UFO-Hunting Mini-Satellite Gets Funded

A group of techies have turned to crowdsourcing in order to fund their idea of a UFO-hunting mini-satellite. After an unsuccessful run on the crowdsourcing website Indiegogo, their second campaign, via Kickstarter, has proven successful, and they have received the funding needed to build and launch their mini-UFO hunting device.
The campaign — “CubeSat for Disclosure – Low-Earth Orbit Satellite” — utilizes off-the-shelf technology to develop a relatively cheap observation platform in space.
Through Kickstarter, the group sought to raise $10,000, and says they already had $16,000 in previous funding. As of the writing of this story, their Kickstarter campaign has raised $10,770.
Even though they have the funding needed to get their enterprise off the ground, project organizer Dave Shock says they can use all the funding they can get.
“We made our goal, but we still need donations to help pay for all the other stuff that we will incur as the project proceeds,” said Shock via Facebook. “We still have a few more days left on our campaign, so stop by our page and donate a few dollars if you can.”
Several companies offer equipment for what are called CubeSats, also referred to as nanosatellites. These are small devices that offer an affordable way for students, researchers and private companies to have their own little satellite. The cubes measure 10x10x10 centimeters.
CubeSat for Disclosure plans to add cameras, a way to communicate and download information from the satellite from the ground, and a scintillation counter. The group’s Kickstarter page says the scintillation counter “enables us to measure the various radiation in our satellite’s environment. This is significant as it enables us to detect high energy particles, radiation, and other phenomena.”
Two cameras with parabolic lenses will be used to get a 360-degree view around the satellite. The group also wants to add radar if the technology and budget permit.
Their main goal is to hopefully capture verifiable data and images of UFOs. They feel the topic has been ridiculed, but that it is worthy of “rigorous scientific study.”
“If you’re watching a live feed from the International Space Station, it can suddenly cut out and they’ll say, ‘Oh, we lost the signal.’ But we will have total control of everything. Nobody will alter or corrupt our data so that the government can’t cover up what we may find. This is all ours,” Shock told The Huffington Post.
If you want to support the project, there are still a couple of days left to invest and get a Kickstarter reward, such as a CubeSat for Disclosure T-shirt or your very own UFO hunting CubeSat.
For more about this project, listen to the Open Minds UFO Radio show with Dave Cote, CubeSat for Disclosure project head.