Caption: Five experiments from Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP) Missions 14 and 15 to the International Space Station are scheduled to launch aboard SpaceX-22 at 1:29 pm ET, June 3, 2021, from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Seen above is SpaceX-21 docked at the International Space Station against the limb of Earth, SpaceX-21 launched on December 6, 2020 and carried 27 SSEP Mission 14 experiments. Credit: NASA
Launch of SSEP Mission 14 and Mission 15 to the International Space Station
From Dr. Jeff Goldstein
Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) National Program Director
Center Director, National Center for Earth and Space Science Education
The SpaceX CRS-22 rocket (SpaceX Commercial Resupply Service mission 22) is scheduled to launch Thursday, June 3, 2021, at 1:29 pm ET from Space Launch Complex 39A (SLC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Aboard the vehicle will be 2 microgravity experiments from student teams participating in Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 14 to the International Space Station (ISS), and three experiments reflecting teams from SSEP Mission 15 is ISS.
Flight readiness for the 33 experiments associated with Mission 14 to ISS, and the 5 experiments comprising Mission 15 to ISS were impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. Usually all experiments for a specific SSEP Mission fly on a single rocket. Due to the pandemic the experiments are launching on three separate vehicles: SpaceX CRS-21, CRS-22, and CRS, 23. The second of these three launches is taking place on June 3, 2021.
Regarding Mission 14, a heartfelt congratulations to all 16,600 students that participated in microgravity experiment design, and submitted 3,076 flight experiment proposals for formal review and selection; the 23,600 students that participated in the Mission Patch art and design competitions; and the 129 student Principal Investigators, Co-Investigators, and Collaborators comprising the student researcher teams for the 33 selected SSEP Mission 14 flight experiments.
Regarding Mission 15, with operations in the midst of the pandemic, an immense congratulations to all 1,700 students that participated in microgravity experiment design, and submitted 485 flight experiment proposals for formal review and selection; the 2,300 students that participated in the Mission Patch art and design competitions; and the 20 student Principal Investigators, Co-Investigators, and Collaborators comprising the student researcher teams for the 5 selected SSEP Mission 15 flight experiments.
Your teachers, your families, and the SSEP National Team are all very proud of you. You are the next generation of researchers living in the here and now on the frontiers of exploration.
The launch will be covered live on NASA TV and at SpaceX, and we’ve provided video portals below for both if you’d like to watch right here on the SSEP National Program website. Also below is the May 26, 2021, NASA Media Advisory that provides NASA TV live coverage times for launch on Thursday, June 3 and arrival at Station on Saturday, June 5.
-Jeff
Schedule of Events for Thursday, June 3
Time TBD – SpaceX live pre-launch coverage begins (view in video portal below)
1:00 pm ET – NASA TV live pre-launch coverage begins (view in video portal below)
1:29 pm ET – Launch of SpaceX-22 and SSEP Mission 14 Apollo payload and SSEP Mission 15 Skylab payload
Mission 14 to ISS Historical Data
Number of Participating Communities: 32
Scope: 16,600 grade 5-16 students fully engaged in experiment design
Number of student team proposals received: 3,076
Number of experiments selected for flight: 33; 1 community flying 2 experiments – University of Pittsburgh; (27 experiments flew on SpaceX-21, 3 flying on SpaceX-22, and 3 on SpaceX-23)
Announcement of Opportunity: March 22, 2019
Experiment design competition and proposal writing: September 3 – November 1, 2019 (9 Weeks)
Flight experiment selection: December 17, 2019
Mission 15 to ISS Historical Data
Number of Participating Communities: 5
Scope: 1,700 grade 5-16 students fully engaged in experiment design
Number of student team proposals received: 485
Number of experiments selected for flight: 5; (2 experiments flying on SpaceX-22, and 3 on SpaceX-23)
Announcement of Opportunity: February 3, 2020
Experiment design competition and proposal writing: September 21 – November 18, 2020 (8.5 Weeks)
Flight experiment selection: December 18, 2020
MEDIA PACKAGE for SSEP Mission 14 to ISS and SSEP Mission 15 to ISS flying on SpaceX-22
– webpages
Mission 14 Media Coverage: 57 articles as of 12/3/20
Mission 14 Community Profiles: 32 communities, 99 organizational partners, 304 schools
Mission 15 Community Profiles: 5 communities, 7 organizational partners, 43 schools
– downloadable documents (PDFs) reflecting just the 3 (of 33) Mission 14 experiments and just the 2 (of the 5) Mission 15 experiments flying on SpaceX-22
SSEP National Program Overview
Mission 14 and Mission 15 Impact Profile
Mission 14 and Mission 15 Communities Map
Mission 14 and Mission 15 Flight Experiments Summary Table
Mission 14 and Mission 15 Flight Experiments: Research Teams and Experiment Descriptions – an experiment-by-experiment summary including community, school, grade level, research team (PIs, Co-Is and Collaborators), and experiment abstract
Historical Multimedia –
We also invite you to explore the SSEP Launch and On-Orbit Operations History page, which provides a sense of the rich history of the SSEP Program. Here you will find s list of SSEP missions and payload designations, videos of all SSEP launches, a list of all astronauts that have operated SSEP experiments, and videos of astronauts operating the experiments.
WATCH SPACEX LAUNCH LIVE ON THIS NASA TV PORTAL
WATCH SPACEX LAUNCH LIVE ON THIS SPACEX PORTAL
link: https://www.spacex.com/launches/index.html
May 26, 2021
MEDIA ADVISORY M21-067
NASA Sets Coverage, Invites Public to Virtually Join Next Cargo Launch
NASA commercial cargo provider SpaceX is targeting 1:29 p.m. EDT, Thursday, June 3, to launch its 22nd commercial resupply services mission to the International Space Station. Liftoff will be from Launch Complex 39A at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft will deliver new solar arrays to power future work aboard the orbiting laboratory, along with new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew. Live coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Wednesday, June 2.
Dragon’s pressurized capsule will carry a variety of research, including an experiment that could help develop better pharmaceuticals and therapies for treating kidney disease on Earth, a study of cotton root systems that could identify varieties of plants that require less water and pesticides. The research also will include two model organism investigations: One will study bobtail squid to examine the effects of spaceflight on interactions between beneficial microbes and their animal hosts. The other will examine tardigrades’ adaptation to conditions in low-Earth orbit, which could advance understanding of the stress factors affecting humans in space.
The mission will include technology demonstrations, including a portable ultrasound device. Additionally, astronauts will test the effectiveness of remotely operating robotic arms and space vehicles using virtual reality and haptics interfaces.
Dragon’s unpressurized trunk section will deliver the first two of six new roll-out solar arrays based on a design tested on the space station in 2017. A robotic arm will extract them and astronauts will install them during a series of spacewalks this summer.
About 12 minutes after launch, Dragon will separate from the Falcon 9 rocket’s second stage and begin a carefully choreographed series of thruster firings to reach the space station. Arrival to the space station is planned for Saturday, June 5. Dragon will autonomously dock to the space-facing port on the station’s Harmony module, with Expedition 65 Flight Engineers Shane Kimbrough and Megan McArthur of NASA monitoring operations.
The spacecraft is expected to spend more than a month attached to the space station before it splashes down in the Atlantic Ocean, returning with research and return cargo.
Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern):
Wednesday, June 2
11 a.m. – Want an in-depth look at the science aboard Dragon? Watch on NASA TV or join us on Kennedy Space Center’s Facebook and YouTube pages as we chat with some of the principal investigators. If you have questions for them, use #AskNASA on Twitter. They may answer in real-time during the segment.
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. – Previously credentialed media will have an opportunity to speak one-on-one with scientists and other subject matter experts at the Kennedy Press Site (compliant with COVID-19 safety protocols).*
1:30 p.m. – NASA TV will broadcast a prelaunch news conference from Kennedy with representatives from NASA’s International Space Station Program, SpaceX, and the U.S. Space Force Space Launch Delta 45. For the dial-in number and passcode, please contact the Kennedy newsroom at ksc-newsroom@mail.nasa.gov no later than 1 p.m. Wednesday, June 2. The public can also ask questions by using #AskNASA on Twitter. They may be answered in real-time during the segment.
Thursday, June 3
1 p.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for the targeted 1:29 p.m. launch.
Saturday, June 5
3:30 a.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for Dragon docking to space station.
5 a.m. – Docking
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S., and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally. It is enabled through a strategic partnership with NanoRacks LLC, which is working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a National Laboratory. SSEP is the first pre-college STEM education program that is both a U.S. national initiative and implemented as an on-orbit commercial space venture.
The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), and Subaru of America, Inc., are U.S. National Partners on the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. Magellan Aerospace is a Canadian National Partner on the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.
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