I want the Shuttle Adventure!!!!

I want the Lego Shuttle Adventure (10213)! One of the guys at work had this at his desk today and I was completely jealous. The design is awesome and they nailed little details I can appreciate after working on the shuttle program.

Filming of Transformers 3 at Kennedy Space Center

Well now I am just going to HAVE to watch Transformers 3 to see what at Kennedy Space Center made it into the movie. Scenes were shot at Pad 39A last week. They even had the Rotating Service Structure (RSS) retracted to maybe even give some credit to Discovery!

But then they went off to shoot in Washington D.C and a non-scripted crash of Bumblebee occurred. Whoops! I'm sure they have "extras" of Bumblebee, right?!? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkq6fi2U2zE&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Transformers 3 is set to release next summer on June 11th.

Discovery Rolling Out to the Pad (STS-133)

Vote for Your Favorite Wake Up Song!!!

The wakeup song has been a part of the space program since the days of the Apollo missions, and now NASA is giving you two chances to be a part of this history! NASA needs your help selecting wakeup songs to be played during the final missions of the Space Shuttle Program! You can either vote from their Top 40 List or submit your own original work!

Visit: https://songcontest.nasa.gov/home.aspx

This Week in Space

This Week In Space

Robotnaut 2!!!

Rosie from the Jetson's comes true! Just kidding! NASA and GE have been working on jointly on this robot, Robonaut 2 or R2, which consists of a white-suited torso with two arms, two five-fingered hands and a gold head. The robot's role in space initially will be to perform tasks serving as an "astronaut's assistant" from a fixed position inside the U.S. Destiny lab. Eventually, upgrades could have this robot performing spacewalks!

R2 has a very human-like design for the purpose of being able to use human tools as well. The robot will fly on Discovery's 11-day mission's scheduled for November 1, 2010 at 4:40pm.

Need some ideas!!!

I need your ideas! I'm starting to get active with the Society of Women Engineers here in Boston and I've volunteered to keep an outreach event going where we educate kids about engineering through a FUN day filled with a variety of hands-on workshops.

I need your help with any good experiments or activities kids would be able to accomplish within an hour, BUT still incorporate learning about different engineering disciplines. We're hoping to have them complete about 6-7 different workshops for the day. I have some ideas (bottle rocket launching, music box kit, etc.)and I've looked around online, but does anyone have some good ones they really like out there?!?! If you have recommendations, it doesn't matter what age group/grade. We'd like to host an event for 3-6 and 7-12 graders. I'm open to all suggestions! THANKS!

Get your face in space!!!!

For as rainy and gloomy as it was this weekend in Boston, I turned out to have a pretty nice weekend!!! It amazes me how many events happened around the city here. This weekend I ventured out to the 2010 Health and Fitness Expo (got to meet Mario Lopez!) and explored the city a little more. I also bought a pair of rain boots and a good rain shell that I’ve definitely needed to not let the rain hamper my plans. I also found an awesome gym near my house that I've signed up with. There is a boxing class that is taught by a Women's Boxing Olympic coach and I've started really enjoying the sport and learning the correct techniques.

With two shuttle launches left (STS-133 in September and STS-134 in November), you can fly your face in space. Visit http://faceinspace.nasa.gov/index.aspx for details. I just submitted mine to fly on the last mission for STS-134.

JAXA’s Asteroid Explorer "HAYABUSA" successfully separated its capsule and re-entered the atmosphere to complete its mission. For about seven years since its launch in May 2003, the HAYABUSA successfully completed a great achievement by landing on the asteroid "ITOKAWA," gathering rocks and returning them to Earth.

Read the first diary post from ESA’s Mars500!! http://www.esa.int/esaMI/Mars500/SEMUXB5XT9G_0.html

This Week in Space

This Week in Space

Enough of the blog break!

It's been a while since I've blogged. A LONG WHILE! I should be improving that now that I've settled in and have my after-work activities balanced out.

No matter where you are in your career, transitioning to a new job and living in a new area is always an adjustment challenge. Work is getting better and I'm making progress in my research and learning new tools. I'm very glad I took this position and am amazed at the expertise of the MIT Lincoln Laboratory.

I still have been keeping up with the space world. It saddened me to watch (or in my case stream on-line) the launch and landing of Atlantis especially when that was the vehicle I worked on the most out at Kennedy Space Center.

Congrats to SpaceX for a successful launch today!!! I think this is a start to really take out space program in a new direction. SpaceX previously agreed with NASA to fly three demo flights of the Dragon capsule under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program. Upon successful test flights, SpaceX would then be delivering equipment to the space station.


I've also been keeping track of a friend of mine, Diego. He's currently participating in an 500-day ESA Mars Simulation (Mars500). They're in a facility in Moscow, completely isolated from the world. There were various experiments and training since last year and now they are currently in the 'fly to Mars' phase over the next 250 days, 'land and explore' for 40 days and then 'return to Earth' in 230 days. The crew hatch will remained closed until November next year!! So exciting to watch Diego go through this. You can follow Diego on twitter during the Mars500 http://twitter.com/diegou

That's it for now...I'll be keeping up with my blog now. :)

This Week In Space

Steven Hawking warns us about aliens, the military launches a space shuttle, NASA helps keep an eye on oil slick off Louisiana, and the countdowns are on for Atlantis' final scheduled flight and Falcon 9's inaugural flight.

Going into my 2nd work week!

I survived my first week of work!! This past week was an adjustment week as I tested out different routes to dodge traffic, what my start time would be, and getting myself situated in the office. Everyone at work has been welcoming and I've already been assigned my first project that I know I will enjoy working on. There is some training I need to do to catch up, but overall I had a great first week.

Today I took part in Patriots' Day, commemorating the anniversary of the Battles of Lexington and Concord. Starting at 5:30am they had a re-enactment of these first battles of the American Revolution at Lexington Green (Lexington, MA.) and then later at the Old North Bridge in (Concord, MA). I walked the entire battle road and then enjoyed the parade they had later in the afternoon. Now to get ready for my "Monday" tomorrow.

As for Discovery still orbiting in space, I'll be streaming the next landing attempt. Also due to weather, Atlantis has been rescheduled to roll out tomorrow to pad 39A! :)

Back To Work Tomorrow!!!

Tomorrow will be my first day of work with my new position at the MIT Lincoln Laboratory. I have to say that prior to the move the process went real smooth, but once I got here I have just been faced with many little challenges. Luckily, as of today, everything is now in order and I am settled in my apartment. I'm very excited and anxious about starting this new position. I made a big change in my life right now it'll be great to see how this chapter unfolds.

I've been following the STS-131 mission online. I definitely missed being out in Houston with the team for support. The team has been doing a fantastic job (despite the KU band failure) assessing the items of interest. A late mission inspection will still occur which is a final scan of the wing leading edge. Landing is scheduled for April 19!!!

This Week in Space

Discovery takes its next-to-last flight, Obama prepares to face the music on the Space Coast, SpaceX outlooks a May launch for Falcon 9, the price goes up for a seat on a Soyuz, space fans the world over gear up for Yuri's Night, auroras on Saturn, WISE images the "hidden galaxy", Spitzer spies Orion, Phoenix is almost certainly dead, and Buzz gets the boot.

This Week In Space

"VSS Enterprise" takes flight and "space for the rest of us" moves a step forward, the Martian Rite of Spring commences while the folks at JPL prep a "rover on steroids" for departure for the Red Planet, the Wizard Nebula is ready for its close-up, Roller Derby on Saturn's rings, Discovery is "go" for launch, orbital Olympics, the crew of STS-134 prepares to go where no one has gone before, and Buzz "Twinkle-Toes" Aldrin wows the judges on "Dancing with the Stars" - or (ahem!) not.

This Week in Space

Astronomers get WISE to a mysterious class of space rocks lurking dangerously near Earth and only visible in the infrared, workers at the Kennedy Space Center race to troubleshoot a valve problem with Discovery in hopes of keeping her on track for launch, a string of comets take a death dive, Jupiter's Great Red Spot gets the thermal imaging treatment, new views of the moons of Mars and Saturn, rover tracks on the moon, Bob Bigelow puts out the all-call for astronauts, the shuttle Enterprise may be old but she's apparently still up for a piggyback ride, shrimp on ice, and a helicopter crash only a dummy could survive.

It's official, I'm moving to Boston!

Next week, I will be leaving my position with Boeing and trek to Boston to work for the MIT Lincoln Laboratory in Lexington, Ma.

Earlier today I read my very first blog post and how I felt my first week here at Kennedy Space Center has not changed to this day. I will definitely miss everyone I've worked with, the awesome launches, and the space program! However, this does not mean I am giving up on my dream in becoming an astronaut. The blog will continue! :)

I still plan on being very active in the community, stay a space advocate, and work towards a PhD. Right now, the direction of our space program is a little up in the air, but I know we'll get back on track. I'm also excited that I found a nearby judo club I am going to join so I can continue the sport.

This endeavor will be exciting and I will be supporting the Engineering Analysis group on various projects. Next week is my last week, but I will definitely be blogging during the move process! Thanks to all for the support up to this point. It really means a lot to me!!

Discovery has a leak!

While attempting to load propellant Friday night, a leak was detected in Discovery's RCS (Reaction Control System) Helium Isolation Value – on the right-hand OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System) fuel system. Further testing and troubleshooting steps are being planned at the launch pad to examine two helium system regulators, which maintain pressure to the fuel tank and are further down the plumbing from the isolation valves.

If the regulators are functioning correctly, which will be tested later this week when the necessary equipment is ready, engineers could determine Discovery can safely fly 'as-is' despite the isolation valve problem.

If a repair or replacement to the valve is required, we would not be able to access it out at the pad...which means...rolling the shuttle back to the Vehicle Assembly Building, demating Discovery from its external fuel tank and solid rocket boosters, then towing Discovery to the Orbiter Processing Facility....AND removing the OMS pod.

Even with the planned testing, the April 5 launch date still stands. It's what comes out of these test results that will determine if we need to roll back the shuttle which would cause a delay.