More FalconSATs On The Way

Despite the loss of their FalconSAT-2 satellite last Friday, cadets in the Department of Aeronautics at the US Air Force Academy are pressing on with plans to launch several more of the small satellites.

The cadet-built FalconSAT-2 was the primary payload on the maiden flight of the SpaceX Falcon I rocket, launched from the Ronald Reagan Ballistic Missile Test Site on Kwajalien Atoll in the Marshall Islands. Cadets watching a webcast of the launch were initially elated with the launch -- but that happiness turned to unease when the video feed was lost approximately 20 seconds into the launch, and ultimately disappointment once cadets learned of the loss of the rocket and satellite.

The satellite was the product of the Academy’s Space Systems Research Center. The center runs a multi-disciplinary, two-semester astronautical engineering course where cadets put theory into practice by designing and constructing a small satellite for Department of Defense research programs.

While the loss of FalconSAT-2 was a setback to the program, work continues on FalconSAT-3. Also designed, built, tested and managed by cadets, FalconSAT-3 will carry five separate Department of Defense scientific experiments into orbit in October.

Meanwhile, two development versions of FalconSAT-2 remain at the Academy -- and cadets will also begin work on FalconSAT-4 with the fall semester.

FMI: www.usafa.af.mil