Our CubeSat propulsion system engineers attended the Small Satellite Conference that was held from August 8 to 13 at Utah State University. The conference is an internationally recognized annual gathering for the small satellite community to review achievements and explore opportunities in small spacecraft development. The conference draws prominent speakers from the armed forces, academia and the sciences. This year’s conference brought more than: 2000 participants, 200 students and 600 organizations. There were 141 commercial exhibits and 122 oral presentations. The presentations covered many technological areas related to small satellites including communication, launch, ground systems and propulsion.
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CubeSat News
Our MarCO CubeSat Propulsion System Featured in Chemical & Engineering News
Our JPL MarCO CubeSat propulsion system is featured in a video by Chemical & Engineering News. The video discusses the role of CubeSats in the NASA Mars Insight mission scheduled for May 2018 and how they can pave the way for future interplanetary CubeSat missions. The Insight mission is highly anticipated because it will be the first interplanetary deployment of a CubeSat. The Mars Cube One (or MarCO) CubeSat will relay engineering data from the Insight lander as it travels to the surface of Mars.
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CubeSat Developer’s Workshop 2016 at CalPoly
The 13th Annual CubeSat Developer’s Workshop was held in San Luis Obispo, CA at the California Poly Technic State University from April 20 through 22. VACCO CubeSat engineers were in attendance to support the CubeSat developer community.
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32nd National Space Symposium 2016 Highlights
VACCO CubeSat engineers attended the 32nd National Space Symposium held at the Ball Aerospace Exhibit Center in Colorado Springs from April 11-14. The annual conference brings together international aerospace experts in the private and government sectors. This year, the group of 100 speakers included the Secretary of the Air Force Hon. Deborah Lee James, Amazon.com and Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos, University of Washington Professor Julianne Dalcanton and Dr. John Grunsfeld of NASA.
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Ion Electrospray Electric CubeSat Propulsion System
The Ion Electrospray Propulsion System (iEPS) represents a technological advance in electric CubeSat propulsion systems. An electric propulsion system for CubeSats relies on electromagnetic fields for acceleration. Traditionally, electric propulsion systems have used thrusters that are inefficient because they are bulky and generate a significant amount of heat.
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13th Annual CubeSat Developer’s Workshop
The CubeSat community’s next big event! Continue reading “13th Annual CubeSat Developer’s Workshop” »
VACCO delivers CubeSat propulsion system for JPL Mars Cube One (MarCO)
The First Interplanetary CubeSat Mission Continue reading “VACCO delivers CubeSat propulsion system for JPL Mars Cube One (MarCO)” »
