tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53237148873985445122024-03-05T06:39:57.775-08:00Astronaut Leroy Chiao's BlogDiscussions on Space, Exploration and LifeLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.comBlogger91125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-4685478257225310402011-12-01T09:29:00.001-08:002011-12-01T09:39:16.163-08:00Human Spaceflight, The World and You
TEDx Presentation at Alva Park, Henry Ford Innovation Institute on November 2, 2011
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMRJkydAtNo
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AX6nFzNy2KaWUbnvPw-71OZvk2O6cK_Wc8wIAVaTgQKAo3ZOHuuApqIQiVdz0cOKMTuZ9X6UXZPBYyWS0-3QX7TcCdatRgSf1a1ebWfSeZm9CLj2yzt96mOEQQkRbJ8RPjVSlmmCqHM/s1600/TEDx2.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left:1em; margin-right:1em"><img border="0" height="264" width="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1AX6nFzNy2KaWUbnvPw-71OZvk2O6cK_Wc8wIAVaTgQKAo3ZOHuuApqIQiVdz0cOKMTuZ9X6UXZPBYyWS0-3QX7TcCdatRgSf1a1ebWfSeZm9CLj2yzt96mOEQQkRbJ8RPjVSlmmCqHM/s400/TEDx2.jpeg" /></a></div>Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-26403115210303058922011-12-01T09:28:00.001-08:002011-12-01T09:37:09.391-08:00Originally Published in Air and Space Smithsonian Online Magazine in September 2011
China and Human Spaceflight: One Look Back and Another Forward
Leroy Chiao
9/30/11
On September 29, 2011, a Long March 2F rocket roared to life, and lifted Tiangong-1 (TG-1, “Heavenly Palace”) into orbit. TG-1 was designed for a two-year life, and will be used as a docking target and as a small human-tended space station. This launch marked the beginning of China’s next phase in human spaceflight (HSF).
China’s foray into human spaceflight began in the late 1960’s, with Chairman Mao’s selection of the first group of Chinese National Astronauts. Economic and technologic realities prevented China from then achieving human spaceflight, but the legacy was born. Fast-forward twenty-five years, to the beginning of Project 920. This program sought initially to place China’s first astronaut into orbit in 1999, to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of the founding of The People’s Republic of China. Project 920 did achieve the dream, albeit four years late. But, it was a significant achievement nonetheless. In October 2003, Yang Liwei became the first Chinese national astronaut, and China became only the third nation in the world capable of launching her own astronauts into space.
Now, nearly eight years later, China’s HSF program is on a steady course. One could argue that the pace of achievement has been slow, but we should consider the landscape to understand why. First: The main reason that any country gets into the HSF business is national prestige. The former Soviet Union struck first with the flight of Yuri Gagarin, on April 12, 1961. They wished to demonstrate their technological prowess, against the backdrop of the Cold War. The United States countered several weeks later, with Alan Shepard’s suborbital Mercury flight, followed by Gus Grissom, and then by John Glenn’s orbital mission. The Space Race was born, and the United States had not looked back, until now. Second: The United States has terminated the Space Shuttle program, and now has no ability to launch astronauts into space. Russia has become the only launch service for crews to the International Space Station (ISS), and their program recently suffered a launch failure of a Soyuz rocket, thus temporarily grounding their fleet. True, the United States has called for, and is funding, commercial ventures that seek to take over the crew and cargo transportation services to the ISS. But these efforts are realistically still at least five years away from Initial Operational Capability (IOC), and the jury is still out on whether or not they will be successful at all.
Taking these facts into account, it is easy to understand why China has acted slowly and deliberately. The three flights that they have flown to date have all been demonstrations in advancing capability. Yang Liwei’s mission showed their initial HSF ability. Shenzhou-7 demonstrated that their spacecraft and crews were capable of mounting missions of several days in duration. Shenzhou-8 demonstrated their first EVA (Extra-Vehicular Activity, or spacewalk), even if it only lasted about seventeen minutes (as opposed to American and Russian EVA’s, which typically are planned for six-and-a-half hours). They have maximized public exposure of their missions, and limited their exposure to risk of failure, by flying only once every few years. This is not the most efficient path for growth, but one could argue that they have been successful.
What does China have planned for the future? They have made no secret of their desire to build a space station. Indeed, China had, in their early days of HSF, talked openly about joining the ISS program. Their overtures were rebuffed by the United States. First, on the grounds that China’s technology was not mature. This is simply not true. In 2006, I became the first American to visit the Astronaut Center of China (ACC). There, I met the Center Director, and several of their first astronauts, including Yang Liwei. I toured firsthand, their center and saw examples of their advanced technological state [REFERENCE A&S ARTICLE THAT I WROTE IN JANUARY 2007?]. The control panel of the Shenzhou spacecraft simulator was modern, featuring multiple display screens which appeared to be re-configurable. The Center itself was up-to-date and clean. What they lack is operational experience. The second reason given for not working with China had to do with the fear of military technology theft. This is illogical, since our partnership with Russia has not resulted in any such technology transfer, in either direction. Why then, would it occur with China?
In any event, China’s actions have made it clear that they will continue with HSF. Each successive mission has built on the experience of the previous, and has represented a step forward in capability. Yang’s one-day flight aboard Shenzhou-5 achieved HSF for China. Shenzhou-6 demonstrated China’s ability to fly a crew of two for several days. Shenzhou-7 featured a crew of three, and demonstrated China’s first spacewalk, using their own spacesuit. Now that Tiangong-1 has been placed into orbit, two subsequent un-crewed Shenzhou missions will test Automated Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (ARPO) and docking technologies. These flights will be followed next year with crewed demonstrations of ARPO and docking capabilities. If successful, these missions would give China the same operational rendezvous and docking capabilities as the Russian have with their Progress and Soyuz vehicles. Going forward, China has announced plans to use TG-1 as a human-tended station, where visiting crews would live and work aboard the laboratory for periods of around two weeks.
China is continuing with the development of the Long March 5 (LM-5) rocket, a heavy-lift vehicle, which features a cryogenic core stage. The development of cryogenic engines is another indicator of advanced technical capability. China’s launch site on Hainan island, which is currently being developed, will give China the ability to easily launch into a five-degree inclination, which is ideal for lunar trajectories. China has announced that in 2020, once the LM-5 and the Hainan launch facility are completed, they will launch their first space station core module, which is approximately the size and shape of the core module of the ISS. However, this will be no mere copy. They are working on an advanced closed-loop life support system, and other capabilities, and have released drawings show multiple modules that would be added as their program progresses.
What should the United States do? I believe that we have an opportunity right now to again seize the leadership role in HSF, by bringing China into the ISS program, and to include them, with our other international partners, in future exploration missions. The US has the unique ability to integrate the world’s space programs. China sent the Chang’e-1 space probe to the Moon in 2007, which returned striking high-definition images. It’s sister spacecraft Chang’e-2 was launched to the Moon in October 2010. Although there have been no official announcements, I believe that China has lunar HSF ambitions. The Moon is an important part of Chinese culture, and landing on the Moon would demonstrate technological and operational expertise. This of course, would return enormous national prestige. Doesn’t it make sense for the United States to lead these explorations? After all, we are the only people who have been there.
Leroy Chiao served as a NASA astronaut from 1990-2005. During his 15-year career, he flew four missions into space, three times on Space Shuttles and once as the copilot of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. On that flight, he served as the commander of Expedition-X, a six and a half month mission. Dr. Chiao has performed six spacewalks, in both US and Russian spacesuits, and has logged nearly 230 days in space. He has performed scientific investigations in orbit, and helped to construct the International Space Station. Dr. Chiao was the first Chinese-American professional astronaut, spacewalker and mission commander.Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-91576658563897417442011-12-01T09:25:00.001-08:002011-12-01T09:25:46.342-08:00Spacy Halloween
Leroy Chiao
October 5, 2011
July 20, 1969. I will remember that day forever. I was an eight-year-old kid, living in Danville, California. Although Danville is now a thriving small city, back in the late sixties it was just a small town located about thirty miles east of Berkeley, with maybe two stoplights. When my family moved there in 1967 from Wichita, Kansas, my sisters and I were amazed at what we thought were mountains (they were actually hills). These exciting forms were lush and green. We were thrilled about our new home. Although I was born in Milwaukee, Danville is my hometown. It was a great place to live and grow up. My friends and I used to slip through the barbed wire fences and go exploring in the hills. There was a small pond, where we would bring our model boats to float, and catch tadpoles and frogs. My family frequently went hiking in Rock City on Mount Diablo, a trail of sandstone formations that leads to a peak, which offers a great view of the valley. I had my first Mexican food in Danville, in a wonderful little restaurant called El Dorado. Although it is long gone, I remember the bean dip they served that had little bits of blue cheese mixed in. I always ate so much of the chips and dip that I was never hungry when my meal arrived.
Two of my best friends, Russ and Mike Miller were over at my house that day. It was a warm Sunday, and our house didn’t have an air conditioner. So, my father had sprayed water on the back patio, which was partially shaded, and moved our black and white TV outside (complete with rabbit ear antennae). We were eating Spam and peanut butter sandwiches (one of my Dad’s specialties), which is surprisingly not bad. Shortly after lunch we all watched the scene in the Mission Control Center, and listened in awe to Neil Armstrong’s radio transmission coming from the Moon announcing that Eagle had landed. Wow! Walter Cronkite threw his glasses on the table and was almost speechless. Even as a kid, I knew the world had just changed. And, I knew that I wanted to be one of those guys.
So, it was natural that for Halloween that year, I went as an astronaut! I had already built a command module underneath the workbench in our garage. This left the workbench still functional (it was the site of many model airplane and rocket constructions, not to mention wooden projects of all kinds, including an almost-working hang glider, but that’s another story). So, I set about making my costume.
A cardboard box made up the hard upper torso (HUT, in space parlance) of my spacesuit. I cut head and arm holes in it, cut the bottom out for my legs, and glued a wooden display and control module (in NASA-speak, a DCM) in the front. I did have gloves, but no helmet. I’ve always been a pragmatic guy, and suffocating for an authentic look just didn’t resonate with me. Even the candy bag fit, since astronauts do carry bags to hold tools and equipment on real spacewalks.
While wearing my spacesuit on that Halloween, I didn’t see too many creepy or eerie things. But, thirty-five years later while wearing a Russian Orlan spacesuit, I did see something that raised the hairs on the back of my neck! Russian cosmonaut Salizhan Sharipov and I were conducting a spacewalk outside of the International Space Station (ISS). In between installing navigation antennas, I looked to my right. We were just in twilight, so I couldn’t discern the Earth. Everything was lighting up as the sun started to rise. Suddenly, I saw five lights, flying in formation go past! “Salizhan, do you see that?!” Do you see the lights flying past us?” I asked. He didn’t, and the lights were gone.
While I do believe that there is life elsewhere in the universe, I don’t think we’ve yet been visited. So, these lights were perplexing. Enthusiasts heard my transmissions, and quickly there were stories posted that I had seen UFO’s. Could this be proof that NASA and the Air Force really had been covering up Roswell and Area 51 for decades?
Thanks to other enthusiasts and the Internet, the answer was quickly found. These folks worked out the position of the ISS at the time of my radio calls, and determined that we were flying over the coast of South America at the time, and that it was twilight. What I actually saw, were squid fishing boats along the coast, strung out in formation. These fishermen use very bright lamps to attract the squid, and the rotation of the Earth, which I could not discern in the twilight, made it appear that the lights “flew” past us!
Living now in Houston, my Halloweens are filled with new excitement. The current talk at the dinner table is what our four-year-old twins want to dress up as this year. I’m thrilled to say that astronaut is one of the candidates. Maybe we will make the spacesuits together. And when my wife isn’t looking, maybe I’ll introduce the twins to Spam and peanut butter sandwiches.
Leroy Chiao served as a NASA astronaut from 1990-2005. During his 15-year career, he flew four missions into space, three times on Space Shuttles and once as the copilot of a Russian Soyuz spacecraft to the International Space Station. On that flight, he served as the commander of Expedition 10, a six and a half month mission. Dr. Chiao has performed six spacewalks, in both US and Russian spacesuits, and has logged nearly 230 days in space. He has performed scientific investigations in orbit, and helped to construct the International Space Station. He remains a big Halloween enthusiast, but has gone only once dressed as an astronaut.Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-6329893331590744032010-10-14T05:45:00.000-07:002010-10-14T05:49:32.582-07:00<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LbzCGJNubeYPZlXJRYi-eU8T-edNyu5-M6S6p6Ea1hxk4aVtPoqlKzJ6dNZoajl6uUVH9B_QA-eYhAPWdWc6EUNF9SG-5AJvQ_DkRtnnVp5TbjXhLtsShIguWFCVGCJIjVSOqvdnfww/s1600/1109.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 287px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6LbzCGJNubeYPZlXJRYi-eU8T-edNyu5-M6S6p6Ea1hxk4aVtPoqlKzJ6dNZoajl6uUVH9B_QA-eYhAPWdWc6EUNF9SG-5AJvQ_DkRtnnVp5TbjXhLtsShIguWFCVGCJIjVSOqvdnfww/s400/1109.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5527882958429202082" /></a><br />On Space Exploration, Radiation and Monkeys!<br /><br /><br />So, I’m sitting here at the sixteenth conference on Solid State Dosimetry (SSD16), thinking about monkeys, radiation and space exploration. The conference is only held every three years, so it’s been going on now for nearly fifty! That’s how hard it is to measure radiation, and come up with meaningful interpretations of the results.<br /><br />The main purpose of the conference involves neither monkeys nor space exploration. Most of the dosimeter work is focused on medical applications, to advance the state of the art for more precise radiation treatment of cancer patients. But the part in which I am involved, specifically deals with space exploration applications.<br /><br />Radiation is the single biggest threat to astronaut health in long duration flight. This is especially true for flights that would occur away from the Van Allen Radiation Belts, which offer significant protection to all of us, who are safely cocooned in it’s warm embrace. Even in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), astronauts are still protected to a large degree from charged particles. The heavy artillery still gets through (gamma rays, neutrons, some protons), but the electrons and other charged ions are caught in the electromagnetic field lines. Astronauts who ventured to the Moon were outside of the belts, as would be astronauts who travel to Near Earth Objects (NEO’s), Lagrange Points or any other far destination (Mars, anyone?). A solar flare (or event, in the parlance of the field) could be fatal. NASA worried quite a bit about that possibility during the Apollo program.<br /><br />It was announced in this morning’s conference session, that last night we had a solar event. I immediately thought of my friends aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Misha and his crew are due to return to Earth tomorrow. They were a day late, and could be exposed to elevated radiation levels.<br /><br />We had a solar event during my stint as the Commander of ISS Expedition 10. It was eerie. We got the call from Mission Control, and were advised during which specific times we were to retreat to the “more heavily shielded” portions of the station. More heavily shielded? Uh huh…..For me, that meant the sleep station in the US Segment, which had plastic shielding inserted into the fabric walls. They are supposed to catch a few heavy particles, but they seemed awfully thin to me. Salizhan was directed to the middle of the Zvezda core module, which was where there was more machinery around the middle. Great. After the event had passed, the radiation detectors were still registering levels about ten times normal. Great again. Well, what could we do? This was one of the prices we had to pay, for the privilege of spaceflight. At least we had detectors, which allowed estimates of the cumulative doses that we received (we were told “all good!” post-flight, by the NASA folks. Uh huh……).<br /><br />There are three things we need to figure out radiation wise, in order to explore in a sustained fashion, beyond LEO: (1) Detection; (2) Shielding; (3) Treatment. This conference deals with the first, detection. There is ongoing work in the other two fields as well. Shielding is a tricky deal. It would seem that one simply would need to find a pile of lead and hide inside of it. Not so simple. Gamma rays and protons punch into high-Z materials and cause secondary emissions, which could actually be much more harmful to biologics like us. As for treatment, there are researchers working on drugs and nano-materials, which would scoop up free radicals in our blood, caused by radiation exposure. Good work in all three, but plenty more to do.<br /><br />So, where then do the monkeys come in? Monkeys have played an important role in space exploration, since the beginning. The first “American” in space was Ham the monkey, who flew inside of a Mercury capsule before Alan Shepard. You may have heard about planned monkey radiation experiments, and the recent protests against them. I understand the necessity of animal experiments in developing drugs and treatments, but I must admit that this one has me scratching my head a bit.<br /><br />I have no doubt that some advances in scientific knowledge would be realized through these planned experiments, but I’m an operational guy (despite my Ph.D.). How would these experiments help us to survive in deep space? I don’t see it. The bottom line, is that exposure to high levels of radiation is bad. We need to figure out how to detect for, and protect against exposure, as well as to treat for exposure, if it occurs.<br /><br />I’m a big fan of Curious George. Let’s leave him alone this time.<br /><br /><br />Leroy Chiao<br />9/23/10Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-24042175942140261642010-05-06T17:56:00.000-07:002010-05-06T18:13:44.086-07:00Trinity Test Site<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUw6HrPwGVlwdW50sQSQA9d6S1i_AYEKFtSm5zBz-rOGyS37q3H-0hn6kNB9mPd-f1M7Ev8vbo7-IbJ4dnJsN8QdsidLmynD8OTtBrfa3LniTy3wt-k2DdIlfrhojVsKemBhtoIYN7I1M/s1600/nuke.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUw6HrPwGVlwdW50sQSQA9d6S1i_AYEKFtSm5zBz-rOGyS37q3H-0hn6kNB9mPd-f1M7Ev8vbo7-IbJ4dnJsN8QdsidLmynD8OTtBrfa3LniTy3wt-k2DdIlfrhojVsKemBhtoIYN7I1M/s400/nuke.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5468330100103788210" /></a><br />I had the opportunity to visit the Trinity Test Site today, courtesy of General Regan, of the White Sands Missile Range. It was almost sixty five years ago, when the United States tested the world's first atomic bomb.<br /><br />It made me think of what that time must have been like, as I was standing there at ground zero. The dedicated teams working fiercely to develop this weapon, which was intellectually interesting, and critical to the United States war effort. It undeniably shortened the war, and saved many lives, on both sides.<br /><br />However, what went through the minds of the people doing it? Oppenheimer had somewhat of a crisis of conscience. Who wouldn't? At least to some degree? Even Edward Teller must have wondered sometimes, about what he had helped to develop. Yet, it would be naive to believe that had the United States not developed nuclear weapons, that no other country would have. The Germans were working on atomic weapons research during the last days of the war. Does anyone doubt that Hitler, with his V2 rockets to deliver these weapons, would not have used them?<br /><br />It is not only about war and weapons. What advances came out of this time of crisis and conflict? It is interesting to consider all of this.<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-62742949968948593282010-03-07T23:38:00.001-08:002010-03-07T23:38:36.681-08:00End of an EraA few weeks ago, I was at the Kennedy Space Center, reporting on the last scheduled night launch of the Space Shuttle program. Endeavour lifted off into the false dawn that she herself created, and rose majestically into the sky, lighting up the wispy cloud layer that was creeping onshore. It was one of the most beautiful space launches I have ever experienced. There are only four more Shuttle launches, before the end of Her Era.<br /><br />Space Shuttle was born out of this nation, coming off of the highs of Apollo, Skylab, and the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project. Her proponents promised inexpensive, regular access to space, aboard this then modern-day “space truck.” These were lofty goals to be sure, that we never got close to reaching. Instead of fifty-odd flights a year, the best we did was just south of ten. Instead of inexpensive flights, each costs somewhere north of five hundred million dollars.<br /><br />Nevertheless, Space Shuttle is a magnificent flying machine, unparalleled in the history of human spaceflight. The Soviet Union tried to copy her, and failed; their program consisted of exactly one unmanned flight, which ended after one orbit. No other program featured an operational vehicle, which launched into orbit on her own power, loitered in space for two-plus weeks, re-entered Earth’s atmosphere, and landed on a conventional runway like an airplane. No other manned vehicle could even come close to carrying her nearly-sixty-thousand-pound payload capacity. There has never been another operational reusable space system, ever.<br /><br />When she is put out to pasture, we will have nothing new with which to replace her; after she is decommissioned, the United States will have no independent means to launch astronauts into space. It is unclear when we will have a new crew vehicle, the only thing certain is that we will have a capability gap that will last at least five years, and probably longer. <br /><br />I was a member of the Review of US Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, chaired by aerospace veteran, Norm Augustine. Appointed by the White House, we worked last summer to evaluate plans and formulate options for the new Administration. It was a difficult conclusion to accept, but we found nothing, not even practically unlimited funding, would minimize the gap between the Space Shuttle and the next US crewed space vehicle, except for extending Shuttle operational life. So then, why is the Space Shuttle going away? Three reasons: She is too expensive to operate, there is a higher risk involved in Shuttle flights than we originally calculated, and because of the last reason, it is politically untenable. <br /><br />The Augustine Committee, as we came to be known, put forward the option to spur development of commercial, crewed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) access. Why does this make any sense? Commercial may not reduce the gap, but it may offer a better long-term solution for LEO access, since by definition, commercial solutions need to be cost effective, and government systems do not. The technology to get astronauts to LEO has existed for nearly fifty years. The trick is to find a safe, yet commercially viable structure. I didn’t foresee the recent announcement of the cancellation of the NASA Orion crew exploration vehicle (CEV); the commercial option was for LEO access, not exploration. I expected that CEV, along with either a heavy lift vehicle, or a man-rated expendable launcher would serve as a complimentary system to commercial LEO efforts. Details of the US plans for the future of NASA human spaceflight remain to be revealed, but I remain cautiously optimistic. Sometimes it takes dramatic change, even temporary chaos, to affect the possibility of a quantum jump in improvement.<br /><br />I flew on three Space Shuttles: Columbia, Endeavour and Discovery. This is a bold, new world, but Shuttle will always have a special place in my heart. I will remember them fondly, and I will miss them.<br /><br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-71858818051876078102010-02-04T12:26:00.001-08:002010-02-04T12:26:44.547-08:00We are Ready for Commercial Human SpaceflightUS Policy on access to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is on the edge of a dramatic shift. Currently, only three governments have the independent capability of launching astronauts into LEO: The United States, Russia and China. After the US Space Shuttle is decommissioned from service, there will be only two. The Review of US Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, headed by the highly respected former aerospace executive, Norm Augustine, included in their report, the option of stimulating commercial efforts to provide access to LEO. It makes sense: We have been flying to LEO for almost fifty years, so the technology is quite mature and available. The challenge is to make this a commercial practicality.<br /><br />The idea of private, commercial space access has been around for decades. It is not a new one, and it is not one that has yet found success. The advent of SpaceShip One winning the Ansari X-prize in 2004, was an important milestone. Although the privately built vehicle was only designed for suborbital flight, it proved that a non-government spacecraft was possible. Commercial orbital flight will be much more difficult, but I believe it is possible.<br /><br />Many of my colleagues and peers have written articles and pieces, deriding the idea of commercial LEO access. Indeed, the track record of the self-described “New Space” companies has thus far, been marked generally with failure and arrogance. Not all, but many of these folks, before they run their companies into the ground, seem to spend the bulk of their time attending self-serving, self-aggrandizing conferences where openly slinging mud at NASA is sport. This is hardly constructive, and it brings discredit to others who have serious aspirations for the future of commercial spaceflight.<br /><br />However, I respectfully disagree with my colleagues who believe that only governments can and should engage in human spaceflight. We members of the Augustine Commission (as the review committee came to be known) fully intended for the commercial LEO efforts to include contributions from the traditional aerospace companies. These companies, or their predecessors, built every US crewed spacecraft to date. They have much to offer. To exclude them entirely would be foolish and valuable knowledge wasted.<br /><br />The time is right for commercial human spaceflight. Private companies should learn the lessons from NASA and traditional aerospace, and then try to apply them in a more efficient manner. It is understandable how and why the processes for government/contractor space programs have evolved into what they are today: Bureaucratic and inefficient, but safe. The key is to work in a smart manner to provide efficiency, without sacrificing safety, perhaps in partnership with traditional aerospace companies.<br /><br />Anytime there is significant change in the air, the establishment gets nervous. This is to be expected. Sometimes dramatic change is necessary to achieve fresh results. Time will tell if the private companies will achieve LEO access, but I for one, remain optimistic. Americans have always been innovative, flexible and doggedly determined. If it can be done, the citizens of the US still embody the creativity and courage to find the way.<br /><br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-71507664339312202482010-01-16T22:19:00.001-08:002010-01-16T22:59:26.862-08:00It Was Twenty Years Ago Today....<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgZgT3kQL4rdPNJmIBa_G8RKDzrFuoA_4PvJ1enjNw8YaDUFe4zwRQbPTYl6ZuBAFNmjPhe5loAFMX8mDQTK3QJrc2Y19hLILm5XrPykPdDKNd9CUNvhP7xRNhNQfPTnc1rVDhCp-d_I/s1600-h/S90-47893+(HiRes+Neg+Scan+...jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 303px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbgZgT3kQL4rdPNJmIBa_G8RKDzrFuoA_4PvJ1enjNw8YaDUFe4zwRQbPTYl6ZuBAFNmjPhe5loAFMX8mDQTK3QJrc2Y19hLILm5XrPykPdDKNd9CUNvhP7xRNhNQfPTnc1rVDhCp-d_I/s400/S90-47893+(HiRes+Neg+Scan+...jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427599820762844066" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxgyBQioyTY82mklCm-HY77cyj55WNSLUe6aWGcJrHuNjFJu3Gsh0jvYD4r_dPa2UJK5O4fluNw1XALajDfGRpmY7e8wZ437n0pWbFJtMjyWvNFUbFT_mTZITEyAek8F5h2pF0umO_pg/s1600-h/S90-45388.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVxgyBQioyTY82mklCm-HY77cyj55WNSLUe6aWGcJrHuNjFJu3Gsh0jvYD4r_dPa2UJK5O4fluNw1XALajDfGRpmY7e8wZ437n0pWbFJtMjyWvNFUbFT_mTZITEyAek8F5h2pF0umO_pg/s400/S90-45388.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5427599811105918546" /></a><br />Twenty years ago, NASA selected the Group 13 astronauts. I was one of the proud and excited twenty three new faces who reported to CB (the mail code at NASA for the Astronaut Office) that summer in 1990.<br /><br />It had been my childhood dream to become an astronaut, since watching the Apollo 11 Moon landing as an eight-year old, in Danville, California. 1990 was an exciting time to be starting an astronaut career. President Bush had requested a twenty four percent increase in the NASA budget, to perform the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI). SEI called for a return to the Moon, and a human landing on Mars, by the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11. The President had a Budget Director who was in favor of the new program, and he also activated the National Space Council and made it again a Cabinet-Level appointment, run by the Vice President. President Bush announced SEI on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of Apollo 11. Last year, we passed Apollo 11's 40th anniversary. <br /><br />Back in that hot 1990 summer in Houston, the Moon seemed to be again within our grasp. I dared to think that some members of my class had a chance of making it to the Moon (me?) and perhaps even a small chance of going to Mars! But, because 2019 seemed so far away in 1990, and because estimates of the program cost were somewhere North of $400 Billion (a big number today, and an even bigger number back then), SEI ended up going nowhere. Today, 2019 doesn't seem so far away, and the price tag of SEI doesn't seem too bad, when compared to the cost of the two wars which the US is waging. What would have, should have, could have been done differently, to make SEI a success? I don't know the answers to that question, but I think about it sometimes. <br /><br />I didn't get to go to the Moon, which would have been coming full circle to complete my childhood dream. But, I could not have asked for more in a flying career. I spent fifteen years at NASA, and had the good fortune to fly four space missions, logging almost 230 days in space. I've performed six spacewalks, including two using Russian spacesuits. I flew on Space Shuttle, and once as the copilot of the Russian Soyuz spacecraft, and served as the Commander of the International Space Station. I look back at those days with pride, gratitude and humble acknowledgment of my fantastic good luck to have had the opportunities.<br /><br />Back in those heady days of 1990, the twenty-nine-year-old me had taken that huge first jump to getting into space, and had landed on my feet. nothing else mattered.<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-52460907907429795922009-12-01T17:31:00.000-08:002009-12-01T17:35:49.615-08:00What is going to happen (for Space) in 2010?The Augustine Committee briefed the White House on August 14th, released a summary report at the end of August, and released a full report at the end of October. We are well into the holiday season, and the President has many other issues to deal with. What this means, is that no decision on space is likely before the New Year.<br /><br />So, what will happen in 2010? Decisions will need to be made as to the future direction of US human spaceflight. I have my own predictions, but we Committee members agreed to not make our personal views known until after the White House sets the direction.<br /><br />But, what do you think?<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-81800097395158796172009-10-29T20:44:00.000-07:002009-10-29T20:47:13.932-07:00On the Future of US Human Spaceflight<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFiWHhJTYTWpxmIIJnFtpy0JZMT7ivMrCWkjspuzfNgs0z9p2Xyy8K20c1qhjVlbFCweE-i-4DBhDpor0SS6f2o-BTDcbyFU1YIPkDJ3xelW2U7Dtm4yClD1k84S-SDfLWRcPc5gkOHg/s1600-h/tmp.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 236px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhJFiWHhJTYTWpxmIIJnFtpy0JZMT7ivMrCWkjspuzfNgs0z9p2Xyy8K20c1qhjVlbFCweE-i-4DBhDpor0SS6f2o-BTDcbyFU1YIPkDJ3xelW2U7Dtm4yClD1k84S-SDfLWRcPc5gkOHg/s400/tmp.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5398234560415832226" /></a><br />There was a historic event the other day. For the first time since 1981, a new rocket was fired from one of Launch Complex 39’s launch pads at Cape Canaveral. This was a flight test of a part of a rocket under development, called Ares-1.<br /><br />The flight appeared to be flawless. After battling weather constraints, Ares-1x leaped off of Pad 39B and accelerated into the Florida sky. Reaching an apogee of just a bit over 20 nautical miles, the single stage burned out and separated from the dummy second stage, and descended by parachute to the recovery area in the Atlantic.<br /><br />What is the future of US Human Spaceflight? Will it include the Ares family of rockets?<br /><br />This summer, I served as a member of the Review of US Human Spaceflight Plans Committee, chaired by respected aerospace veteran, Norm Augustine. Our charter was to review the current NASA programs, and to present options for the US to move forward. President Obama, through his Science Advisor, wanted a reality check. Our job was not to provide recommendations, but rather to come up with options.<br /><br />The Augustine Committee, which is how we quickly came to be known, was formed in late May. We presented our options to the White House on August 14, 2009. Later that month, we issued a summary report, and just a week ago (October 22nd), issued our final report.<br /><br />Since August, the Committee and our reports have come under public attack by the former NASA Administrator, and several members of Congress. Lobbying efforts on behalf of some of the big aerospace companies supporting the program of record have produced videos and other products, vociferously supporting said program. Some members of the “New Space” movement have been loudly complaining that they should get a large piece of the space budget, although most of them haven’t produced anything of significance to date. All of this tells me that the Committee did it about right.<br /><br />What is surprising to me is that most media and other folk appear confused by what is written in the report. There are headlines and accusations that the Committee called for the end of Ares, the end of Constellation, the throwing of human access to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to the unproven commercial space arena, and other incorrect assertions. Let me try to set the record straight.<br /><br />Program of Record (Constellation): The Constellation program was a reasonable way to implement the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE), which was announced by President Bush in 2004. However, it never received anticipated funding, and has suffered several technical and programmatic problems. As a result, estimates show that substantial funding would be required to correct these problems. These high levels of funding would be unreasonable to expect at this time. Moreover, the designs would require large recurring costs to operate, a problem, which plagues NASA. The current program evolved from the original VSE and became almost an exclusively Moon-focused program, and then, presumably in the face of budget shortfalls, almost exclusively an Ares/Orion focused program. The baseline option fits the program of record to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 budget, by moving the milestone dates significantly into the future. No matter how we got to where we are today, it is a valid question to ask, whether America should continue down this path, or whether a different option would be more reasonable. Frankly, public opinion seems ho-hum on a return to the Moon, with a common theme that we have already been there, forty years ago. Even scientists are for the most part, much more interested in Mars, than the Moon.<br /><br />Space Shuttle: The Space Shuttle is a magnificent flying machine. Although it fell well short of many of its advertised promises, it is a technological marvel. However, its operating costs are very high, and it has had two fatal accidents in almost one hundred thirty flights. In most options, the Committee stated that the current manifest should be flown out, at a reasonable rate. This is estimated to be executable by mid-2011. In one option, the Shuttle would be operated at a minimum flight rate (one to two flights per year) through 2015.<br /><br />International Space Station (ISS): The ISS is the largest space structure ever assembled. It is a premier microgravity research platform, but also has high costs. One of the most remarkable aspects of the ISS program is the highly successful international framework that has evolved. This framework can and should be expanded, and serve as a basis for future space cooperation. Most options call for operation of the ISS through at least 2020. In the two options, which include the Ares family of rockets, ISS is de-orbited at the end of 2015, because the funds to continue ISS would need to be transferred to the Constellation program. This would have a negative effect on the relationships between the United States and the international partners. In this case, significant doubt would exist, on whether international partners would want to cooperate with the US in future programs. This would also affect other areas of cooperation between the US and these countries.<br /><br />Heavy Lift Vehicle (HLV): An HLV is needed for exploration beyond LEO. The program of record uses the Ares V vehicle (160 metric tons to LEO), which would require a five and a half segment solid rocket booster, plus a six engine cluster of advanced RS-68 engines, and a ten meter external tank, all three of which have not yet been developed. Shuttle derived options (approx. 85 metric tons to LEO) would use existing Space Shuttle solid rocket boosters, existing 8.3 m external tank and existing Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME). Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) options (approx. 75 metric tons to LEO) would use variants of the Delta IV and possibly Atlas V. A simplified version of Ares V, which the Committee called Ares V Lite (140 metric tons to LEO) would use five segment solid rocket boosters (already tested), a five engine cluster of existing RS-68 engines and a ten meter external tank, which has yet to be developed.<br /><br />Crew to LEO: The program of record uses Ares-I to launch the Orion crew capsule to LEO. The recurring Ares-I cost has been estimated to be around $300 M per rocket. Indeed, the Ares-Ix test cost was estimated to be approximately $445 M. In alternative options, the Committee put forward the proposition that commercial companies should be given incentives to create a commercial capability to launch astronauts to LEO. The technology has existed for almost fifty years, and several startup companies are working towards that goal. The Committee proposes that the commercial option be created such that it would be attractive, not only for startup aerospace companies, but also for traditional aerospace companies to participate. There is skepticism in the community on whether the startups will be able to deliver, but there should be no doubt that the traditional aerospace companies, who’s predecessors created all US crew vehicles and rockets in the past, could be successful in this effort, if the proper environment was created. The hope in promoting a commercial crew to LEO access would be the saving of funds for NASA in this arena, as well as freeing up NASA resources to concentrate on beyond LEO exploration.<br /><br />The Committee put forward three classes of options: Options constrained to the FY 2010 budget, Moon first options, and flexible path options. The Committee agreed that the overall goal should be a crewed mission to Mars. Moreover, there should be a balance between human and robotic exploration missions. Scientific research funding should have firewalls, to prevent their funding from being transferred to exploration programs. The Committee also agreed that international partnerships should be expanded, strengthened and applied to future exploration programs. There should be a technology development program to enable efficient, future crewed exploration, beyond LEO. The table below contains a summary of these options.<br /><br /> <br /><br />The Constrained Options fit the FY 2010 budget, but illustrate that the funding would be insufficient to allow significant exploration progress.<br /><br />The other options call for a funding increase of $3 B per year. The difference within both the Moon First and Flexible Path options, are the choice of HLV, which also affects Crew to LEO choices.<br /><br />The Moon First options call for concentrated efforts towards Lunar exploration, with an eye towards Mars sometime later. A variation of the program of record is included in this option set. The Moon First options build infrastructure that could be used for future Mars exploration, but the emphasis is on the establishment of infrastructure for Lunar research and exploration.<br /><br />The Flexible Path options call for building infrastructure for beyond LEO exploration, by traveling to near Earth objects (NEO), Lagrange points, and other interesting flight profiles. The Moon would be included as a destination, but primarily to test hardware and operations. The intention of the Flexible Path options, is to build infrastructure and capability, to enable sustainable Mars exploration in the future.<br /><br />All options, except for options one and three, include a technology development program. The Committee felt that it was important to develop new capabilities for exploration. The ISS could be used as a test bed for these efforts. As an example, space refueling of cryogenic propellants would be an enabling technology.<br /><br />This is a simplified, high level, explanation of the results that the Committee has submitted to the White House and NASA. I hope that this helps to make the full report easier to understand. I hope that it is at least clear that the charter of the review committee was to present options to the Administration, not recommendations. I, like everyone else in the business, look forward to the decisions that will be made by the Administration.Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-51051716943968234732009-09-09T14:24:00.000-07:002009-09-09T14:37:33.408-07:00An Inspirational Place: NASM<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgMLT41769l3c8lVzqNmbjieiPCbPVsDaMbgKvRXPule2QlLPBWeUjeuLPbpchl0a-TW-_XK1wuKye4O4n95MvaLyyhvvChx_G9urpCdJIAkSYssi6mXFxo5CRo511VmW5LgMKLQ5N5cA/s1600-h/nasm.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgMLT41769l3c8lVzqNmbjieiPCbPVsDaMbgKvRXPule2QlLPBWeUjeuLPbpchl0a-TW-_XK1wuKye4O4n95MvaLyyhvvChx_G9urpCdJIAkSYssi6mXFxo5CRo511VmW5LgMKLQ5N5cA/s400/nasm.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379584559806278434" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW9MLhc50NTAZsdHYtmEwB0ORtEm6AUPGkWg50M_sD4C63BSEd3_O46db0eJAhM9ZB8d1Lv-nB2NimOKNeDfd1TB4DHiKKzmP5hm9KmLlW7wcqdIq-ziH9690J2j64sX9FYKmUYb4zN4/s1600-h/x15.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 272px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNW9MLhc50NTAZsdHYtmEwB0ORtEm6AUPGkWg50M_sD4C63BSEd3_O46db0eJAhM9ZB8d1Lv-nB2NimOKNeDfd1TB4DHiKKzmP5hm9KmLlW7wcqdIq-ziH9690J2j64sX9FYKmUYb4zN4/s400/x15.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5379584554642886994" /></a><br />Yesterday, I did something that I haven't done in many, many years. I went over to the National Air and Space Museum and simply wandered around for several hours. It is one of my favorite places, and I was there as recently as July, for the 40th anniversary celebration of Apollo 11. But, during official events, there is no time to simply wander and enjoy the displays.<br /><br />It was a nice time to relax, dream and remind myself of the magic of flight!<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-25588798213573667152009-09-07T01:18:00.001-07:002009-09-07T01:24:27.900-07:00Augustine Committee Work UpdateSorry for the long hiatus, it's been a busy summer!<br /><br />For those of you who have been following along, you know that the Augustine Committee presented options to the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and NASA on August 14, 2009. Since then, we have been busy writing our report.<br /><br />You can see detailed transcripts of our meetings under the Human Space Flight Plans Review section on www.nasa.gov. We hope to have our report out soon!<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-41567024205495108562009-07-21T22:45:00.000-07:002009-07-21T22:46:19.270-07:00The 40th Anniversary of Apollo 11: Reflections of a Professional AstronautA Spam and peanut butter (chunky) sandwich: That was what I had for lunch, forty years ago, today. After that, I watched along with the rest of the world, as Eagle touched down on the surface of the Moon. <br /><br />It was a hot summer day in Danville, California. My family lived in a nice house, in a nice neighborhood. Nevertheless our home, like many built in that era, didn’t have air conditioning. So, my father moved the family TV set (19” black and white, rabbit ear antennae) out onto the partially shaded back patio. He sprayed water onto the concrete, which helped make it surprisingly cooler. <br /><br />My friends, two brothers Mike and Russ, were visiting. We had been friends for a long time (two years was long time to an eight year old). So, they had become accustomed to being served odd concoctions at my house, invented by my Dad. Spam and peanut butter sandwiches was one of those. It was surprisingly, not too bad. I had experimented once with a plain Spam sandwich. I quikly went back to including the chunky peanut butter.<br /><br />I can remember like it was yesterday, watching that grainy black and white TV and listening in as Eagle approached the surface of the Moon and landed. Even as a young boy, I knew that the world had just changed. I also knew that I wanted to be like those guys on the Moon. I wanted to be an astronaut!<br /><br />Twenty years later, I found myself in Houston, interviewing at NASA to be a member of the thirteenth astronaut group. What a heady time to become an astronaut! President Bush (41) had just announced the Space Exploration Initiative (SEI), calling for a return to the Moon to stay, followed by a crewed mission to Mars. And, we had astronauts in key NASA management positions, including that of the Administrator.<br /><br />SEI fell flat, soon after the President failed to win reelection. The $400 billion price tag quoted by NASA might also have had something to do with it. Fifteen years after the SEI announcement, I found myself standing with a small group of fellow astronauts at NASA Headquarters, as President Bush (43) announced the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) in the wake of the Space Shuttle Columbia accident. The Vision called for, among other things, a crewed return to the Moon by 2020, and a crewed mission to Mars, on an indefinite schedule.<br /><br />The Constellation program, which grew out of the VSE, was described by then-NASA Administrator Mike Griffin as “Apollo on Steroids.” Indeed, it called for the creation of a capsule spacecraft (albeit, much larger). Five years into Constellation, the Nation stands at a crossroads. The program has had its share of challenges and controversy and the budget is universally agreed to be inadequate. Newly inaugurated President Obama has ordered a review and a report, outlining a set of options for NASA and the agency’s new Administrator (I am a member of the Review of U.S. Human Space Flight Committee).<br /><br />Today, on the 40th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing, our return to the Moon is tenuous, at best. Who, in 1969, could have imagined that we would not have regular travel to and from Moon bases by the 20th anniversary of Apollo 11? The announcement of the SEI in 1989 gave us hope that we would be back on the Moon to stay, within another twenty years. Those twenty years have now passed.<br /><br />Tonight, I was an invited guest at the 40th Apollo anniversary celebration at the National Air and Space Museum. Everything was perfect: The Apollo 11 crew - Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins were elegant and stately against the backdrop of historic air and spacecraft. Other Apollo-era astronauts, like my friend Walt Cunningham, were also shining honorees. They were all a part of it!<br /><br />It was a reminder of old times, of the past grandeur and wonder of the Apollo era. The time when we, as a nation, felt like nothing was impossible! A time, when Spam and peanut butter (chunky), tasted better than almost anything.<br /><br />Should we look back at the last forty years and be disappointed? I believe that would be a mistake. Skylab was a resounding success. Despite the challenges, the Space Shuttle and ISS are marvelous flying machines. We started down the road of international cooperation with the Apollo-Soyuz Test Project, and led the formation and maturation of the current, highly successful international partnership. We have not had the big home run since Apollo, but we have made steady progress.<br /><br />Where will the next twenty years take us? Against all odds, Spam is still going strong. Let’s keep moving forward too.<br /><br /><br />Leroy Chiao<br /><br />This post appeared yesterday on Gizmodo.comLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-14322593456092126242009-06-27T18:34:00.000-07:002009-06-27T18:42:18.866-07:00Augustine Committee Work ContinuesThank you to everyone who has provided input to the Committee through this blog, direct emails and other means. Our work continues, and I can assure you that I have read everything that has come in.<br /><br />We will consider all options and points of view. We have and will continue to ask a lot of questions, and have analyses done by NASA and independent outfits. We plan to issue our report by the end of August.<br /><br />One thing to emphasize: Our charter is not to make recommendations, but to present options to the Administration. We have a good group of folks, with different backgrounds. We are all dedicated to this work, and promise a careful and thoughtful report with several well-explained options.<br /><br />Thank you for your continuing support!<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-10137937976258593582009-06-01T22:52:00.000-07:002009-06-01T22:55:40.712-07:00Augustine Human Space Flight Review CommissionToday, I was named as a member to the Augustine Commission. We have been tasked to develop options for the next NASA Administrator (Congratulations on your nomination, Charlie Bolden!) and the White House.<br /><br />I have my ideas, some of which have been expressed in this blog. But, I have an open mind and have never thought that i knew it all, about anything. So, let me know what you think! Where should America's manned space program go? How can we do it within the proscribed budget?<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com167tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-41017416879186555332009-06-01T22:45:00.000-07:002009-06-01T22:52:21.838-07:00North Korean Miscalculation?Last week, North Korea conducted a nuclear test, barely fifty miles from the Chinese border. They also are currently gearing up for a long range missile test. The threat is clear. True, their last missile test was less than successful, and by most accounts, their nuclear test was crude (experts appear unanimous in their belief that the North Koreans do not yet have the ability to make a small warhead, that could be fitted onto one of their missiles). However, it is a matter of time and will.<br /><br />But, have the North Koreans miscalculated? China is, for the first time in my memory, publicly angry with North Korea for their hijinks, especially the bomb test. Especially so close to the border. North Korea is TOTALLY dependent on China for raw materials and supplies as basic as food, fuel and electrical power. Does it really pay to bite the hand that feeds you, especially when you've burned your bridges with almost the rest of the world (I suppose Venezuela might come to the rescue)?<br /><br />Has Kim Jong Il totally lost it, or are these the death throes of a nation destroyed from the inside?<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-19854087054575927322009-05-25T12:41:00.000-07:002009-05-25T12:45:36.762-07:00Life in Space – The Rest of the Story<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zhHPXfdnINIiwBDwZqPf7IcshP_fmVLCo0f2lS57pRkzFGuIrayQS4kzk1UjG12Q0llwZyI3Cdk4HB-qMGF5qNuQNiRuGz55sW0ZwzzrGRUyzmmtS0B14D72xD5NngdaHAXLbwyIARY/s1600-h/Robot+sex.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 278px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3zhHPXfdnINIiwBDwZqPf7IcshP_fmVLCo0f2lS57pRkzFGuIrayQS4kzk1UjG12Q0llwZyI3Cdk4HB-qMGF5qNuQNiRuGz55sW0ZwzzrGRUyzmmtS0B14D72xD5NngdaHAXLbwyIARY/s400/Robot+sex.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339850065117821874" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKO30azhsWi7KPlHnT7J3_qc10osWKdyaDZ4SsGukdZwFgbSE2hf_pRgQlEIDUqLvQKq6ZZVfjmOAArrI5w9k28WXAqZc7vuFNHWiJk7C1Xgzq3KA0ijm4QxcW0c-TJ5jcXrZB3LWLeI/s1600-h/Salamat+Basin+Chad+112004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBKO30azhsWi7KPlHnT7J3_qc10osWKdyaDZ4SsGukdZwFgbSE2hf_pRgQlEIDUqLvQKq6ZZVfjmOAArrI5w9k28WXAqZc7vuFNHWiJk7C1Xgzq3KA0ijm4QxcW0c-TJ5jcXrZB3LWLeI/s400/Salamat+Basin+Chad+112004.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339850060494659378" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93RMlbxzYwHMhU5LIIYSozA7faOb6_PU9_CVv2cSAJTiupNRuhnZXAwaGfrWK_3XHEwvKMvet0kxt0lMYvknVi5dQ5Tm_nkFgMnpTCBQgSgXFdyQDCsK6jwjsNltAySAXnBO9aDvBO08/s1600-h/Moon+800+022405c+8M2C1546.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg93RMlbxzYwHMhU5LIIYSozA7faOb6_PU9_CVv2cSAJTiupNRuhnZXAwaGfrWK_3XHEwvKMvet0kxt0lMYvknVi5dQ5Tm_nkFgMnpTCBQgSgXFdyQDCsK6jwjsNltAySAXnBO9aDvBO08/s400/Moon+800+022405c+8M2C1546.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339850053655029858" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBnXC904IXm8WIa1TF6Rt9-W63rwMzJG8WZojYoLYn8ptOf_m4M-BOM7s6DvbozITCTZ3SgGgLG1NNdMZHGbjU-Xd8dtZSItkDfR2StoX4QwhSE2DijXINfjWzbH89xzeiWuTo_3o2Ng/s1600-h/Florida+south+tip+021105a+8M2C0653.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBBnXC904IXm8WIa1TF6Rt9-W63rwMzJG8WZojYoLYn8ptOf_m4M-BOM7s6DvbozITCTZ3SgGgLG1NNdMZHGbjU-Xd8dtZSItkDfR2StoX4QwhSE2DijXINfjWzbH89xzeiWuTo_3o2Ng/s400/Florida+south+tip+021105a+8M2C0653.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339850052925742226" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKaCw6p3MVsnFz7YolUNSsddgWshuXSjahjMfUYUSvq-dw1H6iIFqk6218HS_ZhKnlyfJ0FzWpZllAeTWBJtPe9EyAOc5qXCIB3pk96GEOusxQyf-7xZ3YQ8v91dFZ8FNGTODky65mTkA/s1600-h/8J6K4562.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKaCw6p3MVsnFz7YolUNSsddgWshuXSjahjMfUYUSvq-dw1H6iIFqk6218HS_ZhKnlyfJ0FzWpZllAeTWBJtPe9EyAOc5qXCIB3pk96GEOusxQyf-7xZ3YQ8v91dFZ8FNGTODky65mTkA/s400/8J6K4562.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339850047772298946" /></a><br /><br /><br />Last time, I asked if any of you could imagine how you might clip your nails in space. Anyone thought this through? Here’s how I did it.<br /><br />First, get a strip of duct tape, and make a loop out of it, with the sticky side out. Find a place to do the clipping, next to an air intake filter. This way, any errant nails should be caught in the air filter, for later removal. Find a good place on the wall to stick your tape loop, and then carefully clip each nail, trying to keep the pieces big, so that you have a chance of holding onto them, instead of having them fly off into the cabin somewhere. Fix each piece of nail onto the sticky tape loop.<br /><br />When you are finished, remove the tape loop, and fold it onto itself, to contain the nail clippings. Then, use the resulting tape double loop to clean off the air filter, of any nail debris, which got caught there. Wad up the tape ball, and discard it into a dry trash receptacle. <br /><br />Yes, there are wet trash receptacles too, mostly to contain food package trash. Wet trash bags differ from the ones for dry trash, in that they are rubberized and tightly sealed, in order to keep the odors in the bag.<br /><br />Simple, right?<br /><br />So, what do you really want to know about life in space? What else might be difficult (or fun) in that environment? What do your enquiring minds want to know? Let me guess: Using the potty, and sex. Even the audiences who don’t ask, I can tell they really want to know.<br /><br />In the early days, there were no restroom facilities onboard spacecraft. The first flights were only supposed to last minutes, so it was thought that there was no need. The story of Allen Shepard having to relieve himself in his suit became common knowledge, after the event was dramatized in the movie, “The Right Stuff.” Later spacecraft, including the Apollo spacecraft, also had no toilet facilities. The crews of these vehicles used modified piddle packs (used by the military), which utilized a condom, attached to a hose and bag, for collecting urine. What about women? Back in those days, there weren’t any in the space programs (except for Valentina Tereshkova, who probably used a diaper), so it wasn’t an issue. <br /><br />For collection of number two, modified sealable bags were used. There was no privacy aboard the Gemini and Apollo capsules, so imagine doing all of this in close quarters with your buddies! To make matters worse, these bags were (are) clear. They are still carried aboard US spacecraft, for use in the event of irreparable toilet failure.<br /><br />Fortunately, things got a lot more civilized in the Shuttle program. As I mentioned before, the Shuttle is a business class affair. It contains a relatively large toilet area, which features a privacy screen. <br /><br />The Soyuz capsule also has a toilet in the upper living module. When someone has to use it for number two, the other two crewmembers can retreat to the descent module, to give the third guy a little privacy. Usually, that toilet is not used for that purpose, though. Crews go through a preflight enema, which usually is enough to clean you out for the two days of flight it takes for the Soyuz to phase, rendezvous and dock with a space station.<br /><br />The toilet aboard the International Space Station (ISS) is the same as the one that flew on the MIR station. This is also a civilized affair, in a relatively large area, with a privacy screen.<br /><br /> <br /><br />So, how do these toilets work? They all basically work the same way. In the absence of gravity to help you, airflow is used to try to collect everything and point it in the proper direction. To urinate, it is pretty simple. Use the long hose, which has a funnel attached to the end. Turn on the system, and make sure there is good airflow before relieving yourself. Make sure not to actually contact the funnel with your valuable parts; it’s a disgusting thought first of all, and second of all, you wouldn’t be able to shut the system down before you really regretted getting the life sucked out of you, so to speak! By the way, this system works for women too. The suction is adequate to make sure that the liquids go to the right place.<br /><br />For number two, the seat lifts up, revealing a small hole. You’ve really got to get to know yourself, and get good at lining things up for this operation! The system again uses airflow to collect and hold things down where they’re supposed to go. After you’re finished, the bag is tied off and pushed down into the replaceable silver can.<br /><br />Accidents do happen, and by international agreement, you clean up your own mess!<br /><br />Is it worth it? One of my crewmates on Space Shuttle once told me that he wished that we could land every morning, so that he could take care of business there, before launching back into orbit. Yeah, it’s not pleasant, but you get used to the hassle of doing these hygiene tasks. It’s not so bad.<br /><br />Besides, the view of the Earth from space is way worth it! Here are just a few examples of what I saw from the ISS.<br /><br /> <br /><br />This is the southern tip of Florida.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Here is the Salamat Basin.<br /><br />We do have DVD’s and E-books onboard. Sometimes we use them, but who needs them? The greatest show is right outside the window!<br /><br />Ok, so onto the question burning in your mind: Has anyone had sex in space? To date, I can tell you emphatically, no. Why am I so sure? It’s simple. Guys are guys. If a guy had sex in space, he would not be able to stand not bragging about it. Am I right, or am I right? Sorry to disappoint you, but there it is. We would ALL know about it. Or, I should say, we WILL all know about it when it happens.<br /><br />So, what’s the deal? Do we have blow up dolls or robots to take care of business?<br /><br /> <br /><br />No, and not that we’d really want such a thing! The human looks a lot better.<br /><br />Besides, would sex in space, bragging rights aside, really be so great? This week, I’ve given you a look at the difficulties of doing things in microgravity, and the potential for making some pretty disgusting messes. So, apply all you’ve learned, and honestly assess whether or not sex would be better up there. You’d have to anchor yourselves, somehow (in all six degrees of freedom), otherwise it would be more than the headboard you might bang up against. And, some objects, while not sharp (we are careful about that), might really hurt to run into during a moment of passion!<br /><br />So what do we have? What do you think? There is a rule that even alcohol (for drinking) is not allowed onboard, because NASA is worried about bad PR. Can you imagine NASA wanting to address the issue of sex? Ha!<br /><br />What about the future, as we fly longer and farther into space? That’s easy. Crews are already mixed, and crews will become larger. As this happens, there will be a gradual transition from crew to colony (for example, a permanent moon base). Just like in your office now, romances will sprout (which the participants will think are secret) and things will take their natural course.<br /><br />And, people back on Earth (the guys friends) will know about it, almost instantly after it happens. The news will quickly spread from there. And then, you’ll know.<br /><br />People are people, even in space!<br /><br /><br />Leroy Chiao<br /><br /><br />Leroy Chiao is a professional astronaut. He served for fifteen years at NASA, flying on four space missions. Dr. Chiao is available for speaking engagements, through the Leading Authorities Speakers Bureau: www.leadingauthorities.com/24172/leroy_chiao.htm<br /><br /><br />Originally posted on Gizmodo, during the week of 5/3/09Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-23286333574118259222009-05-23T12:32:00.000-07:002009-05-23T12:35:13.028-07:00Life in Space –Onboard Basics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7J7iyydY3lgq4gGBjnWBxcdtnOzOkoeKIvO9GnMW1sn_K5ApP5gDPsHBxBv15hOqa6gxprCXlyAa2pSALn1Ac4s6zZ7-heuK1btcTARPcWN6P5azQsNRKgYrTxQh5N1uaF89pHNx1P4/s1600-h/8J6K4550.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgq7J7iyydY3lgq4gGBjnWBxcdtnOzOkoeKIvO9GnMW1sn_K5ApP5gDPsHBxBv15hOqa6gxprCXlyAa2pSALn1Ac4s6zZ7-heuK1btcTARPcWN6P5azQsNRKgYrTxQh5N1uaF89pHNx1P4/s400/8J6K4550.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339105222881842690" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwnOkG1ipyiX28gPxr_yGEG2gNj_0nLcQje9PZ9Rh7cHpclGsqZPDG1yW_ysYJD-P38jok5Fq0r46wQLtgfdY_v22y4RMC6QPeSP7IsI-fAqex_KR5Vcb2Gcdta16TcfqPcfPDsfaYFQ/s1600-h/Salizhan+Elektron+010605b+8J6K4677.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLwnOkG1ipyiX28gPxr_yGEG2gNj_0nLcQje9PZ9Rh7cHpclGsqZPDG1yW_ysYJD-P38jok5Fq0r46wQLtgfdY_v22y4RMC6QPeSP7IsI-fAqex_KR5Vcb2Gcdta16TcfqPcfPDsfaYFQ/s400/Salizhan+Elektron+010605b+8J6K4677.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339105217393430690" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAxnMYvNztUKnMLTvxlBFdSqvAA9XnQ1pLjLECb8YwfKvCX_D5ZrlGjAs4Q3JV6lkDZjo0k1NOjdZSJAaIMADJwogWZ9Jygf69D5XXaa5UnLu3fdPC9Hkvq_VApufMLiKg1p1uTdSGHg/s1600-h/8J6K4549.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqAxnMYvNztUKnMLTvxlBFdSqvAA9XnQ1pLjLECb8YwfKvCX_D5ZrlGjAs4Q3JV6lkDZjo0k1NOjdZSJAaIMADJwogWZ9Jygf69D5XXaa5UnLu3fdPC9Hkvq_VApufMLiKg1p1uTdSGHg/s400/8J6K4549.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339105212305042482" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJOYzTFgCrC8EAHwEHXE88EfWYac1eKxqoSdezHcYN-_r0-V7HrRIw-kKYRwVd9reJH_O6ePXogzBgqnH_0uYiw5kd0xIkuQ0ASBcD6CFRvlH9wn1QolNxa2bNwdQvATZJ3vrWzEp92s/s1600-h/8J6K4527.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOJOYzTFgCrC8EAHwEHXE88EfWYac1eKxqoSdezHcYN-_r0-V7HrRIw-kKYRwVd9reJH_O6ePXogzBgqnH_0uYiw5kd0xIkuQ0ASBcD6CFRvlH9wn1QolNxa2bNwdQvATZJ3vrWzEp92s/s400/8J6K4527.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5339105209124328946" /></a><br /><br /><br />Ok, so someone wanted to know what the International Space Station smells like. After we opened the hatch, I noticed a moderate smell of plastics, not unlike that new car smell. That’s from the various synthetic materials onboard, outgassing. It’s not too bad, and after an hour, I stopped noticing it.<br /><br /> <br /><br />We do scrub the atmosphere, though. We have carbon dioxide removal systems, <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />as well as a micro-impurities removal device. Oxygen is added of course, as it is consumed. We use an electrolysis device to crack water, dumping the hydrogen overboard. <br /><br /> <br /><br />That device is a bit cantankerous, so we also have oxygen candles, which we “burn” periodically. These are the same kinds of systems that are onboard nuclear submarines, which face similar technical requirements.<br /><br /> <br /><br />One interesting fact, is that nitrogen is not replaced, except to compensate for leakage. The human body does not really utilize the inhaled nitrogen, so it is recycled.<br /><br />What else? What is the temperature onboard? The temperature was set by the Mission Commander (me). I live in Houston, so I like air conditioning. The cabin was set to about 70 degrees F.<br /><br />You have all read about how to brush your teeth in space. Anyone want to take a stab at how to clip your nails? I’ll write about answer in the next installment.<br /><br />And, I’ll address what you really want to know, on Friday.<br /><br /><br />Leroy Chiao<br /><br />Originally posted on Gizmodo, during the week of 5/3/09Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-31059135344406878262009-05-22T20:39:00.000-07:002009-05-22T20:43:21.346-07:00Life in Space – The Beginning (Soyuz)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQefNq5ZHzbEWPqfAF76uS9JFYFETQXtv1iq6m0q5g-fJ3YXk9TfC1zE0t1Pz0CnJj5cFu5lCNrKzxTztLqY8jCuZUiw59-QrOU8-whpMLVL7vSfJ7lyzfkEH5KuIBgKVIprmnWLLFp4/s1600-h/139_20041014_exp10_01_72.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 257px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHQefNq5ZHzbEWPqfAF76uS9JFYFETQXtv1iq6m0q5g-fJ3YXk9TfC1zE0t1Pz0CnJj5cFu5lCNrKzxTztLqY8jCuZUiw59-QrOU8-whpMLVL7vSfJ7lyzfkEH5KuIBgKVIprmnWLLFp4/s400/139_20041014_exp10_01_72.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338859903163060114" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-TokyjRK2CQignGHWPfrwSNQFwhoYOfbRT6In23O9qdlzTxpB6aoba4R7rl1a7XbUh778pdFEzsmRN1xz81zUv-0Te3lCAhULOQpep39wtcfzVhwLCw7QD10dxWacbvgyIHCIXoyjITQ/s1600-h/soyuz+sim.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-TokyjRK2CQignGHWPfrwSNQFwhoYOfbRT6In23O9qdlzTxpB6aoba4R7rl1a7XbUh778pdFEzsmRN1xz81zUv-0Te3lCAhULOQpep39wtcfzVhwLCw7QD10dxWacbvgyIHCIXoyjITQ/s400/soyuz+sim.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338859900483023090" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaI-pHEkDkL-7lh6vzoBKVTys_OnEPNdM1jbYXRKppiSljKNrTDPV8y1EfnjQykxsk7btunOJStgXo2PHRczhzGnkcomtmkDnEN7m6JcPvFaYBEj94vwrTIKrwGIpyGpJjHdMpguuC0Ss/s1600-h/STS065-18-022.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgaI-pHEkDkL-7lh6vzoBKVTys_OnEPNdM1jbYXRKppiSljKNrTDPV8y1EfnjQykxsk7btunOJStgXo2PHRczhzGnkcomtmkDnEN7m6JcPvFaYBEj94vwrTIKrwGIpyGpJjHdMpguuC0Ss/s400/STS065-18-022.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338859898851819234" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGPyTTXboqmldHwRaWiBvxduylm53wT4kF9EUOTZMQxPEpTFPa22-YUt-UC3OzITe7wVChsgQHB61iuw_oTCJTFJLiEtR2o9brk18fvK7hP9fqA0pvqtSSJKg4EtJZUzEAKjaz9l3e9I/s1600-h/sts092-s-022.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeGPyTTXboqmldHwRaWiBvxduylm53wT4kF9EUOTZMQxPEpTFPa22-YUt-UC3OzITe7wVChsgQHB61iuw_oTCJTFJLiEtR2o9brk18fvK7hP9fqA0pvqtSSJKg4EtJZUzEAKjaz9l3e9I/s400/sts092-s-022.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338859895089776594" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rAJipo2NUNOOIlfkDpNH4OT3jlPh-MnUkKP8itB-p0nArWKZSnIBpVMZTDZq-PNmC3XXCpDw0acfe1JgdyTvMEh7htN0JaC8nwUxWrjnaxU1229cNJEe6pqyI5Dr29qsQ8ZdkG2J_fo/s1600-h/180px-Soyuz_rocket.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 180px; height: 242px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_rAJipo2NUNOOIlfkDpNH4OT3jlPh-MnUkKP8itB-p0nArWKZSnIBpVMZTDZq-PNmC3XXCpDw0acfe1JgdyTvMEh7htN0JaC8nwUxWrjnaxU1229cNJEe6pqyI5Dr29qsQ8ZdkG2J_fo/s400/180px-Soyuz_rocket.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338859891178977666" /></a><br /><br />Last time, I wrote about what launching aboard a Space Shuttle is like. This time, let’s consider the Russian Soyuz rocket and spacecraft. Why? Isn’t a rocket a rocket? Is it really that different? Yes and no, no and yes. They both get astronauts into space in around nine minutes. But, they are very different.<br /><br />First, consider the two spacecraft. They look pretty different from each other. One is a part of a missile, the other a winged vehicle, attached to a rocket assembly. <br /><br /> <br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />If the living space inside of the Space Shuttle is Business Class,<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />then the Soyuz is decidedly economy.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />However, I must say that the Soyuz has a very special place in my heart. It is a robust, capable spacecraft and launcher. It has the best-demonstrated safety record of any manned spacecraft. And, it just feels hearty.<br /><br />But, how does it feel to launch on a Soyuz?<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />Well first, you almost wear the Soyuz rather than strap into it. Squeezing down the hatchway into my seat, I got an idea of what claustrophobia must feel like. If anyone is the least bit claustrophobic, this would bring it out. Your legs are bent up into your chest. It’s not very comfortable. Like with the Shuttle, you strap in about two and a half hours before launch. But, it gets worse. The Soyuz requires two orbits to get enough telemetry to the ground, for the Mission Control Center to verify that the spacecraft is healthy. During that time, you must remain strapped into your seat, in case you have to perform an emergency deorbit. Total time in that position? About six hours.<br /><br />So, there’s no dozing off in the Soyuz, you’re too uncomfortable. You wait. And follow along in the checklist, of course. T-Zero is totally different - there is no kick, since there are no solid rocket strap-on boosters. The liquid engines are very smooth. The thrust builds up gently until the rocket simply rises off of the pad. You have to go by your watch, and the announcement from the launch control bunker to know that you are flying!<br /><br />There is a deceleration just prior to staging, and then a muffled “bang!” as the four liquid strap on boosters separate. Same for the third stage. What surprised me (startled the Hell out of me, actually), was the very loud “BANG!!” followed by an instant flash of bright light. Just for a split second, I thought we were exploding, but it was just the shroud and escape tower separation! I could now see through the porthole, and look down at the familiar view of the Earth, and the bright, fluorescent blue line of the atmosphere on the Earth limb.<br /><br />You know the rest.<br /><br /><br />Leroy Chiao<br /><br />Originally posted on Gizmodo during the week of 5/3/09Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-50872356557962657492009-05-21T08:12:00.000-07:002009-05-21T08:15:01.420-07:00Life in Space – The Beginning (Space Shuttle)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOC3PT7UvEXmGhJGkH3a7ZRKUsgRANno6_saM1Z8cD5gyODZc57oczowNkXZlFrz5dyLBJ0WhmhQv_zmwUePJiPl_OtmEr7gJVdCObYYqDXle9hFy8WHles2KKpP2WMyCr2UnbbjRQHg/s1600-h/Dawn+010805a+8L6R4932.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaOC3PT7UvEXmGhJGkH3a7ZRKUsgRANno6_saM1Z8cD5gyODZc57oczowNkXZlFrz5dyLBJ0WhmhQv_zmwUePJiPl_OtmEr7gJVdCObYYqDXle9hFy8WHles2KKpP2WMyCr2UnbbjRQHg/s400/Dawn+010805a+8L6R4932.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338295997507660914" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsJbGemyrRdzvckbYHl6enFBmztnP4wp4kf-r1uFArGM3KshvhMmSJz5iI0rFPtPdg7KeJvZwkDixLOfn0tBHFfsDkW0oPoHFpsteCQfqyQJmRA9q8OPRMgeBsbYizeUY-0yI6X9utwQ/s1600-h/STS065(S)048.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHsJbGemyrRdzvckbYHl6enFBmztnP4wp4kf-r1uFArGM3KshvhMmSJz5iI0rFPtPdg7KeJvZwkDixLOfn0tBHFfsDkW0oPoHFpsteCQfqyQJmRA9q8OPRMgeBsbYizeUY-0yI6X9utwQ/s400/STS065(S)048.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338295996839747746" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZkWoj7SFpXsYy6MqxnYbUgSAGxFnB_YyENEsDwgvkraaQAs0Dt5k4W27WFSIKhAl7daB7PozV_GjwVpi_SK8slZA7HgsvobGtXOYekDYDFlaUBIEAUzpusCY1HVzVH9tV6WCNra_ovk/s1600-h/S94-31404.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXZkWoj7SFpXsYy6MqxnYbUgSAGxFnB_YyENEsDwgvkraaQAs0Dt5k4W27WFSIKhAl7daB7PozV_GjwVpi_SK8slZA7HgsvobGtXOYekDYDFlaUBIEAUzpusCY1HVzVH9tV6WCNra_ovk/s400/S94-31404.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5338295991046008674" /></a><br /><br /><br /><br />Today, I was going to write about how to do something else in space. But, I changed my mind. Let’s back up to the beginning of a mission. What’s it like to go through a launch? How does it feel? Are you able to sleep the night before? Do you get scared? What do you eat before?<br /><br />Steak and eggs. Medium rare, and over easy. This is what the first astronauts ate before launch and why not? I remember during one of my launch counts, the ladies were taking our prelaunch breakfast orders, going around the table. I was hearing things like, dry toast. A little yogurt. Cereal. You gotta be kidding me, what kind of panty-waists am I flying with? They got to me and I replied firmly and evenly, “steak and eggs, medium rare, and over easy.” Everyone looked at me funny. I stated the obvious. “Hey, we might go out tomorrow and get blown up. I’m going to have steak and eggs!” Immediately, three guys changed their orders to steak and eggs. I was doing all of us a favor, really. You need a hearty breakfast before launch, you’re going to be really busy. Yogurt? Come on.<br /><br />Sleep wasn’t really a problem either, although I tended to wake up a few times at night in anticipation, just like when I have other important morning appointments. We usually wake up about four hours before launch, and hit the ground running.<br /><br />After breakfast and cleanup, it’s time to get suited up. Walk down the hall and meet up with the suit technicians. Seasoned professionals, your suit tech has been with you all through training. He or she makes sure that everything is just right, and after the pressure checks are complete, sends you on your way.<br /><br /> <br /><br />From that point, it’s a bit of a blur, as you walk out of the Operations and Checkout Building at the Kennedy Space Center, to the applause of the employees who have gathered at the entrance. You climb onto the Astrovan, which is a converted Airstream RV from the Apollo days. Crews typically joke and banter a bit, the atmosphere is light hearted, during the short drive to the launch pad. Everyone falls silent, as the bird comes into view. She is beautiful. She is ready, as are we.<br /><br />At the pad, we climb out and ride the elevator to the 195 foot level, where we are greeted by the ingress crew. Time for one more quick pee. Maybe for good luck, but more, so that I won’t have to use the adult diaper that I’m wearing! After all, we strap into the Space Shuttle about two and a half hours before launch.<br /><br />Is this when the jitters hit? Actually, no. This is kind of a time to relax a bit. The environment is totally familiar, thanks to the hours upon hours spent in the simulators. For once, nobody is talking to you. Nobody is asking you for something. It’s not unusual to doze off.<br /><br />As the launch count proceeds, there is a point at which things get serious. Certainly as we come out of the T-20 minute hold. After we come out of the T-9 minute hold, the cockpit is sterile. No unnecessary chatter on the intercom. Is this when it becomes real? Not just yet. For me, it is not until the T-90 second point, when the Launch Director says something like “Columbia, close and lock your visors, initiate O2 flow, have a good flight.” That it becomes very suddenly, very real.<br /><br />What did I feel at T-Zero? The answer might surprise you. I felt relief.<br /><br /> <br /><br />Certainly, I was keyed up. After all, we were sitting on top of a bomb, being accelerated to orbital velocity of 17,500 mph in less than nine minutes. Pretty heady stuff! But the thing of which astronauts are most afraid, is not getting the chance to launch into space. What if I get hit by a car? What if the doctors find something wrong with me at the last minute? What happens if…..All of those worries go away, the instant the boosters light!<br /><br />First stage on the Space Shuttle is shaky. You can’t really read the instruments and screens very well. At T-Zero it feels like someone kicks the back of your seat really hard, the Shuttle seems to leap off of the pad. You hear the wind noise build into a high-pitched whine. You see the blue sky start to get dark, fairly quickly. You don’t so much hear the rumble of the engines, as feel them. Everything is oddly orderly, even quiet. That’s because we are accustomed to the simulators, when all the warning and emergency lights and klaxons are going off, as we deal with the failure scenario presented to us by the training team. On launch day, pretty much everything usually works!<br /><br />On my first flight, I was up on the flight deck for launch. I had a small mirror, through which I could look out of the overhead windows, which were pointed more or less towards the Earth (The Shuttle rolls into launch azimuth and heels over as the ascent proceeds). I saw the ground rushing away, through the flames of the engines.<br /><br />After about two minutes, the Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB’s) tail off as the last bits of fuel in them are consumed. You feel the deceleration, and then see the flash of bright light as the separation motors fire, peeling them away from the stack. It is suddenly very smooth and quiet. My heart leapt into my throat when this happened to me the first time. My first thought was that the main engines had also stopped and we were about to go down! But, that was not the case, I just hadn’t expected second stage to be so smooth.<br /><br />During the last few minutes of launch, the vehicle accelerates to orbital velocity. You are under three G’s of loading, so it feels like a small gorilla is sitting on your chest. It takes a little effort to breath, but it’s ok.<br /><br />Suddenly, right on cue (you’re always watching the clock), the main engines cut off, and you are instantly weightless! As I looked out the windows and for the first time beheld the awesome beauty of the Earth from space, I was almost overcome with emotion. I had made it, I had realized my childhood dream. I allowed myself to revel in this moment for just a few seconds. Yes, I was in space, but it was also time to get to work!<br /><br /> <br /><br />Maybe tomorrow, I’ll tell you about the Soyuz.<br /><br /><br />Leroy Chiao<br /><br />Originally posted on Gizmodo, during the week of May 3, 2009Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-42089846931232964462009-05-13T23:54:00.000-07:002009-05-13T23:58:00.351-07:00Life in Space – A Day (or at least, the beginning of one)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBLsvQRISVBGrVxa_CKnNxMfev7A39uQb7ZiLkq8b1PawtR4D61_YSGZ2QtfNp-VOM57gS7A9lygpNrAD3mRvUirkBHAgK-Ik167hNkLiM4avPFmKNloqkGFtbUz_6ssPu7I6kq2ORBQ/s1600-h/Flt+Suit+111404a.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrBLsvQRISVBGrVxa_CKnNxMfev7A39uQb7ZiLkq8b1PawtR4D61_YSGZ2QtfNp-VOM57gS7A9lygpNrAD3mRvUirkBHAgK-Ik167hNkLiM4avPFmKNloqkGFtbUz_6ssPu7I6kq2ORBQ/s400/Flt+Suit+111404a.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335570331702389810" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNnUswOlV3RDTy2gY1USenzYdGUMjbCSp5ev3zZYjNU9wmiFlOVZiX1kTAPBxQ2_feqtHpLXHX3NCM96pMrNVfu7PUP7uqocHR8_KhWXHfXfmohwRadf4JGvyzEIfBn4ZW1ZZGI-3RBE/s1600-h/Lab+103104+c.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 265px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlNnUswOlV3RDTy2gY1USenzYdGUMjbCSp5ev3zZYjNU9wmiFlOVZiX1kTAPBxQ2_feqtHpLXHX3NCM96pMrNVfu7PUP7uqocHR8_KhWXHfXfmohwRadf4JGvyzEIfBn4ZW1ZZGI-3RBE/s400/Lab+103104+c.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335570325483290578" /></a><br /><br />On a Space Shuttle, music is piped up from the Mission Control Center. On the Space Station, you set your watch alarm. Or, as is sometimes the case on Earth, you awake early, all on your own, wondering “What the H..?!”<br /><br />A typical day in space (is there such a thing?) starts a lot like a day on the ground, except that you are floating. Turn off the alarm. Unzip yourself out of your sleeping bag. Open the doors to the sleep station, haul yourself out.<br /><br />You can do it however you like, but on the International Space Station, I fell into a routine of cleaning up in the evening before bed, and then wearing a clean T-shirt and underwear for sleep. In the morning, I was already half dressed. I would pull on a pair of Nomex shorts and white cotton gym socks, ready to get going. This was the typical uniform onboard, except for when the cameras were going to be on.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />When we had a scheduled video interview, we would wear a polo-type crew shirt, or in the case of a serious event, don a flight suit.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />What’s the first thing you do in the morning on Earth? Well, it’s not so different onboard a spacecraft. Why should it be? However, I will dedicate another entry to the issue of space toilets and leave it alone for now.<br /><br />How about something like brushing your teeth? In zero gravity (or more accurately, microgravity, if you’re a stickler for such things), some things are easier, like moving medium or large mass items around, but many things are more difficult. It is unbelievably easy to lose things. Get distracted for a moment, and that toothpaste cap is gone! Even if you are good about anchoring such things behind a rubber bungee, some rookie going by could knock it loose for you.<br /><br />So, how do you brush your teeth in space? Long ago, NASA started buying only toothpaste without detachable caps, thus solving the lost cap problem. So, start by filling a drink bag with water and bring it with you to the hygiene area. Tuck it behind a rubber bungee. Remove your hygiene kit from behind its bungee and unzip it. Find your toothbrush inside of your hygiene kit, safely tucked away inside of a fabric pouch with a Velcro top. But first, take out your toothpaste tube, and stick it to the wall, using the Velcro dot on it. Secure your hygiene kit behind a rubber bungee, after partially zipping it up, so that things don’t accidentally float out.<br /><br />Still have your toothbrush between a couple of your fingers? Hopefully yes. Remove your drink bag, and with one thumb, flip open the straw clamp (which keeps liquid from seeping out of the bag), and gently squeeze out a bead of water onto your toothbrush, watch it get sucked into the bristles. Hold the straw of the drink bag in your teeth, and with one hand, fix the straw clamp in place, and replace the bag behind the bungee.<br /><br />Almost all of the rest is fairly straightforward. Flip open the cap of the toothpaste tube, squeeze some out on your toothbrush, go to work on your teeth. Ok, you’re done. Now what? Where are you going to spit? There’s no sink……..So, into a tissue? Then you’ve got a wet tissue, and what are you going to do with that?? So, I swallowed. Filled my mouth with water and swallowed again. Drew some water onto the toothbrush and sucked the water out. Dried the toothbrush onto a towel and replaced it, and the toothpaste, into the kit.<br /><br />What’s left? Any idea? Yep, the drink bag. That, I would bring to bed with me, so that I would have something to sip on in the middle of the night, should I wake. Just like back home on Earth, except a bit more complicated. And, brushing your teeth is one of the simpler tasks that you’ll perform in space.<br /><br /><br />Leroy Chiao<br /><br />Originally posted on Gizmodo during the week of May 4, 2009Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-38748688948437142212009-05-13T13:22:00.000-07:002009-05-13T13:32:59.280-07:00Life in Space – The Basics<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLQfcUHYX2QtEdNJwCfgoy84wvrNBPIwAaNtyPYtBgsxeJaIFei4PM_F7EtMqaE_hcftD2cp6o0P3Qdba9545LpXMZLsJMkrkPwneqtDjzivyKilqhzShYwVlmth6z8PhEclSxaHyW0c/s1600-h/STS065-273-031.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFLQfcUHYX2QtEdNJwCfgoy84wvrNBPIwAaNtyPYtBgsxeJaIFei4PM_F7EtMqaE_hcftD2cp6o0P3Qdba9545LpXMZLsJMkrkPwneqtDjzivyKilqhzShYwVlmth6z8PhEclSxaHyW0c/s400/STS065-273-031.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335409103498353106" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgZuartbgxr7akRXsa0m3xrpMJo0fOXcjjN6hlxfoNSZKJxs6kbRzOrxTKXXNJZua6ab4GKMrvd8ROqXRe2Wq9_TvVMzBM7_nfvl6Cf0LgzO5mGEFtCBRh2OUjvuOP0fHww-Wc_gkx4s/s1600-h/STS065(S)048.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimgZuartbgxr7akRXsa0m3xrpMJo0fOXcjjN6hlxfoNSZKJxs6kbRzOrxTKXXNJZua6ab4GKMrvd8ROqXRe2Wq9_TvVMzBM7_nfvl6Cf0LgzO5mGEFtCBRh2OUjvuOP0fHww-Wc_gkx4s/s400/STS065(S)048.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5335408784098689394" /></a><br /><br /><br />“So, what’s it like?” Living in space is all at once wonderful, and a royal pain. During my first mission aboard Space Shuttle Columbia, I marveled at the sensation of freedom that came right after Main Engine Cut Off (MECO). I watched as tethered checklists floated gently back and forth, and it quickly became normal to release a camera lens in midair, as I removed the old one off of the camera to be replaced.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />There was also a sense of dizziness, since the inner ear balance system wasn’t working so well. My head felt a little full, as if I were laying down on an incline, since there was no longer any gravity to pull fluids down to my extremities. In fact, the human body carries about two liters less water in space, than on the Earth.<br /><br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />But, it was amazing how quickly it became normal, just to fly head first down a hatchway, or to spin myself with a push off using just a few fingers. With a little practice, most astronauts get pretty graceful at flying through the spacecraft. Just don’t try it at home, back in gravity!<br /><br />Large masses are easily moved around slowly, and it becomes second nature, to orient yourself using only your vision. However, what about all that other stuff?<br /><br />For example, imagine how easy it is to lose something! Where did that pen go? Where is my thumb drive? Where is that photograph of my family? First place to check is the air filters. But, there are plenty of dead zones of air inside, and things can be lost for a few minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or forever. If it’s critical, you had better keep it inside of a sealed bag, safely contained inside of a second, large mesh bag, tied off to a handrail.<br /><br />What about eating in space? Hygiene? What is the coolest thing about being in space? What is the most difficult? Stay tuned, I’ll be writing about all of it.<br /><br /><br /><br />Originally posted on Gizmodo, during the week of May 4, 2009Leroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-1523211961443666692009-04-23T20:45:00.000-07:002009-04-23T20:55:48.200-07:00UFO's?Who's seen a UFO? I have, on two of my space missions. However, I figured out what the first one was, and I have a pretty good idea what was the second.<br /><br />On another mission, Houston called to inform us that an expendable launch was about to take place from Cape Canaveral. After the third stage burned out, we watched a wonderfully beautiful rainbow in space that expanded into a huge oval, as the excess fuel was vented into space and caught the sunlight just right. If Houston had not warned us, I would not have been able to explain this, and would have found it very eery!<br /><br />I firmly believe that there is other life in the universe. What I am more skeptical of, is whether we have been visited by extraterrestrials. <br /><br />I must admit to being a bit intrigued when well-known colleagues come out and publicly accuse the US Government of covering up UFO evidence. Edgar Mitchell and the only other Leroy in the history of the program (Gordo Cooper) have both claimed that this is the case. <br /><br />If we have been visited by aliens, I don't have a problem believing that the US Government would try to cover it up. However, would they really be able to do it? Have they done a very good job of covering up other things in the past?<br /><br />What do you think? Have you seen one?<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-8873936854286958442009-04-05T20:47:00.000-07:002009-04-05T21:04:12.453-07:00North Korea Missile Test - So What?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfoEFsrlgXPwA-jaiDjqB6zBdwEyDe22LArVrGKF2Od7-mT15m0Rtcpi-LyZCD2EYaG0aoFKVV57oU5d0BUCVibqr_ljRipld8pPoPNDvIYpV9G0XlnoVTlddpCi034e7mPMpi8BvAFDs/s1600-h/tpd2.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 247px; height: 245px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfoEFsrlgXPwA-jaiDjqB6zBdwEyDe22LArVrGKF2Od7-mT15m0Rtcpi-LyZCD2EYaG0aoFKVV57oU5d0BUCVibqr_ljRipld8pPoPNDvIYpV9G0XlnoVTlddpCi034e7mPMpi8BvAFDs/s320/tpd2.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5321424303762362098" /></a><br />North Korea has launched a Taepodong 2 missile, in what appears to be at least a partially successful test. The world, led by U.S. President Barak Obama, has condemned the test. Analysts and media pundits warned of a destabilization of the area, and indicated that it signaled a threat to U.S. Homeland Security.<br /><br />Was the flight a success? In an earlier test (2006), the first TP-2 missile exploded about 40 seconds into flight. The North Koreans seem to have fixed that problem, but the U.S. and South Korean military have both stated that the current rocket failed to put anything into orbit. That seems to indicate at least a third stage failure.<br /><br />In theory, the test shows that the North Koreans could fire a missile and possibly hit Japan, the United States and any number of other countries. Of course this is cause for concern, but how concerned should we really be?<br /><br />First, the test was not completely successful. One could argue that the North Koreans were lucky to get as far as they did. What would happen if they launched another missile today? They are maybe 2/3-1 for a record so far.<br /><br />Second, as in the Iranian tests, what can they hit? Their guidance systems, by all accounts, are not very sophisticated.<br /><br />Third, how many could they build and launch? The North Korean infrastructure is pretty thin. Does anyone think that they could not be stopped at any time militarily, should the need arise? Even if left alone, when could they launch another missile? Do they even have one ready to go? It took them almost three years to launch their second test.<br /><br />Fourth, we all know why they did this. It's just to get attention and try to squeeze more money out of the West.<br /><br />I must admit to feeling that this is a "So What" moment.<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5323714887398544512.post-52086102803076196292009-03-17T14:52:00.000-07:002009-03-17T14:59:20.739-07:00Spaceflightnow.com Launch Coverage<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfuUbSe8SzOcuMWo3vSMOIooLCMgqBRbXLTTbUYPPysXnb8cPIb741P2NZXvFQCc6ylCw985hx_Z3XMqTyG-hxx0pub_PfV3HSMftr9YUBwg2dmRLgrwzy8xbfMyE46KY6luf79OQL_1o/s1600-h/SPACEFLIGHTNOWCAST-4.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 295px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfuUbSe8SzOcuMWo3vSMOIooLCMgqBRbXLTTbUYPPysXnb8cPIb741P2NZXvFQCc6ylCw985hx_Z3XMqTyG-hxx0pub_PfV3HSMftr9YUBwg2dmRLgrwzy8xbfMyE46KY6luf79OQL_1o/s400/SPACEFLIGHTNOWCAST-4.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5314279658563954786" /></a><br />I just returned from the Cape. I was covering the STS-119 launch, with Miles O'Brien and David Waters. We were trying something completely new, streaming in real time from the Kennedy Space Center, through the web site: www.spaceflightnow.com.<br /><br />What a neat experiment this was! With a few technical difficulties (which we hope to have worked out for the next time), we had an amazingly successful test of the system. We were receiving real time twitter and chat messages, which enabled us to respond to viewer questions and to get feedback. All of the feedback was very positive, it was clear that we were reaching people who were thirsting for this kind of coverage! We were reaching people all over the world, including places like Latvia, Lithuania, Sweden, Finland, Nigeria, just to mention a few.<br /><br />This is clearly the future. We had a blast, our overhead was minimal (just a fraction of what a network would spend for television coverage) and we had real time interaction with our audience. We reached tens of thousands of people and hope to reach even more as this matures!<br /><br />Leroy ChiaoLeroy Chiaohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00826755971524702129noreply@blogger.com1