Abstract
Generally launching satellites for the purpose of
research and technology demonstration largely remained with
the national space agencies as huge funding requirements
inhibited the initiation of such projects at university level. It
was this idea of providing, at university level, cheap access to
space that encouraged the design of miniaturized versions of
satellites for research purposes. Specifications of CubeSat, a
pico-satellite, were defined to provide easy access to space for
educational and research institutions. The improvement in
engineering technologies and miniaturization of physical
components has enabled design, development and launch of
such small low-cost spacecrafts and to date, more than 60
universities, institutions and research organizations have taken
part in CubeSat program since its inception in 1999[1].
Institute of Space Technology (IST) adopted the concept of
CubeSat development by initiating the satellite program,
ICUBE. ICUBE is the premier student satellite program of any
educational institution/university in Pakistan. The first satellite
of this program is named ICUBE-1. Successful launch of
ICUBE-1 and establishing its communication link with the
ground are the primary goals of this mission. The satellite has
a passive attitude control system and will carry a CMOS
camera for experimental purposes. In this paper, we will
discuss in detail the design philosophy of ICUBE-1, followed
by the preliminary design and analysis of all its subsystems.
The required testing and technical support facilities are
discussed before the final conclusions.
Rehan Mahmood, Khurram Khurshid, Adnan Zafar, Qamar ul Islam. (2011) ICUBE-1: First Step towards Developing an Experimental Pico-satellite at Institute of Space Technology , Journal of Space Technology , Volume 1, Issue 1.
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