How would you move a pet to its new home? Well, that depends on what kind of pet it
is, how big it is and how far you have to travel. Most importantly you'll want to
keep it safe, secure and healthy during the trip home,
still, it would be best not to overdo things.
But what if your pet is a little bit bigger!
NASA's Launch Services Program must answer the same sort of questions before every launch.
Hi, I'm Martha Vreeland,
and I work in the Launch Services Program or LSP for short. Today, I'm going to show
you how NASA resolves many challenges when preparing to launch one of our spacecraft
to its new home safely, securely and in perfect condition.
NASA's spacecraft, like your pet, can be as small as these Cubesats, which are only
slightly bigger than a Rubic's cube and weighs less than three pounds.
Hundreds of these nano satellites could fit onto a single Pegasus launch vehicle, one
of the smallest rockets in NASA's fleet.
Or they can be a large spacecraft, like this Tracking and Data Relay Satellite.
Getting ready for a NASA mission takes a lot more than just selecting the right launch
vehicle to carry the spacecraft to its destination.
To help explain how the Launch Services Program matches the spacecraft with the right launch
vehicle I've asked my friend to show you around.
Hi, I'm Joshua. I'm an educator for NASA at the Kennedy Space Center.
Just like it's necessary to plan and make decisions on how to properly transport and
care for a new pet, NASA and the scientists who design and develop spacecraft must also
make important decisions to make sure that the satellite and the rocket are compatible.
It typically takes 3 or 4 years, and maybe up to ten years, of careful planning and engineering
before launch.
Here's someone from LSP that knows what it takes to do this awesome job. Hi, Elaina!
Hi, Josh.
Hi there. I'm Elaina McGhee, and I work in the Launch Services Program as an Engineering
Project Manager. NASA Science missions are typically chosen
using two primary methods. The first is a directed mission. NASA Headquarters determines
specific goals and requirements for a mission and then directs a particular NASA Center
to implement the mission. The second way that NASA chooses science missions
is through a competitive peer review process known as Announcement of Opportunity, or AO.
AO proposals are typically put together by a team of skilled people at NASA Centers,
other government agencies, educational institutions, and small industry.
A scientist called the Principal Investigator or PI, leads the AO team and is responsible
for developing the objectives and scientific devices for the mission.
LSP also provides spacecraft customers with early analyses and various web-based tools
that supply mission designers with performance data for commonly used orbits.
Once the AO proposal mission has been selected, LSP assigns a core Mission Integration Team,
or MIT, with the responsibility of managing all integration and vehicle engineering aspects
of the assigned mission.
The LSP mission Manager and MIT must analyze the details of how the rocket/satellite system
works together while minimizing costs associated with additional development products and mission
risks.
It is important that the spacecraft design and vehicle selection stay within the budget
given in the AO.
Throughout this phase, the LSP Mission Integration Team (MIT) assists the Spacecraft Project
with the development of the Interface Requirements Document, or IRD, The IRD is a major deliverable
that defines the spacecraft size, orbital requirements, target launch data and science
window, and any unique spacecraft design considerations.
All of this special knowledge provided by experts in LSP is considered in determining
the most capable and cost effective vehicle. Think about it, why would you buy a 100 gallon
aquarium when a fishbowl would do?
Thanks, Elaina!
NASA's Soil Moisture Active Passive or SMAP mission will collect data from every place
on Earth, revealing the amount of soil moisture, and whether it is frozen or solid. This information
will lead to improved flood prediction, drought monitoring, and enhanced weather and climate
forecasts. This particular spacecraft was too large for some of the smaller vehicles
but wasn't large enough to pay for a heavy lift vehicle. The Delta II hadn't flown
for three years, but fortunately there were a few critical parts still available. LSP
worked with ULS to assemble these parts and prepare this vehicle in order to launch the
SMAP Mission. This was the perfect solution for this mid-sized spacecraft.
If someday you'd like to join NASA on this adventure of exploration it is important to
learn all you can about science, technology, engineering and mathematics while you are
in school. LSP is dedicated to furthering NASA's mission of exploring the unknown
and benefiting all mankind. Be sure to check-out the SMAP mission on the NASA website.