My latest presentation to date, created for a middle school in Manassas for English as a Second Language (ESL) students.

1. 1
Past, Present and Future
Ed Rodriguez
Systems Engineer – SGT, Inc.
NASA Contractor, Goddard Space Flight Center
**Note**: All pictures in this presentation are courtesy of NASA®. All other animated pictures may be subject to copyright laws.
This presentation is for educational purposes only. All rights reserved.
NASA Achievements

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How did the Space Race Begin?
• A small spherical satellite called Sputnik started it all: It was the first artificial satellite to
be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet
Union on October 4th
, 1957.
• The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1's success precipitated the crisis in the
United States and ignited the Space Race.
• Explorer 1 was the United States’ answer to the Soviet’s Sputnik satellite, launched
January 31, 1958.
• It discovered the Van Allen Radiation Belts over the North and Southern hemispheres.

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First Man into Space
• On April 12, 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first person to fly in
space, reinforcing American fears about being left behind in a technological
competition with the Soviet Union.
• The United States was beaten into orbit by the Soviets, but would soon answer and
unleash all of her talents to come back and win the Space Race.

4. 4
Mercury Program
• The first human spaceflight program of the United States. It ran from 1959 through 1963 with the goal
of putting a human in orbit around the Earth.
• 7 Test Pilots were selected. Only 6 would fly during the Mercury Program
• Monkey-Wrench Alter! On January 31, 1961, Ham, a chimpanzee was secured into a Project Mercury
capsule mission labeled MR-2 and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida, on a suborbital flight.
• Alan B. Shepard was the first American into space on a sub-orbital flight.
• Gus Grissom, 2nd
man into space lost his space capsule Liberty Bell 7 after his hatch inadvertently blew
off while waiting for the rescue crew to pick him up in the ocean.
• John Glenn was the first American to orbit the Earth. On February 20th
, 2012, John Glenn celebrated
his 50th
anniversary being the first American astronaut to orbit the Earth! He would also fly on a
Shuttle flight in the 1990’s as the oldest man in space.
• Deke Slayton did not fly due to a medical diagnosis of having an irregular heartbeat. He would later
fly on the Apollo/Soyuz mission.

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Gemini Program
• Project Gemini was conducted between 1965 and 1966. There were 10
manned flights total.
• Goal: To develop space docking techniques in support of Apollo, which
ultimately had the goal of landing men on the Moon.
• Gemini achieved missions in duration long enough for a trip to the Moon and
back, perfected extra-vehicular activity (working outside a spacecraft), and
orbital maneuvers necessary to achieve rendezvous and docking.

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Apollo Program
• Conceived during the Presidency of Dwight D. Eisenhower, Apollo began in earnest after President John
F. Kennedy proposed the national goal of "landing a man on the Moon and returning him safely to the
Earth" by the end of the 1960s in a May 25, 1961 address to Congress.
• Apollo ran from 1961 to 1972, following the Mercury and Gemini programs. There were 12 successfully
launched missions (2 Earth Orbiting, 10 Trans-lunar Missions).
• A major tragedy struck NASA during Apollo 1, when we lost Astronauts Ed White, Gus Grissom and
Roger Chaffee in the Apollo 1 fire during a pre-flight test on January 27th
1967.
• After months of investigations, it was discovered that an electrical spark inside the capsule,
combined with the 100% Oxygen rich environment asphyxiated all 3 astronauts within 30
seconds. The hatch was a major contribution to the tragedy, as the hatch could only be
opened from outside of the capsule.
• NASA would have to stand down. The would learn from this tragedy, fix it and move
forward.

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Apollo Program (continued)
• Apollo 7 and 9 missions: The primary objectives of these missions were to test all aspects of the Lunar
Module (LM) in Earth orbit, including operation of the LM as an independent self-sufficient spacecraft
and performance of docking and rendezvous maneuvers and procedures. Apollo 8 would be the first
Apollo mission to briefly orbit the moon and return the men back to Earth.
• Apollo 10 would repeat Apollo 8’s feat, but this time with the Lunar Module attached, acting as the Dry-
Run for Apollo 11 mission.
• Apollo 11 was the first mission to land men on the moon on July 20, 1969. On that day, Neil Armstrong
famously proclaimed – “That’s one small step for a man…One giant leap for mankind.”
• The EVA lasted approximately 2.5 hours. All scientific activities were completed satisfactorily, all
instruments were deployed, and samples were collected.

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Apollo Program (continued)
• After the successful Apollo 11 mission, 6 more missions would follow between 1969 and 1972: Apollo’s 12-17.
• Apollo 12 would land a very close 580ft (175m) from Surveyor 3, an unmanned lunar explorer that landed on the
moon on April 20, 1967.
• Apollo 13 would never land on the moon, instead use the Lunar Module as a “lifeboat”, saving the lives of the
astronauts after an explosion on the service module caused by an electrical short circuit. The astronauts would
return safely to Earth after a “free return trajectory” around the moon. It was referred to “NASA’s successful
failure”, as they were unable to land on the moon as planned, however brought all 3 men back safely home.
• Apollo 14 landed where 13 was planned to land (Frau Mauro highlands).
• Apollo 15 was the first Apollo mission to carry along the “Moon Rover”, a 4-wheel buggy that allowed the
astronauts to explore further from the LM. The astronuats on Apollo 15 spent three days on the Moon and a total
of 18½ hours outside the spacecraft on lunar extra-vehicular activity (EVA).
• Apollo 16 astronauts drove the Lunar Roving Vehicle (LRV), the second ever produced and used on the Moon, a
cumulative distance of 16.6 miles around their landing sight.
• Apollo 17 was NASA’s final mission to the moon, carrying the very first geologist to explore the surface of the
moon. Unfortunately, due to lack of funding, the remaining 3 missions (18-20) were cancelled.

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Skylab and Apollo/Soyuz Missions
• Skylab flew from 1973-1979. It provided the astronauts with a huge workshop, a solar observatory, and
other systems. There were three missions comprised of 3 astronauts on each mission.
• Skylab was one of several “uncontrolled” re-entries back to Earth, landing in Western Australia in 1979
• The Apollo/Soyuz proram was the first American/Soviet cooperative mission during the Cold War.
Docking in space of the two craft occurred on July 17th, 1975 and joint operations were conducted for
two full days.
• This would be Deke Slayton’s only flight into space (only original Mercury Astronaut who did not fly
during the Mercury Era).

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Space Shuttle Program
• Program duration: 1981 – 2011: Total of 135 Missions Launched. The Missions by Shuttle were:
Enterprise: 5ALT Columbia: 28 Challenger: 10 Atlantis: 33 Discovery: 39 Endeavour: 25
• The Space Shuttle, or Space Transportation System (STS) as it was officially called, provided America
access to space for 30 years. It also partnered with several other countries, carrying a wide variety of
international scientists and mission specialists into low Earth orbit throughout the course of its history.

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In Memoriam
Challenger: STS-51L
January 28th
, 1986
Shuttle destroyed less than 2
minutes after launch.
Cause: O-Ring malfunction in
the right Solid Rocket Booster.
Columbia: STS-107
February 1st
, 2003
Shuttle destroyed upon re-entry.
Cause: Broken piece of foam from
External Tank hit left wing during
ascent, creating a hole in the left wing.

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International Space Station
• Planned Use/Lifetime: 1998 – 2016
• The International Space Station (ISS) is a modular structure whose first component was launched in 1998. Atlantis
would be the last Space Shuttle (STS-135) to visit the ISS with final touches, including much needed supplies.
• Experiments: Bone loss study in Microgravity (Zero-G), long term endurance in space (e.g. muscle loss).
• Future: Act as staging platform for future moon, Mars and asteroid missions.
• Like many artificial satellites, the station can be seen from Earth with the naked eye. The ISS consists of pressurized modules,
external trusses, solar arrays and other elements. ISS components have been launched by American Space
Shuttles as well as Russian Proton and Soyuz rockets.
• Additional information/videos/simulations available on the Internet:
– http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h8kOAroNNAo (ISS construction fast timed)
– http://www.space-video.info/iss/assembly-animation.html

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The Future of NASA
• What's next? Orion - the next Launch vehicle program to replace Shuttle), Mars Missions, Asteroid missions.
• Interplanetary missions – Unmanned for now, but when will humans travel to interplanetary destinations?
• NASA has many opportunities out there for those of you with a strong sense of adventure!

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Immigrants Contributing to NASA
• Gregory E. Chamitoff: Chamitoff, a mission specialist and ISS flight engineer was
born in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and naturalized in his 20s.
• Franklin R. Chang-Diaz: Former astronaut Chang-Diaz was born in San Jose,
Costa Rica. In 1981, he became the first naturalized U.S. citizen to earn the title of
NASA astronaut.
• Kalpana Chawla: This astronaut was born in Karnal, Haryana, India and was the
first Indian-American in space. Chawla became a naturalized citizen when she was 29
years old. This accomplished astronaut and space shuttle mission specialist was killed
in the 2003 Columbia space shuttle disaster.
• C. Michael Foale: Foale is a mission specialist and ISS commander. He was born in
Louth, England and holds the current U.S. record for cumulative time spent in space:
374-days, 11h and 19min.
• Michael E. Lopez-Alegria: Born in Madrid, Spain, Lopez-Alegria currently serves
as flight crew operations directorate assistant director for ISS.
• Carlos I. Noriega: Born in Lima, Peru, this retired astronaut is now the director,
safety, reliability and quality assurance office, constellation program of the Johnson
Space Center. Noriega holds the distinction of being the first Peruvian-born person in
space.
• Nicholas J.M. Patrick: This mission specialist was born in North Yorkshire in the
United Kingdom. He became a naturalized citizen in 1994.
• Piers J. Sellers: Sellers is a mission specialist and was born in Sussex, United
Kingdom. He became a naturalized citizen in 1991.
• Andrew S. W. Thomas - Mission Specialist Thomas was born in Adelaide, South
Australia and naturalized in 1986.

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Want to Work at NASA?
• Careers/Path to get there:
• Get a Scholarship to the Naval or Air Force Academies – Free education, but you have to stay in the military for
about 6 years after you graduate.
• Most Geeks/Nerds earn a pretty good living $$ (if you consider yourself one and study hard, chances are you fall
into this category)
• Security Clearances/Background Checks performed prior to employment (including fingerprinting). (Looking for
bad apples with a history of criminal activity)
• Felony convictions = No Job at NASA
• Buy a telescope and star gaze (or know someone who does)
• Good attitude, willing to learn, Team player attitude a must. Work long hours, even overnight shifts for an
extended period of time.
• Science, Math and English skills a must!
• Remember: "Imagination is more important than knowledge" (Albert Einstein)
• Visit National Air and Space Museums, planetariums, join space clubs, social networks
(@twan = This Week At NASA twitter) interested in following Space, etc.
• Schools that specialize in Science/Engineering curriculum (VT, Penn State, Michigan, Capitol College)
• Movies - The Right Stuff, Apollo 13, Marooned (old 60's movie)
• Watch NOVA (PBS) Specials, Youtube, Discovery Channel, Sci-Fi Channel (Just Google Space*)
• Get an Internship with companies working with NASA Contractors (Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, etc.)
• Jobs: Administrative to Astronauts! All disciplines of Engineering, Mission Planning, Robotics, Flight
Ops...Astronomy, launch vehicle development/ops, Mission Safety Assurance
• Safety, Quality Assurance, computer IT professionals (keep those threats out) and many more to mention.
• Ingenuity – What makes your ideas unique? What interests you? What can you do for NASA? What do you see
yourself getting out of working at NASA?