AeroCube-3

AeroCube-3

Mission type	Technology demonstration
Operator	The Aerospace Corporation / USAF
COSPAR ID	2009-028E
SATCAT no.	35005
Mission duration	1-3 years (planned) 1.5 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	1U CubeSat
Bus	CubeSat
Launch mass	1 kg (2.2 lb)
Dimensions	10 × 10 × 10 cm (3.9 × 3.9 × 3.9 in)
Power	Solar cells, batteries
Start of mission
Launch date	19 May 2009, 23:55 UTC
Rocket	Minotaur I
Launch site	MARS, LP-0B
Contractor	Orbital Sciences Corporation
End of mission
Decay date	6 January 2011 [1]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit[2]
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	427 km (265 mi)
Apogee altitude	466 km (290 mi)
Inclination	40.48°
Period	93.51 minutes

AeroCube-3 is a single-unit CubeSat which was built and is being operated by The Aerospace Corporation, at El Segundo, California. It is the third AeroCube picosatellite, following on from AeroCube-1, which was lost in a launch failure in 2006, and AeroCube-2 which was successfully launched in 2007 but failed immediately after launch.^[3] Compared to its predecessors it contains several improvements in its infrastructure, including a redesigned power system, replacing the older system which was responsible for the loss of AeroCube-2. Its development was funded by the United States Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, at Los Angeles Air Force Base.^[4]

Picosatellite

AeroCube-3 carried technology development experiments. The primary systems demonstrated were a two-axis solar tracker and an Earth tracker, which could be used in the guidance systems of future satellites. It also carried a 0.6 m (2 ft 0 in) balloon used for tracking tests and to increase drag, increasing the satellite's rate of orbital decay after its mission was completed. AeroCube-3 incorporates a semi-spherical (8-panel) balloon that can serve also as a tracking aid. AeroCube-3 uses an inflation system similar to the one on AeroCube-2. The difference in orbit life (with and without a balloon) is estimated to be from 1–3 years (depending on atmosphere assumptions) without a balloon compared with 2–3 months with the balloon inflated. A VGA-resolution camera pointing in the direction of the balloon will photograph its state of inflation.^[5]

Mission

The AeroCube-3 mission consists of two phases. Phase A occurs with the AeroCube-3 tethered to the Orion 38 motor that is the upper stage for the TacSat-3 Minotaur launch vehicle. During this phase, AeroCube-3 will measure its dynamics while on the end of a 61 m (200 ft)-long tether attached to a tumbling object (the upper stage). A VGA-resolution camera with a wide-angle field of view will attempt to photograph the upper stage on orbit. A tether reeling mechanism inside the picosatellite can close the distance by drawing in the tether (it operates by ground command). Phase B occurs when the tether is cut and AeroCube-3 becomes a freeflying CubeSat picosatellite. In this phase, permanent magnets and hysteresis material will align the satellite with Earth's magnetic field. In this configuration, a sensor suite will sweep Earth's surface and various experiments can be performed. AeroCube-3 will store sensor data until it passes over its ground station and the data is downloaded.^[5]

Launch

It was successfully launched on an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur I launch vehicle from Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, at 23:55 UTC on 19 May 2009. It was a tertiary payload, with TacSat-3 as the primary payload and PharmaSat as the secondary. Two other CubeSats, HawkSat-1 and CP6, were also launched, and together the three satellites were known as the CubeSat Technology Demonstration mission. The three satellites are placed in a Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD), which is about the size of a large loaf of bread.^[5]

Deployment

The standard deployment system for cubesats, the P-POD was developed by the Aerospace Engineering Department at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo. After the primary satellite has been released and a collision and contamination avoidance maneuver has been performed, each cubesat will be deployed separately from the P-POD into space.^[5]

The satellite reentered in the atmosphere of Earth on 6 January 2011.^[1]

See also

• List of CubeSats

References

1. "AeroCube-3". NASA. 28 October 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
2. McDowell, Jonathan (29 August 2021). "Satellite Catalog". Jonathan's Space Report. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
3. Krebs, Gunter (26 June 2018). "AeroCube 1, 2, 3". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
4. "AeroCube-3". ESA eoPortal Directory. 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021.
5. "CubeSats" (PDF). CubeSat-3. NASA. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 November 2021. Retrieved 31 October 2021. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

External links

• Davis, Robert. "Cubesat Tech Demo P-POD" (PDF). Hawk Institute of Space Sciences. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2021.