A space biotech company hopes its Salmonella vaccine project will pave the way for other lucrative space biotech projects. The company, SPACEHAB, launched its proof-of-concept experiment as part of the space shuttle Discovery's payload on Saturday (May 31).

In April, I reported that SPACEHAB's CEO Tom Pickens talked up the potential for space biotech at a Congressional hearing on the future of the International Space Station.

SPACEHAB is starting with Salmonella vaccine production, Yahoo News reported. Research into a Salmonella vaccine has been hampered partly because the bacterium quickly loses virulence on earth, making it difficult to find an appropriate strain for vaccination. However, a recent study showed that Salmonella becomes more virulent in space , which could help scientists create a potent vaccine strain. So researchers are sending up several potential vaccine strains to test which might be the most effective.

If the experiment works, other commercial research would presumably follow -- especially if the space community is able to simplify the logistics of sending up commercial payloads.