Digital Commons Network^™

Metadata-Conditioned Dark-Frame Modelling And Hsdr-Scanfusion Denoising: A Physics-Informed Independent Tool For Low-Cost Hyperspectral Small-Satellite Calibration, Nooh Adnan, Kyaw Thiha, Raffael Gil Dela Cruz, Li Cheng Zheng, Faijul Amin, Areeba Khan, Sameha Tasnim, Sung Jegal, Yunhan Bao, Iliya Shofman

Small Satellite Conference

Hyperspectral imaging in the shortwave-infrared spectrum is valuable for orbital Earth observation, but its use on low-cost, resource-constrained small satellites is limited by thermally dependent dark current, fixed-pattern noise, and intermittent access to matched calibration frames. Traditional mitigation through active cooling, shutters, or frequent dark-frame acquisition can be difficult to accommodate within small-satellite mass, power, volume, and operations budgets. This paper presents a physics-informed independent calibration tool that reconstructs condition-matched dark response from acquisition metadata rather than relying on hardware-heavy calibration at every operating point. The framework combines a stochastic dark-noise simulator, a metadata-conditioned neural dark operator that predicts spectral-spatial …

Event-Driven Spacecraft Operations Demonstrated On Mms, Miles Bengtson, Alexander Barrie, Joseph Patton, Liam Greenlee, Paul Wood, Marcus Piquette, Russell Bjella, Matthew Chang, Joshua Paul

Small Satellite Conference

Operations engineers face the challenging task of capturing high-value science data while maintaining spacecraft health and functionality and responding to a dynamic space environment using limited information. This task is becoming increasingly complex as missions involve increasingly large numbers of spacecraft, target more elusive science signatures, and operate under growing budget and staffing constraints. Conventional pre-programmed time-sequence commands become increasingly burdensome for multi-spacecraft missions and are fundamentally incapable of reacting to rare, transient science events in real time.

To address this challenge, we have developed MEDOS: the Module for Event-Driven Operations of Spacecraft. Unlike machine learning and neural-network approaches, MEDOS …

Let’S Give The Fsck Up On Secded, Heather M. Quinn, Andrew Pineda, Gary Swift

Small Satellite Conference

Many space systems use error correcting codes (ECC) for handling radiation-induced upsets in memories. The most used ECCs are Hamming and Hsaio, which are single-error correction/double-error detection (SECDED) codes. The widespread use of these codes can lead to a dangerous overestimation of system reliability. Instead these codes are one of the best documented methods for microprocessor-based system crashes, due to uncorrectable faults. Less well documented is how these codes can lead to silent data corruption caused by miscorrections, where multiple errors are detected as a single error and corrected erroneously.

ECCs have always been sensitive to time-dependent errors, where SEUs …

Design And Qualification Of A Compact, Deployable Dual-Monopole Antenna System For Remote Sensing Microsatellites, Alexander J. Murphy, Bryan Johnston-Lemke, Robert E. Zee

Small Satellite Conference

Spacecraft conducting signals intelligence (SIGINT) missions require highly capable radio-frequency (RF) payloads. While the larger 80 kg-class platforms offer increased payload capacities, strict internal volume limitations persist. These constraints sometimes require stowing instruments, such as the dual-monopole Very High Frequency (VHF) antenna presented in this work, directly beneath the solar wings. This requirement has imposed a strict height constraint on the VHF antenna, mandating a highly compact and reliable deployment mechanism that avoids snagging or jamming during deployment. 

This paper presents the mechanism design and qualification test plan of a novel, deployable dual-monopole VHF antenna system designed to increase satellite …

Intel® Government Technologies Space Products: Leading Edge Compute For Space, Robert Ciccariello, Ricardo Ascazubi, Kyle Dobkins, Nitesh Melwani, Ed Mily, Mike Nassan, Sean O’Neill, Ruchika Singh, Dan Weinstein

Small Satellite Conference

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components are unlikely to meet the environmental survivability and assurance requirements to accomplish mission objectives in the harsh space environment. On the opposite end of the spectrum, developing custom space components on leading-edge technologies will often require multiple contractors and lengthy R&D efforts that significantly increase development costs and timelines. Intel Government Technologies (IGT) is introducing a space product roadmap, focused on space grade systems-in-package (SiPs) designed to address the transition from bespoke legacy architectures to low-SWaP, high-performance processing platforms for on-orbit systems. IGT Space Products are derived from Intel’s latest commercial technology and are uniquely configured, …

Recovery Of Grus-1e From Magnetic Torquer Loss Using Data-Driven Open-Loop Attitude Steering, Nader Ganaba, Takanori Iwata, Minoru Kurata

Small Satellite Conference

In typical low Earth orbit (LEO) operations, the inability to remove excess angular momentum often leads to the decommissioning of a satellite. This paper presents the on-orbit recovery of GRUS-1E, a hundred kg class Earth observation satellite in Axelspace Corporation’s GRUS-1 constellation. The recovery followed the permanent loss of magnetic torquer commanding capability, which in turn disabled the satellite’s nominal reaction wheel momentum unloading. In addition, the satellite experienced persistent disturbance torques that significantly exceeded the combined contributions predicted by standard models, including gravity gradient, solar radiation pressure, aerodynamic drag, and the estimated residual magnetic dipole moment. The magnitude of …

A Smallsat In Vleo: The Orion Kraken Approach, Chad Fish, Crystal Frazier, Sun-Hee Goldsberry, Katie Nyland, Will Armijo, Raj Patel, Elijah Vance, Adam Reynolds, Nathan Tipton, Kevin Quintana, Sam Clowes, Rachel Stutz, Keith Underwood, Jared Stromberg, Justin Berger, Erich Hoover, Andrew Irvine, Ali Wise, Christian Frazier, Derek Taylor, Kong Yang, Tracy Cueto, Wes Leong, Greg Ushomirsky, Charles Swenson, Paul Bernhart, Ron Reedy, Tim Minton, Mitchell Weins, Kent Frankovich

Small Satellite Conference

The Orion Space Solutions' Kraken Mission, sponsored by DARPA and implemented by a science and engineering team led by Orion Space Solutions, will make in-situ and remote sensing space weather observations from Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). The mission instrument suite will include Langmuir Probes, RF Impedance Probes, HF Sounders, Atomic Oxygen Sensors, Science Magnetometers, Floating Potential Probes, and Science Accelerometers. Long-term (approximately 4-6 month lifetime), repeated measurements of plasma density and other plasma and neutral parameters in this region are very rare, and the Kraken data is expected to contribute considerably to space weather and science modeling of VLEO. …

The Cospar-1 Spacecraft: Advancing Space Science And Capacity Building Through International Collaboration, Amal Chandran, Hex20 Ltd., Carlos Gabriel, Loren C. Chang

Small Satellite Conference

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) is the world's leading organization for advancing space science. The COSPAR Panel for a Constellation of Small Satellites (PCSS) was assembled in 2020 to examine how emerging CubeSat and small satellite technology could help solve outstanding questions in Space Weather, Earth Climate change, and Radiation Belt studies through constellations of miniature spacecraft. The COSPAR-1 spacecraft is a 3U CubeSat carrying a Solar Spectral Sensor from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder to observe solar output across the UV-to-IR spectrum, an Earth Radiation Sensor from LATMOS in …

The Landolt Mission Payload: An Artificial Star For Precision Astronomy, Peter Pachowicz, Peter Plavchan, Gabrielle Belle, Jay Deorukhkar, Philip Cunio, Eliad Peretz, John Mather, Peter Kurczynski, Angelle Tanner, Susana Deustua, Brian Alberding, Joseph Rice, Thomas Michaud-Baeyens, Jean-Thomomas Landry, Marc-Andre Boucher, David Ciardi, Mike Lund, Justin Albert, Greg Alderling, Brian Stalder, Daniel Stevens, Jamie Tayar, Daniel Kuesters, Tabetha Boyajian

Small Satellite Conference

The Landolt Mission represents a significant advancement in space-based instrumentation, serving as NASA’s first hybrid space mission. Central to the mission is a smallsat deployed in Geostationary Orbit (GEO), carrying the SI Traceable Absolute Radiometer [STAR] comprised of two Laser Instruments (LI) and an Element Wheel technology demonstrator. The LI utilizes six specialized Laser Trays to project SI-calibrated light beams at various wavelengths into ground telescopes. By creating a stable, SI-traceable calibration source, the Landolt mission aims to provide an unprecedented level of precision in astronomical observations. These advancements are expected to facilitate transformative discoveries in exoplanet host stars, supernova …

Monitoring Spoken Language In Infants And Toddlers Who Are Deaf Or Hard Of Hearing Using The Lena Developmental Snapshot, Monika-Maria Oster, Kimberly A. Peters

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

Purpose: This retrospective analysis evaluates the Developmental Snapshot as a language monitoring tool for infants and toddlers with bilateral hearing loss who use listening and spoken language.

Method: Data were obtained from the educational and clinical records of 147 children with bilateral hearing loss. For each child, the LENA (Language ENvironment Analysis) Developmental Snapshot, a standardized online language assessment that relies on parent report, had been completed at least once. When available, scores from other standardized language assessments (PLS-5, CDI, and DAYC-2) were also obtained.

Results: LENA Developmental Snapshot standard scores were characterized by high variability and mean scores in …

Early Childhood Access To Language Acquisition Services In Arizona, Kendra Benedict, Wendy Steuerwald, Najwa Ghattas, Cheryl Johnson

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

This investigation reviewed existing services and gaps for young children who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) in Arizona and explored community-based approaches to improve access to language development resources. The study was conducted in two phases, each focusing on different approaches for language acquisition based on surveys of parents and providers. Phase I, completed in 2024, addressed listening and spoken language (LSL) as a methodology for language acquisition while Phase II, completed in 2025, focused on the use of American Sign Language (ASL). Findings from Phase I surveys found that 63% of parents reported using LSL as the …

Journal Of Early Hearing Detection And Intervention: Volume 11 Issue 1, Pages 1-80

Journal of Early Hearing Detection and Intervention

No abstract provided.

Odin: Optomechanical Distributed Instrument For Inertial Sensing And Navigation, Mohanad Warrayat, Jackson Dahn, Ramses Miranda, Andrea Nelson, Jeremiah Stoddart, Miguel Dovale, Jose Sanjuan, Felipe Guzman, Daniel Selva

Small Satellite Conference

ODIN (Optomechanical Distributed Instrument for Inertial sensing and Navigation) is a gyroscope-free inertial measurement unit based on a cube of six monolithic fused silica wafers which complete a twelve-axis sensing capability, i.e., three linear, three angular, and six centripetal acceleration measurements. ODIN will fly as a secondary payload on the GRATTIS (Gravitational Reference Advanced Technology Test in Space) mission, slated for launch in February of 2027, led by the University of Florida and funded by the NASA InVEST program. By the end of the GRATTIS mission, it is expected that ODIN will reach an exit TRL-7.

The primary objective of …

Acs3 Results And Lesson Learned, Philip Shih, Olive Stohlman, Ivan Bertaska, Andres Dono Perez

Small Satellite Conference

ACS3 (Advanced Composite Solar Sail System) was a technology demonstration mission for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration¹, to demonstrate the deployment of a solar sail of size 80m² from a new NASA-developed compact deployable composite boom² packaged in a 12U CubeSat. The extended objective of the mission was to perform attitude control and orbit maneuvering. ACS3 was successfully launched on 24 April 2024 local time via Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B in Mahia, New Zealand. Following four months of commissioning operations, the solar sail was deployed on 28 August …

Esa Scout Hydrognss Early Mission Results, Martin Unwin, Alex Da Silva Curiel, Ben Stern, Jean-Pascal Lejault, Nazzareno Pierdicca

Small Satellite Conference

The ESA Scout HydroGNSS mission demonstrates a new generation of GNSS reflectometry (GNSS R) capabilities for hydrological climate monitoring from small satellites. HydroGNSS measures soil moisture, freeze–thaw state, inundation, wetlands and above ground biomass by exploiting both traditional incoherent Delay Doppler Maps (DDMs) and several innovative signal types not previously available from spaceborne GNSS R missions. Early in orbit results confirm successful acquisition of signals from Galileo, dual polarisation measurements, coherent complex channel data and reflections at the second GNSS frequency (L5/E5a). These enhanced measurements exhibit stronger than predicted performance and are expected to significantly improve retrievals of climate relevant …

Gray Jay Pathfinder: One Year Of Maritime And Airborne Vessel Monitoring With A Formation-Flying Constellation Of Microsatellites, Erica Peterson, Nicolaas Handojo, Nima Assadian, Jacob Von Chorus, Jeremy Hawke, Andrew Barlow, Sanjeev Narayanaswamy, Abigail Macgillivray, Alex Kiar, Nathan Cole, Robert E. Zee

Small Satellite Conference

Gray Jay Pathfinder (GJP) is an experimental microsatellite constellation that has been designed, built, and operated by the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL), for Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC). GJP launched in January 2025, and consists of three microsatellites, developed using SFL’s 30kg DEFIANT platform, flying in formation in a sun-synchronous orbit at a 510km altitude. All three spacecraft carry radio frequency (RF) payloads capable of receiving raw spectrum in the VHF, UHF, L, S, and X radar bands. The RF payloads include a combination of in-house designed and COTS antennas, in-house designed antenna front ends, a payload computer with …

Disksat: On-Orbit Performance And Lessons Learned From The Inaugural Flight Of Two-Dimensional Satellites, Darren Rowen, Catherine Venturini, Garrett Kinum, Brian Hardy, Joseph Gangestad, Lisa Toda, Chris Day, Thomas Pridy, Eddson Alcid, Ziba Shahriary

Small Satellite Conference

DiskSat is a novel spacecraft design that uses a disk-shaped form factor, 1 meter in diameter but only 2.5 cm in depth, to provide unprecedented power-to-mass ratio in a nanosatellite and the potential to operate long-term in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). The inaugural flight of four DiskSats launched on 18 December 2025 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on an Electron rocket, which delivered the satellites to a 550-km altitude orbit at an inclination of 45 deg. Developing DiskSat’s two-dimensional form factor presented a myriad of challenges for power generation, thermal management, attitude control, and deployment that could only be …

Faculty Senate Executive Committee Minutes August 24, 2026, Utah State University

Faculty Senate & Faculty Senate Executive Committee

• Call to Order
• Approval of Minutes - April 13, 2026
• University Business
• Faculty Senate Business
• Reports
• EPC Annual Report
• Empowering Teaching Excellence (ETE)
• Center for Instructional Design and Innovation
• Additional Business
• Adjourn: 4:39

Wildfires And Adolescent Mental Health: A Call To Action, Troy Allan

All Current Publications

Although wildfires affect people across the lifespan, adolescents warrant focused attention because wildfires can disrupt several systems that are especially important during this developmental period, including family relationships, peer networks, schools, routines, housing stability, and a developing sense of safety and identity. This fact sheet provides an overview of current research and a practical response pathway for professionals and families.

Solar-Assisted Battery Charging For The Chipsat Architecture: Chipsat Updates And Validation For The Descent Mission, Mark Lohatepanont, Joshua Umansky-Castro, Val Zeitlin, Matthew Hurford, Mason Peck, Andrew Filo, Alex Burke

Small Satellite Conference

DeSCENT is a suborbital mission to deploy 100 ChipSats from Blue Origin's New Shepard near 100 km altitude. The experiment characterizes ChipSat free-fall kinematics and dispersion, and demonstrates their potential for distributed atmospheric sensing. The updated ChipSat combines rechargeable energy storage and body-mounted solar cells with GPS, sensing, onboard logging, and 915 MHz LoRa communications. Lab testing and high-altitude balloon flights validate integrated power operation and long-range communications performance. Preliminary mechanical testing supports the remaining deployment and flight-verification effort.

Sierasat: A 6u Cubesat Platform For Space-Based Solar Power, Sutharsan Indrakumar, Ahmed Guller, Leann Cwieka, Justin Parry, Minh Nguyen, Kaegan Lucas, Carson Bove, Chaitra Nulu, Myles Thomas, Sophia Jones, Deepak R. Mishra

Small Satellite Conference

Reliance on fossil fuels, combined with the physical limits of ground-based solar arrays, makes a strong case for collecting solar energy in orbit. Earth intercepts roughly 1.4 kW/m² at the top of the atmosphere, but absorption by carbon dioxide and water vapour and atmospheric scattering cut peak surface intensity to about 1.1 kW/m², this results in an over a 20% reduction. While inclination, time of day, and weather restrict that to a narrow band of land for a few hours each day.

The Solar Incident Energy Relay Array (SIERA) is a proposed mission that will create a single 6U CubeSat …

Development Of A Design Tool For 3d-Printable Cold Gas Thruster Systems For Nanosatellite Missions, Mikolaj Szyszka, Katherine Smith

Small Satellite Conference

Currently, there are 5219 Nanosatellites and CubeSats in orbit [1]. A decade ago, this number was only 800 [1], with forecasts predicting a total of 14,000 small satellites in orbit by 2033 [2]. However, out of the ones that are currently operational, only about 5% are equipped with a propulsion system. Omitting the electric and classified thrusters, cold gas systems are the most popular due to their simplicity and ease of operation. This shows a general lack of manoeuvrability and agility within small satellites in orbit. The proposed C.O.N.E tool aims to bridge the gap between nanosatellite manufacturers and simple …

Feasibility Study Of Nofb Propulsion Systems For Multi-Altitude Earth Observation Missions, Jingeon Kim, Eunwoo Jung, Minwoo Lee

Small Satellite Conference

• Earth observation (EO) satellites represent the largest and fastest growing segment of the satellite industry ^[1].
• Higher imaging resolution can be achieved either by enlarging the optical system-which increases satellite dry mass-or by lowering operational altitude, where increased atmospheric drag demands continuous propulsive orbit maintenance^[2].
• At Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO), atmospheric drag increases significantly, requiring a dedicated propulsion system for sustained orbit maintenance.
• Hydrazine (N₂H₄) has been the conventional propellant choice, but its high toxicity incurs substantial handling costs, and its low vapor pressure necessitates a …

Project Minerva: High-Altitude Weather Balloon Cubesat Research Platform, Gannon English, Gabrielle Guirguis, Jose Murphy, Lena Wang, Ethan Yemm

Small Satellite Conference

Minerva is an undergraduate student-led high-altitude balloon (HAB) platform developed to provide repeatable, low-cost, and flight-proven testing of experimental payloads and communications systems in near-stratosphere environments. Originally an atmospheric data experiment, it has evolved into a modular testbed supporting missions for both internal research and external student organizations.

Multi-Satellite Optical Link Scheduling With Direct Nonlinear Attitude Planning, Leif Nelson, Yung-Jai Pomeroy, Daniel J. Garcia

Small Satellite Conference

The Problem:

Low Earth Orbit (LEO) constellations increasingly rely on Optical Inter-Satellite Links (OISL) to route data across dynamic satellite networks. As satellites move through their orbits, communications continuously change due to line-of-sight constraints, link quality variations, and spacecraft pointing limitations. Traditional routing approaches often consider network optimization separately from spacecraft attitude control, creating a disconnect between planned routes and physically achievable communication links. This work addresses the challenge of simultaneously generating communication routes while validating that satellites can physically point toward their assigned target. The result is an end-to-end framework that integrates network planning, optical link feasibility, and spacecraft …

Tracking Assembly For The Pulse-A Optical Ground Station, Rodrigo Spinola E Castro, Ashley Ashiku, Elizabeth Rosario, Juan Ignacio Prieto Asbun, Robert Pitu, Tian Zhong

Small Satellite Conference

PULSE-A is the University of Chicago’s student-led 3U CubeSat mission to demonstrate a space-to-ground optical downlink at a data rate of 1 to 10 Mbps using circular polarization shift keying (CPolSK).

A Cubesat-Based Data Collection Architecture For The Catarina Constellation: Complementing Legacy Brazilian Data Collection System With Lora, Vitória Beatriz Bianchin, Carlos Augusto Porto Freitas, João Cláudio Elsen Barcellos, Gabriel Mariano Marcelino, Talita Sauter Possamai, Eduardo Augusto Bezerra

Small Satellite Conference

• The Catarina Constellation is a Brazilian CubeSat initiative created to enhance environmental monitoring and satellite-based environmental data collection across Brazil.
• The project was named after Hurricane Catarina (2004), the first recorded hurricane in the South Atlantic, which exposed the need for improved space-based monitoring of extreme weather events.
• The constellation aims to expand the Brazilian Satellite Data Collection System (SBCD) by evaluating new communication technologies, enabling a gradual modernization of the country’s environmental monitoring infrastructure.

Cubesats For Climate Change Monitoring (C3m): Demonstrating Interferometric Ir Payloads Scalable To Constellations, Miguel Nunes, Paul Lucey, Noah Thompson, Jharrell Sim, Samantha Mallari, Dennis Sarsozo Jr., Junjie Huang, Jaycee Hasegawa, Mari Murillo

Small Satellite Conference

• Project Objective: Develop a compact, low-power IR spectrometer for a modular 1U CubeSat.
• Mission Motivation: Enable timely monitoring of climate hazards, wildfires, volcanic activity, and greenhouse gases.
• Core Demonstration: Validated end-to-end integration and operation of a thermal IR payload on the Artemis CubeSat Kit.
• Constellation Vision: Establish a scalable, low-cost architecture for high-revisit climate monitoring.

Experimental And Analytical Investigation Of Low-Power Resistojet Performance For Small Satellites, Ryan Mcpherson, Daniel Kichma, Nathan Paes, Benoit Larouche, Robert E. Zee

Small Satellite Conference

• Small satellite missions increasingly require propulsion systems that can deliver meaningful maneuverability within tight limits on mass, volume, and power.
• Water resistojet thrusters are attractive for this class of spacecraft because they are simple, nontoxic, and compatible with typical small satellite power budgets, but achieving efficient performance at low power remains challenging.
• This work addresses that gap through coupled thermo-fluid modeling, parametric trade studies, and experimental characterization of low-power water resistojet prototypes using a low-cost vacuum testbed. 

Power Simulation Framework For Korucusat-2 Using Freeflyer, Sahil Singh, Annabel Rong, Mukund Karthikeyan

Small Satellite Conference

A FreeFlyer-based power simulation was developed for KORUCUSAT-2, a low Earth orbit CubeSat designed to monitor silicon-anode battery behavior in space. The spacecraft model uses body-mounted solar panels with five modules on each of the +X, -X, +Y, and -Y faces. The simulation integrates orbital propagation, Earth shadowing, Sun-incidence angle, ground-station visibility, mode-dependent subsystem loads, and battery-state propagation to estimate electrical margin. Battery watt-hours and normalized state of charge are updated at each 30 s step so that critical, low-power, operations, and transmission modes can be evaluated against stored-energy limits. The framework provides a traceable prelaunch test bench for power-system …