--- On Sun, 28/4/13, Stefan Wagener wageners@gmail.com wrote:
I always thought that to get to a suitable HEO you need to start at a suitable GTO and not LEO.
There's no reason why you couldn't go from a 310 km LEO orbit, it just takes time.
Romit-1 is a 2U CubeSat developed by Euroluna volunteers. It has an ion engine and they reckon it'll take a year to go from a 310 km orbit to 700 km. With Ion motors you can get CubeSats to decent orbits even if the initial deployment is into one of the cheapest 310 km orbits but you may have to wait a few years.
The problem at the moment is the shortage of low-cost LEO launches. Currently a 2U launch would cost you about $150,000+ Hopefully launch opportunities will increase and prices fall in the coming years. Certainly Federal Government funded CubeSat launch programs such as ELaNa, would be one option in the 2015-2018 time frame for those in the US.
I think Euroluna have been waiting 2 years now for a launch, there are a number of other groups also trying to fly CubeSat's with Ion Motors.
Some info on Romit-1 is at http://amsat-uk.org/2012/03/01/euroluna-oz9luna-cubesat-launch-update/
73 Trevor M5AKA