Archive | April, 2011

The clock is ticking (backwards). The excitement is palpable (yes?) Student researchers (researchers in every sense of the word) are getting ready for the flight of their experiments on Endeavour. Thousands of students, teachers, administrators, and family members across each community are cheering them on, like giddy fans of a local baseball team. SSEP Community […]

The NASA Flight Readiness Review (FRR) for STS-134 was held on Tuesday, April 19. All aspects of the mission were reviewed by NASA managers to assess if Endeavour was ready for her final mission. She is. Formal countdown will commence Tuesday, April 26 at 2:00 pm. The STS-134 crew, commanded by Mark Kelly will also […]

The Mini-Laboratory used for STS-135 is the same as used for STS-134—the Materials Dispersion Apparatus (MDA). However, there was to be one essential operational difference. For STS-135 student teams were to be able to add a third experiment sample (a fluid and/or solid) before the shuttle leaves orbit. This would have provided a team the […]

To SSEP Student Flight Experiment Teams from Latest Shuttle News at nasa.gov — Flight Planning Returns to a 14-Day Mission Fri, 15 Apr 2011 12:42:29 PM EST Space shuttle managers have decided to keep shuttle Endeavour’s STS-134 mission as a 14-day flight and possibly extend the mission as many as two days while Endeavour is […]

NCESSE, in concert with ITA and NanoRacks, has very carefully defined the milestones and specifications for the harvesting of experiment samples and their return to your SSEP Student Team. The detailed Critical Timeline for Harvesting flows directly from the detailed Critical Timeline for Sample Submission on the STS-134 Submission of Experiment Samples for Flight page. […]

To SSEP Student Flight Experiment Teams from Latest Shuttle News at nasa.gov — Additional Day Added to STS-134 Mission Wed, 13 Apr 2011 11:50:49 AM EDT Shuttle managers have officially added an additional day to space shuttle Endeavour’s STS-134 mission making it a 15-day flight. With launch targeted on April 29, landing at Kennedy’s Space Shuttle […]

SSEP has just been alerted to the possibility that if the federal government were to shut down next week, which may happen if the Congress cannot agree on the budget for the current fiscal year, the launch of STS-134 may be delayed from the current April 29 date. Though this is by no means certain […]

The launch slip of STS-134 from April 19 to April 29 has prompted a significant re-examination of travel planning for the 300 SSEP students, teachers, administrators, and family members that were heading to Kennedy Space Center for the launch. The key issue is that rescheduling of travel for 3 communities is not an option either […]

The STS-135 Flight Experiment FAQ is now fully operational for all students and teachers engaged in the SSEP opportunity on STS-135. It is accessed through the “Resources” link in the navigation banner at the top of any SSEP web page. As a starting point for the new FAQ, we have culled all relevant questions from […]

Based on the STS-134 launch slip to April 29, 2011, NCESSE has formally revised the milestone dates for student team submission of flight samples (fluids and solids) for their SSEP experiments. All SSEP Community Program Directors, Teacher Facilitators, and Student Team members are urged to review changes on the following two SSEP pages: STS-134 Submission […]