NASA - "The Future of Space: A Cosmic Conversation" - Hosted by the International Women's Air & Space Museum

Blog Date

Wednesday, November 20, 2024

Author(s)

Stuart O. Smith, Jr.

Thank you, Sponsors!!

I am grateful to the sponsors of this event!

The "Dinner with a Slice of History" series is made possible with the support of Cuyahoga Arts & Culture, Signature Flight Support BKL - Cleveland Burke Lakefront Airport, the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics - Northern Ohio Section, HX5, and the America 250-Ohio Commission.

Thank you to these “Dinner with a Slice of History” sponsors for supporting the International Women's Air & Space Museum event featuring NASA's Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche.
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Friday, November 1, 2024 - Brief Tour of the International Women's Air & Space Museum

The International Women's Air & Space Museum is located in the terminal of Burke Lakefront Airport. Since we are located in a public building, admission to the museum is free. Even if you have visited IWASM in the past, we welcome you to visit us again as exhibits change often and there are always opportunities to see something new.

Hours

The museum office, gift shop and Fay Gillis Wells Research Center are open Monday through Friday, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

Exhibits are open for self-guided tours seven days a week, from 8:00 a.m. - 8:00 p.m.

We are closed on all major holidays, with the exception of Labor Day, as well as home football games of the Cleveland Browns.

The mission of the International Women's Air & Space Museum is to collect, preserve, and showcase the history and culture of women in all areas of aviation and aerospace; educate people of the world about their contributions; and inspire future generations by bringing the history to life.
. . .

In the late 1960s, a group of female pilots who belonged to the Ninety-Nines - the world’s first organization of female pilots - realized that the history they had created was in danger of being forgotten. These women, who were among the first to be licensed as pilots, had participated in the high-risk air races of the 1930s, flew with the WASP in World War II, and started the first female-run flight schools in the country, recognized the need to preserve their own stories. To that end, the Ninety-Nines formed a Museum Trust on July 16, 1970 after that year’s Ninety-Nines Convention in New Hampshire.

The Trust’s original intention was to create the International Women's Air & Space Museum - . . .

. . .

In May 1998, IWASM signed a lease with the City of Cleveland to become tenants of Burke Lakefront Airport. The airport, which serves as the official reliever airport for Cleveland-Hopkins International Airport, has been home to many tenants over the years, including the Cleveland National Air Show, city employee offices, flight schools, and more. After a year of exhibit design, installation, and behind-the-scenes work, IWASM held its ribbon-cutting weekend from August 27-29, 1999.

I have visited the International Women's Air & Space Museum many times, since the first ten years of Cleveland GiveCamp (2010-2019) took place at the City of Cleveland's Burke Lakefront Airport (which is the location of the museum) and on the Lean Dog Software boat that used to be docked nearby. I remembered that the International Women's Air & Space Museum was a nonprofit organization that benefited from a GiveCamp project in the past, and I found them listed on the Cleveland GiveCamp's web page listing the 2010 Nonprofit Partners. I used to be on the Cleveland GiveCamp Steering Committee, and included photos of the museum as part of my past Cleveland GiveCamp blog posts from 2012 through 2019.

I suggest you go to the museum (FREE admission) to see all the exhibits, gift shop, and research center for yourself. Also, check out their website for details on special guided tours, Speakers Bureau Programs, "Boxed Lunch & Learns," and children's programs. I often see their volunteers and staff at local NASA events, so please make a point to talk to them to learn more about this international museum that we are fortunate to have here in Cleveland.

Here are a few photos that I took on November 1, 2024, to give you a taste of some of the museum's exhibits:

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts that are in the slides!!

Friday, November 1, 2024 - The Future of Space: A Cosmic Conversation with NASA's Johnson Space Center Director, Vanessa Wyche

"Dinner with a Slice of History" welcomes NASA's Johnson Space Center Director Vanessa Wyche to explore the past, present, and future!

In addition to taking photos/videos (see below), I also took notes during Vanessa Wyche's presentation. The following items are what I captured in my notes, along with what I found while writing this blog post. I recommend watching the YouTube videos in full screen mode, since these NASA videos of space travel are very beautiful!

Getting humans into space, and space related research, are the focus points of the NASA Johnson Space Center:

Giant Leaps Start Here - NASA's Johnson Space Center
NASA Johnson
. . . Oct 11, 2022
The first word uttered by astronauts in space before history is made – big or small – is “Houston…” NASA’s Johnson Space Center has served as the iconic setting to some of humankind’s greatest achievements. For nearly 60 years, as part of NASA’s nationwide team, Johnson has led the world in human space exploration. Today, we push forward to the Moon. Tomorrow, we leap to greater heights and new destinations. There is history to be made. Giant Leaps Start Here!
Vanessa Wyche mentioned that NACA/NASA Mathematician Dorothy Vaughan, was honored this year by having a building named after her at the NASA Johnson Space Center. Her story was told in the movie Hidden Figures, where Octavia Spencer played her role.

NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston will recognize legendary human computer Dorothy Vaughan and the women of Apollo with activities marking their achievements, including a renaming and ribbon-cutting ceremony at the center’s “Building 12,” on Friday, July 19 [2024], the eve of the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 Moon landing.

At 9 a.m. CDT, NASA Johnson Director Vanessa Wyche will begin with a discussion about the importance of Vaughan and the women of Apollo’s contributions to the agency’s lunar landing program and their significance to today’s Artemis campaign. . . .

NASA names building in honor of Dorothy Vaughan
KHOU 11
. . . Jul 19, 2024
NASA is recognizing a woman who helped launch the first American into space.

NASA Hidden Figure Dorothy J. Vaughan (Narrated by Octavia Spencer)
NASA
. . . Aug 5, 2024
Dorothy J. Vaughan was a pioneer human computer and visionary who was integral in the expansion of a diverse workforce across NASA.

She began her career with the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics in 1943 as part of the segregated West Area Computing Unit, an all-black group of female mathematicians. Their ground-breaking work and remarkable contributions left an indelible mark on the NASA community.

Promoted to lead the West Area Computers in 1949, Vaughan was NACA’s first black supervisor and one of its few female supervisors. She was a steadfast advocate for the women who worked as human computers, and for all the individuals under her leadership.

Dorothy Vaughan helmed West Computing for nearly a decade. In 1958, when the NACA made the transition to NASA, segregated facilities, including the West Computing office, were abolished. Dorothy Vaughan and many of the former West Computers joined the new Analysis and Computation Division (ACD), a racially and gender-integrated group on the frontier of electronic computing. Dorothy Vaughan became an expert FORTRAN programmer, and she also contributed to the Scout Launch Vehicle Program.

Through her exceptional leadership and dedication to the betterment of all individuals – particularly women of color, her legacy informed the agency’s current diverse workforce.

Innovators like Vaughan laid the foundation for NASA to revisit the Moon for the first time since the Apollo era, this time with the first woman and first person of color under the Artemis program.

https://www.nasa.gov/people/dorothy-vaughan/

Credit: NASA Producer: Sonnet Apple

Download link: https://images.nasa.gov/details/Breaking%20Barriers%20Dorothy%20J.%20Va…

FYI, in 2017, I wrote about attending the Cleveland Public Library and NASA Glenn Research Center-sponsored program: From Hidden Figures to Modern Figures.
NASA receives over 1,000 applicants, from which 10 are chosen to be considered for the astronaut program. Despite the odds, Vanessa Wyche encouraged the attendees of her presentation to try out if they are interested.
NASA has both moon samples and asteroid samples at the NASA Johnson Space Center.
The NASA Johnson Space Center is preparing for the Orion Spacecraft mission. NASA Johnson Space Center is the lead for Orion, and the rocket is made in Cleveland at the NASA Glenn Research Center.

The following video is found on the NASA Johnson YouTube Channel:

Orion spacecraft breaks records on Artemis I mission around the Moon
NASA Johnson
. . . Feb 1, 2023
On Nov. 16, 2022, NASA's Orion spacecraft left Earth for a record-breaking mission – Artemis I. Over the course of 25.5 days, Orion performed two lunar flybys, coming within 80 miles of the lunar surface. At its farthest distance during the mission, Orion traveled nearly 270,000 miles from our home planet, more than 1,000 times farther than where the International Space Station orbits Earth, to intentionally stress systems before flying crew on Artemis II.

During the flight test, Orion stayed in space longer than any spacecraft designed for astronauts has done without docking to a space station. While in a distant lunar orbit, Orion surpassed the record for distance traveled by a spacecraft designed to carry humans, previously set during Apollo 13.

Upon re-entry, Orion performed a skip entry technique that enables the spacecraft to splashdown accurately and consistently at the selected landing site. The spacecraft endured temperatures about half as hot as the surface of the Sun at about 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Within about 20 minutes, Orion slowed from nearly 25,000 mph to about 16 mph for its 11 parachute-assisted splashdown on Dec. 11.

If you want to learn more, I found that there is a NASA Video "Orion Spacecraft" YouTube playlist with 165 videos:

Orion Spacecraft
by NASA Video
Playlist • 165 videos . . .
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is built to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before. Orion will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities.
The NASA International Space Station has been staffed for 20+ years -- "25 Years in Orbit • 270+ Astronauts Visited." The goal now is to have humans on the moon again, and then on Mars.

The current commander of the Space Station is Sunita (Suni) L. Williams, and she was born locally, in Euclid, Ohio.

Sunita “Suni” L. Williams was selected as a NASA astronaut in 1998. NASA astronauts Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore launched aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft on June 5, 2024 for its first crewed flight, arriving at the space station on June 6. Following the agency’s decision to return Starliner uncrewed, the duo is currently living and working aboard the space station as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew and will return home in February 2025 aboard the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft with NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission.

Live Video from the International Space Station (Official NASA Stream)
NASA
. . . Started streaming on Nov 18, 2024 Watch live video from the International Space Station, including inside views when the crew aboard the space station is on duty. Views of Earth are also streamed from an external camera located outside of the space station. During periods of signal loss due to handover between communications satellites, a blue screen is displayed.

The space station orbits Earth about 250 miles (425 kilometers) above the surface. An international partnership of five space agencies from 15 countries operates the station, and it has been continuously occupied since November 2000. It's a microgravity laboratory where science, research, and human innovation make way for new technologies and research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. More: https://go.nasa.gov/3CkVtC8

Did you know you can spot the station without a telescope? It looks like a fast-moving star, but you have to know when to look up. Sign up for text messages or email alerts to let you know when (and where) to spot the station and wave to the crew: https://spotthestation.nasa.gov

https://nasa.gov/iss
Vanessa Wyche went on to talk about her background. She grew up on her family's tobacco farm in South Carolina. She learned to fix farm equipment, and played with her brother's chemistry kit. She earned an engineering degree from Clemson University, and then a Master's Degree. She often talked to Boy Scouts about NASA, and was a Scout Leader (preparing Eagle Scouts).
Johnson Space Center is the number one place to work in Texas. Also, NASA is a great place to work among government agencies.
It has been confirmed that there is ice on the south pole of the moon, so the plan is to have the Artemis III crew go there.
I have met the enthusiastic interns at NASA Glenn, and I can tell you that people interested in interning should check out: Intern.NASA.Gov NASA Internship Programs.

Ready for Your NASA Internship?
NASA Video
. . . Sep 9, 2021
Learn more at intern.nasa.gov! NASA internships and fellowships leverage NASA’s unique missions and programs to enhance and increase the capability, diversity and size of the nation’s future science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) workforce. Internships are available from high school to graduate level. Internships provide students with the opportunity to participate in either research or other experiential learning, under the guidance of a mentor at NASA.

There is much, much more exciting information available about current NASA activities. I highly recommend you go to the NASA Johnson Space Center (NASA.gov/Johnson/) website, and other NASA websites (such as Cleveland's own NASA Glenn Research Center: NASA.gov/Glenn/) to learn more. We are fortunate in Cleveland to have in our city both the International Women's Air & Space Museum and the NASA Glenn Visitor Center (which is inside the Great Lakes Science Center). Visit both of these museums to learn more about NASA.

Here are my photos from Vanessa Wyche's November 1, 2024, talk:

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.
Please feel free to pause the video to read the interesting facts and scan the QR codes that are in the slides!!

Here is a short video of part of Vanessa Wyche's November 1, 2024, talk:

I recommend viewing videos in full screen mode.

Photos After Presentation

After her presentation, Vanessa Wyche took time to meet with attendees, event supporters, International Women's Air & Space Museum leadership, and NASA Glenn Research Center staff. She also was able to meet with the next generation of leaders by talking to high school students that were attendance. I talked to one of the teachers, and was told that one group in attendance was mostly ninth-grade female students from Keystone High School.