Mini Student Satellite Set to Launch September 27

Tired of graduating from school before seeing their missions launched into space, students from the European Student Space Exploration and Technology Inititative (SSETI) will launch the first European Student Earth Orbiter (ESEO) satellite "SSETI Express" (pictured right) scheduled for September 27, 5005. The satellite consists of three small CubeSat satellites developed by Japan, Germany, and Norway and will be launched from Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russia. The mini-satellite will orbit the Earth at an altitude of 686 km, conduct a radiation experiment, send pictures back to Earth, and function as a radio transponder. The project is sponsored by the European Space Agency. You can follow the progress of SSETI Express from the official mission website. Eds. Note: As of 9/18, the launch date has been changed to Sept. 30.