LEOPARDSat-1 Spacecraft

LEOPARDSat-1
LEOPARDSat-1
Spacecraft LEOPARDSat-1 (Low Earth Orbit Platform for Aerospace Research and Development CubeSat)
Spacecraft type CubeSat
Units or mass 1U
Status No signal? (Confirmations not found as of 2026-07-29)
Launched 2026-04-11
NORAD ID ?
Deployer NRCSD (NanoRacks CubeSat Deployer) [Quad-M]
Launcher Falcon 9 (Cygnus) (NG-24)
Deployment Deployed from ISS on 2026-07-02
Organization University of Cincinnati
Institution University
Entity type Academic / Education
Headquarters US
Oneliner

Educational mission to teach in-depth space mission and systems engineering to undergraduate and high school students.

Description

The primary goal of the LEOPARDSat mission is to provide an educational platform for members of UC CubeCats, students at the University of Cincinnati, and students at local high schools to learn about the design, construction, testing, and launch of space systems.

In addition to building experience for future CubeSat missions, it will contribute to the radio arts by promoting interest in amateur radio, and by providing an amateur radio satellite digipeater.

Secondary goals include the following student-developed science projects:

  1. Studying the effectiveness of carbon-carbon (CC) and high density polyethylene (HDPE) composite materials in shielding against ionizing radiation.
  2. Evaluating the performance of the onboard Passive Magnetic Attitude Control System (PMACS) in relation to is simulated performance.

During 99% of the nominal mission, the onboard transceiver will be configured as an amateur radio digipeater. Additionally, the communication systems and ground station equipment and operation is largely a contribution of the University of Cincinnati Amateur Radio Club (UCARC).

Sources [1] [2] [3]
Photo sources [1] [2]
On the same launch

Last modified: 2026-07-29

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Created by Erik Kulu

Email: erik.kulu@nanosats.eu
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