Students soar to new heights in NASA program

Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology students Travis Sparks, Chad Trembath, Kris Verdeyen and Leo Szumel always wanted to know what it would feel like to be an astronaut.

They got their wish last month as members of a team that tested a device that could assist in future space walks and construction of structures in space.

National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities program at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas, gives specially selected students the experience of weightlessness by being passengers in a KC-135A airplane -- appropriately nicknamed the "Vomit Comet." (The plane was used to film weightlessness scenes in the movie "Apollo 13.") The unique educational opportunity resulted from Rose-Hulman's participation in the Indiana Space Grant Consortium.

The Rose-Hulman team designed and constructed a device that follows a bright light source in zero gravity. One possible use is holding a video camera that could track the movement of an astronaut during a space walk.

The project could help make future space walks safer and more efficient.

During the flight, the KC-135A climbs to more than 40,000 feet and dives, providing 25 seconds of weightlessness. The scene was repeated nearly 40 times. It was during these brief periods of weightlessness the students got to test their device. (There were also opportunities for the students to experience one-sixth gravity, present on the moon's surface, and one-third gravity, found on Mars.)

"We had a hard time keeping ourselves under control, much less worrying about keeping a close eye on the experiment," confessed Szumel, a junior computer engineering major from La Selva Beach, Calif. "It was more difficult than I thought it would be."

Sparks, a senior computer engineering major, agreed, stating, "It was difficult to control such an interactive experiment as ours. We needed longer time periods in weightless conditions. We would just get everything set up and our 25 seconds would be over . . . However, it was a great learning experience. We were, literally, on top of the world."

Verdeyen, a junior electrical engineering major, can't wait to try the experiment -- with minor modifications -- again next year.

"You need one flight to get yourself oriented to the conditions. The more you do it, the better you are at adapting. We'll be more productive if we get the opportunity to go next year," he said.

The Rose-Hulman team spent two weeks (March 7-21) in Houston. The students discussed their experiment with Indiana-born astronaut David Wolf, who lived on Russia's Mir space station and made a historic space walk in 1998, and other NASA officials.

"We didn't want it to end. It was tough to come back to Rose-Hulman for classes," said Trembath, a senior chemical engineering major.

And, yes, the KC-135A did live up to its name. Only Sparks kept from getting sick during the flight.

"Imagine riding a roller coaster that doesn't stop for two or three straight hours. It was quite an experience," Sparks said.