Three student-designed and developed small satellites are set for launch from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia's Eastern Shore today. Launch coverage will begin at 4 p.m.
Watch the launch live on . Post-launch photos and video will be available on the Virginia Space Grant Consortium's .
The satellites are part of the Virginia CubeSat Constellation mission, a collaborative project of the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) and four of its member universities: Old à£à£Ö±²¥Ðã, Virginia Tech, Virginia and Hampton. Three nano-satellites, each about 4 inches cubed and weighing approximately 3 pounds, have been developed and instrumented (one each at ODU, Virginia Tech and Virginia) to obtain measurements of the properties of the Earth's atmosphere. As the orbits of the satellites decay due to atmospheric drag, satellite instruments will quantify atmospheric density.
The ODU satellite, which has a drag brake to intentionally cause orbital decay, is expected to remain in orbit for up to four months. The other two satellites should orbit for up to two years at an altitude of 250 miles before burning up when they re-enter Earth's atmosphere. The satellites will communicate data to ground stations at ODU, Virginia Tech and U.Va. for subsequent analysis using an analytical tool being developed by Hampton University students from the Atmospheric and Planetary Science Department.
