Expanding CubeSat Horizons: A 27U Mission to Sun-Earth L5

CubeSats have gained increasing popularity in the aerospace industry due to their compact, modular designs, which offer a cost-effective and versatile solution for orbital applications. Historically limited to low Earth orbit (LEO) due to propulsion and communication constraints, CubeSats are now being explored for deeper space missions. The Icarus mission seeks to demonstrate that a 27U CubeSat can operate at the Sun–Earth Lagrange Point 5 (L5), leveraging recent advancements in efficient electric propulsion and deployable subsystems to monitor solar activity and relay data back to Earth. By capitalizing on a standardized CubeSat form factor with commercial off-the-shelf components, Icarus offers a significantly more affordable approach to L5 operations than traditional missions. Positioned at L5, the CubeSat will support early detection of solar events such as coronal mass ejections (CMEs), contributing to improved space weather forecasting. This mission also serves as a technology demonstration, validating the feasibility of long-duration CubeSat operations in deep space environments.