[FPSPACE] FW: NASA Nanosatellites Catch Ride on Rocket, Demonstrate Technology

[LARRY KLAES]

>From: NASA News <nasanews at mail.arc.nasa.gov>
>To: ames-releases at lists.arc.nasa.gov, local-reporters at lists.arc.nasa.gov
>Subject: NASA Nanosatellites Catch Ride on Rocket, Demonstrate Technology
>Date: Thu, 31 Jul 2008 14:34:08 -0700
>
>Rachel Prucey						July 31, 2008
>Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, Calif.
>650-604-0643
>rachel.l.prucey at nasa.gov
>
>Jennifer Morcone
>Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
>256-544-0034
>jennifer.j.morcone at nasa.gov
>
>Diane Murphy
>SpaceX, Hawthorne, Calif.
>310-363-6714
>diane at spacex.com
>
>RELEASE: 08-70AR
>
>NASA NANOSATELLITES CATCH RIDE ON ROCKET, DEMONSTRATE TECHNOLOGY
>
>MOFFETT FIELD, Calif. - NASA will fly two nanosatellites as secondary 
>payloads aboard the SpaceX Falcon 1 rocket planned for launch in August or 
>September.
>
>Spaceflight engineers and project managers at NASA's Ames Research Center, 
>and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., teamed together 
>to arrange a fast-paced, low-cost mission. The mission provides an 
>opportunity to demonstrate NASA-developed spaceflight technologies and the 
>Ames-developed modular approach to constructing the PharmaSat Risk 
>Evaluation (or PRESat) and NanoSail-D satellites. This same approach was 
>used successfully on a previous mission, GeneSat, and will be used for the 
>upcoming PharmaSat mission, scheduled to launch later this year.
>
>"This mission provides NASA with a unique opportunity to evaluate how our 
>nanosatellite spacecraft and its payload perform, while demonstrating our 
>ability to conduct fast turn-around, low-cost spaceflight projects," said 
>John Hines, chief technologist at Ames' Small Spacecraft Division and 
>PRESat-NanoSail-D technical director. "This collaborative mission has 
>enabled NASA to demonstrate and support cutting-edge technologies."
>
>After successfully entering a low Earth orbit, PRESat will create a stable, 
>space science laboratory using innovative environment control and 
>biological detection techniques. NanoSail-D will deploy an ultra-thin, 
>highly reflective solar sail for the first time in history, and validate 
>cutting-edge, propellant-less space propulsion technologies.
>
>"We have an experimental payload loaded into an experimental satellite, 
>onboard a privately developed vehicle," said Edward "Sandy" Montgomery, 
>NanoSail-D payload manager at NASA's Marshall. "We're thrilled with this 
>opportunity to combine our solar sail experience and technology with a new 
>way of doing business."
>
>The PRESat micro-laboratory is a controlled environment with sensors and 
>optical systems that can detect the growth, density and health of yeast 
>cells. PRESat will also monitor the levels of pressure, temperature, and 
>acceleration. This data will be relayed in real-time to mission managers 
>and engineers for further analysis.
>
>Packed inside the NanoSail-D satellite is a 100 square foot sail, made of 
>ultra-thin, light gossamer fabric, coated with a layer of aluminum to 
>enhance its thrust-producing properties. The reflective sails are designed 
>to intercept the constantly streaming solar energy and change the orbit of 
>the spacecraft. If the deployment is successful, the mission team will be 
>able to pick up slight changes in NanoSail's orbit due to solar pressure 
>and aerodynamic drag a few days into the mission.
>
>Marshall Space Flight Center provided materials for the NanoSail-D 
>spacecraft and the solar sail payload, including harvesting the sail 
>material from an earlier Marshall solar sail propulsion mission tested at 
>NASA's Glenn Plum Brook Station in 2005. The team also includes academic 
>and industry partners who provided economical commercial-off-the-shelf 
>components that were quickly configured and integrated to create the 
>satellite.
>
>The Falcon 1 rocket is on the pad at the Marshall Islands launch site, 
>where SpaceX is conducting final checkouts. SpaceX has announced that the 
>rocket could launch at any time during two launch windows: July 31 to Aug. 
>6 and late August to early September. SpaceX will notify news media 36 
>hours in advance of a launch.
>
>After both satellites are ejected from the Falcon 1 rocket into orbit, they 
>will activate and begin transmitting radio signals to two ground control 
>stations operated by students from Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, 
>Calif. One station is located at the Universidad Centroamericana in San 
>Salvador, El Salvador. The other is an innovative, mobile station, 
>positioned near the launch site at Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. 
>Students will monitor the spacecraft, provide mission data to NASA 
>engineers and coordinate with amateur radio operators around the world to 
>tune in to the satellites' broadcasts.
>
>For the most current NanoSail-D and PRESat launch and spacecraft 
>information, visit:
>
>http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/smallsats
>
>For more information about NASA programs, visit:
>
>http://www.nasa.gov
>
>To view the launch via webcast, please visit:
>
>http://www.spacex.com
>
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