14 amateur CubeSats set to launch June 28th

by Donald Melanson, posted Jun 2nd 2006 at 5:05AM

In news sure to delight space geeks around the world (ourselves included), 14 CubeSats from ten universities and one private company are set to launch June 28th aboard a Russian DNEPR-1LV rocket from the Kazakstan Baikonur Cosmodrome, it was just announced today. CubeSats are essentially DIY kits that can be built for about $40,000 and launched for another $40,000 more, opening up space research to students and other amateurs. (We're still saving up for the Engadget sat that will datacast our site on all kinds of crazy pirate frequencies.) The mission had been set with a number of a delays, but it looks like this one is definitely a go -- or at least as sure a thing as you can get when it comes to space exploration. A second launch is already in the planning stages, tentatively set for September of this year.

Filed under: Misc. Gadgets

Tags: cubesat, launch, pico, satellite, space

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