Launch of personal satellites

　　Utah-regular joes may be able to launch their own s atellites into space soon--without the need for an astr onomical budget. Martin E.Janis & company converted rus sian ICBMs and are being used as satellite launch vehic les. One stop satellite solutions, a utah aerospace com pany, will allow the general public access to space for as little as $30,000. The tiny cubesats satellites were developed at weber desinged to allow an educational ins itution or private firm the ability to launch small, us eful satellites into space, bypassing the enormous pric e tags and multi-year time frames usually associated wi th a private institution launching a satellite into spa ce.

　　The service"could be viewed as a mass transportatio n vehicle to space", according to OSSS president dale r ichards.

　　The service has its genesis in the cold war era. Th e second strategic arms reduction treaty between the un ited states and russia calls for hundreds of ICBMs to b e taken out of service by 2007.

　　OSSS struck a deal with a russian aerospace company called kosmotras to commercialize former russian and uk rainian nuclear missiles for the service.

　　This month's launch of the first cubesats will mark the first cubesats will mark the first occasion that a U.S.payload makes its way skyward atop a russian ICBM.O SSS has already conducted launches using former U.S.ICB Ms.

　　Multiple cubesats would make the trip together, ins ide a larger carrier satellite calld a JAWSAT. The Cube sats, tethered or affixed to the JAWSAT, can feed off t he carrier's system. It can also just float free in orb it.

　　With would these little cube satellites be used for ? Plenty. Among the suggestions: sending a cube around the moon for a master's thesis, sending a relative's as hes into space as a memorial or launching an orbiting g reeting card that broadcasts a holiday message down to earth.

　　OSSS also believes these are numerous commercial ap plications for the cubesats. The satellites can be buil t from off-the-shelf components, meaning a company won' t have to pay exorbitant fees for the manufacture of th eir cubesat. Richards estimated the average cost would be about $ 15,000.

　　From foxnews