LAUNCHUK COMPETITION
A competition with a £600k prize that encourages young people to design a Nanosatellite platform, and improve life on Earth by tackling issues related to climate change!
PHASE 0:
MISSION DEFINITION
This phase concerns the conception of the mission definition. OirthirSAT has completed this phase by compiling together the information required for the LaunchUK Nanosat Design Competition application, which acted as our Mission Definition Review (MDR).
PHASE A:
MISSION FEASIBILITY
This phase covers the production of initial technical designs, management plans, system
engineering plans, and product assurance plans. The feasibility of the mission (implementation, cost, operations, maintenance, and disposal) is assessed alongside the mission risks. OirthirSAT completed this phase by being shortlisted for the next stage of the competition along with 4 other teams (from a pool of 43 applicants)!
PHASE B:
PRELIMINARY DEFINITION
This phase is concerned with finalising plans, deciding on hardware, and firming up our schedule. Trade-off studies must be undertaken to decide on the most preferred solutions dependent on the requirements defined. Some electronic components have lead times of more than a year, so we're also kicking off procurement of some items. We've successfully completed our System Requirements Review (SRR) and Preliminary Design Review (PDR).
PHASE C:
DETAILED DEFINITION
The OirthirSAT Team is currently in this project phase, where the review process can take several months. OirthirSAT proceeded to work with mentors to finalise designs and get launch-ready. This phase will involve detailed definitions of interfaces, building engineering models, planning for assembly, integration, verification and testing (AIV/T), and will conclude with the Critical Design Review (CDR).
PHASE D:
QUALIFICATION AND VERIFICATION
This phase involves the qualification, verification, and production of the platform itself. Qualification hardware will be built and qualification testing and verification activities will be undertaken before a Qualification Review. Then the flight hardware itself will be built, acceptance tested and delivery authorised. Finally, the Nanosat platform will be ready for launch after the Flight Acceptance Review (FAR) and Operational Readiness Review (ORR)!
