Fremont High School junior Lily Coler got the experience this summer that most people who love outer space would dream for.
Coler had a coveted NASA internship this summer with other students from different schools across the country. They studied a large range of topics while they were there; the main topic everyone dealt with in some capacity was microgravity. Every group had to submit an experiment to be flown on a parabolic flight (a flight in which for 20 seconds there is no gravity) later this year.
Her group specifically studied a supersonic flight aircraft called the X-59. NASA is trying to make flying at the speed of sound legal again but the only way to do this is to make sure there is little to no noise heard on the ground.
“My group studied the plane’s features and ways of possible improvement through 3-D modeling, microphone testing, and wind tunnel simulation,” she said. “Finally we studied hydrogen powered engines and if that technology could ever be used for supersonic flight.”
When asked about the experience outside of just the science Coler said, “I really enjoyed the activities NASA scheduled for us. We got to fly in a wind tunnel, go to Six Flags, an arcade, a visit to the Johnson Space Center, and exclusive insights to NASA’s newest projects.”
Coler said her group members are still in contact and plan to speak at a conference in December if selected. “I also plan to submit more experiments to be flown on the ISS and zero gravity flight,” she said.
Part of the reason she wanted this internship was because her future plans are to become an aerospace engineer.
When asked how she was chosen, Coler said, “I don’t exactly know how I was chosen; my biggest contributors to my resume were probably the Conference of National Affairs I attended earlier this year, and my ground school. I know there was a 2.5% acceptance rate so they chose kids specializing in a range of topics, not just engineering.”
She knew she had nothing to lose by applying, and after a friend’s sister had the experience at NASA as an intern, she knew she had to try.
She is still in contact with some scientists and engineers at NASA and is working on getting more of my experiments flown and presenting my research.