Flight Spacecraft
AUTHOR: ALEXANDER DOKNJAS
Hi, meet the ORCASat family, which consists of the flight spacecraft (the actual ORCASat) and its little brother, the prototype spacecraft. Both satellites shown here have been successfully vibration tested and the flight unit has had its payload calibrated and all tests successfully executed. The flight unit is ready for space flight, and the team could not be more excited!
Prototype with antenna deployed
The prototype is shown here with the antenna made of yellow tape measure deployed. The two satellites are almost identical, the prototype is missing an Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS) as it’s the only off-the-shelf system we purchased and it is extremely expensive. Since the prototype is not going to space, it makes sense to skip the ADCS. The solar panels also use solar cells which are not as efficient as the best-of-the-best cells used on the flight unit.
Flight Unit Zenith (left) and Nadir (right) faces. Notable features include the fine sunsenor and GNSS antenna on the Zenith face, and the payload exit port on the Nadir face.
We don’t have much more to add besides to enjoy these photos of the satellites. We are integrating with the launch provider (Nanoracks) June 27 - 29, and then it’s set to be launched to the International Space Station (ISS) the first week of October. Soon after arriving at the ISS, it will be ejected out an airlock and it will be inserted into its orbit!
Flight spacecraft Ram and Wake faces. The deployable magnetometer can be seen mounted in the centre of the Wake solar panel.
What makes it all tick, the electronics inside the flight spacecraft. You can see the ADCS, payload integration sphere, and battery pack. You can’t see the thirty thousand plus lines of code that actually make ORCASat function the way it’s expected to, but pay attention to those beautiful, custom made cable harnesses that fit perfectly. They took an extreme amount of time and patience to make, so please enjoy.