Digital Commons Network^™

Bootstrap Methods For Bias-Correcting Probability Distribution Parameters Characterizing Extreme Snow Accumulations, Kenneth Pomeyie, Brennan Bean

Mathematics and Statistics Student Research and Class Projects

Accurately quantifying the threat of collapse due to the weight of settled snow on the roof of a structure is crucial for ensuring structural safety. This quantification relies upon direct measurements of the snow water equivalent (SWE) of settled snow, though most weather stations in the United States only measure snow depth. The absence of direct load measurements necessitates the use of modeled estimates of SWE, which often results in the underestimation of the scale/variance parameter of the distribution of annual maximum SWE. This paper introduces a novel bias correction method that employs a bootstrap technique with regression-based models to …

Debris Detection Using Star Tracker Concept Verification, Laila Kazemi, Alexander Vandenberghe, Mikel Samson, Bram Vandoren, Tjorven Delabie

Small Satellite Conference

This paper demonstrates the concept of space debris detection using star trackers. Arcsec’s Sagitta star tracker is an optical sensor designed to determine spacecraft attitude based on captured star images. The Sagitta star tracker processes these images to extract bright regions, which are then compared to an on-board star database. This functionality can also be extended to detect and track space debris passing through the sensor’s field of view. Typical star trackers discard any bright objects that are not matched to their star database. With addition of Debris Detection Using Star Trackers (DeDUST) algorithm, Sagitta can isolate these observations. Star …

Demonstrating Rapid Response For Remote Sensing Applications Using Automation And Intelligent Software On Geostare Sv2, Emily Milne, Michael Higgins, Bailey Cortright, Robert Goodloe, Alexander J. Pertica, Valentino Constantinou, Ali Mezher, Willem De Vries

Small Satellite Conference

We conducted a campaign to demonstrate rapid responsiveness by tasking a nanosatellite with in-transit plane and ship image captures. By utilizing open-source information, approximate routes can be generated using ANSYS's Systems Tool Kit (STK) Software for these vehicles¹.

GEOStare SV2 was leveraged for this effort by utilizing a new imaging mode for tracking and sweeping between coordinate locations ("nodes"). GEOStare SV2 is a 6U CubeSat in a mid-latitude LEO orbit with a dual camera remote sensing payload. The satellite is operated by Terran Orbital, with the payload designed by Lawrence Livermore National Laboratories (LLNL). Since launching in May …

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 …

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 …

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 …

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.

Compact-Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker (C-First), Sarath Gunapala, William Johnson, David Ting, Alexander Soibel, Sir (Don) Rafol, Sam Keo, Brian Pepper, Cory Hill, Olga Kalashnikova, Michael Garay, Ashley Davies, Christopher David, Sachidananda Babu, Parminder Ghuman

Small Satellite Conference

Remote sensing of wildland fires is required for many cross-disciplinary science investigations including wildland fire impacts on ecology. For decades this research has been hindered by insufficient spatial resolution and detector saturation at short and mid-infrared wavelengths where the spectral radiance from high temperature ( > 800 K) surfaces is most significant. To address this, we're developing a compact high dynamic range (HDR) multispectral imager. The Compact Fire Infrared Radiance Spectral Tracker (c-FIRST), which leverages digital focal plane array (DFPA). The DFPA is hybridized from a state-of-the-art high operating temperature barrier infrared detector (HOT-BIRD) and a digital readout integrated circuit (D-ROIC), …

See And Minicor: Transforming Solar Science Through Modular Small Satellite Technology, Gabriel Gutierrez, Lorenzo Pattanaro, Giorgia Casadei, Antonio Turi, Ludovica Bozzoli, Alessandro Balossino, Angelos Vourlidas, Aaron Magner, Luca Giovanelli, Francesco Berrilli, Daniele Urban, Silvia Natalucci

Small Satellite Conference

In recent years, the field of space exploration has witnessed a paradigm shift with the emergence of small satellites, particularly CubeSats, as cost-effective, time-efficient and versatile platforms for scientific missions. At the same time, heliophysical studies are becoming increasingly important for space weather purposes, as they shed light on the Sun's interaction with the Earth, the solar system and the interstellar medium. This work delves into the study of the Sun activities through two complementary CubeSat missions, focusing on how these similar and modular platforms will face the mission's technical challenges while enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of key solar …

A Shallow Convolutional Neural Network For Onboard Cubesat Image Classification, Sadikul Alim Toki, Abdulla Hil Kafi, Raihana Shams Islam Antara, Calvin Coopmans

Small Satellite Conference

The development of CubeSats dates back many years, and there has been much research on the payload's ability to analyze satellite images. Due to the difficulty in downlinking photographs owing to their size and communication limitations, the majority of CubeSats are currently constructed with image processing capabilities. The majority of CubeSat payloads are created using embedded technology, which fits CubeSats's size, weight, and power. However, the processing power of embedded devices is constrained. Different kinds of image classification models have been built based on fine-tuning previously trained models, which contain many parameters in this domain. While there has been some …

Design And Development Of A Neural Surface Rendering Model For Lunar Satellite Photogrammetry, Caleb Adams, Ignacio Lopez-Francos, Ariel Deutsch, Ellemieke Van Kints, Aiden Hammond

Small Satellite Conference

Neural volumetric scene representations encode the color and density of points in 3D space by optimizing an underlying continuous volumetric scene function. These methods are focused on synthesizing novel views of objects and on-ground scenes from a set of sparse input views. However, they under-perform at photogrammetric tasks of geometric reconstruction from multi-view satellite imagery in environments with diffuse reflection and harsh shading. This limits the ability of these methods to accurately generate Digital Elevation Models (DEMs) of the permanently shadowed regions (PSRs) using multi-view satellite imagery. By incorporating techniques such as a learned distance function of the surface geometry …

Development Of A Methodology For Optimizing Satellite Durability By Coupling Advanced Orbit Propagation With High Fidelity 3d Thermal-Electrical Simulation, Corey D. Packard, Logan R. Canull, Zachary J. Edel, Timofey Golubev, Michael L. Larsen, Nate Mccoun

Small Satellite Conference

In the rapidly evolving landscape of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite technology, this study presents a pioneering approach for analyzing satellite durability through advanced orbit propagation and high fidelity 3D thermal-electric simulation. Small satellites, packed with high power components and rapidly transitioning between sunlit and eclipsed orbit segments, often feature limited thermal control systems that make thermal management a challenging (but critical) task. Additionally, the durability of battery cells and photovoltaic (PV) panels over the mission lifetime of small satellites is an important concern. Cycling and calendar fade take their toll on battery lifetime, and PV degradation reduces operational efficiency …

Leveraging Cross-Industry Knowledge To Improve The Design Of Space Systems, Jay Lewis, Christian M. Fuchs

Small Satellite Conference

There are valuable satellites that fail early and almost none have been repaired or investigated. Other industries benefit from feedback loops that use failure analysis to accelerate design and manufacturing improvements.¹⁷ Historically the cost of a repair mission would be so high it wouldn't be considered. The cost of space debris mitigation missions can be reduced by leveraging the learning other industries have experienced. Lowering the cost of repair missions will enable more debris mitigation, learn more about why missions failed, and lead to fewer failures and lower costs.

Many space programs rely on outdated processes that increase costs, …

A ‘Nuclear Bomb’ Or Just ‘A Joke’? Groundwater Models May Help Communicate Nuanced Risks To The Great Salt Lake, Matthew D. Laplante, Piyush Dahal, Shih-Yu Simon Wang, Kirsti Hakala, Avik Mukherjee

Plants, Soils, and Climate Faculty Publications

The Great Salt Lake entered the zeitgeist of environmental concern in 2022 when a coalition of scientists and activists warned in a highly publicized report that the lake might be just five years away from complete desiccation, a possibility one state official warned was tantamount to an “environmental nuclear bomb”. Shortly thereafter, an unpredicted and unprecedented pluvial winter resulted in an increase in inflow, temporarily halting the lake’s decline and prompting Utah’s governor to mock the dire prediction as “a joke”, an outcome that speaks to the tension between agenda-setting and trust-building that researchers face when sharing worst-case warnings, particularly …

Tracers Mission And Gnc Architecture, Sanny Omar, Reid Reynolds

Small Satellite Conference

The Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites (TRACERS) NASA mission consists of two identical spinner spacecraft built by Millennium Space Systems to investigate the effects of solar wind on the Earth's magnetosphere, particularly in the Northern "magnetic cusp" region near the magnetic North pole. The TRACERS satellites will measure AC/DC magnetic fields, electric fields, and electron/ion distributions to better characterize Earth-sun interactions and determine whether magnetic reconnection phenomena are primarily spatially or temporarily driven. This will improve our ability to understand and forecast space weather and "solar storms" which have the potential to disrupt or damage power grids and …

Starling Cubesat Swarm Technology Demonstration Flight Results, Scott Miller, Caleb Adams, Nahum Alem, Howard Cannon, Randy Grashuis, Ted Hendriks, Soon Hwang, Michael Iatauro, Craig Pires, Justin Kruger, Simone D'Amico

Small Satellite Conference

The Starling swarm of four 6U CubeSats launched in July 2023 to test four key technologies to enable future swarm missions:

1) Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking (MANET) over a crosslink radio network

2) Autonomous onboard decision-making for operations

3) Optical-based absolute and relative navigation

4) Autonomous maneuver planning and execution

The Starling team implemented the Better Approach to Mobile Ad-hoc Networking (B.A.T.M.A.N.) protocol to automatically manage the crosslink network of four satellites. The B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol uses a decentralized approach to managing a molti-hop mesh network of devices, in this case, a satellite swarm. The four satellites were able to successfully establish …

Improved Forecasting Of Leo Satellite Orbital Decay During The 25Th Solar Cycle Maximum, Ravi Teja Nallapu, Chen Yap, Mike Siegers, Isil Demir, Kiruthika Devaraj, Scott Mcintosh

Small Satellite Conference

Planet is a leading provider of global, daily satellite imagery and geospatial solutions. Planet's mission is to image the world every day and make change visible, accessible, and actionable. To enable this mission, Planet operates the world's largest constellation of Earth Observation satellites (about 180 Doves and 20 Skysats) in the LEO environment of 400-550 km. However, this latitude regime became a challenging environment as we approached the solar maximum of the 25th solar cycle. The solar cycle describes an 11-year rotation period of the Sun's magnetic poles, which is characterized by several activities like solar flares and coronal mass …

Assessment Of Economic Viability Of Direct Current Fast Charging Infrastructure Investments For Electric Vehicles In The United States, Daniel Bernal, Adeeba A. Raheem, Sundeep Inti, Hongjie Wang

Electrical and Computer Engineering Faculty Publications

As the global transportation sector increasingly adopts electric vehicles, the demand for advanced and accessible charging infrastructure is rising. In addition to at-home electric vehicle (EV) charging, there is a growing need for the swift development of commercial direct current fast charging (DCFC) stations to meet on-the-go EV charging demands. While government funds are available to support the expansion of the EV charging network in the United States, the establishment of a robust nationwide EV charging infrastructure requires significant private sector investment. This study was conducted to assess the economic feasibility of various business models for fast charging stations in …

Design And Development Of An Active Magnetic Docking System For Small Satellites, Atheel Redah, Saurav Paudel, Milan Pathak, Chaitanya Athawle, Om Sai Swaroop Mopidevi, Felix Sittner, Sergio Montenegro

Small Satellite Conference

Applications such as self-assembly and reconfiguration in space, on-orbit servicing and refueling, debris and retired elements removal are examples of future space missions that will require space objects that can perform autonomous rendezvous and docking maneuvers with other orbiting elements.

To demonstrate such capability for small satellites, the TAMARIW project is intended to develop two identical 3U CubeSats with autonomous docking systems. These satellites are scheduled to be launched by the end of the first quarter of 2026 to perform several undocking/docking maneuvers in space at predefined relative distances. In addition, the standardization and partial autonomy of the satellite modules …

Reinforcement-Learned Lookahead Heuristics For Earth-Observing Satellites, Shreeyam Kacker, Kerri Cahoy

Small Satellite Conference

Conventional Earth-observing satellites spend most of their time taking cloudy imagery as two-thirds of Earth’s surface is covered by clouds at any one time. To combat this, a mission concept called dynamic tasking has been proposed. In this mission, a low-resolution, wide field-of-view lookahead scans upcoming tasks. Modern computer vision and onboard compute can then rank these upcoming tasks, which can be used to dynamically re-optimize the schedule onboard. The vision system can additionally be used to add tasks into the schedule for low-frequency phenomena. While previous studies have focused on steerable lookahead instruments (e.g. radar) that can effectively be …

Optomechanical Inertial Sensors, Andrea Nelson, José Sanjuan, Felipe Guzmán

Small Satellite Conference

We present novel optomechanical inertial sensing technologies of exquisite sensitivity for precision science-grade observations and engineering applications that can be used in space, air, underground, deep water, and planetary environments, as well as for inertial navigation. These technologies are based on compact low-noise optomechanical accelerometers which are comprised of monolithically fabricated mechanical resonators that incorporate compact and highly sensitive laser interferometric displacement sensors. Current laboratory prototypes have demonstrated very low mechanical losses consistent with quality factors Q of 4.77x10⁵, and mQ-products above 1200 kg, having a fundamental mechanical resonance of 4.7 Hz. These characteristics highlight their high …

Unlocking The Potential Of Small Satellites: Themis's Active Cooling Technology On The Spirit Mission, Miguel Ortiz Del Castillo, Clint Therakam, Jack Mcrobbie, Andrew Woods, Robert Mearns, Simon Barraclough, Stephen Catsamas, Mika Ohkawa, Jonathan Morgan, Airlie Chapman, Michele Trenti

Small Satellite Conference

The Thermal Management Integrated System (TheMIS) is a key element of the Australia-Italy Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal (SpIRIT) mission, launched in a 510km Polar Sun-Synchronous orbit in December 2023. SpIRIT is a 6U CubeSat led by The University of Melbourne in cooperation with the Italian Space Agency, with support from the Australian Space Agency and with contributions from Australian space industry and international research organizations. The TheMIS subsystem actively cools and controls the temperature of sensitive instruments, increasing the potential range of payloads supported on small spacecraft systems. TheMIS core functionality is based on a commercial Stirling Cycle Cryocooler …

Omnidirectional Radio Interferometry Using Deployable Tensegrity Array Antenna Satellite, Yosuke Tanabe, Tsukasa Funane, Hisatoshi Kimura, Makoto Ito, Koichi Watanabe, Yasuyuki Miyazaki, Shinichi Nakasuka

Small Satellite Conference

We propose a method of omnidirectional radio interferometry in space using a three-dimensional tensegrity array antenna deployed from a small satellite. Tensegrity means a stable and self-equilibrating structure based on the balance of compressive and tensile forces between compression and tension members. The advantages of the tensegrity structure are that it is lightweight and can be stored compactly, reducing launch costs and enabling deployment in orbit. This structure is therefore attracting interest for various applications such as space antennas, starshades, and planetary exploration. In this study, we investigated a tensegrity array antenna that can be deployed from small satellites as …

The Py4 Mission: A Low-Cost Demonstration Of Cubesat Formation-Flying Technologies, Max Holliday, Rachel Ticknor, Jan Stupl, Roger Hunter, Paulo Fisch, Ibrahima Sory Sow, Jacob Willis, Zachary Manchester

Small Satellite Conference

The PY4 mission aims to enable autonomous swarms of small spacecraft by both reducing the manufacturing cost and integration effort required for individual spacecraft, and by advancing guidance, navigation, and control algorithms that increase autonomy and reduce or eliminate the need for expensive sensor, actuator, and propulsion hardware. PY4 consists of four 1.5U CubeSats, and builds on the PyCubed open-source avionics platform and the previous V-R3x mission. To date, PY4 has successfully demonstrated high-data-rate mesh networking, precise inter-satellite ranging, range-based relative orbit determination, and magnetorquer-only sun pointing. A drag-based formation-flying experiment is also planned for an extended mission.

The Any% Method – Improving Space Access Through Improved Design, Build, And Test Methodologies, Michael Pham, Nicole Maggard, Matthew Roberts, John David Morrissey, Adam Elsharhawy, Pragun Bethapudi, Maranda Laws, Tarek Elsharhawy

Small Satellite Conference

One of the seminal problems that faces new and academic CubeSat teams is very long development cycles that often lead to project failure through some combination of funding issues, launch window misses, and loss of gained institutional knowledge. While many are familiar with the approximately 40% early failure rate of launched CubeSats, this metric only tracks missions that actually made it to dispenser integration. In our tracking of approximately 35 university teams since 2019, we have found that only 4 have successfully launched in that time, implying that 88% of aspiring CubeSat programs fail before they even make it to …

Spirit Mission: In-Orbit Results And Technology Demonstrations, Michele Trenti, Miguel Ortiz Del Castillo, Robert Mearns, Jack Mcrobbie, Clint Therakam, Airlie Chapman, Andrew Woods, Jonathan Morgan, Simon Barraclough, Ivan Rodriguez Mallo, Giulia Baroni, Fabrizio Fiore, Yuri Evangelista, Riccardo Campana, Alejandro Guzman, Paul Hedderman

Small Satellite Conference

The Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal (SpIRIT) 6U CubeSat is a mission led by The University of Melbourne in cooperation with the Italian Space Agency. SpIRIT received support from the Australian Space Agency and includes contributions from Australian space industry and international research organizations. Developed over the last four years and launched in a 510 km Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit in December 2023, SpIRIT carries multiple subsystems for scientific and technology demonstration. The main scientific payload is the HERMES instrument, a gamma and X-ray detector for detection of high-energy astrophysics transients (primarily Gamma Ray Bursts), and for studies of their …

Lessons Learned In The Operation Of The Hibari: Variable Shape Satellite, Daiki Kobayashi, Kei Watanabe, Hiroyuki Kobayashi, Yuki Amaki, Kenichiro Takahashi, Yusaku Ozeki, Katsuki Tashiro, Riku Nishio, Ryo Saito, Yusei Kawaguchi, Kiyona Miyamoto, Toshihiro Chujo, Hiroki Nakanishi, Yoichi Yatsu, Saburo Matunaga

Small Satellite Conference

We have developed the 50 kg microsatellite “HIBARI”. The satellite demonstrated a novel attitude control method called “Variable Shape Attitude Control (VSAC)”. VSAC is a method that can quickly control attitude and has low energy consumption using reaction torque by driving variable shape structures. HIBARI was launched in 2021 under the Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration Program led by JAXA. We have been operating the satellite for two years and have demonstrated the VSAC mission. We achieved all minimum and full success criteria, including 30 deg/10sec agile attitude change.

On the other hand, we experienced problems like the degradation of satellite …

Mmsubarray: Enabling Joint Satellite And 5g Networks With Full-Spectrum Utilization In Millimeter-Wave Bands, Rohith Reddy Vennam, Ish Kumar Jain, Nagarjun Bhat, Suriyaa M., Dinesh Bharadia

Small Satellite Conference

Traditionally, satellite broadband services worldwide have relied on licensed spectrum, primarily utilizing the uplink 28 GHz band and downlink 18 GHz band. Concurrently, there has been a surge in millimeter-wave 5G deployment, particularly in the United States, Japan, and South Korea, leveraging frequencies around 28 GHz to enhance terrestrial connectivity and deliver faster data rates with lower latency. However, due to the significant spectrum overlap between 27.5 to 30.0 GHz, ground station uplink transmissions result in co-channel interference for 5G links, severely degrading 5G link efficiency or causing complete link failure. Current approaches, such as distance, frequency, and direction separation, …

Radiation-Tolerant Ka-Band Deployable Phased-Array Transceiver For Low-Earth Orbit Small Satellite Constellation, Yasuto Narukiyo, Xi Fu, Dongwon You, Sena Kato, Takashi Tomura, Hiraku Sakamoto, Kenichi Okada, Atsushi Shirane

Small Satellite Conference

This paper introduces the technology for radiation tolerance of Ka-band deployable phased-array antenna to provide wider communications infrastructure. Radiation in outer space degrades the performance of electronic devices. Furthermore, because the BFIC on the deployable phased-array antenna cannot be shielded due to the antenna structure, higher radiation tolerance is required than general aerospace ICs. The amount of radiation tolerance required was calculated and the high radiation tolerance technology of the BFIC was introduced, which was evaluated from the measurement results be exposing the BFIC to 3 Mrad radiation which exceeds the conventional measurement dose.

An Investigation Of Automation Strategies To Optimize Itasat2 Mission Operations, Renan Guilherme Soares Menezes, Lidia Hissae Shibuya Sato, Edson Wander Do Rego Pereira, Victoria De Souza Rodrigues, Luis Felipe Camponogara, Victor Oliveira Costa, Ana Carolina Di Iorio Jeronymo, Luís Eduardo Vergueiro Loures Da Costa

Small Satellite Conference

The ITA Space Center (CEI) is dedicated to advancing space systems and cultivating expertise in the sector. In pursuit of these objectives, CEI has initiated CubeSat development projects, commencing with the ITASAT mission launched in December 2018 and followed by the successful deployment of the SPORT satellite project in 2022. ITASAT's primary purpose was to be a hands-on project, from design to operation. SPORT is designed to study space weather, specifically focusing on the dynamics of plasma bubble formation in the ionosphere near-equatorial regions. Acknowledging the inherent challenges posed by power budget limitations, it became apparent that continuous scientific data …