Q. What do you expect future cube sats?

We believe that the CubeSat programs have the prospect of making a significant change in the space programs globally. We believe that will occur for the following reasons.

1. Creation of many new devices and techniques for space - Students, in my opinion, are much more innovative than older more experience engineers when given the opportunity. The CubeSat development environment at Universities is much less restrictive than in government or industry research environments. Students can try and fail with out consequences. Failure is an important part of the learning and innovation process. Government and industry now have a culture that failure in not an acceptable path to success.
   If the CubeSat programs continue to grow, I believe that the amount and importance of new low-cost innovations for space from the students will exceed the growth of the output from government and industry space research activities.
    
   
2. Development of new products and use of space - The CubeSat programs brings low-cost access to space to allow experiments in new uses of space. It appears that the active participation of global university programs may be catalyst to space development like the Apple Computer was to the desktop computer business and the Internet is to E-business.
    
   
3. Promote a new surge of public interest in space - This CubeSat program is very challenging, interesting and motivational for students. This now translates into renewed interest in space for students because they can now be directly involved in space projects. It is also of interest for the student's parents, siblings and relatives. If you consider that one student would have five to twenty relatives excited about their work in space and in particular following the launch and operation of their CubeSat. Now you can multiply that number by all of the CubeSat students globally. This would be a large number people from both a technical and general public interest have a new or renewed interest in space.

This renewed interest by the public could make space activities as popular as it was during the US Man on the Moon program.

Professor. Bob Twiggs  
Space Systems Development Laboratory, Stanford  
The founder of student satellite projects including  
CanSat and CubeSat