We woke up to an incredible storm and drove to base in pouring rain and lightening that illuminated the sky.
After working on the experiment over the weekend we had to carry it into the hangar. The team was under stress and we tried to work fast to put together the experiment. We pumped down the chamber and backfilled it with argon. It held a pretty consistent vacuum. The circuit still tripped when Val’s new wiring system was hooked up. Several NASA personnel were debating the problem, which was finally attributed to a difference in amperage that tripped the safety device on the power source provided by NASA.
Despite this continuing problem we assembled the experiment and prepared for the test readiness review. As the group of NASA officials descended upon our experiment, Kel (Elkins) explained everything and several team members answered questions. In the end they were satisfied with the experiment, only suggesting additional padding of sharp pieces.
We had to weigh our experiment then, and it topped a whopping 341 lbs. A decision was made to fashion a special adapter for our RF generator, and we had to get a specific plug.
The team and our NASA mentor went to lunch and bought the necessary piece. We returned to the hangar and loaded our experiment into the plane via a forklift. The structure had to be bolted to the floor of the plane and the electrical system hooked up. The flyers got fitted with flight suits and had a briefing on motion sickness while the other members were able to strike a plasma in the chamber. Then it was time to leave the hanger.
After a quick stop at the hotel we went to the gift shop at Space Center Houston. It was absolutely huge. Then we stopped at Target on the way back to get a Slinky for outreach.
We met our adviser and the USC team for dinner at an Italian restaurant next to our hotel. The food was delicious. Afterwards we said goodbye to the USC team and went back to our rooms.
0 comments:
Post a Comment