Sunday, January 11th will mark the arrival of the Cygnus module carrying the SSEP cargo to the International Space Station. After spending 2.5 days in orbit catching up the ISS, Cygnus is scheduled to be retrieved by one of the ISS’s mechanical arms at 6:02AM EST Sunday morning.
Coverage of the arrival and retrieval of the module can be seen live on NASA TV beginning at 5:00AM EST. Follow up coverage of the installation of the Cygnus module will also be aired on NASA TV beginning at 7:00AM EST.
Today finally provided the conditions for a successful launch of the Orbital Sciences Antares rocket that was carrying the STEM Academy’s SSEP experiment to the International Space Station.
After Wednesday’s early scrub, much of the morning was spent following the countdown “live” via Twitter and the constant stream of information from #Orb1 and @ISS101.
As launch time approached the six remaining SSEP delegations met up for lunch and made their way to the end of Arbuckle Neck Road. This viewing site put the delegation approximately 2 miles from the launch pad. Fortunately two of the student researchers were able to stay to experience the launch along with a few family members.
Student Researchers with the rocket of to the right of the background.
The view from Arbuckle Neck Road
As launch time approached the check-in tweets began flying. Tweets were posted by Mr. Campbell showing the 2/3 of the research team that was unable to be at Wallops today, together in the Knowledge Commons waiting and watching. Tweets from both Mrs. Dunn’s English Class and Frau Staub’s German class at the STEM Academy were also posted just to let everyone know that they were watching with anticipation.
Our Research Team in the KnoCo
Mrs. Dunn’s Class
Frau Staub’s Class
At just after 1:07PM EST the Antares rocket, carrying the experiment of eight STEM Academy Students and the artwork of two fellow DASD students, finally came to life and rushed skyward. The rocket remained visible for the better part of the next three minutes as it climbed into orbit finally disappearing in the blue sky over the Atlantic Ocean.
Antares just after ignition
Over the next two days the Cygnus module will maneuver itself into position to dock with the ISS. Docking is scheduled to happen early Sunday morning with live coverage on NASA TV beginning at 5:00AM EST.
Upon arrival at the ISS, the experiments and other cargo will be unloaded and the execution phase of the experiment will begin.
While most of the posts to this blog have mostly reported the happenings in and around our program, as I reflect on our 3 day adventure to the Wallops Flight Facility for the launch of Orbital Sciences Antares rocket, I feel the need to stray from that a bit here as I reflect on the experience.
For those that do not know us, we are a very unique school with the best type of problems that you can find in education: Our Students are all in. Our Staff is all in. Our Parents are all in. and Our Community is all in. While this does create a little pressure and a bit of stress on all parties, it is all in the effort to provide the best education for each of the STEM Academy’s students.
While I always felt this to be true, the events of the last year, and particularly the last three days, brought it into sharp focus. Below I highlight a few of the things that I will take away from our trip to NASA’s Wallops Island Flight Facility.
Speaking for Dr. Staub and myself, this culture is the product of the collective commitment of our entire school community to provide the very best in opportunities. While it was was not built over night and it will take work to maintain this level, we must recognize that we are very lucky to work in a place where we can take big chances and ask our students to do big things and be met with a response of “How can we not do it?” at all levels of our school community.
Talk about all in…
Even after finding out early this morning that today’s launch was scrubbed, the SSEP team from the Downingtown STEM Academy had a full day ahead of them.
The DASD STEM team was the first of six teams, to present their experiment at a dedicated SSEP Media Briefing that began at 9:30AM. In front of a packed auditorium at the Wallops Flight Facility Visitors Center, the team laid out not only what their experiment is looking to find but most importantly, what are the experiment’s future implications and why anyone should care about their results.
The STEM SSEP team presenting on stage at Wallops Flight Facility.
Following the this morning’s briefing, the students (Along with Mr. Campbell) were approached for an on-camera interview about the process and what they have taken away from it by the team from the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS). Upon returning to the Wallops Visitors Center after lunch the team was greeted by a number of additional interview and photo opportunities where they could discuss their experiment and the implications of their findings.
Student team being interviewed by the CASIS team.
While the scrub in today’s launch has reduced the contingent from almost 30 down to nine, the remaining students and family members remain upbeat and hopeful that tomorrow will bring about the once in a life time opportunity to see a rocket carrying their experiment to the International Space Station.
The scheduled launch time for tomorrow is 1:07PM EST. NASA will be starting its live broadcast of the prelaunch countdown and launch at 12:45PM tomorrow afternoon. You can watch it here on NASA TV.
Unfortunately we received word this morning that the launch of the Antares rocket carrying the SSEP cargo will not occur today. This is due to solar radiation that is outside of the acceptable range for the rocket.
For more information check out NASA website.
As we learn more about the future plans for launch we will post them here.
After just over a year’s worth of preparation, the Downingtown STEM Academy’s SSEP experiment is loaded onboard the Orbital Sciences Cygnus Module and ready for lift off.
Housing a total of 23 student designed experiments from the nationwide SSEP program, additional scientific cargo, and general supplies, the Cygnus module is loaded atop the Antares rocket and ready to head for the International Space Station.
The rocket which contains just under 2,800 lbs of cargo is scheduled to to launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, VA at 1:32PM EST tomorrow (Wednesday January, 8th). The launch as well as the final pre-launch countdown will be broadcast live on NASA TV beginning at 1:00PM EST.
As Wallops Island is only a 3.5 hour drive from Downingtown, PA, the team at the Downingtown STEM Academy has sent a contingent of nearly 30 to experience the launch first hand. Consisting of primarily the student researchers and their families, the contingent was invited to attend today’s media briefings on the various experiments headed for the ISS and the final logistics of the launch and it’s flight to the ISS.
Tomorrow, prior to launch, the research team will be participating in the SSEP Media Briefing at which they will give a brief overview of their experiment and answer questions from the press.
Alongside the STEM SSEP experiment, two patch designs representing the Downingtown Area School District are headed for the ISS. The patches were selected from 560 submissions across the district as the two that best represent the Downingtown community.
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) is a flagship program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE), a non-profit organization focused on inspiring the next generation of American scientists and engineers. At its core, the SSEP provides an authentic problem-based learning opportunity for all students that are engaged in the program.
Making this opportunity possible was a combination of both local and national donors. Local donors included: West Pharmaceutical Services Inc., Bentley Systems Inc., Litts Quality Technologies, Analytical Graphics Inc., and Trans Lunar Designs. National donors Subaru of America Inc., the NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space specifically targeted funds to support this endeavor here in Downingtown.
The winning team for the Downingtown STEM Academy’s Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP) was announced Monday afternoon at a reception to honor the three finalist student teams.
After months of experimental design, proposal preparation, and both a local and national review process, one STEM Academy experiment was selected to be among eleven nationally for astronauts to conduct during a six-week stay onboard the International Space Station this coming fall.
The winning team of ninth grade students included Miranda McMillen, Christina Murray, Jenni Faust, Meghan Joyce, Avni Gulrajani, Connor McGrath, Cecilia Padilla and Santina Zouras. Their experiment is designed to study the release rate of a common medication in microgravity.
In addition to sending their experiment to be completed on the International Space Station, the team will conduct the same experiment here on earth to have a point of comparison as to the effect of microgravity on these medications. They plan to present their findings at a summer 2014 conference held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.
The winners of the Mission Patch Design Competition were honored as well on Monday. The Mission Patch Design Competition was meant to broaden the reach of the SSEP and engage students from each of the 15 Downingtown Schools in the hopes of inspiring the next generation of explorers. Throughout the district, 560 patch designs were submitted. After a district-wide staff vote the designs submitted by Jason Lipow of Downingtown High School East and Nirali Vahalia of East Ward Elementary were selected as those that best represent the Downingtown school community.
The reception also included a brief address by the founder and Center Director of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and SSEP program director, Dr. Jeff Goldstein. In his remarks Dr. Goldstein emphasized the need for continued nurturing of the natural human instincts of curiosity and questioning.
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) is a flagship program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE), a non-profit organization focused on inspiring the next generation of American scientists and engineers. At its core, the SSEP provides an authentic problem-based learning opportunity for all students that are engaged in the program.
Making this opportunity possible was a combination of both local and national donors. Local donors included: West Pharmaceutical Services Inc., Bentley Systems Inc., Litts Quality Technologies, Analytical Graphics Inc., and Trans Lunar Designs. National donors Subaru of America Inc., the NASA Pennsylvania Space Grant Consortium, and the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space specifically targeted funds to support this endeavor here in Downingtown.
Thank you for all of the wonderful experiment proposal submissions. It was truly a very difficult process narrowing it down to the top three.
After triple blind scoring each of the applications, our team finalists that will have their experiment proposals sent to Washington D.C. are listed below.
“How will microgravity affect the interaction between the chemotherapy drug, Vincristine, and white cancer cells?”
Claire Foster, Alyssa Reyes, Haley Beckman, Claire Sellen, Tasia Whaley, Sarah Gross, Natalie Handley, Yoshi Shinagawa
“Adderall XR and Microencapsulation in Microgravity”
Miranda McMillen, Christina Murray, Jenni Faust, Meghan Joyce, Avni Gulrajani, Connor McGrath, Cecilia Padilla, Santina Zouras
“B Lymphocyte Infection-Fighting Abilities in Microgravity”
Marcello Cesario, Ally Dougherty, Danielle Moser, Lucas Steadman, Jeremy Barr, Dan Bryer, Steffani O’Neil, Anthony Toomey
This evening we were pleased to convene a team of STEM Academy teachers and community partners to score the proposals submitted by our students for the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program.
Winners to be announced by the end of the week via STEM TV as well as posted here.
Thank you all for your hard work and good luck to all teams.
Final draft submissions are due this Monday, April 29th, by 3:00PM. To do that you need to complete the steps listed below.
If you have any questions about this submission or anything else make sure that you post under “Questions“.
Downingtown STEM Academy 