April 15, 1994

Student Report Five

The first paragraph of this report is getting boring and repetitive -- every day all we tell you is how flawlessly the mission is going. But, then again, it's better that we've got nothing to say than to be constantly telling you about everything that's going wrong. So, let's repeat it. The mission is going flawlessly. In fact, things are going so well that two data takes have been added in -- both 'targets of opportunity' that we've talked about -- Bangladesh and the Mississippi River. We're particularly happy about this because those are sites that we've found over the last couple of days. There's a big difference between working a support position, however important it is, and actually seeing the mission change because of data you provided.

Yesterday, our second crew/student discussion took place. Jon did a great job, and everything went well. We'll let Jon summarize his discussion and give his impressions later. Currently, the third talk is scheduled for tomorrow morning. Aaron Moshiashwili will be the one speaking to the astronauts. He'll bring you highlights after his discussion, but probably not until the next day - - we're going to take the day off.

If you have the capabilities, right next door to the directory that these reports are in, in the \sircxsar\images directory, are JPEG images of the SIR-C images that have been downloaded from the shuttle. There's a text file to go along with each that explains what they are, and they look spectacular.

Security at JSC is interesting, to say the least. I know that most people have never really worked at a secure installation, so this is worth reporting. First of all, we all have two badges. The first one is a paper badge in a plastic holder that clips on to clothing. This badge says that we have temporary access to JSC, that the badge expires on the 29th of April, and that we are authorized to enter buildings eight, (which contains the photo lab and other stuff we need to use) thirty-one (which houses EOL) and building 30. (where Mission Control is located) We need to be wearing this badge at all times.

The other badge is only for Mission Control, (there are other parts of Building 30 that we can get into without this badge) which has a magnetic stripe on the back and says, in big letters, ESCORT REQUIRED. Only people who have been through at least 1 mission simulation are allowed freely through Mission Control during a mission. Security is tight during a mission. They close all the computers off from the Internet, and even from the other sites on JSC -- no chances are taken. To get into Mission Control, you have to go through one of three huge steel doors, with no handles on either side. Each of the doors has next to it a unit that includes a camera, a mirror (behind which I know not what) a magnetic stripe reader, a buzzer for security, and a keypad. Each of the badges has a number that goes with it, a number that is written down ONCE, memorized, and then destroyed. To get in, we need to have someone with full access with us; they announce our names to security, we put our badges in the reader, punch in our numbers, step back, and our escort does the same. If everyone in the group did it right, the door opens.

Building 31 is pretty much the same as any other research lab. If you didn't notice the rooms with labels like SOLAR SYSTEM EXPLORATION DIVISION, you could easily think you were in any of the better colleges in the country. But building thirty is different. There's just something about it that says something serious is going on in this building. We've all noticed that even though we know we are cleared to be in it, we all feel like at any moment a security guard could come up and drag us away. It's scary, and it's exciting in a way -- by the same token, we're somewhere where few people ever get to see. And until that security guard shows up and kicks us out, we're going to enjoy it.

Working in a lab with this kind of technology is incredible. The feeling of being informed about something (and, by informed, I mean nearly totally informed) is strange. If I want to know something about the weather, I can find it out. Normally, my knowledge of the weather is restricted to what I see outside. Now, if I want to know what it looks like outside in Sri Lanka, I can find out in five minutes. If I want to see what the cloud cover looks over Australia, or the sea surface temperature in the Gulf area, all it takes is for me to move over to another terminal and check it out. I'm told that even with all this, we're just looking at the surface of the world weather situation, but to a layman like me, every question I could conceive of asking can be answered right here.

That's another new feeling, the feeling of having the power of information backing you. It's frightening, but a different kind of frightening than being in Mission Control. It's kind of like the feeling you get looking out off a cliff. Remember the old adage, about the more you know, the more you realize how much there is that you don't know? Well, I've never been as aware of how much there is that I don't know as I am now. You could spend a lifetime and maybe understand meteorology. Another one and maybe you'd understand radar science. One more and be able to figure the inner workings of one or two of the systems on the Shuttle. And we're among people here who HAVE spent their lives getting that kind of knowledge. It's a spectacularly humbling experience.

Now, on a less philosophical note, here's Jon with his report on his conversation with the Shuttle.

Speaking with the astronauts was a really great experience, a once in a lifetime experience that not many people get to achieve, and I'm glad that I was one of the very few lucky people. At first, I was very nervous and apprehensive about speaking with the astronauts, because everyone is listening in on you while you talk on A/G 1, throughout all of JSC and on NASA Select, and a person becomes very aware that this is not the time to make a mistake when so many people are watching. Also, since this was a very special experience, I was afraid of making a mistake, because embarrassing myself in front of multitudes is one of my nightmares, but that's beside the point. Plus, everyone is nervous about what I might say in over A/G 1 to the astronauts, because speaking with the astronauts is a very sensitive area during a mission. As soon as the discussion began, and Mikey (Mike Kobrick) helped me out with my talk, I lost my inhibition and talked with the astronauts like it was an every day sort of thing, nothing out of the ordinary.

My talk was basically an Earth observations update, I made a long comment on how the mission was proceeding from my point of view. I spoke with them on how grateful we all were for the great job the astronauts on the Endeavor were doing on the SRL, since this was the first mission dedicated to Earth observations, and something new to them about reporting on what they saw from space, not just commenting that "it was pretty". I went on to mention that I had worked over the last two summers preparing a handbook for the astronauts (the reason that we're lucky enough to be attending STS-59) in the areas of the Raco supersite, BOREAS sites, and the oceanographic sites. After that, I went on to tell the astronauts how their work and the data from the SRL was excellent and in the future we could extend radar science and hopefully understand our world better through radar science. I continued and I got to get some input back from Endeavor astronaut, Linda Godwin.

All in all it was a great experience, and it was all very normal and natural after I began talking to them, like it was an everyday thing to do. There really isn't much more I can say about the experience, as I am a person of few words, other than I really enjoyed it and glad I had the chance to do it. I thank all the people at JSC, JPL, my fellow students, CTY, SIR-C/X-SAR, MAPS, everyone else, and JoBea, Mike, and Ben in particular for allowing me the chance to sit in on STS-59 and allowing me to speak with the astronauts. Thanks to everyone.