|
Physics is Fun was
a Big Success
|
By Joy Conrad, Pre-College Chair
Physics is Fun was a success with 47 students in attendance from the
surrounding area. There were several no shows, but the smaller crowd
lead to more individual attention for each student. There were 7
AIAA volunteers and an astounding 19 students from Texas A&M (Bryan
Lowman, Brent Stevenson, Jennifer Wilds, Jeff Jensen, Kyle Hendrickson,
Kristy Ferber, Ryan Murphy, Blue Bradley, Nathan Kielmann, Reny Vargis,
Diana Talley, Bret Burger, Bryan Wood, Michele Clasen, Elizabeth Zappata,
John Theisinger, Maria Nobles, Daniel Nobles, and Melanie Duncan).
There were also two students from Rice University (Vinod Kumar and Feby
Abraham) and 3 NASA co-ops (Laurie Darling, Mandi Baldwin, and Kari Goulard).
Joy Conrad (AIAA Pre-College Outreach Chair) started the day with one large
presentation on astronauts and the vacuum of outer space. The students
then divided into 9 groups and rotated between tables with demos for them
to try. The Texas A&M students sponsored a balsa airplane construction
table, and they also had their AIAA 1999/2000 3rd place aircraft design
model on display. They also helped in all the other demos including
angular momentum (spinning kids and rolling objects down an inclined plane)
and rocket design comparison with Alka Seltzer rockets.
AIAA member Elizabeth Bloomer hosted the Toys table with tornado bottles
and gyroscopes, and Liz Bains built a wind tunnel for the students to try
different wing designs. Ivan Berrios and Dr. Juritz led the students
in a pressure demonstration standing on paper cups, and the Rice University
students sponsored a paper airplane construction table featuring several
different designs. Frances Mount and AIAA Councilor Steve King also
helped coordinate the activities. Both the students and volunteers
had lots of fun during the 3-hour event and hopefully the kids left with
a little more appreciation and understanding of how things work.
You are all welcome to come out and enjoy the future Section activities.
Please bring a guest(s).
Chairman’s Corner
By Dr. Garland Bauch, Chairman
Greetings to all members of the Houston Section. I hope
all of you have been enjoying the Section activities. As Chair,
my goal will be to promote the professionalism of those engaged in the
advancement of the arts, sciences, and technology of aeronautics and astronautics.
As shown below, six (6) objectives are being proposed to achieve this goal.
Presently, an Executive Tour of local stakeholders is being planned
to achieve objective 1 - increase communication between the Section leadership
and local stakeholders. During this tour, each stakeholder will be
asked to provide an Executive for an AIAA Houston Section Steering Committee
that will meet quarterly. This Committee will provide guidance
to the AIAA leadership for planning future programs and events that serve
the needs of aerospace professions within the Section territory.
Also, the Executives will be presented with ideas how they can help the
AIAA and how the AIAA can help them.
Phone tree planning by Phil Puddy continues as a means to achieve objective
2 - increase Section membership participation in activities. Phil
has drawn up guidelines for the tree and is recruiting members to participate
as callers in the Team.
The Recruitment team led by Dr. Sivaram Arepalli has been busy recruiting
future leaders and participants to meet objective 3 – increase the number
of section leader and participants available for activities.
This Team includes Bill Best and Norm Chaffee.
The Honors and Awards Team led by Rakesh Bhargava has been working with
Section members to identify nominees. This team includes Winston
Goodrich, Monica Visinsky, and Walter Haufler. The team was created
to meet objective 4 - increase the number of national awards and
honors to Section members. Recently, the Section nominated Dr. Chang-Diaz
for the Wyld Propulsion Award. A list of awards due in February
is being published in this newsletter and on the Web. Also
Mike Begley has emailed out the list to the members so they can participate
in the process.
During the Executive Tour, the stakeholders will be asked to provide
additional funds in support of objective 5 – increase the number of Student
Scholarship awards.
Several activities/programs/events occurred during October as follows:
On October 18th, The AIAA Safety and Total Health Day booth hosted by
Pete Scobby, Sophia Bright, and Russ Filler was a total success.
About 500 people visited the booth and answered the questionnaires on space
flight and airplanes. About 50 membership forms were distributed
to the visitors.
Dr. Benton C. Clark, an AIAA distinguished lecturer, spoke on “Human
Missions to the Red Planet” at a dinner meeting. The meeting
was at the Holiday Inn on October 18th.
“Physics is Fun” day led by Joy Conrad was held on October 21st.
It was a success with 47 students in attendance from the surrounding area.
There were 7 AIAA volunteers there and an astounding 19 students from Texas
A&M.
Carlos Blanco met with the Service Vehicles Conference (SVC) group on
October 27th at the Regatta Apartments to restart the planning process.
The SVC has been delayed till October 2001. Space Station has
a major milestone review in the March, 2001 timeframe
Houston Section Awards
By Rakesh Bhargava, Honors & Awards Chair
Honors & Awards Committee, AIAA Houston Section, would like
to extend congratulations to the Members of the Section and particularly
members in leadership role for their contribution in making the 1999-2000
a successful year. We are proud to share the following news:
Houston Section has won the following 1999/2000 AIAA Section
Awards:
First Place Outstanding Section Award - Large Category
First Place Career Enhancement Award - Large Category
Second Place Communication Award - Large Category
First Place Membership Award - Large Category
First Place Pre-College Outreach Award - Large Category
Second Place Public Policy Award - Large Category
Second Place Young Professional Activity Award - Large Category
For these awards, on behalf of the Houston Section, the following members
are congratulated for their leadership and dedication to the Section's
activities: Merri J. Sanchez, Ivan Berrios, John Keener, Darby G.
Cooper, Joy Conrad, John R. Bendle and Kevin Butler.
Honors & Awards Committee, AIAA Houston Section, would like
to extend congratulations to the following members who have been elected
to the Associate Fellow Grade. It may be noted that a total of 7
members, among the 13 promoted to the grade of Associate Fellow in Region
4, are from Houston area.
Rakesh K. Bhargava, E. M. Collins, Sally P. Davis, Clarence T. Modlin,
Lisa M. Nowak, Howard A. Wagner and John D. Whitcomb
GN&C Tech Notes: Orbit Geometry
and Sun-Tracking Satellites
By Douglas Yazell, Guidance,
Navigation, and Control Technical Committee Chair
For many sun-tracking satellites such as ISS (International Space Station),
large solar panels dominate GN&C performance, since they create such
large aerodynamic torques and thus have a strong effect on satellite attitude.
The solar panel gimbal angles are directly related to the solar beta angle,
the angle between the sun line (from the Earth’s center) and the orbit
plane. However, it is difficult to find texts and papers which discuss
the solar beta angle. For ISS, this angle’s range is from about negative
75 to 75 degrees, where 75 degrees is the sum of the ISS orbit inclination
and the ecliptic angle, the obliquity of the ecliptic. The ISS program
defines it to be positive when the sun and the orbit angular momentum are
on the same side of the orbit plane. (A few pages of a set of PowerPoint
slides devoted to Orbital Mechanics on the ISS VIPER web site- http://iss-www.jsc.nasa.gov/ss/issapt/veh/er/er_home_old.html
"Other Products"- provide an excellent discussion of this angle.
They include a plot of the time history of the solar beta angle in a typical
year.)
It is often practical for GN&C simulations to define the initial
orbit by inputting the solar beta angle, the date, and the orbit inclination.
A surprising result is that two orbits (two orbit ascending node angles)
satisfy a given solar beta angle, date, and orbit inclination. Simulation
software is often designed to pick one orbit without informing the simulation
user that a choice was made. The two choices can be very different,
though they are identical in certain special cases. There are two
important reasons why the simulation user should be given this choice.
First, the user wants to understand the definition of the initial orbit.
Second, the choice will affect how close the satellite passes to the center
of the diurnal bulge, the bulge caused by the sun’s heating of the atmosphere
below it more than elsewhere. Admittedly, the user might not be concerned
with this bulge’s effect on the atmospheric density (and thus aerodynamic
torques and vehicle attitude). The user might not even be familiar
with the orbit geometry. The choice should still be required of the
user, while noting that either choice is correct for the given solar beta
angle, date, and orbit inclination.
The sine of the solar beta angle can be split into two simple parts
using only the trigonometry of planar, right triangles (in several planes).
An even simpler application of plane trigonometry then allows the orbit
ascending node angle to be expressed as the sum of two simple parts, the
arctangent of one expression plus the arcsine of another expression.
This latter term results in the two solutions instead of one for the orbit
ascending node angle. This result is easier to derive using the mathematics
of Euler angles or, alternatively, the mathematics of spherical triangles,
since they both provide a systematic approach for keeping track of about
six angles. But the results from these two methods provide a more
complex expression than the one obtained from plane trigonometry.
A little extra work shows all of these expressions for orbit ascending
node angle to be equivalent.
For a given date and orbit inclination, the maximum solar beta occurs
when the ascending node is 90 degrees after (a positive rotation about
the mean Earth rotation axis of the J2000 epoch) the projection of the
sun into the equatorial plane (mean Earth equatorial plane of the J2000
epoch), and the minimum occurs 90 degrees before that projection.
By making a sketch which looks down either one of the related lines of
nodes, viewing the orbit plane and the equatorial plane edge-on, one can
quickly estimate the maximum or minimum solar beta angle for a given date
and orbit inclination without using a computer or calculator.
Details of the above results can be found in a 12-page PowerPoint briefing
from the author, who can be contacted at douglas.yazell@honeywell.com.
The Houston AIAA GN&C Technical Committee continues to recruit qualified
engineers of any age to help with our work. A first draft of our
goals, etc., can be viewed by following the link called Section Links (Houston
Technical Committees) at http://www.jsc.nasa.gov/aiaa.
We would like to recruit at least one member from each "GN&C" company
in the Clear Lake area. Our three current members work for Honeywell,
Lockheed Martin, and Hernandez Engineering. An important part of
our job now is to support the upcoming (March or April 2001) second Houston
AIAA ISS Service Vehicles Conference.
Announcement for the Nominations of AIAA National Awards
By Rakesh Bhargava, Honors &
Awards Chair
Honors & Awards Committee, AIAA Houston Section, would like to bring
to your attention that nominations are invited for the 2001 National AIAA
Awards listed below. The due date to submit the complete nomination
package is February 1, 2001 unless otherwise noted. If you wish to
nominate someone, we will be glad to help you in preparing the nomination
package or we will be glad to prepare the package. Please contact
the following:
Rakesh Bhargava Tel: 713-977-7770; e-mail: bhargava@uei-houston.com
Winston Goodrich Tel: 281-244-0122; e-mail: winston.d.goodrich1@jsc.nasa.gov
Monika Visinsky Tel: 281-228-5551 e-mail: mvisinsk@oss.oceaneering.com
Walter Haufler Tel: 281-336-4286 e-mail: walter.haufler@sw.boeing.com
List of Awards with a brief description for each Award
Aerospace Maintenance Award
This award was first presented in 1987 to an individual who has made
a major contribution to the aerospace maintenance discipline (aviation,
missile and space) resulting in a significant improvement in operational
and cost effectiveness. The intent is to recognize an individual who has
developed and implemented new maintenance concepts and has been instrumental
in the resolution of key aerospace issues.
Aerospace Power Systems Award
Established in 1981, this award is presented for a significant contribution
in the broad field of aerospace power systems, specifically as related
to the application of engineering sciences and systems engineering to the
production, storage, distribution, and processing of aerospace power.
Aircraft Design Award
This award was established in 1968 and is given to a design engineer
or team for the conception, definition, or development of an original concept
leading to a significant advancement in aircraft design or design technology.
DeFlorez Award for Modeling and Simulation
This award is named in honor of the late Admiral Luis DeFlorez and is
presented for an outstanding achievement in the application of modeling
and simulation to aerospace training, research, and development.
Energy Systems Award
Established in 1981, the Energy Systems Award is presented for a significant
contribution in the broad field of energy systems, specifically as related
to the application of engineering sciences
and systems engineering to the production, storage, distribution, and
conservation of energy.
Engineer of the Year Award
The award is presented to an individual member of AIAA who has made
a recent significant contribution that is worthy of national recognition.
All nominations for this award should be sent directly to your Regional
Director by 1 December of each year.
Hap Arnold Award for Excellence in Aeronautical Program
Management
The Hap Arnold Award for Excellence in Aeronautical Program Management
was approved by the AIAA Board of Directors in 1997 and is presented to
an individual for outstanding contributions in the management of a significant
aeronautical or aeronautical related program or project. (This
award was the former Leadership in Total Quality Management Award).
Mechanics and Control of Flight Award
This award is presented for an outstanding recent technical or scientific
contribution by an individual in the mechanics, guidance, or control of
flight in space or the atmosphere.
Piper General Aviation Award
Formerly the General Aviation Award, this award is presented for outstanding
contributions leading to the advancement of general aviation; honoring
William T. Piper, Sr., who made the name Piper synonymous with general
aviation.
Space Operations and Support Award
Established in 1991, this award is presented for outstanding efforts
in overcoming space operations problems and assuring success, and recognize
those teams or individuals whose exceptional contributions were critical
to an anomaly recovery team, crew rescue or space failure. The award is
presented biennially (in odd numbered years).
Space Systems Award
Formerly the Spacecraft Design Award, the Space Systems Award is presented
to recognize outstanding achievements in the architecture, analysis, design,
and implementation of space systems.
von Braun Award for Excellence in Space Program Management
Approved by the Board of Directors in 1987, this award gives national
recognition to an individual(s) for outstanding contributions in the management
of a significant space or space-related program or project.
Wright Brothers Lectureship in Aeronautics
Commemorating the first powered flights made by Orville and Wilbur at
Kitty Hawk, in 1903, this lectureship emphasizes significant advances in
aeronautics by recognizing major leaders and contributors thereto.
| Gene
Kranz Book
Review by Bill Best
Almost every human being on the planet has heard or read the words,
"Houston, we have a problem." Thus began the incredible saga of Apollo
13 and more to the point what some have described as Mission Control's
finest hour.
Last April 24 hundreds of space flight fans, retired aerospace workers
and current employees gathered at Barnes and Noble in Webster for an opportunity
to meet the one person who probably epitomizes Mission Control to the general
public. The occasion was a book signing by Gene Kranz of his new book "Failure
Is Not An Option." The night was made even more memorable by the
attendance of other veterans of Mission Control , Chris Kraft, Glynn Lunney,
Milt Windler, Pete Frank, and Gerry Griffin. The line was a least three
hours long and probably would have been longer expect for the fact that
copies of the book ran out!
The wait was a rewarding one as the book is a important investment for
any space buff. Gene details each mission and narrates the sequence of
events that occurred during each flight. The book is a valuable history
about mission control from Mercury through the Apollo program, it's beginnings,
the changes that occurred as space flight experience was gained, how traditions
got started and certainly not least the humorous things that occurred over
the years. Everyone interested in space flight should get a copy
to learn that as the jacket says: "What appeared as nearly flawless missions
to the Moon were, in fact, a series of hair raising near misses."
The story illustrates that nothing can take the place of highly trained,
motivated, and talented people who can act a team. Technology is great,
but teamwork is better. Anyone who does not read this book is missing out
on a historic, well written story. For those of us that worked during those
years it will bring back a lot of memories.
|
Recruit
Young Professionals to Join AIAA
By Sophia Bright, Membership
Chair
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 (TC). 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 just what you
know, it's also 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. |
INNOVATIONS
2001
Call
for Presentation Abstracts!
Organized by
The Clear Lake Council Of Technical
Societies
in cooperation with, and co-sponsored
by, the CLCTS member organizations
AIAA, IEEE, ISA, ISSA, and INCOSE
FRIDAY,
APRIL 27th, 2001
at
Gilruth Center, NASA
Johnson Space Center
Registration starts at
11:30 am
NOON LUNCHEON (Details
will be announced soon)
PROGRAM
| 1:15-2:00 PM
2:05-2:50 PM
2:55-3:35 PM
3:35-4:00 PM |
Technical Sessions (A)
Parallel sessions organized by the member
Technical Sessions (B)
Parallel sessions organized by the member
Technical Sessions (C)
Parallel sessions organized by the member
RECEPTION
Hosted by local Aerospace Companies |
INDIVIDUAL SESSIONS OF INNOVATIONS
2001 ARE ORGANIZED BY MEMBER
ORGANIZATIONS OF CLCTS. Each
session will consist of 3 to 4 presentations.
Deadline
for submission of Presentation Abstracts is Wednesday,
Janury
10th, 2001
Please submit your abstracts to your society
officers- AIAA, CASS, IEEE, ISA, ISSA, INCOSE
For additional information on the conference,
please contact:
General Chairman,
Edward Jablonski/Dynacs at 281-336-4294 (edward.j.jablonski@boeing.com)
Program Chairman
– Dr. Zafar Taqvi/Dynacs at 281-244-4436 (Z.Taqvi@ieee.org)
FOR REGISTRATION
Contact Sheryl at 281-483-8243
Full Day Program:
$12.00, Luncheon Only: $7.50, Innovation 2001 Only: $5.00
WAR 2001 Only: FREE
REGISTRATION
DEADLINE- April 14th, 2001
INNOVATIONS ’2001 IS SPONSORED BY
THE JAIPCC EXECUTIVE BOARD
Note: the WAR
2001 Conference will be held in the morning of April 27th, 2001 at the
same location as INNOVATIONS 2001. The Luncheon is common to both.
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? Knowing where our members are
working is vital to the Houston Section in obtaining corporate support
for local AIAA activities (such as our monthly dinner meeting). Take
a few minutes and visit the AIAA website at http://www.aiaa.org/service/address.html
to update your member information or call customer service at 1-800-639-2422.
Feel free to also contact T. Sophia Bright, Houston Section Membership
Chair, at 281-244-4735 if you have questions regarding your membership.
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@hou-mail1.tx.boeing.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
Calendar
of Events
December 2000
12/04 Executive Council Meeting
12/15 Newsletter inputs due
12/15 Submit Cat III/IV incentive rebate request to Regional
12/7 Breakfast Holiday program with Mr. Parsons
January 2001
1/01 Executive Council Meeting
1/08-11 39th AIAA Aerospace Science Meeting and Exhibits
in Reno
1/14 Spirit of Apollo Scholarship applications and letters sent out
1/15 Newsletter inputs due
TBD Physics is Fun Day (ask Joy when date is)
TBD Nominations due to National for following awards: Aerospace
Power Systems,
Energy Systems, Mechanisms & Control of Flight, DeFlores Award
for Modeling and Simulation, Aerospace GNC Award, Astrodynamics, Multidisciplinary
Design Optimization, Space Systems, von Braun Space Program Management;
G. M. Low Space Transportation, Aerospace Maintenance, Aircraft Design,
Hap Arnold Award for Excellence, Piper General Aviation, Wright Brothers
Lectureship
TBD Dinner Program
TBD Future City Competition (ask Zafar when date is)
February 2001
2/05 Executive Council Meeting
2/15 Newsletter inputs due
2/18-24 Engineer’s Week
TBD Region IV RAC Telecon (ask Mary Ellen for dates)
TBD Mars Settlement Design Competition (Ask Norm or Bonnie Dunbar for
dates)
TBD Identify Associate Fellow Nominations
TBD Dinner Program
TBD AIAA National Elections
TBD First Robotics Competition |
March 2001
3/01 2000-2001 Officer Nominating Committee named
3/05 Executive Council Meeting
3/15 Identify Fellow Nominations
3/16 Newsletter inputs due
TBD Dinner Program:
TBD Congressional Visits Day (ask John Bendle for date)
3/22-24 Houston Science and Engineering Fair
TBD First Robotics Competition at Astroarena (Lone Star Regionals)
April 2001
4/02 Executive Council Meeting
4/08 Region IV RAC at Dallas (ask Mary Ellen for date)
4/08 SPC held at Dallas
4/15 Associate Fellow upgrade nominations due to National
4/15 2000-2001 Officer Election ballots mailed
4/16 Newsletter inputs due
4/25-27 Service Vehicle Conference (get dates from Dr.
Berrios)
TBD Annual Technical Symposium (TBD combine with SVC)
TBD Dinner Program
May 2001
5/01 Houston Section Spirit of Apollo scholarships applications due
5/07 Executive Council Meeting
5/10-12 Global Air and Space 2000 International Business
Forum and Exhibits in Washington, DC (need to update date)
5/15 2000-2001 Officers announced
5/15 Spirit of Apollo Scholarship winner announced
5/15 Associate Fellow references due to National
5/18 Newsletter inputs due
5/24 WAR 2000/Innovation 2000, Gilruth (get new date from Zafar)
TBD Clear Lake City Technical Societies Annual Awards Banquet (get
dates from Zafar)
TBD Dinner Program
TBD Space Day 2001
|
| Horizons
is the monthly newsletter (except for the months of July and August) of
the Houston Section of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
It is created by members of the Houston Section and reproduced at the Houston
Offices of Lockheed Martin. Opinions expressed herein, other than
by elected Houston Section Officers, are those of the authors and do not
necessarily represent the position of AIAA or the Houston Section.
Please address all correspondence to the Houston Section Chairman, Garland
Bauch. Phone 281-483-1309; e-mail garland.t.bauch1@jsc.nasa.gov. |
December 2000
|
