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Colorado experiment, equipment on Space X rocket

Posted at 5:21 PM, Apr 08, 2016
and last updated 2016-04-08 21:07:00-04

When the latest Space X rocket launched Friday, it had several connections to Colorado.

On board was high-tech hardware designed and built at the University of Colorado Boulder's BioServe Space Technologies.

The hardware will support four life science experiments including one dealing with yeast cell cultures in microgravity, another dealing with the mechanisms of molecular transport across tiny membrane channels, a third involving culturing fungi and a fourth looking at developing treatments for bone and muscle loss by both space travelers and people on Earth, according to BioServe Director Louis Stodieck.

Also on board is a ladybug experiment created by students at Mount Carbon Elementary School in Littleton. They hope to grow ladybugs aboard the International Space Station and compare their growth to a control group of ladybugs back in Colorado.

The students tried to send their experiment to the International Space Station last year, but the rocket blew up.

This ship is scheduled to arrive at the ISS on Sunday.

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