High School Students Developed A New Tape Dispenser For The ISS

NASA teamed up with high school students to develop a new tape dispenser for the orbiting International Space Station. Just as it is for many here on earth, on the ISS, gray duct tape is a commonly used item for repairing all manner of problems, including air leaks. However, there hasn't been a good way to dispense the tape on the ISS, and NASA leaned on high school students to design a new tape dispenser.

Students from five different states worked to come up with a solution called the HUNCH tape dispenser. The name HUNCH stands for High School Students United with NASA to Create Hardware. The program is a nationwide program that challenges students to design and build equipment that could be launched and used aboard the ISS. HUNCH is in its 18th year, and so far, students have designed lockers, handrails, tools, and a galley table for the crew to eat at.

The program has also come up with some of the food items astronauts eat in the past. The HUNCH dispenser is operable with one hand, which is vital aboard ISS because often the astronauts are using the other hand for stabilization. Before the HUNCH dispenser, the duct tape rolls and Kapton high-temperature tape were just stuck to the edge of work areas or on handrails and other places within reach.

Cutting tape from the roll required scissors, or sometimes astronauts tore the material using their teeth. Astronauts aboard the space station do use off-the-shelf dispensers for Scotch tape, but larger dispensers for duct tape and Kapton table lacked connectors required for use aboard the station.

Crewmembers aboard the ISS said that the HUNCH dispenser quickly goes on the guide rails inside the space station, and it's easy to see that the rail is locked in place. The dispenser is usable with a single hand. NASA currently uses more than 20 different adhesive tapes aboard the ISS, with duct tape and Kapton tape being the most popular.