Lessons Learned After 20 Years of Running a University CubeSat Lab

The Cal Poly CubeSat Lab has played a large role in twelve launched spacecraft missions since its inception twenty years ago. CubeSats have evolved from non-existant to a major market player during this time. The lab`s longevity and experience comes with many lessions learned. Early in the program there was minimal guidance surrounding best practices and expected testing. The integrator would provide most of the assistance to ensure minimum safety criteria were meet, and no guidance on mission success criteria. With the advent of low-cost commercial integrators and the overall maturity of the community, there is still oversight of safety criteria, but little guidance on how to meeting those requirements within the launch schedule. Cal Poly has addressed these challenges largely through the continuity provided by dedicated faculty and staff.

The interdisciplinary lab consists of approximately 60 students, plus three full-time staff members and two associated professors. The lab`s operation and training is largely driven by the students, and includes activities such as weekly symposiums to present specific technical and managerial areas in greater detail. Despite these efforts, the limited productive time of undergraduate students is still challenging. Most of the continuity is provided by the lab`s staff and faculty in the form of guidance and oversight. This presentation will discuss some of the lessons learned over the past twenty years, and how the lab`s structure has evolved to meet the challenges.