I could not believe they were going to let US build an actual Aerosonde. |
On our first day at NASA, we assembled an Aerosonde. We arrived at NASA not knowing what to expect. We were told that we would be doing Aerosonde activities all day. I walked in thinking, oh great, I get to spend the day in a conference listening to people talk about how the Aerosonde works and what its uses are. Boy was I wrong.
We were led into our hanger and introduced to our team members. We were shown a room where we were to work. A table with lots of plane pieces greeted us. I could not believe they were going to let US build an actual Aerosonde. I shook hands with Ryan, and we went to work.
I was really nervous at first. I had never ever built a model plane before, let alone an expensive piece of science equipment. It was really nerve racking. I was so lost and
I was really nervous at first. I had never even built a model plane before, let alone an expensive piece of science equipment. |
turned around. I was definitely NOT in my normal habitat. After our first efforts I think the whole team got more comfortable with Ryan. He really seemed to be one of us, just a lot smarter. He helped make the experience a whole lot easier and much more enjoyable.
After we got the body of the Aerosonde built, I felt as if I could have built it by myself in my sleep. We had accomplished a lot, but again I couldn’t have been more wrong. We still had the motor and propeller area to assemble. But it wasn’t the assembly that I was worried about; it was the asking questions part. I had such a tough time that morning, and I was sure the questioning part of my brain was used up. It turned out I did a better job asking questions in the afternoon than in the morning! It was also really nerve racking trying to ask a question and trying to do something with my hands that I had never done before!
In the end it turned out all right. The Aerosonde was successfully
It was also really nerve racking trying to ask a question and trying to do something with my hands that I had never done before! |
built AND was not broken. I thought for sure that my clumsy nature would have caused me to screw something up really badly. I was really excited when the Aerosonde was fully built. It was such a great feeling of accomplishment to see something so technologically advanced built with my own hands, even if it took us longer than if Ryan had assembled it. It was an extremely unique experience, and I consider myself fortunate to have been able to work with such a gifted group of people.