements...Your typical semester long internship requirements (for a summer, spring or fall opportunity) include a GPA of at least 3.0 and simply a passion for NASA! You don't need to necessarily study in STEM (Science Technology Engineering and Math) disciplines. Some current interns are graphic designers, educators or business majors. NASA accepts high school students to participate in their program too. My first NASA experience was at Glenn Research Center the summer after my senior year. NASA does like to hear about any hands on work you have done, how you have been a leader and future aspirations. You can apply for a semester long internship here: https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/students/login/The NASA Pathways Internship (this program is more commonly known as a Co-Op) has a few different requirements and the program is different itself. Unlike an internship a Co-Op makes a many semester long commitment to you. For example I flip-flop between working at NASA and studying at school. I will work at NASA five times before graduating. If you complete this program successfully you have the opportunity to apply for full time jobs at NASA. The program requirements include being a current student at an ABET accredited university and participating in an accepted major (details on that in the Co-Op application sites) like engineering or business, having at least a 2.9 GPA, and being able to work at NASA three times before your graduate. The current Pathways Internship (Co-Op) openings are here: http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htmYou apply for the Co-Op by making a resume (mine was just bellow 20,000 characters) on USAJobs.gov. Opportunities open up as the year rolls along for fall and spring opportunities. Thanks for the question!

While adorned in Christmas decorations Mission Control is working fast to instruct astronauts on an unexpected space walk. Year in space astronaut Scott Kelly and newly arrived Tim Kopra are performing an Extra Vehicular Activity (EVA) while first time astronaut Tim Peake is declared the commander of Space Station. Kelly and Kopra are assisting in moving the Mobile Transporter rail car a few inches to a worksite on the station’s truss where it can be latched in place. The rail car was stuck and needed to be moved so a Russian ships could be captured this week. In addition they are checking off items from previous EVA Honey Do list. From the perspective of someone who has developed astronaut training, this last minute EVA is extremely impressive! It takes months to develop an EVA's schedule, hours of training in the largest pool in the world with station mock ups - Neutral Buoyancy Lab, and development of hours of training videos. It takes a whole day just to get the suit on! My mentor said who ever pulled this space walk planning off is going to get a big award. WATCH LIVE NOW: www.ustream.tv/NASAHDTV