Teens whose experiment blew up get 2nd crack at space

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. — Teens whose science experiment was destroyed during Tuesday's rocket explosion will get a second chance to have their work transported to the International Space Station.

That second chance could come as soon as December for the Wilkinson Middle School students.

"We are reordering all of the equipment, all of the items we need for the girls to do their experiment," said Randy Speck, superintendent for Madison District Public Schools.

Eighth-graders Regina Alsabagh and Farah Sabah, both 14, and Maryam Kafra and Israa Alfadhli, both 13, designed a science experiment on the effect iodine tablets will have on E.coli bacteria in zero gravity.

In addition to the girls, Wilkinson eighth-grader Tanner Barndollar had a patch he designed on the rocket. He'll also get a second chance.

The girls are all refugees from Iraq. Their experiment was among 18 student-designed experiments headed to the space station through the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program.

But Tuesday, that rocket exploded within seconds of takeoff, dashing the hopes of the students who spent months working on their experiments and anticipating the launch.

The rocket company NASA contracted with to operate the flight hit the destruct button after a problem revealed itself, according to CNN.

Retired NASA astronaut Mark Kelly said it was the right call.

"They commanded the destruct system to make sure it didn't wind up in a populated area when they knew it wasn't going to make it to orbit," he told CNN.

Deciding to blow up a rocket is a tough call. If safety officers make the wrong call either way, National Geographic explains, "bad things can happen."

If a rocket is destroyed too early, millions of dollars worth of research and equipment go up in flames for nothing. But if a malfunctioning vessel is allowed to continue on its way, lives could be at risk.

The student spaceflight experiments program and a company called Nanotech are working to make sure the student work can be launched on another rocket.

Tuesday's Antares rocket was built by Orbital Sciences, a NASA contractor. Another company is planning a rocket launch in December.

"We are assessing right now whether we can get on that launch," said Director Jeff Goldstein of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education, which operates the student program. "We don't know if we can."

If not, they will look at another rocket launch.

"Our job over here has been to try to bolster the spirit of all of these students," Goldstein said. "We don't want to let them down."

The worst thing is to give up after trying to inspire and engage students in science, he said. So within an hour of the explosion Tuesday, his organization was trying to find out how to get experiments on another rocket.

"Space flight is not easy," Goldstein said. "The issue from our vantage point is that failure happens and what we do in the face of failure defines who we are."

The girls found out while they were being interviewed on live TV Wednesday that they would get a second shot. "They went from really, really sad to really, really glad," Speck said.

That their experiment was selected among 1,487 submitted nationwide was big enough. Another group of students from St. Monica Catholic School in Kalamazoo, Mich., also had an experiment on the rocket.

But the Madison Heights teens are all recent U.S. transplants — each arriving within the last year and a half. Two hadn't had formal schooling for six to seven years, and all still are learning English. Each described harrowing experiences trying to attend school in Iraq when interviewed a week ago.

The students decided to focus on E.coli because it is found most often in contaminated water. Their science experiment explores whether the iodine tablets will clean water that has been contaminated with E.coli in zero gravity.

The experiment is personal for the girls, Speck said.

"It's not just about cleaning water on a space station. They all came from environments where they drank dirty water their entire life," he said. "They wanted to figure out ways to clean water, to be able to show children of Iraq that you can clean water."