K.W. Barrett Zero G Team

Great Lesson about What is Gravity

2007-10-30T11:23:00.001-05:00

Diane Hammond twittered about her posting and this lesson is amazing at how well it teaches gravity. Check it out.

Ask an Astrophysicist!

Technorati Tags: gravity, zerog, nasa, iss

Ms. Golden finally got to experience Zero-G

2007-09-17T09:36:00.000-05:00

Thurs, Sept. 13 was a very exciting day for me!

I finally got to experience Zero-gravity. I went on a 14 parabola journey with Northrop Grumman's Flights of Discovery. While on the plane I got to experiment with "eating" M&M's in Zero-G. In addition to eating the M&M's, we got to "drink" "balls" of water that were "floating" in the aircraft.

I can't even begin to explain what Zero-gravity is like. I definately want to do it again!!

Flight Team chats with Dr. Smith

2007-05-25T09:39:00.000-05:00

Yesterday two second grade students and two members of the Zero-g flight team went to the Career Center to film a segment of 15 Minutes with Dr. Smith. They talked about their experience doing the experiments and participating in videoconferences. Tune in on June 15th to see the students, Mrs. Donovan and Mrs. Frick on television!

Spinning Toys - Topic of a National Webinar

2007-05-23T08:24:00.000-05:00

The last EdTechConnect Webinar (web and teleconference) is scheduled for today at 5:00 PM. Discovery Education asked their Star Discovery Educators from around the country to submit projects they had worked on with teachers and students. Fred Delventha, a Zero G team member and a Star Discovery Educator, was one of 4 presenters selected.

Here is the blurb from the announcement.

http://www.denblogs.com/discovery_educator_networ/2007/05/last_edtechconn.html

Fred Delventhal will be presenting Spinning Toys: Balance and Motion in Microgravity. Fred was part of a team of teachers that guided second graders through the scientific process to find out the effect of gravity on spinning toys. They conducted the experiments on NASA's Reduced Gravity Jet - The Weightless Wonder. Fred used this project to introduce new technologies to the teachers involved such as blogging, Flickr, and Google Docs.

Students Present at Virtual Symposium

2007-05-03T13:23:00.000-05:00

On May 1st, four Second Grade students presented our microgravity experiment at the NASA Langley Research Center Virtual Student Symposium. They got to see a presentation by Barbara Morgan, the first educator astronaut, on her upcoming mission STS-118. The Barrett students presented the experiment results to middle school students in Harned, Kentucky. After the presentation, students answered questions from NES educators. Our students did a wonderful job! The symposium came to an early end when the connection failed. Thanks to Mrs. Qunizio's, Mrs. Nagle's and Mrs. Lambert's classes who watched the event with us.

Project is still going strong

2007-04-24T06:22:00.000-05:00

Although our flight was in Feb. and the students analyzed the data in March, the project is not over yet. We have three major items that still need to be finished.

Our final report to NASA.
The students will need to present the project on May 1st.
A final all school assembly presentation of our experiences.

Yesterday we had a work day funded by the Arlington Public Schools Science office. It provided funding for substitutes for Mrs. Donovan, Ms. Golden and Mrs. Frick. The four of us worked on the first two items on the todo and got pretty far.

Now just to get some ideas for a fun, interesting, end-of-the-project presentation that the whole school will enjoy.

Any ideas, let us know in the comments.

Sharing with a wider audience

2007-03-19T09:19:00.000-05:00

One of the underlying goals that NASA wanted us to include is how can we share our experiences with a much larger audience than just our classes or the people in our school.

Last week I was able to share with a class at Ashlawn Elementary. Mrs. Frye's fourth grades were loaded with questions about the whole experience from planning to what exactly happened on the flight. They were challenged to make their own predictions for the second graders experiments.

Collecting data and making observations

2007-03-13T14:22:00.000-05:00

Last week the three second grade classes worked with the flight team to analyze the data from the two reduced gravity flights. Each class worked on two experiments comparing the earth data and the zero-g data. Here is a video of one of the classes.

Video from the Flight of Mrs. Donovan

2007-02-15T12:03:00.000-05:00

These are just a couple of of clips from Feb. 6, 2007. This is the day that Mrs. Donovan flew with Ms. Nash.

The first video is the Weightless Wonder taking off.

The second video is of the plane coming in after landing.

Please note that these small videos were taken using the video feature on our Sony Still Cameras. It is easy then to upload the video using Yahoo Video. Once uploaded Yahoo provides html code to post into the blog to make watching and playing the video very easy.

Fox5 News visits Barrett--Zero G

2007-02-13T13:54:00.000-05:00

Today a news team from Fox5 News visited Barrett to see the Flight Team present their trip to Mrs. Donovan's class, Mrs. Quinzio's class and Ms. Morales' class. Students came prepared with questions about microgravity and the reduced gravity flight. Watch the news at 5:00 tonight to see if we made it on the show!

Flight Week--Nature

2007-02-09T18:42:00.000-05:00

What animals do you associate with Texas? Our goal was to see an armadillo, so we visited the Armand Bayou Nature Preserve near Johnson Space Center. Along the boardwalk we saw turtles sunning on rocks and logs in the pond, snakes curled up, and many paw prints. We took a trail down to the bayou and saw an egret in the distance, and several large hawks sitting on an old tree in the water. On the way back, Mrs. Golden spotted the armadillo rooting through the leaves. It moved very quickly and was hard to catch with the camera.

Flight Week - Thursday

2007-02-08T19:37:00.000-05:00

Hi Barrett Second Grade and Mrs. Golden's Kindergarten! It was fun to see you on the screen at our teleconference. We hope you enjoyed meeting some NASA employees and hearing a little about our experiment. We can hardly wait to get back to Arlington and show you the results. Today we had a special tour at Johnson Space Center. We got to see a space vacuum where the astronauts train. It was so big, we could only see 90 feet of it and another 30 feet is underground. The door to the vacuum is 50 feet tall! We got to go in a smaller version of the vacuum where astronauts had been testing the tiles that cover the shuttle. Next we went to the Mission Control building. We sat at the controls for the Apollo missions, which is now a historical landmark. Then we got to sit in the visitors gallery and see Mission Control in action. They even had an astronaut at the controls of one of the computer terminals. We could see the astronauts working outside the shuttle and live data feed coming from space. Back at Ellington Field, we put on our flight suits for one last time to do the conference with you. Then we had to put them in the laundry and sign them back in. We said thank you to all the Flight Directors, people from the Reduced Gravity Program, and the NES representatives for giving us the opportunity to participate in the program.

Wednesday--Flight week

2007-02-07T15:52:00.000-05:00

Flight Week—Wednesday

Today was the second flight day for our experiment. Mr. Delventhal and Ms. Frick put on their flight suits and prepared for the flight by going to the pre-flight medical briefing and getting their anti-nausea medication. Then we had a briefing with the flight director and met the pilot of the “Weightless Wonder”. I did a little brain gym to relieve stress while waiting for the flight to take off. We also had some photo ops with our mascots Space Bear and Space Monkey before loading them into their backpack for take-off on the C-9. When it came time to get on the plane, all the fliers lined up and had a little trouble staying in a straight line (just like elementary students). We got our photos taken as we boarded the plane. The playground hoop was stashed in the back of the plane and the backpack with the bears, cameras, recording sheets, stop watch, and pen went into the cargo area. As soon as we got the go ahead, we were out of our seats and setting up equipment in our area. Mr. Delventhal and I decided to change the order of the experiments so he did three in a row and I did three in a row. This meant less time wasted during a parabola to go from one side of the plane to the other. We managed to finish the experiments by parabola 30 and had some time to try out weightlessness in other ways. I tried the playground hoop and then had Space Bear try it too. Mr. Delventhal tried a front roll on the last parabola and had to sit down for the lunar and mars parabolas. Experiencing 2-g’s was almost as interesting experience as zero-g. It felt really strange to have your face and body and even ankles feel like they were dragging to the bottom of the plane. All too soon the flight was over. Would I do it again???? YES!
Back on land, we had a debriefing with the flight director. It appeared that everyone was happy with the way their experiments went and many had ideas for next year. It’s not too soon to start thinking about an experiment to do on the Reduced Gravity Jet. Then we had to take our stuff off the plane so the next group could load their experiments.

2007-02-07T07:45:00.000-05:00

Hi Barrett!

I survived the Reduced Gravity Flight without getting sick. It was awesome! I experienced weightlessness 40 times. We look forward to seeing everyone tomorrow (Thursday) when we have the video conference with you from Ellington Field.

Andrea Donovan

Monday Flight Week

2007-02-05T20:18:00.000-05:00

Greetings Barrett,

We started our day at 7:00 am at Ellington Field. We entered the hangar with the C-9 "Weightless Wonder" right in front of our eyes. Tables were set up for each team to prepare for the Test Readiness Review. We started by emptying all of our bags and organizing our equipment into 3 categories: items that would be stowed on the plane, items that needed to be mounted on the plane and items that would be used during the experiments. We rehearsed for the presentation of the equipment. The review board started at our end of the tables and we were the second team to present. Fortunately we passed the review and our equipment was scooped up and weighed. It was a whopping 10 pounds!!!! However, we will have an assigned flight director to assist us in doing the experiments. They are concerned with all the movement of bodies and objects, not to mention we might be more prone for a "kill". (That means having to vomit during the flight.) Loading was a challenge because it is a very tight space and there are now 6 research groups instead of 5 and 10 extra parabolas for a total of 42! We learned about the STS-118 Educator Astronaut flight with Barbara R. Morgan set to blast off in late June. We had a group photo with all the teams in front of the plane. We ended the day with a briefing on anti-nausea strategies and were issued our flight suits. Tomorrow the first flyers, Andrea Donovan and Sally Nash, will board the plane at 9:00 Central Standard Time. (That's 10:00 Barrett time.)

Greetings from Houston!

2007-02-05T06:45:00.000-05:00

The Zero G Flight Team arrived in Houston on Sunday. After getting settled in our hotel, we headed over to Space Center Houston for our first meeting. While you were watching the Super Bowl (who won?) we were sitting in a meeting for 3 hours, learning the rules of Ellington Field and other information about the flight. We were surprised to find out that a University research team will be flying with us. Consequently, we will be flying 40 parabolas plus the lunar and Mars parabola. Today we are going to Ellington field to prepare for the test readiness review, load the C-9, get our flight suits, and learn about the anti-nausea medication.

The Gravity of the Situation

2007-02-01T07:55:00.000-05:00

...or How do you teach something you can't see?

One of the challenges the team has come across is teaching the students about gravity. We have struggled with trying to figure what can a second grader comprehend in terms of gravity.

It appears that 7 year olds and their teachers aren't the only ones with the problem of understanding gravity. Physicists around the world are still trying comprehend gravity too.

Science Friday recently had a segment about an international conference that took place in January. Scientists and researchers met to discuss just what they don't understand and what are possible avenues to gain more knowledge about gravity.

You can listen to it here http://media.libsyn.com/media/sciencefriday/scifri-2007011923.mp3

Web page to the show
January 19, 2007, Hour Two: Math Play / Mercury Contamination Hot Spots / Gravity Conference

(This was posted using the Blog This button in the Google Toolbar in Firefox)

Zero Gravity Team Featured on APS Web Site

2007-01-12T11:27:00.000-05:00

On Jan. 12, 2007, Barrett's Zero Gravity Flight Team was the featured picture on the Arlington Public Schools' web site.

2006-12-20T12:35:00.000-05:00

Test Equipment Data Package (TEDP)

NASA Reduced Gravity Program

NASA Explorer Schools

Spinning Toys:

Balance and Motion in Microgravity

Principal Investigator: Andrea Donovan, Second Grade Teacher

andrea_donovan@apsva.us

(703) 228-6288

Research Organization: K.W. Barrett Elementary School

1440 N. Henderson Road

Arlington, VA 22203

Flight Crew: Andrea Donovan, Second Grade Teacher, Flyer

Margaret Frick, Library Media Specialist, Flyer

Fred Delventhal, Instructional Technology Coordinator,

Flyer

Susan Golden, Kindergarten Teacher, Science Lead

Teacher, Alternate Flyer

NASA Mentor: Sally Nash, Payload Safety Engineer

Date: 12/20/2006

Change Record

Revision

Date

Description

Change

Authority Signature

Initial

12/20/06

Initial Submission*

* No Change has been made to this record since the initial submission.

C-9B Quick Reference Data Sheet

Principal Investigator: Andrea Donovan, Second Grade Teacher

Contact Information: andrea_donovan@apsva.us

Phone: 703-228-6288

Fax: 703-351-0023

K.W. Barrett Elementary School

4401 N. Henderson Rd.

Arlington, VA 22203

Experiment Title: Spinning Toys: Balance and Motion in Microgravity

Flight Date(s): February 5 – 9, 2007

Overall Assembly Weight (lbs.):

Playground Hoop: 0.5 lbs.

Flying Disc: 0.25 lbs.

Experiment Support Hardware: Items in zippered bag 3.5 lbs

Total Weight: 4.25 lbs

Assembly Dimensions (L x W x H):

Playground Hoop: 35” x .75” x 35”

Flying Disc: 10” x 1.5” x 10”

Experiment Support Hardware: Varied in size, no item larger than 14” X 6” X 20”

Equipment Orientation Requests:

Team requests a designated area for the experiment at one end of the cabin test area. The estimated area requested for experiments is 106” Width X 144” Length.

Proposed Floor Mounting Strategy (Bolts/Studs or Straps):

Cargo Strap Anchors: 5

1.0” Wide Cargo Straps: 6

RGO Duct Tape: 10 yards

Velcro straps: Eight ¾ “ W X 20” L looped straps

Gas Cylinder Requests (Type and Quantity): None requested

Overboard Vent Requests (Yes or No): No

Power Requirement (Voltage and Current Required): None requested

Free Float Experiment (Yes or No): Yes

Flyer Names for Each Proposed Flight Day:

Day 1: Andrea Donovan

Day 2: Fred Delventhal

Margaret Frick

Camera Pole and/or Video Support:

Team requests 2 camera-mount poles to mount our digital video and still cameras.

AOD Form 72 (Rev A, Sep 2005)

Table of Contents

1.0 Flight Manifest ………………………………………………………………………. 5

2.0 Experiment Background …………………………………………………………… 5

3.0 Experiment Description ………………………………………………………….... 6

4.0 Equipment Description ……………………………………………………………. 8

4.1 Reduced Gravity Flight and Ground Based Equipment ……………….. 8

4.2 Layout of Equipment for Takeoff, Landing, and In-Flight ……………... 9

4.3 Special Handling Requirements or Special Hazards ……………………. 10

4.4 On-Board Items ……………………………………………………………….... 10

4.5 Special Requirements (In-flight or Ground Based) ……………………… 12

4.6 Free Float Requirements, Subassemblies and Handling Provisions … 12

5.0 Structural Verification ……………………………………………………………… 12

5.1 Analysis Method ……………………………………………………………….. 12

5.2 Test or Demonstration ………………………………………………………… 12

6.0 Electrical Analysis ………………………………………………………………….. 12

6.1 Schematic ………………………………………………………………………. 13

6.2 Load Tables ……………………………………………………………………... 13

6.3 Stored Energy ………………………………………………………………….. 13

6.4 Electrical Kill Switch ………………………………………………………….. 13

6.5 Loss of Electrical Power ……………………………………………………… 13

7.0 Pressure Vessel Certification …………………………………………………….. 13

8.0 Laser Certification ………………………………………………………………….. 13

9.0 Parabola Details and Crew Assistance …………………………………………. 13

10.0 Institutional Review Board (IRB) …………………………………………………. 14

11.0 Hazard Analysis Report …………………………………………………………… 14

12.0 Tool Requirements …………………………………………………………………. 17

13.0 Photo Requirements ……………………………………………………………….. 17

14.0 Aircraft Loading …………………………………………………………………….. 18

15.0 Ground Support Requirements ………………………………………………….. 18

16.0 Hazardous Materials ……………………………………………………………….. 18

17.0 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) …………………………………………….. 18

18.0 Experiment Procedures Documentation ………………………………………… 18

18.1 Equipment Shipping to Ellington Field …………………………………….. 18

18.2 Ground Operations ……………………………………………………………. 18

18.3 Loading/Stowing ……………………………………………………………….. 19

18.4 Pre-Flight ………………………………………………………………………… 20

18.5 Take-Off/Landing ……………………………………………………………….. 20

18.6 In-Flight …………………………………………………………………………… 20

18.7 Post-Flight ………………………………………………………………………. 22

18.8 Off-Loading ……………………………………………………………………… 22

18.9 Emergency/Contingency ……………………………………………………... 22

19.0 Bibliography …………………………………………………………………………… 23

20.0 Exceptions …………………………………………………………………………….. 24

Flight Manifest

Day 1 Flyer: Andrea Donovan

Day 2 Flyers: Fred Delventhal

Margaret Frick

Alternate Flyer: Susan Golden

Ground Crew: Susan Golden

No flyers have previously flown aboard the C-9

Experiment Background

As part of the NASA Explorer School Program, teachers at K.W. Barrett Elementary took advantage of the opportunity to participate in the Reduced Gravity Program. Our experiment, Spinning Toys: Balance and Motion in Microgravity, was designed by the students in second grade. Our students studied balance and motion in first grade. The Virginia State Standards of Learning for this first grade strand are as follows:

Force, Motion, and Energy

1.2 The student will investigate and understand that moving objects exhibit different kinds of motion. Key concepts include

objects may have straight, circular, and back-and-forth motions;
objects may vibrate and produce sound;
pushes or pulls can change the movement of an object; and
the motion of objects may be observed in toys and in playground activities.

Throughout this project, we built on our second grade students’ prior knowledge about force and motion from first grade as we worked on understanding the science behind the following concepts:

1. Force: A push or a pull that makes objects move, change direction, stop,

or slow down.

2. Gravity: A force that tends to pull all objects toward the center of the earth.

3. Microgravity: An environment caused by free-fall that makes objects seem to

be weightless or appear to be floating.

Friction: A force that tends to slow things down when two bodies are in contact with each other.

As we developed the experiments and trials we exposed our students to the following upper grade concepts:

1. Newton’s First Law of Motion: Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.

2. Newton’s Second Law of Motion: (kid lingo) An object accelerates in the direction you push it. If you push twice as hard, the object accelerates twice as much.

3. Newton’s Third Law of Motion: For every action there is an equal

and opposite reaction.

The first week of school in September, all the second grade students at Barrett watched and experimented with the spinning toys that were tested in NASA’s International Toys in Space video. We followed the instructional strategies found in the Video Resource Guide.

From that point, the students classified a variety of toys and chose two spinning toys that did not appear in the video, the playground hoop and the flying disc. The second grade teachers, flight team and P.E. teacher encouraged the students to use and experiment with the toys in non-traditional ways. After they actively tried out their ideas in the gym, the students applied what they learned there to the position and motion of the spinning toys in 1-g and what they saw the Expedition 5 crew test on the International Space Station in 2002. When the students returned to their classrooms, they asked questions and made predictions about how the toys would perform in microgravity.

Our second grade students will continue to work together in January to fine tune the trials in 1-g and how they will be performed and measured on the Reduced Gravity Jet. They are working on ways to measure differences, collect data, interpret the data, record results, and communicate their findings.

Experiment Description

A playground hoop (Hula hoop) and flying disc (Frisbee) will be required to conduct the second grade experiments on board the C-9 Reduced Gravity Jet. The six experiments will have three trials (parabolas) each. The two flyers will alternate roles. One flyer will perform the experiment with the playground hoop or flying disc while the other flyer will monitor the video camera, take occasional digital still pictures and act as a spotter/catcher for the test equipment. Time trials will be done with a stop watch and distance will be measured using the measuring strip. A measuring strip, start line, and target (X) will be taped to the floor of the jet using RGO duct tape. The RGO duct tape will also be used to tape a vertical line on one wall of the jet.

Our objective after completing these experiments is to have our second grade students make comparisons between what we observed and measured when performing the trials on Earth in 1-g and what we observed and measured when performing the same trials on the Reduced Gravity Jet. To support these comparisons, we made a baseline video of each of the experiments in 1-g and recorded the measurements with adhesive labels on the measuring strip when applicable. We will be using a mounted battery-powered video camera to film the trials in-flight.

Playground Hoop Experiments:

A. Spin Hoop on Arm

Flyer 1 will spin the playground hoop on the arm and then stop moving the arm.

Measurements: When the arm stops, the revolutions will be counted using the RGO duct tape line on the wall as a focal point. The trial will also be timed from the point the arm stops moving until the hoop stops (up to 20 seconds).

Trial 1: Body will be in free fall.

Trials 2 - 3: Feet will be tethered by straps to floor of jet

Gyro Hoop Spin

Flyer 2 will perform a gyroscopic spin with the hoop on the floor.

Measurements: The duration of time the hoop maintains its spin will be measured

by a stopwatch up to 20 seconds.

Can You Hula Hoop?

Flyer 1 will spin the playground hoop around the waist with hips.

Measurements: A video comparison of hoop performance in 1-g and microgravity.

Trial 1: Body will be in free fall.

Trials 2 – 3: Feet will be tethered by straps to floor of jet

Jump the Hoop

Flyer 2 will use the playground hoop to simulate jump roping.

Measurements: The number of jumps will be counted in a period of 20 seconds

Flying Disc Experiments:

E. Disc Toss

Flyer 1 will spin and toss the flying disc a short distance to a target on the floor.

Measurements: The distance in inches past the target the disc slid, hopped, or

flew. Adhesive labels will be stuck to the measuring strip to mark

the distance for each trial.

Trial 1: Body will be in free fall.

Trials 2 – 3: Feet will be tethered by straps to floor of jet

Disc Head Drop

Flyer 2 will drop the flying disc over the head and behind the back to catch it.

Measurements: A video comparison of the flying disc performance in 1-g and

in microgravity, observing whether the disc was or was not able to be caught behind the back.

Trial 1: Body will be in free fall.

Trials 2 – 3: Feet will be tethered by straps to floor of jet

After the flight, the students will analyze the pre and post-flight data, draw conclusions, and prepare a final report. We will discuss what we have learned and how our thinking has changed. At this point, we expect our students to have a greater understanding of how objects are influenced by force, gravity, and friction as well as how adjustments need to be made when operating in a microgravity environment. Newton’s Laws of Motion will also be revisited at this time with our second grade students. Our overall findings will be shared with Barrett students and families, and members of the community.

Equipment Description

One commercially made plastic playground hoop (Hula Hoop) with an outer material also made of plastic and one commercially made plastic flying disc (Frisbee) will be required to perform the proposed experiments on the Reduced Gravity Jet. Using RGO duct tape, a start line, target (X) and a measuring strip will be taped to the floor of the team’s designated work space. We will also use a battery-powered video camera to record the trials. One or two battery-powered digital still cameras will also be on board to take still photographs during the flight.

4.1 Reduced Gravity Flight and Ground Based Equipment

On Board Experiment Equipment

Type	Description	Dimensions	Weight	Considerations
Experimental	Commercially made playground hoop (Hula Hoop)	35” x .75” x 35”	.5 lbs	No special requirements
Experimental	Commercially made flying disc (Frisbee)	10” x 1.5” x 10”	.25 lbs	No special requirements
Experimental	Commercially made measuring strip	6’4” L x 7” W	~.25 lbs	No special requirements

Layout of Equipment for Takeoff, Landing, and In-Flight

Special Handling Requirements or Special Hazards

No components require special handling or precautions.

On-Board Items List

Experiment Equipment

1 playground hoop

1 flying disc

1 vinyl measuring strip

Experiment Support Hardware

Hardware includes:

Plastic Stopwatch

Digital Cameras

1 Backpack

400 stickers

400 pencils

Plastic ziplock bags

1 Zippered Bag

2 stuffed animals

Trials reference poster

School Banner

Velcro Straps

1 sheet of colored adhesive dots

Nylon School Banner

Hardware	Number per Flight	Dimension (per 1 item)	Weight (per 1 item)	Weight (total for flight)
Plastic Stopwatch	1	2” x 2.5” x .5”	1 oz	1 oz
Digital Still Camera A	1	4.5” x 3.5” x 3.75”	1 lb 3.5 oz	1 lb 3.5 oz
Digital Still Camera B	1	4” x 2” x 1”	8 oz	8 oz
Digital Still Camera C	1	3.5” x 2” x 1.25”	8 oz	8 oz
Digital Video Camera	1	2.25” x 4.5” x 4.2”	1 lb	1 lb
Backpack	1	12” x 8” x 18”	12 oz	12 oz
Stickers	Package of 400	2” x 2” x 4”	8 oz	8 oz
Pencils	2 bags of 200	12” x 10” x 2”	2 lbs. 8 oz	2 lbs. 8 oz
Zippered Bag	1	14” x 1” x 20”	8 oz	8 oz
Astronaut Monkey	1	14” x 7” x 5”	8 oz	8 oz
Astronaut Bear	1	12” x 6” x 3”	6 oz	6 oz
Paper Poster	1	11” x 17”	1 oz	1 oz
School Banner	1	33” x 30	8 oz	8 oz
Velcro Straps	8	¾ “ x 20”	2 oz	1 lb
Sheet of Adhesive dots	1	5” x 6”	~ 1 oz	~ 1 oz
Total Weight of Equipment Support Hardware:				10 lbs 5 oz

NOTE: These items, with a combined total weight of 10 lbs, 5 oz will be stored in the RGO provided cargo space for takeoff and landing.

Zippered Bag Items: Flying disc, plastic stopwatch, digital still and video cameras, stuffed animals, measuring strip, Velcro straps, school banner, adhesive label sheet, and trial reference poster. These items will be moved to the experiment workspace and be secured in bag when not in use. These items are of low weight and do not impose a significant structural impact to the aircraft when the items are moved around during the flight.

Stowed Back Pack Items: Stickers and unsharpened pencils. These items will remain sealed in ziplock bags and remain inside backpack in the RGO cargo space for the entire flight. The backpack will not be opened during flight.

Special Requirements (In-flight or Ground Based)

The team requests a designated area for the experiment at one end of the cabin test area. The estimated area requested for experiments is 106” Width X 144” Length.

4.6 Free Float Requirements, Subassemblies and Handling Provisions

The playground hoop and the flying disc will be secured when not in use during the experiments. As a secondary precaution, one of the flyers will act as a spotter/catcher to keep items being utilized for the experiments from leaving the team’s designated area.

Structural Verification

For the trials, we will use a commercially made plastic playground hoop (Hula Hoop) wrapped in an outer material that is also plastic. The hoops will be made safer by opening them and removing the water and/or other substances inside. Tape will be used to seal the point of closure where the two ends of the hoop were attached to lower the chance of breakage during flight. A commercially made plastic flying disc (Frisbee) will be required to perform the proposed experiments on the Reduced Gravity Jet. We will also use battery-powered digital video and still cameras mounted on poles to record the trials.

Analysis Method

Overall Weight

Fasteners

Playground Hoop

8 oz

4 Velcro Straps

4 Cargo Strap Anchors

Flying Disc

4 oz

2 Velcro straps

1 Cargo Strap Anchor

1 Zippered Carrying Bag

5.2 Test or Demonstration

In-flight equipment (playground hoop and flying disc) have a low mass and low hazard potential. No test or demonstration will be required.

Electrical Analysis

Powered Experiment Support Items:

Digital Video Camera: two 1.2 volt batteries

Digital Still Cameras: two 1.2 volt batteries per camera

Battery-powered digital video and digital still cameras will be used in-flight. All cameras will be powered off at the request of the flight crew and in any emergency situation.

Schematic

The powered Experiment Support Items (digital video and still cameras) are battery- powered, commercial off-the shelf items.

Load Tables

Electrical powered provided by the plane is not required for this experiment.

Stored Energy

There are no stored energy devices in this experiment.

Electrical Kill Switch

No emergency shut down switches are required for this experiment.

Loss of Electrical Power

Electrical power is not be required for the experiment.

7.0 Pressure Vessel Certification

No pressure vessel/system will be used for this experiment.

8.0 Laser Certification

No lasers will be used for this experiment.

Parabola Details and Crew Assistance

After take-off, prior to the start of the parabolic maneuvers, the contents of the zippered bag will be brought to the team’s designated workspace. The equipment will be secured to walls and floor. Cameras will be mounted on poles. Any other equipment hardware not in use will be safely stored in the zippered bag that will be attached to a cargo anchor strap with Velcro.

Parabola #	Experiment Letter	Experiment Description	Flyer 1 Role	Flyer 2 Role
1 – 3	Adjustment / Setup	Prepare equipment
4 - 6	A (Hoop)	Spin hoop on arm and stop spinning arm	Experiment	Spotter/Catcher Video/Stills
7 – 9	B (Hoop)	Gyroscopic spin of hoop	Spotter/catcher Video/Stills	Experiment
10 – 12	C (Hoop)	Spin hoop around waist with hips	Experiment	Spotter/Catcher Video/Still
13 – 15	D (Hoop)	Playground hoop Jump roping	Spotter/catcher Video/Stills	Experiment
16 – 17	Set up	Switch equipment; stow hoop safely
18 – 20	E (Disc)	Spin and toss disc to taped target on floor	Experiment	Spotter/Catcher Video/Stills
21 – 23	F (Disc)	Drop disc over head to catch behind back	Spotter/Catcher Video/Stills	Experiment
24 – 30		Stunts
31 – 32		Moon and Mars Gravity Simulation

We will require a second flyer (NASA Mentor) for the first flight on Day 1 to participate in the trials and support the free-floating of equipment. This person is needed to help keep the equipment in our designated area. There will be two Barrett flyers on Day 2.

No other specific needs have been identified for the parabolas.

10.0 Institutional Review Board (IRB)

Institutional Review Board approval is not required for this experiment.

11.0 Hazard Analysis Report

The K.W. Barrett Elementary flight team has performed a hazard analysis and has deemed there to be no great danger in the test equipment or experiment support hardware during operations. All potential hazards have been controlled.

Hazard Source Checklist (from AOD Form 71)

Enumerate or mark N/A

N/A	Flammable/combustible material, fluid (liquid, vapor, gas)
X	Toxic/noxious/corrosive/hot/cold material, fluid (liquid, vapor, gas)
N/A	High Pressure System (static or dynamic)
N/A	Evacuated container (implosion)
N/A	Frangible material
N/A	Stress corrosion susceptible material
N/A	Inadequate structural design (i.e., low safety factor)
N/A	High intensity light source (including laser)
N/A	Ionizing/electromagnetic radiation
N/A	Rotating device
X	Extendible/deployable/articulation experiment element (collision)
X	Stowage restraint failure
N/A	Stored energy device (i.e., mechanical spring under compression)
N/A	Vacuum vent failure (i.e., loss of pressure/atmosphere)
N/A	Heat transfer (habitable area over-temperature)
N/A	Over-temperature explosive rupture (including electrical battery)
N/A	High/Low touch temperature
N/A	Hardware cooling/heating loss (i.e., loss of thermal control)
N/A	Pyrotechnic/explosive device
N/A	Propulsion system (pressurized gas or liquid/solid propellant)
N/A	High acoustic noise level
N/A	Toxic off-gassing material
N/A	Mercury/mercury compound
N/A	Other JSC 11123, Section 3.8 hazardous material
N/A	Organic/microbiological (pathogenic) contamination source
X	Sharp corner/edge/protrusion/protuberance
N/A	Flammable/combustible material, fluid ignition source (i.e., short circuit; undersized wiring/fuse/circuit breaker)
N/A	High voltage (electrical shock)
N/A	High static electrical discharge producer
N/A	Software error or compute fault
N/A	Carcinogenic material
X	Other:	Small experiment equipment (measuring strip)
	Other:
	Other:

Hazard Number: 1

Hazard Title: Potential Release of Non-hazardous Fluid (water)

Hazard Description: Fluid in playground hoop (water) may enter cabin if hoop separates at its junction.

Hazard Cause(s): Hoop separates at its junction.

Hazard Control(s):

Fluid will be removed from the playground hoop prior to flight.
A layer of tape will seal the junction.

Hazard Number: 2

Hazard Title: Free Floating Hardware with Collision Potential

Hazard Description: Injury to person(s) and/or on-board equipment due to loss of control of playground hoop.

Hazard Cause(s): Team failure to control hoop or unexpected movement of hoop causing it to get away.

Hazard Control(s):

When not in use, the playground hoop will be securely fastened to floor of plane with Velcro straps.
Flyers will act as spotters/catchers to control movement of hoop during the experiment trials.

Hazard Number: 3

Hazard Title: Free Floating Hardware with Collision Potential

Hazard Description: Injury to person(s) and/or on-board equipment due to loss of control of the flying disc.

Hazard Cause(s): Team failure to control flying disc or unexpected movement of the flying disc causing it to get away.

Hazard Control(s):

When not in use, the flying disc will be stored in a zippered bag and attached to floor of plane with Velcro straps.
Flyers will act as spotters/catchers to control movement of flying disc during the experiment trials.

Hazard Number: 4

Hazard Title: Stowage Restraint Failure

Hazard Description: Injury to person(s) and/or onboard equipment due to loose equipment (playground hoop, flying disc, zippered bag).

Hazard Cause(s): Forces/vibrations of the plane may cause weakened Velcro straps to come apart.

Hazard Control(s)

Four Velcro straps will be used to anchor the playground hoop to the floor so that the risk of hoop coming loose is reduced.
The flying disc will be in the zippered bag attached by two Velcro straps or cargo strap provided by RGO staff.

Hazard Number: 5

Hazard Title: Small Items (pencils and stickers)

Hazard Description: Small items (stickers and pencils for 400 students) brought on board could cause injuries to people or equipment.

Hazard Cause(s): Loss of control of small objects

Hazard Control(s):

Pencils will be unsharpened.
Stickers and pencils will be in ziplock bags inside a backpack kept in the cargo area for the entire flight. The backpack will not be opened during the flight.

Hazard Number: 6

Hazard Title: Loose Measuring Strip

Hazard Description: Injury to person(s) and/or onboard equipment due to loose measuring strip.

Hazard Cause(s): RGO duct tape failure to secure the measuring tape to the floor of the plane may cause people to trip over loose strip or cause it to come loose and create a hazard for other teams and equipment.

Hazard Control(s):

All edges of the measuring strip will be secured with the RGO duct tape
Conditon of tape will be monitored by the flyers.

12.0 Tool Requirements

No tools will be required to maintain or make adjustments to experiment equipment.

13.0 Photo Requirements

Still Photography—Documentary

Flight team would like copies of JSC digital photographs of our experiment taken on board the flight

Flight team will use a mounted digital video camera to record the experiment

2. No s-band downlink is required.

Two fixed camera poles are required to mount a digital video camera and a

digital still camera.

Digital pictures. One copy of each digital image relating to our experiment is

needed.

14.0 Aircraft Loading

1. No equipment will be needed to load the experiment into the airplane. Flyers will carry on

the playground hoop and flying disc.

2. Equipment will be carried onto the plane

15.0 Ground Support Requirements

1. No electrical power needed on the ground.

2. No K-bottles will be required.

3. There are no chemicals or toxic materials involved in this experiment.

4. No access to the building is required after business hours.

5. No tools or special ground handling equipment will be needed by the flight team.

16.0 Hazardous Materials

No hazardous materials will be used in this experiment.

17.0 Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS)

Not applicable to this experiment.

18.0 Experiment Procedures Documentation

18.1 Equipment Shipping to Ellington Field

No equipment will be shipped. We will not need to set up or prepare any equipment on the ground at Ellington Field. We will not need any ground facilities. Our equipment consists of very basic, low mass playground toys and support hardware with low-hazard potential.

18.2 Ground Operations

We will not need to set up or prepare any equipment on the ground at Ellington Field.
We will not need any ground facilities. Our experiment consists of very basic, low mass playground toys with low-hazard potential.

We will prepare our designated work space on the jet prior to our flight as directed by the RGO staff.

18.3 Loading/Stowing

Items we will be bringing on board include:

- One playground hoop

- Zippered bag (contents)

1 flying disc

1 vinyl measuring strip

1 sheet of adhesive labels for measurements

Stopwatch

Battery-powered digital video camera

1 or 2 battery-powered still cameras

8 Velcro straps

1 Poster listing the trials and experiments for quick reference to be mounted to

the side of the plane with tape in our designated area

2 stuffed animals to be secured, in our section, with cargo straps to the side of

the plane during flight

- Backpack (contents)

stickers in ziplock bag

400 pencils in ziplock bags

We will place the backpack with stickers and pencils in the netted cargo area for the duration of the flight. We will not need to access these items during any part of the flight.

The flying disc, measuring strip, stopwatch, cameras, poster, stuffed animals, adhesive labels, and Velcro straps will be in a zippered bag and will be stowed in the cargo area for both take-off and landing. We will need the contents of the zippered bag for the experiment.

The playground hoop will be attached to the floor of the jet with Velcro straps to the cargo strap anchors for take off and landing.

What we need from the RGO staff:

- 2 lanyards or straps to secure the two stuffed animals to the side of the plane

- 10 yards of RGO Duct tape to mount the poster and measuring strip to side and floor of

plane, to tape the vertical line on wall, and to tape a starting line and target (X) on floor

- 5 cargo strap anchors

- 6 – 1” cargo straps

- 2 pole mounts and any hardware necessary for mounting cameras.

18.4 Pre-Flight

We will prepare our designated work space on the jet as directed by the RGO staff.

Possible pre-flight set up may include the following:

- Taping poster to wall

- Taping vertical wall line, start line, and target (X)

- Taping vinyl measurement strip to floor

- Anchoring playground hoop to floor of jet for take-off

- Planning position of camera poles

- Attaching any tethers or cargo straps

We will need approximately 2.0’ x 2.0’ of space in the netted cargo area for stowing the backpack and zippered bag. The backpack will be stowed for the entire flight.

18.5 Take-Off/Landing

We will need space in the netted cargo area to stow a backpack and zippered bag. The playground hoop will be anchored to the floor of the jet in our designated workspace for take-off and landing. We have low mass, low hazard items.

18.6 In-Flight

After take-off, prior to the start of the parabolic maneuvers, equipment will be brought to team’s designated workspace and set up for experiment trials with the playground hoop.

Parabola 1 Adjustment/Set up

Parabola 2 Adjustment/Set up

Parabola 3 Adjustment/Set up

During parabolas 1 - 3, the playground hoop, flying disc, poster, and measurement strip will be safely secured to the plane with Velcro and/ or tape.)

Experiment A: Spin Hoop on Arm

Parabola 4 Spin hoop on arm (body in free fall)

Parabola 5 Spin hoop on arm (feet anchored to floor with strap)

Parabola 6 Spin hoop on arm (feet anchored to floor with strap)

Experiment B: Gyro Hoop Spin

Parabola 7 Gyroscopic spin of hoop

Parabola 8 Gyroscopic spin of hoop

Parabola 9 Gyroscopic spin of hoop

Measurements: The duration of time the hoop maintains its spin will be measured

by a stopwatch up to 20 seconds.

Experiment C: Can You Hula Hoop?

Parabola 10 Spin hoop around waist (body in free fall)

Parabola 11 Spin hoop around waist (feet anchored to floor with strap)

Parabola 12 Spin hoop around waist (feet anchored to floor with strap)

Measurements: A video comparison of hoop performance in 1-g and microgravity.

Experiment D: Jump the Hoop

Parabola 13 Playground hoop jump roping

Parabola 14 Playground hoop jump roping

Parabola 15 Playground hoop jump roping

Measurements: The number of jumps will be counted in a period of 20 seconds

Parabola 16 Disc Experiment Set Up

Parabola 17 Disc Experiment Set Up

During parabolas 16 - 17, the hoop will be safely secured to the floor and preparations

will be made for the flying disc trials.

Experiment E: Disc Toss

Parabola 18 Spin and toss disc to target X (body in free fall)

Parabola 19 Spin and toss disc to target X (feet anchored to floor with strap)

Parabola 20 Spin and toss disc to target X (feet anchored to floor with strap)

Measurements: The distance in inches past the target the disc slid, hopped, or

flew. Adhesive labels will be stuck to the measuring strip to mark

the distance for each trial.

Experiment F: Disc Head Drop

Parabola 21 Drop disc over head to catch behind back (body in free fall)

Parabola 22 Drop disc over head to catch behind back (feet anchored to floor)

Parabola 23 Drop disc over head to catch behind back (feet anchored to floor)

Measurements: A video comparison of the flying disc performance in 1-g and

in microgravity, observing whether the disc was or was not able to be caught behind the back.

Parabolas 24 – 30 Stunts

Parabola 31 Lunar Gravity

Parabola 32 Martian Gravity

18.7 Post-Flight

At this time, there are no changes necessary for the second day of flight. We will evaluate our results from the first day and make any adjustments necessary at that time.

18.8 Off-Loading

We have no special off-loading needs. We will be transporting all items used in the experiment ourselves.

18.9 Emergency/Contingency

Our experiment uses low mass, low hazard materials. In the case of a playground hoop breaking, all pieces will be contained by the flyers. We do not anticipate any difficulty or problems related to the playground hoop or flying disc.

19.0 Bibliography

Science Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools. January 2003. 31 August 2006. http://www.pen.k12.va.us/VDOE/Superintendent/Sols/sciencesol.doc.

NASA. International Toys in Space: Science on the station. Video Resource Guide. 30 August 2006.

http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/151730main_International.Toys.In.Space.pdf

Physics of Disc Flight. 12 December 2006.

http://www.afda.com/skills/physics.htm

Frisbee Physics: how does physics play a role in Frisbee flying? 11 December 2006. http://www.mansfieldct.org/schools/MMS/staff/hand/Flightfrisbee.htm

Thinkquest: Force and Motion. 6 December 2006.

http://library.thinkquest.org/CR0215468/force_and_motion.htm

Keele, Elizabeth. "NEWTON'S LAWS OF MOTION." Monkeyshines on Health & Science (1998): 14-14. Middle Search Plus. 21 October 2006. http://search.ebscohost.com.

Video:

NASA. International Toys in Space, 2002.

How Things Move. 100% Educational Video, Inc., 2000

Text Books:

Harcourt Science: Teachers Edition. Harcourt, Inc. 2005

Harcourt Science. Harcourt, Inc. 2005

Addison-Wesley Science. Addison-Wesley Publishing Co. 1989

Trade Books:

Lafferty, Peter. Force and Motion

London: Dorling Kindersley 1992

Riley, Peter D. Forces and Movement

Des Plaines, Ill, Heinemann Library 2000.

Nelson, Robin. Push and Pull

Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications, 2004.

Gibson, Gary. Pushing and Pulling.

Brookfield, CT, Copper Beech Books, 1995.

Nelson, Robin. Gravity

Minneapolis, MN: Lerner Publications, 2004.

Cobb, Vicki. I Fall Down

New York, Harper Collins, 2004.

Skurzynski, Gloria. Zero Gravity

New York, Simon and Schuster. 1994

20.0 Exceptions

No exceptions, waivers, or deviations from RGO requirements are required for this experiment.

Zero-G Team in the Chamber of Secrets

2006-12-11T08:13:00.000-05:00

Actually it is the chamber of no secrets. NASA has posted pictures of all of us in the hypobaric chamber. Because of the danger of sparks around the pure oxygen, we were not allowed to take cameras in the chamber with us. NASA had a photographer and videographer outside the chamber taking pictures all the while we were in there.

You can take a look at all the photos by following this link http://zerog.jsc.nasa.gov/2006_NES/Dec_05_06_Cham_Runs/subviewer.cgi

Houston - We had no problems!

2006-12-08T14:54:00.000-05:00

We got back to Arlington on Tuesday. I think we all a great time in Houston for our physiological training.

These are some of the things that I took away from the training:

Boyle's Law - gas is going to find an exit out of your body from multiple orifices as the pressure decreases.
The percentage of oxygen is constant in the atmosphere at every level (~21%). It never made sense to me until now that the molecules of that make up our air get farther apart but not really less in amount as the pressure decreases.
The physiological training doesn't appear to have anything to do with the zero-g flight except to prepare in case of emergency decompression at a high altitude.
We as a team have a much better perception of our capabilities then we previously did. When you sit for four hour-long lectures and experienced pilots and NASA personnel tell you all of the different problems that can happen, including but not limited to personality changes, fainting, delirium and euphoria, you can start to doubt your own capabilities. We all made it out fine with know adverse or lasting ill effects.

Conference Call with Sally Nash

2006-11-21T14:26:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was our second conference call with Sally Nash. She helped us understand what is needed for our TEDP and answered other questions. She told us that we will be flying in a C9 and a little bit about how the plane is designed. We were very happy to learn that we will have an opportunity to go on the C9 the day before our flight so we can be sure our experiments will work. We have tentativly scheduled a conference call for Friday, December 1st at 3:30 in preparation of our trip to Texas for training December 3 - 5.

Conference Call

2006-11-20T15:52:00.000-05:00

Today we had a conference call with Sally Nash. We were able to ask several questions including:

What about getting sick on the flight?
Space allocations for our experiments?
Strapping of equipment?
Extra items on the flight?
What is the physiological training like?

We also asked questions about our trip coming up at the beginning of Dec. We hadn't heard anything from NASA about our travel arrangement. Unfortunately she wasn't able to help us with the questions about travel. We are getting a little anxious about not hearing anything.

Tiger TV

2006-11-14T16:11:00.000-05:00

I went on Tiger TV this morning! While I told the students about the contest, a video clip of people doing stunts in zero gravity was shown. I asked the students to turn in stunt ideas. We will choose 3 to 4 of the entrys to perform during the 21st thru 30th parabolas.

Meet to plan video taping

2006-11-13T14:00:00.000-05:00

Today is a teacher planning day and we met to discuss the filming of the baseline data and our time schedule for the parabolas. We have some open time spaces and decided to ask the students for stunt ideas. I will present this contest on Tiger TV tomorrow.

Other items discussed include the conference call scheduled for Friday with Sally Nash and items we plan to take on the flight that will then be brought back to our students. I am responsible for locating stickers, pencils, teddy bears, or other items appropriate to take on the flight.

Yeah, I Passed My Physical

2006-10-31T15:55:00.000-05:00

Looks like I am officially on the team!! Looking forward to training in December and the actual flight in February.

Sorry to See Laurie go

2006-10-30T10:00:00.000-05:00

Unfortunately, Laurie Sullivan will not be able to continue on the team. I am very excited to be able to take her place. My name is Susan Golden. I am the Barrett Science Lead Teacher and one of four kindergarten teachers. Now, off to my physical...

The Hoops Are Spinning

2006-09-07T14:34:00.000-05:00

Today we began with the kids. We met in the library with all of the 2nd grade classes. Andrea did a wonderful job demonstrating all of the different toys. I was able to do a little demonstration of how hula hoops can be used. You can watch a video of it by clicking here.

After the library a couple of classes went into the gym to try out the two toys that the students chose, the hula hoop and frisbees. The children were separated to different halves of the gym and given some time to test out different ways that the equipment could be manipulated or moved. They came up with some interesting ways that we as teachers never though of. One student walked around the whole time with a frisbee on their head.

The Start of Something Light Not Heavy

2006-08-25T14:04:00.000-05:00

Well here we go into the beginning of the school year. We have formed a team of 4 people.

Andrea Donovan, who recently moved from being a Kindergarten teacher to 2nd grade.
Margaret Frick, our Library Media Specialist.
Fred Delventhal, our Instructional Technology Coordinator.
Laurie Sullivan, Project Discovery Teacher.