La NASA abre convocatoria para el lanzamiento de CUBESATS

La NASA va a proporcionar acceso al espacio para pequeños satélites CUBESATS. Los mismos emplearan el vector ARTEMIS 2. La denominada  iniciativa de lanzamiento CubeSat de la NASA (CSLI) proporcionará acceso al espacio para pequeños satélites desarrollados por los Centros de la NASA. Es una oportunidad para establecimientos educativos y sin fines de lucro.

CSLI Infographic Part 1About CubeSat Launch Initiative

NASA’s CubeSat Launch initiative (CSLI) provides access to space for small satellites, CubeSats, developed by the NASA Centersand programs, educational institutions and non-profit organizations giving CubeSat developers access to a low-cost pathway to conduct research in the areas of science, exploration, technology development, education or operations.

How it works

Through Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) Missions International Space Station deployment opportunities or ride-share launches to space via existing launch services of government payloads are provided, as well as dedicated CubeSat launches from the newly selected VCLS contracts for the CubeSats selected through CSLI.

CubeSats are a class of research spacecraft called nanosatellites. The cube-shaped satellites are spacecraft size in units or U’s, typically up to 12 U  (a unit is defined as a volume of about 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm and typically weigh less than 1.33 kg).  To participate in the CSLI program, CubeSat investigations should be in alignment with NASA’s Strategic Plan.

The initiative is an integrated cross agency collaborative effort led by NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to streamline and prioritize ride share and deployment opportunities of CubeSats. CSLI opportunities are available to NASA centers, U.S. not-for-profit organizations, and accredited U.S. educational organizations.  In the past, selected science investigation missions have studied Earth’s atmosphere, near earth objects, space weather and biological sciences. Technology demonstration missions have included in-space propulsion, space power, radiation testing and solar sails.

By providing a progression of educational opportunities including CSLI for students, teachers, and faculty, NASA assists the Nation in attracting and retaining students in STEM disciplines.  This strengthens NASA’s and the Nation’s future workforce.  Further, the CSLI promotes and develops innovative technology partnerships among NASA, U.S. industry, and other sectors for the benefit of Agency programs and projects.  NASA thus gains a mechanism to use CubeSats for low-cost technology development or pathfinders.

Highlights

Since its inception, 85 CubeSat Missions have been flown on 22 ELaNa Missions with 34 manifested for flight.  ELaNa missions have included: BisonSat (first CubeSat built by a tribal college), TJ3Sat (first CubeSat built by a high school) and STMSat-1 (first CubeSat built by an elementary school).

NASA has selected and prioritized 176 CubeSat missions from 93 unique organizations representing 39 states and the District of Columbia:  Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin.

CSLI State Numbers Selected

Fuente: https://www.nasa.gov