CAT (CubeSat Assessment and Test) Spacecraft

Satellite	CAT (CubeSat Assessment and Test)
Type	CubeSat
Units or mass	3U
Organization	Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL)
Institution	University
Entity	Academic / Education
Headquarters	US
Launch brokerer	Nanoracks
Partners	Blue Canyon, U.S. Department of Defense
Oneliner	Key lessons learned from the ORS TECH and RAVAN missions are being applied to this mission.
Results	CAT mission has been successful in maintaining the desired in-track separation. The CAT spacecraft have never been below the 10-km separation range limit and only exceeded the 150-km separation range limit twice. First due to initial deployment velocity and delayed initiation of drag maneuvering. Second due to a series of untimely safe-mode and command lock-outs. More frequent maneuver updates in combination with faster maneuver planning methods have been implemented based on lessons learned. Primary CAT mission was successful and we look forward to a successful extended mission as well.
Sources	[1] [2] [3] [4]
Photo sources	[1] [2]
COTS subsystems	PLATFORM - Blue Canyon

Related Spacecraft

Spacecraft	Status	Launcher	Launch	Orbit
CAT A (CAT-1, CubeSat Assessment and Test, CATSat-1)	Reentry 2021-04-13. Was operational (Smallsat 2021)	Falcon 9, (CRS-16)	2018-12-05	400 km, 51.6 deg, ISS
CAT B (CAT-2, CubeSat Assessment and Test, CATSat-2)	Reentry 2021-04-13. Was operational (Smallsat 2021)	Falcon 9, (CRS-16)	2018-12-05	400 km, 51.6 deg, ISS

Last modified: 2023-06-03