Kamloops This Week
It took three attempts, but a science experiment created by students who attended McGowan Park elementary (and who are now in Grade 8 at Sa-Hali secondary) lifted off into space on Saturday morning (Jan. 10).
Last fall, teacher Sharmane Baerg and students Hunter Galbraith, Kieren O’Neil, Ryan Watson and Jordan Brown watched as their science experiment was destroyed after the unmanned Orbital Sciences Corp.’s Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo spacecraft taking it to the International Space Station exploded upon liftoff.
A duplicate science experiment made it to Florida for private company Space X’s attempt at delivering supplies — including the students’ experiment — to the space station.
That attempt, on Jan. 6, came within a minute of launching, but a technical problem aborted the mission.
A third attempt on Saturday was successful and the students’ experiment should reach the International Space Station at 3:12 a.m. Kamloops time on Monday, Jan. 12.
The students won a district-wide contest to take part in the international space-education program. It was the only Canadian experiment to be chosen to go into space by the National Centre for Earth and Space Station Education.
Working alongside the boys and their teacher was Thompson Rivers University chemistry professor Sharon Brewer who, along with dean of science Tom Dickinson, provided the group with a laboratory to work on the experiment.
The students’ experiment is designed to test how crystals grow in the microgravity environment on the International Space Station (ISS), the ultimate destination of the experiment.
The boys were intrigued with the chemical reactions that turn two liquids into a solid and designed their experiment around that.
They discovered along the way that liquids they chose became a fluffy snowflake-like solid if they came together quickly, but more needlelike if a filter was added to slow the chemical process.