Engineering:CUTE-1.7 + APD

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CUTE-1.7 + APD
NamesCubical Tech Engineering-1.7 + Avalanche Photodiode
CO-56 (OSCAR 56)
Mission typeTechnology
OperatorTokyo Institute of Technology
COSPAR ID2006-005C
SATCAT no.28941
Mission duration0.2 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Bus2U CubeSat
ManufacturerTokyo Institute of Technology
Launch mass3 kg (6.6 lb)
Dimensions20 × 10 × 10 cm (7.9 × 3.9 × 3.9 in)
Start of mission
Launch date21 February 2006, 21:28:00 UTC
RocketM-V # 8
Launch siteUchinoura
ContractorIHI AEROSPACE
End of mission
Last contact16 March 2006
Decay date25 October 2009
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric orbit[1]
RegimeLow Earth orbit
Perigee altitude299 km (186 mi)
Apogee altitude712 km (442 mi)
Inclination98.19°
Period94.72 minutes
 

CUTE-1.7 + APD (Cubical Tokyo Tech Engineering satellite 1.7 plus Avalanche Photodiode)[2] or CO-56 (Cubesat-Oscar-56[3]) or just OSCAR 56 was an amateur radio satellite in the form of a double CubeSat. The satellite used commercial off-the-shelf components extensively, in particular, it used the Hitachi NPD-20JWL PDA as a control computer, and it used a USB hub for sensor communications. At the end of its mission, the satellite was supposed to deploy an electrodynamic tether to help it deorbit. The satellite failed early into its mission, so the electrodynamic tether experiment probably did not happen. It was launched on February 21, 2006 on board a Japanese launcher M-V.

On 16 March 2006, the communication system malfunctioned so that it was transmitting unmodulated carrier wave and unable to communicate.[4] The satellite decayed from orbit on 25 October 2009. A follow-up mission, CUTE-1.7 + APD II, was launched in April 2008 and remains operational.

See also

  • List of CubeSats

References

External links