Digital Commons Network^™

Deployable Diffractive Optical Elements For Small Satellite Lidar Missions, Adam Bahlous-Boldi, Leila Freitag, Amber Cooper, Mary Dahl, Afreen Siddiqi, John Leckey, Kerri Cahoy

Small Satellite Conference

SPECIES (Smart Polyimide Expandable Collector to enable Investigations for Earth Science) is a NASA Earth Science Technology Office (ESTO) project that explores the use of a deployable diffractive optical element (DOE) in a space-based lidar instrument for a 12–24U CubeSat operating in low Earth orbit (LEO). The DOE, a 0.6-meter hybrid multi-level Fresnel zone plate, is made using a tessellation of hexagonal molds, each with a unique number of diffractive levels. It is stowed for launch and deployed on orbit using a 3 meter long extendible boom, which positions the optic at the correct distance from the spacecraft, while guy …

Pulse-A Mission Overview: Optical Communications For Undergraduate Students, Logan Hanssler, Seth Knights, Graydon Schulze-Kalt, Juan Ignacio Prieto Asbun, Robert Pitu, Lauren Ayala, Rohan Gupta, Vincent Redwine, Spencer Shelton, Catherine Todd, Maya Mcdaniel, Sofia Mansilla, John Baird, Mason Mccormack, Leah Vashevko, Tian Zhong, Michael Lembeck

Small Satellite Conference

Recent advances in the size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements for space-based sensing have dramatically increased the demand for high-bandwidth downlink. However, high data rate RF transceivers still pose significant SWaP and cost restrictions, especially for university-class CubeSat missions. Optical communication may provide a solution to this challenge, enabling data transmission with order-of-magnitude rate increases over RF while being both secure and SWaP-efficient. The Polarization-modUlated Laser Satellite Experiment (PULSE-A) is a University of Chicago mission to demonstrate optical downlink at a data rate of up to 10 Mbps using circular polarization shift keying (CPolSK). PULSE-A comprises a <1.5U Optical Transmission Terminal, 3U CubeSat Bus, Optical Ground Station (OGS) employing an amateur telescope, and RF Ground Station (RFGS), all of which are being designed and integrated by a team of over 60 undergraduate students. The mission objective is threefold: (1) to provide hands-on educational experiences for undergraduate students, (2) to make hardware for optical communication systems more accessible via open-source design, and (3) to explore the viability and potential advantages of using CPolSK for optical downlink.

PULSE-A serves an …

Pulse-A Mission Overview: Optical Communications For Undergraduate Students, Logan Hanssler, Seth Knights, Graydon Schulze-Kalt, Juan Ignacio Prieto Asbun, Robert Pitu, Lauren Ayala, Rohan Gupta, Vincent Redwine, Spencer Shelton, Catherine Todd, Maya Mcdaniel, Sofia Mansilla, John Baird, Mason Mccormack, Leah Vashevko, Tian Zhong, Michael Lembeck

Small Satellite Conference

Recent advances in the size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements for space-based sensing have dramatically increased the demand for high-bandwidth downlink. However, high data rate RF transceivers still pose significant SWaP and cost restrictions, especially for university-class CubeSat missions. Optical communication may provide a solution to this challenge, enabling data transmission with order-of-magnitude rate increases over RF while being both secure and SWaP-efficient. The Polarization-modUlated Laser Satellite Experiment (PULSE-A) is a University of Chicago mission to demonstrate optical downlink at a data rate of up to 10 Mbps using circular polarization shift keying (CPolSK). PULSE-A comprises a < 1.5U Optical Transmission Terminal, 3U CubeSat Bus, Optical Ground Station (OGS) employing an amateur telescope, and RF Ground Station (RFGS), all of which are being designed and integrated by a team of over 60 undergraduate students. The mission objective is threefold: (1) to provide hands-on educational experiences for undergraduate students, (2) to make hardware for optical communication systems more accessible via open-source design, and (3) to explore the viability and potential advantages of using CPolSK for optical downlink.

PULSE-A serves an …

A Proposed Process To Define And Collect Project Information For Cost Estimation Of Cubesat Platforms, Ana Carolina Di Iorio Jeronymo, Lidia Hissae Shibuya Sato, Renan Guilherme Soares Menezes, Felipe Oliveira Tavares, Maria Eduarda Mora Camino-Priante, Luís Eduardo Vergueiro Loures Da Costa

Small Satellite Conference

Cost estimation is a key element in the planning and execution of CubeSat mission, as it helps ensure that resources are used efficiently and that mission objectives remain aligned with technical and operational constraints. A solid technical baseline - one that clearly describes the system’s characteristics - is essential for developing reliable cost estimates and for establishing a shared understanding of the project among stakeholders. This paper presents the cost estimation process used at the ITA Space Center for CubeSat platforms. The method follows a structured, eight-step approach adapted from NASA and ESA standards. The steps begin with receiving the …

A Proposed Process To Define And Collect Project Information For Cost Estimation Of Cubesat Platforms, Ana Carolina Di Iorio Jeronymo, Lidia Hissae Shibuya Sato, Renan Guilherme Soares Menezes, Felipe Oliveira Tavares, Maria Eduarda Mora Camino-Priante, Luís Eduardo Vergueiro Loures Da Costa

Small Satellite Conference

Cost estimation is a key element in the planning and execution of CubeSat mission, as it helps ensure that resources are used efficiently and that mission objectives remain aligned with technical and operational constraints. A solid technical baseline - one that clearly describes the system’s characteristics - is essential for developing reliable cost estimates and for establishing a shared understanding of the project among stakeholders. This paper presents the cost estimation process used at the ITA Space Center for CubeSat platforms. The method follows a structured, eight-step approach adapted from NASA and ESA standards. The steps begin with receiving the …

Launch Support: Managing Complementor Bottlenecks In The Disruptive Innovation Of Small Satellites, Yue Song, Yue Maggie Zhou

Small Satellite Conference

Small satellites represent a disruptive innovation that significantly reduces the time and cost of satellite production and launch. Despite the large number of small satellites launched today, initially, they were viewed as “second-class launch citizens,” with incumbent large-rocket companies resisting launching them. This paper examines how small-satellite manufacturers overcame this resistance before establishing their dedicated small-satellite ecosystem. We identify the adjustment costs that caused resistance from large-rocket companies and examine two specific strategies implemented by disruptors—technological standardization and forward integration—to mitigate these costs and gain support from large-rocket companies.

Novel Solutions For Cubecat Attitude Determination And Control Systems Using Pcb Magnetorquers And Low Power Control Solutions, Weston Willardson, Eero Ward, Harrison Thomas, Michael Evans, Michael Williams, Sarahi Oretga-Duran, W. Seth Nelson, David Long

Small Satellite Conference

Satellite attitude determination and control systems (ADCS) can be large, heavy, and expensive relative to a CubeSat’s size, weight, and cost requirements. We have developed a compact, low-mass, inexpensive ADCS prototype suitable for a student-class 1U CubeSat. We utilize three enabling technologies to reduce size, weight, and power (SWaP): 3-axis low-profile printed circuit board (PCB) magnetorquers, a basic sensor package, and computationally efficient control. The PCB magnetorquers are mounted on the exterior of the CubeSat frame to conserve internal volume for spacecraft electronics and payload. Attitude is determined by infrared horizon sensors and a magnetometer. The control algorithms utilize computer …

Development Of A Tool For Planning Fuel-Optimized Collision Avoidance Maneuvers, Saksham Jain

Small Satellite Conference

The need for collision avoidance maneuvers is expected to rise due to growing congestion in low-Earth orbit. This paper presents the development of a tool to automate the generation of collision avoidance maneuvers in response to conjunction events. The tool presented has allowed the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) to eliminate concerns associated with human error, while concurrently addressing the expected increase in the need for these maneuvers without needing to impose any additional burden on flight dynamics engineers. The automation of this task has reduced the hands-on time required by over 80% when compared to the pre-existing workflow.

If the …

Hardware In The Loop Simulation For Commercial Off The Shelf Sensor Qualification In Small Satellite Rendezvous And Proximity Operations, Esme Kovács, Bartłomiej Koszek

Small Satellite Conference

This paper presents a hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) simulation framework designed for the rapid evaluation and qualification of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) sensors in small satellite Rendezvous and Proximity Operations (RPO). The proposed system supports 2U to 6U CubeSat platforms and enables subsystem-level testing by integrating a real-time mechanical simulator with a software-defined dynamic environment. The setup replicates target satellite motion using a custom 3-DOF rig driven by stepper motors and supports configurable sensor parameters, motion profiles, and automated parameter sweeps. A Microsoft Kinect v2 sensor captures RGB, IR, and depth data, enabling multi-spectral evaluation under varied illumination and material reflectivity conditions. Preliminary …

Cubesat-Compatible Q/V Band Phased Array Antenna Design For High-Bandwidth Mmwave Inter-Satellite Communications For Scalable Leo Satellite Constellations, Lucien Hammond, Rachel Swan

Small Satellite Conference

As instruments and payloads aboard satellites increasingly demand higher data rates to fulfill scientific objectives, the shift by industry and governments toward small satellite platforms necessitates high-performance communication systems tailored to these compact designs. With the growing use cases for multi-agent satellite constellations, particularly in Low Earth Orbit (LEO), frequency band congestion remains a critical challenge. To address this spectrum scarcity and enable adaptive, inter-satellite communication for multi-agent satellite constellations, this paper explores the design of a Q/V band patch antenna array to enable adaptive beamforming, high data rate inter-satellite communication for scalable satellite constellations. The use of millimeter wave …

Compact And Cost-Effective Solar Array Drive Mechanisms To Enable High-Performance Small Satellites, Benjamin Nero, Jeremy Hawke

Small Satellite Conference

To enhance spacecraft power generation, deployable solar arrays are often used to increase the surface area available for solar cells. To maximize their effectiveness, a solar array drive mechanism (SADM) can be implemented, allowing independent array rotation from the spacecraft body. This capability is particularly valuable for Earth observation and target-tracking missions, where it enables continuous power generation despite spacecraft orientation limitations. This paper presents the design, analysis, and qualification testing of two low-cost SADMs: the SolarDrive-μ for microsatellites and the SolarDrive-S for small satellites. Each SADM consists of two primary elements—the drivetrain and the twist capsule—both designed with commercial …

Space Payload For Inertial De-Spin Efficient Effects (Spidee) For Reusable On-Orbit Attachment, Kailia Crowder, David Smith, Raefa Malik, Adam Orris, Simon Lee, Victor Agüero

Small Satellite Conference

The Space Payload for Inertial De-spin Efficient Effects (SPIDEE) is an electroadhesion-based general purpose in-space attachment payload ideally suited for docking, augmentation, mobility, and in-space assembly missions that does not require pre-preparation of the attachment surface.

Built around eTAP^TM (electrical Thin Attachment Pad), SPIDEE supports missions to attach to, detumble, and provide space mobility to defunct satellites and/or rocket bodies. eTAP's low power, reusability, and flexibility make it ideal as an all-purpose attachment and docking technology for the upcoming space challenge of reducing, reusing, and recycling in-orbit debris and/or assets. eTAP adheres to virtually all materials that are used …

A Ground System Framework For Operating Satellites In Very Low Earth Orbit, Kashyapa Naren Athreyas, Bryden Cho, Xiaohua Zhang, Wee Seng Lim

Small Satellite Conference

In the space industry, the space-segment and ground-segment work in tandem to effectively and safely control satellites, execute its intended missions, and obtain meaningful data. In recent years, the space industry has been exploring Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) for the following advantages: (a) reduced satellite traffic, (b) increased revisit frequency, (c) shorter communication distances, and (d) closer Earth observation points. However, the exponential increase in atmospheric density and gravitational forces, combined with shorter operational response times to critical events, poses significant challenges for satellite operations. While satellite design should ensure appropriate system sizing and requirements to address these issues …

Attitude Control Of A Floating Satellite (Floatsat) Via Deep Reinforcement Learning, Muhammad Faisal, Dennis Reimer, Sergio Montenegro

Small Satellite Conference

In this work, attitude determination and control (ADC) of a Floating–Satellite(FloatSat)1 through artificial intelligence is proposed. More specifically, Deep Reinforcement Learning (DRL) will be used to generate an optimal control policy for small satellites. This project evaluated an attitude control policy based on deep reinforcement learning using stable–baseline3 (a library which implements the DRL algorithms in PyTorch).² This Artificially intelligent attitude control was realized for a one-dimensional laboratory-based satellite, which is specifically designed to train the students for satellites and their subsystems.

Chantsat-1 Ground Station Planning, Design And Installation - Experiences Gained, Ian Hewitt, Jean French, George Hitt

Small Satellite Conference

Planning, designing, and implementing the ground station for ChantSat-1, Coastal Carolina University’s first small sat mission program, was the first major milestone of the University’s space program. CCU’s ChantSat-1 ground station team presents the experiences gained during the process from inception to completion of the ground station at a liberal arts public University in the southeastern United States with approximately 11,000 students. By sharing both our challenges and successes, our goal is to support others by providing experiences gained in the process.

Efficiency Starts With Lifecycle Planning, Management, And Right-Sizing Process, Brian Simms

Small Satellite Conference

When a program starts, there's a tendency for management or leadership to want to get things moving, to get going, to start doing things. It makes a lot of sense to push forward, but only if everybody understands what "doing things" means. A lot of the time, there's a lack of initial process or clarity about where in a specific process we're starting. Sometimes goals, expectations, and processes don’t reach every member of the team.

In a time when efficiency is being leveraged as a weapon to defund existing efforts, all programs are immediately operating at risk. Programs desperately require …

Hard Disk Drive Reaction Wheel System For Cubesat Architecture, Nidhi Sonwalkar, Venkata Chalamalasetty, Dionna Parina, Parishee Bajaj

Small Satellite Conference

Small satellites have become prevalent within the aerospace industry due to their ability to provide an inexpensive and easily accessible platform for technology demonstrations. Reaction wheels are typically selected for these missions’ attitude and rate control due to their small form factor. Their downside, however, is high cost, upwards of thousands of dollars, which does not align well with the low budget of many small satellites. To address this issue, alternative momentum-actuator technologies can be implemented that, similar to traditional reaction wheels, impart torques for actuation but require much less mass, volume, power, and money. This manuscript discusses the implementation …

Leo Catalog Quality Monitoring For Live Operations And Mission Analysis, Lois Reid, Sam Johnson

Small Satellite Conference

Poster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference.

Optical Telescope Paradigms For High-Performance Cost-Effective Smallsats, Tony Hull, Janina Krieg, Florian Gollier, Dustin Ruth, Thomas Westerhoff, Ralf Jedamsik

Small Satellite Conference

ZERODUR®’s supreme thermo-mechanical stability is enabling for high-performance telescopes, including mirror substrates and even the precision metering structure. For on-orbit high-resolution SmallSat telescopes, tight dimensional control may be passively maintained, even while experiencing continuously changing Solar and Earth thermal view factors. This stability is a vast improvement over implementation in alternate materials like aluminum. ZERODUR®’s thermal and strength characteristics are comprehensively described via ~ 100 scientific publications. Innate stability, decades of spaceborne heritage and expert machining and lightweighting from SCHOTT offers special ZERODUR® cost-effective solutions for SmallSat Telescope Design-to-Cost paradigms, even for constellation level implementation. The latest information for such …

Apophis Cratering Experiment Mission Concept, Ethan Kayser, Tyler Presser, Cristyn Merry, Matthew Givens, Kevin Walsh, Viliam Klein

Small Satellite Conference

Apophis is set to become one of the most extensively studied asteroids in history thanks to the detailed observation campaign of OSIRIS-APEX during its 2029 and 2030 extended mission to the near-Earth object, alongside Ramses which is expected to launch in 2028. To supplement those missions, we propose the Apophis Cratering Experiment (ACE), an impactor mission that leverages OSIRIS-APEX or Ramses as a dedicated observer, during and after the collision, to maximize scientific return at a low cost. In addition to providing significant science return, the mission offers a low-cost opportunity to demonstrate novel SmallSat technologies in deep …

Building Europe’S First Isam Facility – From Concept To Delivery In 12 Months, Mark Heelis, Dimitris Xydas, Alex Goodhand, Jeremy Hadall, Elanor Barber, Rupesh Chudasama, Olivia Markham, Michael Curtis-Rouse

Small Satellite Conference

Poster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference.

Next-Generation Earth Observation: Agile Satellites With Cmg Cluster For Enhanced Coverage, Andrea Coco, Simon Debois

Small Satellite Conference

The rapid growth of Earth observation demands cost-effective strategies, such as integrating COTS components and accelerating deployment. A key factor in mission efficiency is spacecraft agility, which enables faster reorientation, improved target tracking, and optimized data collection. A game-changing advancement is the revival of Control Moment Gyroscopes (CMGs) as cost-effective, high-performance actuators. Once constrained by high costs, recent manufacturing innovations and new providers have made CMGs more accessible. With superior torque efficiency and capability, CMGs greatly enhance agility, enabling faster reorientation and improved data collection compared to conventional reaction wheels. This paper presents a comparative case study demonstrating the advantages …

Optimizing Ground Station Communications Using Multiple Spacecraft Per Aperture In A Ground Segment As A Service Framework, Stefan Vlad Tudor, Giovanni Zanotti

Small Satellite Conference

The increasing deployment of satellite clusters in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) presents new challenges and opportunities for satellite communications, particularly from a Ground Segment perspective. This paper investigates efficient management of multiple ground contacts, in the Ground Segment as a Service context, by leveraging on Multiple Spacecraft Per Aperture (MSPA) technique to maximize connectivity by sharing ground resources to multiple satellites simultaneously.

MSPA is particularly valuable for handling multiple spacecraft in close proximity, such as during the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP) of rideshare missions, all being supported by same ground segment infrastructure. By enabling simultaneous downlinks through a …

Chantsat-1: A First-Time University's Experience In Small Satellite Development, George Hitt, Jean French, Juliana Harding, Ian Hewitt, Louis Keiner, Michael Woodle

Small Satellite Conference

ChantSat-1, Coastal Carolina University (CCU) High Altitude Nadir-pointing Satellite-1, is the first smallsat mission envisioned by our primarily undergraduate university. Capacity development to support mission planning over 18 months has integrated a range of interdisciplinary stakeholders while capturing the attention and imagination of students. The mission’s primary payload will be a multispectral camera for remote sensing of South Carolina’s coastal blackwater rivers, estuaries, and adjacent ocean shelf waters. The resulting coastal habitat mosaic supports ecologically important food webs and related economic and cultural engines of regional growth, while being uniquely vulnerable to the combination of natural episodic climate-related events combined …

Orbitcare: A Universal Autonomous In-Orbit Platform For Manufacturing, Servicing, And Debris Mitigation, Rohan Chandratre, Vishish Behera, Anushree Manwatkar, Aruma Kushwaha, Sneha Gayen

Small Satellite Conference

OrbitCare is a proposed orbital infrastructure enabling scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective in-space servicing, manufacturing, and assembly through a modular system architecture comprising an Orbital Manufacturing Hub (OMH) and a fleet of free-flying WorkSat servicing satellites, all integrated via a standardized Servicing Interface Standard (SIS). This paper presents the technical architecture, subsystem design, trade studies, use cases, and development roadmap for OrbitCare. The motivation stems from the current lack of persistent infrastructure in orbit, which renders satellites single-use assets with limited repair or upgrade capabilities. OrbitCare addresses this by combining a permanent hub with reusable robotic satellites to extend spacecraft lifespans, …

Small Satellites, Big Impact: Advancing Space Innovation From Earth To Orbit With The Catapult’S Isam Test Facility, Dimitris Xydas, Oliver Knappett, Lewis Gray, Alex Goodhand, Jeremy Hadall, Michael Curtis-Rouse

Small Satellite Conference

The In-orbit Servicing Assembly & Manufacturing (ISAM) Test Facility at Westcott, UK is a testbed providing realistic environmental conditions for orbital operations here on Earth, with the primary objective of accelerating the readiness level of emerging ISAM technologies and reducing the time to market for commercial space systems. As a result of continuous feedback from campaigns, the Facility has seen recent upgrades to both infrastructure and capabilities, which has created a unique operational environment that acts as an enabler for space activities in the UK and internationally. Moreover, as a constantly evolving system, it is uniquely positioned to adapt to …

A Small-Satellite On-Orbit Optical And Thermal Calibrator, Paul D. Fucile

Small Satellite Conference

Imaging payload sensor calibrations are typically performed under laboratory conditions prior to launch and then routinely while on-orbit by using ground or astronomical based reference sources. With a trend towards autonomous operations, many machine-learning algorithms would benefit from having on-demand calibration across multiple detectors to better enable capabilities, for example using long wave infrared observations to identify and distinguish clouds from snow and ice. This subsequently would allow satellites to identify clouds confidently onboard, and downlink well defined clear images.

Presented are two technologies that provide a method for the direct on-orbit calibration of optical and thermal cameras used in …

Reaching Higher Orbit - A Quick Guide For Exploration Beyond Leo, John Carrico, Mike Loucks, Alisa Hawkins

Small Satellite Conference

Poster presented during the 2025 SmallSat Conference.

Modernizing Smallsat Mission Operations: Integrating Ai-Driven Optimization With Cloud-Native Control Systems, David Besson, Dax Garner

Small Satellite Conference

As the space industry experiences unprecedented growth in SmallSat constellation deployments, traditional mission control approaches face significant scalability and efficiency challenges. This paper presents a novel framework that integrates three cutting-edge technologies to revolutionize satellite mission operations: Cognitive Space’s CNTIENT.Optimize AI-powered decision engine, Yamcs open-source mission control software, and the Amazon Web Services (AWS) Cloud Mission Operations Center (CMOC) solution. As a representative simulation benchmark, the paper demonstrates the framework’s capabilities through mission simulations of the Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System (CYGNSS) SmallSat constellation. The integration leverages CNTIENT.Optimize’s advanced AI algorithms to automate complex scheduling decisions across proliferating homogenous or …

Afrl Validated Principles And Building Blocks Of Ground-Based Ops Automation, Tyler De Caussin, Jarred Langhals, Brandon Shirley, Lee Jasper

Small Satellite Conference

Over the past decade, AFRL's Small Satellite Portfolio (SSP) and Ops Cadre (RVES) branches have been operating small satellites with different bus providers to support diverse mission needs. Because the bus, payload and experimentation differ for every mission, and the ground segment has had the challenge of supporting the varying needs on a mission-by-mission basis. AFRL has been working to improve efficiency with which the ground segment supports those varying needs. One major emphasis has been on learning how to automate operations of such different missions. In an effort to standardize mission automation within the operations center, AFRL has developed …