From November 1st to 4th, three Upper St. Clair scholars travelled to Cape Canaveral, Florida, to watch an epic event: the launch of the space shuttle Discovery. Because of the historical significance of the shuttle’s launch, this event was very anxiously awaited. However, storms on Nov. 4 delayed the launch 24-hours, and at that point, the students had to return home. Still, they all agreed that the experience was worth it.
The journey began last February, as part of NASA’s BalloonSat High Altitude Flight Competition. Brent Heard, Kate Groschner, Vinay Viswanathan, Avisha Shah, and Matt Vernacchia designed and executed a biological experiment to be performed in “the near space environment of the Stratosphere, or nearly 100,000 feet, by a NASA weather balloon launch in Northern Ohio.”
Last May, they travelled to Cleveland, Ohio, to launch their experiments. They executed an experiment where they inoculated some petri dishes with bacteria which are rumored to have arrived from a meteoroid. They placed their bacteria in BalloonSats, which are simple packages that can be carried into near-space environments. Their result was that the bacteria grew well in space, thus providing evidence for the theory.
At the Glenn Research Center, they built many close relations with NASA researchers, including Tim Dedula who invited the team to view the shuttle launch of the Discovery in November. Brent, Kate, and Matt decided to set aside time from their weekend and recently attended the festivities preceding the shuttle launch. This shuttle launch has great historical importance, as the vehicle is being phased out and replaced by a newer, more modern craft known as the Ares I. This opportunity that the USC students had, therefore, will happen only once again (www.nytimes.com).
Furthermore, Senior Kate Groschner wrote, “[the shuttle launch is great because] it will be one of the last times in history. Space is really cool, so it’s really exciting.”
However, their visit ultimately was in vain. Space shuttle launches are precarious undertakings, so conditions have to be perfect. An electrical issue followed by a storm in Florida delayed the space shuttle launch indefinitely.
Matt Vernacchia said, “The launch got scrubbed a few times, and it got a bit nerve-racking.” Junior Sam Cramer felt their pain, saying: “I wouldn’t want to go to Florida just to see the space shuttle not take off.”
However, they enjoyed their experiences together.