An Advanced Standard for CubeSats

It is critical for cost effective growth of CubeSats and other canisterized satellites to standardize a specification for payloads larger than those encapsulated and governed by the existing and highly successful 3U Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD) standard. The US government wants larger CubeSats than the existing P-POD can dispense. Based on extensive consultation with Dr. Jordi Puig-Suari, Dr. Bob Twiggs, several individuals at Space Test Program (STP), Air Force Research Lab (AFRL), and many university CubeSat teams an advanced CubeSat and its dispenser specification is presented. The new specification currently governs CubeSats larger than the 3U size. This includes a 6U (12 Kg, 12 x 24 x 36 cm), 12U (24 Kg, 23 x 24 x 36 cm) and 27U (54Kg, 34 x 35 x 36 cm). Canisterized Satellite Dispensers (CSDs) are boxes that small payloads (CubeSats) are housed in during launch and dispensed from once in space. These dispensers reduce the risk that small secondary or tertiary payloads in the dispenser can damage the primary or be damaged by the primary. Standardization of the electrical and mechanical interfaces allows satellite builders and launch service providers to minimize the cost of integration to a launch vehicle because it greatly reduces the cost and time associated with non-recurring engineering. Further, standardization allows the greatest number of competitors to offer competing products so the end user has many low cost choices