Digital Commons Network^™

Optical Observation Of Mola Cubesat In Orbit Using Ground Telescope, Jeffrey Larsen, Christine Maceo, Isabella Fernald, Matthew M. Knight, Jim Kang, Michael Sanders, Alex Savattone, Giovanni Minelli, Wenschel Lan

Small Satellite Conference

The proliferation of satellites and satellite constellations in orbit, combined with the rapid expansion of telecommunications and wireless “smart” devices on Earth, has led to congestion in the radio frequency spectrum, adversely affecting data transmission and security. Although technological advances in small satellite technology and new commercial models for rocket launches have lowered the barrier for accessing space, the licensing process to use radio frequencies for satellite communications remains an obstacle. Free Space Optical Communication (FSOC) using the near-infrared and visible parts of the unlicensed optical spectrum offers higher bandwidth, faster data rates, and improved security (near-IR). In 2024, the …

Successful Demonstrations Of The Elroi Satellite License Plate, David M. Palmer, Rebecca M. Holmes Sandoval

Small Satellite Conference

ELROI (Extremely Low Resource Optical Identifier) is a system that attaches a small, cheap, low power, autonomous blinking light to a satellite or other space object to allow it to be unambiguously identified by ground observations using a small telescope. This can provide a resolution to the space object identification problem for future launches at minimal technical and financial costs to the satellite operator. In 2024, two satellites carrying ELROI Space Object Tracking Units were successfully launched on separate rocket launches. As reported here, in both cases ELROI provided the first definitive identification of each satellite, sooner than achieved by …

Figaro (5g Phased Array Antenna For Lunar Relay Operations) High-Altitude Balloon Flight Test, Seth Waldstein, James Downey, Bryan Schoenholz, Sarah Dever, Mick Koch, Taylor Pember, Lauryn Leslie, Casey Baron, James Nessel, Satish Sharma, Sanghamitro Das

Small Satellite Conference

NASA’s Space Communications and Navigation (SCaN) Program has outlined lunar internet (LunaNet) requirements for beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communications between lunar surface assets. These requirements include providing a Ka-band, high-resolution video link to relay between a dynamically moving Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) and stationary lunar habitat or Human Landing System (HLS). The NASA 5G Array for Lunar Relay Operation (FIGARO) project’s aim is to demonstrate this architecture using a High-Altitude Balloon (HAB) hosting an active phased array (APA) antenna bent-pipe relay system to communicate between two ground terminals using 5G FR2 band beamforming integrated circuits. Fundamental objectives for this demonstration are successfully …

Satellite Passive Ranging Metasurface Optics For Space Rendezvous And Proximity Operations, Jeremy Harris, Zachary Coppens, Cameron Vo, Addison Long

Small Satellite Conference

Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO) are pivotal in a range of space missions, including satellite servicing, debris removal, and formation flying. Traditional RPO sensor technologies, such as LiDAR, radar, and visual cameras, face limitations in terms of power and size requirements. This work introduces a novel passive ranging sensor based on metasurface optics (meta-optics), designed to reduce power and size requirements while enhancing RPO activities by utilizing a single aperture imaging and ranging sensor. The meta-optic device features subwavelength-engineered structures that encode range information using a rotational, double helix point spread function. This new sensor offers potential for reduced power …

Power Optimization Strategy For High-Power Payloads In Next-Generation Satellites, Atif Mahmood, Ayman Muhammad Abdullah

Small Satellite Conference

Flash Talk presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference.

Scope-1: On-Orbit Surface Feature-Based Navigation And Timing Mission Overview, Paula Delfin, Lance Lui, Margaret Lambert, Dominic Nguyen, Meenakshi Kalinathabotla, Dylan Mcintyre, Maximilian Roccioli, Riley Vazquez, Yan Zhe Wong, Yulia Meza, Brandon Jones, Renato Zanetti

Small Satellite Conference

The SpaceCraft for Optical-based Position Estimation-1 (SCOPE-1) is a 3U CubeSat developed by the Texas Spacecraft Laboratory (TSL) at The University of Texas at Austin to demonstrate near real-time Position, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) estimation primarily using optical detections of Earth’s islands and archipelagos. The mission adapts algorithms originally developed for lunar crater-based PNT and applies them to terrestrial features for validation in low Earth orbit (LEO). SCOPE-1 features an onboard system combining Mask R-CNN-based surface-feature detection, catalog-based feature identification, and an extended Kalman filter (EKF) to estimate position and timing in near real-time. The SCOPE-1 spacecraft will be built …

Orpheus: A Uk-Led Space Mission To Characterize The Space Domain And Advance Future Concepts For Defense, Kit Grange, Alexander Agathanggelou, Gemma Attrill, Alex Gannon, Christine Mccullough, Graham Routledge, Andy Wells, Andrew Nicholas, Bruce Fritz, Daniel A. Lavigne, Robert Boucher

Small Satellite Conference

The ORPHEUS mission is a collaborative research mission between the UK Defence Science Technology Laboratory (Dstl), the US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), and the Canadian Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) to characterise the space domain and advance future concepts for defence.

The ORPHEUS mission comprises two CubeSats flying in a lead-trail configuration in a near-polar low earth orbit and aims to launch in 2027. This is a follow-on mission to the Coordinated Ionospheric Reconstruction Cubesat Experiment (CIRCE) and Prometheus-2 CubeSat missions that were lost due to a launch failure at the start of 2023, combining and updating the payload …

Canadian Space Agency Satellite Operations For The Quantum Encryption And Science Satellite (Qeyssat) Mission, Tyler Hrynyk, Patrick Irvin, Christian Carrié, Maude Robichaud, Philippe Méhu, Éric Gloutnay, Étienne Boulais, Alexander Koujelev, Lydia Philpott, Alexey Tikhomirov, Stéphane Routhier, Hicham Safoine

Small Satellite Conference

The Canadian Space Agency’s (CSA) Quantum EncrYption and Science Satellite (QEYSSat) mission launching in late 2026 will be the first demonstration of ground-to-space Quantum Key Distribution (QKD) in Canada. For this system, the receiving platform is a microsatellite in low earth orbit and the photon source is hosted in a ground based Optical Quantum Ground Station (OQGS). Together, they will enable the creation and exchange of cryptographic keys, establishing secure quantum communications at a minimum distance of 500 km. In the first year of operations, experiments will be performed to demonstrate QKD as an uplink via Weak Coherent Pulse (WCP) …

Escape, Plasma And Acceleration Dynamics Explorers (Escapade) – Enabling A Low-Cost Mars Mission, Jeffrey S. Parker, Andrew Kohler, Mitchell Rosen, Lauren De Moudt, Robert Lillis, David Curtis, Ellen Taylor, Sasha Courtade, Daniel Cosgrove, Christophe Mandy, Antoine Bichara

Small Satellite Conference

The Escape, Plasma and Acceleration Dynamics Explorers (ESCAPADE) mission will provide a comprehensive picture of how solar wind energy flows through Mars’ unique hybrid magnetosphere to drive ion and sputtering escape. The mission has undergone several transformations to accommodate evolving launch constraints, highlighting its resilience and offering valuable insights for designing low-cost, adaptable Mars missions. This paper describes why and how ESCAPADE has pivoted, how the mission design accommodated the change, and what lessons have been learned. The objective is to illuminate how to design launch resiliency into a low-cost Mars mission.

Acmes: The Next-Generation Of Advanced Lwir Observations Of The Earth, Lucas Anderson, Michael Kirk, Chad Fish, Bruno Mattos, Charles Swenson, Miguel Nunes, Robert Wright

Small Satellite Conference

The Active Cooling for Multispectral Earth Sensors (ACMES) program is an advanced Long-Wave IR (LWIR) remote observation Earth Science Small Satellite mission scheduled to launch in 2026 to a high-inclination 550 km Sun synchronous (SSO) orbit. ACMES will host several novel payloads and technologies, including the Hyperspectral Thermal Imager 2.0 (HyTI 2.0), the Filter Incidence Narrowband Infrared Spectrometer (FINIS), the Planar Langmuir Impedance Diagnostic (PLAID) probe, and the Active Thermal Architecture (ATA) system. ACMES will serve a one-year primary mission focused on technology demonstration, followed by a three-year science-based mission to provide valuable LWIR observations of the Earth’s surface. The …

Hitching A Ride On History: Nasa’S Space Launch System Artemis Ii Cubesats, Russell Lane, David Beaman, Courtney Ryals, David Hitt

Small Satellite Conference

In early 2026, NASA will launch the Artemis II mission, the second flight of its Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight of the systems and will see four astronauts venture around the Moon as a key step toward establishing a long-term human presence in deep space. The 10-day flight will demonstrate NASA's foundational human deep space exploration capabilities. Launching along with Orion on SLS will be four 12U CubeSats developed through partnerships with space agencies around the world that are signatories of the Artemis Accords. The CubeSats will deploy in …

Navigating The Ezie Path: Insights From A Cubesat's Trailblazing Journey Through Nasa Mission Development, Marc Hoffman, Rebecca Wind-Kelly, Nelli Mosavi-Hoyer

Small Satellite Conference

The Electrojet Zeeman Imaging Explorer (EZIE) is a low-cost, multi-spacecraft mission that seeks to capture the magnetic signature of the powerful electrojet currents flowing within the Earth's upper atmosphere. Equipped with the innovative Microwave Electrojet Magnetogram instrument, three identical 6U CubeSats fly in a "pearls-on-a-string" configuration in sun-synchronous, low Earth orbit, crossing the auroral oval over 8,000 times during its 18-month lifetime. As a NASA-sponsored, Category 3, Risk Classification D mission, EZIE accommodates a higher-risk tolerance and moderate budget while offering a substantial return in science. In less than 40 months of development, the project managed the convergence of sponsor …

In-Orbit Commissioning Results Of The Esa Φsat-2 Mission, Nicola Melega, Agnė Paškevičiūtė-Kidron, Nicolas Longepe, Mirko Albani, Louis Dadswell, George Hine, Jacob Bullard, Alessandro Marin

Small Satellite Conference

The commissioning of the ESA Φsat-2 mission marks a significant milestone in the advancement of Earth observation technologies, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) and edge computing. Launched on August 16, 2024, aboard the SpaceX Transporter 11 rideshare flight, the Φsat-2 mission aims to demonstrate the feasibility of running an entire data processing chain onboard, from Level 0 to Level 2, showcasing the latest advancements in edge computing and AI. The mission began with the successful separation of the Φsat-2 spacecraft from the launcher, followed by the establishment of communication 90 minutes post-launch over the Troll ground station. …

Advanced Hyperspectral Imaging From Orbit: Achievements And Challenges From The First Year Of Tanager-1, Jeff Guido, Mark Keremedjiev, James Mason, Riley Duren, Judy Lai-Norling, Kirk Seaman, Robert Green

Small Satellite Conference

In August 2024, Planet Labs PBC launched Tanager-1, a small satellite class hyperspectral satellite designed to detect methane point source emissions, developed through the Carbon Mapper partnership. In a short time, Tanager-1 began imaging and demonstrating the exceptional sensitivity of the onboard VSWIR imaging spectrometer designed by the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. The early performance of Tanager-1 signals a significant advancement in remote sensing capability made possible by an innovative public-private partnership bringing together commercial, non-profit, philanthropic, academic, and government entities.

Leveraging JPL-developed technology and Planet’s proven expertise in spacecraft development and operation, Tanager-1 acquires high-fidelity hyperspectral data across the 400-2500 …

Arctic Weather Satellite - One Year In Orbit, Joakim Kugelberg, Niklas Ahlgren, Enne Hekma, Benjamin Jouanneau, Johan Riesbeck

Small Satellite Conference

The European Space Agency's Arctic Weather Satellite (AWS) Proto-flight Model was successfully launched on August 16, 2024. Based on the OHB Sweden’s Innosat platform, the satellite carries a microwave sounder developed by AAC Omnisys. This paper presents the project execution, which balanced a short development schedule and tight cost boundaries, while ensuring that the mission could provide high quality meteorological data. Being a prototype for the design of the satellites to be deployed in the planned EPS-Sterna constellation, the in-orbit commissioning of AWS is crucial to validate the performance of the space segment.

A key objective of the Arctic Weather …

Reaching Full Operating Capability With The Tomorrow.Io Weather Constellation, Scott Williams, Emma Watson, Jan Wicha, Joe Munchak

Small Satellite Conference

The Tomorrow.io weather constellation leverages advances in small satellite technology and the emergence of affordable rideshare options to provide timely, global weather measurements using a constellation of precipitation radars and passive microwave sounders. The focus of this paper is on the design and deployment of Tomorrow.io’s CubeSats carrying passive microwave radiometers known as Tomorrow.io Microwave Sounders (TMS). The TMS instrument design is based on technology transitioned from the MIT Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL) with technology insertions to improve performance. TMS will achieve full operating capability (FOC) with 12 satellites in a hybrid mix of sun synchronous and mid inclination orbits. …

Starling 1.5 – Space Traffic Coordination Amongst Autonomously Maneuvering Spacecraft, Theodore Hendriks, Matthew Hejduk, Steven Hu, Scott Miller, Caleb Adams, Nathan Benz, Soon Hwang, Terry Stevenson

Small Satellite Conference

Starling 1.5 is a space traffic coordination mission extension to NASA’s successful Starling swarm technology demonstration. NASA partnered with SpaceX to field and demonstrate a space traffic coordination system that allows different satellite owner/operators to rapidly screen trajectories and either claim or refuse maneuver responsibility for mitigating conjunctions, or close approaches, all without human operators in the loop.

Starlink satellites routinely perform autonomous risk mitigation maneuvers (RMMs) to reduce the probability of collision (Pc) for conjunctions with active satellites and other orbital objects such as debris. The NASA Starling primary mission included an autonomous maneuvering capability, which raised the question …

Development Of A Compact Optical Communications Terminal For The Pulse-A Cubesat, Sofia Mansilla, Seth Knights, Natalie Orrantia, Maya Mcdaniel, Daniel Lee, Oliver Shoemaker, Aidan Etterer, Aishani Mohan, Chris Wong, Juan Ignacio Prieto Asbun, Robert Pitu, Logan Hanssler, Annie Shuford, Eliana Schiller, Kira Chin, Graydon Schulze-Kalt, Danielle Zumi Riekse, Mira Singh, Alexandra Yao, Vicky Bardon Soto, Natalie Sauer, Vidya Suri, Tian Zhong

Small Satellite Conference

The Polarization-modUlated Laser Satellite Experiment (PULSE-A) at the University of Chicago aims to demonstrate the feasibility of circular polarization shift keyed (CPolSK) satellite-to-ground laser communication links. The project aims to advance high-speed optical satellite-to-ground communications as an alternative to the traditionally used radio frequencies. PULSE-A thus requires the development of a compact, low-loss optical communications terminal capable of emitting collimated and high-power circularly polarized light modulated at high frequencies. Here we present a design for an optical communications terminal capable of achieving output powers of up to 230 mW at modulation frequencies from 1 to 10 MHz with a maximum …

Ai In Space: Problems And Solutions, Lucas Lowery, Kevin L. Simmons

Small Satellite Conference

Poster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference.

An Open Architecture For Ground Data Systems, Andrew Basin, Mason Starr, Glenn Lightsey

Small Satellite Conference

The Georgia Tech Space Systems Design Laboratory (SSDL) Mission Operations Center (MOC) has historically supported the real-time operations of small satellites but has never simultaneously supported the operation of multiple vehicles. Furthermore, the Ground Data System (GDS) software deployed in the MOC has been rewritten largely from scratch for each new vehicle operated by the SSDL. The SSDL has multiple upcoming launches, including those involving formation flight missions, making the possibility of simultaneously operating multiple vehicles from the MOC increasingly likely. Additionally, the task of rewriting the GDS software for each vehicle is increasingly costly and inefficient. To account for …

Analytical Method To Design And Develop 2-Stage Passive Vibration Isolator For Spacecrafts And Its On-Board Payloads, Yuvraaj Pasumarthy

Small Satellite Conference

Spacecrafts experience significant vibrations primarily during launch and sometimes in orbit, posing challenges to structural integrity and instrument performance. The methods to mitigate these vibrations, (or vibrations) in general primarily fall into two categories: disturbance absorption and source or receiver isolation. Among these two, isolation is preferred as fundamentally this is an additional system that either separates the source of the disturbance or the receiver effected in comparison to absorbers that reduce the magnitude of disturbance. Furthermore, its ability to provide greater control across varying frequency ranges relevant to spacecraft systems, provides the option of developing isolation systems with high …

Navigation Signal Generator For Leo-Pnt On Cubesat Platforms, Ina Jeong, Pilkyo Jeong, O-Jong Kim

Small Satellite Conference

Poster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference.

Origamisat-2: 3u Cubesat Demonstrator For Two-Layer Pop-Up Origami Deployable Membrane Reflectarray Antenna, Atsuki Ochi, Hiraku Sakamoto, Takashi Tomura, Ryosuke Sakurai, Gen Nakayama, Delburg Mitchao, Atsushi Shirane, Kenichi Okada

Small Satellite Conference

Poster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference.

Utilizing Software-Defined Radio Technology In The Development And Operation Of A Backup S-Band Ground Station For The Onglaisat Cubesat, Yiyu Chang, Loran Chang, Chen-Yu Chan, Yih-Min Chen

Small Satellite Conference

The ONGLAISAT CubeSat, jointly developed by Taiwan Space Agency (TASA), the University of Tokyo, and Ark Edge Space, was launched in Q4 2024 to conduct optical remote sensing. To support downlink operations via S-band, National Central University (NCU) established a backup ground station. A complete lifecycle plan was implemented, incorporating Software Defined Radio (SDR)-based signal analysis, CCSDS-compatible telemetry visualization via WINGS, and end-to-end RF testing. Initial on-orbit signals were successfully received in Q1 2025. Doppler shift and power fluctuation analysis demonstrated system performance and operational readiness. In addition, signal comparison can serve as an alternative method for determining the satellite's …

Lessons Learned In Establishing Student-Led Satellite Operations, Shirish Pandam, Avery Barriga, John Connolly, Helen Reed

Small Satellite Conference

AggieSat6 (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, Madhav Kapa, David Uniack

Small Satellite Conference

The 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 …

An Open-Source, Hybrid Communication System Twin And Tool For Cubesat Applications, Julian B. Birk, Spyridon Daskalakis, Haijun Fan, George Goussetis

Small Satellite Conference

This paper presents a digital replica of a satellite communication system. To correctly depict end-to-end connectivity, a rudimentary flight software package around an imaging payload is built using NASA JPL’s F Prime framework. For radio communication, a custom implementation of the AX.25 protocol is built in Python and implemented into a GNU Radio block. In GNU Radio, an appropriate signal processing chain for up and downlink is set up. The resulting flow graph can be used fully digitally, for simulation or be connected to software defined radios for true, over-the-air communication. The Python implementation performs sufficiently well for a low …

Concluding Cysat-1: A Look At The Final Challenges Faced By Iowa State University's First Cubesat, John Elias, Inés Ahedo García, Sydney Schultz, Matthew Nelson

Small Satellite Conference

This paper discusses an overview of the CySat-1 mission, actions taken between its launch and deployment from the ISS, and issues identified in design that impacted the spacecraft’s performance until its re-entry in early January of 2025. The CySat-1 mission was the demonstration of a software-defined radio (SDR) total power radiometer to survey soil moisture. The successful demonstration of the SDR radiometer would have provided basis for future implementation by the SmallSat community by providing an easily customizable radiometer with increased performance versatility. The CySat-1 mission is part of Iowa State University’s (ISU) Make to Innovate (M2I) program, which is …

Contentcube: 1u Cubesat Mission Testing External Display Screens In Orbit, G. Plourde, J. Effenberger, M. Esser, N. Hernandez

Small Satellite Conference

Poster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference.

Conceptual Design Of An Integrated Small Satellite Environmental Testing Platform: Addressing Subsystem Integration Challenges, Benjamin Ochs, Michael Harrigan, Victoria Coverstone

Small Satellite Conference

Environmental testing for small satellites often relies on separate systems to simulate space conditions, resulting in inefficiencies, increased operating costs, and challenges in accurately modeling the complex environment. This paper presents the conceptual design of an integrated testing platform that combines thermal, vacuum, solar, magnetic, navigation, and attitude control simulations into a single piece of hardware to provide reliable mission assurance. The design emphasizes the modifications required to overcome unique interactions between subsystems, enabling simultaneous, realistic environmental qualification of small satellites while reducing cost and complexity.

The fully integrated environmental testing system incorporates a thermal vacuum chamber (TVAC) with an …