Exploration and Space – Missouri S&T 150

Houston, we have a slight case of nausea

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 20:56:07 +0000

NASA referred to its KC-125 aircraft as the “weightless wonder” because it carried college students and their experiments into micro-gravity by flying in parabolic patterns to create an environment of near weightlessness. But most members of S&T’s Miners in Space program in the early 2000s knew it as the “vomit comet” for its motion sickness-inducing flight pattern. S&T students boarded the aircraft — and later a C-9 and Boeing 727 — to conduct experiments in near-zero gravity as part of NASA’s Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. Their experiments helped NASA better understand how conditions aboard spacecraft could affect situations considered normal on earth. Many S&T projects involved welding experiments, but Miners in Space students also tested cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) in microgravity.

“CPR is a lifesaving treatment that’s used when an individual’s heart either stops beating or is in an irregular rhythm that results in little to no blood circulation,” said Keenan Johnson, president of Miners in Space in 2012 and a 2014 computer engineering graduate. “As space flight duration increases and the general populace starts to journey into space, the likelihood of an event should drastically increase, and is almost inevitable.”

Taking S&T to dizzying heights

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 20:47:15 +0000

The snows of Kilimanjaro have been touched by Missouri S&T. Sarah Taylor, a 2001 graduate in electrical engineering, and her father, Mark Amen, who earned his bachelor’s degree in civil engineering in 1976, climbed to the summit of Africa’s highest peak and planted the S&T flag in March 2011. It’s quite a feat, considering that Kilimanjaro is the highest free-standing mountain (not part of a range) in the world at 19,340 feet. Sarah and Mark summited at Uhuru Peak, the highest point on Kibo’s volcanic rim.

George Mueller: ensuring the ‘moonshot’

Thu, 27 Aug 2020 19:05:52 +0000

George Mueller was responsible for overseeing the completion of Project Apollo at NASA.

“We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things,” President John F. Kennedy said in 1962, “not because they are easy, but because they are hard.” No wonder, then, that a Miner played a major role in doing the hard work of ensuring a moon landing before the end of the ’60s. As an administrator in NASA’s Office of Manned Space Flight from 1963-1969, George Mueller, a 1939 electrical engineering graduate, was responsible for overseeing the completion of Project Apollo. That task involved what the space agency calls “a remarkable series of management challenges … during a time when strong leadership and direction were critical to achieving success on a set of extraordinary goals.” Mueller established what came to be called the “all up” philosophy of rocket and spacecraft testing – an approach that dramatically reduced the number of tests it would take for a manned moon landing. Mueller’s philosophy made the Apollo 11 moon landing mission possible.

Hall of fame astronaut

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 20:18:30 +0000

Janet Kavandi, former deputy director at NASA’s Glenn Research Center and a NASA astronaut.

Janet Kavandi, former deputy director at NASA’s Glenn Research Center and a NASA astronaut, has logged more than 33 days in space, traveling more than 13.1 million miles in 535 Earth orbits. Kavandi, who earned a master’s degree in chemistry from S&T in1982, was inducted into the U.S. Astronaut Hall of Fame as a part of the Class of 2019.

Walking on the sky

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 20:17:40 +0000

Thomas Akers has logged more than 800 hours of space flight and 29 hours of space-walking experience. Photo courtesy of NASA.

Col. Thomas Akers, Math’73, MS Math’75, has logged more than 800 hours of space flight and 29 hours of space-walking experience. He was selected for NASA’s astronaut program after joining the Air Force and was a mission specialist on four space flights – including on the Discovery, Endeavour and Atlantis. Following his career in the Air Force, Akers returned to his alma mater and taught math at S&T for 11 years before retiring in 2010.

Akers earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree, both in mathematics, from S&T in 1973 and 1975, respectively.

He even has a spaceship named after him

Wed, 26 Aug 2020 20:15:30 +0000

In 1967, Dr. Farouk El-Baz, helped NASA officials determine where the Eagle would land on the moon in 1969. Photo submitted by El-Baz.

In 1967, Farouk El-Baz, was appointed by NASA as secretary of lunar landing site selection and chairman of astronaut training in orbital observations and photography. He helped NASA officials determine where the Eagle would land on the moon in 1969. El-Baz’s role was chronicled by Tom Hanks in the TV series From the Earth to the Moon, in a segment titled: “The Brain of Farouk El-Baz.” In addition, the name El-Baz was immortalized on a shuttlecraft in the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, and NASA named a newly discovered asteroid after in 2019 in recognition of his outstanding scientific contributions.

The Egyptian scientist holds a bachelor’s degree in chemistry and geology from Ain Shams University. He earned a master’s degree and a PhD in geology and geophysics from S&T in 1961 and 1964, respectively.

In 1986, El-Baz joined Boston University to establish and direct the Center for Remote Sensing. He developed methodologies for applying space-born data to scientific research efforts in geology, geography and archaeology. His work resulted in the location of groundwater resources in the Western Desert of Egypt, the Rajasthan of India, in Darfur of northwestern Sudan, the Sultanate of Oman, the Northern United Arab Emirates and Republic of Chad.

Four months away from Earth

smiryan — Wed, 26 Aug 2020 16:48:24 +0000

Sandra Magnus has been part of three space flights and spent more than four months in space during her career at NASA. Photo by Bill Stafford, NASA.

Sandra “Sandy” Magnus has been part of three space flights and spent more than four months in space during her career at NASA. She joined NASA in 1996 and spent 11 days in space in 2002. During that trip to the International Space Station, she operated Space Shuttle Atlantis’ robotic arm. Magnus earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in electrical engineering from S&T in 1986 and 1990, respectively.