This month’s trivia is all about clean rooms, which play an important role in protecting satellites, spacecraft, and equipment prior to launch. Test your knowledge below and check back next week for more fun spaceflight trivia!
Which space program sparked the idea for spacecraft assembly clean rooms?
Correct!Wrong!
"The whole idea of a clean room for spacecraft assembly comes out of the Ranger program," says JPL historian Erik Conway. According to NASA, failures in the Ranger program led to the realization that spacecraft assembly clean rooms were necessary to getting the job done right. Prior to the Apollo lunar missions, the Ranger program sent nine probes to the Moon. All but the first two were assembled in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) High Bay 1, which according to NASA, was not up to today's clean room standards. At the time, JPL's High Bay 1 looked more like an aircraft hanger. Workers even smoked inside it. Only three of the Ranger missions were successful (7, 8, and 9). Heat sterilization damaged Ranger 3's electronics and Ranger 4 was believed to have failed due to floating debris. Following these failures, engineers realized just how critical clean rooms were for the success of a mission. Learn more about clean rooms with our new Summer Clean Room Camps and don't forget to check back next week for more fun spaceflight trivia!
Clean Room: Week 5
You got it!
Great job! "The whole idea of a clean room for spacecraft assembly comes out of the Ranger program," says JPL historian Erik Conway. According to NASA, failures in the Ranger program led to the realization that spacecraft assembly clean rooms were necessary to getting the job done right. Prior to the Apollo lunar missions, the Ranger program sent nine probes to the Moon. All but the first two were assembled in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) High Bay 1, which according to NASA, was not up to today's clean room standards. At the time, JPL's High Bay 1 looked more like an aircraft hanger. Workers even smoked inside it. Only three of the Ranger missions were successful (7, 8, and 9). Heat sterilization damaged Ranger 3's electronics and Ranger 4 was believed to have failed due to floating debris. Following these failures, engineers realized just how critical clean rooms were for the success of a mission. Learn more about clean rooms with our new Summer Clean Room Camps and don't forget to check back next week for more fun spaceflight trivia!
So close!
Nice try! "The whole idea of a clean room for spacecraft assembly comes out of the Ranger program," says JPL historian Erik Conway. According to NASA, failures in the Ranger program led to the realization that spacecraft assembly clean rooms were necessary to getting the job done right. Prior to the Apollo lunar missions, the Ranger program sent nine probes to the Moon. All but the first two were assembled in the Jet Propulsion Laboratory's (JPL) High Bay 1, which according to NASA, was not up to today's clean room standards. At the time, JPL's High Bay 1 looked more like an aircraft hanger. Workers even smoked inside it. Only three of the Ranger missions were successful (7, 8, and 9). Heat sterilization damaged Ranger 3's electronics and Ranger 4 was believed to have failed due to floating debris. Following these failures, engineers realized just how critical clean rooms were for the success of a mission. Learn more about clean rooms with our new Summer Clean Room Camps and don't forget to check back next week for more fun spaceflight trivia!
