WATCH LIVE: Flight of SSEP Mission 16 Experiments Launching on SpaceX CRS-26, Tuesday, November 22, 2022, 3:54 pm ET

To readers – if you would like to wish the Mission 16 to ISS student researchers, their teachers, and their communities good luck on the launch of their experiments on SpaceX CRS-26, you are invited to leave a comment below:)

Video Above – Watch A SpaceX Launch From 2019: liftoff of the SpaceX CRS-18 Mission at 6:01 pm ET, July 25, 2019 (expand YouTube video window to full screen). The Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft launched from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. Dragon was carrying the International Docking Adaptor (IDA-3), crew supplies, and science research to the International Space Station – including 41 student experiments comprising the SSEP Mission 13 Gemini payload. We are now counting down to the launch of 24 SSEP Mission 16 Ranger payload of experiments on SpaceX CRS-26 on November 22, 2022. (Credit: NASA TV)

Launch of SSEP Mission 16 to the International Space Station

November 20, 2022, 5:00 pm ET

From: Dr. Jeff Goldstein
Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) National Program Director
Center Director, National Center for Earth and Space Science Education

The SSEP Mission 16 to ISS flight experiments payload designated Ranger – containing 24 flight experiments – is scheduled to launch Tuesday, November 22, 2022, at 3:54 pm ET from Space Launch Complex 39A (SLC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, aboard SpaceX CRS-26 (SpaceX Commercial Resupply Service Mission 26).

A heartfelt congratulations to all 6,500 students that participated in Mission 16 microgravity experiment design, and submitted 1,262 flight experiment proposals for formal review and selection; the 14,900 students that participated in the Mission Patch art and design competitions; and the 256 student Principal Investigators, Co-Investigators, and Collaborators comprising the student flight teams for the 24 selected Mission 16 flight experiments. You are all truly part of America’s Space Program. and we are all very proud of you. You are the next generation of researchers on the frontiers of exploration.

As of this writing, we are at T-minus 2 days and counting – see the countdown clock in the right column.

I thought I’d share a personal story that I hope is relevant as we count down to the launch of SpaceX-26 –

In July of 1969, I was 11 years old watching a black and white television in Uniondale, New York. It was July 16, and I was watching live coverage of the launch of Apollo 11. Standing 36 stories tall on launch pad 39A – the same launch pad from which SpaceX CRS-26 will launch on Tuesday – was the Saturn V moon rocket. At the top were Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins in the command module Columbia. Apollo 11 blasted off at 9:32 am Eastern Time on a flight to the Moon. They went into lunar orbit on July 19, and I remember vividly going outside, looking at the Moon, and realizing three human beings were there 240,000 miles away. In fact, I was looking at them.

On July 20, 1969, the lunar module Eagle touched down on the lunar surface with Armstrong and Aldrin, and I watched in amazement as I saw a human being – Neil Armstrong – set foot on another world for the first time in history. It was profound. It was a moment that changed me. I was 11, and in that moment I knew I wanted to be a space explorer.

My point? There are these moments in our lives that change us – if we are open to them. They cause us to view our world and ourselves differently in profound new ways.

When I was a student, 11 years old and older, I did not have the chance to be part of America’s Space Program. I like countless other students watching the flight of Apollo 11 watched from afar. We were rooting for the team. But all the students engaged in SSEP Mission 16, and the 150,000 students that participated in SSEP since program inception, were truly invited into America’s Space Program, as microgravity researchers designing and proposing real experiments to be operated by the astronauts in Low Earth Orbit. You have been part of the adventure on the high frontier. And we hope that the launch on Tuesday, with your community’s experiment aboard, can be one of those profound moments that might make you look at what is possible in a bold new way. It’s why we created SSEP.

The launch will be covered live on NASA TV and at SpaceX, and we’ve provided a NASA video portal below if you’d like to watch right here on the SSEP National Program website. Also below is the November 14, 2022, NASA Media Advisory that provides NASA TV live coverage times for launch on Tuesday, November 22, and arrival at Station on Wednesday, November 23.

-Jeff

Schedule of Events for Tuesday, November 22

3:30 pm ET – NASA TV live coverage of the launch of SpaceX-26 begins

3:54 pm ET – launch of SpaceX-26 (this is an instantaneous launch window – it must launch at this time)

Schedule of Events for Wednesday, November 23

4:30 am ET – NASA TV coverage begins for Dragon docking at ISS

5:57 am ET – Docking

Mission 16 to ISS Historical Data

Number of Participating Communities: 22
Scope: 6,500 grade 5-16 students fully engaged in experiment design
Number of student team proposals received: 1,262
Number of experiments selected for flight: 24; 20 communities flying 1 experiment and 2 communities flying 2 experiments – Ukraine and Hillsborough County, Florida
Announcement of Opportunity: March 21, 2021
Experiment design competition and proposal writing: September 1 – November 3, 2021 (9 Weeks)
Flight experiment selection: December 16, 2021

MEDIA PACKAGE for SSEP Mission 16 to ISS flying on SpaceX-26
– webpages

Mission 16 Media Coverage:  37 articles currently listed

Mission 16 Community Profiles: 22 communities, 99 organizational partners, 290 schools

Mission 16 Flight Experiments

Mission 16 Mission Patches

 – downloadable documents (PDFs) reflecting the 24 Mission 16 experiments

SSEP National Program Overview

Mission 16 Impact Profile

Mission 16 Communities  Map

Mission 16 Flight Experiments Summary Table

Mission 16 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  

NASA TV

WATCH SpaceX LAUNCH LIVE AT SpaceX WEBSITE

November 14, 2022
MEDIA ADVISORY M22-171
NASA Sets Coverage for Next SpaceX Resupply Launch to Space Station

Note: This advisory was revised Friday, Nov. 18, to include a new launch date and time as well as updated coverage times and to update the launch weather officer for the Friday, Nov. 18, prelaunch media teleconference.

NASA and SpaceX are targeting 3:54 p.m. EST Tuesday, Nov. 22, to launch the company’s 26th commercial resupply 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 cargo spacecraft will deliver new science investigations, supplies, and equipment for the international crew.

Live launch coverage will air on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website, with prelaunch events starting Friday, Nov. 18. Follow all events at:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

The Dragon spacecraft will deliver a variety of NASA investigations, including the next pair of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays (iROSAs), which will augment power to the orbiting laboratory. The spacecraft also will carry a study to grow dwarf tomatoes to help create a continuous fresh-food production system in space, as well as an experiment that tests an on-demand method to create specific quantities of key nutrients.

Arrival to the station is scheduled for 5:57 a.m. ET on Wednesday, Nov. 23. The Dragon spacecraft will dock autonomously to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module.

The spacecraft is expected to spend about a month attached to the orbiting outpost before it returns to Earth with research and return cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.

Full coverage of this mission is as follows (all times Eastern).

Friday, Nov. 18

3 p.m. – Prelaunch media teleconference (no earlier than one hour after completion of the Launch Readiness Review) with the following participants:

Joel Montalbano, manager, International Space Station Program
Kirt Costello, chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program Research Office
Sarah Walker, director, Dragon Mission Management, SpaceX
Mike McAleenen, launch weather officer, Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s 45th Weather Squadron
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website:

https://www.nasa.gov/live

Tuesday, Nov. 22

3:30 p.m. – NASA TV launch coverage begins

3:54 p.m. – Launch

Wednesday, Nov. 23

4:30 a.m. – NASA TV coverage begins for Dragon docking to space station

Approximately 5:57 a.m. – Docking

Coverage is subject to change based on real-time operational activities. Follow the International Space Station blog for updates.

NASA TV launch coverage

Live coverage of the launch on NASA TV will begin at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22. For downlink information, schedules, and links to streaming video, visit:

https://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

Audio only of the news conferences and launch coverage will be carried on the NASA “V” circuits, which may be accessed by dialing 321-867-1220, -1240, or -7135. On launch day, the full mission broadcast can be heard on -1220 and -1240, while the countdown net only can be heard on -7135 beginning approximately one hour before the mission broadcast begins.

On launch day, a “tech feed” of the launch without NASA TV commentary will be carried on the NASA TV media channel.

NASA website launch coverage

Launch day coverage of the mission will be available on the NASA website. Coverage will include live streaming and blog updates beginning no earlier than 3:30 p.m. Tuesday, Nov. 22, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on our launch blog for updates.

Attend launch virtually

Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. Registrants will receive mission updates and activities by email. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities, and a virtual guest passport stamp following a successful launch.

Watch, Engage on social media

Let people know you’re following the mission on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram by using the hashtags #Dragon, #CRS26, and #NASASocial. You can also stay connected by following and tagging these accounts:

Twitter: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, @ISS_Research, @ISS National Lab

Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab

Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab

Learn more about NASA’s SpaceX commercial resupply missions at:

https://www.nasa.gov/spacex

Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo at: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov or 321-501-8425.

-end-

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 and Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) are U.S. National Partners on the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.