SSEP Mission 18 to ISS: Flight Operations

IMPORTANT NOTES
Information added or updated since this page went live on February 21, 2024, is in GREEN TEXT below.
Information still to be determined (if any) is in RED TEXT below.
Dates and times that are subject to change at NASA’s discretion are in PURPLE TEXT below.

Last update of this page: October 16, 2024 12:21 pm ET

This page provides student flight experiment teams comprehensive information on the flight operations phase of SSEP Mission 18 to the International Space Station. The page features details on preparing the Fluid Mixing Enclosure (FME) Mini-Laboratory (mini-laboratories or mini-labs) for flight, incorporation of the mini-labs into the SSEP payload, transport of the payload to the International Space Station, science operations aboard the station, and the return of the mini-labs to the student teams for analysis after the flight. The page is divided into the following sections:

1. Critical Timeline for Flight Phase Operations
2. Submission of the Flight Safety Review and Flight Configuration Forms
3. Preparing the Mini-Laboratory for Flight
4. Planning for Return Shipping
5. Shipping the Mini-Laboratory to NanoRacks
6. Transport of the SSEP Payload from Houston to the International Space Station
7. Operations Aboard the International Space Station
8. Conducting the Ground Truth Experiments
9. Receiving the Mini-Laboratory After the Flight

1. Critical Timeline for Flight Phase Operations

Given the complexity of transporting science payloads to the International Space Station and the discretionary ability of the agencies involved with spacecraft launch and landing to make schedule changes, all student teams are asked to remain flexible. This page will be updated by the SSEP Flight Operations Team when any new information on launch and landing dates is made public. All flight experiment teams are advised to regularly monitor this page.

Nomenclature: During flight phase operations, milestones on the Critical Timeline below are stated in terms of:

Handover + XYZ Days/Weeks, counted from the time the student teams hand over their flight ready mini-labs to Nanoracks for incorporation into the SSEP payload, or Launch Minus XYZ days/hours.
After landing, the milestones are given in terms of Return to Earth + XYZ Hours/Days.

The Critical Timeline for flight phase operations for SSEP Mission 18 to the International Space Station is provided below. All SSEP student experiment teams are required to abide by the these milestones. These milestones are subject to the very fluid nature of launch operations, and should be viewed as a nominal operations profile that is subject to significant change.

T=0, Handover: Deadline for Nanoracks to Receive Flight Mini-Laboratories from Student Flight Experiment Teams
(Mini-labs must be loaded with the final fluid/solid concentrations and volumes, and shipped according to the thermal control requirements as defined on the signed Flight Configuration Agreement)
Once received, Nanoracks will log receipt of shipment, photograph each mini-lab, apply additional zip ties and sealant to the end caps, heat seal level 2 and 3 containment bags around each mini-lab, and load the mini-lab into the SSEP Mission 18 Payload Boxes.
Current Target: October 11, 2024

NO MINI-LABS WILL BE ACCEPTED AFTER THIS DEADLINE
The Handover Window (period of time during which Nanoracks will accept delivery of flight mini-labs in Houston) is approximately 2 weeks. The Handover Window for a NET October 30, 2024 launch date is September 13-October 11, 2024.
NET (No Earlier Than) date for mini-labs to arrive at Nanoracks in Houston is T=0 MINUS 2 weeks
Current Target: September 13, 2024
While FedEx can drop off a package on Saturday there will be no Nanoracks staff at the office at this time. If the mini-lab requires special handling on arrival, e.g., placed in refrigeration, the team should ensure that the mini-lab does not arrive on September 14, 21, or 28 and October 5. (see Section 5 below).

T + 10 Days: NASA Conducts Human Factors Review of the SSEP Mission 18 Payload
Current Target: October 24, 2024 (Launch Minus Approximately 8 Days)

T + 11 Days: SSEP Mission 18 Payload turned over by Nanoracks to NASA for Vehicle Integration
Current Target: October 25, 2024 (Launch Minus Approximately 7 Days)

T + 16-17 Days: SSEP Mission 18 Payload Loaded into Ferry Vehicle
Ferry Vehicle: SpaceX-31 Commercial Resupply Mission (SpaceX-31) to the ISS (Falcon rocket, Dragon spacecraft)
Current Target: October 30-31, 2024 (Launch Minus 2 Days or Less)

T + 18 Days: Launch of SSEP Mission 18 Payload to ISS
Ferry Vehicle: SpaceX-31
Current Target: NET November 1, 2024

T + 19-21 Days (3 weeks): SSEP Mission 18 Payload Transferred from Ferry Vehicle to ISS
Current Target: November 2-3, 2024

T + 48 Days (7 weeks): Ferry Vehicle with SSEP Mission 18 Payload Returns to Earth
Ferry Vehicle: SpaceX-31
Current Target: TBD

Return to Earth + (24-72) Hours: SSEP Mission 18 Payload Received and Processed by Nanoracks in Houston and Mini-Laboratories Shipped Directly to Flight Experiment Teams
Flight mini-labs are retrieved from Dragon and handed over to Nanoracks for processing. As soon as intake processing is complete, Nanoracks staff prepares the flight mini-labs for shipping per handling requirements specified by each flight experiment team, e.g., thermal control requirements, shipping speed. Note: International experimenters will need to work with NCESSE in advance of return to ensure proper arrangements have been made to meet customs requirements. Alternatively, any student flight experiment team can make arrangements to pick up mini-labs in person in Houston.
Current Target: TBD

2. Submission of the Flight Safety Review Forms and Flight Configuration Agreement

Each student flight experiment team must lock down the details associated with the flight experiment at three milestones during the flight operations phase.

1st milestone (December 2023): Completion of the Preliminary Flight Safety Review Form immediately after tentative selection of the flight experiment by the Step 2 Review Board resulting in formal selection of the flight experiment.
2nd milestone (March 2024): Completion of the Final Flight Safety Review Form in support of formal NASA Flight Safety Review by NASA Toxicology.
- Initial Deadline: February 2, 2024 submission of 1st draft; February 9, 2024 deadline for approval/completion
- 1st Deadline Extension announced December 15, 2024: March 18, 2024 submission of 1st draft; March 22, 2024 deadline for approval/completion
- 2nd Deadline Extension announced March 13, 2024: April 29, 2024 submission of 1st draft; May 7, 2024 deadline for approval/completion
3rd milestone (August 2024): Locked to the launch date, the Flight Configuration Agreement is completed approximately 1.5-2 months prior to launch.

The final flight configuration must be locked-in for launch with the completion of the Flight Configuration Agreement, approximately 1.5-2 months prior to launch. The Agreement is reviewed, approved, and signed as confirmation that the experiment details are accurate and final, first by the Teacher Facilitator for the flight experiment team, next by Nanoracks, and finally by NCESSE. The Agreement must be approved and signed by all parties before any samples can be loaded into the flight and ground control mini-labs.

The purpose of the Agreement is to ensure that the student flight experiment team, NCESSE, and Nanoracks are in full agreement on the FINAL flight experiment details: 1) the fluids and solids to be used (specific volumes and concentrations), 2) the specified Crew Interaction Days and Crew Interaction Activities aboard ISS, and 3) thermal control requirements for mini-lab transport to and from Houston and to and from ISS.

The Flight Configuration Agreement is due to NCESSE
Current Target: August 1, 2024

Student flight experiment teams are given an opportunity to test and refine experiment details without restriction from experiment selection through submission of the Final Flight Safety Review Form. Teams are given one final opportunity to request CRITICAL modifications to experiment details with the submission of the Flight Configuration Agreement. However, after submission of the Final Flight Safety Review Form, restrictions are imposed on the type of modifications that are allowed.

The aspects of experiment design that cannot be changed:

No new samples (fluids and/or solids) can be introduced into the experiment.
Concentrations and amounts of all samples can not be increased.
NCESSE and Nanoracks expect minimal to no requests for modification at this time, and only those deemed CRITICAL to experiment success will be considered.

Modifications to experiment details that can be proposed, but are subject to NCESSE/Nanoracks approval:

Concentrations and amounts of the samples can be reduced, even all the way to zero, which means that the sample is removed from the experiment.
Thermal Control requirements during transport to and from ISS (this includes the transport legs to and from Houston).
Crew Interaction Days, and the specific nature of the crew interactions.

Schedule for Submission and Approval of Flight Configuration Agreement

July 4, 2024: Flight Configuration Agreements sent to the Teacher Facilitator and Community Program Director(s) for each student flight team.

August 1, 2024: Deadline for submission of the Flight Configuration Agreement to NCESSE. Agreements can be submitted with requests to modify experiment details, or with the signature of the Teacher Facilitator confirming that all details are accurate and final. The Agreement is to be emailed to the Senior Flight Operations Manager, Stacy Hamel at: stacyhamel@ncesse.org

August 1-7, 2024: Time for flight experiment teams, NCESSE and Nanoracks to review and confirm modification requests.

August 7, 2024: Deadline for final Flight Configuration Agreements to be complete and signed by all parties (Teacher Facilitator, NCESSE and Nanoracks).

Results of Flight Safety Review

Nanoracks provides the experiment details from the Final Flight Safety Review Form to NASA Toxicology for Flight Safety Review.

STATUS OF MISSION 18 FLIGHT SAFETY REVIEW: COMPLETE

3. Preparing the Mini-Laboratory for Flight

Mini-Laboratory Kits Shipped to the M18 Communities

In September 2023 a package of two demo mini-lab kits per flight slot (not certified for flight) were shipped to each Mission 18 community. These kits were to be used during the experiment design and proposal writing phase as a demonstration of the mini-labs size and operation.

In June/July 2024 a package of three (flight certified) mini-lab kits per flight slot are shipped to each Mission 18 community. One of the mini-lab kits will be loaded with the flight experiment samples and shipped to Nanoracks for flight to the International Space Station, while the final 1-2 mini-lab kits will be loaded with experiment samples to be used by the flight experiment team to conduct ground control experiment(s).

Each Fluid Mixing Enclosure (FME) Mini-Laboratory Kit includes the following components:

– 1 silicone tube coated with parylene
– 2 clamps
– 1 end cap (solid without a hole) coated with parylene
– 1 end cap (with a threaded hole) coated with parylene
– 1 polycarbonate screw with O-ring attached
– 1 blunt industrial needle
– 2 zip-ties

Loading Experiment Samples into the Mini-Laboratory

Flight experiment teams will load experiment samples into the flight and ground control mini-labs at the same time using the same batch of experiment samples, and will ship the loaded flight mini-lab to Nanoracks in Houston for incorporation into the SSEP experiment payload. Students will load samples into the actual flight hardware that will fly aboard the International Space Station, and no one else will have access to the samples after the students have sealed the mini-lab.

To assist teams with the loading process:

Nanoracks created instructional videos that are available in the SSEP Document Library. All teams are required to view the Nanoracks loading videos before loading the flight and ground truth mini-labs. NOTE: Nanoracks staff uses the following terminology interchangeably when referencing the mini-labs, Fluid Mixing Enclosure (FME) Mini-laboratory, MixStix, Mixture Tube, and mini-lab.
Teams are also urged to practice loading samples (or dummy versions of samples) into a mini-lab to make sure everything will go smoothly when they prepare the actual flight and ground truth mini-labs.
Nanoracks also strongly encourages all teams, and requires any team where the leadership (e.g., the Teacher Facilitator or Community Director) who will assist the student flight experiment team with loading the flight and ground control mini-labs has not previously participated, to participate in a Nanoracks Loading & Shipping Videoconference while loading experiment samples into the flight mini-lab. During the Videoconference, a Nanoracks or NCESSE staffer will assist the student flight experiment team with the process of loading the experiment samples into the mini-lab, and packaging the mini-lab for shipping to Nanoracks. The Nanoracks or NCESSE staffer will answer questions and provide detailed guidance for each step. The student experiment team and the Teacher Facilitator (or other community adult representative working closely with the team and SSEP, e.g. a Community Director) must participate in the call.

Critical Notes:

Student flight teams must not load experiment samples into the flight and ground truth mini-labs until the Flight ConfigurationAgreement is approved and signed by all parties AND a “GO” to load is received. The reason, proposed modifications could be rejected and what is loaded into the mini-lab must precisely reflect what is specified on the approved and signed Flight Configuration Agreement or Nanoracks will not accept the mini-lab for flight, and the flight opportunity will be forfeited. Also, a copy of the signed Flight Configuration Agreement must be included in the box with the flight mini-lab that is shipped to Nanoracks. For safety reasons, Nanoracks will not handle mini-labs that are sent without a copy of the signed Flight Configuration Agreement. Student flight teams must ship the complete, flight-ready mini-lab. Nanoracks will not add any samples to the mini-lab. Once Nanoracks receives the mini-lab, they will add additional zip ties and a sealant to the end caps, heat-seal level 2 and 3 containment bags around the mini-lab, and incorporate it into the SSEP payload. Shipping of samples that are not inside the flight-ready mini-lab will lead to forfeit of the flight opportunity.
When loading, teams must pay particular attention to the proper torquing of the screw in one end cap, the orientation of the clamps when placed on the tube, and the appropriate tightening of zip-ties. What might appear to be straight-forward handling/loading procedures if not done properly can cause leaking; or in the case of improper clamp orientation, rejection of the mini-lab during intake at Nanoracks; and other anomalies that could result in mini-lab failure. If there is a mini-lab failure, and it is determined by Nanoracks as due to improper loading, Nanoracks can refuse a re-flight. If the team participated in a Loading Videoconference, Nanoracks will have more information regarding the loading procedures of your team, and can evaluate any anomalies more effectively.
In advance of loading and shipping the mini-labs, student flight teams are provided a Mini-Laboratory Handover Checklist, each item on the Checklist must be marked once completed, and the Checklist must be included in the box with the flight mini-lab that is shipped to Nanoracks in Houston.
The Nanoracks Loading videos indicate that a prepaid FedEx air bill should be included in the box with the flight mini-lab when shipping to Nanoracks in Houston. However, this is no longer the process for providing payment for return shipping, so please disregard and DO NOT send a prepaid FedEx air bill with the flight mini-lab when shipping to Nanoracks in Houston (see current process below).

4. Planning for Return Shipping

Before a student flight experiment team ships their flight-ready mini-lab to Nanoracks, they need to formulate the plan for the return of their mini-lab after flight.

Supplies for Special Handling During Return Shipping

If refrigeration is requested during return shipping, Nanoracks will provide the materials needed, e.g., cold packs and insulated envelopes. (NOTE: if refrigeration is requested during shipping to Nanoracks for Handover in advance of launch, the flight experiment team must provide those materials.)

Return Shipping via Fed Ex

If the flight experiment team wants the mini-lab shipped back to them after return to Earth (which has been the case for nearly every SSEP experiment since program inception) a FedEx shipping label must be completed and paid for by the community. FedEx requirements for creating the labels are very time sensitive, so NCESSE will request completion of the return shipping label close to return Earth and while the flight experiment is still onboard the ISS. Nanoracks cannot ship the flight mini-lab to the student flight experiment team if the FedEx return shipping label is not provided to NCESSE in advance of return to Earth.

Do not complete the return shipping label before it is requested (labels are only valid for a certain amount of time) and do not include a pre-paid return label with your flight mini-lab shipment to Nanoracks in Houston.

5. Shipping the Mini-Laboratory to Nanoracks

Your flight-ready mini-lab must be sent to Nanoracks in Houston and must NOT request a signature for delivery. Nanoracks will only accept delivery of flight mini-labs during the Handover Window (detailed above). If your flight Mini-Laboratory is not delivered by the Handover Deadline it will lead to the loss of the experiment slot and flight opportunity.
Handover Window, Current Target: NET (No Earlier Than) September 13, 2024 through NLT (No Later Than) October 11, 2024
Handover Deadline, Current Target: October 11, 2024

Nanoracks staff will not be on site to accept the mini-lab package if it arrives on Saturday. Note that the package is being dropped off at a secure facility, so that Saturday delivery is fine if there are no impacted special handling requirements. For example, if you have need for refrigeration, and the package arrives on Saturday, cold packs you shipped with the mini-lab will most likely be exhausted before staff return on Monday. Also note that if you accidentally request signature on delivery, and the package arrives on a Saturday, the package will be placed back on the FedEx truck and might not be re-delivered for a few days. Also note that FedEx does not deliver on Sunday. Work with FedEx so that your package is delivered in compliance with these requirements and constraints.

Other Important Shipping Requirements:

The Flight Configuration Agreement must be complete and signed by all parties before shipping the flight mini-lab to Nanoracks. A copy of the Flight Configuration Agreement must be included in the box with the flight mini-lab when shipping to Nanoracks.
The Mini-Laboratory Handover Checklist must be complete before shipping the flight mini-lab to Nanoracks. A copy of the Handover Checklist must be included in the box with the flight mini-lab when shipping to Nanoracks.
All packages must be shipped with tracking and the tracking number must be provided to NCESSE. Tracking numbers should be emailed to John Hamel, johnhamel@ncesse.org. Note: If you use the FedEx website to print your shipping label, in the “E-mail Notifications” section you can specify that emails tracking the progress of the package along the route are automatically sent to you, and you can specify that these emails should also be sent to John Hamel.
Please note, if the team is shipping to Nanoracks with cold packs a special container must be used. Placing cold packs in a box or other non-insulated container will not maintain refrigeration during shipping and your mini-lab will arrive warm in Houston (see the NanoRacks document Shipping your Mini-Laboratory in an Environmentally-Controlled (Cold) Package for further details).

Ship your flight Mini-Laboratory to:
Nanoracks, LLC
c/o Mixstix
503 Forge River Road
Webster, TX 77598
281-984-5044

Dropping Off the Mini-Laboratory in Person

Nanoracks also offers the option of dropping off the flight mini-lab in person at their Houston offices. For information about in-person Handover email John Hamel, johnhamel@ncesse.org.

Incorporating the Flight Mini-Laboratories into the SSEP Payload

Once Nanoracks receives your mini-lab, they will log receipt of the shipment, and store the mini-lab in their payload processing facility until it is incorporated into the SSEP experiments payload.

While at Nanoracks awaiting payload integration and handover to NASA, there are two options for temperature control:
1) storage at room temperature (21-24ºC; 70-74ºF), or,
2) storage in a standard refrigerator temperature (2-4°C; 36-39°F).

Nanoracks will follow the Thermal Control requirements specified by the student flight experiment team on the Flight Configuration Agreement. Nanoracks staff will compare their electronic copy of the Flight Configuration Agreement to the hardcopy shipped with the flight mini-lab, and store flight mini-labs accordingly. NOTE: Any written instructions on the shipping box for enclosed documents (the Handover Checklist and Flight Configuration Agreement) will be ignored.

Also upon receipt of the flight mini-lab Nanoracks will add additional zip ties and a sealant to each of the end caps, and Level 2 and 3 containment bags are heat-sealed around each mini-lab (in a way that will not raise the temperature inside it).

6. Transport of the SSEP Payload from Houston to the International Space Station

After the individual flight mini-labs are incorporated into the SSEP M18 experiments payload, the entire payload is handed over to NASA. The SSEP Mission 18 experiments payload, designated SSEP20 – Surveyor (named for NASA’s Surveyor Program, which soft-landed 7 spacecraft on the lunar surface in advance of the Apollo Moon landings), will be ferried to the ISS in payload boxes according to the requested thermal control requirements (refrigeration/ambient).

7. Operations Aboard the International Space Station

The SSEP Mission 18 experiments payload is expected to be delivered to the International Space Station 2-3 days after launch. The payload will return to Earth on SpaceX-31 Dragon, which is scheduled to undock from the station and return to Earth on TBD.

Experiment Timeline on the International Space Station

The timeline aboard ISS for handling each team’s mini-lab is defined in the Flight Configuration Agreement (see Section 2 above). Nanoracks will incorporate the Crew Interaction Days and specific crew interactions, as specified on the approved Agreement for each mini-lab, into a master schedule to be followed by astronauts on orbit. The student flight team can only ask for crew interactions with their experiment during the five scheduled Crew Interaction Days. For more information about the way the student teams can specify handling of their experiment aboard ISS, see the section titled: “4. Mixing the Experiment Samples in the FME Once in Orbit, and Astronaut Handling” on the SSEP Mission 18 to ISS: Mini-Laboratory Operation page. Note that the timeline for each experiment will be reassessed once the exact dates for arrival at and departure from ISS, as well as the overall ISS crew schedule, are known. Therefore, the timelines for all experiments remain tentative until they are incorporated into the final ISS work schedule.

Updates to Student Teams on the Progress of Their Experiment

Astronauts will work with the SSEP payload at times of the day that fit best in their overall work schedule. Even though crew interactions with the experiments are to take place on pre-specified Crew Interaction Days, the time of interaction can vary from one Crew Interaction day to the next. While the SSEP flight operations team may know the astronauts’ planned work schedule a few days in advance, we’ll not know exactly when the payload is handled until the task is complete. After the astronauts have completed handling of the SSEP payload, Nanoracks will forward a report on the activity to the SSEP program team at NCESSE, and we will then post the details – including the time at which the payload was handled – on the SSEP Mission 18 to ISS: Experiment Log page to make the information available to all student teams as quickly as possible. The report will be posted as soon as it is received, but it may take up to 24 hours for the information from the International Space Station to make its way to the Log. That means, for example, that the details of an activity conducted by the astronauts on the afternoon of a specified Crew Interaction Day will be posted on the Experiment Log no later than the afternoon of the following day (and likely far sooner than that).

8. Conducting the Ground Truth Experiments

Ground truth experiments – the control versions of the experiment conducted on Earth while the microgravity experiment is being conducted in orbit – are an essential part of analyzing the results of the flight experiment. Once the flight experiment returns to Earth, simultaneous harvesting and analysis of both the flight experiment and the ground truth experiments allows the research team to assess the role of gravity in the physical, chemical, or biological system under study. It is hard to imagine how the role of gravity can be determined without ground truth experiments conducted at the same time as the flight experiment.

However, given that it may take up to a day to receive a report on exactly what time of day a specific activity was conducted with an experiment aboard the ISS, the student team may want to shift activities with their ground truth experiments by 1 day (24 hours). That will allow teams to ensure that the timing of activities they carry out on their ground truth experiments accurately reflects the timing of activities with their experiment aboard the station. This is especially important for experiments that are sensitive to exact timing. For example, if a microbiological experiment is likely to produce different results depending on whether it is active for 40 or 50 hours, the teams will want to match the exact timing of the experiment aboard the station with their ground truth experiment.

9. Receiving the Mini-Laboratory After the Flight

The SSEP payload is scheduled to return to Earth aboard SpaceX-31 Dragon on TBD. Dragon splashes down in the Atlantic off the coast of Florida and is then transported by ship back to land where the payload is removed and turned over to Nanoracks. Nanoracks will then transport the payload back to Houston. Nanoracks will process the payload as quickly as possible, so that mini-labs will be ready for shipping to the student flight teams 24-72 hours after landing. A student team representative can pick up the mini-lab in person in Houston, or Nanoracks can ship the mini-lab back to the student team.

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, Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS), and Subaru of America, Inc., are U.S. National Partners on the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. Magellan Aerospace is a Canadian National Partner on the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.