The first Puerto Rican satellite to reach space, ready for launch

Puerto Rican CubeSat NanoRocks-2 (PR-CuNaR2), the first Puerto Rican satellite to reach space, will launch Saturday, August 28 at 3:37 a.m. from Cape Canaveral, Florida, as part of SpaceX Mission 23, according to the National Navigation Administration. Aeronautics and Space (NASA).

a report:

Today, Wednesday, President of the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, Manuel J. Their professor, Amilcar Rincon Charisse, is part of NASA’s ElaNa 36 project.

PR-CuNaR2 will be the first Puerto Rican satellite to be launched into space. The satellite, which weighs 5.6 pounds, is 4 inches wide, 4 inches long and 12 inches high, completed testing in July. It will be transported and launched from a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. It is made of aluminum, photovoltaic cells, batteries, and other materials approved for use in space. Rincon Charis explained that PR-CuNaR2 will study the origin and evolution of planets and young stars.

If it cannot be launched on Saturday, NASA plans to launch it on Sunday, August 29 at 3:14 am.

“Saturday, August 28, all Puerto Ricans will meet with history. On this day, we will proudly celebrate the achievement of being able to carry a Puerto Rican satellite into space,” the Pan American President said in a press release.

For his part, Rincon Charisse invited residents to attend this event that places the country as one of the few who have been able to put satellites into space and study the formation of the universe. “Now is a great time to educate our children and youth about science-related topics, but parents and educators can also address issues such as the importance of goal setting, perseverance, and hard work,” he said. Team “.

The professor said that about 65 students, including women and men, were involved in the development of PR-CuNaR2, which began in March 2018, although the design and construction of the prototype began in 2013. He added that “many of the students who participated in this project have already graduated. from the University.

Inside, the Puerto Rican satellite contains tiny particles of stainless steel and silicon that mimic asteroids. In orbit in space, fine particles will collide. During this process, the camera will take photos and videos that will be sent to the Bayamón campus in Interamericana. The content will then be studied by the Florida Space Institute and the University of Central Florida (UCF) Department of Physics, who are collaborating on the research.

PR-CuNaR2 will be launched in SpaceX23’s Dragon capsule to the International Space Station. The journey, from take off to arrival at the station, will take about nine hours. Once at the station, the satellite will wait for a 51.6-degree orbit launch into space using an extendable arm owned by Nanoracks. The satellite is scheduled to remain in orbit for two years, but it could stay longer. Then it is absorbed into the atmosphere until it disintegrates.

The Pan-American team that developed the project chose a 51.6-degree orbit to position PR-CuNaR2 so that it could pass over Puerto Rico twice a day for 10 minutes. When the satellite passes over Puerto Rico, the campus team at Bayamón will use telemetry and video footage to see what’s happening inside the satellite and collect data submitted for analysis and publication later.

This project was sponsored and supported by the NASA Puerto Rico Space Grant Consortium, University of Central Florida, University of Michigan, Florida Space Institute, Aerospace Corp. and local firms Engiworks and Prescision Experts.

Once the satellite is launched, its path can be viewed on the university’s website (inter.edu) and on the satellite (prcunar2.org). Additional information about the satellite will also be available on both websites, as well as on Interamericana’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.