|
Published: December 07, 2007 06:21 am
Lessons learned from aborted launch
By MIKE JAMES
The Independent
MOREHEAD —
A “catastrophic failure” destroyed their payload, but a team of Morehead State University students and faculty are coming home from a rocket launch in New Mexico with valuable data the rocket sent back before it crashed.
The Wednesday launch of the KySat Space Express, for which the MSU team served as the ground communications crew, was by no means a failure, even though the delivery vehicle failed to take the payload to its planned 100-mile suborbital target altitude, said Benjamin Malphrus, director of MSU’s Space Science Center.
Malphrus and two students were among the scientists who gathered at the White Sands Missile Range for the suborbital mission, which was a preliminary flight to test systems that will be sent to space on the KentuckySat satellite project next year.
“This is rocket science. If it was easy, everybody would be doing it,” said Malphrus Thursday during a stopover on his long flight back to Kentucky.
The payload of instruments was lifted by a booster rocket the first mile and then was to have coasted the next 99 miles inside a second, non-powered stage, Malphrus said.
While scientists are still analyzing the launch, Malphrus believes the second-stage system failed, which sent the rocket spinning out of control, destroying everything in it.
That happened seconds after liftoff, but the instruments managed to send back a significant amount of data, he said.
“Which meant the payload worked beautifully. Everything the students did worked beautifully,” Malphrus said.
The second stage may have failed because of the launch stress, he said. To take the payload up to its target altitude, it has to endure 150 times the force of gravity and temperatures up to 1,200 degrees Fahrenheit.
Students were disappointed about the crash but learned much from the mission, said Andrew Crowe, a senior computer science major from Danville.
The experience of setting up and testing the equipment was worth the trip, he said. “I’d have been satisfied even if we hadn’t launched.”
The data the instruments sent back was significant in reporting on the condition of the spacecraft, said Prabhakara Rao Eluru, a graduate student on the team. “So the mission is not a failure.”
What the scientists learned will be applied to the orbital satellite, said Kris Kimel, president of the Kentucky Science and Technology Corp., one of the entities in the joint enterprise of colleges, universities, public companies and private organizations in the student-led initiative to design, launch and operate small satellites.
The planned satellite launch is believed to be the first ever undertaken by a state and the satellite is to be used for educational purposes.
During that launch, MSU’s team will serve as the main ground control station, using the space center’s tracking system at the Morehead campus.
The project will include further suborbital launches as well, Kimel said.
“Any time you’re dealing with science and space, it’s a risky enterprise,” he said.
MIKE JAMES can be reached at mjames@dailyindependent.com or (606) 326-2652.
|
|
|
|
 |
|
FINANCIAL SERVICE OFFICER
Financial Service Officer Job #10303 (AG-Consumer)
Farm Credit Services is seeking a Financi...>MORE
FLATBED DRIVERS
BEST SPECIALIZED is seeking OTR Flatbed Drivers. Must have 2 yrs. current tractor trailer driving experience and a...>MORE
WELL TENDER
Part time, for gas wells near Inez. Exp. req’d. 304-416-3226....>MORE
See all ads |
| Premium Cars, RVs and Boats |
KAWASAKI KLR650
2008, 2500 mi., includes full luggage set, like new, $3,500. 831-4554. ...>MORE
FORD PICKUP FOR SALE
2005 2WD, auto., air, 80,000 mi., exc. cond., $8,880. 923-9203....>MORE
DODGE RAM
‘04 Ram, 4WD, diesel, 86k mi., $17,900. 928-8336 or 831-4377. ...>MORE
See all ads |
|
RACELAND HOME FOR SALE
3 BR, 2.5 BA, 2 kitchens, 2 living rooms, newly remodeled brick house. 1118 Green Acres Dr. $124,000. Call (606)836-8808...>MORE
FARM FOR SALE
GREENUP CO- Leatherwood Rd. 100 acres, barn, hunting cabin, some timber, 2 ponds, four-wheeler trails, 3 acres of bottom...>MORE
PROPERTY FOR SALE
GRANDVIEW LAKE ROAD- 13.8 acres, 2 pd. water taps, 700’ of white PVC fencing. (606)739-0400....>MORE
See all ads |
|
FITNESS CYCLE
LIFE FITNESS- Life Cycle 5500, new gym quality bike, $1700 new. Great Gift! $600 obo. 836-4889...>MORE
HOT TUB FOR SALE
Hot Springs, 7ft7in. x 8ft x 3ft deep. 6 person, 47 jets, elec. hookups & steps, like new, buyer must move! $3,000. (606...>MORE
ST. BERNARD PUPS
AKC, shots & wormed, $400-$450. 606-474-4316....>MORE
See all ads |
|
 |
|