{"id":27434,"date":"2019-06-20T14:42:40","date_gmt":"2019-06-20T19:42:40","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/?p=27434"},"modified":"2019-06-20T14:42:40","modified_gmt":"2019-06-20T19:42:40","slug":"nasa-launches-rocket-with-apsus-first-ever-space-payload","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.discoverclarksville.com\/articles\/2019\/06\/20\/nasa-launches-rocket-with-apsus-first-ever-space-payload\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA launches rocket with APSU\u2019s first-ever space payload"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AustinClarksville, TN<\/strong> – Austin Peay State University\u2019s first-ever space payload launched on Thursday, June 20th, 2019 around 4:30am CT.<\/p>\n

Austin Peay physics professor Dr. Justin Oelgoetz and two APSU physics students \u2013 Zach Hill and Zach Givens \u2013 built the predesigned payload during Rocket Week at NASA\u2019s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A NASA Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket launches, carrying Austin Peay State University\u2019s first space-bound payload. (NASA)<\/p><\/div>\n

<\/p>\n

A NASA Terrier-Improved Orion suborbital sounding rocket carried the payload to space Thursday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I can say is that was really awesome to see,\u201d Hill said. \u201cSomething I helped build get launched into space.\u201d<\/p>\n

Launch Part of \u2018Rockon!\u2019 Workshop<\/h3>\n

The rocket carried 28 student experiments \u2013 including Austin Peay\u2019s \u2013 to nearly 73 miles altitude. The experiments landed via parachute in the Atlantic Ocean and a boat team retrieved the rocket and its payload by 9:00am CDT.<\/p>\n

The students \u2013 from colleges across the country \u2013 then examined their data. All the payloads took the same measurements: acceleration, humidity, pressure, temperature and radiation.<\/p>\n

\"Austin<\/a>

Austin Peay State University students Zach Hill (L) and Zach Givens (R) pose with the rocket that will carry their experiment to space. (APSU)<\/p><\/div>\n

Their efforts were part of RockOn!, a workshop that introduces participants to the basics of developing a scientific payload for flight on a suborbital rocket.<\/p>\n

According to a NASA news release, after students learn the basics at RockOn!, they can participate in RockSat-C, where during the school year, they design and build a more complicated experiment for rocket flight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea is to learn so we can design our own payloads in future years,\u201d Oelgoetz said. \u201cWe hope and intend this workshop to be the beginning of an Austin Peay space \u2018program,\u2019 not a degree but a fountain of student projects and opportunities.\u201d<\/p>\n

[320left]Hill said he learned several things at RockOn! \u201cthat will help me with the high-altitude balloon project as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cFor example, on the ground, air acts as a pretty good insulator between exposed components, but at high altitudes and in space there is very little air so there are steps that should be taken to make sure high-voltage components don\u2019t arc elsewhere on the board.\u201d<\/p>\n

RockOn! is supported by the Colorado and Virginia Space Grant Consortia, NASA\u2019s Office of STEM Engagement and NASA\u2019s National Space Grant College and Fellowship Program.<\/p>\n

Austin Peay\u2019s trip is supported by the Tennessee NASA Space Grant Consortium, of which APSU is a member.<\/p>\n

To Learn More<\/h3>\n