Astrogenetix Missions
Astrogenetix holds a Space Act Agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for use of the International Space Station (ISS), a designated U.S. National Laboratory, for research, development and industrial processing purposes. This agreement makes Astrogenetix one of the first commercial entities to have access to the International Space Station's national laboratory and gives us the ability to process valuable products in space to be commercialized on earth. The Space Act agreement specifies that NASA will provide Astrogenetix with flight opportunities on the space shuttle for the remaining assembly phase of the ISS, as well as appropriate on-orbit ISS resources during both the pre- and post-assembly phases. The below chart highlights the flight opportunities that Astrogenetix currently has, and the expected manifest for each flight.
| Launch Target | Launch Vehicle | Astrogenetix Payload |
|---|---|---|
| 03.11.2008 | Endeavour STS-123 | Tested feasibility for identifying knock-out gene targets associated with enhanced Salmonella virulence in Space |
| 05.31.2008 | Discovery STS-124 | Genetically altered forms of Salmonella are grown in microgravity, mixed with host Caenorhabditis elegans, fixed on orbit and returned to Earth for determination of microbial virulence in the host; post-flight analyses examined strains not demonstrating enhanced virulence due to the knock-outs of specific genes, resulting in a final experiment to be validated |
| 11.14.2008 | Endeavour STS-126 | Verification and validation of knock-out gene targets for Salmonella by identifying genes associated with microgravity-enhanced bacterial virulence, as the basis for formulation of attenuated vaccine. |
| 03.15.2009 | Discovery STS-119 | Virulence survey study with methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), Listeria monocytogenes, Enterococcus faecalis and Candida albicans |
| 05.11.2009 | Atlantis STS-125 | Building on the results of the MRSA survey flight with additional research to help isolate important factors responsible for growth and virulence |
| 08.28.2009 | Discovery STS-128 | Research will be conducted on Staphylococcus aureus and Salmonella microbes in search of a potential target for a therapeutic agent or vaccine candidate. These bacterial microbes are known to cause hundreds of thousands of medically diagnosed infections every year around the world. |
| 11.16.2009 | Atlantis STS-129 | Research will build on information gained during experiments conducted on board STS-128, which launched in August of this year. Those experiments have allowed Astrogenetix to hone in on a specific group of genes that show promise for identifying a vaccine candidate. On STS-129, Astrogenetix will interrogate specific genes within this group to further narrow the scope of virulence determinants. |
| 02.08.2010 | Endeavour STS-130 | The Company’s payload on Flight STS-130 consists of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) microbes in search of a target for a vaccine or therapeutic. Research will build on information gained during experiments conducted on board previous shuttle missions performed over the past year. On STS-130, Astrogenetix will continue to interrogate specific genes within a group of genes that show promise for identifying a vaccine or therapeutic candidate, to further narrow the scope of virulence determinants. |
| 04.05.2010 | Discovery STS-131 | Astrogenetix has identified target genes for MRSA (a form of Staph infection) virulence by growing the bacteria in the microgravity environment during previous NLP-V missions. The Company is further examining and validating these genes on STS-131, by sending up several different strains of the bacteria, which were genetically altered to remove target genes that are believed to be associated with virulence of this organism. |
| 05.14.2010 | Atlantis STS-132 | The Company is utilizing the unique conditions of microgravity to uncover changes in bacteria, which can be targeted to create new vaccines and therapeutics. Astrogenetix has identified target genes for MRSA virulence by growing the bacteria in the microgravity environment during previous NLP-V. The Company is conducting controls on this flight to validate prior research by sending up several different strains of the bacteria, which were genetically altered to remove target genes that are believed to be associated with virulence of this organism. Additionally, the Company is bringing back live forms of the bacteria that were grown in microgravity to compare to ground-based samples of the bacteria. The science team will perform post-flight analysis on the microbes to evaluate the changes that occurred on this mission. |