Singapore American School Space Lab team celebrated the successful launch of Cygnus spacecraft carrying our space experiment—a capsule that contains our experiment of two strains of bacteria (E.coli and the human gut bacteria E. faecalis). The cargo spacecraft lifted off atop an Antares rocket on February 16 at 4:43 a.m. and was launched into space from NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia to be received at the International Space Station (ISS).

We are excited to determine if the two strains of bacteria can grow in microgravity conditions. You can read more about our initial formulation of this experiment here. 

The launch was initially scheduled to be on February 10 at 5:20 a.m. (GMT +8). Mr. Page’s room that morning buzzed with excitement as team members gathered to watch the launch. However, technical conditions caused it to be delayed by a few days. Fortunately, this delay was not offset for long, as the conditions of our bacteria are time-dependent. 

After the launch, the rendezvous and capture by the ISS occurred on 18 February at around 7:00 p.m. Some team members who were able to make it gathered to Mr. Page’s room to watch the special moment. 

When we receive the capsule back from the ISS in three months, we will sequence the DNA of each sample and compare it to our ground control experiment. This will indicate to us whether or not the bacteria have undergone significant changes in their genetic code through the course of their growth in microgravity conditions. Right now, our challenges are to monitor our capsule and take photos as the bacteria change and grow by the day.

Under the guidance of Mr. Ian Page and our research mentors Mr. Mateusz Kostrezewa, and Mr. Howell Ivy, we were able to continue and further contribute to Spacelab’s legacy. We’re sure that this legacy will continue in the years to come, opening up new dimensions for scientific inquiry at SAS. If you’re a rising sophomore, junior, or senior and are interested in scientific research, please keep a lookout for an application email for next year’s Spacelab team! We will be selecting our future members soon, and we look forward to welcoming you to the team. 

Watch this space for future updates on our SpaceLab experiment!