Jun 27 2012
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 12-219 NEW NASA GAME LETS PLAYERS BUILD AND LAUNCH A VIRTUAL ROCKET
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- With NASA's Rocket Science 101, a new game designed for computers and iPad users, you don't have to be a rocket scientist to launch a spacecraft. NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP), based at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, provides access to space for the studies of Earth and exploration of our solar system and the universe. Now, LSP is turning over the virtual selection, construction and launch of a mission to players who will decide the best rocket to assemble to launch a spacecraft. Rocket scientists in LSP do the same thing for real rockets and missions every day. Players select their favorite NASA mission and choose from three skill levels for building a rocket to send the spacecraft into orbit. The Rocket Science 101 challenge provides players an opportunity to learn about NASA missions and the various components of the launch vehicles, including how rockets are configured and how they work together to successfully launch a spacecraft. LSP managers, engineers and other specialists match spacecraft with the right rocket to carry out real-life missions, a process often done years ahead of a launch. As liftoff nears, teams oversee the launch vehicle's engineering and manufacturing, including its integration with the spacecraft. LSP conducts the countdowns for NASA's scientific missions and provides additional quality assurance along with other controls to ensure a successful mission. The application was developed by the Kennedy Information Technology Mobile Team in conjunction with LSP.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-121 INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ACCREDITATION NOW OPEN FOR NASA'S RBSP LAUNCH
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- Media accreditation is open for the launch of NASA's Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission. Liftoff is scheduled for 4:08 a.m. EDT, Thursday, Aug. 23, aboard an Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. The two-year RBSP mission will help scientists develop an understanding of Earth's Van Allen radiation belts and related regions that pose hazards to human and robotic explorers. RBSP will use twin probes to explore space weather -- changes in Earth's space environment caused by the sun -- that can disable satellites, create power grid failures and disrupt GPS service. The mission also will allow researchers to understand fundamental radiation and particle acceleration processes throughout the universe. The RBSP is part of NASA's Living with a Star Program, which is managed by the agency's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., built the pair of RBSP spacecraft and will manage the mission for NASA. The Launch Services Program at Kennedy is responsible for launch management. United Launch Alliance is the provider of the Atlas V launch service.
