Nebraska students launch satellite into space

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Over the past three years, middle and high school students in Nebraska have been building a satellite the size of a tissue box, to test a form of solar energy. On Wednesday afternoon, their project was launched into space.

An out-of-this-world project began with a thought from John McClure who had the idea to bring the group of students together in Nebraska. His friend, Doc Chaves, is making sure McClure’s vision is a success.

“When John Mclure and I were talking he said ‘Doc, do you realize that the first Americans to walk on Mars are today walking down the halls for Junior high,’” said Chaves.

From there, the Big Red Sat team made up of 19 students and UNL mentors was formed, with a goal to create a CubeSat satellite.

“That’s probably what’s opened their eyes the most is the different potential that they have for their careers. That can be tied to aerospace,” said Chaves.

Once the $400,00 design was selected by NASA, the space agency gave the team around $120,000 to help bring it to life.

“Our satellite along with some other CubeSats is in a module that will be sent up to the space station and stored for a few months,” said Chaves.

One of the students, Robert Schmidt who’s homeschooled, came up with the idea to test a type of solar panel, to see how efficient and long it lasts in space.

“It’s phenomenal, I’m excited to see what data we get from it,” said Schmidt.

This is the first time something like this has been done in Nebraska, with the hope being researchers can then put that data collected to use.

“If they end up doing super well it could make quite an impact on the people who work in the industry related to it,” said Schmidt.

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