General overview of NASA, Launch Services Program, and the Slosh experiment aboard the International Space Station. This presentation is designed to be presented in front of university level students in hopes of inspiring them to go into STEM careers

Marsell, Brandon

NASA Technical Reports Server

NASA,	Rockets,	and	the	
Interna3onal	Space	Sta3on	
Tips	and	tricks	on	ge9ng	your	dream	job	
Brandon	Marsell	
https://ntrs.nasa.gov/search.jsp?R=20150023599 2019-08-31T04:37:39+00:00Z
Who	is	this	guy?	
•  Brandon	Marsell	
– Fluid	Dynamics	Engineer		
– NASA	Launch	Services	Program	
– Kennedy	Space	Center	
2	
•  Stetson	University	
– Bachelor	of	Science		in	Physics	
– Quantum	Mechanics	track	
– 2003	–	2007	
•  Embry	Riddle	Aeronau3cal	University	
– Master’s	of	science	in	Aerospace	Engineering	
– Aerodynamics	/	CFD	track	
– 2007	-	2009	
Educa3on	
3	
Experience	
•  6	years	experience	with	Launch	Vehicles	
(Rockets)		
•  Aerospace	engineer	for	Qine3Q-NA	
–  Hired	in	2009	
–  ELVIS	contract	
•  Aerospace	Engineer	for	ai	solu3ons	
–  2012	
–  ELVIS	II	contract	
•  Hired	by	NASA	as	a	civil	service	employee	in	
2013	
•  Started	my	own	company	
–  2013	
–  Freedom	Engineering	
4	
Missions	
•  I	have	served	as	NASA’s	primary	ﬂuids	
engineer	on	the	following	missions	
– RBSP	
– MMS	
– MSL	
–  JUNO	
•  Special	projects	
–  ISS	Experiment	
5	
•  What	was	this	rocket	called?	
6	
Ques3on	1	
NASA	
•  Ques3on	I	get	asked	the	most	
–  Didn’t	they	shut	down	NASA?	
–  NASA	is	very	much	alive	and	well	
7	
What	is	NASA?	
•  NASA	is	a	government	agency	just	like	
–  FDA	
–  FBI	
–  ATF	
–  USDA	
–  And	many	more	
•  Though	recently	most	agencies	have	seen	their	
budgets	shrink,	NASA’s	budget	is	fairly	stable	
•  NASA’s	2013	budget	was	~$18	Billion	
8	
Who	can	work	at	NASA?	
•  Anyone!	
•  NASA	has	many	centers	all	over	the	country	and	needs	
many	diﬀerent	skills	
–  Engineering	
–  Accoun3ng	
–  Aiorneys	
–  Project	managers	
–  Computer	programmers	
–  Writers	
–  Public	rela3ons	
–  Human	resources	
–  And	many	more	
9	
AMES	Research	Center	
•  Located	in	San	Jose,	CA	
•  Houses	some	of	NASA’s	most	powerful	
supercomputers	
•  Has	huge	wind	tunnels	
•  Provides	support	of	many	space	and	
aeronau3cs	programs	
10	
Jet	Propulsion	Laboratory	
•  Located	in	Pasadena,	CA	
•  Builds	and	operates	many	of	NASA’s	robo3c	
missions	
–  Curiosity	(MSL)	
–  Cassini-Huygens	
–  Mars	Explora3on	Rover		
	Opportunity	
–  Mars	Reconnaissance	Orbiter	
–  JUNO	
–  more	
11	
Johnson	Space	Center	
•  Located	in	Houston,	TX	
•  ISS	mission	control	
•  Astronaut	training	
12	
Stennis	Space	Center	
•  Bay	Saint	Louis,	MS	
•  NASA’s	largest	rocket	engine	test	facility	
13	
Marshall	Space	Flight		
Center	
•  Located	in	Huntsville,	AL	
•  Largest	NASA	center	
•  Lead	center	for	design	of	Apollo,	Space	
Shuile,	Interna3onal	Space	Sta3on,	and	SLS	
rocket	
14	
Glenn	Research	Center	
•  Located	in	Cleveland,	Ohio	
•  Develops	science	and	technology	for	use	in	
aeronau3cs	and	space	
•  Cu9ng	edge	research	on	jet	engines	and	in	
space	propulsion	
•  Large	vacuum		
	chambers	
15	
Langley	Research	Center	
•  Located	in	Langley,	VA	
•  Operates	many	wind	tunnels	
•  Focuses	on	aeronau3cal	research	
16	
Armstrong	Flight	Research		
Center	
•  Located	at	the	Edwards	air	force		
	base,	CA	
•  Lead	center	for	aeronau3cs	tes3ng	
•  Tests	some	of	the	most	advanced	aircral	in	
the	world	
17	
Goddard	Space	Flight		
Center	
•  Greenbelt,	MD	
•  Develops	many	unmanned	scien3ﬁc	
spacecral	
•  Provides	management	for	many	NASA	science	
missions	
18	
NASA	Headquarters	
•  Located	in	Washington	DC	
•  Interfaces	with	the	rest	of	the	government	
•  Business	and	management	
19	
Kennedy	Space	Center	
•  Cape	Canaveral,	FL	
•  Lead	center	for	launching	vehicles	
•  Best	center	ever!	
20	
Ques3on	2	
•  Who	is	this	guy?	
21	

With the goal of ensuring mission success 
6 
LSP’s	Customers	
24	
End	to	End	 Advisory	
LSP’s	Current	Fleet	
Potential/Emerging Vehicles 
Pegasus	 Atlas	V	
	Falcon	9		
7	
Athena	Ic	 Athena	IIc	
Delta	IV	
Delta	II	
Antares	
Launch Sites 
25	
Falcon	Heavy	
Athena	III	
Stratolauncher	
VG	LauncherOne	
Blue	Origin	
	
CubeSat	
High	Al:tude	Demonstra:on	Missions	
Student	Launch	System	
Ini:a:ve	
LSP	Enables	Human	Explora3on	
Launch	Services	Program	 Human	Explora3on	
SIRTF	
OSIRIS-REX	
Mars	Rover-	Spirit	
Curiosity	
Human	Space	Flight	
LSP	invest	in	collaborates	with…	
Advisory	
Commercial	Resupply	Services	(CRS)	
Explora3on	Flight	Test-1	
Commercial	Crew	Program	
MMS	–
Magnetospheric	
	Mul3Scale	
	
SMAP	–	Soil	
Moisture	Ac3ve	
Passive	
Jason-3	
2015	
GOES-R	–	Geosta3onary	Opera3onal	
Environmental	Satellite	
2016	
OSIRIS-Rex	-	Origins	Spectral	
Interpreta3on	Resource	Iden3ﬁca3on	
Security	Regolith	Explorer	
JPSS-1	–	Joint	Polar	
Satellite	System	
2015	–	2016	Manifest	Outlook	
Interior	Explora3on	
	using	Seismic	
Inves3ga3ons,	Geodesy	
and	Heat	Transport	
Cyclone	Global	
Naviga3on	Satellite	
System	
29	
30	
Ques3on	3	
•  Who	is	this	guy?	
31	
What	do	I	do	
•  NASA	
NASA	headquarters,	DC	
Kennedy	Space	Center	
Launch	Services	Program	
Mission	Analysis	Division	
Environments	and	Launch	Approval	Branch	
Fluids	Group	
Brandon	
32	
Fluids	Group	
•  This	is	one	of	the	smaller	groups	consis3ng	of	
4	engineers	
•  Responsible	for	any	ﬂuid	dynamics	related	
analyses	required	during	the	launch	
integra3on	process	
•  It	really	is	“rocket	science!”	
– So	what	does	this	mean?	
33	
Example	1	
•  Compartment	ven3ng	
–  As	the	rocket	increases	in	al3tude,	the	
air	pressure	decreases	(preiy	quickly)	
–  How	do	you	make	sure	the	pressure	
inside	doesn’t	cause	the	fairing	to	break	
open?	
–  The	fairings	have	vent	holes	
–  We	run	a	large	set	of	analyses	that	
predict	the	pressure	inside	the	fairing	
during	the	ascent	
–  These	predic3ons	ensure	the	payload	
wont	be	damaged	from	depressurizing	
too	quickly/slowly	
34	
Image:	ULA	Atlas	V	User’s	Guide	(
hip://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/
AtlasVUsersGuide2010.pdf)		
Example	2	
•  Payloads	si9ng	inside	the	fairing	
are	supplied	with	air	
condi3oning	to	ensure	they	
remain	dry	and	cool	as	they	wait	
for	launch		
•  Some	payloads	have	stringent	
cooling	requirements	(like	on	
baieries	etc…)	that	drive	us	to	
run	sophis3cated	Computa3onal	
Fluid	Dynamics	(CFD)	analyses	to	
predict	heat	transfer	coeﬃcients	
and	air	temperatures	
35	
Example	3	
•  Before	NASA	entrusts	a	private	
company	with	a	mul3-million	
(some3mes	billion)	dollar	
spacecral,	LSP	must	cer3fy	the	
vehicle	
•  LSP	pours	over	many	
engineering	documents	to	
ensure	the	rocket	is	safe	and	
reliable	
•  As	part	of	these	cer3ﬁca3on	
eﬀorts,	we	independently	
generate	aerodynamic	
coeﬃcient	tables	for	use	in	
control	system	simula3ons	
36	
Image:	NASA	@science	
hip://www.nas.nasa.gov/SC11/Kiris_SLS-CFD_Backgrounder.html		
I	love	my	job	
•  I	olen	ﬁnd	myself	stepping	back	and	thinking	
– “I	can’t	believe	I	am	actually	working	on	
something	that’s	going	to	space!”	
–  It	is	very	rewarding	
•  Not	only	are	these	problems	super	interes3ng,	
challenging,	and	important…	they	are	also	
fun!	
37	
How	did	I	get	here?	
•  Always	knew	I	wanted	to	work	in	the	space	
industry	
–  Wanted	to	work	on	things	that	go	to	space	
–  Didn’t	speciﬁcally	set	my	sights	on	NASA	un3l	grad	
school	
•  I	chose	physics	because	it	was	fundamental,	
interes3ng,	and	allowed	me	to	specialize	later	
–  Physics	allowed	me	to	chose	from	a	wide	variety	of	
engineering	disciplines	
–  I	chose	Aerospace	Engineering	
38	
Realize	how	lucky	you	are	
•  I	was	always	very	disciplined	and	realized	how	
lucky	I	was	to	be	able	to	go	to	college	and	get	
a	degree	from	a	great	university.	
•  Not	many	people	get	the	opportunity	to	even	
go	to	college	
– Seriously,	look	it	up	
– hip://www.bls.gov/news.release/hsgec.nr0.htm	
– Though	I	had	a	lot	of	fun,	school	always	came	ﬁrst	
39	
Internships	
•  These	are	very	important!	
•  Do	as	many	as	you	can	
•  You	will	meet	many	people	in	many	diﬀerent	
ﬁelds		
•  These	folks	may	hire	you	one	day	
40	
High	Al3tude	Observatory	
•  During	my	Junior	year	I	completed	my	ﬁrst	
internship	
– Na3onal	Center	for	atmospheric	research	
– High	al3tude	observatory	
– Scaiering	Polariza3on	Experiment	
•  Met	many	scien3sts	
– They	were	working	on	a	satellite	that	was	set	to	
launch	in	the	next	year	
– This	is	when	I	decided	to	do	something	similar	
41	
Grad	School	
•  Good	grades,	internship	experience	and	
physics	degree	got	me	into	grad	school	at	
Embry	Riddle	Aeronau3cal	University	(ERAU)	
– Since	it	was	not	an	engineering	degree	they	
required	a	couple	pre-requisite	classes	
– Finished	them	over	summer	aler	gradua3ng	from	
Stetson	
42	
Grad	School	TIP	
Just	because	a	course	is	called	something	diﬀerent,	doesn’t	mean	it	is	
Example:	 linear	 algebra	 could	 be	 called	 matrix	 methods	 or	 numerical	
engineering.	Diﬀerent	engineering	schools	have	diﬀerent	 lingo	and	advisors/
professors	 won’t	 always	 know	 what	 you	 have	 already	 taken.	 Use	 your	 old	
textbooks	to	prove	you	have	taken	classes.		
Get	a	Good	Advisor	and	Project	
•  I	chose	the	thesis	op3on	
–  Thesis	op3on	=	less	class-work	but	requires	thesis		
–  Non-Thesis	op3on	=	more	class-work	but	no	thesis	
•  Thesis	op3on	allowed	me	to	specialize	and	immerse	myself	
in	the	world	of	Computa3onal	Fluid	Dynamics	(I	
recommend	it)	
–  Favorite	class	was	ﬂuid	dynamics	
–  Asked	professor	for	a	thesis	project	
–  He	gave	me	one!	
43	
Grad	School	TIP	
Get	help	from	your	advisor,	but	realize	he	won’t	do	it	all	for	you.	Once	in	grad	
school,	 it’s	up	 to	you!	Take	ownership	of	 your	project	and	make	 it	 the	best	
that	it	can	be.		Apply	for	grants	and	ﬁnd	someone	to	pay	for	your	school!		
Thesis	project	
•  Advisor	was	involved	in	the	NASA	Graduate	
Student	Researcher’s	Program	(GSRP)	
–  Studying	the	way	ﬂuids	move	in	containers	
–  Project	was	for	the	Launch	Services	program	
–  hips://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/		
•  Once	accepted,	I	took	over	for	the	previous	
student	
–  NASA	grant	covered	grad	school	as	well	as	living	
expenses		
–  Weekly	teleconferences	gave	me	exposure	to	the	
folks	at	NASA	
44	
Ge9ng	Hired	
•  Grad	school	ﬂew	by	
– Finished	my	Master’s	in	2	years	
– Started	looking	for	jobs	
•  Use	“shotgun”	technique	
–  I	applied	to	more	than	30	job	openings	
– Posted	my	resume	everywhere	
45	
Marke:ng	TIP	
Go	 to	 technical	 conferences	 in	 your	 ﬁeld	 and	 present	 as	much	 as	 possible.	
Also,	take	many	copies	of	your	resume	and	post	them	on	the	open	boards	at	
the	venue.		
8	months	11	days	
Ques3on	4	
•  How	long	did	it	take	Mars	Science	Laboratory	
to	get	to	Mars?	
46	
ISS	Slosh	Experiment	
•  At	the	Launch	Services	Program	we	are	lucky	
to	have	a	small	budget	for	research	and	
development	
– Normally	used	for	small	research	projects	
– Also	used	to	buy	advanced	equipment	
•  I	am	heavily	involved	in	research	projects	
•  I	was	assigned	to	lead	the	ISS	Slosh	
Experiment	in	2011	
47	
What	is	slosh?	
•  Liquid	propellant	
movements	within	
rocket	tanks	can	cause	
loss	of	mission	
•  Must	predict	the	
magnitude	and	
frequency	of	slosh	
forces	to	properly	tune	
vehicle	control	systems	
48	
The	Problem	–	The	Solu3on	
The	Problem		
•  NASA	lacks	experimental	data	to	validate	liquid	slosh	behavior	in	a	microgravity	
environment	
•  Many	computer	models	claim	to	accurately	predict	liquid	mo3on	inside	a	
propellant	tank	
•  These	models	are	only	validated	under	1g	condi3ons	
•  None	have	been	validated	in	the	surface	tension-dominated	microgravity	
environment	of	space	
49 
The	Solu3on	
•  An	experiment	has	been	built	that	
takes	advantage	of	the	microgravity	
environment	of	the	Interna3onal	
Space	Sta3on	(ISS)	
•  Scaled,	clear,	liquid	ﬁlled	tank	
•  Cameras	
•  Iner3al	measurement	units	
	
Overview	
50	
Where	we	have	been	
	
51 
Student	Par3cipa3on	
•  Students	at	the	Florida	
Ins3tute	of	Technology	
(FIT)	designed	and	
fabricated	the	en3re	
experiment	
–  Machined	all	aluminum	
parts	
–  Used	CAD	to	design	all	3D	
printed	components	
–  Fabricated	all	custom	
cabling	
–  Designed	all	custom	
printed	circuit	boards	
used	in	the	avionics	boxes	
–  Ran	analyses	for	ISS	safety	
cer3ﬁca3on	
Qualiﬁca3on	tes3ng	
•  ISS	Safety	Tes3ng	
–  Vibra3on	tes3ng	
•  Qualtest,	inc.	(Orlando,	FL)	
•  Tested	in	stowed	conﬁgura3on	
–  Electromagne3c	Compa3bility	
tes3ng	
•  MSFC	EMI	test	facility	
•  Full	unit	tested	along	with	two	
SPHERES	ground	units	
–  Oﬀgass	tes3ng	
•  White	Sands	Test	Facility	
•  Tested	all	3D	printed	materials	
–  Flammability	tes3ng	
•  White	Sands	Test	Facility	
•  Tested	all	3D	printed	materials	
–  Touch	temperature	tes3ng	
•  Florida	Ins3tute	of	Technology	
–  Pressure	tes3ng	
•  Florida	Ins3tute	of	technology	
Launch	
•  Launch	aboard	the	Orb-1	
Commercial	Resupply	to	
Sta3on	mission	
–  Launch	Jan	09,	2014	
–  Dock	to	ISS	January	12,	2014	
–  Launched	on	an	Orbital	
Sciences	Corp.	Antares	Launch	
Vehicle	
–  Launched	from	Wallops	Flight	
Facility	
•  First	ISS	cargo	ﬂight	for	this	
vehicle	
•  First	3D	printed	experiment	
aboard	the	ISS	
How	to	run	the	experiment	
•  Grab	the	experiment	
•  Power	it	up	(2	switches)	
•  Place	in	center	of	the	module	
•  Float	over	to	computer	
•  Click	on	run	
•  Wait	un3l	maneuver	is	complete	(~2	minutes)	
55	
Science	
•  Sessions	completed	to	
date	
–  Checkout	
–  Science	#1	
–  Science	#2	
–  Science	#3	
•  Sessions	take	roughly	6	
hours	to	complete	
–  2.5	hours	for	set-up		
–  1.5	hours	for	science		
–  2	hours	for	break-down	
56	
Ini3al	Condi3on	
57	
	
Checkout	
	
	
	
	
	
	
Science	#1	
	
	
	
	
	
Science	#2	
Bad	ini:al	condi:on	
	
	
	
	
	
	
Good	ini:al	condi:on	
40%	
	
	
	
	
	
Good	ini:al	condi:on	
20%	
Ini3al	Condi3on	
Liquids	in	Space	
59	
Conclusion	
•  Thank	you	very	much	for	invi3ng	me	
•  Good	luck!	
60	


NASA, Rockets, and the International Space Station

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