Lone Star State Students Lose Experiments In Explosion

HOUSTON (AP) — Experiments by some students in Texas have been destroyed in the explosion of a $200 million commercial supply rocket after liftoff from Virginia.  

Investigators are trying to determine what went wrong Tuesday night with the unmanned Orbital Sciences Corp.'s Antares rocket and a cargo module. The rocket was meant to carry experiments and equipment to the International Space Station.

Students from Cristo Rey Jesuit College Preparatory School in Houston had two experiments on board. One was supposed to study the effect of microgravity on slime mold. The other experiment involved lipids.

Students at Hobby Middle School in San Antonio had an experiment on board involving crystals.

The rocket also carried a small satellite created by some University of Texas engineering students in association with NASA.