News & Notes: Stratospheric spacecraft project to begin orbit in December

The University’s stratospheric spacecraft project, SPIDER, is set to begin its 20-day orbit 110,000 feet above ground level in December.

The primary SPIDER apparatus is a 10-foot-tall multi-chambered orb, which comes complete with cameras and lenses nearly a foot long each.

The spacecraft’s specific mission after launching is to search for gravitation wave patterns produced by the Big Bang that occurred billions of years ago, searching for any proof of remains or traces of the universe in its earliest stages.

In mid-October, the SPIDER team of researchers intend to bring all SPIDER apparatus, which was built mostly in Jadwin Hall, to Antarctica to make preparations for the launch date in December.

According to physics assistant professor William Jones, the location is particularly convenient with Antarctica’s constant sunlight as an energy source.

However, Jones predicts that it is unlikely SPIDER will come back in one piece simply because of the dangerous and long nature of the journey so far up.