CUTE-1.7 + APD (Cubical Tokyo Tech Engineering satellite 1.7 plus Avalanche Photodiode)^[2] or CO-56 (Cubesat-Oscar-56^[3]) or just OSCAR 56 was an amateur radio satellite in the form of a double CubeSat. The satellite used commercial off-the-shelf components extensively, in particular, it used the Hitachi NPD-20JWL PDA as a control computer, and it used a USB hub for sensor communications. At the end of its mission, the satellite was supposed to deploy an electrodynamic tether to help it deorbit. The satellite failed early into its mission, so the electrodynamic tether experiment probably did not happen. It was launched on February 21, 2006 on board a Japanese launcher M-V.

Quick Facts Names, Mission type ...

CUTE-1.7 + APD

Names	Cubical Tech Engineering-1.7 + Avalanche Photodiode CO-56 (OSCAR 56)
Mission type	Technology
Operator	Tokyo Institute of Technology
COSPAR ID	2006-005C
SATCAT no.	28941
Mission duration	0.2 years (achieved)
Spacecraft properties
Bus	2U CubeSat
Manufacturer	Tokyo Institute of Technology
Launch mass	3 kg (6.6 lb)
Dimensions	20 × 10 × 10 cm (7.9 × 3.9 × 3.9 in)
Start of mission
Launch date	21 February 2006, 21:28:00 UTC
Rocket	M-V # 8
Launch site	Uchinoura
Contractor	IHI AEROSPACE
End of mission
Last contact	16 March 2006
Decay date	25 October 2009
Orbital parameters
Reference system	Geocentric orbit[1]
Regime	Low Earth orbit
Perigee altitude	299 km (186 mi)
Apogee altitude	712 km (442 mi)
Inclination	98.19°
Period	94.72 minutes

Close

On 16 March 2006, the communication system malfunctioned so that it was transmitting unmodulated carrier wave and unable to communicate.^[4] The satellite decayed from orbit on 25 October 2009. A follow-up mission, CUTE-1.7 + APD II, was launched in April 2008 and remains operational.

• List of CubeSats