DISTINGUISHED SPEAKER SERIES
CubeSats: Big Science in Tiny Spacecraft

Adrienne Dove, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor in the UCF Department of Physics

Wednesday, April 18, 2018 at 6:00 p.m.
Tuscawilla Country Club
1500 Winter Springs Blvd.,
Winter Springs, FL 32708

Abstract: Over the last decade, CubeSats have been revolutionizing spaceflight and science with their capabilities for low-cost and frequent access to space. CubeSats are miniaturized satellites that are currently being deployed into orbits around the Earth and are being designed to fly solo or along with larger missions throughout the solar system. Their small size and costs makes them ideal for university or even high school projects. They allow scientists and engineers to explore new concepts, try out risky technologies, or fly multiple spacecraft in the place of one large spacecraft.

This talk will highlight some examples of CubeSats for both Earth and planetary science, as well as two CubeSats UCF is developing to be launched in 2018 that will study the ionosphere and planet formation.

Biography: Addie Dove is a planetary scientist and earned her Ph.D. in astrophysics and planetary science from the University of Colorado – Boulder in 2012. She has two main areas of research in which the understanding of the phenomena are key to successful planetary exploration. The first area involves the study of dust dynamics in planetary systems in order to understand planet and ring formation and dust processes on planetary surfaces. The second area is the study of dust charging and plasma interactions with planetary and spacecraft surfaces.

She explores these processes through experiments, both in the lab at UCF and on research flights (with parabolic aircraft, suborbital vehicles, the International Space Station, and CubeSats). You can find more about her research at: https://sciences.ucf.edu/physics/microgravity/

RSVP: https://sciences.ucf.edu/dss/adrienne-dove/

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