PongSats are high-altitude
near space
Near space is the upper region of the Earth's atmosphere between airspace and outer space. It is sometimes referred to as the " edge of space". There is no legal definition for this extent, but typically this is the altitude range from .
Rang ...
missions that hold a probe or other project that can fit inside a
ping-pong
Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...
(
table tennis
Table tennis (also known as ping-pong) is a racket sport derived from tennis but distinguished by its playing surface being atop a stationary table, rather than the Tennis court, court on which players stand. Either individually or in teams of ...
) ball. The launch program is run by a volunteer organization,
JP Aerospace (which also provided balloon launch services for the
Space Chair.)
JP Aerospace succeeded in its first launch of PongSat missions, with a balloon-launched rocket (AKA a
rockoon), at the West Texas Spaceport near
Fort Stockton, in October 2002. The launcher reached with 64 hosted PongSats.
Many of the flights have been funded through a
KickStarter
Kickstarter, PBC is an American Benefit corporation, public benefit corporation based in Brooklyn, New York City, that maintains a global crowdfunding platform focused on creativity. The company's stated mission is to "help bring creative project ...
crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is the practice of funding a project or venture by raising money from a large number of people, typically via the internet. Crowdfunding is a form of crowdsourcing and Alternative Finance, alternative finance, to fund projects "withou ...
campaign.
Although many PongSats contain things like food items, simply because schoolchildren are curious about the result, other missions include "multiple sensors and complex mini-computers".
It's been described by its founder as part of "America's Other Space Program," but also as one that relies "primarily on volunteers and helium."
SpaceHub Southeast has organized several PongSat flights from Atlanta.
According to founder John Powell, the PongSat launch program is very global, with payloads delivered to JP Aerospace from "Poland, India, Japan, Slovenia, Germany, Belgium, Turkey, China, Australia, Indonesia."
References
External links
*
Pongsat Guide*
PongSats and MiniCubes (pdf) Presentation at UNSW ACSER Cubesat Innovation Workshop, 2017-04-19/20Weekly Space Hangout: December 16, 2020 – John Powell Tells Us About PongSats and Airship to Orbit"PongSats: The World's Space Program". Michael Molitch-Hou. Feb 20, 2013. 3dprintingindustry.com"PongSats take student science projects to new heights", Ben Coxworth, ''New Atlas''. July 27, 2012
Balloon-borne experiments
Educational technology non-profits
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