| Satellite | RAVAN XB3 (Radiometer Assessment Using Vertical Aligned Nanotubes, Ravan XB-3) |
|---|---|
| Form factor | CubeSat |
| Units or mass | 3U |
| Status | Operational? (Science mission ended in August 2018 and operational as of February 2019 but no news found since last checked 2023-06-09) |
| Launched | 2016-11-11 |
| NORAD ID | 41849 |
| Deployer | P-POD (Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer) |
| Launcher | Atlas V |
| Organisation | Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (JHU/APL) |
| Institution | University |
| Entity | Academic / Education |
| Nation | US |
| Manufacturer | AIVT by Blue Canyon |
| Operator | Blue Canyon |
| Launch brokerer | Tyvak |
| Partners | NASA Earth Science Technology Office, L-1 Standards and Technology, Draper Laboratory, Blue Canyon |
| Oneliner |
Measure the absolute imbalance in the Earth's radiation budget using radiometer. |
| Description |
Demonstrate technology needed to measure the absolute imbalance in the Earth's radiation budget for the first time, giving scientists valuable information to study our climate. Demonstrate a radiometer that is compact, low-cost, and low-uncertainty. The radiometer uses a gallium fixed-point black body as a built-in calibration source and a vertically aligned carbon nanotube (VACNT) absorber. VACNTs are the blackest known substance. Neither the VACNT nor gallium black body has ever been used in an orbiting scientific instrument. Successful demonstration will pave the way for a constellation Earth radiation budget mission that can provide valuable measurements needed to significantly advance our understanding of ongoing and future climate change. |
| Sources | [1] [2] [3] [4] |
| Photo sources | [1] |
| COTS subsystems |
|
| Subsystems sources | [1] |
| Keywords | Globalstar or Iridium or Inmarsat |
| On the same launch |
Last modified: 2023-06-09
