I haven't written in a while!

Hello from Johnson Space Center.

Another week has come and quickly passed, and thus begins week 7. 

This past week was highlighted by an INSPIRE workday on presentations. Each intern (pre-collegiate and residential) gave their exit presentation over their project and internship to our entire group. It was very beneficial to practice and see the other presentations as we prepare to present our exit presentation next week to our mentors and colleagues. The girls also attended a meeting that taught them how to better communicate with people. This also was very helpful as the majority of conflicts trace their roots back to misunderstandings.

Tuesday we celebrated Kelsey's 17^th Birthday. It started that morning with Shelby and Hollie secretly filling Kelsey's room with balloons. During the day, 2 cheesecakes specially shipped from New York arrived to surprise the birthday girl.  A special thanks goes out to her parents for sending the cheesecake as it was extremely delicious and enjoyed on multiple nights. Following the festivities we worked on our presentations and concluded the evening with a balloon war. 

On Thursday, we had our weekly INSPIRE Meeting that featured an USRP intern, Mike Lotto, that inspired us to do well in school as it will lead to great success in the future. Thursday night found us participating in the online chat where we learned about Ames and Langley. Additionally we have spent the past week working on our technical papers, as we do not procrastinate here in Houston.

 Following is our weekly update of each project and the progress we have made.

Although their colleague Cynthia Ochoa was away for the latter part of the week to attend a conference at Glenn Research Center as part of her program, MUST scholars, the week for Kevin and Brian was relatively productive. Kevin and Brian have been working with their heavy lift mass estimation tool that they built, running trade studies and analysis on the proposed Jupiter 246 for the most efficient delta v splits: essentially the different fuel splits between the core stage, upper stage, and boosters. Studies were ran keeping the mass of the boosters the same, as they were configured as four segment SRBs, whose masses should not really fluctuate. Optimal minimum masses found by the model were not so far off from the actual projected gross lift off weight (GLOW) of the Jupiter 246 by Direct: the estimations were less than 1% off for all cases run. Additionally, they checked their Ideal Delta V finder tool with a printout of the shuttle's trajectory specifications. The numbers were very close, again confirming the liability of the tool they created. Delta V loss numbers were just taken from the specifications of the shuttle: these are Delta V losses due to gravity, drag, and atmospheric back pressure on the engine nozzle.

Shelby and Kelsey had a very interesting and productive week. They gave to a presentation the Office Automation Systems panel (OAS) over myJSC. It was also recorded live via a teleconference for the rest of MOD, and was posted on the MOD homepage. It was nerve-wracking, but they did their best and gave a successful presentation.  Shelby and Kelsey also attended a note worthy CO2 washout lecture given by Philip Augustine. He provided insight into the conflicting requirements of NASA's Constellation Program (CxP) design for the new manned space suit. A part from these exciting adventures, Shelby and Kelsey worked diligently all week on their exit presentation and their technical papers. They also finished transferring their survey for the MOD printer audit and uploaded it to MODnet.

In the past week, Hollie and Christopher have made substantial progress on their project. They received materials for the final build project, completed export control forms, formatted exit pitches and attended several meetings. During their weekly student meetings, they improved their resume and interview skills and learned about different branches in the divisions. When their materials arrived, they took inventory of the supplies and measured the plywood and boards to ensure a seamless fit. Hollie worked on the foam board cutting and contouring while Christopher worked on calculating the lighting. He has started calculating the albedo of the rapid prototype surface, thanks to Brian's knowledge and input. While Christopher did that, Hollie worked on drawing the contours on all 192 two footsegments. All in all, we have taken another step toward completing our project.

In addition to our daily work schedule we also have had an eventful activity schedule this week. Some activities enjoyed by all include cards, board games, Wii and a trip back to the park. Hollie won poker, again. Some of us think she is the next rain man. Others that are jealous, aka Joline, think she is cheating. However, this is a false accusation as she is just that awesome! 

We also played Scrabble and Clue and was luckily joined by a pre-collegiate, Jon. For Wii, we not only played Wii Sports and Karaoke, but also Air-Hockey, Cow Racing and Target Shooting. While at the park, we flew kites, played tennis and soccer, and took a trip down the slide. 

Even though Houston is very urban, we found a kayaking tour in the nation's largest nature preserve, Armand Bayou. It was quite an adventure as we saw an alligator in the water. It was exhilarating to be within feet of such an impressive creature. We were also treated to a variety of beautiful birds, jumping fish, and an amazing sunset.

However, the best part of the whole weekend was the beach. We took the ferry to the island and an amazing beach where we tanned, jumped waves, touched jellyfish and caught hermit crabs. While on the ferry we spotted numerous dolphins playing in the waterway. We love our time on the beach, as all of reside in land-lock states.

We concluded the evening with dinner at a Hibachi Grill. Our chef was straight up hilarious. While tossing our appetizers at us he managed to miss Shelby's mouth and hit Hollie in the hair with a rice ball. After this, we took an adventure to find the source of the mysterious spotlights flashing in the sky. Before returning home we made one last stop to acquire an order of canollis to satisfy Kevin's craving.

Sunday was a leisurely day of rest and time spent working on our technical papers as we prepare for another busy week.  We are still excited to report, as of right now, "Houston, we do NOT have a problem."

Week 4 blog

Hello from Johnson Space Center.

And thus begins week five. 

This past week was a short four-day work week. Some of the highlights of our week include an awesome holiday, a Professional Development Workshop and hearing about Neuroscience. On Monday, NASA observed the July 4^thholiday so we given the day off. After our very busy weekend it was nice to stay home for the day and just rest and relax.

On Thursday morning we attended a professional development workshop for all JSC interns. We learned how to write our technical paper, create our PowerPoint presentation for our exit pitch and write an eye-popping resume. Then at the conclusion of our workday, we partook in our weekly INSPIRE meeting. This week a student intern presented about her neuroscience lab that tests the effects of focusing on a single point while moving. Then, our Education Specialist, Ms. Alissa Keil, taught us the value of taking chances in order to reap giant benefits.

Following is our weekly update of each project and the progress we have made.

For Brian and Kevin, the mass estimation model continued its progress and is coming together; from the program finding the total change in velocity required to calculating the total mass of the rocket. Although their mentor was on break this week, they managed to accomplish some major tasks. Now they can organize and integrate the program parts, as well as start analyzing different hypothetical rockets in order to assess the effectiveness of changes in material, engine, and fuel types, among others.

Shelby and Kelsey are enjoying their jobs and working hard. Shelby had the pleasure of arriving early to work every day this week to make up the five hours she missed last Friday. She and Kelsey had the opportunity to rename a worker's computer and run a scan on another's computer. They attended many meetings and were able to talk to some very knowledgeable people, who aided them in their SharePoint project. They were also assigned more work; they are now responsible for locating and marking every printer in MOD and creating a survey for the users of those printers. Also, they finalized the dates for their myJSC presentation and their exit presentation.

 

Christopher and Hollie had a big week as they presented their Project Build Approval. This included re-designing the presentation and build plan, again. This is not bad, but expected as this happens to engineers all the time. Their revised plan is actually better than the previous one because they have less cost and less mass. These changes made it easier for our superiors to give us the "go" sign.  Besides creating a virtual cross section of the model, we were also finally given an office. The reason for this is that in our branch, there are 9 interns with only enough desks for 5 people. However, from now on, they will be working in the lab building their mode, leaving us room in the office to work.

In addition to our daily work schedule we also stay busy each evening.  Tuesday and Thursday are our weekly project nights.  We spent this time working on several projects including our DLN presentation, vodcast, and finished working on our glog, which will soon be completed for everyone to view.  The other evenings we partake in non-work activities to reenergize ourselves.  On Monday, we spent time catching up on our errands. Wednesday we played some card games like the local favorite, Texas Hold-Em. On Thursday, after polishing our OLC Chat Presentation and actively participated in the Online Chat where Stennis and Dryden were showcased.

Friday night we went to Galveston to the beach in order to star-gaze. While our star-gazing expedition may have fallen short of the goal due to clouds and light pollution, we still had a rave. We did many things: handstands, chest bumps, wading, soccer and meditating among many other things. Shelby and Hollie went on an adventure and found a turtle which growled at them. The awesome thing about the turtle is that it is magical and disappeared when the girls took the rest of the group back to show them the horrible growling monster. It was a great night on the beach!

Our intent for Saturday was to go to the Houston Tunnels. Alas, we figured out that the website we used when we researched the open times was a conspiracy website as they are closed during the weekends. Since we were downtown, we democratically voted to go to the Holocaust Museum. Needless to say, this was a somber event but we learned a lot about our history. Following this, we went to the Galleria where Hollie, Shelby and Malorie got pedicures! Whoop whoop! Meanwhile, the boys shopped. They hit up the candy shop and American Eagle. Our main event came next: the Astro Baseball Game. This was a historic game as the Astros beat the high-rated Cardinals. The ninth inning was the best, as 2 foul balls hit by Albert Pujols made their way up and were almost caught by Malorie.

Sunday, as we sit writing our blog, we reminisce about our past week. Today we watched as Spain demolished Netherlands which made part of our group ecstatic. This was expected though as Spain is a better team. After a little rest, we are headed out to a local favorite Mexican restaurant for dinner, Abode.  Please tune in Thursday for our on-line chat.

We are rested and looking forward to another exciting week at Johnson Space Center. As of right now, "Houston, we do NOT have a problem."

Hello from Johnson Space Center,

"In Nebraska, I look outside and say 'Whoa! It's a hurricane out there.' However in Texas, it actually is a hurricane. " And thus begins week four. Across the continent, televisions were tuned into Hurricane Alex. However, due to our Education Specialist's careful planning, we were prepared for anything the storm could throw at us. We prepared an evacuation plan, as safety is key in every aspect of our life: work and play. Fortunately, Alex hit further south so we were able to continue as regularly scheduled.

We are all super excited this week as we picked up our official badges. Some of the highlights of our week included guest speakers, badging appointments, and meetings. We were lucky enough to sit front row for Gene Kranz's 'Failure Is Not an Option' lecture. He is a captivating speaker and fully explained the entire Apollo 13 incident. After this, he opened the floor to pictures and signatures. Then, we were privileged to go to a Storytelling Event that featured an astronaut speaking on the ISS. Also, we attend our weekly INSPIRE meeting that showcases bright students that inspire us with advice. The first guest was an experienced co-op from USRP for Project M. The second speaker was Zaida who interns with the education office. They not only speak to us about advice for our internship but also advice for college.

Following is a weekly update of each project and the progress our interns have made.

For Brian and Kevin, work continued on the Mass Estimation Model, as the actual program began to be written. Equations were studied, altered, and combined with others to get a complete sense of the direction we have to go in order to complete it. The ultimate vision of completion of the program is within reach, but the end of our project still looms in the distance, as once the program is complete we have to size and design an actual rocket and test it with the trajectory program that we have access to. Based on an ideal velocity change required by the rocket, we can now find the amount of propellant and approximate total mass of the vehicle. Now we can go into detail and outline the basic parts of the launch vehicle, adding engine masses and thrust structures. Our project continues to get more and more exciting, and we fully understand our end goal and vision.

Shelby and Kelsey are putting their finishing touches on the research part of our first project. In the next two weeks we will give a presentation to promote myJSC, a JSC website that acts as a homepage for oneself, to the OAS panel. We have also been working on our larger SharePoint project. This week we started on our SharePoint development site. We tailored the site to serve as a collaboration place for the other INSPIRE interns. All of the interns can post documents, participate in discussions, and complete surveys. In this next week, we will continue to develop the site and encourage the other interns to use it to its full potential. This past week we also completed our first solo IT job. We hope to complete more solo computer fixes in the coming week.

Christopher and Hollie visited the Mission Control Center and were able to have a behind the scenes tour. This was awesome and they enjoyed it thoroughly. The main thing they worked on this week was revising their Project Build Approval as they had to re-do all of it. The thing about it is that their original idea was not very good. However, thanks to the collaboration with their mentor and supervisor, they attained true innovation and a new idea of how to build the Apollo 17 Lunar Landing Site. The new idea includes wire mesh, less clay, contoured foam board, and a lot of in-genius thinking. Hollie's favorite point of the week is the meeting she attended put on by her supervisor. The meeting was very intriguing and captivating as well as extremely education.

In addition to our daily work schedule we also stay busy in the evenings.  Tuesday and Thursday are our weekly project nights.  We spent this time working on several projects including our DLN presentation, vodcast, and began working on our glog.  The other evenings we partake in non-work activities to reenergize ourselves.  On Monday, we were tired and decided to stay at our hotel for the night. Some of us slept, while others watched The Blind Side. This was an amazing movie with a very inspirational story.  Everyone loved it and highly recommends it if you haven't seen it. On Wednesday, we participated in Wednesday Wii night with Stan the Man. We all had an awesome time with karaoke as well as playing Wii Sports again. 

Friday night we went to the movies as several of us anxiously awaited to release of the new Twilight movie. Half of us saw Eclipse, and the other half saw the Karate Kid. Eclipse was even better than what was expected. After the movies we went back to the hotel and played cards and the game of Life until midnight.

 

Saturday we left at nine o'clock in the morning to spend the day at downtown Houston. We went to the Downtown Aquarium to see the many exhibits including thousands of fish, shark tank, and white tigers. In addition, the aquarium also has a petting zoo.  If you haven't heard, the aquarium also has several rides outside. While on the Farris Wheel, we had an awesome view of the city and the skyline.

  

After riding all the rides we headed to the Hard Rock Café for lunch. The Hard Rock Café is an experience like no other as it literally ROCKS! In the afternoon, we walked around the Galleria, which is a giant mall that includes many high fashion brands. At the end of our shopping trip, we went ice-skating in the huge rink housed in the mall. We are democratic and the Cheesecake Factory won the dinner vote.

Sunday we headed back to downtown to celebrate the 4^th of July.  Before heading to the holiday festivities we toured Rice University. Kevin plans to attend Rice after graduation and was a great tour guide.  He not only showed us some of the highlights, but also shared a lot about the university's history.  It is a beautiful campus and has three intriguing statues on display in the inner quad.  The statues are entitled 45, 90, and 180 degrees.

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We grabbed a bite at California Pizza and headed to Eleanor Tinsley Park for Freedom Over Texas. Freedom Over Texas is an outdoor festival that consists of games, food, and four stages of live music.  All afternoon we listened to a variety bands and ate great food in preparation for the fireworks.  The final act was Little Bigtown and Pat Green. The fireworks started at 9:30 and were absolutely amazing, as they are the largest land-based fireworks show in all of America. Today we're resting up after our late night yesterday and we can't wait until our new week begins. As of right now, "Houston, we do NOT have a problem."

My good friend Gene Kranz