Current Projects
Microgravity Projects
Carthage students and faculty regularly conduct research aboard NASA’s zero-gravity aircraft, as part of ongoing experiments and technology development for space hardware. An important aspect of space hardware development is understanding how systems and materials behave in the weightless environment of orbit. NASA funding supports parabolic flight research to test hardware in reduced gravity.
Learn more about the Carthage Microgravity Team
CubeSats
CubeSats are small educational satellites launched either to the International Space Station for deployment into orbit from an onboard CubeSat launcher, or directly into space via a commercial or NASA launch vehicle. The Carthage CubeSat team is developing a hyperspectral imaging satellite to study carbon sequestration in equatorial forests.
Learn more about the Carthage CubeSat Program
Sounding Rockets
A sounding rocket is a suborbital rocket that carries a payload experiment to space for upper atmosphere studies, astronomical imaging above the atmosphere, or microgravity studies. The Carthage RockSat team participates in the Colorado Space Grant Consortium’s RockSat sounding rocket payload development program. Students design and build an experiment to launch aboard a sounding rocket from NASA Wallops Flight Facility.