Clear Creek ISD students help NASA design, build products for space station

By Mark Kramer

Clear Creek High School students are shooting for the stars, thanks to a partnership program with NASA.

Through a program called High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware, or HUNCH, students at Clear Creek are getting the chance to work on products that will be used in space training modules and aboard the International Space Station.

Seven years ago, NASA officials were charged with finding an affordable way to create training hardware for the International Space Station. The solution was to form partnerships with area high schools that had the capability and desire to work with NASA. NASA needed schools that could perform engineering tasks, metal fabrication, electronics work and software programming. Clear Creek High School in Clear Creek ISD, which is neighbors with NASA’s Johnson Space Center, immediately jumped at the opportunity. Other districts to participate in HUNCH projects include Galena Park, Cypress-Fairbanks and Houston.

“This is a chance of a lifetime for these kids,” says Robin Merritt, engineering instructor at Clear Creek High School. “Knowing that they worked on projects that will actually be used in space travel gives them a sense of pride and serves as encouragement for them to stay focused on their goals for the future.”

Students in the computer integrated manufacturing class and engineering classes are involved in the design of HUNCH projects, while the metal technology classes handle the manufacturing portion of the projects. Metal technology teacher William Gibbs and physics teacher Matt Gibbs lead students through the tasks. Students also work hand-in-hand with NASA personnel and local aerospace and engineering companies.

“These high school students are doing what engineers with 25 to 30 years’ experience are doing at NASA ― and they are doing it very well,” says Steve Rogers, a NASA contractor with Jacobs Engineering.

One of the more interesting HUNCH projects is a dining table for space station astronauts. The table has a vacuum system that sucks up stray food particles and keeps them out of the hardware used aboard the space station. To test the table’s vacuum function, a group of Clear Creek students were the first students in the nation to fly aboard a zero-gravity plane, which NASA uses to train astronauts. The students spent a total of five hours on the plane during two flights. During the flights, students tested the vacuum’s air flow, suction and filter systems. Astronauts are scheduled to take the 74-by-32-inch, aluminum table to the space station sometime this year.

“These projects are real and very difficult, requiring research and trial and error,” Merritt says. “To see one of your projects headed for space is a thrilling accomplishment.”

Engineering students from Cy-Woods High School in Cypress-Fairbanks ISD joined forces with the Clear Creek ISD group during the final phase of the project. They created a prototype for the table in wax with sheet-metal sides. The students then presented the table to NASA for final approval.

Now the HUNCH program students are working on the design of a CO² filtering unit that measures and filters CO² from spacecrafts. The students also are working on a glove box and transfer cabinet, which will be used for experiments in space that could be toxic to astronauts if not contained properly.

“The possibilities are endless for these kids,” Merritt says.

For schools or districts interested in learning more about HUNCH, contact program coordinator Stacy Hale at (832) 226-3963.