13 Apr 2017

When it launches on April 18, 2017, Cygnus will carry 28 square-shaped miniature satellites, known as CubeSats, including Alberta's first home-grown satellite—entirely designed and built by a team of students from the University of Alberta. Funded in part by the Canadian Space Agency, the team equipped their CubeSat, Experimental Albertan #1 (Ex-Alta 1), with a magnetic field instrument that will measure patterns of space weather.
These 28 CubeSats are part of the European QB50 mission, which challenges participating university students from around the world to create and operate their own CubeSat.

Arriving at the ISS on April 22, Cygnus will be captured by Canadarm2. The CubeSats will then be launched from the Station by a NanoRacks deployer in two cycles. Ex-Alta 1 will be deployed in the second cycle planned in May or June.

[Image]
(A) An artist's rendering of the Experimental Albertan #1 (Ex-Alta 1) CubeSat, built and designed by a team of students from the University of Alberta.
(B) In this image taken in March 2016, Canadarm2 prepares to capture the Cygnus spacecraft.