Ocean City High School Will Get Second Shot at Sending Experiment Into Space After Rocket Explosion

Six Ocean City High School students reacted with a mix of fear and disappointment after an Orbital Sciences cargo rocket exploded over the Launchpad shortly after takeoff Tuesday night, destroying the rocket and their science experiment that was onboard.

They also expressed a desire not to give up, and have been told there will be room on a future shuttle for their experiment, teacher Dan Weaver said at a press conference at the high school Wednesday morning.

“I was terrified,” senior Mercy Griffith said. “I don’t know what I thought. I was just in shock.”

“When it was happening, we were so excited, we were cheering and then we saw the first flash,” senior Kaitland Wriggin said. “At first I thought maybe it was supposed to happen. Then we saw the second flash and it was so scary. Then we felt the sonic boom, and I was so scared.”

The student contingent was a safe distance from the rocket when it exploded.

Griffith and Wriggin participated in the experiment, along with seniors 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.

The experiment was conducted as part of the national Student Spaceflight Experiment program.

The Antares rocket, which exploded just moments after liftoff at 6:22 p.m. at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on the Virginia coast, was carrying the students’ experiment in a 7-inch test tube with three compartments. It was designed to gauge the attachment rate of E. coli bacteria to lettuce leaves in microgravity. The hope was that it could be useful in treating infection in astronauts.

No one was injured in the accident, and the cause remains unknown.

Although no one was injured, that wasn’t immediately apparent.

“I was worried about the people, about the environment, about everyone there,” Loggi said. “ … This was a great moment that will live in my heart forever. This is tragic, but we can’t let it hold us back.”

The experiment was one of 19 chosen nationwide to be included in the flight, which was scheduled to deliver food, clothes and other cargo, including scientific experiments to the International Space Station.

The competition began in the Ocean City School District with five teams. The school district narrowed the field to three before the students’ experiment was selected on a national level.

Although the process was lengthy initially, students are eager to get back to work.

“Making it again will be easy for us,” Bowersock said. “We just have to get the materials, put them in the test tube and send them up again.”

There is no timetable for when the six seniors might get another shot at launching their experiment into space.

It was the second setback in two days for the Antares, which was originally set to launch on Monday. That launch was delayed due to a boat that wandered into the rocket’s trajectory. It was 40 miles offshore.

“I am unbelievably impressed with the students,” Georges said. “Their enthusiasm did not end the entire time.”

Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Taylor thanked the community for its concern, and shared the students’ enthusiasm.

“You can be sure that we in Ocean City are determined to succeed,” Superintendent of Schools Dr. Kathleen Taylor said. “We are going to try not just one more time, but many more times.”