by Staff Writers Moffett Field CA (SPX) Mar 19, 2013 NASA's
CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) recently selected E. coli
AntiMicrobial Satellite (EcAMSat) as one of 24 small satellites
to fly as secondary payloads aboard rockets planned to launch in
2014, 2015 and 2016. EcAMSat is being developed through a
partnership between NASA's Ames Research Center and the Stanford
University School of Medicine. It will be the first NASA mission
in the "6U" configuration, with six times the volume of a single
cubesat unit ("1U"). Cubesats belong to a class of research
spacecraft called nanosatellites. The cube-shaped satellites
measure about four inches on each side, have a volume of about
one quart, and weigh less than three pounds. Though it is large
for a nanosatellite, the 6U EcAMSat weighs only about 30 pounds
and measures approximately 14.4 inches long, 8.9 inches wide and
3.9 inches tall. "The development and flight of EcAMSat will
mark Ames' eighth nanosatellite mission since 2006," said David
Korsmeyer, director o