Quick Reference Links
This page contains links and context on a variety of useful tools and references for doing CubeSats!
Useful Websites
These sites are places that you can go to get up to date information about CubeSats and the state of the space community!
The FAA Operations Advisory
This page summarizes the nationwide operational notifications made by the FAA. We can use this as a way to look at the launch advisories for upcoming rocket launches!
??? note "The University Nanosat Program Mission Design Course
The University Nanosat Program (UNP) is run by the Space Dynamics Lab on behalf of the Air Force Research Lab. With the primary objective of this program to provide an educational onramp for students to become aerospace systems engineers, they have created a really great introductory course to the high level mechanics of designing a space mission.
[Link](https://universitynanosat.org/resources/mission-design-course)
Tools and Templates
Using tools and Templates can really speed up your development! Many of these tools could totally use a facelift, possibly something that the community can take up!.
The NASA Debris Assessment Software (DAS)
Completing an ODAR (Orbital Debris Assessment Report) is an essential part of licensing a spacecraft to fly in the US. If you are flying with CSLI their mission managers will assist you in doing this, but if you're flying by yourself you'll have to generate your own ODAR. To do this NASA has the Debris Assessment Software avalible for calculating inputs like what the expexted orbital lifetime of the satellite is an whether or not there is any risk that parts of the satellite will survive re-entry and pose a risk to human life.
It is important to note that orbtial debris analysis is an imperfect science and these steps mitigate risk but do not entirely eliminate it! Satellite operators should also be mindful of doing due diligence to keep outer space safe and clean.
Jan King's Satellite Link Budget Spreadsheet
This spreadsheet is absolutely legendary in the CubeSat community. Last updated in the mid 2000’s, it is the most comprehensive piece of freeware currently available for running the calculations on whether or not your satellite will be able to connect to your ground station. It is honestly overkill in many ways, but if you want to be walked through doing a deep dive on how that RF link forms this is the one stop shop.
One of these days we should have someone in the community modernize it as a web tool!
The NASA GMAT (General Mission Analysis Tool)
This is a really powerful piece of open source mission simulation software from the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center. You can do all sorts of things, but the most useful feature for us is ground station link analysis for mission operations planning.
Specifications and Standards
When you are able to say “our CubeSat is compliant with CDS Rev 14.1 and has passed the required testing per the December 2023 RPUG” anyone who is familiar with those standards can instantly know what your satellite’s compatibility is and what kind of launch vehicles it can go on without having to do a deep dive into how you’ve built your satellite. That is the power of specifications and standards.
The CubeSat Design Specification (CDS) Rev 14.1
The CubeSat Design Specification (also known as CDS) is the seminal document defining CubeSats. Published by the Cal Poly San Luis Obispo CubeSat Lab, this document is the closest that we have to the law of the land in CubeSats. This is a good place to start when trying to understand on a specific technical level "what is a CubeSat."
The SpaceX Rideshare Payload User's Guide Version 10
The SpaceX Rideshare Payload User’s Guide (RPUG) is the preeminent source of guidelines on the testing requirements to fly to space in the modern SmallSat industry. The overwhelming majority of launches from the US are SpaceX rockets, so if you are a US institution looking to go to space it is a good bet that you’ll want to design and test your satellite in a way that is compliant with SpaceX requirements. Make sure to read these guidelines carefully and also look at the design recommendation that they make as well.
NASA LSP-REQ-317.01
This requirements document is from the NASA Launch Services Program (LSP) at the Kennedy Space Center. These requirements generally summarize what the LSP program expects from CubeSats that fly in the CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI). Compliance with this standard will greatly expedite your process with getting manifested for a launch.
It used to be that you wouldn’t get accepted at all to CSLI if you could not verify you were compliant with this document. Nowadays as long as you note in the application that you need a waiver (nominally for the use of propulsion systems in your CubeSat) you should still be able to get through.
NASA GEVS GSFC-STD-7000B
The NASA GEVS (General Environmental Verification Standard), developed by the Goddard Space Flight Center, is another great resource for guidance on conducting environmental tests for spacecraft. Although GEVS is not tailored specifically for CubeSats or a particular launch vehicle, it is generally accepted that testing to the GEVS is a solid starting point for most payloads.
Air Force Space Command SMC-S-016
The SMC-S-016 from the Air Force Space command is rarely seen these days unless you’re flying with the DoD, but it can be useful to cruise through this document when designing your CubeSat as many test plans and other specifications are derived from it.
A Tip on Requirements
One of the first things you should learn in engineering is how to understand and write good requirements for whatever system you are designing. Requirements are the measuring stick by which we can measure the success of our work and a guiding star for how to make out design decisions. The second thing you should learn in engineering is that requirement can, should, and will change throughout a project’s lifecycle. To assume that a project’s requirements will never undergo change presumes that the requirement writers at the beginning of the project had an absolutely perfect understanding of exactly what was needed, exactly what will meet that need, and exactly what it takes to accomplish the task at hand.
In the real world this is rarely, if ever, the case. We have a saying that the best and worst answer in engineering as always “it depends.” To that end, we encourage people to look towards standards and specifications not as an end all be all for how things should get done, but just as a set of guidelines that will make your life easier if you are able to follow them. If there is a good reason for deviation there is always a way to make it work, and sometimes that deviation leads to innovation that moves the whole industry forward.
Useful Datasheets and Reference Documents
If in doubt make sure to check the datasheet! These are links to some of the ones that are more common and likely to come up when you need to check something like a cure time or pin assignment.
3M 2216: The Space Glue
3M 2216 (also known as "The Space Glue" or "The Grey Stuff") is one of the most common two part expoxies used in spaceflight. It is relatively cheap (as long as you don't get price gougd for the Aerospace Qualified EC varient) and avalible on Amazon! Use this to join virtually any two materials together and sure up any soft connections on the satellite.
Also consider, when using the space glue, that you should probably follow some sort of procedure for it's application. The NASA Staking Guidelines is a great place to start!
SatNOGS Taxonomy of Observations
SatNOGS has a great wiki page that consolidates what some common radio modulations used by satellites will look like on a waterfall.
Recommended Reading
If books are more your speed there are a couple texts that we think should be in every space engineering library! A few of these are textbook style, a few are novels, and a couple are government or industry reports that round up key facts about the state of space!
The SMAD: Space Mission Analysis and Desgin
Referred to by some as "The Space Bible" the SMAD is probably the most comprehensive textbook there is on all aspects of space mission engineering. From concept development, to finnancing, and preliminary design this book has it all! The latest version was published in 2011, so there have been many modern trends that are not reflected in the SMAD, but it is still a fantastic reference for the general process.
NASA's State of the Art of Small Spacecraft Technology
Published each year by NASA's S3VI (Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute) this report is as close as you'll get to a full round up of what the SmallSat community is technologically capable of!
Aerospace Corp's Improving Mission Success for CubeSats
This is a remarkably detailed study done a few years ago into what makes CubeSats tick.
Max Holliday's Intro to Soldering
Originally developed for use in the Stanford ECE Department, this site is a well put together introduction to soldering. An important skill for building custom electronics.
Sucessful CSLI Proposal Examples
Looking to craft your own CSLI proposal? Check out these successful examples to help you get a feel for what they should entail! Remember that the CSLI folks really do want you to succeed, just make sure you're following the directions and have a compelling reason for why you're doing what you're doing!
OreSat-1: Oregon's First Space Mission
The first (and do date only) CSLI selection from the State of Oregon. Portland State University leads this one and it has been in the works since 2016! Hopefully it will actually get to space soon.
OwlSat: Rice University's First CubeSat
OwlSat was selected in the 11th round of the CubeSat Launch Initative and is slated to investigate the Extreme Ultra Violet enviroment of outer space.