PROMETHEUS-1 Spacecraft

Providing easy access to space for the research and education (R&E) community.

Providing easy access to space for the research and education (R&E) community.

Based on the PyCubed system (an opensource, radiation tested CubeSat avionics platform that integrates power, computing, communication, and attitude determination and control functionality into a single low-cost PC104-compatible module programmable entirely in Python), previously developed by the CMU team (responsible for the PyCubed-1).

This means that the entire system is widely available, based on commercial-off-the-shelf components and open-source hardware and software. From the foundation, the proposed platform has all the minimum required conditions to be easily integrated as a tool that facilitates hands-on activities and access to space. But the PROMETHEUS goes beyond that and shares the entire pipeline for the satellite deployment as it will be licensed, certified, and launched, and therefore be then replicated by schools and universities across Portugal and the globe.

PROMETHEUS-1 is a research/educational-driven amateur educational mission in the spirit of the amateur satellite service. The low-cost satellite hardware that the mission will demonstrate will be of great value to future low-cost amateur missions. Moreover, this project will serve as a milestone to engage students and researchers to develop spacerelated work, encouraging them become involved in HAMs and even obtain amateur radio licenses. The broader amateur radio community will be involved in the mission via the project website. 

PROMETHEUS-1 is an open-source 1P PocketQube developed by Universidade do Minho, Instituto Superior Técnico, and Carnegie Mellon University under the "PROMETHEUS" project. Funded by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology, this initiative aims to enhance research and educational access to space.