Jim Newman: Working in Space

Google Tech Talks February 26, 2008 ABSTRACT Astronaut and physicist Dr. Jim Newman will talk about his experiences of working in space. NASA's space program has come a long way. From astronauts strapped in their seats monitoring flight data in a guided capsule, to crews performing complex tasks in the hostile and non-intuitive environment encountered during space missions. Hazards abound and handicaps are encountered in even the simplest manipulations. Jim Newman has logged in space the equivalent of 35 roundtrips to the Moon and with 43 hours of EVA he has worked in space the equivalent of 17 Apollo 11 missions. Most notably Dr. Newman performed two Hubble space telescope walks replacing; an old solar array, the reaction the wheel assembly, the Faint Object Camera, a new power control unit and also installed a cooler to reactivate an old infrared camera. Join us to hear about the factors, designs, experiences and vision which makes this kind of a work place possible and how it may relate to the future human exploration and settlement of Mars. Speaker: Jim Newman Dr. Newman flew as a mission specialist on STS-51 (1993), STS-69 (1995), STS-88 (1998) and STS-109 (2002). A veteran of four space flights, Dr. Newman has logged over 43 days in space, including six spacewalks totaling 43 hours and 13 minutes. STS-51 Discovery, (September 12-22, 1993) was launched from and returned to make the first night landing at Kennedy Space Center, Florida. During the ten-day flight, the crew of five deployed the Advanced Communications Technology Satellite (ACTS) and the Orbiting and Retrievable Far and Extreme Ultraviolet Spectrometer on the Shuttle Pallet Satellite (ORFEUS/SPAS). Newman was responsible for the operation of the SPAS, was the backup operator for the RMS, and on flight day five conducted a seven-hour, five-minute spacewalk with Carl Walz. The extravehicular activity (EVA) tested tools and techniques for use on future missions. In addition to working with numerous secondary payloads and medical test objectives, the crew successfully tested a Global Positioning System ( GPS) receiver to determine real-time Shuttle positions and velocities and completed a test routing Orbiter data to on-board laptop computers. STS-51 made 158 orbits of the Earth, traveling 4.1 million miles in 236 hours and 11 minutes. STS -69 Endeavour (September 7-18, 1995), was an eleven-day mission during which the crew successfully deployed and retrieved a SPARTAN satellite and the Wake Shield Facility (WSF). Also on board was the International Extreme Ultraviolet Hitchhiker payload, numerous secondary payloads, and medical experiments. Newman was responsible for the crews science involvement with the WSF and was also the primary RMS operator on the flight, performing the WSF and EVA RMS operations. He also operated the on-orbit tests of the Ku-band Communications Adaptor, the Relative GPS experiment, and the RMS Manipulator Positioning Display. The mission was accomplished in 171 Earth orbits, traveling 4.5 million miles in 260 hours, 29 minutes. STS -88 Endeavour (December 4-15, 1998), was the first International Space Station assembly mission. During the twelve-day mission the Unity module was mated with Zarya module. Newman performed three spacewalks with Jerry Ross, totaling 21 hours, 22 minutes. The primary objective of the spacewalks was to connect external power and data umbilicals between Zarya and Unity. Other objectives include setting up the Early Communication antennas, deploying antennas on Zarya that had failed to deploy as expected, installing a sunshade to protect an external computer, installing translation aids, and attaching tools/hardware for use in future EVAs. The crew also performed IMAX Cargo Bay Camera (ICBC) operations, and deployed two satellites, Mighty Sat 1, sponsored by the Air Force, and SAC-A, from Argentina. The mission was accomplished in 185 orbits of the Earth, traveling 4.6 million miles in 283 hours and 18 minutes. STS-109 Columbia (March 1-12, 2002). STS-109 was the fourth Hubble Space Telescope (HST) servicing mission and the 108th flight of the Space Shuttle. The crew of STS-109 successfully upgraded the Hubble Space Telescope with new solar arrays, a new power control unit, and a new camera, and also installed a cooler to reactivate an old infrared camera. This work was accomplished during a total of five spacewalks in five consecutive days. Dr. Newman performed two spacewalks with crewmate Mike Massimino, totaling 14 hours and 46 minutes. This Space Exploration series talk was hosted by Boris Debic.