NASA, the Starshine Program, the U.S. Air Force and Lockheed Martin will
brief the Kodiak Borough Assembly about a mission planned for launch this
summer. Kodiak Star will be launched aboard an Athena I launch vehicle from
the Kodiak Launch Complex in Alaska. The briefing will occur on Tuesday,
April 24 at 7:30 p.m. (local time) at the Borough Assembly Building.
This will be the first mission to be launched into an earth orbit from
Kodiak Island, Alaska. Riding atop the Athena I, the Kodiak Star payload
will consist of four individual satellites. Starshine 3, whose ride into
space is sponsored by NASA, consists of over 1,500 hand-polished mirrors, 31
retro-reflectors and seven clusters of solar cells powering an amateur radio
transmitter. The Starshine Program encourages participation from students in
kindergarten through high school. This will be the first time that students
from Alaska can participate in the project due to the higher orbital
inclination.
PICOSat, PCSat and Sapphire are payloads sponsored by the Department of
Defense (DoD) Space Test Program. PICOSat, the primary DoD satellite, has
four experiments on board. PCSat was designed by midshipmen at the U.S.
Naval Academy, and will become part of the amateur radio community’s
Automatic Position Reporting System. Sapphire is a micro-satellite built by
students at Stanford University and Washington University-St. Louis.
Sapphire’s primary mission is testing infrared sensors for space use.
Participating in the briefing to the Borough Assembly will be:
Chuck Dovale, NASA Launch Director
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
Gil Moore, Starshine Program Director
Colorado Springs, Colorado
Lt. Col. Perry Ballard, USAF
Deputy Program Director, DoD Space Test Program
Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico
Craig Moeller, Athena Mission Manager
Lockheed Martin Astronautics
Denver, Colorado
Launch of Kodiak Star is currently scheduled for Friday, Aug. 31 at 5 p.m.
local time.
