Shelton Students' Science Experiment Going To Space On Space Shuttle Endeavour's Final Flight
SHELTON, CT (CBSNewYork/AP) - A science experiment compiled by a team of Connecticut students is ready for its trip into space on the shuttle Endeavour.
Five seniors from Shelton High School had travelled to Florida to witness Friday afternoon's planned launch of Endeavour at Kennedy Space Center, but the launch was scrubbed.
NASA called off Friday's launch because of a heater failure and has not announced the date for the next attempt.
WCBS 880 Connecticut Bureau Chief Fran Schneidau: If The Launch Is Early Next Week, The Students Will Stay In Florida
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The shuttle is carrying an experiment by the students that involves growing bacteria to test microgravity's effect on how certain cell walls develop.
"When it comes back down, we're going to be testing it for a lack of integrity in the cell walls. Maybe it will get weaker up there? Maybe it will get stronger?" says senior Jason Synpis.
The students and their advisors say the experiment could lead to treatments for drug resistant bacterial infections.
Shelton is the only Connecticut school district selected to have an experiment on the shuttle, which is scheduled for a 14-day mission to the International Space Station.
The students recently put finishing touches on the experiment at PerkinElmer, a science and diagnostics company that helped pay for the team's work.
They planned to post live descriptions on Twitter. Click here to follow them.
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