It all started in the late 1990’s. A group of researchers came up with the idea of creating a new small satellite platform, called a CubeSat, to help students develop the skills to build satellites.
Today as small satellites proliferate, the CubeSat has evolved, but the basic premise still remains.
The Canadian Space Agency, wanting to develop student skills in this evolving field, has funded the Canadian CubeSat Project. That program involves students in every Province and Territory who are using the basic CubeSat form factor to develop a small satellite with a variety of payload sensors. Eventually, it is hoped that each team, a group of students from universities, colleges and even high schools, from each Province and Territory will see their satellites “launched” from the International Space Station.
Below, the CSA presents a video on What is a CubeSat? The host, Chloé Mireault-Lecourt, is an electrical engineering student at the Université of Sherbrooke.