Ralphie (satellite)

Ralphie (or 3CS-2) was a satellite, part of the Three Corner Satellite (3CS) project, a three satellite (Sparkie, Ralphie, Petey) student research project. It was designed and built by mostly undergraduate students at the University of Colorado Boulder as part of the Air Force Research Laboratory's University Nanosat Program.^[2]

Ralphie

Mission type	Technology
Operator	CU-Boulder AFRL STP
Mission duration	Failed to orbit
Spacecraft properties
Launch mass	16 kilograms (35 lb)
Dimensions	46 x 30cm (six-sided)[1]
Start of mission
Launch date	December 21, 2004 (2004-12-21)
Rocket	Delta IV Heavy
Launch site	Cape Canaveral SLC-37B
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Epoch	Planned

Ralphie was responsible for imaging and End-to-End Data Systems in the 3CS project.

The satellite carries the name of CU Boulder's mascot, Ralphie.

Ralphie was launched on the first launch of the Delta IV Heavy rocket configuration, along with 3CS-1, "Sparkie", but failed to achieve orbit due to a problem with the rocket during launch.^[3]

See also

• Petey (satellite)
• Sparkie (satellite)