Coming home from Houston

What did I miss on Friday?!? Discovery rolling out to the launch pad!! But I was able to get a great picture from a co-worker!! I'm coming home today from houston. i have been here for mission imagery support and yesterday I participated as maid of honor in my best friend's wedding. Come Monday......back to work, bright and early!

At NASA JSC

I just arrived today in Houston, Texas for another imagery support training. If you've read my previous blogs when I've been in houston, then you know what I will be doing (Analyzing Hi-res images for damages to tiles/blankets/gap filler). I am working through wednesday and then thurs-sun I am taking vacation because I am the maid of honor in my best friend's wedding. This is the first wedding I have ever been in, but I am excited. I hope you all enjoyed the pictures I posted last week. When I get back to kennedy space center I will post the ones of the tile I made myself!!!! :)

Some more pictures of Discovery moving into the VAB

Discovery is now parked in the VAB!!!

Astronaut John Phillips and I

Well hi everyone! Work has been keeping me very busy, but that's how I like it! This picture was taken today. Astronaut John Phillips was here at KSC today. He was on the International Space Station Expedition 11 for 6 months! Shuttle Discovery will be rolling out of the OPF (Orbiter Processing Facility) Friday around 10am. So, be prepared because its about that time that you will see a lot of cool pictures from me.....

Monday I started learning how to make my very own shuttle tile. I am familiar with the process because I helped write it, but I started actually making my own. Monday consisted of cutting the tile and sanding it. Then it goes through a heatcleaning and waterproofing stage that the ovens do. Tomorrow I will be coating the tile. I'll be sure to take some pictures.

Today was the first day in a long time that we received rain. And, it was still just a little bit. The brush fires have had a major impact on the highways and increased my work travel time to an hour and a half. In the morning the fog and smoke just don't help. They've closed certain roads in the mornings because there have been so many accidents due to people not driving carefully through the thick smoke and fog. Last week, there were patches of smoke that I couldn't even see 10 feet in front of my car.

Mobile Launch Platform (MLP)

The purpose of the Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) is to move the fully assembled Space Shuttle to the launch pad for flight. It weighs about 6 million pounds and the speedometer only goes from 0 to 2 mph. It usually takes about 5 hours for the trip from the Vehicle Assemble Building (VAB) to the launch pad (3 1/2 miles!!!!). I couldn't get a picture of it on friday, but what I wanted to show here was the rock path to the side of the VAB. Since the MLP weighs so much, "rock paths" are laid out so the MLP doesn't crush the ground cement. You can sort of see in the picture the whole rocks and then the finely crushed-rock footprints the crawler transporter left behind.

I have complete my first graduate course..yey!

I just finished taking part 2 of my online final. First let me share with you the craziness I went through. I took part 1 of my final on thursday around midnight. By the time I finished, I was debating on whether or not I should move on to part 2. I decided to take it because I didn't want to worry about it on friday or the weekend. So at 2:00 am I start my final..then..with my luck, as I was trying to submit question 2, it said "page cannot be displayed". Adelphia (my cable ISP) decided to do a maintenance till 6am. I'd have to say I was not very happy. The session was timed for only an hour an a half! I couldn't sleep because I was worrying that my professor wasn't going to buy my story. Since I didn't sleep, i kept refreshing the page and then finally at 5:38, it was back up. I emailed the prof with my situation and then had to get ready for work. Just today, he reset it for me since I was locked out. But, I am done with this class. My next term starts May 7th and I signed up for two classes. They are Human Factors in Aviation/Aerospace Systems and Aircraft and Spacecraft Development. Lessons learned: I will never take an online final after midnight, and for my next classes, I will pace myself better.

Since my last post....

Wow, it has been over a month since my last post. Many things to update on. First of all, I absolutely had a blast being a guest speaker for Ridley Park High School. I just thought it was great to be able to speak to students with such potential and that they have the ability to do what they're passionate about. It's all about going after what you want and sometimes we just all need to be reminded of that. Myself included... Boeing did an article on me when I got back from the presentation. I will scan and post as a jpg. later today. Currently, I am trying to fit into my schedule to be a guest speaker for Starfleet International.

In the beginning of this month I attending another mission imagery simulation at NASA JSC in Houston, TX. The simulations are to do a run-through as if it were really during the mission. For this imagery sim, we were looking for damages on the orbiter tiles/thermal blankets outside of a set criteria. Prior to the sim, there is a group that takes the images from the previous mission (STS-114) and "creates" discrepancies using a photo editor. So during the sim, you have no idea what to expect and you have to catch everything.

I am taking a break right now in preparing for finals....If you see the time I am posting this (3:30am-ish), you will see this is an "all-nighter" for me. I have a paper to complete by 8am, then I continue on preparing for my final that I have to take this friday.



My sister attended a conference in CT. and needed to leave my little niece with me for four days. This little girl has so much energy!! I commend those parents out there who are able to balance it all! In just four days I learned how tough it is to be a parent and that I am definitely not ready to have kids (hee hee). It was great fun though and very rewarding everytime Ashley would give me a kiss and wrap her arms around me. Just for that...I am posting a picture of her on my blog...To share to the world her beautiful innocent smile. Ok..I have to get back to studying...I'll write more after finals!

P.S Have a Happy Easter!

NASA Group Achievement Award

I received another NASA group achievement award in the efforts of helping out with the gap filler assessment group. A lot of hard work and analysis was provided by this group to determine the root cause of the loose gap filler from STS-114. This week I am preparing a presentation to go speak to a high school academy in Ridley Park, PA. I will be doing three presentations next week about my achievements in the past, the shuttle process and thermal protection system, as well as opportunities the students can become involved in.

NASA's Dawn Spacecraft

The Boeing Delta 2 rocket will launch NASA's Dawn spacecraft that will use an ion propulsion system to visit and orbit the asteroids Vesta and Ceres. This program was delayed from June 06 to Nov 06 for a program review. My good friend, Wendy, forwarded me this link, and I thought this was cool.

Click here to send your name to the Asteroid Belt!!!

More about the mission: http://dawn.jpl.nasa.gov/

Burt Rutan's GlobalFlyer at KSC

http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com/

The Atlantic GlobalFlyer is currently awaiting departure from KSC. It is statused at Code Red until at least February 6th. Due to the Chinese New Year's holiday, the China government bureaus are closed till Feb. 5th and an overflight permit has to be issued. The GlobalFlyer is in the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) hanger. Here are some pictures of the aircraft.

Fossett will set the record for the longest flight of all time aiming to fly around 4,000 miles further than any plane or balloon has flown. Steve Fossett will again fly solo, non-stop and without refuelling in the Burt Rutan designed Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer - the same aircraft in which he successfully circumnavigated the globe (covering a distance of 20,373 miles / 32,786 km) in March 2005.

http://www.virginatlanticglobalflyer.com/

Shuttle Imagery Team

Last week I was sent to Houston for Imagery Support. When the shuttle is launched and in orbit, there is a camera that takes high resolution pictures to determine whether there are any damages to tiles, damaged thermal blankets, or loose gap fillers, as in the last flight. The team that I am a part of looks at these images and analyzes any damage indications to make sure our astronauts are safe to come back home. Thought everyone might enjoy these.

A Sad Sunday

Today couldn't have been any more sad. Riley, my dog, died this afternoon after getting hit by a car. He was exactly nine months today. For anyone who has pets out there, you know the bond and love there is for a pet. Actually, they become family; like kids.

Working towards my Masters at ERAU!

Today when I got home from work, I started reading the first couple of chapters for my first graduate course. I am only taking one course this term through Embry Riddle and once I adjust and have a routine, I will increase the work load and most likely add another course in the upcoming terms.

On the side I am also making a plan to begin to study for the FE Exam. Passing this exam is the first step towards being a professional licensed engineer. After the FE is passed, I work at least 4 years in my specialized area and then prepare for the PE exam.

As far as applying to the astronaut program, the process is put on hold until at least July 2007. This week I started my workout training to get back in shape. There is a gym in the building at KSC and I am going to begin taking the time to workout 3 times a week during my lunch break.

At work I am still working with the team in doing the vehicle inspection of the previous tile repairs. However, we are almost complete with that.

I think it's time for me to take a cool picture and share it with everyone. I'll make sure to post something this week.

Everyone, have a great week.

I've returned from Houston

My training in Houston was awesome. I was running a bunch of code in Unix to run SINDA, which modeled tile cavities. The tool is useful because it determines the temperatures of the tile adhesive to the structure, and the actual structure temperature with the input of cavity dimensions. I enjoyed my time in Houston and learned a lot.

The latest KSC update on the external tank is that the delivery of the external tank modified without the ramps is estimated for March 30, which would bring us to a launch date in July 2006.

I start my first graduate course Jan. 7th 2006. I'm excited, I am one of those who absolutley loves school and learning.

Hope everyone enjoys the holidays!!

Going to Houston and beginning my Personal Action Plan

Today I found out I get to go to a week training in December to Houston. I am so excited because it will be training in thermal modeling using SINDA.

Another plus is that I will be able to see the people I worked with in the Space Station program and friends still at Texas A&M.

So every so often, I think about how I am handling the tasks in my life. I have been preforming well at work, I have completed what I have to do to begin graduate school in January 2006, and I bought a house. So now that I have a grasp on those critical factors of life I will begin tonight to make a list of my goals that will be more focused to help me become an astronaut. Time to really start taking action!

A view of Discovery's belly

I took this picture in OPF 3, home for Discovery. I thought this would be a good picture as it shows techs/engineers hard at work. All the green tags hanging from the tiles are to signify that a tile has some type of damage to be repaired. There are certain processes to repair the tile and it depends on the size and criticality.

This week we completed the tile repair inspections for Discovery and have moved on to Atlantis (OV-104). Oh and good news, I got my acceptance letter from Embry-Riddle and will begin taking graduate classes in January 2006!!!!

Look who ELSE I met!!!

And I saw Eileen Collins! There was no way I was going to let her leave without getting a picture with her. She is such an inspiration to me since I was to be an astronaut.

Today in the bay where Discovery is "parked", we got a visit of the STS-114 crew.
I got to take a picture with Steve Robinson. He was the astronaut who pulled one of the gap fillers out while in orbit. It was good to talk to him about the gap fillers especially since I was involved in the failure analysis with the gap filler assessment group.

And finally, Wendy Lawrence, another great inspiration just motivating me even more to work hard and follow my dream. Enjoy the pictures!

Look who I met today!!!

Charlie Camarda from STS-114 stopped by work today to thank the KSC team.

This week's update....

This last week I continued with the inspection of the tile repairs. We were given the "go-ahead" of inspecting the entire belly of the shuttle, not just the critical areas. I will be working on this probably for 2 more weeks with the and we'll have to give a status and present the data. This next week I will also still be working with the gap filler installation process and help in compiling/presenting the data that we have gathered with all the test gap fillers and pull tests the techs have been performing.

The last thing we need is a hurricane to cause damage to KSC. I've been watching the news non-stop and keeping posted though. I drove down to South Florida to help my mother with the hurricane shutters. It's weird how around here, you actually see all your neighbors only around this time. Everyone is outside helping one another with the shutters, sharing ladders, and exchanging numbers in case of emergency. My mom is only about an hour away from Naples and you should see the lines at the gas pumps. After we finish here, I am taking my mom with me to Orlando. At least when the hurricane hits the coast, she will safe in orlando. but if it actually starts heading towards the tampa area...then that's a different story.

Examples of repairs on a tile

In my previous post I said I was going to try to upload some pictures to show you the tile repairs. So here is a tile. The two corners that have triangular looking repairs are called a "Shave". Now the other repair that I zoomed into is what I have been inspecting for the past two weeks. We look closely to make sure it is not to porous or dry. The main focus is to determine if the repair has enough integrity to withstand future flights.

Things to share.....

Well i moved into my first home! My dog Riley has been enjoying it alot more than I have. He's having a ball running through the entire house. The house is a step up for him since we were crammed in a studio when I first moved out here. But it's great and I am happy. If it is one thing I have learned, is the responsibility that comes with being a homeowner! For all you homeowners out there.....I give you a big pat on the back!

So the new move has been keeping me busy. I couldn't ask for anything better. I wake up and have a job I love to go to... and when the day comes to an end, i come home to a beautiful house and puppy.

Speaking of my job. I shifted from working with the gap filler team to take part in visual inspections of previous tile repairs on Discovery. A group of 5 of us have chosen a critical zone of about 4000 tiles. We have looked at each one individually to see if there are any previous repairs done on the tile. If so, we inspect the integrity and make sure the repair is not eroded, loose, or comment if the repair could be re-worked a little better. Now let me tell you, 4000 tiles is a lot of tiles! We've been making note of the tiles that we feel need to be re-looked, and on Monday we will hear back from upper management if we should continue looking at all the tiles on Discovery's belly, or move on to the the critical zones in Atlantis and Endeavor. I'll see if this week I can take a picture a tile with a previous repair so you see what I am talking about.

I called Embry Riddle last week and they said that I should be getting my admissions letter really soon. The thing that is a bummer is that classes for the winter semester start on Oct. 18th. So I won't be able to start school now until January 2006 since I am still not "admitted" in the computer system.

Explanation about the shuttle tile Gap Fillers

Ok so picture 1, you see a tile. The soft looking stuff is called "Sip". You see the red stuff that has smeared on the tile side wall? Well that is called RTV.

In the next picture, that's the Gap Filler. Now not every single tile on the orbiter needs a gap filler. It's just that sometimes, there are gaps in between the tile and in order to prevent any type of air/heat flow to enter through the cavity, a gap filler is installed.

So this is it upclose. Going back to the tile picture, the side with the soft looking side is what is attached to the surface of the orbiter. So the other side of the tile is black and has a part number sprayed on it. This is what you see on the whole belly side of the orbiter.

Once the tiles are installed is when the gap fillers are installed. So right now, the installation of the gap fillers is what is trying to be perfected. The red RTV is applied to the gap filler and the issue right now is that when it installed, the RTV smears or droops down against the tile sidewall, which creates less bonding closer to the surface.

But this is why we have great team working on this. They are testing new methods, coming up with the reasons certains ones have failed, and we are doing alot of failure analysis.

Till next time everyone.. and I promise it won't be like 2 weeks later. Take care.


P.S By the way.. the rope loops that you see in the gap filler pictures are not part of the installation. They are doing pull tests in that picture to see how many pounds it can withstand until it fails.

Insight of the shuttle tiles and gap fillers

I know, I know.. it's been a while since I have posted something, but I promise this time, I won't ever give us that much space again. haha. I do have some good news though. Not last week, but the week before, I had to give 2 big presentations on the work I have been doing on the specification for tile fabrication. After giving one of the presentations, I received a Boeing achievement award from my manager and the logistics manager. I was pretty proud. Now aside from that, the big pressing issue right now is the bonding of the tile gap fillers. They're currently trying out different processes to ensure that the gap fillers will be bonded 100% with no chance of failure. I am going to post two picture right now and explain them. But this is basically what I have been working on lately. Still waiting to hear back from ERAU. And early tomorrow I find out if I've been approved for my first home!!! :) If so, I have the walk-through tomorrow and close on Friday. (Cross your fingers for me!!) :)
Alright two cool pictures with explanations coming right up!!

A busy week...

I was extremely busy this past week. I have been helping with failure analysis on the gap fillers. You want to know something cool?? I actually held in my hand the two gap fillers that were taken off in orbit! The team is analyzing the reasons why the gap fillers were protruding as well as implementing new methods on how to install gap fillers. I would post pictures up, but I got a virus on my computer and am try to clean it all up. For the mean time, I'll just be updating what I've been doing. Till next time....

Enjoy your Labor Day Weekend

I won't be posting anything until after the weekend. I hope you all enjoy the long weekend either relaxing by yourself, with family, or in good company of some friends. I can't wait because my birthday is on Sunday! :) I'll be 24! A great game of golf awaits me on Sunday. (hee hee)

This past week was so busy for me. I have been taking part and listening in on the gap filler assessment team. A great team of engineers, technicians, quality, and safety people meet everyday to lay out the problems with the gaps fillers. They are also conducting tests to create a better method in bonding the gap fillers. I have also been working with specifications this week which include the processes for the technicians to fabricate the shuttle tiles. I have been learning so much on the job! Also this week, I was able to see the MPLM (Multi-Purpose Logistics Module). This was the payload that flew on the flight. It basically looks like a big tin canister. They filled this module with the ISS trash. Some of techs were telling me that it smelled so bad especially since it was sitting in the hot California sun. The cool thing is that they run lab tests on the trash that the astronauts bring back.  

I know the posting of this image is rather late, but I wanted to share with all of you this picture of the shuttle at Edwards Air Force Base. This was taken the Sunday before it arrived back at Kennedy Space Center. It was stormin' pretty bad out there. The weather was the issue why the return of the shuttle to KSC was delayed a little. Now.....It's Floridas turn with the weather. The winds are pretty bad in South Florida right now.  

Discovery is coming back home

Discovery took off from CA. about 9:00am...it will then be ferried to Oklahoma then Louisiana, remain overnight, then KSC at 11:00am Sat.

Such a great capture! Shuttle Discovery taking off in the background as an F-15 soars through the skies! 

ERAU here I come!

So I am really excited today because I got a call from Embry Riddle Aeronautical University! They say they have received my application and transcripts from Texas A&M and that I should be hearing from them soon. This was the school I wanted to go to for my undergraduate degree, but financially it just was not feasible. So I completed a year and a half at Houston Community College and then transferred to Texas A&M. I am just glad that I will be able to earn my Master's degree from ERAU because it has always been a school of my choice. As a Boeing employee, I get reimbursed to tuition, so all works out just grand! I have decided that I want to get a masters in Aeronautical Science - Human Factors. They say I should be able to start classes in October. I really hope everything works as planned.

This is a picture from the landing at Edwards Air Force Base. If kept up with the issues on re-entry, you can see the blanket that was "the talk" above and to the left of the "D" a little bubbled out. 

Discovery Home Safely.....

I have to admit, I was a little nervous when the orbiter was approaching re-entry. We were all watching the re-entry here on NASA TV and everyone clapped and cheered when our seven friends safely landed. I have pictures i am going to upload tonight on Atlantis. Until then.. i have to get back to work!!!!

Did you watch this morning's EVA?

Early this morning at work, we watched as astronaut Robinson removed the gap fillers. If anyone wants to understand what the gap fillers are, visit http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/crew/EVA_gapfiller.html or http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/main/index.html?skipIntro=1. It was great to see the view from his helmet camera. In the second link, you can see the video with sound. It's great. This is actually interesting to me because one of my job functions is to provide engineering support with these gap fillers. How I would have loved to be the astronaut performing the EVA today. :) It would have been such a beautiful view, don't you think??