NASA Turns 50
Celebrating a half-century of Space Exploration Achievement

In a message to Congress in October, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower proposed the establishment of the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (NASA) absorbing the previous National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). In recognition of this event, NASA Glenn Research Center, located next to Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, is hosting a special weekend open house (free but picture ID is required) on May 17 & May 18 inviting northeast Ohio to tour the facility and attend special presentation. This year marks NASA’s 50th anniversary and we salute them!

NASA Glenn Research Center is alive with excitement focusing on some pretty cool projects like the next generation of space flight and the wind tunnels. While several years ago the research center was threatened with layoffs and rumors of closing, now the campus is a beehive of activity.

Project managers, aeronautical engineers, and manufacturing personnel are collaborating on the next generation of space travel – the Constellation Program. The rockets in the program, Ares I and Ares V, are single stick, multi-stage rockets of totally new design and dimension, similar to the Apollo design. In 2010, NASA plans to retire the space shuttle fleet consisting of Atlantis, Discovery and Endeavor. Comparing the two different fleets, the space shuttle is approximately 180 feet tall when it stands on the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, while the Ares I rocket is over 300 feet tall. The future manned missions for Ares I, estimated to begin in 2015, include transporting humans to the International Space Station, and later on, even returning to the moon...

Two years ago, NASA Glenn personnel bid on projects for the Ares I-X test flight and the Ares I rocket. They are fabricating some of the hardware to be used with this new Ares I rocket. “We are one of four NASA Centers involved,” said Vince Bilardo, project manager. “We have the manufacturing facilities, equipment, and personnel right here. We told NASA we have the capabilities and the machinists to build the rocket segments in-house.” NASA Glenn is responsible for building 11 segments, affectionately called ‘tuna cans’ for the upper stage section of Ares I, each section measuring 18 feet in diameter by about 9.5 feet tall. In the process, they have to make sure the sections perfectly fit together and can be securely connected.

The Launch Abort System, to protect the astronauts, is housed at the top of the Ares I rocket. Going top down, the future astronauts will then be positioned next in the Orion crew module. The service module comes next providing them with power and support. The spacecraft adapter section connects the top section to the launch systems below and the instrument unit is for avionics. The upper stage section is next containing the 11 segments on which the NASA Glenn personnel are working. The Ares I upper stage, designed to give the final boost to send humans into Earth orbit, will provide the navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for the second stage of the rocket's ascent. The reusable first stage lifts the Ares rocket off the launch pad, is equipped with parachutes, and is recovered after returning to Earth. The upper stage containing the segments will fall into the ocean shortly after launching, very similar to the space shuttle launches.

Right now, engineers are testing and analyzing for strength, stress, and design of the segment materials. There are 1,000 sensors helping in the test process to record vibration, temperature range, dynamics, and control. “The first test flight for Ares I-X is scheduled for April 2009,” said Bilardo. “It will lift off and fly for two minutes without anyone onboard. We will need to test the launching mechanisms and the degree of control with this new design,” he explained. Sherwin Williams white roofing paint has been chosen to cover the exterior of the upper stage because it’s durable, it won’t rust, or absorb the sun’s rays. The 11 upper stage segments will be shipped this September by truck to the Ohio River so they can not be taller than 9.5 feet to fit under the highway overpasses. The upper stage sections will then travel by barge down the Mississippi River to Florida and the Kennedy Space Center. NASA Glenn will be involved in ongoing tests and projects related to the Constellation program over the next five years.

NASA Glenn History
Do you know how NASA Glenn came to be located in Northeast Ohio? According to Michael Blair, aerospace lecturer at the Visitors Center, after World War I, government officials were looking to regain our country’s preeminence in aeronautics. The government needed a site to house a third NACA research laboratory, this one specializing in airplane engine research. Two aeronautic laboratories were already operating on the east and west coasts, but for security reasons, they wanted a location far from the coasts, so Chicago and Cleveland were considered along with many other cities in the Midwest . With the annual National Air Races being held in Cleveland, along with a skilled workforce, extensive academic infrastructure and a strong aeronautics business presence, Cleveland was a natural selection.

Frederick C. Crawford, a wealthy Cleveland industrialist interested in aviation and automobiles, and company president of Thompson Products which later merged to become TRW, made an important phone call to find out how they could get a NACA research laboratory positioned in the Cleveland area. Talking to his friends in Washington, Crawford found out the higher electrical rates here were an obstacle so he called the utility company and renegotiated a lower rate. In exchange, the utility company asked if the wind tunnels could be run at night, balancing out the electricity usage.

As a result, the government located its laboratory at this location early in 1941 and it has grown ever since. NASA’s Plum Brook Station located in Sandusky, Ohio, is also considered part of NASA Glenn Research Center. A total of about 3,300 government employees and contractors work at these locations.

NASA Glenn's Wind Tunnels
Anyone who has ever flown in an airplane has been impacted by wind tunnels. When the Wright brothers had questions about designing their first airplane they tested their ideas by using a wind tunnel. The NASA Glenn Research Center wind tunnels, the first of which was built in the late 1940s, are unique because they can do propulsion or fuel burning tests as well as the traditional aerodynamic testing. Wind tunnels are tubes or passages that air is circulated through to simulate the wind speeds that vehicles see during flight.

“Wind tunnels are used to simulate conditions for missiles, rockets, helicopters, and airplanes,” explained David Stark, wind tunnel facility manager. “Models of aircraft, engines, wings, and rockets are placed in the test sections of the wind tunnel while a big fan pushes compressed air across the models. Instruments on the model measure the air flow and the forces acting upon the model,” he said.

“We can also use the tunnels for non-traditional purposes like when the US Olympic Team conducts tests for ski jumpers to optimize their body shape during the jumps. Building models are also tested for structural loads, impact on materials, and the impact on surrounding buildings when a hurricane or tornado blows through,” added Stark. Wind tunnels are safer and less expensive to use than flight testing, with less risk toward human life.

At NASA Glenn, there is a tunnel called the 8 x 6 because the test section measures 8 feet high by 6 feet wide. The 8x6 air circuit is about 1300 feet long. Another tunnel is called the 10 x 10 (as the test section measures 10 feet high by 10 feet wide) and the third tunnel is called the 9 x 15. The 9x15 test section is acoustically treated and is able to measure the noise created by fan models, another descriptor in the testing process.

The velocity of wind in each tunnel varies depending on what object is being tested and the size of the model. Subsonic wind speeds range from 0-600 miles per hour. Most general aviation planes fly in this range. Transonic wind speed is measured at 600-800 miles per hour. Supersonic wind speeds are faster than the speed of sound. These speeds are used in the 10 x 10 wind tunnel. And the hypersonic wind speeds range from 3 – 5 times the speed of sound and higher. Hypersonic tunnels are used to test shuttles, rockets, and missiles.

With all this talk about speed, be sure to race over to the NASA Glenn Research Center on Saturday, May 17, and Sunday, May 18 (from 11AM - 7PM both days) to see the Ares I rocket upper stage segments in various stage of the manufacturing process and walk through the wind tunnels. Find out about the icing research and operations at NASA Glenn and visit the Visitors Center. Take the kids, take your friends, take the grandparents, it’s worth the trip. Close to 30 astronauts were born in the State of Ohio. Visit NASA Glenn Open House for more information.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Susan Schaul susn1ATatt.net.com
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