CubeSats have been a ubiquitous part of the satellite industry for almost a quarter century. They are based on a cube-shaped design, measuring approximately 10 centimeters per side, but can be scaled from a single cube “unit” to three, six, twelve or more, depending on mission requirements. The CubeSat standard has become a popular choice for commercial companies, the military, NASA and universities looking to build small satellites on a budget.
By one measure, nearly 3,000 CubeSats have been launched since the first one entered orbit in 2003. After originally being in low Earth orbit, they have now flown to high altitude orbits, to the moon and to Mars.
Although CubeSats are now productive, engineers at the Aerospace Corporation saw an opportunity to improve the concept. Debra Emmons, Aerospace's chief technology officer, said the idea came from Rich Welle, a scientist who recently retired from the center's Experiments Lab (xLab) department.
“They asked questions,” Emmons said in an interview with Ars. “They looked at CubeSat studies and looked at some alternatives. The typical CubeSat is basically a cube. So the idea was that you could look at some different types of form factors that could potentially generate more power… and provide benefits for certain mission applications?”
Aerospace's research team came up with the DiskSat design. Emmons said the stackable flat-panel format is easier to pack for launch than a CubeSat. The concept is similar to SpaceX's pioneering approach to launching stackable Starlink internet satellites, but DiskSats are significantly smaller, lighter and adaptable to different types of missions.
A stack of Starlink satellites prior to launch.
Credit: SpaceX
DiskSats have several advantages over CubeSats, according to the Aerospace Corporation. Each of the four DiskSats launched Thursday has a mass of about 35 pounds (16 kilograms), less than that of a typical 12U CubeSat. But a DiskSat has more than 13 times the surface area on one side, which provides valuable real estate for developers to load the satellite with energy-generating solar panels, sensors, antennas or other payloads that simply won't fit on a CubeSat.
