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Embry-Riddle Students’ Satellite Chosen by NASA to Launch into Space

Students at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University’s Prescott campus in Phoenix, Arizona have been invited by NASA to launch a cube satellite into space. This invitation comes as part of NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, which provides university students the opportunity to launch satellites in planned spaceflight missions.

The satellite, named EagleSat-2, will be the second satellite the students at the College of Engineering launch into space.  EagleSat-1 was launched in November, 2017 as a secondary payload to a NASA mission that launched a weather satellite out of California.

EagleSat-2 will observe and catalog cosmic rays to determine which particles come from different areas in space. It will also help scientists determine which types of computer memory are most suitable for space. 


EagleSat-2 was selected out of 11 other proposals. The satellite will have many unique, advanced features such as knowing exactly where it is located at any time, which direction it is facing, and adjusting its orientation in space magnetically, rather than with thrusters. It will also be able to cool and warm itself. The students are now in the process of building the cube satellite. Their progress can be followed on the team’s Facebook page.

According to KTAR News, Gary Yale, an Associate Professor of Aerospace Engineering at Embry-Riddle, says data the satellite collects will be shared with NASA in exchange for providing the opportunity to launch the satellite into space.

The EagleSat-2’s exact launch date is still unknown, but it is expected to take place sometime between 2019 and 2021.