Infrastructure
Stanford on the Moon
SLAM's customer is a Stanford-affiliated organization called Stanford on the Moon (SOM), a group with the goal of developing a multidisciplinary mission that will put a significant Stanford presence on the Moon in the next decade. Our goal in SLAM is to help SOM garner attention and fundraising for future SOM missions to establish this lunar presence.
Space Systems Development Lab (SSDL)
The Stanford SSDL specializes in end-to-end development of new space hardware with an education goal. SSDL is part of an international university network, including the Mercury Ground Station.
CubeSat Kit
CubeSats are satellites that are 10cm x 10cm x 10cm, weighing 1kg or less. The SLAM team chose to use CubeSats in this mission because of their cost-effectiveness and their simplicity (CubeSats use commercial, off-the-shelf components). Both of these advantages will be a great help in reaching our 2010 deadline.
KatySat Bus
KatySat (Kids Aren't Too Young for Satellites) is another program under development at the Stanford SSDL. Currently, their team is working to develop a standard CubeSat bus that includes specific add-ons that will directly benefit the SLAM mission:
- S-band radio for communications with Stanford Dish
- UHF/VHF radio for worldwide communications
- Digital and analog modes
- Onboard camera
- Magnetic field and radiation sensors
- Passive magnetic attitude control
- Mission data storage on industrial MMC card
The KatySat bus is aiming to be online in early 2007. The use of this architecture will eliminate a great deal of technical development, resulting in time and cost savings.