Through the pilot program Aerospace Catalyst Experiences for Students, University student workers in technical fields are designing projects that will travel to the edge of the atmosphere.
Fifteen students are developing payloads, boxes that hang below helium balloons, containing sensory chips to measure atmospheric temperature and the balloon’s altitude, speed, course and direction.
The balloons will go about 100,000 feet above the earth’s surface where only 1 percent of the atmosphere remains. The balloon will take about four hours to ascend and two to three hours to fall, but planning the trip takes much longer, said Jarrod Marsh, a physics sophomore.
He has averaged 10 hours per week working on ACES since last semester, from attending meetings and lectures to designing the payload.
Lizzabeth Ponce, a chemical engineering senior, said she treats the project like a class because it is so time-consuming.
The designers use foam boards and duct tape to create small boxes containing the sensory chips. The boxes must be light enough for the balloon to carry but strong enough to withstand extremely cold temperatures and the limited atmosphere.
Students attend biweekly formal sessions where they listen to lectures and learn technical information needed to do the projects. Students also work hands-on in the labs, testing materials and designs.
The students are paid as student workers during the formal sessions to allow them to concentrate on the project, said John Wefel, physics and astronomy professor.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration funds the project under the Space Grant Project. NASA gave extra funding for ACES as a work force development program to train future employees before graduation.
NASA wants students to experience the entire research process, from the idea’s conception to analyzing the experiments’ data results, Wefel said.
“We’ve had to do all of this from scratch,” Ponce said. “Our payload success and the success of our mission depend on knowing the material. You can’t ignore anything you learn.”
The project is a group effort requiring a lot of involvement. Four faculty instruct and monitor the students’ work.
One student working on ACES is from Southern University.
The students work in five teams of three, each with a different objective to measure. One group’s payload will measure radiation, another ultraviolet light and another the ozone.
All the data students will gather has been previously tested, so the students are testing their technical accuracy and design efficiency.
“The point is not to gain unique data, but to gain experience,” said Marsh. “I plan to go into astrophysics, so it’s a very valuable experience.”
Marsh hopes the project will open Louisiana to the national science community because recognition brings grant money for research and more faculty.
Although the physics department is small, the department’s research has generated national attention for the University.
“The project directly affects the school because it can raise people’s opinion of our state,” Marsh said. “Louisiana always had a reputation for being slow in science. We want to bring Louisiana to the scientific community.”
Ponce said besides technical knowledge and skills, the most important skill she has learned is project management.
“It’s definitely a great program because it gives real inside experience most science and engineering majors don’t get without an internship,” Ponce said.
The students plan to launch their balloons with payloads in May at the National Scientific Balloon Facility in Palestine, Texas.