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PULSE-A Mission Overview: Optical Communications for Undergraduate Students
Get PDFRecent 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 \u3c 1.5U 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
From Dishes to Distributed Arrays: Towards Efficient and Interference-Free Satellite Ground Stations
Get PDFThe rapid growth of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellations, driven by initiatives such as Starlink and Kuiper, has enabled global internet access, Earth observation, and emerging direct-to-device (D2D) applications. However, this surge in satellite deployments has outpaced the expansion of ground station infrastructure, creating a critical bottleneck for scalable and low-latency communication. Traditional ground stations, predominantly based on mechanically steered parabolic dishes, are ill-suited for tracking multiple fast-moving LEO satellites simultaneously due to latency, operational inefficiencies, and underutilized resources. While phased array antennas offer electronically steerable, multi-beam capabilities, their widespread adoption in ground stations is hindered by challenges in achieving high antenna gain, increased power demands, and prohibitive costs. To address these limitations, we propose a distributed phased array-based ground station architecture that coherently combines multiple small phased arrays to deliver high analog beamforming gain and support multi-user multiple-input multiple-output (MU-MIMO) communication. This approach leverages cost-effective phased array terminals, such as those deployed in commercial user equipment, and enables seamless tracking of multiple satellites with improved spectral efficiency and reduced latency. Preliminary simulations demonstrate the viability of this architecture, highlighting its potential to scale ground station capacity and meet the demands of next-generation LEO satellite networks
Power Optimization Strategy for High-Power Payloads in Next-Generation Satellites
No full textFlash Talk presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference
The NourishEd Initiative: Lessons from a Pilot Program on Food Access and Education
Get PDFNourishEd addresses food insecurity in Utah through nutrition education, community partnerships, and the distribution of fresh produce. This article highlights program outcomes, volunteer insights, and strategies for expanding impact and sustainability
Grotifer: A Compact Three-Dimensional Electric Field Instrument Suitable for Small Spacecraft Constellations
No full textExisting double probe instruments cannot make equally accurate measurements of all three components of the DC and low frequency E-field. The spin axis booms on spinning spacecraft must be much shorter than spin plane booms and the resulting uncertainty in the spin axis is usually greater than the measured value
A Small-Satellite On-Orbit Optical and Thermal Calibrator
No full textImaging payload sensor calibrations are typically performed under laboratory conditions prior to launch and then routinely while on-orbit by using ground or astronomical based reference sources. With a trend towards autonomous operations, many machine-learning algorithms would benefit from having on-demand calibration across multiple detectors to better enable capabilities, for example using long wave infrared observations to identify and distinguish clouds from snow and ice. This subsequently would allow satellites to identify clouds confidently onboard, and downlink well defined clear images. Presented are two technologies that provide a method for the direct on-orbit calibration of optical and thermal cameras used in small satellite payloads, thus moving technology usually reserved for large satellites into smaller and more nimble structures. End users include a broad range of stakeholders in scientific, commercial, and military sectors. Additionally, this development could be applied to laboratory, terrestrial, or marine instruments
The University of South Carolina\u27s Journey to the Launchpad
Get PDFA student team at the University of South Carolina is currently working to address the state’s needs for astronautics to both students and to the economy through collaborative efforts with other state institutions. This paper intends to cover the mission concept formulation, areas of beneficial technology development in space, and mission objectives that are to be accomplished for both human and technical capabilities within the state throughout the mission duration. The mission concept covers using 3D printing in space for on-orbit manufacturing capabilities, and the need for development of a computer vision algorithm and system for small space debris detection. These capabilities are discussed for how they can be combined for threat deterrence purposes. To progress the development of USCs technical skills and resources, a CubeSat prototype has been built in 3 months at a low cost for students to practice structural design, mission planning, and systems integration and testing. The CubeSat was able to send and receive transmissions with a ground station, take images, and initiate use of its flight controls
Lessons Learned in Establishing Student-Led Satellite Operations
Get PDFAggieSat6 (AGS6) is a 6U CubeSat designed and developed by students at Texas A&M University through the University Nanosatellite Program (NS-10) cycle. Its mission demonstrates a space-based RF array for Space Domain Awareness and collects low-energy electron radiation data to improve existing models.
Students lead all in-flight operations, gaining hands-on experience in mission control experience. Key challenges include interface development, maintaining system knowledge, and mitigating the effects of frequent student turnover
DRIFT: Dynamic Routing for Inter-Satellite Fault Tolerance
Get PDFThe Dynamic Relay for Inter-satellite Fault Tolerance (DRIFT) framework consists of a radio protocol to provide a low data rate, high link margin, and low SWaP-C (Size, Weight, Power, and Cost) crosslink and up/downlink communications. The DRIFT framework is the feature being developed as a part of The PROVES CubeSat Cluster, which has, to date launched seven university CubeSats as a means of developing and providing flight heritage for various low-cost open-source CubeSat platforms. The primary motivator for developing this system has been in pursuit of interoperability between the multiple unique satellite and ground station solutions that exist across the participating institutions. Further possibilities of a mobile ad-hoc network of satellites include the ability to route packets across satellites to their eventual destination. The fault tolerance within the network is enabled by having access to any given satellite through the other nodes since telemetry and updates can be backhauled through the network as a failsafe. DRIFT software will fly aboard The PROVES Project mission, a CubeSat Launch Initiative (CSLI) awardee launching five university CubeSats in Q2, 2026. This flight test campaign will verify the performance of a network of multiple DRIFT compatible systems operating simultaneously at long ranges, without timing synchronization. In summary, DRIFT enables satellites to operate as usual while significantly enhancing communication efficiency through inter-satellite relays. By allowing DRIFT-compatible satellites to forward data across the network, the system ensures messages reach their destination even if a direct link is unavailable
Next-Generation Medium Lift
No full textNorthrop Grumman and Firefly Aerospace are moving rapidly to mitigate a bottleneck in launch capacity in the medium lift segment and increase launch site diversification for government and commercial satellite customers. With existing heavy-lift vehicles often booked to capacity and small-lift vehicles limited by their mass to orbit, medium-lift vehicles provide an ideal solution for affordably delivering medium payloads to LEO and beyond.
Positioned between small-lift and heavy-lift rockets, the new Eclipse™ Medium Launch Vehicle (MLV) (Figure 1) will add significant payload mass to orbit and volume beyond the capacity of the existing Northrop Grumman Antares 230+ launch vehicle. The Eclipse MLV will utilize the existing Antares launch infrastructure at NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) in Virginia, with significant modifications now underway at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s Pad 0A to accommodate this larger and higher-thrust vehicle.
This paper will examine the case for medium-lift rockets highlighting their role in bridging the gap in the current launch services market and supporting the deployment of thousands of new satellites in the coming decade. It will also familiarize the reader with the Eclipse launch service and the vehicle’s capabilities