ThumbSats Can Carry Experiments Into Near-Earth Orbit For Normal People

Part of the challenge in getting smaller science experiments into space is the cost of a rocket launch. A new type of satellite has been built called the ThumbSat that is small enough at it could be crammed into the nooks and crannies of a launch vehicle potentially making a launch cheaper. Early next year 20 of the ThumbSats will be launched and will beam data to earth via a network of 50 listening stations around the world.

Aerospace engineer Shaun Whitehead started the ThumbSat project and his goal was to help regular folks send stuff into space. The first people to send experiments into space via a ThumbSat include engineers from the NASA JPL that aim to study gravitational waves using a cluster of ThumbSats.

Three teen sisters calling themselves "Chicks in Space" want to send algae and sea monkey eggs into orbit via a ThumbSat. An artist called Stefan G. Bucher plans to send magnetized fluids and shape-memory alloys into orbit.

The signals sent back to Earth will be monitored by listening stations around the world. Volunteers including a group of Boy Scouts in Wisconsin and a school on the Cook Islands will do some of that monitoring.

SOURCE: Wired