Reentry test of QARMAN CubeSat
Reentry test of QARMAN CubeSat
15 MAY. 2024
publication date
927
Views
The mission
The QARMAN mission was a 3U CubeSat for the In-Orbit Demonstration (IOD) of a new low-cost small re-entry vehicle capability.
Platform: 3U CubeSat.
Payload: re-entry technologies, including novel heatshield materials and a new passive aerodynamic drag stabilisation system.
Programme: General Support Technology Programme (GSTP).
Contractor: Von Karman Institute.
Mission description
The QubeSat for Aerothermodynamic Research and Measurements on Ablation (QARMAN) was originally planned to be embarked as an IOD CubeSat on the launch of the QB50 constellation, however eventually launched to ISS and deployed into orbit from where its altitude decayed until re-entry. The demonstration included the use and flight testing of novel re-entry heatshield materials and an innovative aerodynamic drag passive attitude stabilisation system as well as the use of Iridium Inter-satellite Links during re-entry in order to transmit re-entry related telemetry before reaching the Earth surface.
Mission status
Launch: deployed from ISS in February 2020.
Status: re-entry in February 2022.
Media modal
Qarman CubeSat: falling into a fireball
UPDATE: Qarman deployment from the ISS scheduled for Wednesday 19 February at 11:20 UTC (12:20 CET)ESA’s latest mission will enter the vacuum of space not aboard a rocket but by being released from the International Space Station. The first task of the shoebox-sized Qarman CubeSat is simply to fall. While typical space missions resist orbital decay, Qarman will drift down month by month until it reenters the atmosphere, at which point it will gather a wealth of data on the fiery physics of reentry.
Qarman CubeSat in Hertz test chamber
Qarman CubeSat in Hertz test chamber
Share this page
stay updated
Subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest news, mission updates, and exclusive insights directly in your inbox. Be the first to know about our upcoming projects and breakthroughs.