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airport expansion and the RETF
Take this quiz to see if you’re Rocket Scientist material. The answers are at the bottom of the page.
Some questions are easy, and some are difficult, but then again…Rocket Science isn’t easy! If you have trouble, you can look back through the pages of the lessons and find the answers. Good luck!
1. What does RETF stand for?
a. Really Energetic Testing Folks
b. Rocket Engine Thermonuclear Farm
c. Rocket Engine Test Facility
d. Research Engine Testing Facility
2. Where was the RETF located?
a. Chicago
b. Columbus
c. Cape Canaveral
d. Cleveland
3. What was the primary mission of the RETF?
a. To test jet engines
b. To test the Space Shuttle rocket engine
c. To test new combinations of rocket engines and fuels
d. To test the Apollo Saturn rocket engine
4. Who launched the world’s first liquid-fueled rocket in 1926?
a. Robert Goddard
b. Wernher von Braun
c. Hermann Oberth
d. John Glenn
5. What did the famous German scientist Wernher von Braun develop?
a. RL-10
b. V-2
c. F-1
d. J-2
6. Who decided that the United States would go to the Moon?
a. President Nixon
b. President Kennedy
c. Wernher von Braun
d. Pratt Whitney
7. Which of the following names was never given to the Laboratory in Cleveland, Ohio?
a. Aircraft Engine Research Laboratory
b. Lewis Flight Propulsion Laboratory
c. Glenn Research Center
d. Rocket Engines R-Us
8. What propellant was considered to be the ideal rocket fuel?
a. Liquid hydrogen
b. Hydrazine
c. Kerosene
d. Liquid oxygen
9. Which of the following is a common oxidant?
a. Liquid hydrogen
b. Kerosene
c. Liquid oxygen
d. Liquid Plumber
10. What caused serious combustion instability problems in the RL10 engine during the late 1950s?
a. Injector
b. Nozzle
c. Combustion chamber
d. Propellant
11. What injector did RETF test and develop that was eventually adopted for the Rocketdyne F-1 engine?
a. Sliding injector
b. Eight-element injector
c. Concentrated pattern injector
d. Concentric-tube injector
12. What is the name of the phenomenon that showed that most combustion lining materials harden and become brittle after multiple firings?
a. Low-cycle thermal fatigue
b. High-cycle thermal fatigue
c. Thermal ratcheting
d. Thermal barrier deterioration
13. What important capability did B-Stand provide in 1984?
a. To test rocket engines under water
b. To test engines in an environment that simulated the vacuum of outer space
c. To test thermonuclear rocket engines
d. To test aircraft engines
14. What cooling agent did RETF test between 1986 and 1990?
a. Liquid nitrogen
b. Liquid oxygen
c. Hydrogen peroxide
d. Hydrazine
15. What do load cells measure?
a. Fuel tank weight
b. Exhaust speed
c. Oxidizer weight
d. Amount of fuel in the tanker-trailer
16. Why is a nitrogen bath needed for the liquid oxygen?
a. So the oxygen doesn't escape through the tank
b. Nitrogen is needed for the experiment
c. To keep the oxygen in a liquid state
d. To keep the oxygen in a gaseous state
17. Which one was NOT used to gather data from the experiments?
a. Load cells
b. Strain gages
c. Pressure gages
d. Hydraulic gages
18. How long did a typical test run for?
a. 2-3 seconds
b. 10-15 seconds
c. 1 minute
d. 5 minute
19. Which item does not occur during the pre-test?
a. Igniter system is pressurized and test-fired
b. Liquid helium is used to chill the liquid hydrogen line leading into the injector
c. Two propellant fire valves automatically open
d. Propellant tanks are pressurized
20. What is the most critical time during a test run?
a. When propellant tanks are pressurized
b. When fuel and oxidant are flowing into the combustion chamber
c. When data systems are running
d. When water flows into the Scrubber
21. Who was most likely to shut down a test?
a. The engineer-in-charge
b. The engineers monitoring test data
c. The test observers
d. The computer
22. When the engine discharged, how fast were the exhaust gases traveling?
a. 5,000 – 8,000 feet per second
b. 9,000 – 12,000 feet per second
c. 10,000 – 13,000 feet per second
d. 12,000 – 15, 000 feet per second
23. Why did the test cell at Building 202 have large doors and blast shutters that could open during testing?
a. To cool the engine during testing
b. To simulate natural weather conditions
c. To allow scientists to watch the tests
d. To allow larger engines to be tested
24. Why was there a risk that the engine would explode during a test?
a. The weather in Cleveland was bad for testing
b. The RETF used volatile substances and high pressures
c. The engines were poorly constructed
d. The RETF used liquid oxygen to cool the engine
25. "How was water fed to the scrubber?
a. Gravity
b. Oil pumps
c. Hydraulic pumps
d. Centrifugal pumps
26. Where was the Control Room located?
a. Rocket Operations Building 100
b. Test Cell Building 202
c. Blockhouse
d. Bottle Farm
27. What was stored in the Ox pit?
a. Fuel
b. Liquid hydrogen
c. Kerosene
d. Oxygen
28. What material was used in the construction of the Observation Blockhouse?
a. Wood
b. Metal
c. Reinforced concrete
d. Timbers
1. c. | 2. d. | 3. c. | 4. a. | 5. b. | 6. b. | 7. d. | 8. a. | 9. c. | 10. a.
11. d. | 12. c. | 13. b. | 14. b. | 15. a. | 16. c. | 17. d. | 18. a. | 19. c. | 20. b.
21. d. | 22. b. | 23. b. | 24. b. | 25. a. | 26. a. | 27. d. | 28. c.
0 - 5 correct = "Uh-oh! Good thing you’re not testing a rocket engine — it might blow up!"
6 - 10 correct = "Not bad! But you’d better hit the books if you want to be a rocket scientist!"
11 - 15 correct = "Good! With a little more studying and hard work, you could be a rocket scientist!"
16 - 20 correct = "Excellent! You have real rocket-scientist potential!"
21 - 27 correct = "Outstanding! You’re first-class rocket-scientist material!"
28 correct = "Perfect! Do you already work for NASA?"
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