OSU students prepare for flight aboard NASA's ""Weightless Wonder""

Friday, April 20, 2012

The Space Cowboy’s pose for a photo before leaving for NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston. On April 23, the team will conduct experiments aboard the “Weightless Wonder” aircraft. Pictured are, from left, front, Alyssa Avery (team leader), Nicole Weidman, Carolina Vega Recalde, and faculty advisor Jamey Jacob. Back, Thomas Verschelden, Calvin Brown, Zach Barbeau, Jaymie Jordan and James Evans.

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The Oklahoma State University Space Cowboys are off to float again. Nine OSU students and a faculty member will venture to the NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston to conduct experiments aboard the “Weightless Wonder” aircraft on April 23. The OSU team, one of 12 universities selected for the testing, will investigate the effects of a weightless environment on human mobility.

OSU is participating through The Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, which gives undergraduate students the opportunity to design, build and fly experiments in reduced gravity. Teams have partnered with NASA mentors as part of the Systems Engineering Educational Discovery or SEED flight program. The OSU Team has worked with NASA mentors to design and build experiments based on current NASA research. They will perform experiments aboard a microgravity aircraft, which produces periods of weightlessness for up to 25 seconds at a time by executing a series of approximately 30 roller coaster-like parabolas over the Gulf of Mexico. During the free falls, the students will gather data in a unique environment that mimics space.

“We are excited that our program provides once-in-a-lifetime opportunities for aspiring scientists and engineers to study and understand their craft,” said Doug Goforth, RGEFP Manager. “The students gain useful skills by participating in the program through collaborative planning and teamwork.”

Jamey Jacob, professor-mechanical and aerospace engineering and the team’s faculty advisor, said, “Our students earned this great opportunity through their hard work and commitment, and thanks to the leadership of team leader Alyssa Avery. They were selected based on scientific merit and educational outreach potential from colleges and universities around the nation. They have put many hours into researching and building their experiment.”

The Space Cowboys will travel to Ellington Field, where astronauts do their T-38 training. After a few days of physiological training, the students will fly their experiment during the week of April 23-27. In addition to investigating the effects of weightlessness on human mobility, the team also will determine the usefulness and accuracy of various motions capture systems in a zero gravity environment. Findings will help NASA engineers design for the space environment, including next generation space suits and space habitats. Following their flight, the team will evaluate findings, draw conclusions and provide the results to NASA.

The Space Cowboys team includes the following OSU Aerospace Engineering undergraduate students: Alyssa Avery, senior, Edmond; Zach Barbeau, junior, The Woodlands, Texas; Calvin Brown, senior, Edmond; James Evans, senior, Owassa; Shea Ferhenbach, junior, Piedmont; Jaymie Jordan, senior, Del City; Carolina Vega Recalde, freshman, Red Oak, OK; Nicole Weidman, senior, Tulsa and Thomas Verschelden, junior, Lenexa, Kansas; as well as Jacob. In addition, Oklahoma City’s KFOR Channel 4 news reporter Emily Sutton will join the team on the flight.

For more information about the Reduced Gravity Education Flight Program, visit: http://microgravityuniversity.jsc.nasa.gov or contact Rachel Kraft at NASA Johnson Space Center’s Public Affairs Office, at 281-792-7690, or rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov.