CASSIOPE & Others

CUSat (Cornell University Satellite) project is a multi-year effort to design, build, and launch an end-to-end autonomous on orbit inspection system. The CUSat system will demonstrate a process through which one satellite can diagnose the structural health and configuration of another.

CASSIOPE, or CAScade, Smallsat and IOnospheric Polar Explorer, is a Canadian Space Agency (CSA) multi-mission satellite operated by MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA). The mission is funded through CSA and the Technology Partnerships Canada program. CASSIOPE is the first Canadian hybrid satellite to carry a dual mission in the fields of telecommunications and scientific research. The main objectives are to gather information to better understand the science of space weather, while verifying high-speed communications concepts through the use of advanced space technologies.

DANDE (Drag and Atmospheric Neutral Density Explorer) is a low-cost satellite which makes in-situ measurements of the neutral atmosphere at altitudes of 200 - 350 km is being developed at the University of Colorado at Boulder (CU) as a part of the Air Force sponsored University Nanosat Program. Neutral density, composition, and wind measurements are increasingly needed to further scientific understanding of the upper atmosphere.

POPACS (Polar Orbiting Passive Atmospheric Calibration Sphere) is a mission by a collaboration between Utah State University, Gil Moore, Planetary Systems Corporation, Drexel University, American Aerospace Advisors, Inc., SpaceX, Analytical Graphics, Inc, et al. to assess changes in the density of the upper atmosphere in response to heightened solar activity.