Session
Session 9: Upcoming Missions
Abstract
The ThinSat is the next iteration of the flight proven PocketQube design. The ThinSat standard is based on a common bus architecture with set electrical and mechanical interfaces that simplifies the development of diverse payloads. The bus design includes power, C&DH, communication systems and has options for attitude control and determination. Participants in the program need only provide systems that conform to the available documented bus design. Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (Virginia Space) has secured payload capacity on the second stage of future Orbital ATK Antares rockets launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Virginia Space and Twiggs Space Lab (TSL) will launch 60 ThinSats on their first mission in the Fall 2018 (on the OA-10 mission), and 80 ThinSats on each of the subsequent Antares ISS resupply missions through December 2024. Additional capacity may be added to meet increases in demand. The large number of deployments per launch means that ThinSats have the potential to surpass the opportunities for scientific discoveries, technical innovations and commercial applications that were enabled by the adoption of the CubeSat. ThinSats represent the next logical step in the small satellite industry, by further reducing development times, lowering technical barriers to entry, and reducing overall mission cost and complexity.
The ThinSat Program: Flight Opportunities for Education, Research and Industry
The ThinSat is the next iteration of the flight proven PocketQube design. The ThinSat standard is based on a common bus architecture with set electrical and mechanical interfaces that simplifies the development of diverse payloads. The bus design includes power, C&DH, communication systems and has options for attitude control and determination. Participants in the program need only provide systems that conform to the available documented bus design. Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority (Virginia Space) has secured payload capacity on the second stage of future Orbital ATK Antares rockets launched from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at NASA Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Virginia Space and Twiggs Space Lab (TSL) will launch 60 ThinSats on their first mission in the Fall 2018 (on the OA-10 mission), and 80 ThinSats on each of the subsequent Antares ISS resupply missions through December 2024. Additional capacity may be added to meet increases in demand. The large number of deployments per launch means that ThinSats have the potential to surpass the opportunities for scientific discoveries, technical innovations and commercial applications that were enabled by the adoption of the CubeSat. ThinSats represent the next logical step in the small satellite industry, by further reducing development times, lowering technical barriers to entry, and reducing overall mission cost and complexity.
