The Nice Cube (Nice3) nanosatellite project

TL;DR

The Nice3 nanosatellite project explores using optical communication to enhance data transmission capabilities of CubeSats, aiming for moderate data rates to improve ground communication.

Contribution

This paper presents the current status and future plans of a CubeSat project utilizing optical links for data transmission, addressing a key limitation of traditional CubeSats.

Findings

Feasibility of optical communication for CubeSats demonstrated

Current project status and future development plans outlined

Potential to improve data transmission rates to ground stations

Abstract

CubeSats are tiny satellites with increasing capabilities. They have been used for more than a decade by universities to train students on space technologies, in a hands-on project aiming at building, launching and operating a real satellite. Still today, one shortcoming of CubeSats is their poor ability to transmit large amounts of data to the ground. A possible way to overcome this limitation relies on optical communications. Universite Cote d'Azur is studying the feasibility of a student's CubeSat whose main goal is to transmit data with an optical link to the ground at the moderate rate of 1 kb/s (or better). In this paper, we will present the current state of the project and its future developments.