Session
Weekday Session 3: Science/Mission Payloads
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
Prime Solutions Group, Inc. (PSG) in partnerships with Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Illinois, and the Astronomy Association of Arizona (AAA) are proposing the development, launch and operation of a 12U CubeSat mission for stellar astronomy.
The stellar observatory mission will consist of a space-based UV/optical telescope system designated as the Ultraviolet Follow-on Observatory (UFO). This proposed CubeSat will be a 12U system housing a 250mm telescope and designed for a four-year plus mission timeline in high Earth orbit. A camera capturing simultaneous UV/optical observations will first be developed and tested on a ground-based telescope before being designed and integrated into the CubeSat. UFO will follow in the footsteps of the successful launch and operation of the Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) and the planned launch of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) which are paving the way for this new era in CubeSat space-based astronomy. The operation of UFO (240nm to 390nm (UVC, UVB, UVA)) will expand on these missions. This will demonstrate that small telescope observations in the ultraviolet frequency can provide valuable data to the astronomical science community and will help fill a critical need in the observational ultraviolet astronomy gap until NASA’s Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor (LUVOIR) mission launches in the early 2040s timeframe.
The Ultraviolet Follow-On Observatory (UFO)
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Prime Solutions Group, Inc. (PSG) in partnerships with Southwest Research Institute (SwRI), the University of Colorado at Boulder, the University of Illinois, and the Astronomy Association of Arizona (AAA) are proposing the development, launch and operation of a 12U CubeSat mission for stellar astronomy.
The stellar observatory mission will consist of a space-based UV/optical telescope system designated as the Ultraviolet Follow-on Observatory (UFO). This proposed CubeSat will be a 12U system housing a 250mm telescope and designed for a four-year plus mission timeline in high Earth orbit. A camera capturing simultaneous UV/optical observations will first be developed and tested on a ground-based telescope before being designed and integrated into the CubeSat. UFO will follow in the footsteps of the successful launch and operation of the Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment (CUTE) and the planned launch of the Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat (SPARCS) which are paving the way for this new era in CubeSat space-based astronomy. The operation of UFO (240nm to 390nm (UVC, UVB, UVA)) will expand on these missions. This will demonstrate that small telescope observations in the ultraviolet frequency can provide valuable data to the astronomical science community and will help fill a critical need in the observational ultraviolet astronomy gap until NASA’s Large UV/Optical/IR Surveyor (LUVOIR) mission launches in the early 2040s timeframe.
