RAX-2 (Radio Aurora Explorer 2) is a Miniaturized satellite built as a collaboration between SRI International and students at the University of Michigan. It is a replacement for RAX, which failed after only 60 days in orbit due to a solar cell issue. Bot RAX satellites are examples of the popular CubeSat design satellites. It was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base in October 2011 atop a Delta II rocket. This was a multi-payload mission with five other CubeSats, M-Cubed, AubieSat-1, DICE-1, DICE-2, and Explorer-1.
RAX-2 is a stack of three standard 'CubeSat' modules weighing about 3 kg. The flight computer is a Texas Instruments MSP430-based while the processing of scientific data is done with a 520 MHz PXA270. Communications are by means of a UHF transceiver with downlink speeds of 38.4 kbit/s, and an S-band downlink for scientific data that provides 115.2 kbit/s downlink.
Its primary mission is the investigation of the effects of Space Weather on the ionosphere. Disturbances in the ionosphere can impact communications and navigation systems. RAX-2 carries a UHF radar which is used to investigate these atmospheric disturbances.
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