Passive Inspection CubeSat

Not to be confused with PicSat, a French CubeSat active in 2018.

Passive Inspection CubeSats, or PICS, is a technology demonstration spacecraft mission utilizing two CubeSat miniaturized satellites, identified as PIC-A and PIC-B. The project was developed by students at Brigham Young University (BYU) as part of NASA's Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (ELaNA) initiative beginning in 2016.^[1][2] The satellites are outfitted with cameras to be able to get a 360-degree view to visually assess the exterior of other spacecraft and detect possible damage. BYU professor David Long termed the project a "spacecraft selfie cam."^[3][4]

Passive Inspection CubeSats (PIC-A & PIC-B)

Mission type	Technology Demonstration
Operator	Brigham Young University
COSPAR ID	2021-002
Website	BYU Advanced Spacecraft Group
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type	1U CubeSat each
Manufacturer	Brigham Young University
Dry mass	1.35 kg each
Power	Solar cells, batteries
Start of mission
Launch date	17 Jan 2020 (2020-01-17Z) UTC
Rocket	LauncherOne
Launch site	Mojave Air and Space Port, California, United States
Contractor	Virgin Orbit
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric
Regime	Low Earth
Pericircular altitude	500 km
Apocircular altitude	500 km
Inclination	60.69

PIC-A and PIC-B were originally scheduled to be launched in 2018, but launch was delayed until 2021. PICs was successfully launched into orbit along with eight other CubeSats during Virgin Orbit's Launch Demo 2 on January 17, 2021. In Virgin Orbit's first successful air-launch-to-orbit, the Boeing 747-400 Cosmic Girl carried a LauncherOne orbital rocket from Mojave Air and Space Port to the Pacific Ocean, where LauncherOne separated from the aircraft and achieved orbit.^[5]

See also

• Spaceflight portal

• List of CubeSats
• Educational Launch of Nanosatellites