Ralphie (or 3CS-2) was a satellite, part of the
Three Corner Satellite (3CS) project, a three satellite (
Sparkie, Ralphie,
Petey) student research project. It was designed and built by mostly undergraduate students at the
University of Colorado Boulder
The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado s ...
as part of the
Air Force Research Laboratory's University Nanosat Program.
Ralphie was responsible for imaging and End-to-End Data Systems in the 3CS project.
The satellite carries the name of CU Boulder's mascot,
Ralphie
Ralphie is a masculine given name, often a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Ralph. It may refer to:
* Ralphie May (1972-2017), American stand-up comedian and actor
* List of The Sopranos characters#Ralph Cifaretto, Ralph "Ralphie" Cifaretto, a char ...
.
Ralphie was launched on the first launch of the
Delta IV Heavy
The Delta IV Heavy (Delta 9250H) is an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle, the largest type of the Delta IV family. It is the world's third highest-capacity launch vehicle in operation, behind NASA's Space Launch System and SpaceX's Falcon He ...
rocket configuration, along with
3CS-1, "Sparkie", but failed to achieve orbit due to a problem with the rocket during launch.
See also
*
Petey (satellite)
Petey (or 3CS-3) was a satellite, part of Three Corner Satellite (3CS) project, a three satellite ( Sparkie, Ralphie and Petey) student research project. It was designed and built by mostly undergraduate students at the New Mexico State Univers ...
*
Sparkie (satellite)
Sparkie (or 3CS-1) was a satellite, part of the Three Corner Satellite (3CS) project, a three satellite (Sparkie, Ralphie and Petey) student research project. It was designed and built by mostly undergraduate students at the Arizona State Univer ...
References
External links
ASU satellite prepares for tests, launch
{{Orbital launches in 2004
Spacecraft launched in 2004
Spacecraft launched by Delta IV rockets
Satellite launch failures