RANGE [Georgia Institute of Technology]
Official name RANGE A
Alternative name RANGE A
Cospar ID 2018-099R
Norad ID 43773
Launch date 2018-12-03
Launch site AFWTR
Launch vehicle Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5)
Country/Organization USA
Type application Technology
Operator Georgia Institute of Technology
RCS size SMALL
Decay date ON ORBIT
Period (min) 95.86
Inclination (deg) 97.5
Perigee (km) 550
Apogee (km) 570
Eccentricity 0.0178571428571429
Mean motion (revs. per day) 15.021906947632
Semi-Major axis (km) 6938.135
Raan (deg) 213.1301
Arg of perigee (deg) 9.8554
Shape Box + 2 Pan
Mass (kg) 2
Height (m) 0.2
Width (m) 0.1
Depth (m) 0.1
Span (m^2) 0.2
Contractors Georgia Institute of Technology
Propulsion None
Configuration CubeSat (1.5U)
Power 2 deployable solar arrays, solar cells, batteries

The RANGE (Ranging And Nanosatellite Guidance Experiment) cubesat mission involves two 1.5U cubesats flying in a leader-follower formation with the goal of improving the relative and absolute positioning capabilities of nanosatellites.

The satellites? absolute positions will be tracked using GPS receivers synchronized with miniaturized atomic clocks, and will be validated using ground-based laser ranging measurements. The relative position of the satellites will be measured using an on-board compact laser ranging system, which will also double as a low-rate optical communication system. The satellites will not have an active propulsion system, so the separation distance of the satellites will be controlled through differential drag techniques. The results of the mission should serve to enable more advanced payloads and future mission concepts involving formations and constellations of nanosatellites.

The piggy-back launch of the satellites in 2016 is sponsored by Skybox University Cubesat Partnership. The satellites are to be launched on Spaceflight Industry's SSO-A multi-satellite launch on a Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) rocket.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
OBJECT Q 2018-099Q 2018-12-03 AFWTR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with SkySat 14, 15, Eu:CROPIS, STPSat 5, FalconSat 6, NEXTSat 1, KazSTSAT, eXCITe, SeeMe, ICEYE X2, BlackSky 2, ESEO, Hawk A, B, C, Capella 1, AISTECHSAT 2, CSIM-FD, Hiber 2, ITASAT 1, Landmapper-BC 4, ORS 7A, 7B, Al-Farabi 2, Astrocast 0.1, Audacy 0, BRIO, Centauri 1, Eaglet 1, Enoch, Flock-3s 1, 2, 3, K2SAT, KazSciSat 1, MinXSS 2, Orbital Reflector, RAAF M1, SeaHawk 1, SNUSAT 2, THEA, VESTA, PW-Sat 2, SNUGLITE, VisionCube, RANGE B, Elysium-Star 2, ExseedSat 1, Fox 1C, Irvine 02, JY1-Sat, KNACKSAT, MOVE 2, SpaceBEE 5, 6, 7, Suomi-100, WeissSat 1, Sirion Pathfinder 2, OrbWeaver 1, 2, SPAWAR-CAL O, OR, R
RANGE A 2018-099R 2018-12-03 AFWTR Falcon-9 v1.2 (Block 5) with SkySat 14, 15, Eu:CROPIS, STPSat 5, FalconSat 6, NEXTSat 1, KazSTSAT, eXCITe, SeeMe, ICEYE X2, BlackSky 2, ESEO, Hawk A, B, C, Capella 1, AISTECHSAT 2, CSIM-FD, Hiber 2, ITASAT 1, Landmapper-BC 4, ORS 7A, 7B, Al-Farabi 2, Astrocast 0.1, Audacy 0, BRIO, Centauri 1, Eaglet 1, Enoch, Flock-3s 1, 2, 3, K2SAT, KazSciSat 1, MinXSS 2, Orbital Reflector, RAAF M1, SeaHawk 1, SNUSAT 2, THEA, VESTA, PW-Sat 2, SNUGLITE, VisionCube, RANGE A, Elysium-Star 2, ExseedSat 1, Fox 1C, Irvine 02, JY1-Sat, KNACKSAT, MOVE 2, SpaceBEE 5, 6, 7, Suomi-100, WeissSat 1, Sirion Pathfinder 2, OrbWeaver 1, 2, SPAWAR-CAL O, OR, R