The Chickens of Annapolis

     Greetings everyone!  Yet another report to bring you all up to date, and
chickens are involved.  Due to a heavy schedule I'm behind in the reports, so to
get this out I'm going to concentrate on trips we've taken and leave the other stuff
for another report.  Hopefully I'll get another one off before I return, and I'll have
some kind of meeting or party to fill you in on the details, pictures, and other
errata.  I apologize for typos or inconsistencies; I'm ripping this out quickly.
     As of late we've traveled to two other NASA centers - Langley Research
Center and the Wallops Island Flight Facility.  Additionally, we managed to swing
a trip to the Annapolis naval academy, and got a tour that few visitors receive.

Langley Research Center (LaRC)

     LaRC, in Langley, Virginia, is called "the mother center" because it was the
first NASA center.  Prior to 1958 (when NASA was formed) it was part of an
organization called NACA (National Advisory Council for Aeronautics) which was
subsumed into NASA in '58.  An interesting historical tidbit: NACA was founded
during world war I as a response to the fact that the U.S. was practically
nonexistent in terms of air power; Germany had several hundred airplanes, and
France, Russia and England each had about 200.  The U.S. government owned 23
airplanes.  
     Since then LaRC has become the nation's premier aeronautical research
facility.  Many of the developments which make modern flight possible were
developed there, such as the wing configuration used for supersonic flight and
many kinds of critical avionics (electronics used for flight and navigation).  LaRC
was heavily involved in the development of stealth technology (they wouldn't tell
us EXACTLY what they did!) and is a major developer of aircraft to pilot
interfaces (that's technical talk for controls).  This NASA center is one of the few
centers intimately involved with the military; it has a quasi-military feel to it in
some areas, and a few of the scientists and technicians are military people. 
However, most of the center is as relaxed as Goddard, which feels like a college.    
     Speaking of military involvement with the space program: the armed
services have their own space program which has a budget of about 15 billion
dollars - a little more than NASA's present budget of 13.8 billion.  They don't
really need NASA for most functions, having the capability to launch just about
anything into orbit.  To give you some idea of what they are up to, consider the
complexity and cost of the hubble space telescope (HST), a completely non-military
project.  The device itself cost about a billion dollars, and ground operations and
data analysis add to that cost.  It is generally accepted to be a tour de force of
technological and scientific achievement.  I have it on excellent authority that the
military space program launches two or three satellites per year that are
EQUIVALENT to the HST - except they are pointed downwards, of course.  After
you chew on that, consider that they have at least 6 billion left after that, and who
knows what they do with it?  This happens every single year!  I have been told
that they do not have a manned program, but there is a plan to use the shuttle to
remove enemy satellites from orbit in case of emergency...  Despite all of this, the
point I'm trying to make is that military involvement with NASA is minimal.  The
Challenger disaster forced them to develop capabilities of their own; they launch
more frequently than NASA does (at least one rocket per month) and don't use the
shuttle very much or at all.  There seems to be an aura of suspicion about NASA's
activities because it is a government agency and is involved in large, technical
flight projects, but for the most part NASA centers are filled with large numbers
of liberal-minded technicians and scientists who wouldn't want to be involved with
the military.
     Ok, back to Langley.  Because LaRC is primarily an aeronautical research
center, they have a lot of special equipment used in the development of aircraft. 
There are several scale and full model wind tunnels of varying speeds and a
variety of high-tech flight simulators.  I was allowed to see and handle most of
this equipment in one way or another.  Those flight simulators are the ultimate
video game!  Here is a web page that has pictures and good descriptions:

     http://ssb-www.larc.nasa.gov/facility/dms.html

I flew the military, not the civilian simulator, because the civil aircraft simulator
was being used.  The civil aircraft simulator is what you may have seen on TV; it's
a box supported by hydraulic mechanisms which move the simulator to make the
process more realistic.  The military simulators I saw do not move, but the seats
and other cockpit members have hydraulics built into them so that you still feel as
if you are really flying.  The controls respond as if you're flying - you can feel the
vibration through them as stressful maneuvers strain the "airframe."  I'll try to
describe the experience, but if you can look at the web page for the simulators - it
looks just like the pictures, but sharper and with sound and vibration.
     The simulators are two huge metal spheres that are light and sound proof
so that nothing external ruins the illusion created within.  An impressive bank of
computers and electronics resembling the deck of the old Star Trek's "Enterprise"
sits next to them in a gymnasium-sized room (all SGI equipment and custom-built
machines).    The computers for the simulators are incredible; if you look around
from the above web page you will find examples of the graphics (there are a few
on the page, but keep looking).  Inside each sphere is the cockpit section of a jet
fighter - the nose, windshield, etc.  It looks as if someone sawed it off of the real
thing.  A catwalk runs from the door to the "aircraft" and a ladder gives access to
the cockpit.  When you enter the simulator, the door clangs shut behind you and
the acoustics of the chamber are very strange.  Think of the way light is refracted
through a globe of crystal or blob of thick glass; that's what happens to sound in
the simulator.  If you whisper it sounds like a shout, loud noises disappear
without a trace, and you can't tell how far away sounds are - very hallucinatory. 
Once you enter the cockpit (hydraulics push open the canopy with a wonderful
mechanical "gereeee-cah!" sound) you put on headphones which supply wind and
engine noises.  A special optical system provides an extremely high-resolution
computer generated terrain.  It looks almost real, and if you use the machine for a
long time you might forget it isn't.  In the heads-up display you can target the
"enemy" plane, which behaves differently depending upon the practice program. 
You could practice refueling, in which case the plane would be a tanker; you could
engage in a dogfight with an enemy fighter aircraft; or, you could practice
recovering from an engine failure caused, say, by a chicken being sucked into the
engine.  The simulator has a library of situations to use.  In my case it was a
fighter aircraft which I just followed (I could use the controls, but since I have no
idea how to fly the thing, they did it for me from the control center).  I don't know
much about flying an airplane, but the controls and indicators were very realistic
and displayed "flight" data in real time.  The computer animation on the inside of
the globe is real-time; the computers generate up to 60 frames per second, which
is better than a television by a factor of 2.  Utterly fantastic, and over too soon. 
When the controller told me my time was up, it was hard to leave!
     After playing with the simulators we went to see a hypersonic wind tunnel,
in which aircraft scale models are subjected to forces up to mach 10.  In the
hallways are glass cases containing models used in the development of famous
aircraft such as the SR-71 "Blackbird", the U-2, the space shuttle, and civilian
aircraft such as the 747 (tested at lower speeds).  I was surprised at the presence
of the 747 model; but Langley works with many civilian developers to design
aircraft, and many of its activities have nothing to do with what most people think
NASA does.  The involvement in civil aviation research is part of NASA's purpose
for existence.  I did not realize the extent of NASA's contribution to civil aviation;
there are many aircraft flying today that would have been too expensive or
difficult to design without its assistance.  NASA's contributions are not limited to
aircraft; LaRC has also developed wind shear sensors, various electronics, and
control tower computer/radar systems.  
     The wind-tunnel testing models are carefully constructed and contain
sensors to measure flight parameters; they are painted with a special paint that
changes color with varying degrees of physical deformation so that the air
pressure patterns are visible when in "flight."  Most of the models are about two
feet long and trail a nicely sized bundle of cables attached to the sensors inside. 
When inside the wind tunnel, lasers are beamed over a model, and interference
patterns generate clear pictures of the airflow over the model.  A thick port allows
you to see inside during operation.  The doors to the wind tunnel look like
submarine hatches because of the extreme pressures involved.  Strangely enough,
the pressure comes from outside of the wind tunnel; I would have thought that the
air rushing through the tunnel would create a high pressure inside the chamber,
but this is not always true.  The test chamber(s) are venturi (bottlenecks) where
the constricted flow raises the airspeed.  In the larger, non-test portions of the
system, the pressure is very high.  However, at supersonic speeds air does not
behave in the way you might think it would, and in the test chamber the pressure
is actually lower than the atmospheric pressure outside.  I don't understand the
physics behind the process, but I'm going to look for a book at the Goddard
library...  If anyone reading this understands, please tell me!
     The wind tunnel machinery is impressive.  The air in the system is carefully
controlled for dust and humidity, which at hypersonic speeds can destroy the
models.  As I have mentioned before, many of NASA's projects are on an enormous
scale, and this is no exception.  The wind tunnel is a closed loop - to simplify
matters, think of a central air conditioning system with no vents.    The difference
is that in THIS central air system, an electric motor consuming 75 megawatts
(million watts) drives, at tens of thousands of RPMs, a 14 inch thick hardened
steel shaft to several giant turbines which compress air into pipes 7 feet in
diameter.  The pipes travel for some distance and gradually narrow down as they
approach the wind tunnel, which has a flexible shape and changes (under
computer control) to modulate the airflow.  The machinery fills the whole building,
which is like a small football stadium.  I see a pattern developing here - football
fields as a unit of measurement of NASA equipment.  Every nook and cranny is
filled with a byzantine profusion of tubes and wires that's impossible to
comprehend.  
     And yes, the 75 MW motor is huge - the size of that other NASA length
metric, the greyhound bus.  A smaller, accessory motor which assists the main
motor during start-up consumes a mere 20 million watts of power.  The main
motor runs for a full 8 hour workday.  Maybe it won't come as a surprise to you
when I tell you that LaRC generates it's own power!
     And yes, there is a room full of computers.  Of course - there's always a
room full of computers.  
     I think that does it for my description of LaRC - at least the physical
description.  I met several interesting people there, including the center director
and an astronaut, as well as the director of the tunnel and simulator facilities, but
no chickens.

Wallops Island Flight Facility

     Wallops island is a little - known piece of NASA and is a Goddard facility
even though it's not physically near Goddard.  In fact, Wallops island is about
fifteen minutes away from Chincoteague island, so it's a beautiful area and very
quiet.  While there we stayed in the "Chincoteague Inn" or lodge or something like
that.  Unfortunately I didn't have time for sightseeing.  
     Wallops supports flight operations, and was the launch site for the monkey
astronauts in the 50s and the initial launch site for unmanned tests of mercury
capsules.  Here are some of the activities that occur there today: suborbital rocket
sounding, space communications, third-party launch support, space
tracking/navigation, and fixed-wing atmospheric research support.  I'll go over
each of these briefly.
     The last item means that Wallops has an excellent airport capable of
supporting huge cargo planes like the C-130 (the largest cargo plane in the world,
I believe).  In addition, research planes like the SR-71 and a modern variant of the
U-2 fly out of Wallops with atmospheric research packages; I saw the U-2 variant
up close, and it was extremely complicated - many panels were removed for pre-
flight inspection and there were electronics everywhere.  Looking into the plane's
engine, which is a special high-altitude job, you can see that most of it is empty
space.  There was no SR-71 though; it's rare for one to be used from Wallops. 
While we were in the hanger, someone was practicing the violin - evidence of the
relaxed atmosphere there.  Wallops is one of the nicest NASA centers in terms of
job satisfaction; everyone wants to work there.  Also in that hanger we saw an
experimental radio-controlled airplane used for atmospheric research.
     One of the first things the Wallops visitor sees is the "antenna farm," a
large field hosting a variety of large parabolic antennas used for communicating
with satellites and other spacecraft.  Wallops is the downlink station for many
scientific missions such as IUE (International Ultraviolet Explorer) and is also a
relay site for TDRSS, the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System.  Whenever
there is a shuttle flight, Wallops tracks its position and plays a role in radio
communications.  In fact, Wallops is capable of taking over all ground control and
communication for the shuttle or any other vehicle in the event of an emergency. 
There is a full ground-control facility with supercomputers, a huge screen showing
the earth and the orbits of various spacecraft, and banks of consoles for operators. 
This facility is used for ground support of commercial operations.
     The launch facilities of Wallops island don't have the glory and flash of the
Kennedy operations, but they are just as functional in their own way.  Delta
rockets have been flown there, and commercial ventures such as the connestoga
have also launched there.  Delta rockets are sizeable - they launched the viking
missions to mars, and hundreds of other missions; the connestoga is a commercial
venture - an american version of ariannespace - which failed upon the first launch,
but is set to go again in the near future ("failed" means "blew up spectacularly"). 
No manned flights have or will take place from Wallops in the foreseeable future. 
Many NASA flights from wallops island are small, suborbital missions - they are
only in space for half and hour or less and parachute quickly into the Atlantic
where they are picked up by ships from Wallops or the coast guard.  Sometimes
NASA works in concert with the navy to test weapons systems; they launch
missiles at ships from the island and the ships try to shoot them down.  There are
a number of launch towers and a system of bunkers containing control and ground
support equipment.  In one of these bunkers I had the pleasure of standing in
front of a small, thick window and playing with switches labeled "arm" and "fire." 
Of course there was nothing to launch, but it was fun anyway.  Wallops uses the
tracking facilities described above to support scientific and commercial missions.
     Wallops has an extensive manufacturing facility where rockets are built.  In
a factory-like building are housed hundreds of machine tools; almost everything is
computer controlled and huge.  There are large machines there capable of taking a
piece of aluminum stock the size of a california redwood, hollowing it out,
polishing it, and turning it into a rocket body!  Anything that can be imagined can
be built, and often is.  Probably the most interesting machine was an electric
cutter that could shape large, thick chucks of metal with the delicacy of a surgeon;
it doesn't work like a cutting torch but rather on an electroplating principle.  A
thin titanium wire bathed in a solution runs past the metal and removes a few
molecules of material from it; over time the machine cuts an extremely fine path
through the metal.  I saw a piece of stainless steel of about one cubic foot in
volume being shaped in an unbelievably intricate manner.  All this, but no
chickens.  


Annapolis Naval Academy

     Due to Dr. Soffen's excellent connections (he is the director of university
programs, the founder of the NASA academy, chief scientist of the viking missions,
and one of the originators of mission to planet earth) , we were given a guided
tour of the nation's most elite naval academy by an Annapolis graduate.  For those
of you who haven't been there, Annapolis is a beautiful city with lots of interesting
shops and a beautiful harbor.  The Naval academy is situated in the best part of
town - or maybe the best part of town grew around the academy.  At any rate, the
academy is beautiful, with razor-sharp landscaping and interesting buildings.  The
purpose of Annapolis naval academy is to train officers, and it is equivalent to any
of the best technical schools in the country.
     We arrived early in the morning (don't we always!) and started by touring
the engineering facilities.  Because Annapolis is a navy school, the students are
concerned primarily with the ship business and spend a lot of time playing with
models of boats and other craft in large "drag tanks" which are the aquatic
equivalents of wind tunnels.  Students investigate the properties of different hull
shapes by dragging carefully designed ship models through drag tanks and
measuring the water flow with lasers and other methods.  The largest drag tank
measured 25 feet in depth, about 30 in width, and over 400 yards long.  A
motorized sled on rails straddles the tank and pulls the models along.  Annapolis
students have developed innovative designs and have actually built some man-
powered submarines, which sat in the hallways there.  They have contests every
year to see which design is best in terms of speed, depth, and other properties.  
     Other areas we toured were aerodynamic labs (with a wind tunnel),
excellent computer facilities, classrooms, and several traditional monuments. 
Tradition is important in the military, particularly to trainees.  There are statues
and monuments about the campus which the plebes, by tradition, rub before
taking tests for good luck.
     It might be helpful at this point to have some understanding of what life is
like for an Annapolis student (officer candidate).  From the moment they arrive,
every moment is accounted for, and they are expected to perform beyond any
reasonable expectation. Scholastic and physical rigor are the norm; they can't get
into the academy unless they are great students and superb athletes.
     Before lunchtime we went to a parade ground to witness the "forming of the
brigade,"  which is a daily ceremony in which all of the new recruits (called plebes)
are gathered into formation by upperclassmen and officers.  Not to miss an
opportunity for discipline, the plebes are required to stand at attention while
being harassed about various things.  Each day, plebes are required to memorize
several new items - the menu for every meal of that day, a saying or motto,
regulations, and historical facts about Annapolis and its traditions.  A little
booklet is issued to them and has a page for each day with the proper material;
they carry these books everywhere and study them in each free minute, which is
not very often.  The plebes can be mercilessly questioned about this daily material
at any time.  I'll include a snippet of dialogue to give you a feeling of what it's
like.  An officer walks up to a plebe and officiously orders the plebe to recite the
menu for lunch.  The plebe doesn't know:

     "Recruit!  What will be served for the afternoon mess?"

     "I don't know, sir!"

     "Why not!"

     "No excuse, SIR!"

     "Recruit!  You WILL" (spat into ear in a screaming voice) "return to
     the barracks and return here in 90 seconds.  Upon returning I will 
     PERSONALLY inspect you in your dress uniform.  Is that CLEAR?!"

     "Sir, YES SIR!  Thank you for honoring me by allowing me to wear 
     the colors of a member of the navy of the united states SIR!" (they have
     to say this last thing, it's a harassment, if they don't say it, they get into 
     trouble)

     "NOW recruit!  You've used up 5 seconds!"

And so it goes.  The recruit runs back to the barracks double time... if she doesn't
do it in the required time, she'll have to do it again in only a minute.  While the
brigade was being formed many plebes were being harassed, and later at lunch I
could hear groups of plebes singing songs and doing embarrassing things because
upperclassmen told them to.  There is an intricate ritual surrounding this
question:  "How much milk is left in the container?"  At Annapolis this question is
phrased "How's the cow?"  If an upperclassman or officer asks this if a plebe, the
plebe responds with something like "Sir!  The female of the bovine species
possesses lactitudunous glands which produce fluid containing suspended particles
to the nth degree!"  Where n is the number of cups of milk left in the container. 
They have to recite this quickly and if they make a mistake they may have the
milk poured over them, or be ordered it drink it all immediately.  Sounds like fun,
no?  On top of all this, there is the constant physical exercise, the expectation of
scholastic excellence, and the pressure to be a superb athlete and achieve
excellence in every facet of life.  The pressure is obvious.  I think the idea behind
the harassment is to get the future officers accustomed to assimilating complex
data and making decisions quickly under pressure.  Nobody gets out of Annapolis
unless they are top - notch, and I can understand the pride they have in the
accomplishment.
     The next week, Holly drove down to visit me and I took her to Annapolis to
show her around.  Driving through town as we left, we heard what sounded like a
rooster crowing.  I probably would have ignored it, but I heard it several times
and knew I wasn't hallucinating!  Holly heard it too.  The sound was coming from
an industrial complex near a police station, which seemed like an unlikely place
for a rooster.  We decided to investigate this curious phenomenon.  Driving closer,
we continued to hear the sound, but didn't see anything, so we stopped the car
and walked around.  Suddenly, a brightly colored rooster ran across the road,
squawking furiously!  I walked over to it and it ran away, legs pumping, head
bobbing madly, and shrieking at the top of its lungs.  The damn thing ran into
some trees and continued screaming.  The ruckus created by the stupid bird
started a new sound, and I looked up into the trees...  and the trees were full of
chickens!!  (I was like the astronaut in 2001 when he sees the monolith opening: 
"My god, it's full of chickens (stars)!")  The chickens were unsettled by the
disturbance and began clucking and squabbling, and when I drew near they
became really upset and started jumping from tree to tree.  The noise was terrific! 
I counted eight chickens in all, three roosters and five hens.  I know chickens are
not supposed to fly, but they can for short distances.  They are beautiful creatures,
at least these were - not white, but brown and red, with electric green and blue
colors like those of a peacock.
     Maybe it is an equilibrium phenomenon - there has to be an unusually high
level of absurdity to counterbalance the order and rigidity of the military academy
- I have no other explanation for the fact that the trees in an Annapolis industrial
park are full of chickens!

     On this note I leave you until next time.