Alpha Mission, Cornell Space Systems Design Studio

The Alpha mission is a research project under the larger Space Systems Design Studio at Cornell University. Developed by a team of largely undergraduate students, Alpha is a 1U CubeSat that deploys a free-flying retroreflective light sail equipped with four ChipSats (satellite-on-a-chip technology). Inspired by the Breakthrough Starshot Initiative to Alpha Centauri, the Alpha mission serves as a preliminary low Earth Orbit demonstration of technologies that enable next-generation capabilities for space exploration. In addition to the light sail payload, the CubeSat bus features secondary technology-demonstration goals of increasing the capability, responsiveness, and affordability of traditional nanosatellite system architectures. These include an entirely 3D printed bus, magnetorquer-only spin stabilization, comms through the Iridium Network, and an electrical system comprised of solely inexpensive COTS electronics. Alpha is also among the first exhibitions of holography in space, a medium that shows longer-term promise in several roles for interstellar travel.