GeneSat-1 explained

GeneSat-1
Mission Type:Technology demonstration
Bioscience
Operator:NASA
Cospar Id:2006-058C
Satcat:29655
Mission Duration:21 days (planned)
Spacecraft Type:CubeSat
Spacecraft Bus:3U CubeSat
Manufacturer:Ames Research Center
Stanford University
Power:4.5 watts
Launch Date:16 December 2006, 12:00:00 UTC
Launch Rocket:Minotaur 1
Launch Site:MARS, LP-0B
Launch Contractor:Orbital Sciences Corporation
Entered Service:16 December 2010
Decay Date:4 August 2010
Orbit Reference:Geocentric orbit
Orbit Regime:Low Earth orbit
Orbit Inclination:40.0°
Orbit Period:92.9 minutes
Apsis:gee

GeneSat-1 is a NASA fully automated, CubeSat spaceflight system that provides life support for bacteria E. Coli K-12. The system was launched into orbit on 16 December 2006, from Wallops Flight Facility.[1] GeneSat-1 began to transmit data on its first pass over the mission's California ground station.

The nanosatellite[2] contains onboard micro-laboratory systems such as sensors and optical systems that can detect proteins that are the products of specific genetic activity. Knowledge gained from GeneSat-1 is intended to aid scientific understanding of how spaceflight affects the human body.[3]

Weighing 4.6 kilograms, the miniature laboratory was a secondary payload on an Air Force four-stage Minotaur 1 launch vehicle that delivered the Air Force TacSat-2 satellite to orbit. In the development of the GeneSat satellite class (at a fraction of what it normally costs to conduct a mission in space), Ames Research Center (Small Spacecraft Office) collaborated with organisations in industry and also universities local to the center. It is NASA's first fully automated, self-contained biological spaceflight experiment on a satellite of its size.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Mission Overview: GeneSat-1. National Aeronautics and Space Administration. 28 November 2011. 14 November 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20211114005047/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/missions/2007/genesat1.html. dead.
  2. News: GeneSat-1: Small Satellite Tackles Big Biology Questions. Leonard. David. Space.com. 30 August 2005. 28 November 2011.
  3. Web site: GeneSat 1. NASA. 21 October 2021. 25 October 2021.