HawkSat I
| Mission type | Technology |
|---|---|
| Operator | HISS |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft type | 1U CubeSat |
| Manufacturer | Pumpkin Incorporated |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 19 May 2009, 23:55 UTC |
| Rocket | Minotaur I |
| Launch site | MARS LP-0B |
| Contractor | Orbital |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric |
| Regime | Low Earth |
HawkSat I is a single-unit CubeSat which was built and is being operated by the Hawk Institute for Space Sciences. It is based on a Pumpkin Incorporated CubeSat kit, and carries a technology demonstration payload, primarily as a proof-of-concept mission, testing command, data and power subsystems, as well as solar panels and communications.
It also carries a commercial material exposure research payload for an undisclosed "major aerospace company", which exposes a number of material samples to space, and records the effects of exposure on the materials. Experimental data will be returned to Earth by means of a store and dump communications system.
It was successfully launched on an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur I rocket from Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, at 23:55 GMT on 19 May. It was a tertiary payload, with TacSat-3 as the primary payload and PharmaSat as the secondary. Two other CubeSats, AeroCube 3 and CP6, were launched on the same rocket, and together the three satellites are known as the CubeSat Technology Demonstration mission.
See also
References
- Krebs, Gunter. "HawkSat-1". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- "CubeSats" (PDF). TacSat-3 launch. NASA. Retrieved 2009-05-05.
- Davis, Robert. "Cubesat Tech Demo P-POD" (PDF). Hawk Institute of Space Sciences. Retrieved 2009-05-05.