Goddard RTMS Presentation 5-27-15

Godda rd ’s Leg acy
An dre w C ha ik in
Ma y 27 , 2015
G o a l s o f t h i s l e c t u re :
“Goddard’s Legacy” is designed to provide
- - C o n t e x t f o r t h e c a s e s t u d i e s a n d a n a l y s e s in the Road to
Mission Success course
- - Ins p irati on a b ou t t h e a c h ie ve m e n ts of the Goddard teams
over t he c o u r s e o f th e s p a c e a ge
- - Ins i g ht i n to t h e in ge n u it y a n d p ers is i ten ce these teams have
b ro ug h t to t h e c ha lle ng e s o f s pa c e e xplo r atio n
- - B ett er u n d e rs t a n d i n g o f G o d d a rd ’s p a s t a c h i e ve m e n t s as a
guide to what it can accomplish in the future
S li d es w i ll b e av ai labl e a t w ww. a n dre wcha i k i n. co m / NA S A
Ac kn ow led gem en t s
M any t hank s to a l l w h o prov id ed i nfo rm at io n for thi s le cture , inc lud in g t he
G o dda rd v e t e rans w h o ga v e i nt er v i ew s: A l a nd N anc y B oggess , J oe Bur t, Frank
Cepollina, Jim Gar vin, Noel Hinner s , Henr y Hoffman, Jim Irons , Paul Lowman,
J a y l e e M e a d , D i c k N a f z ge r, J a y S m i t h , a n d M i ke We i s s .
Ro be r t Go dda rd (1 8 8 2-1 945) , s pace vi sio nar y
“Ever y vision is a joke until the fir st
m a n a c c o m p l i s h e s i t ; o n c e re a l i ze d , i t
b e c o m e s c o m m o n p l a c e .”
Ab ov e : G od dard w it h 1926 roc ket i n
Au b ur n , M A
T h e Fi rs t Sp a c e C en te r
“You know when old folks look bac k and say, ‘Those were the good
o l d d a y s ? ’ We l l , t h e y re a l l y w e re . A n d y o u c a n b a c k i t u p w i t h w h a t
w e d i d .”
- - D i c k N a f z g e r, A p o l l o t e l ev i s i o n e n g i n e e r
Vanguard: The Roots of Goddard
E ngi ne e rs an d s ci ent ists f ro m Naval Re searc h
L a b w h o wo r ke d o n t h e Va n g u a rd s a t e l l i t e
p ro je c t b e c ame the nucle us o f NA SA Go ddard
As sem bl y of Van gu a rd 4 , 1 95 9
L e f t: Ro l a n d Va n A l l en , l at er G S FC’s da ta s ystem s
b ra n c h c h i e f , s o ld er s co m p o n en ts fo r a Va n gu a rd
s a t e l l i t e i n 1 95 7
F ro m B e l t s v i l l e t o G o dd a rd
G od d a rd o pe n in g, M a rc h 196 1
J a n u a r y 1 9 5 9 : Fo u r d i v i s i o n s
of NASA designated as the
Belt svill e S pace Ce nt er :
-- Construction Division
-- Space Sciences Division
- - T h e o re t i c a l D i v i s i o n
- - Va n g u a rd D i v i s i o n
Ma y 1 95 9 : NASA announces
Belt sville S pace Ce nt e r wil l be
re de si gnat ed the Go dd ard
Sp ace F ligh t C ent er
Ma rch 1 6 , 1 9 61 : Goddard
dedication
A C er ta i n I nde p end e nc e
"W hat you had [a t God da rd ] was a b un c h o f p eo ple wh o w eren't
q u i t e s u re y o u h a d t o h a v e a H e a d q u a r t e r s . T h e y w e re p re t t y
su re t h ey d i dn 't need t o t alk t o it ."
- - S a m Ke l l e r, fo r m e r N A S A A s s o c i a t e D e p u t y A d m i n i s t r a t o r
"
"
1 9 60: Te levi sio n a n d I nf rare d O b se r v at i on Sat ellit e (Tiros 1)
-- orbital altitude 450 miles
-- 42 inches diameter ; 270 pounds
- - 2 s l ow - s c a n T V c a m e r a s ( w i d e +
na rrow - an g l e)
Cyc lone in the South Atlantic , Apr il 28, 1960.
July 1962: Tel st a r s e nd s fi r st i n te rn at i on al T V v ia sa te llit e
Te l s t a r w a s m a n a g e d by G S F C ; f u n d e d by AT & T
Ab ove: Fren c h si nger
Yves Montand
p e r fo r m s v i a Te l s t a r
1 9 63: S ynco m 2 i s f i r st ge osyn ch ron ous c ommu nic at ions satellite
Ab ove : A r t hu r C . C larke ’s 1 945 ar t i c le propo si ng
geo syn c h ro n o u s co m mu n ica tio n s sa tellites
Explo rer sa tellites
( N o t to s c ale )
E xpl ore r X
L a u n c h e d 1 96 1 ; s tu di e d
i n t e r pl a n et ar y ma g n e t ic
fi e l d n e a r E a r th
Ex pl o re r V I I
L au nc h e d 1 959 ;
st u d ie d e n er ge t ic
par ticles and
m i c ro m e t e o ro i d s
Explo re r X I
Lau n c h ed 1 9 6 2 ;
fi r s t ga mm a -ra y
a s t ro n o my s a t e l l i t e
L e f t: E x p l o re r X V I I
L a u n c h e d 1 96 3
Right : E x p l o re r X X X I I
L a u n c h e d 1 96 6
Both collected data on upper atmospher ic temperature ,
composition, density and pressure
S pace Communi cati ons
M e r cu r y t ra c ki n g
network (top);
G ol d st o n e
a n t e n n a s ( a b ov e
r i gh t ) ; t ra c k i n g
s h i ps ( r i gh t )
A c t i v it i e s a t G od da rd du r ing J oh n G le n n ’s
M A- 6 m is s i o n, Fe b ru ar y 20 , 1 9 62
1966-79: App li cat io n s Te ch n ol og y Sa te llit es (ATS )
Novem ber 1 8 19 6 7 : One of
the fir st images of the entire
Ear th, captured by ATS-3 from
22 , 3 00 m il es
G S F C ’s “ yo u a re t h e re ” b re a k t h ro u g h : L i ve T V f ro m t h e M o o n
Children view Apollo 8‘s live telecast
fro m lu na r o r bit o n D e ce mb er 24, 1 96 8
( ph o t o: Na t io n al G e og raph i c )
J - M i s s i o n o r b i t a l s u r v e y s fe a t u re d n ew
sc i en t ific In s t r um e nt s , inc lu ding a n X-ra y
S p e ct ro me te r ( a rrow) ex p e r im en t le d by
G od d a rd ’s Is i dore Ad le r a nd J a cob
Tro m b ka
Ap oll o J-M issions : Sc ien tific
E xp lo rati on from L un ar Orb it
X -ra y f l u o re sc e n c e d at a on l un a r com pos itio n (ra tio s of
aluminum and silicon)
f rom
Ear
t hhOr
1T9he
7 01970s:
s : A s tAstrono
ro n o m my
y f ro
m E
a rt
O bit
rbit
U h u ru x - ra y
satellite
(1970)
Ei nst ein x-ra y ima ging
satellite (1978)
First x-ray images of celestial objects
Discovered x-ray emissions from neutron stars, active galaxies, and clusters
of galaxies. First evidence for black holes.
I n t er n a t io na l Ult ravi ol e t E x plore r ( 1978)
Joint project
of NASA GSFC, United
Kingdom, and European
Space Agency. Operated
for 19 years; turned off for
budgetary reasons.
Mission to Ear th
A N at ion Di vid ed
te xt
Chapter 2
“Three ships is a lot of ships . Why can’t you
p rov e t h e w o r l d i s ro u n d w i t h o n e ship?”
The New Yorker, 1970
1 972: G SF C’s Ea r th Re so urce s Tec hn ol og y Sa t ellit e , a.k.a . L andsat
GSF C ’s Pa u l L ow man
(1 9 3 1- 2 0 11 )
Using multi-spectral imaging, Landsat performs
“remote sensing” that can:
-- Distinguish plant types, land use, silt content
in water
-- Identify large-scale, hydrocarbon-bearing
structures not seen on aerial photographs
-- Reveal important minerals and metals,
especially in hostile environments
Landsat Multispectral
Im ag ing
B a nd 4:
Green
B a n d 6:
Nea r IR
Ba n d 5 :
Red
Ba n d 7 :
Nea r IR
Br ig h t re d = d ec id u o us t ree s
Re ddi s h b row n = c on i fero us t re e s
G re e n = u r b a n a re a s
Da r k b l u e = w a ter
New Yo r k - N ew Je r se y area v iewe d
f ro m L a n d s at -1 o n O c tobe r 10 , 1 97 2
1978-20 06 : To tal O zon e Map p i n g Sp e ct rome t er (TOMS)
TO M S h a s b e e n c r i t i c a l t o t h e d e t e c t i o n o f
l o n g - t e r m d a m a g e t o t h e o z o n e l aye r,
i n c l u d i n g o z o n e h o l e a t S o u t h Po l e
L e f t: A n ta rc t i c ozon e hol e i n 2 0 07
A b ov e : G rowt h of ozon e hole from 19 80 -2 00 5
198 4-20 0 5: Ear th Ra di a tio n Bu dget Sat e llite
E R BS me a su re d d iur na l va ri at io ns o f inc omi ng so la r r adiat io n and it s
differential absorption by the atmosphere .
E R BS d a ta o n t he o zo ne l aye r w a s key i n the Mont re al Pro t o co l
A g ree me nt , w hic h we nt i nto fo rc e in 19 89, a nd ha s ne ar ly elim ina te d
c h l oro fl uo roc a rbo ns ( C F C s ) i n i n d u s t r i a l i z e d c o u n t r i e s .
20 0 9 st ud y led by G SFC
scien ti st Pau l N ewm a n
simu la ted wh at mi gh t h ave
been if CFCs and similar
o zo n e - d e p l e t i n g c h e m i c a l s
w e re n o t b a n n e d t h ro u g h
the Montreal Protocol.
LAGEOS-1
1 976 -Pres ent: La se r
Geodynamics Satellite
L AG E O S 1 a n d 2 re f i n e d o u r
k nowled ge o f E ar t h’s sh ape ,
ro t a t i o n , a n d t h e m o t i o n o f
te cto nic pl ate s. LAGEO S dat a
h el p ed ma ke G PS p ossible .
- - Alumi nium - c ove re d , 6 0 - c m
b rass spheres covered with
re tro - re f lect or s
- - P u l s e d l a s e r b e a m s f ro m
ground stations; travel times
y ie ld p osit ion al in fo bet t er
th an 1 inch i n 1,0 00s of mil es
1 97 5-Presen t: Ge ost a tio na r y O per ation al
E nvi ro nment al Sat ellit es (GOE S)
Above; Global weather for June
20, 2010 from GOES East;
Right: Hurricane progresses
past Baja California, June
18-20
Ear th O bs er vi ng S ystem:
A multi- d isciplin ar y view of th e h ome plane t
“In the past, Ear th was studied by looking
a t i t s p a r t s : o c e a n og ra p h e r s s t u d i e d t h e
o c e a n s , ge o l og i s t s s t u d i e d t h e l a n d . B u t
p l a n e t o l og i s t s h a v e a g l o b a l p e r s p e c t i v e .
And one goa l o f EOS is . .. to answ er the
q u e s t i o n o f h ow t h e i n t e ra c t i n g p a r t s o f
Ear th operate together.”
-- G era ld S of fen , 1s t EOS Project
Scientist, 1990
C hapt e r 7
1 999-Pres ent: Ea r th O bse r vi n g S y ste m
EO S i s a s e r ies of c o o rdi nat e d po la r- o rbi ting s at e llit es ( c urren tly 11 act ive ) designed for
l o n g - t e r m g l o b a l o b s e r v a t i o n s o f key c l i m a t e s y s t e m c o m p o n e n t s a n d t h e i r i n t e r a c t i o n s .
S tudie s inclu de:
-- the oceans
- - g re e n h o u s e g a s e s
-- glaciers, sea ice, ice sheets
- - r a d i a t i o n , c l o u d s , w a t e r v ap o r,
p re cipit at io n
-- ozone and stratospheric
c h emi st r y
Sa t e l l i t e s :
Terra (flagship mission, launched 1999)
Aq u a (2002)
I ce , C l o u d , a n d l an d Eleva tio n Sate llite (I CE S a t 2 , 2 0 1 5 )
A u ra (ozone , air quality, and climate monitoring, 2004)
- - n a t u r a l a n d a n t h ro p o g e n i c
aerosols
- - l a n d - s u r f a c e hy d ro l o g y a n d
e cosyst em proce sse s
T he A-Train
F ly i n g i n fo r m a t i o n , a c o n s t e l l a t i o n o f E a r t h
obser ving satellites provide synergistic data
( i n c l u d i n g s t e re o c ove r a g e ) o n c l o u d s , a e ro s o l s ,
w a t e r c y c l i n g , a n d a t m o s p h e r i c c h e m i s t r y.
L e f t: A n e xa mp l e of s yner gist ic A -t rai n ob ser vati ons
( i n th i s c a s e , o f c lou d l ayer i ng) by sel ect ed
i n st ru me n t s a b oard th ree d ifferen t s ate lli t es
2 011: Aquarius b e g i ns me a su ri ng gl ob al se a s alinit y
The Aquar ius instrument provides unprecedented
a ccu ra c y a n d cov e ra ge , m ea s u r i n g c h a n ges in se a s u rfa ce
sa l i n ity e q u iv a l e n t to a b o u t a “p in c h ” ( 1/8 o f a tea sp o o n )
o f s a l t i n 1 g a l l o n o f wa t e r.
F u t u re m i s s i o n s : E a r t h o b s e r v a t i o n s
P re - A e ro s o l , C lo u d , o c e a n , E c o s y s t e m
m i s s i o n ( PAC E )
S t u d y o c e a n e c o l og y, i nc lu di ng m ass an d
d i s t r i b u t i o n o f p hy t o p l a n k t o n
Document c louds and atmospher ic aerosols and
their influence on c limate
Global Ecosystem Dyna mics Investig ation
(GEDI)
H ow d o fo re s t s re s p o n d t o c h a n ge s i n c l i m a t e a n d l a n d
use?
G E D I w i l l u s e LI D AR t o crea te d et ai led 3D m aps a nd
m e a s u re t h e b i o m a s s o f fo re s t s .
2 018+ s c he d u le d l a unch t o t he I nt er nat io nal S pac e
S ta tio n
T h e Shu tt l e Era
Photo: Air&Space/Smithsonian
“Cepi had this vision that we ought to star t making spacecraft compatible with the
shu t t le , a nd s e r v icea b le , s o w e c ould go m a in ta in a nd u p gra de th em o n -o r bi t .”
- - S a t e l l i t e re p a i r e n g i n e e r M i ke We i s s o n F r a n k C e p o l l i n a (p i c t u re d)
F r a n k C e p o l l i n a ’s
Mul t i - mi ssi on Modul ar
S p ac ecraft: F i rs t
satellite designed to
b e ser v ic ed by
astronauts
So la r M ax i mu m Mis sio n
sa tel li t e “ S o l ar Max” was
l a u n c h e d i n Fe b ru a r y 1 98 0
to study the Sun dur ing it’s
p e r i o d o f m a x i mu m a c t i v i t y.
A p ril 11, 1984: F i xi ng S o l ar M ax
“We learned a lot
on that Solar Max
mission. Things
d o n ’ t a l wa y s go
r ig ht , s o get
p re p a re d fo r
contingencies .”
-- GSF C en gin e er
M i ke We i ss
P i n ky N e l s o n a n d O x Va n H o f t e n w o r k o n S o l a r M a x i n C hal le nger ’s cargo bay.
1 9 83: A Dif fere nt Ki nd o f
R e s cu e
Yo u r l i t t l e fi n ge r w o u l d n o t
fit i n the ex it con e of t h os e
thruster s . It took 39 burns
to get up there . Some of ‘em
w e re u p wa rd s o f a n h o u r.”
- - G S F C ’s “ S a t e l l i t e D o c t o r ”
H en r y H o f f man
W he n i ts I ne r tia l Up pe r St ag e f ai led t o put TD R S- 1 i n
th e pro pe r o rb it, GS F C c ont roller s used t i ny a tt it udec o nt ro l thru s te rs to c o rrect t he e rr ant sa te llit e ’s pat h.
1 99 0-1 993 : Fix i n g M r.
Hub ble ’s Te le scop e
A Trium ph of In geu n ity and Prep ara tion
- - S h o we r i n g i n G e r m a n h o t e l ro o m , S T S c I e n g i n e e r c o n c e i ve s o f C O S TA R
( C o r re c t i ve O p t i c s S p a c e Te l e s c o p e A x i a l R e p l a c e m e n t )
- - B a c k u p W i d e F i e l d P l a n e t a r y C a m e r a m o d i f i e d w i t h c o r re c t i ve o p t i c s
- - E x h a u s t i ve p r a c t i c e w i t h s p e c i a l t o o l s a n d t e c h n i q u e s
“I t w a s o n e NA S A. . . . E v e r y o n e
rall ied arou nd tha t fir st s er v i ci n g
m i s s i o n . T h e re wa s n o fi n ge r p o i n t i n g .”
-- Frank Cepollina
C O S TA R
(photo:
Smithsonian
Institution)
S u c ces s!
The hear t of the
galaxy M100
BEFORE ...
S u c ces s!
The hear t of the
galaxy M100
... AFTER
Th e Ser vicin g Mi s s io n s: Mak i n g Hu b b le E ve n Bet t e r
I n four ser vicing missions
b etween 1997 and 2010,
astronauts transformed the
H ubbl e S pace Tele sc ope a ga in
and again.
Text
“What amazes me about this repair is that the ser vicing
m i s s i o n fo l k s d i d n ’ t j u s t t h row u p t h e i r h a n d s a n d s a y,
‘ I t ’s i m p o s s i b l e ! ’ ”
- - G SF C e n gi n eer B ren t Warner on the 2010 repai r of
H ubbl e ’s i mag ing s pe c t ro gr aph
Older scientific instruments
we re re p l a c e d w i t h n ewe r o n e s
e x te nding the t ele scope ’s
c ap abili tie s and rea ch into spa ce .
T hey also rep laced o r repa ire d
f ault y com pon ent s-- even t he
tele scop e’s powe r s upply, in a
ta sk l ike ne d to bra in sur ger y.
E ach of the se m issi on s
demonstrated the increasingly
sophisticated capabilities of
G o dd a rd ’s s a t e l l i t e s e r v i c i n g
tea ms.
“Hubble was a pathfinder. If
w e ’re go i n g t o go d o
exploration , we ’re not goin g to
d o e x p l o ra t i o n by j u s t p u t t i n g
b oxe s t oge t h e r a n d re p l a c i n g
components . These things are
going t o b e co mple x a n d we’re
going to h av e to lea rn h ow to
fix them.”
- - HST Dep ut y Progr am
Manager Mike Weiss
Photo © Michael Soluri
1 99 3-Prese nt: Hubb le’s Un iver se
P i l l a r s o f g l ow i n g g a s a n d d u s t i n
the Eagle Nebula stretc h 6 tr illion
m i l e s - - a n e n t i re l i g h t ye a r - - i n
l e n g th . The Eag le Ne bul a i s 6 ,5 0 0
l i g h t year s f ro m Ea r t h, w hi c h mea ns
the light we see from it has been
traveling 6.5 millennia to reac h us .
1994: Hubble co nf i rms m assive bl ack hole at g ala xy ’s c ore
- - H u b b l e p h o t o g r ap h e d
the gal axy M87 , 5 0
millio n lig ht year s
distant, beginning in 1994
-- The jet is composed of
ele ctro ns and o th er
subatomic par ticles
expe lle d f rom a di sk o f
superheated gas (inset)
around a black hole with
as much mass as 2 billion
Su ns
- - To d ay a s t ro n o m e r s
know tha t sup er massive
black hole s lur k at t he
cores o f m ost galax ies
2 0 09: The Hub b le Ult ra- Dee p I n fr are d Fi e l d
H u b b l e ’s 4 8 h o u r e x p o s u re , t h e
d e e p e s t i m a ge o f t h e u n i v e r s e ev e r
made, sees galaxies up to 13.1
b i l l i o n l i g h t ye a r s a wa y.
O u t w a rd B o u n d
P l a n e t a r y E x p lo ra t i o n
“The team, the engineer s who make this possible are dauntingly good. You watc h
th em a n d y o u s a y, ‘ Th e se gu ys co u ld d o a n y th in g! ’ Th e y m a ke d rea m s p o s si b l e eve r y
d a y o f t h e w e e k .”
-- Jim Garvin, GSFC Chief Scientist
Chapter 10
Ma r s Gl oba l Su r vey or
1 997: M ars Or b i ta l La se r Al i me te r ( MO LA) flie s on MGS
“We wanted to give Mar s its third dimension.”
-- Jim Garvin
2 0 09: Lunar Re co nn ai ssan ce O rb i t e r
- - Ve r y h i g h re s o l u t i o n i m a g i n g a n d t o p o g r ap hy
- - S e a rc h fo r s u r f a c e i c e
- - A n a ly z e ro u g h t e rr a i n a n d ro c k a b u n d a n c e
- - A n a ly z e l u n a r r a d i a t i o n e nv i ro n m e n t
TV camera
Lunar Module
Armstrong’s tracks
Experiments
L RO im age of A po ll o 11 l a n di n g si t e
L RO ’s D i v i n e r c h a r t s t h e f r i g i d
lunar north pole
F ly i n g ove r t h e m o o n ’s n o r t h
p o l e i n t h e dep t h s of w i nt er
n ig ht , L RO fou n d a p lace in
t h e f l o or of the mo o n's
H e r mi t e C r a ter a t mi nus 41 5
degrees Fahrenheit, the
co ld e s t t e mp er a tu re
m ea s u re d a ny w he re i n t he
solar system.
Diviner’s temperature map of
the lunar nor th pole is colorcoded for degrees Kelvin.
1 9 95-Pres ent: SO HO (S o l ar an d He l i osp h e ri c
Observatory)
-- Launched December
199 5 t o t h e L - 1 L ag r a ng e
po int 1 . 5 m i l l io n km fro m
Ea r t h
- - Jo i n t p ro j e c t o f
Euro p e a n S p ac e A g en cy
( E S A ) and NASA Goddard
(spacecraft built in
Euro p e )
-- Studied solar wind
pa r ti c l e s , os c i l la tio n s on
solar surface , magenetic
f ie ld s , o u t e r at mo s p h ere
( c o ro n a )
- - O r i g i n a l ly p l a n n e d a s a
2- ye a r mi s s i on
- - E x t e n d e d m i s s i o n t h ro u g h 2 0 1 4
G SF C ’s Extreme
Ultraviolet Imaging
Telesco p e tra c ks
the solar activity
c yc le 1996-2005
1 998: S OH O ’s m i l li o n -mi l e re sc ue
I n Ju n e 1 9 9 8 a c o mm and e rro r by t he
ground sent SOHO tumbling, causing
i t t o l o s e p owe r a n d c o m mu n i c a t i o n s .
T h e c r a f t froze , dam agi ng the
e le c t ro n i c s in i ts c o ntro l s y st em.
At G odd a rd , c a l c ul atio ns s howe d that
after 90 days the craft’s solar arrays
wo u l d re c e i ve s u n l i g h t a g a i n , g i v i n g
co n t ro l l e r s a n op po r tuni ty t o re g a in
co n t ro l of SO HO.
Be g i n n i n g i n ear ly A ugus t powe r and
co m mu n i c a t io ns we re rest ore d .
G o dd a rd u s e d s p e c i a l t e c h n i q u e s ,
prev i ou s ly d evel o ped fo r the IUE
m is s i on , t h at al lowed the c raft to b e
co n t rol l e d w it h ou t a ny g y ro sc op es .
By l a t e S e p te mb e r, SOH O was fully
operational.
S O HO o r b i t s a b o u t t he 1 st S un- Ear t h La gra nge Poi nt (L1 ),
a n e q u i l i b r i u m p o i n t a b o u t 1 . 5 m i l l i o n k m f ro m e a r t h i n
the direction of the Sun.
1998-2010: GSF C ’s TR ACE e xp l ore s t he solar c oro nal
tr a n siti on regio n
T RAC E ex p l o re d th e
m a g n e t i c f i e l d in t h e
solar atmosphere by
studying:
-- 3-dimensional field
structure
- - t e m p o r a l evo l u t i o n
i n re s p o n s e t o
p ho t o s p h e r i c fl ow s
-- time-dependent
c oro n al f i n e st ru c t u re
- - c o ro n a l a n d
t r a ns i t i on re g i o n
t h e rm a l t o p o l o g y.
2 006: G SFC ’s S T E R EO (S o l ar
Te rre s t r i a l R e l a t i o n O b s e r v a t o r y )
vi ew s the S un in 3- D
ST E RE O ' s d ept h p erc epti o n
w i l l i m p rove fo re c a s t s o f
t he a rri v a l ti m e an d effect s
of Ear thbound Coronal
Mass Ejections (CMEs)
CM E s c an ca u s e m ag neti c
storms that can overload
powe r l i n e equ i p m ent and
r a d i at i on s to rm s tha t
disrupt satellites
2010: GS FCs S ol ar Dyn am i cs O b ser v at or y
19 89-1994: The C os mi c B ack grou nd Ex p l orer (COBE )
C OB E ’s m is s i o n w a s t o a nswe r o n e of the m ost profound qu est ion s
hum an s kn ow h ow t o a sk : H ow did t he un iver se b egi n?
NASA established COBE at Goddard Space Flight Center as an in-house
pro je c t, m e a n in g t h a t t he e ng ine e rin g wo rk was done by ci vi l ser vant s
r ath e r th a n co n t r a ct o r s.
“You could never have wr itten a specification on a contract or a statement
o f w o r k t o h a v e s o m e o n e b u i l d C O B E . I t wa s N o b e l P r i ze s c i e n c e t h a t
d e p e n d e d o n g ro u n d b re a k i n g t e c h n o l og y. N o t h i n g l i ke t h e i n s t r u m e n t s w e
n e e d e d h a d ev e r b e e n b u i l t b e fo re .
“We had a 100% failure rate along the way, when we put
the instruments in test dewar s and tr ied to test mater ials’
p ro p e r t i e s a n d e l e c t ro n i c s . Yo u c o u l d n ’ t a f fo rd t o h a v e a
contractor do that.”
- - D e n n i s M c C a r t hy, C O B E D e p u t y P ro j e c t M a n a g e r
COBE S cience an d En gi n e e rin g: A Me e tin g of Min ds
“When I fir st spoke with engineer s
a n d w e w e re b u i l d i n g t h e d e t e c t o r s
to be used on COBE, they asked
w e l l , h ow s e n s i t i v e y o u wa n t t h e m
to be? And I said, of cour se , as
sensitive as yo u c an make the m.
A nd the y answe re d , th at n o, I ne e d
a n u m b e r. A n d g ra d u a l l y, w e go t t o
speak and re spe ct e ac h oth er’s
language .”
- - A s t ro n o m e r N a n c y B o g g e s s
Transfo rmi ng C O BE
“The C h al l eng e r accident forced us to rethink ever y aspect of the spacecraft’s design,
in c l udi ng mov i ng f rom a shu tt l e l a u n c h t o a D e l t a ro c ke t.”
- - D e n n i s M c C a r t hy
S h u t tl e ve rs io n :
1 5 fo o t d ia me t er, 1 0, 59 4 pound s
G o dd a rd D i re c t o r N o e l W. H i n n e r s ( l e f t )
p l ayed a key ro l e , m aki ng sure the
res o urc es n eces sa r y fo r th e re d e s i gn
effo r t were av a il ab le to the CO BE te am.
De lt a ver sio n:
8 foo t dia me te r, 4,828 p ounds
John Ma ther a n d C OB E
" Th e h un t for the eurek a mo ment, the li gh t b u l b go i ng
o f f , t h e s u d d e n e n l i g h t e n m e n t , s o m e wa y t o b u i l d n ew
e qui pm en t tha t c ould make a sp ecta cu la r m ea su rem ent,
h a s a l wa y s b e e n o n e o f my g re a t e s t p l e a s u re s . G e t t i n g
the univer se itself to yield its secrets is even harder, but
finding a way to m ake a m e asu remen t is a b ig st ep. "
- - G S F C ’s Jo h n M a t h e r
Right: The spectrum of the cosmic
m i c rowa v e b a c k g ro u n d , m e a s u re d
by C O B E ’s Fa r I n f ra re d A b s o l u t e
S pec t ro met e r, ag ree s p erfectly with
the“blac kbody” spectrum that the
Big Bang theor y predicted.
E choe s of the B ig B an g: COB E a nd W MA P
L e f t: CO B E ’s a l l s ky p or t rait (l eft ) revea led mi nu te
v a r i a t i o n s in th e te m perat ure of t he C osm ic M icrowav e
Bacground, interpreted as the fir st seeds of galaxies .
Below: WMAP (launc hed 2001) was 45 times more
s e n si t i v e a n d h a d 33 t ime s fi ner a ngul ar resolu ti on,
re c o rd i n g t e m p e ra t u re v a r i a t i o n s o f 3 5 m i l l i o n t h s o f
a d e g re e K .
WMA P ’s d e fi ni tive ,
e x t r a o rd i n a r y fi n d in gs :
- - T h e u n i ve r s e i s
13 . 7 3 b i l l i on yea rs o ld
( + / - 1 2 0 m i l l i o n ye a r s )
- - T h e u n i ve r s e i s m a d e
up of 7 2 p e rc e nt da r k
e n e r g y a n d 2 3 p erc e nt
dark matter
F u t u re m i s s i o n s : a s t ro n o my
J a m e s We b b S p a c e Te l e s c o p e ( J W S T )
6 . 5 me t e r mi rro r ; s u n sh iel d as b ig a s a ten ni s cour t
Detect the fir st light after the Big Bang
P ro b e t h e fo r m a t i o n o f t h e e a r l i e s t g a l a x i e s
S t u d y t h e b i r th o f st ar s a n d p la neta r y sy stem s
2 018 s c he d ule d lau n ch
Wide Field Infra red Survey Telescope
(WFIRST)
What is the nature of the so-called Dark Energy
that is dr iving the current accelerating expansion
of the universe?
2 022 sc h ed ul e d la unch
Success in Space:
What Does It Ta ke?
I t ’s not ju st roc ket scie nce
In the huge , complex group endeavor that is spaceflight,
human nature is as critical as engineering principles.
Neither can be ignored without inviting failure.
2003: Co lumb ia
1 986 :
C hal le n ge r
1 96 0 : M R -1
“popped
cork”
1 9 73 : S kyl ab
m et eo ro id s h ie ld
1 999 : Ma rs Cli mate
Orbiter
Joh n R u f f a ’s S u cc ess T i p s
1. Realize most problems are non-technical.
2. Understand and define your team culture .
3 . F i n d a m e n t o r.
4. Don't reinvent the wheel.
5. People , not positions , get the job done .
6 . Te a r d o w n b a r r i e r s t o o p e n
communication.
7 . Ta l k t o t h e p e o p l e w h o a c t u a l l y d o t h e
work.
8. Beware "groupthink"
9. Build and preser ve a sense of ownership
and responsibility
1 0 . Tr a i n y o u r r e p l a c e m e n t .
w w w. n a s a . gov / o f f i c e s / o c e / ap p e l / a s k / i s s u e s / 3 9 / 3 9 s _ s e _ l l . h t m l
A Jo u rn ey W ith ou t En d
“There can be no thought of finishing for ‘aiming for
the star s ,’ both figuratively and literally, is a task to
la st th e generation s . But no matter how muc h
p rog re s s o n e m a ke s , t h e re i s a l wa y s t h e t h r i l l o f j u s t
b e g i n n i n g .”
- - R o b e r t G o dd a rd