LICIACube

Light Italian Cubesat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube)
A person in a labcoat handles a box-sized satellite bus.
LICIACube at the Applied Physics Laboratory in August 2021
Mission typeDidymos flyby
OperatorItalian Space Agency
COSPAR ID2021-110C Edit this at Wikidata
Mission duration~6 months[1][2]
Spacecraft properties
Bus6U CubeSat
ManufacturerArgotec
Launch mass14 kg (31 lb)
Dimensions10 × 20 × 30 cm
(3.9 × 7.9 × 11.8 in)
PowerSolar array × 2
Start of mission
Launch date24 November 2021, 06:21:02 UTC
RocketFalcon 9 Block 5, B1063.3
Launch siteVandenberg SLC-4E
Deployed fromDART
Deployment date11 September 2022, 23:14 UTC
End of mission
Last contactAutumn 2022[1]
Orbital parameters
Reference systemHeliocentric
Semi-major axis1.0018 AU (149,870,000 km)
Eccentricity0.06497
Perihelion altitude0.9368 AU (140,140,000 km)
Aphelion altitude1.0669 AU (159,610,000 km)
Inclination3.8196°
Period366.27 days
RAAN60.858°
Argument of perihelion79.427°
Mean anomaly230.05°
Epoch27 September 2022[3]
Flyby of Didymos system
Closest approach26 September 2022, 23:17 UTC
Distance56.7 km (35.2 mi)

Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids (LICIACube, IPA: [ˈli.t͡ʃi.əˌkjuːb][4]) is a six-unit CubeSat of the Italian Space Agency (ASI). LICIACube is a part of the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission and carries out observational analysis of the Didymos asteroid binary system after DART's impact on Dimorphos. It communicates directly with Earth, sending back images of the ejecta and plume of DART's impact as well as having done asteroidal study during its flyby of the Didymos system from a distance of 56.7 km (35.2 mi), 165 seconds after DART's impact.[5] LICIACube is the first purely Italian autonomous spacecraft in deep space. Data archiving and processing is managed by the Mission Control Center of Argotec. Mission ended sometime in the autumn of 2022[1]

  1. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference liciacube-asi was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference skyrocket1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference jpl.horizons was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference skytel1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference HeraWS2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).