Last flight of 2009…

Today marks the last Northrop Grumman Foundation Weightless Flight of Discovery.  It is currently (at the time of the post) taking place over the Atlantic Ocean.  The group of teacher participating today are from the Washington, D.C. area.  This flight will bring the total number of teachers reached by the program this year to about 120.  Countless students will be impacted and hopefully will see the benefits of science, technology, engineering and math in their lives.

Follow the Washington, D.C. flight now!

Fixed!

Here is some exciting news from space that may just interest you.

NASA had reported in May that the last repair mission of the Hubble Space Telescope was successful. Until now we haven’t had the proof, but this week NASA released the new images. It was indeed a success! To learn more check out the official site.

Picture courtesy of NASA.

Zero-g: How?

One of the biggest questions I have been asked is: “How is the zero-g experience created?”  This post will seek to answer that question.

First, let me introduce you to the plane that makes it possible: G-FORCE ONE!

Photo courtesy of Zero-G Corp.

G-FORCE ONE is a modified Boeing 727-200. The 727-200 is a common aircraft in many commercial fleets of today, which makes it a desireable craft to use since it is easy to get parts and most large airports can accomodate it with their existing runways. NOTE: NASA doesn’t use a 727 to train the astronauts or conduct experiments, but the next section explains the process, which is similar regardless of aircraft type.

Parabolic Flight

The zero-g or weightless environment on G-FORCE ONE is created using parabolic flight.  The “super pilots” (specially trained) fly a series of maneuvers resembling a group of rolling hills.  The pilots perform the parabolas in a designated airspace away from other air traffic patterns and populated areas.  The FAA assigns this airspace, which is usually over the open water or ocean.  (NOTE: This is to avoid many calls to emergency call centers and air traffic controllers.  This was learned the hard way during early testing before the Zero-G Corporation was awarded the proper designations to perform these flights commercially.)

During the first 20 seconds of the maneuver, the plane pulls up to approximately 50° “nose high.”  Next the plane is pushed “over the top” to create a zero-gravity portion of the parabola.  This weightless period lasts between 25-30 seconds.  Everything that isn’t braced or tied down, including the flyers (passengers) is floating around.  At approximately 45° “nose low,” the pilots gently begin to pull out of the parabola as flyers stabilize on the aircraft floor.  The maneuver is repeated and as the plane begins to pull up again the g-force increases to 1.8Gs or nearly double the earth’s gravity. This means at this point you would feel as though you weigh nearly double what you weigh now. The flyers experience 12-15 parabolas which amounts to nearly 6 minutes of weightlessness!

Inspire Me!

One of the cool freebies we received as part of this great program is a DVD entitled “Inspire Me!” Below is a preview of the video. The premise of the whole movie is following a dozen teachers before, during and after their WFOD experience. There are also cool interviews with Story Musgrave.

I tracked down this classic James Burke video clip showing some earlier days of weightless or zero-g flights. The method remains the same, but the conditions are nicer and you don’t need a leisure suit (sorry to those of you who don’t know James Burke for his ’70′s attire. I think this video is from days of Apollo.)

Any Questions?

Many students and teachers have been asking lots of questions. For example: How do they create zero-gravity? What happens when they turn on the gravity switch? How many people are going on this flight? Do you have a strong stomach? Lots and lots of questions, which I will try and answer over time here. Of course, feel free to post your own questions in the comments section. I will definitely do all I can to answer them.

Welcome to Zero-g…

Hello everyone!  I am fortunate enough to experience the same weightlessness that astronauts do in space later this month.  Let me explain just how this all came about.

First, sometime last May I received an email explaining a program called “Weightless Flights of Discovery” and I was intrigued.  After doing a little bit of research about the program, I thought: “Where do I sign up?”  I applied to be a part of this program and few weeks later I received an email welcoming me to the program.  Of course, I was stoked, but a lot had to be done as the program has four phases. 

Phase I (Content Workshops) – We were to enroll in and complete an online professional development course through the National Science Teachers Association – Learning Center.  This course (Force & Motion) took approximately ten hours to complete.  It covered very familiar information, but even as a teacher there was still much new material to digest.  It was enlightening and I developed a deeper understanding of many of the concepts I teach in class, such as net force, etc.

Phase II (Experiment Workshop) - We gathered at the Northrop Grumman facility in Norwalk last Saturday.  This was a full-day of learning about the program: What it does?  Why does Northrop Grumman do this?  How is the zero-gravity experience created?  What experiments can we do take this experiment back into the classroom?  After checking in, we were fitted for a flight suit (which we get to keep!), had our picture taken and met the other teachers (29 other math/science teachers from Maine to New Jersey) who are particpating in this program.  We answered the questions above and even more during the day.  We also formed smaller teams (3-4 teachers) and began to develop ideas for our on-board experiments.  I will fill you in on more of the details in the days to come.

Phase III (Zero-G Flight) – The best part by far!  I am looking forward to 29 September 2009 as that is our flight day!  I know I will be transformed into the child that lives inside me, but doesn’t get out as often as it needs to.  We will be recording our experiments and the whole experience so we can share with our students and other teachers.

Phase IV (Inspire Others) – The most important part!  We get to share all our first-hand experience, photos and video with our students and other teachers.  Hopefully, students will be inspired to pursue careers in science, technology and/or math and have many unique experiences like this one!

Again, much more is to come!