Experiments Bound for the Space Station Are Meant to Improve Life on Earth
*By Chloe Aiello*
SpaceX plans to launch an unmanned cargo spacecraft bound for the International Space Station (ISS) on Tuesday. But the scientific equipment aboard the ship is actually meant to improve life on Earth, according to Ken Shields, chief operating officer for the ISS National Laboratory.
"ISS national lab, alone, has 20 plus payloads going to the Space Station tomorrow. We are supporting and facilitating research and development, scientific discovery, and even commercial pursuits on the space station, all tied to some Earth-bound benefits," Shields told Cheddar on Monday.
Included in the cargo are [crystals, barley, and dental glue](https://www.iss-casis.org/press-releases/more-than-20-u-s-national-laboratory-payloads-part-of-spacexs-16th-mission-to-space-station/), among other things ー all in the name of science. A crystal growth investigation from Frederick National Laboratory for Cancer Research will use microgravity to crystallize a specific gene which has mutations that account for many cancers. The barley will be used in an experiment by Budweiser to help develop malt barley varieties more tolerant to extreme environments ー it could have implications, not only for beer, but for agriculture more broadly. Also aboard will be a "Guardians of the Galaxy"-inspired experiment, in which a high school student will study the effectiveness in microgravity of a UV-activated dental glue.
With increasing privatization of the aerospace industry, Shields said space on shuttles to ISS is increasingly in-demand, even if the experiments aboard aren't exactly out-of-this-world.
"We see more and more interest from non-NASA interests to do things in space, to leverage somehow microgravity or the environment of space, oftentimes for very fundamental and basic scientific discovery. But more and more, we are starting to see a lot of interest in things more on the applied scale, maybe accelerating things to market," he said.
In other words, it's not exactly rocket science. But rocket science does come into play in mission preparation, which Shields called "very complex."
Weather permitting, SpaceX's Dragon cargo spacecraft [will blast off](https://www.nasa.gov/launchschedule/) on a Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at about 1:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 4.
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/u-s-national-lab-prepares-to-send-research-projects-to-i-s-s).
A big-screen adaptation of the anime “Chainsaw Man” has topped the North American box office, beating a Springsteen biopic and “Black Phone 2.” The movie earned $17.25 million in the U.S. and Canada this weekend. “Black Phone 2” fell to second place with $13 million. Two new releases, the rom-com “Regretting You” and “Springsteen — Deliver Me From Nowhere,” earned $12.85 million and $9.1 million, respectively. “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the manga series about a demon hunter. It's another win for Sony-owned Crunchyroll, which also released a “Demon Slayer” film last month that debuted to a record $70 million.
The Federal Aviation Administration says flights departing for Los Angeles International Airport were halted briefly due to a staffing shortage at a Southern California air traffic facility. The FAA issued a temporary ground stop at one of the world’s busiest airports on Sunday morning soon after U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy predicted that travelers would see more flights delayed as the nation’s air traffic controllers work without pay during the federal government shutdown. The hold on planes taking off for LAX lasted an hour and 45 minutes and didn't appear to cause continued problems. The FAA said staffing shortages also delayed planes headed to Washington, Chicago and Newark, New Jersey on Sunday.
Boeing workers at three Midwest plants where military aircraft and weapons are developed have voted to reject the company’s latest contract offer and to continue a strike that started almost three months ago. The strike by about 3,200 machinists at the plants in the Missouri cities of St. Louis and St. Charles, and in Mascoutah, Illinois, is smaller in scale than a walkout last year by 33,000 Boeing workers who assemble commercial jetliners. The president of the International Association of Machinists says Sunday's outcome shows Boeing hasn't adequately addressed wages and retirement benefits. Boeing says Sunday's vote was close with 51% of union members opposing the revised offer.
