HyCube is mostly in the research phase. There is a small group of students working on development of the concept of the mission. If and when HyCube receives funding for development and launch, the greater SSRL team plans to build it. This would likely not be until IMPRESS is fully launched.
Hypersonic Configurable Unit Ballistic Experiment (HyCUBE) is a revolutionary test and evaluation (T&E) platform for conducting hypersonic flight tests that will greatly improve our understanding of high-speed aerothermodynamics. HyCUBE will be deliberately de-orbited to investigate hypersonic flow conditions at high Mach numbers and over a wide range of altitudes. During the experimental phase of the mission it will characterize surface conditions such as temperature, pressure, and heat flux, obtain spectroscopic measurements to analyze the surrounding gas chemistry, perform measurements at various depths of its Thermal Protection System (TPS), and record the kinematic state of the vehicle itself.
Figure: This plot demostrates HyCube's unique ability to explore a poorly-understood region of Earth's atmosphere. Particularly, it will de-orbit, meaning it will see a region of the atmosphere higher in altitude than sounding rockets are currently able to as it drops.
HyCUBE will face a variety of challenges, including:
- The location of HyCUBE's reentry needs to be controlled in order to avoid debris falling toward populated areas
- HyCUBE must survive reentry long enough to collect and transmit its scientific data
- The Thermal Protection System (TPS) must protect HyCUBE while at the same time not interfere with the scientific goal