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Best holiday wishes!
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December 2011
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Dan Burbank
 Holden Withington
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1. Newsbriefs
Professor Larry Young reports that astronaut Dan Burbank is aboard the ISS for a six-month tour. "Dan left NASA in 2007 after two shuttle missions to teach at the Coast Guard Academy," Young says. "He was a frequent visitor to the Man Vehicle Lab in 2007-08. He took 16.430J (Sensory Neural Systems) back in the spring of '08, along with MVLers Jaime Mateus, Chris Oravetz, Mike Newman, and Jen Needham. When Russian training requirements were changed, he was recalled to NASA for this mission." Burbank will become station commander this spring.
AA undergrad Eddie Obropta is featured in a Loughborough (U.K.) University web article about his summer work in the school's Sports Technology Institute. His projects included writing code for 3D motion analysis that tracks human movements, developing an algorithm for predicting compression levels in technical sports garments, and assisting with the development of a novel fitness concept. Eddie's internship was arranged by AeroAstro research affiliate Dr. Kim Blair through IROP and MISTI.
AeroAstro alum Holden Withington, the last living member of the B-52 design team and a key figure in designs ranging from the B-47 to the 707 and the planned but never built Boeing SST, passed away on December 9 at age 94. Withington, who had been doing extensive research in the Wright Brothers Wind Tunnel for his Master's, was recruited from MIT by Boeing in 1941 where his first task was to design and build a wind tunnel. His assignment was to make the tunnel go "as fast as you can," a guarded comment that the facility should be capable of testing designs for jet aircraft.
Grad student Allison Yost demoed her work in the Neumann Hangar on sports/soldier helmets for first installment of new ABC show, "This Could Be Big."
Two AeroAstro faculty members were featured on the MIT home page during the same week. On November 28, Professor Nick Roy's robots were profiled as "ideal for dangerous and covert tasks" Two days later, Professor Jon How's research predicting which are cars likeliest to run red lights at intersections was spotlighted.
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Keith Colmer
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2. Colmer first commercial astronaut
Virgin Galactic has hired AeroAstro Alum Keith Colmer (SB 89) as its first commercial astronaut. Virgin cited Colmer's 12 years of test flight experience, and 10 years of combined military experience in US air force spacecraft operations and flying. He's spent more than 5,000 hours in more than 90 types of aircraft. Colmer will test fly WhiteKnightTwo and SpaceShipTwo. |
Propulsion or navigation?
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3. Reindeer: propulsion, navigation or both?
Does Santa use his reindeer for propulsion or navigation? At the request of AeroAstro Communication's, AA doctoral candidate Phillip Cunio fielded the question for the School of Engineering's "Ask an Engineer" web feature. He begins with the propulsion issue by referring to the famous "A Visit from St. Nicholas." Cunio writes, "The poem tells us that when the reindeer approach the roof of the house, an observer can hear 'on the roof/the prancing and pawing of each little hoof.' This tells us that the reindeer generally move their legs and feet when the sleigh is moving. Because reindeer are moving their legs, we know they are using energy. As nothing else on the sleigh seems to be actively producing energy, we can safely deduce that reindeer constitute the propulsion subsystem of Santa’s sleigh." Cunio proceeds at length to address the navigation issue. To read his thoughtful and educational response, visit the Ask an Engineer site. |
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4. New GA^3 committee elected
Congratulations to the new members of the Graduate Association of Aeronautics and Astronautics exec team on their election to office.
- President: Richard Li, Forrest Meyen
- Vice President: Louis Perna
- Treasurer: Max Brand
- Academic Chair: Tony Tao
- Social Chairs: Nicholas Dunn, Whitney Lohmeyer, Anthony Pang
- Student Involvement Chair: Aaron Johnson
- International Events Coordinator: Ana Diaz
- Webmaster: Kento Masuyama
- GSC Reps: Ingrid Beerer, Natalya Brikner, Armen Mkrtchyan
And, thanks to outgoing officers Andie Gilkey, Raquel Galvan, Alex Nakahara, Alex Horrell, James Dumont, Emily Calandrelli, Kristy Bishop, Kento Masuyama, Allie Anderson, Paulo Melo,Jonathan Battat, Armen Mkrtchyan, and Thomas Chiasson. |
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5. Santa spotted in Unified
AeroAstro enews has obtained a previously classified photo of Santa visiting Unified on the last day of classes before break. A source who asked not to be identified said the jolly fellow was urging all to be good while taking their finals.
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6. Doc's space letter on display
An excerpt of Doc Draper's 1961 letter seeking to become an astronaut, which was flown to the International Space Station on the last Endeavour mission.
In November, 1961, Doc Draper wrote NASA Associate Director Bob Seamans Jr. "I would like to formally volunteer for service as a crew member on the Apollo mission to the moon ..." Fifty years later, Doc indirectly made it into space with the help of AeroAstro alum astronaut Greg Chamitoff, who carried a copy of Doc's letter to the International Space Station aboard the last flight of Endeavour. The letter is now back on earth, framed, and has just been placed on display for all to see in one of the Building 33 second floor hallway exhibit cases. A detailed story of the letter's journey to space is posted on the MIT News Office website. |
 
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If you know of events, honors, activities, or other information you'd like to see in the next issue of AeroAstro enews, please send to wlitant@mit.edu — we'd be pleased to include your submissions. |
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