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USGS ECCOE System Characterization: Understanding and Quantifying the Capability of Remote Sensing Systems
Get PDFData quality is one of the most important properties of remote sensing system design. It is important to independently characterize and validate remote sensing products to gain an understanding of the capabilities of these data. The USGS ECCOE\u27s System Characterization process analyzes the geometric, radiometric, and spatial characteristics of remote sensing data products, including those from small satellites, using standard processes and methods. This poster provides a summary of these methods
The One Freedom Unit Deployer
Get PDFA new deployer for a new standardized dimension, the Freedom Unit, a proposed standardized 1 foot by 1 foot by 1 foot small satellite, signifies a notable progression in satellite technology. Its larger standardized size allows for the integration of familiar off-the-shelf components, reducing development costs and addressing previous traditional CubeSatellite limitations in stability and power. The modularity and balanced design of the Freedom Unit will pave the way for cost-effective and innovative small satellite missions, ushering in a new era of capabilities in space exploration.
However, due to the nature of the current existing CubeSatellite design form factor, there is no existing deployer that can support the Freedom Unit. Presenting: the design, development, and manufacturing of this deployer that can be accessible and low cost, furthering the goal of decreasing market cost launches and providing an even more viable platform for educational institutions and commercial partners to conduct advanced space-based operations. The design of the deployer shall be modeled primarily off existing deployers for the CubeSat form factor, with the primary difference being the significantly larger form factor that is intended for a single containerized satellite rather than being stratified into slots for many satellites.
Although satellites in this form factor usually would consider graduating to a 8 ESPA ring, we believe there can be significant benefits to the use of a fully containerized satellite deployer rather than a more traditional cantilevered payload
HAB–02: Returning to Space on a Budget
Get PDFThe Binar Space Program uses High-Altitude Balloons, or HABs, as an affordable platform for hardware testing in near-space conditions. A latex sounding balloon takes a payload up to ~30 km (100,000 ft). Once popped, the payload drifts to Earth via parachute. HAB–02 is Binar\u27s second HAB launch
Thermal Performance of Starling Spacecrafts and Comparison to Thermal Model Results
Get PDFThe Starling mission consists of four 6U CubeSats launched in July 2023 to test several technologies that could enable future swarm missions. The Starling experiment payload is comprised of a Xiphos Q7S processor, a C&DH/power board called the Bus Interface Card (BIC), and CesiumAstro\u27s CommPack radio that enables crosslink communication amongst the spacecrafts in the swarm. The CommPack radio is itself comprised of an S-band Software Defined Radio (SDR) and two Transmit Receive Modules (TRMs) with integrated patch antennas
Development of an Automatic Production Line for PVA With a Capacity of 200.000 Solar Cells Per Year
Get PDFDHV Technology has developed a complete production line for photovoltaic assemblies (PVA) with a capacity of 200,000 solar cells per year. This development involved creating automatic equipment, qualifying new processes, and integrating and commissioning all these elements. DHV Technology has successfully implemented two automatic systems: the automatic inspection of solar cells (AISC) and the automatic welding process for string formation (AWSF
Leveraging Cross-Industry Knowledge to Improve the Design of Space Systems
Get PDFThere are valuable satellites that fail early and almost none have been repaired or investigated. Other industries benefit from feedback loops that use failure analysis to accelerate design and manufacturing improvements.17 Historically the cost of a repair mission would be so high it wouldn\u27t be considered. The cost of space debris mitigation missions can be reduced by leveraging the learning other industries have experienced. Lowering the cost of repair missions will enable more debris mitigation, learn more about why missions failed, and lead to fewer failures and lower costs.
Many space programs rely on outdated processes that increase costs, inflate workforce requirements, and endanger delivery schedules. The techniques proposed enable a paradigm shift revitalizing space system design through cross-industry knowledge and experience sharing. By adopting proven practices from a diverse set of industries, we can enhance performance for spaceborne systems to investigate and recover failed satellites and similar missions.
First, we highlight techniques used in other industries to design for reliability and resilience in harsh environments. We present a framework to determine which established practices can accommodate different space mission profiles and requirements.
Second, we make a data-driven case to leverage more commercial parts and components in future space missions. Analysis of real-world reliability statistics demonstrates commercial hardware often meets or exceeds specifications designed for space. We outline processes already proven successful to qualify commercial parts for the space environment.
This modernization combines the selective incorporation of cross-industry practices and prudent commercial parts adoption. The results are highly reliable space systems that can be utilized in missions with drastically accelerated development timelines at much reduced costs even in missions with low spacecraft counts. We outline actionable next steps for stakeholders to update design and quality assurance standards and acquisition processes to enable this performance transformation through cross-industry knowledge sharing
Automated Design and Validation of Acquisition Patterns for Optical Inter-CubeSat Links
Get PDFCommercially available CubeSats with volumes of up to six units cannot achieve the precision required for an instantaneous establishment of a low-divergence optical inter-satellite link employing solely their attitude-determination and control system. Those residual attitude errors are present due to vibrations and limited control precision caused by the commonly used reaction wheel actuators. Thus, search patterns are used to scan the remaining field of uncertainty in order to achieve an optical inter-satellite. This work focuses on the development of an automated procedure to optimize the interaction between each of the individual search patterns. The performance of the two combined patterns is measured by their mean acquisition time and probability of success based on a Monte-Carlo simulation. Four patterns – Spiral, Rose, Lissajous and Grid – are considered and modified according to the optical inter-satellite link scenario between two CubeISL laser communication terminals. They are distinguished by their respective tasks within the acquisition scheme. The terminal for pointing, acquisition and tracking (T-PAT) scans the field of uncertainty in order to establish the link. The terminal for detection, adjustment and tracking (T-DAT) scans for a hit on its optical detector with a matched pattern period. It then gradually compensates for the remaining error until both terminals can switch to active tracking mode.
The proposed acquisition scheme and generated patterns were verified in a campaign over 334 m link distance. To achieve a controllable test environment, both CubeISL terminals and attitude manipulation actuators were automated. This approach offers the advantage of repeatable parameter variations and a higher number of tests that can be carried out. Each run takes approximately 10 minutes, which emulates the envisaged runtime in space, including the configuration of the terminals and supporting equipment. Additionally, all configurations are executed multiple times to evaluate the standard deviation of individual tests. The presented procedure demonstrates that simulations can exclude a significant number of design parameter combinations. The remaining pattern sets are implemented for final optimization during a field-test with the actual hardware of the optical terminals. As both CubeSats will operate in space without real-time supervision, the same validation process can be applied during commissioning. Therefore, the proposed automated design and validation procedure reduces the time required for supervised measurement campaigns while increasing confidence in the reliability of the overall system for remote on-orbit operation
Automation as a Mindset: An Approach to Streamlining Spacecraft Development and Operations
Get PDFWith limited opportunities and funding for deep space missions, there is increased pressure to build better, faster, and cheaper space-borne payloads. Smaller teams and limited tools provide a unique challenge for such development. This paper reviews the approach the Micro-Mission Systems (MMS) group at Malin Space Science Systems (MSSS) took in the development of the Mars Synchronous Orbiter (MSO) to streamline and automate various tasks so team members could focus their efforts on solving more difficult problems and minimize user induced errors.
The team utilized free tools to automate labor intensive and manual processes, run and monitor tests with little to no user intervention, and build complex flight operation scripts and timetables. Some of these tools were also integrated with commercial flight software systems to deepen the level of automation that could be accomplished and allow for a very lean staffing plan.
The integration of automation at every stage of development culminates within the spacecraft itself in two forms: an autonomous Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) system and on-board image processing in the infrared (IR) and visible range. These processes are not unprecedented in spacecraft; however, MSO pushes the envelope on the robustness of these processes in the application of deep space.
In the first autonomous process, the FDIR subsystem monitors key parameters of the spacecraft\u27s health, reboots upon detection of major faults, and proceeds with its primary operations and science objectives on its own. It will only seek ground intervention if it cannot recover from faults autonomously. This subsystem allows routine reboots to be scheduled into nominal operations so that minor errors have less of a chance to accumulate into major errors.
In the second autonomous process, on-board payload image processing was designed to reduce the volume of downlinked data while still delivering products sufficient for science analysis. MSO implements multiple algorithms to improve signal-to-noise ratios for the IR products and to construct high-dynamic range (HDR) visible images that still retain accurate radiometric data. Compression using JPEG2000 results in a data reduction factor up to or exceeding 1000. Raw payload data and lossless final products are generally available - downlink permitting - allowing for a robust delivery system of imaging products
Commissioning Plans for the Pandora SmallSat: A Mission to Quantify Stellar Contamination of Exoplanet Transmission Spectra
Get PDFPandora is a SmallSat mission designed to observe exoplanet atmospheres and stellar activity. Funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate (SMD) Astrophysics Division through the Pioneers program, Pandora is a collaboration between NASA centers Goddard and Ames, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the University of Arizona, and other scientific institutions. Pandora will survey at least 20 transiting exoplanets during one year of science operations, obtaining a long baseline of simultaneous visible-light photometric and near-IR spectroscopic observations. These observations will be used to quantify and correct for stellar contamination of exoplanet transmission spectra due to spots and faculae on host stars. Pandora will subsequently identify exoplanets with hydrogen or water-dominated atmospheres. In this paper, we share a preliminary plan for commissioning Pandora during its first month of operation after launch, anticipated for 2025. Broadly, commissioning includes bus and payload checkouts, followed by instrumentation checks, which include telescope pointing and tasks for non-pointed and pointed calibration. This paper focuses primarily on commissioning Pandora’s instrumentation, including visible-light photometry and near-IR spectroscopy capabilities. We outline each commissioning task, our timeline, and our workflow for planning and managing an adaptable commissioning plan. This paper informs on Pandora\u27s plans and provides an example of telescope commissioning for future missions