Embry-Riddle Students Selected for NASA Microgravity Experiments
Daytona Beach, Fla., Oct. 3, 2000 -- A team of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students will conduct experiments of their own design aboard NASA's KC-135, a research aircraft that flies parabolic arcs to simulate 20-30 seconds of weightlessness, also known as microgravity. The KC-135 is routinely used by astronauts training for space flight and by scientists carrying out extensive experiments for NASA.
The 2001 NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program will take place Feb. 8 through March 17 at Ellington Field, near the Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center in Houston. The program is sponsored by NASA and administered by the Texas Space Grant Consortium, an affiliate of the National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program.
A review panel of NASA scientists and engineers selected 34 student teams from across the nation to participate in the program. Most teams consist of four undergraduate students, a supervising faculty member, and a professional journalist who will report on the team's experiences.
Dr. John Olivero, chairman of the physical sciences department at Embry-Riddle, is supervising the participation of the university's student teams.
The Embry-Riddle team is made up of leader Kevin Duda, Zachary Craig, Cash McCall, and Gene St. Clair. They will test a rotation-inhibiting space tool that induces torque on a bolt without transmitting that rotation to a free-floating subject such as an astronaut. The ratcheting motion, which is push-pull in nature, targets larger muscle groups and therefore decreases muscular fatigue and increases endurance.
"My team and I are very excited to be able to participate in this prestigious program," Duda said. "We have worked extremely hard on our experiment and this is a dream come true for all of us. I flew on the KC-135 three years ago -- zero gravity is something I'll never forget, and I can't wait to experience it again."
During the first week of the program, students must pass physical examinations and receive physiological preflight training.
During the second week, students from each team will fly in the KC-135, conducting their experiments in weightlessness as the aircraft performs 32 parabolic arcs, including two that simulate gravity on Mars and the moon.
Postflight debriefings and reviews will be held, and each team will also develop a program for sharing the results of their research with their school.
Embry-Riddle, the world's largest, fully accredited university specializing in aviation and aerospace, meets the needs of students and industry through its educational, training, research, and consulting activities. Embry-Riddle educates 22,000 students through the master's level at residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz., at more than 100 teaching sites in the United States and Europe, and through distance learning.
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