By Charles Tucker Spinning the upper stage of a rocket in flight is one way to stabilize the vehicle, just as a bullet spins to stay on course. But liquid propellant sloshing around in a spacecraft’s fuel tanks produces a wobble, or nutation, that can cause instability and alter flight trajectory. The rate of wobble […]
By Charles Tucker An idea had been percolating in Dave Lengyel’s mind for some time: how to integrate risk management (RM) and knowledge management (KM) to create a better risk-management approach for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate (ESMD).
By Charles Tucker “I tell people I’m a true geek,” Jay Pittman says, laughing. He’s driving on a two-lane strip of blacktop flanked by summer-green crops, heading seven miles southeast from the main base of Wallops Flight Facility toward a tiny barrier island off Virginia’s Eastern Shore, where the Wallops launch and research range stretches […]
