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Conference 7.286::space

Title:	Space Exploration
Notice:	Shuttle launch schedules, see Note 6
Moderator:	PRAGMA::GRIFFIN

Created:	Mon Feb 17 1986
Last Modified:	Thu Jun 05 1997
Last Successful Update:	Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:	974
Total number of notes:	18843

68.0. "Weber State College Satellite" by PYRITE::WEAVER () Tue Aug 20 1985 14:53

Associated Press Mon 19-AUG-1985 11:03                        Weber Satellite

   College Loses Contact With Satellite
   OGDEN, Utah (AP) - A satellite launched by space shuttle
Challenger in April for a study involving Federal Aviation
Administration radar is not working and may be out for good, say
Weber State College officials.
   ``We know where it is, but it just does not respond any more,''
said Robert Twiggs, an assistant professor of electronics at the
college and one of the faculty advisers on the project.
   The satellite, launched by the space shuttle in April, was
developed by Weber students to determine whether it is possible to
adjust FAA air traffic control radar dishes from space.
   Ground crews were able to establish contact with the craft
shortly after it was launched, but the project had problems from
early on. The latest silent spell, which began July 16, probably
indicates something on the satellite has stopped working, Twiggs
said.
   ``I just think that some electronic component has failed, just
like they do here on Earth,'' Twiggs said.
   He said crews will continue trying to contact the satellite four
or five times a day until it drops out of orbit and burns up in the
atmosphere in June of next year.
   ``We have a $38,000 contract with the FAA if we can go into
phase two of the project and start evaluating their radar,'' he
said. The phase would start if contact can be made long enough to
send and receive programs, he said.
   Even though the mission had its flaws, Twiggs said it was
successful because it has given students, faculty and industry
representatives experience to use on a second satellite, NUSAT-II.
   ``A lot more came out of this than just the satellite,'' he
said. ``The faculty and students have learned a great deal and we
have been able to pass information to a number of industries, and
they have passed information to us.''
   Students already have started work on NUSAT-II and are reserving
space on a shuttle flight in early 1987, he said.
   ``This new satellite will send out a steady signal so we can
track it easier,'' Twiggs said, adding it will have several backup
systems making it less likely ground crews will lose contact with
it.
   The new probe will be used for FAA experiments, and Twiggs said
the college also plans to mount a camera on it.

T.R Title User Personal
Name Date Lines

68.1 Latest Weber State satellite ready for space PRAGMA::GRIFFIN Dave Griffin Wed Dec 05 1990 09:31 46

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68.1	Latest Weber State satellite ready for space	PRAGMA::GRIFFIN	Dave Griffin	`Wed Dec 05 1990 09:31`	46
	From: [email protected] Date: 3 Dec 90 12:06:01 GMT OGDEN, Utah (UPI) -- First there was NUSAT and then WEBERSAT. And now Weber State College is ready with its third satellite -- ADSAT -- to shot into space. All it needs is a ride. NUSAT went into orbit aboard a space shuttle in April 1985, and remained in space for 20 months. But the Challenger disaster in January 1986 temporarily grounded the shuttles and Weber State went to French Ariane rocket to get WEBERSAT into space. Now that the space shuttle program is back in business, Director Bob Twiggs of Weber's Center for Aerospace Technology said the school hopes ADSAT will be aboard a shuttle within the next year. It usually takes at least 12 months, Twiggs said, for NASA to approve civilian lanch requests. ADSAT -- for Astronaut Deployed Satellite -- is one of the simplist built by the center's students, said deputy director Will Clapp, manager of the student project. The 16-inch square by 4-inch thick device looks something like a large pizza box with a handle, said Clapp. And, because it has its own power supply and is not connected to any shuttle systems, the only things it needs are a little cargo space and some of the astronauts' time, the Weber State professors said. The satellite must be launched by an astronaut from outside the shuttle. It really isn't much of a launch, Clapp said, because the astronaut just points it and springs in the handle push the tiny craft on its way. ``The astronaut carries it outdoors with him,'' said Clapp. That does create a problem, he said, because the National Aeronautics and Space Administration plans only two 1991 flights where astronauts will take a space walk outside the shuttle. ``That narrows down our chances. And they're not going to go outside if they don't have to. But, when they do, it will take just a few minutes'' to fling ADSAT into orbit, said Clapp. The 25-pound satellite is designed measure the Earth's magnetic field and tell when it is in the Earth's shadow. It also can relay information on the temperature and its power levels. In additional to learning how to build a communications satellite, the Weber State students will try to use the satellite's information to compute its speed, orbit, distance from Earth, and rotation and spin. And Twiggs said, with relatively simple and inexpensive communications equipment and scanners, high school and junior high students also should be able to monitor ADSAT's signals. The sad part about the satellite is the shuttle will drop it off in a low Earth orbit, less than 190 miles up. That means its orbit will decay quickly, and ADSAT will burn up on re-entry after only up to about five months of life.

From: [email protected]
Date: 3 Dec 90 12:06:01 GMT

	OGDEN, Utah (UPI) -- First there was NUSAT and then WEBERSAT. And now
Weber State College is ready with its third satellite -- ADSAT -- to shot
into space. All it needs is a ride.
	NUSAT went into orbit aboard a space shuttle in April 1985, and
remained in space for 20 months. But the Challenger disaster in January
1986 temporarily grounded the shuttles and Weber State went to French
Ariane rocket to get WEBERSAT into space.
	Now that the space shuttle program is back in business, Director Bob
Twiggs of Weber's Center for Aerospace Technology said the school hopes
ADSAT will be aboard a shuttle within the next year. It usually takes at
least 12 months, Twiggs said, for NASA to approve civilian lanch
requests.
	ADSAT -- for Astronaut Deployed Satellite -- is one of the simplist
built by the center's students, said deputy director Will Clapp, manager
of the student project. The 16-inch square by 4-inch thick device looks
something like a large pizza box with a handle, said Clapp.
	And, because it has its own power supply and is not connected to any
shuttle systems, the only things it needs are a little cargo space and
some of the astronauts' time, the Weber State professors said.
	The satellite must be launched by an astronaut from outside the
shuttle. It really isn't much of a launch, Clapp said, because the
astronaut just points it and springs in the handle push the tiny craft
on its way.
	``The astronaut carries it outdoors with him,'' said Clapp.
	That does create a problem, he said, because the National Aeronautics
and Space Administration plans only two 1991 flights where astronauts
will take a space walk outside the shuttle.
	``That narrows down our chances. And they're not going to go outside
if they don't have to. But, when they do, it will take just a few
minutes'' to fling ADSAT into orbit, said Clapp.
	The 25-pound satellite is designed measure the Earth's magnetic field
and tell when it is in the Earth's shadow. It also can relay information
on the temperature and its power levels.
	In additional to learning how to build a communications satellite,
the Weber State students will try to use the satellite's information to
compute its speed, orbit, distance from Earth, and rotation and spin.
	And Twiggs said, with relatively simple and inexpensive
communications equipment and scanners, high school and junior high
students also should be able to monitor ADSAT's signals.
	The sad part about the satellite is the shuttle will drop it off in a
low Earth orbit, less than 190 miles up. That means its orbit will decay
quickly, and ADSAT will burn up on re-entry after only up to about five
months of life.