HuskySat-1

HuskySat-1 is an artificial satellite designed at the University of Washington. It was launched by Cygnus NG-12 from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0 on Wallops Island, Virginia to low earth orbit on November 2, 2019. It is a CubeSat, and will demonstrate onboard plasma propulsion and high gain telemetry for low Earth orbit that would be a precursor for an attempt at a larger CubeSat designed for orbital insertion at the Moon.[1]

Johnson Hall at University of Washington, Seattle, where HuskySat-1 was designed and controlled

The satellite was designed by Husky Satellite Lab, a registered student group, in Johnson Hall, and was controlled from there using three antennae installed on the roof.[2][3]

A pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) provides propulsion.[4] It is the first PPT to use sulfur as a fuel.[2]

Students at Raisbeck Aviation High School designed an onboard camera.[5][4]

The satellite will test an experimental 24 GHz data transmitter, after which it will become an amateur radio satellite operated by AMSAT.[6] The high data rate will enable much more data to be transferred during the 9- to 15-minute time windows the satellite is visible from the control station.[2]

HuskySat is the first satellite designed by students in Washington state.[5]

The satellite decayed from orbit on 12 April 2023.[7]

The slant in the waterfall is due to the Doppler shift of the signal as its elevation decreases at the end of its pass.

References
  1. Shanessa Jackson (February 17, 2017). "NASA Announces Eighth Class of Candidates for Launch of CubeSat Space Missions". NASA TV.
  2. Matthew Hipolito (November 1, 2019). "UW blasts into space: Washington's first student-built satellite to be launched this Saturday". The Daily of the University of Washington.
  3. Hannah Hickey (October 31, 2019). "Washington's first student-built satellite preparing for launch". UW News. University of Washington.
  4. Boyle, Alan (November 2, 2019). "Cygnus cargo ship heads to space station with satellite built by students in Seattle". GeekWire.
  5. Oxley, Dyer (October 31, 2019). "Washington students to make satellite history with HuskySat-1". KOMO News.
  6. "HuskySat-1 Successfully Lifted into Space". American Radio Relay League (ARRL). November 4, 2019.
  7. "HUSKYSAT-1". N2YO.com. 12 Apr 2023. Retrieved 19 Aug 2023.

Public Domain This article incorporates public domain material from NASA Announces Eighth Class of Candidates for Launch of CubeSat Space Missions. NASA. Retrieved 2019-11-04.

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