The NASA traveling exhibit includes:
· A 1/25 scale shuttle stack. While actual booster segments weighted in at 40,000-pounds, the shuttle stack feature will give visitors an up-close look at the machinery it took to loft the largest spacecraft in history into orbit. The Shuttle was designed for economical and routine access to space. The Space Transportation System includes the manned orbiter, External Tank (to fuel the Orbiter’s main engines during launch); and two Solid Rocket Boosters, which provide additional thrust during the early launch phase. The entire System, except for the External Tank, is reusable.
· An Authentic re-entry space helmet. The helmet protects its wearer from micrometeoroids, solar ultraviolet as well as infrared radiation. It is made up of the protective shell, neck ring, vent pad and feed port. A typical astronaut helmet like those worn in the Apollo missions is made of highly strengthened polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is a high impact-resistant plastic that you can also find in bulletproof glass and exterior automotive parts. Today’s helmets have a built-in cam which allow us to see what they’re doing up there. Both the helmet and suit provide protection from the dangerously low pressure of outer space. Without them, internal
pressure in the astronaut’s body will push blood vessels and tissue outward.
· Moon rocks. From July 1969 to December 1972, 12 American astronauts explored the lunar surface. They returned with over 800 pounds of lunar material to the Earth from six different regions of the Moon. These replicas are from each of the missions (Apollo 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17) and represent the variety of rocks collected.
· Space food. Shuttle astronauts have an astonishing array of food items to choose from. They may eat from a standard menu designed around a typical Shuttle mission of 7 days, or may substitute items to accommodate their own tastes. Astronauts may even design their own menus. But those astronaut-designed menus must be checked by a dietitian to ensure the astronauts consume a balanced supply of nutrients. The standard Shuttle menu repeats after 7 days. It supplies each crew member with three balanced meals, plus snacks. Each astronaut's food is stored aboard the Shuttle and is identified by a colored dot affixed to each package. The food that NASA's early astronauts had to eat in space is a testament to their fortitude. John Glenn, America's first man to eat anything in the near-weightless environment of Earth orbit, found the task of eating fairly easy, but found the menu to be limited. Other Mercury astronauts had to endure bite-sized cubes, freeze-dried powders, and semi liquids stuffed in aluminum tubes. Most agreed the foods were unappetizing and disliked squeezing the tubes. Moreover, freeze-dried foods were hard to rehydrate and crumbs had to be prevented from fouling instruments.
This exhibit was made possible by an anonymous grant.
To be a part of history and to learn more about the space program, please visit the Lawton Public Library during the month of August!... More >><< Less
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