amoni
17-02-2004, 02:01 PM
The U.S. Air Force has set July 3 as the target date for launching three satellites built by Arizona State University aerospace engineering students and their colleagues at New Mexico State and the University of Colorado.
Called Three Corner Sat, the package will be placed in orbit by a Boeing Delta IV rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch announcement comes after four years of work by students and two years of testing and evaluation of the satellites by the Air Force.
"This is quite an accomplishment," said Helen Reed, professor of aerospace engineering and associate director of the NASA Space Grant Program at ASU. "This puts our aerospace engineering program at the forefront of student satellite projects."
Originally the satellites were scheduled for launch in mid-2003 from a space shuttle, but that plan was canceled after the Columbia disaster. The Air Force, however, was able to provide space for the small student satellites atop the Delta IV, a conventional unmanned rocket.
"It was a tremendous opportunity," Reed said.
The Delta IV will place the Three Corner satellites in orbit more than 200 miles high.
The three satellites will fly in close formation, simultaneously taking pictures of the Earth’s surface to create 3-D images. They also will test parts of a new propulsion system and test "smart" software developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that can command and control the satellites without instructions from the ground.
The ASU program is designed to train engineers who want to work in the satellite industry, and major East Valley employers such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital Sciences, Honeywell and Spectrum Astro have contributed cash, materials and parts to the project. Also, the university received a grant from NASA to support the project.
"This program is a great example of what students can accomplish when they work hard," said Lauren Egan, program coordinator who started work on the project when she was a freshman and now is a senior in chemical engineering. "Each satellite is only about 13 inches tall, but they will accomplish important mission objectives."
Students at each of the universities designed various components of the three satellites, and ASU students assembled the final spacecraft before delivering them in 2002 to Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The satellites will be delivered March 17 to the Kennedy Space Center.
I am gonna be in that program next year insha2allah
got:)(
Called Three Corner Sat, the package will be placed in orbit by a Boeing Delta IV rocket launched from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch announcement comes after four years of work by students and two years of testing and evaluation of the satellites by the Air Force.
"This is quite an accomplishment," said Helen Reed, professor of aerospace engineering and associate director of the NASA Space Grant Program at ASU. "This puts our aerospace engineering program at the forefront of student satellite projects."
Originally the satellites were scheduled for launch in mid-2003 from a space shuttle, but that plan was canceled after the Columbia disaster. The Air Force, however, was able to provide space for the small student satellites atop the Delta IV, a conventional unmanned rocket.
"It was a tremendous opportunity," Reed said.
The Delta IV will place the Three Corner satellites in orbit more than 200 miles high.
The three satellites will fly in close formation, simultaneously taking pictures of the Earth’s surface to create 3-D images. They also will test parts of a new propulsion system and test "smart" software developed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory that can command and control the satellites without instructions from the ground.
The ASU program is designed to train engineers who want to work in the satellite industry, and major East Valley employers such as Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital Sciences, Honeywell and Spectrum Astro have contributed cash, materials and parts to the project. Also, the university received a grant from NASA to support the project.
"This program is a great example of what students can accomplish when they work hard," said Lauren Egan, program coordinator who started work on the project when she was a freshman and now is a senior in chemical engineering. "Each satellite is only about 13 inches tall, but they will accomplish important mission objectives."
Students at each of the universities designed various components of the three satellites, and ASU students assembled the final spacecraft before delivering them in 2002 to Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico. The satellites will be delivered March 17 to the Kennedy Space Center.
I am gonna be in that program next year insha2allah
got:)(