Viewing from Home

Quick Links:

What do you mean “View From Home”?

How to setup a Yahoo! Messenger account

How to get permission to view the webcams

Who and what are you watching?

Public Affairs:

Once again we will have a web cam set up in each area that will allow parents to view the mission from home! Note there is no audio – but you will get a window into the mission. We also want to make you aware that the astronauts are very busy during the mission, and they are told not to pay attention to the cameras – so they will not be able to chat with you or come to the camera – but you will still be able to see them as they work and complete the fun activities during the mission. The mission sims (those of us behind the scenes) are using these same web cams to help us monitor all of the mission areas, and we want you to get a chance to see what is going on as well. For detailed updates you should visit the CHASA homepage and follow the link to the mission updates by the CHASA public affairs officers. There is also a link to the SOCC2 Experiments Update page. These are pictures and written reports/descriptions done in a newsflash style by the mission participants themselves. The homepage can be accessed at:

www.geocities.com/chasamember

Download the Program:

The program we are using to broadcast the web cams is Yahoo! Messenger. It is a free program to download. If you already have a Yahoo! Account through any of the yahoo services (geocities, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! Newsgroups, etc), you can use the same username and password for Yahoo! Messenger. If you do not have a Yahoo! Account, it is fast and free to sign up and can be done after you download Yahoo! Messenger.

To download Yahoo! Messenger go to:

Messenger.yahoo.com

You may wish to check the system requirements first to make sure your computer can run the program. In the right hand side, under quick download, choose your operating system. You will be taken to the next screen and the download process will begin. Follow the instructions in the pop-up window to install messenger. **Note** under “Install Options” you will want to choose “Custom”. In the next window, you should make sure only “Yahoo Messenger – Instant Messaging” is checked. This install option will require 10.3MB of disk space. Otherwise you may end up installing additional programs you do not want.

Setup your Account:

When you are finished installing, Yahoo! Messenger will automatically open and the “Yahoo! Messenger Tour” window will pop-up. If you do not have a Yahoo! Id yet, click “register for a Yahoo Id” on this pop-up window. During the sign-up process, be sure you uncheck any boxes that say you want to receive promotions from Yahoo! Partners! Record your user name exactly as it appears on the “Registration Complete” screen. You should also record your password so you do not forget it.

After you have signed up, or if you already have a Yahoo! Id, sign in to Yahoo! Messenger. Once you are signed in, you can close any additional windows besides the main Yahoo! Messenger window.

If you do not wish to use Yahoo! Messenger for any purpose other than to watch the mission, you will probably want to change some settings. Under the “Messenger” menu, choose “Preferences”. Go through each of the “Preferences” options and set them to your liking. Under the “Ignore List” options, click “Ignore anyone who is not on my Friends List.” This will prevent anyone else from contacting you while you are in Yahoo! Messenger.

Getting Permission:

Before you can view any of the web cams, you have to have permission from us. To get permission, call the phone number provided on the letter sent home. Tell the person answering the phone your name, which astronaut you are connected with, a phone number you can currently be reached at and what your Yahoo! Id is. Be sure you spell it out exactly for us, including any underscores ( _ ).

After the phone call, you will need to give us ten to twenty minutes – during this time we will add you to the friends lists for each of the web cam ids and also give your Yahoo! Id permission to view the four area web cams. If there are any problems, we will contact you using the phone number.

Once you have been added to our Friends list, you will receive five pop-up “New Friend Alerts”, informing you “(CHASA username) added (your username) as a Friend…” and you will be given several options. You should click “Accept & Add” at the bottom. Once you have added the five CHASA ids as friends, you can now click the link “View my web cam” to see the mission. There may be a delay of several minutes before the “View my web cam” option appears, but be patient. If you do not have a high speed internet connection (DSL/cable), the picture may be slow to watch depending on internet traffic – but be patient. If the “view my web cam” option does not appear after five minutes, please call the number above again and let us know. We will double-check the permissions. If you have another technical problem, you will have to contact Yahoo! through the “Yahoo Helper” Id (listed on your friends list). During the mission, there will be a helper in charge of the CHASA Yahoo! Ids – you will be able to chat with this person on one of the CHASA ids, but you will not be able to chat with the astronauts because they are quite busy during the mission!

Who am I watching?

There will be five CHASA Ids added to your friends list. Ask your astronaut where s/he will be located during the mission.

SOCR

SOCR (support operations control room) is part of the mission control here on Earth. In this room, the research & design engineers (part of the Integrated Rover Design Team or IRDT) will be building prototype Lego rovers that can complete several challenges presented to them. The R&D engineers also document the successful rover designs so they can be incorporated into future rover missions. Also in SOCR, the Public Affairs Officers have a computer, printer and data storage supplies they will use to document the mission. But the PAOs will also be roving through all the other locations of the mission, so you will not always see them in here.

HOUSTON

This shows the mission control – also called MOCR for mission operations control room. The mission control is the Earth based control and problem solving center for both the orbiter and space station. In the mission control are the Flight Director, Capcom, SOCC1 and SOCC2, Booster/Prop and GNC. Occasionally, PAOs will come in here for important script lines and to work on web updates.

STN (station)

This shows the space station. CHASA’s is called Space Station Eagle. On the Eagle, orbiting high above the Earth at 200 nautical miles, are the station operators working hard to finish micro-gravity science experiments. Some of the station operators will leave the station for an EVA – also known as a space walk. The station commander and station ECLSS engineer also work on the station, maintaining the station’s orbit and atmosphere in addition to performing experiments.

ORBITER

This shows the flight deck of CHASA’s orbiter – called the Colonial. The flight deck is the part of the shuttle where the commander and pilot work to fly the shuttle and maintain the rest of the shuttle systems. During lift off and landing, all of the shuttle astronauts (including mission specialists) will be in the Flight Deck, but the rest of the time it is usually just the commander and pilot.

MD (middeck)

This web cam shows another part of the orbiter Colonial – the Middeck. The mideck is where the astronauts live and eat, and most importantly perform experiments. The mission specialists will be spending most of their time here, working on microgravity experiments and occasionally stepping out in their space suits to perform an EVA (space walk)

For more information on the parts of the mission and timelines, see the CHASA homepage.