Students send badge to ISS; NASA tests RS‑25 engine; Watkins researches cartilage

Students at Ysgol Cemaes on Anglesey designed a badge that was sent to the International Space Station, according to BBC. The badge floated in zero gravity, and the students later met NASA astronaut Frank Rubio virtually. Rubio had spent 371 days aboard the ISS after a fault that delayed his return. The school plans to design another badge for next year.

On Oct. 21 NASA fired RS‑25 engine No. 10001 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at Stennis Space Center, according to NASA. The engine fired for 500 seconds, the same duration as a launch, and reached 111% power. The test validated the engine’s thermal protection system for future Artemis missions. Four RS‑25 engines together can produce up to 2 million pounds of thrust for the Space Launch System.

On Oct. 9 NASA astronaut Jessica Watkins worked inside the Kibo laboratory on the ISS, according to NASA. She mixed living cell samples with bioink and filled a cartridge for the InSPA‑Auxilium Bioprinter‑Cell Printing investigation. The study aims to 3‑D bioprint cartilage tissue in microgravity, which could improve cartilage production for Earth patients and long‑duration space crews. Watkins is an Expedition 75 flight engineer.