posted February 10, 2005 13:31            

All of the CubeSat Kit pricing is on page 2 of the Pumpkin price list.

The short answer is that a Pumpkin CubeSat Kit costs $5,000, and you get everything you see here:

* Development Board
* JTAG programming & debugging interface
* Example code
* Salvo Pro for TI's MSP430 RTOS multitasking software
* 10x10x10cm Flight Model (i.e. chassis, etc.), either solid-wall or skeletonized.
* FM430 Flight Module (goes in the Flight Model, is electrically identical to the Development Board)
* Desktop power supply
* USB cable
* Remove-before-flight (RBF) pin
* Manuals, etc.

As long as you plan to work within the 10x10x10cm CubeSat standard, you probably won't need any customization for an order, save for perhaps ordering some extra components, like Protoboard kits or modem adapters.

The CubeSat Kit gives you a huge head start on getting a picosat launched -- the external structure is complete, there's a very powerful and flexible MSP430 on the FM430 Flight Module to handle comms and many other picosat tasks, the RTOS softare makes programming a breeze, the system is completely modular via the CubeSat Kit bus, and you can do all your work on the Development Board in a lab, and then just move your mission-specific PCBs over to the Flight Model.

Every mission has unique requirements, and so you'll have to create an EPS board, add solar cells, decide what kind of modem and antenna you will use, etc. The flexible design of the CubeSat Kit can probably accommodate any of your choices.

As an example of how quickly you can get things working, each group in last quarter's AA236A class at Stanford University used the CubeSat Development Boards and MaxStream modems to complete an autonomous rover that was capable of being commanded to move in any direction, detect and avoid obstacles, broadcast status information and accept commands wireless, all in a total of 8 4-hour classes. This class was an introduction to systems design, etc. and now AA236B is moving forward with a real picosat project, again using the CubeSat Kit. Their goal is to complete the working satellite within two quarters.

Complete CubeSat Kits are currently in stock.