HuskySat-1 is an artificial satellite designed at the University of Washington. It was launched by Cygnus NG-12 from Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport Launch Pad 0 on Wallops Island, Virginia to low earth orbit on November 2, 2019. It is a CubeSat, and will demonstrate onboard plasma propulsion and high gain telemetry for low Earth orbit that would be a precursor for an attempt at a larger CubeSat designed for orbital insertion at the Moon. [1]
The satellite was designed by Husky Satellite Lab, a registered student group, in Johnson Hall, and was controlled from there using three antennae installed on the roof. [2] [3]
A pulsed plasma thruster (PPT) provides propulsion. [4] It is the first PPT to use sulfur as a fuel. [2]
Students at Raisbeck Aviation High School designed an onboard camera. [5] [4]
The satellite will test an experimental 24 GHz data transmitter, after which it will become an amateur radio satellite operated by AMSAT. [6] The high data rate will enable much more data to be transferred during the 9- to 15-minute time windows the satellite is visible from the control station. [2]
HuskySat is the first satellite designed by students in Washington state. [5]
The satellite decayed from orbit on 12 April 2023. [7]
This article incorporates public domain material from NASA Announces Eighth Class of Candidates for Launch of CubeSat Space Missions. NASA. Retrieved 2019-11-04.