All 2015 Content
Session
Technical Session III: Next on the Pad
Abstract
The Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) 3U CubeSat is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on ORB-4 in November 2015. MinXSS was designed and developed as part of the Aerospace Engineering Sciences (AES) graduate projects course at the University of Colorado in Boulder (CU) with significant facilities and professional support from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). Some of the spacecraft design is heritage from the highly successful Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE) CubeSat, which was the result of the same AES/LASP collaboration. The project course was initially supported by AES and NSF, and MinXSS flight has been funded as a science mission by the NASA Heliophysics Division. This paper will provide an overview of the MinXSS science of observing the highly energetic solar soft X-ray (SXR) radiation, the educational program of involving students in design, building, and testing a CubeSat, and some lessons learned.
Miniature X-Ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) A Science-Oriented, University 3U CubeSat
The Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer (MinXSS) 3U CubeSat is scheduled to launch to the International Space Station (ISS) on ORB-4 in November 2015. MinXSS was designed and developed as part of the Aerospace Engineering Sciences (AES) graduate projects course at the University of Colorado in Boulder (CU) with significant facilities and professional support from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP). Some of the spacecraft design is heritage from the highly successful Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE) CubeSat, which was the result of the same AES/LASP collaboration. The project course was initially supported by AES and NSF, and MinXSS flight has been funded as a science mission by the NASA Heliophysics Division. This paper will provide an overview of the MinXSS science of observing the highly energetic solar soft X-ray (SXR) radiation, the educational program of involving students in design, building, and testing a CubeSat, and some lessons learned.
