omega tau » space

92 – Building and Living on the ISS

MaNo — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 08:34:58 +0000

This episode is a conversation with ESA astronaut Paolo Nespoli about the construction of and life on the ISS. As part of the STS-120 shuttle mission, Paolo was involved in installing the Harmony Module onto ISS. Later he served as a flight engineer on board ISS, as part of Expeditions 26 and 27. In the episode we talk about his two missions and compare the experiences on the Shuttle, the ISS and the Soyuz.

84 – Die Ariane 5

MaNo — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 14:50:31 +0000

In dieser Episode unterhalte ich mich mit Denis Regenbrecht vom DLR Raumfahrtmanagement über die europäische Ariane Rakete (inbesondere über die Ariane 5). Wir sprechen über die Historie (Ariane 1 bis 5), die Struktur und die wichtigen Baugruppen der Ariane 5 sowie den Ablauf einer typischen Mission.

83 – How Apollo Flew to the Moon

MaNo — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 19:43:47 +0000

This episode is a conversation with W. David Woods about his wonderful book How Apollo Flew to the Moon where he describes in great length all the detail a geek wants to know about how the Apollo spacecraft and the flights to the Moon worked. In the episode, we basically go through an Apollo mission and discuss aspects such as the mission structure, the workshare between the crew and mission control, communication and telemetry, guidance and navigation, approach, landing and re-launch on the Moon as well as re-entry and landing on earth.

Apollo Flight Journal
How Apollo Flew to the Moon: David’s Site, and at Amazon
Saturn V
Apollo
John Houbolt
Hohmann transfer orbit
Inertial measurement unit
Apollo Guidance Computer
DSKY
Unified S-Band
Quindar tones
8 Ball (you can buy it :-))
REFSMAAT
PAD
Hypergolics
Celestial mechanics

82 – Raketentriebwerke

MaNo — Sun, 04 Dec 2011 13:05:44 +0000

In dieser Episode geht’s um Raketentriebwerke. Dazu habe ich am 8. November das DLR in Lampoldshausen besucht, wo u.a. die Triebwerke der Ariane erprobt werden und habe mich mit Klaus Schäfer unterhalten. Themen sind u.a. die Funktionsprinzipien von Flüssig-, Feststoff- und Hybridantrieben sowie deren Einsatz in modernen Raketen. Abschließend haben wir uns über den DLR Standort in Lampoldshausen und die dort stattfindende Erprobung der Triebwerke unterhalten.

80 – Das Columbus Kontrollzentrum

MaNo — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 19:57:54 +0000

Diese Episode ist ein Gespräch mit German Zöschinger vom DLR über die ISS, das Columbus-Labor und im speziellen das Columbus-Kontrollzentrum in Oberpfaffenhofen. Wir unterhalten uns zunächst über Columbus im allgemeinen. Wir sprechen dann über die Aufgaben des Kontrollzentrums, die verschiedenen Konsolen und die zugehörigen Aufgaben und Rollen sowie den typischen Ablauf eines Arbeitstages eines Flight Controllers.

/63/ The Cassini Mission to Saturn

MaNo — Mon, 18 Apr 2011 15:44:49 +0000

This episode is about the Cassini Mission to Saturn. We talk with Nora Kelly Alonge, a Project Science System Engineer and Science Planning Engineer at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. In the episode we cover the Cassini spacecraft’s structure and sensors (and its lander, Huygens), some of the relevant science, as well as the challenge of coordinating science and engineering requirements on the mission.

/43/ Flying the Space Shuttle

MaNo — Fri, 10 Sep 2010 19:17:17 +0000

In this episode we talk with Duane “Digger” Carey about flying the US Space Shuttle. We cover all the major phases of a shuttle flight (countdown, launch, orbit insertion, on orbit, breaking, reentry and landing) and discuss the activities of the pilot and commander. We also cover briefly some of the Shuttle’s systems. We conclude the episode with a brief look at Shuttle pilot and commander training.

Duane’s website
Duane “Digger” Carey at Wikipedia and Official NASA Bio
Digger’s flight, STS-109
The US Space Shuttle at NASA and at Wikipedia
Book: Jenkins, Space Shuttle, The History of the National Space Transportation System
MIT Open Courseware, Lecture Series on the Space Shuttle
APU
Launch Control Center
Mission Control Center
Open Loop Controller
SSME (Space Shuttle Main Engines)
SRB (Solid Rocket Booster)
Shuttle Abort Modes
Orbital Mechanics
delta-v
OMS (Orbital Maneuvering System)
RCS (Reaction Control System)
Vernier Thruster
Hubble Space Telescope
HSI (Horizontal Situation Indicator)
Artificial Horizon (Attitude Indicator)
Fly-by-Wire
TPS (Thermal Protection System)
ILS (Instrument Landing System)
MLS (Microwave Landing System)
Head-Up Display
STA (Shuttle Training Aircraft)
omega tau episode on the Vertical Motion Simulator
KC-135, and NASA’s version, the Vomit Comet
T-38 Talon
Duane’s commander, Scott Altman

/34/ Space Medicine and Telemedicine

MaNo — Tue, 18 May 2010 19:43:59 +0000

This episode is a conversation with NASA “space doctor” Jim Logan about space medicine and telemedicine. We start by defining the two concepts and how they relate. We then delve deeper into various specific medical issues in space (such as fluid shifts, bone mass loss and radiation). Next up is a discussion of the history of telemedicine and its relationship to space medicine, which leads us to looking astronauts can be treated for “normal” diseases from ground. We concluse the episode with an outlook on how telemedicine might develop in the future.

/26/ Satellite Buses

MaNo — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:53:53 +0000

This is an episode on how satellites work with James Penson from Surrey Satellite Technology. Specifically we talk about satellite buses, the infrastructure part of the satellite on which the (typically scientific) payload is mounted. The conversation covers structure, thermal protection, energy supply, communication, guidance and attitude control as well as propulsion. This will be the last episode on space related topics for the time being :-)

/23/ Ares Orion and Small Satellites at NASA Ames

MaNo — Fri, 01 Jan 2010 19:19:24 +0000

This is the third and final episode covering the interviews I did when I was visiting NASA Ames. It consits of two interviews. The first one is about Ames’ involvement in the Ares/Orion projects which are part of the Constellation moon/mars exploration programme. I talk about this with Dr. George Sarver. The second part of the episode covers small satellites and why they are becoming more and more important (compared to traditional, larger satellites). In this part, my guest is Elwood Agasid.

/21/ Space Mission Control at ESA’s ESOC

MaNo — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 18:25:47 +0000

This episode covers my visit at the European Space Agency’s (ESA) European Space Operations Centre (ESOC) in Darmstadt,Germany. After a short tour of the facilities with Andreas Schepers I had the chance to interview Uwe Feucht (Head of Flight Dynamics Division) on space flight dynamics and Paolo Ferri (Headof the Solar and Planetary Missions Division) on Mars Express, Venus Express and Rosetta.

Keplers Law of Planetary Motion
Orbital Classifications
Escape Velocity
Gravity Assist/Swing-By
Special Relativity
Rosetta at ESA and at Wikipedia
Mars Express at ESA and at Wikipedia
Venus Express at ESA and at Wikipedia
Ulysses at ESA and at Wikipedia
Cluster Mission at ESA and at Wikipedia

/19/ The Vertical Motion Simulator at NASA Ames

MaNo — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 07:38:28 +0000

This episode is a conversation with Bimal Aponso (branch chief for the Aerospace Simulation Research and Development Branch) about the NASA Vertical Motion Simulator at Ames. The VMS is the world’s largest flight simulator, and provides unrivaled realism regarding the accelerations and “feeling of real flight” it can create.
In the episode we first talk about how the VMS works, and how it is different from other flight simulators. We then cover some of the use cases for VMS (research, astronaut training) and discuss a couple of past research projects where VMS has been used. Finally, we take a tour of the actual simulator, and I get to see the cabin for the cockpits of the Space Shuttle and the Altair Lunar Surface Access Module

VMS Website
Bimal Aponso’s bio
Flight Simulation @ Wikipedia
Flight Dynamics @ Wikipedia, explains a number of the concepts and terms referred to in the episode

/18/ Astrobiology at the NASA Astrobiology Institute

MaNo — Sun, 20 Sep 2009 07:35:35 +0000

This episode is a conversation with Dr. Carl Pilcher, the director of the NASA Astrobiology Insititute at NASA Ames Research Center. The conversation comes in two parts. Part one covers the conceptual basics of astrobiology and life: what is life, what are the preconditions for life to exist, how to recognize it, etc. Part two looks at the process of trying to find places in the universe that could host life, primarily astronomical observations and missions to other planets.

About the NASA Astrobiology Insititute and Carl Pilcher, its director (at the bottom)
The NAI Director’s Seminar, a collection of video presentations on astrobiology
Wikipedia’s pages on life and astrobiology
The SETI Institute and their Podcast
Astronomycast, the podcast about astronomy

/16/ Radio Astronomy and the ALMA Telescope

MaNo — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 17:04:12 +0000

This episode is a discussion about radio astronomy and the ALMA observatory with ESO’s Robert Laing, the European instrument scientist for ALMA. The episode has three parts. The first part talks about the science of radio astronomy: current challenges and physical basics. The second part adresses how observing with radio astronomy actually works: the principles behind telescopes and how they are built and operated. Part three then looks at the ALMA observatory specifically, a new, large sub-millimeter radio interferometer currently built in the Atacama Desert in Chile.

/4/ Commercial Space and SpaceShipOne

MaNo — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 21:17:24 +0000

In this episode Markus discusses commercial suborbital space flight and SpaceShipOne with Dan Linehan, author of SpaceShipOne – An Illustrated History, a beautiful book explaing all aspects of this magnificient flying machine.

In the episode we cover history, technical background, flight testing and the (successful!) record attempt of SpaceShipOne as part of the Ansari X-Prize. We also talk about commercial suborbital space flight in general.

Pictures on SpaceShipOne @ Google
Space Ship One Homepage
Burt Rutan, the brain behind SpaceShipOne
Scaled Composites, the company who built SpaceShipOne
The Ansari X-Prise
Dan’s Homepage
Dan’s Book on SpaceShipOne