College Students, NASA Send CubeSats to Space

Students from four colleges worked with NASA to launch four research satellites into space Friday as the agency aims to give the academic world experience in researching and developing flight hardware.

Each CubeSats deployed from their protective cases three hours after the liftoff of a a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket, NASA said Friday.

This was the fifth launch for the agency’s Educational Launch of Nanosatellite mission and the agency will issue another call for proposals in August for the next round of CubeSat ideas.

NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. prepared the satellites in collaboration with students from Medgar Evers College at the City University of New York; Montana State University in Bozeman; the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor; and the University of New Hampshire in Durham.

CubeSats measure at nearly 4 inches on each side, hold 1 quart of volume and weigh less than 3 pounds.