Summary points:
-
Blue Canyon Launches Lunar Calibration CubeSat – Blue Canyon Technologies successfully launched a CubeSat for NASA’s ARCSTONE mission, which aims to measure the Moon’s spectral reflectance to improve calibration of Earth-observing satellite instruments.
-
Precision Technology Supports Lunar Mission – The spacecraft uses Blue Canyon’s advanced guidance, navigation, and control systems to achieve high pointing accuracy required for spectrometer measurements of the entire lunar disk.
-
Ongoing Mission Support and Milestone Achievement – In addition to building the spacecraft, Blue Canyon will provide daily mission operations from Colorado; the launch marks the company’s 66th CubeSat in orbit and 84th total small satellite.
LAFAYETTE, Colo. - Blue Canyon Technologies, a subsidiary of RTX based in Lafayette, Colo., announced the successful launch of a CubeSat in support of NASA’s ARCSTONE mission, which aims to measure the Moon’s spectral reflectance to improve the calibration of Earth-observing satellites.
ARCSTONE will collect high-accuracy data on how sunlight is reflected from the entire lunar disk across various wavelengths. This information will serve as a reference standard to calibrate the instruments aboard satellites that monitor Earth’s surface and atmosphere.
"One of the most challenging tasks in remote sensing from space is achieving required instrument calibration accuracy on-orbit,” said Dr. Constantine Lukashin, a physical research scientist at NASA’s Langley Research Center and principal investigator for ARCSTONE. “The Moon is an excellent and available source for calibration with the potential for high accuracy. ARCSTONE will enable multiple spaceborne assets to improve quality of measurements and data products for generations to come."
NASA selects Blue Canyon Technologies to provide microsatellites for INCUS mission
The spacecraft, Blue Canyon’s 66th CubeSat to enter orbit, was built using the company’s precision guidance, navigation, and control systems to meet the mission’s demanding pointing accuracy requirements. It was assembled at the company’s CubeSat facility in Boulder, Colo.
"Blue Canyon’s advanced spacecraft technology will support ARCSTONE in its efforts to enable high-accuracy lunar calibration standard for past, present, and future sensors in low-Earth and geostationary orbits,” said Chris Winslett, general manager of Blue Canyon Technologies.
Blue Canyon will also provide mission operations support from its Lafayette, Colo., center, with about three satellite contacts daily. The successful launch brings the company’s total number of launched CubeSat and microsatellite spacecraft to 84.
