Five science teachers from the William S. Hart School District and a district official in charge of the science curriculum for Santa Clarita schools joined NASA on a flight into the stratosphere Wednesday night onboard the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy, a specially designed plane for high-altitude research.

Michael Crawford, Nicholas Gravel, Maya Loch, Christopher Spann, Matthew Stanich and Julie Huffman were all part of the second rotation of Hart District science teachers to board a SOFIA flight. The first group of six took to the skies in 2017.

These teachers made up nearly a third of the total number of teachers selected around the country for 2017 and 2018, and joined the small group of 145 teachers who have already been selected to join the program since its inception in 2011.

“Julie Huffman put out an all-call to everybody who might be interested in an opportunity like this,” said Gravel, who is currently teaching physics at Hart High School. “I put my name in for consideration, and because I teach physics, which is the science most closely related to the stuff we’re measuring here, I was selected out of all the other physics teachers and physical science teachers across the district to be a part of this.”

The SOFIA aircraft is a Boeing 747 modified by NASA to become the world’s largest airborne observatory, with an effective telescope diameter of 2.5 meters (100 inches). Flying at altitudes between 39,000 to 45,000 feet, SOFIA makes it possible to gather infrared data that would be impossible to obtain from telescopes on the ground, according to Naru Sadakuni, who acted as mission director 2 during Wednesday’s flight.

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“We’re flying above 99 percent of the water vapor in the atmosphere,” Sadakuni said. “That way we’re able to collect the data we need, and it’s less expensive than sending a satellite up.”

According to NASA officials, many objects in the universe are too cool and faint to be detected in visible light, but can be detected in the infrared spectrum. Scientists are able to study cooler objects across the universe such as planets, cool stars and nebulae by studying the infrared waves they emit.

“It is incredible science that they’re performing, and could have potential in future technology that we don’t even understand yet,” Gravel said. “The work that is being done here is going to birth a hundred more questions, and end up in a hundred more applications. The profundity of that is not lost on me.”

The aircraft is similar to a standard 747, but the way that SOFIA personnel operate it distinguishes the craft, according to flight engineer Matthew Pitch.

“We operate it at the margins of what it is capable of doing,” Pitch said during the flight from his station in the cockpit.

The various switches and gauges at his station allow Pitch to monitor conditions from the engines of the plane down to the air conditioning within the cabin.

During the flight, the teachers were able to talk to SOFIA personnel, observe what the scientists on board were doing, and conduct their own experiments.

Gravel used a speedometer to measure the speeds of the aircraft during take-off and landing; Crawford brought a scale and several chocolate bars to measure how the altitude of the plane affected the strength of gravity on objects; and Spann measured the level of radiation the aircraft was exposed to at higher altitudes using a geiger counter.

The teachers were also able to take opportunities throughout the week to tour various facilities at Edwards Air Force Base and the NASA Armstrong Facility to talk with experts and fly a simulator of SOFIA itself.

The group of science teachers is set to fly again Thursday night, and many of them hope to use this experience as an opportunity to position their students for success.

“I see this as professional development in the way that I’m getting to know more about the community outside of Santa Clarita to help get my students possible high school-level internships,” Gravel said. “I didn’t know NASA had high school-level internships. Now not only do I know, but I know where to go, who to talk to and how to get people involved.”

For more information on the SOFIA program, click here.

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