Application of Risk Management to University CubeSat Missions

Risk management is a crucial step for any spacecraft design, to ensure system functionality and mission success. Unfortunately, risk management plans are typically high level descriptions of risk philosophies, or are too detailed for use on a student-built or otherwise low-budget spacecraft design. This article outlines a risk management plan for CubeSats by following standard industry methods of identifying risks, determining mitigation techniques, and tracking the risk progression between design milestones. The paper demonstrates the application of a levelappropriate, detailed risk analysis and each step of the risk management plan to a 3-unit CubeSat built by a student team at the University of Texas at Austin. Application of Risk Management to University CubeSat Missions