From: OMNI_Moderator At: 205.198.117.132

Dr. Buzzard, tell me a little about your specific role on the space station project -- do you oversee only the engineering on NASA's end, or are you also involved in coordinating the work of other nations who are contributing to the station? /ga
MsgId: *infinities(5)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:07:24 EDT 1997

From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

No, in fact, I'm involved as the engineering representative with all of the international partners. My role as the chief engineer is to coordinate all the technical decisions and solutions for solving problems and coordinate those with our international partner engineering teams. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(8)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:11:42 EDT 1997
From: Rob_Killheffer At: 205.198.117.132

Let me start then with a big broad question about the whole project: we heard a lot during the Mars Pathfinder news coverage about the new "philosophy" at NASA that produced the significantly cheaper Pathfinder mission. How has that philosophy influenced the development of the Internat'l Space Station? /ga
MsgId: *infinities(9)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:15:03 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

Good question. The International Space Station is cost-limited by Congress, therefore, we have had to follow the role of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the Mars Pathfinder and find innovative ways to develop hardware faster and cheaper. A recent project I have been involved in takes a combination of NASA and corporate funds to provide a technology demonstration of a phased-array antenna for enhancing communications capability of the ISS. In order to make space relevant to all humankind, we *have* to make access to space cheaper so we're very interested in finding "faster, better, cheaper" ways of doing business in space. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(10)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:15:26 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

Dr. Buzzard, there are many details we'd like to get to, but first, just to provide the overview, I wonder if you could address, in broad terms, how this Space Station represents true state-of-the-art Space Station design. Because I know that, despite the downsizing of this project, this will still be the most sophisticated space lab and habitat humanity has ever launched./ga
MsgId: *infinities(11)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:19:45 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

The Space Station structural design is well understood design parameter, so it probably does not represent state-of-the-art in tems of new technology or new materials. But really, that's good, because we reduce our risk in building a house in space without a huge risk in technology development. And by the "house in space," I mean the primary, the pressurized structure, the power and sails system, the environmental and life systems, are all derived from the US and Russian human spaceflight programs. Where we expect to see new technology is in the outfitting in the house in space. For example, payloads that are doing microgravity research, fluid combustion research in zero gravity because combustions processes are very different in space than they are in one gravity on the Earth. (cont)
MsgId: *infinities(13)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:21:11 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

So what we would expect to see are the new technology over the next 15 years having a large influence on the furnishings of the laboratories that will be in the Space Station. These laboratories will be built with standard rack interfaces for power, communications, and computer use and therefore, new technology upgrades will be easy to incorporate because of these standard interfaces. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(14)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:22:56 EDT 1997
From: guest At: 207.92.171.188

When the ISS is completed, what will the future of the astronaut corp be?Will there be a demand for them and what employment opportunities will there beon ISS?
MsgId: *infinities(15)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:24:07 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

What you are saying, in other words, is that the components created to do the "science" will be a step forward; the structure that houses those components, on the other hand, will be similar to labs that have come before.
MsgId: *infinities(16)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:25:41 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

Yes. Basic international structure, the structure & power systems build off current technology, the labs and other basics will have the ability to build off future technology. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(17)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:26:50 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

Our guest has had a very interesting question --will the ISS change the nature of the astronaut business?
MsgId: *infinities(18)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:29:00 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

I can't speak for NASA, but my personal opinion is that the ISS is laying the ground work for an international mission to Mars. So there will always be a need for astronauts as we continue to explore our solar system and we hope that as the space station and a lunar colony, perhaps in our future, are built, that normal everyday people, like you and I, will have the opportunity to live and work in space. Then the astronauts, of course, have the fun of going to the new, unexplored, exotic places. The next exotic place should be Mars. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(19)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:31:42 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

Wow --sounds like the beginning of Earth's REAL star fleet! How does the current space station serve as the first building block in this enormous goal?
MsgId: *infinities(20)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:34:18 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

The ISS is a research facility for all nations of the world -- that's our ultimate goal. Currently there are 15 nations involved in building the space station and one of the major challenges involved in building a space station with international partners is to learn each other's cultures, languages, develop trust, and to work toward a common goal. This has been a far more challenging engineering problem than the actual design of the station. On the other hand, it offers tremendous potential and opportunity because space belongs to all humankind. All nations should explore space together. So learning how to build the space station and work together as a community is valuable for the next step which will be human exploration to Mars. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(21)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:35:39 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

As the head engineer, how have you designed the living quarters? You must have taken special care, there, to help these different cultures adjust to each other./ga
MsgId: *infinities(22)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:37:11 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

This will be a short answer. We just wrap them all up, cook them together, cook them in a pot, and make international goulash. The truth is, our doctors and health science people have designed the crew quarters and I'm more involved in providing them the niceties of life like air, power, oxygen, and a nice window to watch the Earth go by. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(23)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:38:24 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

What have you done to help avoid some of the basic problems experienced by Mir in recent weeks?
MsgId: *infinities(24)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:40:25 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

That's a good question. We have re-looked at the material coatings in the thermal control system, based on the Mir experience where we had leaks and corrosion after about 10 years. So we worked with the Russians and shared technical information about corrosion-resistant coatings for the inside and outside of the plumbing that carries the cooling water. We've had a very good result and believe we'll have a more corrosion-resistant plumbing system on the ISS based on the lessons learned from the US & Russian cooperation on the Mir. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(25)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:42:52 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

I understand the projected lifespan of the ISS is about 15 years. Is there anyway to design for longer life in space --or do we simply not have the ability to do that?
MsgId: *infinities(26)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:45:52 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

Most spacecraft have a design life that usually is significantly shorter than the actual life. So we expect the ISS to be useful for maybe 30 or 40 years instead of just 15 years. I would give you the example of the space shuttle -- it was designed for 100 missions or 10 years and we have found that the shuttle is still very very viable for another 10 to 15 years and it's already 16 years old. So we expect the space station to last a significantly longer time than the 15 year design life. This is also true of many military and commercial communications satellites that have lasted two or three years longer than their design life. Remember the DC3? First flew in mid-1930's and it's still flying today, 60 years later. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(27)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:47:44 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

You mentioned, earlier, technological advances in the lab facilities themselves. Would you care to expand? What kind of science, not previously possible, can we expect to do based on these new designs?
MsgId: *infinities(28)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:48:57 EDT 1997
From: guest At: 207.92.171.188

When do you expect that the station will be fully operational and ready for habitation?
MsgId: *infinities(29)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:51:18 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

I would say the unique aspect of the station will be the zero gravity environment, access to a total vacuum, and long duration of these two environments. So I would expect there to be new materials developed that we cannot make on Earth, new medicines that are specific to illnesses that we can't grow in the gravity environment. I would expect there to be a lot of astrophysical science and also a lot of new information about how humans live and work in space for long periods of time. I think where new technologies will help the payloads or science will be to provide more communications, use less power, and therefore generate less heat that we have to get rid of, large volumes of storage of data, and having smaller devices to work efficiently in space. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(30)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:52:40 EDT 1997
From: guest At: 199.3.91.77

I'm a student at ITT in Indianapolis, IN. And I 3-d Modeled theMir Space Station, what the projection was supposed to look like in 2002, andI was going to attempt to also incorporate a small version of Noordung's Habitat Wheel.do you think this is possible?????? -J. Curtis
MsgId: *infinities(31)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:54:54 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

Dr. Buzzard, after you address our guest's question --when will the ISS be ready for habitation-- I'd like to ask about those new materials and medicines. They will not just be developed in space, I take it, but will also require the conditions of space for future manufacture. Will we eventually see the material that have been developed aboard the ISS manufactured in orbiting space factories?
MsgId: *infinities(32)
Date: Sun Sep 21 21:59:14 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

The first crew will be on the space station -- three crew members -- in late 1999. Before the medicines, we'll expand to six crew members by the end of 2002. You're exactly right, any new medicines that are discovered in the space environment will likely have to be manufactured in the space environment and initially that could happen on the space station and if larger volumes are required and it is so valuable, then there will obviously be orbiting manufacturing capability. And that's the whole point -- to make space relevant and commercial so that it becomes commonplace instead of just for exploration. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(33)
Date: Sun Sep 21 22:02:03 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

Thank you Dr. Buzzard, this has been extremely informative. We do have one question coming in from a graduate student. It's a bit esoteric for most of our audience, but I'm wondering if you could answer it --but in such a way that we ALL understand what it means?Here's the questions: I'm a student at ITT in Indianapolis, IN. And I 3-d Modeled the Mir Space Station, what theprojection was supposed to look like in 2002, and I was going to attempt to also incorporate a smallversion of Noordung's Habitat Wheel. do you think this is possible?????? -J. Curtis
MsgId: *infinities(34)
Date: Sun Sep 21 22:03:41 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

I'm so sorry, I'd love to help you, but I don't have a clue what the wheel is. Send me more info to frank.t.buzzard@jsc.nasa.gov. /ga
MsgId: *infinities(35)
Date: Sun Sep 21 22:04:07 EDT 1997
From: guest At: 199.3.91.77

Is the space station non-dependable, or in other words, can it be ran w/o supplies coming in every so often???
MsgId: *infinities(36)
Date: Sun Sep 21 22:04:20 EDT 1997
From: OMNI_Moderator At: 168.100.204.58

Okay, well we're out of time. Again, thank you so much Dr. Buzzard. This was most fascinating. Goodnight!
MsgId: *infinities(37)
Date: Sun Sep 21 22:05:59 EDT 1997
From: Frank_Buzzard At: 207.172.104.70

Good night and thanks for the opportunity to speak with you. /ga


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