Life At The Lab: Dummies Crash Planes!

For the first time, Kepler measured the “shock breakout” of a star, the early flash from the shockwave of a dying red supergiant. The flash comes from a type II supernova, KSN 2011d. Read more

Brothers Bring Curious Minds, Sharp Questions to Langley

One brother is a facts-and-figures guy, the other an adventurer.

They're both deeply fascinated by all things space.

Mikey and Robbie Rouse, 15 and 16, are from Salem, Virginia, and both have Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy, a progressive condition that affects nearly all their voluntary muscles.

On a recent trip to Hampton, Virginia, they visited one of the birthplaces of the American space program — NASA's Langley Research Center.

Mikey, the adventurer, wants to be the first wheelchair astronaut. "And I want to go to Mars," he said during his visit.

Robbie, the facts-and-figures guy, is always thinking of safety first — a quality held sacred by all at NASA.

The brothers' visit to Langley included a tour of the center's hangar, a stop at the Flight Mission Support Center for the ozone-monitoring Stratospheric Aerosol and Gas Experiment III, and presentations on the Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator, autonomous technologies, and tests at the Landing and Impact Research Facility.

Deputy Center Director Clayton Turner and Associate Director Cathy Mangum presented Mikey and Robbie with commemorative coins and copies of "A Century at Langley," a pictoral history of the center.

No subject raised during the visit failed to spark the boys' curiosity.

Steve Velotas, associate director for intelligent flight systems, talked with Mikey and Robbie about the ways in which Langley researchers are studying autonmous technologies. Autonomous systems could be used in unmanned aerial vehicles, in-space assembly robots, or even wheelchairs to help those with disabilities navigate more easily.

"I don't trust robots completely," Mikey said.

"We don't either," said Velotas, who then explained that part of the reason Langley scientists are studying autonomous systems is to make sure they work like people want them to.

Evan Horowitz, structures and mechanical systems airworthiness engineer, showed the brothers Langley's historic hangar and talked about some of the past and present missions the facility has supported.

Gemini and Apollo astronauts trained in the hangar's Rendezvous Docking Simulator, and aircraft used for airborne science studies and autonomous flight research are based there.

Mikey and Robbie peppered Horowitz, who often takes tour groups through the hangar, with questions about air pollution and habitable exoplanets.

"This is great," said Horowitz. "Best interaction I've had in months."

The previous day, Mikey and Robbie visited the Virginia Air & Space Center, Langley's official visitors center.

The brothers live with their great-grandmother in Salem and receive daily assistance from a nonprofit called Lutheran Family Services of Virginia. The trip to Hampton was organized by Julie's Abundance Project, a program of Lutheran Family Services of Virginia.

Image Credits: NASA/David C. Bowman

Joe AtkinsonJoe Atkinson NASA Langley Research Center

A Like for NASA

Hi everyone!

I’m participating in the NASA Aerospace Scholars program at @nasa‘s Langley Research Center ( @nasalangley ). I wanted to share my team’s Facebook page with you, so you can see what we’ve been up to! It would really help my team out if you liked the page on Facebook!

If you’re interested in the opportunity, you can apply here until June 1st! Feel free to ask me any questions you have about the program and I’ll  do my best to answer.

Seven Reasons Why Rover Challenge is Serious Business

Prizes, awards and a year’s worth of bragging rights are at stake during our annual Human Exploration Rover Challenge. Year after year, student teams from across the world design, build and race rovers against the clock and each other.

With a space-themed obstacle course, unique rovers, competitive racing, our exhibits and dozens of international teams… it’s everything cool about STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and space exploration. 

Here are the “must-know” details for this year’s event:

1. Bumps, Bruises and Battle Scars

Our space-themed obstacle course often brings racers to their knees, literally. This daunting three-quarter-mile long course is difficult to traverse and isn’t for the faint of heart. It uses both lunar and Mars-themed obstacles to simulate the types of terrain found on distant planets, asteroids or moons.

Plus, teams must race their rovers in, on and around full-scale rockets and space vehicle exhibits on display at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center – the official visitor center for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, both in Huntsville, Alabama. See just how difficult and wild the course can be in our Flickr gallery.

2. Homemade Wheels Only

Rover teams must design and fabricate their own original, or “homemade” wheels. In-Situ Resource Utilization is an important component for our future missions to Mars, asteroids or other planets.

Astronauts can never simply purchase wheels at the store… and neither can our rover teams. Teams must not use any “off-the-shelf” wheels on their rover. By wheels, this means any component used for contact, traction or mobility on the surface of the obstacle course, including, but not limited to wheels, tracks, treads or belts.

And, as in years past, teams are not allowed to incorporate inflated (or un-inflated) pneumatic tires. Inflated tires would be considered an off-the-shelf product, not eligible under the current rules.

3. New “Sample Retrieval” Component Added

Teams may choose to compete in this optional challenge, collecting four samples (liquid, small pebbles, large rocks and soil) using a mechanical arm or a grabber they design and build. Teams must collect a soil sample and liquid sample while driving their rover, as well as collect rock samples (both large and small) while off the rover, all within a 25-minute time limit.  The “Sample Retrieval” challenge highlights our deep-space exploration goals. Teams competing are eligible for the $250 prize awarded to the winner of each high school and college/university division.

4. Caution: Real STEM @work

The sights and sounds of welding, grinding and computer programming are prevalent in this hands-on, experiential activity where students solve similar problems faced by our workforce. Rover Challenge provides a unique test-bed to get students involved in real-world research and development. Their progress and success may glean potential technologies for future exploration of Mars and beyond.

5. Draws Inspiration from Apollo and Journey to Mars

Rover Challenge was inspired by the historic success of the lunar rovers from the Apollo missions, each one built by engineers and scientists at NASA Marshall. While we continue to honor our past achievements, we now highlight future accomplishments on deep-space exploration missions to Mars, asteroids or other planets. The addition of the “Sample Return” component and the Martian obstacles emphasize our commitment toward space exploration.

6. Our International Spirit is Alive and Well

Just like the International Space Station; we bring the best of several nations together to promote and celebrate space exploration. Nearly 80 teams are coming from as far away as Italy, Germany, India, Mexico, Columbia and Russia, as well as more “local” talent from the United States and Puerto Rico. View this year’s registered teams HERE.

7. Real-time Racing on Social Media

From start to finish, each racing rover team will be broadcast, live, on the Marshall Center’s Ustream channel. Plus, enjoy real-time race updates, results and awards by following Rover Challenge Twitter: @RoverChallenge

NASA’s Human Exploration Rover Challenge will take place at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama, April 8-9. For event details, rules, course information and more, please visit: http://www.nasa.gov/roverchallenge

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com

NASA Crash-Test Dummies Make A Splash Landing

Engineers drop a NASA’s Orion Spacecraft test capsule with crash-test dummies inside into 20-foot-deep Hydro Impact Basin to simulate what the spacecraft may experience when splashing down in the Pacific Ocean after deep-space missions.

More: http://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/nasa-crash-test-dummies-suit-up-for-action

The NASA Aeronautics team is working to transform aviation by enabling a new commercial market for supersonic travel over land. The centerpiece of this effort is the X-59 QueSST (short for Quiet SuperSonic Technology), a new X-plane designed to produce sonic "thumps" that could open the door to new certification standards for commercial supersonic service. NASA and Lockheed Martin are working together to design and build the X-59. Beginning in 2023, NASA will use this X-plane to measure public response to sonic thumps. 

More at www.nasa.gov/lowboom

Eagle Nebula

via reddit

Computational Facility Named After Langley "Human Computer" Katherine Johnson

A smiling Katherine Johnson returned Thursday to the NASA center where, for decades, she used her mathematical smarts to help shape history.

This time she was in the spotlight, not behind a desk making complex calculations and searching for the truth in numbers.

Katherine Johnson worked at NASA's Langley Research Center from 1953 to 1986. Since her retirement, she's been a strong advocate for science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education.Credits: NASA/David C. Bowman

The mathematician and 97-year-old Newport News resident visited NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, to attend a ceremony where a $30 million, 40,000-square-foot Computational Research Facility was named in her honor.

As part of the event, Johnson also received a Silver Snoopy award from Leland Melvin, an astronaut and former NASA associate administrator for education. Often called the astronaut’s award, the Silver Snoopy goes to people who have made outstanding contributions to flight safety and mission success.

“I do thank you so much for your attention, for your kindness, but more than that, I’m so happy to see you giving more recognition to women for the work that they have done,” Johnson said. “I have always done my best … At the time it was just another day’s work.”

Johnson needn’t have been modest. She’s a Presidential Medal of Freedom winnerwhose sharp mind gave NASA an edge in mankind’s quest to explore space.

She first made her mark at a time when women and African-Americans were regularly marginalized.

Working at Langley from 1953 until her retirement in 1986, Johnson made a long list of critical contributions. She calculated the trajectory of the 1961 flight of Alan Shepard, the first American in space. Thursday’s ceremony was held on the 55th anniversary of that historic flight.

Johnson is also credited for verifying the calculations made by early electronic computers of John Glenn’s 1962 launch to orbit and the 1969 Apollo 11 trajectory to the moon.

Margot Lee Shetterly, author of a forthcoming book about Johnson and other women whose calculations were integral to America’s space program, gave the keynote address at Thursday’s event.

Her book, “Hidden Figures:  The American Dream and the Untold Story of the Black Women Mathematicians Who Helped NASA and the United States Win the Space Race,” is scheduled to be published in September by William Morrow.

Shetterly noted that Johnson eagerly credits others who share her passion for what’s now called STEM, short for science, technology, engineering and math.

In that spirit, Shetterly reviewed contributions of other notable NASA Langley women: Dorothy Vaughan, Margery Hannah and Christine Darden.

“This is one of the reasons why Mrs. Johnson’s story has captivated us,” Shetterly said. “She has such a towering talent but she has gone out of her way to recognize talent in other people.”

Hollywood is preparing to tell Johnson’s story. A film version of “Hidden Figures” starring Kirsten Dunst, Kevin Costner and Taraji P. Henson is now being produced by 20th Century Fox.

“I want to congratulate you, Mrs. Katherine Goble Johnson, Mrs. Queen Johnson, the brilliant mind, Mrs. Johnson, for the naming of the building, rightfully deserved,” said actress Henson, in a recorded video message played during the ceremony. Henson will portray Johnson in the film.

“You deserve it. They should name NASA after you! Thank you for your service.”

The Katherine G. Johnson Computational Research Facility under construction at NASA Langley is nearly one-fourth complete and is expected to open in 2017. The third new building in the center’s 20-year revitalization plan, it will allow the center to consolidate the majority of its data centers in one location.

Rep. Bobby Scott and Hampton Mayor George Wallace spoke at Thursday’s naming ceremony. Rep. Scott Rigell sent a representative who offered his congratulations. Sen. Tim Kaine sent a video greeting. A letter from NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden was read aloud.

“I am told you once remarked that, even though you grew up in the height of segregation, you did not have time to think about your place in history and that you never had a feeling of inferiority,” Bolden wrote. “Instead you considered yourself, as you described it, ‘as good as anybody, but no better.’

“The truth of the matter is that you are better. You are one of the greatest minds ever to grace our agency or our country and because of your mind, heart, and soul, my own granddaughters and young Americans like them can pursue their own dreams without a feeling of inferiority."

Rep. Scott said he's happy that Johnson's remarkable contributions are finally getting the exposure they deserve. He's looking forward to seeing them splashed across the big screen.

"I enjoy comedies and thrillers like anybody else," he said, "but Dr. Johnson's story is one that we ought to be telling our children."

See a video on Katherine Johnson's legacy.

See more photos from Thursday's event at a Flickr gallery.

See Mercury Race Across The Sun On Monday

Skywatchers in the western hemisphere will see a rare sight on Monday: over the course of several hours, the silhouette of the planet Mercury will appear to cross the face of the Sun. The “transit” of Mercury results from the precise alignment of the orbits of Mercury and Earth that only happens either 13 or 14 times per century; usually the orbital alignment is weak, and as seen from our planet Mercury “misses” the Sun’s disk as it orbits once every 88 days. But on Monday, the view through a properly-shielded telescope will reveal the innermost planet as a dark, perfectly circular spot that moves completely across the Sun in exactly seven and a half hours.

Because of the specifics of our respective orbits, Mercury transits only happen in either the months of May or November, with average dates of 8th May and 10th November. May transits happen less frequently than November transits because during May, Mercury is closer to its largest distance from the Sun, while in November the opposite is true. As a result, the range of possible angles between the Sun and Mercury, as seen from Earth, is smaller in November than May. While the interval between successive November transits can be either 7, 13 or 33 years, May transits are less common, with successive appearances in either 13- or 33-year intervals.

Observations of Mercury transits reach back to at least the seventeenth century. Observations from earlier than this are unlikely because the apparent size of Mercury’s silhouette against the Sun is too small for the unaided eye to resolve. This is why the first recorded Mercury transit — by the French astronomer Pierre Gassendi on 7 November 1631 — dates to after Galileo Galilei’s invention of the telescope in about 1609. Johannes Kepler earlier understood that Mercury’s orbit should periodically take it in front of the Sun, but he died in 1630 before being able to observe a predicted transit. 

While these events once had great scientific interest, they are now mainly curiosities that delight astronomy aficionados. Rarer still are transits of Venus across the Sun, the last of which took place in 2012. These events come in pairs separated by 113 years, meaning that most people alive now will not be around to see the next one in December 2117.

Who can see Monday’s event? That depends on the hour of day and which side of the Earth faces the Sun at the time. The map below indicates which parts of the world see either all, some, or none of the transit: 

You’ll need at least a good pair of binoculars or a telescope — properly shielded with a heavy filer to prevent eye damage — to even sense Mercury during the transit. It will look like a small, perfectly round and completely opaque black dot against the bright solar photosphere. Mercury is distinguishable in this sense from sunspots, which are irregular in shape, can be partially transparent, and of much larger sizes. This image compares Mercury during a transit (bottom-center) with a sunspot near the solar limb (upper right).

NOTE: DO NOT LOOK AT THE SUN THROUGH A TELESCOPE WITHOUT A FULL-APERTURE SOLAR FILTER! Doing so can cause permanent blindness! Instead, try projecting the image of the sun from a telescope or binoculars onto white paper. This method avoids bringing dangerous, strongly-focused sunlight anywhere near one’s eyes. 

Better still: Watch the transit live online! Find live streaming coverage from Slooh, NASA TV, Celestron telescopes, Sky and Telescope magazine, and  the Virtual Telescope.

(Top image credit: Sky & Telescope magazine; map and transit image: Fred Espenak)

Landing and Impact Research Facility

From enabling astronauts to practice moon landings to aircraft crash testing to drop tests for Orion, NASA's gantry has come full circle.

The gantry, a 240-foot high, 400-foot-long, 265-foot-wide A-frame steel structure located at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., was built in 1963 and was used to model lunar gravity. Originally named the Lunar Landing Research Facility (LLRF), the gantry became operational in 1965 and allowed astronauts like Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin to train for Apollo 11's final 150 feet before landing on the moon.

Because the moon's gravity is only 1/6 as strong as Earth's, the gantry had a suspension system that supported 5/6 of the total weight of the Lunar Excursion Module Simulator (LEMS), the device the astronauts used to perform the tests. This supportive suspension system imitated the moon's gravitational environment. Additionally, many of the tests were conducted at night to recreate lighting conditions on the moon.

Neil Armstrong with the LEMS at the Lunar Landing Research Facility. This picture (below) was taken in February 1969 - just five months before Armstrong would become the first person to set foot on the surface of the moon.

Aircraft Crash Test Research

After the Apollo program concluded, a new purpose emerged for the gantry – aircraft crash testing. In 1972, the gantry was converted into the Impact Dynamics Research Facility (IDRF) and was used to investigate the crashworthiness of General Aviation (GA) aircraft and rotorcraft. The facility performed full-scale crash tests of GA aircraft and helicopters, system qualification tests of Army helicopters, vertical drop tests of Boeing 707 and composite fuselage sections and drop tests of the F-111 crew escape capsule.

The gantry was even used to complete a number of component tests in support of the Mars Sample Return Earth Entry Vehicle.

With features including a bridge and a 72-foot vertical drop tower, the gantry was able to support planes that weighed up to 30,000 pounds. Engineers lifted aircraft as high as 200 feet in the air and released them to determine how well the craft endured the crash. Data from the crash tests were used to define a typical acceleration for survivable crashes as well as to establish impact criteria for aircraft seats. The impact criteria are still used today as the Federal Aviation Administration standard for certification.

In 1985, the structure was named a National Historic Landmark based on its considerable contributions to the Apollo program.

Revitalized Space Mission

The gantry provides engineers and astronauts a means to prepare for Orion's return to Earth from such missions. With its new mission, the gantry also received a new name – the Landing and Impact Research (LandIR) Facility.

Although originally capable of supporting only 30,000 pounds, the new bridge can bear up to 64,000 pounds after the summer 2007 renovations. Other renovations include a new elevator, floor repairs and a parallel winch capability that allows an accurate adjustment of the pitch of the test article. The new parallel winch system increases the ability to accurately control impact pitch and pitching rotational rate. The gantry can also perform pendulum swings from as high as 200 feet with resultant velocities of over 70 miles per hour.

The gantry makes researching for the optimal landing alternative for NASA's first attempted, manned dry landing on Earth possible. Orion's return on land rather than water will facilitate reuse of the capsule. A water landing would make reuse difficult due to the corrosiveness of salt water.

The testing process involves lifting the test article by steel cables to a height between 40 and 60 feet and swinging it back to Earth. Although the airbags appear most promising, the gantry has the capability to perform different kinds of tests, including a retro rocket landing system and a scale-model, water landing test using a four-foot-deep circular pool. So far, three types of tests have been conducted in support of the Orion program, each progressing from the previous to more realistic features.

The first test consisted of dropping a boilerplate test article that was half the diameter of what Orion will be. For the second round of testing, engineers added a welded structure to the top, with a shape more comparable to Orion to examine the article's tendency to flip or remain upright.

Hydro-Impact

The on-going tests for Orion continue with impacts on water. This is to ensure astronaut safety during a return to Earth mission. Similar to the Apollo program, Orion will re-enter Earth’s atmosphere at very high speeds and after slowing down, deploy parachutes to further slow the descent into the ocean. At NASA Langley Research Center, engineers use the hydro-impact research to determine the stresses on the vehicle and examine its behavior during a mock splashdown.