January 21, 2023

UA students prepare to put their own cubesat into space

The cereal box-sized "CatSat" will transmit data to UA's Biosphere 2.

UA Cubesats NASA illustration of cubesats in orbit.
NASA/JPL

A group of University of Arizona students are putting the final touches on a cubesat set to be launched into space this year.

Cubesats are about the size of a small microwave oven. The UA "CatSat" will give students hands-on experience developing and running a space mission. UA astronomy professor Chris Walker says the students took their proposal to NASA four years ago.

“Probably around 40 students over the years have been working on it and our current cadre of students is about ten," Walker explained. "They are very motivated students, excellent students, from all different departments of the University, different levels.”

Walker notes graduating students mentor newcomers to the program semester-by-semester. They put the finishing touches on the satellite last month. One instrument aboard the cubesat will detect and measure ham radio transmissions and downlink them to a receiver at the UA’s Biosphere 2 facility.

The CatSat will ride into space aboard a smaller, privately-owned rocket. Its launch date has yet to be finalized.

By posting comments, you agree to our
AZPM encourages comments, but comments that contain profanity, unrelated information, threats, libel, defamatory statements, obscenities, pornography or that violate the law are not allowed. Comments that promote commercial products or services are not allowed. Comments in violation of this policy will be removed. Continued posting of comments that violate this policy will result in the commenter being banned from the site.

By submitting your comments, you hereby give AZPM the right to post your comments and potentially use them in any other form of media operated by this institution.
AZPM is a service of the University of Arizona and our broadcast stations are licensed to the Arizona Board of Regents who hold the trademarks for Arizona Public Media and AZPM. We respectfully acknowledge the University of Arizona is on the land and territories of Indigenous peoples.
The University of Arizona