NASA’s Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities
Program is accepting proposals from undergraduate teams across
the country to fly their experiments on a unique agency
airplane.
Since its inception in 1995, the program has offered the
unique venue of NASA’s specially equipped KC-135 airplane to
student researchers. Participation in the program will enable
students to learn how scientific research conducted in micro-
gravity differs from research conducted on Earth. Students
also will have the opportunity to explore how the human body
reacts to weightlessness.
Students, the next generation of explorers, scientists and
engineers, will have the chance to float free and perform
experiments in an environment usually reserved for space
travelers.
The four-engine KC-135, a modified version of the standard
U.S. Air Force tanker, is similar to the Boeing 707.
Weightlessness is achieved by flying the plane in carefully
choreographed maneuvers: climb at a 45-degree angle, “over the
top” and then down at 45 degrees. The maneuver creates a
weightless free-fall environment that lasts about 25 seconds.
Each flight incorporates 30 of these parabola-shaped
sequences.
The program provides a unique academic experience for students
to successfully propose, design, fabricate, fly and evaluate a
reduced gravity experiment of their choice over the course of
a school year. The overall experience includes scientific
research, hands-on experimental design, test operations and
educational/public outreach activities.
The deadline for applications is Oct. 20. For information
about the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program
on the Internet, visit:
http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov
For information about NASA’s Education programs on the
Internet, visit:
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