Houston Section 

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Table of Contents

• AIAA Houston Section Leadership List
• Chairman's Corner
• News Briefs
• New Vice Chairman Announced
• Membership Incentive
• Lunch and Learn
• Physics is Fun '99
• New Regional Staff Liaison
• China Sister Section
• X-40 Program Presentation
• Spirit of Apollo Scholarship
• Cranium Cruncher

• Russ Filler - Chairman
• Phil Mongan - Chairman-Elect
• Dr. George Nield - Past Chairman
• Bill Hartwell - Acting Vice-Chairman, Operations
• John Vollmer - Vice-Chairman, Technical
• Steve King - Secretary
• Dave Parrish - Treasurer
• Bill Atwell - Councilor
• Bonnie Cooper - Councilor
• Winston Goodrich - Councilor
• Bill Hartwell - Councilor
• Nick Johnson - Councilor
• Bill Langdoc - Councilor
• Mike Lisano - Councilor
• Karen Loftin - Councilor
• Joe Mayer - Councilor
• Merri Sanchez - Councilor

The AIAA Constitution, Article I, Section 1.2, Purpose, states:

The purpose of the Institute is

• to advance the arts, sciences, and technology of aeronautics and astronautics and
• to nurture and promote the professionalism of those engaged in these pursuits.

• foster education in engineering and science
• improve public understanding of the profession
• promote communication among engineers and scientists
• foster the dissemination of new knowledge

"Physics is Fun" Day and the Mars Settlement Design Competition are two more examples in the last
month that AIAA can foster education in engineering and science. We also have numerous members
supporting Engineers Week by talking to students in their classroom. I was very impressed with Physics is
Fun Day. Joy Conrad, Pre-College Lead, organized the event, and she did an outstanding job. The
response from the students and adults was very positive. I am not sure who found it more informative - the
students or the adults. I am sure the demonstrations helped the adults remember a few principles not
thought about in a while, or missed in school when it probably was not "fun!" The numerous members
from the Section that volunteered to help with the event deserve a round of thanks also, but no thanks can
be as great as the delight showed by all the young faces as they were amazed by the demonstrations. I
wonder how many Homer Hickams (October Sky) were created that day.

I hope we have as much luck conveying our message to Congress in March. The Section will have a record
number of members attend Congressional Visits Day (CVD) this year. Our efforts to improve public
understanding of the profession through CVD have been well received the past two years.

Due to the success of the AIAA CVD in the last two years, we have been invited back this year. House
Science Chairman James Sensenbrenner, Sub-Committee Chairman Dana Rohrabacher, and the ranking
minority member, George Brown, have all emphasized how important this effort is and they have
encouraged us to come back. The purpose of CVD is to encourage support for aerospace Research and
Development. We visit both the House and the Senate members. The congressional visit emphasis is usually
on the House Science Committee. This year AIAA will be visiting the Executive Branch as well. About 33
Technical committees, members of Public Policy Committees, and numerous sections are expected to attend
this year. The Houston Section has supported this event the last two years. We visited the offices of every
local Congressional representative (Lampson, Jackson Lee, Brady, Hall - all are members of the Science
Committee, and DeLay) and both Texas Senators.

The ISS Service Vehicle Conference Planning Committee has been busy under the leadership of Councilor
Mike Lisano. Plans are coming along well. We had a great response to the call for papers. Based on the
great response to the call for papers, including a good showing of international responses, the conference
will certainly promote communication among engineers and scientists. The papers and the workshops
during the three-day conference will address the technology, operations and techniques involved with all
aspects of bringing vehicles into and out of the station. The conference will certainly foster the
dissemination of new knowledge. The conference is planned for April 25-28 at the Nassau Bay Hilton.

The Section has also established a Planning and Organization Committee for the Houston Section 1999
Annual Technical Symposium (ATS) under the experienced leadership of Zafar Taqvi. They have issued a
call for papers with abstracts (due March 31). The theme for the symposium is "Developing Space
Operations, Technology and Utilization."

At least six sessions are planned for papers. As with the national AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting, we
hope to have some see some new sessions this year to recognize the Mir-Phase One results. This year, we
plan several sessions that will bring together scientists targeting exploration and utilization of the
microgravity environment. We are looking for papers that will bring together engineers that must integrate
the science hardware and software with ISS systems. We are encouraging papers that focus on new
opportunities for the International Space Station. We would like to encourage papers on emerging plans
and ideas for station assembly and operations, as well as technological and operational requirements of the
shuttle and other vehicles interfacing with the ISS. We will have a session to look at new space
 transportation ideas, including rescue vehicles, the Interim Control Module, and X-Prize vehicles.
Nanotechnology and robotics will be highlighted in sessions as well, both of whichapply to low Earth orbit
and to planetary missions. Innovative ideas involving planetary sciences and operations will be the subject
of a session. Regarding all this, we are grateful to the GHG Corporation for agreeing to help the Section
receive and process the abstracts.

The ATS should offer an excellent opportunity to promote communication among engineers and scientists
in the JSC community. The audience will be even more diverse this year since this symposium is in
conjunction with the annual National Space Society International Space Development Conference. Our
Section has arranged for James Harford, AIAA Distingushed Lecturer, to be the luncheon speaker. He will
speak on "How the Russians Beat us to the Moon," based on information in his recent book. The evening
banquet will host the reunion of the Apollo 10 crew - Stafford, Young, and Cernan. The NSS has lined up
some fine speakers and programs, as well including NSS Chairman and Apollo 11 astronaut Buzz Aldrin,
former chief astronaut and now Kistler executive Dan Brandenstein, Mars expert and author Robert Zubrin
plus many more over the course of the five day conference. I encourage our Houston Section members to give papers or to encourage others to participate in this
important event.

There are some exciting things happening in the Section. If you are not involved yet, you are missing some
great opportunities. The Section can only do these things with the help and support of its members. As a
member, you will get the greatest benefit from AIAA by being involved. If you want to help, be sure to
contact someone on the Executive Council and we can help match your time, talent, and energy to the needs
of the Section.

To stay informed, visit our Section website at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/aiaa/. I encourage you to contact me
or any member of the Executive Council to discuss how you can contribute.

Looking forward to seeing you at AIAA this year.

Russ Filler
Chairman 1998-99
AIAA Houston Section 

John Madden, the Houston Section wishes you a speedy recovery!

John Madden, our Region IV Director, experienced heart problems in early January. John is recovering, has returned to work, and even conducted our Region IV meeting on February 2. The Houston Section Executive Council signed and delivered a get-well card for John. We wish John continued good health and a full recovery.

Student Paper Conference April 16

The Region IV Student Paper Conference will be held April 15-17, at the University of New Mexico in Albuquerque. The Houston Section is being asked to provide some judges on April 16th. Anyone that is interested should contact Russ Filler.

We encourage our student members to give papers. The purpose of the SPC is to provide a forum for AIAA Student Members at colleges and universities within the region to present technical papers in public competition for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes of $500, $350, and $200 in the undergraduate and graduate (masters candidates only) categories. The conferences serve to indoctrinate students into the practice of presenting technical work at AIAA national meetings. Winners go on to national and international competition. Additional information can be found at the AIAA national website http://www.aiaa.org; look under "Student Programs."

I am pleased to announce that John Vollmer will assume the duties and responsibilities as Vice-Chairman
Technical for the remainder of the 1998-99 year.

John Vollmer has been chairman of the Systems Engineering Technical Committee. John works for The
Boeing Company and served as the Boeing ISS Launch Package Manager for the successful Flight of 2A.
He is now assuming the duties of Manager, ISS Utilization.

John brings a lot of experience and talent to this position. Be sure to welcome John as Vice
Chairman-Technical and support him as needed. John can be reached at 281-336-4623 or
John.Vollmer@SW.Boeing.com

We wish to thank Mike Theoret for his service as Vice Chairman-Technical who submitted his resignation
January 18. Mike recognized his commitments would not allow him to continue as Vice Chairman
Technical, and, with the Annual Technical Symposium approaching, he felt it best to give the section time
to plan accordingly. We appreciate Mike's concerns and we hope we will see him on the Executive Council
again in the near future.

Recruit Young Professionals to Join AIAA

Do you know a young professional in the first five years of his or her career? Did you know that they can join AIAA for HALF-PRICE!! AIAA offers a special discount to young professionals ­ HALF PRICE DUES for the first year of AIAA membership. AIAA has developed special programs for young professionals who are under the age of 35.

Young professional members are entitled to benefits that make AIAA membership an investment in their career. Listed below are the most important benefits.

AIAA provides recognition among your colleagues inside and outside of work. A unique opportunity to Young Members is Associate Membership in one of AIAA's 66 Technical Committees (TCs). As an Associate Member you can help plan a national conference or write a position paper. The prestigious Lawrence Sperry Award is awarded to a young member every year for achievement in the advancement in aeronautics and astronautics. A
good way to develop presentation and organizational experience and to show off one of your successful projects from work is through the Young Professional Presentation Program (previously called Off-The-Drawing-Board). The Young Professional Presentation Program reserves a number of presentation slots at AIAA national conferences only for Young Professionals.

Expand your network of professional contacts through local meetings near your home and at national conferences. You will have the opportunity to meet with the leaders in your field. Remember, it's not what you know, it's who you know.

Make yourself more competitive. AIAA can help with that graduate degree you always wanted. AIAA offers scholarships and design competitions up to $5,000 to students pursuing aerospace careers.

Help AIAA Help You - Update Your Member Records!!

It is often said that the aerospace industry is the only place where you can have the same job for five years and work for five different companies. That is especially true given the industry-wide consolidation that has happened in the last few years. As companies have changed, so have the building signs and the business cards ­ but is your AIAA member record up to date??

A recent review of the Houston Section membership roster revealed almost 100 members working for companies that have changed (such as McDonnell Douglas and Rockwell Space Operations Company). Knowing where our members are working is vital to the Houston Section - for example it is helpful to be able to present organizational membership statistics when reaching out for corporate support for local AIAA activities.

Take a few minutes and visit the AIAA Houston Section website at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/aiaa/ or the AIAA national website at http://www.aiaa.org (click on MEMBERSHIP) to update your member information or call customer service at 1-800-639-2422.

Stay Informed with AIAA E-mails

As a service to our members, the Houston Section periodically sends out e-mail notices on upcoming events of interest. If you are an AIAA member and would like to be added to our distribution list, please contact Michael Begley at (281) 244-4741, or send a note to begley@pat.mdc.com

AIAA national also provides a weekly e-mail version of the What's New On the AIAA Web Site page.
You can subscribe to this mailing list by visiting http://www.aiaa.org/service/index.html

The AIAA National Announcements lists provides e-mail Legislative Alerts, New Publication Alerts, Periodicals Tables of Contents, and conference Calls for Papers and Complete Conference Programs in text format via e-mail. Subscribe to this mailing list by visiting http://www.aiaa.org/service/index.html

Because only a few people are privileged to escape earth's orbit and venture into space, space analogue
environments on earth are an important part of preparing astronauts for living in the isolation of a space
shuttle or space station. AIAA Life Sciences, Space Processes, and Human Factors Technical Committee
presents:
 

A Lunch and Learn:

"Antarctica: What Can We Learn in a Space Analogue Environment"

Wednesday
March 10, 1999
at 11:30 AM -12:30 PM

in Building 37, Conference Rm. 2

Please join us, bring your lunch and a friend, and listen to Dr. JoAnna Wood, who is currently at Baylor
College of Medicine supporting the National Space Biomedical Research Institute. She has been studying
psychological and social adaptation in isolated small groups, mostly in Antarctica, since 1993 through the
NASA NRA funding process. She will discuss how real people doing real work in real isolation will uncover
real problems for future space flight.

Looking forward to seeing you.

Please, to RSVP or for a temporary badge to attend, contact Karin Loftin at (281) 244-1122 or
kloftin@ems.jsc.nasa.gov.

A record 155 students pre-registered and 113 were in attendance on Saturday morning February 6th. The event started with Joy Conrad smashing cans and expanding marshmallows with a vacuum pump at NASA's Gilruth Center then the students broke up into groups. These groups spent two hours rotating between 9 tables with hands-on physics demos.

AIAA members Stephanie Sipila and Elizabeth Bains spun kids around on swivel chairs to show conservation of angular momentum and how it applies to ice skaters. Steve King levitated a beach ball with a shop vac illustrating
the Bernoulli principle of how airplanes fly, and Kate Pilcher rolled objects down an inclined plane to show the importance of mass distribution in angular momentum. Dennis Stone and Joy Conrad made electromagnets out of nails and wire, and John Keener showed the kids that they could stand on paper cups
with the proper use of pressure. Attendees next shot off Alka-Seltzer rockets and made Space Shuttle gliders with the help of Steve Miller and Lane Skyles, followed by a Bernoulli principle demonstration with cans by Lane Honeycutt. Finally Jean Hill explored the mechanical advantage of a lever, while Karin Loftin, and Terry and Julianne Clancy demonstrated the physics of toys with a tornado bottle and gyroscope. AIAA Educator Associate Sandy Peck and Chairman Russ Filler also helped out as official photographers.

Not only did the kids have fun learning a little physics, but the Houston AIAA Section has now started a permanent inventory of demonstration equipment.

Contact Joy Conrad at (281)
480-4101 X220 or
jconrad@averstar.com if you would to check out any of the following items:

• Vacuum Chamber (height: 10 in, radius: 6in)
• Electromagnet Demo (wire wrapped around nails, batteries)
• Inclined Plane Demo (solid ball, plastic and metal cylinder)
• Lever
• Tornado Bottles

NEW REGION IV Staff Liaison

February 8, 1999

from Kimberly Grant
Region IV Staff Liaison

Hello All!

I must inform you that I will be leaving my position on the Membership Team (but not the Institute). I have
been offered a newly created position working with Merrie Scott on the 2003 Program. Specifically, I will
now be responsible for all the educational programs, the historical video, the region and section activities,
and the Web site.

I am pleased to say that your new Staff Liaison will be Mary Ellen Shook from our Customer Service
Department. I know that she will do a great job with the Region. The change between Mary Ellen and I will
begin this week and will be fully complete by the end of the month. I will still be in the picture for a while
helping but I will play a "background" role. Mary Ellen will e-mail her contact information out to you as
soon as it becomes available.

It has been a pleasure working with you all the past three years. I hope that we have the opportunity to
work together again on the 2003 Programs. Thanks again for making my job as Staff Liaison such fun!

Kimberly Grant

Chairman's note:

We have all enjoyed working with Kimberly Grant. She has done an outstanding job for us and the region.
We wish her the best in her new position. We welcome Mary Ellen Shook and look forward to working with
her.

Mary Ellen Shook can be reached at 1-800-new-AIAA or maryellens@aiaa.org

 Past Chairman Jim McLane has done a tremendous job serving as the Lead Coordinator for many years with our AIAA China Sister section. Jim has now asked that this great opportunity be passed along.

Our AIAA China Sister Section is based around the Shanghai, China Astronomical Society, which is a part of the Chinese Society of Astronautics. The responsibilities of Lead Coordinator involve:

• Serve as a point of contact for correspondence
• Maintain contacts and information exchange
• Encourage and coordinate cooperative ventures
• Encourage exchange of ideas
• Provide a forum for discussion

Anyone interested in more information on helping with this effort, or even taking the Lead Coordinator position, please contact Jim McLane at 281-488-0312, or e-mail mclane@hal-pc.org.

You can also contact Houston Section Chairman Russ Filler at 281-483-6904 or by e-mail at rfiller@ems.jsc.nasa.gov.

The AIAA Houston Section meeting for January featured a presentation on the X-40 program, the SMV (Space Maneuvering Vehicle). Air Force Major Ken Verderame, Director, SMV Technology Program Office gave a fact-filled presentation. Only a few highlights are listed here. The program started with the showing of a video which demonstrated the close relationship between the military and the civilian sectors in aviation development: the DC-3 and the C-47; the KC-135 and the 707; the C-5A and the 747.

What is coming next? The military wants a space plane, the space maneuvering vehicle (SMV), a completely reusable launch vehicle which operationally is much simpler to operate than the present launch vehicles. The DC-X gave some indications of the direction to take with three men in a single trailer as the launch crew and also rugged enough to survive several mishaps during its short test program. The DC-X program objective was not to develop a single new vehicle but to demonstrate new technologies and to chart a path for further development. The X-40A continues on as an Operations Demonstrator to be followed by a vehicle able to deliver a 10k payload to polar orbit.

Towards this end, the Air Force and NASA formed the Air Force/NASA Council 18 months ago. The NASA Administrator, Dan Goldin and the Air Force agreed that the Air Force would work on the payloads aspect while NASA develops reusable vehicles. The program is managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center's "Future X Vehicle Office". This office has three branches - Basic Technology Development, Pathfinder Vehicles (e.g., the X-34
and the Advanced Technology Vehicle-ATV) and Trailblazers which are fully integrated systems. By definition Pathfinders must cost less than $100M. The Air Force would call Trailblazers "Y vehicles". The X-33 (Venture Star) program would be a Trailblazer except that it is a separate contract and not under Future X Vehicle office auspices.

The X-40A (12 ft wing span, 28 ft long, wt. 2600 lb.) started the Phase I flight test program last August. However, the first flight met all test objectives so the program will move on to Phase II. The vehicle made a completely autonomous approach and landing after being dropped from a Blackhawk helicopter at 9000 ft. The vehicle stopped 7 feet left of centerline after a runout of 7200 ft. on runway 04 at EDW. The next phase of testing will involve drops from a B-52 this summer. The test team hopes to be able to demonstrate rapid (<72 hr.) turn-arounds also. While this flight testing is occurring, the X-40B is being built. There is a 30 month test program for this vehicle which will use an AR-2 engine (used for the F-104) which has 6000 lb. of thrust and uses storable propellants (peroxide and JP). After the test program there is enough time to integrate the vehicle with the shuttle for a flight in August 2002, as a secondary payload, which means the Air Force is not charged for the flight. A possible third vehicle, the X-40C (Air Force designation Y-40) will use a more powerful engine.

The space plane on the upcoming shuttle flight has two missions: one for NASA and one for the Air Force. To accomplish this, one containerized payload will be in the space plane and the other in the cargo bay. The plane will leave the shuttle, deploy the NASA payload after which the shuttle will rendezvous with it. The plane will then be placed in the bay, and the Air Force payload placed in the plane during an EVA. The EVA will also demonstrate
refueling techniques which were partially demonstrated on an earlier shuttle flight (41-G). The X-40 will then leave the orbiter and perform the Air Force mission and sometime later will deorbit and land on its own. [The space plane placed in orbit fully fueled has lunar orbit capability and could deliver a 20 lb. package to the lunar surface.]

There are a lot of things to do before this mission occurs and work has already started with a date in the WDEF this May. This will not only give the Air Force experience but will also demonstrate cooperation between the Air Force and NASA. The Air Force also has a prototype space plane control panel mockup at Seal Beach, where inputs from the astronaut office are being integrated while the Air Force becomes familiar with crew interfaces.

The bottom line is that the present Air Force would like to be tomorrow's Aero Space Force. The Air Force believes that the military space plane is the first step on the way to get there

The Houston Section of the AIAA is pleased to announce the Spirit of Apollo Scholarship for the 1999-2000 school year in the amount of $1000. Applications will be accepted from 1 March to 1 May 1999.

Basic eligibility requirements include:

• Completion of at least one academic year of full-time college work at the time of receiving the scholarship.
• Maintenance of a college grade point average of not less than 3.0 on a 4.0 scale.
• Pursuing a degree in any field of engineering or science.

Well, I seem to have bamboozled you with the January puzzle asking you to pick out the names of trees from
a 6 x 6 matrix of letters! I've only gotten one answer - from John Selmarten (and he did very well). So I've
decided to leave this puzzle open for another month before awarding the prize. Get out those January issues
and give that puzzle a shot! We'll decide next month who gets the free dinner at a future AIAA event.

In the meantime, here's a little short one for you - no prize to be given - but let's see if you remember your
basic algebra.

I am thinking of two numbers, each of which is a whole integer. The product of these two numbers is three
times larger than their sum. What are the two numbers?

Send me your answer via e-mail to Norman.H.Chaffee1@jsc.nasa.gov, or by paper mail to Norman Chaffee, Mail Code AP2, NASA-JSC, Houston, TX 77058

Have fun, and I'll see you next month!

Norm Chaffee