Output details

6U CubeSat design for Earth observation with 6.5m GSD, five spectral bands and 14Mbps downlink

This research contributed to the European Commission-funded QB50 programme (a mission of 50 cubesats), to which Cranfield is contributing a cubesat, and to the organisation of an international 6U cubesat workshop at the Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (http://www.acser.unsw.edu.au/events/cubesat.html). The Earth observation application of small satellites also has significance for other current collaborative research. Together with Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd, (Stuart Eves s.eves@sstl.co.uk) we are investigating flying payloads at lower altitudes to increase imagery resolution.

This links to the payload being flown on Cranfield's QB50 cubesat, which will help characterise drag in low orbits.