QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS About Aeronautics and Space ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: WHY EXPLORE SPACE? A: Space exploration produces such practical benefits as: KNOWLEDGE--The exploration of space advances scientific and technical knowledge as a whole and, thus, helps improve life on Earth; APPLICATIONS--Spacecraft today provide more communications between nations, including television, radio, data and text, than any land-based system. Many nations also have domestic satellite services. Spacecraft routinely provide world-wide weather observations and environmental surveys. Satellite- based navigation systems of unprecedented accuracy and ease of use are now coming on line. TECHNOLOGY--Progress stimulated by the space program contributes to advances in medicine, transportation, electronics, manufacturing, and many other types of human activity. ECONOMICS--The space program helps expand our technological base, stimulating the development of improved products and processes that help us compete in world markets. NASA supports the aerospace industry, which exports more goods than any other manufacturing segment of our economy, helping improve the nation's balance of trade. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: WHY NOT REDUCE THE AMOUNT OF MONEY WE SPEND ON SPACE EXPLORATION AND INCREASE FUNDING FOR SOCIAL PROGRAMS? A: In 1969, at the height of the Apollo Moon landing program NASA received about four cents out of each dollar in the national budget. Today, that is down to just over one cent. The amount spent on social programs is so much larger than that spent on space that diverting funds from NASA would not provide a very significant percentage increase. But NASA is at the "cutting edge" of aerospace technology in the United States, and such a loss would be a severe blow to the advances and practical benefits that flow from NASA-developed technology. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: WHAT DOES THE SPACE PROGRAM COST ME AS AN INDIVIDUAL? A: NASA's budget for 1991 is $13.8 billion, or 1.10% of the Federal Budget of $1.25 trillion. This means it costs an average taxpayer about $69 per year, or $5.78 per month. This is a smaller percentage of the budget than in 1973, but slightly larger than in any year since then, reflecting three years of increasing NASA appropriations since 1988. Q: WHAT BENEFITS HAVE WE RECEIVED FROM SPACE TECHNOLOGY? A: All major aspects of life for American citizens, and in many cases for people throughout the world, have benefited from the space program. These benefits can be roughly divided into direct, indirect and intangible benefits. Direct Benefits - A single transponder, one of 24 on a modern communications satellite, can provide domestic television, radio and data transmittal services to most nations (only the largest such as the United States, Canada, and the Soviet Union require two or more separated satellites). Several countries are now starting direct space-to-home broadcasts. Weather satellites map the cloud cover of most of the Earth every hour, providing the data needed for more accurate forecasts; they also track dangerous storms. Earth resources satellites help locate and monitor changing patterns of land use. Ships at sea now use satellites for communications and very precise location checks and airliners are being equipped with the same technology. Scientific satellites have visited every planet in the solar system except Pluto, returning a wealth of data. Others, operating in orbit above the blocking effects of the atmosphere provide us with a "window on the universe" for gamma ray, X-ray, ultraviolet and infrared telescopes. Space benefits have become so integrated into our daily lives that they are usually taken for granted. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Indirect Benefits - NASA maintains a series of technology transfer centers throughout the country to assist private industry in using NASA discoveries. These new applications are usually called "spinoffs," and cover a very wide range, from better reading machines for the blind to more efficient air conditioning systems. Thousands of profitable commercial applications have emerged from research programs conducted by NASA, providing opportunities for new business and saving companies billions of dollars in research & development expenses. A "Spinoffs' brochure is available from most NASA centers, and a book of major spinoff items is published each year. Intangible Benefits - In the long run, some of the most valuable benefits from space may be less obvious ones. America has always been a "frontier society," providing better opportunities for all of its citizens. Space is the new frontier, keeping open that spirit of adventure, the desire to explore and develop, which has been an important part of our heritage. ALso, the space a program stimulates students to enter careers in science and math, helping counter a predicted shortage of engineers and scientists by the year 2000. Space exploration and utilization can serve as a unifying force in a huge and diverse country such as ours. And space is a major area of cooperation between nations, leading to peaceful joint ventures that improve life for everyone on Earth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: WHAT IS NASA's ROLE IN AERONAUTICS? A: NASA is responsible for performing Research & Development programs in advanced aeronautical technologies, to assure continued U.S. leadership in both commercial and military aviation. Advancements in aviation are very important to the economy, to the national defense, and to the domestics and international transportation infrastructure. NASA utilizes powerful tools in its research projects, including flight simulators, wind tunnels, research aircraft, and some of the world's largest scientific computers. NASA has highly skilled scientists, engineers and technicians to provide in-house technical expertise, but also oversees research projects through contracts with private industry. NASA develops innovative concepts for new technologies, or improvements in existing ones, over a broad range of aircraft applications, including subsonic transports, rotorcraft, high- performance aircraft, and hypersonic/transatmospheric vehicles. NASA also works closely with the Federal Aviation Administration to address important issues in aviation safety, air traffic control and aircraft certification requirements. Q: IS NASA WORKING ON AIRCRAFT SAFETY AND AIRCRAFT NOISE REDUCTION? A: Yes. Much of NASA's research in aeronautics deals with aircraft safety, addressing such areas as: reduction of human error in flight operations; detection and avoidance of wind shear; effects of heavy rain and icing on aircraft performance; cockpit automation; and aging aircraft. NASA has been working to reduce bothersome aircraft noise since the mid-1960's. The new generation of quiet jetliners now entering service owes much of its technology base to NASA research. NASA will continue to develop this technology for even quieter aircraft in the future, reducing the impact of noise on communities near airports, while preserving our convenient air transportation system. Q: WHAT IS THE NATIONAL AERO-SPACE PLANE PROGRAM? A: The National Aero-Space Plane (NASP) is a joint NASA/Department of Defense program to develop the technologies needed to produce single stage vehicles capable of reaching orbit. (All present space vehicles use two or more stages, most of which are used only one time.) One major application will be a vehicle that uses airbreathing propulsion technology while in the atmosphere, and rocket technology in space. The first planned NASP vehicle, the X-30, will take off like an airplane, accelerate into orbit, and return through the atmosphere, and to land on a standard runaway. The X-30 will provide crucial information on aerodynamics, propulsion and structures, on a vehicle operating at extreme speeds and temperatures. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: WHAT IS THE COST OF A SPACE SHUTTLE: A: Space Shuttle Endeavour, the replacement orbiter for Space Shuttle Challenger, cost approximately $2.1 billion. Q: WHY HASN'T THE UNITED STATES DEVELOPED A MEANS OF RESCUING ASTRONAUTS WHO ARE IN TROUBLE ON SPACE MISSIONS? A: NASA has a type of personal rescue enclosure which has successfully undergone early feasibility testing. If a Space Shuttle were to become inoperative in orbit and could not return to Earth, rescue enclosures would be available for emergency use. The personal rescue enclosure is a 34" diameter ball, containing life support and communications gear. Once inside the personal rescue enclosure, the crew member would be transferred from a disabled vehicle to the rescue ship, by astronauts in regular spacesuits. The transfer of the enclosure would be accomplished by attaching it to the remote manipulator arm of the rescue vehicle, or by running a pulley and clothesline device between both spacecraft. Each rescue enclosure can support one crew member for three to four hours, or time enough to transfer from one Space Shuttle orbiter to another. Q: WHY SEND PEOPLE INTO SPACE WHEN UNMANNED SPACECRAFT COST LESS? A: Following the Challenger accident, NASA developed a "mixed fleet" approach to placing payloads in space. Missions that do not require a human interface, or other types of service available only on board a Space Shuttle orbiter, have been rescheduled for unmanned vehicles. Payloads such as the Syncom-type satellites, which were specifically designed to be launched on board Space Shuttles, and payloads such as the Hubble Space Telescope, which require extensive on orbit checkout before final deployment, must be flown on the Space Shuttle. Others, such as the Cosmic Background Explorer (COBE) and the Roentgen Satellite (ROSAT), which were originally planned for flights on Space Shuttles, have been successfully launched on unmanned space vehicles. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: HOW MUCH DOES A SPACECRAFT WEIGH IN SPACE? A: A spacecraft in orbit has been said to be in a state of weightlessness-but the preferred term today is microgravity. Microgravity results from giving a spacecraft enough forward velocity to counter-balance the downward pull of gravity. , Another way to look at it is that a spacecraft in a circular orbit is always falling toward the Earth, because gravity is pulling on it as it does on all orbiting objects, but its forward speed is high enough to keep the curved surface of the Earth below moving away, at a rate equal to the amount of fall. The net result-since there is no air space to create friction and slow the spacecraft down-is that the orbiting object stays the same distance above the surface. Everything in or near the Spacecraft on a long voyage between planets is actually in orbit around the sun, where its forward velocity counters the pull of gravity, in the same manner that a satellite orbits the Earth. Q: WHAT IS THE SPACE SHUTTLE's SPEED, ALTITUDE AND AMOUNT OF FUEL USED? A: The speed of a Space Shuttle in low Earth orbit is about 17,500 miles an hour. An orbiter can fly at various altitudes, from below 190 to about 330 miles above sea level, depending on the mission requirements. Spacecraft or other payloads that must operate at higher altitudes have rocket motors attached. These are fired after the spacecraft is a safe distance away from the orbiter. Many communications satellites, including NASA's own Tracking and Data Relay Satellites series, reach a final altitude of about 22,300 miles in this manner, where they operate above the equator. The Magellan, Galileo, and Ulysses spacecrafts had extra stages attached that fired to send them on their way to other planets. Each of the solid rocket boosters on a Space Shuttle contains more than one million pounds of propellant, and the external tank is loaded with 500,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. A new external tank is used on each launch, but the solid rocket boosters are refilled with propellant for other Shuttle missions. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: HOW HOT OR COLD DOES IT GET IN SPACE? A: In space around the Earth, including the vicinity of the moon, objects in direct sunlight can heat up to temperatures of about 250 F (121 C). When shielded from the sun, objects can cool to around -250 F(-156 C). Astronauts in spacesuits, or in the orbiter cabin, work in a steady temperature range of 70-80 F (21-27 C), as long as the thermal control systems are working ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: HOW IS THE SHUTTLE SPACESUIT DIFFERENT FROM THE SUITS USED IN PREVIOUS PROGRAMS? A: Early life-support systems were cumbersome, and the astronaut's ability to move in them somewhat restricted. The Shuttle spacesuit is far less bulky and much more comfortable. It is also more versatile and easier to manage. In the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo programs, a suit was custom-tailored to fit each astronaut. Shuttle spacesuits come in standard pieces in several sizes, which can be combined to fit either male or female crew members. These pieces can be repaired and reused over a number of years, making it much less expensive to outfit an astronaut today than in the past. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: WHAT IS A LAUNCH WINDOW? A: The precise period of time in which a given lift-off must occur is called the launch window. For example, a preset launch time is required when the Space Shuttle orbiter must rendezvous with another object already in orbit, as the orbiter Columbia did in January 1990, when it retrieved and returned the Long Duration Exposure Facility to Earth. Sometimes an orbiter must be in a specific position at a certain time in order to deploy a spacecraft on a planetary trajectory, as Atlantis did on separate missions when it sent the Galileo spacecraft towards Jupiter and the Magellan spacecraft towards Venus. Q: WHAT ARE THE NAMES OF THE SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITERS? A: The names, in the order they were built, are Enterprise, Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis and Endeavour. The Enterprise was flown only in approach and landing tests, and was never intended for space flight. Columbia completed the first five Space Shuttle missions. Challenger was originally built as a vibration test vehicle, then later upgraded to become the second operational orbiter. The Challenger and her crew were lost in an accident on January 28, 1986. Discovery made its first flight in August 1984, and Atlantis in October 1985. Endeavour, built to replace the Challenger, is scheduled to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center in the Spring of 1991 and make its debut flight in early 1992. Q: CAN THE SPACE SHUTTLE BE USED TO DISPOSE OF HAZARDOUS WASTE? A: No. The Space Shuttle is designed for scientific missions in the fields of space research, exploration and technical and scientific applications. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: WHAT HAPPENS TO USED SPACECRAFT? WHERE IS THE FIRST SPACE SHUTTLE ORBITER< ENTERPRISE? A: In earlier manned space flight programs-Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo-spacecraft which returned to Earth underwent post- flight checkouts that yielded valuable additional information on their performance and on the effects of traveling in space. Most then went on public display. They can be seen at various visitor centers at NASA installations, and at the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC and other major museums. The first Space Shuttle orbiter, Enterprise, was never intended for space flight. It was used for fit checking, mechanical and electrical compatibility checks and flight worthiness tests ( it was dropped from the back of its transport aircraft four times, to glide back to earth). It was then flown for display over the United States, Canada and Europe before being turned over to the Air and Space Museum. ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: HOW DOES THE UNITED STATES COOPERATE WITH OTHER COUNTRIES IN PERFORMING SPACE PROJECTS? A: International cooperation has been an important part of the American civil space program since NASA was founded in 1958. Over the years, NASA has entered into over 1,200 agreements with more than 135 countries and international organizations. These cover a broad spectrum of collaborative activities, ranging from the development of major space hardware to the sharing of data among scientists around the world. These cooperative programs provide access to increasingly significant foreign expertise, to geographic locations necessary for the study of some unique scientific phenomena and for research and operational programs which are global in scale. Also, pooling resources sometimes enables NASA to undertake programs which could not be carried out alone, or would progress far more slowly if performed solely by NASA. The space station, which represents a partnership of the United States, Japan and Canada, and the member nations of the European Space Agency, (ESA) is the largest such cooperative effort to date. Q: IS THERE A TENTH PLANET? A: We do not know for certain. Some scientists believe that one exists and some do not. We can be sure that if another planet is out there, it is far outside the orbit of Pluto. The Hubble Space Telescope will help us determine if there really is such an astronomical body. Q: DO UFO's REALLY EXIST? A: NASA has no factual knowledge about UFO's, nor any data on possible life-forms on other planets. We do conduct the HRMS program (High Resolution Microwave Survey) via powerful radio receivers and sophisticated computerized recognition systems, in a constant watch for broadcasts from another star system. Q: WHAT INFORMATION IS AVAILABLE ON MOTION SICKNESS/WEIGHTLESSNESS? A: A book entitled BIOASTRONAUTICS DATA BOOK contains information on the effects of gravity on living creatures. It should be available through your local library. Q: HOW WERE NASA PROGRAM NAMES, SUCH AS MERCURY, GEMINI, AND APOLLO, CHOSEN? A: Officials considered a variety of names for each project before finally choosing one. Sometimes the names were descriptive, such as Skylab and Space Shuttle. Others were chosen because they seemed appropriate. Gemini, Latin for twins, refers to the fact that the spacecraft held two astronauts. Mercury was the mes- senger of the gods. Apollo was the god of the Sun, who spread knowledge. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: CAN NASA ENGINEERS EVALUATE MY INVENTION, DRAWING OR PLANS? A: No. We receive thousands of such requests every month, and NASA does not have enough engineers to handle such extra work in addition to their regular duties. Since it would be unfair to examine some ideas but not others, we do no evaluate any. Q: HOW DO ASTRONAUTS GO TO THE BATHROOM IN SPACE (BLOW THEIR NOSES, SCRATCH AN ITCH, OR BRUSH THEIR TEETH, ETC.)? A: The Space Shuttle orbiter contains a commode and urinal that can be used by both men and women. It is designed to be as Earth-like as possible, with flowing air substituting for gravity as a way to move body wastes. The airflow draws the waste into storage containers, where it usually stays until the return to Earth. The air is filtered to remove dirt bacteria, and odor, and then returned to the orbiter cabin. While in orbit, the commode is vented to the vacuum of space to deactivate bacteria and thus prevent odor formation. Nose- blowing in a pressurized suit, as worn on earlier flights, was not feasible. Scratching an itch was accomplished by using items inside the helmet, such as the shell itself, the neck ring the drinking water probe or the purge valve. Now the astronauts wear suits like those worn by jet pilots during liftoffs and landings. While working inside the orbiter during space flight, they wear everyday clothing. Spacesuits are needed only for extravehicular activities. Teeth brushing, hand washing, face washing or sponge bathing, etc., are done much as they are done on Earth. The water is conveyed to a container and stored for dumping upon return to earth. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: CAN I OBTAIN SPACE ITEMS FROM NASA? A: No. Hardware and other items NASA no longer needs are usually offered first to the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Other museums may also receive items, and those belonging to the Smithsonian are sometimes loaned to other public institutions or museums, so that people all over the world can see them. Moon rocks, Moon dust, samples of space food, telescopes, binoculars, laser generators, old space suits, broken or discarded Space Shuttle thermal protection tiles, and other space artifacts are not available to the public. Blueprints, flight plans, designs, transcripts and other printed materials are prepared in limited quantities for distribution only to the working personnel who need them. Anyone who writes to a NASA Center, though, can receive interesting and helpful educational materials. Q: HOW CAN I BECOME AN ASTRONAUT? A: Any qualified adult man or woman in excellent physical condition may become an astronaut, if he or she is sufficiently capable and determined. This career choice usually requires highly specialized flight training, most often obtained in the military services, or a college education beyond a bachelor's degree. Those with doctorates in medicine, engineering or a science stand the best chance of success. Astronaut recruiting occurs periodically. Write to the Astronaut Office, Mail Code CB, Johnson Space Center, Houston, Texas 77058, for information. Q: CAN I BECOME A MEMBER OF A NASA CLUB, OR HAVE MY NAME PUT ON THE PEN PAL, OR MAILOUT LISTS? A: No. NASA does not maintain mailout or pen pal lists, with the exception of occasional distributions to professional educators. Nor is there a NASA-sponsored space club. But there are a good number of private organizations throughout the country which support the space program, and most solicit new memberships. Your local library will probably have names and addresses to which you can write. NOTE: We appreciate your interest in the space program, and trust that this brochure will prove helpful. Additional information on space and, in particular, on the solar system and general astronomy, should be available in the periodicals maintained by most school and community libraries. PMS-007A April 199