IRVINE01 was a 1U

CubeSat A CubeSat is a class of miniaturized satellite based around a form factor consisting of cubes. CubeSats have a mass of no more than per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics and structure. CubeSats ...

built by the

Irvine CubeSat STEM Program Note: As of the school year of 2022, the Irvine CubeSat STEM Program has been shut down. The Irvine Public School Foundation (IPShas reallocated the CubeSat funding elsewhere and Brent Freeze has left the project to pursue other endeavors. This ch ...

(ICSP), a team of six high schools from

Irvine, California Irvine () is a Planned community, master-planned city in South Orange County, California, United States, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. The Irvine Company started developing the area in the 1960s and the city was formally incorporated on ...

. IRVINE01 was an educational mission that gives high school students the experience of building, testing, and controlling a nano-satellite, with the aim of developing interest and talent in the science and engineering fields. IRVINE01 featured the first orbital ion electrospray thruster developed by Accion Systems. Other technologies aboard included deployable solar arrays and

magnetorquer A magnetorquer or magnetic torquer (also known as a torque rod) is a satellite system for attitude control, detumbling, and stabilization built from electromagnetic coils. The magnetorquer creates a magnetic dipole that interfaces with an ambient ma ...

s, both supplied by the

Ecuadorian Civilian Space Agency The Ecuadorian Civilian Space Agency (EXA; es, Agencia Espacial Civil Ecuatoriana) is a private Ecuadorian organization founded in 2007 that conducts research on space and planetary sciences. It is a non-profit non-governmental organization with ...

. IRVINE01 was launched from

Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1 (also known as Mahia Launch Complex or Spaceport) is a commercial spaceport located close to Ahuriri Point at the southern tip of Māhia Peninsula, on the east coast of New Zealand's North Island. It is owned and op ...

on November 11, 2018, as part of an

Electron rocket Electron is a two-stage, partially recoverable orbital launch vehicle developed by Rocket Lab, an American aerospace company with a wholly owned New Zealand subsidiary. Electron was developed to service the commercial small satellite launch mar ...

mission operated by

Rocket Lab Rocket Lab is a public American aerospace manufacturer and launch service provider, with a New Zealand subsidiary. The company operates lightweight Electron orbital rockets, which provide dedicated launches for small satellites. Rocket Lab also ...

entitled "It's Business Time". IRVINE01 reentered the atmosphere on February 3, 2023.

References

Education in Irvine, California Satellites of the United States Spacecraft launched in 2018 Spacecraft which reentered in 2023 2018 in the United States CubeSats Student satellites Spacecraft launched by Electron rockets {{satellite-stub

See also

References