BUSAT 1 (QB50 CN01)

BUSAT 1 (Beihang University Satellite) is a 2U-CubeSat for technology development and upper atmosphere science. It is developed and built at the Beihang University.

The science unit accommodatesthe Ion/Neutral Mass Spectrometer (INMS), two corner cube laser retroreflectors (CCR), and Thermistors/thermocouples /RTD (TH) for lower thermosphere/ionosphere research for the QB50 project. The functional unit includes the structure, thermal control, electrical power, ADCS, OBDH, TT&C subsystem, which supply the CubeSat platform service function. There is an independently developed micro- Chinese BD receiver (receiving signals from Chinese Beidou satellite navigation system) accommodated in the function unit for the on-orbit space technology experiment.

It is a part of the QB50 constellation to gather science data in the upper layers of the troposphere in the altitude range from 350 km down to 200 km. The QB50 project, which demonstrates the possibility of launching a network of 50 CubeSats built by Universities Teams all over the world to perform first-class science in the largely unexplored lower thermosphere.

It carries a Science Unit (SU) named INMS (Ion/Neutral Mass Spectrometer) for sampling of low mass ionized and neutral particles in lower thermosphere, such as O, O₂, and N₂.

The satellite will be launched with the bulk of the QB50 constellation to the ISS in 2017, from where they will be deployed. The in-orbit lifetime of BUSAT 1 is about 3 months, from deployment to de-orbit.