Jan 6 2010

From The Space Library

RELEASE: 10-227

NASA TO SHIP FUEL TANK FOR THE LAST PLANNED SHUTTLE FLIGHT

NEW ORLEANS -- The external fuel tank that will power the last planned space shuttle into orbit will be shipped Tuesday to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The tank has been restored to flight configuration at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans after sustaining damage during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The tank, designated ET-122, will support shuttle Endeavour's flight targeted for launch in February. At Michoud, ET-122 was rolled out to an enclosed barge, which will carry the tank 900 miles to Kennedy Space Center during a five to six-day sea journey. ET-122 is expected to arrive at Kennedy Sunday, Sept. 26. During the hurricane, the roof of the building that housed the tank was ripped off by high winds. After falling debris damaged the tank, it was removed from the shuttle flight manifest. Lockheed Martin engineers assessed the damage, and prepared and executed a tank restoration plan. The Shuttle Propulsion Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the External Tank Project. Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. of Denver is the prime contractor. For more than 29 years of shuttle flights, Lockheed Martin workers at Michoud have built and delivered 135 flight tanks to NASA's Space Shuttle Program. Standing 15 stories tall and almost 28 feet in diameter, the external tank is the largest element of the shuttle transportation system, which also includes the orbiter, main engines and twin solid rocket boosters. During a shuttle launch, the external tank delivers 535,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants to the shuttle's three main engines. Despite the tank's size, the aluminum skin covering it is only one-eighth-inch thick in most areas. Yet, it withstands more than 6.5 million pounds of thrust during liftoff and ascent. The tank is the only shuttle component that is not reused.

-end-

RELEASE: 10-128

NASA'S AIRBORNE INFRARED OBSERVATORY SEES THE FIRST LIGHT"

MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. -- The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a joint program by NASA and the German Aerospace Center, achieved a major milestone May 26, with its first in-flight night observations. "With this flight, SOFIA begins a 20-year journey that will enable a wide variety of astronomical science observations not possible from other Earth and space-borne observatories, said Jon Morse, Astrophysics Division director in the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. It clearly sets expectations that SOFIA will provide us with Great Observatory -class astronomical science. The highly modified SOFIA Boeing 747SP jetliner fitted with a 100-inch diameter reflecting telescope took off from its home base at the Aircraft Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif., of NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. The in-flight personnel consisted of an international crew from NASA, the Universities Space Research Association in Columbia, Md., Cornell University and the German SOFIA Institute (DSI) in Stuttgart. During the six-hour flight, at altitudes up to 35,000 feet, the crew of 10 scientists, astronomers, engineers and technicians gathered telescope performance data at consoles in the aircraft's main cabin. "Wind tunnel tests and supercomputer calculations made at the start of the SOFIA program predicted we would have sharp enough images for front-line astronomical research, said SOFIA project scientist Pam Marcum of NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. A preliminary look at the first light data indicates we indeed accomplished that. The stability and precise pointing of the German-built telescope met or exceeded the expectations of the engineers and astronomers who put it through its paces during the flight. "The crowning accomplishment of the night came when scientists on board SOFIA recorded images of Jupiter, said USRA SOFIA senior science advisor Eric Becklin. The composite image from SOFIA shows heat, trapped since the formation of the planet, pouring out of Jupiter's interior through holes in its clouds. The highly sensitive Faint Object infraRed CAmera for the SOFIA Telescope (FORCAST) used for these initial observations was operated in flight by its builders, a team led by Cornell's Terry Herter. FORCAST captures in minutes images that would require many hour-long exposures by ground-based observatories blocked from a clear infrared view by water vapor in the Earth's atmosphere. SOFIA's operational altitude, which is above more than 99 percent of that water vapor, allows it to receive 80 percent or more of the infrared light accessible to space observatories. The SOFIA program is managed at Dryden. Ames manages the SOFIA science and mission operations in cooperation with USRA and DSI.

-end-

RELEASE: 10-102

NASA SENSOR TECHNOLOGY HELPS RECREATIONAL BOATERS MAKE WAVES

WASHINGTON -- As summer approaches, NASA-developed wireless sensor technology is giving recreational boat owners safer and more accurate readings of how much fuel is in their tanks. The NASA-developed magnetic measuring system also has potential use in planes, trains and automobiles. Senior scientist Stan Woodard of NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., and Bryant Taylor, an ATK Space Division electronics technician at Langley, created a wireless fluid-level measurement system. It eliminates the need for any electrical component or circuit to be in contact with combustible fuel or fuel vapors. The wireless measurement system is simple to use and install. It is already in use by commercial and recreational boaters. "This fundamental technology could be used to design an unlimited number of sensors for a variety of measurements, Woodard said. Just think about anything that you would want to measure. Don't be surprised when you see this technology commercially available in your home or cars. Originally developed by NASA to retrofit aging aircraft with safety equipment, the technology is a spinoff for designing and using sensors without the shortcomings of many commonly-used liquid storage measurement systems. Traditional marine fuel-gauge float systems can provide inaccurate readings because of a boat's movement. A vessel's pitch and roll in open waters can create a seesaw effect on fuel gauges. This new wireless fluid-level measurement system has two stationary pieces of conducting material located in the fuel, connected to an inductor on the outside of the tank. A unique safety feature of the system allows the sensors to be completely enclosed, so the fuel level can be measured without contact with any electrical components. This eliminates the potential for fires as a result of combustible fuel vapors being ignited by arcing from damaged or exposed electrical wires or panels. This design feature also allows the system to be used with fluids like acids or other harsh chemicals. Another important aspect of the wireless fuel-level sensor system is the design can be modified to detect water -- a major concern for recreational boaters. It also can be modified to detect other non-fuel liquid contaminants in a tank. While this particular system is for a marine application, it easily could be modified for other uses. NASA approved a partially-exclusive license agreement for wireless sensor technologies between the agency and Caplan Taylor Enterprises LLC, doing business as Tidewater Sensors. Located in Newport News, Va., Tidewater Sensors markets and sells the units internationally. NASA's Innovative Partnerships Program supports the agency's technology transfer efforts. The program promotes the acquisition, maturation, infusion of commercial technology and capabilities into NASA's programs through investments and partnerships with industry, academia, government agencies and national laboratories. Video of the wireless fluid-level measurement system will air on NASA Television's Video File beginning at noon EDT. The b-roll also shows how the system is installed in boats and how it operates. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

-end-

RELEASE: 10-057

NASA'S SPACE SHUTTLE PROGRAM SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCTS FINAL MOTOR TEST IN UTAH

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA's Space Shuttle Program conducted the final test firing of a reusable solid rocket motor Feb. 25 in Promontory, Utah. The flight support motor, or FSM-17, burned for approximately 123 seconds -- the same time each reusable solid rocket motor burns during an actual space shuttle launch. Preliminary indications show all test objectives were met. After final test data are analyzed, results for each objective will be published in a NASA report. ATK Launch Systems, a unit of Alliant Techsystems Inc., in Promontory, north of Salt Lake City, manufactures and tests the solid rocket motors. The test ? the 52nd conducted for NASA by ATK ? marks the closure of a test program that has spanned more than three decades. The first test was in July 1977. The ATK-built motors have successfully launched the space shuttle into orbit 129 times. "Today's test was a great deal more than the successful conclusion to a series of highly successful NASA/ATK-sponsored static tests that began more than three decades ago, said David Beaman, Reusable Solid Rocket Booster project manager at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The project, part of the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office, is responsible for motor design, development, manufacturing, assembly, testing and flight performance. "These tests have built a base of engineering knowledge that continued engineering development of the reusable solid rocket motor system and the continued safe and successful launch of space shuttles, Beaman said. They have provided an engineering model and lessons learned for additional applications in future launch systems. The final test was conducted to ensure the safe flight of the four remaining space shuttle missions. A total of 43 design objectives were measured through 258 instrument channels during the two-minute static firing. The flight motor tested represents motors that will be used for all remaining space shuttle launches. The space shuttle's reusable solid rocket motor is the largest solid rocket motor ever flown, the only one rated for human flight and the first designed for reuse. Each shuttle launch requires the boost of two reusable solid rocket motors to lift the 4.5-million-pound shuttle vehicle. During space shuttle flights, solid rocket motors provide 80 percent of the thrust during the first two minutes of flight. Each motor, the primary component of the shuttle's twin solid rocket boosters, generates an average thrust of 2.6 million pounds and is just over 126 feet long and 12 feet in diameter.

-end-

'

'

'

'