CubeSat
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Image:Ncube2.jpg A CubeSat is a type of space research picosatellite with dimensions of 10×10×10 centimetres (i.e., a volume of exactly one litre), weighing no more than one kilogram, and typically using commercial off-the-shelf electronics components.
Currently, a large number of universities and some companies and other organizations around the world are actively developing CubeSats [1]. With their relatively small size, CubeSats can be made and launched for an estimated US$65,000–80,000 a piece (2004 US dollars). This low price tag as compared to most satellite launches has made Cubesat a viable option for schools and universities acroos the world. Most CubeSats carry one or two scientific instruments as its primary mission payload. A few CubeSat projects have a limited propulsion system; for example, the CubeSat project of the University of Illinois uses an array of small ion thrusters.
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Launch history
2003
On 30 June 2003, five university CubeSats and one commercial CubeSat were launched on a Rockot rocket from Russia’s Plesetsk launch site. The launch was executed by Eurockot Launch Services GmbH of Bremen, Germany. The CubeSats on board were:
- Aalborg University's AAU CubeSat
- Quakefinder's Quakesat
- Technical University of Denmark's DTUsat
- Tokyo Institue of Technology's CUTE-I
- University of Tokyo's XI-IV
- University of Toronto's CanX-1
2005
On 27 October 2005, a Kosmos-3M launch vehicle launched from Plesetsk carried three CubeSats into orbit on the SSETI Express mission. The CubeSats on board were:
- Norwegian University of Science and Technology's NCUBE2
- University of Tokyo's XI-V
- University of Wurzburg's UWE-1
2006
On 21 February 2006, a M-V launch vehicle launched from Uchinoura, Japan carried a single CubeSat into orbit, namely:
Future Launches
- 14 Cubesats from 10 Universities as well as 1 private company are planning to launch in a launch aboard a DNEPR Rocket. California Polytechnic State University has been handling the details. This launch has been postponed numerous times due to the primary payload, EgyptSat-1, not being ready for launch. It will be launched aboard a DNEPR Rocket. The current launch date is June 2006.
- Seven Cubesats will be launched as a secondary payload on a DNEPR rocket in May 2006. This launch has been planned for a long time now, to be the second launch by Cal Poly.
Current running projects
A number of CubeSat project are running in different universities currently. Some of them are:
- Delfi-C3 by Delft University of Technology, The Netherlands : It is a 3-unit CubeSat 10x10x30 centimeters
- AAUSAT-II by Aalborg University, Denmark
- AubieSat-1 by Auburn University, U.S.
- Compass One by Fachhochschule Aachen, Germany
- DTUsat-2 by Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
- RINCON-1 by University of Arizona, U.S.
- SACRED by University of Arizona, U.S.
- CAPE-1 by University of Louisiana at Lafayette, U.S.