First Day On the Field

Today was the team's first day at Ellington Field. When I walked through the gate all I could think was "this is it, we're going all the way". Shortly after we sat down, the "Weightless Wonder VI" DC9 aircraft rolled in for inspection just feet from where we were setting up. It was amazing, and perfect timing. This is not the aircraft we will be flying on; ours is a 727 aircraft and won't arrive on the field until Monday. We were greeted with a warm welcome by the Reduced Gravity Office staff and hanger crew. Immediately following, work began. Despite the piece that broke off during shipping, the rest of the box construction went together smoothly. Everyone at Ellington field is so supportive of our research and they want to do everything they can to make sure our experiment is safe and ready to fly on Tuesday.
It was great seeing experiments from other teams. They have all put a ton of work into them and the excitement and anticipation is contagious.
We have a very large team in comparison and needed two tables for setup! The University of Nebraska was short a flyer so we let them "borrow" our alternate flyer, Kyle. Needless to say, that really made Kyle's day and will be a great networking opportunity to get to know other students in the program.
As the team lead, I've spent most of my time going to the meetings, writing support documents and making sure information is properly communicated. The schedule here is pretty tight with work and training but has room for some pretty exciting tours. There is so much to do and the adventure has just begun!