University of Tulsa (UTulsa) mechanical engineering students recently completed a custom flagpole designed for the NASA Micro-g NExT competition, held at the NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston in June. Students Keelson Engles (project manager), Jakob Rasmussen, Dalton Barnard, Caleb Neph, Jason Katsaros, and Blake Boatright diligently worked on their Capstone Project under the guidance of Marie Moran, applied assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
The flagpole design features a small auger for vertical support, with a folding leg system for horizontal support. These components are connected via a hinge system that lets it be compacted, like a baby stroller. The entire assembly must be complete within NASA’s 10-minute time restriction. With a 10-pound total weight limit, the flagpole is primarily composed of Aluminum 6061-T6, selected for its lightweight properties, strength, and corrosion resistance.
For the evaluation, UTulsa students were stationed in a control center where they instructed an underwater astronaut in NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory on assembling the flagpole. The flagpole was tested for assembly efficiency, along with vertical and horizontal load capacity of 12.5 pounds in both directions. Before testing began, it underwent several reviews ensuring the design met safety requirements and could be easily assembled ranging in height from 5 feet to 6 feet.
“UTulsa is excited to foster a project that allows for applied learning and testing focusing on a very specific goal: create a next generation flagpole to hold up the next American flag through the Micro-g NExT challenge,” said William LePage, Ph.D., UTulsa assistant professor of mechanical engineering.
NASA specialists are rigorously reviewing each design. If chosen, this flagpole could be used on the moon during the Artemis missions, which aim to return humans to the lunar surface and establish a sustainable presence for future exploration. The Artemis missions are a pivotal part of NASA’s long-term lunar exploration strategy, seeking to advance lunar science, demonstrate new technologies, and pave the way for human missions to Mars. By 2024, NASA plans to land the first woman and the next man on the moon, fostering a new era of space exploration and discovery.