May 19 2009
From The Space Library
NASA successfully launched its PharmaSat nanosatellite at 7:55 p.m. (EDT) from its Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) aboard a four-stage U.S. Air Force Minotaur-1]] rocket. The rocket also carried the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory’s TacSat-3 satellite, which was the primary payload, and other NASA CubeSat Technology Demonstration experiments—Aerocube 3, CP 6, and Hawksat 1—three 4-inch, cubed satellites developed by universities and industry to measure electron collection, radiation testing, and guidance and control systems. PharmaSat’s mission was to investigate the effects of antifungal agents on the growth of yeast in microgravity, to help scientists better understand how microbes might become resistant to drugs used to treat sick astronauts on long-duration flights. PharmaSat separated from the rocket approximately 20 minutes after launch and entered low Earth orbit at an altitude of 285 miles (458.7 kilometers). Following the checkout period, ground controllers planned to command PharmaSat to initiate its biological experiment, scheduled to last 96 hours. The satellite would transmit radio signals to Ground Control stations at two California locations and would send mission data to the NASA Mission Management Team at ARC. The satellite could continue to transmit this data for as long as six months.
NASA, “NASA Flight Facility Successfully Launches Nanosatellite,” news release 09-114, 20 May 2009, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2009/may/HQ_09-114_PharmaSat_Launches.html (accessed 20 June 2011); Spacewarn Bulletin, no. 667; Matthew Jones, “Rocket May Launch a Promising Future for Wallops Island,” Virginian-Pilot (Hampton Roads, VA), 20 May 2009.
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