How A Group Of ASU Students Launched A Research Satellite Into Space

By Steve Goldstein
Published: Friday, December 6, 2019 - 3:15pm
Updated: Friday, December 6, 2019 - 3:17pm

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Phoenix CubeSat
The rocket carrying the Phoenix CubeSat, designed and built by Arizona State University students, lifts off from the NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia on its way to the International Space Station.

The sizzling temperatures we face every summer in the Valley — in combination with concrete and blacktop in many areas — has put us squarely under the blast of the urban heat island.

And with research continuing into more specifics of how it affects us and other areas of the country, a group of students at ASU has developed a satellite that will be able to observe and provide data on the urban heat island from far above the earth.

The Show talked with Jaime Sanchez de la Vega, chief engineer for the project about how long the satellite had been in development and how the team made it a reality.

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