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According to the CubeSat standard there are three different sized CubeSats corresponding to size 1U, 2U and 3U. Base side lengths are the same but height is 2 to 3 times bigger than 1U CubeSats

Mass is also set in CubeSat standard, the highest possible mass for 1U CubeSat is 1300 grams, 2U CubeSat 2600 grams and 3U CubeSat 4000 grams

CubeSat base side length must be 100.0±0.1 millimeters and satellite height must be 113.5±0.1 mm

the Estonian satellite

a 1U CubeSat

Although

its main purpose was to educate students, the satellite does have a scientific purpose.

On board of the satellite is an electric solar wind sail (e-sail) which was created by a Finnish scientist Pekka Janhunen

it is the first real experimentation of the e-sail

10 meters of e-sail 50 to 20 micrometers thick wire of high-technology structure so-called Heytether will be deployed from the satellite.

The deployment of the Heytether can be detected by decrease of the satellite's speed of rotation or by a on-board camera

To control the loaded solar wind sail elements interaction with the plasma surrounding the earth and the effect it has on the spacecraft spinning speed the spacecraft has two on-board nanotechnologic electron emitters/gun

The electron emitters are connected to the e-sail element and by shooting out electrons it loads the e-sail element positively to 500 volts

The positive ions in the plasma push the e-sail element and have an influence on the satellites rotation speed

The effect of the e-sail is measured by the change in rotation speed

The camera is used to take a picture of Earth and the successfully deployed Heytether. [edit]

ESTCube-1 will be sent to orbit by the European Space Agency's rocket Vega in spring of 2013

Start in spring of 2013

Half an hour after the satellites deployment from the start capsule satellites antennas will be opened and radio transmitter and important subsystems will be switched on

First days or weeks will be used to test the satellite and set it to work on full capacity.

Orienting the satellite so the on-board camera will be faced to earth

trying to take a picture of Estonia

Rotating the satellite on an axis with a speed of 1 revolution per second

E-sail element deployment from the satellite by a centrifugal force and confirming the deployment via the on-board camera

Activating the electron emitter and loading the e-sail

Measuring the e-sails and Lorentz force by satellites revolutions per second

If possible using the negatively charged e-sail to take the satellite off orbit and burn it in the earths atmosphere

If everything goes perfect the mission can be completed within a few weeks to a month

Lifespan of the satellite

Measurements and weight

Scientific purpose

Communicating with the satellite

held by two International Amateur Radio Unions three registered frequencies

Periodic but very slow communication is done on a telegraphic signal on a frequency of 437.250 MHz

the most important satellite parameters are transmitted every 3 to 5 minutes

For fast connections FSK-modulation radio signal on a frequency of 437.505 MHz with a 9600 baud connection speed and AX.25 standard is used.

Somewhat slow connection speed is caused by the usage of amateur radio frequencies which allow a maximum of 25 kiloherz bandwidth

Fast connection is used only when the satellite has been given a specific

Using the GFSK-modulation maximum possible connection speed is 19,200 bits per second

Software

FreeRTOS on the satellite's Command and Data Handling System and camera module

TinyOS on the satellite's communication module

Financing and costs

Cheapest possibility to send a satellite onto orbit is offered by European Space Agency. Because Estonia is an associated member of ESA most of the launch expenses (about 70,000 euros) will be covered from Estonian member fee for educational expenses. With the launch total expenses for the project are approximately 100,000 euros.

, will be the first CubeSats to leave Earth's orbit for interplanetary space.

CubeSats are tiny satellites, some no bigger than four inches (10 cm) on each side, sent into orbit as secondary payloads on other launch vehicles

If the interplanetary test launch succeeds, CubeSats could someday blanket the solar system, conducting cheap, high-risk missions to comets, asteroids, moons and planets

Just where the pioneering CubeSats will go is still unclear, however, since it’s not known yet which model rocket will be used for launch

The first mission will be basically an escape trajectory

he rocket's going to send us in some unknown direction

Lacking much propulsion or scientific instrumentation, the INSPIRE craft are a test of whether tiny machines can survive the harsh environment of space.

The INSPIRE project has been approved by NASA to launch sometime between 2014 and 2016, but a specific launch vehicle hasn't been selected.

One of the challenges of the project is figuring how the tiny satellites will communicate with Earth.

CubeSats are far cheaper than a traditional space mission but they lack room for complex communications systems or large power sources.

As we head away from Earth, we're talking about using much larger antennas" to communicate with the low-powered craf

Furthermore, once a spacecraft leaves the protective magnetic field surrounding Earth, it's at risk of failure from solar radiation

Traditional satellites are built with more expensive "radiation-hardened" components

satellites are instead built to respond to a shut-down command from Earth if space weather systems detect an oncoming solar flare

ultrasmall satellites it's carrying, which are known as cubesats, will likely remain on the orbiting lab until September

using the Kibo module's robotic arm.

One of the cubesats, FITSAT-1, will write messages in the night sky with Morse code, helping researchers test out optical communication techniques for satellites, researchers said.

One of FITSAT-1's experimental duties is to twinkle as an artificial star

just under 3 pounds (1.33 kilograms

high power light-emitting diodes (LEDs) that will produce extremely bright flashes.

hope, will be observable by the unaided eye or with small binoculars

the cubesat's high-output LEDs will blink in flash mode, generating a Morse code beacon signal.

contains a neodymium magnet that forces it to always point to magnetic north, like a compass.

Using Kickstarter

raised nearly $75,000 as more than 300 people sponsored a sprite that will transmit an identifying signal, such as the initials of the donor

In 2013, about 250 sprites will be sent into space

One person, who donated $10,000, Manchester added, will get to "push the big red button" on the day of the launch.

NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNA) program, which provides a free launch (normally $300,000) for university space research

KickSat will hitch a ride in September 2013 (subject to change) from Cape Canaveral on CRS-3, the third SpaceX Falcon 9 flight destined for the International Space Station

A large part of the project is helping people track their own satellites with a simple software radio interface

From a research standpoint, Manchester is interested in the dynamics and behavior of the satellites, and plans to test how to track their positions and determine their orbits

KickSat is set to launch more than 200 of these tiny satellites, nicknamed "sprites," into low-Earth orbit

could help lay the foundation for the colonization of Mars,

its designers say

The MPX team

isn't suggesting that the 2020 Mars rover should

digging a hole with its robotic arm and planting seeds in the Red Planet's dirt.

the experiment would be entirely self-contained, eliminating the chance that Earth life could escape and perhaps get a foothold on Mars.

MPX would employ a clear "CubeSat" box

which would be affixed to the exterior of the 2020 rover

This box would hold Earth air and about 200 seeds of Arabidopsis, a small flowering plant that's commonly used in scientific research

The seeds would receive water when the rover touched down on Mars, and would then be allowed to grow for two weeks or so.

MPX would provide an organism-level test

how Earth life deals with the Red Planet's relatively high radiation levels and low gravity, which is about 40 percent as strong as that of Earth,

"It also would be the first multicellular organism to grow, live and die on another planet