Blue Dawn began as an idea among the Blue Dot universities, who wondered “what is the fastest, cheapest, and best Cube Satellite that can be built by undergraduate students?” A Cube Satellite is a class of Small Satellite that comes in 10cmx10cmx10cm “units” (or “U”). These tiny satellites have allowed universities to design, build, and fly their own space missions as tag-alongs to larger satellites. Now, we want to reimagine the university CubeSat community as more collaborative and interconnected than ever before, while also developing a strong proof of concept for a minimum viable CubeSat.
Why are we hosting a Hackathon?
By the end of the Blue Dawn Hackathon, the Blue Dot Consortium seeks a preliminary design for a Blue Dawn CubeSat of 1U-3U specification that is capable of meeting the following objectives:
- Be built in less than three months and for no more than $10k USD per U inclusive of testing and certification requirements
- Transmit a continuous message from Low Earth Orbit for 1 month
- Respond to a command from an Earth based station
- Return an image from Outer Space
- Achieve 1 uniquely defined objective that has high scientific, demonstrative, or artistic value
In the week leading up to the event, a series of workshops will be led by fellow students from universities who are leading the way to bring CubeSats to the forefront. Covering everything from Structures to Computer Systems, from Communications Systems to Mission Operations.
The spirit of the hackathon isn’t just to come up with the best design or the best concept, but to learn, collaborate, and have fun with fellow space enthusiasts! While you can come and hack with your friends, we really want to push for community crossovers. We’ll be hosting socials and encouraging forming teams with students from other universities and diverse backgrounds for the event.