Explosion claims kids' experiment

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

This image taken from video provided by NASA TV shows Orbital Sciences Corp.'s unmanned rocket blowing up over the launch complex at Wallops Island, Va., just six seconds after liftoff. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, NASA TV

A year's worth of hard work and fundraising efforts by a group of students from Kamloops have gone up in flames with the spectacular explosion of a commercial rocket bound for the International Space Station.

Just six seconds after liftoff Tuesday evening, the rocket launched from the Orbital Sciences Corp.'s complex in eastern Virginia exploded, destroying a payload of equipment that included the experiments of students from across North America.

On board was a microgravity experiment developed by four boys who attended McGowan Park elementary school in Kamloops last year and are now in Grade 8.

Yet Paul Hembling, the project co-ordinator for the Kamloops/Thompson school district and principal of Bert Edwards Science and Technology School, remained surprisingly upbeat about the experience.

"We basically paid $25,000 to pay for that explosion to launch our experiment along with 17 others from all other U.S. jurisdictions," he said with a chuckle, adding McGowan Park was the only Canadian school involved in the flight.

The experiment was designed to examine how space impacts the growth of crystals, and Hembling said it involved silicon tubes, 17 centimetres long and 0.9 centimetres in diameter.

Two separate solutions were inside the tubes, he said, and were separated by clips.

Once the experiment was aboard the space station, the astronauts were supposed to remove a clip, allowing the solutions to mix and the crystals to form, he said, noting a similar experiment was supposed to take place on Earth at about the same time.

The experiment was supposed to return to earth in about 12 weeks, at which time the students could compare the results, he said.

The students hypothesized the structure of the crystals formed in space would be different, said Hembling.

A summary of the experiment also proposed that unique materials could be created on Earth if scientists could better understand the formation of solids from liquids in space. It also said scientists would get a better understanding of how fluid mixing and crystal formation works in microgravity.

Hembling said he hopes the explosion won't mean the end of the experiment and there'll be another opportunity for the project, adding the cost was for the transportation of the materials by rocket to the space station, not the silicon tubes and clips.

He said raising the funds for the project proved to be a half-time job, and he also had to write a proposal and apply on behalf of the school district to get a spot on the flight.

Kieren O’Neil said in an email to The Canadian Press that he was one of the students who spent the last year designing the experiment and was watching the launch when the explosion occurred.

"We feel bad for everyone involved," he said, adding that he's been told the project will still happen.

Flames could be seen shooting into the sky as the sun set. There was no hint of any trouble until the rocket exploded.

Orbital Science reported that everyone at the site had been accounted for, and the damage appeared to be limited to the facilities.

"We will understand what happened — hopefully soon — and we'll get things back on track," Orbital Sciences' executive vice-president Frank Culbertson told his team an hour after the failure. "We've all seen this happen in our business before, and we've all seen the teams recover from this, and we will do the same."