Engineering students set to fly NASA's 'Vomit Comet'

University Park, Pa. -- A team of Nittany Lions will learn what it feels like to defy gravity when they travel to the Johnson Space Center in Houston to fly and conduct an experiment in plasma physics and microgravity on NASA's "Weightless Wonder," a modified McDonnell Douglas DC-9.

The Flyin’ Lions -- Jaci Croce, architectural engineering senior; Kel Elkins, aerospace engineering senior; Matthew Futterman, mechanical engineering senior; Chad Gerdish, aerospace engineering senior; Shannon Kolensky, aerospace engineering senior; Val O’Donnell, aerospace engineering freshman; and Jessica Tramaglini, aerospace engineering sophomore -- are one of 34 teams selected to fly in the "Vomit Comet." This is the third time Penn State has participated in the NASA program.

The "Vomit Comet" nickname stems from the fact that a large number of students who participate in the flight get sick from the weightlessness. But Futterman said he's not worried about that: "I'm so pumped! I can't wait to get up there."

The team departed Tuesday morning (March 6) and takes flight sometime during the week of March 12. They will be in Houston for two weeks getting ready for take off. Elkins said, "It's a little stressful right now -- we have a lot of things to get done before we can fly." But once all loose ends are tied, Elkins can concentrate on what he says is a "chance of a lifetime."

The Flyin' Lions have been preparing all year for the flight both academically and physically. Kolensky explained that "everyone has to pass a FAA flight physical first, which we all did." Like her teammates, Kolensky said she isn't worried about getting sick during the flight. "We've been practicing these procedures for so long that hopefully when we get up there it will be second nature."