KAMLOOPS, B.C. — A science project dreamed up by a group of students in central British Columbia that exploded on a rocket launching pad almost two months ago is on hold again.
An unmanned SpaceX rocket was supposed to blast off before sunrise Tuesday but the countdown was halted with just one minute remaining.
No reason was immediately given for the aborted launch. The soonest SpaceX can try again to send the rocket to the International Space Station is Friday.
Four boys from McGowan Park Elementary School in Kamloops, B.C., had won a contest to have their experiment join 17 other student projects from across North American on a trip to the orbiting station.
But the amateur experiments — along with a payload of supplies destined for the space station — were destroyed on Oct. 28 when a NASA-contracted rocket exploded in a spectacular fireball in eastern Virginia.
If and when the Kamloops students’ experiment gets to the station, it will examine how the zero-gravity environment of space affects the growth of crystals.
The students prepared silicon tubes containing solutions that, when mixed, cause crystals to form. On the space station, astronauts would remove small clips keeping the solutions apart. When the tubes returned, the students would analyze the crystals and compare them to crystals grown on Earth.
The projects are part of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program, which is run by the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education.
Thanks for Reading!
Energeticcity.ca is the voice of the Peace, bringing issues that matter to the forefront with independent journalism. Our job is to share the unique values of the Peace region with the rest of B.C. and make sure those in power hear us. From your kids’ lemonade stand to natural resource projects, we cover it–but we need your support.
Give $10 a month to Energeticcity.ca today and be the reason we can cover the next story.
