Model rocket motors in space!

I just noticed the following post on Rocketry Planet:

http://www.rocketryplanet.com/content/view/3706/38/#axzz1f4IIcwM6

This tiny satellite deployed from the last Shuttle mission on July 19th, and had 4 Aerotech E28T motors on-board!

Looking at the Air Force space track data, PSSC-2 is predicted to re-enter the atmosphere this Friday, Dec 2nd. 🙁

Doing a few calculations on the Nov 4th firing of one of these motors: PSSC-2 was in an orbit with average altitude of about 318 km on Nov 4th. The E28T motor would have given the satellite a velocity boost of about 10.8 meters/second, which would have increased its average orbit altitude by about 19 kilometers (if the firing was in the best direction). This would have increased the satellite’s lifetime before re-entry by about 7 days.

I’m guessing that they fired at least 2 of the other 3 motors, because the re-entry prediction I get from just this one firing was Nov 22nd.

19 kilometers of altitude from an E28T — that’s a good challenge for our altitude junkies!!! 😀