This is just plain weird science.
January 26, 2006: One of the strangest satellites in the history of the space age is about to go into orbit. Launch date: Feb. 3rd. That’s when astronauts onboard the International Space Station (ISS) will hurl an empty spacesuit overboard.
The spacesuit is the satellite — “SuitSat” for short.
“SuitSat is a Russian brainstorm,” explains Frank Bauer of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. “Some of our Russian partners in the ISS program, mainly a group led by Sergey Samburov, had an idea: Maybe we can turn old spacesuits into useful satellites.” SuitSat is a first test of that idea.
Image: ISS astronaut Mike Finke spacewalks in a Russian Orlan spacesuit in 2004. SuitSat will have no one inside.
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This must be the Russians’ idea of a publicity stunt. I liked the space lottery idea better.
Russian brainstorm – bah – brainfart is more like it.
See suitsat.org for pass times and details if you’re into this.