High tech word wins spelling bee champ a tour with a NASA astronaut
Posted Jul 29, 2010 By David Johnston
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EMC News - When it comes to spelling, 12-year-old Laura Newcombe of Toronto is tough to beat. She recently won a national spelling bee by correctly spelling a word made famous by an Ottawa technology firm.
David Johnston, Kanata EMC
Neptec Design Group Ltd. of Kanata hosted a presentation by NASA astronaut Col. Kevin Ford July 19. Special guest was Laura Newcombe, winner of the 2010 Canwest Canspell National Spelling Bee where she correctly spelled LiDAR, Neptec's 3-D vision system used on the space shuttle. Neptec president Iain Christie welcomed the special guests.
She spelled LiDAR at the 2010 Canwest Canspell National Spelling Bee to win her second championship title. LiDAR is the brand name of Neptec Design Group Ltd. of Kanata's LiDAR 3-D vision system, used on the NASA space shuttles.
To celebrate her success, Neptec introduced Canada's famous young speller to NASA astronaut Kevin Ford who visited the local technology company July 19 for a special presentation. As the pilot of the recent STS128 shuttle mission, Ford relied on Neptec's LiDAR 3-D vision system to guide his shuttle safely. Ford was onsite at Neptec to discuss his mission.
It was an exciting event for everyone. Newcombe was accompanied by her parents and relatives who marvelled at the high tech facility on Legget Drive. She was equally impressed with meeting a NASA astronaut.
An avid reader who one day hopes to be a professional writer, Newcombe said she found the tour fascinating.
"This is an amazing place," she said at the reception. "I am happy that I was able to win the competition and this is the best part of it."
Motivated by her family, including her sister Leslie who was a previous national spelling bee winner, Newcombe was able to "guess" how to spell the high tech word that she had never heard before.
"I asked for a description of the word and they said it was something like a radar system so I just sounded it out from that."
Actually, the LiDAR 3-D vision system is one of the most advanced forms of visual aid available in avionics, according to Neptec President Iain Christie.
"Neptec is the leading supplier and integrator of Machine Vision Systems for Space Applications," he said.
Privately owned and founded in Ottawa in1990, Neptec has been a NASA prime contractor since 1995. Neptec has been supplying operational systems to both the Space Shuttle and International Space Station (ISS) programs. Starting in 2000, Neptec began expanding its technology to include active 3D imaging systems and 3D processing software. This work led directly to the development of Neptec's Laser Camera System, which is an operational system used by NASA to inspect the shuttle's external surfaces during flight.
"Neptec has spent the last 15 years earning a reputation as a dependable supplier of mission critical hardware and software to NASA's manned spaceflight programs. Neptec is now combining its commitment to quality and its depth of experience developed over 10 years as a NASA prime contractor with a new and innovative approach to 3D data exploitation, becoming a supplier and integrator of 3D sensor systems across wider markets," said Christie.
"We now offer a 3D imaging and tracking system designed for automated on-orbit rendezvous, inspection and docking. The new proprietary system, known as TriDAR, is a unique and innovative design that combines a high precision, short-range triangulation sensor with a long range LIDAR sensor in one efficient and compact package."
It's that kind of high level expertise that made Colonel Kevin Ford's job easier as a NASA astronaut.
Shuttle pilot
Ford served as pilot for Space Shuttle Mission STS-128 to the International Space Station. His trip launched just prior to midnight on August 28, 2009 from the Kennedy Space Center, and landed on Sept. 11, 2009 at Edwards Air Force Base in California.
Discovery carried the Multi-Purpose Logistics Module "Leonardo" filled with 15,000 pounds of science and storage racks to the ISS, delivered a new Ammonia Tank Assembly, returned a depleted one, returned the ISS EuTEF and MISSE experiments, and exchanged ISS Expedition crew members. Discovery and her crew completed 217 Earth orbits in 13 days, 21 hours.
For Ford, the mission was the culmination of a high-flying career that started with his Bachelor of Science Degree in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1982. He went on to earn a Master of Science in International Relations from Troy State University in 1989, a Master of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Florida in 1994, and a Ph.D. in Astronautical Engineering from the Air Force Institute of Technology in 1997. He has flown a wide variety of military aircraft in his career.
Though highly trained and experienced, Ford said the shuttle flight was still the thrill of a lifetime.
"Space travel is as unique as you would imagine it to be," he said. "Right from the walk out to the rocket, the experience is like no other."
He said the liftoff was most memorable for the tremendous thrust used to lift the powerful machine out of earth's atmosphere.
"You are strapped in and lying on your back during liftoff. The whole rocket is shaking and vibrating." The physical demands of space travel culminate with about a 3 G-force at the six-minute mark with the shuttle travelling at about 100 kilometres per second.
Then the engines throttle back and the trip smooths out to the point where there is no gravity.
"It takes a while to adjust to weightlessness," he commented. "You have to be very careful how you do everything. You can't just set something down as it will float away in any direction."
Most of his trip was spent focused on the demands of his role as pilot.
The 13-day flight delivered science and storage racks, a freezer to store research samples, a new sleeping compartment and a treadmill named after comedian Stephen Colbert. The name Colbert received the most entries in NASA's online poll to name the station's Node 3. NASA named the node Tranquility.
Following his post-flight duties, Col. Ford is part of the ISS Operations Branch to work training, mission preparation, and mission execution issues for ISS crews.
David Johnston is a freelance writer on assignment for the EMC.
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