YukonSat

YukonSat [Yukon College]

YukonSat is a Canadian 2U-CubeSat designed by the Yukon College.

The primary payload consists of a sensor array that will collect general data related to attitude determination, as well as a robotic camera arm that will photograph the satellite, the Earth, the Moon, and other celestial objects. It will also include a digital fluxgate magnetometer to collect ionosphere magnetic field data, as well as a MIDI audio transmission setting for use in outreach activities.

The satellites will also include a commercial S-band transmitter for payload data downlinking. Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) donated this capability in order to provide students with a better experience and to achieve outreach goals that are very similar to those of the amateur community. This contribution includes the purchase of S-band transmitter hardware as well as access to two NRCan ground stations in St. Albert and Gatineau.

Yukon youth and the general public are invited to participate in coding challenges based on YukonSat data. Students, for example, could be challenged to create a collage of satellite images of a specific region of the Earth. Coding difficulties in transmitting and receiving short voice recordings. Through a scavenger hunt-style challenge, Yukon schools, First Nations, communities, and other groups will have the opportunity to spread their messages to other parts of Canada and the world. Yukon College math and science courses required data analysis and interpretation. For example, students could learn about instrumentation, signal processing, and data analysis techniques while mapping the earth's magnetic forces with GPS and magnetometer data from a satellite built by their peers.

It is part of a constellation consisting of three satellites: Ex-Alta 2, YukonSat, and AuroraSat. Together, they form a common mission referred to as the Northern SPIRIT Consortium.

The satellite is to be launched onboard of Dragon CRS-27 towards the ISS, from where it will be deployed.