Find your tribe in a Sea of Creativity
Test - Blog Posts
Fellow Co-Op shared her experience testing Curiosity Rover's drill, Morpheous tested thrusters and students toured space structure labs.
Jackelynne Silva-Martinez presented "Behind the Scenes on the Verification and Validation (V&V) Tests of the Curiosity Rover's Robotic Arm." The Curiosity rover has been gathering data on Mars since August 2012. Jacky is a mechanical engineer who was a test operator for the MSL robotic arm during its V&V surface tests for sample acquisition, processing and handling. She tested with equipment which are a replica of the drill and the Collection and Handling for In situ Martian Rock Analysis (CHIMRA).
Engineering Structures (ES) students hosted a presentation and tour of labs that they work in for fellow Co-Ops and interns. These ES students are working on testing materials that cover Orion, untangling vibrations the Space Launch System experiences during tests and analyzing samples after the first Orion test.
ES had lab with electron microscopes, impact test tools and a 3D printing lab. From the outside the ES building looks like a bunch of office spaces but nested in the inside are many we equipped labs.
July 20th was the Moon Landing's 47th anniversary. In celebration Johnson Space hosted an ice-cream party!
Morpheus is a planetary lander capable of taking off vertically. This week Morpheus' positioning thrusters were tested to capture footage for Engineering Propulsion. The test happened outside and we had to stay in the lab to remotely operate the test. Co-Op Michael O'Donnell is working on Morpheus preparing it's fuel chambers for thermo testing.
43 Acres of Aerospace: NASA Co-Op #2 Week Five & Six
If you think NASA is dead then you have probably never personally visited a NASA Center. 27 Johnson Space students had the awesome opportunity to tour the Michoud (Meh-shood) Assembly Facility. Here the Space Launch System (SLS), largest rocket in the world with 20% more thrust than Saturn V, is being built. SLS will send an unmanned Orion Space Craft around the Moon in Fall of 2018. In the history of spaceflight unmanned missions are common to ensure astronauts will be safe. The 43 acre indoor assembly facility is so large you have to ride a tram indoors for a tour. We saw liquid nitrogen tanks, liquid oxygen tanks, rings, domes and all the tools to safely weld/ fasten these parts together. Employees could be seen in hard hats and florescent yellow vests monitoring the tank's construction and creation of parts.
North of Michoud is Stennis Space Center, masters of engine tests and keeper of partners across the US Government. Buildings dedicated to work done by the Navy, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Universities and US Geological Survey for maximum collaboration. Stennis is unique because it is surrounded by a 125,000 acre acoustical buffer zone comprised of local trees. Despite buffer efforts past tests have been known to shatter windows! We were scheduled to see an engine test at test stand A above but we unfortunately missed due to engine technical difficulties. Aerospace engineering is hard guys, I'm glad they are doing what they got to do to ensure a successful mission.
I encourage you to visit a NASA center and take a tour of the facilities offered by the respective center's visitor centers. See for your self the progress toward our journey to mars. Johnson Space offers a tram tour to Mission Control, Mock Up Facility and the Shuttle Systems Test Facility. I am sure other centers offer similar opportunities. NASA visitor centers can be found here.
Space Launch System (SLS) booster test screen shots from today. This booster uses 5.5 tons of propellent a second! The booster will help sling shot an unmanned Orion Space Craft around the Moon in late 2018. In mid July I will going to a SLS engine test in person.
NASA Co-Op Week 16: Barf Lab & Mockups
Twenty five weeks at NASA Johnson I finally got a proper tour, lead by a tour guide, of the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility that houses exact replicas (build with same blueprint) of International Space Station modules, Shuttle, and Soyuz. Astronauts train in these mockups. A "low definition" mockup of Orion was present too.
Neurosciences Laboratory took us on a tour of their various astronaut barf machines. It is really like the rumors of spinning chairs, dizzying treadmills, and dark enclosed sliding contraptions. The spinning is to isolate parts of your brain that are used for balance. Only one day after Space Station astronauts return to Earth in Russia they are flown over to Johnson Space Center and put through a series of gravity adaptation tests. They had to pick up weighted objects, navigate around obstacles, jump of a short platform, and exit a hatch like structure. These tests will help NASA determine if astronauts would be capable of completing Mars surface operations after a long low gravity flight to the Red Planet. I wouldn't be surprised if returning astronauts Kjell, Oleg and Kimiya are on their way to the barf lab right now!
Most of the NASA Johnson Co-Ops and Interns complete their Fall semester this week. It is absolutely heart breaking to get to know so many space passionate people only to have to say goodbye at the end of the semester. I wish I could see all of these stellar students participate in NASA's future as they have already contributed to the growth of space exploration. It was an honor to work among these bright minds.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Accomplishments this week at NASA: https://youtu.be/4tw5uwHD0PEApply for a NASA Internship NOW (high school to grad school):https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/Apply for a NASA Co-Op (Pathways Internship):http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htmLearn to code: https://hourofcode.com/usMeteor Shower live chat December 13th: https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/news/releases/2015/M15-180.htmlCurrent NASA opportunities for students: http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.htmlCode more: https://www.madewithcode.com/
NASA Co-Op Week 11: Leaky Space Station
Space Walk My latest opportunity to sit console was during a spacewalk (extravehicular activity/ EVA) by Scott Kelly and Kjell Lindgren. They were on a mission to upkeep the International Space Station's ailing structures. One of the primary tasks was to fix an ammonia leak originally identified in 2012. Media dressed this leak up with red flags and flashing lights, however, NASA predicted this fault to occur given the age of ISS and the nature of its climate control system. Since the ISS is a closed loop system the interior produces a lot of heat from astronauts and their hardware, water is used to cool the space station, the energy is then transferred to ammonia, and lastly into giant radiators. This 6.5 hour long EVA consisted of mating power cables, tubes valves, and checking integrity of systems. During the EVA I took flight notes on the procedures Scott and Kjell were running. I was to report what step each of them were on to the PLUTO flight controller to my right.
Grace Hopper Action Items Something that was scary but rewarding was presenting to my branch at NASA about what I learned at GHC and even challenged them with three action items... 1)Make the work place welcoming (paid parent leave, mentoring and celebrating results over hours), 2) Educating the community about how cool STEM is. 3) Communicating Effectively. I encourage you all to present action items to your current employers, student group, or college professionals after attending conferences.
Astronaut Training Development I thought I had made a pretty good astronaut training video... until I put it in front of user testers. I learned I didn't even effectively communicate how to turn the device on right! Back to the drawing board for me. I had 17 users of various ages, disciplines, personalities and technology experience test the training to insure I was catering to everyone. After reviewing helpful feedback I edited the training video again so the messages were clearer.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED NASA summer internship applications now open: https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/ Learn to code: https://techprep.fb.com/get-started/ Accomplishments this week at NASA: https://youtu.be/NPLPmdFx2yw Houston Maker Faire Nov14 (3D Printing, Robots): http://www.houstonmakerfaire.com/ Astronaut Kjell plays the bagpipes: https://youtu.be/7DWzmq9e0Lw
The Rusted Wives Club
by Rusty
About every 3 months or so, I undergo a Cardiac Stress Test. It is not by any means a pleasurable medical experience and normally leads me to examine many of my life's questionable decisions. But none the less, this medical inquiry offers my loved ones a measured sense of reassurance that my old, rusted butt is going to keep paddling around this watery planet… just a little bit longer.
The seriousness of this medical procedure really should not be understated. To ensure that my heart - and head - are in the right place before I undergo this test, my wife encourages me to find my “Happy Place” by hanging out at the beach and surfing with the boys. She understands that a good morning in the surf helps relax me, calms me down, puts me into that zen type place, “that only a surfer knows.”
It took me three wives to find the right lady, but #3 totally gets me.
With my toes freshly sanded and hair still salty, I am ready to have all the wires and electrodes attached to my wrinkled body… I have to say, it sucks getting old. With each year the probing and prodding of my anatomy gets deeper and deeper, sometimes reaching soul piercing depths.
So this is how the test normally starts; again, this happens about once every three months... I come home from a sunny surf session and find all three of My wives, in My living room, sipping several bottles of My wine… 2 Former Wives + 1 Current Wife = Spousal Overload... Instant Heart Attack or what my doctor has diagnosed as a Cardiac Stress Test!
If I was actually hooked up to an EKG machine, at that shocking moment, it would fucking blow up!
These “Tres Señoras de Rusty” love to do this to me; they love to see the horror on my face, the fear in my eyes, the sweat build up on my upper lip. They love to redline Rusty’s old ticker!
Once the initial shock wears off, after I gulp down a glass of wine, the inevitable questions of my actual health come up. Because folks, here’s the bottom, without me, this “Rusted Wives Club” would have no financing!
This medical farce is actually a quarterly business meeting, called to order by the three owners’ of “Rusted Beauties.” Each quarter’s agenda consists of only one bullet point and that is simply my health; or rather their complex, non-medical assessment of my well-being and how that could affect their lavish purses. For the three of them, it is a fun afternoon of risk management done over a few bottles of wine. For me, it’s the fuel that will ensure that I outlive them all!
Aloha.
Doctor My Eyes - Jackson Browne Doctor, my eyes Tell me what is wrong Was I unwise to leave them open for so long
Something I saw on Twitter from @veskscans who unfortunately deleted the original post, so I post this because I interests me, so I welcome those who find this to try and solve this Megaten puzzle and yes all answers are based on the series so good luck.
Union Station #8 2018. Oil on Wood 10" x 8" an earlier piece from 2018, generally I use the smaller pieces to test things out and with this one I wanted to see how texture changed the overall painting. I like the texture in the cool sky but I think it was a little too strong in comparison to the rest of the painting.
I think overall I think the painting was succesful and a great learning experience.
Instagram.
Shop.
Portfolio.
