Department of Space Science and Engineering, National Central University (NCU) and Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, University of Colorado Boulder (CU) have chosen Compact Ionospheric Probe (CIP) developed by Space Payload Laboratory as a science payload in the 1st International Satellite Program in Research and Education (INSPIRE) Workshop held at NCU in 2016. The CIP, a successor of Advanced Ionospheric Probe, can measure ionospheric ion concentrations, velocities, and temperatures to explore terrestrial ionosphere. Currently NCU has completed CIP preliminary design and is on-going for its prototype and critical design to meet all requirements before the middle of 2017. A flight model of the CIP has been completed and delivered to CU and NCU at the middle of 2019. The specifications are listed as below:
- Mass: 433 g.
- Dimension: 100 mm L x 100 mm W x 70 mm H, 0.7 U.
- Power: +12VDC and 3.48 W.
- Communication interface: LVTTL UART and RS-422 compatible, 115,200 bps.
- Connector: 9-pin D-sub female.
- FOV: 90° x 90° without obstacles.