Educational nanosatellites

The 'CubeSat' concept, which can take several, from the simple cube to the 'lego' block made up of 24 elements, was born in the 1990s. It quickly became a standard, which was then recognised around the world. Professor Bob Twiggs (California Polytechnic State University and Stanford University, both in California) is considered as the "father" of the CubeSat concept. He saw a number of advantages to this approach:

- a multidisciplinary interactive teaching tool for universities and other institutions of higher learning around the world;

- a stimulating test bed for the miniaturisation of components (sensors, propulsion systems, altitude controllers) and technological innovation for accessing space ('low-cost' experiments in astronomy, teledetection, microgravity, etc.);

- a versatile means of acquiring industrial space experience with a minimum of risk.

 Satellite student