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FalconSat 7 (Peregrine, DOTSI)
FalconSat 7 [USAF]
FalconSAT-7, is a nanosatellite developed by the U.S. Air Force Academy to test out a solar telescope with the Peregrine photon-sieve optic - the world's first spaceborne membrane telescope.
The primary optic is a 0.2 m diameter photon sieve – a diffractive element, consisting of billions of tiny holes in an otherwise opaque polymer sheet. The membrane, its support structure, secondary optics, two imaging cameras and associated control/recording electronics are all packaged within half the CubeSat volume (1.5U). Once in space, the supporting pantograph structure is deployed to pulling the membrane flat under tension. The telescope will then be steered towards the Sun to gather images at H-alpha for transmission to the ground.
The program goals are:
- Deploy a rigid structure supporting a 0.2 m membrane photon sieve
- Image the Sun at the H-alpha wavelength of 656.3n
The satellite is built on a NRO supplied Colony II 3U-CubeSat built by Boeing.
| Nation: | USA |
|---|---|
| Type / Application: | Experimental |
| Operator: | U.S. Air Force Academy |
| Contractors: | U.S. Air Force Academy, Boeing (bus) |
| Equipment: | |
| Configuration: | CubeSat (3U) |
| Propulsion: | None |
| Power: | Deployable solar arrays, batteries |
| Lifetime: | |
| Mass: | 5 kg |
| Orbit: | 306 km × 851 km, 28.52° |
| Satellite | COSPAR | Date | LS | Launch Vehicle | Remarks | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FalconSat 7 (Peregrine, DOTSI) | 2019-036J | 25.06.2019 | CCK LC-39A | Falcon-Heavy (Block 5) | with DSX , FORMOSAT 7A, 7B, 7C, 7D, 7E, 7F, GPIM, OTB 1, NPSat 1, Oculus-ASR, Prox 1, LightSail 2, ARMADILLO, E-TBEx A, E-TBEx B, PSat 2, BRICSat 2, Prometheus 2.6, Prometheus Mass Model, TEPCE 1, 2, CP 9 (LEO), StangSat |
References:
- Geoff Andersen, Michael Dearborn and Geoff McHarg, USAF Academy: FalconSAT-7: A Photon Sieve Solar Telescope
