Mrs. Bright in Zerog: day five . . . highway to the danger zone!

Friday morning I woke up anxious . . . today would be the day. :) We did our regular morning routine, got our flight suits on (Veronica & I ), and then all of us headed to Ellington Field. We attended the morning briefing . . . and were told everything looked good for the morning flight. Veronica & I headed to our pre-flight briefing at 8:05 AM. We were told about what to expect on board, the details and side affects of the medication, and then proceeded to get those meds. I chose to get the shot form of the medication--it was supposed to go quicker into the system, and had seemed to work better than just pill form, and since I am known for getting motion sickness pretty easy, I was willing to do or try anything. It was about three minutes after I got the shot that the medication definitely kicked in, I couldn't raise my head, got very fatigued, had a hard time walking . . . didn't feel all that great. :( They said it would take a little bit for the medication to balance out in my body . . . at this point I hoped that would be soon. We boarded the airplane at 9:05 am, and then we took off at 9:30. Upon take off, I was feeling much better. It only took a couple of minutes, and we were given the O.K. to get out of our seats and set up our experiments. I was in charge of calling out the angle, size of ball bearing, and how far to pull the spring back (A or B) to launch the ball bearings. Veronica would say, "ready," and I would say, "set go!" I was positioned on the side of the airplane against the wall. We were told to lay down, but since we would be performing our experiments in hypergravity, I needed to be able to see where the ball bearing went, the measurement, so I had to sit up. Luckily, the side of the airplane was behind me, so I was supported even though I didn't get to lay all the way down. We went through three parabolas before we began our research. The first parabola . . . well . . . let's just say, microgravity is amazing!!! There is nothing like being pulled off the ground by invisible strings, like all the air around you is magically pushing you upwards. The only way to truly explain it would be to say that Tinkerbell sprinkled magic dust on me. It is the most unreal, relaxing, stimulating emotion you can definitely ever have. It is definitely hard to explain. I felt no queasiness during the entire flight. I'm thankful that during hypergravity (when that queasiness is most apparent), I had something to focus on, the research. I do think that helped me during the flight.

And well . . . we were the only group that didn't have someone get sick on the flight. Yes, I do know why it is nicknamed, the Vomit Comet. Their whole face screamed--I don't feel good! I felt so bad for them, since I know how they felt (catamaran ride in the Caribbean we won't go in to). :(

Before I knew it, we went through about nine pages of research--we rocked it out, and it was time to play with our outreach items, and experience Martian and Lunar gravity. Both were so cool as well. During Martian gravity we tried push-ups--yes, my push-ups looked really good, and well . . . I can't do one handed push ups on Mars either (have to work on that). :)

This was really one of the best experiences of my life. There really isn't anything that can compare to the emotions you go through on board. Doug, the head honcho of NASA-picture of him in a previous post, told us to make sure we took in the moment. There were several times I just looked around me, saw students doing research with their feet sideways or in the air, where I saw on the faces of fellow passengers the pure joy of feeling weightlessness, and just the amazing experience of doing something with those around me that many people do not get the opportunity to do. I am sooo lucky!! I cannot wait to go back to my school and share all of this with my students!!! and then challenge them to do what it takes to do the same at their future colleges or universities!

I did get the opportunity to look out the window . . . pretty cool seeing the airplane perpendicular with the horizon. AMAZING!

When we safely arrived on the ground, the other teachers on my team had a root beer waiting for me. :) I will never forget the four other teachers chosen to have this experience with me-Maggie, Allison, Joann, and Veronica, plus-Jamie Semple, our NASA mentor, and Ashle Robinson who made all this happen. Words cannot really express the closeness I feel to each of you, and the happiness I have knowing all of you will be my friends for a lifetime. :) & of course, THANK YOU NASA!!! :) (& the tax payers) :)

(above) I went to three colleges--Brigham Young University, Lamar University, and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi . . . well Lamar you rock! :)

(above) this was right after I was given meds . . . couldn't quite stand up without holding on to something (below) the teachers not on my flight watch us take off :)