25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

www.nasa.gov

NASA Flight Opportunities

25 Years of Microgravity Research –

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

Community of Practice Webinar Series – January 6, 2021

Session will start at 10am PT – Please mute your microphone and turn off your camera

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Welcome to the Community of Practice Webinar Series!

First, a bit of housekeeping...

• Please mute your microphone and turn off your camera

• Today’s session will be recorded

• Recordings for this and all future session will be posted on the Flight Opportunities website

• Please engage!

• Use the chat throughout the session to ask questions

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

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Welcome to the Community of Practice Webinar Series!

Flight Opportunities hopes these webinars will enable researchers, program 

staff, and flight providers to connect informally and share information

• Designed to distill and share the most important lessons learned to:

• Increase the impact of suborbital flight tests

• Transfer best practices

• Optimize the experience of current and prospective program participants

• Part of an effort to capture, organize, and communicate lessons learned by 

suborbital researchers

• An opportunity to hear from subject matter experts on best practices for preparing 

for suborbital flight tests

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Today’s Speakers

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John Kelly

Program Manager

NASA Flight Opportunities

Dr. Steven Collicott

Professor of Aerospace Engineering

Purdue University

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Flight Opportunities Mission

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The Flight Opportunities program 

facilitates rapid demonstration of promising 

technologies for space exploration, discovery, and 

the expansion of space commerce through 

suborbital testing with industry flight providers.

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

BETWEEN 2011 AND TODAY... 

Supported 211 successful fights

Enabled 735 tests of payloads

274 technologies in the portfolio

12 active commercial providers

A Decade of Flight Opportunities

6 As of December 31, 2020

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

Steven Collicott

School of Aeronautics and Astronautics

Purdue University

Photo by Blue Origin

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NASA FOP Community of Practice

January 6, 2021

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Outline

1. Quick self-introduction

2. Brief description of launch 

activities

3. Short description of 

student involvement

4. Lots of time for 

questions and 

discussions

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

1. Zero-g Experimentation Experiences, 1997 to date • 7 fluids payloads on 5 Blue Origin New Shepard commercial sub-orbital flights

• 2 fluids test vessel geometries designed for the successful Vane Gap fluids payloads in ISS. 

• 28 payloads on NASA parabolic aircraft flights, mostly fluids experiments

• 12 fluids payloads on ZeroG Corporation parabolic aircraft flights

• Advised Dr. Mo Kassemi, on important changes to NASA’s ZBOT tank geometry, thus enabling 

highly successful ZBOT operations in orbit in 2018. 

• Advised industry on 1 commercial ISS payload launched recently to the ISS.

• 1 fluids payload on UpAerospace Spaceloft launch, second payload delivered November, 2020

• Fluids payloads launched on 7 Armadillo Aerospace sub-orbital mission attempts

• Sensor payload launched on 3 Exos Aerospace sub-orbital mission attempts, #4 soon.

• 2 payloads designed, 1 built, for XCor Aerospace sub-orbital missions

• 1 fluids payload completed, 1 sensor payload begun for Masten Space Systems flights.

• 1 fluids payload begun for Virgin Galactic flights.

• Advised on 2-phase fluids separator design for the successful CCF experiment in space station. 

• Drop tower experiments to solve fluids issues and reduce required astronaut time, for an ISS 

animal habitat. 

• Built and operated 2 drop towers at Purdue for zero-g fluids experiments.

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

Zero-g Industrial Experiences

• Gravity Probe-B main helium dewar bubble positioning tests and modeling, 1994. Validated by performance on orbit.

• Computed the first accurate propellant mass center position history throughout the 

mission for profitable Lockheed Martin A-2100 commercial communications satellites. 

1998. 

• First computation of propellant mass center shifts during stationkeeping burns in 

Lockheed-Martin communications satellites, c. 2000. 

• Developed thermal propellant gauging system with Lockheed Martin Commercial Space 

Systems, 1998. Validated on orbit numerous times

• Delivered thermal propellant gauging for GEO satellites with LM, Comsat Technical 

Services, and YSPM. 1998 to date.

• Developed thermal re-balancing of fuel in multi-tank satellites with Lockheed-Martin. 

Validated by profitable lifetime extensions of actual commercial satellites in orbit.

• Created and deliver, to industry and NASA, a 2-day short course on using the Surface 

Evolver computer code for practical tank and PMD modeling and analysis.

• Consulting for numerous industrial clients and NASA on propellant management problems. 

Disclosure of commercial client names is generally prohibited. 1998 to date. 

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Lockheed Martin 

LM2100 Satellite

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

1-g Two-Phase Fluids Experiences

• World’s first true-scale (200 micron), true pressure (206 MPa) visualization of 

unsteady cavitation inside diesel fuel injector orifices, 1997. NSF CAREER award 

research with Cummins collaboration. 

• Oil sump research and design, 1999 to 2006. Teamed with industry sponsor to 

solve a major oil flow problem in what has since become a ubiquitous and highly 

dependable turbofan engine in the global regional jet market. This work also 

generated the knowledge for the sponsor to design the successful oil system in the 

F-35B Joint Strike Fighter lift fan used for every vertical take-off and landing. 

Plus, aerodynamics impact:

• Developed the laser-perturber for hypersonic boundary layer receptivity and 

stability experiments in Purdue’s world-leading hypersonic quiet-flow tunnels.

• Developed the ultra-high sensitivity laser differential interferometer for measuring 

wave growth non-intrusively in hypersonic boundary layers on realistic flight 

geometries in Purdue’s world-leading hypersonic quiet-flow wind tunnels. 

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

Professional Service • Chair of SARG: Sub-orbital Applications Researchers Group of the Commercial Spaceflight 

Federation (CSF), June 2013 to date.

– Advocate in legislative and executive branches of US government, plus NASA and the FAA, for increasing science and 

education uses of the new generation of low-cost readily-available commercial re-usable sub-orbital rockets. 

– Advertise in the science community to expand awareness of these new opportunities.

– Partner to manage technical program for Next-gen Sub-orbital Researchers Conferences, March 2020 is the 7th.

• President-elect, American Society for Gravitational and Space Research, Nov. 2020 to Oct. 2021

– To be followed by a year as ASGSR president, then a year as ASGSR conference organizer

• Invited Testimony, U.S. Senate Sub-committee on Science and Space, May, 2013. 

– Senators Bill Nelson (FL) and Ted Cruz (TX) presiding.

• Committee on Biological and Physical Sciences in Space, National Academies. 

– Advise NASA BPS (was: SLPSRA) on research priorities and paths

– Helped oversee the pending decadal plan for BPS in SMD

– Aid in planning for NASA research in the new lunar exploration era

• Science and Technology Advisory Panel, ISS-National Labs/CASIS. April 2013 to October 2020.

– Advise on the use of national labs in space station for impacting life on Earth.

– Aided in creation of joint ISS-NL & NSF fluids and combustion funding for ISS experiments. 2016 to date.

• Chair, AIAA Microgravity and Space Processes Technical Committee, 2015 to 2019. 

– Increase participation in TC, increase awareness of new opportunities

– Oversee biennial Space Processing technical award process. 15

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

Launch Activities • Launched with FOP to date:

– Blue Origin, 5 payloads on 4 flights

– UpAerospace, 1 launched, 1 more delivered

– Zero-G Corp airplane, many to date

• Building with FOP for:

– Virgin Galactic, 1 so far

– Masten Space Systems, 1 so far

• Also, outside of FOP:

– active with Exos (was Armadillo) since 2009, many launches

– My first Blue Origin payload was launched courtesy of Blue Origin, built with NSF 

support

– My K-12 payload on Blue Origin was funded by local fund-raising

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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Unique Teaching • Started what became “AAE418 Zero-gravity Flight Experiment” in 1996 from student interest 

in NASA’s then-new “Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunity Program” or RGSFOP. 

– This design-build-test class grew to 4 experiments winning per year in the competitive 

proposal program and then flying in parabolic aircraft flights for zero-g experimentation.

– In 2009 I added commercial sub-orbital payloads. 

– 2014 was the last NASA RGSFOP flight when NASA closed their Reduced Gravity Office.

– First Blue Origin launch in summer 2016, thanks to Blue Origin and NSF.

– I have secured over $7M of aircraft and rocket flights for AAE students. Plus 5 days in 

NASA’s NBL.

• Now 60 juniors and seniors per semester, plus 30 in the summers. Over 

1,100 students since 1996.

– Now working with grad students, professor, and technicians on FOP payloads

– Payloads take more than one semester to design, build, test, fly, and analyze, so each 

semester sees a different team. 

– One or more students generally travel to launch

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

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Question time

• What’s on your mind?

• Also, for detailed questions regarding your 

own payload, specific design choices, 

consulting, Surface Evolver modeling, etc., 

drop me an email. collicott@purdue.edu

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25 Years of Microgravity Flight Research

A Conversation with Dr. Steven Collicott

January 6, 2021

Community of Practice Webinar Series

NASA Flight Opportunities

https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/spacetech/flightopportunities/community-of-practice

NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

Join us for the future Community of Practice webinars!

Successfully Proposing to the Flight Opportunities Program

• February 3, 2021 at 10 a.m. PST 

• Stephan Ord, Flight Opportunities Chief Technologist, along with veteran 

suborbital researchers 

Future webinars

• Webinar series will be held 1st Wednesday of each month at 10 a.m. PT

• Topics will be announced in the Flight Opportunities newsletter and website

• Sessions recordings will be posted on the Flight Opportunities website

• Let us know session topics you would like to see covered

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NASA FLIGHT OPPORTUNITIES

28 www.nasa.gov

Thank you! 

Flight Opportunities website: 

http://nasa.gov/flightopportunities

Contact us:

NASA-FlightOpportunities@mail.nasa.gov

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