SpaceX Attempts To Launch Green Slime, Soccer Ball Into Space

HAWTHORNE, CA —Hawthorne-based SpaceX will attempt a launch Thursday for a supply mission to the International Space Station (ISS), carrying Nickelodeon's famous green slime, an Adidas soccer ball and more than a ton of cargo. The launch was initially supposed to be Wednesday, but was cancelled due to bad weather.

Kids' TV network Nickelodeon, known for drenching guests with green slime at awards shows and on the air, is sending a sample of their famous green, gooey slime to the space station for a series of experiments meant to "spark an interest in microgravity research and help students learn about STEM topics such as fluid flow and materials engineering," the International Space Station press release said.

"We're going to slime a couple of astronauts and put it through a couple demonstrations," Andrew Machles, a vice president of public affairs at Viacom, which owns Nickelodeon, told CNN.

Nickelodeon isn't the only company sending something up to space. The athletic-supply company Adidas will also be sending various experiments to the space station, one of which will "examine the behavior of free-flying soccer balls in microgravity," the ISS press release said.

"Researchers will measure the spin speed, wobble, and spin axis of balls with different shapes and textures and compare the data to Earth-based experiments," ISS officials said.

Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. is also sending an experiment to the International Space Station to study the creation of "novel silica forms and structures in microgravity," hoping to develop manufacturing techniques back on Earth that will improve tire performance.

The mission will be the 18th supply flight carried out by SpaceX under contract with NASA. The launch from Cape Canaveral in Florida is scheduled for 3:24 p.m. PST.

The Dragon spacecraft carrying the cargo has been to the International Space Station twice before, in April 2015 and December 2017, according to SpaceX. The Falcon 9 rocket that will boost the capsule into space was used previously in May. SpaceX will again attempt to recapture the first stage of the rocket by piloting it back to Cape Canaveral.

Once launched, the Dragon spacecraft will take about two days to reach to International Space Station, arriving early Friday morning.

City News Service contributed to this post