3Cat-8
| Mission type | Ionosphere research, technology demonstration, education |
|---|---|
| Operator |   UPC |
| Spacecraft properties | |
| Bus | 6U CubeSat |
| Start of mission | |
| Launch date | NET 2026 |
| Rocket | RFA One |
| Launch site |   SaxaVord Spaceport |
| Contractor |  Rocket Factory Augsburg |
3Cat-8 is a future Spanish ionospheric research satellite under development by the NanoSat Lab at Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya. The 6U CubeSat-type small satellite features a deployable Fresnel zone plate antenna, a dual receiver for GNSS occultation and reflectometry, a hyperspectral imager for observing aurora, as well as a PocketQube deployer.[1][2][3][4][5] The satellite is expected to launch no earlier than 2026 from SaxaVord Spaceport in Scotland, on the second test flight of the German rocket RFA One.[6][7][8][9] The launch of the satellite is supported by the German government via DLR.[10]
References
[edit]- ↑ Kulu, Erik. "3CAT-8". Nanosats Database. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
- ↑ Contreras-Benito, Luis; Osipova, Ksenia; Buitrago-Leiva, Jeimmy Nataly; Gracia-Sola, Guillem; Coppa, Francesco; Climent-Salazar, Pau; Sopena-Coello, Paula; Garcín, Diego; Ramos-Castro, Juan; Camps, Adriano (2024). "3Cat-8 Mission: A 6-Unit CubeSat for Ionospheric Multisensing and Technology Demonstration Test-Bed". Remote Sensing. 16 (22). doi:10.3390/r. ISSN 2072-4292. Archived from the original on 2026-01-30.
- ↑ Coppa, Francesco (2024-07-25). Design and Analysis of a Fresnel Zone Plate Antenna for Nanosatellite Missions (laurea thesis) (in Italian). Politecnico di Torino.
- ↑ Aguiló Seguí, Sara (2024-09-10). Analysis of hyperspectral imaging in 3Cat-8 mission (Bachelor thesis thesis). Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
- ↑ Cruz Martinez, Alberto (2023-06-27). Analysis and design of the 3Cat-8 pointing control system for high-volume data downlink (Bachelor thesis thesis). Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya.
- ↑ Christiaens, Kris (2023-11-23). "RFA flies eight customers on second flight". FutureSpaceFlight. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
- ↑ Redaktion, Raumfahrer net (2023-11-23). "Kleinsatelliten – Gewinner von drei DLR-Wettbewerben gekürt - Raumfahrer.net" (in German). Retrieved 2026-09-08.
- ↑ "Rocket Factory Augsburg names eight customers on second flight". satnews.com. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
- ↑ Pons, Juan (2023-11-27). "These are the German, French and British competitors of Spanish startup PLD". Atalayar. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
- ↑ "Small satellites – winners of three DLR competitions selected". www.dlr.de. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
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