June 2008 Archives

In 1958 Explorer-1 was America's first salvo in the space race, one theater of the US-USSR Cold War. What was the significance of the space race? How did Explorer-1 and the later moon landings figure into the larger picture? Why Explorer-1 [Prime]? This short film by a Masters student from our excellent Master Of Fine Arts in Science and Natural History Filmmaking program attempts to answer these questions.

Our opinion? Explorer-1 [Prime] is our first satellite too! Like the US in the fifties, we need to show we can do it!

A little over a week ago we were reviewed by an independent group of top NASA managers and engineers as part of the process of getting a spot on what we hope will be the very first NASA Cubesat launch. We prepared exhaustively, laid out a great presentation and got some very positive feedback from the reviewers.  Needless to say, we are just now recovering.

Despite the fact that Cubesats have become a popular educational activity and considered to be a serious endeavor only a few have made it to space.  This is in large part due to the fact that even though a good fraction of them are being built in the US, no Cubesat has ever been launched from the United States.

This could all change within the next 6 months as NASA's top officials consider approving the addition of a PPOD to one of its next missions.  Like Explorer-1 [Prime] this is an historic opportunity for the US to advance the cause of educational launch opportunities. To do so on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the formation of NASA makes even more sense.  We couldn't be more excited!