Horus mission is the UPC Space Program project dedicated to CubeSats and Pocket Cubes that aims to investigate every process related to the development of these small-scaled satellites, with the aim of creating a fully operational satellite.
CubeSats are small satellites that have become a great alternative to satellites located in low Earth orbit (LEO). Their dimensions are similar to a cube not much larger than 10 X 10 X 10 cm. This leads to a weight of less than 10kg. Most of these nanosatellites do not even reach 2 kg and, for this reason, their launch cost is much cheaper, being much more affordable than conventional satellites.
It should be noted that the satellites in development are tested in university facilities, in a structure designed and printed in 3D by the members themselves, since the launching process is very complex.
CubeSat Research & Experimentation
Horus mission is currently participating in the Europe 2 Space Challenge competition, an initiative proposed by several companies in the Spanish aerospace sector, which aims to launch a series of PocketQubes developed by high school and university students. Horus' proposal consists of the development of an electrodynamic Tether (EDT), an alternative propulsion system for small-scale satellites.
2021-Current
For the members of the mission to acquire the necessary knowledge to be able to develop a functional CubeSat or PocketQube, the mission develops small studies related to the design and manufacturing phases for these types of satellites: modeling of the structure, attitude control, orbital simulations, environmental impact studies, etc. These mini-projects are conducted in collaboration with the ESEIAAT nanosatellite research team.