Students help NASA cut equipment costs

You've probably never thought that building training equipment for astronauts is so easy that high school students could do it. Turns out, though, that it is. Several Houston high school students were given the opportunity by NASA to help build equipment that will be used to train International Space Station crews.

The program, High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware (HUNCH), was created by a Johnson Space Center engineer who wanted to create a unique educational experience for students while fulfilling a need in the space program. The program helps NASA to cut down on the cost of building equipment. On Monday, students presented their finished projects to NASA in a ceremony at Chaves High School. The equipment included replicas of station rack power smoke indicator units, internal vehicular activity handrails and four treadmill vibration isolation system rope assemble units. Where's the flux capacitor?

Students from ten Houston-area high schools participated, as well as others from one school in Montana.