The PolyITAN HP-30 nanosatellite designed and built by engineers of the Igor Sikorsky Kyiv Polytechnic Institute (KPI) was put into Earth’s orbit on January 3, 2023.
Elon Musk’s Space Exploration Technologies Corporation – SpaceX – successfully launched the workhorse Falcon 9 rocket, carrying PolyITAN HP-30 among others, from Florida’s Cape Canaveral in the United States. This was the sixth dedicated rideshare mission organized by SpaceX and carried 114 payloads into orbit — some of which will be deployed later from a number of space tugs that are on the mission.
PolyITAN HP-30 is a 2U satellite (Ed. – The volume of CubeSats is usually given in units — “U” — of 10 x 10 x 10 centimeters. For example, a 6U CubeSat would measure 10 x 20 x 30 centimeters. The volume of PocketQubes is usually given in P units of 5 x 5 x 5 centimeters, so a 2P PocketQube is 5 x 5 x 10 centimeters) that will test heat pipe designs. Specifically, the nanosatellite is used for a scientific experiment to explore the efficiency of heat pipes as the main element of space vehicles’ thermal stabilization systems.
The nanosatellite’s launch became possible through the sponsorship of Boeing Ukraine, support provided by the Netherlands’ Delft University of Technology whose spinoff company provided financing and technical assistance, and the State Space Agency of Ukraine that offered solutions to logistics and export problems.
It is worth noting too that the completion of PolyITAN HP-30 was dedicated to the 30th anniversary of Ukraine’s independence.