With easier access to space provided by CubeSats and various launch initiatives, it has become possible for the student conceived and developed research payloads to gain access to on-orbit testing with lower cost and shorter timeline. Accordingly, the Small Satellite Program at the U.S. Naval Academy (USNA) has developed a standard CubeSat bus that can be leveraged in integrating and launching experiments into space more easily. There are currently three CubeSats of different sizes manifested and awaiting launch. These satellites carry communication experiment payloads and electric micro-thrusters for on-orbit characterization. The data-relay communication missions of three CubeSats (PSAT, BRICSat-P and USS Langley) are a continuation of over a decade of Naval Academy experiments using the Automatic Packet Reporting System (APRS). These missions are to enable a universal, generic digital relay capability on as many spacecraft as possible to maintain global communication coverage for students and other experimenters worldwide. This approach greatly enhances student access to space by enabling ground terminal and remote data sensing experiments, to a large number of participants, not just a selected few who get to work on spacecraft projects. Future USNA satellite missions include enhanced communication service satellites, propulsion system demonstration mission, and orbital debris characterization mission. The propulsion mission, BRICSat-P, will demonstrate on-orbit operation of an electric propulsion system. A four thruster head system will be placed around the BRICSat-P's center of mass and will autonomously demonstrate tip-off rate control. The paper gives an overview of the USNA Small Satellite Program including summaries of the past and current satellite projects. The future vision to leverage these programs in enhancing student education and faculty research is also discussed.
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