CubeSat Passive Magnetic Stabilization Plasma Ben 2013-07-09 | http://pepl.engin.umich.edu/thrusters/CAT.html
Gas flow within the CAT engine Plasma Ben 2013-07-04 | http://pepl.engin.umich.edu/thrusters/CAT.html
Earth escape trajectory from LEO. Code name: SierraSat. _v2 Plasma Ben 2013-07-02 | Earth-escape trajectory for BravoSat mission with constant 10 W thrust maneuver along the velocity vector (energetically feasible given other spacecraft parameters). BravoSat starts in a 700 km circular polar orbit and escapes in under one year with 2.5 kg of fuel (2.5 kg dry mass).STK simulations and videos produced by: S. Spangelo. http://saraspangelo.com/consultinghttp://pepl.engin.umich.edu/thrusters...Ongoing support provided by AGI: http://www.agi.comS. C. Spangelo, B. W. Longmier, BravoSat: Optimizing the Delta-V Capability of a CubeSat Mission with Novel Plasma Propulsion Technology, Interplanetary Small Satellite Conference, Pasadena, CA, June 20-21, 2013
Earth escape trajectory from LEO. Code name: SierraSat. Plasma Ben 2013-07-02 | Earth-escape trajectory for BravoSat mission with constant 10 W thrust maneuver along the velocity vector (energetically feasible given other spacecraft parameters). BravoSat starts in a 700 km circular polar orbit and escapes in under one year with 2.5 kg of fuel (2.5 kg dry mass).STK simulations and videos produced by: S. Spangelo. http://saraspangelo.com/consultinghttp://pepl.engin.umich.edu/thrusters/CAT.htmlOngoing support provided by AGI: http://www.agi.comS. C. Spangelo, B. W. Longmier, BravoSat: Optimizing the Delta-V Capability of a CubeSat Mission with Novel Plasma Propulsion Technology, Interplanetary Small Satellite Conference, Pasadena, CA, June 20-21, 2013
Earth escape trajectory from LEO. Code name: BravoSat. Plasma Ben 2013-07-02 | Earth-escape trajectory for BravoSat mission using 200 W thrust maneuvers over 10 minutes at perigee (energetically feasible given other spacecraft parameters), exploiting the passive magnetic stabilization scheme resulting from the engine's permanent magnets. BravoSat starts in a 500 km by 1500 km polar orbit and escapes Earth in under 3 years with less than 1 kg of fuel (2.5 kg dry mass).STK simulations and videos produced by: S. Spangelo. http://saraspangelo.com/consultinghttp://pepl.engin.umich.edu/thrusters/CAT.htmlOngoing support provided by AGI: http://www.agi.comS. C. Spangelo, B. W. Longmier, BravoSat: Optimizing the Delta-V Capability of a CubeSat Mission with Novel Plasma Propulsion Technology, Interplanetary Small Satellite Conference, Pasadena, CA, June 20-21, 2013
VASIMR firing at 3000 frames per second Plasma Ben 2011-10-27 | VASIMR firing at 3000 frames per second using Argon propellant. The helicon discharge can be seen turning on first, then each RF module of the Ion Cyclotron Heating stage.
Rotating iPad in ZeroG Plasma Ben 2011-10-13 | Various rotational modes of an Apple iPad2 in ZeroG.The video shows an iPad demonstrating uni-stability along the first two axes of rotation and bi-stability along the third axis of rotation.I don't own an iPad, but if I did I would only try this in 1-G above some very soft materials on the ground! Even Gorilla glass can break.
3D: balloon at the edge of space, full length HD Plasma Ben 2011-08-14 | 3D: balloon at the edge of space, full length HD www.ProjectAether.org
SCLS: Sinking of the Liberty Bell 7 (Project Mercury), what really happened? Plasma Ben 2011-08-07 | Dr. James Lewis and Robert F. Thompson Fifty Years Since Liberty Bell: Perspectives on the flight of Liberty Bell 7 and the Future of the Space Program NASA Gilruth Center-Alamo Ballroom, 7pm, July 21, 2011 Dr. James L. Lewis, in 1961, was the Command Pilot of Hunt Club One, the code name for the helicopter assigned to recover Astronaut Gus Grissom. In 1961, Lt. Lewis was forced to release the space capsule when a warning light showed a danger of imminent engine failure. In 1999, Dr. Lewis was a member of the Discovery Channel team that recovered the Liberty Bell 7 from the Atlantic Ocean floor. After his career in the US Marines, Dr. Lewis held several management positions in which he contributed to the design of the Gemini, Skylab, Apollo, Space Shuttle, and Space Station Programs. He spent several years prior to retirement as the Division Manager for Space Station in the JSC Man-Systems Division. Robert F. Thompson, in 1961, was the head of recovery operations for Mercury and established the recovery processes for Mercury, Gemini and Apollo. In this capacity he was the first person to speak with Gus Grissom after the loss of Liberty Bell 7. Later Thompson became the Program Manager for Skylab and the Space Shuttle. Mr. Thompson graduated with a BS in aeronautical engineering from Virginia Polytechnic and served in the US Navy prior to coming to the NACA in 1947.
3D: ZeroG Gyroscope Plasma Ben 2011-07-19 | Demonstrating a gyroscope while onboard a NASA microgravity aircraft flight during the Teaching From Space campaign. This flight took place as part of a NASA pilot program to introduce high school teachers to zero gravity. Seen here is Ben Longmier, Ph.D., a NASA mentor; Liz Henriquez, a Bergen Co Tech High School teacher, and Dennis Montone, a math and science administrator.Notice that over the course of the parablic manuever the gyroscope seems to change angle with respect to the aircraft's floor. In fact the gyroscope remains, more or less, motionless with respect to the Earth, and it is the aircraft that rotates around the gyroscope. Thank you to www.Gyroscope.com, for the wonderfully high power gyroscope.High school teachers Laura Nardomarino, Luke Thawley, and Mike Chomin flew on a subsequent flight. This was the culmination of a semester long multidisciplinary effort involving physics, mathematics, language arts, social studies, and financial literacy classes from Bergen Tech.More information at:http://www.wix.com/btzerog/zerog-2011www.ProjectAether.org
3D: How to take a group photo in ZeroG Plasma Ben 2011-07-07 | Taking a group photo while onboard a NASA microgravity aircraft flight during the Teaching From Space campaign. This flight took place as part of a NASA pilot program to introduce high school teachers to zero gravity. Seen here is Ben Longmier, Ph.D., a NASA mentor; Liz Henriquez, a Bergen Co Tech High School teacher, and Dennis Montone, a math and science administrator. High school teachers Laura Nardomarino, Luke Thawley, and Mike Chomin flew on a subsequent flight. This was the culmination of a semester long multidisciplinary effort involving physics, mathematics, language arts, social studies, and financial literacy classes from Bergen Tech. More information at: http://www.wix.com/btzerog/zerog-2011 www.ProjectAether.org
3D: Spinning in ZeroG Plasma Ben 2011-07-07 | Spinning while onboard a NASA microgravity aircraft flight during the Teaching From Space campaign. This flight took place as part of a NASA pilot program to introduce high school teachers to ZeroG. Seen here is Ben Longmier, Ph.D., a NASA mentor for the Bergen Co Tech Technical School in Paramus, NJ. In the lower right hand corner is high school physics teacher Liz Henriquez. Also on the flight (strapped into the back seats at this point) was Dennis Montone. Teachers Laura Nardomarino, Luke Thawley, and Mike Chomin flew on a subsequent flight. This was the culmination of a semester long multidisciplinary effort involving physics, mathematics, language arts, social studies, and financial literacy classes from Bergen Tech. More information at: http://www.wix.com/btzerog/zerog-2011 www.ProjectAether.org
Shuttle docked to ISS, exterior video flyby 2011 Plasma Ben 2011-06-09 | After the Soyuz TMA-20 carrying Expedition 27 Commander Dmitry Kondratyev and Flight Engineers Cady Coleman and Paolo Nespoli undocked from the International Space Station on May 23, Nespoli captured this video of shuttle Endeavour docked to the orbital complex. Credit: ESA, NASA http://www.nasa.gov/home/index.html
Author John Logsdon: JFK and the Race to the Moon, HD Plasma Ben 2011-06-01 | Lecture: Houston, TX. Organized by Roger Weiss. On May 25, 1961, President Kennedy proposed as a national goal sending Americans to the Moon "before this decade is out." Author John M. Logsdon (Ph.D., New York Univ), gives a fascinating lecture based upon his new book, "John F. Kennedy and the Race to the Moon," on Mon, May 23, 2011, at the NASA/Johnson Space Center Gilruth Center's Alamo Ballroom. The talk, open to the public, addressed the following questions: (1) Why did JFK decide to go to the Moon? (2) What did he do in the thirty months after announcing his decision to make Apollo a viable program? (3) Was Apollo a success? (4) Does the Apollo experience, and JFK's role in it, have any relevance to day's space policy debate? Dr. Logsdon is Research Professor of Space Policy and International Affairs and Professor Emeritus of Political Science and International Affairs, Space Policy Institute, Elliott School of International Affairs, George Washington Univ. He is former Director of Center for International Science and Technology Policy, Space Policy Institute. Dr. Logsdon is the author of The Decision to Go to the Moon: Project Apollo and the National Interest and is general editor of the 8-volume series Exploring the Unknown: Selected Documents in the History of the U.S. Civil Space Program. He has also written numerous articles and reports on space policy and history.
Released Recordings: JFK Discusses Race to the Moon Plasma Ben 2011-05-26 | JFK Library Releases Recording of President Kennedy Discussing Race to the Moon BOSTON -- On what marks the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's first challenge to the country to commit to sending a man to the moon before the end of the 1960s, the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library and Museum today announced that it has declassified and made available for research a presidential recording of President Kennedy and NASA Administrator James Webb discussing the future of the US space program. The meeting was held in the White House on September 18, 1963 and reveals President Kennedy's private concerns over waning public support for space exploration. In President Kennedy's address to Congress on May 25, 1961, he urged the country to make sending a man to the moon a national priority: I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth. No single space project in this period will be more impressive to mankind, or more important for the long-range exploration of space; and none will be so difficult or expensive to accomplish. Over two years later, President Kennedy is confronted with the financial burden that he predicted in 1961 and, in the conversation with Webb, expresses concern over what Congress and the public would see as the high cost of the space program. The President also discusses the challenges he foresees in trying to maintain the American public's interest in space exploration when, in fact, there would not be a moon landing during his presidency. He says, "I mean if the Russians do some tremendous feat, then it would stimulate interest again, but right now space has lost a lot of its glamour." "President Kennedy was both a visionary and a realist," said Kennedy Library Archivist Maura Porter. "He understood the necessity of having both public and Congressional support if his vision of landing a man on the moon was to become a reality before the end of the 1960's." The President and Webb go on to discuss in great detail the need to link defense or national security to the space program in order to garner the political support needed for the program's success. President Kennedy describes this point in time as "mid journey" for the country's space initiative. ...I think this can be an asset, this program. I think in time, it's like a lot of things, this is mid- journey and therefore everybody says 'what the hell are we making this trip for' but at the end of the thing they may be glad we made it. Later in the conversation, President Kennedy comments that going to the moon must be more than just a "stunt". At one point the President said to Webb: Why should we spend that kind of dough to put a man on the moon? But it seems to me...we've got to wrap around in this country, a military use for what we're doing and spending in space. If we don't, it does look like a stunt... The President's uneasy tone during this meeting is in contrast to his public statements at the time, which were far more optimistic about the space program's future. A year earlier, in November 1962, the President and Webb had met at another White House meeting which has been described as adversarial. At that time, the roles were reversed: in 1962, the President was brimming with political confidence in the space program while Webb expressed concern that beating the Russians to the Moon should not be the space program's top priority. Now in September 1963, the President is faced with the challenge of maintaining public support when the rewards of space travel remain years away. This time it is Webb who reassures the President telling him, "it will be one of the most important things that's been done in this nation": President Kennedy: If I get re-elected, I'm not -- we're not -- go to the moon in my -- in our period are we?... Webb: No, no. We'll have worked to fly by though while you're President but it's going to take longer than that. This is a tough job, a real tough job. But I will tell you what will be accomplished while we're President and it will be one of the most important things that's been done in this nation. A basic need to use technology for total national power. That's going to come out of the space program more than any single thing. President Kennedy: What's that again? Webb: A basic ability in this nation to use science and very advanced technologies to increase national power -- our economy all the way through. President Kennedy: Do you think the lunar, the manned landing on the moon is a good idea? Webb: Yes sir, I do. President Kennedy: Why? Webb: Because... http://www.jfklibrary.org
Packing for Mars, Mary Roach Plasma Ben 2011-05-02 | Space Center Lecture Series www.SpaceCenterLectureSeries.com Packing for Mars Mary Roach, author Interview by John Charles of NASA-JSC Apr 29, 2011 Houston, TX About Packing for Mars: Space is a world devoid of the things we need to live and thrive: air, gravity, hot showers, fresh produce, privacy, beer. How much can a person give up? How much weirdness can they take? What happens to you when you can't walk for a year? What happens if you vomit in your helmet during a space walk? Is it possible for the human body to survive a bailout at 4,000 miles per hour? To answer these questions, space agencies set up all manner of quizzical and startlingly bizarre space simulations -- making it possible to preview space without ever leaving Earth. From the space shuttle training toilet to a crash test of NASA's new space capsule (cadaver filling in for astronaut), Packing for Mars takes us on a surreally entertaining trip into the science of life in space and space on Earth. Mary Roach: "I grew up in a small house in Etna, New Hampshire. My dad was 65 when I was born. My neighbors taught me how to drive a Skidoo and shoot a rifle, though I never made much use of these skills. I graduated from Wesleyan in 1981, and drove out to San Francisco with some friends. I spent a few years working as a freelance copy editor before landing a half-time PR job at the SF Zoo. My office was in a trailer next to Gorilla World. On the days when I wasn't taking calls about elephant wart removal surgery or denying rumors that the cheetahs had been sucked dry by fleas, I wrote freelance articles for the local newspaper's Sunday magazine. Eventually, my editors there moved on to bigger things and took me along with them. I mostly write books these days, but I still write the occasional magazine piece. These have run in Outside, National Geographic, New Scientist, Wired, and The New York Times Magazine, as well as many others too embarrassing to name. A 1995 article of mine called "How to Win at Germ Warfare" was a National Magazine Award Finalist, and in 1996, my article on earthquake-proof bamboo houses took the Engineering Journalism Award in the general interest magazine category, for which I was, let's be honest, the only entrant. I often write about science, though I don't have a science degree and must fake my way through interviews with experts I can't understand. I also review books for The New York Times. My first book, Stiff, was an offshoot of a column I wrote for Salon.com. It was sort of a reported humor column, wherein I covered things like vaginal weight-lifting and amputee bowling leagues and the question of how much food it takes to burst a human stomach. I have no hobbies. I mostly just work on my books and hang out with my family and friends. I enjoy bird-watching--though the hours don't agree with me--backpacking, thrift stores, overseas supermarkets, Scrabble, mangoes, and that late-night "Animal Planet" show about horrific animals such as the parasitic worm that attaches itself to fishes' eyeballs but makes up for it by leading the fish around." - www.MaryRoach.net
Flying in Texas at 100x speed Plasma Ben 2011-03-17 | Flying in Texas at 100x speed, Sugar Land TX to Fredericksburg TX in 2 min. - Cessna 172 - 110 kts - 200 nm - 4500 ft outbound , 5500 ft inbound - Flew over Enchanted Rock, Lake Travis, and near Austin
Near Infrared GoPro Plasma Ben 2011-03-17 | This is a standard 1080p GoPro HeroHD where the IR-cut filter near the CCD has been removed. Most foliage, trees included, appear to be white since they reflect a lot of infrared (IR) radiation from the sun. Normally the IR-cut filter blocks or reflects this portion of the spectrum from the sun so that the camera does not produce washed out images like the one in this video. bwlongmier@gmail.com for more details.
Largest Solar Flare in 4 yrs, Feb 16 2011 Plasma Ben 2011-02-17 | Large Solar Flare and CME As Seen by the Solar Dynamics Observatory This clip of the large X2 flare (Feb. 15, 2011) seen by Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) in extreme ultraviolet light has been enlarged and superimposed on SOHO's C2 coronagraph for the same period. This was the largest flare in over four years. The coronagraph shows the faint edge of a "halo" coronal mass ejection (CME) as it races away from the Sun and was heading towards Earth. Scientists predict that this CME is likely to catch up with ones from the 13th and 14th, and the whole mass of particles should reach Earth late Thursday or early Friday (UT). They may put on an excellent show of aurora. In the coronagraph the Sun is blocked out by an occulting disk so that the fainter features of the corona are visible. By adding in the SDO video clip, we get the best of both worlds. The video covers about 11 hours.
VFR night flight Plasma Ben 2011-02-07 | VFR night flight in the pattern at Sugar Land Regional Airport, TX. 10 stop and go landings.
Blue Martian Sunset Plasma Ben 2010-12-24 | Blue Martian Sunset http://www.jpl.nasa.gov/news/news.cfm?release=2010-427
VASIMR VX-200 firing for 25 seconds Plasma Ben 2010-12-16 | VASIMR VX-200 firing for 25 seconds. Plasma diagnostics placed 50 cm away from the thruster exit plane can be seen glowing red hot at 1000 C (~1800 F) after the firing is over. The force from the argon plasma exhaust broke off a large piece of graphite that was used as a plasma shield for sensitive force measurements. www.adastrarocket.com
How to (theoretically) film a giant squid in HD Plasma Ben 2010-11-27 | Kraken Hunt #1, 30 miles offshore of Costa Rica in September 2010. Here, we test an HD camera system at a depth of 2000 ft and a water pressure of 900 psi in an effort to image creatures of the deep. The 1080p HD camera and enclosure performed flawlessly and did not show any signs of condensation on the interior of the enclosure during it's trip to depth. The sea floor was approximately 2600 ft below us, so the camera was off the floor by about 600ft. Several Bathyspheric fish can be seen on the way down to 2000 ft. The next round of testing will include a state of the art 2000 lumen LED lighting system that is capable of lasting up to 6 hrs. Our HD camera will also be programmed to record for a full 6 hrs at 1080p 30fps. The LED lighting and rechargeable Li-ion batteries will use the same enclosure as the camera housing for simplicity of design. These camera enclosure were designed to withstand 5000 psi which means they are rated to 10,000 ft. We also have enclosures that are rated to 20,000 ft though find that these are not required for most applications. Both 10,000 ft and 20,000 versions come with optical grade acrylic windows on both ends and can be supported by attaching to eye-bolts. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bathyal_zone
3D MRI HD Plasma Ben 2010-11-17 | 3D MRI scan of a human brain. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), is primarily a medical imaging technique most commonly used in radiology to visualize the internal structure and function of the body. MRI machines use extremely powerful magnetic fields to spin align the hydrogen atoms in your body along the direction of the magnetic field lines. Radio Frequency (RF) fields are used to knock these hydrogen atoms out of alignment, while sensors pick up the signals generated when the hydrogen atoms re-align with the strong magnetic field. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MRI
Apollo 13: Anatomy Of The Failure, Sy Liebergot [HD] Plasma Ben 2010-10-19 | Space Center Lecture Series www.SpaceCenterLectureSeries.com Apollo 13: Anatomy Of The Failure Sy Liebergot Apr 29, 2010 Houston, TX Sy Liebergot, former Apollo EECOM Flight Controller will guide us through the unfolding failure of the Apollo 13 cryogenic oxygen tank explosion. Sy was there, at his Mission Control console, and relates the details of the explosion as they really happened, using the actual real-time data on his EECOM console screens in Mission Control. He will show you "how the data played." As EECOM in Mission Control on Apollo 13, Sy was at the focal point of the crisis when the spacecraft oxygen tank exploded, to which he will speak. He has advised and contributed to several books concerning Apollo 13 including the movie, Apollo 13. As part of the Apollo 13 operations team, Sy was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom. He has also received the NASA Commendation Award for his leadership role in the Apollo- Soyuz Test Project international space mission. He directed the design and fabrication of the astronaut neutral buoyancy trainers for the International Space Station (ISS). Sy's autobiography, Apollo EECOM: Journey of A Lifetime, takes us through his life and experiences in Mission Control during the Apollo Program. Books will be on sale before nad after the lecture with a book signing after the lecture. In 2004 he came to the realization that he is one of a very small group of private individuals who are engaged in what can euphemistically be called "space knowledge preservation." It is sobering to know that most of his peers are both retired and scattered or have passed awayquickly dwindling the number of authentic Apollo era participants. Sadly, as time passes, the opportunities to interact personally with those few remaining individuals who were privileged to directly participate in the "grand adventure" are dwindling as we grow older. He's the only Mission Control flight controller, especially from the Apollo era, who is out speaking to the public and who has written a book about his life experiences in and out of Mission Control.
Update: Russian Space Program, James Oberg [HD] Plasma Ben 2010-10-18 | Space Center Lecture Series www.SpaceCenterLectureSeries.com Update: Russian Space Program James Oberg Mar 25, 2010 Houston, TX Not long ago Jim Oberg had the unique opportunity to visit a top secret Russian military base where a converted military missile was used to orbit the Genesis-2 inflatable habitat prototype for Bigelow Aerospace. He describes his experiences at the southwestern Siberian base called 'Yasniy' (known to the CIA as the Dombarovskiy ICBM base) watching a 'Dnepr' launch vehicle blast off from an underground silo normally used for nuclear-armed 'Satan' ICBMs, and also 'nosing around' to see what else he could see without getting shot at. James Oberg, 63, is one of the world's leading popularizers and interpreters of space exploration. As the NBC News 'Space Consultant' he often appears in broadcast and website assessments of space events, explaining them and placing them in broader context, and usual breaking 'inside stories' far ahead of other news media sites. As guide for public-access expeditions to space-related locations for the American Museum of Natural History, he interprets space achievements as manifestations of human ingenuity and creativity, painted on metal and concrete and plastic rather than the more traditional canvas and marble and textiles. As contributor to numerous space technology publications he assesses in depth the important accomplishments and trends of developments in space activities around the world, not only in the US but in Russia and China and elsewhere. When he was an active 'rocket scientist', Oberg had a 22-year career as a space engineer in Houston, where he specialized in NASA space shuttle operations for orbital rendezvous, as a contractor employee. He was a 'NASA Trainee' at Northwestern University in 1966-9, and worked at the Johnson Space Center in Houston 1975-1997. In support of NASA's spaceflight operations he has written books on Rendezvous Flight Procedures, on Mission Control Center console operations, and on the history of orbital rendezvous. In honor of his pioneering work on developing and documenting these space shuttle rendezvous techniques, he was named by the NASA-Area "Association of Technical Societies" as their 1984 "Technical Person of the Year". In 1997 he received the "Sustained Superior Performance" award for coordinating the design of the complex first Space Station assembly mission. He has written ten books and more than a thousand magazine and newspaper articles on all aspects of space flight. Among these books are: Red Star in Orbit, generally considered the best inside portrait of the history of Soviet space activities through 1981; New Earths, the world's first non-fiction treatment of the far-out futuristic topic of "terraforming" or "planetary engineering"; Pioneering Space (with his wife as co-author), a broad and insightful view of the human side of the spaceflight experience; The New Race for Space, which described the development and prospects for closer US/Russian space flight cooperation; and Uncovering Soviet Disasters, a penetrating analysis of secrecy and technological shortcomings in the former USSR which received wide praise around the world and even in post-glasnost Moscow. His 1999 book, Space Power Theory, commissioned by the US Space Command, described how the United States has achieved space superiority and how it can exploit and maintain it into the next century. He also contributes key articles on space topics to several leading encyclopedias and annual reference books. His latest book, Star-Crossed Orbits: Inside the US/Russian Space Alliance, described the development of the International Space Station and the actual role the Russians played in making it possible, in somewhat less flattering terms than official NASA histories.
A Private Astronauts Path to Space, Richard Garriott [HD] Plasma Ben 2010-10-18 | Space Center Lecture Series www.SpaceCenterLectureSeries.com A Private Astronaut's Path to Space Richard Garriott Mar 4, 2010 Houston, TX Richard Garriott became the first second generation American in space when he launched aboard the Russian Soyuz TMA 13 on October 12, 2008. He achieved this goal by helping to usher in the era of private human access to space. He will talk about his own path to the stars, and what the coming fleet of private spacecraft means to the future of human spaceflight. For a man who has experienced a lifetime of adventures ranging from the icy desert of Antarctica to the watery depths of the Titanic, space seems to have been the only stone left unturned for this explorer. A video game pioneer, Richard Garriott, traveled into orbit in October 2008 to fulfill a lifelong dream that has been with him since his youth. Born on July 4th, 1961 in Cambridge, England, as a son of astronaut Owen Garriott, Richard was set to start a life that would be unlike any other. Space flight was in the family.
Views From Space, Gary Kitmacher Plasma Ben 2010-10-17 | Space Center Lecture Series Views From Space, Gaty Kitmacher Feb. 5th, 2009 Houston TX Views From Space combines the history of civilization, exploration, and spaceflight with exhilarating images from spaceflight. Kitmacher's work is well known - the systems he has conceived and developed, like the soft stowage system, CTBs, used on every flight since STS-71, or the COSS computers first used on Mir, the Priroda Lab Module which served as the center of US operations on Mir, the contracts and international processes he established for integrating payloads, or the ISS Cupola, Nodes and Racks, developed while he served as the Station's Man-Systems Architect in the 1980s. His Emme Award nominated book, Reference Guide to the International Space Station is in its third printing, and his ISS Interactive Web Guide won the Adobe Max Award for the best government website last year. Kitmacher has had a long interest in the uses of photography from space and has written extensively on this for the NASA History Office.
Drinking Water in Zero-G [HD] Plasma Ben 2010-10-07 | How to Drink Water in ZeroG Due to its unusually large surface tension, water will tend to form relatively large spheres in a microgravity environment when expelled from a container. In this case, the water droplet size was largely determined by the size of the water bottle opening. Even though the droplets are put into motion and are spinning, they more or less stay together in one contiguous sphere (until eaten of course). This footage was filmed with GoPro's HD Hero, which provided an ideal wide angle view of the research airplane in these close quarters. Dr. Don Pettit performed many more science outreach experiments with water during his space station stay: /watch?v=bgC-ocnTTto http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Properties_of_water
July 2010 Solar Activity Plasma Ben 2010-08-04 | July 2010 Solar Activityhttp://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN/index.html
Solar Flare August 1, 2010, HD color Plasma Ben 2010-08-04 | Solar Flare August 1, 2010 http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN/index.html
Solar Flare August 1, 2010 Plasma Ben 2010-08-02 | Solar Flare August 1, 2010 http://www.swpc.noaa.gov/SWN/index.html
How To: Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream, part 1 Plasma Ben 2010-06-21 | Here we demonstrate how to make ice cream with liquid nitrogen. Because the cream / milk / sugar slurry cools and freezes very quickly, the crystals that form in the ice cream are extremely small. This makes the ice cream much creamier than is possible with normal freezing methods...yum! Our general rule of thumb recipe is: 2 cups heavy cream 1 cup whole milk 1 cup sugar 4 cups liquid nitrogen, or until desired firmness. Crushed M&Ms also make a nice addition if they are added in during the process. Graham crackers also work well, and in fact the crackers can soak up some of the liquid nitrogen, becoming crispy and really cold!
How To: Liquid Nitrogen Ice Cream, part 2 Plasma Ben 2010-06-21 | Here we demonstrate how to make ice cream with liquid nitrogen. Because the cream / milk / sugar slurry cools and freezes very quickly, the crystals that form in the ice cream are extremely small. This makes the ice cream much creamier than is possible with normal freezing methods...yum! Our general rule of thumb recipe is: 2 cups heavy cream 1 cup whole milk 1 cup sugar 4 cups liquid nitrogen, or until desired firmness. Crushed M&Ms also make a nice addition if they are added in during the process. Graham crackers also work well, and in fact the crackers can soak up some of the liquid nitrogen, becoming crispy and really cold!
VT200 Magnet Installation Time Lapse Plasma Ben 2010-06-19 | VT200 Magnet Installation Time Lapse This video shows a two day (~8hrs total) time lapse sequence of installing an electromagnet and gate valve onto the Ad Astra vacuum chamber in support of the VT-200 rocket. The VT-200 will serve as an erosion and thermal testbed for testing VASIMR technology.
Soccer Ball in Zero Gravity Plasma Ben 2010-06-07 | This video shares the experience of a research scientist and an undergraduate university team from Nebraska while performing research and education outreach on a microgravity aircraft (aka: vomit comet). The soccer ball shown in this video contained a ContourHD camera (donated by VholdR.com) and 3 high precision gyroscopes (donated by gyroscopes.com) to stabilize the ball in pitch, yaw, and roll while in microgravity. More on gyroscopic stabilization here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdAmEEAiJWo&feature=related http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gyroscope http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/gyr.html#gyr2 The purpose of the flight was to conduct NASA related research in microgravity while involving university students to this research planning, development, data collection, and analysis. The program involved flying several experiments on two flight days for a total of 60 microgravity parabolas. The abstract for the research is here: http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov/SE/theProjects/project-detail.cfm?experimentID=24 NASA's Microgravity Program: http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov NASA's SEED Microgravity Program: http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov/SE
Lens cloud and mountain waves Plasma Ben 2010-05-04 | Lens cloud and Lee waves caused by mountain range below. Near Vancouver Canada.
Fast takeoff in small seaplane British Columbia Plasma Ben 2010-05-04 | Fast takeoff in small seaplane British Columbia
Takeoff in small seaplane, British Columbia Plasma Ben 2010-05-04 | takeoff in small seaplane, British Columbia
How to don an EVA suit in NASAs new rover Plasma Ben 2010-05-04 | How to don an EVA suit in NASA's new rover
Sy Liebergot discusses Apollo 13 failure, 2 Plasma Ben 2010-03-19 | Sy Liebergot, EECOM, discusses Apollo 13 failure, 2http://www.apolloeecom.comhttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apollo_13
