there, three to six months to stay and explore, and eight months to return. They could be in space for 800 to 1,100 days, dealing with the effects of microgravity and high levels of radiation, NASA said. The astronauts will use 24 tons (22 metric tons) of oxygen to ascend into orbit, their supply replenished by an oxygen-generating machine. These space travelers truly will be on their own at times, facing a 44-minute delay between radio transmissions with Earth and a two-week communications blackout when Earth and Mars are on 22 | BOEING FRONTIERS opposite sides of the sun. A year ago, Fabrication specialist Jason De Buys was building jetliners in Everett, Wash. He returned to his native New Orleans to work on the Space Launch System. He considered his new role as he drilled holes on an engine beam that would attach an electrical panel: Where an airplane build is systematically laid out, De Buys has had to learn as he goes in assembling a rocket unmatched anywhere. He has found it all new and exciting. “This mission we’re about to go on is unprecedented in humankind,” De Buys said. “It’s amazing we’re all in this together.” Inside a processing cell at the Michoud factory, Jeremy Larson and his team wear white jumpsuits, protective masks and gloves. They cover the floor beneath them with paper. They experiment with different chemicals that will provide insulation protection for the outer surfaces of the fuel tanks and other rocket sections against extreme temperatures at launch. Larson, Boeing hardware protection program management specialist, pours a liquid substance
Frontiers December 2016 Issue
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