Archive | April 29, 2011 | Armed with Science

Thinking of Those Affected by Recent Tornadoes

Filed under Earth Sciences, Uncategorized by Julie Weckerlein on April 29, 2011 at 1:01 pm {2 comments}

A member of the Arkansas National Guard chops up fallen trees following a tornado, April 25. (National Guard photo)

Our thoughts are with those affected by the recent string of tornadoes and violent weather in the midwest and southern states. Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., and smaller military installations were some of those hit, and hundreds of National Guard members are currently involved with recovery and clean-up efforts.

For more information on how DOD is responding, and for more information about tornadoes and preparing for a natural disaster, check out the following links:

National Guard tackles deadly storms, fires and floods

Team Little Rock Airmen weather storm, ready for deployment

Information about tornado season

Information about tornados and how they form

Information about tornado preparedness

Putting recent severe storms in historical perspective

Countdown To Endeavour: Launch Day Has Arrived!

Filed under Earth Sciences, STEM by Carla Voorhees on April 29, 2011 at 10:53 am {no comments}

Kathy Winters is an Air Force Civilian Meteorologist at the 45th Weather Squadron at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. She is the Space Shuttle Launch Weather Officer providing weather support to the Space Shuttle Program at Kennedy Space Center as the Launch Team prepares for the 29 April 2011 launch of Endeavour. You can find out more about the 45th Space Wing at their Facebook page.

Update (12:54 pm EDT): We’ve received word that NASA has scrubbed today’s launch attempt, saying “Shuttle launch director Mike Leinbach has scrubbed today’s STS-134 launch attempt because of an issue associated with Auxiliary Power Unit 1 heaters. There will be at least a 48-hour scrub turnaround while engineers assess the issue. NASA Television will air a news conference later this afternoon.”

[Editor's note - You can watch the countdown and liftoff of Endeavour live on NASA TV; liftoff is scheduled for 3:47 EDT today, Friday 29 April 2011]

Launch Day is finally here, and it’s time to see all of the team’s hard work pay-off. Hopefully the weather will cooperate! We have a standard team of meteorologists working the launch.

Todd McNamara and Kathy Winters discuss the Field Mill rule and cloud cover with the Launch Weather Team

Todd McNamara, right, and Kathy Winters discuss the Field Mill rule and cloud cover with the Launch Weather Team

First, our Launch Weather Officer on the tanking shift will come in around midnight and provide information to the team in preparation for tanking. About 45 minutes before tanking Friday morning, he will provide the final tanking weather briefing which will also include a launch forecast. With this information as well as information from other Shuttle team members concerning the vehicle status, the Shuttle managers will decide whether to press on to tanking. The rest of the Launch Weather Team will arrive Friday morning and begin monitoring the weather and evaluating Launch Commit Criteria (PDF). Each team member has a particular role, which helps us monitor our many different weather systems as well as manage all the different activities going on, including the weather information flow from the Transoceanic Abort Landing sites to Johnson Space Center. (more…)

Countdown To Endeavour: Brush Fire at Kennedy Space Center

Filed under Earth Sciences by Carla Voorhees on April 28, 2011 at 8:00 am {no comments}

Wednesday was a busy day. The day started with issuing the Ice Team Forecast update and the L-2 Day launch forecast. Then I briefed weather at the L-2 day Shuttle Mission Management Team (MMT) meeting. Following the MMT meeting, it was off to the press site for a press conference with Mike Moses, the Launch Integration Manager, and Mike Leinbach, the Launch Director. I am always surprised I get invited to this press briefing, but since weather causes approximately 50% of launch scrubs, NASA public affairs asks me to brief the weather and be available for any questions.

Fire at Kennedy Space Center, approximately three nautical miles from the Shuttle launch pad (Photo by Kathy Winters)

After the press briefing Wednesday, I saw this fire at Kennedy Space Center about 3 nautical miles from the Shuttle launch pad. When fires like this occur, the 45th Weather Squadron gets calls from Kennedy Space Center personnel for current and forecast weather information, particularly wind speed and direction, so actions can be taken to protect personnel and resources. Also, cumulus clouds formed above the fire which had our launch team thinking about our smoke plume rule in the lightning launch commit criteria. On launch day, if a cumulus cloud formed from a fire and moved into the path of the launch, weather would be RED for the Smoke Plume rule until 60 minutes after the cloud detached from the smoke plume. As you can imagine, sometimes it can be difficult to tell when a cumulus cloud detaches from the smoke plume, and unless we are clearly convinced a lightning launch commit criteria (PDF) is not violated, weather is RED for launch. (more…)

So, why do you change your oil every 3,000 miles?

Filed under Physical Sciences, STEM, Technology by John Ohab on April 27, 2011 at 1:54 pm {5 comments}

MRAP on Patrol in Afghanistan. (Photo: Sgt. Justin Howe)

This blog post was shared by the Reliability Information Analysis Center (RIAC). It is the 17th in our 22-part series produced by the Defense Technical Information Center (DTIC).

Because that’s what it says in the owner’s manual. But, how much could you save if you waited until 6,000 miles [provided of course you didn’t damage your engine]? It’s questions like this that RIAC engineers, scientists and subject matter experts (SMEs) are dealing with every day on weapons platforms from tanks, to planes, to helicopters, and even submarines.

RIAC engineers not only study the maintenance requirements in the owner’s manuals, but they also spend hours researching failure rates and explore various data sets related to maintenance events. This is a highly structured and very effective process called Reliability Centered Maintenance.

A Reliability Centered Maintenance analysis starts with detailed systems drawings. From the drawings, every component is analyzed for ways that it could possibly fail and then analyzed to see how severe that failure could be to the system. Next, engineers review the actual field failure data or use one of the databases on failures developed over the past 45 years at RIAC. Then, RIAC engineers look at the maintenance currently performed and analyze whether or not certain activities could be eliminated or reduced. Any activity that’s been identified for elimination or reduction must be explored further to ensure the overall system remains safe and reliable. If the overall system remains safe, there’s an opportunity for cost savings to come into play.

(more…)

Countdown to Endeavour: Rockets Can Trigger Lightning Strikes

Filed under Earth Sciences by Carla Voorhees on April 27, 2011 at 11:30 am {2 comments}

Cumulus Clouds Near Vehicle Assembly Building (Photo by Kathy Winters)

I took a picture of this cumulus cloud from the press site on Tuesday morning after the countdown status briefing. Clouds like this formed along the sea breeze due to our moist atmosphere. Although these clouds are normally harmless, on launch day the 45th Weather Squadron Launch Weather Team actually pays close attention to the height of any cumulus clouds like these that develop within 10 nautical miles of the launch pad. If a cumulus cloud gets tall enough, it may violate our cumulus cloud rule, one of the many rules in our Launch Commit Criteria (PDF). The purpose of the cumulus cloud rule is to prevent the threat of triggering a lightning strike when launching into elevated electric fields in the atmosphere. Fortunately, we do not expect significant cumulus clouds to be in the area this Friday.

Did you know a rocket can trigger a lightning strike when there is no natural lightning occurring? The Lightning Launch Commit Criteria protect the Shuttle and other rockets from the threat of triggered lightning. See how scientists at the University of Florida study triggered lightning by launching rockets into elevated electrical fields. (more…)

Countdown to Endeavour: First Launch Forecast

Filed under Earth Sciences by Carla Voorhees on April 26, 2011 at 1:11 pm {no comments}

Katherine Winters on the Weather Console

It’s launch week and the 45th Weather Squadron is ready! Not only is our team here at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station ready to go, but so are our 45th Weather Squadron team members overseas. Our personnel at the Trans-oceanic Abort Landing sites release weather balloons and take surface weather observations. They provide the data from these observations to the Shuttle Flight team at Johnson Space Center.

Here at the Cape, we issue several forecasts the week of launch including our launch forecast, the Shuttle Ice Team forecast, the solid rocket recovery forecast, and the Rotating Service Structure retract (RSS) forecast. We also continue to issue weather watches, warnings, and advisories so the team at the launch pad is aware of any dangerous weather conditions during pre-launch preparations. (more…)

Protecting Law Enforcement from Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Threats

Filed under Earth Sciences, Life Sciences, Physical Sciences by John Ohab on April 25, 2011 at 10:56 am {no comments}

The National Institute of Justice's new ensemble standard meets the special needs of law enforcement officers. (Photo: DOJ)

This is a guest post from Debra Stoe, program manager for the National Institute of Justice’s Body Armor and Standards and Testing programs within the Office of Science and Technology. Her areas of interest include development of standards, certifications programs, test methodologies, and Indian Country research. Maureen McGough & Matt Acocella also contributed to the post.

Here at the National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Office of Science and Technology, we are tasked with establishing and maintaining performance standards for law enforcement technologies. Recently, we developed a standard for chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) protective ensembles used by law enforcement. This standard establishes a minimum level of protection for law enforcement when dealing with CBRN hazards. CBRN hazards are very serious, and include chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial chemicals, biological agents, and radiological and nuclear particulate hazards that may inflict bodily harm, incapacitation, or even death.

The new CBRN protective ensemble standard will be a tremendous boon to the law enforcement community, allowing them to more effectively perform their mission in CBRN environments. Previous standards for CBRN protective ensembles were geared towards firefighters, who have vastly different needs than law enforcement officers. As a result, the old standards did not address the unique needs of law enforcement officers within the first responder community such as stealth movement, manual dexterity, and physical combat. NIJ recognized that a performance standard addressing law enforcement needs was essential to ensure officer safety.

(more…)