KY Space Has Future With NASA

Last week’s balloon launch by the Kentucky Space program is being called a success, and the program’s participants say the launch was the first of many important missions into near space.‘Balloon-1’ was launched from Bowling Green on July 14. It traveled 91,000 feet and gathered data from the upper reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere.The Kentucky Space program, a consortium of university students and faculty and private enterprise, will use the data to plan future missions.Program advisor Dr. Ben Malphrus says those future missions are a part of the next generation of space exploration.“We’ve found a niche, which is basically like light cubesats, very small satellites that are highly capable that test technology, primarily for NASA and commercial ventures," says Malphrus.Malphrus says the next Kentucky Space mission is set for early next year.