| Story Views | |
| Now: | |
| Last Hour: | |
| Last 24 Hours: | |
| Total: | |
Surreal Photos: CubeSats Launched from the Space Station
Three small CubeSats are deployed from the International Space Station on October 4, 2012. Credit: NASA
Five tiny CubeSats were deployed from the International Space Station on Thursday and astronaut Chris Hadfield called the image above “surreal” on Twitter. And rightly so, as they look like a cross between Star Wars training droids and mini Borg Cubes from Star Trek. The Cubesats measure about 10 centimeters (4 inches) on a side and each will conduct a range of scientific missions, ranging from Earth observation and photography to technology demonstrations to sending LED pulses in Morse Code (which should be visible from Earth) to test out a potential type of optical communication system.
These are low-cost satellites that could be the wave of the future to enable students and smaller companies to send equipment into space. If you’re worried about these tiny sats creating more space junk, Hadfield assured that since they are very light and in such a low orbit, the Cubesat orbits will decay within a few months.
(…)
Read the rest of Surreal Photos: CubeSats Launched from the Space Station (344 words)
© nancy for Universe Today, 2012. | Permalink | 2 comments |
Post tags: CubeSat, International Space Station (ISS), Satellites
Feed enhanced by Better Feed from Ozh
2012-10-06 19:43:22
Source: http://www.universetoday.com/97727/surreal-photos-cubesats-launched-from-the-space-station/
Source:
