Clay County student sends science experiment to space

CLAY COUNTY, Fla. — After months of preparation, a Clay County student has an experiment heading to the international space station!

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Action News Jax had a chance to talk with that student’s father this afternoon who says he is proud of what his daughter has achieved!

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“There is no describing how I feel,” Michael Torkzad said.

Torkzad’s 13-year-old daughter Celine who is a student at St. Johns Country Day School is doing something that not many people her age can say they’ve done

Flying one of her science experiments to outer space! She worked on the project with other students and it was all thanks to the 4-H Youth Development Program and Higher Orbits.

“Her team won the idea of having an investigation done on spirulina,” Torkzad said.

Read: Four astronauts fly SpaceX back home, end 5-month mission

Torkzad tells me spirulina is an algae, and his daughter is flying it to space to see how it works

“This algae is very high and rich in protein. so the idea is that how do we sustain live protein for astronauts why they are in space,” Torkzad said.

Tonight, Torkzad told Action News Jax that he’s proud of the hard work the students put in to make this happen, and he’s excited about their future.

“The impact it has on a child’s life. Oh, look you have to work hard and if you work hard, and you put your effort into it you will achieve something,” Torkzad said.

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Torkzad said that he saw the rocket laugh from a hotel rooftop, and it will be a lifetime experience.

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