Kentucky Space

The Rocket Project

Sony and Intel are sponsoring a student-built rocket, and have produced this video that captures some of the excitement. Have a look.

It's good to see this kind of interest in young makers.

Wayne

What if space were the solution?

Tom Eblen, Lexington Herald-Leader columnist, writes about the potential impact of space exploration in Kentucky, helpfully pointing out that it's not just about rockets and engineering:

What’s important to understand about this space research is that it isn’t about space. It’s about how earthly cells and molecules react and change in the micro-gravity environment of space. The economic and social implications of that research could be huge.

For example, most medical research about how humans react to micro-gravity has been focused on preventing harm to astronauts. But space could have beneficial effects on cells that might lead to more effective treatments for various diseases and conditions. Research already is being conducted on the space station to see how micro-gravity changes bacteria, which could lead to more effective vaccines for dangerous salmonella and staph infections.

'What could the applications of all of this be? The answer is, we don’t know, which is the foundation for all science,' Kimel said. 'Many scientific breakthroughs come when you’re looking for something else.'

Wayne

CubeSat, Kentucky Space, Space

Video recap of Frontier mission

Incorporating launch and ground station footage, Kentucky Space students describe the "Frontier" mission that took place in late March from Wallops. Congratulations to all the team members on a successful mission!

Wayne

CubeSat, Kentucky Space, Space

Video of Saturday's Kentucky Space launch

One of two cubesats on board this Terrier-Improved Malamute rocket, "ADAMASat" spent several minutes in space and returned valuable performance data on some of the systems and technologies that will be used on Kentucky Space orbital flights slated for later this year.

Wayne

CubeSat, Kentucky Space, Space

Watch Kentucky Space launch tomorrow!

Two cubesats developed by Kentucky Space and California students are scheduled for launch tomorrow, March 27 on a Terrier-Improved Malemute suborbital sounding rocket from the Wallops range in Virginia. The launch window is 10 a.m. and 2 p.m. EDT, and a live stream of the event starts at 9 a.m.

"ADAMASat" will test components that will be used on an orbital mission now slated for November. Ground stations in Kentucky will collect performance data from the craft during its brief stay in space.

For the latest, Kentucky Space and ADAMASat are on on Twitter @KySpace and @KySpaceADAMASat, respectively. Please follow.

Wayne

Kentucky Space in the News

Here are a couple of recent links of interest about Kentucky Space.

For the UK College of Engineering Space Systems Laboratory, "SOCEM," which is now slated to fly this weekend, is just the beginning of a busy year. And in the article, "Space Science Mentor," the American Society for Engineering Education writes that Morehead State University's Dr. Ben Malphrus "lets students take on big tasks" as part of the university's space sciences program.

The picture above depicts the flight path of ADAMASat, one of two payloads on SOCEM. Ground stations in Kentucky will pick up data from the suborbital craft during its brief stay in space.

Wayne

New March launch window opens for SOCEM suborbital

A new flight window for SOCEM has been confirmed for Saturday through Sunday, March 27 and 28.

"SOCEM," which stands for Sub-orbital Cubesat Experimental Mission, is a test of the Terrier-Improved Malemute sounding rocket and Cubesat launcher that may open new opportunities in fast access to space. Video of a recent test ejection may be seen here:

Kentucky Space's ejected "ADAMASat" payload will test components that will fly on orbital missions slated for later this year.

ADAMASat can be followed on Twitter @KySpaceADAMASat  

Wayne

SOCEM highlights on NASA TV

NASA TV broadcast this segment on its Wallops "SOCEM" mission, which has been posted to the UK Space Lab channel on YouTube.
Weather scrubbed last Thursday's launch. A new target launch date should be announced soon.

Wayne

CubeSat, Kentucky Space, Space

Video: Ride to space and back on a Sounding rocket

Enjoy a ride from start to reentry to recovery on a sounding rocket that reached 258km and spent approximately seven minutes in space. The spinning stops about a minute into the video, and is followed by the serene appearance of the Earth's horizon and a descent under chute. It's the first video taken from on board a sounding rocket that I've seen.
Spending about eight minutes in space, a Kentucky Space suborbital trip is scheduled for March 10 to test components that will be used on its orbital craft - KySat-1- later this year. More about the "SOCEM" mission may be found here.

Wayne

CubeSat, Kentucky Space, sounding rocket, Space

SpaceX integrating Falcon 9 in Florida for debut launch

According to a SpaceX press release, all the hardware needed for the debut launch of the Falcon 9 vehicle has arrived at Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40), in Cape Canaveral, Florida, and a launch can be expected in one to three months after full vehicle integration. The first flight for the 154 feet tall rocket will include a Dragon spacecraft qualification unit.

SpaceX is developing a line of commercial rockets to take satellites to space, supplies to the International Space Station, and, it hopes, humans to orbit.

Its lighter lift Falcon 1 successfully reached orbit last year. 

Wayne

Image credit: SpaceX