If you always dreamed about launching/controlling your own satellite, maybe your dream can become true in the nearby future, because an US company, Interorbital Systems introduces its TubeSat "Personal Satellite Kit".
The TubeSat is a very small satellite & weighs only 0.75 Kg, but it still offers plenty of room for most experiments, or functions. The price of the TubeSat kit actually includes the price of a launch into Low-Earth-Orbit on an IOS NEPTUNE 30 launch vehicle. Since the TubeSats are placed into self-decaying orbits 310 kilometers above the Earth's surface, they do not contribute to any long-term build-up of orbital debris. After a few weeks of operation, they will safely re-enter the atmosphere and burn-up. TubeSats are designed to be orbit-friendly.
The TubeSat allows the builder to add his or her own experiment or function to the basic TubeSat kit. Examples of add-on experiments or functions include the following:
* Earth-from-space video imaging
* Earth magnetic field measurement
* Satellite orientation detection (horizon sensor, gyros, accelerometers, etc.)
* Orbital environment measurements (temperature, pressure, radiation, etc.)
* On-orbit hardware and software component testing (microprocessors, etc.)
* Tracking migratory animals from orbit
* Testing satellite stabilization methods
* Biological experiments
* On-orbit advertising
* Private e-mail
* Space art
* Space burials
The price is quite consumer friendly, because for $ 8000 USD it's yours. Launches are expected to begin in the 4th quarter of 2010.Original article:
Your own Personal Satellite KitPersonally I think this is a great idea! I always joked to my girlfriend that if I've not been into space before the end of my life I want to have my cremated ashes launched into space
& now this can actually become true...
Post edited by: Webmaster, at: 2009/08/05 21:58
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