1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,560 Okay, we're back and with me are Roberta Kano and Bill Millwood to answer your questions. 2 00:00:04,560 --> 00:00:10,000 But to start things off, Bill, let me go to you. Give us a little bit more about this X-33 and X-34. 3 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:11,500 What is this? What are they? 4 00:00:11,500 --> 00:00:14,200 Well, thanks, Shelley. It's sort of like the cookie taste test. 5 00:00:14,200 --> 00:00:16,200 It's the final test for new materials. 6 00:00:16,200 --> 00:00:20,300 Once they're developed in the lab and then tested on the ground, the next step is to fly them. 7 00:00:20,300 --> 00:00:24,800 And the X-33 and X-34 do just that. They're both unpiloted test vehicles. 8 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:27,600 The X-34 flies at eight times the speed of sound. 9 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:30,600 That's about 100 times faster than your parents would drive a car. 10 00:00:30,600 --> 00:00:34,100 And the X-33 flies even faster at 15 times the speed of sound. 11 00:00:34,100 --> 00:00:39,100 They both will fly next year and the materials will lead to lower cost reusable spacecraft in the future. 12 00:00:39,100 --> 00:00:42,600 And these future space vehicles will take us to Mars and beyond. 13 00:00:42,600 --> 00:00:45,800 Wow, we are really talking about some future vehicles here then, aren't we? 14 00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:46,400 That's right. 15 00:00:46,400 --> 00:00:49,200 Well, we already have some e-mail questions waiting for us. 16 00:00:49,200 --> 00:00:51,700 Let me go and take the first e-mail question. 17 00:00:51,700 --> 00:00:55,600 That question, what are the different categories of composites? 18 00:00:55,600 --> 00:00:56,800 You probably want to take that. 19 00:00:56,800 --> 00:01:01,800 Sure, there's polymer matrix composites like we saw today during the show, which are reinforced plastics. 20 00:01:01,800 --> 00:01:04,800 There's also reinforced metals or metal matrix composites. 21 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:07,800 And you can also reinforce ceramics. You have ceramic matrix composites. 22 00:01:07,800 --> 00:01:10,300 There's various types of composites you can use. 23 00:01:10,300 --> 00:01:14,800 Okay, so tell us though, all these different composites, when do you know when to use which one? 24 00:01:14,800 --> 00:01:18,800 It depends on the application, what the application needs, what the temperature used. 25 00:01:18,800 --> 00:01:22,800 It really dictates what kind of matrix you're going to use and what kind of reinforcement. 26 00:01:22,800 --> 00:01:25,800 Okay, so it's the requirements then in the application. 27 00:01:25,800 --> 00:01:27,800 All right, well, I understand we've got a caller out there. 28 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:31,800 So, caller, hey, how about giving us your first name and your question, please? 29 00:01:33,800 --> 00:01:36,800 How long does it take to build new airplane material? 30 00:01:36,800 --> 00:01:40,800 How long does it take to build a new airplane? 31 00:01:40,800 --> 00:01:44,800 Well, Bill, why don't you give us a little idea about the X-33, the X-34. 32 00:01:44,800 --> 00:01:46,800 What's the timeline on that? 33 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,800 Okay, these aircraft are very short, high-risk programs. 34 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,800 Both of them were contracted for a 30-month time period 35 00:01:53,800 --> 00:01:56,800 from the authority to proceed to first flight. 36 00:01:56,800 --> 00:02:01,800 All right, so it'll take like maybe two years before we'd actually see this flying then? 37 00:02:01,800 --> 00:02:02,800 Three years. 38 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:04,800 Three years, 30 months type of thing. 39 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:05,800 Okay, very good. 40 00:02:05,800 --> 00:02:06,800 That was an excellent question. 41 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:07,800 Thank you. 42 00:02:07,800 --> 00:02:10,800 Well, I'm going to go back to the e-mail because we've got a couple more e-mail questions. 43 00:02:10,800 --> 00:02:12,800 But call in with questions if you have them. 44 00:02:12,800 --> 00:02:17,800 Our second e-mail question, how are composite materials being used with the X-33? 45 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:18,800 Let's go back to you, Bill. 46 00:02:18,800 --> 00:02:21,800 Okay, with the X-33, this is a scale model. 47 00:02:21,800 --> 00:02:26,800 The actual vehicle is much larger than this, and it's also larger than the X-34 by a slight amount. 48 00:02:26,800 --> 00:02:29,800 It has two hydrogen composite tanks and a thrust structure. 49 00:02:29,800 --> 00:02:31,800 The hydrogen tanks are for the fuel. 50 00:02:31,800 --> 00:02:33,800 All right, very good. 51 00:02:33,800 --> 00:02:40,800 And the X-34, which will fly next May as well, it has a composite fuel tank up front 52 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,800 and also has a structure, which is a backbone of the vehicle, which is made out of composites. 53 00:02:44,800 --> 00:02:48,800 And these two vehicles, by having lighter weight materials that are reusable, 54 00:02:48,800 --> 00:02:51,800 will lead to less expensive spacecraft for the future. 55 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:52,800 All right, very good. 56 00:02:52,800 --> 00:02:55,800 And I understand now we've got someone else who's interested in asking some questions. 57 00:02:55,800 --> 00:02:58,800 So let's go back out to our viewers and our caller. 58 00:02:58,800 --> 00:03:04,800 Please help by giving us your first name and your question. 59 00:03:04,800 --> 00:03:05,800 Is that caller there? 60 00:03:05,800 --> 00:03:06,800 Yeah. 61 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:09,800 My name is Trent Modesty. 62 00:03:09,800 --> 00:03:11,800 Repeat the question again, please. 63 00:03:11,800 --> 00:03:24,800 And my question is, when you put your hand in that liquid stuff, how did you get it so cold? 64 00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:25,800 Oh, okay. 65 00:03:25,800 --> 00:03:28,800 That's going back to where we saw Dr. Ted Johnson. 66 00:03:28,800 --> 00:03:33,800 He actually had some protective wear on, and he had put a flower in there. 67 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:35,800 And that was, maybe you'd want to answer. 68 00:03:35,800 --> 00:03:39,800 Do you want to answer anything about that, what he was doing there? 69 00:03:39,800 --> 00:03:42,800 Well, he just stuck the flower in the liquid nitrogen, which froze it. 70 00:03:42,800 --> 00:03:46,800 And when he was pulling it apart, he was using a cryogenic glove, which protected his hand. 71 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:47,800 All right. 72 00:03:47,800 --> 00:03:49,800 So he was doing a lot of safety there. 73 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:50,800 All right. 74 00:03:50,800 --> 00:03:54,800 Let's just take one quick final e-mail question and a quick response to this, please. 75 00:03:54,800 --> 00:03:58,800 What are some examples in our daily lives where composite materials are being used? 76 00:03:58,800 --> 00:04:00,800 Let's just have one of you. 77 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,800 Well, one place where composites are used is in sporting goods, in tennis rackets 78 00:04:03,800 --> 00:04:06,800 and other applications where you can use these types of materials. 79 00:04:06,800 --> 00:04:07,800 All right. 80 00:04:07,800 --> 00:04:08,800 All right. 81 00:04:08,800 --> 00:04:09,800 Sporting goods. 82 00:04:09,800 --> 00:04:10,800 All right. 83 00:04:10,800 --> 00:04:11,800 Well, I see we're quickly running out of time. 84 00:04:11,800 --> 00:04:14,800 Roberta and Bill, thank you very much for joining us here today. 85 00:04:14,800 --> 00:04:15,800 Thank you. 86 00:04:15,800 --> 00:04:22,800 And thanks to all the partners and guests that contributed to today's program. 87 00:04:22,800 --> 00:04:27,800 If you want to learn more about today's topic, visit our web panel of experts. 88 00:04:27,800 --> 00:04:30,800 And to try your own hand at becoming a production scientist, 89 00:04:30,800 --> 00:04:34,800 then jump into our online experiment, Secret Formulas. 90 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:38,800 Finally, for a videotaped copy of this NASA Connect show and lesson plans, 91 00:04:38,800 --> 00:04:42,800 contact CORE, the NASA Central Operation of Resources for Educators. 92 00:04:42,800 --> 00:04:45,800 For NASA Connect, I'm Shelley Canright. 93 00:04:45,800 --> 00:04:51,800 NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, California Institute of Technology