OUT OF THIS WORLD
Students making hardware for International Space Station
Everyone is familiar with school projects.
Maybe it was taking a wood shop class and crafting a clock that wound up on the mantel. Or maybe it was drawing a picture that was proudly displayed on the refrigerator.
For most people, however, the idea of one of their school projects ending up in space probably never crossed their mind.
But for a group of students at Berks Career and Technology Center, that’s exactly where a project they’re working on is headed.
Students in the computerized machining program at the school’s west campus in Bern Township are making hardware that will be headed to the International Space Station. The work is being done through the NASA HUNCH program, which partners schools across the U.S. with the space agency and has students participate in the design and fabrication of products for NASA.
The BCTC students are working on making flanges that are part of satellite launchers on the space station.
The project is actually the second NASA HUNCH program BCTC students have taken part in. Last year they made metal hand rails for the space station.
“We kind of wanted to stretch our abilities a little bit this time,” instructor Peter Hoffman said, explaining that the flanges are a much more complex project than the hand rails.
Hoffman said he is thrilled to get his students involved with NASA, saying the work they are doing for the agency will help prepare them for pretty much anything they might face when they begin their careers.
The students are forced to follow a strict set of criteria set by NASA and use materials hand-selected by the agency. The process includes precise and in-depth documentation of everything they do.
After all, Hoffman said, NASA isn’t about to send a piece of hardware into space without making sure it’s up
“It’s amazing how they rise to the occasion, they take it seriously. We can make parts just for exercise, but with this they’re getting the exercise and they’re also doing something that’s critically important.”