{"id":21586,"date":"2020-04-08T14:12:44","date_gmt":"2020-04-08T18:12:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=21586"},"modified":"2020-04-08T14:12:44","modified_gmt":"2020-04-08T18:12:44","slug":"student-and-amateur-cubesat-news-roundup-apr-8-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=21586","title":{"rendered":"Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Apr.8.2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat<\/a> \/ SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here<\/a>):<\/p>\n

** Cubesat program at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, wins grants from NASA lunar exploration technology program:<\/strong> NASA Small Satellite Program Selects Cal Poly to Help Develop New Technology for Lunar Exploration Missions – Cal Poly News<\/a><\/p>\n

Cal Poly will participate in a pair of two-year projects, both in collaboration with NASA\u2019s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The grants are valued at $200,000. The first, under the SmallSat Propulsion for Lunar Missions area, will team Cal Poly with UC Irvine for a project titled \u201cVariable Specific Impulse Electrospray Thrusters for SmallSat Propulsion.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The project will build on existing propulsion technology that uses electrostatic charges to propel liquid droplets to generate thrust. It will further develop and test a more-versatile system capable of operating in either a high-thrust mode when needed, or more efficient low-thrust mode to conserve fuel and save weight. This technology will add mission flexibility to electrospray propulsion systems while keeping within the size suited constraints of small spacecraft.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cCal Poly will be providing a design for a CubeSat to test the thrusters, including an electrical subsystem that is capable of powering the thrusters,\u201d Bellardo said. \u201cUCI will be focusing more on the thruster side. Cal Poly will be focused on the spacecraft side.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

The second proposal, under NASA\u2019s Advanced Electrical Power Subsystem and Thermal Management Technology area, pairs Cal Poly with Cal State Los Angeles for a project titled \u201cAn Additively Manufactured Deployable Radiator with Oscillating Heat Pipes to Enable High Power Lunar CubeSats.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Compact CubeSats do not efficiently dissipate heat, yet lunar missions will demand even more electrical power, which produces heat as a byproduct that could damage core components of a small satellite. The equipment needed for longer duration missions far from Earth orbit includes more powerful radio transmitters while simultaneously dealing with the harsh cislunar thermal environment. The grant will fund the development of a deployable radiator with flexible oscillating heat pipes to provide more efficient heat transfer than traditional thermal straps.<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cThe more power a spacecraft needs, the more heat gets generated \u2014 both during power generation and consumption,\u201d Bellardo said. \u201cRadiators are part of the solution to keeping the spacecraft cooler. The technology is applicable to other small spacecraft as well.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

More about the Cal Poly projects and about lunar technology projects at other universities selected by NASA: NASA Selects Universities for Collaborative Development | NASA<\/a>.<\/p>\n

** AMSAT<\/strong><\/a> news<\/strong> on student and amateur CubeSat\/smallsat projects: ANS-096 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin<\/a><\/p>\n