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CubeSat Astronomy Workshop

 

Friday, April 26, 2019

California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, California

Chair: Charles Van Steenwyk / Co-Chair: Russell Genet

Sponsored by PlaneWave Instruments

In 1999, California Polytechnic State University (Cal Poly) and Stanford University proposed designing, building, and operating standardized miniature satellites they called CubeSats as an educational tool for teaching students about spacecraft hardware, electronics, programming, and operation.  The basic 1U CubeSat is 10 cm on a side, while a 3U CubeSat is 10x10x30 cm.  This standardization not only allowed multiple CubeSats to be deployed from spring-loaded boxes as excess cargo, but encouraged the development and manufacture of miniature power, communications, computer, and orientation modules that fit together in a CubeSat.

 

Originally, most CubeSats were designed by students and faculty, but commercially designed and operated CubeSats are now in the majority, such as the many downward-pointing 3U telescopes built and operated by PLANET, a Silicon Valley tech startup. It’s not hard to envision many upward-pointing CubeSat telescopes designed, built, and utilized by students and faculty for astronomical research. A few have already been launched, and, as suggested by Arizona State University astronomer Evgenya Shkolnik by the title of her recent paper (attached), we are “On the verge of an astronomy CubeSat revolution.”

 

Each year, for the past 15 years, Cal Poly has hosted the CubeSat Developer’s Workshop, and this year (2019) it will be immediately followed, by a modest, one-day CubeSat Astronomy Workshop. All are welcome. You can register via the website of the Institute for Student Astronomical Research, www.in4star.org/cubesat-astronomy. Alternatively, you can register at the Cal Poly CubeSat Developer’s Workshop website,  www.cubesat.org/workshop-information. Scroll down near the bottom.

 

Contacts  

Workshop Chair: Charles VanSteenwyk, cvanstee2@gmail.com, 805.503.5087

Workshop Co-Chair: Russell Genet, russmgenet@aol.com, 805.438.3305.

Workshop Agenda

Thursday, April 25th, 2019

18:00

Pre-Workshop Dinner at Beda's Biergarten

 

Friday, April 26th - ATL Keck Center Building 7, Room 2, California Polytechnic State University

9:00 - 9:10

Opening Remarks - Introduction

Charles Van Steenwyk and Russell Genet - California Polytechnic State University

 

9:30

CubeSats and SmallSats Astrophysics

Michael Garcia - NASA Science Mission Directorate

 

10:15

Optical Communications for CubeSats

Tyler Ritz - University of Florida

 

10:45

Break / Snacks

 

11:00

Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics (ASTERIA)

Mary Knapp - MIT

 

11:30

HaloSat X-Ray CubeSat

Daniel LaRocca - University of Iowa

 

12:00

Lunch

 

13:00

Colorado Ultraviolet Transit Experiment

Arika Egan - Colorado University

 

13:30

Star-Planet Activity Research CubeSat

Tahina Ramiaramanantsoa - Arizona State University

 

14:00

Cal Poly CubeSat Capabilities

Amelia Greig - California Polytechnic State University

 

14:30

Break / Snacks

 

15:00-15:10

Introduction to USQ and Model-Based Systems Engineering

Alejandro Levi - Univ. S. Queensland INOSE / SSWG

 

15:30

Exploring the Future of CubeSat Astronomy

Charles Van Steenwyk - California Polytechnic State University

 

15:45

Discussion/Workshop

 

16:45

Closing Remarks

Charles Van Steenwyk - California Polytechnic State University

 

18:00

Dinner at Beda's Biergarten - 230 Broad St Ste 130, San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

 

Saturday, April 27 

9:00

Breakfast at The Apple Farm

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