Collin Cupido picks up the satellite model and mimics how it will hang in space, moving it around his body as though it were orbiting Earth. The satellite is a CubeSat, a miniature cube-shaped spacecraft or nanosatellite that can conduct experiments in space. Cupido actually holds three linked cubes, altogether about the size of a loaf of bread. Inside that tiny exterior lies one of the best hopes for the future of space research.
The satellite, named Ex-Alta 1, is the first of its kind built at the University of Alberta, says Cupido, a recent graduate and the project’s systems leader. But this satellite is just one of 50 being crafted by universities around the world, participating in the QB50 (“cube 50”) mission, a project managed by the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics in Belgium as a way to provide hands-on education while conducting scientific experiments in space. QB50 is one of many projects across the globe aimed at getting students — university, high school and even younger — involved in making and operating CubeSats.
Advancing technology has made the tiny spacecraft far more economical than many ever thought possible. CubeSat parts are relatively inexpensive, and the compact end products can hitch rides on rockets that already go to space, a boon to researchers and students alike. Whereas only large national and international space agencies have funded big satellites — which can be the size of a city bus and cost between $50 million and $100 million to build and launch — the tiny Ex-Alta 1 costs about $800,000. The University of Alberta team raised much of the money through a combination of crowdfunding campaigns, space agency grants, university support and donations from aerospace companies, all typical ways teams currently fund these satellite projects.
