Student-built satellite set to go to space to collect data for NASA

A team of about 70 undergraduate students and scientists from Sonoma State University, Howard University, and the University of New Hampshire (UNH) has developed a CubeSat satellite, named 3UCubed, set to launch no earlier than November 10 aboard a SpaceX rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base. The bread-loaf-sized CubeSat will travel to the thermosphere—the atmospheric layer where many satellites and the International Space Station orbit—to collect data on oxygen density and electron precipitation. This data will support NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) mission by improving understanding of how the solar wind, a stream of charged particles from the sun, influences space weather and the upper atmosphere, particularly in auroral and cusp regions. The project, led by UNH, provided students with hands-on experience designing the satellite’s instruments, software, antenna, and radio systems, fostering collaboration across universities and enhancing career opportunities in space science and engineering. Over five years, students gained valuable