Flying weightless aboard NASA's near-zero gravity spacecraft was a little like being under water, explained Nicole Monahan '10, a member of Cornell's Control Moment Gyroscope (CMG) project team.

"But you can't kick around," said the rising sophomore and mechanical engineering student. "You have to push off the wall or off the floor and just let yourself glide."

Monahan and several other CMG Research Team members boarded the microgravity aircraft this past spring as part of NASA's Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program, held in Houston. Cornell was one of 34 school teams selected by NASA for the program this year.

Accompanying the team was a gyroscope-powered robotic arm they'd built, which they tested in the weightless environment. The students designed the arm for in-flight spacecraft repair with CMGs, which are motorized gyroscopes that produce high torque with little power. Their main concerns were the arm's ability to work in the weightless environment and its power efficiency.

Co-team leader Joshua Kennedy, M.Eng. '07, who did not board the flight but went with the team to NASA, called the run a success. Though they didn't get as much concrete data as they had hoped for, the arm responded to commands from its power sources and proved that most of the team's mathematical models had been correct.

"We basically got physical proof that the concept was viable," Kennedy said.

The robotic arm is back at the team's Upson Hall lab awaiting mechanical upgrades and maintenance on parts that had rusted due to the plane's powerful air conditioning, coupled with the hot Houston conditions. The team will be getting rebuilt, too.

Only Monahan and Qing Liu '08 will be returning next year, as the other team members have either graduated or will not return. They plan to start recruiting new members soon, Monahan said.