CanSat Helps Students Make & Launch Sub-Orbital 'Satellites' (Video)

The Magnitude (motto: "Powered by Curiosity") "Can-sized satellites" aren't technically satellites because they're launched on rockets that typically can't get much higher than 10,000 feet, or as payloads on weather balloons that can hit 100,000+ feet but (obviously) can't go beyond the Earth's atmosphere. But could they be satellites? Sure. Get a rocket with enough punch to put them in orbit and off you go -- something Magnitude Co-founder and CEO Ted Tagami hopes to see happening in his local school district by 2020. Meanwhile, they'll sell you assembled CanSat packages or help you build your own (or anything in between), depending on your schools resources and aspirations. Have a question or an idea? Talk to Ted. He'd love to hear from you. Use the Magnitude Web form or send email to hello at magnitude dot io. Either way works.

Comments

ARLISS

[taniwha]

Isn't this what ARLISS http://www.arliss.org/ has been doing for 10 years now

Re:ARLISS

[taniwha]

ah - I see Bob Twiggs, who started ARLISS, is on these guy's board ... so it's sort of a continuation

Re:ARLISS

[Roblimo]

They're hooked together -- Bob Twiggs is the common point, and "the man" behind a lot of the "citizen satellites" stuff that's been popping up in the last decade.

Arliss:
"ARLISS began as a cooperative program between Professor Bob Twiggs of Stanford, his colleagues at other universities worldwide and members of AeroPac led by Pius Morizumi and Tom Rouse. The first ARLISS event was held in 1999."

Magnitude.io:
ADVISORY BOARD
Professor Bob Twiggs
Robert Twiggs has been a professor of astronautical engineering at MSU in July 2009. He was instrumental in the development of a space systems curriculum. Prior to his time at MSU, Twiggs was a consulting professor in the aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford University for 14 years. He is responsible for developing the curriculum for students interested in designing, building and operating small space experiments. He helped develop the original concepts for the CricketSat, CanSat, CubeSat and the PocketQub for educational applications for use in space. In 2010 he was selected as by the Space News publication as one of 10 space professionals “That Made a Difference in Space”. One of his recent publications is as a co-author of the article “Citizen Satellites” in the February 2011 Scientific American. He has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Idaho and an master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

Question: "Why doesn't Slashdot do an interview with Prof. Twigg?"
Answer: We should. I'll talk to Tim, see who he wants to do it. :)

Launch from balloon

[hyades1]

I wonder whether a weather balloon ride to the top of the atmosphere, then a rocket launch, could produce an orbit or two before reentry. The weather balloon would get up to about 20 miles, leaving about 70 or 80 to go.

It seems like a long way, but without a lot of air resistance...

Re:Launch from balloon

[taniwha]

to get into orbit you need to be going sideways fast enough that as gravity pulls you down you miss the edge of the earth 100k ft (20 miles) still has enough atmosphere that that's hard (esepcially with a non guided rosket, just fins, that can't go up then pull that fast right turn). Launching above 100kft also requires extra federal oversight that makes it a whole extra magnitude of effort

Re:Launch from balloon

[hyades1]

LOL. You deserved mod points for that.

The only thought I have

[Anonymous Coward]

Yea! More space junk!

Re:The only thought I have

[sycodon]

Wonder if one of these rockets can punch a hole in an airliner.

What could go wrong?

[Legal.2.Troll]

NOTHING, that's what! --Legal.Troll (dodging his -1 Karma)

Late to the game

[Muad'Dave]

Amateur radio folk have been launching private sats for a very long time, and championed the cubesat format. We foster university-sponsored sats all the time. Many of these are university-sponsored sats.