CubeSat: An Unlikely Success Story
Jordi Puig-Suari is a professor at CalPoly, and, as of 2009, had participated in five satellite development efforts and the launch of seven spacecraft missions. In 2011 Puig-Suari and Scott MacGillivray, former manager of nanosatellite programs for Boeing Phantom Works, established Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems in San Luis Obispo, California, to sell miniature avionics packages for small satellites, with the goal to increase the volume available for payloads. Jordi Puig-Suari was the co-inventor of the CubeSat reference design, along with professor Bob Twiggs of Stanford University. Their goal was to enable graduate students to be able to design, build, test and operate in space a spacecraft with capabilities similar to that of the first spacecraft, Sputnik. Over time, the CubeSat design emerged as an Industry standard, widely "adopted by universities, companies and government agencies around the world." The first CubeSats were launched into low-Earth orbit in June 2003. As of August 2012, approximately 75 CubeSats have been placed into orbit, and the number is growing rapidly.
4:30pm: refreshments
5:00pm: lecture
Cube Sat has become the de facto standard for smaII satellite development. These miniature spacecraft (smaller than a loaf of bread) are the choice for student satellites worldwide and are becoming a serious option for many missions being developed by traditional space organizations, from NASA and JPL to the Air Force and NSF. However, 10 years ago, when the CubeSat standard was developed by a Stanford- Cal Poly team success was not guaranteed. In the talk, we will look back at the development of the CubeSat standard over the years.
We will explore some of the challenges facing the development team and try to identify some of the key factors leading to the standard's success. These lessons learned translate well to other innovative projects and may help support an environment that fosters innovation and out-of-the box thinking.
No registration is required for this free lecture. Seating is limited and is available on a first come, first served basis.