Steiner devised a rapid gelation process, allowing alcogels to be created in just a few seconds in a semi-automated mini-lab on the KC-135A. He tried out his recipe on the aircraft last year when he was only a freshman, but his equipment wasn't up to the task.
"Our first attempt was very unsuccessful," he admits. "I didn't understand how sophisticated the engineering had to be. The equipment didn't work."
This year, using equipment designed to do the chemistry in zero gravity, he produced two 1.5-inch discs of alcogel, which he will dry in his basement this summer. The two samples won't provide enough for a rigorous scientific analysis, but Steiner is convinced he's on the right track.
"I've been making aerogels a long time and these alcogels are definitely less blue than they would be if made on Earth," he says. "I think it worked."
This story airs on National Geographic Today on May 8 and 9, 2002. National Geographic Today, at 7 pm. ET/PT in the United States (repeating the following day at 9 a.m. and midday ET/PT), is a daily news magazine available only on the National Geographic Channel. Click here to request it.
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