Teachers from across
the U.S. and around the world will experience first hand the
application of math, science and engineering principles to human
activities in a weightless or low-gravity space environment under
the new Northrop Grumman Corporation Weightless Flights of
Discovery program unveiled this weekend.
The program, the first of its kind, involves 240 teachers from
all 50 states and at least 15 countries. It is designed to help
educators inspire and nurture student interest in technical or
scientific careers. The program includes hands-on science workshops
and the opportunity to participate in a parabolic or "zero-gravity"
aircraft flight that creates temporary weightlessness comparable to
what humans would experience during space travel to the moon or
Mars. It is also similar to how astronauts train for space
flight.
Forty teachers took part in the inaugural Northrop Grumman
Weightless Flights of Discovery workshop, held June 10 at Kennedy
Space Center. The announcement was marked by the program's first
two parabolic flights, which included approximately 20 teachers per
flight.
"The Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of Discovery educators'
program is part of the company’s commitment to help NASA and
the nation create the well-educated, technically trained workforce
needed to undertake and sustain a successful human space
exploration program," said Tom Vice, sector vice president for
business development at Northrop Grumman’s Integrated Systems
sector.
The program also serves as a vehicle to spark student interest
in pursuing careers in other scientific and technical fields, a key
component of the American Competitiveness Initiative introduced by
President Bush in his 2006 State of the Union address, he
added.
Northrop Grumman is sponsoring the Weightless Flights of
Discovery in cooperation with Zero Gravity (ZERO-G®)
Corporation, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., which developed and will conduct
this unique professional development program for teachers. Plans
call for ZERO-G to conduct teacher workshops and parabolic flights
in five U.S. metropolitan areas over the course of the summer. The
program will include five workshops and 12 flights in all.
Regional sponsors in each area will work with Northrop Grumman,
ZERO-G and state space, education and government agencies to select
teachers to participate in the program. NASA, the National Science
Teachers Association, and ZERO-G developed the educational
workshops that use space exploration as a focal point to teach
science, technology, engineering and mathematics topics.
During the Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of Discovery
workshops, teachers receive pre-flight training in weightlessness
and experiment design where they learn how astronauts and
scientists work in lunar, Martian and zero gravity environments.
They also learn how to relate those experiments to science,
engineering, technology and mathematics curricula development.
On flight day, teachers conduct their experiments on board
ZERO-G’s specially-modified, FAA-approved aircraft, G-Force
One. After the flight, teachers are involved in a debriefing where
they evaluate the process and discuss outcomes of the flight and
curriculum plans.
Hill-Gustat Middle School (Sebring, Fla.) algebra and 8th grade
science teacher Cathy Hardesty, who has was recently named teacher
of the year for her school, district and region, was one of the
teachers who participated in the inaugural flights. She is excited
about using her zero-gravity experiences to float space exploration
concepts by her students.
“The Northrop Grumman program is sure to have a dramatic
effect on students and their comprehension of basic scientific
concepts,” said Hardesty. “No textbook, not even the
greatest science teachers of all time, can really open a
student’s eyes wide to principles such as Newton’s laws
of motion. For my students to see their own teacher on video
conducting experiments in zero gravity lets them know that there
are no limits to what they can do, including becoming a scientist
or engineer.”
Florida Space Research Institute (FSRI), a research organization
for the State of Florida, is also providing national funding
support for the Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of Discovery
program. "We're pleased to support Northrop Grumman in this
endeavor," said Samuel Durrance, FSRI's executive director and a
former astronaut. "We hope other like-minded public and private
entities will join forces to help students seek out and find a
place in our nation's space exploration workforce."
AOL, the industry leading educational resource for teachers and
students of all ages, will serve as the official online,
interactive Web site for the Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of
Discovery. Space enthusiasts can visit (http://homeworkhelp.aol.com/zero-g)
throughout the summer for online coverage of the flight program,
including videos of teachers in zero gravity action, photo
galleries and fast facts about zero gravity. Visitors can also read
about all of the teachers selected for the flights.
Additional teacher workshops and parabolic flights for the
Northrop Grumman Weightless Flights of Discovery program are
planned for Huntsville, Ala; San Diego; Cleveland; and Washington,
D.C. The next teacher workshops are scheduled for the week of July
23 in Huntsville, with corresponding zero-gravity flights planned
for July 28-29.
Zero-gravity flights are performed in dedicated airspace 100
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 will 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