NASA's most powerful rocket yet will launch tiny satellites to space
A group of at least 13 tiny spacecraft are getting a ride to space aboard the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built.
The main goal of the space agency's first flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket -- currently under construction and expected to launch in 2018 -- is to send an uncrewed Orion capsule to an orbit past the moon. This would allow the agency to test systems that could be used on future flights.
But that's not all.
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Once Orion is sent on its way, the SLS will deploy those 13 or more shoebox-sized crafts -- called "cubesats" -- to do their work in space as well.
"This rocket has the unprecedented power to send Orion to deep space plus room to carry 13 small satellites -- payloads that will advance our knowledge about deep space with minimal cost," said Bill Hill, NASA deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development, in a statement.
A major benefit to a cubesat is its small size.
Tiny satellites aren't too difficult or expensive to launch when compared to the millions of dollars (sometimes even more than that) it takes to bring larger spacecraft to orbit, and a cubesat can be an inclusive enterprise as well, opening up access to space for a wider array of organizations.
For example, an elementary school built a spacecraft that launched to the International Space Station on a robotic resupply mission in December.
Some of the cubesats launching onboard SLS will be "scouts" for larger missions, meaning that the small satellites are designed to study some aspects of the space environment to make future spaceflight safer for humans.
One of those crafts -- called the Near-Earth Asteroid Scout (NEA Scout) -- will use a solar sail to propel itself on the sun's rays to visit a space rock not far from Earth.
Once at the asteroid, named 1991 VG, the spacecraft will be able to image it and learn more about its spin and rotation rate. (It's possible that the target asteroid will change with the launch date, but at the moment 1991 VG is the best candidate, according to NASA.)
NEA Scout should provide valuable information for NASA scientists hoping to eventually send humans to an asteroid dragged into orbit around the moon.
By characterizing near-Earth asteroids, researchers should be able to learn more about the kinds of space rocks in our cosmic neighborhood before needing to send humans there in person.
Another small craft called BioSentinel will gather more data about possible effects of long duration spaceflight by monitoring yeast as it reacts to the radiation it's exposed to during spaceflight.
Other cubesats flying with the SLS will take a look at the moon, collecting data about ice deposits or other resources that humans may be able to use in the future, NASA said, and a craft called CuSP will keep an eye on the space weather environment around Earth.
The agency is also reserving a few spots aboard the rocket for international groups, and three other cubesats will be chosen through a competition called NASA's Cube Quest Challenge.
For the contest, cubesat builders will go through four rounds of competition, with the final selection of the winning satellites announced in 2017.
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Miriam Kramer worked as a staff writer for Space.com for about 2.5 years before joining Mashable to cover all things outer space. She took a ride in weightlessness on a zero-gravity flight and watched rockets launch to space from places around the United States. Miriam received her Master's degree in science, health and environmental reporting from New York University in 2012, and she originally hails from Knoxville, Tennessee. Follow Miriam on Twitter at @mirikramer.
