CUTE-1
Flight Model
Tokyo Institute of Technology Lab, TITECH CUBESAT
Project TEAM
On June 30th 2003, six satellites were launched
into orbit by a Russian Eurockot vehicle. The
Eurockot
Launch 2003 mission was the first to launch
a group of CubeSats. A CubeSat is a very small
satellite built according to a standardized cube
design with 10cm to a side and a mass of up to
1kg.
The CubeSat
Project was founded by groups at California
Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo
and Stanford
University. Their goal was to provide a small
standardized satellite design to reduce costs.
Also, the tiny spacecraft could be launched in
groups by a standardized deployment system so
that the per satellite launch cost would be reduced
as well. All of this would allow university student
groups in engineering and science a chance to
build something that would actually fly in space
space.
So far, over 60 universities and high schools
around the world that have participated in CubeSat
projects. Several small companies have also developed
CubeSats.
Since 2003 there have other rocket
missions that have launched Cubesats into
orbit. This month the DNEPR
1 mission is scheduled to launch 14 CubeSats
from 10 different universities and 1 private company.
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