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Remote Detection of Pest Damage and Tree Health in Tart Cherry
Get PDFWith the increasing affordability of technology, using technological advancements to assess tree health might soon become a possibility in low input crops such as tart cherry. We evaluated the ability of drone-mounted multispectral cameras, ceptometry
(canopy density), and soil conductivity meters (soil texture) to predict pest occurrence and remotely detect tree health. Pest scouting data were compared to the different technological datasets to identify the possibility of use for pest detection. While drone-mounted multispectral cameras were able to identify chlorotic trees, powdery mildew was not reliably detectable under a management threshold with current multispectral camera technology. Trees with low canopy density were found to have decreased powdery mildew, but no other relationship between powdery mildew and canopy density was found in this study. In orchards where soil had higher clay content, canopy density and overall tree vigor was found to be reduced. The variability in pest occurrence, soil texture, canopy density, and overall tree health captured in this study reinforces the challenges of managing orchards. Reducing this variability through variable rate management could enhance cost effectiveness, efficiency, and profitability
Optimizing Delphinium and Larkspur Through Timing and Protective Cultivation Methods for Cut Flower Production
Get PDFCut flowers have become an increasingly important specialty crop for small farms nationwide, and particularly in Utah, where decreasing agricultural land has heightened the need for profitable cropping options. However, production is challenged by Utah’s high-elevation climate, which presents unique constraints not addressed by current recommendations. Cool-season crops, like delphinium (Delphinium spp.) and larkspur (Consolida ajacis L.), are underproduced yet highly marketable, generating strong interest among growers throughout the state. Developing region-specific production guidelines is essential to help optimize yields, extend harvest windows, and meet local demand. This research evaluated spring planting dates in high tunnel and field systems, assessed the performance of series and colors for regional adaptation, and examined the effects of 30% shade cloth in field production on harvest timing, yield, and stem quality of delphinium and larkspur. Trials were conducted at a research farm in North Logan, Utah, during the 2023 and 2024 growing seasons. Delphinium series were transplanted into the high tunnel in late March and early April, and into the field in early and mid-May, with second-year growth also evaluated in the high tunnel. Larkspur was direct-sown in the high tunnel in mid- and late March, and in the field in late April and early May. For first-year delphinium, late March transplanting in the high tunnel resulted in the earliest harvest (mid-June) and up to 37 marketable stems per m2, while second-year plants yielded up to 70 stems per m2 with an earlier first harvest in late May. For larkspur, mid-March sowing in the high tunnel produced the earliest harvest in late July and up to 5.5 stems per plant. Staggering planting dates between high tunnel and field systems enabled an extended harvest duration and improved crop availability to meet local market demand. This work also contributed to broader impacts through Cooperative Extension programming focused on cut flower production and pest management
Exploring Adverse Childhood Experiences and Bullying of Children Who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing
Get PDFAdverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and bullying can lead to psychological distress, causing both short- and long-term health and mental health problems. Children with special healthcare needs (CSHCN), including those who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH), face a higher risk of ACEs and bullying, which can affect their well-being.
This study builds on existing literature by (a) reviewing ACEs and bullying in CSHCN, especially those who are DHH, and (b) using data from the 2016-2022 National Survey of Children\u27s Health to analyze ACEs and bullying in children who are DHH, DHH+CSHCN, and CSHCN. The literature review found that disability is linked to a higher chance of experiencing ACEs, and more ACEs are connected to worse health, development, and education outcomes. The research also confirmed that CSHCN experience bullying more often than children without disabilities. This is also true for children who are DHH, especially those who use hearing aids or cochlear implants, or attend special education classes.
The statistical analysis showed that children who are DHH, DHH+CSHCN, and CSHCN had higher rates of individual ACEs, total ACEs, and ACE accumulation than children without disabilities. These groups also faced bullying more often (e.g., 1-2 times per month, weekly, or almost daily). However, CSHCN had a higher prevalence of ACEs and bullying than children who are DHH, and children who are DHH+CSHCN had the highest rates of both. The study also explored whether ACEs influenced the relationship between disability and bullying, finding that a higher number of ACEs made bullying more likely for all disability groups. Social factors like race, ethnicity, poverty, geographic location, and gender were found to affect the relationship between disability, ACEs, and bullying.
In conclusion, this study provides important insights into ACEs and bullying for children who are DHH, DHH+CSHCN, and CSHCN. It also highlights how social factors influence these challenges. These findings can help shape better prevention and support strategies, as well as public policies, to improve the health and well-being of these children
Streamlined Calibration for Small Satellite Optical Payloads
Get PDFPoster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference
Towards Increased Adoption of Direct to Earth Optical Communications
No full textPoster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference
Smallsats in Earth Science: Pioneering Insights Through the USGEO’s Earth Observation Assessment
No full textPoster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference
ChipSat Design for the DeSCENT Mission
No full textThe Demonstration of Suborbital ChipSats Ejected from New Shepard Test Flight (DeSCENT) mission, conducted by Cornell’s Space Systems Design Studio (SSDS) in partnership with the Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), is a suborbital endeavor that aims to deploy 100 ChipSats from a Blue Origin New Shepard rocket when the rocket reaches 100 km above the Earth’s surface. ChipSats are a type of FemtoSat (satellite with a mass less than 100 grams) that can fit into the palm of your hand and contain all the fundamental functionality of a spacecraft. The mission’s primary objective is to refine models that predict the freefall of ChipSats by collecting real-world test data, paving the way for future atmospheric science missions. A swarm of falling ChipSats provides a low-cost way to collect data on spatially and temporally varying Earth science and Heliophysics phenomena, such as temperature, pressure, and humidity, over a significant distance. These ChipSats can then downlink the collected data to ground stations or store the information with onboard flash memory for ground recovery. Unlike larger devices that need to reduce velocity to survive ground impact, the ChipSats, with their low ballistic coefficient and small form factor, can survive impact with the Earth’s surface and be recovered with their stored data intact. This paper presents a detailed overview of the ChipSat design for the DeSCENT mission. The ChipSats are developed to meet the mission requirements and balance functionality, size, weight, and power consumption. DeSCENT is expected to launch in late 2026
High Resolution, Wide Swath SAR Observation From DiskSat at VLEO
No full textThis paper proposes a novel concept of quasi-two-dimensional SAR (synthetic aperture radar) satellites, SAR DiskSats, featuring a deployable passive slot array antenna (De-PSAA) that can be compactly folded within the quasi-two-dimensional (Q-2D) satellite body. This Q-2D configuration allows for potential flexible solar cell sheets to be installed on the backside of the antenna, as the antennas do not dissipate heat. This satellite configuration is also suitable for stacking within a rocket fairing for the mega-constellation launch of SAR DiskSats into VLEO (very low Earth orbit). The proposed DiskSat\u27s thin edge cross-section reduces aerodynamic drag, enabling the satellite to operate at VLEO, thereby taking advantage of improved short-range SNR. This advantage in RF power enhances ground resolution, wide swath with elevation frequency scan technique. It also makes it possible to have a small SAR DiskSat at VLEO. The paper describes a newly proposed corporate feed X-band Q-2D slot array antenna with a 1.2-GHz bandwidth for 0.25-m ground resolution. Additionally, the paper describes the joint US-Japan collaboration on a technology development and implementation roadmap for transitioning the proposed De-PSAA and conventional SAR payloads to pVLEO mega-constellations of HRWS-SAR DiskSats for commercial and civilian applications. The long-term goal is to achieve 0.25-m ground resolution (spotlight) and 1,000km swath width (stripmap)
PULSE-A Mission Overview: Optical Communications for Undergraduate Students
No full textRecent advances in the size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements for space-based sensing have dramatically increased the demand for high-bandwidth downlink. However, high data rate RF transceivers still pose significant SWaP and cost restrictions, especially for university-class CubeSat missions. Optical communication may provide a solution to this challenge, enabling data transmission with order-of-magnitude rate increases over RF while being both secure and SWaP-efficient. The Polarization-modUlated Laser Satellite Experiment (PULSE-A) is a University of Chicago mission to demonstrate optical downlink at a data rate of up to 10 Mbps using circular polarization shift keying (CPolSK). PULSE-A comprises a \u3c1.5U Optical Transmission Terminal, 3U CubeSat Bus, Optical Ground Station (OGS) employing an amateur telescope, and RF Ground Station (RFGS), all of which are being designed and integrated by a team of over 60 undergraduate students. The mission objective is threefold: (1) to provide hands-on educational experiences for undergraduate students, (2) to make hardware for optical communication systems more accessible via open-source design, and (3) to explore the viability and potential advantages of using CPolSK for optical downlink.
PULSE-A serves an essential educational purpose by providing University of Chicago students with the opportunity to design, build, test, and fly a spacecraft. All engineering and leadership roles on the PULSE-A Team are filled by undergraduate students from the University of Chicago Space Program (UCSP), the University’s only Registered Student Organization dedicated to engaging students in aerospace engineering projects. UCSP fulfills a unique role at the University given the absence of any conventional mechanical, electrical, or aerospace engineering programs. PULSE-A is the primary opportunity for the University of Chicago’s undergraduate students to learn and apply skills in these engineering fields, as the large majority of the mission’s hardware and software is being developed in-house. With over 100 students having worked on the mission since UCSP’s inception, PULSE-A has had a profound impact on the University’s student body. In this work, we present an overview of the mission, and we describe the PULSE-A Team’s learning-oriented approach to program management and engineering. We especially emphasize the importance of student leadership in PULSE-A’s development process and the resulting benefits for the University of Chicago community. We also highlight takeaways from the experience of founding and operating an undergraduate student-led CubeSat program, particularly regarding team organization, knowledge transfer, and collaborative learning in the context of limited prior institutional knowledge on small satellites
Canadian Space Agency Satellite Operations for the Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) Mission
Get PDFThe Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) mission launching in late 2026 will be the first demonstration of ground-to-space Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) in Canada. For this system, the receiving platform is a microsatellite in low earth orbit and the photon source is hosted in a ground based Optical Quantum Ground Station (OQGS). Together, they will enable the creation and exchange of cryptographic keys, establishing secure quantum communications at a minimum distance of 500 km. In the first year of operations, experiments will be performed to demonstrate QKD as an uplink via Weak Coherent Pulse (WCP) and Entangled Photon Source (EPS). Onwards from the second year, the mission will open to additional scientific collaborations and experiments for both the space and ground platforms.
The primary payloads of the satellite consist of a telescope and supporting components capable of photon exchange with the desired OQGS. Conversely, on the ground side, this will be supported by soon to be constructed Optical-Quantum Ground Stations located at CSA headquarters in St-Hubert, as well as other partner organizations including the University of Waterloo.
The Mission Operations Center (MOC) hosted at the CSA in St-Hubert will be the primary operations system for this mission. From the operational perspective, the QEYSSat mission has many considerations that must be accounted for. First, photon exchanges between the quantum ground station and the satellite must take place in eclipse to avoid stray light that may affect the quality of the experiment. Therefore, access times, operational products, and critical personnel must be planned around these tightly constrained windows. Another operational challenge is that the pointing and tracking requirements for the satellite platform and the OQGS are considerably stringent to accommodate the successful exchange of photons. This calls on the CSA Flight Dynamics and Spacecraft Engineering teams to generate high fidelity data inputs for predictive tracking systems. Additionally, the satellite operations team is implementing more efficient and automated operational planning protocols, as environmental conditions such as rapid changes in weather will impact the integrity of planned experiments, requiring rapid re-planning.
Developments by the satellite operations team will allow Science End Users to task the payloads in an accessible and efficient manner. The Primary Science Operations Center (SOC) will be located at the University of Waterloo lead by the Institute for Quantum Computing (IQC). To accommodate the complexities of a regular planning cycle, the CSA satellite operations team has created the SOC Planning Tool for Science End Users. This tool allows science experts with minimal knowledge of satellite operations to effectively task their payloads. This is done by employing easy-to-use interfaces displaying only the relevant information necessary for planning payload activities. The tool contains built in constraint checking functionality, drawing on the latest data from the MOC to provide the Science User immediate feedback as to the validity of their payload tasking request. The ultimate result is a robust way for science users from all levels of expertise to generate science tasking requests