Subscribe with SteadyINSPIRE A, B
INSPIRE [NASA]
The INSPIRE (Interplanetary NanoSpacecraft Pathfinder In a Relevant Environment) mission is a two satellite mission to demonstrate the usefulness of cubesats for functionality, communication, navigation and payload hosting in interplanetary space.
INSPIRE is a NASA JPL partnership with the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor; Cal Poly San Luis Obispo; and the University of Texas at Austin, in collaboration with Goldstone-Apple Valley Radio Telescope.
The satellites are built to the 3U-CubeSat form factor and feature a cold gas attitude control system. They will be launched piggyback and deployed to an escape trajectory.
The mission objectives are:
- Demonstrate and characterize key nano-spacecraft telecommunications, navigation, command and data handling, and relay communications for mother-daughter
- Demonstrate science utility with compact science payload (Helium Magnetometer and combination Star-Tracker/Imager)
- Demonstrate ability to monitor and power cycle COTS/university processing systems
The objective is to place both nanosatellites into an Earth-escape orbit. The nominal INSPIRE mission will last for three months and will achieve an expected Earth-probe distance of 1.5 × 108 km (depending upon the escape velocity).
| Nation: | USA |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Technology |
| Operator: | Jet Propulsion Laboratory |
| Contractors: | Jet Propulsion Laboratory (prime); Pumpkin (bus) |
| Equipment: | |
| Configuration: | CubeSat (3U) |
| Propulsion: | None |
| Power: | 2 deployable fixed solar arrays, batteries |
| Lifetime: | 3 months |
| Mass: | 3.8 kg |
| Orbit: | Solar orbit |
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| INSPIRE A | - | (via NASA ELaNa program) | with ?, INSPIRE B | |||
| INSPIRE B | - | (via NASA ELaNa program) | with ?, INSPIRE A |
