The FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) for Mission 2 to ISS was just posted by Dr. Harri Vanhala, NCESSE’s Flight Operations Manager for SSEP. It includes lots of questions asked by student researchers, and Dr. Harri’s thoughtful answers. All Mission 2 student researchers and their teacher facilitators should carefully review the FAQ. While it is long, […]
Archive | March, 2012
Student Challenge: Understanding Weightlessness – You Want Me to Take a Bathroom Scale Where?
As I write, the clock is ticking down to the currently scheduled launch of SpaceX’s Falcon rocket, which will ferry Dragon and the Aquarius payload of SSEP Mission 1 experiments to the International Space Station. We’re now just 36 days away from the earliest possible launch date … which means I’ve got plenty of time […]
America’s Space Program – Get In The Spirit
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 […]