CubeSat Optical System Development

Designing optics for CubeSats involves unique constraints and trade-offs. Space is tight, weight is limited, and thermal cycling in low Earth orbit can be extreme. Yet mission demands—for resolution, contrast, spectral coverage, and reliability—remain high.

At Eckhardt Optics, we specialize in optical systems tailored for CubeSat payloads. Whether your application is imaging, spectroscopy, or a custom optical sensor, we help you navigate from concept to flight-ready hardware. Our process ensures the final design is not just optically sound, but also manufacturable, environmentally robust, and integration-ready for your CubeSat bus.

Specification

In CubeSat missions, the specification must account for strict physical and performance constraints. We’ll work with your team to define:

    • Required GSD or angular resolution
    • Spectral bands or sensor format
    • Volume and mass allocations within the payload bay
    • Interface to your sensor or focal plane array
    • Launch and orbital environmental factors

This specification is the foundation of the project. We do not quote until this document is complete and mutually agreed upon—it governs all downstream decisions.

Preliminary Design

CubeSat optics often require trade-offs between resolution, aperture size, and physical footprint. During preliminary design, we explore multiple architectures:

    • Refractive (best for narrow spectral bands and wide field of view)
    • Reflective (best for broad spectral bands and narrow field of view)
    • Catadioptric (best for broad spectral bands and modest field of view)

All three types are appropriate for either imaging or spectroscopic applications.  We consider not just image quality, but also packaging, baffle design, stray light control, and manufacturability within CubeSat constraints. Once the design concept is selected, we provide a detailed quote for the full system development.

Detailed Design

Optical Design
Optics for CubeSats often push the limits of what can be packed into 1U to 12U volumes. We optimize the design for:

  • Pixel-limited resolution across the sensor format
  • Athermal performance over −40°C to +30°C (typical LEO range)
  • Low distortion and well-controlled stray light
  • Radiation-hard glasses for the first element of refractive and catadioptric designs

We iterate the design in close coordination with the mechanical layout to ensure robust optical performance in the space environment.

Mechanical Design
Mechanics must support launch survival while maintaining micron-level optical alignment. For CubeSats, we place special emphasis on:

  • Lightweight structures with high stiffness-to-mass ratios
  • Kinematic mounts or flexures to manage thermal stress
  • Compact, foldable designs to stay within small volumes

Thermal and vibration requirements for CubeSats are demanding, even if less severe than larger satellites. We perform modal, random vibration, and thermal analysis as part of the design iteration.

Procurement

Lead times for space-qualified optics, detectors, and coatings are often significant. We prioritize early procurement of:

  • All optics, especially when specialized glasses are required
  • Custom diffractive optics
  • Specialized image sensors, especially for SWIR systems

Incoming inspection includes dimensional verification for all components with interferometry and centration checks for lenses.

System Assembly & MTF Testing

Assembly takes place in a clean environment. For CubeSats, we pay special attention to positional stability of the optics. Bake-out is performed for all components.  In-process checks ensure alignment and cleanliness at every step.

After assembly, we measure MTF at axial and off-axis field points as well as image size with respect to the image sensor.  These ensure the system meets specification prior to environmental testing.

Pre-Flight Testing

CubeSat payloads are subject to rigorous environmental screening. We perform:

    • Thermal Vacuum Testing (T-Vac): Bake-out and thermal cycling to check for outgassing and focus shift
    • Vibration Testing: Typically per NASA GEVS or specific launch provider specs (SpaceX, Rocket Lab, etc.)
    • Post-test MTF: To confirm optical performance after stress exposure

These tests simulate the launch and orbital environment to ensure mission success.

Delivery

After testing and final inspection, we deliver a fully verified CubeSat optical system with:

  • Test reports (MTF, environmental results, alignment data)
  • 3D CAD model and mechanical interface definition
  • Handling and alignment instructions
  • Optional calibration files (e.g., pixel-to-angle mapping, spectral response)

Schedule & Budget Overview

Task Duration Milestone Price
Finalize Specification 3 weeks Requirements Review Free
Preliminary Design 3 weeks Conceptual Design Review Free
Detailed Optical + Mechanical Design 4–10 weeks Critical Design Review $40–100k
Thermal & Vibration Analysis 2 weeks Critical Design Review $30–50k
Procure Optical/
Mechanical/Electronic Components		 12–16 weeks Incoming Quality Control $100–300k
System Assembly & MTF Testing 4–16 weeks Test Readiness Review $15–60k
T-Vac & Vibration Testing 2 weeks Final Design Review $10k
Bake-out 2 weeks Final Design Review $5k
Final Performance Check 1 week Delivery Free
Total 33–55 weeks $200–550k

If you have a remote sensing project and are interested in learning more, please contact us. We would be happy to discuss the details of your project.