William Atkins
Saturday, 24 July 2010 23:46
Science -
Space
Page 1 of 3
NASA has announced an experiment that it wishes to run as part of its Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program. Undergraduate students will design a reduced gravity experiment and fly it on board one of NASA’s microgravity (“Weightless Wonder”) aircraft.
The July 22, 2010 NASA media brief “
NASA Seeks Undergrads to Defy Gravity for Science and Engineering” states that proposals for the reduced gravity experiments are due by October 27, 2010.
NASA states,
“The program, managed by the Johnson Space Flight Center in Houston, provides aspiring explorers a chance to propose, design and fabricate a reduced gravity experiment. Selected teams will get to test and evaluate their experiment aboard a microgravity aircraft.”“The specially modified jet aircraft flies approximately 30 roller-coaster-like climbs and dips to produce periods of micro and hyper-gravity, ranging from weightlessness to three times the force of Earth's gravity.”
NASA program manager Douglas Goforth states,
“This project gives students a head start in preparing for future ventures by allowing them to do hands-on research and engineering in a truly reduced gravity laboratory.”The “microgravity aircraft that NASA is talking about is the next-generation airplane, which was originally (and informally) called the “Vomit Comet.” The specially-modified airplane is now called the “Weightless Wonder.”
NASA has been flying such flights for over five decades with astronauts training for space missions and researchers and volunteers for motion sickness tests and other such experiments.
More information appears on page two.
