Photo: Contributed / Contributed

From left to right, Fairchild Wheeler studentsKiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, Uchenna Oguagha, Kiana Laude, and Jucar Lopes.

From left to right, Fairchild Wheeler studentsKiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, Uchenna Oguagha, Kiana Laude, and Jucar Lopes.

Fairchild Wheeler Aerospace students get their experiment ready for the space shuttle

Fairchild Wheeler Aerospace students get their experiment ready for the space shuttle

Standing, teacher Luke Fatsy sitting, from left; Uchenna Oguagha Kiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, and Jucar Lopes, all of Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet School

Standing, teacher Luke Fatsy sitting, from left; Uchenna Oguagha Kiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, and Jucar Lopes, all of Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet School

Standing, teacher Luke Fatsy sitting, from left; Uchenna Oguagha Kiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, and Jucar Lopes, all of Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet School

Standing, teacher Luke Fatsy sitting, from left; Uchenna Oguagha Kiana Laude, Raysa Leguizamon, and Jucar Lopes, all of Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet School

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

The International Space Station (ISS).

Bridgeport high school sending experiment to International Space Station

BRIDGEPORT If all goes as planned a mission to the International Space Station with 21 student experiments on board, including one from Fairchild Wheeler will finally take off on Sunday.

Delayed four times already, the Student Spaceflight Experiment Program (SSEP) Mission 11 is set to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Bridgeport experiment comes from four students at the Aerospace/Hydrospace Engineering and Physical Sciences School at the Fairchild Wheeler Interdistrict Magnet Campus in Bridgeport.

The team included Jucar Lopes of Milford, Uchenna Oguagha of Bridgeport, Kiana Laude of Trumbull and Raysa Leguizamon of Bridgeport.

Entitled Microgravity's Effect on Immune System Response of Model Species: An Interaction between Daphnia magna and Pasteuria ramosa, the experiment looks at the effects of microgravity on the human immune system.

The experiment substitutes water fleas for humans and looks at how well they can fight off a foreign invader in this case a bacteria called Pasteuria romosa.

On earth, water fleas can handle that bacteria pretty well. In space, against freeze dried samples of the bacteria? Time will tell.

Once the experiment is completed by astronauts on the space station, the water fleas will be returned to Earth to measure the protein levels in their blood.

The Fairchild experiment was selected from among 1,959 student team proposals, engaging 9,870 grade 5-16 students in microgravity experiment design. Fairchilds is one of two experiments from Connecticut. The other comes from East Hartford.

Others originated in California, Florida, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York New Jersey, North Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and two from Canada.

Before it was sent to SSEP, there was an internal competition among Fairchild seniors all working on capstone research projects exploring solutions to real world problems. Three were submitted for consideration.

Fairchild Wheelers participation in the SSEP was funded in part by the Connecticut Space Grant Consortium. Community partners include the University of Bridgeport and the Discovery Museum and Planetarium.

It is expected the mission will last five weeks.

Because of the launch delays, a backup team of students met on campus in July to pack up and ship the experiment to Florida, said Jay Lipp, principal of the Aerospace school.

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Bridgeport high school sending experiment to International Space Station - CT Post