My goal is to design, build, and fly a 1U CubeSat to low Earth orbit as an individual hobbyist. This is a significant challenge and will involve more than one year of work (maybe, probably, longer) and require learning many new skills, and since its a hobby it won’t be full-time work. It will also be expensive, but at least the cost per kilogram for launch services is rapidly decreasing over time.
CubeSat?
CubeSat is the label given to small satellites that follow specific guidelines about size, mass, and construction. This standardization means launch providers can offer their services without customization for each satellite. Launch providers often can include CubeSats on launches of other, larger payloads at reasonable cost.
For my project I’ll be building the smallest form factor: 100mm x 100mm by 113.5mm, with a mass limit of 2kg. While on orbit it will be able to communicate with ground stations, stabilize itself into specific orientations, take digital photos of the Earth, collect temperature and sunlight data, acquire GPS positioning data, and recharge its batteries via solar cells.
Due to atmospheric drag in its intended low orbit the expected lifetime will be in the range of several months to several years.
For more detailed information on this project refer to my design notes for the various subsystems and related topics.
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A list of other projects I’ve found that provided inspiration, insights, etc. and motivated me to start this project:
- UN Office for Outerspace Affairs KiboCUBE Academy
- Manuel’s Build a CubeSat project
- RG SAT – $1K CubeSat project
- Melbourne Space Program ACRUX-1 overview
- Engineer Me This DIY CubeSat Build