Ashford Space Adventures!

Launching our Cubesat

Did you know that it’s possible to build a satellite and send it into low earth orbit? Over the past few months, an incredible group of Ashford School students have been working with an organization called Teachers in Space. Our goal was to create an experiment, then test our experiment in low earth orbit.

This amazing group of students spent months learning about space, researching different types of space experiments, and eventually settled on 2 different ones. They decided that they wanted to study whether being sent into low earth orbit had an impact on how seeds grew. Would the seeds that were sent up into space grow differently than the seeds that remained here on earth?

The second experiment involved radiation. Students wanted to see if wrapping the cubesat in a special material would reduce the radiation that it was exposed to. Our students researched radiation, then worked with a group of students at Gloversville High School under teacher Chris Murphy to bring the experiment to life.

Once we had our experiments, our next step was to build the cubesat. We printed a cube out of a 3-D printer and assembled 2 different spaces to test experiments. We performed tests on the cubesat and got it ready to ship out.Our cubesat will be launched in 2 different ways. First, it will be sent up in a weather balloon next week. Once it is returned and we have the results, we will be sending it up in the Perlan 2 space glider.

We will be updating this blog and posting throughout this crazy space adventure! Join us on the blog and on our Youtube channel as we attempt to track a weather balloon and fly a glider- all in the name of learning more about what's beyond our world!

​-Mrs. Craven, Ms. Imhoff, and Ms. Manfe