| Names | Cu-PACE |
|---|---|
| Mission type | Astrophysics |
| Operator | University of Central Florida |
| COSPAR ID | 2021-002X |
| SATCAT no. | 473XX |
| Website | sciences |
| Mission duration | - (planned: 3 years) [1] |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Spacecraft | Q-PACE |
| Spacecraft type | CubeSat |
| Bus | 3U CubeSat |
| Manufacturer | University of Central Florida |
| Launch mass | 3 kg (6.6 lb) [1] |
| Dimensions | 10 × 10 × 37.6 cm |
| Power | Solar panels, rechargeable battery |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | 17 January 2021, 19:39:00 UTC[2] |
| Rocket | LauncherOne[3] (air launch to orbit) |
| Launch site | Mojave Air and Space Port |
| Contractor | Virgin Galactic |
| Orbital parameters | |
| Reference system | Geocentric orbit |
| Regime | Low Earth orbit |
| Altitude | 500 km [1] |
| Period | 100.0 minutes |
CubeSat Particle Aggregation and Collision Experiment (Q-PACE) or Cu-PACE,[4] was an orbital spacecraft mission that would have studied the early stages of proto-planetary accretion by observing particle dynamical aggregation for several years.[5]
Current hypotheses have trouble explaining how particles can grow larger than a few centimeters. This is called the meter size barrier. This mission was selected in 2015 as part of NASA's ELaNa program, and it was launched on 17 January 2021.[6] As of March 2021, however, contact has yet to be established with the satellite, and the mission was feared to be lost. The mission was eventually terminated.
- ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference
Colwell-Dove 2017was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Krebs, Gunter. "LauncherOne (L2)". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ Herrera, Chabeli (26 October 2018). "Virgin Orbit releases the first photos of its rocket-plane hybrid, LauncherOne". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on 7 August 2019. Retrieved 7 August 2019.
- ^ "NASA Announces Sixth Round of CubeSat Space Mission Candidates" (Press release). SpaceRef. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 17 January 2021.[permanent dead link]
- ^ NASA, Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration Program Abstracts of selected proposals, August 8, 2015. Retrieved Nov. 17, 2022.
- ^ "Upcoming ELaNa CubeSat Launches". NASA. 6 May 2020. Retrieved 7 May 2020.
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
