A 3U CubeSat to Collect UV Photometry of Bright Massive Stars

Following the amazing progresses in miniaturizing essential components of spacecraft, the last decade has witnessed an important development of nano- and micro-satellites. Beyond the mere technological experiment, these small satellites are now considered as important complements of much larger and more sophisticated probes to do scientific research. In this context we have conducted a feasibility study of a near-UV telescope on-board a 3U CubeSat. The scientific purpose of this payload will be to collect time series of photometric measurements of bright, mainly massive, stars down to an optical magnitude of V=5. This paper presents the optimized optical design of the payload and its associated detector. We further discuss the system accommodation and integration as well as a preliminary mission analysis. A photometric budget taking into account the characteristics of the target stars and the payload performances is also presented. With this feasibility study we demonstrate that it is possible to do a robust science mission using a very small satellite and for a limited cost.