URSA MAIOR [University of Rome "LA SAPIENZA"]
Official name URSA MAIOR
Alternative name URSA MAIOR
Cospar ID 2017-036M
Norad ID 42776
Launch date 2017-06-23
Launch site SRI
Launch vehicle PSLV-XL
Country/Organization Italy
Type application Technology, thermospheric research
Operator University of Rome "LA SAPIENZA"
RCS size SMALL
Decay date 2024-07-01
Shape Box + 4 Pan
Mass (kg) 4
Height (m) 0.3
Width (m) 0.1
Depth (m) 0.1
Span (m^2) 0.5
Lifetime ~ 6 months
Contractors University of Rome "LA SAPIENZA"
Equipment mNLP
Propulsion MEMIT MEMS MicroThruster
Configuration CubeSat (3U)
Power Solar cells, batteries

URSA MAIOR (University of Rome la Sapienza Micro Attitude In Orbit testing) is an Italian 3U-CubeSat designed by the University of Rome "LA SAPIENZA" participating in the QB50 project.

The QB50 project, which demonstrates the possibility of launching a network of 50 CubeSats built by Universities Teams all over the world to perform first-class science in the largely unexplored lower thermosphere.

As a payload for QB50, the satellite carries a multineedle Langmuir probe (mNLP) sampling the electron density of the space around it.

Besides the QB50 payload, URSA MAIOR carries the ARTICA deorbit sail, which will be deployed at the end of the mission and the MEMIT MEMS MicroThruster Experiment.

The satellite is one of six QB50 science satellites, which were to be launched on a Dnepr rocket on the QB50-DS flight. When the availability of Dnepr launch vehicle had become doubtful, they were transfered to an Indian PSLV-XL launch.

Satellite COSPAR Date LS Launch Vehicle Remarks
URSA MAIOR 2017-036M 2017-06-23 SRI PSLV-XL with Cartosat 2E, NIUSAT, CE-SAT 1, Max Valier Sat, Venta 1, CICERO 6, Lemur-2 34, ..., 41, Blue Diamond, Green Diamond, Red Diamond, COMPASS 2, InflateSail, LituanicaSAT 2, NUDTSat, Pegasus, UCLSat, VZLUsat 1, D-Sat, PACSCISAT, Aalto 1, ROBUSTA 1B, SUCHAI, skCUBE, IDEA