EXPLORE.

Anthony Cloe
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Anthony Cloe
Mr. Worden
English IV
21 April 2014
1
Into The Abyss...
simply believe we have run
out of places, ideas, and
even history to discover.
I feel as a society, where
information can be found on
the internet at the click
of a button, it is wrong
for this assumption to be
made. Life around us is al-
ways changing and adapting,
and I can prove there are
plenty of things that have
yet to be discovered.
The one aspect of life
that has always intrigued
me, ever
since I frst
learned about
it, is Space.
To me, Space
will never
truly be un-
derstood and
for this rea-
son is real-
ly our so-
cietys only
Final Frontier. Space
will always be present, and
will always be evolving.
Top scientists from around
the world and through the
centuries of human exis-
tence have never been able
to grasp the true con-

1.Introduction
The want and desire to
explore and discover has
always been apart of hu-
man history. From Colum-
bus voyage across the At-
lantic to North America, to
the frst foot
prints set on
the moon, hu-
man ingenuity
and dedication
have always
been along for
the journey.
As a civiliza-
tion, the idea
of exploring
and discover-
ing new things about the
world around us has been
apart of many cultures for
centuries. However, in a
more modern aspect, with
the constant increasing of
technological advances and
effciencies, many people
2
the seconds to liftoff. It
was that very moment that I
became so fascinated by the
idea of Space.
As I watched the
rocket blast into
the open summer
sky, I starred
in astonishment
up into the sky
thinking about
what Space was
like and what it
would take to get
there.
This memory has
stuck with me up
until this point
and is the true
basis behind my
topic of Space
Aeronautics and Explora-
tion. I not only am in-
trigued by the topic, but
also affected by it on a
personal level. There is so
much we can learn as a so-
ciety from furthering our
knowledge of Space. I feel
we should not be confned to
Earth either. If we have
the technology to do it,
why not branch out? start
a colony on Mars? Create
a livable environment in
space? Anything is possi-
ble. All it takes is the
Into The Abyss...
cepts, ideas, and facts
about Space. For this rea-
son, I have always been as-
tonished at
the thought
of Space and
the idea that
there is
something out
there that
we may never
know about.
I can remem-
ber waking
up early one
summer day.
The sun was
already hot
and bright,
lighting up
the ground
and sky around my house.
I was struck with excite-
ment because today my fa-
ther and I were going to
launch a model rocket he
had gotten for me. I re-
member loading up the mod-
el rocket materials, and
the makeshift launch pad
we had made out of wood.
Getting into the old Chevy
Suburban, we drove until we
found a nice, desolate feld
where we could launch the
rocket. Sooner than later,
I was already counting down
3
or beneft for our strug-
gles (Furniss). Why should
we use precious resources
in space instead of here
at home, Earth? I feel the
answer lies within our own
human nature.
Throughout history,
many different individu-
als and civilizations have
spent millions as well as
a great deal of time on
exploration. Christopher
Columbus, the pioneer be-
hind the discovery of North
America, was dedicated to
exploring the New World,
and as a result has been
remembered and praised to
this day. I feel there is
some inner force within
all of us that contributes
to the want to explore.
The want to
know there is
something or
someone out
there we have
not yet fath-
omed. There
are many dan-
gers involved
with space exploration.
Lives can be lost, and bud-
gets can be depleted. How-
ever, I feel to gain more
knowledge about ourselves,
same aspects that have been
involved in human explora-
tion and discovery for gen-
erations. Determination and
ingenuity.
2.Background
In recent years, contro-
versy has arisen over space
exploration. NASA, the in-
stitution behind our na-
tions space program, has
essentially reached a dwin-
dling point in its history.
Many begin to
fear that NASA
will start to
lose its infu-
ence in space
exploration to
other, pri-
vately run or-
ganizations.
In our society, individu-
als question whether, as a
country, we should continue
to spend money, time, and
effort on space research
with no immediate reward
4
ful enough to overcome the
force of gravity to reach
orbital velocities that
could open space to human
exploration (A Brief His-
tory of...). In the early
20th century three coun-
tries simultaneously began
researching and experiment-
ing with rockets to use in
spacefight (A Brief Histo-
ry of...). The superpowers
of the world at the time,
The United States, The So-
viet Union, and Nazi Ger-
many, were all striving to
become the frst country in
space and essentially ex-
pand infuence
and power. Ear-
ly forms of
rockets were
basically mil-
itary grade
missiles. Like
all ideas that
involve mili-
tary coopera-
tion as well as
a large deal of
time, effort,
and money, it
was only a mat-
ter of time before politics
would infuence space explo-
ration.
On May 25, 1961, Pres-
our origin, even our so-
lar system, we must contin-
ue to explore and branch
out into the deep abyss of
space. Modern space aero-
nautics and exploration can
be considered a young sci-
ence, even though the idea
of leaving Earth has been
around since the dawn of
time (Furniss).
Early History
We choose to go to the
moon, in this decade and do
the other things, not be-
cause they are easy, but
because they
are hard
-John F.
Kennedy
Humans
have dreamed
about space-
fight since
antiquity.
The Chinese
used rockets
for ceremo-
nial and military purposes
centuries ago, but only in
the latter half of the 20th
century were rockets de-
veloped that were power-
5
Rocketry
In todays society,
many people consider a
rocket to be a tall, thin,
and missile-like. These
same people also think that
a rocket launches people
into space. These precon-
ceived ideas hold truth,
however, in a more broad
perspective a Rocket can
actually be any type of en-
gine or any type of vehi-
cle that utilizes an engine
(Dunbar 2011). A rocket is
different from a jet en-
gine. A jet engine requires
air in order to work. A
rocket engine does not re-
quire air. It carries with
it everything it needs.
This is a result of the
fact that a rocket needs
to operate in space, where
there is no air that can be
used to power the engine
(Dunbar 2011). Like most
engines, fuel needs to be
burned in order to operate
at maximum potential. The
rocket fuel used by most
rockets today has literally
been tamed to perfection.
Despite criticism and
early technical fail-
ident John F. Kennedy an-
nounced before a special
joint session of Congress
the dramatic and ambitious
goal of sending an American
safely to the Moon before
the end of the decade (Gar-
ber). A number of political
factors affected Kennedys
decision and the timing of
it. President Kennedy felt
a great deal of pressure
to have the United States
catch up to and overtake
the Soviet Union in the
space race (Garber). I
feel the Cold War was the
main contributor to devel-
oping a power in space.
Whoever would posses the
ability to launch missiles
from space would have the
upper hand in the war. As a
result, President Kennedy
believed by setting foot on
the moon, the US could es-
tablish its dominance over
the Soviet Union (Garber).
However, before humans
could set foot on the moon,
steps needed to be taken to
develop rockets both capa-
ble of getting astronauts
there safely as well as en-
suring the correct mechan-
ics to make the trip possi-
ble.
6
as a result of Sir Isaac
Newtons Third Law of Mo-
tion. This law states that
for every action, there is
an equal and opposite re-
action. Thus, the exhaust
from a rocket is pushed
backward, while at the same
time the exhaust pushes
back on the rocket as well.
As a result the rocket is
pushed forward (Dunbar
2011).
New rockets
are being devel-
oped and tested
every day. These
new rockets will
hopefully launch
astronauts far-
ther into space on
future missions
(Dunbar 2011).
The new rockets
will not look like
the classic space
shuttle NASA has
used more recently. These
rockets will look more like
earlier ones (Dunbar 2011).
They will be tall, thin,
and missile-like. NASA also
is working on a powerful
new rocket called a heavy
lift vehicle. This rocket
will be able to take large
payloads into space. All of
ures, the taming of liquid
hydrogen proved to be one
of NASAs most signifcant
technical accomplishments.
Hydrogen, a light and ex-
tremely powerful rocket
propellant, has the low-
est molecular weight of any
known substance and burns
to nearly 5,500F. In com-
bination with an oxidizer
such as liquid oxygen, liq-
uid hydro-
gen yields
the high-
est specif-
ic impulse,
or effcien-
cy in rela-
tion to the
amount of
propellant
consumed, of
any known
rocket pro-
pellant.
Most rock-
et engines turn the fuel
into hot gas (Dunbar 2010).
This hot gas is then pushed
out the back of the engine
which propels the rock-
et forward. However, in
space there is nothing for
a rocket to push against.
How does a rocket move in
space then? Rockets operate
American lead-
ership in space
will continue for
at least the next
half-century be-
cause we have laid
the foundation for
success...and fail-
ure is not an op-
tion.
Charles Bolden
7
tric propulsion and large-
scale solar sails, to new
fuel effcient propellants
and composite cryogenic
storage tanks used as re-
fueling depots in orbit
(Dunbar 2013). From these
new developments, NASA is
demonstrating the space
technology that will spawn
new knowledge and capabili-
ties to sustain future mis-
sions.
The International Space
Station is the centerpiece
of our human spacefight ac-
tivities within Earths or-
bit. The space station is
fully staffed with a crew
of six, and American astro-
nauts will continue to live
and work there in space
24 hours a day, 365 days
a year. Part of the U.S.
portion of the station has
been designated as a na-
tional laboratory, and NASA
is committed to using this
unique resource for wide
ranges of scientifc re-
search (Dunbar 2013). The
space station is the test-
ing ground for exploration
technologies such as auto-
mated refueling of space-
craft, advanced life sup-
port systems, and human/
these newly developed rock-
ets will be used to both
bring supplies to the In-
ternational Space Station
as well as projected astro-
nauts farther into space
(Dunbar 2011).
The Future of
Space Exploration
As stated by the man in
charge at NASA, steps and
initiatives have been tak-
en to ensure that the Unit-
ed States will remain the
worlds leader in space
exploration and scientifc
discovery for years to come
(Dunbar 2013). In terms of
exploration, NASA is de-
signing and building the
capabilities to send hu-
mans to explore our solar
system, working toward a
goal of sending humans to a
captured, relocated aster-
oid in the next decade, and
landing humans on Mars in
the 2030s (Dunbar 2013).
NASA is currently de-
veloping the technologies
to enable human and robot-
ic exploration within our
solar system and beyond.
These technologies range
from advanced solar elec-
8
robotic interfaces. NASA
is currently trying to co-
operate with U.S. commer-
cial companies to provide
cargo and crew transporta-
tion to the orbiting labo-
ratory on the space station
(Dunbar 2013). This would
then allow NASA to focus
its attention on sending
astronauts on deep space
missions, including to an
asteroid and Mars.
3.Interviews
Why do we feel the
need to explore? Why go
into space? In my eyes
it is human nature. The
idea of setting forth into
the great beyond has been
around since the dawn of
man. Take, for example, the
early forms of human life.
These so called cavemen,
are known as our earli-
est ancestors and it is a
known fact that even this
early form of intelligence
had the want and neces-
sity to explore the world
around them (Cave-men).
Without this inner drive to
explore, I feel our modern
customs would not be the
same. Much of what space
aeronautics is founded on
is the perseverance of fnd-
ing answers. To gather up
information previously un-
known and learn from it.
Answers are a key ingredi-
ent in the recipe of knowl-
edge. Answers were just
what I had been looking
for
Ever since I frst was
introduced into the studies
of science, I was fascinat-
ed by the idea of space. At
frst I could not even com-
prehend the basics of it.
Endless and ever expanding?
That is a concept I still
cannot grasp. However, I
found out I was not alone,
and that there were plen-
ty of scientists who had,
and are currently, devot-
ing themselves to uncover-
ing answers about space. I
can remember at my grade
school, Emmons, we had an
astronomy unit in sixth and
seventh grade. I remem-
ber waiting until I was old
enough to experience it for
9
did I know this was only
the beginning of answers to
my questions about space
Fast forward a few
years to the present. Im
currently taking AP Phys-
ics, a class, which in my
opinion, is the basis of
major branches of science.
For instance, engineer-
ing, aeronautics, fuid me-
chanics, thermodynamics,
are all aspects of phys-
ics I have learned through-
out the year in the class.
As a matter of fact, all
of these aspects contrib-
ute to space exploration in
some way, shape, or form.
My teacher, Mrs. Fay, is
considered by many of her
students as a second moth-
er. My frst interview, to
me, had been going on all
year. I asked Mrs. Fay a
couple simple questions,
and what I learned was that
launching into and explor-
ing space is basically a
massive-scale science ex-
periment. All branches of
science come together when
going to space and it is
crucial to understand each
individual aspect. Which
is why the saying its
not rocket science, can
myself. We would see it be-
ing set up in the gym and
be mesmerized by its sheer
size. Essentially what it
was was a huge infatable
dome that you could crawl
inside of. The inside was
completely pitch black and
the teacher had us all lie
down and gaze up towards
the top of the dome. She
then projected an image of
the stars in the night sky.
All the children in the
dome went silent. All you
could hear was the sound of
the fan blowing air into
the system. I still re-
member the teachers name,
Mrs. Pisani. Everyone was
convinced she was a witch
that had it out for chil-
dren. However, when I sat
and looked up at stars
close in personal, all that
left my mind and I was
ready to learn. She began
and started by telling us
stories about the stars and
how they came to be. She
then moved on to talk about
the constellations and
signs of the Zodiac. I was
so intrigued. I never knew
something so far away could
have such a big impact on
our own existence. Little
10
be used by those who dont
exactly know what is going
on over at NASA. The other
reason for this is although
NASA may seem like they
have all the answers, and
everything fgured out, the
truth of the matter is they
dont. Things can go wrong
any second of any mission,
and each member of the team
must not only being an ex-
pert in their
feld, but
must also be
ready for the
sudden chang-
es that space
aeronautics
and explo-
ration can
bring. This
idea was fur-
ther confrmed
by my next
interviewee,
Chris Tracy, former NASA
mechanical engineer...
I was doing what most
kids, who didnt get to
go on an expensive trip
somewhere-like to London
or Paris-did over spring
break. Sit around. However,
this time it was different.
On this one, cloudy and
gloomy day of my break, I
was anticipating something.
I was waiting for some an-
swers. A light rain began
to fall. I glanced over at
my cell phone. Still noth-
ing. He said he was going
to call, so I will keep
waiting. At about 1:15 in
the afternoon I got my
call. It was Chris Tracy, a
guy that had frst hand ex-
perience with working at
NASA as well
as the feld
of study I
am interest-
ed in ma-
joring in.
I was re-
lieved when
he called,
but also a
little set-
back because
I had nev-
er talked to
anyone who had ever worked
for NASA before, so I was
a little reserved. Well, I
couldnt just sit on the
other end of the phone and
say nothing right? We ended
up talking for about for-
ty fve minutes straight. I
began asking questions I
hadnt even written down. I
was on a quest for knowl-
11
to adapt quickly to sudden
changes in the experiment.
During much of Chris ca-
reer at NASA, the main goal
was to bring supplies on
shuttle missions up to the
International Space Station
(Tracy). ISS was, and still
is, the pinnacle of further
space exploration in Chris
eyes. Although
he has moved
on to the FAA,
Chris still
has a pas-
sion for space
aeronautics
(Tracy).
There is
still much
more to learn
about space.
New information is being
discovered everyday, and no
one is going to stop ex-
ploring. I asked my grand-
father once about how the
frst moon landing impact-
ed him. He told me that it
did not just impact him,
but it impacted everyone in
the world. He told me it
changed everything about
what we knew about space
and what was impossible.
The frst steps of Neil Arm-
strong on the moon had more
edge, and my answers were
right there, for the most
part.
Chris worked for NASA
for six years out of col-
lege as a mechanical engi-
neer. You would think, be-
ing new to NASA they would
take it easy on you right?
Not for Chris. His frst as-
signment when he
frst got there
was to fgure out
why tether hooks,
currently being
used on space-
walks, were not
closing all the
way. This was a
fret to any as-
tronaut, and the
problem needed
to be fxed pronto. Chris
and his lab assistants
worked with the tethers
frst hand and were able to
come up with a solution to
the problem. Not bad for
just starting, (Tracy).
This situation Chris talk-
ed with me about meshed to-
gether with what Mrs. Fay
had told me earlier, about
space exploration being a
big science experiment,
with trial and error, and
how everyone must be ready
As long as
something
is unknown,
there will
be a want to
explore,
12
eyes watching him then did
any professional sporting
events. It is in our human
nature. For now, I can say
I got my answers, however I
can guarantee I will have
more questions in the fu-
ture
4.What I
Learned
Through my research
and perseverance I believe
I have achieved the right
amount of knowledge about
both
space
aero-
nautics
and ex-
plora-
tion.
Through
the
once
daunt-
ing
iS-
earch,
not only has my interest
in the feld increased, but
also my drive to seek out
answers to the unknown.
These type of questions are
what formulate the very
fabric of what makes all
things possible. Without
them not only would our so-
ciety founder, but it would
also lose sight of the val-
ue of curiosity. Sure, cu-
riosity might have killed
the cat, but without explo-
ration and a will to learn
and a will to gain knowl-
edge, who is to say we our-
selves will not fall to
the same level of intelli-
gence as that very cat? It
is what distinguishes us,
humans, from the others:
our human nature to ex-
plore and
discover.
Space is
the per-
fect me-
dium for
the curi-
ous minds,
not only
due to the
vast ma-
jority of
sciences,
fundamen-
tals, and
topics it holds, but also
the very idea that space
is quite simply our last
13
frontier. There is an end-
less abyss past the bound-
aries of our planet. Imag-
ine the new technologies,
the new concepts, even ones
so inexplicable, that not
one man or woman could ever
imagine the possibility.
To me, that is what space
is an endless world with
endless possibilities. I
learned that no one truly
knows much about space, and
quite frankly no one will
ever know everything about
it either. Sure, I can con-
clude this paper with ex-
planations on how I learned
facts about rockets, and
facts about NASA, and con-
cepts about physicsthe
list can go on and onhow-
ever, I feel that all my
work on this project rep-
resents something bigger.
Something on a deeper lev-
el. I believe we owe it to
ourselves to discover the
possibilities of space not
only because it is essen-
tially where we came from,
but also because it will be
all we have left after ev-
erything regarding Earth is
picked over. Space offers
up an incredible amount of
questions, although at the
same time space can also
be the frontrunner in an-
swering a whole plethora of
questions. Through the re-
search I did, and the in-
vestigations I undertook,
I feel I have gained both
the knowledge and inter-
est in space aeronautics
and exploration. Almost all
of the questions I came
up with had been answered
through either primary
sources or interviews with
real life experts in the
subject. However, through
all of this research, all
of my hard work, I man-
aged to formulate a new
question. A new idea. One
that has been a discussion
amongst scientists and ci-
vilians alike for years.
Are we truly alone?...
14
Works Cited