IDEASSat: A 3U CubeSat Mission for Ionospheric Science

Abstract The Ionospheric Dynamics Exploration and Attitude Subsystem Satellite (IDEASSat / INSPIRESat-2) is a three-unit (U) CubeSat developed with the objective of providing in-situ measurements of the Earth’s ionosphere in order to quantify both global scale ionospheric variability and small scale irregularities. The science payload is the Compact Ionospheric Probe (CIP) - an all in one in-situ plasma sensor developed at Taiwan National Central University (NCU), which is the miniaturized version of the larger Advanced Ionospheric Probe (AIP) that is carried and operational aboard the 450 kg FORMOSAT-5 spacecraft. The spacecraft has been developed by NCU in partnership with the International Satellite Program in Research and Education (INSPIRE) consortium, and is funded by the Taiwan National Space Organization (NSPO), Ministry of Science and Technology, and Ministry of Education as part of the first national effort to encourage small satellite development at Taiwan universities. The development of IDEASSat offers students a hands-on opportunity to learn about space science and technology and will work in conjunction with FORMOSAT-5 and INSPIRESat-1 to provide ionospheric observations spanning different altitudes and local times. The IDEASSat spacecraft subsystems are a combination of commercial off the shelf (COTS) and self-developed components designed by NCU in partnership with other INSPIRE member universities. IDEASSat is expected to be launched in late 2020. In this report, we describe the IDEASSat mission and spacecraft design, as well as unique lessons learned as part of the development process.