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The Battalion
Page 3 • Wednesday, March 31, 2004
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Vomit Comet
iggie engineers earn chance to use NASA technology for microgravity project
By Amelia Williamson
THE BATTALION
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Last week, five Texas A&M students had the chance to experi-
Jice the sensation of weightlessness as they flew aboard NASA’s
[C-135 aircraft, commonly known as the “Vomit Comet,” to con-
ict their microgravity, or near zero gravity, experiment.
Senior aerospace engineering major Grant Kemper was the
iam leader, and the team members included senior aerospace
gineering major Jonathan Russell, sophomore electrical engi-
:ering major Joyce Varghese and freshman aerospace engineer-
ig major Maria Liberto.
The team’s experiment was titled “Wind Sheared Waves on Thin
ms Under Microgravity,” and focused on the effect of gravity on
ic behavior of wind sheared waves. Wind sheared waves are the
aves produced when air flows over a surface of liquid.
The team built a wind tunnel, a device that simulates airflow, to
istthe effect of gravity on wind sheared waves produced on a thin
Imofoil, according to Kemper. The team’s goal was to test how
fferent amounts of gravity affect the waves formed in the oil.
lie team wanted to observe the ripples made in a thin film of oil
lien placed in the wind tunnel to see how the ripples changed in a
“" u “ ! licrogravity environment,
on,* “yjjj s information on the change in wave shape is important to
lany applications, from applying adhesives in zero gravity to
^ esigning an efficient radiator for a nuclear power supply," Kemper
lid. “Understanding the physical models of wave behavior in zero
ravity will be of great importance to future endeavors in space.”
The team could observe the effect of normal gravity on the
, aves from Earth, but it needed an environment where it could test
,e P™ ieaffects of microgravity. NASA’s KC-135 provided the perfect
L licrogravity testing environment.
The KC-135 simulates a weightless environment by flying in a
arabolic, or U-shaped, path. The plane starts off flying upward at
45-degree angle. It then follows the path of a parabola and dips
Jack down, descending at a 45 degree angle. For the 15 to 30 sec-
s the plane is at the top of the parabola, the plane experiences
, which creates a microgravity environment within the
lane. Liberto said.
“This up and down motion is similar to a roller coaster,” Kemper
aid. “At the top of the hill you feel like you are coming out of your
and at the bottom you feel like you are being crushed. The KC-
35experiences ()-g at the top (of the parabola) and 2-g at the bottom.”
The team submitted a proposal to NASA to apply for a time
lotaboard the KC-135 to conduct their experiment.
“The team had to send in a detailed proposal explaining what
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we would like to test in a microgravity environment, how it is
important for the future, and how we would plan to test it,”
Varghese said. “There are committees of scientists at NASA who
read through all the proposals they receive and approve the ones
they like and think would provide useful data for the future.”
A few months after the team submitted its proposal, NASA
notified the members to say that they had been selected to perform
their experiment aboard the KC-135.
“Our team first wrote a proposal last fall,” Russell said. “The
proposal described our project ideas and what applications this
would have. We found out in December that we had been chosen
as one of the participating teams.”
The team finished designing and building the equipment it
needed in its experiment for its two assigned flight days. Two team
members flew in the KC-135 with the experiment
on April 23, and the other two team members
flew on April 27.
During the flights, a video camera
recorded the waves created on the film
of oil in the wind tunnel as the plane
experienced different levels of gravity.
The plane went through many parabol
ic flights so the team could perform its
experiment several times to check for
consistency.
Once the team finishes analyzing the
data it collected during the two flights, it
will write a final report on its results and will
begin an outreach campaign to educate others
about the experiment and what the members
learned, Kemper said
The team members were thrilled to have had the
opportunity to experience floating around in a weight
less environment.
‘The feel
ing of weightlessness
is unlike anything 1 have felt
before,” Kemper said. “The sick feeling of falling quickly
goes away and the euphoria of flying like supenuan takes
over your body. I could not stop smiling.”
Liberto said it is difficult to explain what it is like to be
in a weightless environment.
“There are no words to describe the feeling of weight
lessness or the experience,” Liberto said. “It’s something
so amazing that it cannot be told with words. You just have to
experience it for yourself.”
Varghese also thought that the feeling of weightlessness was
amazing.
“In the past, flying was something I could only dream of,”
Varghese said, “but after flying aboard the KC-135, floating in the
air became a reality.”
Many people dream of being able to float through the air. but
few people actually get the chance to do it.
“Riding on the KC-135 was the experience of a lifetime,”
Russell said.
Ivan Flores • THE BATTALION
WHAT WOULD YOU DO WITH
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The Center for New Ventures
And Entrepreneurship
IDEAS CHALLENCE
Open to all Texas A&M University Students.
10 ideas win $1,000 cash... what will you do??
Applications Must be Submitted
bv April 2 at 5pm
mgmt.tamu.edu/cnve/ideas
Special thanks to our sponsors:
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Research Valley Partnership, Mr. Ron Fash, Mr. Creed
Ford 111, Lynntech Inc., Haynes & Boone, and PKF Texas
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