ASTERIA (spacecraft)

ASTERIA (Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics)

ASTERIA during testing. It is a 6U CubeSat space telescope for the detection of exoplanets
Names	ExoplanetSat (2011)
Mission type	Technology demonstrator
Operator	NASA
COSPAR ID	1998-067NH
SATCAT no.	43020
Website	www.jpl.nasa.gov/cubesat/missions/asteria.php
Mission duration	Nominal: 90 days Extension: up to 1 year Achieved: 2 years, 15 days
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft	ASTERIA
Bus	6U CubeSat
Manufacturer	JPL and MIT
Launch mass	12 kg (26 lb)
Dimensions	10 cm × 20 cm × 30 cm (0.33 ft × 0.66 ft × 0.98 ft)
Start of mission
Launch date	August 14, 2017 (2017-08-14), 16:31 UTC deployed: 20 November 2017
Rocket	Falcon 9
Launch site	Kennedy LC-39A
Contractor	SpaceX
End of mission
Last contact	5 December 2019
Decay date	24 April 2020
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Perigee altitude	402.7 kilometres (250.2 miles)
Apogee altitude	406.7 kilometres (252.7 miles)
Inclination	51.6°
Period	92.5 minutes
Main
Wavelengths	visible spectrum: 390–700 nm

ASTERIA (Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research In Astrophysics) was a miniaturized space telescope technology demonstration and opportunistic science mission to conduct astrophysical measurements using a CubeSat. It was designed in collaboration between the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory. ASTERIA was the first JPL-built CubeSat to have been successfully operated in space. Originally envisioned as a project for training early career scientists and engineers, ASTERIA's technical goal was to achieve arcsecond-level line-of-sight pointing error and highly stable focal plane temperature control. These technologies are important for precision photometry, i.e., the measurement of stellar brightness over time. Precision photometry, in turn, provides a way to study stellar activity, transiting exoplanets, and other astrophysical phenomena.

ASTERIA was launched on 14 August 2017 and deployed into low Earth orbit from the International Space Station on 20 November 2017.^[1] The primary mission lasted 90 days, but the satellite continued operations for 745 days through three extended missions until last successful communications were made on 5 December 2019.^[2] The satellite decayed on 24 April 2020. The Principal Investigator was Canadian-American astronomer and planetary scientist Sara Seager, from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.^[3]