Chat with Cecilia Wigley
May 20 - 2:00 p.m. PDT

Main Room

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 5 - 13:53:19 ]
Good afternoon! This is the final Countdown to Space Day chat here at Quest. I hope you've enjoyed the day of chatting. Cecilia will be here shortly, so you can begin to sign on and ask your questions here. It would be helpful if you identified yourself and let us know where you're coming from.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 6 - 13:58:18 ]
Hi Cecilia, The 1:00 chat is just winding down. Hopefully our folks will be joining us soon.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 7 - 14:01:50 ]
Hi everyone!! I'm here and ready to answer your questions.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 10 - 14:05:53 ]
RE: [Rachael/Homeschooled-rachael] Hey Linda!!!!
Hi Rachael, I think you've been to all of these chats!

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 14:08:07 ]
RE: [Rachael/Homeschooled-rachael] Yes i have is that ok?
Of course! I hope you have a good question for Cecilia - you've had lots of practice now.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 12 - 14:06:44 ]
RE: [Linda/NASAQuest] Cecilia, during the meeting yesterday, I'll bet you were delighted to be able to report that you had nothing new to add!
Yes. It's always a wonderful feeling when a mission goes well from a safety standpoint and we don't have any issues to work after the mission comes home. That usually means we did our job right to begin with!!

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 16 - 14:08:07 ]
RE: [Rachael/Homeschooled-rachael] Yes i have is that ok?
Rachael - what's your question?

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 19 - 14:10:31 ]
RE: [ Rachael/Homeschooled-rachael - 17 - 14:08:50 ]
Have you ever been in space?
No - I've never been in space. I have often thought about whether I would go if given the opportunity and I'm not sure that I would go. I really like being part of the support group but I'm not sure I'd want to be one of the "stars"

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 21 - 14:11:47 ]
RE: [Oran/NASA] Hi Cecilia! It's been a while! What kinds of projects have you been involved in over the last year or so, as far as QA is concerned?
Hi Oran! I'm not doing QA as much as I used to. Last summer I started working on Space Station. So far most of my work for them has been in the system safety area.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 23 - 14:13:51 ]
RE: [Patti/CJHS] Hi Cecilia, In Neurolab, what kinds of safety issues are involved?
Patti - we had a lot of safety issues. The major ones concerned our use of chemicals in support of the experiments. Unlike here on earth if chemicals are spilled in space you just can't go outside for some fresh air. We have to make sure that everything is contained and properly used so as not to pose a hazard to the crew

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 26 - 14:15:17 ]
RE: [Rachael/Homeschooled-rachael] Do you know Linda ?
Hmmmm.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 27 - 14:16:23 ]
RE: [Oran/NASA] Cecilia, that sounds great! We'll have to move you on over to Space Team Online now. ;-) Have you worked closely with any of the people at JSC or KSC during this time?
Sounds good to me. I've been working a lot of issues with JSC on things like fire detection and suppression and chemical containment for long duration missions. We've had some preliminary discussions with KSC but fortunately most of our ground operations in support of space station will be very similar to what we already are doing for the shuttle. Let me know if you need anything else to move me to Space Team Online!!

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 29 - 14:18:31 ]
RE: [Patti/CJHS] Did any of it have to do with the safety of the animals?
The safety panels are concerned with the safety of the shuttle and the crew. However, here at ARC we are also very concerned about the safety, health, and well-being of the animals so we consider all of that in the design of our hardware even though I don't have to produce any formal reports for those issues.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 31 - 14:19:25 ]
RE: [Rachael/Homeschooled-rachael] hehe
Rachel, You're getting to be an expert - have you seen Cecilia's bio yet? She's been with 2 of our projects already and now it sounds like she'll go on the Space Team Online. That makes her a star to me!

[ Rachael/Homeschooled-rachael - 14:22:06 ]
:o) i'm going now to her bio

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 32 - 14:21:24 ]
RE: [Oran/NASA] Cecilia, you're on my short list of new folks to showcase on STO. What would you say are the main differences between JSC and KSC, regarding safety issues for the ISS? (Or are there similarities?)
The differences between KSC and JSC are the same for ISS as for shuttle. KSC is concerned with the safety of all the ground processing activities that have to occur before a shuttle can launch and then all the activities that happen when the shuttle returns. JSC is concerned with all of the safety issues while the shuttle is on orbit and for ISS it is concerned with the safety aspects of assembling and then operating the station on orbit.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 38 - 14:24:02 ]
RE: [Linda/NASAQuest] Rachel, You're getting to be an expert - have you seen Cecilia's bio yet? She's been with 2 of our projects already and now it sounds like she'll go on the Space Team Online. That makes her a star to me!
Rachael - I've been doing this kind of work for over 7 years. Are you interested in working in the space program? If so, in what capacity?

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 40 - 14:26:00 ]
RE: [Patti/CJHS] How is your work on Space Station different from what you did for Neurolab?
Patti - the work is very similar. The major difference is we now have to think in terms of long duration missions. Most of our shuttle missions are less than 2 weeks - station will be as long as 90 days. This raises new problems in terms of materials compatibility, trash disposal, etc.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 42 - 14:28:11 ]
RE: [Patti/CJHS] Did you go to Kennedy for the launch?
Patti - No I was one of the members of the team that stayed at ARC in order to monitor the launch and early hours of the mission. I worked a console position where I could listen to all of the conversation the crew had with the ground and answer questions on our hardware and experiments if necessary. But I have been to KSC for other launches.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 43 - 14:28:41 ]
RE: [sepi-Horsey] Cecilia, What is a neurolab?
Hi Sepi, Thanks for joining us. You've asked a mighty BIG question! Neurolab was our focus for the NeurOn project all this school year. Sorry you missed it! You may want to go through the Web pages at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/neuron to get some background, but in short, it was a mission to study the brain and nervous system in space.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 44 - 14:30:21 ]
RE: [sepi-Horsey] cecilia, how does weightlessness in space affect the human body?
sepi-Horsey - weightlessness effects the body in many ways. There are changes in almost all of the bodies systems. For example fluids tend to collect in the upper half of the body which is why the crew often looks very puffy in the face during a mission. You actually change height during weightlessness because there is no longer any loading on your spine.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 48 - 14:31:52 ]
RE: [Oran/NASA] Thanks for your last answer, Cecilia. Since the ISS will be constructed in modules (from what I understand), will you be involved in that step-by-step process?
Oran - no I'm not involved with the module build and assembly. I'll be supporting experiment hardware in much that same way I did for out shuttle missions

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 49 - 14:32:28 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Hi Linda, Cecilia! I just got back from school.
Hi Stephanie, It's been a long time! Do you have any questions for Cecilia - glad you could join us!

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 50 - 14:32:34 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Hi Linda, Cecilia! I just got back from school.
Hi Stephanie - Hope you had a great day at school - got any questions for me?

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 52 - 14:34:17 ]
RE: [sepi-Horsey] Cecilia, I have to go, very hungry.
Bye! Hope you can read up on Neurolab. It was an exciting mission!

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 53 - 14:34:56 ]
RE: [Patti/CJHS] Will there be a "lab" on board the Space Station like neurolab?
Patti - yes there will be several labs on the space station. Each one will be used for different types of research. ARC will do most of our work in the Centrifuge Accommodations Module or CAM for short. This is where most of the Life Sciences experiments will take place. Materials sciences will also have a lab of their own.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 57 - 14:36:19 ]
RE: [Oran/NASA] Cecilia, following up on your last answer about working the console--was that exciting for you or just "another day at the job?"
Oran - it was very exciting - however 12 hour days for almost 3 weeks did get a little tiring. But I really enjoyed it since I have never worked a mission from that perspective.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 58 - 14:37:29 ]
RE: [Edward/NewZealand-Edward/StokesValleySchool] Are there any other jobs you would like to do in the future?
Edward - I really enjoy my job but have considered transferring into the operations side or becoming a payload manager at some point in the future.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 60 - 14:41:20 ]
RE: [Patti/CJHS] Can you describe the console. How did you communicate with the crew?
Patti - The console was a desk with a computer and a communication box that allowed me to select which voice loops I wanted to listen to or talk on. The voice loops are like open telephone lines where several people can talk to each other all at the same time. We are not allowed to talk directly to the crew. There are only two people who can do that and they are both in Houston. One is CAPCOM and he talks directly to the pilot or the commander about the shuttle and it's operations. The other is the CIC position who talks to the crew about experiment operations. If we needed to get information to the crew we had the CIC relay it to them for us.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 61 - 14:43:36 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Do you know why the two air tanks failed for the aquariums?
Stephanie - The items that failed were two pumps. They were kind of like the pumps you might have in an aquarium at home. They were used to pump air into the water so the fish could breath. We really won't know why they failed until we can examine the hardware. KSC is in the process of removing the hardware from the shuttle right now and we will be reviewing it over the next few weeks to try and get an answer

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 64 - 14:45:05 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Was there much thought on the building materials of the habitats so it wouldn't be toxic to the animals?
Stephanie - yes we put a lot of thought into the materials we use. All of the materials have to be tested to ensure that they are not toxic to either the crew or the animals. It is one of the very basic safety requirements that everyone must meet.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 66 - 14:46:58 ]
RE: [Patti/CJHS] If you couldn't talk to the crew, could you still hear all they said?
Patti - we could hear everything that was said with the exception on one channel. The crew has a private channel that they use when they have talks with their families or if they need to consult with the medical doctor on the ground if there was some kind of medical problem.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 71 - 14:48:29 ]
RE: [sepi-Horsey] Cecilia, When the fluid is actually collected in the upper body. Does it affect the person when they come back to earth?
Sepi - yes - all the fluid in the upper body actually makes the crew feel a little dizzy when they first return to earth. Fortunately it is one of the effect of microgravity that goes away very quickly after they have landed.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 72 - 14:48:52 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Linda, how was you visit to Florida? I enjoyed reading your journals.
It was thrilling! I really had so much fun it was hard to believe I was "on the job!"

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 74 - 14:49:36 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Did you meet, talk to the CAPCOM, Chris Hadfield?
Stephanie - no I didn't meet the CAPCOM though I did see him on NASA select and listen to him talk to the crew during the mission.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 76 - 14:50:52 ]
RE: [Oran/NASA] Cecilia, how exactly did you become involved with working on the ISS?
Oran - I was transferred to ISS since the shuttle program for life sciences was basically ending after Neurolab and ISS needed someone to help with the same kind of work I was already doing.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 77 - 14:52:12 ]
RE: [sepi-Horsey] Cecilia, Since the fluids are collected in the upper body can they cause some damages?
Sepi- So far we haven't identified any long term damage or effect but several scientists are working on ways to help the crew shift the fluids to a more even distribution throughout the body for longer duration missions.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 79 - 14:54:12 ]
RE: [Edward/NewZealand-Edward/StokesValleySchool] What is a payload manager?
Edward - a payload manager is the person who is in charge of all the activities for a set of experiments. For Neurolab we had 15 different experiments. The payload manager is responsible for making sure everything gets done so that all the experiments can fly. Fortunately they always have a team of people to help them!!

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 80 - 14:55:13 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] What's SRI International?
Stephanie - SRI International is a non-profit research group that does research in a lot of different fields. It was originally started by Stanford University.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 81 - 14:55:54 ]
RE: [Sepi-Horsey] Cecilia, From communicating from space to earth what type of frequency is used?
Sepi - I'm not sure what kind of radio frequencies they use. Sorry!!

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 84 - 14:57:10 ]
RE: [Sepi-Horsey] Cecilia, If an astronaut gets the fever how do they take care of it?
Sepi - that's another tough question that I can't answer. I know they have a medical kit on board to take care of minor problems.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 85 - 14:58:01 ]
RE: [Linda/NASAQuest] Would that be like Angela's job or Chris Maese's?
Linda - That would be Chris's job - I'm probably nuts to want to take something like that on!!!

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 89 - 15:00:02 ]
After watching Chris, where often all you could see of him was his shirttail disappearing down the corridor .... But from what I could see, you'd be really good at it!

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 87 - 14:59:02 ]
RE: [Sepi-Horsey] Cecilia, Have you ever been called to work because of a technical difficulty with the space shuttle?
Sepi - I've been called to work because of problems with the hardware that ARC has on the shuttle but not for the shuttle itself.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 88 - 14:59:55 ]
RE: [Linda/NASAQuest] Wow! Where did this hour go? This has been great fun. We'll wrap up in just a couple of minutes.
Linda - I have really enjoyed this. There were some really great questions. Let me know if I can help out again in the future.

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 92 - 15:01:22 ]
RE: [CeciliaWigley/ARC] Linda - I have really enjoyed this. There were some really great questions. Let me know if I can help out again in the future.
Thanks Cecilia, and thanks to all of you with your great questions. Hopefully we'll have the chance to chat with Cecilia about International Space Station in future Space Team Online chat! Bye all!

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 93 - 15:01:27 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Have the waste trays been cleaned out yet?
Stephanie - they are working on that as we speak. It is not the most exciting part - but it is something that must be done!!

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 15:03:24 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Have the waste trays been cleaned out yet?
You WOULD ask that wouldn't you! I chuckled when in the meeting Tuesday, Chris was expressing concern about people moving on to new things before the "old" Neurolab stuff got finished. At that point I knew I couldn't NOT be a part of that nasty job if I were to really "follow through". I am waiting for Rich to tell me what day!

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 96 - 15:02:09 ]
RE: [Oran/NASA] Cecilia, I'm happy to be able to hear from you again. You can BET we'll have you on line for STO in no time. FYI, the URL is http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space. Great talking to you again. Take care!
Thanks Oran - Let me know what I can do to help in the future.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 97 - 15:02:51 ]
RE: [Stephanie/Edmonton] Bye, thanks for chatting with us!
Bye - I really enjoyed it.

[ CeciliaWigley/ARC - 98 - 15:03:22 ]
RE: [Sepi-Horsey] Cecilia, Thank you for answering my questions. I really appreciated it. Aloha!
Sepi - Aloha and good luck. Thanks for the chat!

[ Linda/NASAQuest - 100 - 15:05:08 ]
Bye, Bye!