It is perhaps fitting that a NASA satellite to carry yeast into orbit has roughly the shape and dimensions of a bread box.
The tiny 10-pound satellite known as PharmaSat will be hitching a ride aboard an Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket next to the main payload, a military reconnaissance satellite. Liftoff is scheduled for Thursday from a launching pad at Wallops Island in Virginia, after being postponed by weather Tuesday.
At first, the yeast cells will be comfortable space tourists inside PharmaSat’s microlaboratory, orbiting the Earth at a speed of 17,000 miles per hour and a height of 285 miles.
The tiny 10-pound satellite known as PharmaSat will be hitching a ride aboard an Air Force Minotaur 1 rocket next to the main payload, a military reconnaissance satellite. Liftoff is scheduled for Thursday from a launching pad at Wallops Island in Virginia, after being postponed by weather Tuesday.
At first, the yeast cells will be comfortable space tourists inside PharmaSat’s microlaboratory, orbiting the Earth at a speed of 17,000 miles per hour and a height of 285 miles.
Fri May 8 14:27:13 2009