"Picosats" Selected by Popular Science as
One of Top New Technologies of 2000

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. (11/20/00) -- The smallest pair of operational satellites ever flown -- built by The Aerospace Corporation with Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Microsystems Technology Office funding -- have been selected by Popular Science Magazine as one of the top new technologies of 2000.

Called picosatellites, or "picosats," these tiny spacecraft -- about the size of cell phones -- are featured in the December 2000 issue of Popular Science, on the newsstands.

The cover story describes 100 new products and technology developments selected for inclusion in the 26-page "Best of What's New" section.

Popular Science editors annually review thousands of new products and technologies to arrive at the select group.

A Readers' Choice Award is to be announced on Jan. 5, 2001, after visitors to the magazine's Web site, register votes.

The Aerospace Corp./DARPA picosats flew a groundbreaking mission in February 2000, registering a number of "firsts" for spacecraft this small.

Two more picosats, aboard the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) MightySat 2.1 launched July 29, 2000, are to be released into orbit in the summer of 2001. Envisioned for the future are MEMS-based picosat inspectors (MEPSI) that will serve as onboard, on-call inspectors for conventional satellites.

Partners with The Aerospace Corporation and DARPA in the February 2000 mission were the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, Air Force Research Laboratory, Rockwell Science Center, Stanford University, UCLA, and US Space Command, which located and tracked the picosats.