The “Vomit Comet” might sound like a drink spring breakers have been downing in Cancun bars the last few weeks, but it actually is part of a NASA-funded endeavor into microgravity research.

Four ISU students spent their spring breaks flying over the Gulf of Mexico and the shores that hosted parties below on the “Vomit Comet.” Officially known as the KC-135, it is an airborne laboratory for teams of student researchers.

The modified military aircraft is flown through 40 parabolic swoops, producing 23-second periods of simulated weightlessness.

The plane hits the top of its climb, noses down and matches the speed of free fall to create the microgravity conditions. At a given altitude, the pilots level off the plane and climb again to start the next dip.

“It was like being able to fly,” said Jason Schmid, senior in mechanical engineering.

For Trey Cauley, junior in mechanical engineering, the trip was like nothing he’d participated in before.

“The flight was an incredible, one-of-a-kind experience,” he said, “one that few are able to partake in.”

NASA’s Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program is based in Houston at the Johnson Space Center. The program gives college students the opportunity to design and perform research experiments in a reduced-gravity environment to simulate outer space.

Schmid and Cauley, along with Joseph Hynek, senior in computer engineering, and Sibil Joseph, senior in mechanical engineering, began working on a proposal to NASA in October.

After submitting the proposal, the team had to wait until the middle of December to see if they were going to fly. In January, after classes resumed, the team got to work.

“It’s the closest thing to space most people can get on Earth,” Schmid said.

Cheap flights allow for a much greater volume of testing compared to waiting for the infrequent and expensive shuttle and space station-based experiments, he said.

The ISU experiment was directed at solving a problem involving liquid systems in spacecraft.

Schmid said bubbles can form in tanks and damage pumps within the system. The students’ goal was to use high-frequency sound waves to move gas bubbles out of harm’s way.

The students reported they were happy with the preliminary results. Though data has not yet been analyzed, the experiment was relatively successful.

“No experiment yields 100 percent perfect results, but it went pretty well,” Schmid said.

Despite uneasy stomachs, Cauley said he did not miss the traditional spring-break experience – he was dedicated to the project from the start.

“I didn’t have any other plans for spring break,” he said. “We weren’t planning to fail.”