Flying FAST

Author: Carol Sikler
Event Date: September 27, 2010
September 27-29, several Purdue students, both graduate and undergraduate, along with Dr. Marshall Porterfield, flew aboard the Parabolic Trainer at NASA.

 This project flew as part of the FAST (Facilitated Access to Space Environment Testing for Technology) program under the Innovative Partnerships Program at NASA. This is not a student program; the project was selected in competition with proposals from private industry, government, and university labs. The team included a female, an African American, and a Latino. Preparation was done in the cleanroom at the Birck Nanotechnology Center, the Bindley Bioscience Center, and the Biomedical Engineering laboratories.

Dr. Porterfield leaves the parabolic trainer
Dr. Porterfield leaves the Parabolic Trainer
Kachi Odoemene flying free
Kachi Odoemene flying free
Dr. Porterfield explains the experiment in the hangar prior to flight.
Dr. Porterfield explains the experiment in the hangar prior to flight.
Dr. Porterfield watches as Amani Salim inputs information.
Dr. Porterfield watches as Amani Salim inputs information.
Dr. Porterfield is getting good at flying!
Dr. Porterfield is getting good at flying!
Amani enjoys the flight, too!
Amani enjoys the flight, too!
Both Dr. Porterfield and the Purdue Banner flying free
Both Dr. Porterfield and the Purdue Banner flying free
Kachi Odoemene and Pedro Jofre enjoy a moment of reduced gravity.
Kachi Odoemene and Pedro Jofre enjoy a moment of reduced gravity.