The micro-Charged Particle Telescope (µCPT) for the AeroCube-10 mission

Miniaturized electronics and application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs) are enabling a new generation of small, highly efficient instrumentation for the in situ study of space plasma environments. In this presentation, we describe the micro-Charged Particle Telescope (µCPT) being developed by The Aerospace Corporation for an experiment on the upcoming AeroCube-10 CubeSat mission. µCPT is a low size, weight, and power (SWaP) instrument designed to measure pitch angle resolved 80 keV to 3 MeV protons, 1.4 to 3.8 MeV alphas, and 50 keV to 3 MeV electrons with energy resolution ranging from 20% to 35%. The instrument includes a stack of two solid state detectors and uses a "DAPPER" ASIC-hybrid with heritage from NASA's MMS/FEEPS instruments for front-end signal processing. µCPT's total SWaP is: mass of < 300 g, power of 310 mW, and volume of 7.6cm x 4.8 cm x 4.1 cm, making it ideal for CubeSat missions and missions of opportunity. For AeroCube-10, µCPT was designed to study particles that lead to solar cell degradation, but the μCPT was also designed specifically for versatility and ease of adaptability for future missions with different science or technical objectives. In addition to describing the design and range of options of μCPT, this presentation will also include preliminary test results of the AeroCube-10 μCPT flight and engineering models, showcasing its performance and potential for future missions.