Editing CubeSat (section)

== History==
[[File:CubeSat in hand.jpg|thumb|1U CubeSat structure]]

Professors [[Jordi Puig-Suari]] of [[California Polytechnic State University]] and [[Bob Twiggs]] of [[Stanford University]] proposed the CubeSat [[reference design]] in 1999<ref name="Tiny">{{cite news |last= Messier |first= Douglas |url= http://www.space.com/29464-cubesats-space-science-missions.html |title= Tiny 'Cubesats' Gaining Bigger Role in Space |work= Space.com |date= 22 May 2015 |access-date= 2015-05-23 }}</ref><ref name=Helvajian2008>{{cite book|editor1-last= Helvajian|editor1-first= Henry|title= Small Satellites: Past, Present, and Future|year= 2008|publisher= Aerospace Press|location= El Segundo, Calif.|isbn= 978-1-884989-22-3|editor2-first= Siegfried W.|editor2-last= Janson}}</ref>{{rp|159}} with the aim of enabling [[graduate student]]s to design, build, test and operate in space a [[spacecraft]] with capabilities similar to that of the first spacecraft, [[Sputnik]]. The CubeSat, as initially proposed, did not set out to become a standard; rather, it became a standard over time by a process of [[emergence]]. The first CubeSats launched in June 2003 on a [[Russia]]n [[Eurockot]], and approximately 75 CubeSats had entered orbit by 2012.<ref name=sn20120813>{{cite news |title=Cubist Movement |newspaper= Space News |page= 30 | date = 2012-08-13 |quote= When professors [[Jordi Puig-Suari]] of [[California Polytechnic State University]] and [[Bob Twiggs]] of [[Stanford University]] invented the CubeSat, they never imagined that the tiny satellites would be adopted by universities, companies and government agencies around the world. They simply wanted to design a spacecraft with capabilities similar to [[Sputnik]] that graduate student could design, build, test and operate. For size, the professors settled on a ten-centimeter cube because it was large enough to accommodate a basic communications payload, [[Solar panels on spacecraft|solar panels]] and a battery. }}</ref>

The need for such a small-factor satellite became apparent in 1998 as a result of work done at Stanford University's Space System Development Laboratory. At SSDL, students had been working on the [[OPAL (Spacecraft)|OPAL]] (Orbiting Picosatellite Automatic Launcher) microsatellite since 1995. OPAL's mission to deploy daughter-ship "[[picosatellite]]s" had resulted in the development of a launcher system that was "hopelessly complicated" and could only be made to work "most of the time". With the project's delays mounting, Twiggs sought [[DARPA]] funding that resulted in the redesign of the launching mechanism into a simple pusher-plate concept with the satellites held in place by a spring-loaded door.<ref name="Helvajian2008" />{{rp|151–157}}

Desiring to shorten the development cycle experienced on OPAL and inspired by the picosatellites OPAL carried, Twiggs set out to find "how much could you reduce the size and still have a practical satellite". The picosatellites on OPAL were {{cvt|10.1|×|7.6|×|2.5|cm|0}}, a size that was not conducive to covering all sides of the spacecraft with solar cells. Inspired by a {{cvt|4|in|cm}} cubic plastic box used to display [[Beanie Babies]] in stores,<ref name=abio/> Twiggs first settled on the larger ten-centimeter cube as a guideline for the new CubeSat concept. A model of a launcher was developed for the new satellite using the same pusher-plate concept that had been used in the modified OPAL launcher. Twiggs presented the idea to Puig-Suari in the summer of 1999 and then at the Japan–U.S. Science, Technology and Space Applications Program (JUSTSAP) conference in November 1999.<ref name="Helvajian2008" />{{rp|157–159}}

The term "CubeSat" was coined to denote [[Miniaturized satellite#Nanosatellite|nanosatellites]] that adhere to the standards described in the CubeSat design specification. Cal Poly published the standard in an effort led by aerospace engineering professor Jordi Puig-Suari.<ref name="tiny">{{cite news | title = CubeSats: Tiny Spacecraft, Huge Payoffs | url = http://www.space.com/businesstechnology/cube_sats_040908.html | author = Leonard David | year = 2004 | work = [[Space.com]] | access-date = 2008-12-07 }}</ref> [[Bob Twiggs]], of the Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics at Stanford University, and currently a member of the space science faculty at Morehead State University in Kentucky, has contributed to the CubeSat community.<ref>{{cite news | url = http://spacefellowship.com/news/art14006/satellite-pioneer-joins-morehead-state-s-space-science-faculty.html | title = Satellite pioneer joins Morehead State's space science faculty | author = Rob Goldsmith | date = October 6, 2009 | work = [[Space Fellowship]] | access-date = 2010-09-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131103070142/http://spacefellowship.com/news/art14006/satellite-pioneer-joins-morehead-state-s-space-science-faculty.html | archive-date = November 3, 2013 | url-status = dead }}</ref> His efforts have focused on CubeSats from educational institutions.<ref name="cnn">{{cite news | url = http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/space/08/30/cloudsat/index.html | title = CubeSat losses spur new development | author = Leonard David | year = 2006 | work = [[Space.com]] | access-date = 2008-12-11 }}</ref> The specification does not apply to other cube-like nanosatellites such as the NASA "MEPSI" nanosatellite, which is slightly larger than a CubeSat. GeneSat-1 was NASA's first fully automated, self-contained biological spaceflight experiment on a satellite of its size. It was also the first U.S.-launched CubeSat. This work, led by John Hines at NASA Ames Research, became the catalyst for the entire NASA CubeSat program.<ref>{{cite web
|url= https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/missions/2007/genesat1.html
|title= NASA – GeneSat-1
|access-date= 2017-02-11
|archive-date= 2021-11-14
|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20211114005047/https://www.nasa.gov/centers/ames/missions/2007/genesat1.html
|url-status= dead
}}</ref>

In 2017, this standardization effort led to the publication of ISO 17770:2017 by the [[International Organization for Standardization]].<ref>{{Cite web |author=((Technical Committee ISO/TC 20/SC 14 (Space systems and operations) )) |date=June 2017 |title=ISO 17770:2017 |url=https://www.iso.org/standard/60496.html |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=[[International Organization for Standardization]]}}</ref> This standard defines specifications for CubeSats including their physical, mechanical, electrical, and operational requirements.<ref>{{Cite web |author=((Technical Committee ISO/TC 20/SC 14 (Space systems and operations) )) |date=June 2017 |title=ISO 17770:2017 Space systems — Cube satellites (CubeSats); Scope |url=https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/#iso:std:iso:17770:ed-1:v1:en |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=www.iso.org}}</ref> It also provides a specification for the interface between the CubeSat and its launch vehicle, which lists the capabilities required to survive the environmental conditions during and after launch and describes the standard deployment interface used to release the satellites. The development of standards shared by a large number of spacecraft contributes to a significant reduction in the development time and cost of CubeSat missions.