The CubeSpec mission

Bart Vandenbussche; Gert Raskin; Pierre Royer; Dominic Bowman; Hugues Sana; Andrew Tkachenko; Jan Goris; Job Schuermans; Dirk Vandepitte; Jeroen De Maeyer; Filip Heylen; Wim De Munter; Maarten Kempenaers; Jelle Lanting; Bram Vandoren; Tjorven Delabie; Philippe Saey; Arne Verhoeven; Vincent Moreau; Etienne Renotte; Peter Davidsen; Karl Kaas

doi:10.1117/12.2628252

27 August 2022 The CubeSpec mission

Bart Vandenbussche, Gert Raskin, Pierre Royer, Dominic Bowman, Hugues Sana, Andrew Tkachenko, Jan Goris, Job Schuermans, Dirk Vandepitte, Jeroen De Maeyer, Filip Heylen, Wim De Munter, Maarten Kempenaers, Jelle Lanting, Bram Vandoren, Tjorven Delabie, Philippe Saey, Arne Verhoeven, Vincent Moreau, Etienne Renotte, Peter Davidsen, Karl Kaas

Author Affiliations +

Proceedings Volume 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave; 1218007 (2022) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628252
Event: SPIE Astronomical Telescopes + Instrumentation, 2022, Montréal, Québec, Canada

Abstract

CubeSpec is an in-orbit demonstration CubeSat mission in the ESA technology programme, developed and funded in Belgium. The goal of the mission is to demonstrate high-spectral-resolution astronomical spectroscopy from a 6-unit CubeSat. The technological challenges are numerous. The telescope and echelle spectrometer have been designed to fit in a 10×10×20cm volume. The fast telescope focus and spectrometer alignment is achieved via an athermal design. Shielding from the Sun and Earth infrared flux is achieved via deploying Earth and Sun shades. Arcsecond-level pointing stability is achieved using a performant 3-axis wheel stabilised attitude control system with star tracker augmented with a fine beam steering mechanism. CubeSpec is now starting the implementation phase, with a planned launch in 2024. A qualification and a flight model will be constructed and tested in the next 2 years. In this contribution we will give an overview of the mission, its technologies and qualification status.

Conference Presentation

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Bart Vandenbussche, Gert Raskin, Pierre Royer, Dominic Bowman, Hugues Sana, Andrew Tkachenko, Jan Goris, Job Schuermans, Dirk Vandepitte, Jeroen De Maeyer, Filip Heylen, Wim De Munter, Maarten Kempenaers, Jelle Lanting, Bram Vandoren, Tjorven Delabie, Philippe Saey, Arne Verhoeven, Vincent Moreau, Etienne Renotte, Peter Davidsen, and Karl Kaas "The CubeSpec mission", Proc. SPIE 12180, Space Telescopes and Instrumentation 2022: Optical, Infrared, and Millimeter Wave, 1218007 (27 August 2022); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2628252

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