ANSWER KEY: The Firing Room

Directions: Work with your teammates to quickly find the correct answers to the questions below. Most answers will be found by following the Learn More links within each featured engineer’s site at http://enterfiringroom.ksc.nasa.gov/firingRoomTour.htm

1. What does the acronym SSME stands for? 6. The length of an SRB hold-down bolt is a. Space System Mission Envelope a. 19 inches b. Space Shuttle Main Engine b. 28 inches c. Shuttle System Major Element c. 36 inches d. Space Station Mechanical Engineer d. 62 inches

2. Which swing arm(s) is (are) NOT monitored from 7. The average thrust produced by each Solid console C7? Rocket Booster at launch is a. Hydrogen Vent Line Access Arm a. 2.65 million pounds b. Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm b. 3.3 million pounds c. Orbiter Access Arm c. 5.3 million pounds d. All of the above d. 7.0 million pounds

3. Which substance is used as fuel in the External 8. A Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) weighs Tank? approximately a. Liquid Copper a. 850 pounds b. Liquid Nitrogen b. 2,500 pounds c. Liquid Oxygen c. 7,000 pounds d. Liquid Hydrogen d. 15,520 pounds

4. The Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge 9. The high pressure fuel turbopump is coated with covers _____ to reduce heat transfer. a. 1,500 acres a. Lead b. 15,000 acres b. Cadmium c. 140,000 acres c. Titanium d. 256,000 acres d. Nickel

5. The pathway for engineers, technicians, and 10. The Redundant Set Launch Sequencer (RSLS) astronauts to enter the Space Shuttle while on software running in the Shuttle's onboard General the launch pad is the Purpose Computers assumes control of the a. Swing Arm Access Platform launch countdown sequence at what time? b. Orbiter Access Arm a. T-3 minutes c. Retractable Crew Module Arm b. T-6 hours d. Gaseous Oxygen Vent Arm c. T-9 minutes d. T-31 seconds

Developed by NASA KSC and funded by NASA SOMD 1

11. The period in seconds for which 0.45 kilograms 17. The timeline that defines all activities performed of propellant will produce a thrust of 0.45 by the crew, flight controllers, payload operations, kilograms of force is called and vehicle operation is known as the a. Propellant density a. Flight Support Facility b. Compression factor b. Flight Plan c. Specific impulse c. Integrated Training Facility d. Principle of ejection d. Integrated Planning System

12. The system that ensures the O-Ring joints on the 18. The Ground Launch Sequencer (GLS) call for Solid Rocket Boosters stay warm is the APU start happens at what time? a. Joint Heater System a. T-2 minutes 50 seconds b. Thermal Protection System b. T-5 minutes c. O-Ring Thermal Circulation System c. T-6 minutes 30 seconds d. Seal-Safe System d. T-7 minutes 30 seconds

13. The Forward Reaction Control System (FRCS) 19. The Launch Control Center (LCC) contains ____ contains how many primary engines? firing rooms. a. 6 a. 1 b. 8 b. 4 c. 14 c. 7 d. 22 d. 12

14. The Shuttle’s main engines burn liquid hydrogen 20. The maximum number of people (flight crew and and passengers) a Shuttle can carry is a. Liquid methane a. 7 b. Liquid hydrazine b. 9 c. Liquid oxygen c. 10 d. Liquid helium d. 15

15. The Northern Flicker is a species of 21. The Space Shuttle is a _____ vehicle. a. Woodpecker a. fly-by-wire b. Tortoise b. UAV c. Crow c. dead stick d. Alligator d. deadhead

16. The system responsible for computer control and 22. The three subspecies of the Black Racer, or Black monitoring of shuttle functions such as guidance Snake, are Coluber constrictor paludicola, and navigation is the Coluber constrictor helvigularis, and a. Data Processing System a. Coluber constrictor truncatus b. Launch Processing System b. Coluber constrictor priapus c. Ground Launch Sequencer c. Coluber constrictor habilus d. Ground Support Equipment d. Coluber constrictor aegyptae

Developed by NASA KSC and funded by NASA SOMD 2

23. The Kennedy Space Center shares its land with 30. Shuttle Enterprise was once displayed at the a. Disney World a. Orlando Science Center b. Cocoa Beach b. 1984 New Orleans World's Fair c. Titusville c. Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade d. Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge d. Merritt Square Mall

24. How many General Purpose Computers (GPC's) 31. The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 was are used to run the software to operate the reauthorized by Congress in what year? Shuttle? a. 1982 a. 1 b. 1994 b. 2 c. 1996 c. 3 d. 2002 d. 5 32. What are the responsibilities of the Shuttle Test 25. The Rotating Service Structure (RSS) can rotate Director (STD)? 1/3 of a circle, or ___ degrees. a. Overall management of the launch a. 90 countdown b. 120 b. Coordinating, integrating, and approving all c. 180 troubleshooting to resolve problems d. 360 c. Managing the countdown clock including built-in or unplanned holds 26. SSME #2 fires at what point in the countdown? d. All of the above a. T-0 b. T-6.48 seconds 33. Liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen are called c. T-6.6 seconds cryogenic propellants because d. T-31 seconds a. Hydrogen and oxygen are light elements b. They combine to make water 27. Which NASA center is responsible for Shuttle c. They are supercooled mission operations? d. They are nonpolluting a. KSC b. ARC 34. The Kennedy Space Center is located in Brevard c. JPL County, Florida. d. JSC a. True b. False 28. The hypergolic fuel used on the Shuttle is a. Nitrogen tetroxide 35. The water released into the flame trench during b. Monomethyl hydrazine launch c. Hydrochloric acid a. Prevents sound shock waves from d. Ammonium perchlorate damaging the orbiter b. Dilutes any fuel that leaks 29. The SRB recovery ships are the Liberty Star and c. Cools the metal structure of the launch pad the Freedom Star. d. Prevents flames from affecting the a. True surrounding environment b. False

Developed by NASA KSC and funded by NASA SOMD 3

36. How many SSMEs are on an orbiter? 43. The SSME engineers sit at which consoles? a. 1 a. C1/C2 b. 3 b. C3/C4 c. 4 c. C7/C8 d. 9 d. C11/C12

37. The Solid Rocket Booster propellant channel 44. The launch countdown procedure is about ____ configuration is in the shape of a pages long. a. Hexagon a. 250 b. Rectangle b. 500 c. Star c. 2500 d. Circle d. 5000

38. A vacuum-jacketed pipe prevents the liquid 45. One disadvantage of a solid fuel rocket motor is hydrogen from warming up to a gas as it is that once ignited, the motor cannot be stopped or loaded into the External Tank. restarted. a. True a. True b. False b. False

39. The Shuttle General Purpose Computer (GPC) is 46. A Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) contains how much a descendant of what computer? solid propellant? a. DEC VAX a. 7,500 pounds b. SGI O2 b. 25,000 pounds c. IBM 360 c. 521,000 pounds d. Apple IIE d. 1.1 million pounds

40. A Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) is the same height 47. Launch Complex 39 was first used for which as the NASA program? a. Eiffel Tower a. Mercury b. Empire State Building b. Apollo c. Statue of Liberty c. Gemini d. St. Louis Arch d. X-15

41. The acronym STS stands for 48. The "bean celebration" takes place a. Shuttle Telescope System a. at T-6 hours b. Shuttle Trucking System b. before ET tanking begins c. Star Tracking System c. at T-31 seconds d. Space Transportation System d. after a successful launch

42. If the Safe and Arm Device cannot be armed, the 49. Math and science are the only skills necessary to booster cannot ignite. become a successful engineer. a. True e. True b. False f. False

Developed by NASA KSC and funded by NASA SOMD 4

50. SSMEs are what sort of engines? 57. One of the more plentiful residents of KSC is the a. Turbine a. Alligator b. Reaction b. Caiman c. Reciprocating c. Crocodile d. Adiabatic d. Chameleon

51. The maximum orbital apogee of a Shuttle, in 58. The area at the end of the Orbiter Access Arm is statute miles, is called the a. 350 a. Staging area b. 425 b. The White Room c. 600 c. Crew marshalling area d. 690 d. The Ready Room

52. Each launch uses about 850,000 gallons of liquid 59. Which is the specific impulse of an SRB at sea hydrogen. level? a. True a. 125 seconds b. False b. 242 seconds c. 256 seconds 53. Which DPS unit helps astronauts land the d. 525 seconds vehicle? a. HUD 60. The dry weight of an External Tank is b. BFS approximately c. MDM a. 2,500 pounds d. PASS b. 6,200 pounds c. 15,250 pounds 54. The GPC software is written in what d. 60,000 pounds programming language? a. BASIC b. JavaScript c. PL-1 d. HAL/S

55. How many Multiplexer/Demultiplexers are aboard an orbiter? a. 5 b. 12 c. 23 d. 128

56. John Young was the pilot of STS-1. a. True b. False

Developed by NASA KSC and funded by NASA SOMD 5