Follow Up on USNA Shoestring Satellite

NotFabio writes: "I received this e-mail from the USNA satellite team. Seems the sattelite is not only still functioning, but they plan to do a test tonight. If you're out looking at the leonids, try to spot it if you can. They're kind of hopeful it will be spotted somewhere. They plan to turn on the 50 onboard Red LEDS for 5 minutes beginning at 9:35PM Eastern Standard Time on Saturday night, when the satellite will be overhead at New Orleans. It should pass over Alabama, Kentucky, Ohio, Lake Erie, Toronto and finally over northern Canada at 9:41 PM. Apparently there's no attitude control, so they don't know exactly where the thing will point, meaning anyone on the eastern half of the US and Canada has a chance of spotting it."

Tape Measure Antenna

[Bubblesculpter]

Interesting photos shown on that link of the satellite itself

Funny, I've read that they used a tape measure for the antenna.

I had assumed that they used the same type of spring steel, and on the photos show on that link, it's actually a tape measure complete with the yellow paint and increment/number markings.

I would have thought they would have stripped off the paint or use the pure spring steel for a cleaner transmission...

Well...

[Viqsi]

If it was blinking bright red, then I saw it. If not, then an airplane overflew my house at the moment expected and distracted me. ;)

Blinking red light

[Ingenium13]

I went outside at 9:33, and already is was almost directly overhead. It was a blinking red light, moving quite quickly in a northward direction. I assume it was blinking because the satellite was spinning. Airplanes fly over my house on a daily basis, so I could easily tell that it was not an airplane (plus it was not on the same flight path the airplanes take). Within 2-3 minutes, it was out of sight. Pretty cool stuff.

Spelling in title...

[the_Upsetter]

Small but glaring spelling error...

(not to nit-pick)...

Satellite [dictionary.com]