Outpost Mission 1 “Failure Is An Option”
Mission 1 marked my first ever experience in spacecraft design, integration, testing, and operating. As this was a project for Outpost, I am obliged to withhold specific design details. However, I can broadly discuss my contributions and share publicly released text and images about the mission provided by Outpost.
Outpost Mission 1 was a 3U cubesat launched on SpaceX transporter8 with “aims to test and evaluate the performance of our hosted payload satellite subsystems and avionics and successfully bring into orbit our first customer payload”. Our design “innovated on the standard satellite structure materials and this launch will have the first ever-to-be-flown carbon fiber CubeSat frame! … In only 7 months, the Outpost team designed and built two flight model satellites featuring in-house designed and built power systems, communications, computers, harnessing and ADCS.”
This was one of the first projects at Outpost. With the tight deadline we still had to construct the facility as we built the satellite. This required every engineer responsible for a component to not only design it but also to determine how it would be manufactured, cleaned, and tested within the developing facility.
Contribution
During Mission 1 at Outpost, I was one of just two mechanical engineers on the team. I was responsible for designing, manufacturing, and integrating approximately 50% of the CubeSat. Notably, I developed the top section visible on the picture of satellite on the right, which houses the GPS antennas and camera. Other significant contributions of mine include the design and integration of the battery, faceplates, and solar panel mounts.
Takeaways
Mission 1 gave me an intro into everything required to put a satellite into orbit. I walked into the company with zero experience in the space industry when there was just an empty building and by the end we had created a fully built facility and a working spacecraft. The lessons I learned throughout the process are invaluable and something I will carry with me for the rest of my career.
All pictures and quotes are credited to Outpost. All information is from Outposts public information.