15 MAY. 2024
publication date
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The mission
The RadCube was a 3U CubeSat mission aimed at demonstrating the future use and applicability of the RADCUBE system for space weather research (and forecast services) and general radiation damage monitoring for commercial EEE components.
Platform: 3U CubeSat.
Payload: space radiation and magnetic field instrument (RadMag), CHIMERA board.
Programme: General Support Technology Programme (GSTP).
Consortia: C3S, MTA EK Hungary, Imperial College London, Astronika.
Mission description
The RADCUBE IOD mission successfully demonstrated both the 3U CubeSat platform with full redundant, fault-tolerant avionics, and the space radiation and magnetic field instrument (RadMag). The instrument was comprised of a radiation particle telescope and magnetoresistive magnetometer deployed on the end of an 80 cm long boom in order to eliminate the satellite-induced magnetic field from the measurements. Numerous proton and electron flux spectra and Earth magnetic field vector datasets were acquired during the mission, and the latter were found to be within ESA Space Weather data product requirements. Also, disturbances in the magnetic field induced by geomagnetic storms were measured.
Additionally, since the RADCUBE platform had the available resources to accommodate third party technology payloads, the CHIMERA Radiation Hardness Assurance (RHA) board developed in-house at ESA/ESTEC was also embarked and operated successfully.
Mission status
Launch: August 2021.
Status: operational.
Media modal
RadCube reaches out
RadCube reaches out
Smartphone chips flown in orbit for space weather monitoring
Magnetic technology more typically found in your smartphone or computer hard drive has been flight-tested aboard a shoebox-sized satellite, employed to help monitor space weather in Earth orbit. The ‘magnetoresistive’ magnetometer design proven by ESA’s RadCube mission will now be flown on the Gateway station, set to orbit around the Moon.
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