Follow this link to skip to the main content

Frequently Asked Questions

Text Size

NASA Glenn Frequently Asked Questions

Presented by the Office of Community and Media Relations

These are some of the most frequently asked questions made by our virtual visitors. We hope that you will find the answers we provide to be informative. For a basic overview of the NASA Glenn Research Center, go to the General Information page. For specific questions regarding interstellar space travel and UFOs, we suggest the "Warp Drive, When?" FAQ. If your question is not addressed here, feel free to use our contact form.

General Information

Do you have any online information on _______? If you are looking for some specific technical information, it would probably be easiest to utilize our online search system →.

You may also want to try three other sources:

The Glenn Technical Report Server →
The annual Research and Technology Reports →

These should provide you with some good starting points for a search for specific information. If you come up empty, you can submit a comment using the contact form. We will do our best to provide you with a related URL or forward your request someone who works in your area of interest.

Can NASA engineers evaluate my invention, drawing or plans?

We receive hundreds of requests each month from individuals who want NASA to comment on their ideas. Typically these submissions do not contain the kind of information needed for an evaluation, or they are too complex to be easily evaluated. NASA does not have enough scientists and engineers to evaluate such ideas in addition to their regular duties.

To submit an idea that can be evaluated by NASA, please adhere to the guidelines specified in the NASA booklet entitled "Guidance for the Preparation and Submission of Unsolicited Proposals →." Such submissions require that the idea has been developed sufficiently that a specific proposal can be made.

More suggestions

Can you help me find an individual who works at NASA Glenn?

You should be able to find current employees (civil service and contractors) via our online phone book

Can you help me find information about a former employee of NASA Glenn?

Records are kept for 30 days after an employee separates and are then sent to National Personnel Records Center in St. Louis. Instructions for requesting information can be found at http://www.archives.gov/facilities/mo/st_louis.html →.

Can I buy NASA gifts and souvenirs?

The NASA Glenn Visitor Center has a Gift Shop → with a wide variety of souvenirs and momentos. The NASA Glenn Exchange also has an online catalog → from which you can purchase items via a toll free phone number.

John Glenn and Astronauts

Can I write John Glenn or invite him to make an appearance? With his retirement from the Senate, John Glenn's offices has been transferred to the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy at the Ohio State University. Written requests for information or appearances can be submitted via fax to 614/292-4868 or by mail at:

The John Glenn Institute

350 Page Hall

1810 College Road

Columbus, Ohio 43210

Can I exchange e-mail with an astronaut?

The astronauts do enjoy the opportunity to talk with as many people as possible and education is a major interest of NASA. You can write them at the following address:

CB/Astronaut Office

NASA Johnson Space Center

2101 NASA Road 1

Houston, TX 77058

On every shuttle mission, we maintain a shuttle home page →. One of the features of that page is the opportunity to submit questions which may be selected to be sent up to the crew on orbit. Selected questions are sent up to the crew on orbit and answered as the crew has time.

Can a current astronaut make an appearance at my function?

Requests for astronaut appearances are handled through the Astronaut Office at JSC. You can make the request directly to them on letter head at:

CB/Astronaut Appearances

NASA Johnson Space Center

2101 NASA Road 1

Houston, TX 77058

By phone, call (281) 244-8867 or by FAX at (281) 244-8863.

When you write, include the information about your organization and event. You will be asked to provide reimbursement for travel expenses, usually airfare from Houston and overnight accommodations. The only way to lower this cost is to coordinate the event with another local appearance on the same date.

You can make specific requests for astronauts by name or characteristic, e.g., "from Ohio." If you haven't seen it yet, you can visit our Ohio Astronauts page to see who is from Ohio.

Are other NASA speakers available?

Yes! Visit our Speakers Bureau page. There is a form you can complete to initiate the request.

Can you help me find out about the medical research done on/by astronauts?

An overview of NASA's Biological and Physical Research is available at: http://exploration.nasa.gov/programs/station →

Other helpful sites are:

Microgravity and Spaceflight

Does NASA have anti-gravity chambers to train astronauts and conduct experiments? In short, the answer is, "No." However, read on...

NASA uses a variety of facilities to create or simulate microgravity conditions:

The most "famous" way is by aircraft flying in parabolic arcs to create microgravity for tests and simulations. NASA JSC has the KC-135 → ("Vomit Comet"). It makes several trips each year to NASA Glenn in support of ground-based microgravity research. It was also used to shoot the weightless scenes in the movie "Apollo 13."

The facilities most-likely to be misconstrued as "anti-gravity chambers," are drop towers. Specifically, NASA Glenn has the "Zero Gravity Research Facility →." It is a large, evacuated shaft some 500 feet deep that allows test packages to free fall for just over 5 seconds. In this state of free fall, weightlessness (at or near microgravity, 1x10-6 g) can be obtained. NASA Glenn also has a 2.2 second drop tower →.

For more information on all of these and other microgravity facilities, visit the NASA Glenn Microgravity Science Division's facility page.

Although not true microgravity facilities, astronaut training for missions requiring space walks are conducted in simulated weightless environments in neutral buoyancy facilities. These are large water tanks in which people and objects are weighted to be made neutrally buoyant, neither rising or sinking. There are two such facilities within NASA:

The Neutral Buoyancy Simulator at Marshall Space Flight Center

Can I listen to shuttle missions via amateur radio?

Several of the NASA centers, including NASA Glenn, have Amateur radio clubs which provide shuttle audio retransmission →.

Employment and Careers

Are there any job opportunities at your facility? Our Human Resources department does have a web page for vacancy announcements →. They also have an employment "hotline" which is updated weekly. You can call 216/433-WORK. A listing of on-site support service contractors → is also available.

There is also a new NASA-wide job site →. It includes information for non-U.S. citizens →. Here is more career information.

Can I get a summer internship at NASA Glenn?

The NASA Glenn Research Center does have a summer internship program → for college and high school students. The deadline for applying for the program each year is January 31. Some of the criteria that applicants must meet to be considered for the program are a grade point average of 3.0 or above, as well as be a U.S. citizen. Other requirements are listed in the application itself. These are the only two programs that the Center has for interns. E-mail inquiries should be directed to intern@grc.nasa.gov.

Are there any opportunities in Graduate-level Post-doc research?

Please visit NASA Glenn's University Programs → page for information about possible opportunities. Please note that they are limited to U.S. citizens.

Computers and Software

Can I get NASA software? If you are looking for a particular piece of software that you believe was generated at NASA Glenn, you might first try using our Software Source site →.

For non-Glenn NASA software, the best place to check would be our software distributor, the COSMIC program →.

How can our schools get excess computers and equipment?

Through our normal personal property disposal procedures, significant amounts of NASA surplus property have always been donated to schools and other eligible donees. Information on eligibility and procedures → is available online.

If you don't live close to a NASA center, there is a central web site for the program, Computers for Learning →. This web site allows schools and educational nonprofits to register to request surplus Federal computer equipment. Federal agencies will then use the web site to donate computers to schools and educational nonprofits based upon indications of need.

› Back To Top

NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Frequently Asked Questions

NASA Glenn Frequently Asked Questions

Presented by the Office of Community and Media Relations

Contents

General Information

John Glenn and Astronauts

Microgravity and Spaceflight

Employment and Careers

Computers and Software

Miscellaneous

General Information

John Glenn and Astronauts

Microgravity and Spaceflight

Employment and Careers

Computers and Software