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In-Orbit Reprogramming of Satellite’s FPGAs
No full textThis document discusses the development of a system to reprogram an FPGA that is located on a satellite in orbit. The new image for the FPGA will be telemetered to the satellite and passed as command data to the subsystem containing the FPGA. The method for reprogramming is robust, verifies that the FPGA image was not corrupted during transmission, and does not rely on the current image or functionality of the FPGA.
Small satellites use Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) to interface with the satellite computer and other instruments such as cameras and sensors. These FPGAs are traditionally programmed on the ground through a dedicated communication port before the satellite is sent into orbit. The ability to reprogram an FPGA on a satellite that is in orbit requires additional technology that has not been commonly developed or used on past CubeSat missions. Successful design, testing, and implementation of this technology for CubeSats could extend operational life, protect against cyber threats, add new capabilities in-orbit, and eliminate risk for missions by correcting problems after launch.
Every FPGA family has its own requirements for reprogramming. Previous methods that have been used to reprogram Xilinx FPGAs remotely have used x86 microprocessors. These methods have many drawbacks. The on-board SRAM loses all of its data after being powered down, and x86 microprocessors draw more power than ARM microprocessors. The FPGAs that are used by the Center for Space Engineering at USU are PolarFire FPGAs produced by Microchip.1 These are very low power FPGAs that are radiation tolerant. The ability to reprogram a PolarFire FPGA for CubeSats has not been developed at USU and is not common within the small satellite community.
This paper outlines the systems tested and the processes employed for creating various custom designed Printed Circuit Boards (PCBs) with a secondary FPGA or an ARM based microprocessor. There are various ways to accomplish this including connecting to an on-board SPI flash memory that will interface with a PolarFire FPGA.2 Another way would be to connect the secondary FPGA or microprocessor directly to the PolarFire FPGA reprogramming port.3 Either design will receive command packets from ground control, store an updated program in local memory, and load the updated image onto the FPGA on the next power up cycle. Using SPI flash and an FPGA or an ARM microprocessor will be better than previous implementations because all components will have radiation hardened versions, low power draw, and will robustly verify or report status of reprogramming via CCSDS packets. There are many applications for this project that will help the team at the Center for Space Engineering as well as the entire CubeSat community
Impact of Physical Interfaces and Interconnectivity on CubeSat Complexity, Development Schedule, and Cost: A Comparative Analysis of CURTIS 3U, KITSUNE 6U, and VERTECS 6U
No full textBackground CubeSat designs vary in their physical interfaces and subsystem interconnectivity, significantly affecting assembly effort, design complexity, and mission reliability. This study aims to quantify these effects using standardized assembly and complexity metrics combined with reliability assessment
An Optimization Study of Multi-Orifice Synthetic Jets
No full textFrom the mixing of creamer into coffee, to the dynamics of a dust storm, or smoke rising from a chimney—everything is driven by turbulent fluid motion. Experimentalists bring the complex driving mechanism that is turbulence into a laboratory setting to fundamentally understand its behavior in response to certain test parameters. Researchers may choose various drivers, or “actuators”, of fluid motion to start the turbulent regime for their applications. However, in building an entire experimental apparatus, they miss the step of ensuring that an individual driver is performing as best as possible. A common actuator used in experimental studies is a turbulent jet that produces fluid from a nozzle that stirs up the surrounding medium. One such turbulent jet that is very compact and adaptable is a synthetic jet. In this study, we use the frequency and amplitude of the loudspeaker that drives the synthetic jet to modulate the energy injected into the fluid medium. The review of established literature has additionally guided the design of novel nozzle geometries that create a high degree of turbulent motions that are well-dispersed in the environment. Vector fields are quantified with special high-speed cameras that observe these small-scale fluid motions. This together with a monitor of loudspeaker performance serves to show how the flow issuing from an actuator evolves in space. For a facility of a certain dimension, researchers can then fix key parameters to create desired fluid motions for the lowest operating cost
Evaluating Maternal Polar Bear Denning Habitat Along the Arctic Coastal Plain and Assessing the Potential for Noise Disturbance in Polar Bear Dens
No full textPolar bears (Ursus Maritimus) in northern Alaska are increasingly choosing land instead of sea ice to build their maternity dens. As sea ice continues to decline due to climate change, this shift makes it more important than ever to identify and protect the areas where polar bears dig dens to give birth and raise their cubs. In the first part of my research, I used new satellite-based elevation data to map potential polar bear denning habitat across a large section of Alaska’s Arctic Coastal Plain. This technology allowed me to identify the types of sloped terrain where drifting snow collects—conditions that polar bears need to create a den. I compared my results to older maps and on-the-ground measurements, and found that this approach provided an effective and efficient way to locate potential denning areas. I also looked at how much oilfield infrastructure overlaps with denning areas to help support future development decisions.
In the second part of my research, I studied how industrial noise penetrates into polar bear dens. I built artificial dens in mapped polar bear habitat and placed sound recording equipment inside and outside each den. I recorded more than 1,200 vehicles passing on nearby roads and found that snow can block much of the noise—but not all of it. How much sound penetrates a den depends on factors like snow depth and wind speed. Some dens were better at blocking noise than others. This means that some polar bears may be more at risk of hearing disturbance from oilfield traffic, especially when they are raising vulnerable newborn cubs inside the den.
Together, my work provides new tools and information to help wildlife managers and industry partners better protect polar bears during this critical part of their life cycle
SquidSat: Preparing Future Workforce Using Competition
No full textSquidSat is a 3u student-led CubeSat mission funded and mentored by the Interplanetary Initiative Lab (IPL) at Arizona State University (ASU). The Overarching goal of SquidSat is to streamline CubeSat development and make payload integration as simple as possible for as large of a range of payload requirements as possible. This idea encourages a wide range of development within the space industry and universities, as it provides ways for professors and students alike to make a satellite payload without needing to know how to make an entire satellite. SquidSat utilizes the spirit of competition to encourage students, labs, and companies to propose payloads that can be tested through SquidSat
STP-H12-VANTAGE: Combining Visual and Event-Based Sensing for Earth Observation
Get PDFConducting Earth-observation tasks from orbit can provide valuable research insights in fields such as meteorology, geology, forestry, cartography, and defense. Developing and building space payloads for Earth observation poses significant challenges, including the high cost of radiation-tolerant systems, the widening gap between current state-of-the-art apps and the capabilities of space-grade processors, and the increase in fidelity of modern sensors. Many Earth-observation missions typically collect data by leveraging visual and/or multispectral imagers. However, when using conventional imaging, there can be significant losses in context due to the frame-based operation of these sensors, as well as both relevant and irrelevant data mixed together in one frame. Additionally, high-resolution visual sensors can produce large amounts of data, which poses problems for onboard storage and processing.
Event-based dynamic vision sensors, also known as neuromorphic sensors, capture only changes in light intensity throughout a scene. These sensors only react to events or “differences” in a scene, enabling only the relevant information from a scene to be extracted and providing a much lower minimum data rate, all while drawing less power. Neuromorphic sensing has been successfully deployed in orbit, and neuromorphic sensors have shown resilience to space radiation in prior research.
This paper introduces the Visual And Neuromorphic Tracking And Geosensing Experiment (VANTAGE), which seeks to intelligently combine visual imagery and neuromorphic event-based sensing. These sensors will operate in tandem with an overlapping field of view to further enable onboard autonomy. Onboard data collection will also be highly energy efficient, as the low-power neuromorphic sensor will be used as an intelligent trigger to capture images with the higher-power camera. By overlapping the field of view of its onboard sensors, VANTAGE will be able to simultaneously collect visual and event-based information detailing subjects on Earth, building a set of correlated data between the two sensing technologies. Furthermore, VANTAGE will leverage several hybrid (incorporating commercial and radiation-tolerant), low-cost, high-performance processing systems. At the core of the VANTAGE payload is a fault-tolerant single-board computer introduced in previous missions. This computer is connected to additional processing systems, which consist of commercial system-on-module-based processors paired with fault-tolerant carrier cards. The result is a highly diverse and fully autonomous flight system capable of conducting science with advanced sensing, processing, and efficient data downlink capabilities. Ultimately, this payload will leverage its sensing and processing suite for a variety of novel imaging applications. VANTAGE is currently in development and has been manifested for flight on the Space Test Program’s STP-H12 mission
Optical Observation of MOLA CubeSat in Orbit Using Ground Telescope
Get PDFThe proliferation of satellites and satellite constellations in orbit, combined with the rapid expansion of telecommunications and wireless “smart” devices on Earth, has led to congestion in the radio frequency spectrum, adversely affecting data transmission and security. Although technological advances in small satellite technology and new commercial models for rocket launches have lowered the barrier for accessing space, the licensing process to use radio frequencies for satellite communications remains an obstacle. Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) using the near-infrared and visible parts of the unlicensed optical spectrum offers higher bandwidth, faster data rates, and improved security (near-IR). In 2024, the Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) launched Mola, a 6U CubeSat licensed on the Mobile CubeSat Command and Control (MC3) network of government ground stations. In addition to standard RF communications hardware, Mola contained an LED on-orbit payload (LOOP), a bank of nine ultra-bright green (527 nm) LEDs to allow visual observation of the satellite with a ground-based optical telescope. The United States Naval Academy (USNA) is a node on the MC3 ground station network and also maintains an optical observatory, which includes a 20-inch optical telescope and charged-couple device (CCD) astronomical camera housed in a fiberglass dome with an electric shutter and motor rotation. A series of joint NPS-USNA Mola-tracking observations were conducted over several months, starting in October 2024, using both the USNA MC3 ground station and optical telescope. Key features of the operations sessions included: optical tracking with and without simultaneous RF tracking; various camera exposure times (0.5s to 3s); optical tracking with LEDs off (sunlight reflection only), LEDs on, and LEDs blinking; broadband photometry measurements with ‘VR’ (visible), ‘g’ (green), ‘r’ (red) and ‘i’ (infrared) filters; and diffraction-grating spectroscopy to analyze satellite composition. Data captured during the observations include the brightness range in a visual band, the signal-to-noise ratio, field of view size, and pixel size. This paper outlines the details of low-Earth orbit (LEO) optical tracking, photometric data, and spectral analysis, including real-time ground observation of the optical tracks. The discussion highlights the ground-based optical and radio frequency (RF) hardware operated by undergraduate students, lessons learned, and future applications and implementations
Climate - Commercial and Scientific Instrument Opportunities for Small Satellite Constellations
Get PDFThere is an economic and social impact in many areas in the world due to lack of information on local climate, and better understanding is widely believed to lead to cost savings and improved living standards. Despite the wealth of spacecraft data available today, many climate variables are still poorly monitored. Small satellites in constellation can help in filling data gaps, and also provides the important temporal resolution required. Such missions could be highly complementary to the NASA NEO and EU Copernicus programs, and their data can be commercially valuable, opening up the potential for novel business models and services.
Small satellites technology now makes it possible to carry sophisticated optical and radio sensing instruments, collect and process large quantities of data on-board. Organizations such as the European Space Agency (ESA), the Committee on Earth Observation Satellites (CEOS), the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) emphasize the need for systematic, high-quality climate observations. However, most commercial missions lack the necessary measurement accuracy, calibration and understanding of data uncertainty to contribute meaningfully to such international efforts.
Key variables where there is a lack of information are identified as those related to the water cycle, carbon cycle, ecosystem loss, and atmospheric composition. SSTL is already working on several funded missions and initiatives that can form the building blocks of a more comprehensive climate science constellation. HydroGNSS for the European Space Agency will have two small satellites to start monitoring several of these key variables. The HERCHI instrument development is aimed at the development of a hyperspectral imager, to aid monitoring of atmospheric composition and greenhouse gasses. The UK-Australia Aquawatch joint study initiative is focused on a system that addresses hydrology and water quality assessments. And finally, the DarkCARB spacecraft for SatVu, with the first one launched in 2023 and the next two in production, allow surface temperature mapping at high resolution. This paper explores the potential of bringing these and other satellites together into a lightly coordinated constellation to provide multi-variable climate observations for scientific and commercial users, and provides details on the payloads, and how they combine to provide a comprehensive and valuable data set when combined
Larkspur Cut Flower Production in Utah
Get PDFLarkspur is an annual crop that provides vertical structure, height, and balance to floral arrangements. Stems also dry well, making them ideal for dried floral designs and other products. Paired with low input costs compared to many other flowers, larkspur is a competitive local crop for small farms. Utah State University (USU) trialed three colors for each Cannes, Fancy, and QISTM series (C. ajacis) in 2023 and 2024. This fact sheet covers site preparation, direct sowing and plant density, nutrient management, irrigation, pests and disease, harvest and storage, and economics
Causes of Heterozygosity Excess: The Case of Mexican Populations of \u3ci\u3ePopulus tremuloides\u3c/i\u3e
Get PDFThe presence of heterozygous individuals in a population is crucial for maintaining genetic diversity, which can positively affect fitness and adaptability to environmental changes. While inbreeding generally reduces the proportion of heterozygous individuals in a population, polyploidy tends to increase the proportion. North American Populus tremuloides is one of the most widely distributed and ecologically important tree species in the Northern Hemisphere. However, genetic variation in Mexican populations of P. tremuloides, including the genetic signatures of their adaptation to a variety of environments, remains largely uncharacterized. The aim of this study was to analyze how inbreeding coefficient (FIS) and ploidy are associated with clonal richness, population cover, climate and soil traits in 91 marginal to small, isolated populations of this tree species throughout its entire distribution in Mexico. Genetic variables were determined using 36,810 filtered SNPs derived from genome re-sequencing. We found that FIS was approximately between 0 and -1, indicating an extreme heterozygosity excess. One key contributor to the observed extreme heterozygosity excess was asexual reproduction, although ploidy levels cannot explain this excess. Analysis of all neutral SNPs showed that asexual reproduction was positively correlated with observed heterozygosity (Ho) but negatively correlated with expected heterozygosity (He). Analysis of outlier SNPs also showed that asexual reproduction was positively correlated with Ho and negatively correlated with He, although this latter correlation was not significant. These findings support the presence of a Meselson effect