KySat-1 was an American satellite which was to have been operated by Kentucky Space. Designed to operate for eighteen to twenty four months, it was lost in a launch failure in March 2011 after the Taurus launch vehicle carrying it failed to achieve orbit.[1][2]
Mission type | Technology |
---|---|
Operator | Kentucky Space |
Mission duration | 18-24 months (planned) Failed to orbit |
Spacecraft properties | |
Spacecraft | CubeSat |
Spacecraft type | 1U CubeSat |
Manufacturer | Kentucky Space |
Launch mass | 1 kg (2.2 lb) |
Dimensions | 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm (3.9 in × 3.9 in × 3.9 in) |
Power | Solar cells and batteries |
Start of mission | |
Launch date | 4 March 2011, 10:09:43 UTC |
Rocket | Taurus-XL 3110 |
Launch site | Vandenberg, LC-576E |
Contractor | Orbital Sciences Corporation |
Entered service | Failed to orbit |
Orbital parameters | |
Reference system | Geocentric orbit (planned) |
Regime | Low Earth orbit |
KySat-1 was a single-unit CubeSat picosatellite which was built as part of a programme to involve and interest schoolchildren in spaceflight. Children would have been given access to the satellite; uploading and downloading data and using a camera aboard the spacecraft to produce images of the Earth. The satellite also carried a secondary technology demonstration payload; investigating the use of S-band communication at high bandwidths.[3]
KySat-1 was launched by Orbital Sciences Corporation using a Taurus-XL 3110 launch vehicle flying from Launch Complex 576E at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. It was a secondary payload on the launch, with the primary payload being the NASA Glory spacecraft. Hermes and Explorer-1 Prime were launched aboard the same rocket. The launch took place at 10:09:43 UTC on 4 March 2011,[4] and ended in failure after the payload fairing failed to separate from around the spacecraft just under three minutes after launch. With the fairing still attached, the launch vehicle had too much mass to achieve orbit, and reentered over the southern Pacific Ocean or the Antarctic.[5][6] It was the second consecutive failure of a Taurus launch vehicle, following the loss of the Orbiting Carbon Observatory in 2009.[6]
← 2010 · Orbital launches in 2011 · 2012 → | |
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Elektro-L No.1 | USA-224 | Kounotori 2 | Progress M-09M (Kedr) | Kosmos 2470 | USA-225 | Johannes Kepler ATV | STS-133 (Leonardo) | Kosmos 2471 | Glory · Explorer-1 [Prime] · KySat-1 · Hermes | USA-226 | USA-227 | Soyuz TMA-21 | Compass-IGSO3 | USA-229 | Resourcesat-2 · YouthSat · X-Sat | Yahsat 1A · New Dawn | Progress M-10M | Meridian 4 | USA-230 | STS-134 (AMS-02 · ELC-3) | Telstar 14R | ST-2 · GSAT-8 / INSAT-4G | Soyuz TMA-02M | SAC-D | Rasad 1 | ChinaSat 10 | Progress M-11M | Kosmos 2472 | USA-231 | Shijian XI-03 | STS-135 (Raffaello · PSSC-2) | Tianlian I-02 | Globalstar M083 · Globalstar M088 · Globalstar M091 · Globalstar M085 · Globalstar M081 · Globalstar M089 | GSAT-12 | SES-3 · KazSat-2 | USA-232 | Spektr-R | Compass-IGSO4 | Shijian XI-02 | Juno | Astra 1N · BSAT-3c/JCSAT-110R | Paksat-1R | Hai Yang 2A | Sich 2 · NigeriaSat-2 · NigeriaSat-X · RASAT · EduSAT · AprizeSat-5 · AprizeSat-6 · BPA-2 | Ekspress-AM4 | Shijian XI-04 | Progress M-12M | GRAIL-A · GRAIL-B | Zhongxing-1A | Kosmos 2473 | Arabsat 5C · SES-2 | IGS Optical 4 | Atlantic Bird 7 | TacSat-4 | Tiangong-1 | QuetzSat 1 | Kosmos 2474 | Intelsat 18 | Eutelsat W3C | Megha-Tropiques · SRMSAT · VesselSat-1 · Jugnu | ViaSat-1 | Thijs · Natalia | NPP · E1P-U2 · RAX-2 · M-Cubed · DICE-1 · DICE-2 · AubieSat-1 | Progress M-13M (Chibis-M) | Shenzhou 8 | Kosmos 2475 · Kosmos 2476 · Kosmos 2477 | Fobos-Grunt · Yinghuo-1 | Yaogan 12 · Tian Xun-1| Soyuz TMA-22 | Shiyan Weixing 4 · Chuang Xin 1C | AsiaSat 7 | Mars Science Laboratory (Curiosity) | Kosmos 2478 | Yaogan 13 | Compass-IGSO5 | Amos-5 · Luch 5A | IGS Radar 3 | Pléiades-HR 1A · SSOT · ELISA 1 · ELISA 2 · ELISA 3 · ELISA 4 | NigComSat-1R | Soyuz TMA-03M | Ziyuan-1C | Meridian 5 | Globalstar M080 · Globalstar M082 · Globalstar M084 · Globalstar M086 · Globalstar M090 · Globalstar M092 | |
Payloads are separated by bullets ( · ), launches by pipes ( | ). Crewed flights are indicated in underline. Uncatalogued launch failures are listed in italics. Payloads deployed from other spacecraft are denoted in (brackets). |