CP6

Names	CP6 CubeSat CalPoly CP-6 PolySat-6 PolySat CP6
Mission type	Technology demonstration
Operator	California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo
COSPAR ID	2009-028C
SATCAT no.	35003
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	CubeSat
Bus	1U CubeSat
Manufacturer	California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo (CalPoly)
Launch mass	1 kg (2.2 lb)
Dimensions	10 × 10 × 10 cm (3.9 × 3.9 × 3.9 in)
Power	Solar cells, batteries
Start of mission
Launch date	19 May 2009, 23:55 UTC
Rocket	Minotaur I
Launch site	MARS LP-0B
Contractor	Orbital Sciences Corporation
End of mission
Decay date	6 October 2011 [1]
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit[2]
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	426 km (265 mi)
Apogee altitude	466 km (290 mi)
Inclination	40.46°
Period	93.50 minutes

CP6, also known as CP6 CubeSat, CalPoly CP-6, PolySat-6 or PolySat CP6 is a single-unit CubeSat which was built and operated by the California Polytechnic State University (CalPoly). It was primarily intended to perform a technology demonstration mission. The main experiment consisted of sensors to determine the spacecraft's attitude. Cameras on the satellite will be used to verify the data returned by the attitude sensors.^[3]

Originally built as a backup to CP3 CubeSat, while CP3 is considered an operational satellite by the PolySat team, unreliable radio issues have prevented full operation of the spacecraft's mission-required sensors. which was launched on 17 April 2007,^[4] CP6 was modified after it was decided that it would no longer be needed for that role.^[3]

In addition to the attitude determination experiment, CP6 also planned to test a system to collect electrons from the ambient plasma environment for the United States Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) as part of research into electrodynamic propulsion. The electron collector will be deployed once the primary mission, the attitude determination experiment, has been completed. This technology will have potential application in electrodynamic propulsion systems.^[3]

Electrodynamic propulsion offers the prospects of enabling spacecraft to maneuver without the expenditure of conventional fuel, that is the possibility of propellant-less maneuvers. This experiment consists of three deployable devices, an electron emitter consisting of two thoriated tungsten filaments which reside at the end of a 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) rolled up steal tape and two electron collectors that are rolled up steel tapes, each 1.1 m (3 ft 7 in) long. The tapes and electronics of the experiment are housed in a 25 mm (0.98 in) high space on one side of a deployable door nestled around two cameras of the Cal Poly primary mission. The deployable door and rolled up tapes will be deployed at the conclusion of the Cal Poly primary mission and last for 3–6 months. The mission data will be downlinked to ground stations at the Naval Research Laboratory and Cal Poly.^[3]

It was successfully launched on an Orbital Sciences Corporation Minotaur I launch vehicle from Pad 0B at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport, at 23:55 UTC on 19 May 2009. It will be a tertiary payload, with TacSat-3 as the primary payload and PharmaSat as the secondary. Two other CubeSats, AeroCube-3 and HawkSat-1, were also launched on the same launch vehicle, and together the three satellites were known as the CubeSat Technology Demonstration mission.

The satellite reentered in the atmosphere of Earth on 6 October 2011.^[1]

• List of CubeSats

• PolySat: California Polytechnic State University Satellite Project - CP6
• Davis, Robert. "Cubesat Tech Demo P-POD" (PDF). Hawk Institute of Space Sciences. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 31 October 2021.