LIDE is the first commercial provider of altered gravity test platforms using parabolic flights on sailplane gliders. For the first time, LIDE is launching the Glide Your Experiment Challenge. This is a unique opportunity to fly your experiment in altered gravity conditions for free.

The competition is sponsored by SELGRA, the student chapter of the European Low Gravity Research Association (ELGRA). It aims to be the point of reference for European students interested in gravity-related research. SELGRA works to organize and support outreach activities as well as to support its members to present and promote their research.

Why gliders for altered gravity flights

Access to earthbound weightlessness is critical to many branches of applied sciences, such as material science, fluid dynamics, combustion physics, or plant biology. Besides, most space systems require microgravity testing before their launch. Existing solutions (drop towers, parabolic flights, sounding rockets) offer variable durations and qualities of microgravity environment, but their cost and lead times make them unpractical for small actors such as universities or start-up companies. This leads to a growing interest for alternative microgravity platforms.

Results of a flight test campaign that LIDE recently performed show that gliders offer several periods of up to 5.5s of continuous weightlessness, with excursions below 0.1g, and a satisfactory level of repeatability. Besides, the recordings do not suffer from the increased level of vibrations generated by piston engines, typical of light-aircraft-based alternatives. As a result, we conclude that a microgravity platform based on sailplanes would be suitable to support accelerated design and development or to produce preliminary experimental results. In addition, gliders allow experiments in hypergravity for even longer duration thanks to sustained high bank angle maneuvers.

In the same spirit as ESA’s Fly your thesis!, the goal of LIDE’s Glide Your Experiment! call for experiments is to offer selected students teams the opportunity to conduct their own microgravity or hypergravity experiments on board a glider during parabolic flights.

Technical guidelines:

A team of researchers/students will be selected among the applicants based on informations provided in the application form (hereunder), mainly focusing on the motivation, feasibility and safety of the proposed experiment. We welcome applications covering any topic in exact sciences, human sciences, arts, etc. The awardee(s) will be offered one glider parabolic flight for their experimental device, with a cumulated duration in microgravity of about 60s.

For convenience, we provide a standard container (see picture below) to accommodate experiments in the back seat of the glider. The container delivers power and TM/TC connection during the flight. You are free to fill it with equipment and your experimental setup, as long as it does not exceed the container dimensions.

Constraints on the experiment:

  • Max voltage source available: 12V
  • Max size: 80 x 180 x 300mm
  • The experiment shall not contain explosive or dangerous materials
  • TM/TC link with the ground possible via Lora connection

Subject to a prior approval by our team, you may also propose experiments on a human subject, or using a larger experimental device of your own making.

Description of gliders 0-g flight capabilities: Caprace, DG., Gontier, C., Iranmanesh, M. et al. Experimental Characterization of Weightlessness During Glider Parabolic Flights. Microgravity Sci. Technol. 32, 1121–1132 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12217-020-09836-6

Practical guidelines:

  • This call for experiments is limited to students currently enrolled in a European university or institution (high-school, bachelor, master or PhD)
  • SELGRA will commit to support the travel and accommodation of up to two teams participating in the competition: up to one team of university students (1 to 4 team members) and up to one team of high school students (1 to 4 team members) accompanied by an adult supervisor
  • The SELGRA grant can cover reasonable travel and accommodation costs up to a maximum amount of 500€ per team member
  • Application deadline: 1st of March 2021

To apply, please fill in the following application form.

Questions ? Leave a comment below or send it to info@lide.space

Selected teams are final and made at the sole discretion of LIDE and SELGRA, not subject to challenge or review. LIDE and SELGRA retain the right to decide not to select any project.

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