seeks to help the last 20 states which
have not launched a government
institution or education-based
CubeSat get one into space. The map
in Figure 2 shows the states that have
had a CubeSat launched, manifested,
or selected. Is your state one of
them?
Space 4 Everyone
NASA mission launches are not
the only way CubeSats can reach
space. NanoRacks — a company
founded in 2009 — is creating
opportunities to send CubeSats into
earth orbit. They're dedicated to
making space available to everyone,
hence their motto: Space 4 Everyone.
One way NanoRacks is
increasing public access to space is
through their CubeSat deployer
onboard ISS. However, the other way
I'd like to discuss first is a bit different
in that you get your CubeSat back
after its mission. It's almost like
launching a BalloonSat except you
don't need an amateur radio license.
The solution is called the
NanoRacks External Payload Platform
(NREP) or as the company likes to
call it, "The Operating System of
Space."
NREP is a platform where
NanoRacks can attach customer
standardized payload enclosures to
support a variety of space-based
research. NREP is located on the
JEM's Exposed Facility. JEM — along
with the H-II Transfer Vehicle (HTV)
— are the Japanese Space Agency's
(JAXA) contributions to the
International Space Station (ISS) —
our nation's newest national
laboratory.
NanoRacks transports customer
payloads inside of space vehicles like
the SpaceX Dragon or the Orbital
Cygnus to the ISS. Upon arrival, the
experiments are unpacked and stored
inside of JEM's logistic module.
Because of Kibo's airlock, astronauts
can attach a payload to the NREP
while it's inside Kibo and then use
the Kibo robotic arm to transfer the
NREP from inside Kibo to its location
on the JEM Exposed Facility. There
are locations on the Exposed Facility
where the NREP is attached to
provide power and communications
to the attached payload enclosures.
Any experiment attached to
NREP must have a CubeSat form
factor, but that doesn't mean the
experiment must be an actual
CubeSat. But hey, why not just send
up a barebones CubeSat?
The CubeSat would be exposed
to the full vacuum and radiation of
earth orbit. Because of the data and
power capability of NREP, the
CubeSat wouldn't need a radio,
ground station, or batteries. Data
could be stored onboard the
CubeSat or collected via NREP's
communication channel and then
transmitted to Earth.
With NREP's power and
communications ability, there's more
room for experiments onboard the
CubeSat and it will be cheaper to
build. Moreover, as mentioned, you
get your "CubeSat" back after its
mission!
Kickstarter and Making
Space More Available
to Everyone
Still need help accessing space
for your CubeSat? Well, how about
this: NanoRacks will help refine your
CubeSat's Kickstarter program. Yep,
there have been many teams
promoting CubeSat launches with
Kickstarter, and NanoRacks was there
to ensure they described their
CubeSat's mission properly. That way,
APPROACHING THE FINAL FRONTIER
June 2015 69
Post comments on this article and find any associated files and/or downloads at
www.nutsvolts.com/index.php?/magazine/article/june2015_NearSpace.
Figure 2. Oops, my state, Idaho was a rookie
state without a CubeSat in orbit. Back in
February, NASA selected CubeSat proposals
and I hope the one Idaho created gets selected.
Image courtesy of NASA.
Figure 3. A NanoRacks External Payload Platform, or
NREP. The skeletal pyramid on the face of NREP is a
standard grappling fixture that permits the robotic
arm attached to the Japanese Experiment Module
(JEM) to securely grapple the NREP and maneuver
it to and from its assigned location on the JEM
Exposed Facility and the JEM airlock.
