All schools in Upshur County will close at 1 p.m. today. All B-UHS sporting events today are canceled.

History to be made as spacecraft created by elementary students is ready to launch

Fairmont State Space
Front row, left to right: Amelia Fisher, 3rd Grade, Abby Kingora, 3rd Grade. Back row: Abigail Fisher 5th Grade, Nicholas Brown 5th Grade, Ben Marinaro 4th Grade, Cameron Corkrean 4th Grade


Fairmont State University is proud to be a part of the first time in the history of the world that elementary students have built a spacecraft by themselves that will be launched and it’s happening on Wednesday afternoon.

The spacecraft will be launched on Wednesday, April 17, at 4:46 p.m. on board the Cygnus NG-11 mission, which is Northrop Grumman’s resupply mission to the International Space Station. During the flight to the space station, the spacecraft will be jettisoned off the rocket into Earth’s orbit.

Fairmont State’s Professor Marcus Fisher has worked alongside students in third, fourth and fifth graders from Cheat Lake and Brookehaven Elementary Schools, who make up the team of Monongalia Meteteors, to build a ThinSat Spacecraft. It is a partial kit of spacecraft components that is provided by Twiggs Space Labs with support from Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority. In a partnership with those entities and the WV Space Grant Consortium, Fisher was able to bring the kit that was being used in public high schools across the state of Virginia to engage students and help learning Space Systems Engineering (STEM-disciplines) to an elementary school.

“This is the precursor to the Iron Falcon Project, an annual project where we work with multiple schools across the state in programming, electronics, robotics and cybersecurity,” Fisher said. ” In 2017 and 2018 I worked with the elementary school team and they built a spacecraft that will study ultraviolet radiation from space. Their success is what got us the yearly Iron Falcon project. The kids finished up the spacecraft last summer, almost a year ago, and we have been waiting on a ride to space.”

During the 2017 – 2018 academic year, the students learned to research science topics and formulate questions, how to build a system to collect data that answers those questions and how to operate the system and actually collect the data. The school year was broken into three phases that consisted of: launching a low altitude balloon with the students’ system, the students launching a high altitude balloon with their system and launching their system into space which will happen on Wednesday.

A live stream of the launch will be pushed at https://www.spacetv.net/live/launch-of-northrop-grumman-antares-230-with-cygnus-crs-ng-11/ as well as over NASA TV.

Students who participated include Abigail Fisher, Nicholas Brown, Abby Kingora, Amelia Fisher, Cameron Corkrean, and Ben Marinaro.

Share this story:

Local Businesses

RECENT Stories

Upshur County Relay for Life aims to raise $35,000 for cancer research on July 19

The Upshur County Relay for Life will host its annual event July 19 at Jawbone Park, aiming to raise $35,000 for cancer research while celebrating survivors and bringing the community together through activities and remembrance ceremonies.

WVU Medicine St. Joseph’s Hospital team members engage in statewide healthcare leadership program

Two WVU Medicine St. Joseph’s Hospital employees were honored by the West Virginia Hospital Association Leadership Academy, with Paula Cutright graduating and Matthew Scott selected for future participation in the statewide healthcare leadership program.

Post 7 drops outings to Doddridge and Morgantown

Buckhannon Post 7 suffered consecutive road defeats, falling 10-2 to Doddridge County and 11-0 to Morgantown Post 2, dropping their season record to 2-15.

Summer basketball league begins week two

The Upshur County Summer Basketball League entered its second week with standout performances from top scorers including Cory Harper, Dalton Hamrick, Cordell Nicola, and Vinny Snuffer leading their teams across multiple games.

Buckhannon City Council Special Meeting Agenda: July 15, 2025

The Buckhannon City Council has released the agenda for its special meeting scheduled for July 15, 2025.

BCT to light up the stage with Mamma Mia starting this weekend

Buckhannon Community Theatre will present the musical Mamma Mia! at the Colonial Arts Center starting July 12, featuring ABBA hits, lively performances, and a cast assembled from across the region.

St. Joseph’s Hospital supports healthy habits with mile-long midday walks

WVU Medicine St. Joseph’s Hospital has launched a noon walk initiative, inviting staff and community members to join daily one-mile walks to promote physical activity and improve health outcomes.

John Paul Ingram

John Paul Ingram, 83, a beloved Buckhannon resident, ordained minister, and avid outdoorsman who shared his faith and kindness with many, died July 6, 2025, surrounded by his family.

Wesleyan finishes seventh in MEC Commissioners Cup standings

West Virginia Wesleyan finished seventh in the 2024-25 Mountain East Conference Commissioner’s Cup standings, while the University of Charleston captured its eighth consecutive and tenth overall title for all-around athletic excellence.