About Microgravity at UT

The Reduced Gravity Program usually begins in October and has the following milestones:

· In the middle of October, a Letter of Intent is submitted that marks the first level of communication between the student team and the program coordinator

· Toward the end of October, a proposal for participation in the competition is submitted. It contains various parts including theoretical background of proposed research, test objectives, test descriptions, apparatus and equipment descriptions, structural design, electrical and hazard analyses, and description of the data acquisition system;

· In early December, the teams receive feedback about their proposal;

· During January and February months, flight physicals are submitted;

· From January through March, the students submit a test - equipment data package which must include detailed test apparatus and equipment description, calculations, plan of experiment, and any additional specific information that may be required;

· From March through July, the experimental package is flown;

· During August and September months, a post flight final report is written and submitted.

Other important information about the program includes:

· During the flight week, the selected team normally undergoes physiological training in classroom and hypobaric chambers, completes construction of the experimental equipment, passes test - readiness review and technical inspection, loads equipment onto aircraft, flies two consecutive days with their experiment package, and collects data. Each team is assigned to two - consecutive flight days with one flight scheduled per day.

· Each flight lasts an average of 60 to 80 minutes and has approximately 30 reduced - gravity parabolic maneuvers over the Gulf of Mexico. The trajectory flown on each parabolic maneuver will provide approximately 25 seconds of near - zero gravity conditions for each team's experiment. At the end of the reduced gravity maneuvers, teams/experiments are also treated to approximately 30 seconds of lunar-g (1/6-g) and approximately 40 seconds of Martian-g (1/3-g) environments.

· In order to encourage experiments that could address issues and find solutions as NASA travels back to the Moon, the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program in 2007 decided also provide special flight to give research teams the opportunity to fly student-designed experiments in lunar gravity.

· One of the special requirements for the flight crewmembers is that they should be U. S. citizens. Ground crew membership is unrestricted, and it may include students (high school, undergraduate, graduate), faculty members, and professional consultants.

· The proposed experiments can cover a wide area of research in mechanical and aerospace engineering, electrical engineering, material science, biomedical engineering, biomedicine, and many other fields. The same test facility could be used for a maximum of 3 years if needed to complete the proposed research.

· A significant component of the Reduced Gravity Program is the outreach component of the program, which is designed to engage the team members in outreach activities in their own university, community, and region.