Waterloo student to make history with first Canadian student space flight experiment with Blue Origin
TEXAS - As the seconds count down to launch, Olivia Ye will be holding her breath.
Watching from Launch Site One in West Texas, the University of Waterloo mechatronics student will make history on Wednesday when her project becomes the first Canadian student space flight experiment with Blue Origin.
The private aerospace company was founded by Jeff Bezos in 2000, and is working toward a future where people can live and work in space to benefit Earth.
On Wednesday, the New Shepard rocket will bring 36 different scientific payloads into low Earth orbit.
Ye's experiment - created with a group of 10 students from across Canada as part of Shad Canada's 2020 Summer STEAM Program - will test the effects of microgravity on polyurethane foam.
At its core, the goal of the experiment is to see whether it's possible to create more stable foam - with fewer bubbles - in reduced-gravity environments.
It's a project with real implications for everyday life, as foam is used in everything from implants and prosthetics to construction materials and auto parts, said Shawna Pandya, one of Ye's mentors who is also in Texas for the launch.
Pandya is a physician, scientist-astronaut candidate with Project PoSSUM, researcher, aquanaut, speaker, martial artist, diver, skydiver and pilot-in-training.
And even with a biography that reads like that of an action hero, she said she still has butterflies when she thinks about Ye's project launching into space.
Olivia is great for being enthusiastic, hard-working and asking the right questions," she said from Texas on Monday.
I don't view my job as advising and saying, You should do this or do that.' I see this natural curiosity and talent, and I want to be the springboard to help her find those opportunities."
The goal of the original project with Shad Canada was to create a science experiment using microgravity that has a positive impact on humanity and pushes the boundaries of scientific research.
As the group put their heads together, said Ye, they started thinking about silly string.
We were thinking about art and then maybe projectile motion with science," said Ye.
And then we started thinking about chemistry, which led us to the creation of our current idea, which is to investigate the formation of foam in space."
A panel of judges chose the proposal to be built and launched into space as part of Blue Origin's 23rd mission with the New Shepard rocket.
It is one of 36 projects that will be on board, from a variety of academic and research institutions around the world.
With a team that spans from Nova Scotia to British Columbia, Ye spent the last few months using her engineering skills to build the physical project that will be spent into space on Wednesday.
From start to finish, the team worked on the project remotely - even dating back to the original concept creation in 2020.
They published a paper documenting the process, which was shared at the International Astronautical Congress in Dubai last year, the world's largest gathering for space professionals.
It's been a whirlwind for Ye over the last two years, launching herself into the world of space exploration before she even graduated high school.
Now studying mechatronics at Waterloo, Ye said she hopes to one day find a way to bring together her passions for space and aquatics.
But she's not looking past Wednesday just yet.
Current weather forecasts are showing suitable conditions for a Wednesday takeoff.
I'm going to be holding my breath the entire time, but completely speechless and in awe," she said. We're going to see that rocket launch, and we're going to know that something we made is sitting on that rocket."
And then the work begins again, said Pandya.
Once New Shepard returns to Earth, it will be back into the lab for Ye and her team to find out just what type of future space holds in the creation of foam.
Robert Williams is a Waterloo Region-based reporter for The Record. Reach him via email: robertwilliams@torstar.ca