Q-PACE

File:Artist’s Impression of a Baby Star Still Surrounded by a Protoplanetary Disc.jpg]]

Q-PACE was led by Joshua Colwell at the University of Central Florida and was selected NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) which placed it on Educational Launch of Nanosatellites ELaNa XX.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-space-cubes-small-satellites-provide-big-payoffs|publisher=NASA|access-date=19 April 2020|title=NASA's Space Cubes: Small Satellites Provide Big Payoffs|date=8 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190617083703/https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-s-space-cubes-small-satellites-provide-big-payoffs/|archive-date=17 June 2019|url-status=live}} {{PD-notice}} The development of the mission was funded through NASA's Small Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration (SIMPLEx) program.{{cite web|url=https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/08/05/nasas-first-interplanetary-smallsats-may-struggle-to-stay-under-cost-caps/|title=NASA's first interplanetary smallsats may struggle to stay under cost caps|last=Clark|first=Stephen|date=5 August 2019|publisher=Spaceflight Now|access-date=7 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190807152147/https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/08/05/nasas-first-interplanetary-smallsats-may-struggle-to-stay-under-cost-caps/|archive-date=7 August 2019|url-status=live}}

Observations of the collisional evolution and accretion of particles in a microgravity environment are necessary to elucidate the processes that lead to the formation of planetesimals (the building blocks of planets), km-size, and larger bodies, within the protoplanetary disk. The current hypotheses of planetesimal formation have difficulties in explaining how particles grow beyond one centimeter in size, so repeated experimentation in relevant conditions is necessary.[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0094576518310865 CubeSat Particle Aggregation Collision Experiment (Q-PACE): Design of a 3U CubeSat mission to investigate planetesimal formation] Stephanie Jarmak, Julie Brisset, Joshua Colwell, Adrienne Dove, et al.; Acta Astronautica Volume 155, February 2019, Pages 131-142 {{doi|10.1016/j.actaastro.2018.11.029}}

Q-PACE was to explore the fundamental properties of low‐velocity (< {{cvt|10|cm/s}}) particle collisions in a microgravity environment in an effort to better understand accretion in the protoplanetary disk.[https://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/meetings/jan2016/presentations/Colwell.pdf Q‐PACE: the CubeSat Particle Aggregation and Collision Experiment.] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191217025502/https://www.lpi.usra.edu/sbag/meetings/jan2016/presentations/Colwell.pdf|date=17 December 2019}} Josh Colwell, Julie Brisset, Addie Dove, Larry Roe, January 2016 Several precursor tests and flight missions were performed in suborbital flights as well as in the International Space Station.[https://sciences.ucf.edu/physics/microgravity/planetesimal-formation/ Planetesimal Formation] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417183815/https://sciences.ucf.edu/physics/microgravity/planetesimal-formation/|date=17 April 2019}} Center for Microgravity Research, University of Central Florida Accessed on 17 April 2019. The small spacecraft does not need accurate pointing or propulsion, which simplified the design.

On 17 January 2021, Q-PACE launched on a Virgin Orbit Launcher One, an air launch to orbit rocket that was dropped from the Cosmic Girl airplane over the Pacific Ocean.{{Cite web |last=Burghardt |first=Thomas |date=2021-01-17 |title=LauncherOne reaches orbit on second attempt with NASA CubeSats |url=https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2021/01/launcherone-second-attempt-nasa-cubesats/ |access-date=2023-05-17 |website=NASASpaceFlight.com |language=en-US}} As of March 2021, however, contact was not established with the satellite after it reached orbit,{{cite web |last=Foust |first=Jeff |url=https://spacenews.com/nasa-looking-for-earlier-launch-of-lunar-orbiter-smallsat-mission/ |title=NASA looking for earlier launch of lunar orbiter smallsat mission |work=SpaceNews |date=26 March 2021 |accessdate=26 March 2021 |quote=Q-PACE launched Jan. 17 as part of the Launch Demo 2 mission by Virgin Orbit's LauncherOne. However, Glaze said that, since launch, controllers have yet to make contact with Q-PACE. "There's dwindling hopes on Q-PACE," she said.}} and the spacecraft was declared lost and the mission ended.

The main objective of Q-PACE was to understand protoplanetary growth from pebbles to boulders by performing long-duration microgravity collision experiments. The specific goals are:

• Quantify the energy damping in multi-particle systems at low collision speeds (< {{cvt|1|mm/s}} to {{cvt|10|cm/s}})
• Identify the influence of a size distribution on the collision outcome.
• Observe the influence of dust on a multi-particle system.
• Quantify statistically rare events: observe a large number of similar collisions to arrive at a probabilistic description of collisional outcomes.

Q-PACE was a 3U CubeSat with a collision test chamber and several particle reservoirs that contain meteoritic chondrules, dust particles, dust aggregates, and larger spherical particles. Particles will be introduced into the test chamber for a series of separate experimental runs.

The scientists designed a series of experiments involving a broad range of particle size, density, surface properties, and collision velocities to observe collisional outcomes from bouncing to sticking as well as aggregate disruption in tens of thousands of collisions.{{cite web|last=Krebs|first=Gunter|url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/q-pace.htm|title=Q-PACE (Cu-PACE)|publisher=Gunter's Space Page|access-date=7 August 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190417181655/https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/q-pace.htm|archive-date=17 April 2019|url-status=live}} The test chamber will be mechanically agitated to induce collisions that will be recorded by on‐board video for downlink and analysis. Long duration microgravity allows a very large number of collisions to be studied and produce statistically significant data.[http://www.lcpm12.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1635-1655-Colwell.pdf Q-PACE: the CubeSat Particle Aggregation and Collision Experiment] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190119122725/http://www.lcpm12.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/08/1635-1655-Colwell.pdf|date=19 January 2019}} Josh Colwell, Julie Brisset, Addie Dove, Larry Roe, Jürgen Blum; University of Central Florida, August 2017

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