For Release: Immediately
Release No. 97-019
NASA Langley Story Opportunities - March 1997
STUDENT-BUILT ROBOT COMPETES. High school students who
built a robot with NASA Langley’s help have sent their
creation to its first competition. The Phoebus High School robot
will compete regionally March 20 at Rutgers University in New
Jersey and, possibly, nationally April 10 at Epcot Center in
Orlando, Fla. NASA Langley granted $30,000 to the school to
participate in the “For Inspiration and Recognition of Science
and Technology” (FIRST) competition. The competition is
designed to kindle student interest in science and technology
careers. More than 150 high school teams are expected to compete
this year, including 10 assisted by NASA centers nationwide.
Interviews, photos and video B-roll are available.
Public Affairs Contact: Michael Finneran (757) 864-6121
STUDENTS OBSERVE CLOUDS FOR NASA. Fourth graders at
Poquoson Elementary School, Va. are learning to observe clouds as
part of a NASA global cloud measuring project. The Students' Cloud
Observations On-Line
(S'COOL) observations will initially be compared to those
made by a weather satellite orbiting the Earth. Later this year,
the students will make cloud observations that NASA can compare to
a new satellite instrument. NASA Langley researchers hope to train
students worldwide to observe clouds for the project. Interviews,
photos, fact sheet and video B-roll are available.
Public Affairs Contact: Catherine Watson (757) 864-6122
FLY NASA’S NEWEST SIMULATOR: Media representatives
– and their cameras – are invited to experience
NASA’s vision of lightplane cockpit technology of the future.
Reporters may “fly” NASA Langley’s General Aviation Concept
Demonstration facility and experience first-hand the efficient and
safe pilot-friendly systems being developed jointly by NASA, the
Federal Aviation Administration and U.S. industry. After a few
minutes of pre-flight briefing, even a first-time pilot can try
their hand at guiding a single-engine aircraft of tomorrow on a
computer-generated “highway-in-the-sky.” Interviews,
photos and video B-roll are available.
Public Affairs Contact: Keith Henry (757) 864-6120
80TH ANNIVERSARY: NASA Langley is celebrating its 80th
anniversary with bi-monthly tours and an open house. The
anniversary coincides with the 50th anniversary of supersonic
flight, an achievement in which Langley played a key role. Tour
information, interviews, photos, fact sheets and B-roll video are
available.
Public Affairs Contact: Keith Henry (757) 864-6120
X-33
WIND TUNNEL TESTING: An aluminum and stainless steel model of
the X-33 reusable launch vehicle is being tested in NASA
Langley’s Low-Turbulence Pressure Tunnel. Interviews, photos
and video B-roll are available.
NASA HQ Public Affairs Contact: Jim Cast (202) 358-1779
NASA Langley Public Affairs Contact: Ann Gaudreaux (757)
864-8150
Lockheed Martin Public Affairs Contact: Jerry Rising (805)
572-3190
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Coming News:
April-July: Testing of a metal X-33
model is scheduled for Langley’s 16-Foot Transonic Tunnel from
the end of March to mid-April, and in the Unitary Wind Tunnel from
mid-April to the beginning of May. Other tunnel testing for various
X-33 models are scheduled through June in the hypersonic tunnels,
and the 14- by 22-Foot Tunnel from about mid-June to mid-July.
The media is invited to view selected X-33 wind tunnel testing.
Contact: Ann Gaudreaux (757) 864-8150
May: The Measurement of Air Pollution from Satellites
(MAPS) instrument is scheduled to be attached to the
Russian space station Mir. MAPS will study global carbon monoxide
pollution for one year. Contact: Catherine Watson (757)
864-6122
July: The Mesosphere-Thermosphere Emissions for Ozone
Remote Sensing
(METEORS) instrument will be launched into the
Earth’s upper atmosphere from the White Sands Missile Range.
The METEORS data will be used to better design a satellite
instrument that is scheduled to fly early in 2000. Contact:
Catherine Watson (757) 864-6122
September: During a space walk, STS-86 astronauts will
retrieve the Mir Environmental Effects Payload
(MEEP) from the Mir space station. MEEP was attached to
Mir in March 1996 (during STS-76) to study the types and effects of
space debris in low Earth orbit. Contact: Catherine Watson
(757) 864-6122
November: The Clouds and the Earth's Radiant Energy
System
(CERES) instrument is scheduled for launch aboard the
Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) satellite. CERES will
provide global data on the Earth’s clouds and energy budget as
part of NASA’s Mission to Planet Earth program.
Contact: Catherine Watson (757) 864-6122
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