IPEX (CP 8)

USA

Spacecraft nº:

US spacecraft nº:

IPEX = Intelligent Payload Experiment

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Launch data: Designation  39471 / 13072K Launch date  06 Dec 2013 - 07:14 UT Launch site  Va, SLC-3E Launch vehicle  Atlas-5/501 Mission  Technology Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee   km Eccentricity   Inclination   ° Period   min

Launched together with: Topaz 3 - FIREBIRD A - FIREBIRD B - AeroCube 5A - AeroCube 5B - ALICE - SNAP - MCubed-2 - CUNYSAT-1 - SMDC-ONE 2.4 - TacSat 6 - SMDC-ONE 2.3

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Spacecraft data:

Prime manufacturer	NASA/JPL
Platform	1U cubesat
Operator	NASA/JPL
Mass at launch	1 kg
Dry Mass	kg
Basic shape
Dimension (m)
Equipment
Solar array	Solar cells
Stabilization
Propulsion
DC power
Design lifetime

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Description:

• NASA/JPL's IPEX (Intelligent Payload Experiment) mission is a 1U Cubesat project to demonstrate operation of autonomous instrument processing, downlink operations, and ground station operations, utilizing the SpaceCube Mini payload processing unit to validate a reduction in data product downlink.
• The development of IPEX is conducted by the following centers/institutions:
  • JPL manages the project and develops the autonomous flight software and ground station software, CASPER (Continuous Activity Scheduling Planning Execution and Replanning) and ASPEN (Automated Scheduling and Planning Environment).
  • NASA/GSFC (Goddard Space Flight Center) develops the Space Cube Mini payload processing unit.
  • Cal Poly of San Luis Obispo designs the spacecraft bus, cameras, attitude control, flight avionics software, and integrates/builds the flight unit.
  • IPEX was provided by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Cal Poly. Carrying several low-resolution cameras, IPEX will validate several technologies for future NASA Earth observation missions, including autonomous on-board data processing, direct downlink operations, and automated ground operations.

  Mission details:

  • The Atlas-5 was launched from Vandenberg on Dec 6, 2013 at 07:14 UT.
  • Attached to AV-042 was GEMSAT, the second NPSCuL cubesat launcher, which ejected 12 cubesats between around 1022 and 1038 UTC.
    • FIREBIRD A and B, two 1.5U cubesats from the Montana Space Grant Consortium to study electron microbursts in the magnetosphere.
    • CUNYSAT, a 1U from the City University of New York's Medgar Evers College, with a GPS ionospheric receiver.
    • MCUBED-2, 1 1U from the University of Michigan with technology experiments. including a low resolution imager.
    • IPEX-CP8, a 1U built by Cal Poly to test systems and algorithms for JPL.
    • ALICE, a 1U from the Air Force Institute of Technology carrying technology experiments.
    • SMDC-ONE C and D (Charlie and David), 3U communications satellites for the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command.
    • Aerocube 5a and 5b, 1.5U technology cubesats for the Aerospace Corporation.
    • SNAP, a 3U cubesat for the SMDC Nanosatellite Program, with an unknown mission.
    • Tacsat-6, a 3U cubesat for SMDC with an unknown mission, probably tactical communications or imaging.

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  Ref.: #7(JR690), #14, #228 - update: 14.12.13

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