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Development of 2U CubeSat YOTSUBA-KUlover for Geomagnetic Field Measurement by Undergraduate Student Satellite Project
Get PDFKyushu Institute of Technology(Kyutech) have developing small satellites since 2006. Three satellites, AOBA-Velox III, FUTABA and MITSUBA(Unfortunately, lost due to rocket launch failure) have been developed in a student satellite project. This satellite project is promoted by under graduate students. The students conduct all of satellite development process as design, integration, test, safety document preparation and operation. Students can learn the satellite development process through hands-on. Fourth satellite is 2U Cube satellite for measurement of geomagnetic field YOTSUBA-KUlover and this program is a joint program with Kyushu University. It is the first satellite developed by Kyutech students project to conduct a science oriented mission. The International Space and Planetary Environment Science Center (i-SPES) at Kyushu University has been conducting international observations of the geomagnetic field for many years, and the center support the development of magnetic field sensor. Kyutech students developed bus system based on the past satellite heritage and Kyushu University students developed a mission component for geomagnetic field measurement and camera for aurora measurement. The main mission of the YOTSUBA-KUlover is a precise measurement of geomagnetic field with an accuracy of 0.1 nT to observe the magnetic perturbations related to the magnetic storms and/or aurora substorms. To achieve this accuracy, a deployable boom was developed to reduce the effect of satellite residual magnetic field. In addition, the effect of the operation of each bus component on the magnetic sensor was investigated in a magnetic calibration facility in Kyushu University. YOTSUBA-KUlover will be launched in FY2024 and currently flight model is being developing. The presentation will introduce the specifications of the satellite and discuss the progress of the development and the problems specific to student satellite projects
Results From On-Orbit Operation of CubeSat-Scale Robotic Arms on the International Space Station
Get PDFTechnological advancements in robotics and additive manufacturing have accelerated the on-orbit capabilities of space vehicles. These advancements, combined with the surge in satellite constellations and the harsh space environment, motivated innovative approaches for sustaining space assets using other space vehicles, including on-orbit servicing, removal, and manufacturing. On-orbit servicing enables maintenance, repairs, and upgrades to existing satellites, decelerating the accumulation of space debris and offering a cost-effective alternative to traditional satellite replacement. On-orbit removal (relocation or collection) of defunct spacecraft from orbital graveyards declutters space real estate for future space infrastructure and human spaceflight. On-orbit manufacturing reduces launch costs and facilitates the construction of large-scale structures. To demonstrate the feasibility of on-orbit capabilities by small-scale robotic satellites, the United States Naval Academy developed RSat, a 3U CubeSat-class satellite equipped with two additively-manufactured 60 cm robotic arms. Each robotic arm had six degrees of freedom and outfitted with a camera at each end-effector. RSat tested complex, modular robotic technology on orbit as a science payload on the International Space Station. On-orbit robotic arm operation sequences included initial deployment and system check-out, target diagnostics, target identification, target manipulation, and two-arm coordinated maneuvers. The paper outlines RSat key design features and also focuses on remote robotic arm operation on orbit including key observations and lessons learned
The ACMES Triton Satellite: A Versatile Platform for the Next Generation of Advanced High Power CubeSats
Get PDFThe Active Cooling for Multispectral Earth Sensors mission is an upcoming technology flight demonstration funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate (ESTO STMD) through the In-space Validation of Earth Science Technologies (InVEST) program. ACMES is currently being developed by teams from the Center for Space Engineering (CSE) at Utah State University (USU), Orion Space Solutions (OSS), and the Hawaii Spaceflight Institute (HSFL). ACMES will feature a variety of next-generation Earth Science remote sensing and in situ ionospheric payloads, including the second-generation Hyperspectral Thermal Imager (HyTI 2.0) instrument, a LWIR push-broom interferometer that produces 25 spectral bands between ~8-12 μm with a ground sampling distance better than 45 meters. HyTI 2.0 is capable of generating LandSat quality ground mapping datasets from a CubeSat platform. In addition, ACMES will feature two student-developed payloads: The Filter Incidence Narrow-band Infrared Spectrometer (FINIS), a daytime Methane detector, and the Planar Langmuir Impedance Diagnostic (PLAID) instrument, a planar style RF impedance probe. ACMES will June to October 2025 to a ~550 km SSO orbit and serve a one-year technology demonstration mission by an extended mission to collect valuable scientific grade data for the Earth science community. ACMES is supported by the OSS Triton line of CubeSat buses. The Triton line of satellite buses features several enabling technologies, including onboard cold gas propulsion for station keeping and injunction avoidance, high data rate, +186 Gb/day (max), S & X-band DVBS2.0 telemetry links, peak solar power generation of over ~230 W, and smart power control, and distribution to ~400 Wh dedicated Lithium-Ion battery storage. In addition, Triton buses include the Active Thermal Architecture (ATA) technology. The ATA is a dedicated and integrated Mechanically Pumped Fluid loop active thermal control system that serves as an enabling technology for high-powered payloads such as the HyTI 2.0 instrument. The Triton platform is a scalable (6U to 16U) satellite architecture that is custom-tailored for supporting advanced, high-powered payloads and challenging small satellite missions. We will discuss the design, development, and testing of the Triton CubeSat platform, the ACMES mission, and how this technology can enable the next generation of small satellites in Earth Science, Heliophysics, and planetary science
Extremely Low earth orbit Imaging and Technology Explorer (ELITE): A Very Low Earth Orbit Mission
Get PDFExtremely Low earth orbit Imaging and Technology Explorer (ELITE) is an experimental micro-satellite on a mission to demonstrate the very low earth orbit (VLEO) flight, high-resolution imaging, and atmospheric data collection. The spacecraft will be launched at an altitude of 550 km, and it will gradually manoeuvre its orbit into VLEO and perform sustained flights are different altitudes for data collection. The camera on-board uses time-dependant integration (TDI) technology to produce high-resolution images. Therefore, the objective is to orbit as low as possible while maintaining the attitude stability required for TDI imaging. Besides the primary imaging mission, the spacecraft also carries: 1) atomic oxygen (AO) fluence detector for characterising the changing AO field in the region of flight, and 2) an ionospheric probe for in-situ plasma density and drift velocities. To support the orbit manoeuvres and drag compensation, the spacecraft is equipped with a propulsion system. There are numerous challenges to overcome to sustain a flight in VLEO which do not occur in LEO. The atmospheric density increases exponentially with altitude, i.e. the drag increases exponentially as the orbit altitude is lowered. The propulsion system has to be sized with adequate margin for sustained operations in VLEO. The increased drag also applies additional stress on to the attitude control system, compromising the stability of the spacecraft.
The power generation and ground contact will also be affected as the spacecraft shall maintain minimum drag and high stability orientation instead performing sun-tracking or ground tracking. Besides the ambient environmental challenges, the spacecraft is also subjected to surges in atmospheric density due to solar storms. The storms can increase the density by 10 or 100 times which can be catastrophic for the spacecraft. This paper discusses the mission design for ELITE mission considering the estimated launch time. Analytic results are shown for altitude profile, drag analysis, and structure optimisation. The objective is to highlight the mission design process considering the limitations and considerations of sub-systems. ELITE mission is fully funded by Singapore government and developed by Nanyang Technological University
GARAI Mission: Two Microsatellites Embarking Four Imagers for Multispectral Submetric Earth Observation Serving Critical Applications
Get PDFSATLANTIS MICROSATS SA and OHB Sweden are finalizing 2 micro satellites together under the project name GARAI, first launch scheduled in October 2024. This paper will present the current status of the High-Resolution Multispectral satellite and the services it will enable.
Each satellite will embark two binocular imagers from the iSIM family, iSIM-90 and iSIM-170, combining high resolution images and videos with swath values up to 13 km and multispectrality, with a total of 14 different filters split between the four optical channels covering SWIR spectra, VIS Polarimetry, and PAN + VNIR spectra.
The GARAI mission incorporates OHB Sweden\u27s flight proven InnoSat micro satellite platform together with SATLANTIS iSIM technology. InnoSat has proven itself worthy in various missions from commercial (GMS-T, 2021, ADIS, 2025), scientific (MATS, 2022) to institutional (AWS,2024 and EIS, 2025). iSIM technology has been demonstrated through past missions such as IOD (2020), CASPR (2021), ARMSAT-1 (2022), MANTIS (2023), GEI-SAT (2023), HORACIO (2024).
The iSIM technology is based on diffraction-limited set of telescopes with high-precision, robust and light mechanical structure, high performance electronic control system and image processing unit including the proprietary Ultra High-Resolution algorithms for the maximization of spatial resolution, brightness, and contrast.
The GARAI satellites will weight around 100 kg including around 30 kg of payload and feature Earth Observation state of art technology such as:
- High data rate through a high-speed X-band link capable to downlink payload data at \u3e 500 Mb/s.
- A high slew-rate mode for tracking of linear profiles such as borders, coastlines, or pipelines, resulting in maximum efficiency for data capture around the globe. This uses a Chebyshev polynomial based guidance mode accounting for the satellite agility where the onboard controller has been tuned for the particular use case and mission parameters. The guidance is generated with flight dynamics tools that transform the desired observable paths on earth into suitable actuation profiles on-board. The heritage onboard guidance block dates from OHB Sweden\u27s ODIN satellite, launched in 2001 and still in operation after 23 years!
- High delta-V propulsion system for station keeping capabilities, collision avoidance and orbit transfer to accommodate a wide variety of mission profiles, and active atmospheric reentry.
- An optical bench with a vibration isolation solution and high thermal stability through its own dedicated thermal control system accommodating both payloads and star trackers minimizing thermoelastic misalignments for precise pointing and geolocation.
SATLANTIS will operate the satellite using its own Mission Control Center and Software integrated with the Mission Control Software RAMSES from OHB Sweden and will process the data at SATLANTIS Data-Hub. GARAI will serve a broad range of applications, from methane emissions detection (SWIR) of high accuracy through removal of aerosols (Polarimetry) with geolocation and quantification of the leaks simultaneous to visible observation of the scene (VNIR), to civil applications requiring high-resolution imagery and videos (VNIR) in combination with agile operations (high slew-rate and tracking of linear profiles) such as defense and security e.g., surveillance of critical infrastructure, borders, coasts, providing a leading market solution of Earth Observation satellites around 100 kg
Autonomous Multi-Mission Orchestration for Small Satellite Constellations
Get PDFThe accelerating proliferation of space vehicles in LEO presents a significant operational and security challenge in coordinating operations between vehicles and across constellations. The growing operational complexity demands a reliable automation approach capable of orchestrating multiple agents, potentially across different domains. No longer is it sufficient to automate a single vehicle in isolation since many of the tasks being conducted by these constellations require cross-schedule coordination. To address the current operational demands and limitations, the Multi-Mission Orchestrator, or MMO, provides a methodology and framework for coordinating space vehicle operations and secure data transfers across heterogeneous constellations and even multi-domain systems of systems. MMO removes the operational planning demand that would otherwise be placed on a team of operators and automates the day-to-day scheduling. It abstracts the detailed mission tasks into an intuitive framework while also leveraging quantitative mission utility and security assessments using a zero-trust approach. The optimization engine within MMO selects operations for every space vehicle within the system to result in an operationally feasible and secure constellation schedule. This paper describes the planning concept, outlines the underlying key elements enabling MMO, and analyzes the performance realized when using MMO to plan cross-schedule operations for collecting and ultimately, securely delivering mission critical data sets
Demisability Investigation With the CubeSat SOURCE: Plasma Wind Tunnel Experiment Results
Get PDFThe increasing utilization of small satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) facilitates ground-breaking opportunities including telecommunication, Earth observation, gravimetry, Space Situation Awareness (SSA) and atmospheric science. However, it also creates a challenge for space debris mitigation and space traffic management. Current numerical tools predicting satellite demisability during uncontrolled atmospheric entry lack accurate models, hindering the estimation of component survivability which is needed for a sustainable growth in orbital commercialization. The University of Stuttgart’s Institute of Space Systems, together with the small satellite student society KSat e.V., addresses this issue with an interdisciplinary satellite re-entry analysis. This includes in-situ measurements in the early phase of re-entry with the Stuttgart Operated University CubeSat of Evaluation and Education (SOURCE), a 3+ Unit CubeSat scheduled for launch in 2025. The payload contains sensors for pressure, temperature, heat flux and atomic oxygen measurements during the early phase of re-entry at altitudes above 130 km. Iridium communication ensures a ground station-independent data downlink. Furthermore, numerical simulations with SCARAB (Hyperschall Technologie Göttingen, HTG) and PICLas (University of Stuttgart, IRS) including analysis for free molecular and continuous flow regimes identify critical components and points of interest in the trajectory. The demisability analysis is completed with plasma wind tunnel experiments. The plasma wind tunnel used for the tests at the University of Stuttgart is PWK1, which utilizes the self-field magnetoplasmadynamic plasma generator RD5 to create high-enthalpy air flows relevant for re-entry emulation. Three distinct trajectory points at different altitudes have been identified as test environments for the component tests, where relevant demise processes take place according to the numerical simulation results. An 80 mm diameter heat flux-pitot pressure probe was used to characterize the high-enthalpy flow, which emulates stagnation point conditions of the discrete trajectory points with focus on mass specific enthalpy and total pressure. The following components were selected as potential hard-to-demise components of SOURCE: The S-Band antenna, magnetorquers, printed circuit boards, a Carbon Fibre Reinforced Polymer (CFRP) sandwich structure, titanium rods, a camera, and batteries. Moreover, an experiment was conducted with a mock-up of SOURCE including functioning sensor arrays in a very low enthalpy environment to verify and investigate the reaction time of the in-situ measurements. All experiments are monitored with a linear pyrometer, an infrared camera, thermocouples, a spectrometer and recorded with a 4k video camera. The measurement results are in good agreement with the numerical simulations for the S-Band antenna, camera and titanium rods but differ for the magnetorquers, CFRP sandwich structure and PCBs. In particular, PCBs are candidates for hard-to-demise components in satellites that require an improved model for numerical simulations. The sensor validation test is showing the expected results in sensor performance, according to preliminary analysis
Laser Crosslink Experiment: A Mission Overview
Get PDFThe Laser Crosslink Experiment (LaCE) is an ongoing optical communication campaign with ground, stratospheric, and orbital elements. The principal LaCE experiment is two 6U CubeSats, LaCE 1 and LaCE 2, which were launched to a shared sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on March 4, 2024. LaCE was originally conceived in 2015 as an integration effort for a series of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals. Its primary experiment is the Skylight laser terminal, an experimental optical communications device.
Due to the experimental nature of key subsystems, LaCE was expanded in 2020 from the initial small satellite mission to a hybrid land, air, and space campaign. Ground experiments validated experimental LaCE subsystems, several of which are now commercially available products. The Stratospheric Optical Link Demonstration (SOLD), which launched on a high-altitude balloon (HAB) in 2023, successfully performed an optical link from a ground platform to a balloon flying in the stratosphere using LaCE hardware. The LaCE satellites are currently on orbit and are executing commissioning and early mission operations. LaCE plans to execute a space-to-ground optical link in Summer 2024, with a co-orbital space-to-space experiment planned for late 202
New Associate Editors
Get PDFNew associate editors include Breanna Martinico, Shannon Skalos, Paula Pebsworth, and Donna J. Perry
Introduction to the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS)
Get PDFThis paper presents an overview of the Department of Commerce’s Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS), its planned architecture, and the basic space situational awareness (SSA) and space traffic coordination (STC) services which it will provide.
In 2018, the White House’s Space Policy Directive-3 identified the Department of Commerce (DOC) as the lead agency for civil SSA, directing transfer of that responsibility from the Department of Defense (DoD), which has historically offered that function to all space operators. This will allow the DoD to focus on its critical space domain awareness needs and mission, while DOC can drive spaceflight safety, space sustainability, and international coordination.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) has been developing TraCSS to be a modern cloud-based IT system providing basic SSA and STC safety services to space operators free of direct user fee. The three main components of TraCSS are: the TraCSS-OASIS data repository; the TraCSS-SKYLINE application layer of SSA and STC services; and TraCSS-HORIZON, consisting of a modeling, simulation & research environment and a development and test environment. OSC is undertaking a phased development approach for TraCSS, coordinated with DoD and NASA, to minimize disruption to spaceflight safety services. TraCSS is being deliberately developed with commercial capabilities in mind; with multiple inputs and on-ramps for commercial data, services, software, and innovation