Students from the Missouri University of Science and Technology’s Satellite Research Team in Rolla are set to have a satellite launched into space

Students from the Missouri University of Science and Technology’s Satellite Research Team in Rolla are set to have a satellite launched into space in 2024. On February 1st, 2024, the team, advised by Dr. Hank Pernicka, professor of aerospace engineering at Missouri S&T, will have its satellite launched into space via SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket. The project has been several years in the making, beginning in 2016, but was temporarily slowed by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are multiple steps to the satellite’s mission. First, it will be launched. Then, it will spend about a week getting acclimated to zero gravity and the vacuum of space. After that, it will spend the next day or two completing processes already pre-planned and set into motion by the S&T team prior to its rocket ride. The satellite’s data will then be sent to Iridium Communications, which specializes in satellite communications, and then transferred to the S&T team. After that, the satellite will continue to stay in low-Earth orbit for the next several years. Federal regulations currently allow for this type of satellite to remain in space for up to 25 years before its design will eventually lead to it being burned up in the Earth’s atmosphere.