ATM: Hitchhiker's guide to LEO

["Peter D. Brooks" <pdbrooks@pacbell.net>]

Did a little web searching and found the Santa Clara U website on their
bird.  http://screem.engr.scu.edu/artemis/  Note that this is one
*tiny* satellite; about 1Kg.  last year, another group at SCU did a 10"
cube, apparently flying on the shuttle.

The Picosats are being launched on a mothership called OPAL, and this
is a project hosted by Stanford:  http://aa.stanford.edu/~ssdl/
OPAL is kind of small, 23 cm high, and 42cm in diameter.  

OK, launch information:  hitchhiking on Orbital Science's OSP Spacelift
Vehicle.  The main launch is another student bird, this one the
JAWSAT from the US Air Force acedemy and some others.  Stages 1 and 2
are from old Minuteman II icbms, with the third apparently new.  Total
payload is 800 pounds into low earth orbit.

Here is the vehicle link, with some contacts...
http://ssdl.stanford.edu/opal/LaunchVehicle.html

Looks like it took a lot of finagling to get the launch (the earlier
Stanford bird is waiting for somebody to offer space), but it's
possible.

Pete Brooks


--
Peter D. Brooks   
pdbrooks@pacbell.net
$INCLUDE "Witty saying"