The U.S Air Force will be launching 29 satellites simultaneously Tuesday night. This is the largest number of satellites ever to be launched in space all at once.
All 29 satellites will be set to launch on board a rocket named Minotaur I. The NASA rocket will blast off from the East Coast on Tuesday in Virginia's Wallops Flight Facility at 7.30 pm.
According to NASA, the lift off may be viewed from the areas northern Florida, Indiana, and southern Canada. Anyone can view also the launch through NASA's live streaming.
Once the Minotaur rocket bursts into flames, the 29 satellites will reach the target orbit in less than 12.5 minutes.
The 29 satellites composed of 28 CubeSats which are very small satellites and one large load the Air Force Space Test Program Satellite-3.
The main load is the Air Force's satellite whose mission is to perform various experiments in space during its 13 month space travel.
The smaller satellites are named CubeSats because of their shape. These are formed in small cubes, with measurement of four inches on all its sides, a volume of around one quart, and a weight of three pounds.
One of the CubeSats or nanosatellites, is a high school project called TJ3Sat. High school students from Virginia's Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology have been working over the TJ3Sat project for seven years.
Upon a successful launch, the TJ3Sat will be the first satellite created by high school kids to reach and travel in space.
According to the rocket Minotaur's manufacturer and developer, Orbital Sciences Corp., "TJ3Sat will allow students and amateur radio users the opportunity to send and receive data from the satellite. Students and other users from around the world will be able to submit text strings to be uploaded to the TJ3Sat website."
The launch will also be used as an opportunity to evaluate the Minotaur rocket for its certification to allow it for commercial purposes. The Federal Aviation Administration is currently handling the certification process.
