Kentucky in Space

It was almost exactly one year ago when I wrote about KySat-1, a picosatellite that marks a major entry for Kentucky into the Aerospace industry. Although I thought it was supposed to have launched back in November, apparently it has not yet - the launch is now slated for February.

I just stumbled upon this new YouTube video from the folks at Kentucky Space giving us the lowdown on what's going on and going up. Pretty exciting stuff. You can also follow Kentucky Space on Twitter.

KySat-1 will be equipped with a camera and a 2.4-GHz industrial/scientific/medical band radio, which will be used to test high-bandwidth communications in the license-free portion of the S-band.

Also spotted on YouTube: this video of the sunrise over Morehead State University's amazing 21 meter radio telescope.

Kentucky's First Satellite

Gov. Steve Beshear has announced that an organization called Kentucky Space has received a launch assignment from NASA for a satellite in November 2010.

The satellite is called KySat-1, and it has a camera and a 2.4-GHz industrial/scientific/medical band radio, which will be used to test high-bandwidth communications in the license-free portion of the S-band.

KySat-1 is much smaller than the satellites of the past, and is classified as a Picosatellite, weighing no more than 2.2 pounds.

Kentucky Space is a nonprofit consortium promoting the design and development of entrepreneurial and educational space outreach. They're affiliated with the Kentucky Science & Technology Corporation and the Kentucky Space Grant Consortium.

Lunar Eavesdropping in Louisville

One from our blog Revelation Awaits an Appointed Time:


There's a great page on the Otter Creek-South Harrison Observatory website about Louisville resident Larry Baysinger, an amateur radio enthusiast who managed to tune in to Apollo 11's live radio feed in July 1969.

Louisville Courier-Journal writer Glenn Rutherford wrote an article about Baysinger's historic accomplishment in the July 23, 1969 issue. Rutherford's article is reprinted on the Observatory's website, and mp3 files of some of the best parts of the astronaut dialogue that Baysinger recorded are offered as well. Furthermore, the site documents the original 50s/60s source materials that Baysinger was working from to achieve his reception of NASA's signals, including pdf files of relevant parts of CQ magazine.


Skeptics who doubt that Baysinger really managed to pick up these signals with such relatively primitive equipment should take note that his recordings feature Aldrin and Armstrong's voices uninterrupted by the cross-talk from the PAO and others, as heard on all terrestrial recording sources of the same dialogue.

Kentucky NASA EPSCoR

Western Kentucky University is the home of the Kentucky NASA EPSCoR Program, whose stated purpose is to support "the human endeavor in space, by contributing technological applications relating to space habitats, exploration, microgravity, and physiological adaptation" for missions such as the International Space Station.


Their research projects include an extensive Nanotechnology lab working on "Nanofabrication of Photonic Crystals, Nanotube Spin Electronics, and Nano Electro-Mechanical Structures", and a program called "Human Health Maintenance/Countermeasures and Spacecraft Environmental Monitoring, Safety, and Protection".


You can actually apply for research grants from KY NASA EPSCoR. Click here for more information about cutting-edge scientific funding opportunities.