Missions
1999
UNP established as a federally funded program dedicated exclusively to university participation in spacecraft development
2004
2010
FASTRAC (UT Austin) launched on a Minotaur IV
2013
2015
Argus (St. Louis University) launched on the ORS-4 Super Strypi.
2018
2019
Oculus-ASR (Michigan Tech), Prox-1 (Georgia Tech), and ARMADILLO (UT Austin) are scheduled for launch on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy. PolarCube (University of Colorado at Boulder) is expected to launch on the Virgin Orbit Launcher One rocket.
2020 +
Current Phase A Missions
Trusted-node Quantum Key Distribution from a CubeSat (Auburn University), Auris (Michigan Technological University), APEX (MIssouri University of Science and Technology), DORRE (Saint Louis University), AggieSat6 (Texas A&M University), FALCON (State University of New York at Buffalo), CCP (University of Alaska Fairbanks), EXACT (University of Minnesota), SERPENT (University of Texas at Austin), OPS–Cube (Western Michigan University).
UNP 2004
3-CornerSat
3-CornerSat was a NS-1 cycle winner. The 3-CornerSat spacecraft were identical microsatellites designed by students at Arizona State University, New Mexico State University and the University of Colorado at Boulder. Their mission was to demonstrate stereoscopic imaging, distributed operations, and virtual formation flying operations and communications. 3-Corner Sat was launched December 21, 2004, on the Delta IV Heavy Demo.
UNP 2010
FASTRAC
FASTRAC was a NS-3 cycle winner. The FASTRAC spacecraft was a microsatellite designed by students at the University of Texas at Austin. The mission was to demonstrate autonomous high precision real-time relative navigation using innovative GPS technologies. FASTRAC was launched November 20, 2010, on the STP Minotaur IV.
UNP 2013
DANDE
DANDE was a NS-5 cycle winner. The DANDE spacecraft was a microsatellite designed by students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The mission was to perform drag and neutral density measurements of the low Earth atmosphere in order to further research in space weather and atmospheric models. DANDE launched September 29, 2013, on SpaceX Falcon 9.
UNP 2013
CUSat
CUSat was a NS-4 cycle winner. The CUSat spacecraft was a microsatellite designed by students at Cornell University. The mission was to demonstrate an end-to-end on-orbit inspection mission using Carrier-Phase Differential GPS for orbital and attitude determination. CUSat launched September 29, 2013, on SpaceX Falcon 9.
UNP 2013
Ho`oponopono
Ho`oponopono was a NS-6 cycle winner. The Ho`oponopono spacecraft was a 3U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Hawaii. The mission was to provide orbital radar calibration support by collecting and disseminating ephemeris data in response to radar interrogations. Ho`oponopono was selected for NASA’s 4th installment of ELaNa and was launched November 19, 2013, on the ORS-3 Minotaur.
UNP 2013
COPPER
COPPER was a NS-6 cycle winner. The COPPER spacecraft was a 3U CubeSat designed by students at St. Louis University. The mission was to test the suitability of a commercially-available compact uncooled microbolometer array for scientific imagery of Earth in the long-wave infrared. COPPER was selected for NASA’s 4th installment of ELaNa and was launched November 19, 2013, on the ORS-3 Minotaur.
UNP 2015
Argus
Argus was a NS-7 cycle winner. The Argus spacecraft was a 2U CubeSat designed by students at St. Louis University. The mission was to improve the predictive performance modeling of radiation effects on small, modern space electronics. Argus was selected for NASA’s 7th installment of ELaNa and was launched November 3, 2015, on the ORS-4 Super Strypi.
UNP 2019
Oculus-ASR
Oculus-ASR is a NS-6 cycle winner. The Oculus-ASR spacecraft is a microsatellite designed by students at Michigan Technological University. The mission is to fly a custom designed free-flying optical calibration satellite to characterize ground based spectrometers and predictive software performing SSA. Oculus-ASR is scheduled to launch in 2019 on the STP-2 SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
UNP 2019
Prox-1
Prox-1 is a NS-7 cycle winner. The Prox-1 satellite is a microsatellite designed by students at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The mission hosts the LightSail-2 CubeSat built by the Planetary Society, which the Prox-1 spacecraft deploys from a 3U PPOD on orbit. Prox-1 is scheduled to launch in 2019 on the STP-2 SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
UNP 2019
Armadillo
ARMADILLO is a NS-7 cycle winner. The spacecraft is a 3U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Texas at Austin and operated by students at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The mission is to measure the LEO sub-millimeter space debris environment and demonstrate space weather monitoring using low cost CubeSat technologies. ARMADILLO was selected for NASA’s 15th installment of ELaNa and is scheduled to launch in 2019 on the STP-2 SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket.
UNP 2020+
ANDESITE
ANDESITE is a NS-8 cycle winner. The ANDESITE spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat designed by students at Boston University. The mission is to investigate filamentary current structure within Birkeland regions using a distributed network of orbital magnetometers. ANDESITE was selected for NASA’s 19th installment of ELaNa and is expected to launch on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket.
UNP 2018
PolarCube
PolarCube is a NS-8 cycle winner. The PolarCube spacecraft is a 3U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The mission is to perform tropospheric temperature sounding to demonstrate feasibility to augment current weather monitoring capabilities. PolarCube was selected for NASA’s 20th installment of ELaNa and is expected to launch in 2018 on the Virgin Orbit Launcher One rocket.
UNP 2018
CHOMPTT
CHOMPTT is a NS-8 phase A participant. Post phase A, the University of Florida partnered with NASA Ames to develop the 3U CubeSat. The mission is to demonstrate technology for enhanced GPS and future disaggregated navigation systems. CHOMPTT was selected for NASA’s 19th installment of ELaNa and launched on December 16, 2018 on a Rocket Lab Electron rocket
UNP 2019+
MSAT
MSAT is a NS-8 cycle winner. MSAT is a microsatellite designed by students at the Missouri University of Science and Technology. The mission is to perform proximity operations using a stereoscopic imaging system and a cold-gas propulsion system.
UNP 2019 +
RECONSO
RECONSO is a NS-8 cycle winner. The RECONSO spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat designed by students at the Georgia Institute of Technology. The mission is to demonstrate a space-based space surveillance capability on a low-cost CubeSat with Commercial Off The Shelf imaging platforms.
UNP 2019+
GLADOS
GLADOS is a NS-8 cycle winner. The GLADOS spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat designed by students at the University at Buffalo. The mission is to collect multi-band photometric data of glinting space objects from a low-cost platform over an extended glint season.
UNP 2019+
MOCI
MOCI is a NS-9 cycle winner. The MOCI spacecraft is a 3U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Georgia. The mission will acquire imagery of the Earth’s surface from LEO and perform real time Structure from Motion at a landscape scale using custom algorithms and off the shelf, high performance computational units.
UNP 2019+
MAXWELL
MAXWELL is a NS-9 cycle winner. The MAXWELL spacecraft is a 6U CubeSat designed by students at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The mission is to demonstrate a high speed and resilient advanced communication system that can be used on a small platform.
