FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
PPSC and UCCS Students Prepare to Launch Experiment to International Space Station
Student team prepares for spaceflight after nearly a year of research and development
COLORADO SPRINGS, CO – Monday, October 12, 2026 – After nearly a year of work, students from Pikes Peak State College (PPSC) and the University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) are preparing to send an experiment to the International Space Station (ISS), giving local college students the opportunity to take research from the classroom to microgravity.
The student experiment is scheduled to launch Tuesday, Oct. 13 as part of Mission 21 of the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP) with mission support from Rhodium Scientific as the spaceflight implementation partner. The launch is currently scheduled for 6:33 am ET. Launch dates and times are subject to change.
The project is part of SSEP, 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. SSEP provides students an opportunity to design experiments that can be conducted in microgravity aboard the ISS.
Before the experiment begins its journey, the student team completed one of the final steps in preparing it for flight. Students met at UCCS to load their experimental samples into the spaceflight hardware while working by video with ISS Commercial Service Provider, Rhodium Scientific. The experiment is now moving through the remaining preparations for spaceflight.
“This is the kind of hands-on experience that can transform how students see themselves and their futures,” said McKenna Lovejoy, Interim Director of Engineering at PPSC. “Our students are not just learning about engineering and scientific research in a classroom. They are contributing to a real spaceflight experiment and experiencing the collaboration, problem-solving and precision that work requires.”
The project continues a collaboration between PPSC and UCCS through SSEP. In 2024, students from the two institutions sent a calcium sulfate crystal growth experiment to the ISS as part of SSEP Mission 18, marking PPSC’s first experiment sent to the space station.
This new mission gives another team of students the opportunity to experience the demands of real-world research, from developing an experiment to preparing it for operation in microgravity. The project also gives students experience working across institutions and with professionals involved in preparing research for spaceflight.
“Preparing an experiment for the ISS challenges students to turn an idea into research that must work under the constraints of spaceflight. There's no running back to the lab for something you forgot,” says Dr. Lynnane George, Associate Teaching Professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering and Director of the Space Systems Laboratory at UCCS. “Through our partnership with PPSC, students bring together their strengths in engineering and biology, learn from one another and contribute to research that could help us understand how to grow plants in space.”
"This project on examining impacts of space flight on salt-stressed wheat seeds has really given students the opportunity to stretch their knowledge and think of solutions to challenges," says Team Mentor Assistant Professor of Plant Genetics Dr. Amy L. Klocko of UCCS. "There are a lot of factors to consider in how to best set up your experiment for success. It's big science in a tiny package."
Members of the student team and participating institutions plan to travel to Florida for the launch. Additional information about the experiment, student researchers and launch will be shared as it becomes available.
About the Student Spaceflight Experiments Program (SSEP):
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 collaboration with Rhodium Scientific, America’s first space biotech and and ISS Commercial Service Provider, working with NASA through a CASIS Agreement to utilize its facilities aboard the International Space Station for this mission. SSEP is the first pre-college STEM education program that is both a U.S. national initiative and implemented as an on-orbit commercial space endeavor.
About University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS):
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs (UCCS) offers a broad range of undergraduate and graduate programs to students in Colorado Springs and beyond. UCCS supports research, discovery and educational opportunities that connect students with their communities and emerging fields.
About Pikes Peak State College (PPSC):
Established in 1968 and accredited by the Higher Learning Commission, Pikes Peak State College offers associate degrees, certificates in career and technical fields and a growing number of bachelor’s degrees. With multiple campuses and locations, military education centers and online classes, PPSC provides access to quality, affordable and flexible education for students throughout the Pikes Peak region.