JP Aerospace Sends Students Projects to the Edge of Space

RANCHO CORDOVA, CA, March 04, 2011 (Press-News.org) Experimenting where no experiments have gone before, well, except those conducted by eight year olds.

Suborbital space has become the buzz word for the new rocket planes and other spacecraft heading high but not to orbit. In a few years, when they start flying, they will be entering an area well explored by the nations elementary school students.

One group has been quietly flying thousands of student projects to the edge of space. Over 3,400 experiments from nearly 10,000 students have been build and flow twenty miles up on high altitude balloons.

These experiments are called PongSats for "Ping Pong Ball Satellite". These are experiments that fits inside of a ping pong ball. Students cut a ping pong ball in half, place their experiment inside, tape it back together and mail it to JP Aerospace, an aerospace company in Rancho Cordova, California. JP Aerospace carries the PongSats to 100,000 feet on balloon platforms where they experience ninety below zero temperatures, vacuum and cosmic rays. After the mission the PongSats are sent back to the students for research, experimenting and science fairs. The experiments range from plant seeds to complete upper atmosphere labs with dozens of sensors. PongSats have been used for both science inspiration and for university class research. PongSats are perfect for homeschooling.

These experiments are flown for free. They ride along on research mission flown by JP Aerospace. JP Aerospace conducts research on high altitude airships and space launch systems.

These science labs in miniature are not welcomed by everyone; "I've had NASA officials tell me PongSats are not important because they are round and too small, big universities tell me PongSats aren't meaningfully because they are free." Powell comments. Yet none of that stops the enthusiasm of these junior space scientists.

The next mission will be this April. over 700 PongSats will head to where the sky is black and the Earth is that big blue ball below.

All the new space planes and rockets are making suborbital research exciting. I just hope the scientists can catch up to the eight year olds.

Picture of PongSats at the edge of space are available at:
http://www.jpaerospace.com