FAQ's

NASA/GRC AEROSPACE TRAVELING BUS (aka AeroBus)

Please Note: The bus is not able to attend events more then 700 miles from Ohio.

1. Q. What type of events is the bus available for? A. Professional, trade, civic, educational or public (public relations firms that organize for public service or educational sponsors). This normally rules out individual businesses and advertising uses.

2. Q. Can a separate admission be charged for viewing the bus? A. NO! Nor can any admission increase be affected because of the addition of the bus.

3. Q. Is there a schedule that I can view to see what dates are available for the 2008 calendar? A. Yes, click on the link to access the 2008 schedule http://aerobus.grc.nasa.gov/

4. Q. Is there a form that needs to be submitted to schedule the bus? A. Yes, there is a request form that needs to be completed and emailed to the AeroBus Program Coordinator, BusRequestForm-08rev.doc

5. Q. Are the bus drivers hired just to drive the bus? A. NO! The drivers and operators voluntarily support the AeroBus in addition to their regular jobs at NASA Glenn. Two of our volunteer drivers are NASA retirees.

6. Q. Is there a cost associated with the bus? A . The AeroBus does not charge a fee to attend events. We do request the following support.

You or your sponsor needs to agree to pay lodging expenses for driver(s). Please allow extra lodging nights for travel time to and from event. The travel days will be included on the schedule.

If a one day event,, please take into consideration travel time to and from your event, if travel time exceeds 3 hours, the driver may need lodging the night before and the night of the event.

If one of the retired NASA employees volunteers to drive/operate the bus for your event, you or your sponsor needs to agree to pay a compensation fee of $100.00 a day (including travel days) to the driver, plus the lodging?

7. Q. Will every attempt be made to accommodate my request? A. Yes! Your event will be posted on the schedule as TENTATIVE with driver marked as TBD until the arrangements are finalized.

8. Q. Can I request a deadline date to confirm or cancel my request? A. Yes, we will try to meet your deadline date, but please take into consideration that the drivers are volunteers and seldom committ too far in advance. Deadline dates can only be 1 or possibly 2 months in advance.

9. Q. How many people can the bus accommodate at one time? A. The bus seats 17 people at one time.

10. Q. What activities are associated with the bus? A. The driver/operator has various DVD 's suitable for all ages. Videos approximately 11 to 15 minutes in length are shown on the bus. The driver/operator can and will answer NASA related questions.

11. Q. If I have questions that are not addressed in this FAQ sheet or the request form who should I contact? A. Contact Sandra Jacobson, Program Coordinator by email at { Sandra.E.Jacobson@nasa.gov }.

13. Q. What are the dimensions and power requirements for the bus?  

The AeroBus is a 40-ft long by 12-ft 3-in high by 9-ft wide converted 1977 Eagle bus. It is powered by a V-8 Detroit diesel engine with an Allison automatic transmission. B-20, biodiesel is the preferred fuel used. It features a 42-in plasma screen video theatre display with Hi-Fi stereo sound. In addition to technical videos, there are also videos about living in space ranging in length from 10 to 20 min. that are geared toward the younger audience, but enjoyed by all ages. The exhibit seats 17 passengers in comfortable luxurious rotating and reclining flex-steel-designed captain chairs. The mobile exhibit has three roof air conditioner/heater units for visitor comfort.

Power Requirements: The bus has two 100-ft cords: one is an 110V, 20-amp plug and the other is a 250V, 50 amp single-phase plug. If no power sources are available at the site, the bus can be powered by two onboard generators.