Kentucky spacecraft Frontier 1 in space

Gov. Steve Beshear is pleased to announce that Frontier 1, the spacecraft of Kentucky Space, was successfully launched and inserted into space reaching an altitude of approximately 270 kilometers. The spacecraft, which weighs about four pounds, was launched at the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on a Terrier-Improved Malemute NASA rocket.

“This exciting announcement shows that Kentucky is among the elite in innovation and scientific advancement,” said Gov. Beshear. “This unique partnership among Kentucky’s higher education institutions, state government and private industry shows that the Commonwealth is a bastion of high-tech, 21st century learning, as well as limitless economic opportunity.”

The mission represents the first time that Kentucky has ever developed, built and successfully inserted a free-flying spacecraft into space.

"The entire mission was text-book perfect. This achievement is a tribute to the hard work and perserverence of the Morehead and UK students. When we initiated the Kentucky Space program 4 years ago, none of us truly realized how challenging it would be to design, build, integrate and operate small spacecraft in the harsh environment of space," said Dr. Ben Malphrus, chair of the Department of Earth and Space Sciences and director of the Space Science Center. "With the success of Frontier I Kentucky has joined an elite group of space-faring enterprises. This is an historic day-- representing Kentucky's first venture into space. We now have tremendous momentum to continue to extend Kentucky's presence in space."

At T+72 seconds after launch, Frontier 1 (codename: ADAMASat) was successfully ejected from the NASA launch vehicle into space. After fulfilling its mission objectives Frontier 1 began the normal decay of its trajectory, burning-up as it reentered the Earth’s atmosphere.

The spacecraft was designed and built in Kentucky by KS to test hardware and software subsystems that will be flown on an orbital satellite called KentuckySat 1 (KySat 1) scheduled to be launched with the NASA Glory Mission in November.

“Advances in micro-technology and miniaturized systems have made possible the development of small but potentially high-value spacecraft and payloads,” said Kris Kimel, president of the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation, managing partner of Kentucky Space.

A team of Kentucky Space students and faculty mission advisors were on-site for the spacecraft integration, countdown process and launch. The students also managed ground stations at Wallops and were supported by other stations at Morehead State University, the University of Kentucky and the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis. The launch was broadcast live on NASA TV.

Kentucky Space has also recently formed a joint venture with NanoRacks LLC, a Houston-based aerospace company, to facilitate and undertake scientific research and related activities on the International Space Station (ISS).

Kentucky Space is a nonprofit enterprise involved in designing and developing educational, R&D and entrepreneurial space platforms. It is a consortium involving students and the combined resources and capacity of Morehead State University, University of Kentucky, University of Louisville, Western Kentucky University, Murray State University, the Kentucky Community and Technical College System, the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium, and Belcan, with support from the Kentucky Council on Postsecondary Education.

The managing partner and founder of Kentucky Space is the Kentucky Science and Technology Corporation.

Information about Kentucky Space can be found at www.kentuckyspace.com and a video of the launch can be found at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXEZnlB3Ddw.

Additional information on MSU's Space Science Center is available by calling Dr. Malphrus at (606) 783-2212.