UGA to Launch Small Satellites in 2018

The funding is set and UGA's new small satellite lab is set for lift off come 2018. UGA has received funding from National Aeronautics and Space Administration and the United States Air Force to build two space-bound satellites, but the satellites also have a launch date planned for 2018 from the International Space Station.

As small satellites continue to reduce costs and new developments are made in regards to launching small satellites and customizing them for specific trips, nonprofit organizations and universities are beginning to take their market share of the small satellite market. Students now have the opportunities to build and launch satellites at their schools.

According to redandblack.com, The names of the two satellites, CubeSats, or SmallSats, are SPOC and MOCI. SPOC, or Spectral Ocean Color, will analyze the color of the ocean beyond a visible spectrum. SPOC will help the team understand how water runoff influences the environment and what materials are present in water runoff. MOCI, or the Mapping and Ocean Color Imager, will scan the Earth’s surface and use the images to create 3D maps. It will also be the first time that this has been tried from a low Earth orbit.