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Student-Built 3UCubed CubeSat Set for Nov. 10 SpaceX Launch to Support NASA’s IMAP

The mission will measure thermospheric oxygen density alongside electron precipitation to refine space‑weather models.

Overview

  • The CubeSat is scheduled to lift off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on a SpaceX rocket no earlier than November 10, 2025 at 10:19 a.m. PST.
  • Selected through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, the spacecraft will provide complementary data to the Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe.
  • University of New Hampshire led assembly, instrument build and calibration, and instrument and flight software, with Sonoma State University leading ground‑station software.
  • Sonoma State will operate the primary ground station for commanding and data downlink, with Howard University providing a backup station built in partnership with UNH.
  • Seventy undergraduates from UNH, SSU, and HU spent five years developing the loaf‑of‑bread‑sized satellite, with SSU students also engaging local amateur radio operators and Scouts on ground‑station work.