Information to be determined is in RED TEXT below.
Information that is subject to change is in GREEN TEXT below.
Last update of this page: February 4, 2023, 10:07 am ET
COVID IMPACT: Due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic SSEP Mission 16 to the International Space Station (ISS) was split into Mission 16A and 16B. 19 communities (21 flight experiments) followed the original SSEP Mission 16 Critical Timeline (16A), while 3 communities ( 3 flight experiments) that were severely impacted by the pandemic followed an alternate Mission 16 Critical Timeline (16B). The expectation was that two different experiment payloads would be flown on two different rockets. However, due to launch delays, all Mission 16 flight experiments and mission patches were flown together as the SSEP Mission 16 to ISS Ranger payload (see Payload Designation below).
Payload Ferry Flights and ISS Crew Data
Ferry Vehicle to ISS: SpaceX CRS-26
Launch Date: November 26, 2022, 2:20 pm ET (useful reference NASA Consolidated Launch Schedule at nasa.gov)
Crew: none
Launch Site: Launch Complex (LC) 39A, NASA Kennedy Space Center, FL
Berthing at ISS: November 27, 2022, 7:39 am ET
Launch Date History:
Initial Launch Date: October 1, 2022
Rescheduled to: November 15, 2022
Rescheduled to: November 18, 2022, 5:27 pm ET
Rescheduled to: November 19, 2022, 6:04 pm ET
Rescheduled to: November 21, 2022, 4:19 pm ET
Rescheduled to: November 22, 2022, 3:54 pm ET
Rescheduled to: November 26, 2022, 2:20 pm ET
Ferry Vehicle for Return to Earth: SpaceX-26
Crew: none
Unberth/Landing Date: January 9, 2023/January 11, 2023
Landing Site: splashdown in Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, off Florida west coast
Payload Duration on ISS: 6 weeks
Notable: visit the NASA ISS website for a comprehensive overview of ISS construction, on-orbit research, operations, crews, and multimedia galleries; read about the SpaceX Falcon rocket and Dragon spacecraft at nasa.gov
ISS Crew for SSEP Mission 16 Payload Operations: Expedition 68 (see Expeditions Schedule at nasa.gov)
Commander Sergey Prokopyev (Russia; Twitter: @SergeyProkopye1; Instagram: sergey._prokopyev); Flight Engineer Dmitri Petelin (Russia; Instagram: astro_petelin90); Flight Engineer Frank Rubio (USA; Instagram: astro_frankrubio); Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata (Japan; Twitter: @Astro_Wakata); Flight Engineer Josh Cassada (USA; Twitter: @astro_josh; Instagram: astro_cassada); Flight Engineer Nicole Mann (USA; Twitter: @AstroDuke); Flight Engineer Anna Kikina (Russia)
SSEP Mission 16 to ISS: Payload and Program Data
Payload Designation: SSEP18 – Ranger (named for NASA’s Ranger Program, which imaged the lunar surface in advance of the Apollo Moon landings. Starting with Mission 16 to ISS, SSEP experiment payloads are named for NASA’s robotic lunar exploration programs in advance of the Apollo missions; for SSEP Missions 12 to 15, SSEP experiment payloads were named for NASA human spaceflight programs; for SSEP Missions 5 to 11, experiment payloads were named for Apollo Command Modules; prior to Mission 5, payloads were named for Apollo Lunar Modules.)
Number of Student Team Flight Experiments: 24
22 communities participated in SSEP Mission 16 to ISS
24 experiments were selected, with 20 communities flying 1 experiment.and 2 communities flying 2 experiments
Payload: Suite of Fluids Mixing Enclosure (FME – Mark II) Mini-laboratories
Stowage: NanoRacks Express Rack on ISS
History:
The 18th SSEP flight opportunity—SSEP Mission 16 to the International Space Station—was announced by the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education on March 16, 2021, with accompanying Video Clips describing SSEP by Center Director, Dr. Jeff Goldstein: Clip 1 (NASA), Clip 2 (NASA)
Current Status:
The Mission 16 experiments returned to Earth on SpaceX-26 on January 11, 2023, and were shipped back to the student flight teams for harvesting ands analysis.
A List of Important SSEP Mission 16 to ISS Subpages:
SSEP Mission 16 to ISS: Critical Timeline – Mission 16A
SSEP Mission 16 to ISS: Critical Timeline – Mission 16B
SSEP Mission 16 to ISS: Mini-Laboratory Operation
SSEP Mission 16 to ISS: Mission Patch Art and Design Competition
SSEP Mission 16 to ISS: Flight Operations
→ Mission 16 to ISS Experiment Log
Launch Viewing Plans for SpaceX-26 and Flight of SSEP Mission 16 ‘Ranger’