GeneSat-1

GeneSat-1 is a NASA fully automated, CubeSat spaceflight system that provides life support for bacteria E. Coli K-12. The system was launched into orbit on 16 December 2006, from Wallops Flight Facility.[1] GeneSat-1 began to transmit data on its first pass over the mission's California ground station.

GeneSat-1
The GeneSat-1 satellite.
Mission typeTechnology demonstration
Bioscience
OperatorNASA
COSPAR ID2006-058C
SATCAT no.29655
Mission duration21 days (planned)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft typeCubeSat
Bus3U CubeSat
ManufacturerAmes Research Center
Stanford University
Launch mass4.6 kg (10 lb)
Dimensions10 cm × 10 cm × 34 cm (3.9 in × 3.9 in × 13.4 in)
Power4.5 watts
Start of mission
Launch date16 December 2006, 12:00:00 UTC
RocketMinotaur 1
Launch siteMARS, LP-0B
ContractorOrbital Sciences Corporation
Entered service16 December 2010
End of mission
Decay date4 August 2010
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude413 km (257 mi)
Apogee altitude420 km (260 mi)
Inclination40.0°
Period92.9 minutes
 

The nanosatellite[2] contains onboard micro-laboratory systems such as sensors and optical systems that can detect proteins that are the products of specific genetic activity. Knowledge gained from GeneSat-1 is intended to aid scientific understanding of how spaceflight affects the human body.[3]

Weighing 4.6 kilograms, the miniature laboratory was a secondary payload on an Air Force four-stage Minotaur 1 launch vehicle that delivered the Air Force TacSat-2 satellite to orbit. In the development of the GeneSat satellite class (at a fraction of what it normally costs to conduct a mission in space), Ames Research Center (Small Spacecraft Office) collaborated with organisations in industry and also universities local to the center. It is NASA's first fully automated, self-contained biological spaceflight experiment on a satellite of its size.

References

  1. "Mission Overview: GeneSat-1". National Aeronautics and Space Administration. Retrieved 28 November 2011. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
  2. David, Leonard (30 August 2005). "GeneSat-1: Small Satellite Tackles Big Biology Questions". Space.com. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  3. "GeneSat 1". NASA. 21 October 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021. Public Domain This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
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