UA Students Study Systems Maintenance on NASA’s Reduced Gravity Flight

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – A group of University of Alabama engineering students recently conducted a series of experiments designed to help in the maintenance of the International Space Station’s systems. The group also experienced what few people ever will — weightlessness.

The students, under the direction of Dr. Beth Todd, associate professor of mechanical engineering, performed experiments on a bolt tension-testing device that measured an operator’s ability to install a threaded fastener in a variety of foot positions while in a reduced-gravity environment. The project aimed at addressing access issues related to maintaining the International Space Station and other long-duration orbital vehicles. The experiments, called TARGET for Threaded Assembly Reduced Gravity Environment Testing, provided a unique academic experience for undergraduate students to propose, design, fabricate and evaluate reduced-gravity research.

“Conducting this experiment on the KC-135 allowed the TARGET team to determine if a platform with variable foot positioning improves the efficiency of maintenance in reduced gravity,” Todd said. “Mimicking the environment of space is really the only way to get practical results, and you can’t do that in a regular college laboratory setting.”

Team TARGET left for NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston April 23 and returned May 5. Before performing the experiment, each team member had to undergo physiological training to prepare for the rigors of weightlessness, and their experiment went through a safety review. The students experienced a weightless testing environment by spending several hours aboard a Boeing KC-135A jet, which performed parabolic maneuvers to create reduced-gravity conditions. The same type of aircraft is used in training astronauts for space travel.

The team included:

• Darrin Alcorn — a resident of Colorado Springs, Colo., majoring in computer science
• Drew Cromer — a resident of Birmingham (35242) majoring in electrical and computer engineering
• Ashley Erickson — a native of Tuscaloosa majoring in mechanical engineering
• Heather Hendrix — a resident of Dothan majoring in mechanical engineering
• Warren Keith — a resident of Hope Hull majoring in mechanical engineering
• Kathryn Lancaster — a resident of Gadsden majoring in industrial engineering
• Christopher McDaniel — a resident of Birmingham (35235) majoring in electrical and computer engineering
• Destin Sandlin — a resident of Priceville majoring in mechanical engineering
• Justin Sheffield — a resident of Dothan majoring in mechanical engineering
• Anne Thomas — a resident of Hatley, Miss., majoring in computer science

In 1837, UA became the first university in the state to offer engineering classes and was one of the first five in the nation to do so. Today, the College of Engineering, with about 1,900 students and more than 90 faculty, is one of the three oldest continuously operating engineering programs in the country and has been fully accredited since accreditation standards were implemented in the 1930s.

Notes to Editor: Photos to accompany this release are available from Deidre Stalnaker at staln001@bama.ua.edu.