Episode 46: CubeSat to study Solar Particles

Technology Today

Southwest Research Institute

Technology

4.8 • 19 Ratings

🗓️ 15 August 2022

⏱️ 34 minutes

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Summary

The countdown to launch is on! The CubeSat to Study Solar Particles or CuSP mission is preparing for lift off aboard NASA’s Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built. The six-unit CubeSat is a micro-satellite carrying three instruments designed to measure solar particles and assess space weather. Space scientists want to learn more about conditions in space that can disrupt technology and air travel on Earth. This is SwRI’s first CubeSat mission, but not the last. Listen now as SwRI’s Dr. Mihir Desai, CuSP principal investigator, discusses the CuSP mission and his team’s vision to create a network of space weather stations.

Transcript

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0:00.0	The launch date is approaching for the smallest spacecraft,
0:04.0	hitching a ride on the most powerful rocket ever built by NASA.
0:08.8	SWRI's first CubeSat mission will analyze space weather.
0:13.4	What is a CubeSat and why do space scientists want to learn more about conditions in space?
0:19.4	That's next on this episode of Technology Today.
0:25.6	We live with technology, science, engineering, and the results of innovative research every day.
0:32.1	Now let's understand it better. You're listening to the Technology Today podcast presented by Southwest Research Institute.
0:39.7	Transcripts and photos for this episode and all episodes are available at podcast.swri.org.
0:48.5	Hello and welcome to technology today. I'm Lisa Benia. The CubeSat to study solar particles, or Cusp mission, is expected to launch
0:57.0	on August 29, 2022. It will be a secondary payload aboard NASA's space launch system, the most
1:04.0	powerful rocket NASA has ever built. The CubeSat will study space weather, specifically solar
1:10.0	particles.
1:10.9	Our guest today is SWRI space scientist Dr. Mihir Desai,
1:15.5	principal investigator of CUSP.
1:17.7	Meher, the CubeSat launch is coming up.
1:19.7	It must be a busy time for you, so we appreciate you taking time to discuss this mission with us today.
1:24.9	Thank you, Lisa. I'm very happy to be here with you and
1:29.5	discuss this exciting mission. So let's start with understanding this unique spacecraft. What is a
1:37.5	CubeSat? CubeSats are small satellites that come in standard forms. The forms are 1U, 2U, 3U, or 6U, where each U is a unit of cube about 10 by 10 by 10
1:52.6	centimeters volume.
1:55.8	Until about 2014, these small satellites were funded at universities by NSF for research, training, and educational purposes.
2:04.6	From about 2015, NASA started funding CubeSats for research, training, and technology demonstration purposes.
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