Aerospace Engineering Commons^™

The Openorbiter Cubesat As A System-Of-Systems (Sos), Sofiane Chaieb, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh, Benjamin Kading, David Whalen

Jeremy Straub

This paper discusses the use of the system-of-systems (SoS) methodology and SoS engineering (SoSE) to the challenge of the design and operation of a CubeSat-class spacecraft. It considers this in the context of one critical component system, the electrical power system (EPS) which interacts with virtually all other systems onboard the spacecraft. The spacecraft is also considered in the context of being a system-component of a larger mission system-of-systems. The efficacy of SoSE use for this endeavor is considered and recommendations are made for the use of SoS and SoSE by other small spacecraft and, more broadly, spacecraft developers.

A Software Defined Radio Communications System For A Small Spacecraft, Michael Hlas, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

Software defined radios (SDRs) are poised to significantly enhance the future of small spacecraft communications. They allow signal processing to be performed on a computer by software rather than requiring dedicated hardware. The OpenOrbiter SDR (discussed in [1] and refined in [2]) takes data from the flight computer and converts it into an analog signal that is transmitted via the spacecraft antenna. Because the signal processing is done in software, the radio can be easily reconfigured. This process is done in reverse for incoming transmissions, which are received by the SDR and decoded by software. Figures 1 and 2 provide …

Creating A Low-Cost Radio For An Open Cubesat, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

A reliable communication system is key to the success of a CubeSat mission, allowing for data to be trans-mitted to the ground station and commands to be up-loaded to the satellite. To satisfy this need, the OpenOrbiter satellite (a 1-U CubeSat [1], being devel-oped with a target parts budget of under $5,000 [2]) is leveraging previously space-tested [3], low-cost trans-ceiver design which is based on the SI 4463 IC unit. This board design will be included in the publically available Open Framework for Educational Nanosatel-lites (OPEN) allowing others to modify, enhance and/or make use of the design in the future.

Small Satellite Communication System Creation At The University Of North Dakota, Michael Hlas, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

Software defined radios (SDRs) are poised to significantly enhance the future of small spacecraft communications. They allow signal processing to be performed on a computer by software rather than requiring dedicated hardware. The OpenOrbiter SDR (discussed in [1] and refined in [2]) takes data from the flight computer and converts it into an analog signal that is transmitted via the spacecraft antenna. Because the signal processing is done in software, the radio can be easily reconfigured. This process is done in reverse for incoming transmissions, which are received by the SDR and decoded by software. Figures 1 and 2 provide …

A Low-Cost Radio For An Open Cubesat, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

The OpenOrbiter small spacecraft development program aims to develop a template that can be used by colleges and universities world-wide to ‘jumpstart’ their own CubeSat development program. It is doing this through the development of designs (and implementations to test the designs functionality) of all basic CubeSat subsystems. A CubeSat can prospectively perform elements of a mission that would otherwise have required the development and deployment of a multi-million dollar satellite, thus, interest in CubeSats in industry and government is strong as well. The Open Prototype for Educational Nanosats (OPEN) design being produced by the OpenOrbiter program may, thus, be …

The Creation Of A Communication Systems For A Small Satellite At The University Of North Dakota, Michael Hlas, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

Software defined radios (SDRs) are poised to significantly enhance the future of small spacecraft communications. They allow signal processing to be performed on a computer by software rather than requiring dedicated hardware. The SDR takes data from the flight computer and converts it into an analog signal that is transmitted via the spacecraft antenna. Because the signal processing is done in software, the radio can be easily reconfigured.

Data is prepared for transmission by TCP stack software onboard the OpenOrbiter Spacecraft and placed in a queue while the spacecraft is listening for a signal from a ground station. When a …

Design Of An Onboard Distributed Multiprocessing System For A Cubesat, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

The OpenOrbiter program aims to develop a low-cost framework to facilitate the development of CubeSat-class spacecraft (small spacecraft with nominal dimensions of 10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm) for a parts cost of less than $5,000. To validate the framework that has been developed, a prototype unit will also be fabricated and tested in low-Earth orbit. In addition to validating the development of Open Prototype for Educational Nanosats (OPEN) framework, the spacecraft will perform on-orbit science. One aspect of the science mission will be to demonstrate and characterize the efficacy of two types of image processing. To this …

Hardware Design For An Intelligent Attitude Determination And Control System (Adcs), Michael Wegerson, Matt Partridge, Nathan Crocker, David Schindele, Broc Friend, Levi Lewis, Ben Johnson, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

Attitude determination and control is one of the most important subsystems on any satellite, allowing the spacecraft to sense and control its orientation while in orbit. Attitude sensing is achieved by measuring the satellite’s acceleration, rotation, and it’s alinement to Earth’s magnetic field. With its orientation determined, a satellite can use one or several different techniques to regulate its motion. One methods is to use of a pseudo-passive system of electromagnets (called magnetorquers) powered at specific times to use magnetic fields generated by the Earth to exert force on the spacecraft, thereby controlling the rotation of the satellite and facilitating …

Analysis Of A ‘Turn-Key’ No Hardware Space Mission Using The Orbital Services Model, Jeremy Straub

Jeremy Straub

Many applications that would benefit from access to space cannot afford the cost of spacecraft development, launch and operations. Other operations require only a fraction of a spacecraft or complete use of a spacecraft for a limited period of time. This paper considers the value of a ‘turn-key’ style space mission. It considers what types of missions could be reasonably conducted using this approach. The economics of being a service provider are considered. Then, a prospective mission concept for one OSM ‘turn-key’ mission is presented. The value proposition of this mission is assessed and the hardware and other capabilities required …

Reducing Magneto-Inductive Positioning Errors In A Metal-Rich Indoor Environment, Orfeas Kypris, Traian Abrudan, Andrew Markham

Orfeas Kypris

Ferrous objects distort magnetic fields and can significantly increase magneto-inductive positioning errors in indoor environments. In this work, we use image theory in order to formulate an analytical channel model for the magnetic field of a quasi-static magnetic dipole positioned above a perfectly conducting half-space. The proposed model can be used to compensate for the distorting effects that metallic reinforcement bars (rebars) impose on the magnetic field of a magneto-inductive transmitter node in an indoor environment. Good agreement is observed between the analytical solution and numerical solutions obtained from 2-D finite element simulations when the transmitter node is located more …

Advancement Of The Software Defined Radio (Sdr) For The Open Orbiter Project, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Sima Noghanian, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

Software Defined Radios (SDRs) are an exciting development in radio technology. The SDR uses software to perform many of the tasks that only hardware could previously complete on a traditional analog radio. Such tasks include encoding/decoding or applying filters to reduce noise on the signal. This powerful fusion of software and hardware have allowed SDR to be smaller in size and have a greater functionality than traditional radio setups; a perfect solution for our Open Orbiter satellite. Currently, the implementation we use consists of a simple $20 USB TV decoder for receiving, a Raspberry Pi micro-computer for transmission, and the …

Openorbiter Ground Station Software, Alexander Lewis, Jacob Huhn, Jeremy Straub, Travis Desell, Scott Kerlin

Jeremy Straub

The OpenOrbiter Small Spacecraft Development Initiative[1] at the University of North Dakota is working to design and build a low cost[2] and open-hardware / opensource software CubeSat[3]. The Ground Station is the user interface for operators of the satellite. The ground station software must manage spacecraft communications, track its orbital location , manage task assignment, provide security and retrieve the data from the spacecraft. This will be presented via a graphical user interface that allows a user to easily perform these tasks.

Evolution Of The Software Defined Radio (Sdr) For The Open Orbiter Project, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Sima Noghanian

Jeremy Straub

Software Defined Radios (SDRs) are an exciting development in radio technology. The SDR uses software to perform many of the tasks that only hardware could previously complete on a traditional analog radio. Such tasks include encoding/decoding or applying filters to reduce noise on the signal. This powerful fusion of software and hardware have allowed SDR to be smaller in size and have a greater functionality than traditional radio setups; a perfect solution for our Open Orbiter satellite. Currently, the implementation we use consists of a simple $20 USB TV decoder for receiving, a Raspberry Pi micro-computer for transmission, and the …

Verification Of Video Frame Latency Telemetry For Uav Systems Using A Secondary Optical Method, Sam B. Siewert

Sam B. Siewert

This paper presents preliminary work and a prototype computer vision optical method for latency measurement for an UAS (Uninhabited Aerial System) digital video capture, encode, transport, decode, and presentation subsystem. Challenges in this type of latency measurement include a no-touch policy for the camera and encoder as well as the decoder and player because the methods developed must not interfere with the system under test. The goal is to measure the true latency of displayed frames compared to observed scenes (and targets in those scenes) and provide an indication of latency to operators that can be verified and compared to …

Openorbiter Ground Station Software, Alexander Lewis, Jacob Huhn, Jeremy Straub, Travis Desell, Scott Kerlin

Jeremy Straub

OpenOrbiter is a student project at the University of North Dakota to design and build a low cost1 and open-hardware / open-source software CubeSat2. The Ground Station is the user interface for operators of the satellite. The ground station software must manage spacecraft communications, track its orbital location , manage task assignment, provide security and retrieve the data from the spacecraft. This will be presented via a graphical user interface that allows a user to easily perform these tasks.

Work On A Software Defined Radio (Sdr) For A Cubesat-Class Spacecraft, Michael Wegerson, Jeremy Straub, Sima Noghanian

Jeremy Straub

A Software Defined Radio (SDR) will be used for OpenOrbit-er satellite to ground communications. The use of SDR al-lows for a smaller, more versatile radio then what a stand-ard hardware radio can provide; perfect for the unpredicta-ble environment Open Orbiter will be exposed to. Current implementation uses a simple $20 USB TV decoder for the receiver and the open-source program GNU Radio for soft-ware decoding. Broadband FM transmissions have been re-ceived and decoded successfully and on-going experimen-tation for receiving satellite communications are yielding promising results.

The Development Of Payload Software For A Small Spacecraft, Kyle Goehner, Christoffer Korvald, Jeremy Straub, Ronald Marsh

Jeremy Straub

The OpenOrbiter project is a multi-department effort to design and build a small spacecraft which will demonstrate the feasibility of the Open Prototype for Educational NanoSats (OPEN) framework. This framework will reduce cost of small spacecraft creation by providing design plans for free. The focus of the payload software group is to design and implement an onboard task processing and image processing service. Currently the project is in the development phase and most large design decisions have been made. This poster presents the major design decisions that have been made for the payload software and how they will affect the …

A Human Proximity Operations System Test Case Validation Approach, Justin Huber, Jeremy Straub

Jeremy Straub

A Human Proximity Operations System (HPOS) poses numerous risks in a real world environment. These risks range from mundane tasks such as avoiding walls and fixed obstacles to the critical need to keep people and processes safe in the context of the HPOS’s situation-specific decision making. Validating the performance of an HPOS, which must operate in a real-world environment, is an ill posed problem due to the complexity that is introduced by erratic (non-computer) actors. In order to prove the HPOS’s usefulness, test cases must be generated to simulate possible actions of these actors, so the HPOS can be shown …

Ground Support Station Team, Cassandra Johnson, Iva Gerasimenko, Aaron Podoll, Josh Berk, Jeremy Straub

Jeremy Straub

No abstract provided.

Sensor And Bus Electrical Design, Tyler Przybylski, Prabhu Victor, Chris Mcdonald, Yineng Li, Noah Root, Josh Berk, Jeremy Straub

Jeremy Straub

No abstract provided.

Ground Station Software Model, David Apostal, Atif Mohammad, Jeremy Straub, Josh Berk

Jeremy Straub

No abstract provided.

Payload Software, Christoffer Korvald, Jeremy Straub, Atif Mohammad, Josh Berk

Jeremy Straub

No abstract provided.

Open Orbiter Cubesat Communication Protocol, Zahirul Islam, Ernest Workman, Nick Schmitz, Noah Root, Josh Berk, Jeremy Straub

Jeremy Straub

No abstract provided.

A Superior Tool For Airline Operations, Michael C. Dorneich, Stephen D. Whitlow, Christopher A. Miller, John A. Allen

Michael C. Dorneich

The Diversion Off-Gate Management Assistant (DOGMA) is a decision support tool that mitigates problems in making diversion decisions in the airline industry. DOGMA helps inexperienced dispatchers to provide superior and consistent diversion decisions that translate into minimizing the impact of time-critical diversion decisions and increasing the airline's ability to recover from severe schedule disruptions. The tool integrates multiple information sources to improve dispatchers' situation awareness of the current state of flight, aircraft, maintenance, crew, and passenger schedules.