Unleash Nerd Fury... on Space!

Another installment in my yearly Super Sunday "Unleash Nerd Fury" series, in honor of Stephen Colbert's "the Word" segment one Super Bowl a few years ago, when he called on us nerds to unleash our fury.

This year the nerds we celebrate are the students on Michigan Tech's satellite team (including my nephew:). These students designed and built a satellite, called the called Oculus-ASR, which won a satellite competition sponsored by the Air Force Research Laboratory. The prize is that the Air Force pays to send their satellite into space - how cool is that?

After its launch in 2013, the satellite will assist the Department of Defense in keeping track of objects in space. The government can observe the satellite from the ground and try to determine its shape and orientation (the satellite is a shapeshifter). The satellite will beam down its actual shape, and this info can be used to improve the algorithm that was used to determine its shape.

Totally awesome - check out the time-lapse video of the build.

Also cool.... Fluorescent green aliens dancing in the half-time show :)