“These CSC CubeSats have been customised for IOD/IOV from our existing 6-unit platforms, which have ample flight heritage,” explains Joachim Strenge of ISISPACE, system engineer for the mission.

“Fitting all these complex payloads into such small, fixed spaces is demanding, but we focused on getting a good definition of all the interfaces early on, avoiding major problems in terms of factors such as power and data interfaces, electromagnetic compatibility and field of view.

“The biggest challenge was linked to one payload highly sensitive to magnetic fields, requiring an extra level of verification related to magnetic cleanliness compared to a standard mission. The customer wants to be sure any data they get back is coming from the space around the CubeSat, and not the CubeSat itself!”