MORGANTOWN — Ten students from Brookhaven and Cheat Lake elementary schools are slipping the surly bonds of Earth next month.
A mini-satellite they crafted is going up on a NASA launch to resupply the International Space Station.
The students are members of the “Monongalia Meteors,” a club created to advance the mission of STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) in the minds of Mountain State youngsters.
Several tons of cargo, including crew supplies and scientific experiments, will be delivered in the commercial mission contracted by Northrop Grumman.
While the resupplying is going on, their satellite will be dropped into Earth’s orbit to study the effects of ultraviolet radiation on the planet we call home.
Launch of the Antares Rocket is scheduled for 4:49 a.m. Nov. 15 at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia.
The Monongalia students are the only elementary students from West Virginia working on such a project right now, Marcus Fisher said.
Fisher, a Fairmont State University professor and NASA engineer, is advising the club.
Because theirs is a project that is actually being deployed, the students have vectored into everything from computer programming to the factoring of orbital paths to ensure a successful mission.
Meteor members have been orbiting their work and lab space in Granville over the months as they readied their satellite for the launch.
With all systems go, they docked there Tuesday night with payload of pizza to talk about the project.
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