Cal Poly Weather Satellite on Board Delta II Rocket

After three years in the making and two launch delays, engineering students from Cal Poly will finally get to see their 10th cubesat blast off with the Delta II Rocket.

The Exocube is a weather satellite that will measure ion densities in the atmosphere, giving scientists better data to track weather patterns and the ability to build sturdier satellite designs.

Cal Poly is one of four universities to team up with NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive Mission, which will provide a high definition global map of moisture content in earth’s soil.

The million dollar project is funded by the National Science Foundation.

Once the cubesat is launched, the electronics are expected to last between 6 months to a year.

The data point will remain in orbit for the next 12 years for information to be sent back to Cal Poly’s third ground station, located on the roof of the campus engineering building.

Students and staff involved with the project are expected to watch Delta II’s launch at 6:20 a.m. on Saturday morning.