System

The 6U CuPID cubesat is a small volume (10cm x 20 cm x 30 cm), small mass (8kg) spacecraft comprised of a number of subcomponents working together to address the goals of the mission. The autonomous vehicle contains all the necessary components to generate and store power, point in the appropriate directions, communicate with the ground, and collect scientific measurements. A model of the spacecraft is below.

In flight, the spacecraft is controlled with a single microcontroller. Pointing knowledge comes primarily from sun sensors and a star tracker while control comes from reaction wheels and magnetorquors. Communication with the ground is conducted over UHF radio with a ground station at Boston University at 400.5MHz.