|
|
Browse All
:
Space Shuttle Orbiter of Johnson Space Center (JSC)
|
Printer Friendly |
Apollo17 - On the Shoulders
…
APOLLO 17: ON THE SHOULDERS
…
1973
| Title |
Apollo17 - On the Shoulders of_Giants |
| Description |
APOLLO 17: ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS JSC 603 - (1973) - 28 1/2 Minutes Astronauts: Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. Schmitt Launch date: December 7, 1972 A documentary view of the Apollo 17 journey to Taurus-Littrow, the final lunar landing mission in the Apollo Program. The film depicts the highlights of the mission and relates the Apollo Program to Skylab, the Apollo-Soyuz linkup, and the Space Shuttle. AWARDS: Chris Bronze Plaque Award, 21st Annual Columbus Film Festival, 1983 * Trophy of the Italian Department of Defense * 1st International Review of Cinema and TV Films on Flight, Milan, Italy, 1974 * Special Prize, 11th International Review of Technical, Scientific, and Educational Films, Pardubice, Czechoslovakia, 1973 |
| Date |
1973 |
|
Homecoming Tribute
The STS-124 crew members wer
…
6/23/08
| Description |
The STS-124 crew members were welcomed home to Houston June 15, 2008, following the landing of space shuttle Discovery in Florida on June 14. NASA's Johnson Space Center Director Michael L. Coats introduced the crew to a large crowd on hand at Ellington Field near Johnson. From the second left are Mark Kelly, commander, Ken Ham, pilot, Karen Nyberg, Ron Garan, Mike Fossum, Akihiko Hoshide and Garrett Reisman, all mission specialists. Photo credit: NASA/JSC June 15, 2008 |
| Date |
6/23/08 |
|
Apollo17 - On the Shoulders
…
APOLLO 17: ON THE SHOULDERS
…
1973
| Description |
APOLLO 17: ON THE SHOULDERS OF GIANTS JSC 603 - (1973) - 28 1/2 Minutes Astronauts: Eugene A. Cernan, Ronald E. Evans, and Harrison H. Schmitt Launch date: December 7, 1972 A documentary view of the Apollo 17 journey to Taurus-Littrow, the final lunar landing mission in the Apollo Program. The film depicts the highlights of the mission and relates the Apollo Program to Skylab, the Apollo-Soyuz linkup, and the Space Shuttle. AWARDS: Chris Bronze Plaque Award, 21st Annual Columbus Film Festival, 1983 * Trophy of the Italian Department of Defense * 1st International Review of Cinema and TV Films on Flight, Milan, Italy, 1974 * Special Prize, 11th International Review of Technical, Scientific, and Educational Films, Pardubice, Czechoslovakia, 1973 |
| Date |
1973 |
|
Space Shuttle -- September 1
…
Astronaut Catherine G. Colem
…
7/18/08
| Description |
Astronaut Catherine G. Coleman, mission specialist for STS-73, dons a high-fidelity training version of an Extravehicular Mobility Unit spacesuit at NASA's Johnson Space Center's Weightless Environment Training Facility. |
| Date |
7/18/08 |
|
X-38
One of NASA's three X-38 Cre
…
11/4/09
| Description |
One of NASA's three X-38 Crew Return Vehicle technology demonstrators that flew at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., a decade ago has found a new home in America's heartland. In this image from test flights in 1999, the X-38 research vehicle drops away from NASA's B-52 mothership immediately after being released from the B-52's wing pylon. More than 30 years earlier, this same B-52 launched the original lifting-body vehicles flight tested by NASA and the Air Force at what is now called the Dryden Flight Research Center and the Air Force Flight Test Center. The wingless lifting body craft was transferred this past weekend from NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston to the Strategic Air and Space Museum, located just off Interstate 80 at Ashland, Neb., about 20 miles southeast of Omaha. The X-38 adds to the museum's growing collection of aerospace vehicles and other historical artifacts. The move of the second X-38 built to the museum has a fitting connection, as the X-38 vehicles were air-launched from NASA's famous B-52B 008 mothership. The B-52 bomber served as the backbone of the Air Force's Strategic Air Command during the command's history. Prior to cancellation, the X-38 program was developing the technology for proposed vehicles that could return up to seven International Space Station crewmembers to Earth in case of an emergency. These vehicles would have been carried to the space station in the cargo bay of a space shuttle and attached to station docking ports. If an emergency arose that forced the ISS crew to leave the space station, a Crew Return Vehicle would have undocked and returned them to Earth much like the space shuttle, although the vehicle would have deployed a parafoil for the final descent and landing. Photo Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas |
| Date |
11/4/09 |
|
Houston
Flight directors Richard Jon
…
3/18/09
| Description |
Flight directors Richard Jones (left), Norm Knight and Tony Ceccacci monitor data at their consoles in the space shuttle flight control room in the Mission Control Center at NASA's Johnson Space Center during the launch countdown for STS-119. Image Credit: NASA/Devin Boldt |
| Date |
3/18/09 |
|
F-15B #836 Research Testbed
Project Description Before t
…
9/23/08
| Description |
Project Description Before the Space Shuttle could safely return to flight, engineers needed data on how insulating foam debris or "divots" behaved when these small pieces were shed from the Shuttle's external fuel tank during launch. NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center conducted a series of flight tests of the divots as part of the Return to Flight team effort. The Lifting Insulating Foam Trajectory (LIFT) flight test series at Dryden used the center's F-15B Research Testbed aircraft to test these "divots" in a real flight environment at speeds up to about Mach 2, or twice the speed of sound. Small-scale divoting occurs when the adhesive on the external tank thermal protection system (TPS) foam fails. This occurs as a result of decreasing atmospheric pressure combined with increased heating during Shuttle ascent causing air trapped beneath the TPS to expand. Objectives of the LIFT flight tests on the F-15B included determining divot structural survivability and stability in flight and quantifying divot trajectories using videography. The flight data of divot trajectories could also be used for Computational Fluid Dynamic code validation. NASA's Space Shuttle Systems Engineering and Integration office at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, funded the LIFT flight tests at NASA Dryden as part of the Space Shuttle Return-to-Flight effort. The LIFT flight test required two new capabilities: an in-flight foam divot ejection system, and a high-speed video system to track and record the trajectories of the divots in flight. Both capabilities were developed by Dryden engineers in just over two months. Dryden's LIFT team designed, fabricated, and ground-tested four different divot ejection systems, completing 70 ground tests to determine and refine the best approach. NASA Dryden engineers also designed and procured the very high-speed digital video equipment, including development of a system to synchronize the cameras with the divot ejection system. In addition, they developed videography analysis techniques in order to quantify divot trajectories. Photo Description Two panels of Space Shuttle TPS insulation were mounted on the flight test fixture underneath NASA's F-15B during the Lifting Foam Trajectory flight test series. February 16, 2005 Nasa Photo / Jim Ross EC05-0030-12 |
| Date |
9/23/08 |
|
F-15B #836 Research Testbed
Project Description NASA's D
…
9/23/08
| Description |
Project Description NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California, conducted a series of flights with the center's F-15B Research Testbed aircraft in support of Space Shuttle Return-to-Flight engineering efforts. The Shuttle Return to Flight team requested data on the structural survivability of external tank insulating foam debris or "divots" that are shed from the tank during a Shuttle launch. The Lifting Insulating Foam Trajectory (LIFT) flight test series used NASA's F-15B to test these ÔøΩÔøΩ_ÔøΩ__divotsÔøΩÔøΩ_ÔøΩ__ in a real flight environment at speeds up to about Mach 2. Small-scale divoting, commonly called popcorning, results from adhesive strength failure of external tank thermal protection system (TPS) foam brought about by decreasing atmospheric pressure combined with increased heating during Shuttle ascent. According to LIFT project manager Stephen Corda, objectives of the flight tests on the F-15B included determining divot structural survivability in a flight environment, assessing divot stability, quantifying divot trajectories using videography, and providing flight verification of debris tracking systems to be used for Shuttle launches. "We're using the unique capabilities of the supersonic F-15B aircraft and the aerodynamic flight test fixture to provide a means to eject these debris or divots from the fixture, and then photograph them with a high speed digital video system, where we're able to video these divots in flight at up to 10,000 frames per second," Corda noted. The debris tracking systems were verified using the F-15B as a surrogate Space Shuttle while the aircraft ejects TPS foam divots. These tracking systems included a Weibel Doppler radar and a high-definition video system aboard a NASA WB-57 aircraft. NASA' s Space Shuttle Systems Engineering and Integration office at the Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, funded the LIFT flight tests at NASA Dryden as part of the STS-114 Return-to-Flight effort. JSC aeroscience engineer Ricardo Machin said the current LIFT flight tests will help them validate the models that they use for debris transport analysis. "In particular, it's going to help us understand whether the divots break up once they come off the external tank, and secondly whether they will trim and begin to fly, or if they'll tumble. The difference between trimming and flying makes a huge difference ÔøΩÔøΩ_ÔøΩ__ the amount of kinetic energy that this piece of debris can impart to the shuttle," Machin said. The LIFT flight test requires two new capabilities: an in-flight foam divot ejection system, and a high-speed video system to track and record the trajectories of the divots in flight. Both capabilities were developed by Dryden engineers. Dryden's LIFT team designed, fabricated, and ground-tested four different divot ejection systems, completing 70 ground tests to determine and refine the best approach. NASA Dryden engineers designed and procured the very high-speed digital video equipment, including development of a system to synchronize the cameras with the divot ejection system. In addition, they developed videography analysis techniques in order to quantify divot trajectories. The Dryden team completed the design and ground tests of these systems over a compact 2 1/2-month period. Photo Description A close-up of the panels on the F-15B's flight test fixture shows five divots of TPS foam were successfully ejected during the LIFT experiment. February 16, 2005 Nasa Photo / Tony Landis EC05-0030-03 |
| Date |
9/23/08 |
|
Oblique Wing Research
ECN-17954 Standing in front
…
4/23/09
| Description |
ECN-17954 Standing in front of the AD-1 Oblique Wing research aircraft is research pilot Richard E. Gray. Richard E. Gray joined National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas, in November 1978, as an aerospace research pilot. In November 1981, Dick joined the NASA's Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility, Edwards, California, as a research pilot. Dick was a former Co-op at the NASA Flight Research Center (a previous name of the Ames-Dryden Flight Research Facility), serving as an Operations Engineer. At Ames-Dryden, Dick was a pilot for the F-14 Aileron Rudder Interconnect Program, AD-1 Oblique Wing Research Aircraft, F-8 Digital Fly-By-Wire and Pilot Induced Oscillations investigations. He also flew the F-104, T-37, and the F-15. On November 8, 1982, Gray was fatally injured in a T-37 jet aircraft while making a pilot proficiency flight. Dick graduated with a Bachelors degree in Aeronautical Engineering from San Jose State University in 1969. He joined the U.S. Navy in July 1969, becoming a Naval Aviator in January 1971, when he was assigned to F-4 Phantoms at Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, California. In 1972, he flew 48 combat missions in Vietnam in F-4s with VF-111 aboard the USS Coral Sea. After making a second cruise in 1973, Dick was assigned to Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Four (VX-4) at NAS Point Mugu, California, as a project pilot on various operational test and evaluation programs. In November 1978, Dick retired from the Navy and joined NASA's Johnson Space Center. At JSC Gray served as chief project pilot on the WB-57F high-altitude research projects and as the prime television chase pilot in a T-38 for the landing portion of the Space Shuttle orbital flight tests. Dick had over 3,000 hours in more than 30 types of aircraft, an airline transport rating, and 252 carrier arrested landings. He was a member of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots serving on the Board of Directors as Southwest Section Technical Adviser in 1981/1982. ›, Read Project Description January 1, 1982 NASA Photo / |
| Date |
4/23/09 |
|
Smoke over Lake Toba, Indone
…
KidSat Images - Fires in Ind
…
10/1/97
| Date |
10/1/97 |
| Description |
KidSat Images - Fires in Indonesia As the Space Shuttle Atlantis flew over the Indonesian archipelago on Saturday, September 27, middle school students across the country used the Kidsat camera to photograph the fires and smoke that blanket the island of Sumatra . A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E). [Mission Elaspsed Time (MET) 00215343 - 00215750] Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The effects of the fires have been astronomical. So far the fire has been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215424) of the northern regions of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during the Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 3.1 degrees S 98.6 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. Smoke from the fires completely covers the land. The only indication of surface features is from the clouds that rise above the smoke over Danau Toba, the largest lake in Sumatra. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. Commands are sent from middle schools through a Mission Operations Gateway at the University of California, San Diego, to a Thinkpad on the Shuttle flight deck. Images are transmitted back to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where they are immediately placed on the Internet for the KidSat students and the rest of the world to view and use. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). ##### |
|
Map of northern Sumatra, Ind
…
This map corresponds to KidS
…
10/1/97
| Date |
10/1/97 |
| Description |
This map corresponds to KidSat image MET 00215424 of the northern regions of Sumatra that was captured on September 27, 1997 during the Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 3.1 degrees S 98.6 degrees E. As the Space Shuttle Atlantis flew over the Indonesian archipelago last Friday, middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke that blanket Sumatra. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E). Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. Commands are sent from middle schools through a Mission Operations Gateway at the University of California, San Diego, to a Thinkpad on the Shuttle flight deck. Images are transmitted back to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory where they are immediately placed on the Internet for the KidSat students and the rest of the world to view and use. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). ##### |
|
Southern tip of Sumatra, Ind
…
KidSat Images - Fires in Ind
…
10/1/97
| Date |
10/1/97 |
| Description |
KidSat Images - Fires in Indonesia Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis Saturday, September 2. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E). [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215624) of the southern tip of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during Space Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 3.0 degrees S, 102.9 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. A clear view is visible of the southern tip of Sumatra with the volcanoes that make up the backbone of the island appearing darker than the surrounding land. Travelling northwest, the first smoke plumes are visible in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations. The prevailing winds are from the southeast and are blowing most of the smoke to the northwest of this image (see image 00215637 and 00215701). The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). ##### |
|
Southern Sumatra, Indonesia
KidSat Images - Fires in Ind
…
10/1/97
| Date |
10/1/97 |
| Description |
KidSat Images - Fires in Indonesia Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis September 2. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E). [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215637) of the southern region of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during the Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 3.7 degrees S 103.4 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. The smoke plumes appear in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations, the plumes indicate a prevailing wind to the northwest and rise above the continuous layer of smoke. Within a short distance, the region becomes completely blanketed in smoke with only the peaks of the volcanoes rising above the gray haze layer. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). ##### |
|
Sumatra, Indonesia
KidSat Images - Fires in Ind
…
10/1/97
| Date |
10/1/97 |
| Description |
KidSat Images - Fires in Indonesia Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis on September 27. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E) [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215701) of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during the Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 4.9 degrees S 104.3 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. The smoke plumes appear in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations, the plumes indicate a prevailing wind to the northwest and rise above the continuous layer of smoke. For a geographic reference, see image #00215701_img_map. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). ##### |
|
Kidsat image of Sumatra, Ind
…
Middle school students acros
…
10/1/97
| Date |
10/1/97 |
| Description |
Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis last Friday, September 26. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra (7.44S, 106.1E) [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. This KidSat image (MET 00215701) of Sumatra was captured on September 27, 1997 during the Shuttle flight STS-86. It is centered at 4.9 degrees S 104.3 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 205 km long. The smoke plumes appear in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations, the plumes indicate a prevailing wind to the northwest and rise above the continuous layer of smoke.The image is shown on a map of the region for geographic reference. Smoke from the fires completely covers the land. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). ##### |
|
Mosaic image of fires in Ind
…
Middle school students acros
…
10/1/97
| Date |
10/1/97 |
| Description |
Middle school students across the country photographed the fires and smoke over southern Sumatra from a camera aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis September 27. A joint effort between 23 of the 52 schools participating in this mission, the KidSat camera was used to image a 140 km wide, 1950 km long strip that starts in the northwest (5.24 degrees N, 97.11 degrees E), and follows the Pegunungan Barisan range across the equator to the southern tip of Sumatra 7.44S, 106.1E [MET 00215343 - 00215750]. Smoldering underground fires have raged uncontrolled for the past few weeks in Southeast Asia. Originally set to clear land for agriculture, the fires are usually extinguished by the annual monsoon rains. However, this year, the rains had not come due to El Nino which produces dry conditions in the Indonesia region. Due to the lack of trade winds, the seasonal warm waters in the eastern Pacific have spread over to South America. Consequently, the water temperature in Indonesia has dropped significantly. This decrease in temperature has not produced enough warm water vapor to produce the normal seasonal showers that usually encompass the area. The fire has now been blamed for two fatal accidents and countless health hazards. At one point, the pollution index of the region reached 839. To put a relative point to this number, a pollution index of 300 is a equivalent of smoking 20 cigarettes a day. The smoke, during one time, blanketed an area that was larger than the continental United States. Currently, the fire's rage has been quelled by winds and rain which have lifted the smog and dampened the fires. However it is estimated that 100,000 fire fighters are needed to stop the fire. The KidSat image shown here is a mosaic of three images of the 16 image series (Mission Elapsed Time) 00215624, 00215637, 00215701, the center latitude and longitude of each image, respectively, is 3.0 degrees S 102.9 degrees E, 3.7 degrees S 103.4 degrees E, 4.9 degrees S 104.3 degrees E and is 140 km wide and 400 km long. The images were captured on September 27, 1997 during Shuttle flight STS-86. Starting in the south (right) and traveling northwest (left), a clear view is visible of the southern tip of Sumatra with the volcanoes that make up the backbone of the island appearing darker than the surrounding land. Further northwest, the first smoke plumes appear in the rain forests east of the mountains where land is being cleared for palm plantations, the plumes indicate a prevailing wind to the northwest. Within a short distance, the region becomes completely blanketed in smoke with only the peaks of the volcanoes rising above the gray haze layer. The KidSat camera that photographed these fires is mounted in the overhead starboard window of the Shuttle Atlantis and operates before and after docking with Mir when the Shuttle's windows face the Earth. Students on the ground are linked to the camera through the Internet and a series of satellites. High school and undergraduate students work in collaboration with scientists and engineers to develop and operate the KidSat systems. Curriculum developed by The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth is used in the middle school classrooms to encourage scientific inquiry based on the images. The photographs from the three missions of the KidSat pilot program can be accessed at the following URL: http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/kidsat The KidSat program was developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, The Johns Hopkins University Institute for the Academic Advancement of Youth, and The University of California, San Diego, with support from NASA's Johnson Space Center. The project is supported by NASA's Office of Human Resources and Education with support from NASA's Offices of Mission to Planet Earth, Space Flight, and Space Science. JPL is a division of the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). |
|
Houston, Texas L & C bands
This image of Houston, Texas
…
6/8/95
| Date |
6/8/95 |
| Description |
This image of Houston, Texas, shows the amount of detail that is possible to obtain using spaceborne radar imaging. Images such as this -- obtained by the Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar (SIR-C/X-SAR) flying aboard the space shuttle Endeavor last fall -- can become an effective tool for urban planners who map and monitor land use patterns in urban, agricultural and wetland areas. Central Houston appears pink and white in the upper portion of the image, outlined and crisscrossed by freeways. The image was obtained on October 10, 1994, during the space shuttle's 167th orbit. The area shown is 100 kilometers by 60 kilometers (62 miles by 38 miles) and is centered at 29.38 degrees north latitude, 95.1 degrees west longitude. North is toward the upper left. The pink areas designate urban development while the green- and blue-patterned areas are agricultural fields. Black areas are bodies of water, including Galveston Bay along the right edge and the Gulf of Mexico at the bottom of the image. Interstate 45 runs from top to bottom through the image. The narrow island at the bottom of the image is Galveston Island, with the city of Galveston at its northeast (right) end. The dark cross in the upper center of the image is Hobby Airport. Ellington Air Force Base is visible below Hobby on the other side of Interstate 45. Clear Lake is the dark body of water in the middle right of the image. The green square just north of Clear Lake is Johnson Space Center, home of Mission Control and the astronaut training facilities. The black rectangle with a white center that appears to the left of the city center is the Houston Astrodome. The colors in this image were obtained using the follow radar channels: red represents the L-band (horizontally transmitted, vertically received), green represents the C-band (horizontally transmitted, vertically received), blue represents the C-band (horizontally transmitted and received). ----- Spaceborne Imaging Radar-C/X-band Synthetic Aperture Radar(SIR- C/X-SAR) is part of NASA's Mission to Planet Earth. The radars illuminate Earth with microwaves, allowing detailed observations at any time, regardless of weather or sunlight conditions. SIR- C/X-SAR uses three microwave wavelengths: L-band (24 cm), C-band (6 cm) and X-band (3 cm). The multi-frequency data will be used by the international scientific community to better understand the global environment and how it is changing. The SIR-C/X-SAR data, complemented by aircraft and ground studies, will give scientists clearer insights into those environmental changes which are caused by nature and those changes which are induced by human activity. SIR-C was developed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. X-SAR was developed by the Dornier and Alenia Spazio companies for the German space agency, Deutsche Agentur fuer Raumfahrtangelegenheiten (DARA), and the Italian space agency, Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) with the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt fuer luft und Raumfahrt e.V.(DLR), the major partner in science, operations and data processing of X-SAR. ##### |
|
NASA TV's This Week at NASA,
…
* With skies overcast skies,
…
01/22/2010
| Description |
* With skies overcast skies, the next space shuttle crew set down their T-38s at the Kennedy Space Center, eager to begin their launch dress rehearsal, or Terminal Countdown Demonstration test. The crew will fly aboard space shuttle Endeavour bringing the Tranquility node and its cupola for installation on the International Space Station. The STS-130 mission is scheduled to liftoff from the Kennedy Space Center on Sunday, February 7, at 4:39 a.m. Eastern. * The scheduled launch of NASA's new Solar Dynamics Observatory, or SDO, is drawing near. Its prelaunch briefing, conducted at NASA headquarters in Washington and the Kennedy Space Center, gave media a look at SDO's unprecedented mission to study the sun and its dynamic behavior. * JSC: The next International Space Station crew briefed reporters on their upcoming mission. NASA astronaut Tracy Caldwell Dyson was joined by Russian cosmonauts Alexander Skyorsov and Mikhail Kornlenko to discuss their upcoming Expedition 23 mission. * Members of the STS-129 crew continued their whirlwind tour of NASA centers. Five members of the space shuttle Atlantis crew thanked employees at the Stennis Space Center for their part in a safe STS-129 mission to the International Space Station in November. * The Mars Exploration Rover Opportunity this week celebrates six years of exploration and research on the surface of the red planet. * The most powerful camera aboard the NASA spacecraft orbiting Mars will soon be taking photo suggestions from the public. |
| Date |
01/22/2010 |
|
51-L Challenger Crew Remains
…
| Title |
51-L Challenger Crew Remains Transferred |
| Full Description |
The Challenger crewmember remains are being transferred from 7 hearse vehicles to a MAC C-141 transport plane at the Kennedy Space Center's Shuttle Landing Facility for transport to Dover Air Force Base, Delaware. The STS-51L crew consisted of: Mission Specialist, Ellison S. Onizuka, Teacher in Space Participant Sharon Christa McAuliffe, Payload Specialist, Greg Jarvis and Mission Specialist, Judy Resnik. In the front row from left to right: Pilot Mike Smith, Commander, Dick Scobee and Mission Specialist, Ron McNair. |
| Date |
08/30/1988 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Aaron Cohen
| Title |
Aaron Cohen |
| Full Description |
Aaron Cohen served as NASA Acting Deputy Administrator from February 19, 1992 to November 1, 1992. Mr. Cohen started at NASA's Johnson Space Center in 1962 working on the Apollo program. After Apollo he served as Manager of the Space Shuttle orbiter, directing the development and testing of the orbiter. In 1986 he assumed the position of Johnson Space Center Director. After retiring from NASA in 1993, Mr. Cohen became the Zachry Professor of Engineering at his alma mater, Texas A&M University. |
| Date |
12/20/1982 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Aerial View of Columbia Laun
…
| Title |
Aerial View of Columbia Launch |
| Full Description |
Aerial view of the STS-2 Columbia launch from Pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, taken by astronaut John Young aboard NASA's Shuttle Training Aircraft (STA). |
| Date |
11/12/1981 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Mark Lee Tetherless and Free
| Title |
Mark Lee Tetherless and Free |
| Full Description |
Backdropped against clouds 130 nautical miles below, astronaut Mark C. Lee floats freely without tethers as he tests the new Simplified Aid for EVA Rescue (SAFER) system. |
| Date |
09/16/1994 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Maxime A. Faget
| Title |
Maxime A. Faget |
| Full Description |
Maxime A. Faget, an aeronautical engineer with a B.S. from Louisiana State University (1943), joined the staff at Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in 1946 and soon became head of the performance aerodynamics branch of the pilotless aircraft research division. There, he conducted research on the heat shield of the Mercury spacecraft. In 1958 he joined the space task group in NASA, forerunner of the NASA Manned Spacecraft Center that became the Johnson Space Center, and he became its assistant director for engineering and development in 1962 and later its director. He contributed many of the original design concepts for Project Mercury's manned spacecraft and played a major role in designing virtually every U.S. crewed spacecraft since that time, including the Space Shuttle. He retired from NASA in 1981 and became an executive for Eagle Engineering, Inc. In 1982 he was one of the founders of Space Industries, Inc. and became its president and chief executive officer. |
| Date |
UNKNOWN |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
McCandless on Arm in Aft Pay
…
| Title |
McCandless on Arm in Aft Payload Bay |
| Full Description |
Astronaut Bruce McCandless II, STS-41B mission specialist, tests a Mobile Foot Restraint (MFR) attached to the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) aboard the Space Shuttle Challenger. McCandless appears to be walking on cargo, but is realy being flown over it by the combination MFR and RMS. His helmet visor reflects parts of the payload bay that can't be seen in the larger portion of the photo. Behind him can be seen both the Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods. |
| Date |
02/13/1984 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
McCandless with Space Screw
…
| Title |
McCandless with Space Screw Gun |
| Full Description |
EVA Astronaut Bruce McCandless II, is using a special power tool to conduct an experiment. His feet are anchored in the mobile foot restraints, which are connected to the Remote Manipulator System's (RMS) End Effector. The Shuttle pallet satellite (SPAS-01A) serves as a test subject for McCandless's experiment. The SPAS-01A is located in the center of the open cargo bay. Behind him is the protective cradle for the Westar VI satellite. |
| Date |
02/12/1984 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Moon Framed
| Title |
Moon Framed |
| Full Description |
The moon is framed between the Orbiter's OMS pod and the Earth limb over the Atlantic Ocean as seen from the aft windows onboard Discovery on mission STS-95. |
| Date |
11/06/1998 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Moon Set over Earth
| Title |
Moon Set over Earth |
| Full Description |
Moon set over the Earth limb taken from Space Shuttle Discovery during STS-70 mission. |
| Date |
07/14/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Newman Waves at Camera from
…
| Title |
Newman Waves at Camera from Unity Module |
| Full Description |
STS-88 mission specialist James Newman, holding on to a handrail, waves back at the camera during the first of three Extravehicular activities(EVAs) performed during the mission. The orbiter can be seen reflected in his visor |
| Date |
12/07/1998 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Arm in Arm
| Title |
Arm in Arm |
| Full Description |
Backdropped against the blue and white Earth, Mission Specialist (MS) and Payload Commander (PLC) G. David Low and (MS) Peter J.K. Wisoff, wearing Extravehicular Mobility Units (EMUs), simulate handling of large components in space. Above Endeavour's Payload Bay (PLB), Low, anchored by a Portable Foot Restraint (PFR) Manipulator Foot Restraint (MFR) on the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) end effector, maneuvers Wisoff, representing the mass of a large space component. This particular task was rehearsed with eyes toward the servicing of the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) or the assembly and maintenance of Space Station. This Extravehicular Activity (EVA), Detailed Test Objective (DTO) was conducted both with and without intentional disturbances from Endeavour's thrusters and movements of the RMS. The SPACEHAB-01 Commercial Middeck Augmentation Module (CMAM)) is visible in the foreground with the Superfluid Helium On Orbit Transfer (SHOOT) payload liquid helium dewar assembly and the European Retrievable Carrier (EURECA) only partially visible in the aft PLB shadows. The vertical stabilizer and Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) pods are silhouetted against the Earth's surface. |
| Date |
06/25/1993 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Armed and Ready
| Title |
Armed and Ready |
| Full Description |
STS-49 Mission Specialist Pierre Thuot is perched on the end effector of the Robot Arm (Remote Manipulator System/RMS), with the Intelsat VI capture bar. This would be one of many attempts to "grapple" the Intelsat VI satellite which was rendered inoperative when its Payload Assist Module (PAM) motor failed to fire thus preventing it from reaching an operational altitude. |
| Date |
05/13/1992 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Assembling Structures in the
…
| Title |
Assembling Structures in the Payload Bay |
| Full Description |
STS-49 Mission Specialist (MS) Kathryn C. Thornton (foreground) releases a strut from the Multipurpose Experiment Support Structure (MPESS) strut dispenser during Assembly of Station by Extravehicular Activity Methods (ASEM) procedures in Endeavour's payload bay. MS Thomas D. Akers, positioned on the opposite side of the MPESS, waits for Thornton to hand him the final strut. The two astronauts are building the ASEM structure during the mission's fourth EVA. The ASEM structure, locked in at four corners to payload retention latch assemblies (PRLAs), rises above the payload bay. In the background are the Intelsat cradle, the vertical tail, and the orbital maneuvering system (OMS) pods. The pale blue and white Earth is visible below. |
| Date |
05/01/1992 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Ochoa on Sky Genie
| Title |
Ochoa on Sky Genie |
| Full Description |
Mission Specialist Ellen Ochoa, wearing a Launch and Entry Suit (LES) and Launch and Entry Helmet (LEH), simulates an emergency egress procedure at JSC's Mockup and Integration Laboratory (MAIL). Having exited the crew compartment trainer (CCT) a shuttle mockup, through an overhead aft flight deck window, Ochoa lowers herself to the ground using the sky-genie. Training instructor Kenneth D. Trujillo assumes the role of a crewmate assisting from a position on the ground. The sky-genie is carried on all Space Shuttle flights for emergency egress purposes. |
| Date |
12/01/1992 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Official STS-107 Crew Photo
| Title |
Official STS-107 Crew Photo |
| Full Description |
This is the official crew photo from Mission STS-107 on the Space Shuttle Columbia. From left to right are Mission Specialist David Brown, Commander Rick Husband, Mission Specialist Laurel Clark, Mission Specialist Kalpana Chawla, Mission Specialist Michael Anderson, Pilot William McCool, and Israeli Payload Specialist Ilan Ramon. For more information on STS-107, please see GRIN Columbia General Explanation [ http://grin.hq.nasa.gov/ABSTRACTS/GRINColumbiaGenExpl.html ] |
| Date |
01/01/2002 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Astronaut Gibson Shakes Hand
…
| Title |
Astronaut Gibson Shakes Hands with Cosmonaut Dezhurov |
| Full Description |
Astronaut Robert L. Gibson, STS-71 mission commander, shakes the hand of cosmonaut Vladimir N. Dezhurov, Mir-18 commander. The historic handshake took place two and a half weeks prior to the 20th anniversary of a similar in-space greeting between cosmonauts and astronauts participating in the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project (ASTP). On July 17, 1975, astronaut Thomas P. Stafford, NASA's ASTP commander, greeted his counterpart, Aleksey A. Leonov, in a docking tunnel linking the Soyuz and Apollo spacecraft. |
| Date |
06/29/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Orbital Sunrise
| Title |
Orbital Sunrise |
| Full Description |
The STS-68 crew aboard the Space Shuttle Endeavour told a post-flight audience at JSC that this sunrise was one of the most scenic sunrises/ sunsets witnessed during the week and a half long Space Radar Laboratory (SRL-2) mission. Jutting clouds, back-lit by the dawn colors, are sandwiched between the blue airglow and the silhouetted horizon of Earth. |
| Date |
10/11/1994 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Orbital Sunrise with Venus a
…
| Title |
Orbital Sunrise with Venus and Mars |
| Full Description |
View of Earth limb horizon during sunrise with Mars and Venus rising. |
| Date |
08/03/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Astronaut U.S. Senator John
…
| Title |
Astronaut U.S. Senator John Glenn |
| Full Description |
STS-95 crewmember, astronaut and U.S. Senator John Glenn. Glenn was the first American to orbit the earth and returned to space in 1998 aboard a Space Shuttle flight. |
| Date |
04/14/1998 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Atlantis departing Mir
| Title |
Atlantis departing Mir |
| Full Description |
A view of the Space Shuttle Atlantis departing the Mir Russian Space Station. This image was taken during the STS-71 mission by cosmonauts aboard their Soyuz TM transport vehicle. The scene is backdropped by the Earth's limb. |
| Date |
07/04/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Atlantis Docked to Mir
| Title |
Atlantis Docked to Mir |
| Full Description |
This view of the Space Shuttle Atlantis still connected to Russia's Mir Space Station was photographed by the Mir-19 crew on July 4, 1995. Cosmonauts Anatoliy Y. Solovyev and Nikolai M. Budarin, Mir-19 Commander and Flight Engineer, respectively, temporarily undocked the Soyuz spacecraft from the cluster of Mir elements to perform a brief fly-around. They took pictures while the STS-71 crew, with Mir-18's three crew members aboard, undocked Atlantis for the completion of this leg of the joint activities. Solovyev and Budarin had been taxied to the Mir Space Station by the STS-71 ascent trip of Atlantis. |
| Date |
07/04/1995 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Backpacking
| Title |
Backpacking |
| Full Description |
Mission Specialist Bruce McCandless II ventured further away from the confines and safety of his ship than any previous astronaut ever has. This space first was made possible by the Manned Manuevering Unit or MMU, a nitrogen jet propelled backpack. After a series of test maneuvers inside and above Challenger's payload bay, McCandless went "free-flying" to a distance of 320 feet away from the Orbiter. The MMU is controled by joy sticks positioned at the end of the arm rests. Moving the joy sticks left or right or by pulling them fires nitrogen jet thrusters propelling McCandless in any direction he chooses. A still camera is mounted on the upper right portion of the MMU. This stunning view shows McCandless with the MMU out there amongst the black and blue of Earth and space. |
| Date |
02/11/1984 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Bluford on Treadmill
| Title |
Bluford on Treadmill |
| Full Description |
On Challenger's middeck, Mission Specialist (MS) Guion Bluford, restrained by harness and wearing blood pressure cuff on his left arm, exercises on the treadmill. Forward lockers with data recording units and checklist notebooks are to the left of Bluford. |
| Date |
09/05/1983 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Booster Rocket Breach
| Title |
Booster Rocket Breach |
| Full Description |
At 58.778 seconds into powered flight, a large flame plume is visible just above the SRB exhaust nozzle indicating a breach in the motor casing. |
| Date |
01/28/1986 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Brown and Glenn on Flight De
…
| Title |
Brown and Glenn on Flight Deck Press Conference |
| Full Description |
STS-95 mission Commander Curtis Brown (left) and Payload Specialist John Glenn are photographed on the aft flight deck of Discovery during a press conference. |
| Date |
11/01/1998 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Challenger
| Title |
Challenger |
| Full Description |
Close-up view of the liftoff of the Shuttle Challenger on mission STS-51L taken from camera site 39B-2/T3. From this camera position, a cloud of grey-brown smoke can be seen on the right side of the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) on a line directly across from the letter "U" in United States. This was the first visible sign that an SRB joint breach may have occured. On January 28, 1986 frigid overnight temperatures caused normally pliable rubber O-ring seals and putty that are designed to seal and establish joint integrity between the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) joint segments, to become hard and non- flexible. At the instant of SRB ignition, tremendous stresses and pressures occur within the SRB casing and especially at the joint attachmentment points. The failure of the O-rings and putty to "seat" properly at motor ignition, caused hot exhaust gases to blow by the seals and putty. During Challenger's ascent, this hot gas "blow by" ultimately cut a swath completely through the steel booster casing, and like a welder's torch, began cutting into the External Tank (ET). It is believed that the ET was compromised in several locations starting in the aft at the initial point where SRB joint failure occured. The ET hydrogen tank is believed to have been breached first, with continuous rapid incremental failure of both the ET and SRB. A chain reaction of events occurring in milliseconds culminated in a massive explosion. The orbiter Challenger was instantly ejected by the blast and went askew into the supersonic air flow. These aerodynamic forces caused structural shattering and complete destruction of the orbiter. Though it was concluded that the G-forces experienced during orbiter ejection and break-up were survivable, impact with the ocean surface was not. Tragically, all seven crewmembers perished. |
| Date |
01/28/1986 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Challenger as seen from SPAS
| Title |
Challenger as seen from SPAS |
| Full Description |
Full view of Space Shuttle Orbiter Challenger in space, taken by the Space Pallet Satellite (SPAS). A heavily cloud-covered portion of the earth forms the backdrop for this scene of Challenger. Visible in the payload bay are the protective cradles for the Palapa-B and Telesat F communications satellites, the pallet for the NASA Office of Space and Terrestrial Applications (OSTA-2), the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) robot arm in the shape of the numeral seven and the KU- band antenna. A number of GetAway Special (GAS) canisters are also visible along the port side. |
| Date |
06/22/1983 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Challenger Ferry Flight Flyo
…
| Title |
Challenger Ferry Flight Flyover |
| Full Description |
View of the Shuttle Challenger atop the Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA), NASA-905, during its return to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) and flyover of the Johnson Space Center (JSC) and the Houston skyline on Saturday, April 9, 1983. |
| Date |
04/18/1983 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Challenger Rocket Booster
| Title |
Challenger Rocket Booster |
| Full Description |
At about 76 seconds, fragments of the Orbiter can be seen tumbling against a background of fire, smoke and vaporized propellants from the External Tank. The left Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) flys rampant, still thrusting. The reddish-brown cloud envelops the disintergrating Orbiter. The color is indicative of the nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer propellant in the Orbiter Reaction Control System. On January 28, 1986 frigid overnight temperatures caused normally pliable rubber O-ring seals and putty that are designed to seal and establish joint integrity between the Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) joint segments, to become hard and non- flexible. At the instant of SRB ignition, tremendous stresses and pressures occur within the SRB casing and especially at the joint attachment points. The failure of the O-rings and putty to "seat" properly at motor ignition, caused hot exhaust gases to blow by the seals and putty. During Challenger's ascent, this hot gas "blow by" ultimately cut a swath completely through the steel booster casing, and like a welder's torch, began cutting into the External Tank (ET). It is believed that the ET was compromised in several locations starting in the aft at the initial point where SRB joint failure occured. The ET hydrogen tank is believed to have been breached first, with continuous rapid incremental failure of both the ET and SRB. The chain reaction of events occurring in milliseconds culminated in a massive explosion. The orbiter Challenger was instantly ejected by the blast and went askew into the supersonic air flow. These aerodynamic forces caused structural shattering and complete destruction of the orbiter. Though it was concluded that the G-forces experienced during orbiter ejection and break-up were survivable, impact with the ocean surface was not. Tragically, all seven crewmembers perished. |
| Date |
01/28/1986 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
President Reagan at Mission
…
| Title |
President Reagan at Mission Control, Houston |
| Full Description |
President Ronald Reagan gets a laugh from NASA officials in Mission Control when he jokingly asks crew members, astronauts Joe Engle and Richard Truly if they could stop by Washington en route to their California landing site in order that he might come along. The STS-2 crew was in their next to last day on orbit when the conversation took place. From left to right standing: Terry J. Hart, NASA Deputy Administrator Dr. Hans Mark, NASA Administrator James M. Beggs, JSC Director Dr. Christopher C. Kraft Jr. From left to right seated: CAPCOM, Astronaut Daniel C. Brandenstein President, Ronald Reagan Directly above the President in the background: JSC Flight Operations Director, Eugene F. Kranz |
| Date |
11/13/1981 |
| NASA Center |
Headquarters |
|
Challenger Wreckage Entombme
…
| Title |
Challenger Wreckage Entombment |
| Full Description |
STS-51L Challenger wreckage remains and boxes of debris being lowered into abandoned Minuteman Missile Silos at Complex 31 on Cape Canveral Air Force Station. |
| Date |
01/29/1987 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
Clouds and Sunglint over Ind
…
| Title |
Clouds and Sunglint over Indian Ocean |
| Full Description |
Clouds and sunglint as seen during the STS-96 mission from the Space Shuttle Discovery. |
| Date |
06/01/1999 |
| NASA Center |
Johnson Space Center |
|
|
