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arXiv · 2508.00661

The CUbesat Solar Polarimeter (CUSP): mission overview II

Sergio Fabiani·Ettore Del Monte·Andrea Alimenti·Riccardo Campana·Mauro Centrone·Enrico Costa·Nicolas De Angelis·Giovanni De Cesare·Sergio Di Cosimo·Giuseppe Di Persio·Abhay Kumar·Alessandro Lacerenza·Pasqualino Loffredo·Giovanni Lombardi·Lorenzo Marra·Gabriele Minervini·Fabio Muleri·Paolo Romano·Alda Rubini·Emanuele Scalise·Enrico Silva·Paolo Soffitta·Davide Albanesi·Ilaria Baffo·Daniele Brienza·Valerio Campamaggiore·Giovanni Cucinella·Andrea Curatolo·Giulia de Iulis·Andrea Del Re·Vito Di Bari·Simone Di Filippo·Immacolata Donnarumma·Pierluigi Fanelli·Nicolas Gagliardi·Paolo Leonetti·Matteo Mergè·Dario Modenini·Andrea Negri·Daniele Pecorella·Massimo Perelli·Alice Ponti·Francesca Sbop·Paolo Tortora·Alessandro Turchi·Valerio Vagelli·Emanuele Zaccagnino·Alessandro Zambardi·Costantino Zazza
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Abstract

The CUbesat Solar Polarimeter (CUSP) project is an Earth-orbiting CubeSat mission designed to measure the linear polarization of solar flares in the hard X-ray band using a Compton scattering polarimeter. CUSP will enable the study of magnetic reconnection and particle acceleration within the Sun's flaring magnetic structures. This project is being developed within the framework of the Italian Space Agency's Alcor Program, which aims to foster new CubeSat missions. CUSP entered its Phase B in December 2024, a phase scheduled to last 12 months. This paper reports on the current status of the CUSP mission design, mission analysis, and payload scientific performance.

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Sergio Fabiani, Ettore Del Monte, Andrea Alimenti, Riccardo Campana, Mauro Centrone, Enrico Costa, Nicolas De Angelis, Giovanni De Cesare, Sergio Di Cosimo, Giuseppe Di Persio, Abhay Kumar, Alessandro Lacerenza, Pasqualino Loffredo, Giovanni Lombardi, Lorenzo Marra, Gabriele Minervini, Fabio Muleri, Paolo Romano, Alda Rubini, Emanuele Scalise, Enrico Silva, Paolo Soffitta, Davide Albanesi, Ilaria Baffo, Daniele Brienza, Valerio Campamaggiore, Giovanni Cucinella, Andrea Curatolo, Giulia de Iulis, Andrea Del Re, Vito Di Bari, Simone Di Filippo, Immacolata Donnarumma, Pierluigi Fanelli, Nicolas Gagliardi, Paolo Leonetti, Matteo Mergè, Dario Modenini, Andrea Negri, Daniele Pecorella, Massimo Perelli, Alice Ponti, Francesca Sbop, Paolo Tortora, Alessandro Turchi, Valerio Vagelli, Emanuele Zaccagnino, Alessandro Zambardi, Costantino Zazza. 2025-08-01. The CUbesat Solar Polarimeter (CUSP): mission overview II. https://arxiv.org/abs/2508.00661

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