Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 30 of 106
Full-Text Articles in Entire DC Network
A Consolidated Acs Flight Software Development Approach For The Earth Observing-1 Spacecraft , Kathie Blackman, Jeff D'Agostino
A Consolidated Acs Flight Software Development Approach For The Earth Observing-1 Spacecraft , Kathie Blackman, Jeff D'Agostino
Small Satellite Conference
The Earth Observing 1 (EO-l) mission is part of NASA's New Millennium Program (NMP). The EO-l Attitude Control System (ACS) flight software was based on the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) flight software, both of which were developed by the Hammers Company, Inc. Lessons learned during TRMM ACS software development led to a consolidated software development approach for the EO-l ACS. The approach started with a standalone system that incorporated the ''first-cut'' flight software into the spacecraft simulation, allowing closed loop simulations to run on a desktop computer. Consequently, more algorithm and coding errors were detected earlier in the development …
Design, Construction And Testing Of A Voltage-Based Maximum Power Point Tracker (Vmppt) For Small Satellite Power Supply, Mohammad Masoum, Hooman Dehbonei
Design, Construction And Testing Of A Voltage-Based Maximum Power Point Tracker (Vmppt) For Small Satellite Power Supply, Mohammad Masoum, Hooman Dehbonei
Small Satellite Conference
It is shown that at maximum power, the Photovoltaic (PV) voltage varies nonlinearily with temperature and isolation level, but is directly proportional to the PV cell open circuit voltage. The proportionality voltage-factor is fixed for a given PV generator regardless of temperature, isolation and panel configuration, but depends on cell material and manufacturing. This remarkable property is used to achieve temperature and insolation independent maximum power point tracking of satellite's solar cells with a simple and reliable technique. The open circuit voltage is continuously measured by a microcontroller and is used to estimate the maximum power operating point of the …
Spacecraft Computers On The Seastar Satellite, Sawat Tantiphanwadi
Spacecraft Computers On The Seastar Satellite, Sawat Tantiphanwadi
Small Satellite Conference
The SeaStar spacecraft requires a high performance computer system to handle its various requirements. It must process not only the high-rate data from the Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) instrument, but also the spacecraft ground interface system and the attitude control system data. This paper will describe the spacecraft computer architecture and its hardware. With minimum peripheral changes, the same computer can be configured to perform the payload, or the ground interface, or the attitude control functions. Each flight computer consists of three computer slices and a power module. There are two main flight computers on the SeaStar satellite; the …
Progress Toward Hydrogen Peroxide Micropropulsion, John Whitehead, Michael Dittman, Arno Ledebuhr
Progress Toward Hydrogen Peroxide Micropropulsion, John Whitehead, Michael Dittman, Arno Ledebuhr
Small Satellite Conference
A new self-pressurizing propulsion system has liquid thrusters and gas jet attitude control without heavy gas storage vessels. A pump boosts the pressure of a small fraction of the hydrogen peroxide, so that reacted propellant can controllably pressurize its own source tank. The warm decomposition gas also powers the pump and is supplied to the attitude control jets. The system has been incorporated into a prototype microsatellite for terrestrial maneuvering tests. Additional progress includes preliminary testing of a bipropellant thruster, and storage of unstabilized hydrogen peroxide in small sealed tanks.
A Low Power Approach To Small Satellite Propulsion, Joe Cardin, Larry Mosher
A Low Power Approach To Small Satellite Propulsion, Joe Cardin, Larry Mosher
Small Satellite Conference
Small Satellites are emerging as the preferred platform for a wide variety of earth orbit and even interplanetary missions. These spacecraft are, by their very nature, extremely limited in volume, mass and power. Existing fluid propulsion options are too large, costly and complex for many small satellite applications. In an attempt to address this problem the Applied Physics Laboratory of Johns Hopkins University, as part of an advanced development contract with NASA, has contracted with V ACCO Industries. The objective of this program is to conceive and demonstrate a cold gas propulsion system specifically designed for small satellites. Major design …
Low Cost Propulsion Development For Small Satellites At The Surrey Space Centre , Gary Haag, Martin Sweeting, Guy Richardson
Low Cost Propulsion Development For Small Satellites At The Surrey Space Centre , Gary Haag, Martin Sweeting, Guy Richardson
Small Satellite Conference
The Surrey Space Centre (SSC) has led the way in demonstrating the utility of microsatellite size spacecraft for research, humanitarian, commercial, and military applications. SSC recognises that cost effective propulsion technology for small spacecraft is an enabling technology for expanding the utility of these assets and has been actively researching this field since 1993. This paper provides an overview of propulsion research and development at the Surrey Space Centre. The paper will summarise SSC goals for small spacecraft propulsion technology and link them to areas of propulsion research past, present and future. A review of Surrey's propulsion history to include …
A Maintenance-Free Battery Charge Control Approach For Nickel-Hydrogen Batteries, Andrew Lewin
A Maintenance-Free Battery Charge Control Approach For Nickel-Hydrogen Batteries, Andrew Lewin
Small Satellite Conference
The most common battery charging approaches for nickel-hydrogen batteries suffer from two key limitations. They either consistently under- or overcharge the battery or they require accurate knowledge of the battery capacity. For the ORBCOMM constellation of 36 small communications satellites, regular overcharging is unacceptable because it decreases battery life. Worse, the lost life occurs when the satellite constellation is facing its greatest usage demand. On the other hand, obtaining an accurate knowledge of the battery capacity requires an upfront effort to develop the necessary engineering tools and characterize battery performance. In addition, the satellite operator must bear the recurring expense …
Gyrowheel™ - An Innovative New Actuator/Sensor For 3-Axis Spacecraft Attitude Control , George Tyc, William Whitehead, Satya Pradhan, Douglas Staley, Cameron Ower, Jeff Cain, Michael Wiktowy
Gyrowheel™ - An Innovative New Actuator/Sensor For 3-Axis Spacecraft Attitude Control , George Tyc, William Whitehead, Satya Pradhan, Douglas Staley, Cameron Ower, Jeff Cain, Michael Wiktowy
Small Satellite Conference
The Bristol Gyro Wheel is an innovative attitude control system device that provides both an angular momentum bias and control torques about three axes while at the same time measuring the spacecraft angular rates about two axes. The principles of operation of this device are explained and the flight model design is described that is targeted at small satellite applications which is currently under development. A fully functional prototype of the GyroWheel has been developed that has demonstrated the actuator and rate sensing capabilities and some of the test results are given. One of the key advantages of the Gyro …
Development Of Shape Memory Alloy (Sma) Actuated Mechanisms For Spacecraft Release Applications , Shawn Smith, David Dowen, Eugene Fossness, Andrew Peffer
Development Of Shape Memory Alloy (Sma) Actuated Mechanisms For Spacecraft Release Applications , Shawn Smith, David Dowen, Eugene Fossness, Andrew Peffer
Small Satellite Conference
Current methods of deploying spacecraft payloads typically employ explosive-type separation devices which do not address shock concerns and are not resettable without disassembly from the spacecraft or significant refurbishment of parts. Other separation mechanisms exist which eliminate explosives, but also do not offer reduced shock or the advantages of insitu resettability. Several new, shape-memory alloy (SMA) actuated release mechanisms have been developed for satellite release applications for loads of 500 lbf and greater. These mechanisms all offer fast, non-pyro releases and are completely testable and reusable while mounted on the spacecraft. The Qwknut and the Low-Force Nut (LFN) are suitable …
Adcs Of Thns-1 Nanosatellite With Off-Pointing Capability, Li Junfeng, You Zheng, Xu Min
Adcs Of Thns-1 Nanosatellite With Off-Pointing Capability, Li Junfeng, You Zheng, Xu Min
Small Satellite Conference
One of the broad objectives of the THNS-1 nanosatellite, which mass will be less 5kg, is to demonstrate the availability of micro/nano-technology. The attitude control system has a three-axis magnetometer, four two-axis sun sensors and a MIMU for providing an attitude knowledge. The extended Kalman filter will be used for determining the attitude angles and attitude velocity. Three reaction wheels will be used to perform off-nadir pointing manoeuvres with magnetorquers for momentum dumping. A gravity gradient boom with top mass, which was successfully used on many microsatellites in the world, will be used for passive nadir pointing stabilisation.
An Attitude Control System For A Low-Cost Earth Observation Satellite With Orbit Maintenance Capability , Willem Steyn, Yoshi Hashida
An Attitude Control System For A Low-Cost Earth Observation Satellite With Orbit Maintenance Capability , Willem Steyn, Yoshi Hashida
Small Satellite Conference
UoSAT-12 is a low-cost minisatellite built by Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd. (SSTL), it is amongst other objectives also a technology demonstrator for high performance attitude control and orbit maintenance on a future constellation of earth observation satellites. The satellite uses a 3-axis reaction wheel configuration and a cold gas propulsion system to enable precise and fast control of its attitude, for example, during orbit manoeuvres. Magnetorquer coils assist the wheels mainly for momentum dumping. This paper describes the various attitude control modes required to support: 1) the initial attitude acquisition phase, 2) a high resolution imager payload during pointing and …
Space Testing Of The Advanced Instrument Controller, Todd Goforth, Scott Cannon, James Lyke
Space Testing Of The Advanced Instrument Controller, Todd Goforth, Scott Cannon, James Lyke
Small Satellite Conference
An extremely compact, low-power instrument controller and data processor system has been developed for space-based applications. Known as the Advanced Instrument Controller (AIC), this hybrid device contains both digital and analog components in a package less than 5 grams in weight and 2 x 3 em in size. Based on the Intel 8031151 microprocessor and implementing a superset of the 8051 instruction set, the AIC supports l28k of SRAM, 128k of EEPROM, four 8-bit parallel ports, six serial communications ports, 32 analog l2-bit AID channels, and eight D/A channels. Rugged (30k g) with a wide operating temperature range (-120 to …
New Approach To Achieving Stand Alone Gps Attitude Determination Using Dual Short Baselines For Small-Satellite , S. Purivigraipong, M. S. Hodgart, Y. Hashida, M. J. Unwin
New Approach To Achieving Stand Alone Gps Attitude Determination Using Dual Short Baselines For Small-Satellite , S. Purivigraipong, M. S. Hodgart, Y. Hashida, M. J. Unwin
Small Satellite Conference
This paper proposes a new approach to GPS (Global Positioning System) attitude determination for small satellite application in LEO (low Earth orbit). Prior knowledge of attitude and integer resolution is not required. The methodology of the new approach includes integer ambiguity search, initial estimation of attitude and line bias, attitude initialisation, path difference estimation and fine attitude determination. The observable is the carrier phase difference measurement between two GPS antennas. A dual short baseline (typical baseline length up to 30 cm) is assumed in this research. The key point to initialising attitude is to estimated the attitude of individual baseline …
High Speed, Low Weight Momentum/Reaction Wheels, Larry Wilhide, Louis Brothers, Eugene Breyer
High Speed, Low Weight Momentum/Reaction Wheels, Larry Wilhide, Louis Brothers, Eugene Breyer
Small Satellite Conference
Advancements in several critical areas have made possible lightweight, strong and highly reliable momentum / reaction wheels. The development of reliable bearings with design features that allow high speed operation for space flight applications has significantly altered the weight / speed / wheel design considerations. Current designs typically operate at speeds at or below 6,000 RPM The new retainerless can achieve speeds 10 times that and meet or improve all other significant bearing operating parameters. These bearings offer a design life of 20 years or greater and are free of retainer caused anomalies. The development and test of these bearings …
The Sprite Mini-Lift Vehicle: Performance, Cost, And Schedule Projections For The First Of The Scorpius™ Low-Cost Launch Vehicles, James Berry, Robert Conger, James Wertz
The Sprite Mini-Lift Vehicle: Performance, Cost, And Schedule Projections For The First Of The Scorpius™ Low-Cost Launch Vehicles, James Berry, Robert Conger, James Wertz
Small Satellite Conference
Scorpius™ is a Microcosm program, under two Phase III Small Business Innovation Research contracts at the Air Force Research Laboratory, Space Vehicles Directorate. The Scorpius™ program is to develop an entirely new launch vehicle family with the objective of reducing total launch cost by a factor of 5 to 10. This paper reports on status and substantial progress of the program since our last USU update. Specifically, the Sprite Mini-Lift Vehicle is projected to have a first DT &E tlight in the first quarter of 200 I and first production flight in the first quarter of 2002. It has a …
The Wallops Flight Facility Model For An Integrated Federal/Commercial Test Range, Bruce Underwood
The Wallops Flight Facility Model For An Integrated Federal/Commercial Test Range, Bruce Underwood
Small Satellite Conference
Historically, the U.S. federal government has been the predominant user of space within this country. In support of this need, it established a number of federal launch facilities to support govemment projects. Among these sites was NASA's Wallops Flight Facility. While Wallops' historical responsibilities have been principally in support of NASA science and technology missions, the emerging growth of commercial space is changing the fundamental philosophies of the roles of the government. The Virginia Commercial Space Flight Authority and NASA have formed a partnership that leverages the capabilities of the established NASNWallops Test Range with the resources offered by a …
Opportunities For Small Satellites And Space Research Using The K-1 Vehicle, Debra Facktor Lepore, Gary Lai, Tom Taylor
Opportunities For Small Satellites And Space Research Using The K-1 Vehicle, Debra Facktor Lepore, Gary Lai, Tom Taylor
Small Satellite Conference
Kistler Aerospace Corporation will launch the K-I vehicle into orbit from Spaceport Woomera for its first flight test in 2000 and commence commercial operations shortly thereafter. These events will mark two important milestones in aerospace history. First, the K-I is the world's first fully reusable aerospace vehicle, designed for 100 flights. Second, the K-I is the first launch vehicle built entirely by private funds for the commercial launch market. Expendable vehicle launch costs make up a significant portion of satellite program budgets. These costs can be prohibitive for small satellites and space researchers. The reusable K-l vehicle provides a low …
Eelv Secondary Payload Adapter (Espa), Capt. Scott Haskett, Leslie Doggrell, Eugene Fosness, Dino Sciulli, Troy Meink, Joseph Maly
Eelv Secondary Payload Adapter (Espa), Capt. Scott Haskett, Leslie Doggrell, Eugene Fosness, Dino Sciulli, Troy Meink, Joseph Maly
Small Satellite Conference
Despite growing worldwide interest in small satellites, launch costs continue to hinder the full exploitation of small satellite technology. In the United States, the Department of Defense (DoD), NASA, other government agencies, commercial companies, and many universities use small satellites to perform space experiments, demonstrate new technology, and test operational prototype hardware. In addition, the DoD continues to study the role of small satellites in fulfilling operational mission requirements. However, US government agencies are restricted to the use of US launch vehicles, which eliminates many affordable launch opportunities. Additionally, many small satellite users are faced with shrinking budgets, which limits …
Satellite Constellation Launch, Deployment, Replacement And End-Of -Life Strategies , Stefania Cornara, Theresa Beech, Miguel Belló-Mora, Antonio Martinez De Aragon
Satellite Constellation Launch, Deployment, Replacement And End-Of -Life Strategies , Stefania Cornara, Theresa Beech, Miguel Belló-Mora, Antonio Martinez De Aragon
Small Satellite Conference
The considerable surge in satellite constellations has brought to the fore the imperative need for an efficient satellite constellation management plan. To address this emerging need, GMV has analyzed the possible strategies for constellation launch, set-up, replacement of failed satellites and end-of-life policy. The constellation launch and deployment has been divided into the launch site and launcher selection, the evaluation of the injection and the transfer strategies, and the set-up phase. The main replacement strategies investigated are based on in-orbit spares, spare satellites in parking orbits and spare satellites on the ground. Finally, end-of-life policies for LEO, MEO and GEO …
The Bitsy Spacecraft Kernel: Reducing Nanosatellite Mission Cost In The Msfc Future-X Program Through Miniaturized Technologies, Scott Mcdermott, David Goldstein
The Bitsy Spacecraft Kernel: Reducing Nanosatellite Mission Cost In The Msfc Future-X Program Through Miniaturized Technologies, Scott Mcdermott, David Goldstein
Small Satellite Conference
A team led by AeroAstro Incorporated was selected under the Future-X program to fly an experiment in late 2000 to demonstrate key elements of reducing space mission cost utilizing Bitsy™ Spacecraft Kernel technology. The Small Payload Access to Space Experiment (SPASE) is funded through the Future-X program, and is to be launched in late 2000 using the Space Shuttle. The mission will also carry a small microgravity payload. The entire first mission, including space and ground systems and launch interfaces, will cost under $2M. The recurring cost for follow-on microgravity spacecraft will be under $1M. Achieving on-orbit science missions with …
Progress Towards Fedsat 2001 A'Stralian Space Odyssey, Stephen Russell, Mirek Vesely, Chris Graham, Mike Petkovic
Progress Towards Fedsat 2001 A'Stralian Space Odyssey, Stephen Russell, Mirek Vesely, Chris Graham, Mike Petkovic
Small Satellite Conference
In mid-1997, the Australian Government approved the setting up of a Cooperative Research Centre for Satellite Systems (CRCSS) to promote Australian space research. A key outcome of the research activities is intended to be the launching of a research satellite - FedSat- by the year 2001, the centenary year of Australian Federation. This will be the first Australian built satellite since 1970, and vital a step towards Australia's reentry into the satellite business. This talk describes the aims of the FedSat mission; the design of the overall system; and provides up-to-date details of progress towards project completion.
Bird - A Microsatellite For Hot Spot Detection, I. Waiter, K. Brieß, B. Heym, W. Bärwald, F. Lura, H. Studemund
Bird - A Microsatellite For Hot Spot Detection, I. Waiter, K. Brieß, B. Heym, W. Bärwald, F. Lura, H. Studemund
Small Satellite Conference
The BIRD mission of the German Aerospace Centre shall demonstrate the scientific and technological value and the technical and programmatic feasibility of a remote sensing small satellite mission under low budget constraints. The payload -a new generation of cooled infrared detectors- is adapted to the mission objective - the investigation of hot spots caused by forest fires or volcanic activities completed by the diagnosis of vegetation conditions and changes. BIRD -the Bispectral Infra-Red Detector- is a three-axis stabilised spacecraft within a volume of 0.21 m3 and a mass of 88 kg. In flight configuration with one fixed and two deployed …
Tsinghua Micro/Nanosatellite Research And Its Application, You Zheng, Gong Ke, M. Sweeting
Tsinghua Micro/Nanosatellite Research And Its Application, You Zheng, Gong Ke, M. Sweeting
Small Satellite Conference
With the development of Micro-lNano-technology, Micro-lNano-satellite are paid great attention and developed rapidly. Tsinghua Space Research Center( TSRC) has planed to develop their Microsatellite and Nanosatellite with the cooperation of Surrey Space Center (SSC). The Tsinghua-l Microsatellite is new generation 3-axis stabile Microsatellite in 50 Kg. It is used as technical demonstration of Microsatellite constellation for globe disaster forecast net. The main Payloads include Multi-Spectral Earth Image System (MEIS) which have a 50 meters ground resolution and the cameras will be mounted 15 degrees off Z-axis of the satellite to meet the 400 kilometre ground swath requirement, Date Transmit Experiment …
Pucksat Payload Carrier, Bruce Milam, Joseph Young
Pucksat Payload Carrier, Bruce Milam, Joseph Young
Small Satellite Conference
There is an ever-expanding need to provide economical space launch opportunities for relatively small science payloads. To address this need, a team at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has designed the Pucks at. The Pucksat is a highly versatile payload carrier structure compatible for launching on a Delta II two-stage vehicle as a system co-manifested with a primary payload. It is also compatible for launch on the Air Force Medium Class EELV. Pucksat's basic structural architecture consists of six honeycomb panels attached to six longerons in a hexagonal manner and closed off at the top and bottom with circular rings. …
Index: A Piggy-Back Satellite For Advanced Technology Demonstration, T. Mizuno, H. Saito, Y. Masumoto, T. Oshima, M. Hashimoto, A. Choki, A. Miura, H. Ogawa, S. Tachikawa, K. Tanaka, Y. Kuroda, I. Nakatani
Index: A Piggy-Back Satellite For Advanced Technology Demonstration, T. Mizuno, H. Saito, Y. Masumoto, T. Oshima, M. Hashimoto, A. Choki, A. Miura, H. Ogawa, S. Tachikawa, K. Tanaka, Y. Kuroda, I. Nakatani
Small Satellite Conference
This paper describes outline of the piggy-back satellite "INDEX" for demonstration of advanced satellite technologies as well as for a small scale science mission. INDEX satellite will be launched in 2002 by Japanese H2-A. The satellite is mainly controlled by the high-speed, fault-tolerant on-board RIes processor (three-voting system of SH-3). The attitude control is a compact system of three-axis stabilization. Although the size of INDEX is small (50Kg class), several newly-developed technologies are applied to the satellite system, including silicon-on-insulator devices, variable emittance radiator, solar-concentrated paddles, lithium-ion battery, and GPS receiver with all-sky antenna-coverage. These technology developments will be applied …
Development Of Gimbaled Laser Beacon Mechanism, Jennifer Huddle, Anabel Marcos, Badrinarayan Shirgur
Development Of Gimbaled Laser Beacon Mechanism, Jennifer Huddle, Anabel Marcos, Badrinarayan Shirgur
Small Satellite Conference
The Photon Satellite Project is being sponsored by the Florida Space Institute (FSI). FSI is working on the Conceptual Design Phase for this project under a contract from the Department of Defense Ballistic Missile Defense Organization. The science mission for this satellite is to characterize the atmospheric effects on a laser communications system. The development of a gimbaled laser beacon mechanism focuses on the secondary payload of that science mission, which serves as a downlink of laser signals from space to the ground station located at the Innovative Science and Technology Experimental Facility (ISTEP) at the Kennedy Space Center. This …
Progress On Colloid Micro-Thruster Research And Flight Testing , Freddy Pranajaya
Progress On Colloid Micro-Thruster Research And Flight Testing , Freddy Pranajaya
Small Satellite Conference
Electric propulsion devices are know for their high specific impulses, which makes them very appealing to space mission requiring ultimate utilization of the limited resources on board the spacecraft. Advances in microelectronics have allowed increased functionality while reducing the sizes of the spacecraft. However this has not been entirely true for propulsion units. Colloid Micro-Thruster held the promise for microand nanosatellite propulsion application because of their size, low cost, integrated package, high efficiency, and custom configurability to fit a specific application. This paper outlines the renewed research efforts on Colloid Thruster, in an attempt to understand the underlying principles and …
The University Micro/Nanosatellite As A Micropropulsion Testbed, Joyce Wong
The University Micro/Nanosatellite As A Micropropulsion Testbed, Joyce Wong
Small Satellite Conference
Using reconfigurable and adaptable networks of micro/nanosatellites to support cost-effective space missions is a popular new direction in the space community. Since the overall resources of micro/nanosatellites are more restricted than those of a single large satellite, the micropropulsion system needs to be lightweight, low-cost, and practical. This paper describes the collaboration between the Arizona State University Student Satellite Lab and the Air Force Research Laboratory Propulsion Directorate to flight test a micropropulsion system on a nanosatellite, ASUSat2. The motivation behind this conjuncture is to employ university satellites as an inexpensive testbed for unconventional new technologies. This paper first provides …
The Florida Space Institute's Photon Satellite Bus, Derek Shannon, Chrishma Singh-Derewa, Sanjay Jayaram
The Florida Space Institute's Photon Satellite Bus, Derek Shannon, Chrishma Singh-Derewa, Sanjay Jayaram
Small Satellite Conference
Photon is a small satellite for researching atmospheric effects on Earth-to-space laser propagation and the mitigation of those effects. Florida Space Institute engineers and scientists are designing the science mission and payload, while FSI students are responsible for the satellite bus. An agreement with NASA for a free launch aboard the Space Shuttle's Hitchhiker Ejection System has led to a unique, bottomup design approach. Science goals and stringent safety requirements have created interesting challenges for the structure, thermal, attitude control, and power subsystems. This paper emphasizes these challenges in presenting the design of the Photon satellite bus.
The Artemis Project: Picosatellite-Based Missions To Study Vlf Phenomenon , Maureen Breiling, Corina Hu, Amy Slaughterbeck, Adelia Valdez
The Artemis Project: Picosatellite-Based Missions To Study Vlf Phenomenon , Maureen Breiling, Corina Hu, Amy Slaughterbeck, Adelia Valdez
Small Satellite Conference
During the 1998-99 academic year, six Santa Clara University undergraduate students conducted an experimental investigation of developing science missions with very small, very inexpensive spacecraft. Known as the Artemis project, this effort resulted in the development of three sub-kilogram "picosatellite" vehicles which are manifested for launch from Vandenberg Air Force Base in September 1999. Two of these satellites will collaboratively gather data on lightning as part of a broad study of space telecommunications. The three Artemis picosatellites were developed in 10 months at a total program cost of $8,000. This paper motivates the applicability of pi co satellite missions, describes …