The First Annual CubeSat Developers' Workshop was held at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, CA on April 9-10, 2004. CSA, along with Raytheon, Northrop Grumman Space Technology, and Lockheed Martin, sponsored the event. 27 universities and supporting organizations from around the world were in attendance.

In 1999, Cal Poly and Stanford University's Space Systems Development Laboratory (SSDL) began collaborating in the development of the CubeSat concept, including the Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD) mechanism. For details about the concept and program, visit the CubeSat website. There you'll find information about participating organizations, technical documentation, launch opportunities, etc.

Over 100 people attended the 2-day event that included a "Fit Check" for CubeSats intended to launch later this Fall.

"CubeSats" are small satellites measuring 10x10x10 centimeters (4x4x4 inches) and weighing about 1 kilogram. Three CubeSates can be deployed using the P-POD which interfaces with the launch vehicle. The first CubeSats were put in orbit on June 30, 2003, including QuakeFinder's QuakeSat and five other CubeSats.

Professor Twiggs explained that the availability of small, cheap, simple, and relatively standardized satellite programs opens a world of educational opportunities to college and university students. He sees the focus being on systems engineering, real world experiences, and interdisciplinary interaction; not component building. "Get the parts at Radio Shack as much as possible," he suggested. There are also three high schools listed on the CubeSat web site as CubeSat developers.

Bruce Yoster of NASA Ames' In Situ Genetics Experiments on Nanosats (ISGEN) discussed NASA's interests in small satellites. Their current project is a triple-CubeSat called *.Sat I (Star-dot-Sat One). It will be a biological study of radiation and microgravity effects lasting about 21 days. It is scheduled for launch in late 2005.

CubeSat developers are expressing a growing interest in many U.S. launchers, including Space X, as predicted costs appear within range of student and other relatively small-budget projects. Currently, CubeSats are being launched on Russian rockets.

The "Ham Radio" community is also becoming involved. The communications for many of the CubeSats are being planned for ham radio bands and using ham radio operators. For more on this aspect, visit amsat.org and iaru.org.

"CubeSat Kits" are available commercially through www.cubesatkit.com.

The California Space Authority (CSA) co-sponsored this first annual CubeSat workshop for universities and others interested in developing CubeSats. CSA has been instrumental in the development of funding for CubeSat projects.

Professor Robert Twiggs of Stanford (and member of CSA's Board of Director's) briefed the audience on CubeSat development activities at Stanford.

Professor Jordi Puig-Suari, CubeSat Project Co-Director, Aerospace Engineering Department of Cal Poly, welcomes the group.

Bruce Yoster from NASA Ames Research Center outlines NASA interests in CubeSats.