Post date: Jul 19, 2011 2:06:10 AM
Hello Internet!
Well, we're all back from Houston, safe and sound - there were some times there when I really thought we'd have a big problem on our hands, but the NASA folks over at JSC were terrifically helpful! They made certain we got our experiment flight time.
First off was the remainder of the TEDP - though Guy and I had been working on the structural analysis for quite some time, and thought we'd had it figured, there were still a few little pieces the NASA folks weren't happy with. Unfortunately, due to our Statics approach, as soon as you change one thing, the calculation results for every interface in the entire experiment change accordingly! There was much trepidation for quite some time. Check the Files page for the last, accepted iteration of the TEDP - I can say with no small amount of pride that we never had to succumb to a pull-test. Math wins the day!
The first day was Guy and Meredith, along with Jason Smith, our NASA mentor. Unfortunately, the oversized marbles, used for ease of fluidization in the base of the column, had a tenancy to float up to the top in zero-g, and interrupted the cushioned granular bed that the projectile was supposed to be landing in. Still, we learned a lot about how to design things to be resilient in zero-g. That evening, after the flight, we removed the marbles in preparation for my and Parker's flight tomorrow. That day appeared to go much better - we got data for 3 martian parabolas, three lunar parabolas, and a LOT of 2g parabolas - and we even got some time after the experiment to explore how floating around felt. It was incredible! Pictures will be posted soon.
The data is safely on the drives of several team members, but there is still quite a bit of work that needs to be done to mine the cratering depth data from the images on the camera and ultimately come up with a model of how gravity affects granular cratering. Still, the experiment has been run, the fun has been had, and now, we get a shot at the sweet, sweet data. Stay tuned!
Dane
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