1. Space Exploration Merit Badge April 2000
Vincent Needham
Physics Department
Kansas State University

2. Summary of Course
Describe the purpose and operation of a space transportation system, including:
Main components
Typical flight profiles
Payloads and their missions
How to learn more...
Discuss careers in space exploration
Launch and recover model rockets

3. Basic Rocketry
Traditional Bell Nozzle
Linear Aerospike

4. Propulsion
SSME
Linear Aerospike

5. The Space Shuttle (First Launch 12 April 1981)
Manned spacecraft
Orbiter
LH/LOX Main Engines (SSME)
Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB)

6. Space Shuttle Views

7. Solid Rocket Boosters (SRB)

8. Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME)

9. External Tank (ET)

10. Orbiter

11. Russkiu Sistema Russian Systems
SL-4 Launcher
Soyuz Spacecraft
Progress Ferry
Mir Space Station

12. SL-4/Soyuz Launcher
Old (1963), but…
Reliable
Rugged
Cheap

13. Soyuz & Progress Soyuz Progress 3 Cosmonauts Station Rescue
Modified, Unmanned Soyuz
Supply Ferry for Mir & Station

14. X-33: The Next Generation
Lockheed
Skunk Works Design
McDonnel-Douglas
Delta Clipper
Rockwell
Shuttle Derived

15. RLV/X-33 Program (Flight Tests Start Mid-2002)
Vertical Liftoff
Horizontal Landing
Low Maintenance
Rapid Turnaround
Low Cost

16. Shuttle Flight Profile

17. Shuttle Launch

18. Delta II Launch Cam

19. Inside the Shuttle

20. Flight Deck
Flight Controls
Payload Systems

21. Atlantis Avionics Upgrade

22. Mid-Deck Crew quarters Experiments Supplies Extended by
SpaceHab Module
SpaceLab

23. Payloads
SpaceLab/Space Station
Satellites (Delivered & Repaired!)

24. Io & Jupiter Hubble Space Telescope Launched on 24 April 1990
Shuttle service calls in:
December 1993
February 1997
October 1999

25. Hubble’s Greatest Hits

26. Hubble 10th Anniversary

27. Planetary Exploration

28. Near Earth Asteroid Rendezvous

29. SpaceLab US/European cooperative venture
Similar to Space Station modules
NeuroLab, in April 1998, was the last SpaceLab mission

30. ISS-02A.2a Flight Crew (Launch after 18 May 2000)
STS-101/Atlantis
ISS-02A.2a Flight Crew (Launch after 18 May 2000)
James D. Halsell, Jr., (Colonel, USAF)
-Cdr, Engineering & Management
Scott J. Horowitz, Ph.D. (Colonel, USAF)
Pilot, Aerospace Engineering
Susan J. Helms (Colonel, USAF)
MS1, Aeronautical Engineering
Yuri Vladimirovich Usachev (RSA)
MS2, Engineering
James S. Voss (Colonel, USA, Ret.)
MS3, Aerospace Engineering
Mary Ellen Weber, Ph.D.
MS4, Chem Eng & Phys Chemistry
Jeffrey N. Williams (Lt Colonel, USA)
MS5, Aeronautical Engineering

31. STS-101 Overview Mission: ISS Assembly Flight 2A.2a Shuttle: Atlantis
Launch: After 18 May 2000
Docking: Flight Day 3
Undocking: Flight Day 9
Landing: Late May 2000

32. International Space Station
USA
Russia
Europe
Japan
Canada

33. Mir Core module launched in 1986
Phase 1 of the International Space Station
Last visiting U.S. astronaut was Andy Thomas
Final Shuttle-Mir mission was by Discovery on 28 May 1998.

34. Mir 28 Flight Crew Mir EO-28 docked 06 April 2000
Progress M1-2 docked 28 April
Repair mission is 55 days long
First mission since August 1999
Sergei Zaletin Commander, Russian
Alexander Kaleri
Flight Engineer, Russian

35. Station Assembly in 2000 May: Atlantis/2A.2a Maintenance and Repair
July: Russians Launch Zvezda Service Module 
August: Atlantis/2A.2b Delivers More Internal Gear

36. Station Assembly in 2000 Sept: Discovery /3A Truss Module Z1, PMA-3
Oct: ISS Expedition 1 crew delivers Russian Soyuz
Nov: Endeavour/4A Z1 Solar Arrays 

37. Space Station Tour

38. At Home on the Station
Astronauts must be safe, happy & productive

39. STS-96 Discovery
First crew to enter ISS in April 1999

40. TransHab (and Mars…) An Inflatable Home in Space or on Mars
The Space Station Habitat...
...Leads to a Mars Habitat

41. Re-entry & Approach Thermal tiles absorb extreme heat
Dead-stick landing
Energy management is critical

42. Landing KSC is preferred spaceport Edwards AFB is backup
White Sands, NM used once

43. Pilot’s Eye View

44. X-33/Venture Star

45. The Future Private Launch Ventures Boeing SeaLaunch Rotary Rocket
Kistler K-1
Bristol Spaceplane/Skylon
Pioneer Rocketplane/BlackHorse
Commercial Satellite Payloads
Iridium (66/66+) *RIP*
Teledesic (0/288+)
Orbcomm (28/28)
Globalstar (20/52)
And more to come!

46. New Launchers First Boeing/Energia/Kvaerner SeaLaunch, 27 March 1999
Rotary Rocket’s Roton Roll-Out, 01 March 1999 First Launch in ?

47. Roton Test Flight

48. Astronaut Qualifications
How can I become an astronaut?
Any adult man or woman in excellent physical condition who meets the basic qualifications can be selected to enter astronaut training.
For mission specialists and pilot astronauts, the minimum requirements include a bachelor's degree in engineering, science or mathematics from an accredited institution. Three years of related experience must follow the degree, and an advanced degree is desirable. Pilot astronauts must have at least 1,000 hours of experience in jet aircraft, and they need better vision than mission specialists. Competition is extremely keen, with an average of over 4,000 applicants for about 20 openings every 2 years.
Astronaut recruiting occurs periodically. For more information, write to the Astronaut Selection Office, NASA Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX

49. Where to get more information
Your local library
The World Wide Web
Most of this presentation was prepared from WWW resources!
(1248 listings!)