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- How many of you
use one of these?

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Or watch one of these?

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And do you ever check
the weather reports

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to decide what to wear
the next day?

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All of these
and many, many more things

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that we use every day
are made possible

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because of one of these
satellites in space.

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Right now, there are thousands
of satellites in space

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that are being used to help us
back here on Earth

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and help us understand space
beyond Earth.

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But these satellites are
expensive to build

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and they are expensive
to get into space.

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With all the changes
in technology,

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is there a way
to make satellites smaller,

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kind of like these cell phones
got smaller?

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NASA scientists and engineers
have begun to use

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these cute little satellites
called CubeSats.

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CubeSats are much smaller
than traditional satellites

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and way less expensive.

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A Standard CubeSat size
uses one unit or 1U,

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measuring 10 by 10
by 10 centimeters

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and can weigh as little
as one kilogram,

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while a traditional large
satellite can weigh as much

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as 1,000 kilograms.

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An inexpensive traditional
satellite would cost

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about $50 million
to send to space,

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while CubeSats
are small enough,

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they could just hitch a ride.

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So 10 centimeters by 10
centimeters by 10 centimeters

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equals 1,000 cubic centimeters.

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Would that really fit
in my hand?

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- I guess it depends on how
large the size of your hand is.

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For example,
look at this tissue box.

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This is the size a 1U CubeSat.

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And here, you deploy the
antennas for communication.

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The 1U cube is just
the building block

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for larger CubeSats.

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For example,
this is a 3U CubeSat,

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and you can see,
one, two, three.

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Again, 10 by 30 centimeters
by 10 centimeters.

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There are also 6U CubeSats

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that are 20 by 30 by 10.

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A 3U is about the weight
of a gallon of milk,

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about 9 pounds.

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And a 6U is the weight of
an 18-pound bowling ball.

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You might be wondering,
"What are in these small,

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little CubeSats?"

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Well, let me show you with
this little model that I have.

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You might have a sensor or an
instrument that's really small

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and you would also have
what we call bus components.

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So command, data, and handling.

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We have a power system
with a battery.

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And also the solar panels
that you can see here.

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There's also a communication
system,

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and that controls
the data that goes down

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as well as receiving commands
that come up.

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And here is your antenna.

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The data that comes back
from a CubeSat

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can actually be graphed and
you can measure differences.

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For example, before and after
a solar flare,

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how bright is it?

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- It's clear CubeSats
have some advantages

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over traditional satellites.

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If you want to see them
in action,

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stay tuned for part two.

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In the meantime, check out

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this website to find out more.

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See you soon.

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