Discovery Space: Next Generation

Space Camp for Big Kids

Michael Laine -- president of the LiftPort Group -- recently set aside his space elevator-building duties to attend International Space University (ISU). The first installment of his adventures in Barcelona, Spain is chronicled here.

I've never had so much fun, learned as much or played as hard as I did this summer at a "space camp" -- and I'm 41 years old.

The International Space University (aka ISU) was founded 21 summers ago by Todd Hawley, Rob Richards (Odyssey Moon) and Peter Diamandis (X PRIZE Foundation, Zero Gravity Corp, SEDS, Space Adventures, Rocket Racing League). My experience there was a blur of nonstop activity, but that frenzy had a purpose: to learn about space as thoroughly and as quickly as possible.

If the university's following credo sounds ambitious, that's because it is:

"...founded on the vision of peaceful, prosperous and boundless future through the study, exploration and development of Space for the benefit of all humanity... dedicated to international cooperation... where students and scholars seek to understand the mysteries of the Cosmos and apply their knowledge to the betterment of the human condition."

The spectacular thing is that I think it fulfills this vision, and then some.

I had been working on LiftPort, the Elevator to Space Companies, for several years. In April 2007 we hit a financial roadblock that looked to end our role in building a space elevator. No matter what I did, I couldn't seem to work around the problems. It was a blow to me, my team and the worldwide space elevator research community. I was stuck.

Closing the company and giving up the cause absolutely crossed my mind. (Some of you reading this would probably encourage that!) I asked myself, "Do I really care enough to work this hard on something that most people think is impossible?" In short, I was having a crisis of faith in what I believed in -- and its potential to make a positive impact on the people of Earth.

I needed a personal reality check, so I took some time off to see if it was simply a case of being tired or a complete burn-out. That's when I went to "space camp."

Disclaimer: the school's administrators dislike it when you call the ISU "space camp" because it's a serious university with a difficult program. I suppose they think my calling it "space camp" is demeaning. To me, however, it's a term of endearment and I'll continue to use it. This is the same reasoning that I use when calling (ex) girlfriends by nicknames. It might get on their nerves, but it's a way of telling whether I care or not. That being said, Boston University didn't get a nickname from me.

Back to space camp: I went to learn something about myself, but also knew that the worldwide space community wasn't that big -- and if my goal of an elevator into the sky was ever going to happen, then ISU was the place to start.

This year the university's Space Studies Program was held in Barcelona Spain. Last year it was in Beijing, the year before that in Vancouver and next year it will be at NASA Ames near San Francisco. By floating around, it lives up to the expectation of being an international program.

My classmates from Barcelona (friends now!) numbered about 120, plus 50 or so instructors and other staff. In short, we were a tight-knit community from 26 nations with a variety of talents. Some were more surprising than others: belly dancing, solving a Rubik's cube in 4 minutes, and singing/using musical instruments (as well as other skills I won't mention here). Our ages ranged from 20 to 52. I think I was the fourth oldest in the program. And no -- I can't solve the Rubik's cube anymore.

More than half of the students had educational or work experience in engineering. There was also a sprinkling of life sciences, physical sciences, information technology, humanities, policy and law, and of course -- my area -- business and management.

I learned some things about the space elevator that I really, really wish I had known six years ago. Suffice to say, there were moments this summer that made me say "ah ha!" and others where all that came to mind was "oh sh*t!"

Did I mention that I'm the sort of guy who actually believes he can build an elevator to space? Imagine the stubbornness and strength of will that a guy like that must have...

Thankfully, ISU professors were there to provide moments of clarity and insight into problems that had hindered me for years. Professors were there to guide, and ask useful questions. Staff who had understanding and patience. Staff with grace in the midst of chaos. Most importantly, there were students who started out as strangers and became friends – friends I know I can count on. Students that turned out to be teachers. Students who broadened their horizons and by so doing, they broadened my own.

I went to Barcelona -- to space camp -- as a "test of faith." I returned committed, healed and ready to wrestle tigers.

This post might sound like a sales-pitch, but it's not. Quite simply, the program had a profound impact on me.

Obviously this is just the beginning of my story. Discovery Space agreed to give me the keys to Next Generation for awhile, so be sure to check back often for new posts!

Michael Laine

Michael Laine is the president of LiftPort Group, the Elevator to Space Companies. You can follow him on Twitter and Lifestreaming, and check out his company's YouTube page here.

Photos, top to bottom: Courtesy Michael Laine; Spaceward Foundation; courtesy Michael Laine

Strike a Pose, Gravity

What's the deal with gravity?

We don't know what causes it, but we do know it's a force that occurs when two objects -- such as the Earth and the moon -- attract to one another. We also know that if each object is treated as a perfect sphere, the math describing gravity is fairly simple.

But reality bites, and the Earth is not a perfect sphere. It has deep oceans and towering mountain peaks, and is thicker around the equator. Each little rock, pebble, grain of sand and molecule of water pulls on the moon, planets, the sun and everything else in the universe. Needless to say, accounting for these disturbances is a difficult problem.

Since before the first satellite launch, humanity has studied gravity anomalies, and those investigations have brought us to the Gravity Recovery and Climatology Experiment, aka "GRACE," which uses special satellites to measure this mysterious force.

See right for a 3-D map of these anomalies that the GRACE mission has teased out. The red indicates anomalies stronger than Earth's average pull of gravity (about 32.1740486 ft/s²), while the blue shows weaker-than-average anomalies.

Looks cool, but what do we do with this kind of information?

From modeling satellite orbits to monitoring the melting of glaciers and the polar ice caps, the benefits are numerous. To elaborate on the glacier example: If one is melting, the water drains away. That change in water means a change in mass -- and that translates to a small change in gravity around the glacier. So we can use gravity to study climate change.

Here's where I fit in: Scientists and engineers have used one type of gravity model for the past 100 years -- it's called spherical harmonics and is a bit dense to describe here (just look at the equation). My research looks at gravity from a totally different perspective, and to understand it, let's talk photography.

A photograph helps us preserve a memory, e.g. you as a kid. Years later, the picture reminds us of what we looked like when we were younger. That retrospective approach is similar to the gravity modeling I'm studying: Let's take our knowledge of the Earth's gravity, and store that information like a photograph so we can use it later. And instead of taking a picture of what the Earth visually looks like, we take a snapshot of what the Earth gravitationally looks like.

But one photograph doesn't show us the whole picture. If we take a picture of one side of the Earth, what does the other side look like? How do we know what gravity is like there? Even two pictures don't lend us a clear picture of the edges. We actually need six photographs to give us the Earth as a cube (see right).

So, why this new way versus the "old" way?

We've all sat there, waiting for a computer game or some piece of software to run... the more complex it is, the longer it takes for the computer to crunch the numbers. The "cubed sphere" model of gravity actually makes the software scientists use run faster -- so you get the speed of a rough test with the accuracy of an incredibly complex one. For people trying to model how their shiny new satellites will react to the Earth's anomalies while in orbit, that's a valuable improvement.

Modeling gravity is especially important for missions to the moon, since the spacecraft will be carrying people, and the moon's gravity is much more irregular than the Earth's. Better mapping of the moon's gravity not only improves simulations for planning trips there, but also helps astronauts figure out precisely where their spaceship is without asking for help from Earth.

It's also useful because, quite simply, someone can easily zoom in on a region they're interested in. Like looking at pictures of ourselves from when we were younger, we can use this cube-like model to easily see changes over time in things such as melting glaciers, mountains and more.

Brandon Jones is PhD student in aerospace engineering at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

Photos, top to bottom: Brandon Jones; NASA. Wikimedia Commons; Brandon Jones

From the Earth to the Moon... With a Few Stops Along the Way

Space exploration has always been the largest driving force in my life, and it's something I'm spending both my academic and professional time to pursue. I've been fortunate to be in the right places at the right times, but I also like to think that I'm actively seeking out opportunities as I reach for the stars.

The next event in my "spacey" life, for example, is the International Astronautical Congress in Glasgow, Scotland. That is where I am presenting my Ph.D. research paper on the abrasive properties of the lunar environment. Why moon dust, you ask?

During the Apollo moon missions, lunar dust abrasion created several issues for astronauts. To name a few things: faceplate scratching, which obscured moonwalker vision, and spacesuit pressure leaks, which could have put the astronauts in serious danger. As we gear up to return to the moon, finding out which materials best stand up to the its harsh environment is more important than ever.

In addition to my paper, I'm a co-author on four others at the IAC this year, and they're all related to Mars mission simulations that I've been a part of at the Mars Desert Research Station (in Utah) and at the Flashline Mars Arctic Research Station, or FMARS (in Nunavut, Canada).

In 2007 I was a member of a seven-person team that carried out a four-month Mars simulation at FMARS. During the simulation, we conducted more than 22 science projects in geology, biology, human factors, operations, and engineering. We also did eight outreach presentations to students, but since we were using a simulated 20-minute Mars-Earth delay, we created and sent a full audio-visual presentation.

One of the highlights during my time was when the crew went on Mars Time for 37 sols, or Martian days (which are 39 minutes and 35 seconds longer than Earth days). This was possible because of round-the-clock sunlight during the Arctic summer.

All of this work might sound out of this world, but it allowed me to gain experience in an extreme environment analogous to the surface of another planet -- in terms of isolation and research, that is. Beyond my own interests, it was a one-of-a-kind opportunity that I think will help us prepare for long-duration missions to the surface of the Moon and Mars.

Some day I hope to experience a real space mission first-hand! I've already replied to both the Canadian Space Agency's (CSA) and NASA's call for astronauts, so I'm crossing my fingers and working hard towards my career I've always wanted.

Space!
-Ryan

Ryan Kobrick is a Ph.D. candidate in Aerospace Engineering Sciences at the University of Colorado at Boulder, is a NASA Student Program member, and is researching lunar dust abrasion funded by a NASA Graduate Students Researchers Program grant. You can follow him on Twitter as RyInSpace.

Photo: Ryan Kobrick

Changes 'Round These Parts

Hey there, you!

This is Dave Mosher, aka the guy who pulls the levers behind Discovery Space, and a nerd. Who can also lift entire planet Earths (see exhibit A, right).

Anywho, I'm here to let you know that one Mr. David Chandler who started this blog up for us is taking leave for awhile, so you'll see some changes here.

What changes, thou asketh?

It took a few weeks, but I've assembled a crew of super-elite ninjas to track student scientists in the field, forcibly pin them down, and pull their arms until they cry "uncle!" and agree to blog for us.

So far, the ninjas have captured a few students who are working on getting us back to the moon, researching ways to reach Mars, developing space elevators, looking to the stars to solve cosmic mysteries, and other far-out projects.

Alas! We're still in need of lively student voices.

If you're a college-level student working on something you just can't wait to tell the whole world about, send a line to DiscoverySpace@discovery.com and tell me about yourself, or leave a comment right here.

<3 Dave@Discovery