Flying Shoebox Project

Here are some links to use while researching ideas for designing a “Flying Shoebox.” The last one “Aerodynamics Index,” has many links that you “jump” from to do your research.

FoilSim II - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/foil2.html
Beginners Guide to Aeronautics - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/
Forces on a Glider - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/glider.html
Glide Angle - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/glidang.html
Aerodynamics Index - http://www.grc.nasa.gov/WWW/K-12/airplane/short.html

2009 NASA Student Symposium

We had a busy day today. It began with a trip to Space Center Houston (http://www.spacecenter.org/), which is a very large space museum centered around NASA's Johnson Space Center. The morning was filled by a rocket (balloon) activity and a Starship Gallery tour. After lunch, we were treated to a spacesuit demonstration (really cool) and a presentation/question opportunity with a NASA panel representing many different careers at NASA (which was also "webcast" to schools around the country). Before leaving for the hotel, we spent about an hour in the Space Trader gift shop.

After dinner, there was a recognition ceremony followed by a game of "Blast-off" (NASA version of "BINGO"). The evening concluded with a ice cream social and a trip to the pool.

It was a jam-packed, fun-filled two days in Houston. We will spend the day traveling tomorrow and should arrive in Jackson in the evening.

If you have any questions about out our presentation and trip, be sure to leave a comment.

2009 NASA Student Symposium - Photos

Alec and Lance with their Participation Certificates

Spacesuit Demonstration

NASA Career Panelists

NASA Student Symposium - Photos

Astrounaut Dottie Metcalf-Lindenburger

Alec and Lance outside the Neutral Bouancy Lab

Alec and Lance inside Building 9 (Shuttle Mock-up)

Alec and Lance inside Shuttle Mission Control

Lance and Alec (withGlenn) inside Rocket Park (Saturn V)

2009 NASA Student Symposium

We arrived at the Hotel yesterday, April 29th, around 6:00 p.m. - just in time for dinner. It was a long day of travel. We spent a fair amount of time in Atlanta, as there was a delay in our departure due to "equipment repair"... they ended up flying in another plane to take us to Houston.

After dinner, we were treated to a presentation by Astronaut Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger. She has not flown a mission yet, but she has been doing a lot of training. She shared her journey from a middle school student to a teacher to an astronaut. You can learn a little more about her at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/Bios/htmlbios/metcalf-lindenburger-dm.html.

Today, was "presentation day." We were divided into 2 groups. One group toured the Johnson Space Center in the morning (our group) and the other group presented. After lunch, we switched.

We had a nice time touring JSC. We began by visiting the Neutral Bouncy Lab (NBL). It is a 6.2 million gallon pool where astronauts train in a simulated "micro gravity" state provided in neutral bouncy. Astronauts were training at the time, so we were able to see a lot of activity. We visited "Building 9," which holds the Space Station mock-up, a Space Shuttle mock-up, and a few other training mock-ups that included parts of the Orion vehicle. We also visited the Space Shuttle Mission Control and watched as the team ran a simulation for the upcoming Hubble mission. They were running a simulation that was a contingency plan for sending a second shuttle into orbit to rescue the first. We didn't get to hear exactly what they doing, but it was cool to see TWO shuttles on the big screen on the same orbit. Finally, we visited "Rocket Park," which houses a Saturn V launch vehicle used during the Apollo missions.

Lance and Alec presented our "ALF Rover Mission" investigation. They did very well presenting and answering quesitons from the NASA panelists. We also had an opportunity to watch 3 other teams present their investigations. It was a nice afternoon.

This evening, we went over to Space Center Houston to see "Becoming an Astronaut" on the five-story screen. Tomorrow we return the Space Center Houston for a few activitities, some presentations by NASA personnel, and to visit the gift shop.

I will try to post again tomorrow night (Friday). We travel home on Saturday.