The University Nanosat Program is a satellite design and fabrication competition for universities. It is jointly administered by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research (AFOSR), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), the Space Development and Test Wing and the AFRL Space Vehicles Directorate's Spacecraft Technology division. NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center was involved from the program inception through Nanosat-3.
The UNP is a recurring competition that involves two phases. The first phase (Phase A) occurs as university teams initially respond to a solicitation posted by the UNP program or one of its partner organizations. The solicitation results in a competition for selection for that program cycle. Typically 10-11 awards are made during this initial phase. Grants are offered to the awardees to participate in a rigorous two-year process to design and develop their satellite concept. At the end of the two years, a Flight Competition Review is held where judges evaluate each program's progress and readiness to move to the next phase. Winners from each cycle are offered launch by AFRL when the systems are ready for flight. Other U.S. Government agencies, such as NASA through the Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNa) initiative, also step in to offer launch opportunities when available. Since 1999, there have been 11 cycles of the program.
The program's objective is to train tomorrow's space professionals by providing a rigorous two year concept to flight-ready spacecraft competition for U. S. higher education institutions and to enable small satellite research and development (R&D), integration and flight test. Approximately 5,000 college students and 40 institutions of higher learning have been involved in this unique experience since its inception in 1999.
Program Cycles
Nanosat-1/Nanosat-2
1st-group. Arizona State University: Sparkie (3CornerSat) 1st-group. New Mexico State University: Petey (3CornerSat) 1st-group. University of Colorado at Boulder: Ralphie (3CornerSat) Boston University: Constellation Pathfinder Carnegie Mellon University: Solar Blade Nanosat Santa Clara University: Emerald and Orion Stanford University: Emerald and Orion Utah State University: USUSat Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University: HokieSat University of Washington: DAWGSTAR
Events and Milestones: December 2004. Sparkie and Ralphie launch on the inaugural Delta-IV Heavy
Nanosat-3
The Nanosat-3 cycle started in 2003 when 13 universities were chosen to compete. The panel selected the University of Texas at Austin’s Formation Autonomous Spacecraft with Thruster, Relative-Navigation, Attitude and Crosslink or FASTRAC satellite(s) as the winner.
1st. The University of Texas at Austin: FASTRAC
2nd. Taylor University: TEST
3rd. Michigan Technological University: HuskySat
Arizona State University
University of Colorado at Boulder: DINO
University of Hawaii at Manoa: Twin Stars
University of Michigan: FENIX
Montana State University: MAIA
New Mexico State University: NMSUSat
Penn State University: LionSat
Utah State University: USUSat II
Washington University in St. Louis: Akoya and Bandit
Worcester Polytechnic Institute: PANSAT
Events and Milestones: November 19, 2010. University of Texas FASTRAC spacecraft launches on a Minotaur IV
Nanosat-4
In March 2005, eleven universities were chosen from the submitted proposals to compete in the Nanosat-4 Phase B effort. CUSat was selected the winner of the cycle in March 2007.
1st. Cornell University: CUSat
2nd. Washington University in St. Louis: Akoya and Bandit
3rd. University of Missouri-Rolla: UMR SAT
University of Central Florida: KNIGHTSAT
University of Cincinnati: BEARSat
University of Minnesota: MinneSAT
New Mexico State University: NMSUSat 2
Santa Clara University: ONYX
Texas A&M University: AggieSat1
University of Texas at Austin: ARTEMIS
Utah State University: TOROID
Events and Milestones: March 2007. Nanosat-4 Flight Competition Review where CUSat named winner September 29, 2013. Cornell University's CUSat launched successfully.
Nanosat-5
The Nanosat-5 competition began in January 2007 with 11 universities being selected from 26 proposal submissions. The University of Colorado at Boulder’s Drag and Atmospheric Neutral Density Experiment or DANDE was selected to continue on toward launch.