Welding in micro-gravity

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On March 12, 2009

Led by senior Michelle Rader, a team of S&T aerospace engineering students is trying to improve the speed of construction in space.

michelle_fmt.jpegIn January, the group traveled to NASA’s Johnson Space Center for a trip aboard a Boeing 727 that simulates weightlessness by flying in parabolic patterns. While there, the students welded aluminum to study its behavior in zero gravity.

This is the team’s fifth trip to Houston. In addition to Rader, team members include Caleb Baumgart, Ben Gaither, Joe Siebert, Shawn Miller, Ryan Pahl and Tonya Sanders. George Green, an electronics technician at S&T and the team’s technical advisor, also participated.

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On March 12, 2009. Posted in News, Spring 2009