Ocean City Science Experiment's Trip to Space Delayed Again

An Ocean City science experiment’s journey into space has been delayed once again, the Ocean City Gazette reports.

A space shuttle carrying the experiment was scheduled to take off from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday, but was aborted at the last minute due to an anomaly, according to the report.

It is rescheduled for Friday morning, 5:09 a.m.

The experiment, designed to gauge the attachment rate of E. coli bacteria to lettuce leaves in microgravity, was scheduled to go into space on Oct. 28.

However, the Antares rocket exploded just minutes after liftoff.

The students who put the experiment together were seniors Mercy Griffith, Kaitland Wriggin, Lauren Bowersock, Kristina Redmond, Dan Liggi and Alison Miles. They worked under the direction of teachers Dave Urich, Catherine Georges and Weaver, and Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Director Mikenzie Helphestine.

They were on hand when the rocket exploded, and called their reaction a mix of “fear and excitement.”