With the retirement of the Space Shuttle fleet, a new era in human spaceflight is upon us. SSEP student researchers and their teachers are truly helping to blaze that new trail. So here’s a treat. Get into the spirit of spaceflight with this stunning new video of a Space Shuttle launch, and listen to the […]
Important Information Regarding the Mission 2 to ISS Experiment Mini-Laboratory
The microgravity mini-laboratory that all Mission 2 to ISS student experiment design teams are using is identical to that used for Mission 1 to ISS. Virtually all constraints on the mini-lab’s transportation to the International Space Station, and its operation in orbit, are also identical to those for Mission 1 to ISS. There is one […]
New Target Launch Date for Aquarius, SSEP Mission 1 Payload to ISS
SpaceX has announced that they are targeting the historic launch of their Dragon spacecraft to the International Space Station for April 30, 2012. NASA will set a formal launch date after a Flight Readiness Review currently scheduled for April 12, but, for now, April 30 at 12:22 p.m. EDT is the target for the launch […]
Preliminary Announcement: SSEP Honored to Welcome 11 Communities Aboard for Mission 2 to ISS
The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) is proud to announce the 11 communities across America that have come aboard SSEP Mission 2 to the International Space Station (ISS). Mission 2 provides for a microgravity experiment design competition in Winter/Spring 2012, and the flight of Antares—the Mission 2 experiments payload—to ISS in […]
Student Mission Patches Selected to Accompany Aquarius – the SSEP Mission 1 Experiments Payload to the International Space Station
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program is about inspiring America’s next generation of scientists and engineers, and engaging entire communities in the process. Student teams proposing real experiments to fly on the International Space Station is the core SSEP activity. But community-wide engagement, and cross-disciplinary learning are also cornerstone objectives for SSEP in the context of […]
All 15 Student Flight Experiments for Mission 1 to ISS Pass NASA Flight Safety Review
To all SSEP Mission 1 to ISS flight experiment teams, you are go for launch. At 1:50 pm Eastern Time today, the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) notified all student flight experiment teams via their Teacher Facilitators, and notified all SSEP Community Program Directors and Co-Directors, that all 15 Mission 1 flight experiments […]
SSEP – Real Spaceflight, Real Science: A Remarkable Look Back at Mission 1 Flight Experiment Selection
We have never told the complete backstory for selection of the flight experiments for Mission 1 to ISS. So here it is. It’s a pretty remarkable, very real world window on spaceflight and science. And it is a powerful teachable moment as Rebecca Mitchell, the teacher facilitator for one of the two Houston flight experiments […]
SSEP Mission 1 Student Researchers to be Part of History: Aquarius Experiments Payload Officially on SpaceX Dragon to ISS
NanoRacks has informed us that NASA has formally moved Aquarius, the SSEP experiments payload for Mission 1 to the International Space Station (ISS) from Soyuz 30 to the SpaceX Dragon vehicle. We were there for the end of the Space Shuttle era with the flight of SSEP experiment payloads Eagle and Intrepid on the final […]
SSEP Co- PI Kyra Smith and Community Program Co-Director Anthonette Pena Represent SSEP at the White House
The National Center for Earth and Space Science Education and NanoRacks are proud to announce that SSEP Mission 1 Flight Experiment Co-Principal Investigator Kyra Smith, an 8th grade student at Stuart-Hobson Middle School in Washington, DC, and SSEP Community Program Co-Director Anthonette Peña had the honor earlier today of representing the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program […]
An Invitation to the Parents of All Students that Have Participated in SSEP to Date – Help Us Inspire and Engage the Next Generation
A request to all SSEP Community Program Directors and teachers subscribed to this Blog: We would be grateful if you could disseminate this blog post to parents across your community. To assist you, we have created a PDF version of this post that can be printed and sent home. DOWNLOAD PDF You can also send a […]