XB3 3U CubeSat Bus
Blue Canyon Technologies
BCT 3U CubeSat spacecraft bus built around XB1 core avionics with integrated ADCS, comms, power, and GPS.
Technical specifications
- Form factor
- 3U CubeSat
- Payload volume
- ~1.5U
- Pointing accuracy
- ±0.03° (1-sigma), 2-axis, single star tracker
- ACS
- 3-axis reaction wheel attitude control
- Communications
- S-band (optional X-band)
- Orbit types
- LEO, GEO, Lunar, CisLunar
- Mission design life
- 5 years
- Flight heritage
- NASA MarCO (first interplanetary CubeSats)
About
The BCT XB3 is Blue Canyon Technologies’ 3U CubeSat bus platform, housing the XB1 core avionics unit and providing 1.5U of payload volume. The XB1 integrates command and data handling, ADCS (3-axis reaction wheel control with star tracker and IMUs), S-band communications (optional X-band), power management, GPS, and mission software into a single unit. Pointing accuracy is ±0.03° (1-sigma) in 2-axis mode with a single star tracker. It is the smallest platform in BCT’s XB series and has flown on multiple NASA and commercial missions.
Documentation
No public datasheet yet — request the datasheet / ICD from the supplier.
