The Stockton University, Students Spaceflight Experiments Program, Mission 11, experiment has returned from the International Space Station! Valkyrie Falciani gives us an update on the experiment and what the post process involves.

The morning was hot and bright as the Stockton SSEP launch team arrived at the Kennedy Space Center at 8:30 AM on launch day after a number of disappointing launch delays  Student teams from around the country and visitors from around the world intent on seeing the launch lent additional excitement to the opening of the visitor center with the playing of the national anthem.  The Stockton student launch team consisted of Valkyrie Falciani, Ariel Petchel, Megan Pierce, Cindy Lowe and Greg Fischer along with Dr. Tara Luke, (School of Natural Sciences & Mathematics) and Dr. Norma Boakes, (School of Education) and Dean Straub.  The students setup their poster detailing the Stockton experiment in the Saturn V/Apollo hall and interacted with visitors streaming toward the launch site bleachers.  The students joined their faculty at noon in the bleachers for the countdown in the 94 F heat.  The bleachers overlooked the Banana River approximately 3.5 miles from launch pad 39A and in a great omen, a dolphin swam by with a leap in the air to the cheer of the crowd.  At 12:31 PM, the Falcon 9 rocket ignition began with a tremendously bright fireball and the slow but rapidly accelerating launch from the pad.  Once free from the pad, the rocket swiftly rose in the sky until several minuted later, the first stage separated and began its journey back to adjacent Cape Canaveral LS-1 pad.  The return of the first stage Falcon -9 was clearly visible in the distance but the actual perfect landing was projected on a large screen to the delight and cheers of the crowd.  The entire event was awe inspiring given that something the students created in their mind left the earth and will be in orbit for at least a month before return and analysis.  This could not have been possible without your generous support.  Thank you and please continue to follow our progress here and at: https://stocktonspaceflight.org/ and into next year as we gear up for Mission 12 of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program. 

At 6:22 a.m., SpaceX Dragon, arrived at the International Space Station. The spacecraft will spend about a month on the station while the astronauts carry out the students' experiments. Dragon is expected to return to Earth in mid-September with results from the experiments.

Congratulations to our students and mentors!

In T-minus 1 hour and 7 mins, Mission 11 will launch on SpaceX CRS-12 and rendezvous with the International Space Station on Wednesday, August 16.

Watch LIVE via NASA TV: https://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/nasatv/index.html#public

Be sure to check out our new Stockton Student Spaceflight Experiments Program website,

UPDATE AS OF AUGUST 10, 2017

The launch has been postponed until Monday, August 14, at 12:30 p.m. 

We will have a live feed from NASA TV on the Stockton University School of Natural Sciences website, as well as the SSEP ScaleFunder site. Please check back on Monday to watch our students' experience launch into space!

http://www.ustream.tv/channel/10414700

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It's official!! Stockton University School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics' experiment developed for participation in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 11, is scheduled to launch on Thursday, August 10, from Cape Canaveral, Florida to the International Space Station. Check back on August 10 for a live link to the launch.

http://ssep.ncesse.org/…/ssep-mission-11-to-the-internatio…/

#stocktonuniversity #SSEP1 #internationalspacestation #ISS#studentspaceflightexperimentsprogram

It's official!! Stockton University School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics' experiment developed for participation in the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) Mission 11, is scheduled to launch on Thursday, August 10, from Cape Canaveral, Florida to the International Space Station. Check back on August 10 for a live link to the launch.

http://ssep.ncesse.org/…/ssep-mission-11-to-the-internatio…/

#stocktonuniversity #SSEP1 #internationalspacestation #ISS#studentspaceflightexperimentsprogram

Last week, Stockton University faculty mentors and students who participated in the Students Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) attended the 2017 SSEP National Conference held at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.  Our students took over Stockton's Snapchat....check out their story!

Due to a launch delay of Mission 10, SpaceX Mission 11 has been postponed until early August 2017. As soon as we have an official launch date, we will be communicating the information to all our donors. SpaceX will provide a live webcast of the launch, we will provide a link to the portal for all to watch live. Be sure to stop back to get the details! Updated information can also be found on the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics website, as well as our new Stockton University SSEP website.

SSEP student researchers and their mentors will be traveling to Cape Canaveral for the launch of their experiment. Students will be taking live video and pictures from the launch via SnapChat. We will be sure to share their exciting adventures with you!

Next week, two Stockton SSEP students, along with their mentors, Drs. Pam Cohn, Jason Shulman, Tara Luke and the Dean of the School of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, Dr. Peter Straub, will be attending the SSEP National Conference at the Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C. to present their experiment poster to their peers and the scientific community. Please wish them the best!

Ertz said, “It feels a little surreal that something that I helped think of is actually going to the ISS, but I’m also really glad and excited. Planning the experimental procedure was a challenge, but it was rewarding working as a member of a team because we were able to bounce ideas off of each other and find solutions.”                           

Danielle Ertz, Biology '17

We are in the FINAL Hours!

To date, we were able to raise 67% of our $2,500 goal!  Please share the link http://elevate.stockton.edu/spaceflight on social media and email your personal network asking them to join the others and invest in the innovative programs we are offering here at Stockton.

Get More Bang for Your Buck!  Corporate Matching Gifts Program

1. Click here to see if your company has an eligible matching gift program. If your company is eligible, you will be linked directly to instructions about how to complete the process. 
2. If you don’t find your employer, ask your human resources office about gift matching protocol at your company.

We are extremely grateful for the support the Stockton community, alumni, friends and family have shown for the Students Spaceflight Experiments Program. Because of your continued support in raising awareness of this program, we were able to raise 67% of our $2,500 goal! 

Let's keep that momentum going! We have a less than 72 hours – share a link http://elevate.stockton.edu/spaceflight on social media and email your personal network asking them to join the others and invest in the innovative programs we are offering here at Stockton.

1. Click here to see if your company has an eligible matching gift program. If your company is eligible, you will be linked directly to instructions about how to complete the process. 
2. If you don’t find your employer, ask your human resources office about gift matching protocol at your company.

Danielle Ertz, whose experiment was chosen to launch on Mission 11, will be graduating this Spring with a BS in Biology. Read how the SSEP program positively impacted her education and where her journeys will take her after graduation.

The Students Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) website has posted the final 21 flight experiments (and honorable mentions) for Mission 11 to the ISS!

Check out what other schools and experiments will be accompanying Stockton students, Danielle Ertz and Valkyrie Falciani's experiment.

http://ssep.ncesse.org/communities/experiments-selected-for-flight/selected-experiments-on-ssep-mission-11-to-iss/

We are appreciative of everyone who has taken the time to learn more about the program, our goals, and are interested in donating to our program!

We are finalizing preparations of our experiment for its maiden voyage aboard Mission 11 to the International Space Station (ISS).

Corporate Matching Gifts 

You may make an even greater impact with your gift by taking advantage of your employer’s matching gift program. Through these programs, your gift  can be doubled or even tripled. Please make a gift and then take the next steps to increase your giving power through your corporation’s matching gift program.

To get started, just follow these easy steps:

1. Click here to see if your company has an eligible matching gift program. If your company is eligible, you will be linked directly to instructions about how to complete the process. 
2. If you don’t find your employer, ask your human resources office about gift matching protocol at your company.