September 2026¶

This month the site got a thorough review, two new pages, and glossary terms for link budgets, optical payloads, power and workmanship.

New pages¶

Propulsion: Add a development page with performance ranges, delta-v arithmetic and the CDS safety requirements ↗
Launch providers: Add a directory of providers with their intake routes and process, including RIDE! and Arrow, and a sourced intake checklist ↗

Development pages¶

Listed in reading order. Corrections come first on each line, additions after.

Systems engineering: Correct the achievability example, lead with the current CDS mass limit and expand its footnote, separate mass and power margins, replace pitfalls duplicated from EPS with a pointer ↗
Structure: Correct ISO 17981 scope, AM materials, GEVS factors and outgassing, resolve the open DCUBED item, add XCD mass and CG allowances as a second deployer example ↗
EPS: Correct the low-beta eclipse fraction and thermal cycle count, separate mass and power margins in the shared footnote, note the AM0 rating condition and charger headroom against float voltage, link SoC, UVLO, strings and shedding to the glossary ↗
OBC: Add memory technologies, anchor on the NASA avionics chapter, move a verification note out of the prose, hand boot and brownout software to Flight Software ↗
Flight software: Fix the uplink figure and the 9600 bps daily downlink budget, remove duplication with OBC, add security, first boot and a degraded mode ↗
Comms: Fix the 9600 bps daily downlink budget, elaborate on encryption rules, name the demodulator, code rate and framing overhead, complete the Veljovic thesis entry ↗
Ground segment: Normalize resource blocks, close the authentication to-do, tie rotator accuracy to beamwidth, name the frame error rate ↗
GNC: Resolve the actuator range contradictions in favor of manufacturer figures, correct the field strength and its range, tidy detumbling time ↗
Thermal: Correct the eclipse fraction, 3U radiating area, PCM latent heat and SATMO citation, state the measured solar constant alongside NASA's design values ↗
Payload: Fix the GSD physics, add the 2D image compression standard, add swath, image smear and shutter type, link pixel pitch, Bayer, access and geolocation accuracy to the glossary ↗
Inhibits: Correct the CDS citations and quote §2.3.7.3 in full, resolve the inhibit-count history, confirm NRCSD inhibits exclude the RBF pin, add missing requirements, deployment switch travel from a deployer manual and CubeSource's BurnWing ↗
Launch: Correct deorbit altitudes and the ITU document titles, restore the 2026 handbook edition, expand FCC and ESA debris rules, add Vega-C SSMS, Bandwagon, PSLV and the European launcher cohort ↗
Tools: Update the stale GMAT link, correct the mass budget scope, strip an account ID from the template URL, point team turnover at Systems Engineering, add solder consumables, ESD values and tin whisker guidance ↗

References¶

The references set had its first full pass. The glossary grew the most, so the terms the development pages now link to all resolve.

Glossary: Re-sort entries, align drifted figures, correct the V&V verification methods, move the solar constant to 1361 W/m², add link-budget, modulation, optical payload, power, soldering, ESD and workmanship terms, including those the BAC tools use ↗
Papers: Restructure with new software and communications sections, fix categorization, complete citations, unify author style and access marking, move Villela to the Wiley DOI and state its success definition, complete the Veljovic thesis citation, correct the SATMO venue ↗
Standards: Fix the ECSS-E-ST-70-41C link, describe ISO 17981 accurately, add deployer manuals including the XTERRA XCD and a note on a permissive limit, add payload user guides and a workmanship section for soldering acceptance standards ↗
Newsletters: Convert to resource blocks, add a CubeSat-specific section ↗
Websites: Point GMAT at the current catalog entry ↗

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