TUT Microgravity Project
Student Parabolic Flight Campaign 3 (15.-29.10.2000)
Student Parabolic Flight Campaign 3 (15.-29.10.2000)
In October 2001 four students from Tampere University of technology traveled to France to take part in a microgravity
flight by ESA.
The trip and the flight were organized by the European Space Agency (ESA), as a part of their versatile "student outreach" -project.
With this they try to motivate European students to take interest in space technology and
research. In addition, this increases ESA's profile as one of the leading space agencies of
the world.
Weightlessness?
A short (about 20 s) weightlessness is produced by an airplane by flying freely on a parabolic path. After a short acceleration upwards the plane moves freely and inside it weightlessness is archieved.
How?
Our group attended two flights, two of the members at time. During one three hour flight the plane makes 31 parabolas. Our experiment handless eutectic solidification. We heated up small metal alloy samples and then solidify them. After the flight a study of the samples and comparison of samples produced in normal conditions to the ones made in microgravity was carried out.
Zero-G Airbus 300
Similar weightlessness flights have been used for example to film the Apollo 13 (Universal Pictures, 1995) zero-g shots. Also astronauts (ESA, NASA) practice their actions in space during the same kinds of flights.
Annual Campaign
A similar campaign for ESA member country students is carried out every year. The participants must study in university level.
If you are interested in applying for a Zero-Gravity flight, check out the
ESA's Outreach pages.
The competition is hard, but by planning the experiment well you have got a good chance. The best will be chosen.
Also Media contacts
are important.
Tampere Space Technology Club Castor
The members of our PFC-TUT group were founders of a Space Technology group to our university. The club was founded in
February 2001 and got its status in the Student Union's suborganisation in April. There are about twenty members, but next Autumn
the number will probably double. The homepages of Castor are found here.
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| European Space Agency | European space research and technology center | The owner and the beholder of the flight equipment |