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Bay Area Teachers Go Weightless In Name Of Science

Tribune photo by JULIE BUSCH

Sixty Florida middle school math and science teachers chosen to participate in Northrop Grumman Foundation's Weightless Flights of Discovery.

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By KEITH MORELLI | The Tampa Tribune

Published: September 30, 2008

CAPE CANAVERAL - Middle school teachers from the Tampa Bay area and across Florida slipped free from the Earth's gravitational constraints Tuesday, part of a program to nudge students toward careers in math, science and engineering.

For David Mershon, who teaches science to eighth-graders at Lakeland Highlands Middle School in Polk County, it was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

" '2001: A Space Odyssey' is one of my favorite movies," said Mershon, a physics teacher dubbed "the Wild One" by his teammates.

"This is a kid's dream."

Mershon, 45, managed a few midair twists and somersaults during his ride aboard a special Boeing 727, but he had to skip a couple of zero-gravity experiments that he was going to bring back to his class.

About 30 teachers from across Florida went up on the morning flight. Teachers were strapped into seats at the rear of a wide-open cabin area, and when the plane reached altitude, around 35,000 feet, they bounded forward into a large romper-room area.

As the aircraft rose sharply, everyone was flat on their backs and the G-forces made them twice their normal weight. Then, as the plane crested and headed back toward earth, everyone lifted off the floor and danced in midair, lighter than feathers.

The plane plummeted, dropping about 10,000 feet in about 15 seconds -- faster than the human cargo, which caused the weightlessness.

Most of the teachers squealed like children and giggled -- a common reaction, flight directors said.

Some weren't so chipper, though. A few reached for vomit bags.

In all, teachers endured 15 weightless experiences, each lasting about 25 seconds. Some bumped heads. No one was seriously hurt.

The opportunity is offered by Northrop Grumman Foundation, which helped catapult some 60 Florida teachers into weightlessness on Tuesday in two flights from the Kennedy Space Center shuttle landing center.

This parabolic or weightless flight is true weightlessness, not a simulation. NASA has used parabolic flight to train astronauts for 40 years.

Two-hundred teachers from across the state applied for spots on the flights Tuesday. Five from the Bay area were selected:

Jonathan Coombs of Lakeland, who teaches science in seventh and eighth grade at Lawton Chiles Middle School.

Arturo Rodriguez of Port Richey, who teaches science in sixth, seventh and eighth grade at Chasco Middle School.

Karen Stewart of Land 'O Lakes, who teaches science to seventh-graders at Charles Rushe Middle School.

David Cox of Tampa, who teaches science in sixth, seventh and eighth grade at Benito Middle School.

The teachers attended a workshop last month in Melbourne, where they designed experiments to perform while weightless – tossing a Koosh ball, for example, seeing how water reacts, and watching a Slinky when weightless.

The answer to the last one: It stretches out into a straight line and then just hangs there.

Zero Gravity Corp. is the only company in the nation licensed to offer weightless flights to the public. Through the Northrop Grumman Foundation, teachers got the ride of a lifetime for free and are now certified "zero-naughts."

Zero Gravity typically charges about $5,000 per customer. Since launching Zero Gravity in September 2004, the company has flown more than 3,000 people on 150 weightless flights.

"It was such a rush," said Stephen Sims, a math teacher in Volusia County. "The scientific part of it went right over me at first, because I was having the time of my life. I was grinning the whole time."

BY THE NUMBERS

30: Minutes to get to the right altitude before parabolic flights could begin.

11,000: Distance in feet the airplane dropped within 20 seconds to create weightlessness.

60: Teachers who took the weightless flights on Tuesday.

15: Parabolic flights undertaken teachers on each flight; each period of weightlessness lasted about 20 seconds.

0: People injured – and the combined weight of everyone on board during the parabolic portion of the flight.

4: Number of people on the flight who made use of the vomit bags.

Reporter Keith Morelli can be reached at (813) 259-7760 or kmorelli@tampatrib.com.

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