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Teams of College Students Prepare Experiments for NASA's Reduced Gravity Aircraft

Beth Schmid
Headquarters, Washington, DC                       March 11, 1998
(Phone:  202/358-1760)

Eileen Hawley
Johnson Space Center, Houston, TX
(Phone:  281/483-5111)

Burke Fort
Texas Space Grant Consortium, Austin, TX
(Phone:  512/471-7225)

RELEASE:  98-40

TEAMS OF COLLEGE STUDENTS PREPARE EXPERIMENTS 
FOR NASA'S REDUCED GRAVITY AIRCRAFT

     Forty-seven teams of undergraduate college students from 
around the country will "float" through school this month aboard a 
NASA research aircraft.  The teams will participate in the 1998 
NASA Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities program, funded 
by NASA and administered by the Texas Space Grant Consortium, 
Austin, TX.

     Each team consists of up to four undergraduate-level college 
students, a supervising professor, and a professional journalist.  
All team members, except the supervising professor, will have the 
opportunity to fly.

     Teams will develop and fly experiments aboard a NASA KC-135A 
aircraft that flies a roller-coaster-like flight profile over the 
Gulf of Mexico.  Each team will fly twice, and each flight will 
include approximately 40 parabolic arcs.  During each two- to 
three-hour flight, the aircraft maneuvers through steep climbs and 
descents; depending on the precise trajectory, passengers and 
their experiments can experience about 25 seconds of a zero-
gravity environment.  Astronauts train for space flight, and NASA 
scientists have conducted extensive experiments, aboard this 
aircraft.

     This year's teams are divided into two groups:  Group A will 
report March 16 - 28, and Group B March 23 - April 4 at Ellington 
Field, near NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.  During the 
first week, participants will receive pre-flight training and 
assemble and test their experiment packages.  During the second 
week, they will fly with their experiments, adjust their equipment 
as needed, and conduct post-flight debriefings and reviews.

     In addition to performing the experiments, each team has 
developed a program for sharing research results with teachers, 
students, and the general public after the flights.  Participants 
must analyze their data, prepare educational or informational 
materials, and submit final reports.

     A list of the selected teams and additional information about 
the program can be found on the Internet at the following URL:  

           http://www.tsgc.utexas.edu/tsgc/floatn/

     The Texas Space Grant Consortium is a component of the 
National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program, which is 
administered by NASA.

                        -end-