CubeRRT Deployed into Orbit

CubeRRT was deployed from the International Space Station on July 13, 2018.  Up until this time, a Nanoracks deployer had housed CubeRRT and another 6U CubeSat, TEMPEST-D, within the ISS.  The two were pushed out of the ISS together, but will gradually separate to establish their own distinct orbits.

CubeRRT (left) and TEMPEST-D deploy from the ISS

Initial contact has been made with CubeRRT using the Globalstar communications network.  Telemetry from the spacecraft indicates that its power, attitude control, and thermal systems are all working as expected.  Upon successful communications using the onboard UHF radio, CubeRRT will begin its bus and payload commissioning which expected to last about 3 weeks.

CubeRRT (left) and TEMPEST-D begin their orbits

CubeRRT Launch a Success

View of launch from VIP area

After a one-day delay due to weather, CubeRRT was launched aboard the OA-9 resupply mission to the ISS on May 21, 2018. Several members of the CubeRRT team witnessed the launch at Wallops Flight Facility.

L-R: Joel Johnson, Sid Misra, Chris Ball, Christa McKelvey, Bob Jarnot, Carl Felten, Rudi Bendig, Jonathon Kocz, Graeme Smith

CubeRRT team attends launch

CubeRRT is one of nine CubeSats in the Cygnus cargo carrier, which docked with the space station three days later, on May 24.

Leading up to the launch, CubeRRT was featured in a Facebook Live broadcast from the Range Control Center at Wallops.  CubeRRT also appeared in a news story on ABC 6 in Columbus and in the EEs Talk Tech podcast by Keysight Technologies.

CubeRRT Testing Complete and Ready for Launch

Photo: Joel Johnson and the Blue Canyon Technologies team with the CubeRRT satellite

The final stages of CubeRRT testing were completed in March at Blue Canyon Technologies.  Testing was followed by delivery to NanoRacks for integration into the CubeSat deployer, which is the mechanical assembly that is sent to the ISS and will ultimately set the satellite into orbit.

The launch date has been changed and is now scheduled for Sunday, May 20 at 5:04 a.m. from Wallops Flight Facility in Wallops Island, Virginia.

Photo: Joel Johnson and the Blue Canyon Technologies team with the CubeRRT satellite