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THERE'S A PROGRAM THAT GIVES YOU A WEIGHTLESS EXPERIENCE
BUT REQUIRES YOU TO BE IN A PLANE CALLED THE VOMIT COMET.
WHILE THE VOMIT COMET MAY NOT SOUND APPEALING,
BEING WEIGHTLESS SOUNDS REALLY COOL.
LET'S CHECK OUT A CLASS THAT HOPES
TO KNOW WHAT ZERO GRAVITY REALLY FEELS LIKE.
EVERY YEAR, PURDUE STUDENTS TEAM UP TO SUBMIT AN EXPERIMENT
TO NASA'S REDUCED GRAVITY STUDENT FLIGHT
OPPORTUNITY PROGRAM.
THE PROGRAM IS ALL ABOUT GIVING STUDENTS THE CHANCE
TO CONDUCT INNOVATIVE RESEARCH IN ZERO-GRAVITY CONDITIONS.
DR. COLLICOTT, THROUGH HIS AERONAUTICAL
AND ASTRONAUTICAL ENGINEERING CLASS, LEADS THIS GROUP
OF STUDENTS WHO HOPE TO CATCH A RIDE ON THE VOMIT COMET.
IT'S A PROGRAM NASA RUNS EVERY YEAR
WHERE UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS
AROUND THE COUNTRY PROPOSE ORIGINAL EXPERIMENT IDEAS
FOR FLIGHT TESTING IN SHORT-TERM ZERO GRAVITY WITH NASA.
TELL US ABOUT THE VOMIT COMET ITSELF
AND WHAT THE FLIGHT ACTUALLY DOES AND ENTAILS.
THE VOMIT COMET ACTUALLY --
NASA DOES NOT WANT YOU TO CALL IT THE VOMIT COMET.
IT'S THE ZERO-GRAVITY PLANE.
BUT THE PLANE, WHAT IT ACTUALLY DOES IS --
ACTUALLY, IT'S IN HOUSTON, AND IT'LL TAKE OFF AND IT'LL FLY
OVER THE GULF OF MEXICO.
AND FOR THE NEXT 2 1/2 HOURS, THE PLANE WILL ASCEND,
AND THEN AFTER A WHILE,
THE PILOT WILL DESCEND, SO YOU FLOAT.
YOU'RE NOT ACTUALLY IN ZERO GRAVITY,
BUT SINCE THE PLANE IS GOING DOWN AND YOU'RE GOING UP,
IT SIMULATES, BASICALLY, A MICROGRAVITY ENVIRONMENT.
THIS YEAR, STUDENTS ARE WORKING ON AN EXPERIMENT
THAT EXAMINES BUBBLE BEHAVIOR IN ZERO GRAVITY.
NASA HAND-PICKS WHO WILL GET TO RIDE IN THE VOMIT COMET,
AND THE RESEARCH WILL BE CONDUCTED THIS JUNE.
PURDUE DOES A REALLY GOOD JOB,
ESPECIALLY WITH THE AERO/ASTRO ENGINEERING PROGRAM,
IN THAT YOU CAN TAKE CLASSES
THAT ACTUALLY GET YOU DOING STUFF.
AND THE FACT THAT WE CAN CONTRIBUTE
TO THE ENGINEERING COMMUNITY WHILE WE'RE STILL
IN SCHOOL HOLDS A HUGE FACTOR
INTO WHAT OUR FUTURES MAY BE LIKE.
AND PERSONALLY, I'D LIKE TO GET A JOB DUE TO THE FACT
THAT I HAVE SOME PERSONAL EXPERIENCE DOING THESE THINGS.
I'M GETTING SO MUCH OUT OF THIS IN TERMS
OF THE RESEARCH THAT I'M DOING.
A LOT OF THIS KIND OF WORK HAS NOT BEEN DONE BEFORE,
SO THE RESEARCH IS BRAND-NEW STUFF.
AND I'M GETTING GREAT EXPERIENCE WORKING WITH A TEAM.
IT'S SO COOL TO BE ABLE TO THINK ABOUT THE RESEARCH AND THE WORK
THAT WE'RE DOING POSSIBLY IMPACTING FUTURE GENERATIONS
OR FUTURE RESEARCH THAT PEOPLE DO.
IT'S A GREAT FEELING TO KNOW THAT THIS KIND
OF STUFF COULD POTENTIALLY MAKE A DIFFERENCE
ON A LARGE SCALE SOMEDAY.
YOU KNOW, WE PROFESSORS COME TO WORK EACH DAY JUST
WITH THE DESIRE THAT OUR STUDENTS, WHEN THEY FINISH HERE,
THEY GO OUT AND THEY BECOME LEADERS.
AND CERTAINLY, MANY OF THE STUDENTS
IN THIS PROGRAM REALLY HAVE DEVELOPED THIS LEADERSHIP
POTENTIAL, TECHNOLOGICAL
AND PROGRAMMATIC LEADERSHIP POTENTIAL.
AND IT JUST BLOSSOMS IN THIS TYPE OF PROGRAM.
AND I THINK FOR THE WORLD AT LARGE,
HAVING THESE VERY CAPABLE STUDENTS OUT THERE TURNING
INTO TOMORROW'S LEADERS IS A WONDERFUL THING.
AS YOU CAN SEE, NASA'S VOMIT COMET IS NOT JUST A CRAZY RIDE.
IT'S AN OPPORTUNITY FOR STUDENTS TO LEARN BEYOND THE CLASSROOM
AND EXPERIENCE A ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME OPPORTUNITY.
FOR "BOILER BYTES," I'M LISA SINGLETON.