Microgravity University, also known as the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program (RGSFOP) is a program run by NASA which enables undergraduate university students to perform microgravity experiments aboard NASA's DC-9 aircraft at Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
Acceptance into the program requires a team of four fliers (and any number of ground crew) and is done through the writing and submission (during late Fall) of a technical proposal which details among other things what the experiment is about, safety considerations, and outreach plans. In the 2007 campaign, 36 of the 74 proposals submitted were accepted. Upon acceptance, a flight date is assigned and the team must design and build the planned experiment by then. Prior to flight, submission of a TEDP (an in-depth description of apparatus) is also required, as are FAA approved physical examinations for all fliers and the optional alternate flier.
Read more about Microgravity University: The Flight Week
Famous quotes containing the word university:
“In the United States, it is now possible for a person eighteen years of age, female as well as male, to graduate from high school, college, or university without ever having cared for, or even held, a baby; without ever having comforted or assisted another human being who really needed help. . . . No society can long sustain itself unless its members have learned the sensitivities, motivations, and skills involved in assisting and caring for other human beings.”
—Urie Bronfenbrenner (b. 1917)