One team will analyze an Inspector Satellite Imaging System (ISIS) in microgravity. An Image Processing System (IPS) measures the position and orientation of the target satellite by transmitting images taken at small time intervals. This program can reduce the cost and time necessary to service a dysfunctional satellite. The team’s participants are Eric Huang, Fernando Galaviz, Thomas Wilson, Brian Hurt, Jon Mefford and Harish Chandranath.
A second team will test a method for controlling the docking attitude and velocity of a nano-satellite and the speed it is repelled from an original satellite configuration. Added control of payloads by this system will enhance the effectiveness of missions requiring a docking or disembarking procedure. The team’s participants are Jessica Williams, Jesse Franceschini, Jonathan “JR” Reyes, Andrew Cave, Johnathan “JT” Thompson, Clark Newman and Ronald Lum.
A third team will test the effectiveness of various fire suppressants in a microgravity environment, in the hopes of better preparing future manned space exploration efforts in dealing with unplanned-for fires. The team’s participants are Randy Lum, Joel Baden, Stephanie Beckett, David Haase, Kristen John and Leah Olsen.
A fourth team will conduct a performance test of a closed-loop fluidic momentum controller in one axis. A fluid momentum controller, an experimental spacecraft attitude control device, works to keep spacecraft in a specified orientation. These devices can generate the proper angular momentum to counteract disturbances to a craft’s orientation. The objective is to detumble the test apparatus in one axis, as opposed to last year’s open-loop experiment. The team’s participants are Amanda Kelly, Chris McChesney, Brad Steinfeldt, Ashley Wells, Ben Stahl and Suzanne Oliason.
NASA requires each team to perform educational outreach about their project, and each project also had to comply with numerous NASA safety guidelines.
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