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University of New South Wales Sees Launch of 3D Printed CubeSat, Awaiting Confirmation That All is Working Properly http://ift.tt/2qxu9Nr Last week, the first Australian satellite launched in 15 years took off from the International Space Station. The CubeSat is part of the QB50 project, an initiative that involved sending a group of 36 CubeSats to the ISS, from which they are being launched into orbit for various research purposes. The international project includes satellites from 50 research institutions in over 20 countries, with three of them coming from Australia – and two of those three being built at the University of New South Wales. One of the UNSW satellites, called UNSW-Ec0, has a special mission. In addition to other research, the 3D printed satellite will be providing valuable insight into how well 3D printed materials perform in space. The CubeSat’s chassis is made entirely from 3D printed thermoplastic, and if it does well, it may lead to many more 3D printed CubeSats in the future, as the manufacturing method is cheaper and allows for more customization. That’s a big if at this point, though. UNSW-Ec0 was launched from the ISS a few days ago, and as of yet engineers at UNSW’s Australian Centre for Space Engineering Research (ACSER) have been unable to pick up the signal meant to confirm that the CubeSat is operating properly.
The International Space Station will make four more passes over Sydney on Friday, and the UNSW team will again try to make contact with the satellite and run a series of tests to try to determine why there’s been no signal so far. In addition to testing the efficacy of 3D printing in space, the UNSW-Ec0 satellite will be conducting extensive research into the thermosphere, a region above the Earth about which little is known so far. The CubeSat will be studying the atomic composition of the region, as well as testing new computer chips and GPS devices created at the university.
UNSW joined the QB50 project in 2012, and since then over 100 students, staff members and volunteers have worked on the project. At least 18 student theses have come from the UNSW project, as well as dozens of conference papers and multiple grants. The collection of CubeSats is being launched into a “string of pearls” configuration, a small constellation of satellites that will return new and valuable information about our weather and much more. The launching of the CubeSats has been a proud moment for everyone involved in the project, but especially for Australia.
[Source/Images: UNSW]
Printing via 3DPrint.com | The Voice of 3D Printing / Additive Manufacturing https://3dprint.com May 30, 2017 at 08:48AM
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