Oct 20 2000
From The Space Library
SkyCorp signed a commercial Space Act agreement with NASA providing that SkyCorp deploy into orbit, either from the Space Shuttle or from the ISS, a satellite containing an Internet server. NASA and SkyCorp planned to test the idea as a "proof of concept" for a Low Earth Orbit 544 satellite constellation, offering Internet access on a global scale. SkyCorp chose to launch an Apache server on a small satellite containing an Apple 500 MHz Power Mac G4. The agreement with NASA outlined SkyCorp's novel idea of launching a partially assembled satellite aboard a Space Shuttle. Astronauts would assemble the craft in space before tossing it from a Shuttle or ISS airlock into an independent orbit. SkyCorp named its concept Gossamer. Typically, engineers assemble a satellite fully on Earth, and it must withstand the stress of launch. A satellite built according to the Gossamer concept would only need to retain structural integrity in micro gravity, greatly simplifying guidance, navigation, and control requirements.
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