FalconSAT-7 Finally Earns its Wings!

FalconSat-7 is a technology demonstration mission to test a solar space telescope incorporating a membrane photon sieve deployed from a 3U CubeSat to image the sun. It took flight on early Tuesday morning, June 25, on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, along with over 2 dozen other small satellites.

FalconSAT-7 was a engineering collaboration between the United States Air Force Academy (USAFA), the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and MMA. USAFA designed the photon sieve and spacecraft, while MMA designed, built and integrated the deployment mechanism which controls the accuracy of the photon sieve’s position and surface.

New missions, based on this technology, will make it possible to significantly reduce cost, with apertures (and hence resolutions) previously thought unobtainable. Due to its high packing ratios, this mission will prove that it’s possible to construct extremely compact satellites that are simple to manufacture and launch in large numbers with short lead times.