Spair Thoughts

Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle Mass Estimation Model

2010-12-06T17:50:00.000-07:00

This summer I had the opportunity to work at Johnson Space Center in Houston at an internship. I worked in the Flight and Integrated Test Office in the Constellation Program, developing a heavy lift launch vehicle mass estimation model so that our office, which determines the number of test flights needed, what components need to be tested and how much, etc, could quickly determine the ups and downs of certain components or possible upgrades to rockets. This way, my mentor could quickly see through trade studies and optimizations what could be an economically valuable change to current or future configurations and see how this affects the mass of a rocket.

I was so excited during this whole summer, and I only wish that it could have been prolonged so that I could learn even more about orbital mechanics from my mentor. Hopefully I can go back this summer! In the process of building this tool, I learned so much not just about working and some of the science of rocketry but to develop the right attitudes towards solving problems and never giving up on them, trying new approaches and taking one step at a time. I used to want to be an astronaut.... until I found at that engineers design the propulsion systems and the amazing machines that could lead to the salvation of humanity if something happens to Earth!

Aerospace engineering? Designing airplanes and more efficient rocket engines? More please.

Johnson Space Center Internship Starts!

2010-06-15T22:57:00.000-07:00

15 June 2010.

I started my internship at Johnson Space Center on Monday! My mentor seems extremely nice and comfortable to work with, and my internship assignment seems provokingly challenging and stimulating. I still cannot believe I am interning at NASA. It seems (not to be cliche) surreal to actually be working at Johnson Space Center, THE Houston. THE Houston of Mission Control and astronaut training. I haven't seen too much around the whole base yet, but what I have seen is impressive. The next 8 weeks? Bliss.

I started out as a participant in the Online Learning Community of the NASA INSPIRE program, which stands for Interdisciplinary National Science Program Incorporating Research and Education. It's a NASA program for high school students interested in NASA or aerospace, or the STEM areas in general (science, technology, engineering, math). Then those in the Online Learning Community were given the opportunity to apply for a summer experience. Depending on the grade, these include college classes, facility visits, and paid internships. Though really, we'd all known about the summer opportunities, and that's why we'd even applied for the Online Learning Community anyway. It was a long application process, and then after a phone interview, I was elated a few days later to read the email saying I'd been accepted. At Johnson Space Center, they picked 6 interns out of 108 applicants, so I was pretty stoked.

Now, after all that waiting and anticipation, I am finally here. They told us not to ask for autographs from the astronauts when we're eating lunch at the cafeteria, but I mean, if he/she doesn't seem to be too preoccupied... My first two days of work were fabulous, and I can't wait to go again tomorrow. I am so excited for these 8 weeks: for my job and my assignment, how much I'll learn, and also? Also the plethora of networking opportunities there seem. I feel like I can truly lay out the basic foundation for my whole future here at JSC. I can meet other college interns, other mentors, so many people in NASA, so many possibilities. Hopefully I'll come out in August with security of future internships and career paths I could take. I love aerospace, and these last two days have only made stronger my conviction to go into the field. The people I can meet, and amount I can learn... the networking seems endless. After all, if you're working in the same building as the Johnson Space Center Flight Director, anything could happen...

I guess some slogans are just too fitting to be ignored.
Impossible is nothing.
So inspirational. Who knows? But for the moment, everything is just so phenomenal and mind-blowing, and I cannot wait for work tomorrow.

Hopefully I can add some pictures later...

International Space Station wins Collier Trophy 2009

2010-03-08T14:44:00.001-07:00

http://apod.nasa.gov/apod/image/0904/iss_sts119.jpg

The International Space Statino has won the Collier Trophy for the year of 2009. This award is pretty much like the Nobel Prize for space and aviation in aviation given to the "greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America." Given by the National Aeronautic Association, the International Space Station bas been announced as the 2009 winner and the ISS team will be formally presented the award May 13. The station is now nearing completion, which will allow truly unparalleled research and advancement in science. Already, it has made great advancements in areas such as biology, human physiology, and materials science.
NASA, one of the international agencies working on the project along with the European Space Agency, Russian Federal Space Agency, the Canadian Space Agency, and Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, plays an important part in the construction of the most complicated spacecraft ever built. "We are honored to receive this prestigious award," said Bill Gerstenmaier, the associate administrator of Space Operations Mission Directorate. The International Space Stationg will reach completion later this year, and will mark the 10th anniversary of continuous human presence in space. Boasting past awardees such as the F-22, Boeing 747, F-117 Nighthawk, and Spaceship One, the Collier Trophy truly represents the pinnacle of human achievement in aeronautics and space, fit for a space station that has marked the continuous progress of international human presence and advancement in space.

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/expeditions/expedition22/iss_award_feature.html
http://www.naa.aero/html/awards/index.cfm?cmsid=62

Constellation Program Cancelled?

2010-02-03T17:20:00.005-07:00

President Obama, in his economic budget plan for 2011, plans to cut the Constellation program of NASA in light of the recent budget plans for reducing the nation's deficit. With the space shuttle set to retire this year, the canceling of the Constellation program, which planned to be the next step in manned spacecraft with the Orion capsule and Ares rocket, means NASA will have to look to private companies to man their space ventures, not to mention scrap the hopes of returning to the moon by 2020.

Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle

But don't start crying yet. While the cancellation of this program may seem a huge loss of money as well as jobs right now, in all truthfulness this program has been riddled with troubles. The original plan was to have astronauts on the moon in the year 2020, but with delays and setbacks, the revised plans for the first manned Ares rocket mission was for 2017; we would never have reached the moon three years later; possibly not even until 2030. While I deeply regret the thought of our very own NASA not having its own system for manned spaceflight, I'm not entirely surprised or devastated at the particular Orion project possibly being scrapped; perhaps later, when situations get better, NASA can redeem itself and make a more efficient program in a slightly more timely manner.

Also, can outsourcing to private companies really be terrible? Private companies are jumping at the chance to be able to provide the manned spacecraft to supply the International Space Station as well as other missions.The main reason Obama plans to cut the program is because of its lack of efficiency taken in perspective of our nation's budget. With more competition and powerful incentives, opening up space to everyone may perhaps yield the space results we've all been hoping for, of getting humans to the moon and possibly farther for the first time since 1972.

I would love comments on this issue of the Constellation... Is Obama's plan justified?

Airport Traffic

2010-01-12T17:43:00.004-07:00

Airport traffic in Munich

As 2010 gets rolling, we wonder how airports and traffic will fare. most industries, regardless of economic situations generally get bigger, with bigger markets and audiences, and the airline industry is no exception. More and more people fly and travel; how big of a problem will be traffic? We've all experienced them: 3 hour delays, cancellations, and overly crowded airports. The Federal Aviation Administration predicts that in the next 20 years, air traffic will more than triple. Just imagine 3 times as much crowdedness, delays, and cancellations. With huge increases in people, cargo, and trade, are our current airport systems going to serve the needs of the growing industry? Smaller airports are rarely used, because so many airplanes must go trough big hubs in order to change staff and get repairs.
So while many small airports around the world hardly experience any traffic, big airports get bigger and bigger. With overcrowding and too much traffic come numerous problems; what would happen is an airport was shut down for just a day because of bad weather? Security will become more of a problem; catching terrorists nowadays is bad enough as it is; (Click Here for that story) how can we monitor everybody if traffic is expected to triple? With growing airports, airport traffic is starting to look like a bigger problem...

Commercial Spaceflight

2009-12-22T18:20:00.010-07:00

Virgin Galactic revealed its SpaceshipTwo and VMS Eve, its mothership, on December 7, signifying how far the dream of space tourism has really come. SpaceshipTwo, now named Enterprise, is the first commercial spacecraft, and is expected to begin service in about a year and half. The company and spaceship are the brainchildren of Richard Branson.
This craft will seat 6 passengers and 2 pilots, taking them 65 miles above Earth. For $200,000, passengers can experience about 5 minutes of weightlessness and see the curvature of the Earth.

More and more people are becoming accustomed to the idea of private companies grabbing a hold upon the space industry. NASA and other government agencies can only go so far with funding, as government funds continually experience cuts to make way for other expenses. With suitable incomes from the commerical industry, private companies can not only open up space to everybody, but provide vehicles and resources for the International Space Station and other space goals. Especially with the scheduled retirement of the space shuttle in 2010, several companies have already garnered contracts with NASA to service the ISS and put other satellites in orbit. Look for space exploration to finally become part of everyone's lives, an industry open to all...

Ion Engines

2009-11-08T22:43:00.005-07:00

Ad Astra's Variable Specifc Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR)

It seems that in the long run, space exploration or travel will never work with the speeds we have now. Rocket engines using chemical fuels just don't cut it when it comes to traveling far, going to other planets that would take years to get to. Ion engines are not that new of a concept, the idea's been around since the beginning of the 20th century.

While ion engines may not provide nearly as much power as traditional chemical engines, they are extremely efficient, ten times more so than chemical engines. Also, even with the small amounts of power ion thrusters can put out, they can be on continually, unlike a regular propulsion system which shuts off and lets the spacecraft coast. With ion engines, the spacecraft would constantly be accelerating; no matter how slowly, it will always be getting faster and faster. This with the fact that so much less fuel is needed because of the efficiency, ion engines may be the thrusters of the future.

However, as most people point out, the power provided by ion thrusters is just too small for big rockets and big missions to fly on. Traditionally, ion thrusters work by firing electrons at xenon gas, turning them into a positive ion. The ions are attracted to a negatively charged grid, then a second grid positively charged repels the ions out of the rocket, providing thrust. The company Ad Astra, featured on PopSci, made the VASIMR engine, which shoots radio waves at argon, providing the same effect but much higher thrust. If a nuclear reactor were used to power the VASIMR's engines, providing megawatts of power compared to NASA's kilowatts, the engine could be used to theoretically get humans to Mars in 39 days.

Space Debris

2009-10-11T21:35:00.004-07:00

Have you ever thought about the problem of space debris? Even if some of the debris in orbit eventually burns up in the atmosphere, there must still be a lot out there, orbiting. I'm surprised we don't hear more stories about collisions with debris, seeing as how even a tiny shard or piece of dust could creaste colossal damage at high speeds. There've been some collisions with satellites, and just imagine how many individual shards and debris that creates. If a floating piece of debris hits a vehicle or a bigger piece of debris, this could create even more, leading to a chain reaction effect.

I think this should be a pretty big goal for space agencies or humans in general about space; in about fifty years of space, we've created millions of pieces of space debris, not to mention the natural space dust already out there. We should at least try to figure out a way to reduce the amount or diverting it... Imagine what would happen if more and more crashes occurred in Earth's orbit, and it became virtually impossible to go out into space without getting hit and even furthering the amount of debris...

Book: Skunk Works

2009-08-28T17:56:00.001-07:00

There is a book called Skunk Works, written by Ben Rich who was the head of the Lockheed Martin Skunk Works department for a time, and Leo Janos. It is an excellent book recalling the various projects and life of Skunk Works, which started in 1943 as an advanced research and development branch for Lockheed Martin. The book details projects that Ben Rich and Kelly Johnson, the original pioneer of Skunk Works such as the U-2 Spy Plane, the F-117 Blackhawk, and Sr-71 Blackbird.

It's really very interesting to read and hear about the famous projects and planes we all know about on a personal level from one of the men who headed some of these projects and came up with the ideas. I not only learned about the some of the specific aspects of the planes but also came to feel closer and more familiar with the giant projects, through Ben Rich's documentations and feelings.

The book also provides numerous passages from other people to provide other perspectives on the airplanes, such as test pilots and Air Force generals. I truly recommend it to all people who have an interest in airplanes, as it is an excellent read that was engaging and entertaining to read, learning about the starter of basically the definition of advanced R&D branches of companies.

Airplanes or Spacecraft?

2009-08-21T16:46:00.001-07:00

We know that both airplanes and spacecraft have had huge influence on our world; and both are probably some of the most important inventions or developments in our world today. But which are most influential?

Since 1903, airplanes have become something we use so much.. What would life be like if we had to wait weeks to travel to another continent? So much more of our lives would be consumed with transportation, not to mention the implications (or lack of) on warfare. But with spacecraft, we've explored some of the things outside of our world - What influence will it have over our future? When we have to think of settling in other planets or something?

Which one is more influential? Or has the potential to be?

Welcome!!

2009-08-08T20:16:00.001-07:00

Hello!!
This is officially the first post of the blog Spair Thoughts, a blog about air and space. I'll be updating it about once or twice a week, so keep checking if you're interested in what I'm interested in! I would love any feedback on anything I do, from maintaining the site to thoughts about my latest posts. From space ventures to model airplanes, this blog will cover many things about the world of airplanes and space.