Surf Wiki
Save to docs
general/spacecraft-design

From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

University Nanosatellite Program

Design and fabrication competition

Design and fabrication competition

The University Nanosat Program is a satellite design and fabrication competition for universities. It is jointly administered by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Space Development and Test Wing and the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate's Spacecraft Technology division. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center was involved from the program inception through Nanosat-3.

The UNP is a recurring competition that involves two phases. The first phase (Phase A) occurs as university teams initially respond to a solicitation posted by the UNP program or one of its partner organizations. The solicitation results in a competition for selection for that program cycle. Typically 10-11 awards are made during this initial phase. Grants are offered to the awardees to participate in a rigorous two-year process to design and develop their satellite concept. At the end of the two years, a Flight Competition Review is held where judges evaluate each program's progress and readiness to move to the next phase. Winners from each cycle are offered launch by AFRL when the systems are ready for flight. Other U.S. Government agencies, such as NASA through the Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) initiative, also step in to offer launch opportunities when available. Since 1999, there have been 11 cycles of the program.

The program's objective is to train tomorrow's space professionals by providing a rigorous two year concept to flight-ready spacecraft competition for U. S. higher education institutions and to enable small satellite research and development (R&D), integration and flight test. Approximately 5,000 college students and 40 institutions of higher learning have been involved in this experience since its inception in 1999.{{cite web|title=About the University Nanosatellite Program|url=https://universitynanosat.org/about/

Program Cycles

Nanosat-1/Nanosat-2

  • 1st-group. Arizona State University: Sparkie (3CornerSat)
  • 1st-group. New Mexico State University: Petey (3CornerSat)
  • 1st-group. University of Colorado at Boulder: Ralphie (3CornerSat)
  • Boston University: Constellation Pathfinder
  • Carnegie Mellon University: Solar Blade Nanosat
  • Santa Clara University: Emerald and Orion
  • Stanford University: Emerald and Orion
  • Utah State University: USUSat
  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: HokieSat
  • University of Washington: DAWGSTAR

Events and Milestones:

  • December 2004. Sparkie and Ralphie launch on the inaugural Delta-IV Heavy

Nanosat-3

The Nanosat-3 cycle started in 2003 when 13 universities were chosen to compete. The panel selected the University of Texas at Austin’s Formation Autonomous Spacecraft with Thruster, Relative-Navigation, Attitude and Crosslink or FASTRAC satellite(s) as the winner.

  • 1st. The University of Texas at Austin: FASTRAC
  • 2nd. Taylor University: TEST
  • 3rd. Michigan Technological University: HuskySat
  • Arizona State University
  • University of Colorado at Boulder: DINO
  • University of Hawaii at Manoa: Twin Stars
  • University of Michigan: FENIX
  • Montana State University: MAIA
  • New Mexico State University: NMSUSat
  • Penn State University: LionSat
  • Utah State University: USUSat II
  • Washington University in St. Louis: Akoya and Bandit
  • Worcester Polytechnic Institute: PANSAT

Events and Milestones:

  • November 19, 2010. University of Texas FASTRAC spacecraft launches on a Minotaur IV{{cite news|title=FASTRAC satellites survive orbit

Nanosat-4

In March 2005, eleven universities were chosen from the submitted proposals to compete in the Nanosat-4 Phase B effort. CUSat was selected the winner of the cycle in March 2007.

  • 1st. Cornell University: CUSat
  • 2nd. Washington University in St. Louis: Akoya and Bandit
  • 3rd. University of Missouri-Rolla: UMR SAT
  • University of Central Florida: KNIGHTSAT
  • University of Cincinnati: BEARSat
  • University of Minnesota: MinneSAT
  • New Mexico State University: NMSUSat 2
  • Santa Clara University: ONYX
  • Texas A&M University: AggieSat1
  • University of Texas at Austin: ARTEMIS
  • Utah State University: TOROID

Events and Milestones:

  • March 2007. Nanosat-4 Flight Competition Review where CUSat named winner
  • September 29, 2013. Cornell University's CUSat launched successfully.

Nanosat-5

The Nanosat-5 competition began in January 2007 with 11 universities being selected from 26 proposal submissions. The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Drag and Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment or DANDE was selected to continue on toward launch.

  • 1st. University of Colorado at Boulder: DANDE
  • 2nd. Washington University in St. Louis: Akoya-B & Bandit-C
  • 3rd. Michigan Technological University: Oculus
  • Boston University: BUSat
  • University of Minnesota: Goldeneye
  • Montana State University: SpaceBuoy
  • Penn State University: NittanySat
  • Santa Clara University: Obsidian
  • Texas A&M University: AggieSat3
  • The University of Texas at Austin: 2-STEP
  • Utah State University: TOROID II

Events and Milestones:

  • January 2009. Nanosat-5 Flight Competition Review where DANDE named winner
  • September 29, 2013. DANDE launches on Falcon-9

Nanosat-6

The Nanosat-6 Program Flight Competition Review was sponsored by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics was held in Albuquerque, New Mexico. A panel of judges from the Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Test Program, Air Force Institute of Technology and industry selected the winners identified in the table below.

  • 1st. Michigan Technological University: Oculus-ASR
  • 2nd. Cornell University: Violet
  • 3rd. University of Hawaii at Manoa: Ho'oponopono
  • University of Central Florida: KnightSat 2
  • Georgia Institute of Technology: R3
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology: CASTOR
  • University of Minnesota: TwinSat
  • Missouri S&T: MR & MRS SAT
  • Montana State University: SpaceBuoy
  • Saint Louis University: COPPER{{cite web|title=SCARAB:Integration of the COPPER and Argus Spacecraft
  • Santa Clara University: IRIS

Events and Milestones:

  • January 2009. Kickoff
  • January 2011. Flight Competition Review
  • June 25, 2019. Michigan Tech's Oculus-ASR satellite launches on Falcon-9 Heavy{{cite news|title=Satellite built by Michigan Tech students launches into space aboard Falcon Heavy rocket|date=June 26, 2019|first=Benjamin|last=Raven

Nanosat-7

Eleven schools were selected to pursue the Nanosat-7 opportunity:

  • 1st- Microsats. Georgia Institute of Technology: Prox-1
  • 2nd- Microsats. Missouri S&T
  • 1st- Cubesats. University of Texas at Austin
  • 2nd- Cubesats. University of Michigan
  • Boston University: BUSat
  • SUNY Buffalo
  • University of Hawaii at Manoa
  • University of Maryland
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Montana State University
  • St. Louis University: Argus

Nanosat-8

The Nanosat-8 cycle started in late 2012 with the selection of 10 competing schools. AFRL announced the winners of the Nanosat-8 cycle in February 2015. The first four winners included Missouri University of Science and Technology, the University of Colorado at Boulder, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Taylor University respectively. With a tie for fifth spot, Boston University and State University of New York at Buffalo teams will support deep-dive visits from judges to each program for a tie-breaker decision.

  • 1st. Missouri S&T: MR & MRS SAT
  • 2nd. University of Colorado Boulder: PolarCube
  • 3rd. Georgia Institute of Technology: RECONSO
  • 4th. Taylor University: ELEO-Sat
  • 5th (t). Boston University: ANDESITE
  • 5th (t). SUNY Buffalo: GLADOS{{cite web|title=UB students to build a third space debris observation satellite|first=Cory |last=Nealon
  • University of California, Los Angeles: ELFIN
  • Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University: ARAPAIMA
  • University of Florida: CHOMPTT
  • New Mexico State University: INCA

Nanosat-9

The Nanosat-9 Flight Selection Review process resulted in selection of the University of Georgia MOCI payload as winner with the University of Colorado at Boulder's MAXWELL coming in second.

  • 1st. University of Georgia: MOCI
  • 2nd. University of Colorado Boulder: MAXWELL
  • University of Arizona
  • SUNY Buffalo
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Michigan Technological University
  • University of Minnesota
  • Missouri S&T: APEX{{cite web|title=Design and Testing of the Flight Computer for a SmallSat Propulsion System Testbed|first=Daniel|last=Newberry |url=https://web.mst.edu/~spaceg/2018_annual_meeting/2018_reports/2018_MOSGC_Newberry.pdf
  • United States Naval Academy
  • Western Michigan University

Nanosat-10

In November 2021, three universities were notified of selection for flight when each program's satellite is ready for launch.

  • 1st. University of Minnesota: EXACT
  • 2nd. Texas A&M University: Aggiesat6
  • 3rd. Michigan Technological University: Auris{{cite web|title=Then There Were Three: Stratus Nanosatellite Launch for MTU's Aerospace EnterpriseKim Geiger|date=October 15, 2021
  • St. Louis University: DORRE{{cite news|title=SLU Takes 'DORRE' Mission to National Nanosatellite Competition|first=Bridjes |last=O'Neil|date=August 26, 2021 |access-date=February 4, 2023|publisher=St. Louis University}}

Nanosat-11

The Nanosat-11 competition was announced in August 2021. Participants were notified by AFRL of onward inclusion in the Nanosat-11 effort on November 23, 2021

  • University of Alaska Fairbanks: CCP
  • Auburn University: QUEST
  • SUNY Buffalo: POLAR
  • University of Colorado Boulder: RALPHIE
  • University of Maryland: THEIA
  • Purdue University: FLaC-Sat
  • Rutgers University: SPICEsat
  • Saint Louis University: DORRE
  • University of Texas at Austin: SERPENT
  • Western Michigan University: PEP-GS

References

References

  1. US Air Force. "University Nanosatellite Program". AFRL.
  2. NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory. "Three Corner Satellite". NASA.
  3. "Delta 4-Heavy investigation identifies rocket's problem".
  4. Torres, Juliana. (2005-01-21). "Students' satellites win right to space flight". The Daily Texan.
  5. (August 2003). "The New Mexico State University Satellite (NMSUSat) Mission". Small Satellite Conference 2003.
  6. (September 2011). "University Nanosat Program".
  7. (April 4, 2007). "Cornell University Chosen To Build Nanosat-4 Flight Experiment".
  8. (October 28, 2013). "CUSat, launched Sept. 29 2013". Cornell University.
  9. "DANDE Launches: Students Engaged in Mission Operations". Colorado Communicator.
  10. "Nanosat-6 Flight Competition Review winners announced and Nanosat-7 Competition begins". Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
  11. Goodrich, Marcia. (January 20, 2011). "Blast Off! Tech Students' Winning Satellite to Be Launched into Orbit". Michigan Technological University.
  12. Krebs, Gunter D.. "Prox 1 (Nanosat 7)".
  13. "BUSat". Boston University.
  14. "Argus: Space Radiation on Modern Electronics". St. Louis University.
  15. (February 2, 2015). "AFRL announces winners of student satellite competition". AFRL.
  16. Ehrhard, Peter. (January 30, 2015). "Missouri S&T satellite team wins national Air Force competition". Missouri S&T University.
  17. "RECONnaissance of Space Objects". Georgia Tech.
  18. Circelli, Deborah. (January 13, 2013). "Embry-Riddle wins grant to design satellite".
  19. Flurry, Alan. (January 29, 2018). "UGA Satellite Team Closer to Space". Athens Banner-Herald.
  20. (25 January 2018). "Student satellite team a step closer to space". Uga.edu.
  21. "MAXWELL - University Nanosat Program". University of Colorado - Boulder.
  22. "AFRL Selects University of Minnesota for Prestigious Satellite Program". University of Minnesota.
  23. Walker, Felysha. (January 24, 2022). "Texas A&M student-led satellite team prepares for space". Texas A&M University.
  24. (August 9, 2021). "Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) Request for Proposals for the Government Fiscal Year (GFY) 2022 NS-11 University Nanosatellite Program (UNP)". Space Dynamics Laboratory.
  25. Perkins, Joanne. (November 23, 2021). "AFRL selects 10 universities for prestigious satellite program". AFRL.
  26. (May 5, 2021). "The CubeSat Communication Platform (CCP) – Mission Overview and ConOps". NASA.
  27. (February 7, 2022). "Small satellite, big mission". University at Buffalo.
  28. "FLaC-Sat". Purdue University.
  29. "Rutgers selected by the Airforce to build a CubeSat". Rutgers University.
  30. "SERPENT (Satellite Evaluation of Relative Pose Estimation of a Non-cooperative Target)". University of Texas at Austin.
Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

spacecraft-design cubesats nanosatellites air-force-research-laboratory-projects
Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about University Nanosatellite Program — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report