Digital Commons Network^™

Optasat: An Open-Source, Flexible Software Framework For Small Satellite Operations, Thomas Murphy, Kerri Cahoy

Small Satellite Conference

This paper introduces the Open-source Python Tool for Awareness of Spacecraft and Analysis of Telemetry, or OPTASAT, software for spacecraft mission operations and planning. OPTASAT is modular and extensible, and incorporates multiple tools to contextualize spacecraft data. The increasing access to space is also growing the pool of spacecraft operators. There is a need for spacecraft operations tools that are open source and accessible. The best tools for modeling and understanding the situation of a satellite in space currently have high barriers to entry including cost, learning curves, and complex interfaces. Missions that cost over $100M and last for years …

Large Trees Promote Belowground Fungal Diversity, James A. Lutz, Joseph D. Birch

Wildland Resources Faculty Publications

Results of research in forest health and forest futures in Utah

Partnering For Success: New And Traditional Space Collaborate On Future Launch Vehicle, Nicole Jordan, Bretton Alexander

Small Satellite Conference

A partnership between Northrop Grumman (NG) and Firefly Aerospace that formed in 2022 to develop a new medium-class launch vehicle (MLV) is now bearing fruit, as engine testing advances and test, manufacturing, integration, and launch facilities are built new or improved. This technical paper describes how this partnership between a traditional aerospace and defense prime and an agile new space company benefits the nation by enabling greater access to space as activity increased in Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) and beyond.

Qualification Of 3d-Printed Titanium Volume-Optimized Propulsion Tanks For Small Satellites, Robert Fowler, Ryan Thibaudeau, Weston Allen, Twinkle Pandhi, Sid Raje, Matt Karesh, Stefka Petkova, Ryan Askew, Fernando Ferreira, Jake Schwartzman

Small Satellite Conference

The current state of the art for small satellite chemical propellant tanks is limited in design customization, is expensive, and is volumetrically inefficient within the cuboid volumes of small satellite buses. Space Dynamics Laboratory and Velo3D Inc. partnered to develop propulsion tank technology that solves these challenges using metal additive manufacturing (AM). We designed, analyzed, built, heat-treated, post-machined, precision cleaned, and qualification tested a titanium 6A14V volume-optimized 3D-printed propulsion tank with an integral printed propellant management device (PMD). They are rated for a maximum expected operating pressure of 400 psi. These tanks are 3D-printed in the desired cuboid mission geometries …

Solar Array Membrane Prototype For The Opens-0 Small Saturn Probe, Masanori Matsushita, Osamu Mori, Yasuyuki Miyazaki, Yasutaka Satou, Yuki Kubo, Ahmed Kiyoshi Sugihara, Tetsuya Kusumoto, Naoya Ozaki, Hajime Yano, Ryu Funase, Nobukatsu Okuizumi, Akihito Watanabe, Toshiyuki Hori, Hiroaki Ito, Yoshihiko Katsuyama, Minoru Tabata, Minoru Kurose, Hiroyuki Ono, Hiroaki Yoneda, Yoshiki Sugawara

Small Satellite Conference

The Institute of Space and Astronautical Science at Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency is actively engaged in the research and development of a cutting-edge lightweight deployable solar array paddle, called solar array membrane. This technology is specifically designed for small satellites, with a particular focus on the OPENS-0 small probe for the Saturn flyby engineering demonstration. This paper provides the current status of the development of the full-scale prototype for the 9 m² solar array membrane.

Edge Node: A Multi-User Rendezvous And Proximity Operations On-Orbit Testbed, Darren Rowen, Joel Rivera, Susan Lui, Joseph Gangestad, Alex Gallenberger, Binh Dinh, Phaedrus Leeds, Noah Weiner, Rudd Johnson, Christopher Day, Alexander Christidis

Small Satellite Conference

Edge Node is a multi-small satellite free-flying, collaborative testbed for formation flight and rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) under development by The Aerospace Corporation that is planned for launch in 2026- 2027. Edge Node will develop and advance local space situational awareness sensors for CubeSat-scale platforms and facilitate the development and qualification of autonomous on-board RPO software for CubeSats. Edge Node is intended to serve as a multi-user on-orbit facility through which technologies and algorithms can be tested and validated in the authentic operational low Earth orbital environment. Edge Node leverages recent advances in miniature sensor and computing hardware for …

From Design To Orbit: Engineering Sub-Arcsecond Cubesat Pointing Performance On Pathfinder-3, Paaras S. Agrawal, Christian O. Fuller, Kyle R. Kung, Jeremiah J. Dimatteo

Small Satellite Conference

Pathfinder-3 (PTD-3) spacecraft is the third vehicle of the NASA Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator (PTD) series, which are a collection of 6U CubeSats launched in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to demonstrate innovative payload capabilities. The payloads are hosted on commercially developed satellites designed and manufactured by Terran Orbital Corporation (TOC) with a goal to support a wide array of technology demonstration missions through a flexible architecture that can be tailored for custom needs. PTD-3 hosts a high data rate laser communications payload that does not include its own pointing acquisition and control system, and, therefore, is dependent on accurate bus pointing …

Characterizing A Chip Scale Atomic Clock In Low Earth Orbit, Mikaela Dobbin, Austin Hunter, William Gravel, Conner Parker, Penina Axelrad

Small Satellite Conference

The University of Colorado Boulder has developed an experiment to characterize the behavior of a chip-scale atomic clock (CSAC) in space, conducted on the MAXWELL CubeSat mission. This experiment integrates a CSAC as an external oscillator to the onboard GPS receiver, enabling clock characterization through real-time estimates of clock bias, GPS pseudorange, and carrier phase measurements. These data will demonstrate the CSAC's short and long-term stability and its sensitivity to the space environment.

This paper evaluates the observation of CSAC performance using GPS within the constraints of the MAXWELL mission. The results, derived from tests with realistic orbit and spacecraft …

Characterisation Of Satcom Networks For Rapid Message Delivery: Early In-Orbit Results, Robert Mearns, Airlie Chapman, Michele Trenti

Small Satellite Conference

Traditional nanosatellite communication links rely on infrequent ground-station access windows. While this is well suited to both payload data and detailed scheduling information, it leads to both intermittent and short communication windows. The resulting long periods without contact are ill-suited for both opportunistic tasking of satellites and triggers generated by autonomous operations. Existing orbital infrastructure in the form of satellite communication (SATCOM) networks, such as Iridium and others provide a readily available and cost effective solution to this problem. While these networks continue to be utilized onboard nanosatellites, a full characterization of their utility and performance in-orbit is vital to …

A Fresh Look At Blended Array Acs, Simon Debois

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Small Satellites For Responsive Space: Tactical, Operational, Strategic Aspects, Matthias Mück

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Waratah Seed-1: Australia's First Commercial Ride Share Satellite, Xueliang Bai, Patrick Oppel, Iver H. Cairns, Xiaofeng Wu, Youngho Eun, Andrew G. Dempster, Ignatius Bramananditya Rivaldi, Nick S. Bennett, Roger Kermode, Laryssa S. Raffa, Mohammad Arqam, Matt Ryall, Anita Ho-Baillie, Laura Granados Caro, Shi Tang, Md Arafat Mahmud, Taofiq Huq, James Buttenshaw, Peter Toth, Gavin Conibeer, Brian Lim, Harindi Perara, Abishek Shrestha, Quinn Musulin, Bohan Deng, Zihao Wang, Anne Bettens, E. Cetin, Timothy L. Parsons, Jason Held

Small Satellite Conference

In this paper, we report on a 6U CubeSat named Waratah Seed-1, designed by the ARC Training Centre for CubeSats, UAVs, and their Applications (CUAVA) and partners under the Waratah Seed project. Waratah Seed is a pilot Space Qualification Mission initiated under the NSW Government's Space Industry Development Strategy with partial funding from Investment NSW. The goal of the mission is to allow NSW and Australian space industry groups to test their technology in space by flying on a 6U ride-share CubeSat. This project is the first of its kind in Australia, allowing space-tech start-ups and other groups to access …

"U-Space: When Space Meet Automation & Serial Production", Cyril Brotons

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Math Is Instrumental: An Analysis Of Multi-Decade Space Flight Science Instrument Cost Performance, Rachel Sholder, Eric Plumer, Joseph Mrozinski

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Scaling Ground Networks Through Automated Operations, Hallvard Sælthun

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Beavercube Ii: Using Ai-Optimized Processors On Earth-Observing Cubesats For Autonomous Image Analysis And Intelligent Data Handling, Adam Bahlous-Boldi, Celvi Lisy, Neelambar Mondal, Brianna Ferro, Shreeyam Kacker, Mary Dahl, Madeline Anderson, Kerri Cahoy

Small Satellite Conference

The mission goal of BeaverCube II is to demonstrate autonomous on-orbit image processing and classification using the Xilinx Versal System-On-Chip (SOC). The Versal has 400 dedicated AI engines on an FPGA-based platform, enabling compute-intensive machine learning capabilities. While the Versal can consume over 100 W of power, BeaverCube II will demonstrate its on-orbit function in a low-power, size-constrained system. The system will use machine learning algorithms such as K-means clustering to autonomously assess whether features or changes of interest are present across keyframes.

BeaverCube II has a 1U imaging payload consisting of three Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) cameras: two identical visible …

A Building Block Approach To Satellites And Its Impact On Changes In Late Ai&T Athena – A Case Study, Kory J. Priestley, William Crandall, Talbot Jaeger

Small Satellite Conference

The Space Force, NASA, and NOAA partnered to fly the pathfinder Athena climate-change mission using NovaWurks’ building block approach to demonstrate a new way to build and fly sensorcraft. This mission to measure Earth Radiation Budget was originally planned for launch in 2023 on a LauncherOne rideshare. Due to cessation of Virgin Orbit launch operations, Athena was shifted to a Falcon 9 with a different LTAN. The change from 1300 to 1800 in a sun-synchronous LEO orbit dramatically impacts the solar illumination of the satellite and frequency/duration of eclipse, resulting in severely impacted CONOPS. NASA asked NovaWurks whether the vehicle …

Hera Cubesats Trajectory Design And Conops For Didymos Binary Asteroid Characterization, Pâmini Annat, Clément Beal, Julie Verniere, Aurélien Felin, Romain Pinede, Jean Jaubert, Aurélie Moussi, Sébastien Goulet

Small Satellite Conference

The Asteroid Impact Deflection Assessment (AIDA) mission, a collaborative effort for Planetary Defense, involves the DART and Hera spacecrafts targeting the Didymos-Dimorphos binary asteroid system. Their objectives include assessing asteroid deflection, conducting close observations, and demonstrating future mission technologies. DART, launched by NASA, impacted Dimorphos in September 2022. While Hera, an ESA spacecraft, carrying Juventas and Milani 6U-XL CubeSats, will be launch in October 2024 to reach the binary asteroid system after a two-year Cruise. Hera will arrive in December 2026 in order to characterize afterwards the result of the DART impact in terms of reshaping and deflection of Dimorphos. …

Laser Crosslink Experiment: A Mission Overview, Sean Stanko, Dan Frey, Jose Ruvalcaba, Sean Burk, Damian Klaren, Dmitriy Obukhov, Barry Tidmore, Jason Bousquet, David Wayne, Nathan Barnwell, Kevin Book, Stan Volchenok, David Sadowski, David Palmer

Small Satellite Conference

The Laser Crosslink Experiment (LaCE) is an ongoing optical communication campaign with ground, stratospheric, and orbital elements. The principal LaCE experiment is two 6U CubeSats, LaCE 1 and LaCE 2, which were launched to a shared sun-synchronous Low Earth Orbit (LEO) on March 4, 2024. LaCE was originally conceived in 2015 as an integration effort for a series of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) proposals. Its primary experiment is the Skylight laser terminal, an experimental optical communications device.

Due to the experimental nature of key subsystems, LaCE was expanded in 2020 from the initial small satellite mission to a hybrid …

Manufacturing In Microgravity And Sample Re-Entry Using A Commercial Rideshare Spacecraft Platform, Katie Gwozdecky, Karan Sarda

Small Satellite Conference

In 2021, Varda Space Industries contracted Rocket Lab USA to design, build, and operate four spacecraft to support an in-space manufacturing payloads inside of a commercial capsule and provide the capsule with a safe return to Earth. This mission was to be the first fully commercial controlled Earth re-entry and recovery of a space-based capsule. Four spacecraft, Winnebago-1 through -4, are to be built and launched on SpaceX Falcon-9 Transporter rideshare launches into sun-synchronous low Earth orbit. Each of these satellites feature Varda’s re-entry payload capsule which will demonstrate varied types of in-space capability from pharmaceutical crystal growth to use …

System Design For Small Satellites In Very Low Earth Orbit, Kashyapa Naren Athreyas, Anusha Banninthaya, Wee Seng Lim

Small Satellite Conference

In the recent years, the very low earth orbit (VLEO) mission concepts are getting popular owing to the advantages it brings. VLEO is considered to be below 400 km in general, and as the satellites orbit closer to the surface, the earth observation data can be more accurate than the data from LEO. The image resolution can be better for the same camera technology, the radio wave applications will experience lower ionospheric disturbances, and the scientific data collection in those altitudes can help to improve the atmospheric models. However, there a significant challenge in orbiting at such altitudes, which is …

The Framework Makes The Mission - An Analytical Comparison Of Two Popular Nasa Open Source Flight Software Framework Offerings, Sterling L. Peet, Scott M. Gilliland, Jeffrey S. Young

Small Satellite Conference

Selecting a flight software (FSW) framework is a critical part of starting the software development for a mission. Currently, there are two primary NASA-supported frameworks that might be considered as possible solutions: F Prime (F') and core Flight System (cFS). Both of these frameworks share similarities in their focus but differ in their design and assumptions of how an end user might utilize and extend them.

The evaluation and comparison of the discussed frameworks is based on two immersion visits with core development teams. To demonstrate each framework and to compare their implementations, the same two-wheeled robotic explorer reference mission …

Ma61c-Smallsat, Saish Sridharan, Ran Qedar

Small Satellite Conference

The Multipurpose Adapter Generic Interface Connector SmallSat (MA61C-SmallSat) adapter, developed by Space Products and Innovation (SPiN), supports nine interfaces on 28 ports, configuring 11 sensor and actuator groups. The intelligent MA61C-SmallSat is an intermediate layer between satellite electronic components and the onboard computer, facilitating seamless data routing and communication interface adaptation. It was developed for the modular Attitude Determination and Control System (mADCS) project, funded by the European Space Agency (ESA), which aims to create a versatile 'modular-ADCS' subsystem for small satellites. This system integrates the MA61C-SmallSat hardware board, boasting plug-and-play adaptive software for effortless integration and universal ADCS software. …

Software Configuration Management For Proliferated Leo Satellites, Alexandra Dukes, Clayton Snyder, Brett Booen

Small Satellite Conference

Our novel Software Configuration Management (SWCM) approach addresses common pain points using off-the-shelf tooling and industry best practices to enable greater speed and efficiency on high-volume small satellite production lines.

Assessment Of Generative Ai Tools To Enhance Software Development For Early-Stage Cubesat Design In A Resource-Limited Environment, Morokot Sakal

Small Satellite Conference

For developing countries, access to space is still limited due to a lack of expertise and resources. This study assesses the extent to which generative AI can augment software development for early-stage CubeSat design in a resource-limited environment. ChatGPT-4 was used to guide the software development process. To demonstrate its effectiveness, a case study involving the construction of an orbital simulator for predicting the mission lifetime of a CubeSat in LEO was conducted, comparing the AI-assisted software with baseline software previously developed by the team. The results demonstrate significant advantages in terms of development effort reduction, but also introduce challenges …

Eeetester: Development Of Cubesat Platform For Space Heritage Of Korean Manufactured Electrical, Electronics, And Electromechanical Part, Ki-Ho Kwon, Sanggoo Kim, Jungkyu Lee, Geuk-Nam Kim, Seongwhan Lee, Sang-Uk Han

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

A Low-Cost, Hardware-In-The-Loop Simulator Facilitating Cubesat Star Tracker Development, Hongrui Zhao, Adrian Zhuang, Michael F. Lembeck

Small Satellite Conference

CubeSats are increasingly used to support complex missions requiring accurate attitude knowledge and pointing control. To meet these requirements, miniature star trackers are being manifested with CubeSat attitude control systems. Accurate performance verification of these trackers can be facilitated using a low-cost, hardware-in-the-loop simulator. The simulator covered in this paper incorporates a high-resolution monitor and a collimating lens to project a simulated star field for the star tracker under test. Based on a systematic accuracy analysis, this simulator is shown to be precise enough to allow for successful star identification and attitude determination in a closed loop test. An empirical …

Modeling And Application Of Thermochromic Variable Emissivity Materials, Isaac Foster, Derek Hengeveld

Small Satellite Conference

•Spacecraft (S/C) radiators are sized for hot conditions
•Existing fixed emmissivity materials (FEM) let S/C get too cold without heaters

Achieving Low-Cost, High-Reliability Payload Services Through A Collegiate Approach Using Standardized Satellite Bus Architectures, Nathan Drzadinski, Griffin Hentzen

Small Satellite Conference

The space community is rapidly expanding, especially in the Small Sat sector. The incremental implementation of more compact technology and the decline of launch costs lowers the barrier to entry into space, allowing for new actors to expand into the market. Two important players in this incremental process are collegiate satellite programs and commercial satellite-as-a-service (SataaS) providers. Collegiate satellite programs have previously occupied the low-cost, low-reliability market. These are often in a one-time collaboration with a professor or company, always resulting in the design of a unique bus derived by mission-specific stakeholder needs. In contrast with university programs, current commercial …

Robust Symbol Rate Correction Of Multi-H Continuous Phase Frequency Shift Keyed Signals In The Presence Of Doppler, Brendan Hill, Nazia Mozaffar, Salwan Damman

Small Satellite Conference

Communications with a low earth orbit (LEO) satellite require tracking and correcting both the Doppler frequency offset and the symbol rate. A constant envelope signal such as Continuous Phase Frequency Shift Keying (CPFSK) is a popular choice for driving a power amplifier close to its 1 dB compression point. Establishing a changing modulation index (“multi-h”) in the CPFSK signal produces coding gain, which requires a Viterbi decoder in the receiver. A simple way to create this coding gain is to alternate between two modulation indices. A receiver with a Viterbi decoder-assisted time and phase correction of a Continuous Phase Frequency …