Guatemala's Remote Sensing CubeSat – Tools and Approaches to Increase the Probability of Mission Success

Universidad del Valle de Guatemala (UVG) is carrying out an undergraduate academic project with the mission to design, develop, and operate a CubeSat-class satellite to test a multispectral sensor prototype, opening the field of space science and technology in Guatemala, developing the country's human capital, and enabling independent acquisition of remote sensing data for natural resource management. Throughout the four years of this project's design phase, more than 200 requirements, 70 risks, 220 controlled documents, 150 parts, 330 tasks, and 60 engineering drawings were monitored. Adding to the project's complexity, it has included to date more than 100 students and volunteers working at different times. To increase the probability of mission success, multiple tools and approaches were adopted to manage the project's multiple physical and documentary components, which are described in this paper.