Killer Electrons: Satellite Built at MSU Launched on Falcon 9

Montana State University is well-known for its engineering programs. On Wednesday, June 23, a cutting-edge satellite, built in collaboration with MSU, was launched into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

According to a write-up by the MSU Communications department, the satellite will spend at least six months collecting information about solar particles that escape Earth’s magnetic field and enter our atmosphere.

The project is a partnership with Dartmouth College, Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory, Boston University, and MSU’s Space Science and Engineering Laboratory.  MSU's Space Science and Engineering Laboratory was responsible for building and testing the sophisticated box that houses the Relativistic Electron Atmospheric Loss CubeSat, also known as REAL.

Trending: Hot Air Balloon Comes Within Feet of Downtown Billings Hi-Rise

Now you see them, now you don't.

These solar particles, sometimes referred to as "killer electrons," can damage satellites and contribute to ozone depletion when they rain down on Earth's atmosphere. Occasionally, we can see the effects on these particles during solar storms, known as the Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights.

Get our free mobile app

Teams from MSU and the partnership universities involved in the project will analyze data collected by a powerful, $1.5 million sensor designed and built by Johns Hopkins APL. The Space Science and Engineering Lab at MSU was founded in 2000 with support from the Department of Physics in the College of Letters and Science.

If your kid loves space, send them to MSU.

Since its inception, the teams a MSU have been involved in several cutting-edge space projects. Former student employee Jake Davis, now an SSEL research engineer, said that many of their graduates have moved on to rewarding careers in the industry, telling MSU News,

Our alumni, specifically from this lab, are spread out in industry. We have former students that are working at SpaceX or Lockheed Martin, and alumni that were here in the beginning years that are top executives at similar companies.

This latest satellite was successfully launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California yesterday morning (7/23) at 11:13 AM.