CubeSat Lessons Learned: Two Launch Failures Followed by One Mission Success (Subtitle: What can go wrong will go wrong.)

CubeSat Lessons Learned: Two Launch Failures Followed by One Mission Success (Subtitle: What can go wrong will go wrong.)

Montana State University’s small satellite team just keeps on learning and keeps getting better through experiences gained and through careful attention paid to lessons learned. After all, that is a fundamental goal of experiential training. The Space Science and Engineering Laboratory at Montana State University engages university undergraduate students in the design, production, testing, and flight operations of spaceflight systems as a highly effective hands-on training methodology for the next generation of space researchers. Additionally the program seeks to demonstrate the utility of, and to advance the application of very small satellites for space research. Both through launch failures (two in succession); and through mission success, we continually add to our institutional list of lessons learned. These lessons learned are by no means unique to our program, which means that others may benefit from our experiences. Launch failures are outside the control of the satellite developer but even then there are lessons to be learned. Even in success there are lessons to be learned. This paper describes how the Montana State program small satellite program has capitalized on lessons learned to further the educational advancement of tomorrow’s space scientists and space engineers and to further the technological capabilities of very small satellites for application to space research.