NASA to launch Rhodes College satellite into space

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — Rhodes College in Tennessee says NASA will launch into space a small satellite being designed and built at the liberal arts school.

The Memphis-based college said in a news release that the satellite is among 14 small research satellites chosen by NASA for the 2021 CubeSat Launch Initiative. The 4-inch by 4-inch by 4-inch (10-centimeter by 10-centimeter by 10-centimeter) satellite will be sent into space between 2022 and 2025, the college said.

The RHOK-SAT satellite is being built by students, faculty and staff at the college. It will test the space hardiness of novel solar cells for lunar and planetary missions, the college said.

The cells are under active development and investigation by the University of Oklahoma and they will be provided by the university for the satellite, Rhodes said. The satellite will be in orbit for more than one year and it will transmit data to a ground station at the college.

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