Univ. of Puerto Rico among NASA grantees for supersonic flight project
NASA has awarded grants to five universities, including the University of Puerto Rico, to help develop education plans for the community overflight phase of the agency’s Quesst mission, which aims to demonstrate the possibility of supersonic flight without the typical loud sonic booms.
The Quesst initiative is focused on the X-59 experimental aircraft, designed to break the sound barrier with only a minimal sonic disturbance. Once flight testing is complete, NASA plans to fly the X-59 over various U.S. communities to collect public perception data on the noise produced.
Each selected university team, including the UPR’s, will receive $40,000 from NASA’s Office of STEM Engagement to create strategies for engaging students and educators in communities where NASA will conduct overflights. These plans are essential for ensuring communities understand the Quesst mission and their role in it.
“The Quesst mission is unique at NASA, with community input playing a major part in its success,” said Eric Miller, deputy mission integration manager for Quesst. “These new awards will allow NASA to learn from other [science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM)] professionals, informing us as we develop a framework to effectively engage with students and educators.”
The selected institutions and their projects are:
- Carthage College, Kenosha, Wisconsin – STEM Quesst, Wisconsin Space Grant
- Cornell University, Ithaca, New York – Quesst Community Overflight STEM Engagement New York Space Grant Consortium
- Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia – Engaging the National NASA Space Grant Network in Support of the Quesst Community Overflight STEM Engagement
- University of Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico – Space Grant Quesst Community Overflight STEM Engagement: Sounds of Our World
- University of California, San Diego – California Space Grant Planning Support for the Quesst Community Overflight STEM Engagement
The projects’ outcomes will shape a student engagement framework suitable for any potential overflight community. NASA has not yet decided on the specific locations for these overflights.
