ALCUBESAT-1, first Algerian univeristy project for educational purpose

The CubeSat projects became actually a good approach for universities that want to engage in space activity through students. This approach is valid for developing countries such as Algeria. These small satellites ease the implementation of hands-on education projects and opening the apertures of new research areas. Moreover, due to the limited volume (a 10 cm cube) and power (1 W), the application of imaginative solutions is mandatory. This leads to new innovation processes in the course of CubeSat projects. In this paper, we describes the outline of a proposed CubeSat prototype Project, named ALCUBESAT-1 for pedagogical purpose and we present a hands-on education project the aim of which is the specification, design, building and testing of prototype subsystems and the communication between the CubeSat and the ground station using an UHF band. ALCUBESAT-1 will carry an experimental payload with a low-resolution camera and an image compression scheme for continent-scale earth-image capturing. In this paper we include a one-axis active stabilization experiment with a reaction wheel and the associated instrumentation board. In this paper, we will discuss in detail the design philosophy of ALCUBESAT-1, followed by the preliminary design and analysis of all its subsystems. The required testing and technical support facilities are discussed before the final conclusions.