High Schools Teachers Go Weightless

Taking their dedication to teaching Math and Science to new heights, four Lamphere High School teachers recently took to the skies to experience Zero Gravity and weightless flight. 

Lamphere's Zero-G men, David Holstein, David Ryder, George Sicken and Corey Stedman participated in a weightless simulation as part of Northrop Grumman Foundations "Weightless Flight of Discovery" program. The program gives teachers a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience zero gravity in an airplane. 

"We applied for this opportunity last April," said Ryder. "We are lucky and honored to have been chosen to participate as only 30 teachers from seven states were chosen for this session."

The team attended a pre training workshop before the launch event which left out of Detroit Metro Airport.  A corridor 10 miles high, 10 miles long and 2 miles wide above the airport was the laboratory for their expedition.

During the workshop and flight,

• Teachers learned about the physics of weightlessness and what to expect on the zero gravity flight.
• Designed microgravity experiments that applied science, technology, engineering or mathematics principles to human activities in a weightless environment.
• Participated in weightless flight and they conduct their experiments under the watchful eye of a video camera.

"I'm looking forward to bringing this data back to my classroom, we'll perform experiments and activities using the data." said Sicken. "Describing this weightless experience to my students is very difficult, though, we have nothing here on earth to compare it to."

Zero gravity flights are performed using a specially modified aircraft, an FAA approved aircraft called G-Force One. The maneuvers are conducted in dedicated airspace 10 miles long by 10 miles wide. Specially trained pilots fly the aircraft in a series of maneuvers called parabolas, or arcs, between the altitudes of 24,000 and 32,000 feet.

At the beginning of each parabola, the aircraft climbs at a 45-degree angle. At the "top" of the parabola, the aircraft is "pushed over" into a controlled descent that creates a temporary zero-gravity environment. The teacher flights include approximately 15 parabolas ranging from low-gravity environments typical of the moon (1/6th G) or Mars (1/3 G) to complete weightlessness. At the end of each "weightless" period, which lasts approximately 30 seconds, the aircraft is gradually pulled out of the descent, reestablishing a more normal gravity environment inside the plane.

"This flight confirmed my ideas of space travel and weightlessness. I sure didn't realize just how hard it would be to execute the experiments we worked so hard to design," said Holstein. "The time constraints and our inexperience in weightlessness really affected our abilities."

 "I was amazed at how water could be suspended in air in a perfect sphere right in front of me,"   said Stedman. "This was an incredible experience and I can't wait to get back to class and show my students that math and science can be entertaining and lead to interesting careers."

To learn more about the Weightless Flights of Discovery program, visit Northrop Grumann's website: CLICK HERE