AST 102: Fundamentals of Microgravity Science

Description

Lectures and Assignments:
The course will consist of nine one-hour webinars and seven assignments. Assignment will receive either a Pass or Fail grade. Each assignment will build upon each other to ultimately produce a student’s completed TEDP; by the end of the course, students will have completed a TEDP for an experiment of their choice. Students should be prepared to spend four to five hours per assignment. The expectation is that each student work on their own TEDP, though students are encouraged to solicit feedback and help from their peers; webinars 7 and 8 will provide students with an opportunity to present their experiment idea and TEDP, and to get feedback from the class.

Outline:

Webinar 1

Introduction to microgravity platforms:

• Learn about space science and why experiments are conducted in microgravity
• Learn how to select the appropriate microgravity platform based on the experiment requirements

History of parabolic flights:

• Learn about the parabolic aircraft used by NASA, ESA, and CSA and what aircraft modifications are needed to convert a commercial aircraft into a microgravity research laboratory.
• Learn about trade-offs and fine-tuning a parabola for best microgravity quality or the longest duration
• Overview of NASA, CSA and ESA parabolic flight programs and funding sources
• Technology Readiness Levels (Part 1)
• Description of the logistics of planning a flight campaign and the certification process
• Introduction to the Test Equipment Data Package (TEDP) requirements document

Webinar 2

• Description of how a TEDP is used in the payload integration and certification process
• Description of the Interface Control Document (ICD)
• Discussion of the format of a TEDP (Part A):

• Experiment overview (target audience)
• Identifying campaign objectives
• Experiment description

Webinar 3

Technology Readiness Levels (Part 2)

Discussion of the format of a TEDP (Part B):

• Flight plan and flight procedures (Part II)
• Ground support requirements
• Cabin requirements
• Prior IIAS flight campaigns (Part a)
• Space suit evaluations (FFD)
• Biomonitoring (FFD, NRC, CSA)
• Internal Review Board (IRB) / Research Ethics Board (REB) review process

Webinar 4

Discussion of the format of a TEDP (Part C):

• Hazard analysis and mitigation
• Structural and electrical load analysis
• Payload transport logistics

Webinar 5:

• Prior IIAS flight campaigns (Part b)
• Solid Body Rotation Experiment (UMES, MIT)
• Fluid Configuration Experiment (UT, MIT)
• Internal Review Board (IRB) / Research Ethics Board (REB) review process

Webinar 6

• Lunar and Martian gravity
• G-jitter effects
• Description of prior flight campaigns

Webinar 7 & 8

• Student presentations of their experimental ideas and TEDP
• Students should prepare a presentation of their TEDP with schematics, photos, or videos of their proposed payload.
• The class should be prepared to ask questions and provide feedback to each presenter.

Webinar 9

Briefing with details related to the NRC Flight Campaign

• Logistics Review
• Flight Roster
• List of experiments and research objectives
• Ground and Flight crew roles assigned

Flight Campaign:
Students in the course will apply their knowledge and skills learned in the webinars in a parabolic flight campaign with Integrated Spaceflight Services and the National Research Council of Canada. The flight campaign will take place at the NRC Flight Research Lab (FRL) located in Ottawa, Canada. The address is 1920 Research Private, Ottawa, ON K1V 1J8, Canada and is suited within walking distance of the Ottawa International Airport. Students should plan to arrive at 8AM each day. A typical day will end by 6PM. Students should plan to stay until 6PM on the last day of the campaign. Additional details of the flight campaign will be provided in the webinars.