Tag Archives: Time & Navigation

Are You Sure You Want to Donate This?

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“Are you sure you want to donate this?” I asked the intern. “This” was a slightly-used Smartphone, in perfect working condition. The intern, Rebecca Bacheller, was, indeed, willing to donate it. She heard that the Time and Navigation team wanted to disassemble one and showcase the current state of geolocation devices, enabled by the Global Positioning System and other advanced electronics. Our plan was to label the phone’s circuits, and show how they correspond to classical methods of navigation that had been practiced for centuries. Becky was excited that she would be credited in the label; she also had another motive: namely a reason to trade up to the newest version of the popular phone. (This is a never-ending treadmill: once you get on, it is impossible to get off.)

I prepared myself for the transfer by going on-line and special-ordering tools to disassemble it: a “pentalobe” screwdriver, a plastic pry-bar, and a tiny Phillips-head screwdriver. I also downloaded instructions on how to disassemble the phone, and I borrowed a head-mounted magnifier. When the day arrived, fellow curator Andy Johnston and I got to work, surrounded by a few sidewalk superintendants from the Space History Division.

USS Alabama

The USS Alabama was launched in 1984, carried up to 24 Trident ballistic missiles armed with nuclear warheads, and is still in the fleet.

Before describing what we found, I want to mention an important part of the new gallery. One of the centerpieces of Time and Navigation is a “SINS” guidance system, removed from the nuclear-powered submarine USS Alabama. “SINS” stands for “Submarine Inertial Navigation System,” and it was responsible for telling the sub where it was without having to surface to take a fix on stars or otherwise reveal its location. Hence the “inertial” components: a set of gyroscopes and accelerometers that, as its developer Charles Stark Draper called it, was like practicing “astronomy in a closet.”  It was not perfect: the gyros had a tendency to drift, so periodically the sub would come near the surface to receive navigation signals from a Transit satellite orbiting overhead.  (An engineering backup of a Transit will also be on display in the gallery.)  A refrigerator-sized digital computer combined data from these inputs, corrected the gyros’ drift, and computed the sub’s position. The whole ensemble is rather bulky and heavy, and as Heidi Eitel mentioned in an earlier blog post, getting everything to fit in the gallery is quite a challenge.

SINS Typewriter

This modified IBM Selectric typewriter, connected to a special computer system, output data about the operation of two SINS (Submarine Inertial Navigation System) units aboard the nuclear-powered submarine USS Alabama. It could also provide input to the computer in emergencies.

So what does this have to do with the cell phone? As we disassembled it, Andy and I realized that almost every component of the SINS was present, even if you need a high-power magnifier to see it. A three-axis accelerometer? Check.  Gyroscopes? Yes. A radio to receive satellite navigation signals? Yes, although the phone receives signals from GPS, not Transit satellites. A computer? Of course—the phone uses an “A4” processor supplied by the company ARM. It has more processing power than the CRAY-1 that used to be on display in the Beyond the Limits gallery. A keyboard and display to give and receive commands? Yes–the phone’s touch screen even replicates the old-fashioned “QWERTY” keyboard of the electric typewriter used on the submarine. A radio to communicate with the rest of the world?  The phone has several, covering the major cellular frequencies in the UHF region. (The sub communicated by trailing a long wire behind it and receiving “Very-Low-Frequency” (VLF) radio signals—far below the standard AM broadcast band– chosen because they could penetrate water.)  The Smartphone even has a magnetic compass.

Smartphone

This disassembled smartphone showcases the current state of geolocation devices (as of 2012), enabled by the Global Positioning System and other advanced electronics. The phone’s circuits correspond to classical methods of navigation that have been practiced for centuries.

The difference in size between the two systems is breathtaking, but there is another difference that may be even more significant. The SINS was designed to allow the submarine to navigate without anyone, other than the crew, knowing where it was. By contrast, a Smartphone has all kinds of circuits and software on board to let the world know where its owner is, and what he or she is doing. Submariners might be uncomfortable carrying one of these around.

It is going to be a challenge to show this disassembled object to our visitors and convey the magnitude of what they are looking at. Many visitors carry these devices with them and hardly give them a second thought. The gallery opens next spring, and we’ll see how this exhibit works.

Paul Ceruzzi is chair of the Space History Division at the National Air and Space Museum.

Let’s just hope it fits…

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It takes a lot of people and effort to bring an exhibition from idea to reality. By the time I joined the exhibition team, Time and Navigation had been in development for over five years. The exhibit script was already written; the artifacts and images for display were already selected; the major features of the gallery were already imagined; the video content and interactive elements were identified. My mission as the exhibit designer was fairly simple and straight-forward: to transform the team’s words and ideas into a plan for a meaningful and accessible exhibition made of materials and space. There was only one problem—trying to make it all fit.

 

Exhibit Concept

Early Concept Sketch of the Submarine and Transit Satellite.

 

Here is a summary of the exhibit elements as they existed when I joined the team:

  1. 226 pages of exhibit text
  2. 7 major thematic sections containing 23 subunits
  3. Nearly 200 artifacts ranging in length from 1 inch (a chip-scale atomic clock) to 36 feet (a small airplane)
  4. 5 immersive environments
  5. 16 videos
  6. 13 interactive exhibits

 

And herein lies the problem: The gallery that will house all these elements is only 5,000 square feet. While this may seem like a lot, this space starts to look a lot smaller once you put an airplane, a car, and three satellites into it. Once these major artifacts are accounted for, there are still immersive environments to build that set the exhibition stage: the aft portion of a circa 1830 ship, part of a Cold War era submarine, a Quonset hut. And these only represent the primary experiences in 7 of the 23 content units, so there is a lot more stuff that still needs to fit.

Ordinarily, a design problem of this nature would demand a highly creative process—thinking outside the box, so to speak. But in this case, I embraced a different approach. I embarked on the year-and-a-half long phase of my design career that I now refer to as “Thinking Inside the Box.”

 

Exhibit Sketch

Section thru Gallery showing ship, Winnie Mae, Stanley the car, and Mariner 10

 

You see, most of the remaining objects for display are what can be classified as “black boxes.” To the curators and other people who know a thing or two about time and navigation, these boxes represent important moments in history or important developments in technology or have some other remarkable significance. But to me, the designer, they are the giant beige box, the small brown box, the gigantic tube of tin foil, or the cute little army green inner-tube robot that looks like a cartoon character.

It is my job to present these objects beautifully and lovingly so visitors can see them as the curators do. So I design attractive glass boxes (display cases) to house them and accommodate their various and particular needs (climate, security, light levels, etc.) Each “black box,” whether a cube, cylinder, or more complex shape, has to be measured and drawn and placed in a case layout with its associated label and sit on its own special piece of furniture (its mount). We test each case layout by gathering all the objects and labels for the case and placing them in their theoretical locations in their imaginary glass box. I modify the display case size and design as needed and then move on to the next case design. Meanwhile, our cabinet makers, mount makers, graphic designers, and graphic producers start making the components that we hope will all come together perfectly in the gallery when we start installing objects in the cases this winter.

 

Exhibit Summary

Exhibit Summary Plan


This methodology works great, except when it doesn’t. You see, not all the objects are currently in our collection. For example, we have plans to display the NIST-7, a 10′-6″ atomic clock that just arrived from Boulder, Colorado. This “black box” is actually a long, shiny, metallic cylinder mounted on a long rectangular box that at some point in its history lost its covering. I have not been able to personally verify the object’s dimensions because it is just being uncrated today. Even though the folks from the National Institute of Standards and Timekeeping did provide me with measurements, the most basic rule of exhibit design is VERIFY ALL DIMENSIONS! However, we could not wait to have all the objects in hand before completing the design and commencing the year-long construction process. So I went ahead and designed the NIST-7 display case (and several others), which was built and placed in the gallery a month ago. The case is 11′-6″ long, 5′-10″ tall, and 2′ deep—definitely large enough to display several humans, and hopefully a perfect fit for the NIST-7. I will know for certain very soon.

 

NIST case


Several of my colleagues in the NIST-7 display case after it has been placed in the rough opening of the unfinished wall.


Since I started on the exhibition, we have distilled the script into a sharper, more concise narrative. We have taken out some objects and added others that better tell our story. We have omitted one environment and embellished others. All this has made the exhibition stronger and more focused. Now I watch and wait, as all my best laid plans are constructed and installed, just hoping that the exhibition comes together as I imagined it. And hoping that it all fits.

 

Heidi Eitel is an exhibit designer at the National Air and Space Museum.

 

Look! In the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s…a flying beer keg?

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RQ-16A T-Hawk

This T-Hawk was donated to the National Air and Space Museum by the Honeywell International Corporation for use in the Time and Navigation exhibition, scheduled to open in March of 2013.

Well, not exactly, but that is the nickname some have given to the RQ-16 T-Hawk (short for Tarantula Hawk, a wasp that preys on the large spiders).  The T-Hawk micro air vehicle (MAV) is a small unmanned aircraft that has been making a name for itself in both military and civilian circles since it was developed by Honeywell International Corporation starting in 2003.  Weighing only about 20 pounds, the T-hawk relies on a small gasoline-powered engine (like a lawn-mower) and a ducted fan to allow it to take off and land vertically (like a helicopter), fly up to 46 miles per hour for about 50 minutes, and reach heights of 10,000 feet!  All this flying technology is used to carry some very high-tech cameras, including regular daytime cameras, as well as infrared cameras.    But wait, there’s more!  It is also programmable to use pre-set GPS coordinates to fly autonomously through an area without any need for a manual control.  These unique characteristics have allowed the T-Hawk to be used to “hover-and-stare” both on and off the battlefield.

RQ-16A T-Hawk

The RQ-16A T-Hawk propels itself from the ground, beginning a demonstration highlighting some of its abilities at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan.

Originally developed at the request of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the T-Hawk found a place amongst ground troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  The Army issued some of the highly mobile units, which are small enough to be carried by a soldier in a backpack, to military units in Iraq where they were sent ahead of a convoy or group of soldiers to scout.  With real-time video sent with the T-Hawk’s cameras, field commanders can have a bird’s-eye view of an area before troops arrive to look out for any traps or ambushes along the way.  The US Navy has also made use of the T-Hawk and assigned them to explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) units in both Iraq and Afghanistan.  The T-Hawk can take off quickly and hover over a suspicious-looking area or item to give EOD technicians a close-up view without putting them in harm’s way.  The “hover-and-stare” ability has proven invaluable to spotting road side bombs before US troops arrive in an area.

The T-Hawk, however, is not just useful to those in the military.  Recently, the Miami-Dade Police Department purchased a T-Hawk to assist with situations such as standoffs with armed suspects.  More importantly, the T-Hawk was used to help during the nuclear crisis Japan faced in the wake of the earthquake and tsunami that struck the country on March 11, 2011.  Using the T-Hawk, US Department of Defense personnel at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant were able to get the first detailed video of the exterior of damaged reactor vessels in an environment that was too radioactive for humans.

Fukushima Daiichi

This photo was taken by a T-Hawk over the ruins of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant shortly after the plant suffered a partial meltdown following an earthquake and tsunami on March 11, 2011. The T-Hawk provided authorities with some of the first detailed images of the plant from areas which were too dangerous for humans.

So why is the T-Hawk so important to the National Air and Space Museum?  Well, besides its awesome capabilities, and its similarity to a flying WALL-E, it will also be seen in an upcoming exhibition at the Museum.  The gallery, called Time and Navigation is set to open in March of 2013, and will showcase the importance of time-keeping to navigation.  The T-Hawk has recently arrived at the Museum as part of the permanent collection and will be on display in a section of the exhibit discussing the importance of GPS to the military.  Stop by and see it then!

Thomas Paone is a museum specialist at the National Air and Space Museum.

The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There

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I work behind the scenes as part of a team of museum specialists supporting the upcoming exhibit Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There opening in March, 2013. I am the person who shepherds the objects themselves through the process. I photograph them, take their measurements, build specialized containers for them, bring them to their appointments and generally hover over them like a nanny to her charges.  Yes, indeed, they have appointments — with the exhibit designer, the conservator, and mount maker — all of whom play a big role in getting them ready for their big day when the exhibit opens.   Spending as much time with them as I do, I have learned a few of their secrets and I would like to share some of them with you.

 

Hemispherical Resonator

Hemispherical Resonator. Photo by Ben Sullivan and Charles Gosse.

 

The tiniest object in the exhibit – not much bigger than a dime – is this part of a Hemispherical Resonator shown above in a series of three snapshots.  Plato said that “all science begins with astonishment;” so it is for the child who gazes upon a ringing wine glass resting on a dinner table.  Haven’t we all run a wet finger along the rim of a wine glass to make it sing?  I know I have.  You may never have thought about this, but every material has a frequency at which it vibrates or “resonates.” The Hemispherical Resonator sings in much the same way as a wine glass. Onboard a space vehicle, a Hemispherical Resonator assists with extremely fine positioning.  And of course, in space no one tells the Resonator to cut it out.  While its form is meant to be purely functional, when we photographed it our studio lights passed through it and revealed an elegance as compelling as any object of art.

This LORAN-C or long-range navigation unit for general aviation aircraft, was the first of its kind in 1980.  What we didn’t realize until we looked closer was that the engineers, scientists, and technicians who designed it actually signed their work.  How cool is that?

 

LORAN-C

Long Range Navigation (LORAN) Unit. Photo by Charles Gosse and Ben Sullivan.

 

This is the compass which was onboard Winnie Mae when Wiley Post flew solo around the world.  The damage to the glass (a separate piece from the main unit, itself) is from a crash on takeoff on August 15, 1935 near Point Barrow, Alaska.  We needed to know what the fluid was inside the compass but we could not open the sealed unit.  After some careful research, I discovered that the company which made the compass was still in business and got in touch with them and gave them its serial number.  They looked it up in their old company registers (extract below), found its manufacture date, and told us that the fluid was either alcohol or mineral spirits as well as the date it was made and for whom.

 

compass

Aperiodic Compass

 

R.S. Ritchie Company log records

R.S. Ritchie Company log records. Photo courtesy of Steve Sprole

 

This model of a Dornier Super Wal flying boat is made of nickel over brass.  Beautiful at a distance, we discovered just how beautiful it is up close, as well, where the detail is extraordinary, both externally as well as inside where gangways, seats, and tables are lovingly reproduced.  A tiny metal plate was attached to the co-pilot’s seat at some point with the name of the craftsman who had made needed repairs to the model.

 

Model of a Dornier Super Wal Flying Boat

Model of a Dornier Super Wal Flying Boat. Photo by Charles Gosse

 

These are just some of the stories behind these beautiful and important objects, which will appear in the upcoming Time and Navigation exhibit opening in March, 2013.

Charles Gosse is a part of the team behind Time and Navigation: The Untold Story of Getting from Here to There coming March, 2013 to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC