The Korea AeroSpace Administration and the Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute (KASI) said on the 29th that K-RadCube, a Korean cubesat to be mounted on NASA's crewed lunar exploration project "Artemis II," has completed ground preparations. The satellite is scheduled to launch between February and April at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, U.S.
Artemis II is a test flight mission of NASA's heavy rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), and the crewed spacecraft Orion, planned as a crewed test flight in which four astronauts will conduct a close flyby of the moon and return. K-RadCube will be launched together aboard a structure that connects the Orion spacecraft and the rocket.
K-RadCube's mission is to measure space radiation by altitude in the Van Allen radiation belts that form around Earth. The Van Allen belts are radiation zones encircling Earth in a doughnut shape and are a region that crewed deep-space probes must pass through. The observations obtained this time will be used to analyze how radiation could affect astronauts in the segment traveling from Earth to the moon. The observation data will be released worldwide six months after launch.
An experiment to assess the impact on semiconductors in a space radiation environment will also be conducted. The test subjects are Samsung Electronics' next-generation semiconductor multi-chip module and SK hynix's semiconductor memory chip. The research team said, "To see when and in what intensity of radiation environment damage or errors appear in semiconductors exposed to radiation, we plan to align radiation dose measurement data with semiconductor events by time and conduct a comprehensive analysis."
After launch, K-RadCube will conduct initial communications with overseas ground stations and then begin gradually changing its orbit with a small engine under control commands. After setting the perigee (the point closest to Earth) altitude to 150 km with respect to Earth in the initial orbit, it will be raised to about 200 km in the next step to settle into the target orbit.
Kang Kyung-in, head of space science exploration at the Korea AeroSpace Administration, said, "We expect K-RadCube to be deployed about 5 hours and 7 minutes after launch," and added, "We are preparing procedures to first receive a signal indicating the satellite's survival within about 20 minutes immediately after deployment." The first communication attempt will take place within two hours after deployment, and it is expected that by 6–7 hours after launch, it will be possible to some extent to confirm whether the satellite is operating normally.
The project was pursued as a follow-up implementation under the Korea-U.S. implementation arrangement (IA) signed in May last year. KASI is responsible for satellite and radiation measurement instrument development, flight certification, operations data management, and post-mission disposal procedures. Nara Space Technology will manufacture the satellite, and KT SAT will handle satellite operations. NASA will oversee launch-related technical support, including integration and launch of K-RadCube.
The Korea AeroSpace Administration and KASI said K-RadCube must meet more demanding conditions than a typical low-Earth-orbit satellite. It must satisfy safety standards applied to crewed flights and withstand the strong vibration environment of the SLS launch vehicle. After launch, it must also quickly secure communications and perform precise orbital maneuvers in the extreme environment of a highly elliptical orbit with an altitude of up to 70,000 km (an elongated orbit with a large difference between the closest and farthest points from Earth).
Park Jae-pil, CEO of Nara Space, said, "We passed three intensive reviews under NASA's crewed flight safety standards, and procedures not required for typical cubesats—such as battery safety standards, thermal runaway tests, hazard controls, and destructive testing—were also applied."
According to the Korea AeroSpace Administration, because K-RadCube must repeatedly pass through the radiation belts in a highly elliptical orbit, components could be damaged, so the minimum mission period is planned at about two weeks. Considering an orbital period of 24–25 hours, 14–15 repeated observations are possible over two weeks. However, the survival period may vary because the radiation environment can fluctuate significantly depending on solar activity.
Yoon Young-bin, administrator of the Korea AeroSpace Administration, said, "K-RadCube will serve as a case to internationally assess Korea's capabilities in deep-space cubesat development and operations and the safety and reliability technologies applicable to crewed space exploration missions."