AFRL's University Nanosatellite Program Celebrates Satellite Launches

  • Published
  • By Jeanne Dailey
  • Space Vehicles
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, New Mexico --  In 2013, the Air Force Research Laboratory's University Nanosatellite Program (UNP) saw the launch of two satellites at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. UNP is a science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) program that encourages US university students to competively design, build, launch and track a small satellite or nanosat. The program is a partnership between AFRL and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics. A major UNP goal is to attract top STEM students to the federal government. Since its inception in 2000, about 4,500 students from 27 universities have taken part in the program.

Cornell University's CUSat and the University of Colorado Boulder's Drag and Neutral Density Explorer (DANDE) satellites were among the rocket's payload; both satellites were developed through the UNP. CUSat is an enabler for proximity operation missions and DANDE is gatheirng data to help scientists better understand atmospheric drag forces on satellites.

Dr. David Voss, who leads the AFRL program at AFRL's Space Vehicles Directorate at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico, was thrilled with the launch. "It is exciting to see the results of several years of hard work come to fruition," he said. "More than 350 engineering students at Cornell and the University of Colorado Boulder participated in designing and building their satellites. This successful launch shows we are meeting our goal of educating the next generation of the aerospace workforce."