Another Space Kickstarter

[Warshawski]

So, following the huge success of the Planetary Resources ARKYD satellite kickstarter, it seems that the KickStart method of space exploration is coming into being...

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/597141632/cat-a-thruster-for-interplanetary-cubesats#

What do you think?

[NGTOne]

To be honest, I think this kind of initiative is bloody brilliant. THIS sort of thing is the future of space exploration, not massive, bloated, bureaucratic national agencies.

[astropapi1]

Awesome stuff.

[3_bit]

Getting a 1U cubesat to the moon could cost as little as $200k I estimate. What I really want to see now is docking for cubesats. Space Stations, anyone? (perhaps amateur satellites are in their .17 days still...)

[Epic DaVinci]

Getting a 1U cubesat to the moon could cost as little as $200k I estimate.

Really? that little? i take it your talking about using a pre-built launch vehicle and cubesat design so development costs are not factored in?

[NGTOne]

Really? that little? i take it your talking about using a pre-built launch vehicle and cubesat design so development costs are not factored in?

I actually examined it at some point - while landing on the Moon is right out (unless they get that 6U Cubesat I've heard is under development flying, anyways), lunar orbit is achievable using electric thrusters on a 3U CubeSat from LEO. CubeSat is a standard, and parts are readily available. There's a company out there that actually makes CubeSat thrusters, in a variety of types (electric and monopropellant).

I dunno if 3_bit is talking about launching a 1U directly into a lunar transfer orbit, but the problem I examined was getting a 3U from LEO to lunar orbit on its own, unassisted by other vehicles. Time-consuming (CubeSat-scale electric thrusters produce thrust on the order of mN), but doable.

The ballpark price tag I came up with for such a mission was about $150-$200K, and that was with significant margin to spare.

[3_bit]

Really? that little? i take it your talking about using a pre-built launch vehicle and cubesat design so development costs are not factored in?

That's estimated hardware costs. You see a 1U costs ~15k with a launch, so reasonably assuming massive hardware costs it should be around there. I saw a design that used 1U for a lander and 2U for an ion-engine based booster.

[Epic DaVinci]

Wow im impressed, i know £200k is a lot of money, but for a lot of people is isnt. Such as rich bankers and footballers, Why are there not countless cubesats orbiting the Moon i dont knowm how cool woould it be to say you have your own salelite??

[NGTOne]

That's estimated hardware costs. You see a 1U costs ~15k with a launch, so reasonably assuming massive hardware costs it should be around there. I saw a design that used 1U for a lander and 2U for an ion-engine based booster.

Not sure how feasible that is, though it definitely would be cool. The only thruster I saw with enough power to actually propel a CubeSat to landing was larger than 1U.

Wow im impressed, i know £200k is a lot of money, but for a lot of people is isnt. Such as rich bankers and footballers, Why are there not countless cubesats orbiting the Moon i dont knowm how cool woould it be to say you have your own salelite??

Yes, it would be cool, but the problem with CubeSats is the restrictive mission profile - a 3U CubeSat, according to the official standard, can weigh no more than 4kg. I crunched the numbers on this when I was examining it, and to reach orbit around the Moon from LEO takes about 4 km/s, which equates to anywhere between 2-2.5 kg of fuel for an electric thruster (and a whole lot more for a monopropellant engine). That leaves you with about 1.5 kg for structural elements, comms equipment, the engine itself, and mission payload. The vast majority of that will be taken up by structural components and the engine, so you're left with maybe a few hundred grams for mission payload and comms gear.

[cypher_00]

Hehe love the 7 million stretch goal:

$7,000,000:Ten CubeSats with networking capability placed into optimal orbits by CAT engine, establishing the first interplanetary internet and paving the way for total solar system domination. Prepare to be assimilated.

But yeah I hope to see more projects like this succeed.