SAM UK Space Agency Study finished

Over the last six month, researchers at the Advanced Space Concepts Laboratory of the University of Strathclyde were working on a UK Space Agency Study with the topic “CubeSat Low Cost Inter-Orbit Transfer Demonstrator”. SAM was one of the two proposed satellite missions that would enable low cost inter-orbit transfer. SAM would use hybrid propulsion consisting of a solar sail and an electric engine. The cube satellite membrane would employ the SAM membrane as a substructure with integrated solar cells powering the electric engines. The study showed that such a system would enable a low cost transfer of a 3U cube satellite from the Earth to the Moon. We are hoping for a follow-up study from the UK Space Agency for SAM to become UK’s next satellite UKube 3 or UKube 4.