COLUMBUS – Ohio State University is coming out of this world.
OSU launched its first satellite into space on Monday morning.
The Antares rocket launched the satellite and supplies at 4:44 a.m. of NASA's Wallops flight facility on Wallops Island, Virginia. The supply vessel is directed to the International Space Station.
The OSU satellite is called CubeRRT. It owes its name to the popular arcade game "Q-Bert" of the 80s. It is the size of a shoebox.
The technology on board the CubeRRT is designed to solve a major problem for researchers by breaking noisy radio transmissions that can interfere with the detection of what is happening on Earth from space.
That interference can alter the data of the natural frequencies of the microwave that the Earth emits. Scientists use these frequencies to study soil moisture, sea temperature, sea ice cover, climate and more.
OSU expects advanced CubeRRT sensors to demonstrate a new processing technology that will receive frequencies from Earth without interference.
The project leader is Joel Johnson, professor and president of electrical and computer engineering (ECE) in the state of Ohio.
The CubeRRT will arrive at the ISS on Thursday for its subsequent assembly. It will be launched into orbit from the ISS this summer.
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