Digital Commons Network^™

The Billion Dollar Surprise: How Solar Cycle 25 Cut Satellite Lifetimes In Leo, Scott Shambaugh

Small Satellite Conference

Solar Cycle 25 has run far stronger than the 2019 consensus forecast issued by the NOAA/NASA/ISES prediction panel, with densities in low Earth orbit from 2022-2026 holding at 2-3x the predicted levels. The cumulative drag impulse experienced by LEO satellites, which is the driving metric for propellant budgets and mission lifetimes, reached 5-6 standard deviations beyond the forecast’s stated uncertainty. This means that even operators who designed conservatively against the two-sigma worst case fell short of their drag budgets. This paper quantifies a lower bound on the economic cost of that misprediction.

Starting from the 13,704 payloads on-orbit below 800 …

Enabling Multi-Manifest Launch Agility For Responsive Space Access, Erik C. Mellquist, Akhil Gujral, Vinay Goyal, Jacob Rome, Randolph Kendall

Small Satellite Conference

The Aerospace Corporation in collaboration with the United States Space Force National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Program continues to make investments towards improving access to space by increasing launch responsiveness, resiliency, and agility. This includes a significant increase in the focus on launching multiple spacecraft on a single launch vehicle. These multi-manifest launches provide several benefits including cost efficiency, increased launch opportunities, diversification of risk, and improved access to space. Though there are many benefits associated with multi-manifest launches, the aggregation of multiple mission partners can increase complexity and schedule risk. One of the most significant complications with multi-manifest launches …

In-Orbit Demonstration Of Pbi Water Ion Thruster: Rapid Startup Capability For Small Satellite Missions, Yuichi Nakagawa, Kazuya Yaginuma

Small Satellite Conference

As small satellite constellations proliferate, the demand for safe, responsive propulsion systems has intensified to support agile orbital maneuvering. To address the lengthy startup downtimes of conventional systems, a 1U-class water-based ion thruster utilizing electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma generation was developed. This thruster is characterized by a drastically minimized Time-to-Thrust (TTT), which maximizes the operational window for primary payload activities. Extensive ground testing established a robust baseline, demonstrating a 99.9% ignition success rate across 2,476 automated firing cycles with a highly reproducible median TTT of 73 seconds. Ground validations also confirmed an operational lifespan supporting a total impulse exceeding …

Scaling Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy Operations With Simple Temporal Networks: Introducing Splinter, Michael Iatauro, Caleb Adams, Caroline Lassiter

Small Satellite Conference

The Absolute Time Sequence (ATS) is a well-established mechanism for high-level spacecraft control, executing commands at specific times. One weakness of ATSs is that the cost of making a change to the command sequence grows with the length of the sequence, and the cost paid is many repetitive-but-detailed changes to the timing of commands, which is error-prone.

This weakness becomes a liability when scaling up to spacecraft swarms or long ATS durations because any perturbation to the command sequence or schedule incurs significant cost. Fitting that cost within a small team or short sequence development timeline becomes a central challenge …

In-Orbit Demonstration Of The Vyom-2u: A Green Monopropellant-Based Propulsion System Onboard Isro's Pslv C60 Poem-4, Ashtesh Kumar, Tushar Jadav, Prashant Singh, Rajat Kumar, Sajo George, Sivakami S., Rohit Shanbhag, Neel Gharat, Shubham Singh, Henry Sam, Suman Vadla

Small Satellite Conference

Vyom 2U is a compact 2U green monopropellant propulsion system designed to deliver a total impulse of 1700 Ns. At Beginning-of-Life (BOL) conditions, corresponding to a tank pressure of 24 bar, the thruster can deliver up to 1.1 N with a specific impulse of approximately 250 s, while requiring a peak electrical power of 15 W. At an operating pressure of 14 bar, the propulsion system delivers a thrust of approximately 0.67 N with a specific impulse of about 238 s. This operating point was deliberately selected for in-orbit operations to maintain sub-newton thrust levels compatible with the attitude control …

Initial Flight Test Data Of The Duplex 6u Satellite And The Fppt And Mvp Thrusters, Conor Blount, Magdalena Parta, Chris Young, Andrew Woodruff, Brendan Schulz, Darren King, Curtis Woodruff, Iain Murphy, David Carroll

Small Satellite Conference

NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) funded CU Aerospace (CUA) to develop and fabricate the Dual Propulsion Experiment (DUPLEX) 6U CubeSat to perform an on-orbit mission demonstration of two new polymer fiber electric propulsion technologies developed by CUA using NASA Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) funding. Both new propulsion technologies have multiple advantages: they utilize no fluid propellant, no pressure vessel, no valves to clog or leak, and no toxic materials. The 1.7U fiber-fed pulsed plasma thruster (FPPT) uses spooled Teflon filament as its propellant, has extremely high total impulse ( > 29,000 N-s) with high specific impulse ( > 3,500 s), …

Enabling Earth Independent Navigation, Guidance And Control With The Autongc Flight Software Framework, Michael Romeo, Sun Hur-Diaz, Behnam Azimi, Sean Semper, Robert Pritchett, James Marshall, Liam Greenlee, Joseph Patton, Steven Slegel, Carl De Vries, Benjamin Leser, Andrew Liounis

Small Satellite Conference

autoNGC is a framework for enabling onboard autonomous Navigation, Guidance and Control. Encompassing flight software, ground system software, reference hardware platforms, and simulation/analysis tools, autoNGC is designed to be an end-to-end solution to enabling onboard navigation, guidance and control with minimal ground operator supervision.

Implemented as a suite of apps for NASA’s core Flight System (cFS), autoNGC is designed with a modular architecture, allowing it to be customized to meet the needs of nearly any mission. This modular architecture enables a high-degree of reusability, allowing autoNGC to be rapidly implemented on new missions.

autoNGC is built on Goddard-developed software products, …

From Estimation To Certainty: Enhancing Smallsat Constellation Replenishment Planning With Physics-Based Solar Forecasting, Scott W. Mcintosh, Katherine Monson, Carolyn Belle, Chris Habib, Brianna Aubin

Small Satellite Conference

Poster Presented at the 2026 Small Satellite Conference

First Generation Of Project A.S.P.I.R.E. – A 1u Cubesat Mission For Technology Demonstration And Student Involvement In New Zealand, Shuanghui Zhao, Shunxing Shi, Kristen Lian, Rose Peens-Hough, Arami Peens-Hough, Changrui Wang, Joowon Hwang, Jerry Sun, Edward Sun

Small Satellite Conference

MOTIVATION

A feasibility study conducted at an Auckland secondary school in December 2024 found strong interest in satellite-related learning. Following an outreach presentation, 63 students (Majority aged 15 - 18) completed a questionnaire, with an average interest rating of 4.86/5. The most popular subjects were Orbital Physics, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering, and Electrical Engineering (fig. 1).

Mission Orientated Flight Software Development: Cubestep, Tirth Thakkar, Howard Lee, Viren Kumar, Maranda Laws, Shridhi Seth, Marco Maggia, Navid Nakhjiri

Small Satellite Conference

Small satellite teams often develop flight software and mission operations separately, leading to software behaviors that drift out of sync with ground procedures. To fix this, we present a co-design approach that directly links mission goals and operational procedures to the onboard flight software architecture. Demonstrated on the CubeSTEP-Cerberus mission using NASA’s F′ framework and FreeRTOS, our system maps mission intent into five constrained software states (Initialization, Safe, Idle, Experiment, and Transmit) guarded by automated health checks. This co-design strategy ensures the spacecraft acts autonomously to preserve its goals while strictly maintaining operator control over critical decisions.

Modular, Scalable Electroadhesive Technology For Rapid Response Satellite Servicing And De-Orbit, Kalia Crowder, Victor Agüero

Small Satellite Conference

Building on previous surface attachment testing and a study of the Cambrian Works Space Payload for Inertial Despin Efficient Effects (SPIDEE) architecture carried out under AFRL support, this work presents a modular, scalable electroadhesive attachment architecture enabling rapid-response satellite servicing and de-orbit missions. Prior test and analysis campaigns provided quantified performance validation across the small satellite size range, from 3U CubeSats to ESPA-class platforms, demonstrating the scalability required for diverse time-critical servicing scenarios.

Testing validated performance under representative on-orbit conditions and dynamic scenarios. Attachment force measurements across spacecraft materials representing aluminum bus structures, composite panels, multi-layer insulation, and solar cells …

A Survey Of The State Of The Art In Multi-Spacecraft, Multi-Agent Swarms, Caleb Adams, Trey Smith, Aaron Woodard, Ellemieke Van Kints, Brian Kempa, Jeremy Frank

Small Satellite Conference

The Next-Generation Multi-Agent Swarm (NGS) Study conducted by NASA’s Ames Research Center for NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) has developed a comprehensive understanding of emerging multi-agent swarm capabilities for applications in cislunar and lunar space. This paper addresses specific shortfalls identified by STMD, including intelligent multi-agent constellations, autonomy, edge computation, position, navigation, and timing for small spacecraft, and small spacecraft propulsion. This paper surveys the current state of the art in technology areas relevant for the next-generation multi-agent swarm design. Our primary focus is on surveying relevant deployed space systems, supplemented with selective analysis of relevant proposed missions and …

Design, Qualification, And Implementation Of Modular Spacecraft Radio Testing Enclosures For Small Satellite Missions, Dexter Stewart

Small Satellite Conference

As small satellite missions evolve, spacecraft platforms increasingly integrate radio-frequency (RF) antennas to support telemetry, command, and inter-satellite communication links that must be verified following full system integration. Recent changes in launch site safety policy, most notably SpaceX’s ban on over-the-air (OTA) testing, have created a critical gap in the ability to qualify spacecraft communication systems during testing at the launch site. This paper presents the design, qualification, and implementation of modular RF containment enclosures, known as ’antenna hats’, developed to enable safe, non-OTA testing of fully integrated small satellites. The antenna hats are self-contained enclosures that interface directly with …

Development, Analysis, And Qualification Of A Hinge And Hdrm Assembly For Small Satellite Deployable Probes, Josh Taylor

Small Satellite Conference

Small satellites commonly utilize deployable systems to expand their space environment sensing and power generation capabilities. Sensing the space environment is required for certain missions, as it provides information about space weather events such as scintillation and solar flares. To accurately measure the space environment, the probes must be placed away from the spacecraft while in orbit. This paper presents the development, analysis, and qualification of a hinge and Hold-Down and Release Mechanism (HDRM) assembly for deployable space weather probes. These two mechanisms were developed as an assembly to be lightweight, compact, and reliable for deploying space weather probes. The …

Beyond Parametric Adaptation: Periodic Redesign For Reaction Wheel Degradation In Precision Pointing Cubesats, Bruno Ingrao

Small Satellite Conference

CubeSat missions increasingly require sustained science-grade precision pointing over long durations. Although sub-arcsecond line-of-sight (LoS) stability is achievable, maintaining this performance is challenged by nonlinear, speed-dependent, and time-varying reaction wheel behavior. As actuator degradation progresses from beginning-of-life (BOL) to end-of-life (EOL), model-plant mismatch can lead to significant pointing degradation and potential loss of mission capability. This work investigates the limitations of fixed-gain and parametric adaptive control under degraded actuator conditions and proposes a periodic identification and controller redesign framework. The approach detects persistent model mismatch using innovation-based consistency and performance metrics, triggers on-orbit identification, and updates the actuator model using …

Radma: Resource-Aware, Dynamic Deployment Of Ml Architectures On An Edge Tpu In Space, Robert Rathert

Small Satellite Conference

As the number of Space Vehicles (SVs) orbiting Earth grows, downlink bitrate bottlenecks necessitate a shift to Orbital Edge Computing (OEC). Size, Weight, and Power, and Cost (SWaP-C) limit onboard Machine Learning (ML) autonomy, and State-of-the-Art (SotA) systems deploy static ML models that do not adapt to dynamic orbit conditions. This work proposes and evaluates RADMA, a resource-aware framework that selects Neural Network (NN) models in response to changing latency and energy constraints. We quantify the performance of RADMA on an open-hardware picosatellite payload that hosts a Google Coral Edge Tensor Processing Unit (TPU). Orbit simulation and modeling predict processing …

Validated Lie Group Variational Integrator-Based Simulator For Passive Magnetic Attitude Control Of The Gasrats Cubesat, Truman T. Abbe

Small Satellite Conference

Passive magnetic attitude control (PMAC) systems are selected for integration in CubeSat designs on account of their simplicity and lack of power consumption. These systems function by simultaneously dissipating a satellite’s rotational kinetic energy as heat and orienting it according to the Earth’s magnetic field. This process is critical for establishing steady-state attitude, a stable rotational state required for conducting mission operations and enabling downlink to ground stations. Comprehensive attitude simulations are necessary for confirming the reliability of a PMAC system to provide timely attitude convergence for a wide range of deployment velocities and orientations. An attitude damping phase precedes …

Citizen Science As A Long-Term Environmental Baseline: Assessing Impacts Of A Small Dam Removal In Montana, Usa, Bethany Blakey, Natalie Bursztyn

Watershed Sciences Student Research

As dam removals increase in frequency across Europe and North America, most research has focused on the impact of larger dam removals, despite the removal of small dams being much more common. There are hundreds of small dams in Montana, USA, and this research investigates impacts on stream ecology and morphology using citizen science data collected over eight years spanning before and after a 2020 small dam removal in Rattlesnake Creek. We analyzed pebble count grain size distributions and aquatic macroinvertebrate biotic indices from 2017 to 2024 to assess changes in sediment transport and macroinvertebrate population as well as evaluate …

Spot: A Cubesat Mission For High-Resolution Monitorig Of Anthropogenic Sulfur Emissions, Carla Roesch, Colleen Golja, James Custer, Catherine Ember, Jerome Woodwark, Andrew Matheson, Joshua Vande Hey, Sonymol Vk, Steven Heer, Zixuan Gao, Tim Trent

Small Satellite Conference

Resolving individual industrial sources of SO₂ to constrain aerosol forcing — one of the largest remaining uncertainties in Earth's energy budget.

Comparative Analysis Of Reaction Wheels And Control Moment Gyroscopes For High-Capacity Orbital Data Centers In Sun-Pointing Mission Profiles, Chih Ta Wu, Po Hsun Yen, Jen Hao Cheng, Kai Kuo Liao, Shang Jung Lee

Small Satellite Conference

• Orbital data centers (ODCs) are moving from concept to near-term engineering: Starcloud (5 GW), Meta / Overview Energy (1 GW SSP), SpaceX (up to 1M-satellite FCC filing).
• Multi-kW to GW-class compute demands solar arrays of unprecedented scale → extreme inertia and disturbance torques.
• Can Reaction Wheels (RWs) vs Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) hold an ODC in a sun-nadir pointing profile?

Robust Learning-Based Guidance For Close Proximity Operation Scenarios, Luis Sanchez, Charlotte Crawshaw, Reuben Lynch, Natalia Bajnokova, Murray Ireland, Hazel Quibell, Callum Wilson, Lucy Donnell, Maura Allan, Kevin Worral, Matteo Ceriotti

Small Satellite Conference

ROC-ML is a European Space Agency (ESA) funded project led by Craft Prospect in collaboration with University of Glasgow. The project leverages Machine Learning (ML) approaches to augment the performance of robust motion planning in space applications. The developed method of spacecraft motion planning must be suitably computationally efficient to be deployed on low SWAP space hardware.

Toward Public Access To On-Orbit Propulsion Data From Equuleus: Preparing Real Flight Data For Community Use, Hiroyuki Koizumi, Isamu Moriai, Hokuto Sekine, Keita Nishii, Mariko Akiyama, Shintaro Nakajima, Yosuke Kawabata, Yasuho Ataka, Shunichiro Nomura, Ryota Fuse, Ryu Funase

Small Satellite Conference

EQUULEUS is a 6U lunar exploration CubeSat, jointly developed and operated by the University of Tokyo and the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA). It was launched in November 2022 by the Space Launch System (SLS) into a lunar transfer orbit and achieved insertion into a trajectory toward the Earth–Moon Lagrange region through multiple lunar flybys using its onboard water resistojet propulsion system AQUARIUS. The EQUULEUS primary mission is the demonstration of trajectory control technology in the Sun-Earth-Moon region for the first time by a nano-spacecraft.

Revisit Performance Analysis Of Narsha Microsatellite Constellation For Point-Source Ghg Monitoring, Jinyoung Shin, Geuk-Nam Kim, Taemin Kim, Jaemin Hong, Joohee Lee, Marcin Badowski, Seongwhan Lee

Small Satellite Conference

Although microsatellite missions under 100 kg have demonstrated advanced capabilities in detecting localized CO2 and CH4 emissions, the effectiveness of these systems hinges on their spatial and temporal coverage and observation validity under diverse environmental conditions.

Factors such as solar zenith angle (SZA), viewing zenith angle (VZA), surface albedo, weather, and source persistence influence their performance.

Against this background, this study evaluates the spatial and temporal coverage performance of microsatellite-based GHG observation systems through numerical simulations incorporating environmental and instrumental conditions.

A Stackable Multi-Mppt Power Architecture With Paralleled Inputs For Scalable Cubesat Solar Energy Harvesting, Muhammed Syedali N., Anamika A. Kamath, Nithin Krishnan S. S., Ashfaque K. P., Sijo George, Arun P., Jr-Chiun Roger Tsai, Tensae Ali, Jesmin Jose, Athira B. S.

Small Satellite Conference

In traditional CubeSat configurations, the Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) circuit acts as a critical single point of failure because all harvested solar energy is funneled through a single, non-redundant conversion stage. Consequently, the failure of this individual component completely blocks power delivery to the system, permanently stranding otherwise healthy solar arrays and batteries and causing catastrophic mission termination.

This work introduces a modular, stackable solar energy architecture that distributes power conditioning across multiple identical, autonomous modules connected to shared PV and battery buses. By relying purely on analog input-voltage regulation at a common operating point, it eliminates radiation-vulnerable digital …

Autongc Flight Opnav Experiment Results On Capstone, Andrew J. Liounis, Sun Hur-Diaz, Behnam Azimi, Nichalas L. Cason, Chris R. Gnam, Grant Hecht, Steven Z. Queen, Michael J. Romeo, Sean R. Semper, Nathan Stacey, Andrew Tennenbaum, Daniel G. Berdugo, Carl J. De Vries, Benjamin Leser, Anne Long, Liam A. Greenlee, Joseph W. Patton, Steven B. Slegel, Isaac R. Witte

Small Satellite Conference

Summary: We successfully demonstrated on-board automated optical navigation (OpNav) in a lunar near rectilinear halo orbit (NRHO) using images of the Moon, the Earth, and other solar system bodies, advancing the technology readiness level (TRL) of the autonomous guidance navigation and control (autoNGC) OpNav capabilities from 5 to 7.

Development Of Spacecraft Digital Twins For Flight Software Maintenance, Robert Klar

Small Satellite Conference

This research project developed a digital twin—a virtual representation of a physical spacecraft, including its components, interfaces, and communications. By leveraging the digital twin’s ability to be replicated, modified, and distributed efficiently, the project enhances capabilities in design, analysis, and optimization. It significantly reduces risk, cost, and development schedules for flight software by minimizing dependencies on hardware resources. The project was executed as a collaborative effort between the Intelligent Systems Division (10) and Space Systems Division (05).

Swap: An Ai-Enabled Cubesat For Low-Latency Space Weather Alerting, Miles H. Currie, Douglas Franz, Paul Kocyla, Omar Sharaf, Sarvesh Garimella

Small Satellite Conference

1 — Background

• Growing dependence on space-based assets (telecom, transport, grid, GPS) = growing space-weather exposure
• A Carrington-class storm today would mean cascading failures and losses in the trillions
• Current assets (e.g. GOES, ACE, DSCOVR) are excellent but large, costly, and with minutes to hours of alert latency from ground processing; weak coverage off the Earth–Sun line, where multi-point views could untangle the solar flare/SEP/ CME chain
• The Space Weather Alerting Platform (SWAP) concept mission (right) is a low-cost, 3U cubesat solution for proliferated solar monitoring with low-latency onboard AI alerting

Environmental Durability Of Silver Teflon Fep Thermal Control Tape Protected By A Sio2/Nicr Backcoat, Warren Su, Brian Phan

Small Satellite Conference

Silver Teflon® FEP thermal control tapes are widely used on small satellites due to their low solar absorptance and high infrared emittance. However, long-term operation in low Earth orbit (LEO) is often limited by degradation mechanisms associated with atomic oxygen (AO), ultraviolet (UV) radiation, and thermal cycling. In particular, silver–adhesive interactions and defect-mediated undercutting have been identified, based on results from NASA’s Long Duration Exposure Facility (LDEF) mission (5.7 years in LEO), as primary contributors to the increase in solar absorptance over mission life. This work investigates a SiO₂/NiCr protective backcoat film stack sputtered on top of the …

Lightweight Open Source On-Spacecraft Machine Learning With Mlpack And F Prime, Ryan R. Curtin, Scott M. Gilliland, Sterling L. Peet

Small Satellite Conference

Onboard machine learning is an increasingly important topic in spaceflight systems, as machine learning and AI models are increasingly used for data processing, anomaly detection, attitude control systems, and other predictive applications. However, successfully deploying a machine learning model in a spaceflight computing environment is fraught with difficulty, as spaceflight computing environments are low-resource, but typical machine learning software solutions are implemented in languages like Python, which require an interpreter and other heavyweight dependencies. It is therefore virtually mandatory for any on-spacecraft machine learning to be written with lightweight toolkits that minimize dependencies and resource usage.

We demonstrate a solution …

A Novel Deployable Telescope For Small Satellites Using Adaptive Optic Technology, William Hill, Harbinder Rana, Darren Jones, Trevor Wood, Zac Thomas, Thomas Lacy, Duncan Housden, Calum Meredith

Small Satellite Conference

SSTL has been developing a deployable telescope with funding from the UK Defence and Security Accelerator (DASA). The aim of the study was to design a telescope that could achieve higher resolutions in the visible spectrum while utilising a smaller launch volume. To achieve a cost-effective launch the deployable system has been sized such that it would fit within a representative SSTL platform in a SpaceX Falcon 9 small satellite launch volume. A monolithic system with equivalent performance would require a larger launch volume and, therefore, it is expected that a deployable telescope can secure an overall mission price advantage. …