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WG3K > ANS 03.11.24 17:36l 19 Lines 3500 Bytes #43 (0) @ AMSAT
BID : ANS308.3
Read: GAST
Subj: Back to Basics: What is the CubeSat Launch Initiative?
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(Editor's note: In this avocation, we sometimes toss around acronyms or titles with scant understanding of what they stand for. From time to time, ANS will offer short articles that can help up better understand the vocabulary of amateur satellites.)
The CubeSat Launch Initiative, or CSLI, is a NASA initiative that provides opportunities for qualified CubeSats to fly as auxiliary payloads on future launches that have excess capacity or as deployments from the International Space Station (ISS). In very simple terms that means that NASA will cover the cost of providing a CubeSat a ride to space in exchange for a report on the results of that CubeSat's investigation.
NASAâ€Ös CubeSat Launch Initiative provides opportunities for CubeSats built by U.S. educational institutions, and non-profit organizations, including informal educational institutions such as museums and science centers to fly on upcoming launches. Through innovative technology partnerships NASA provides these CubeSat developers a low cost pathway to conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations in space, thus enabling students, teachers, and faculty to obtain hands-on flight hardware design, development, and build experience.
CSLI provides a low-cost platform for NASA science missions, including planetary exploration, Earth observation, and fundamental Earth and space science. These efforts are a cornerstone in the development of cutting-edge NASA enabling technologies including laser communications, next generation avionics approaches, power generation, distributive sensor systems, satellite-to-satellite communications, and autonomous movement. Leveraging these missions for collaboration optimizes NASAâ€Ös technology investments, fosters open innovation, and facilitates technology infusion. CubeSat missions are enabling the acceleration of flight-qualified technology assistance in raising Technology Readiness Levels, which aligns to NASAâ€Ös objective of advancing the Nationâ€Ös capabilities by maturing cross-cutting innovative space technologies.
About half of all CSLI missions are conducting scientific investigations, most frequently Space Weather and Earth Science. Specific science investigation areas include: biological science, study of near Earth objects, climate change, snow/ice coverage, orbital debris, planetary science, space-based astronomy, and heliophysics. Sixty-six percent of all CSLI missions are conducting technology development or demonstrations. Communications, propulsion, navigation and control, and radiation testing lead the topics in this area. Other notable technologies are solar sails, additive manufacturing, femtosatellites, and smart phone satellites. The low cost of development for a CubeSat allows for conducting higher risk activities that would not be possible on large-scale NASA missions.
What is the difference between CSLI and ELaNa?
NASAâ€Ös Launch Services Program manifests CSLI payloads with a variety of launch providers. Each launch with manifested CSLI payloads is called an ELaNa mission (Educational Launch of Nanosatellites) and is given an ELaNa mission number (e.g., ELaNa 49, ELaNa 50). Simply put, CSLI is the payload and ELaNa is the ride.
To be eligible for CSLI, a CubeSat investigation must be of clear benefit to NASA by supporting at least one goal or objective stated in the NASA Strategic Plan. This plan can be found on NASAâ€Ös Web site http://www.nasa.gov.
[ANS thanks NASA for the above information.]
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