Jacques van Oene
April 14th 05, 06:44 PM
Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington April 13,
2005
(Phone: 202/358-1272)
Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256/544-0034)
RELEASE: 05-097
NASA IMAGING TEAM DEVELOPS 'EYE IN SKY' FOR SHUTTLE CHASE PLANES
When the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-114) returns to flight next
month, it will have a special escort, but the pair of NASA WB-57 chase jets
won't just be along for the ride.
Thanks to an engineering team that includes NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center, Huntsville, Ala. and key industry partners, these high-flying chase
planes will provide NASA with extra "eyes in the sky" to watch Discovery's
flight and help safeguard its crew.
The jets will carry innovative, on-board video imaging systems, dubbed the
WB-57 Ascent Video Experiment (WAVE). The system will capture detailed
images of how the Space Shuttle behaves, as it climbs toward orbit. During
the launch, the jets will keep pace with Discovery, flying at a distance of
15 to 20 miles. The WAVE systems will track the Shuttle for approximately
150 seconds, from liftoff to separation of the Solid Rocket Boosters, the
power systems that provide the main thrust to lift Discovery off the pad.
After determining a piece of insulating foam from the External Tank damaged
the Space Shuttle Columbia just after liftoff, the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board recommended NASA improve imagery during Orbiter ascent.
The chase-plane imagery is part of NASA's response to the recommendation.
"Shuttle video captured by the chase vehicles will help us see the launch in
greater clarity than ever before," said project manager Bob Page. He leads
NASA's Inter-Center Photography Working Group at the agency's Johnson Space
Center (JSC) in Houston. "Along with cameras on the ground, and in and on
the Shuttle itself, this imaging system will provide an unprecedented look
at Shuttle liftoff and atmospheric flight," he said.
NASA video technicians built and tested the high-definition imaging system
earlier this year. They called in optics specialists from Marshall's Space
Optics Manufacturing Technology Center to design the camera lens and split
the video feed, enabling it to simultaneously record the Shuttle in visible
light and infrared.
Mechanical engineers from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Ala.,
built the housing. Programmers from San Diego-based SAIC, a NASA contractor,
helped integrate the cameras and recording system.
"This was the very definition of a team effort," said Marshall optics
engineer John West of the Space Optics Manufacturing Technology Center. "In
June 2004, we were looking at nothing more than a concept on a drawing
board. In nine months, we built two complete imaging systems."
Just one issue remained: how to get the complex, bulky WAVE systems
airborne. Each system had to be mounted in the nosecone of the chase planes,
using a large gimbal, a stabilizing anchor to keep the cameras focused on
the Shuttle, even if turbulence caused the plane to dip or drift. The WAVE
team turned to Southern Research Institute (SRI) in Birmingham, Ala., for
the solution: a gimbal system similar to ones the firm built to support U.S.
Army missile tests.
According to John Collier, senior program manager for SRI, the company
designed and built a new gimbal to suit NASA's needs by using a lightweight,
carbon-graphite epoxy. In March, the firm integrated the WAVE systems with
the gimbals. The systems will be shipped this month to Ellington Airfield
near Houston, where they will be mounted on the jets.
"Across the agency, we're all working to make the Space Shuttle safer," said
Marshall project lead Rodney Grubbs. "This was our opportunity to
contribute, and we're excited about what our imagery might mean for the
safety of our astronauts."
Managed by JSC, the WB-57s are former U.S. Air Force planes designed to
study weather conditions at high altitudes. When the Air Force phased out
its WB-57s in the 1970s, it transferred two of the jets to NASA. NASA's are
the last two WB-57s still flying.
For more information about the Return to Flight of the Space Shuttle, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/
-end-
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info
Headquarters, Washington April 13,
2005
(Phone: 202/358-1272)
Steve Roy
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256/544-0034)
RELEASE: 05-097
NASA IMAGING TEAM DEVELOPS 'EYE IN SKY' FOR SHUTTLE CHASE PLANES
When the Space Shuttle Discovery (STS-114) returns to flight next
month, it will have a special escort, but the pair of NASA WB-57 chase jets
won't just be along for the ride.
Thanks to an engineering team that includes NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center, Huntsville, Ala. and key industry partners, these high-flying chase
planes will provide NASA with extra "eyes in the sky" to watch Discovery's
flight and help safeguard its crew.
The jets will carry innovative, on-board video imaging systems, dubbed the
WB-57 Ascent Video Experiment (WAVE). The system will capture detailed
images of how the Space Shuttle behaves, as it climbs toward orbit. During
the launch, the jets will keep pace with Discovery, flying at a distance of
15 to 20 miles. The WAVE systems will track the Shuttle for approximately
150 seconds, from liftoff to separation of the Solid Rocket Boosters, the
power systems that provide the main thrust to lift Discovery off the pad.
After determining a piece of insulating foam from the External Tank damaged
the Space Shuttle Columbia just after liftoff, the Columbia Accident
Investigation Board recommended NASA improve imagery during Orbiter ascent.
The chase-plane imagery is part of NASA's response to the recommendation.
"Shuttle video captured by the chase vehicles will help us see the launch in
greater clarity than ever before," said project manager Bob Page. He leads
NASA's Inter-Center Photography Working Group at the agency's Johnson Space
Center (JSC) in Houston. "Along with cameras on the ground, and in and on
the Shuttle itself, this imaging system will provide an unprecedented look
at Shuttle liftoff and atmospheric flight," he said.
NASA video technicians built and tested the high-definition imaging system
earlier this year. They called in optics specialists from Marshall's Space
Optics Manufacturing Technology Center to design the camera lens and split
the video feed, enabling it to simultaneously record the Shuttle in visible
light and infrared.
Mechanical engineers from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, Ala.,
built the housing. Programmers from San Diego-based SAIC, a NASA contractor,
helped integrate the cameras and recording system.
"This was the very definition of a team effort," said Marshall optics
engineer John West of the Space Optics Manufacturing Technology Center. "In
June 2004, we were looking at nothing more than a concept on a drawing
board. In nine months, we built two complete imaging systems."
Just one issue remained: how to get the complex, bulky WAVE systems
airborne. Each system had to be mounted in the nosecone of the chase planes,
using a large gimbal, a stabilizing anchor to keep the cameras focused on
the Shuttle, even if turbulence caused the plane to dip or drift. The WAVE
team turned to Southern Research Institute (SRI) in Birmingham, Ala., for
the solution: a gimbal system similar to ones the firm built to support U.S.
Army missile tests.
According to John Collier, senior program manager for SRI, the company
designed and built a new gimbal to suit NASA's needs by using a lightweight,
carbon-graphite epoxy. In March, the firm integrated the WAVE systems with
the gimbals. The systems will be shipped this month to Ellington Airfield
near Houston, where they will be mounted on the jets.
"Across the agency, we're all working to make the Space Shuttle safer," said
Marshall project lead Rodney Grubbs. "This was our opportunity to
contribute, and we're excited about what our imagery might mean for the
safety of our astronauts."
Managed by JSC, the WB-57s are former U.S. Air Force planes designed to
study weather conditions at high altitudes. When the Air Force phased out
its WB-57s in the 1970s, it transferred two of the jets to NASA. NASA's are
the last two WB-57s still flying.
For more information about the Return to Flight of the Space Shuttle, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/returntoflight/
-end-
--
--------------
Jacques :-)
www.spacepatches.info