UOSAT - An investigation into cost-effective spacecraft engineering

The UOSAT Project commenced at the University of Surrey in 1979 to investigate the feasibility of, and the engineering problems associated with, the design, construction, launch and orbital operation of a relatively small and inexpensive spacecraft capable of a worthwhile contribution to the scientific, engineering and educational communities. The paper outlines the background to the project and the objectives of the UOSAT mission. After describing briefly the experiments on board the spacecraft, the paper deals with the design and fabrication of the satellite, the philosophies underlying these and the test and procurement procedures. Details of the project management and the resources necessary are given. The paper concludes with a summary of the present status of the spacecraft and its experiments.