Satellite Violet, named after the provincial flower, is the first New Brunswick-built satellite to be blasted into space. It was developed by more than 300 post-secondary students. This satellite image provided by NOAA shows clouds over North America on Thursday, April 4, 2024. .Hundreds of post-secondary students in New Brunswick are patiently waiting for a call from Satellite Violet.
“We selected that fishing line because we know it will degrade naturally after a couple of weeks in outer space…then we will be able to communicate with Violet,” he explained. If the satellite’s radio silence hasn’t been caused by either scenario mentioned, there is one remaining option that could result in Violet finally transmitting information back to Earth — or provide an abrupt ending to its long-awaited trip into outer space.Researchers hope Violet will deliver information about the ionsphere, where “ultraviolet light and x-ray solar radiation cause electrons to pop free of their atomic and molecular bonds leaving ions behind,” as noted in a UNB release.
Although everything appeared to respond accordingly when Violet was still within the team’s possession on Earth, Lubaba said troubleshooting is a more complicated process once the satellite is hovering above.