PikoQube
By Ben Everard. Posted
5 × 5 × 75 mm satellite on the form factor of a 1.5P PocketQube. One of the sides is covered by a solar panel. It consists of four (inside) PCBs: EPS, OBC, COM, and Payload. Solar panels, base plate, and other panels make up the structure of the PocketQube.
The PocketQube satellite format is a wonderful example of citizen science. It’s made space accessible to schools, colleges, universities, and other enthusiast groups, and as such, it’s a natural for use with open-source and homemade electronics.
This training kit from Orion Space gives would-be participants in the PocketQube program the ability to practice on a PocketQube satellite without the price tag. It’s 1.5× the size of a standard PocketQube at 50 × 50 × 75 mm, and features the battery casing, solar panels, power management subsystems, an ATMEGA328 microcontroller, and all the rest of the electronics that students will need to master before they can get their own project up into space.
