IceCube (Earth 1)

Launch data: Designation  42705 / 98067LN Launch date  18 Apr 2017 - 15:11 UT Launch site  CC, SLC-41 Launch vehicle  Atlas V-401 Mission  Technology / Earth Science Launch platform  ISS Kibo, LEO Deployment date  16 May 2017 - 11:55 UT Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee   401 x 402 km Inclination   51.6° Period  92.4 min

Description:

• 3U cubesat from NASA-Goddard to test an 874GHz submm receiver for mapping atmospheric ice (not to be confused with the Cornell cubesats IceCube-1 and 2, lost in a 2006 launch failure)
• The objectives of the mission are:
  • Develop a flight-qualified 874 GHz receiver for future cloud remote sensing
  • Validate 874 GHz radiometer hardware, operation and calibration performance in space on a 3U CubeSat
  • Launch 3U COTS-component CubeSat to LEO orbit with >350 km altitude
  • Observations of Earth atmosphere and space for 28+ days, and data return for NEDT, calibration error, and response to clouds
• The satellite is to demonstrate and space-qualify a commercially available 874 GHz submillimeter-wave receiver developed by Virginia Diodes Inc. (VDI), of Charlottesville, Virginia. This instrument is capable of providing an accurate assessment of the distribution of atmospheric ice.