NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Glenn Research Center

Thermal & Fluids Analysis Workshop (TFAWS)

Thermal & Fluids Analysis Workshop (TFAWS) > Tours and Activities

Tours and Activities

All TFAWS Tours are now closed.  Thank you for supporting TFAWS 2023!

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The TFAWS 2023 Planning Committee is excited to provide two tour opportunities for conference attendees this year!

Goddard Space Flight Center (WAITLIST ONLY)

Tours of Goddard Space Flight Center will be offered on Thursday August 24th and Friday August 25th, 2023 from 8am to noon. Registered tour participants will have a guided tour of the Goddard Space Flight Center Integration and Test Facilities, Hubble Space Telescope Operations Control Room, OSAM robotic arm demonstration, and the visitor center/gift shop (subject to change).

Tour Highlights

Goddard Space Flight Center Integration and Test Facilities

  • The High Bay Cleanroom (SSDIF): This Class 10,000 clean room has 1.3 million cubic feet of space with a wall of 9,000 square feet of HEPA filters. The James Webb Space Telescope optical telescope and instrument module were integrated in this clean room. Currently this clean room has the first flight components of the Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope.
  • Space Environment Simulator (SES): This is a huge cylindrical Thermal Vacuum Chamber is 40 feet tall and 27 feet wide. It is capable of providing temperatures as cold as 30K and as warm as 423K. It has turbo pumps and cryopumps to help it reach deep vacuum pressure.
  • The High-Capacity Centrifuge: Goddard’s 120-foot-diameter centrifuge can accelerate a 2.5-ton payload up to 30 Gs. It is sometimes used in the structural testing of space flight hardware.
  • Building 7 Thermal Vacuum Chambers: There are 10 thermal vacuum chambers in building 7 ranging in size from 2 foot diameter and 3 feet long to 12 foot diameter and 15 feet long.
  • Acoustic Test Chamber: This chamber is 42 feet tall and has a 6 foot tall horn capable of producing 150 decibels.

The Hubble Space Telescope Control Center

  • This is where four flight controllers on shift upload the commands to Hubble that tell it where to point and when, what sensing instruments to use, and when to send data back to Earth. They also troubleshoot any problems that may arise.
  • All five Hubble Space Telescope Servicing Missions were supported from this Control Center.

OSAM Robotic Arm

  • OSAM-1 (short for On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1) is a robotic spacecraft equipped with the tools, technologies and techniques needed to extend satellites’ lifespans – even if they were not designed to be serviced on orbit. During its mission, the OSAM-1 servicer will rendezvous with, grasp, refuel and relocate a government-owned satellite to extend its life.

At 8am, on each tour day, a bus will transport registered tour participants from the conference hotel to Goddard Space Flight Center and return them to the conference hotel by noon. All participants must bring government issued identification (such as a drivers license). The tour is limited to 40 people on each day, so GSFC employees/contractors and guests of conference attendees must wait until July 15th to register if space is available. Foreign Nationals can attend the tour but will have special identification requirements communicated to them, and they must register for the tour by July 15th.

 

Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum

Entrance to the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington DC is available on Friday August 25, 2023. The museum currently has exhibits on Moon Missions and The Planets as well as others.

Timed entrance tickets are required to gain access to the museum. TFAWS will have 50 tickets for a 10am entrance time. This is a timed entrance and the entire TFAWS group must be present at 10am to enter together.  Participants can pick up their tickets in advance and meet at the museum or join a group at 8:30am to take the metro in to Washington DC.  It is a 1 mile walk/ride from the hotel to the metro/subway station, and then a 0.5 mile walk from the Smithsonian Metro station to the museum. Attendees must pay for the ~$5 fare (each way) if using the metro. After participants are done at the museum, they are on their own to continue touring Washington DC or make their way back to the conference hotel.

Important Notes for All Tour Registrations

  • Only registered conference attendees can register for the tours
  • Only register for one GSFC tour date
    • Note: The Friday tour of GSFC is at the same time as the Air and Space tour (cannot attend both Friday tours)
  • GSFC tour registration will be closed when 40 people are registered for that date
  • GSFC employees/contractors and guests of conference attendees should wait until 8/1 to register for the tour if there is space available
  • Air and Space tour registration will be closed when 50 people are registered for that date
  • Foreign Nationals can register for the tours
    • All Foreign Nationals must submit their registration for the GSFC tour by 7/14/2023 and will have additional identification requirements
    • All Foreign Nationals must include their Passport Country of Issuance when registring
  • Use the name on your government identification to register for the tours
  • If you show up late for the GSFC bus to the tour you will not be able to attend
  • All tour registrations will close on 8/11/2023 (or when capacities are reached)