Defying Gravity: Lighting Weightless Fires for Science (Photos)

Space.com Defies Gravity

In April 2014, Space.com shadowed a group of students from the University of California, San Diego who were selected by NASA to test an experiment on board a zero-gravity flight.

UCSD Team Suits Up for Flight Week

The UCSD team suits up for flight week. From left to right: Joshua Siu, Jose Garcia, Henry Lu, Sam Avery, Semaan Farah, Andrew Beeler, Greta Sharoyan and Victor Hong

Astronaut Stott and Students Aboard Zero-Gravity Flight

From left: Student Victor Hong, NASA astronaut Nicole Stott, Andrew Beeler and Henry Lu pose for a selfie aboard a their zero-gravity flight on April 10, 2014. The University of California, San Diego students were testing how biofuels burn in weightless conditions.

First Flight

The first group of fliers for UCSD (from left to right: Victor Hong, Andrew Beeler and Henry Lu) ran their experiment with ethanol and kerosene on April 10, 2014.

Megan in Zero-G

Space.com's Megan Gannon during the flight on April 11, 2014.

Biofuel Experiment

The students built an elaborate contraption so that they could safely light small fires on the plane and measure the burn rate of four different fuels: butanol, ethanol, E85 and kerosene.

Unpacking

The team unpacks their experiment, shipped to Ellington Field from San Diego.

Megan at the Controls

Space.com reporter Megan Gannon tries running the biofuel experiment.

Practice Experiments

The UCSD students practice running their experiment in NASA's hanger at Ellington Field in Houston on April 9, 2014.

Semaan Farah

Semaan Farah practices using the controls to operate UCSD's biofuel experiment.

Fire in Weightlessness

Flames in space lose their teardrop shape. In a weightless environment, fires tend to look like bluish, slow-burning orbs. This actually makes it easier to study and define the combustion rate of different fuels.