FASTRAC Headed to Nevada for Competition
January 7, 2005
Glenn Lightsey
Early this morning, the FASTRAC student team loaded their finished twin satellites onto a 12 passenger van and headed to Reno, NV, where they will be judged as part of a 13 University competition for a free launch into space. The satellites are the product of a two year design, fabrication, and test effort that has been undertaken by more than 40 undergraduate and graduate students from several different academic backgrounds. The competition will be judged this Sunday January 9. If they are selected, the FASTRAC program will be extended for another year and the satellites will be integrated to a rocket for a probable launch date in 2006.
Prior to departure, both satellites were fully integrated and all subsystems were operating normally. The twin satellites will start out in a stacked configuration and then separate on command at some time after deployment. Each satellite is independently commandable and they also communicate with each other using a crosslink channel. They also contain advanced sensors and propulsion systems. The FASTRAC team has designed several hardware demonstrations to show off the capabilities of the working satellites at the Flight Competition Review.
The students have worked very hard completing this project over the past two years. They have done a great job and we are very proud of their effort. We wish them a safe journey to Nevada and good luck in the competition!
News Archive
December 1, 2011 - FASTRAC Digipeating Announcement by Sebastián Muñoz
March 9, 2011 - FASTRAC is Separating!! by Sebastian Muñoz
November 20, 2010 - FASTRAC Is In Orbit! by
November 19, 2010 - FASTRAC is launching Tonight!!!! by
November 2, 2010 - FASTRAC is launching this Month!!! by S. Munoz and E. Ferguson
April 19, 2010 - FASTRAC Ready to go into Space!! by Sebastian Munoz
June 26, 2008 - FASTRAC Satellites Get Updated Software, New Antennas by Stephen Clark
March 8, 2008 - FASTRAC Satellites to Set Up and Ship Out! by Eric Hagen
August 27, 2006 - Satellites Undergoing Testing at AFRL by Glenn Lightsey
June 25, 2006 - FASTRAC Satellites Leave Texas by Greg Holt
June 14, 2006 - FASTRAC Frequency Request Submitted by Glenn Lightsey
December 15, 2005 - FASTRAC Mission Receives Critical D.O.D. Ranking for Launch by Jamin Greenbaum
April 20, 2005 - FASTRAC Personnel Changes by Glenn Lightsey
January 11, 2005 - FASTRAC Victorious, Headed to Space! by Glenn Lightsey
January 7, 2005 - FASTRAC Headed to Nevada for Competition by Glenn Lightsey
January 3, 2005 - FASTRAC Satellite Completes Thermal/Vacuum Test by Glenn Lightsey
December 19, 2004 - Satellite Integration Nears Completion by Glenn Lightsey
December 7, 2004 - FASTRAC Thermal Vac Testing Progresses by Greg Holt
November 28, 2004 - Solar Cells See Sunlight by Greg Holt
July 27, 2004 - FASTRAC Separation Test aboard KC-135 a Success! by FASTRAC team
May 15, 2004 - Balloon Satellite by FASTRAC team
