CubeSpec is an in-orbit demonstration CubeSat mission in the ESA technology programme, developed and funded in Belgium. The goal of the mission is to demonstrate high-spectral-resolution astronomical spectroscopy from a 6-unit CubeSat. The technological challenges are numerous. The telescope and echelle spectrometer have been designed to fit in a 10×10×20cm volume. The fast telescope focus and spectrometer alignment is achieved via an athermal design. Shielding from the Sun and Earth infrared flux is achieved via deploying Earth and Sun shades. Arcsecond-level pointing stability is achieved using a performant 3-axis wheel stabilised attitude control system with star tracker augmented with a fine beam steering mechanism. CubeSpec is now starting the implementation phase, with a planned launch in 2024. A qualification and a flight model will be constructed and tested in the next 2 years. In this contribution we will give an overview of the mission, its technologies and qualification status.
CUBESPEC is an ESA in-orbit demonstration 6U CubeSat mission, currently in phase A/B. CUBESPEC will deliver months long series of high-resolution spectroscopy to study the structure of massive stars. The payload consists of a Cassegrain telescope with a rectangular primary mirror of 9 x 19 cm2 and a compact high-resolution echelle spectrograph. We aim at a 2023 launch demonstrating the CUBESPEC concept: providing the astronomical community with a generic solution for affordable space-based spectroscopy. The spectrograph design can be configured with minimal hardware changes for low spectral resolution (R = 50) up to high resolution (R ~ 50000) over a over wavelength ranges between 200–1000nm. CUBESPEC will use the KU Leuven ADCS for coarse pointing of the spacecraft, supplemented with a fine-guidance system using a fast steering mirror to center the source on the spectrograph slit. We present the CUBESPEC design and mission analysis, and give an update of the project status.
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