BCC to Participate in Space Flight Experiment

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PITTSFIELD, Mass — Berkshire Community College (BCC) has been selected by the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP)'s Mission 18 to participate in a microgravity research
 experiment headed to the International Space Station (ISS). 
 
The BCC experiment, which is currently under development, will be announced closer to launch date. The target date for the selection of the Mission 18 flight experiments is Dec. 15, 2023, while the launch is planned for spring or summer 2024. 
 
The SSEP Mission 18 program is supported through a grant from the Massachusetts Space Grant Consortium (MASGC) and the BCC Foundation, a non-profit corporation established to encourage and receive gifts in support of the mission of the College. The Foundation has pledged $19,000 to help fund the project.  
 
"BCC heartily supports STEM programs like this one, which puts the College at the forefront of scientific experimentation and innovation," said BCC President Ellen Kennedy.
"We are so excited to see what the final project is, and to witness it launch into space. We are grateful to the Commonwealth and to the BCC Foundation for their support of this exciting program." 
 
Experiments will be sent to the ISS via private launch company SpaceX's Dragon 2 spacecraft, which will be launched atop a Falcon 9 rocket during a cargo supply mission.
 When the automated rocket reaches the ISS, astronauts will unload a payload box containing student microgravity experiments. The astronauts will follow instructions on how to operate each of these experiments and then send the experiments back down to Earth, where students will compare the results to the control version operated in full gravity. 
 
Each school selected for the project is known as an "SSEP community." One student-designed experiment in each SSEP community is selected to fly to the ISS. The essential question for the design of an experiment is, "What physical, chemical or biological system would I like gravity to be seemingly turned off for a period of time, as a means of assessing the role of gravity in that system?" 
 
BCC students involved in the project are currently submitting final proposals to a BCC review board, which will review them and choose up to three experiments. The top selections will be sent to SSEP, which will conduct the SSEP National Step 2 Review Board. This board will select the flight experiment from each participating community. 
 
The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. SSEP students and their families, teachers and community stakeholders will be given the opportunity to attend the launch in person.  
 
About the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program 
 
SSEP immerses students across a community in every facet of authentic scientific research of their own design, using a captivating spaceflight opportunity on the International Space Station. Through scientific inquiry and within real-world constraints, SSEP empowers students as scientists. 
 
SSEP allows students to: 
  • Design an experiment with real constraints imposed by the experimental apparatus, current knowledge and the environment in which the experiment will be conducted 
  • Write a formal research proposal requiring critical written communication skills 
  • Experience a real two-step science proposal review process 
  • Have their own science conference, a venue where they are immersed in their community of researchers and in which they can communicate their thoughts, ideas and experimental results to their peers 
 
The Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) is a program of the National Center for Earth and Space Science Education (NCESSE) in the U.S. and the Arthur C. Clarke Institute for Space Education internationally. It is enabled through a strategic partnership with Nanoracks LLC, which is working with NASA under a Space Act Agreement as part of the utilization of the International Space Station as a national laboratory. 

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Letter: Carsell Running in Dalton Special Election

Letter to the Editor

To the Editor:

My name is Patrick Carsell, and I'm a candidate for the Dalton Select Board in Monday's Feb. 3 special election. For over 30 years, I've lived in Dalton with my wife, Laurel, and our two children, running a dental practice in town. In my retirement, I recently determined that now is the right time for me to give back to the community that's supported me for so long.

In preparing for this campaign, I've spent a lot of time listening to residents' concerns, using the information gathered to form solutions that I hope to implement when elected. Throughout these conversations, the integrity of town infrastructure has been a primary issue, particularly with respect to roads and sidewalks as well as the fire station and police station.

In researching the issue of a new police station, I'm the only candidate to publicly ask the Select Board to look closely at the experience of Melrose, a city awarded $3 million in federal funding to support the construction of a new net-zero police station, an energy-efficient and cost-saving LEED-certified building.

Though I respect the recommendation of the citizens committee that recently called for building a wing onto an old church to create a new police station, I urged the Board to take a closer look at building an energy-efficient station on a lot that the town already owns. In my experience, rehabbing older buildings often results in excessive costs and time-consuming snags as builders attempt to meet modern building standards.

If elected, I intend to continue the conversations that I've begun with residents, promising to remain accessible to all. I also commit to working with state and federal officials to secure funding for projects and to respect the recommendations of Dalton's Climate Plan as we work toward maintaining the beauty and affordability of our town.

I'll end by humbly requesting the vote of Dalton voters this Monday when I plan on meeting them when the polls open at 11 a.m.

Patrick Carsell
Dalton, Mass.

 

 

 

 

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