International Space Station Update: Robotic Refueling Experiments Look Good

Dextre robotic controls (on right) work on the RRM module.

Dextre is a robotic Instrument that works on the outside of the International Space Station. Built by the Canadian Space Agency, Dextre includes manipulator hands and tools that astronauts use to grasp satellites and experiments, move them around, and operate exterior controls. The RRM (Robotic Refueling Mission) is NASA's program to practice combining human and robotic skills to refuel and repair satellites in space.

The RRM module assists the NASA engineers in designing procedure steps and astronaut skills to perform tasks that would normally be done by an astronaut in a spacesuit making a dangerous EVA (spacewalk). The success of these experiments will help ISS astronauts and ground mission controllers to service space vehicles while in orbit of Earth.

The refueling aspect of the mission is very intriguing. NASA is making plans to save launch weight and launch costs by preparing "fuel depots" in orbit. When a space craft reaches orbit, the Refueling robots can then fuel up the space craft''s engines prior to launching outward to other planets or destinations. Refueling would also extend the life of satellites whose station-keeping thrusters have run out of propellant. Extending the serviceable life of satellites will save millions of dollars.

For long-duration flights, it would be possible to send fuel to distant locations and then fuel up a spacecraft for a return home. This new capability opens up new possibilities for exploring the solar system.

During March 7-9, astronauts on the ISS and NASA mission controllers were able to successfully pass many of the tests that will be needed to master before working on real satellites. One test included working Dextre's precision cutting tools to slip under two small wires, and cut them with only a few millimeters of room to spare. This type of precision will be absolutely necessary in making future repairs to spacecraft, such as servicing Hubble.

By Mark Daymont
Space Center Educator

A Time Space Portal Opened at the Space Center (and other things).

Hello Troops,
A portal in space time opened sometime during last weekend's Overnight Camp. My best guest would place the other end of the portal squarely in the Jurassic Period. This poor creature happened upon the portal and was stepping through just when the portal closed, trapping it between the Jurassic plains and Central Elementary School 2012.

I came upon the creature Friday night when I stepped out of the office to stretch my legs.

"What the heck!" I believe I said. I approached carefully - fearful of the beast's imminent release from the portal. If I had common sense I would have gone back to my desk to fetch the baseball bat I keep on hand just for things like this, but I didn't. I moved toward it cautiously, one step at a time.


The hallway was strangely quiet for a Friday Overnight Camp. I wondered where my staff and volunteers had gone? My heart raced when the thought that a gaggle of these dinobeasties might have successfully escaped the portal into our time, leaving this poor unfortunate behind, stuck dead when the portal closed on him. I had a vision of my poor staff and volunteers turned into Dinochow at the mercy of this pride of dinosaur lites. I looked for blood splatters on the floor and walls. There were none. That was a good sign.

I took a few extra steps toward the beastie. It looked dead - frozen in time. There were sounds of explosions and yelling. The Magellan was still flying! My blood pressure returned to normal. All was well at the Space Center. My staff and volunteers were alive and unaware of the mystery in the hallway.

What to do with the creature? The closing portal sliced the beast in half with surgical precision. Half a beast might prove entertaining if used on a mission at just the right time and place. The Cosmos had been kind to us.

Don't be startled then if you seen this little throw back to a nastier time in Earth's history suddenly appear on one of your next missions at the Space Center.

And for Something Completely Different......

This is James S. James is shaking hands with overly exuberant Christine. Christine is happy to give James his Odyssey pin. Her enthusiasm is contagious as seen in James' face. Christine spreads joy and happiness where ever she goes.

Did you know that Christine recently received an LDS mission call to Japan? Imagine what her personality will do to help them in their recovery efforts.

Mr. W.

This Week's Overnighter and Wyatt Lenhart's Great News.

Wyatt all Decked out. A Star is Born.

Hello Troops,
We've survived the solar storm. The news said the worst sailed right by Earth. The Earth's magnetic field deflected much of it. I still believe the static electricity in my home was stronger than normal because of it. I got a good shock opening the bathroom door. And more than once I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand straight up. So, it was either the solar storm or I may have an unwanted poltergeist who has taken up lodgings in my humble abode.

Tonight we host the 6th grade class from Cedar Ridge Elementary School. They are great, well behaved kids. All the ships are flying.

Phoenix. Dave: Supernova
Voyager. Jon: Event Horizon
Galileo. Ben: Crisis
Magellan. Mark: Vortex
Odyssey. Christine: Outlaws

Its 11:45 P.M. I'm at my desk. Jon and Ben are in the Voyager explaining the Center's safety procedures. The boys are peppering their speech with the usual amount of giggling, laughing and the occasional flatulence. You can't have an Overnight Camp without a traditional belly busting belch. I'm waiting to see if I can hear it. Regardless, I WILL hear the the roar of laughter which inevitably follows. Jon must then put on his "I'm not a happy camper" face and threaten the mighty wrath of the awful and dreadful Mr. Williamson upon them.

Tonight I'm going to post something written by the Space Center's very own Wyatt Lenhart. Wyatt has been selected to play the role of Chekov from the original Star Trek series in a new online Star Trek series. He flew to Los Angeles yesterday to have his uniform fitted for filming. Way to go Wyatt!!

I went to a convention in Vegas a few years ago that had no real ties to star trek. It was an anime convention, and so all the people there were ANIME nerds and not star trek nerds. In the opening ceremony, while introducing the main guest, (Vic Mignogna) he announced that he would be having a Star Trek the original series trivia. Now, at an anime convention you might find a few really like anime AND star trek the ORIGINAL series (or TOS for short). Keep in mind this was the biggest guest at the whole gig, this guy was most well known. In the back of my mind I was thinking, "Are you kidding me? The original series? I know that stuff better than anyone on this planet! I practically LIVED on it as a child." SO I MADE A PUBLIC CHALLENGE! being the arrogant teenager I am, I thought of the most challenging and obscure question I could think of. searching my brain furiously for a question worthy of this challenge.

suddenly it came to me! as my friends were gathered around me (Ben and Hayley) I asked the question that I didnt know the answer to. He was stumped! confused that someone of my intellect could come up with such a surprising question! He of course welcomed the challenge and asked if I knew the answer...(sweating at this point) I told him he would have to wait until the trivia panel. Where I would roast him alive! He smiled and walked away with confidence, as though he knew the answer all along. With my head pounding and hands shaking I walked away screaming! "I'VE GOT TO FIND THE ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION!" Hayley and Ben both looked at me with eyes WIDE open as though to say, "you mean you didn't know the answer?" I guess I had played to cool and confident that no one had noticed :D. so I researched the question further only to find that AN ANSWER DIDN'T EXIST!!!!! I had gotten my episodes mixed up and asked an inconsistent question! I was terrified! now I had to show up to the panel and be expected to ask that question in front of everyone who was present. I think me exact words were "hey I'm gonna kick your but at that trivia panel!" so when I arrived I saw toward the front, but not in costume. I was hoping that through the thousands of faces he saw in a day. Hopefully, he would forget that I had even challenged him, and I could go on with life and forgo the shame of asking the question (if you asked it then you HAVE to know the answer) so I blended into the crowd and hope that he would forget...

then the moment of the panel comes, and HE SHOWS UP IN FULLY AUTHENTIC STAR TREK UNIFORM!

and this is what happened.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0vmlTis207o

So, basically I got destroyed at that panel. He had a phaser that was also a water gun. Every time he would answer a question correctly (and he got EVERY one) he would turn to me and ask a more obscure question from that same episode, and if I didn't know it he would squirt me in the face with this water gun. It was fun, although I hated it and loved it at the same time. Yes, I was getting squirted in the face, but it was fun and we all talked about how cool it was later..

so we left the convention and then went on with our normal lives. Yes! It was cool! but i didn't think much of it.

I DID email him trivia questions from time to time until he answered to many in a row it seemed pointless to keep asking.

so a year or so went by and we were off to our next convention! off to Colorado! We arrive, and I'm dressed in my Captain kirk attire.

The convention was great! we arrived for opening ceremonies and then RIGHT after was his Q and A panel. (this convention was much bigger, there were probably 10,000 people at this one. 6,000 of them in the room at the time) we were toward the front because he was again, the biggest guest at this convention (and really the biggest voice actor in the anime world). The Q and A session started and it was seemingly normal for the most part. people who had never been to a convention before asked their annoying questions and the creepy fan girls made him do lines as a character for him, but it was everything I had seen before.....until he saw me. He began to start, what some would describe as, freaking out. then he started talking about his STAR Trek career, and how he met William Shatner. Then he kinda had to stop and be like, okay, we should probably start talking about anime, since that's what were here for.

THEN CAME THE AUTOGRAPH SESSION!

all the other voice actors were given a room and a specific amount of line room. Vic, however, was given a whole floor, and the line was ENORMOUS!! The average wait was something like 3 to 5 hours. When you arrived in the room, you were allowed ONE item to be signed, and you could have a cd or a headshot signed if you decided to buy one also. They had security guards standing by in case you even THOUGHT about asking an extra question or signing an extra item. We were indeed afraid.

So we get to the room...and our little group walks in. Sparing the details of conversation, we were in there for 20 minutes!!! SECURITY WAS FURIOUS! in fact, they removed the rest of my party from the room! During our conversation, he told me about the star trek series he was doing, and he said, "We've GOT to get you doing a small cameo or something!" I was like YEAH! THAT'D BE SO COOL! then he paused and was like. Can you do a Russian accent? being EXTREMELY comfortable with a Russian accent because of all my practice at the space center. I busted out my Computer Specialist accent without hesitation. Then he said, well, Would you like to be Chekov? inside I was like YEAAAAAAAHH! but outside I was like YES! that would be so cool! and that was when security was said "take him down!". so I left the room and was completely blown away by what just happened. This is like what fans DREAM about, and I had just stumbled onto it by challenging someone to a star trek trivia panel.

A few weeks later he emailed me asking for my information, He called me and we talked about an audition video. I sent in my video, and I got the part!


I leave March 8th to get fitted for my costume in LA.

May 3 I leave to film the first few Vignettes and do a TON of publicity photo's

and then October we film the first episode!!!!

Its going to be great!

Wyatt