Response to Comments

I’ll check on answers to the rest of the questions posed.

When the Space Shuttle Main Engines ignite, it causes the shuttle to lean over a bit in a phenomenon called “twang“.

For today’s simulated mission Ruth is conducting the EVA as a Mission Specialist in the orbiter.  My role is the person who coordinates the EVA from Mission Control.  The directors tell us that if we are doing well in the simulation, they will trigger alarms we have to fix.  If we aren’t doing so well at running the mission we won’t be given problems to fix.  Think about that in terms of differentiation.  I have not seen the other team members to get their mission information.  You will have that soon.

I’m off to start the day.  We go from 7:30 am to about 8:30 pm with thirty minutes each for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Day Two: Mission Orientation and High Ropes for Team Exploration

The day started with a breakfast with Tony Jones and Dwight the Engineer from Boeing.  A wonderful welcome and encouraging words about the important role teachers play in science, math, engineering and technology careers.  Thanks to Boeing for providing this wonderful experience for us.

Our first order of business for the day was Shuttle Orientation.  If you think education is filled with acronyms, try learning all of the abbreviations you need to understand on the space shuttle.  The enormity of all of the jobs required to launch the shuttle is overwhelming.  Major point — what most of us call the shuttle is actually the orbiter as it is the only piece that goes into orbit.  Never knew that the sparklers that go off before ignition are to burn the hydrogen that may have leaked from the fuel tanks.  Also never noticed the water that is poured out before launch that cools the launch pad and dampens the sound waves that result from the launch. 

Do you know what twang is?  The shuttle rocks twenty-four inches when the engines are ignited.  When it returns to its original orientation you are ready for liftoff.  When the shuttle clears the tower, responsibility shifts from Kenndy Space Center to the Johnson Space Center in Houston.  So when they are up, if there is a problem, tha’s Houston.

Understanding the overall process of a shuttle launch, mission and landing will assist us in our Mission that will take place on Wednesday.  We each have roles as we go up in space to repair the Hubble Telescope.  Ruth will be the astronaut doing the EVA actually out in space fixing the telescope.

Interesting fact of the day:  Astronauts tried drinking soda in space.  The problem with gas in your system in microgravity is that the gas doesn’t rise, so you don’t burp and therefore experience some gastrointestinal pain.  Amazing how much we have learned about drinks in space.  When they tried to add potassium to Tang, there was a similar result.  However the astronauts did have gas which was recycled in their space suit.  Hmmm . . . .

Everyone wants to know about, how do I say, relieving yourself in space.  There are two options: The Target and Mr. Thirsty.  There was a demonstration of how the closed circuit camera is used to position yourself over the target to assure you have a good seal so that no solids are released into the orbiter.

Our day ended at the high ropes course.  Cannot say I have ever wanted to jump off of a fifty foot tower, but we did it.  The facilitator made a great connection for all of us.  The fear we felt when we jumped off of the tower is similar to what some of our students feel when we ask them to do certain tasks at school.  So look around and make sure your students are ready to go, and if they are not, give them the encouragement they need to go it alone.  Success is within everyone’s reach.