CubeSats: New Opportunities for Small Experiments in Near and Interplanetary Space.

It is a new era with respect to opportunities for inexpensive space-based experimentation. CubeSats, a new family of successful small satellite technologies, have enabled the inexpensive exploration of near space by students and hobbyists, as well as commercial, military, and government sponsored organizations. Just as the microcomputer technology revolution enabled inexpensive computational physics, so we can hope to see the CubeSat revolution enable a new generation of space physics and experimentation. This is expected to include research and applications in the physics domain we cannot yet predict or even imagine. If you seek an inexpensive vehicle for use as a space based platform for your in-space experimentation, or you wish to explore a phenomena that has traditionally been out-of-reach of the student or NGO, this small satellite phenomena may meet your needs. I will provide a brief introduction to, and overview of, the CubeSat technology, it's capabilities, constraints, and what we can hope to see in the near future.