[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 3 - 07:38:39 ]
Good morning to our early arriving chat participants. Today's Space Team Online chat with Elizabeth Bloomer from NASA Johnson Space Center will begin in approximately 20 minutes. Be sure you have read Elizabeth's profile at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/space/team/bloomer.html to prepare your questions.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 4 - 07:40:05 ]
Today's chat will be MODERATED. This means only a few questions will appear in the chat room at a time. DON'T WORRY if you don't see your messages immediately. They will be posted as Elizabeth answers those ahead of you. This will help her keep up with our questions today.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 6 - 08:00:10 ]
Hello and welcome to today's Space Team Online chat with Elizabeth Bloomer from NASA Johnson Space Center! Elizabeth works with a group that is in charge of the payloads (the experiments and satellites) that the shuttle carries into space. During a mission, they have to know the right things to do when a payload is not working correctly. They do a lot of practicing so they know exactly what to do when things do go wrong.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 8 - 08:00:30 ]
And now, here is Elizabeth Bloomer to answer your questions.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 5 - 07:59:48 ]
Good morning :)

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 7 - 08:00:29 ]
Who is online with us this morning?

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 12 - 08:02:54 ]
RE: [Nicole] What is it like to know you changed this mission?
It's a great feeling to know that you are part of a team that is getting the shuttle ready to fly. Its a similar feeling to when you are on any team (even playing sports) and you work really hard, and it pays off because you win.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 13 - 08:04:53 ]
RE: [Matt/hughchristie] hello I was wondering how many years does it take to become a flight controller?
To be a flight controller you need to at least have the equivalent of a US Bachelors degree, generally in science or engineering. Then, it usually takes 1-2 years to be certified to work in one of the "support rooms." After working for several years in the support rooms you may move up to the "front room" which is the room you generally see on TV when you see pictures of mission control.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 14 - 08:05:56 ]
RE: [Nick/hughchristie] Hi Can you tell me how long a flight would normally last?
Flights last anywhere from 5 days to 16 days. The Columbia will be launching next Tuesday morning (12:30 am Florida time), and its flight is only 5 days.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 16 - 08:08:38 ]
RE: [Belle-Mrs.Warner/CincinnatusCentralSchool] What is your favorite Food?
I love Mexican food - tacos, enchiladas :) We eat a lot of that here in Texas.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 18 - 08:09:47 ]
RE: [Nick/hughchristie-msUsher/HughChristie] What is the food like?I have heard that it is tasteless.
Are you talking about the astronaut's food or the Mexican food being tasteless?

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 26 - 08:14:03 ]
RE: [Nick/hughchristie-msUsher/HughChristie] I am talking about the astronaut's food.
The astronaut food has gotten a lot better than in the Apollo days. Today's shuttle astronauts eat everything from Beef Stroganoff, Shrimp Cocktail, pudding, and M&M's. Some of it is freeze dried, so it doesn't take up as much space and lasts longer...but they can add water on orbit - and generally like the food :) They can even add salt and pepper if they want to.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 27 - 08:16:41 ]
RE: [Nick/hughchristie-msUsher/HughChristie] What's the next Columbia mission for?
The main thing the next mission is going to do is send another big telescope into space - about the size of the Hubble Space Telescope. Only this one looks at X-rays in space. Think about when you go to the doctor's and he uses an x-ray machine to look at your bones . . . he can't see that your bones are broken by just looking at your arm (most of the time), but the x-ray machine allowed him to see things he normally couldn't. The new telescope will do the same thing - allow people to see things that Hubble can't show them.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 28 - 08:18:33 ]
RE: [Ricky/HughChristie-msUsher/HughChristie] Hi How do spend your flight?
I will be working in one of the support rooms in the mission control center in Houston. My team is partially responsible for making sure that the telescope gets to space okay. After we send the telescope into space, then my team worries about the other experiments that the astronauts will be doing.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 30 - 08:19:24 ]
RE: [Mary-Mrs.Warner/CincinnatusCentralSchool] Hello- What were your favorite subjects in school? Were you good at Math and Science?
I loved Reading in school - but I was always pretty good at Math and Science.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 32 - 08:22:51 ]
RE: [josh-Mrs.Warner/CincinnatusCentralSchool] What do you like most about your job.
I get to work with a lot of people, which is a lot of fun. In one day I may talk with astronauts, flight directors, and other flight controllers. Also, it is just neat to think that I am helping prepare this shuttle to fly - but there is pressure. If I mess up, a lot of people will know!

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 37 - 08:26:33 ]
RE: [BobbyJo] Does any of the food come in tubes?
I think the only thing that comes in tubes any more is the toothpaste!

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 38 - 08:29:03 ]
RE: [Ricky/HughChristie] What are you hoping to find out with the x-ray telescope?
One of the big things they are thinking about is looking at black holes. With the Hubble Space Telescope they can guess where a black hole is because there is no light is an area - but with the new telescope we should be able to "see" the black holes, because there are a lot of X-rays coming from black holes.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 42 - 08:30:55 ]
RE: [StephanieMock/CoronaCA] How old were you when you started working for NASA?.. Where you still working on your degrees? Did you work full time AND go to school?
I started working for NASA when I was still in college. NASA has a [co-op] program where you can go to school one semester, then the next semester you work at NASA, and you alternate like that from your 2nd or 3rd year of college until you graduate. I'm finished with school now and just work full-time.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 43 - 08:31:07 ]
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[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 44 - 08:32:16 ]
RE: [todd] How big is the telescope. Please answer
The telescope and the rocket motor that is going to be used to send it to its final place in space fill the cargo bay of the shuttle! The astronauts hardly have room to come out of the airlock, in case they need to go on a space walk.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 45 - 08:33:22 ]
RE: [Mary] How many hours a day/week do you work? It sounds like a very demanding job.
Most weeks I work the typical US work-week...40 hours. But as we get close to a shuttle launch, I have been working more - about 50 hours a week.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 46 - 08:33:58 ]
RE: [Holly] How many hours a day do you train.
Some days I study several hours, and other days I'm in meetings a lot. It really depends.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 52 - 08:38:07 ]
RE: [Eliz] Hi-What sort of training did you go through to be certified in one of the support rooms? What sort of work did you do in the support rooms?
You have to learn a lot of things about the shuttle. It's a lot like being in school. You have to do a lot of reading, sometimes you get to play in shuttle simulators or mock-ups. And other times you practice in the mission control center, where the teachers break things (just pretend) and we have to figure out how to fix them. And that is what I do during a shuttle mission.....figuring out what went wrong and telling the astronauts what to do in case an experiment isn't working quite right (my advice could be anything from turning a switch ON to having to do a major repair).

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 53 - 08:39:41 ]
RE: [Joe] When, and what made you decide to become a part of the space program?
When I was in the 3rd grade (8 years old), my parents took me to Florida and I saw a shuttle launch. I was so excited that after the launch I decided I wanted to work for NASA :)

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 54 - 08:41:01 ]
RE: [StephanieMock/CoronaCA] Did high school science and math classes help you with this career? What science and math classes did you take in high school?
My high school math and science classes definitely helped me at university. In high school I took Algebra, Geometry, and calculus, biology, chemistry, and physics.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 58 - 08:43:44 ]
RE: [Nick/hughchristie] what are the next experiments.
We have 12 other experiments on Columbia. One of the fun ones is one with ladybugs. Some students are looking at ladybugs to see if they eat aphids in space. On Earth the Ladybugs jump down to capture the aphids, and the aphids jump up to get away. So what is going to happen in space?! We should be able to answer that question in about a week :)

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 59 - 08:45:32 ]
RE: [Roger/CSUSM] What was your Masters major at the International Space University?
My master's degree was in "Space Studies". It is kind of a combination between a Master's of Engineering and an MBA. I learned more about Engineering, but also I learned about business, law, and politics.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 60 - 08:45:58 ]
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[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 61 - 08:48:46 ]
RE: [Mary] I am very impressed with all that you have accomplished at such a young age. Was getting hired into NASA very competitive?
I feel very lucky to have a job at NASA. Pretty much the only way you can work for NASA after graduating from college is to work for them in their student programs while you are at university. But, not all the students who work at NASA during college are offered a job afterwards, either. A lot of it depends on the budget that congress gives NASA. Some years they can only hire 3 people, other times 20 people can get hired. But you can always work at NASA for one of the contractors - a lot of people do that.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 62 - 08:50:29 ]
RE: [StephanieMock/CoronaCA] Did you take any fun classes when you were in high school like theater? Did you participate in any clubs? If so, which ones?
Sure! I tried to have a lot of fun while I was in high school. I did a little bit of theatre - but it was pretty hard for me because I was a little shy. I also was on the dance team (we danced at football games and competitions), which I liked a lot.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 67 - 08:52:41 ]
RE: [todd] how much or about how much does it cost to make X-ray telescope?
This space telescope costs about 2 Billion US Dollars. About the same price as a shuttle!

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 68 - 08:53:25 ]
RE: [Andrew] How high an orbit will the telescope be placed in?
At the farthest point the telescope will be 1/3 of the way to moon! And at the closest point it will be about 10,000 km from earth.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 73 - 08:55:57 ]
RE: [StephanieMock/CoronaCA] Have you worked anywhere besides NASA? How did you get your job?
Besides working at NASA, I have worked a couple of other places. When I was in high school I worked as a cashier in a drug store. Then, during the summers (before I worked for NASA) I worked for Texas Instruments. I was fortunate to be selected for the NASA University Cooperative Education program (where you work one semester, then go to school the next, and well, the rest is history!)

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 74 - 08:56:40 ]
RE: [Nick/hughchristie] Do you think there life on mars.
I don't know if there is life on Mars.....but I do believe there is life out somewhere. Space is a really big place and I find it hard to believe that we are alone.....

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 75 - 08:57:39 ]
RE: [MichelleMock/CoronaCA] How well did the XSS-10 Microsat do its job? Are more satellites of this sort planned?
The microsatellite hasn't flown yet. They are going to try and fly on an unmanned rocket next year, but they still have a lot of work to do before then.....

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 76 - 08:59:58 ]
RE: [StephanieMock/CoronaCA] Did you always get good grades in school?
Yes, I did get pretty good grades in school. I worked hard - but I didn't have perfect grades. At NASA they want people who get good grades, but they would rather hire a student who gets B's for their grades but can work on a team and is willing to work hard than an A student who doesn't necessarily get along well with others.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 78 - 09:00:59 ]
RE: [todd] is your job fun or cool do you like it
Yeah - I like my job :) It is a lot of fun to train in the simulators and to practice in the mission control center!

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 98 - 11:03:19 ]
RE: [StephanieMock/CoronaCA] Do you plan to be an astronaut some day? Have you taken any astronaut training? Would you like to fly in the Vomit Comet again? Did you get sick?
I would love to be an astronaut someday :) But it takes a lot of hard work, and a good bit of luck, to be selected. So far I haven't done any formal astronaut training....As far as the Vomit Comet goes - yes, I got sick - but I loved it, and I would do it again in a second! It was the neatest feeling!

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 99 - 11:05:00 ]
RE: [BobbyJo] Do you have other career plans or do you plan on working for NASA till retirment?
Right now I have no plans to work for anyone other than NASA. NASA is neat because it is so large I can try a lot of different jobs without ever having to leave the company. For example, right now I am a flight controller, but next month I will start my training to be an instructor for the space station robotic systems.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 100 - 11:05:57 ]
RE: [StephanieMock/CoronaCA] Would NASA let me visit you where you work?
In Houston we have a great visitor center - and they bring you on-site to the Johnson Space Center via trams (like the ones in the Disney parking lots). When you take the tours they show you tons of stuff - where the astronauts train, the Mission Control Center, and lots of other fun things. So, yep - you would be able to see where I work!

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 101 - 11:06:49 ]
RE: [MichelleMock/CoronaCA] Is the microsat in an earth orbit or does its location and direction have something to do with the carrier from which it is released? What if it loses pace with the object it is taking pictures of? Does it have any way of catching up/ or slowing down to change its course?
The microsatellite is designed to fly around the carrier that it was sitting on in the shuttle cargo bay. If, during the test, the microsat loses sight of the carrier, they will try to move the microsat around until the find the carrier again. It would be hard to find again, though...The microsat can change its course through small thrusters, but it is definitely challenging to maneuver something that is already going through space at 18,000 mph!

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 102 - 11:07:19 ]
RE: [MichelleMock/CoronaCA] What advice do you have for *reluctant* students who do not know what they want to be in the future and sort of go through the motions in high school with no real interests?
If you don't know what you want to do with your future - that's okay. Actually, you can have the most fun - because that means you can try tons of things! Try one new thing for a semester or so - and if you don't like it - so what? Try something else! Just don't close any doors - through getting in trouble with the law or having bad grades - you'll more than likely regret it later.....If you leave doors open, the world is your oyster - you can do absolutely anything - it doesn't matter where you come from - there are no limits to what you can achieve. For example, Eileen Collins, the commander of the STS-93 shuttle mission, grew up in the projects - but she didn't let that limit what she could achieve in life.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 103 - 11:08:13 ]
RE: [Nick/hughchristie] Have you ever had major repair that was life threatening.
The shuttle has been pretty safe as far as I know. The last major repair that I know of was Apollo 13 (the movie does a good job of telling what happened!)..

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 104 - 11:08:56 ]
RE: [Near/SpaceSciences] Do you think that you will ever get a chance to fly on the shuttle? And if you do, what would you like your mission to be?
I would love to fly on the shuttle. If I did, I might be sent to the space station to do experiments, or maybe I could get sent to the Moon (if I'm lucky!)

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 105 - 11:09:33 ]
RE: [todd] Did you ever change your mind when you heard saw the Challen ger space ship blowup
Oh yeah - it scared me a lot, and for a while I didn't think I wanted to be a part of NASA. But, then I went to space camp in Huntsville, and when I cam back I knew that I wanted to be part of NASA, and I also thought that I wanted to be an engineer.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 106 - 11:10:34 ]
RE: [Nick/hughchristie] Are you growing food on the space station.
They will be trying to grow plants, but I don't know if they will try to eat any of what they grow.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 107 - 11:11:33 ]
RE: [MichelleMock/CoronaCA] You mention the Challenger explosion several times in your writings. I can only imagine how everyone must cross their fingers and pray during those first few seconds ... I was wondering if the words used between Ground Control and the shuttle captain had been changed after Challenger. For those of us who witnessed the explosion and the subsequent televised news, the words were engraved in our minds. NASA has an incredible safety record with the very dangerous activity that is manned space flight. Very impressive!
We always send words of encouragement and best wishes to the crew right before they liftoff. And yes, we are all very quiet and focusing on the shuttle those first 2 1/2 minutes until the SRBs separate. The astronauts on board are co-workers to some of us, friends to others, and even family. No one ever wants anything bad to happen. Thanks for your support :) As much as some people feel that going to space is an everyday thing - it is not true - it is still experimental......and dangerous.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 108 - 11:12:32 ]
RE: [StephanieMock/CoronaCA] How are the shuttles numbered? They dont seem to get numbered in numerical order.
The shuttle flights are numbered in the order that they are originally created......but, alot of times, certain flights slip (meaning they go up later than originally planned), so that is how you get STS-96 flying before STS-93.

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 109 - 11:26:49 ]
RE: [StephanieMock/CoronaCA] When your friend gave you the tour of KSC, where you able to take pictures? Did you get your picture taken when you were so close to the shuttle to touch it? How big where the dents from the hail?
I sure did take pictures....even when I was up very close. The hail dents looked similiar to what you see on people's cars after a hail storm. They weren't horrible - but you sure did know they were there!

[ ElizabethBloomer/JSC - 80 - 09:01:54 ]
I have to leave now, but I want to thank everyone for participating :) Hopefully, Oran will be able to send me the rest of the questions, and I will answer them as soon as I can.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 77 - 09:00:56 ]
We will now be ending our chat with Elizabeth Bloomer. Thank you very much for your patience and great questions today. Our special thanks to Elizabeth for spending her time and sharing part of her exciting career with us today!

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 79 - 09:01:39 ]
Be sure to visit our QuestChat Utilities at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/qchats to send us your comments on today's chat.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 81 - 09:02:17 ]
Visit our schedule of events at http://quest.arc.nasa.gov/common/events to learn about our other upcoming chats this summer.

[ Oran/NASAChatHost - 82 - 09:03:08 ]
RE: [ElizabethBloomer/JSC] I have to leave now, but I want to thank everyone for participating :) Hopefully, Oran will be able to send me the rest of the questions, and I will answer them as soon as I can.
We certainly will, Elizabeth. Thank you again for sharing your time with us today. We've enjoyed it tremendously!

[ MichelleMock/CoronaCA - 83 - 09:03:18 ]
Thank you very much, Elizabeth, for chatting with us! Thank you Oran for making this chat possible! :-)

[ Near/Space/Sciences - 84 - 09:17:43 ]
Have a nice afternoon all!! Joe from Near Space Sciences http://www.mwt.net/~mayen1/educators.html