NSLSAT 1

NSLSAT 1 [NearSpace Launch]

NSLSAT1 is a 3U CubeSat mission by NearSpace Launch to correlate solar activity to electron density in the Near-Earth (LEO) plasma field.

The spacecraft will carry a Energetic Particle Detector and a Langmuir Probe.

Transmission will begin 30 minutes after deployment and will remain active for 2 years. Atmospheric friction will slow the satellite and reduce the altitude of the orbit until deorbiting occurs, approximately 5 years after launch.

The satellite was originally to be launched as a payload aboard a NASA CRS (Commercial Resupply Mission) inside a NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer (NRCSD) on the Cygnus CRS-11 mission, launched from Wallops Island, VA in 2019 on an Antares-230 rocket. About 90 days after this launch, the NG-10 will unberth from the ISS, boost to a higher orbit, and deploy the satellite. The satellite was to be inserted into a near-circular orbit at 500 km at an inclination of 51.6 degrees from the equator.

Later the satellite was rebooked to the maiden orbital launch of the Astra Rocket-3.1. It was to be orbited in September 2019 from Kodiak. The planned orbit is into near-circular at 550 km at an inclination of 90 degrees from the equator. Eventually it was not flown on the maiden flight.