1. How do I get a job at Stennis Space Center?
Information on employment opportunities at Stennis Space Center can be found on the Internet at: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/about/jobs/index.html.
2. I understand Stennis Space Center has a visitor center, StenniSphere. How do I get there?
Tours to StenniSphere depart every 15 minutes from the Mississippi Welcome Center on I-10 at Exit 2, just 48 miles west of Biloxi and 45 miles east of New Orleans.
3. What are the StenniSphere hours of operation, and can I book a tour in advance for a large group?
The visitor center conducts tours from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday, and group tours may be booked Tuesday through Saturday, except major holidays. For more information or to book a group tour, call 1-800-237-1821 or 228-688-2370. You can also get more information by visiting the SSC Web site at http://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis.
4. How can I see a test firing of a space shuttle main engine?
The public may view test firings of a space shuttle main engine when they occur during the visitor center's hours of operation and at scheduled public test fire viewings that will be announced through local media and on the Stennis Web site. To find out if a test is scheduled to occur on a day when you would like to visit, call the visitors center at 1-800-237-1821 in Mississippi and Louisiana, or (228) 688-2370.
5. How can I obtain information from the Educator Resource Center?
For information concerning workshops or educational materials, call 1-800-237-1821 in Louisiana and Mississippi and select option 2, or (228) 688-2370.
6. How can I find out about other state and federal agencies located at Stennis Space Center?
Information on the agencies located at Stennis Space Center may be obtained by clicking on the Resident Agency link or the Employment Information link found on the Stennis home page.
7. Who do I call with environmental questions?
Call the NASA Stennis Space Center Operations at (228) 688-2004.
8. How do I request a speaker for a private group or organization?
Call the Speakers Bureau at NASA Stennis Space Center's Public Affairs Office at 1-800-237-1821 in Mississippi and Louisiana and select option 3, or call (228) 688-1032.
9. How can I find out about having a NASA exhibit placed at a symposium or convention I am organizing?
Call the SSC Visitors Center at 1-800-237-1821 in Louisiana and Mississippi, or (228) 688-2370.
10. How can I obtain photos of Stennis events, programs and activities?
Numerous photographs along with descriptions of them are available on the Stennis home page
11. How can I find out when a Space Shuttle will be launched, and how can I get to see it?
For information on NASA's space shuttle Return to Flight activities, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/news/highlights/returntoflight.html. NASA also has a Web site dedicated to human spaceflight where information on space shuttle launches can be found. It is located at: http://www.spaceflight.nasa.gov.
12. How fast does a space shuttle travel? What is its altitude? How much fuel does it use?
The space shuttle must reach speeds of about 17,500 mph (28,000 kilometers per hour) to remain in orbit. The exact speed depends on the space shuttle's orbital altitude, which normally ranges from 190 miles to 330 miles (304 kilometers to 528 kilometers) above sea level, depending on its mission.
Each of the two solid rocket boosters on the space shuttle carries more than one million pounds of solid propellant. The space shuttle's large external tank is loaded with more than 500,000 gallons of super-cold liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, which are mixed and burned together to form the fuel for the shuttle's three main rocket engines.
13. How do I get satellite information?
Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, is the NASA center responsible for satellite programs. It has information on satellite images, the Hubble Space Telescope space tracking and space debris. The phone number is (301) 286-5566.
14. Where can I find more technical information on NASA's research?
Requests for NASA technical publications and papers should be directed to:NASA STI Help Desk
NASA Center for AeroSpace Information
7115 Standard Drive
Hanover, MD 21076-1320
Web site: http://www.sti.nasa.gov
E-mail: help@sti.nasa.gov
Telephone: 301-621-0390
15. Where can I get an individual picture of a particular astronaut?
Individual astronaut lithographs may be obtained by writing to:Mail Code CB
Johnson Space Center
2101 NASA Road 1
Houston, TX 77058-3696
On-line portraits are also available.
Click the following link for Astronaut biographies.
16. How can I become an astronaut?
Competition is extremely keen, with an average of more than 4,000 applicants for about 20 openings every 2 years. Astronaut recruiting occurs periodically. For more information, write to:
Astronaut Selection Office
NASA Johnson Space Center
Houston, TX 77058
17. How can my school talk to a space shuttle crew over ham radio?
Teachers should send e-mail to the Amateur Radio Relay League at ead@arrl.org.
18. Where can I get an address for Space Camp?
The U.S. Space Camp, Space Academy and Aviation Challenge are private programs in Alabama and Florida for children, adults and educators.
U.S. Space Camp/Space Academy and Aviation Challenge
U.S. Space & Rocket Center
One Tranquility Base
Huntsville, Alabama 35807
1-800-63-SPACE or (205) 837-3400
Florida (321) 267-3184Astro Camp at Stennis Space Center is a week-long day camp for children ages 7-12 during the summer months. Astro Camp is an exciting five-day mission for children with activities centered around a new theme each year. The camps are filled with hands-on activities that teach future astronauts and engineers the principles of rocketry. Campers build and launch real rockets! Astro Camp Saturday packs the same excitement as the week-long camps into one-day, themed missions during the school year. You can visit the web for more information on Astro Camp or call 1 (800) 237-1821 (Option 1) in Mississippi and Louisiana.
19. Where can I get NASA's Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) regulations, a listing of NASA FOIA contacts and general information regarding FOIA?
Information on NASA FOIA can be reached at http://www.hq.nasa.gov/office/pao/FOIA/guide.html or by calling (202) 358-1753. Information on FOIA at Stennis Space Center is also available.
20. What is NASA's budget, and why not divert money spent on space exploration into social programs?
NASA's funding represents only about one penny out of every dollar in the U.S. federal budget. Diverting this money into social programs would provide a very minimal increase for those immediate needs, while eliminating resources devoted to the future and new solutions to problems. Information on NASA's budget can be found at http://ifmp.nasa.gov/codeb/about/budget.htm.
21. How has NASA benefited the United States?
* NASA has the smallest budget of the major agencies in the federal government, less than 1 percent since 1977.
* NASA has expanded human knowledge through a program of exploration and discovery.
* Virtually every aircraft utilizes technology pioneered by NASA. Aeronautics is one of the nation 's strongest industries, employing almost one million Americans.
* The U.S. aerospace industry generates over $40 billion in annual exports and $30 billion in positive balance of trade each year.
* New industries have been built on space technology, including personal computers, advanced medical equipment, communications satellites, weather forecasting and natural resource mapping.
* NASA's high-technology research and development generates jobs, the demands for goods and services, and new technologies in the private sector.
* Many NASA technologies contribute to research in education, transportation, pollution control, rain forest protection and health care. For a sample of these see the NASA publication, Spinoff.
22. When are we going to Mars?
A date for a manned mission to Mars has not been established at this time. We will return to the Moon as early as 2015 and no later than 2020 as a first step to opening the Solar System to further exploration, including Mars missions. This first step will represent an important demonstration of our ability to live and work on another world. We will assess technologies and the use of lunar resources, and we will build the skills and gain the experience that will enable us to conduct sustained exploration of other worlds, beginning with Mars. Information on The Vision for Space Exploration may be found at http://www.nasa.gov/missions/solarsystem/explore_main.html