The 14th Commercial Resupply Services (awarded by NASA) mission to the International Space Station (ISS) by SpaceX is targeted for launch no earlier than 4:30 p.m. EDT on April 2. A Dragon cargo spacecraft previously flown on SpaceX’s 8th commercial resupply mission to the station for NASA will now include 20 separate payloads sponsored by the ISS National Laboratory (managed by the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space). These payloads represent a diverse combination of science, technology, and the validation of new facilities that will contribute to greater research capacity in the future. Additionally, multiple investigations will launch to station focused on inspiring the next generation of scientists and engineers.
Below is a sampling of highlights of sponsored ISS National Lab investigations that are part of the SpaceX CRS-14 mission.
Budweiser (Ft. Collins, CO)
Gary Hanning, Ph.D.
This investigation from Budweiser is continuation research that seeks to evaluate the germination of barley seeds and growth of barley seedlings grown in a microgravity environment. Morphological and genetic effects of the microgravity environment on samples will be assessed in orbit and upon return. A better understanding of barley’s response to microgravity could help investigators adapt the grain for use in long-duration spaceflight.
NanoRacks Microscopes
NanoRacks LLC (Houston, TX)
Carl Carruthers, Ph.D.
The NanoRacks Microscopes facility includes commercial off-the-shelf optical and reflective microscopes. NanoRacks Microscopes utilize plug-and-play USB technology and allow crew members to analyze and digitally transfer images of ISS on-orbit samples.
Hardware Partner: NanoRacks LLC
Wisconsin Crystal Growing Contest-Wisconsin Space Crystal Mission
University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI)
Ilia Guzei, Ph.D.
The winning students from the 2017 Wisconsin Crystal Growing Competition will grow crystals onboard the ISS National Lab to test their optimized conditions for Earth-based crystallization against microgravity-based crystallization. The students adapted their Earth-based crystallization methods to prepare a flight project and will compare the crystals grown in microgravity with crystals grown on the ground.
Hardware Partner: Bionetics Corporation
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense
