Student leads CubeSail project to send satellites into space

ECE ILLINOIS junior Dawn Haken is leading a team of Illinois engineers to launch a million dollar satellite through the CubeSail project with the help of NASA. The CubeSail satellite project has been in progress for almost ten years and now, Haken and her team are ready to launch their satellite this May from New Zealand. 

To determine the success of the project, Haken says, "We have to put it in space and it has to work for a year or longer and be fully functional the whole time." 

The size of a shoebox, the CubeSail runs on a solar sail system which is powered by light reflective material. The sail itself is about 820 feet long and once it reaches space, it splits apart into two satellites, having been propelled by sunlight.

According to Haken, the CubeSail differs from prior technology due to how "current solar sail technology doesn't allow you to steer. You can use it to accelerate the satellite but once you're up to a certain speed if you want to get to Jupiter and stay around there and take pictures of it, you have to be able to slow down and turn which these solar sails can do."

After the launch of the satellite, it will take about 18 months for the satellite to reach an altitude where its sail can be deployed. After the sail has been deployed, Haken and her team will collect pictures and data before it disintegrates in the atmosphere.

 

Read more about the CubeSail project and watch WCIA's interview with Haken here.