Dilluns a les 7:00 del matí sona el despertador, i amb un gran somriure surto del llit. Avui si, per fi ha arribat el dia de poder entrar per primer cop a la NASA. Dutxa, cereals, cafè, motxilla i camí del metro. Tinc una hora de camí de casa fins al Goddard Space Flight Centre (GSFC): 20min en metro més 20min en bus, els 20min que falten per fer l'hora es distribueixen entre caminar i esperar que arribi el bus (que passa cada 40min) i no tinc ganes de perdre'l el primer dia.
Un cop arribo al GSFC em toca recollir el meu "badge" (targeta acreditativa) per entrar. M'han demanat un munt de papers i necessiten a més a més el meu Passaport i Carnet de Conduir, no fos cas que intentes colar a una altre persona. El més curiós és que mentre entraven les meves dades a l'ordenador em van demanar, el pes, l'alçada i color dels ulls. (només em falta engreixar-me i que no em deixin entrar pq no tinc el pes que deia jejejejeje). Un cop fet el "badge" em trobo amb en David Folta, que serà el meu mentor aquí. El conec de vista d'algun congres i dels mails que ens hem intercanviat aquest últims mesos per acabar d'organitzar la meva estada. Se'l veu un home molt agradable i em rep amb els braços ben oberts.
El primer dia el passo xerrant amb en Dave Folta i coneixent el departament on estaré i la gent que hi ha. Son prop de 150 persones i me'n presenten una vintena i ja no recordo el nom de la meitat d'ells. Però mica en mica ja els aniré coneixent. També m'ensenya on està la cantina (el menjar no està mal, hi ha molta varietat, és un bufet lliure on el preu va a pes, tu t'omples el plat i en funció del pes pagues més o menys. L'enciam pesa poc :p). També em diu on està el gimnàs del campus i algun que altre edifici. És un campus molt gran on per anar d'un lloc a l'altre a vegades cal el cotxe. A més es veu que aquí estan ensemblant el James Webb Telescope (wooooow) diu que un dia el podem anar a veure'l (siiiiiiiiii!!!).
La resta de la setmana me l'he passat al despatx del Dave, entre d'altres coses pq encara no tinc despatx propi (si si aquí també van justos de cadires). També he anant a un parell de reunions i col·loquis on parlaven de futures missions espacials i els avenços que van fent. Em fascina que estiguin parlant de missions que realment es llençaran d'aquí uns anys. Ells són els que calculen les trajectòries per on passaran (woooooow). En Dave és un home super ocupat, cada dos per tres entra algú al despatx per comentar-li algun problema, missió o fins i tot el temps que fa. Està treballant en varies missions i es passa el dia calculant trajectòries i/o en teleconferències des del despatx amb altra gent de la NASA. I jo allà escoltant i fent càlculs amb l'ordenador. I ell molt amablement em va explicant els intringulis de la NASA i els projectes en que treballa. És ben be un altre mon aquí els càlculs no es queden en meres conjectures i dibuixos bonics, sinó que han de convèncer a la resta del grup si una missió és possible o quines son les probabilitats de que alguna cosa vagi malament (com ara que el satèl·lit quedi eclipsat per la lluna més de 2h).
Arriba el final de la setmana i encara no tinc massa clar en quin projecte treballaré. L'únic que se és un munt d'acrònim de diferents missions espacials i que volen que miri els models de pressió de radiació solar que tenen (son els meus "experties"). Veure com estan modelats dins del programes que fan servir i veure quins efectes tenen en les missions TESS, WFIRST, JWST, Lunar-Icecube, ... De moment moltes idees però cap de concreta, no està mal per ser la primera setmana. Però esperem que la setmana vinent pugui començar a concretar una mica més el projecte.
Per un parell de fotos mira més abaix.
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-- ENGLISH Version --
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Monday at 7:00 am the alarm sounds, and with a big smile I get out of bed. Today is the day Icfinally get to be able to enter NASA for the first time. Shower, cereals, coffee, backpack and head towards the metro. I
have an hour to go from home to the Goddard Space Flight Center
(GSFC): 20min by metro plus 20min by bus, the 20min missing to make an hour are spread
between walking and waiting for the bus (which runs every 40min) and I do not want to lose it on my first day.
Once I arrive at GSFC I have to collect my badge to enter. I have been asked to fill in a lot of paperwork and I also need my passport and driver's license, just in case I try to sneak another person. The strange thing is that while entering data on my computer I was asked, weight, height and eye color. (I wonder what would happen if I fatten and I don't have the weight that said jejejejeje). Once I get my badge I find David Folta, who will be my mentor here. I've seen him before in several confenrences and we have exchanged many emails this last few months to organize my stage. He looks a very nice man and receives me with open arms.
I spend the first day talking to Dave Folta, getting to know the department and some of their people. There are about 150 people and I have might have met around 20 but I can only remember the name of half of them. But I give my self some time to get to know everyone. He also shows me where the "cantine" (the food is not bad, there is large variaty of choices, it is a buffet where the price depends on the weight of your plate, you just fill it up and pay. Lettuce weighs little: p). He also tells me where the gym is and other buildings on campus. It's a big campus where depending where you need to go you might need the car. He also tells me that they are ansembling the James Webb Telescope (wooooow) and that one day we can go and see it (yeessssss!!!).
The rest of the week I've been in Dave's office, mainly because I still do not have my own office (yes here they also have little space). I have also been to a couple of meetings and discussions on future space missions where they spoke of the advances they are doing. Its amazing to here them talking about real missions that will actually be launched within a few years. They are the ones who calculate the true trajectories (woooooow). Dave is a super busy man, every now and then someone enters the office to tell him any problems, mission or even chat about the weather. He is working on several missions and is all day computing orbits and/or at a teleconferences with other people from his office. And there I am listening to all of that and also making some calculations on my computer. Also, he will kindly explain me the different insights of NASA and the projects he is working on. It is really another world, here calculations do not remain in mere conjectures and fancy drawings. You must convince the rest of the group if a mission is possible and what are the chances that something can go wrong (such as that satellite remains eclipsed by the Moon more than 2h).
At the end of the week I still don't have clear project to work with. The only thing I know are a lot of different acronyms for space missions and that they want me to look at the solar radiation pressure models they have (these are my experties). See how they model this in the programs they use and see the effect the solar radiation pressure has on missions like TESS, WFIRST, JWST, Lunar-IceCube ... Fot the moment many ideas but no specific one, not bad for the first week. I just hope that next week I can start with a more specific project.
Once I arrive at GSFC I have to collect my badge to enter. I have been asked to fill in a lot of paperwork and I also need my passport and driver's license, just in case I try to sneak another person. The strange thing is that while entering data on my computer I was asked, weight, height and eye color. (I wonder what would happen if I fatten and I don't have the weight that said jejejejeje). Once I get my badge I find David Folta, who will be my mentor here. I've seen him before in several confenrences and we have exchanged many emails this last few months to organize my stage. He looks a very nice man and receives me with open arms.
I spend the first day talking to Dave Folta, getting to know the department and some of their people. There are about 150 people and I have might have met around 20 but I can only remember the name of half of them. But I give my self some time to get to know everyone. He also shows me where the "cantine" (the food is not bad, there is large variaty of choices, it is a buffet where the price depends on the weight of your plate, you just fill it up and pay. Lettuce weighs little: p). He also tells me where the gym is and other buildings on campus. It's a big campus where depending where you need to go you might need the car. He also tells me that they are ansembling the James Webb Telescope (wooooow) and that one day we can go and see it (yeessssss!!!).
The rest of the week I've been in Dave's office, mainly because I still do not have my own office (yes here they also have little space). I have also been to a couple of meetings and discussions on future space missions where they spoke of the advances they are doing. Its amazing to here them talking about real missions that will actually be launched within a few years. They are the ones who calculate the true trajectories (woooooow). Dave is a super busy man, every now and then someone enters the office to tell him any problems, mission or even chat about the weather. He is working on several missions and is all day computing orbits and/or at a teleconferences with other people from his office. And there I am listening to all of that and also making some calculations on my computer. Also, he will kindly explain me the different insights of NASA and the projects he is working on. It is really another world, here calculations do not remain in mere conjectures and fancy drawings. You must convince the rest of the group if a mission is possible and what are the chances that something can go wrong (such as that satellite remains eclipsed by the Moon more than 2h).
At the end of the week I still don't have clear project to work with. The only thing I know are a lot of different acronyms for space missions and that they want me to look at the solar radiation pressure models they have (these are my experties). See how they model this in the programs they use and see the effect the solar radiation pressure has on missions like TESS, WFIRST, JWST, Lunar-IceCube ... Fot the moment many ideas but no specific one, not bad for the first week. I just hope that next week I can start with a more specific project.
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