Digital Commons Network^™

A Novel Rf Architecture For Simultaneous Communication, Navigation, And Remote Sensing With Software-Defined Radio, Nicholas Franconi, Sebastian Sabogal, Alan George, Munther Hassouneh, Jason Mitchell, Christopher Wilson

Small Satellite Conference

The rapid growth of SmallSat and CubeSat missions at NASA has necessitated a re-evaluation of communication and remote-sensing architectures. Novel designs for CubeSat-sized single-board computers can now include larger Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) and faster System-on-Chip (SoCs) devices. These components substantially improve onboard processing capabilities so that varying subsystems no longer require an independent processor. By replacing individual Radio Frequency (RF) systems with a single software-defined radio (SDR) and processor, mission designers have greater control over reliability, performance, and efficiency. The presented architecture combines individual processing systems into a single design and establishes a modular SDR architecture capable of both …

A Prototype Virginia Ground Station Network, Zach Leffke, Jonathon Black, Kevin Shinpaugh, Ian Harnett, Bryce Clegg, Nick Angle, Chris Goyne, Connor Segal, William Trace' Lacour, Mike Mcpherson, Dimitrie Popescu, Samuel Jensen, Jason Harris, Mary Sandy, Mike Miller

Small Satellite Conference

This paper provides a detailed technical description of a prototype ground station network, the Virginia Ground Station Network (VGSN), developed for the Virginia Cubesat Constellation (VCC) mission. Virginia Tech (VT), University of Virginia (UVA), and Old Dominion University (ODU) have each constructed ground stations to communicate with their respective VCC spacecraft. Initially, each university was responsible for commanding its own spacecraft via its own ground station. As the mission progressed, it was decided to network the ground stations and operations centers together to provide backup communications capability for the overall mission. The NASA Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) UHF smallsat ground …

Integrating The Cubesat Space Protocol Into Gsoc’S Multi-Mission Environment, Lukas Grillmayer, Saskia Arnold

Small Satellite Conference

CubeL is the first COTS cubesat to be operated by the German Space Operations Center (GSOC) utilizing cubesat space protocol (CSP). Scheduled for launch in summer 2020, it will initially be monitored and controlled via UHF using a compatible COTS ground segment to perform an IOD of “OSIRIS4CubeSat”, a miniaturized OSIRIS space-to-ground laser communication terminal developed by DLR-KN in cooperation with Tesat-Spacecom. Afterwards, CubeL will be integrated into the GSOC multi-mission environment and be operated via S-Band. The GSOC ground segment architecture and software focuses on institutionally standardized communication, such as CCSDS frame (132.0-B-2) and packet standards (133.0-B-1) and the …

Beavercube: Coastal Imaging With Vis/Lwir Cubesats, Paula Do Vale Pereira, Madeline Garcia, Madeleine Schroeder, Humberto Caldelas, Charles Lindsay, Alex Choi, Kaila Pfrang, Amelia Gagnon, Alex Meredith, Patrick Mckeen, Jim Clark, Thomas J. Murphy, Sheila Baber, Sabrina Khan, Alex Miller, Gustavo Velez, Matthew Campbell, Jacob Coray, Jim Koldada, Tina Tran, Sam Austin, Alison Louthain, Tesla Wells, Mohammad Kabir, Ethan Sit, Christian Haughwout, Kerri Cahoy

Small Satellite Conference

BeaverCube is a student-built 3U CubeSat that has two main objectives: one science objective and one technology objective. The science goal of BeaverCube is to demonstrate that it is possible to develop and apply platforms that can leverage statistical relationships between temperature and co-varying bio-optical properties, such as light absorption by colored dissolved organic matter. The technology goal of BeaverCube is to demonstrate electrospray propulsion for CubeSats, enabling more coordinated and targeted science missions among multiple spacecraft.

The science objective for BeaverCube involves measuring temperature and color, which are key oceanographic properties, through a low-cost platform. Temperature and salinity are …

S-Band Transponder Multi-Network Compatibility, Space Environment And Radiation Testing, Kevin Lynaugh, Stuart Golden, Nathan Moore, Yashmar Marashi, Serhat Altunc, Obadiah Kegege, Behnam Azimi, Michael J. Campola, John P. Lucas, Harry C. Shaw

Small Satellite Conference

This paper presents the development and testing of the Software Define Radio (SDR) transceiver to meet the emerging needs for SmallSat communication and navigation. Vulcan Wireless and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) collaborated in testing the Vulcan Wireless S-band SDR engineering model. Apart from testing, communication link analysis was performed for a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) 400 km scenario. The results of the compatibility, radiation, environmental testing, and link analysis are presented. Also, this paper reviews a set of SmallSat missions under development at NASA GSFC.

Small And Large Satellites: Joint Operations In Earth Observation, Max Gulde, Marius Bierdel, Christian Williges, Christian Mittermaier, Martin Schimmerohn, Clemens Horch, Frank Schäfer

Small Satellite Conference

While projects for the exploration of space remain ambitious and financially as well as technologically demanding projects, their benefit in understanding our planet is unrivaled [1]. On top of enabling technologies that keep drastically altering the way we communicate, navigate, or build our cities, they currently present the only means of assessing key environmental variables on a global scale [2]–[5]. Today, we witness the New Space era with promises of ever easier, faster, and cheaper space access as a major driving force for the future development to four space capabilities, specifically in Earth Observation (EO), but also in communication (COM) …

Leaving No Capstone Unturned: How A Cubesat Pathfinder Will Enable The Lunar Gateway Ecosystem, Thomas Gardner, Bradley Cheetham

Small Satellite Conference

Mission Objectives 1) Validate and demonstrate NRHO/three-bodyEarth-Moon operations. 2) Inform future lunar exploration requirements and operations such as for the Artemis Lunar Gateway. 3) Demonstrate and accelerate the infusion of the Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System (CAPS)

Qualification And Flight Of A Cutting Edge Sunsensor For Constellation Applications, Johan Leijtens, Stefan Schmidt, Dick Broekmans, Johan Uittenhout

Small Satellite Conference

Satellites for a constellation can be build in a significantly more cost-effective way because the Non-recurring Engineering charges (NRE) can be spread over multiple units. A further significant cost reduction can be achieved if the units and subsystems are optimized for volume production and the units are produced in a continuous production line with a sustainable throughput. Though this optimized production can lead to significant improvement in cost effectiveness, this should in no way impair the reliability of the products. It can be reasoned that the approach implemented by Lens R&D will even increase the reliability of production as it …

Diwata-2: Earth Observation Microsatellite With A Compact Bus System, Electronicallytunable Multi-Spectral Imager, And Amateur Radio Communications Capability, Ariston Gonzalez, John Leur Labrador, Delburg Mitchao, Marc Caesar Talampas, Joel Joseph Maricano Jr., Yuji Sakamoto

Small Satellite Conference

The microsatellite Diwata-2 was launched into the 600-km Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) last October 29, 2018. It has a low-power, low-complexity, compact bus structure, capable of Earth observation and remote sensing mission through a 5-meter resolution Near-Infrared (NIR) High Precision Telescope (HPT) and a 125-meter resolution Space-borne Multispectral Imager (SMI) with two Liquid Crystal Tunable Filters (LCTF). The LCTF operates as an electronic-based band reconfiguration filter allowing for more than 600-channels of wavelength variation. As a secondary mission, Diwata-2 has full-duplex FM voice communications capability via a non-board module utilizing the amateur radio band at a 5W power requirement from mobile …

Accelerating Deep Learning Applications In Space, Martina Lofqvist, José Cano

Small Satellite Conference

Computing at the edge offers intriguing possibilities for the development of autonomy and artificial intelligence. The advancements in autonomous technologies and the resurgence of computer vision have led to a rise in demand for fast and reliable deep learning applications. In recent years, the industry has introduced devices with impressive processing power to perform various object detection tasks. However, with real-time detection, devices are constrained in memory, computational capacity, and power, which may compromise the overall performance. This could be solved either by optimizing the object detector or modifying the images. In this paper, we investigate the performance of CNN-based …

Design And Prototyping Of A Nanosatellite Laser Communications Terminal For The Cubesat Laser Infrared Crosslink (Click) B/C Mission, Peter Grenfell, Paul Serra, Ondrej Cierny, William Kammerer, Grant Gunnison, Joseph Kusters, Cadence Payne, Kerri Cahoy, Myles Clark, Tyler Ritz, Danielle Coogan, John Conklin, David Mayer, Jan Stupl, John Hanson

Small Satellite Conference

The CubeSat Laser Infrared CrossLink (CLICK) mission goal is to demonstrate a low cost, high data rate optical transceiver terminal with fine pointing and precision time transfer in aleq1.5U form factor. There are two phases to the technology demonstration for the CLICK mission: CLICK-A downlink, and then CLICK-B/C crosslink and downlink. The topic of this paper is the design and prototyping of the laser communications (lasercom) terminal for the CLICK-B/C phase. CLICK B/C consists of two identical 3U CubeSats from Blue Canyon Technologies that will be launched together in Low Earth Orbit to demonstrate crosslinks at ranges between 25 km …

Wireless Bus Interconnects For Small Satellite Systems, Adam Fifth, Russel Trafford, Kenneth Wagner, Timothy Roche, Jake Matteo, Sangho Shin

Small Satellite Conference

For small satellite engineering systems, successfully managing the hundreds of in-system interconnections caused by a wired interface is a major element in the success of a SmallSat mission. Testing, integration, and mission operation of SmallSat subsystems frequently requires system interfaces to be reconfigured for extended mission capability and system reliability. We propose a Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) based wireless interface technology to enable post-deployment reconfiguration of in-system interfaces. This wireless inter-face will improve system reliability while enabling ad hoc system level changes and reducing the probability of subsystem failure. While a wireless interconnect brings many benefits, its implementation raises potential …

Antennas For Academic Cubesats: Vhf Thru S-Band, What, How And Why, Albert E. Lyerly, Peter W. Pachowicz

Small Satellite Conference

This work is dedicated to teams which want to build and fly their own antennas. Frequencies covered include VHF, UHF, L-band and S-band, while antenna types include monopole, dipole, J-pole, 5x5cm patch, and fractal patch. Antennas were simulated, built, attached to a satellite mockup, and tested in an anechoic chamber at the Northrop Grumman facilities. Simulation results and obtained test results are presented to support the teams in designing theirown antennas and to provide guidance and verification of realistic performance expectations.

Improvement Of Communication System For 1u Cubesat, Makiko Kishimoto, Tharindu Lakmal Dayarathna Malmadayalage, Abhas Maskey, Pooja Lepcha, Dulani Chamika Withanage, Yuta Kakimoto, Yuji Sasaki, Hari Ram Shrestha, Birds Partners, George Maeda, Takashi Yamauchi, Sangkyun Kim, Hirokazu Masui, Mengu Cho

Small Satellite Conference

The Joint Global Multi-Nation Birds Satellite project abbreviated as "BIRDS” project started with a first-generation constellation of five 1U satellites in October 2015. Currently, BIRDS project is on its fourth-generation of CubeSat constellation. The 1U CubeSats in each generation follow the heritage of the previous satellites. The Communication subsystem has undergone multiple iterations to improve the performance on orbit. Until the second-generation of satellites (BIRDS2 CubeSat constellation), the two-way communication between the satellite in orbit and the ground station was difficult even though the ground test results seemed promising. BIRDS3 satellites went through major changes and succeeded in establishing a …

Magneto: Mapping The Earth’S Magnetic Field At 300 Km Using Cots Sensors, Lizette Villafana, Jessica Yuan, Liam Broadus, Warren Su, Claire Carlton, Ava Norrell, Rahul Rughani, Eugene Park, David Barnhart

Small Satellite Conference

In the nearly two decades that CubeSats have been in significant use, over 800 have been launched, and many more are under construction. They have gained popularity in the industry and are often the choice for most first-time small-satellite missions. The University of Southern California’s (USC) Space Engineering Research Center (SERC) has developed a 1.5U student-built science mission called Magneto. Magneto is USC’s fourth CubeSat mission, and it has the goal of mapping the Earth’s magnetic field in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) using Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) hardware, to determine the viability of using COTS sensors to decrease the mission cost by …

Vt Thicksat: A Passive Deployer Mechanism For A Carbon Fiber Tape Spring In The Thinsat Program, Robert Engebretson, Minzhen Du, Gustavo Gargioni, Hovhannes Avagyan, Bryce Clegg, Derick Whited, Kevin Shinpaugh, Jonathan Black

Small Satellite Conference

The passive deployer mechanism will fly on Virginia Tech’s ThinSat mission, VT ThickSat, scheduled to launch along with the resupply mission to the ISS, NG-15. This mission is a proof-of-concept that could lead to similar deployable structures in future missions, e.g., solar sails and solar panel deployments. The mission-critical objective is to demonstrate a passive deployment mechanism in space. The boom is required to release itself from the coiled state using only its stored elastic energy. Furthermore, the mechanism takes advantage of a scalable chassis, built for the same mission, restricting it to fit within the space of a 5 …

Cislunar Explorers: Lessons Learned From The Development Of An Interplanetary Cubesat, Aaron Zucherman, Kelly Jawork, Aaron Buchwald, Abhinav Naikawadi, Charlie Robinson, Eashaan Kumar, Elliot Kann, George Orellana, Michael Zakoworotny, Oren Alon, Sydney Rzepka, Van Adams, Curran Muhlberger, Mason Peck

Small Satellite Conference

The Cislunar Explorers mission is a pair of ~3U nanosatellites (named Hydrogen and Oxygen) launching as a single 6U CubeSat as part of NASA’s Artemis-1 mission on the Space Launch System (SLS). The two spacecraft will demonstrate technologies increasing the reach, flexibility, and cost-effectiveness of interplanetary smallsats. These innovations include water electrolysis propulsion, multi-body optical navigation, passive spin-stabilization, and the operation of femtosatellites beyond low earth orbit. Cislunar Explorers also serves as a pathfinder for demonstrating the utility and versatility of water for future In Situ Resource Utilization (ISRU) on space missions. Critical subsystems complement each other to reduce the …

Low Cost Magnetosphere Measurement: Leveraging Fusion Of Low Data Rate Downlink With Amateur Radio Community, Claire Carlton, Everett Maness, David Barnhart

Small Satellite Conference

In the last 10-20 years, the simplified structure and low-costattributes of CubeSats have given universities and other student groups the opportunity to build and launch their own small satellites. This was the case with the University of Southern California’s 4th CubeSat, Magneto. Magneto’s mission objective is to validate two magnetometers, provided in partnership by Omega Engineering, by attempting to map the Earth’s magnetic field in a low Earth orbit (LEO).

This goal presented a multifaceted problem, characterized by the design challenges associated with building a low-cost CubeSat that can collect and downlink data from all over the globe. A balance …

Stereoscopic Meteor Observation: Determining Satellite Bus And Formation Parameters Requirements, Jona Petri, Sabine Klinkner

Small Satellite Conference

The Institute of Space Systems (IRS) of the University of Stuttgart and the TU Berlin are planning a mission to observe meteors and dust particles using a formation of two small satellites. In this paper, we analyse the formation and satellite parameters to optimize the scientific output of the meteor observation. The stereoscopic observation of meteors allows calculating the corresponding meteor trajectory. The potential output of a meteor observation strongly depends on the configuration of the satellite formation (orbit, satellite distance) and the satellite bus parameters (knowledge of satellite position and attitude). Therefore, a simulation, based on the trajectory algorithm …

In-Orbit Demonstration Of The Isim-170 Optical Payload Onboard The Iss, Rafael Guzmán, Stuart Davis, Eider Ocerin, Aitor Conde, Luis Carlos Fernández, Marta Massimiani

Small Satellite Conference

iSIM-170 is anoptical payload for Earth Observations with sub-meterresolution in VNIR bands. The payload will be in-orbit-demonstrated at the ISS after a successful launch with the HTV-9 mission by JAXA and afte its installation on the Kibo module occurred on June 11th, 2020. Prior to its flight, iSIM-170 underwent an accelerated development programme culminating in the successful completion of all verifications and reviews.

iSIM-170 has been developed by the Spanish company SATLANTIS, in collaboration with the University of Florida, to become the gold standard of imaging payloads for microsatellites. It consists of four integrated components: a binocular diffraction-limited set of …

Liciacube On Dart Mission: An Asteroid Impact Captured By Italian Small Satellite Technology, Simone Simonetti, Valerio Di Tana, Federico Miglioretti, Biagio Cotugno, Simone Pirrotta, Marilena Amoroso, Simone Pizzurro, Gabriele Impresario

Small Satellite Conference

In the frame of the Planetary Defense program, NASA developed the Double Asteroid Redirection Test (DART) mission and the Italian Space Agency joined the effort. DART’s spacecraft will act as a kinetic impactor by deliberately crashing into the moonlet of Didymos binary system (i.e. Didymos-B) while the effects of the impact will be observed by a small satellite, the Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroid (LICIACube) and ground-based telescopes. LICIACube, an Italian Space Agency (ASI) mission, will fly with a relative velocity of approximately 6.5 km/s and it will document the effects of the impact, the crater and the …

Building An Academic Community Smallsat Program, Royce W. James, Richard W. Freeman, Lorraine A. Allen, Erik Tejero, Brian Kay

Small Satellite Conference

The US Coast Guard Academy (CGA), which educates future officers for service in the US Coast Guard, is developing a multifaceted program in SmallSats. The CGA space initiative includes undergraduate courses, such as a recently-created Remote Sensing course. It incorporates Virginia Space's ThinSat Educational Program, providing hands-on experience in designing, building, and testing miniature satellites through space mission engineering; this involves collaboration between Science and Engineering and is extended to local high schools through their participation in SmallSat projects with CGA faculty and students. An important addition to the CGA space initiative is an MC3 ground station atop the Science …

Preparing Cysat-1: A Look At Iowa State University’S First Cubesat, Matthew E. Nelson, Dae Young Lee, Mackenzie Kilcoin, Luke Gordon, William Brown

Small Satellite Conference

In this paper, an overview of the scientific mission of CySat-1, the derived vehicle requirements, impact on system design, and the educational opportunities presented by these challenges. CySat-1, previously scheduled for launch on the SpaceX-21 and awaiting further details following the COVID-19 pandemic, is a CubeSat designed and built by students at Iowa State University. The primary mission of CySat-1 is to provide hands-on experience to undergraduate students in designing, building, and testing a space system. CySat-1 also hosts a scientific payload, a software-defined radio (SDR) radiometer, to survey soil moisture content on Earth from Low Earth Orbit. This mission …

Closed Loop Analysis Of Space Systems (Class): A Modular Test System For Cubesat Development, Marc Akiki, Michael Lembeck

Small Satellite Conference

Closed Loop Analysis of Space Systems (CLASS) is a small satellite test system engineered and maintained by the Laboratory for Advanced Space Systems at Illinois (LASSI), which is affiliated with the Department of Aerospace Engineering at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. CLASS is designed to be modular and user-friendly while providing the capability to perform accurate and reliable closed-loop tests. Commercial and academic CubeSat developers struggle to implement adequate testing procedures because of the relatively short development timeline and the sophisticated and inaccessible nature of space systems test equipment. Hardware-in-the-loop testing offers a convenient “test-as-you-fly, fly-as-you-test” validation and verification …

Safe Construction In Space: Using Swarms Of Small Satellites For In-Space Manufacturing, Rahul Rughani, David A. Barnhart

Small Satellite Conference

With the emergence of a new space-to-space servicing sector, along with the return of manned missions beyond low earth orbit, there is an increased need for quick, efficient, and most of all, safe Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO). An additional next big step forward may be true manufacturing in space, which could take advantage of swarms of small satellites cooperating in close proximity to each other, all subjected to the same laws of orbital mechanics. Currently, there is a lack of knowledge about how to safely operate a swarm of spacecraft in close quarters in a dynamically changing environment (i.e., …

The First Solution To The Lost In Space Problem, Andrew Dahir, Daniel Kubitschek, Scott Palo

Small Satellite Conference

In December 2018 and January 2019, weeks after a successful fly-by of Mars and relay of the InSight landing, communication with the MarCO cubsats were lost. The causes of this loss of communications with the MarCO cubesats are unknown, but could be related to a power issue or onboard fault. This leaves the MarCO cubesats effectively, lost in space, having no way to autonomously recover time, position, or velocity, should the spacecraft recover from the anomaly.

This research will show a full solution to the lost in space orbit determination problem. This solution is achieved by using self-acquired optical observations …

Argomoon: Italian Cubesat Technology To Record The Maiden Flight Of Sls Towards The Moon, Simone Simonetti, Valerio Di Tana, Gabriele Mascetti, Simone Pirrotta, Edmondo Scorzafava

Small Satellite Conference

The ArgoMoon Nanosatellite, developed by the Italian company Argotec for the Italian Space Agency, will be launched in 2021, during the maiden flight of the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) named Artemis-1 mission. ArgoMoon will be the first microsatellite to be released by the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) and it will acquire significant pictures of ICPS itself. It will perform proximity flight around the secondary stage of the launcher by means of autonomous imaging and tracking subsystems, thus allowing the CubeSat to remain close to the target, in order to capture high resolution pictures with technical and outreach purposes. …

The Nasa Cubesat Missions Flying On Artemis-1, Dawn M. Mcintosh, John D. Baker, Joseph A. Matus

Small Satellite Conference

In 2021, the Space Launch Services (SLS) Artemis-1 mission will carry thirteen 6U CubeSats into deep space. Three of those payloads are NASA missions performing a variety of unique deep-space science experiments. The three NASA CubeSat missions are BioSentinel, Lunar Flashlight and NEAScout. The BioSentinel mission will measure deep-space radiation effects on DNA using yeast organisms. It is a six-month mission in a heliocentric orbit. BioSentinel was designed, built, tested and operated out of NASA Ames Research Center. Lunar Flashlight’s mission is to look for surface water ice in the permanently shadowed regions near the south pole of the Moon …

Miura 5: The European And Reusable Microlauncher For Cubesats And Small Satellites, Pablo Gallego

Small Satellite Conference

PLD Space is a European company with the goal of providing easy and frequent access to space. The company aims to provide launch services for suborbital applications such as scientific research or technology development as well as orbital launches for small satellites. For this, PLD Space is developing two dedicated, reusable launch vehicles named MIURA 1 and MIURA 5.

MIURA 1 was conceived as a one-staged suborbital sounding rocket which uses a liquid propulsion system designed and built by PLD Space. MIURA 5 – uses five of the same engine propelling MIURA 1 – is a two-staged launch vehicle for …

Development Of A Low-Cost Multi-Camera Star Tracker For Small Satellites, Hongrui Zhao, Michael Lembeck

Small Satellite Conference

This paper presents a novel small satellite star tracker that uses multiple low-cost cameras to achieve viable attitude determination performance. The theoretical analysis of the star detectability improvement by stacking images from multiple cameras is presented. An image processing algorithm is developed to combine images from multiple cameras with various focal lengths, principal point offsets, distortions, and misalignments. The star tracker also implements other algorithms including the region growing algorithm, the intensity weighted centroid algorithm, the geometric voting algorithm for star identification, and the singular value decomposition algorithm for attitude determination. A star tracker software simulator is used to test …