The Cubesat is a standard framework for microsatellites?.
Cubesats might be a useful base for Project Persephone experiments, even from developing nations. Colombia's first satellite was a Cubesat designed by university students.1 A similar concept, the Cubelab?, has also been used to host commercial experiments aboard ISS2.
Dozens of cubesats have been launched, and some of them have operated for years, including nine designed and built by students at Japanese universities.3.
In 2006, GeneSat-1?, a biosatellite containing a bacteriological experiment, has been launched in Cubesat format.4. This biosatellite was launched in an inflatable space structure, Bigelow Aerospace?'s Genesis 1?.5
Notes
1 http://news.cnet.com/DIY-satellites-reinvent-the-space-race/2100-11397_3-5863564.html ⇑
2 Nanoracks press release: Nano Racks? Platform and Cube Lab? Activation Footage http://www.nanoracksllc.com/?p=889 ⇑
3 http://mtech.dk/thomsen/space/cubesat.php ⇑
4 "Gene Sat?-1", cubesat.org http://www.cubesat.org/index.php/missions/past-launches/67-genesat-1 ⇑
5 "Bigelow Spacecraft Carries NASA 'Gene Box?' to Orbit", NASA, 07.19.06 http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/multimedia/images/2006/genebox.html ⇑
Further Reading
- Cubesat on Wikipedia
- "Dnepr LV with 14 satellites onboard launched", Apr 28, 2007
- "Spaceflight Services Teams Up With Dutch Company", Jan 17, 2011
This page may have a more recent version on pmwiki.org: PmWiki:Cubesat, and a talk page: PmWiki:Cubesat-Talk.