|
|
Dr. Mae C. Jemison, First Af
…
| Title |
Dr. Mae C. Jemison, First African-American Woman in Space |
| Full Description |
The first African-American woman in space, Dr. Mae C. Jemison was born on October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama but considers Chicago, Illinois her hometown. She received a Bachelor in Chemical Engineering (and completed the requirements for a Bachelor in African and Afro-American studies) at Stanford University in 1977. Dr. Jemison also received a Doctorate degree in medicine from Cornell University in 1981. After medical school she did post graduate medical training at the Los Angeles County University of Southern California Medical Center. As an area Peace Corps medical officer for Sierra Leone and Liberia in West Africa, she managed the health care delivery system for U.S. Peace Corps and U.S. Embassy personnel. Jemison's background includes work in the areas of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, and reproductive biology. She also developed and participated in research projects on the Hepatitis B vaccine and rabies. Jemison was a General Practitioner and attending graduate Engineering classes in Los Angeles when she was named an astronaut candidate in 1987. She flew her first flight as a science mission specialist on STS-47, Spacelab-J, in September 1992. She was co-investigator for the Bone Cell Research Experiment on that mission. In completing her first space flight, Jemison logged 190 hours, 30 minutes and 23 seconds in space. Jemison resigned from NASA in March 1993. In 1994, she founded and began a term as chair of The Earth We Share (TEWS), an annual international science camp where students, aged 12 to 16, work together to solve current global dilemmas. From 1995- 2002 she was a professor of Environmental Studies at Dartmouth College. She is currently director of the Jemison Institute for Advancing Technology in developing countries. She is the recipient of numerous awards and honors, including induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame and several corporate boards of directors on the Texas Governor's State Council for Science and Biotechnology Development. Dr. Jemison published her memoirs, Find Where DE:the Wind Goes:Moments from My Life in 2001. She currently resides in Houston, Texas. |
| Date |
07/1992 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Skylab Solar Shield
| Title |
Skylab Solar Shield |
| Full Description |
A sail like sunshade for possible use as a sunscreen for the Skylab Orbital Workshop (OWS) is shown being fabricated in the GE Building across the street from Johnson Space Center, Houston Texas. Three people help the steamstress feed the material through the sewing machine. The three-layered sunshade will be composed of a top layer of aluminized mylar, a middle layer of laminated nylon ripstop, and a bottom layer of thin nylon. Working on the sunshade are from left to right: Dale Gentry, Elizabeth Gauldin, Alyene Baker, and James H. Barnett Jr. Mrs. Baker, a GE employee, operates the double needle Singer sewing machine. Barnett is head of the Crew Equipment Development Section of JSC Crew Systems Division. Mrs. Gauldin is also with the Crew Systems Division. Gentry works for GE. The work shown here is part of the crash program underway to prepare a sunshield for Skylab to replace the orginal shield which was lost when Skylab 1 was launched on May 14, 1973. The improvised solar shield selected to be used will be carried to Earth orbit by the Skylab 2 crewman who will then deploy the reflective parasol to shade part of the OWS from the hot rays of the sun. Loss of the orginal sun shield has caused an overheating problem. in the Orbital Work Shop. |
| Date |
01/01/1973 |
| NASA Center |
Headquarters |
|
Female Astronauts
| Title |
Female Astronauts |
| Full Description |
Astronauts Dr. N. Jan Davis (left) and Dr. Mae C. Jemison (right) were mission specialists on board the STS-47 mission. Born on November 1, 1953 in Cocoa Beach, Florida, Dr. N. Jan Davis received a Master degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1983 followed by a Doctorate in Engineering from the University of Alabama in Huntsville in 1985. In 1979 she joined NASA Marshall Space Flight Center as an aerospace engineer. A veteran of three space flights, Dr. Davis has logged over 678 hours in space since becoming an astronaut in 1987. She flew as a mission specialist on STS-47 in 1992 and STS-60 in 1994, and was the payload commander on STS-85 in 1997. In July 1999, she transferred to the Marshall Space Flight Center, where she became Director of Flight Projects. Dr. Mae C. Jemison, the first African-American woman in space, was born on October 17, 1956 in Decatur, Alabama but considers Chicago, Illinois her hometown. She received a Bachelor degree in Chemical Engineering (and completed the requirements for a Bachelor degree in African and Afro-American studies) at Stanford University in 1977, and a Doctorate degree in medicine from Cornell University in 1981. After receiving her doctorate, she worked as a General Practitioner while attending graduate engineering classes in Los Angeles. She was named an astronaut candidate in 1987, and flew her first flight as a science mission specialists on STS-47, Spacelab-J, in September 1992, logging 190 hours, 30 minutes, 23 seconds in space. In March 1993, Dr. Jemison resigned from NASA, thought she still resides in Houston, Texas. She went on to publish her memoirs, Find Where the Wind Goes: Moments from My Life, in 2001. The astronauts are shown preparing to deploy the lower body negative pressure (LBNP) apparatus in this 35mm frame taken in the science module aboard the Earth-orbiting Space Shuttle Endeavor. Fellow astronauts Robert L. Gibson (Commander), Curtis L. Brown (Junior Pilot), Mark C. Lee (Payload Commander), Jay Apt (Mission Specialist), and Mamoru Mohri (Payload Specialist) joined the two on their maiden space flight. The Spacelab-J mission was a joint effort between Japan and the United States. |
| Date |
09/15/1992 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
X-38: Artist Concept of Re-E
…
| Photo Description |
This is an artist's depiction of NASA's proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) re-entering the earth's atmosphere. A team of NASA researchers began free flight tests of the X-38, a technology demonstrator for the CRV, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in 1998. The CRV is being designed as a "lifeboat" for the International Space Station |
| Project Description |
The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. ItÕs landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, DrydenÕs B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground. |
| Photo Date |
1997 |
|
X-38 research aircraft remov
…
X-38 research aircraft - sec
…
X-38 research aircraft - Fir
…
X-38 vehicle descending towa
…
X-38 research aircraft deorb
…
X-38 research aircraft landi
…
X-38 research aircraft launc
…
Research pilot Fred Haise
Test pilot Michael R. Swann
| Photo Date |
August 21, 1978 |
|
X-38 Drop Model: Glides to E
…
| Photo Description |
A 4-foot-long model of NASA's X-38, an experimental crew return vehicle, glides to earth after being dropped from a Cessna aircraft in late 1995. The model was used to test the ram-air parafoil landing system, which could allow for accurate and controlled landings of an emergency Crew Return Vehicle spacecraft returning to Earth. |
| Project Description |
The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. ItÕs landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, DrydenÕs B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground. |
| Photo Date |
1995 |
|
X-38 Drop Model: Used to Tes
…
| Photo Description |
A 4-foot-long model of NASA's X-38, an experimental crew return vehicle, glides to earth after being dropped from a Cessna aircraft in late 1995. The model was used to test the ram-air parafoil landing system, which could allow for accurate and controlled landings of an emergency Crew Return Vehicle spacecraft returning to Earth. |
| Project Description |
The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. ItÕs landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A, contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, DrydenÕs B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground. |
| Photo Date |
1995 |
|
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SC
…
| Photo Description |
NASA's two Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are seen here nose to nose at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The front mounting attachment for the Shuttle can just be seen on top of each. The SCAs are used to ferry Space Shuttle orbiters from landing sites back to the launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center, and also to and from other locations too distant for the orbiters to be delivered by ground transportation. The orbiters are placed atop the SCAs by Mate-Demate Devices, large gantry-like structures which hoist the orbiters off the ground for post-flight servicing, and then mate them with the SCAs for ferry flights. Features which distinguish the two SCAs from standard 747 jetliners are, three struts, with associated interior structural strengthening, protruding from the top of the fuselage (two aft, one forward) on which the orbiter is attached, and two additional vertical stabilizers, one on each end of the standard horizontal stabilizer, to enhance directional stability. The two SCAs are under the operational control of NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. |
| Project Description |
470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site., Space Shuttles are the main element of America?s Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the Shuttle?s altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International?s Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell?s Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of |
| Photo Date |
28 September 1995 |
|
Colon tumor cells grown in N
…
| Name of Image |
Colon tumor cells grown in NASA Bioreactor |
| Date of Image |
2001-05-15 |
| Full Description |
These photos compare the results of colon carcinoma cells grown in a NASA Bioreactor flown on the STS-70 Space Shuttle in 1995 flight and ground control experiments. The cells grown in microgravity (left) have aggregated to form masses that are larger and more similar to tissue found in the body than the cells cultured on the ground (right). The principal investigator is Milburn Jessup of the University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. The NASA Bioreactor provides a low turbulence culture environment which promotes the formation of large, three-dimensional cell clusters. Due to their high level of cellular organization and specialization, samples constructed in the bioreactor more closely resemble the original tumor or tissue found in the body. NASA-sponsored bioreactor research has been instrumental in helping scientists to better understand normal and cancerous tissue development. In cooperation with the medical community, the bioreactor design is being used to prepare better models of human colon, prostate, breast and ovarian tumors. Cartilage, bone marrow, heart muscle, skeletal muscle, pancreatic islet cells, liver and kidney are just a few of the normal tissues being cultured in rotating bioreactors by investigators. Cell constructs grown in a rotating bioreactor on Earth (left) eventually become too large to stay suspended in the nutrient media. In the microgravity of orbit, the cells stay suspended. Rotation then is needed for gentle stirring to replenish the media around the cells. The work is sponsored by NASA's Office of Biological and Physical Research. The bioreactor is managed by the Biotechnology Cell Science Program at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC). Credit: NASA and University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center. |
|
Stardust Capsule Returns to
…
| Title |
Stardust Capsule Returns to Earth |
| Explanation |
A flying saucer from outer space crash-landed in the Utah desert yesterday after being tracked by radar and chased by helicopters and airplanes. Like last time [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040914.html ], no space aliens were involved. The saucer, the Stardust [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/home/index.html ] return capsule, is carrying bits of Comet Wild 2 [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040103.html ] captured two years ago during a rendezvous between Stardust [ http://stardust.jpl.nasa.gov/cool.html ] and the ancient comet. The capsule is pictured above [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stardust/multimedia/cleanroom-1.html ] entering a temporary clean room in Utah [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Utah ] before part of it is shipped to NASA's Johnson Space Center [ http://www.nasa.gov/centers/johnson/home/index.html ] in Houston [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Houston ], Texas [ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Texas ], USA [ http://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/us.html ]. In the inset on the lower right [ http://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA03185 ], an artist depicts the capsule as it likely looked after it parachuted to a landing in the Utah desert. The upper right insert [ http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/stardust/multimedia/dc8-1.html ] shows an image of the streaking capsule [ http://reentry.arc.nasa.gov/ ] taken yesterday by a DC-8 chase plane [ http://www.boeing.com/companyoffices/gallery/images/commercial/dc8-04.html ]. The bits of Comet Wild 2 [ http://www.windows.ucar.edu/tour/link=/comets/wild_2/wild_2.html&edu=high ] stored in the Stardust return capsule are likely older than the Sun and will be inspected over the next few years for clues [ http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap040622.html ] about the early years of our Solar System [ http://www.nineplanets.org/overview.html ]. You, too, can help [ http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/01/10_dust.shtml ] look for dust grains in the Stardust aerogel! |
|
Mexico, New Mexico and Texas
…
| Title |
Mexico, New Mexico and Texas as seen from the Apollo 6 unmanned spacecraft |
| Description |
Mexico, New Mexico and Texas are photographed from the Apollo 6 (Spacecraft 020/Saturn 502) unmanned space mission during its 2nd orbit of the Earth. Seen in this photograph are Deming, Palomas, Las Cruces, El Paso, Florida Mountains, East and West Portrillo Mountains, San Andres Mountains, Franklin Mountains, and Juarez Mountains and the Rio Grande River. |
| Date |
04.06.1968 |
|
Mini-Sniffer II in Flight
| Title |
Mini-Sniffer II in Flight |
| Description |
This photograph shows the second Mini-Sniffer undergoing flight testing over Rogers Dry Lake in Edwards, California. This version of the Mini-Sniffer lacked the canard of the original version and had wing tips and tail booms added. The Mini-Sniffer was a remotely controlled, propeller-driven vehicle developed at the NASA Flight Research Center (which became the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in 1976) as a potential platform to sample the upper atmosphere for pollution. The vehicle, flown from 1975 to 1977, was one of the earliest attempts by NASA to develop an aircraft that could sense turbulence and measure natural and human-produced atmospheric pollutants at altitudes above 80,000 feet with a variable-load propeller that was never flight-tested. Three Mini-Sniffer vehicles were built. The number 1 Mini-Sniffer vehicle had swept wings with a span of 18 feet and canards on the nose. It flew 12 flights with the gas-powered engine at low altitudes of around 2,500 feet. The number 1 vehicle was then modified into version number 2 by removing the canards and wing rudders and adding wing tips and tail booms. Twenty flights were made with this version, up to altitudes of 20,000 feet. The number 3 vehicle had a longer fuselage, was lighter in weight, and was powered by the non-air-breathing hydrazine engine designed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. This version was designed to fly a 25-pound payload to an altitude of 70,000 feet for one hour or to climb to 90,000 feet and glide back. The number 3 Mini-Sniffer made one flight to 20,000 feet and was not flown again because of a hydrazine leak problem. All three versions used a pusher propeller to free the nose area for an atmospheric-sampling payload. At various times the Mini-Sniffer has been considered for exploration in the carbon dioxide atmosphere of the planet Mars, where the gravity (38 percent of that on Earth) would reduce the horsepower needed for flight. |
| Date |
01.01.1976 |
|
Mini-Sniffer III on Lakebed
| Title |
Mini-Sniffer III on Lakebed |
| Description |
The third remotely-piloted Mini-Sniffer research vehicle rests on the lakebed adjacent to the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. This view shows the wing shape, hydrazine engine, and the tail booms. The Mini-Sniffer was a remotely controlled, propeller-driven vehicle developed at the NASA Flight Research Center (which became the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in 1976) as a potential platform to sample the upper atmosphere for pollution. The vehicle, flown from 1975 to 1977, was one of the earliest attempts by NASA to develop an aircraft that could sense turbulence and measure natural and human-produced atmospheric pollutants at altitudes above 80,000 feet with a variable-load propeller that was never flight-tested. Three Mini-Sniffer vehicles were built. The number 1 Mini-Sniffer vehicle had swept wings with a span of 18 feet and canards on the nose. It flew 12 flights with the gas-powered engine at low altitudes of around 2,500 feet. The number 1 vehicle was then modified into version number 2 by removing the canards and wing rudders and adding wing tips and tail booms. Twenty flights were made with this version, up to altitudes of 20,000 feet. The number 3 vehicle had a longer fuselage, was lighter in weight, and was powered by the non-air-breathing hydrazine engine designed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. This version was designed to fly a 25-pound payload to an altitude of 70,000 feet for one hour or to climb to 90,000 feet and glide back. The number 3 Mini-Sniffer made one flight to 20,000 feet and was not flown again because of a hydrazine leak problem. All three versions used a pusher propeller to free the nose area for an atmospheric-sampling payload. At various times the Mini-Sniffer has been considered for exploration in the carbon dioxide atmosphere of the planet Mars, where the gravity (38 percent of that on Earth) would reduce the horsepower needed for flight. |
| Date |
01.01.1976 |
|
Mini-Sniffer III on Lakebed
…
| Title |
Mini-Sniffer III on Lakebed with Ground Support Crew |
| Description |
The third version of the Mini-Sniffer remotely-piloted research vehicle on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The futuristic-looking ground crew are in white, self-contained suits, because the engine on this third version of the Mini-Sniffer was powered by hydrazine, which is a very hazardous material. The Mini-Sniffer was a remotely controlled, propeller-driven vehicle developed at the NASA Flight Research Center (which became the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in 1976) as a potential platform to sample the upper atmosphere for pollution. The vehicle, flown from 1975 to 1977, was one of the earliest attempts by NASA to develop an aircraft that could sense turbulence and measure natural and human-produced atmospheric pollutants at altitudes above 80,000 feet with a variable-load propeller that was never flight-tested. Three Mini-Sniffer vehicles were built. The number 1 Mini-Sniffer vehicle had swept wings with a span of 18 feet and canards on the nose. It flew 12 flights with the gas-powered engine at low altitudes of around 2,500 feet. The number 1 vehicle was then modified into version number 2 by removing the canards and wing rudders and adding wing tips and tail booms. Twenty flights were made with this version, up to altitudes of 20,000 feet. The number 3 vehicle had a longer fuselage, was lighter in weight, and was powered by the non-air-breathing hydrazine engine designed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. This version was designed to fly a 25-pound payload to an altitude of 70,000 feet for one hour or to climb to 90,000 feet and glide back. The number 3 Mini-Sniffer made one flight to 20,000 feet and was not flown again because of a hydrazine leak problem. All three versions used a pusher propeller to free the nose area for an atmospheric-sampling payload. At various times the Mini-Sniffer has been considered for exploration in the carbon dioxide atmosphere of the planet Mars, where the gravity (38 percent of that on Earth) would reduce the horsepower needed for flight. |
| Date |
01.01.1976 |
|
Mini-Sniffer on Lakebed
| Title |
Mini-Sniffer on Lakebed |
| Description |
The original Mini-Sniffer on Rogers Dry Lake, adjacent to NASA's Flight Research Center, Edwards AFB. This version of the remotely-piloted vehicle had swept-back wings, tip rudders, nose canards, and an air breathing engine. The Mini-Sniffer was a remotely controlled, propeller-driven vehicle developed at the NASA Flight Research Center (which became the Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in 1976) as a potential platform to sample the upper atmosphere for pollution. The vehicle, flown from 1975 to 1977, was one of the earliest attempts by NASA to develop an aircraft that could sense turbulence and measure natural and human-produced atmospheric pollutants at altitudes above 80,000 feet with a variable-load propeller that was never flight-tested. Three Mini-Sniffer vehicles were built. The number 1 Mini-Sniffer vehicle had swept wings with a span of 18 feet and canards on the nose. It flew 12 flights with the gas-powered engine at low altitudes of around 2,500 feet. The number 1 vehicle was then modified into version number 2 by removing the canards and wing rudders and adding wing tips and tail booms. Twenty flights were made with this version, up to altitudes of 20,000 feet. The number 3 vehicle had a longer fuselage, was lighter in weight, and was powered by the non-air-breathing hydrazine engine designed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. This version was designed to fly a 25-pound payload to an altitude of 70,000 feet for one hour or to climb to 90,000 feet and glide back. The number 3 Mini-Sniffer made one flight to 20,000 feet and was not flown again because of a hydrazine leak problem. All three versions used a pusher propeller to free the nose area for an atmospheric-sampling payload. At various times the Mini-Sniffer has been considered for exploration in the carbon dioxide atmosphere of the planet Mars, where the gravity (38 percent of that on Earth) would reduce the horsepower needed for flight. |
| Date |
01.01.1974 |
|
Computer graphic of Lockheed
…
| Title |
Computer graphic of Lockheed Martin Venturestar Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) releasing a satellite |
| Description |
This is an artist's conception of the NASA/Lockheed Martin Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) releasing a satellite into orbit around the earth. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was to play a key role in the development and flight testing of the X-33, which is a technology demonstrator vehicle for the RLV. The RLV technology program was a cooperative agreement between NASA and industry. The goal of the RLV technology program was to enable significant reductions in the cost of access to space, and to promote the creation and delivery of new space services and other activities that were to improve U.S. economic competitiveness. NASA Headquarter's Office of Space Access and Technology oversaw the RLV program, which was being managed by the RLV Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, located in Huntsville, Alabama. Responsibilities of other NASA Centers included: Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, guidance navigation and control technology, manned space systems, and health technology, Ames Research Center, Mountain View, CA., thermal protection system testing, Langley Research Center, Langley, Virginia, wind tunnel testing and aerodynamic analysis, and Kennedy Space Center, Florida, RLV operations and health management. Lockheed Martin's industry partners in the X-33 program are: Astronautics, Inc., Denver, Colorado, and Huntsville, Alabama, Engineering & Science Services, Houston, Texas, Manned Space Systems, New Orleans, LA, Sanders, Nashua, NH, and Space Operations, Titusville, Florida. Other industry partners are: Rocketdyne, Canoga Park, California, Allied Signal Aerospace, Teterboro, NJ, Rohr, Inc., Chula Vista, California, and Sverdrup Inc., St. Louis, Missouri. |
| Date |
01.01.1997 |
|
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SC
…
| Title |
Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) Fleet Photo |
| Description |
NASA's two Boeing 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) are seen here nose to nose at Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California. The front mounting attachment for the Shuttle can just be seen on top of each. The SCAs are used to ferry Space Shuttle orbiters from landing sites back to the launch complex at the Kennedy Space Center, and also to and from other locations too distant for the orbiters to be delivered by ground transportation. The orbiters are placed atop the SCAs by Mate-Demate Devices, large gantry-like structures which hoist the orbiters off the ground for post-flight servicing, and then mate them with the SCAs for ferry flights. Features which distinguish the two SCAs from standard 747 jetliners are, three struts, with associated interior structural strengthening, protruding from the top of the fuselage (two aft, one forward) on which the orbiter is attached, and two additional vertical stabilizers, one on each end of the standard horizontal stabilizer, to enhance directional stability. The two SCAs are under the operational control of NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Space Shuttles are the main element of America's Space Transportation System and are used for space research and other space applications. The shuttles are the first vehicles capable of being launched into space and returning to Earth on a routine basis. Space Shuttles are used as orbiting laboratories in which scientists and mission specialists conduct a wide variety of scientific experiments. Crews aboard shuttles place satellites in orbit, rendezvous with satellites to carry out repair missions and return them to space, and retrieve satellites and return them to Earth for refurbishment and reuse. Space Shuttles are true aerospace vehicles. They leave Earth and its atmosphere under rocket power provided by three liquid-propellant main engines with two solid-propellant boosters attached plus an external liquid-fuel tank. After their orbital missions, they streak back through the atmosphere and land like airplanes. The returning shuttles, however, land like gliders, without power and on runways. Other rockets can place heavy payloads into orbit, but, they can only be used once. Space Shuttles are designed to be continually reused. When Space Shuttles are used to transport complete scientific laboratories into space, the laboratories remain inside the payload bay throughout the mission. They are then removed after the Space Shuttle returns to Earth and can be reused on future flights. Some of these orbital laboratories, like the Spacelab, provide facilities for several specialists to conduct experiments in such fields as medicine, astronomy, and materials manufacturing. Some types of satellites deployed by Space Shuttles include those involved in environmental and resources protection, astronomy, weather forecasting, navigation, oceanographic studies, and other scientific fields. The Space Shuttles can also launch spacecraft into orbits higher than the, Shuttle's altitude limit through the use of Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) propulsion units. After release from the Space Shuttle payload bay, the IUS is ignited to carry the spacecraft into deep space. The Space Shuttles are also being used to carry elements of the International Space Station into space where they are assembled in orbit. The Space Shuttles were built by Rockwell International's Space Transportation Systems Division, Downey, California. Rockwell's Rocketdyne Division (now part of Boeing) builds the three main engines, and Thiokol, Brigham City, Utah, makes the solid rocket booster motors. Martin Marietta Corporation (now Lockheed Martin), New Orleans, Louisiana, makes the external tanks. Each orbiter (Space Shuttle) is 121 feet long, has a wingspan of 78 feet, and a height of 57 feet. The Space Shuttle is approximately the size of a DC-9 commercial airliner and can carry a payload of 65,000 pounds into orbit. The payload bay is 60 feet long and 15 feet in diameter. Each main engine is capable of producing a sea level thrust of 375,000 pounds and a vacuum (orbital) thrust of 470,000 pounds. The engines burn a mixture of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. In orbit, the Space Shuttles circle the earth at a speed of 17,500 miles per hour with each orbit taking about 90 minutes. A Space Shuttle crew sees a sunrise or sunset every 45 minutes. When Space Shuttle flights began in April 1981, Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, was the primary landing site for the Shuttles. Now Kennedy Space Center, Florida, is the primary landing site with Dryden remaining as the principal alternate landing site. |
| Date |
09.28.1995 |
|
Test pilot Michael R. Swann
| Title |
Test pilot Michael R. Swann |
| Description |
Michael R. Swann joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Dryden Flight Research Center on June 5, 1978, transferring from the NASA's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, as a research pilot. Swann attended North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota, from September 1968 to February 1977, where he earned his Masters in Physics. He was a member of three national honorary scholastic fraternities. Prior to joining NASA Swann served concurrently as an Aerospace Defense Command Interceptor pilot in the Air National Guard for five years and as a college physics instructor at North Dakota State University for two years. While at Johnson Space Center Mike was a pilot on high altitude earth resources and air sampling missions. He was also an instructor and check pilot for the Astronaut Space Flight Readiness Training program. As a Dryden research pilot Mike was involved with the F-111 #778 Transonic Aircraft Technology (TACT) program, F-15 # 281 Shuttle Tile tests, programs on the F-8C #802 and the PA-30 #808 Remotely Piloted Research Vehicle. He flew the Bell 47G #822 helicopter in support of research with the three-eighths-scale F-15 Spin Research Vehicle. On March 28, 1979, Mike made a pilot familiarization flight in the YF-12A #935. He also flew support flights in the F-104, C-47, T-37, T-38, and the Jetstar aircraft. Michael R. Swann was born June 5, 1949, in Fargo, North Dakota, he was fatally injured in a recreational glider accident on July 28, 1981, near California City, California. |
| Date |
01.01.1978 |
|
HL-20 at the LaRC Hangar in
…
| Title |
HL-20 at the LaRC Hangar in the Early Morning |
| Description |
The NASA Langley Research Center lifting body, called the HL-20, is shown here in front of the Langley hangar in Hampton, Virginia. Langley developed the technology for a small space vehicle which one day may be used to transport up to 10 astronauts and small cargo to and from low-Earth orbit. The HL-20 is one of two concepts being considered by NASA as a type of Personnel Launch System (PLS). The PLS is a small space taxi system envisioned as a future addition to the manned launch capability of the United States. The system would assure rapid manned access to space and minimized maintenance cost. The PLS would be launched with and expendable booster and would be capable of conventional runway landings. With its wings folded, the HL-20 PLS could fit within the Shuttle's payload bay. The full-scale engineering model is 29.5 feet long and 23.5 feet across the wingspan. The HL-20 model will be used at NASA Langley and at the NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, to study crew seating arrangements, habitability, equipment layout, crew ingress and egress, pilot visibility, and maintenance and handling operations. |
| Date |
04.28.1992 |
|
X-38 Drop Model: Glides to E
…
| Title |
X-38 Drop Model: Glides to Earth After Being Dropped from a Cessna |
| Description |
A 4-foot-long model of NASA's X-38, an experimental crew return vehicle, glides to earth after being dropped from a Cessna aircraft in late 1995. The model was used to test the ram-air parafoil landing system, which could allow for accurate and controlled landings of an emergency Crew Return Vehicle spacecraft returning to Earth. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. It's landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for, internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, Dryden's B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground. |
| Date |
01.01.1995 |
|
X-38 Drop Model: Testing Par
…
| Title |
X-38 Drop Model: Testing Parafoil Landing System during Drop Tests |
| Description |
A 4-foot-long model of NASA's X-38, an experimental crew return vehicle, glides to earth after being dropped from a Cessna aircraft in late 1995. The model was used to test the ram-air parafoil landing system, which could allow for accurate and controlled landings of an emergency Crew Return Vehicle spacecraft returning to Earth. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. It's landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for, internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, Dryden's B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground. |
| Date |
01.01.1995 |
|
X-38 Drop Model: Used to Tes
…
| Title |
X-38 Drop Model: Used to Test Parafoil Landing System during Drop Tests |
| Description |
A 4-foot-long model of NASA's X-38, an experimental crew return vehicle, glides to earth after being dropped from a Cessna aircraft in late 1995. The model was used to test the ram-air parafoil landing system, which could allow for accurate and controlled landings of an emergency Crew Return Vehicle spacecraft returning to Earth. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. It's landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system and a bank of batteries for, internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, Dryden's B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground. |
| Date |
01.01.1995 |
|
X-38: Artist Concept of Re-E
…
| Title |
X-38: Artist Concept of Re-Entering Earth's Atmosphere |
| Description |
This is an artist's depiction of NASA's proposed Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) re-entering the earth's atmosphere. A team of NASA researchers began free flight tests of the X-38, a technology demonstrator for the CRV, at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California, in 1998. The CRV is being designed as a "lifeboat" for the International Space Station The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle (CRV) research project is designed to develop the technology for a prototype emergency crew return vehicle, or lifeboat, for the International Space Station. The project is also intended to develop a crew return vehicle design that could be modified for other uses, such as a joint U.S. and international human spacecraft that could be launched on the French Ariane-5 Booster. The X-38 project is using available technology and off-the-shelf equipment to significantly decrease development costs. Original estimates to develop a capsule-type crew return vehicle were estimated at more than $2 billion. X-38 project officials have estimated that development costs for the X-38 concept will be approximately one quarter of the original estimate. Off-the-shelf technology is not necessarily "old" technology. Many of the technologies being used in the X-38 project have never before been applied to a human-flight spacecraft. For example, the X-38 flight computer is commercial equipment currently used in aircraft and the flight software operating system is a commercial system already in use in many aerospace applications. The video equipment for the X-38 is existing equipment, some of which has already flown on the space shuttle for previous NASA experiments. The X-38's primary navigational equipment, the Inertial Navigation System/Global Positioning System, is a unit already in use on Navy fighters. The X-38 electromechanical actuators come from previous joint NASA, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Navy research and development projects. Finally, an existing special coating developed by NASA will be used on the X-38 thermal tiles to make them more durable than those used on the space shuttles. The X-38 itself was an unpiloted lifting body designed at 80 percent of the size of a projected emergency crew return vehicle for the International Space Station, although two later versions were planned at 100 percent of the CRV size. The X-38 and the actual CRV are patterned after a lifting-body shape first employed in the Air Force-NASA X-24 lifting-body project in the early to mid-1970s. The current vehicle design is base lined with life support supplies for about nine hours of orbital free flight from the space station. It's landing will be fully automated with backup systems which allow the crew to control orientation in orbit, select a deorbit site, and steer the parafoil, if necessary. The X-38 vehicles (designated V131, V132, and V-131R) are 28.5 feet long, 14.5 feet wide, and weigh approximately 16,000 pounds on average. The vehicles have a nitrogen-gas-operated attitude control system, and a bank of batteries for internal power. The actual CRV to be flown in space was expected to be 30 feet long. The X-38 project is a joint effort between the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas (JSC), Langley Research Center, Hampton, Virginia (LaRC) and Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, California (DFRC) with the program office located at JSC. A contract was awarded to Scaled Composites, Inc., Mojave, California, for construction of the X-38 test airframes. The first vehicle was delivered to the JSC in September 1996. The vehicle was fitted with avionics, computer systems and other hardware at Johnson. A second vehicle was delivered to JSC in December 1996. Flight research with the X-38 at Dryden began with an unpiloted captive-carry flight in which the vehicle remained attached to its future launch vehicle, Dryden's B-52 008. There were four captive flights in 1997 and three in 1998, plus the first drop test on March 12, 1998, using the parachutes and parafoil. Further captive and drop tests occurred in 1999. In March 2000 Vehicle 132 completed its third and final free flight in the highest, fastest, and longest X-38 flight to date. It was released at an altitude of 39,000 feet and flew freely for 45 seconds, reaching a speed of over 500 miles per hour before deploying its parachutes for a landing on Rogers Dry Lakebed. In the drop tests, the X-38 vehicles have been autonomous after airlaunch from the B-52. After they deploy the parafoil, they have remained autonomous, but there is also a manual mode with controls from the ground. |
| Date |
01.01.1997 |
|
Radiation environment at Mar
…
| title |
Radiation environment at Mars and Earth December 8, 2003 |
| Description |
This graphic shows the radiation dose equivalent as measured by Odyssey's martian radiation environment experiment at Mars and by instruments aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS), for the 18-month period from April 2002 through October 2003. The accumulated total in Mars orbit is just over two times larger than that aboard the Space Station. The bars where the Mars instrument's measurements are well above the average (as shown by the orange line) are months when there was significant solar activity, which increases the dose equivalent. Dose equivalent is expressed in units of milliSieverts per day. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington. The radiation experiment was provided by the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, Colo., is the prime contractor for the project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. Credit: NASA/JPL/JSC ### |
|
Hurricane Claudette: Natural
…
nasa, nasanaturalhazards
The crew of the Internationa
…
ISS007-E-10244
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
July 15, 2003 |
| creator |
NASA -- NASA Image Of The Day |
| identifier |
ISS007-E-10244 |
|
Mount Everest (Chomolungma,
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Mt. Everest is the highest (
…
STS058-101-12cropF
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
1993 |
| creator |
NASA -- eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center |
| identifier |
STS058-101-12cropF |
|
Mount Everest (Chomolungma,
…
nasa, nasaimageofthedaygalle
…
Mt. Everest is the highest (
…
STS058-101-12cropF
| mediatype |
IMAGE |
| mediatype |
image |
| date |
1993 |
| creator |
NASA -- eol.jsc.nasa.gov/ Earth Sciences and Image Analysis Laboratory, Johnson Space Center |
| identifier |
STS058-101-12cropF |
|
Radiation Environment at Mar
…
PIA04909
Sol (our sun)
Mars Radiation Experiment
| Title |
Radiation Environment at Mars and Earth |
| Original Caption Released with Image |
December 8, 2003 This graphic shows the radiation dose equivalent as measured by Odyssey's martian radiation environment experiment at Mars and by instruments aboard the Earth-orbiting International Space Station (ISS), for the 18-month period from April 2002 through October 2003. The accumulated total in Mars orbit is just over two times larger than that aboard the Space Station. The bars where the Mars instrument's measurements are well above the average (as shown by the orange line) are months when there was significant solar activity, which increases the dose equivalent. Dose equivalent is expressed in units of milliSieverts per day. NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory manages the 2001 Mars Odyssey mission for NASA's Office of Space Science, Washington. The radiation experiment was provided by the Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, Colo., is the prime contractor for the project, and developed and built the orbiter. Mission operations are conducted jointly from Lockheed Martin and from JPL, a division of the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena. |
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| General Description |
International Space Station Imagery |
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| General Description |
STS-87 Shuttle Mission Imagery |
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| General Description |
STS-111 Shuttle Mission Imagery |
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Housto
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| Description |
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, Houston, Texas -- STS116-S-001 (July 2006) - The STS-116 patch design signifies the continuing assembly of the International Space Station (ISS). The primary mission objective is to deliver and install the P5 truss element. The P5 installation will be conducted during the first of three planned spacewalks, and will involve use of both the shuttle and station robotic arms. The remainder of the mission will include a major reconfiguration and activation of the ISS electrical and thermal control systems, as well as delivery of Zvezda Service Module debris panels, which will increase ISS protection from potential impacts of micro-meteorites and orbital debris. In addition, a single expedition crew member will launch on STS-116 to remain onboard the station, replacing an expedition crew member who will fly home with the shuttle crew. The crew patch depicts the space shuttle rising above the Earth and ISS. The United States and Swedish flags trail the orbiter, depicting the international composition of the STS-116 crew. The seven stars of the constellation Ursa Major are used to provide direction to the North Star, which is superimposed over the installation location of the P5 truss on ISS. The NASA insignia design for space shuttle space flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, such will be publicly announced. |
| Release Date |
07/05/2006 |
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Still celebrating his recent
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| Description |
Still celebrating his recent homecoming and reunion with his family, astronaut C. Michael Foale picks up his 3-year-son Ian, while his 5-year-old daughter, Jenna, stands by at the Skid Strip on Cape Canaveral Air Station. They are scheduled to depart shortly for the astronauts? home base at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. Foale spent approximately four-and-a-half months on the Russian Space Station Mir. He returned to Earth on Oct. 6 aboard the Space Shuttle orbiter Atlantis at the conclusion of the STS-86 mission. STS-86 was the seventh docking of the Space Shuttle with the Mir. Foale was replaced on the Mir by STS-86 Mission Specialist David A. Wolf |
| Release Date |
10/07/1997 |
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTO
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| Description |
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS -- STS-108 INSIGNIA -- This is the insignia for the STS-108 mission, which marks a major milestone in the assembly of the International Space Station (ISS) as the first designated Utilization Flight, UF-1. The crew of Endeavour will bring the Expedition Four crew to ISS and return the Expedition Three crew to Earth. Endeavour will also launch with a Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) that will be berthed to ISS and unloaded. The MPLM will be returned to Endeavour for the trip home and used again on a later flight. The crew patch depicts Endeavour and the ISS in the configuration at the time of arrival and docking. The Station is shown viewed along the direction of flight as will be seen by the Shuttle crew during their final approach and docking along the X-axis. The three ribbons and stars on the left side of the patch signify the returning Expedition Three crew. The red, white and blue order of the ribbons represents the American commander for that mission. The three ribbons and stars on the right depict the arriving Expedition Four crew. The white, blue, red order of the Expedition Four ribbon matches the color of the Russian flag and signifies that the commander of Expedition Four is a Russian cosmonaut. Each white star in the center of the patch represents the four Endeavour crew members. The names of the four astronauts who will crew Endeavour are shown along th e top border of the patch. The three astronauts and three cosmonauts of the two expedition crews are shown on the chevron at the bottom of the patch. The NASA insignia design for Space Shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in form of illlustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced |
| Release Date |
05/31/2001 |
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSON
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| Description |
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSON, TEXAS -- STS-107 INSIGNIA -- This is the insignia for STS-107, which is a multi-discipline microgravity and Earth science research mission with a multitude of international scientific investigations conducted continuously during the planned 16 days on orbit. The central element of the patch is the microgravity symbol flowing into the rays of the astronaut symbol. The mission inclination is portrayed by the 39-degree angle of the astronaut symbol to the Earth's horizon. The sunrise is representative of the numerous experiments that are the dawn of a new era for continued microgravity research on the International Space Station and beyond. The breadth of science conducted on this mission will have widespread benefits to life on Earth and our continued exploration of space, illustrated by the Earth and stars. The constellation Columba (the dove) was chosen to symbolize peace on Earth and the Space Shuttle Columbia. The seven stars also represent the mission crew members and honor the original astronauts who paved the way to make research in space possible. The Israeli flag is adjacent to the name of the payload specialist who is the first person from that country to fly on the Space Shuttle. The NASA insignia design for Space Shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced. |
| Release Date |
05/01/2001 |
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTO
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| Description |
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS -- (ISS03-5-002) --EXPEDITION THREE CREW PORTRAIT -- Taking a break from a busy training schedule to pose for a portrait are the crew members for Expedition Three, scheduled to replace the current cosmonaut/astronaut trio aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Astronaut Frank L. Culbertson Jr. (center), commander, is flanked by cosmonauts Mikhail Tyurin (left) and Vladimir Dezhurov, both flight engineers representing Rosaviakosmos. The three will accompany the STS-105 crew into Earth orbit aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery this summer to begin their lengthy stay on the orbital outpost |
| Release Date |
06/30/2001 |
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTO
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| Description |
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS -- EXPEDITION FOUR INSIGNIA -- The International Space Station (ISS) Expedition Four crew patch has an overall diamond shape, showing the "diamond in the rough" configuration of the Station during expedition four. The red hexagonal shape with stylized American and Russian flags represents the cross-sectional view of the S0 truss segment, which the crew will attach to the U.S. Lab Destiny. The persistent Sun shining on the Earth and Station represents the constant challenges that the crew and ground support team will face every day while operating the International Space Station, while shedding new light through daily research. The green portion of the Earth represents the fourth color in the visible spectrum and the black void of space represents humankind's constant quest to explore the unknown. The NASA insignia design for Shuttle flights ts is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the forms of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced |
| Release Date |
08/31/2001 |
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTO
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| Description |
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS -- (STS108-5-002)STS-108 CREW PORTRAIT -- These seven astronauts and three cosmonauts share the common denominators of the Space Shuttle Endeavour and the International Space Station (ISS). Standing at rear (from the left) are STS-108 crew members Daniel M. Tani and Linda M. Godwin, both mission specialists, Dominic L. Gorie and Mark E. Kelly, commander and pilot, respectively. Those four will spend approximately ten days in space in late November and early December aboard the Endeavour. In front, from the left, are Daniel W. Bursch, Yuri Onufrienko, Carl E. Walz, Mikhail Tyurin, Frank L. Culbertson and Vladimir N. Dezhurov. Culbertson, Expedition Three commander, as well as flight engineers Tyurin and Dezhurov, will use the Space Shuttle Discovery on STS-105 to reach the station for a lengthy stay and then return to Earth aboard Endeavour. They will be replaced aboard the orbital outpost by Onufrienko, Expedition Four commander, along with Bursch and Walz, both flight engineers. The Expedition Four crew will accompany the STS-108 crew into Earth orbit. Dezhurov, Tyurin and Onufrienko represent Rosaviakosmos |
| Release Date |
08/31/2001 |
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTO
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| Description |
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - (STS113-S-001 September 2002) -- This is the crew patch for the STS-113 mission, which will be the 11th American (11A) assembly flight to the International Space Station (ISS). The primary mission will be to take the Expedition Six crew to the ISS and return the Expedition Five crew to Earth. STS-113 will be the first flight in the assembly sequence to install a major component in addition to performing a crew exchange. The Port 1 Integrated Truss Assembly (P1) will be the first truss segment on the left side of the ISS. P1 will provide an additinal three External Thermal Control System radiators, adding to the three radiators on the Starboard 1 (S1) Integrated Truss Assembly. The installation and outfitting of P1 will require three extravehicular activities (spacewalks) as well as coordination between the Shuttle Robotic Manipulator System and the Space Station Robotic Manipulator System. The patch depicts the Space Shuttle Endeavour docked to the ISS during the installation of the P1 truss withthe gold astronaut symbol in the background. The seven stars at the top left center of the patch are the seven brightest stars in the constellation Orion. They represent the combined seven crew members (four Shuttle and three Expedition Six). The three stars to the right of the astronaut symbol represent the returning Expedition Five crew members. The Roman Numeral CXIII represents the mission number 113. The NASA insignia design for Shuttle space flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, such will be publicly announced. |
| Release Date |
10/04/2002 |
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTO
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| Description |
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS -- (ISS006-S-001) Revised -- The International Space Station (ISS) Expedition 6 crew patch depicts the Station orbiting the Earth on its mission of international cooperation and scientific research. The Earth is placed in the center of the patch to emphasize that work conducted aboard this orbiting laboratory is intended to improve life on our home planet. The shape of the Space Station's orbit symbolizes the role that experience gained from ISS will have on future exploration of our solar system and behond. The American and Russian flags encircling the Earth represent the native countries of the Expedition 6 crew members, which are just two of the many participant countries contributing to the ISS and committed to the peaceful exploration of space. The NASA insignia design for International Space Station missions is reserved for use by the crew members and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the forms of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, the change will be publicly announced. |
| Release Date |
03/01/2002 |
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JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTO
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| Description |
JOHNSON SPACE CENTER, HOUSTON, TEXAS - STS-111 INSIGNIA -- The STS-111 patch symbolizes the hardware, people, and partner nations that contribute to the flight. The Space Shuttle rises on the plume of the Astronaut Office symbol, carrying the Canadian Mobile Base System (MBS) for installation while docked to the International Space Station (ISS). The mission is named UF-2 for ISS Utilization Flight number two. The ISS orbit completes the Astronaut Office symbol and is colored red, white, and blue to represent the flags of the United States, Russia, France, and Costa Rica. The Earth background shows Italy, which contributes the Multi Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM) used on this flight to re-supply ISS. The ten stars in the sky represent the ten astronauts and cosmonauts on orbit during the flight, and the star at the top of the patch represents the Johnson Space Center, in the state of Texas, from which the flight is managed. The names of the STS-111 crew border the upper part of the patch, and the Expedition Five (going up) and Expedition Four (coming down) crews' names form the bottom of the patch. The NASA insignia design for Shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the forms of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which is not anticipated, the change will be publicly announced. The NASA insignia design for Space Shuttle flights is reserved for use by the astronauts and for other official use as the NASA Administrator may authorize. Public availability has been approved only in the form of illustrations by the various news media. When and if there is any change in this policy, which we do not anticipate, it will be publicly announced |
| Release Date |
01/02/2002 |
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Mexico, New Mexico and Texas
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| Title |
Mexico, New Mexico and Texas as seen from the Apollo 6 unmanned spacecraft |
| Description |
Mexico, New Mexico and Texas are photographed from the Apollo 6 (Spacecraft 020/Saturn 502) unmanned space mission during its 2nd orbit of the Earth. Seen in this photograph are Deming, Palomas, Las Cruces, El Paso, Florida Mountains, East and West Portrillo Mountains, San Andres Mountains, Franklin Mountains, and Juarez Mountains and the Rio Grande River. |
| Date Taken |
1968-04-06 |
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