Kentucky Space

Dark energy observations planned

Paul Gilster reports on the Dark Energy Survey, a new earth-based observatory that will try to make sense of the approximately 74 percent of the universe we don't understand, dark energy, which scientists believe is responsible for the accelerating expansion of the cosmos. Fully understanding the properties of dark energy may alter our current understanding of the fundamental laws of physics.

ESA has more on the lenses used in the camera that will conduct the survey.

Wayne

Mars soil contains nutrients for life

NASA's Phoenix Mars Lander has performed its first wet chemistry experiment on the collected Martian soil, returning data showing that it contains many nutrients. It might just be suitable for... asparagus?

Wayne

Earth pic from CubeSat Cute 1.7

Tyler passed along the second of two picture of Earth from the CubeSat Cute 1.7 + APD II. It's orbiting altitude is roughly similar to the altitude that KySat will fly.

Thanks Tyler!

Wayne

KySat antenna deployment video

Tyler uploaded this video of the antenna deployment using the KySat engineering model. Think of it as a kind of "proof of concept." The team is currently testing the cube and getting the flight model ready to go.

All the antennas are quarter wave monopole at their respective frequency. The shortest antenna - about 5 cm long - is for the S-Band up- and downlink. The 19cm UHF antenna is used for downlink, and the 50cm antenna - the longest - is used for uplink.

Wayne

Spaceanimation.com

Holding what must be one of the more interesting jobs around, the people who do the cool animation for various NASA videos are on the Web here. Their work on video of the Constellation and Orion vehicles can also be found at NASA. Hat tip: Rob Coppinger at Hyperbola

Wayne

KySat hammer test images

I didn't mention it at the time, but images from the hammer test have been added to the right sidebar of the blog as a Flickr badge.

Wayne

Water ice found on Mars

Wired: Digging into the Martian arctic, the Phoenix Mars Lander has found water ice on Mars.

Wayne

Mars

Carnival of space now online

The very latest Carnival of Space is available. Among the many stories you'll want to read is one on listening to gravity!

Wayne

Taking a hammer to KySat

Members of the KySat team conducted hammer tests of the cube yesterday on the campus of UK. As Tyler explains at the bottom of this post, collecting this data and comparing it with the known vibration profile of the rocket will tell the team whether any dampening needs to be added to protect the satellite during launch.

The "test pod," which simulates the P-POD system that will physically deploy the satellite, is pictured below right. The cube is inside.

The hammer tests are part of a complete testing regime that will ensure that the cube survives launch and carries out its educational mission once it is in the cold vacuum of space.

Wayne

Nanosat Prize founder interviewed

The Space Fellowship has published an interview with Dr. Paul Dear, who has sponsored the N-Prize or "nanosat prize." He clearly has a different take on space. From the interview:

Why a Space Prize?

It brings together a lot of things that had been simmering in the back of my mind for long time. First, I’m a space enthusiast (which is very, very different from being an expert!). I have this half-memory of sitting in front of a big old black-and-white TV watching the moon landings, and it’s stuck with me since then. I think space exploration is just something we need to do because of the type of species we are – it’s as natural as wanting to see what’s over the next hill or across the ocean. Second, I get frustrated by how long everything takes, by how conservative we’ve become, by how risk-averse we are, and by how we always have to justify every pound or cent spent. We’ve regressed since the 60’s and 70’s, if not in our abilities then in the boldness of our ambitions. The N-Prize is a way to say 'Stop taking space so seriously – it’s not rocket science!', and to get people playing again. People become very creative when they play, and the N-Prize is an invitation to play.

The entire interview is here.

Wayne