CHATTANOOGA
ENGINEERS CLUB
www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org
www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org
NEXT WEEK_________________________________________________
Monday, October 27
Topic: Creating Wealth through Technology
- Greg Laudeman, Georgia Tech Economic
Development Institute (EDI)
Companies see risks
involved with embracing new technologies, but new technologies have the
potential to make companies more profitable. What can community
leaders do to reduce the perceived risk and encourage use of new
technologies? Greg says his presentation will center around local and
state policies that work to enhance technology-based economic
development. EDI has been
offering an array of services with
a common objective: to grow Georgia's economy by providing technology-driven
solutions to the state's businesses and communities. They are capitalizing on the university resource in
their neighborhood (Georgia Tech) to help reduce the risk of new technologies by
providing market data, helping to develop collaborative research efforts, and
facilitating public and private partnerships. EDI helps keep the
state's economy moving forward, whether the goal is attracting new companies to
Georgia, expanding existing enterprises, providing technical expertise to help
Georgia business and industry be more competitive, or helping communities plan
for growth. One example of an EDI success is a Dalton-based company,
Universal Textile Technologies, that is now producing a revolutionary carpet
backing material based on oil extracted from soybeans, thanks to information
provided by a Georgia Tech environmental specialist. EDI's website is: www.edi.gatech.edu
OUR PREVIOUS
MEETING_______________________________________
Bob Jaques, who is employed by Ai Signal Research, Inc. (ASRI) in Huntsville, Alabama, works as a contractor historian at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Mr. Jaques showed pictures of the first Skylab, its three crews of three men, some famous experiments, and some of the 80,000 pictures taken from Skylab of earth, comets, and the sun. Sixty three seconds after the launch of Skylab on a Saturn 5 rocket, the first problems of the mission occurred. The left photovoltaic array was blown off and a meteor shield that would limit the temperature inside Skylab was damaged. The interior of the Skylab module was 130 degrees F causing concern for food, film, and humans to survive in Skylab. This concern caused the next launch (of the crew) to be delayed 10 days. A parasol was designed, constructed (sewn together), and astronauts were trained to install it in place of the damaged shield. Parachute riggers from Fort Benning were called to fold the parasol for the flight. The first crew made repairs to Skylab and the parasol brought down the interior temperature to 72 degrees F.
Bob Jaques, who is employed by Ai Signal Research, Inc. (ASRI) in Huntsville, Alabama, works as a contractor historian at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. Mr. Jaques showed pictures of the first Skylab, its three crews of three men, some famous experiments, and some of the 80,000 pictures taken from Skylab of earth, comets, and the sun. Sixty three seconds after the launch of Skylab on a Saturn 5 rocket, the first problems of the mission occurred. The left photovoltaic array was blown off and a meteor shield that would limit the temperature inside Skylab was damaged. The interior of the Skylab module was 130 degrees F causing concern for food, film, and humans to survive in Skylab. This concern caused the next launch (of the crew) to be delayed 10 days. A parasol was designed, constructed (sewn together), and astronauts were trained to install it in place of the damaged shield. Parachute riggers from Fort Benning were called to fold the parasol for the flight. The first crew made repairs to Skylab and the parasol brought down the interior temperature to 72 degrees F.
One of the experiments suggested by students was to
discover if a spider can spin a web in a weightless environment. Two
spiders were sent to Skylab with the second crew of men. The spiders did
very little for the first 24 hours as they became accustomed to their new
environment. Then they spun their webs just as they had done on
earth. This second crew’s mission lasted 52 days. Unfortunately, the
spiders died while in space.
The third crew’s mission lasted 84 days. We discovered through these experiments that humans will not loose their equilibrium just because of zero gravity. The astronauts said the first freeze-dried foods for their missions weren’t very tasty. We learned that these long missions in zero gravity cause bone loss. Today, astronauts returning from space undergo 60 to 90 days of physical therapy to recover.
Skylab could have been boosted back into a higher orbit, but instead, NASA allowed it to loose altitude and eventually re-enter earth’s atmosphere. Re-entry occurred on June 11, 1979. The largest piece found from Skylab was part of the oxygen tank about the size of a large dining room table. Bob was told that a small town in Australia had sent the U. S. State Department a bill for $400 for littering in their town, after several small pieces of Skylab were found there. Most of the Skylab debris fell into the ocean.
A history of Skylab can be found at: http://www-pao.ksc.nasa.gov/kscpao/history/skylab/skylab.htm.
FUTURE MONDAY
MEETINGS_____________________________________
November 3: Tennessee Water Issues
November 10: Controlled Fusion - How Real? How Soon? Dr. Stan Milora, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
November 17: Alabama Water Issues - Trey Glenn, Director of the Office of Water Resources Division for the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs
November 24: Remotely Controlled Laboratory at UTC - Dr. James Henry, UTC
December 1: Farming Goes High Tech - Mark Downing, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
December 6: Christmas Dinner at 6 p.m. - Stone Fort Inn, 120 East 10th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402 www.stonefortinn.com
December 8: The August 2003 Blackout - Terry Boston, Tennessee Valley Authority
WHERE WE MEET ____________________________________________
In October, we will be meeting at the Read House in downtown Chattanooga. We may continue to park at the Days Inn on Carter Street (being sure to leave a notice on your dashboard that indicates you are attending the Chattanooga Engineers Club meeting). A map showing the location of the Read House may be found at http://www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org/ReadHouse.gif.
QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS? ______________________________
If you have any questions or suggestions about program items please call Brad Baucom at 423-648-3582 or email him at baucombe@epb.net. You can find references to other Chattanooga Engineers Club members at our web site: www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org.
November 3: Tennessee Water Issues
November 10: Controlled Fusion - How Real? How Soon? Dr. Stan Milora, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
November 17: Alabama Water Issues - Trey Glenn, Director of the Office of Water Resources Division for the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs
November 24: Remotely Controlled Laboratory at UTC - Dr. James Henry, UTC
December 1: Farming Goes High Tech - Mark Downing, Oak Ridge National Laboratory
December 6: Christmas Dinner at 6 p.m. - Stone Fort Inn, 120 East 10th Street, Chattanooga, TN 37402 www.stonefortinn.com
December 8: The August 2003 Blackout - Terry Boston, Tennessee Valley Authority
WHERE WE MEET ____________________________________________
In October, we will be meeting at the Read House in downtown Chattanooga. We may continue to park at the Days Inn on Carter Street (being sure to leave a notice on your dashboard that indicates you are attending the Chattanooga Engineers Club meeting). A map showing the location of the Read House may be found at http://www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org/ReadHouse.gif.
QUESTIONS, SUGGESTIONS? ______________________________
If you have any questions or suggestions about program items please call Brad Baucom at 423-648-3582 or email him at baucombe@epb.net. You can find references to other Chattanooga Engineers Club members at our web site: www.ChattanoogaEngineersClub.org.