Fraser Valley students get access to space technology
Posted September 15, 2010 7:45 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
ABBOTSFORD (NEWS1130) – The University of the Fraser Valley is getting a brand new satellite dish to surf the vast frontiers of the cosmos.
The dish will be set up on top of the library at the Abbotsford campus, and it will communicate with a satellite that tracks space objects up to 40,000 kilometres away from the Earth.
Program manager Norman Hannaford explains what they’re going to do with the information they receive. “The satellite that we’re launching will keep the big international catalogue updated with information on where satellites are, what orbits they are in, and when changes to those orbits occur.”
He says the information that’s collected should give them a clear picture of what’s out there. “Today a lot of the measurements are taken from the ground, but of course you’re restricted by atmospheric conditions, it’s pretty hard to take images of satellites on cloudy days, etc.”
The satellite will launch in 2011 and will carry a telescope for the imaging of distant objects.
