An impact sensor developed by Brighton High School students and faculty will go into space Jan. 10, 1990, aboard a French Ariane rocket.
The experiment is part of a larger satellite proj-ect developed by Weber State College and AMSAT-NA and appears to be the first time a high school has sent an experiment into space aboard a satellite.Brighton High School science instructor John Barainca was invited to develop an experiment to be included with four WSC projects that will be aboard the French rocket.
The sensor is designed to detect the impact of small particles encountered as the earth orbits the sun. The impacts will be counted and the counts fed to an onboard computer, which will telemeter the information to a ground station.
Brighton students will study the information to compile data on high- and low-particle density.
Barainca solicited assistance from Zevex Corp., a local manufacturer of piezoelectric sensor devices. The company helped the high-school scientists design a sensor that met the project specifications. Brighton electronics student Josh Brown constructed the circuit boards under the direction of Brent Bowsell, an instructor.
Nolan Hurley, a graduate of Brighton and now a student at the University of Utah, did the final assembly. Ed Crelly, a physics teacher, completed the final design and tested the experiment.
Barainca said he contacted NASA to inquire if a high school had ever flown an experiment on a satellite and was told that it appears Brighton is the first. High-school science projects have flown on space shuttles and on SkyLab, but never before on a satellite, he was told.