Digital Commons Network^™

An Autonomous Reinforcement Learning Framework For Fault Recovery And Mission Replanning On Cubesats, Ganesh Danke, Rajiv Iyer

Small Satellite Conference

Onboard system failures during CubeSat operation can have significant consequences for mission success. Limited resources during the development process can hamper the development and implementation of recovery systems, increasing the likelihood of mission failures. In response, this paper establishes a reusable autonomous framework for mission replanning in the event of an onboard system failure. Prior to launch, the framework ingests a standardized mission plan detailing mission objectives, mission priorities, and onboard capabilities and resources. Segmenting this information into a set of discrete tasks with completion dependencies, a reinforcement learning approach is used to select a schedule of tasks with the …

Usspacecom Small Satellite Support, Rita Evaristo, Corey Best, Hoa Ramos

Small Satellite Conference

This paper explores the services and recommendation offered by USSPACECOM via Space Delta 2’s 18^th and 19^th Space Defense Squadrons (SDS) to enhance spaceflight safety and ensure mission success for satellite owners and operators.

Demisability Investigation With The Cubesat Source: Plasma Wind Tunnel Experiment Results, Daniel Galla, Clemens Kaiser, Iftekher Ahamed, Marco Siegle, Georg Herdrich, Sabine Klinkner, Kaja Gebhard, Paul Jannik Haufe, Philipp Hoffmann, Timon Jarothe, Marcel Liegibel, Michael O'Donohue

Small Satellite Conference

The 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 …

Automating Maneuvers: Considerations For Collision Avoidance, Lauri K. Newman, Matthew D. Hejduk

Small Satellite Conference

As more space operators implement large constellations of spacecraft, automating orbit maintenance maneuvers becomes a key feature of their operations concept to ensure that the workload is manageable. However, the practice of performing a maneuver without sharing the plan with other nearby spacecraft causes a risk that two spacecraft will collide, not only destroying the spacecraft involved, but creating debris that will affect all other spacecraft using that orbit regime. In order to share the maneuver plan, a predicted ephemeris file containing the maneuver must be sent to a central authority to screen against predicted trajectories of all other on-orbit …

Introduction To The Traffic Coordination System For Space (Tracss), Christine Joseph

Small Satellite Conference

This 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, …

Launch & Early Operations Phase (Leop) Iridium Eyestar-S4 24-7 Link With Mosaic-X5 Gps And Launch Results, Jeff F. Dailey, Matthew B. Orvis, John Pugsley, Matthew C. Voss, Hank D. Voss

Small Satellite Conference

Satellite Mission Success is best achieved during the Launch Early Operations Phase (LEOP) when a satellite first becomes alive as radio data (TT&C) appears on the ground station within seconds. Using the Iridium global network, no matter where a tumbling satellite is in orbit, TT&C data is available anywhere-anytime. Diagnostic data, GPS, spin rates, live ADCS, temperatures, voltages, electrical power systems, primary processor, deployments, and payload monitors like plasma density or integral particle fluxes can all be tracked during the turn-on process with the option of disabling or adjusting command parameters to the unexpected. Several EyeStar-S4 flight NSL/Iridium transceivers can …

Design And Testing Of A Resilient Cots Point Of Load Converter For Deep Space Cubesats, Jacob Cook, Phil Bland, Robert Howie

Small Satellite Conference

To support the development of the upcoming Binar Space Program 12U Explorer Class platform, currently being designed for lunar and interplanetary research applications, the design and testing of a modular Gallium Nitride (GaN) based Point of Load (PoL) converter is being undertaken. The converter has been designed to supply power to high-transient-current loads, such as communications systems, by regulating down a higher voltage derived from a range of common CubeSat battery configurations to a target voltage of 5V. The system consists of parallel-connected linear regulator and buck converter stages which deliver power to the load through a high-side current sense …

Very Low Swap-C Robotics Using Autodynamic Flexible Circuits, Jerome K. Fuller, Todd F. Sheerin

Small Satellite Conference

Spacecraft robotic appendages typically reflect terrestrial robots in that they are usually based on boom-and-joint designs. Here we present a radical departure from tradition in the form of an Autodynamic Flexible Circuit (AFC). While their more static flexible (flex) circuit progenitors have been used in space for decades, they are usually fixed, or are moved only by external forces. Here, a specific lacing of shape memory alloy actuator wire endows an otherwise-ordinary flex circuit with dexterous motion, to be positioned on command. AFCs have thus far been demonstrated in the laboratory and in space at < 1U and 6U CubeSat scales, stowing flat in a practically two-dimensional configuration. Selected applications envisioned include orbital debris mitigation, in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing, extraterrestrial exploration systems, individual payload and spacecraft subsystem pointing, and large area, reconfigurable deployables. As such, AFCs promise a new era in low size, weight, power, and cost space robotics and space systems by enabling circuits to function both as conduits for electricity and a means of articulating large area, low mass structures.

Machine Learning Models For Optimisation Of Satellite Laser Communication Terminals And Optical Space Networks, Georgia Harvey, Cameron Anderson, Murray Ireland, Rob Hunter, Afonso Nunes, Rob Stansfield

Small Satellite Conference

Laser communication systems in optical SatCom systems are mainly used in point-to-point networks, possibly deploying standard routing solutions which perform sub-optimally when deployed in transport and access satellite networks. Optical signal acquisition is also affected by the changing satellite environment and atmospheric conditions.

In response, Craft Prospect and partners focused on upgrading optical systems by using machine learning (ML) methods to improve laser communication terminals and to simplify interconnectivity of networked laser SatCom systems. In this context we target the European OPS-SAT Versatile Optical Laboratory for Telecoms (VOLT) mission led by Craft Prospect and the European High Throughput Optical Network …

Techedsat-11: Prototyping Autonomous Communications In Orbit, Rachel Dudukovich, Adam Gannon, Janette Briones, Timothy Recker, Patrick Zhong, Kyle Deleon, Lucas Shalkhauser, Ethan Schweinsberg, Evan Danish, Alejandro Salas, Marcus Murbach

Small Satellite Conference

Cognitive Engine 1 (CE-1) Is a state-of-the-art automated system designed to manage routine operations and respond to adverse events without requiring human operator input. CE-1 will optimize scheduling capabilities, detect and react to link failures, and ensure data delivery deadlines are met efficiently. Seamless roaming between government and commercial providers will allow for a robust and cost-effective network. TechEdSat-11 will demonstrate two key components of CE-1: User Initiated Services (UIS) and Delay Tolerant Networking (DTN). The first phase of the experiment will use UIS to automate on-demand scheduling of a commercial S-band ground station. Later phases of the experiment will …

Autonomous Multi-Mission Orchestration For Small Satellite Constellations, Skylar Cox, Thomas Kost, David Fish, Jonathan Maier

Small Satellite Conference

The 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 …

Capstone: An Ongoing Demonstration Of Navigation And Autonomy Technologies In The Cislunar Domain, Tom Gardner, Brad Cheetham, Matt Bolliger, Michael Caudill, Lauren Demoudt, Alec Forsman, Tyler Hanf, Arlen Kam, Ethan Kayser, Conner Ott, Nathan Re, Rebecca Rogers, Anthony Zara, Hannah Umansky, Kyle Clarke, Brennan Bryant, Tomas Svitek

Small Satellite Conference

NASA, Advanced Space, Terran Orbital, Rocket Lab, Stellar Exploration, JPL, the Space Dynamics Lab, and Tethers Unlimited have partnered to successfully develop, launch, and operate the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment (CAPSTONE) mission, which is continuing serving as a dedicated precursor for Near Rectilinear Halo Orbit (NHRO) operations in cislunar space. Over the past 26 months, this low-cost, high-value mission has demonstrated an efficient, low-energy orbital transfer to the Moon, a successful insertion into the NRHO, and completion of ~21 months of successful operations in the NRHO while successfully demonstrating key technologies in support of the …

Ensemble Learning For Autonomous Onboard Satellite Fault Diagnosis With Validation Tool, Madeline Anderson, Jeremy Muesing, Kerri Cahoy, Kenneth Center

Small Satellite Conference

In-orbit events and onboard malfunctions, often manifesting as telemetry faults, can compromise satellite missions. Monitoring such faults through ground operations is time intensive and tedious, motivating the need for advanced onboard and autonomous satellite resilience capabilities, which will increase the likelihood of mission success. We present a novel approach for onboard autonomous satellite fault diagnosis that leverages ensemble learning to jointly detect faults and attribute them to a probable cause. The framework consists of an ensemble of representation learners, including an Autoencoder (AE), Kalman Filter (KF), Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), Long Short Term Memory network (LSTM), and the PCMCI causal …

Investigation Of The Rust Programming Language For Flight Software Development, Robin Müller

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Space Cyber Range, Kristiina Omri, Mirjam Kert, Aare Reintam, Silver Lodi, Lauri Kimmel, Martin Jüssi, Hannes Krause

Small Satellite Conference

The Space Cyber Range aims to increase the reliability and security of industry participants solutions while promoting education and knowledge sharing within the space ecosystem.

Can You Build That? Analyzing The Data On The Role Of Intellectual Property (Ip) In Developing Smallsat And Automated Technologies, Tom Cowan, Ryan Freedman

Small Satellite Conference

Example data on IP related to SmallSat and automation technologies. About 38% of all patent application filings on SmallSats are in the U.S. – with about a 4X increase in U.S. filings in the last decade – followed by China (19%), Japan (10%), and Germany (9%). Universities leading in SmallSat filings are overwhelmingly in China and the U.S. The number of U.S. patent applications filed on "AI" and "SmallSats" roughly tripled from about 2013-2023. Patents and other IP rights are double-edged swords for technologies, both providing the right to prevent unauthorized use of your innovations while imposing responsibilities to avoid …

Decentralised Communication In Small Satellite Constellations, Tülay Aydin, Gabi Dreo Rodosek

Small Satellite Conference

Decentralised communication networks between CubeSats offer significant advantages over traditional ground-based systems. This approach increases resilience, flexibility and scalability for applications such as earth observation and space exploration.

Electromagnetic Interactions Test Procedure For A Centre-Triggered Pulsed Cathodic Arc Thruster, Patrick R. C. Neumann, Steven Despotellis, Hervé Astier, Jean-Mark Walter, Peter Van Gemert, Saloa Ali, Simon Gallasch, Martin Mielczarek

Small Satellite Conference

All electronic systems, no matter their type or technology, generate electromagnetic noise during operation. Conversely, all electronic systems are susceptible to the noise emissions of other systems, where these emissions can induce off-nominal system behaviour, potentially leading to system failure. This drives test procedure standardisation, to ensure confidence in test results, growing confidence in mission success by applying standards such as MIL-STD-461G [1]. However, all standards are based on assumptions which inherently limit their applicability. In the case of MIL-STD-461G, an underlying assumption is that the operating modes of the Device Under Test (DUT) reach steady-state quickly.

Thermal Performance Of Starling Spacecrafts And Comparison To Thermal Model Results, Ali Kashani, Scott Miller, Terry Stevenson, Jeffrey Blair, Watson Attai, Jennifer Young, David Brasser, Reece Whitt

Small Satellite Conference

The 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's 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.

Link Budget Design For Free Space Optical Communication, Elsa Alneyadi, Karim Elayoubi

Small Satellite Conference

Free space optical (FSO) communication is an innovative wireless technology that employs light to transmit data through the air. Unlike traditional radio frequency communication, FSO systems offer high bandwidth, low interference, and secure data transmission. However, designing an effective link budget for FSO communication is crucial to ensure reliable performance across various scenarios. This includes accounting for factors such as atmospheric conditions, distance, and optical components.

Zero By Interstellar Technologies Inc.: Lowering The Cost Of Access To Space From Japan, Lui Suzuki, Satoshi Nakayama, Kazumi Sakai

Small Satellite Conference

The demand for small satellite launch opportunities continues to increase year by year, especially the demand for low-cost and flexible access. With various missions, requirements, and constraints, many small satellites require dedicated launches to reach the desired orbit at the desired schedule. Although options such as rideshares and lower-cost dedicated launches are more common compared to years before, the demand for small satellite launch services remains high. This trend is also apparent in Japan and other Asian countries as currently, there are only few opportunities to launch from the local region. To address this shortage, Interstellar Technologies Inc. based in …

The Intelligent Space Camera On The "Call To Adventure" Smallsat Mission, Aubrey Dunne, Tamim Doozandeh, Rosana Rodríguez-Bobada Aranda, Juan Romero Cañas, David González Bermúdez, Peter O'Connor, David Rijlaarsdam

Small Satellite Conference

In March 2024, the first Intelligent Space Camera (ISC) from Ubotica Technologies was launched on the Apex "Call to Adventure" small satellite mission. The ISC is a designed-for-space camera payload with hardware acceleration of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Computer Vision (CV) algorithms integrated directly into the camera. Deployable as a self-contained unit within a spacecraft, the ISC manages and executes various processes autonomously and internally without external dependencies, enabling new AI-driven automation-based paradigms and capabilities for space systems. This short paper describes the novel payload, its capabilities, and the mission it is flying on.

Simultaneous Filament Winding And In Situ Potting Of Custom High-Temperature Electromagnets (Htem) For Space Electric Propultion Applications, Jim Steppan, Tom Meaders, Byron Millet, Lee Sorensen

Small Satellite Conference

Electric propultion that uses electrical energy to accelerate ionized propellant and delivers very high specific impulse is the leading propultion solution for long-duration space missions.

Concept And Feasibility Of Enabling Broadband Comunication To A Remote Sensing Satellite, Fong-Yu Chen, Chieh-Fu Chang

Small Satellite Conference

Traditional remote sensing satellites uses X-band transmitter (XTX) to dump large volume of image data in a high data rate, i. e., greater than 100Mbps. Since the need and trend of low-earth-orbit (LEO) communications arise, we wonder if we can improve the usefulness of a remote sensing satellite by upgrading the inherent XTX as a X-band transceiver (XTRX), so that a remote sensing satellite can incorporate additional broadband communication functionality. This work investigates the feasibility in three perspectives with the illustration of FORMOSAT-8, an optical remote sensing satellite.

First, from the perspective of antenna and RF chain, the downlink band …

Innovating In The Infra-Red, Taking The Temperature Of The Earth Observation Market, Mike Goddard, Steven Knox, Harbinder Rana, James Bell, John Gilby, Diego Angarita-Jaimes, Trevor Wood, Calem Whiting, Nigel Philips, Matthew Price, Alan Matthews, Grant Childs, Tony Pattison, Mark Cantrill, Rupert Taylor, Jonathan Karimian, Andrew Haslehurst, Alex Da Silva Curiel, Martin Sweeting

Small Satellite Conference

The DarkCarb instrument has been specifically designed to provide high-resolution thermal video imagery from a small satellite in support of a range of emerging commercial, government and scientific applications. So far, such capability has only been available on large expensive satellites in a very limited fashion. Sensor and cooling technology has evolved in recent years so that such an instrument can now be designed and operated to provide useful performance over a typical satellite design-lifetime, and at a cost making new applications financially viable. The instrument provides 3.5 m Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) over a 4.5 x 3.6 km scene …

Deep Purple Payload Qualifies For Nasa Launch, Could Provide New Method For Real-Time Space-Domain Awareness, Jordan Smilo, Frank Ravizza, John Ganino, Jordan Karburn, Lance Simms, Darrell Carter, Princess Corral, Michael Wong, Aaron Godfrey, Brian Bauman, Cohl Houldin Hatala, Ryan Fellini, Lisle Hagler, Wim De Vries, Alex Pertica, Ben Bahney

Small Satellite Conference

In January 2024, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Space Program fully assembled and qualified its Deep Purple payload. It will be on board NASA's Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-R (PTD-R), scheduled to launch on the SpaceX Transporter 11 in July 2024.

The Livermore team designed, developed, qualified, and delivered the Deep Purple payload in approximately one year and has now been integrated into the PTD-R satellite, a 6U (36 cm x 23 cm x 10 cm) bus constructed by a Laboratory Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) partner Terran Orbital.

NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Programs' PTD-R space vehicle containing the Deep …

Mmx, The Next Generation Of In-Situ Exploration Mission, Claire Durand, Franck Rousseau, Clément Dudal, Julien Baroukh, Kent Yoshikawa

Small Satellite Conference

The JAXA MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission has the objectives to study Phobos, the largest moon of Mars, and to bring back to Earth a sample from its surface, to answer one main question: what is the origin of the Martian moons? This mission will be launched in 2026 and will last five years. MMX spacecraft, the orbiter, developed by JAXA will travel from Earth to Mars and then study Phobos and Deimos moons with a foreseen sample collection of Phobos soil. MMX will carry and drop a small rover, developed by CNES and DLR, on Phobos surface. This rover, …

Planet's Agile Software Development For Spacecraft, Kenneth Donahue, Kiruthika Devaraj, James Mason, Meric Ozturk

Small Satellite Conference

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL), is a vertically integrated space and data company, and a leading provider of daily Earth data and insights; we design, build, and operate the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history. We have built and launched over 500 satellites by pioneering the agile aerospace philosophy that encourages rapid prototyping and iteration on the hardware, and building a minimum viable flight software to launch the satellites into space. This allows us to use space as a testbed and extension of the development environment as quickly as possible. Further software development occurs after the satellites are in space, …

Amsat-Oscar-7: 50 Years In A Sun-Synchronous Orbit - And Still Counting - Confirmation Of The Long-Term Solar Gravity-Gradient Perturbation, Jan A. King, Karl Meinzer

Small Satellite Conference

The first Delta launch vehicle to launch multiple secondary payloads was Δ-104. Carried, as the 2^nd piggyback payload on that mission was an amateur radio Smallsat, AMSAT-OSCAR-7 (AO-7). The launch, on 15 November 1974, was to a 1460 km SSO. This spacecraft, as its name suggests, was the 7^th in an on-going series of spacecraft operating in the Amateur Satellite Service. The amazing story associated with the mission of this small satellite is being reported elsewhere in these proceedings. While the particulars of this satellite's lifetime are exciting, we didn't particularly expect this "old bird's set of tricks …

Variation In Orbital Lifetime For Cubesat Launch Initiative Missions, Liam Cheney, Creg Raffington, Caley Burke

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.