Caption – Get into the Sprit of the Upcoming Launch: This is the launch of an earlier SSEP Mission on SpaceX CRS-18 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 (SLC-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 38 SSEP Mission 18 Surveyor payload of experiments on SpaceX CRS-31. You can watch the launch of all prior SSEP Missions, and see all the astronauts that operated SSEP experiments, on the Launch and On-orbit Operations History page. (Credit: NASA TV)
Launch of SSEP Mission 18 to the International Space Station
October 29, 2024, 4:51 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 18 to ISS flight experiments payload designated Surveyor and containing 38 flight experiments is scheduled to launch Monday, November 4, 2024, at 9:29 pm ET from Launch Complex 39A (LC-39A) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Florida, aboard SpaceX CRS-31 (SpaceX Commercial Resupply Services 31).
A heartfelt congratulations to the 14,250 students that participated in Mission 18 microgravity experiment design, and submitted 1,859 flight experiment proposals for formal review and selection; the 25,290 students that participated in the Mission Patch art and design competitions; and the 156 student Principal Investigators, Co-Investigators, and Collaborators comprising the student researcher teams for the 38 selected Mission 18 flight experiments.
We are all very proud of you. You are our next generation of researchers on the frontiers of exploration.
As of this writing, we are at T-minus 6 days and counting – see the countdown clock in the right column.
Prior to launch, I would like to address SSEP students, and their teachers, administrators, and families. I want to provide a sense of their remarkable accomplishment – and not just the flight teams but all 14,250 SSEP Mission 18 student researchers, and the 25,290 students engaged in the mission patch competitions – and let them know they are truly part of America’s Space Program. I want to speak not just from the vantage point of the creator and director of SSEP, but also from the vantage point of 11 year old me watching the launch of Apollo 11 in July of 1969 and knowing in that moment I wanted to be a space explorer. There are these moments in our lives that change us, and maybe the launch of SpaceX-31, with your community’s experiment and mission patches aboard, can be one of those moments for many Mission 18 students. That’s why we created this program.
The launch will be covered live on NASA TV and at SpaceX, and we’ve provided a video portal below for NASA TV if you’d like to watch right here on the SSEP National Program website. You can watch SpaceX live coverage at https://www.spacex.com. Also below is the October 30, 2024, NASA Media Advisory that provides NASA TV live coverage times for launch on Monday, November 4 and arrival at Station on Tuesday, November 5.
-Jeff
Schedule of Events
Monday, November 4, 2024
9:10 pm EST – NASA TV live coverage of the launch of SpaceX-31 begins
9:29 pm EST – launch of SpaceX CRS-31
Tuesday, November 5, 2024
8:45 am EST – NASA TV coverage begins for Dragon docking at ISS
10:15 am EST – Docking
Mission 18 to ISS Historical Data
Number of participating communities: 37
Number of communities flying experiments on SpaceX-31: 36
Scope: 14,253 grade 5-16 students engaged in microgravity experiment design
Number of student team proposals received: 1,859
Number of experiments selected for flight: 38; 34 communities flying 1 experiment; 2 communities flying 2 experiments – Ukraine and Waxahachie, Texas
Number of students engaged in Mission Patch art and design competitions: 25,290
Number of mission patch designs received: 20,740
Mission 18 Announcement of Opportunity: January 30, 2023
Experiment design competition and proposal writing: September 1 – November 3, 2023 (9 Weeks)
Flight experiment selection: December 15, 2023
SSEP Mission 18 Details
– webpages
Mission 18 Media Coverage: 47 articles as of 8/15/24
Mission 18 Community Profiles: 37 communities, 94 organizational partners, 318 schools
– Media Package downloadable documents (PDFs)
SSEP National Program Overview
Mission 18 Flight Experiments Summary Table
Mission 18 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 MEDIA ADVISORY M24-143 OCTOBER 30, 2024
NASA and SpaceX are targeting 9:29 p.m. EST, Monday, Nov. 4, for the next launch to deliver science investigations, supplies, and equipment to the International Space Station. This is the 31st SpaceX commercial resupply services mission to the orbital laboratory for the agency.
Filled with nearly 6,000 pounds of supplies, a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket will lift off from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Live launch coverage will begin at 9:10 p.m. on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Learn how to watch NASA content through a variety of platforms, including social media.
NASA’s coverage of arrival will begin at 8:45 a.m. Tuesday, Nov. 5, on NASA+ and the agency’s website. Dragon will dock autonomously to the forward port of the space station’s Harmony module.
In addition to food, supplies, and equipment for the crew, Dragon will deliver several new experiments, including the Coronal Diagnostic Experiment, to examine solar wind and how it forms. Dragon also delivers Antarctic moss to observe the combined effects of cosmic radiation and microgravity on plants. Other investigations aboard include a device to test cold welding of metals in microgravity, and an investigation that studies how space impacts different materials.
Media interested in speaking to a science subject matter expert should contact Leah Cheshier at: leah.d.cheshier@nasa.gov.
The Dragon spacecraft is scheduled to remain at the space station until December when it will depart the orbiting laboratory and return to Earth with research and cargo, splashing down off the coast of Florida.
NASA’s mission coverage is as follows (all times Eastern and subject to change based on real-time operations):
Monday, Nov. 4:
3:30 p.m. – Prelaunch media teleconference (no earlier than one hour after completion of the Launch Readiness Review) with the following participants:
Bill Spetch, operations and integration manager, NASA’s International Space Station Program
Meghan Everett, deputy chief scientist, NASA’s International Space Station Program
Jared Metter, director, flight reliability, SpaceX
Media who wish to participate by phone must request dial-in information by 5 p.m. Friday, Nov. 1, by emailing Kennedy’s newsroom at: ksc-media-accreditat@mail.nasa.gov.
Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website.
9:10 p.m. – Launch coverage begins on NASA+ and the agency’s website.
9:29 p.m. – Launch
Tuesday, Nov. 5:
8:45 a.m. – Arrival coverage begins on NASA+ and the agency’s website.
10:15 a.m. – Docking
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 9:10 p.m., Nov. 4, as the countdown milestones occur. On-demand streaming video on NASA+ and photos of the launch will be available shortly after liftoff. For questions about countdown coverage, contact the NASA Kennedy newsroom at 321-867-2468. Follow countdown coverage on our International Space Station blog for updates.
Attend Launch Virtually
Members of the public can register to attend this launch virtually. NASA’s virtual guest program for this mission also includes curated launch resources, notifications about related opportunities or changes, and a stamp for the NASA virtual guest passport following launch.
Watch, Engage on Social Media
Let people know you’re watching the mission on X, Facebook, and Instagram by following and tagging these accounts:
X: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @NASASocial, @Space_Station, ISS_Research, @ISS National Lab
Facebook: NASA, NASAKennedy, ISS, ISS National Lab
Instagram: @NASA, @NASAKennedy, @ISS, @ISSNationalLab
Coverage en Espanol
Did you know NASA has a Spanish section called NASA en Espanol? Check out NASA en Espanol on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube for additional mission coverage.
Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo o Messod Bendayan a: antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov o messod.c.bendayan@nasa.gov.
Learn more about the commercial resupply mission at:
https://www.nasa.gov/mission/nasas-spacex-crs-31
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 International Space Station National Laboratory (ISSNL) is a U.S. National Partner on the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.
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