Purdue News
Purdue News
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July 30, 1999
Purdue students set to ride the 'Vomit Comet'WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Four teams of Purdue University students are headed to the Johnson Space Center in Texas to test their engineering projects -- and tolerance for nausea -- aboard a research jet commonly referred to as the "Vomit Comet."The KC-135A, a plane used to train astronauts for space flight, creates a weightless environment by flying in a series of steep climbs and descents. Passengers experience zero gravity for about 25 to 30 seconds during each descent. Most flights last between two and three hours, allowing the student flyers to gather data on the impact of the weightless environment on their various projects. "This type of hands-on experience is critical for our students," says Steven Collicott, an associate professor of aeronautical and astronautical engineering who is the faculty adviser to one of the Purdue teams. "It will allow them to see the dramatic leap from theory to reality in the work they're doing." The National Aeronautics and Space Administration makes the jet available for college student flights several times each year. The 19 Purdue students will take four projects up in August. Three of the teams will fly during the week of Aug. 9-13, and the fourth will go up the week of Aug. 16-21. Collicott's team is part of the early group and is made up of four aeronautical engineering majors who will test the effects of weightlessness on fluid mechanics. Team members are May 1999 graduate Lisa Brilliant of Fairfax, Va.; Samantha Coras, a sophomore from Sydney, Australia; Casey Kirchner, a junior from Omaha, Neb.; and Stephanie Van Y, a junior from Indianapolis. Also flying that week will be a team investigating the use of a tactile feedback system to enhance spatial awareness in altered-gravity environments. The experiment involves a vest that sends a series of vibrations along the wearer's back. It might one day be used to prevent pilots from becoming spatially disoriented when they cannot see the horizon. Team members are electrical engineering majors Ryan Casteel, a junior from Decatur, Ill.; Joachim Deguara, a junior from South Bend, Ind.; Jennifer Glassley, a senior from Fort Wayne, Ind.; Ryan Traylor, a junior from Dale, Ind.; and mechanical engineering major Adrian Lim, a junior from Hong Kong. The third Purdue team in the Aug. 9 flight grouping will investigate the use of piezoelectric actuators to actively dampen vibrations in microgravity. Team members are mechanical engineering majors Curtis Peternell, a junior from Fort Atkinson, Wis.; Robert Whiteman, a junior from Walled Lake, Mich.; and John Yamokoski, a junior from Tampa, Fla.; plus junior chemical engineering major Nicolas Saadah from Oklahoma City, Okla. The final team of Purdue students will fly on the Vomit Comet the week of Aug. 16. This group will be observing the effect of weightlessness on the production of foamed metal. "We're hoping that the zero gravity will allow the bubbles to form more evenly, which will produce a better product," explains team leader Dan Radocaj, a senior in aeronautical and astronautical engineering from Massillon, Ohio. Radocaj says foamed metal is much lighter than solid metal and almost just as sturdy, so it could be used as an alternative in structures where weight is a factor. His teammates include fellow aeronautical engineering majors Emily Birkhauser, a senior from Indianapolis; Brian Bliss, a senior from Lawrenceville, Ga.; and senior Andrew Remson of Clinton Township, Mich. Also on the team are Kendra Sue Baratta, a junior majoring in materials science and engineering from St. Joseph, Mich.; and Trisha Beutien, a senior chemical engineering major from Indianapolis.
Sources: Steven Collicott, (765) 494-5131, collicot@ecn.purdue.edu Dan Radocaj, (765) 743-8580, radocaj@purdue.edu Writer: Sharon Bowker, (765) 494-2077; sharon_bowker@purdue.edu
Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu NOTE TO JOURNALISTS: Students are available for phone interviews every evening while in Houston. For contact information, call Sharon Bowker, (765) 494-2077; home, (765) 429-4338.
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