Students Build 22-foot Underwater Model of International Space Station

  • Published
  • By Jeanne Dailey, AFRL/RD
  • Directed Energy
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico --  The Air Force Research Laboratory La Luz Academy and the Challenger Learning Center New Mexico brought together middle and high school students from public, private, charter, and home schools around the Albuquerque area to build a 22-foot model of the International Space Station while underwater in Kirtland's indoor swimming pool.

Before beginning their underwater work, the students practiced building the ISS on land, using scale-model pieces custom built from PVC pipe and plastic planters.

Seventeen students spent a week practicing construction and learning the skills necessary to build the model - 1/20th of the actual size - of the ISS. They also learned the history of the ISS and how NASA brought the international community together to build it.

Following the weeklong work in the classroom, students went to the swimming pool to assemble the model, simulating the microgravity conditions of outer space.

"NASA astronauts frequently practice spacewalk missions underwater to simulate the weightlessness of space," said Casey Engleman, a flight director with the Challenger Learning Center. "In many ways, this exercise let the students practice like real NASA astronauts would for a mission."

Students formed specialized teams to build the complex model. Payload specialists ensured the pieces had neutral buoyancy, neither sinking nor floating, to simulate how the parts would behave in space. Mission specialists did the underwater building of the space station model, while the life support team provided air to the mission specialists in the pool, using long hoses attached to snorkels. Some students photo-documented the operation from above and in the water, while others remained outside the pool as public relations representatives for the mission, answering questions for the media and other observers.

"The exercise operated like an underwater ballet, with each person performing their task in coordination with all the other team members, to build the complex model without collisions or chaos," Engleman said.

AFRL created the La Luz Academy as an education outreach program to inspire students to pursue career paths in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. It provides interactive hand-on activities for students in fifth through 12th grades as well as teacher training. More than 3,000 New Mexico students and teachers participate in STEM activities each year.

Another underwater ISS Camp is planned for next summer.