|
|
|
 |
|
Home / Washington Business - November/December 2006 / Technology: State plays key role in space program |
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
Technology: State plays key role in space program |
|
|
|
Written On: November/December 2006 |
|
|
|
Written By: by Paul Schlienz |
|
|
|
Bouncing across the lunar surface piloted by a figure in a space suit, the ungainly looking vehicle comes to a stop at the base of a large boulder. This four-wheeled distant cousin of a dune buggy was not made in Detroit. It’s cutting-edge technology, and it was built in Washington.
But in 1972, NASA’s Lunar Roving Vehicle wasn’t Washington’s first contribution to the exploration of space. The Boeing Co., always on the cutting edge with its aviation business, became an important player during the early years of the U.S. manned space flight program. As a NASA aerospace contractor, Boeing designed the first stage of the Saturn V rocket, which propelled Apollo astronauts out of Earth’s orbit into space and ultimately to the moon.
Much of Boeing’s work on the Saturn V was done outside of Washington, but five lunar orbiters were built at Boeing’s Kent Space Center. These unmanned lunar orbiters, launched in 1966 and 1967, played an important role in space exploration by photographing potential lunar landing sites for subsequent manned Apollo missions.
Among the program’s most memorable achievements was an iconic black-and-white image with the moon’s surface in the foreground and the 232,000-mile-distant Earth in the background, captured by Lunar Orbiter 1 in 1966. It was the first view of Earth ever seen with another planetary body in the foreground.
Not your average dune buggy
In 1969, NASA contracted with Boeing to design and build the famous Lunar Roving Vehicle, which was also assembled in Kent.
The LRV, which resembled a dune buggy, allowed astronauts to explore a much wider area of the lunar surface and collect a greater variety of soil and rock samples.
Prior to the LRV, astronauts were restricted to staying close to their lander. Beginning in 1971 with the Apollo 15 and 16 missions, astronauts were able to travel much further from their landing site. On Apollo 17, the astronauts logged more than 100 kilometers during their LRV journeys on the moon.
The LRV remains one of the space program’s most amazing creations. Built to incredibly demanding technical specifications, the vehicle was capable of operating in the low-gravity, airless environment of the moon. It had to negotiate rugged, dusty terrain and withstand temperature extremes of more than 400 degrees. Weighing about 400 pounds on Earth, it was able to carry 1,080 pounds on the moon.
Boeing’s LRV contract lasted until 1972 and the end of the Apollo program. From there, NASA’s focus shifted from manned lunar exploration to Skylab and, much later, the shuttle program.
Although Boeing remains a NASA contractor, the bulk of its aerospace operations are now located elsewhere. Another aerospace firm, California-based Aerojet, builds rocket propulsion systems for the space program at its manufacturing facility in Redmond.
Washington has contributed to the ranks of the astronaut corps, as well. Dick Scobee, born in Cle Elum and raised in Auburn, became a shuttle astronaut after a distinguished career in the U.S. Air Force. After a successful shuttle flight in 1984, he went on to command the ill-fated Challenger mission. His memory has been kept alive in his home town of Auburn with the renaming of an elementary school and the local airport in his honor.
In the 21st century, Washington remains a key contributor to space exploration through the research prowess of its universities. At the University of Washington, research into the Earth’s upper atmosphere, space environment models, and advanced propulsion systems are in progress.
Much of the university’s research has been focused on next-generation space travel concepts that may be of great interest to NASA as it shifts its focus from the shuttle program to a manned space flight to Mars.
Robert Winglee, a UW earth and space sciences professor, has had international media coverage for developing the mini-magnetospheric plasma propulsion concept, also known as M2P2, which laid the groundwork for creating a type of magnetic sail that would allow a spacecraft to efficiently utilize the solar wind as a source of propulsion.
In addition, the university has been recognized for its work on the Mag-beam concept, also headed by Winglee, which would beam energy directly from a satellite in Earth orbit to an outgoing spacecraft, eliminating the need for the spacecraft to carry an onboard propulsion system and allowing much higher speeds. Using this technology, NASA could potentially complete a round-trip mission to Mars in 90 days, instead of the currently projected 2.5 years.
Despite such research contributions, there is a growing consensus that Washington should be more involved in the space program. "It’s clear that the Northwest needs a critically massed group of scientists and engineers," said Winglee. "Here — where we don’t have a NASA or Boeing aerospace or aeronautics unit — we run the risk of being left out as we develop a human presence in space. I think it’s a real big issue for our state."
Efforts are underway to link university research with private companies and NASA research centers. The Research Institute for Space Exploration, headed by Winglee, aims to develop a new generation of professionals who can help expand the human presence in space by enabling students to get hands-on work experience in the aerospace field. RISE’s ultimate goal is to advance space exploration through the development of breakthrough technologies for advanced spacecraft systems and new instrumentation to more effectively probe the planets and their space environments.
NASA is also developing a new generation of scientists and engineers through its Space Grant National Fellowship program. In Washington, Space Grant is run out of the UW and is active at other institutions, including the University of Puget Sound, Whitman College, Washington State University, Seattle Central Community College, and North Seattle Community College.
"We recruit students as high school seniors around the state," commented Janice DeCosmo, assistant dean of the UW’s Office of Education and director of the Washington NASA Space Grant Consortium. "We bring them a scholarship to the UW and get them involved in research."
Many of the Space Grant students have internships at NASA and become employed in aerospace, either at NASA or with companies like Boeing, after they graduate.
DeCosmo feels that Washington has been at a disadvantage in developing a greater aerospace component in its workforce, especially since Boeing moved its headquarters to Chicago in 2001.
Western Washington University’s Space Grant Coordinator George "Pinky" Nelson, a former shuttle astronaut turned college professor who was on three missions between 1984 and 1988, is also concerned.
"There’s a lot that the state could do to promote science education," commented Nelson, who is also WWU’s director of science, mathematics and technology education. "The biggest thing the state could do is to fully fund K-12 education so that the districts aren’t broke all the time. We could also raise the pay of teachers, which would be useful in attracting more really high-quality folks into teaching."
Nelson would like to see a big push for science literacy among teachers so they can better educate elementary and secondary students in this vital area.
"The number of people who go into the teaching field has to increase," Nelson concluded. "All of us baby boomers are going to retire. It’s inevitable that we’re all going to die in the next 30 years or so. There’s going to be a huge demand."
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
