Satellite-savvy cadets test out of world experiments

  • Published
  • By Ann Patton
  • U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs
U.S. AIR FORCE ACADEMY, Colo. (AFNEWS) --  Launched in March from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., the Academy cadet-engineered Falcon Satellite-3 is now undergoing testing 100,000 feet from Earth.

In preparation for experiments involving space weather and spacecraft operations,
it is no small milestone for the Academy.

"This is a huge accomplishment," said Lt. Col. Tim Lawrence, astronautics professor and director of the Space Systems Research Center.

"Space is hard," he said of satellite technology, which demands a high degree of expertise and funding for any organization to launch.

Having a group of undergraduate college students on a limited budget of $2.1 million to build and launch a satellite only makes the accomplishment more stellar for the cadets.
The cost of other, but more sophisticated, satellites may run into the hundreds of millions.

Falcon Sat-3 is making three passes over the Academy daily, each lasting about 10 minutes. During that time, teams of four cadets monitor its activities and download data from their ground station in the astronautics lab in Fairchild Hall.

Presently, FS-3 is undergoing housekeeping.

"We are now in the commissioning mode," Colonel Lawrence said, with cadets keeping an eye on elements such as temperature, battery power and solar ray currents.
"We need to know it's in a good state of health," he said.

The housekeeping is a prelude to three main experiments on the horizon.
One will monitor the space environment with an ambient sensor, in particular sun plasma, a superheated state of matter which releases electrons, and which can interfere with accurate satellite signals involving global positioning and communications systems.

Another experiment, equipped with a spacecraft sensor, will identify and characterize spacecraft-induced plasma turbulence.

The third, a low-thrust, electric-pulsed plasma system, will monitor the spacecraft attitudes.

Sat-3 is the progeny of laudable ancestors.

The first cadet-built satellites in the late 90s were hitched not to rockets but to balloons launched from the parade field.

In 1997, the astronautical cadets teamed up with the University of Colorado for the satellite Falcon Gold. Falcon Sat-1 was launched in 1999.

Falcon Sat-2, launched last year from the Marshall Islands in the Pacific Ocean, wasn't as fortunate as FS-3.

Shortly after lift-off, the launch vehicle failed and impacted a reef off the island. The satellite, blown free from the rocket, was discovered in a storage shed after it crashed through the roof of the shed and came to rest just a few feet from the shipping container used to deliver it from Colorado Springs.

Nonetheless, Colonel Lawrence pointed out that the launch was far from a failure.
"It was 100 percent successful educationally," he said. Cadets learned logistics of deploying and the necessity of launching when a launch window opens.
"When a launch comes along, we have to take it. It was a very good decision."
Colonel Lawrence pointed out the rocket powering Sat-2 was experimental and that the Atlas lifting FS-3 has a solid reputation for reliability.

The Academy's Space Systems Research Center offers a multi-disciplinary, two-semester astronautical engineering course where cadets put theory into practice by designing and constructing a microsatellite for Department of Defense research programs.

"We want them to be hands-on as much as possible," Colonel Lawrence said of the cadets. "They build and we (the faculty) look over their shoulders."

Cadets build and test three satellite models before launch. The first, an engineering model, validates the structure. The second, the qualification model, validates components such as avionics, payloads and computers. The third is flight model.
The Class of 2007 flew FS-3 and are building the engineering model for FS-4. The Class of 2008 will fly FS-3 and build the qualification model for FS-4.

"We like to keep a three-year cycle," Colonel Lawrence said. "We can learn from and improve each model."

Such a cycle helps cadets in two ways. First, it reduces the risks of failure.
"We expect problems and fix them for the flight model," he said. "We can't afford to miss a launch date."

The second benefit to the cycle is that cadets become more involved. "All the cadets can get their hands dirty," Colonel Lawrence said.

He has a motto for his students: "Champions don't make excuses."

So if something goes wrong, fix it.

"If they recover from a failure, that's a huge lesson learned," he said.

The astro lab enjoys many visitors, including representatives from private corporations and military entities.

"When outsiders are interested, you know you must be doing something right," Colonel Lawrence said.

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