| Mission type | Technology |
|---|---|
| Operator | Kentucky Space |
| Mission duration | 18-24 months (planned) Failed to orbit |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | CubeSat |
| Spacecraft type | 1UCubeSat |
| 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 andbatteries |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 4 March 2011, 10:09:43UTC |
| 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 an Americansatellite which was to have been operated byKentucky Space. Designed to operate for eighteen to twenty four months, it was lost in a launch failure in March 2011 after theTaurus launch vehicle carrying it failed to achieve orbit.[1][2]
KySat-1 was a single-unitCubeSatpicosatellite 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 theEarth. The satellite also carried a secondary technology demonstration payload; investigating the use ofS-band communication at high bandwidths.[3]
KySat-1 was launched byOrbital Sciences Corporation using a Taurus-XL 3110launch vehicle flying fromLaunch Complex 576E at theVandenberg Air Force Base inCalifornia. It was a secondary payload on the launch, with the primary payload being theNASAGlory spacecraft.Hermes andExplorer-1 Prime were launched aboard the same rocket. The launch took place at 10:09:43UTC on 4 March 2011,[4] and ended in failure after thepayload 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, andreentered over the southernPacific Ocean or theAntarctic.[5][6] It was the second consecutive failure of a Taurus launch vehicle, following the loss of theOrbiting Carbon Observatory in 2009.[6]
