Select seniors explore behind the scenes at ULA where launch vehicles are created.
Photo by Rachel Wilson
October 27, 2009, seniors from TJ’s AP Calculus and AP Physics classes visited the United Launch Alliance (ULA), formerly known as Lockheed Martin, to kick off their fall break with a bang.
“This was a perfect time to visit ULA for my physics students because at the time we were studying pressure,” said AP Physics teacher, Nelson Vore. “Launch vehicles are all about pressure because if they are not built correctly, they will collapse on themselves when sent into space.”
The classes visited the headquarters in Denver, and just in time, too. Tour guide, Beth, informed the group that the engineering of ULA was moving to Alabama in the near future and that they were in the process of moving their rockets there. Even though some of the pieces were already packaged up on trucks, the group was not cheated out of an experience. “Even though not all the rockets were there, what I saw was absolutely spectacular,” said TJ Senior Akaxia Cruz. ULA uses two types of rockets: Atlas and Delta. The students were able to see the parts that form the Atlas V rocket, as the Delta rockets were located in Alabama. Each Atlas V rocket uses a Russian-built RD-180 engine burning kerosene and liquid oxygen to power its first stage, the Common Core Booster (CCB), or the copper colored part of the rocket, and an RL10 engine burning liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to power its Centaur upper stage, or the white cap at the top of the rocket.
AP Calculus Teacher, Aimee Witulski, said, “I enjoyed taking my students to ULA; it was a chance for them to get out of the classroom and see some serious math in action. Plus, I learned a lot too!”
This huge engine used to power the first stage of the Atlas V rocket has a total dry weight of 11,889 lbs and was developed in 42 months at a small fraction of the cost of a typical U.S. new engine development, Beth informed the group. She also told them that there was about an eight-year supply of these engines located in the building.
Right next to the engine was the CCB, which simply looked like a massive copper tube. The CCB is 12.5 ft (3.8 m) in diameter by 106.6 ft (32.5 m) long and uses 627,105 lb (284,450 kg) of liquid oxygen and RP-1 rocket fuel propellants. Beth passed one of the bolts used to keep this piece in place around the group, which weighed about 2 lbs.
Then the students were taken upstairs to the “clean room” where the Centaurs are located. The clean room is as sterile as a hospital’s operating room and every person who enters this room must wear a hair net and men with beards must wear a beard net. The reason for this is because the Centaur contains a camera lens, so that scientists can see what the rocket sees, and if one tiny hair gets on the lens, every picture is completely ruined and millions of dollars are wasted.
On the wall of the clean room was a 50ft by 30ft American flag. Before the flag was put into the clean room, it had to be cleaned. Beth shared a small fun fact with the students about the flag: “At the time a nearby cleaners company was offering on Flag Day to clean any flag for one dollar, and despite the massive size of this particular flag, the company gladly cleaned it for one measly dollar,” she said.
The experience even sparked a special interest in one senior, Alexandra Kaufhold, from the physics and calculus class. She asked Beth about internships and learned that students need to have one year of college experience to intern with ULA. Kaufhold said with extreme confidence, “I’m coming back; I want to have an internship here.”
“Overall the field trip was an extremely interesting experience,” one of the AP calculus students, Paige Wilson, said. “It was a lot of fun; I just couldn’t believe how huge everything was!”
