Session

Session 10: Year In Review

Abstract

While lower cost and increased launch opportunities provide easier access to space, there are different approaches to developing solutions for a small U-class satellite to support scientific research and government missions. JHU/APL has successfully led and flown two 3U CubeSat missions and is currently working on a third mission. The first mission, ORS TECH, was a two-spacecraft mission for the United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD). The second mission, RAVAN, was a single spacecraft mission for the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO). JHU/APL is leading a third 3U CubeSat mission, CAT, scheduled for launch in 2018 for the United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD). For each of these missions, JHU/APL took a different approach in the development of the 3U small satellite. This paper will review the three different methods used at JHU/APL for the development of 3U CubeSats and will provide insights and lessons learned for developing future small U-class satellites for educational, commercial, and government missions.

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Aug 9th, 12:00 AM

Different Approaches to Developing Small Satellite Missions

While lower cost and increased launch opportunities provide easier access to space, there are different approaches to developing solutions for a small U-class satellite to support scientific research and government missions. JHU/APL has successfully led and flown two 3U CubeSat missions and is currently working on a third mission. The first mission, ORS TECH, was a two-spacecraft mission for the United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD). The second mission, RAVAN, was a single spacecraft mission for the NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO). JHU/APL is leading a third 3U CubeSat mission, CAT, scheduled for launch in 2018 for the United States (US) Department of Defense (DoD). For each of these missions, JHU/APL took a different approach in the development of the 3U small satellite. This paper will review the three different methods used at JHU/APL for the development of 3U CubeSats and will provide insights and lessons learned for developing future small U-class satellites for educational, commercial, and government missions.