Cornell University researchers were preparing to launch two spacecraft from Ward Laboratory to simulate space conditions on Earth. The project, taking place in a three‐story hangar-like high bay, was designed to model how spacecraft interact while orbiting one another. The simulator is the only one of its kind in the United States and was intended to allow researchers, companies, and government agencies to test and improve space technologies.

The project is supported by the New York Consortium for Space and Technology (NYCST) and led by Mason Peck, director of NYCST and the Stephen J. Fujikawa ’77 Professor of Astronautical Engineering at Cornell Engineering. In September 2023, the U.S. Department of Defense allocated $5 million toward the effort.

However, on April 10, Peck received a stop-work order that halted the renovations of the high bay and the construction of the spacecraft. The project was seen as a step forward in developing space infrastructure and reducing the cost of sending materials into space.

Source: Cornell University

Source Type: College

Source Location: Ithaca

Ithaca, NY

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