NASA invites applications from graduate students to fly experiments

Here is an opportunity for those students who want to fly experiments. NASA is seeking college students experiments for a balloon flight.

NASA is inviting applications from graduates and undergraduate students to submit applications to fly experiments to the edge of space abroad a high-altitude scientific balloon.

According to the source, compact satellites, prototypes and other space-engineering products- to be designed and built by selected students are scheduled to fly on the High Altitude Student Platform (HASP) in the fall of 2014.

These projects will be launched from the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility's remote site in Fort Summer, N.M. HASP flights typically last for 15 to 20 hours at an altitude of about 23 miles.

A panel of engineers from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility onWallops Island, Va. and LaSPACE will review the applications and select the finalists for the flight.

The deadline to apply is Dec. 20. A question-and-answer teleconference is scheduled for 11 a.m. on Nov. 15.

What is High Altitude Student Platform?

HASP is a balloon-borne instrument stack that houses and provides power, mechanical support, interfacing and communications for the instruments. It is maintained by the Louisiana Space Consortium, or LaSPACE, in Baton Rouge, La.

HASP includes a standard mechanical, power and communication interface for the student payload, based upon a flight tested design. This simplifies integration, allows the student payloads to be fully exercised, and minimises the platform development / operation costs. In addition, HASP is lightweight and has a simple mission requirements, thus providing maximum flexibility in the launch schedule.

The major goals of the HASP Program are to foster student excitement in an aerospace career path and to help address workforce development issues in this area. HASP plans to provide a "space test platform" to encourage student research and stimulate the development of student satellite payloads and other space-engineering products.

For more information, visit http://laspace.lsu.edu/hasp