Digital Commons Network^™

Investigation Of The Rust Programming Language For Flight Software Development, Robin Müller

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Innovating In The Infra-Red, Taking The Temperature Of The Earth Observation Market, Mike Goddard, Steven Knox, Harbinder Rana, James Bell, John Gilby, Diego Angarita-Jaimes, Trevor Wood, Calem Whiting, Nigel Philips, Matthew Price, Alan Matthews, Grant Childs, Tony Pattison, Mark Cantrill, Rupert Taylor, Jonathan Karimian, Andrew Haslehurst, Alex Da Silva Curiel, Martin Sweeting

Small Satellite Conference

The DarkCarb instrument has been specifically designed to provide high-resolution thermal video imagery from a small satellite in support of a range of emerging commercial, government and scientific applications. So far, such capability has only been available on large expensive satellites in a very limited fashion. Sensor and cooling technology has evolved in recent years so that such an instrument can now be designed and operated to provide useful performance over a typical satellite design-lifetime, and at a cost making new applications financially viable. The instrument provides 3.5 m Ground Sampling Distance (GSD) over a 4.5 x 3.6 km scene …

Deep Purple Payload Qualifies For Nasa Launch, Could Provide New Method For Real-Time Space-Domain Awareness, Jordan Smilo, Frank Ravizza, John Ganino, Jordan Karburn, Lance Simms, Darrell Carter, Princess Corral, Michael Wong, Aaron Godfrey, Brian Bauman, Cohl Houldin Hatala, Ryan Fellini, Lisle Hagler, Wim De Vries, Alex Pertica, Ben Bahney

Small Satellite Conference

In January 2024, the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL) Space Program fully assembled and qualified its Deep Purple payload. It will be on board NASA's Pathfinder Technology Demonstrator-R (PTD-R), scheduled to launch on the SpaceX Transporter 11 in July 2024.

The Livermore team designed, developed, qualified, and delivered the Deep Purple payload in approximately one year and has now been integrated into the PTD-R satellite, a 6U (36 cm x 23 cm x 10 cm) bus constructed by a Laboratory Collaborative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) partner Terran Orbital.

NASA's Small Spacecraft Technology Programs' PTD-R space vehicle containing the Deep …

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

Small Satellite Conference

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

Amsat-Oscar-7: 50 Years In A Sun-Synchronous Orbit - And Still Counting - Confirmation Of The Long-Term Solar Gravity-Gradient Perturbation, Jan A. King, Karl Meinzer

Small Satellite Conference

The first Delta launch vehicle to launch multiple secondary payloads was Δ-104. Carried, as the 2^nd piggyback payload on that mission was an amateur radio Smallsat, AMSAT-OSCAR-7 (AO-7). The launch, on 15 November 1974, was to a 1460 km SSO. This spacecraft, as its name suggests, was the 7^th in an on-going series of spacecraft operating in the Amateur Satellite Service. The amazing story associated with the mission of this small satellite is being reported elsewhere in these proceedings. While the particulars of this satellite's lifetime are exciting, we didn't particularly expect this "old bird's set of tricks …

Planet's Agile Software Development For Spacecraft, Kenneth Donahue, Kiruthika Devaraj, James Mason, Meric Ozturk

Small Satellite Conference

Planet Labs PBC (NYSE:PL), is a vertically integrated space and data company, and a leading provider of daily Earth data and insights; we design, build, and operate the largest constellation of imaging satellites in history. We have built and launched over 500 satellites by pioneering the agile aerospace philosophy that encourages rapid prototyping and iteration on the hardware, and building a minimum viable flight software to launch the satellites into space. This allows us to use space as a testbed and extension of the development environment as quickly as possible. Further software development occurs after the satellites are in space, …

How Space Logistics Is Bridging The Valley Of Death For Proximity Missions, Adrien Palun

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Mission Overview From Orion Space Solutions’ Satellite Payload For Remote Sensing Of Ocean Surface Winds, Ian Collett, Ryan Nguyen, Connor Johnstone, Nathan Tipton, Adam Reynolds, Erich Hoover, Dan Knight, Will Armijo

Small Satellite Conference

Ocean Surface Vector Winds (OSVW) is a proof-of-concept mission to measure ocean surface winds and sea state from a sensor that is low in size, weight, power, and cost.

Mmx, The Next Generation Of In-Situ Exploration Mission, Claire Durand, Franck Rousseau, Clément Dudal, Julien Baroukh, Kent Yoshikawa

Small Satellite Conference

The JAXA MMX (Martian Moons eXploration) mission has the objectives to study Phobos, the largest moon of Mars, and to bring back to Earth a sample from its surface, to answer one main question: what is the origin of the Martian moons? This mission will be launched in 2026 and will last five years. MMX spacecraft, the orbiter, developed by JAXA will travel from Earth to Mars and then study Phobos and Deimos moons with a foreseen sample collection of Phobos soil. MMX will carry and drop a small rover, developed by CNES and DLR, on Phobos surface. This rover, …

Variation In Orbital Lifetime For Cubesat Launch Initiative Missions, Liam Cheney, Creg Raffington, Caley Burke

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Sli - Landsat Next “Superspectral Triplets” Mission, Greg Snyder

Small Satellite Conference

Mission Concept: Collection of “superspectral” land observations featuring richer spectral information and higher spatial resolution than Landsat 8 and 9 with improved temporal frequency to meet land imaging user needs in the 2030s

Meco: MIssion Concept DEVelopment Of A CUbesat For Surface OBservations, Paula Do Vale Pereira, Jacob Mesley, Melanie Rivera

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

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

Small Satellite Conference

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

A Compact High-Resolution Ion & Neutral Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometer For Advanced Space Applications, Lucas Anderson, Chad Fish, Gregory Miller, Ryan Blase

Small Satellite Conference

We present the design, development, and testing of four novel, compact, high-precision Time-Of-Flight (TOF) Mass Spectrometers (MS) for integration with the next generation of space flight platforms. These MS instruments are capable of sampling both ions and neutral elements and are designed to integrate with a variety of space flight vehicles, including sounding rockets and small satellites (ESPA & 12U CubeSats or larger). One of the four flight instruments has been prototyped as a sounding rocket payload with a SWAP of approximately ~8 kg, and ~15 W using a 12-bit 3.2Gs/s analog-to-digital converter data acquisition system (With a Time to …

Daily Deployments Of Ground Network Antennas At Scale Using Commercial Tools, Mari Linnerud, Kristian Mikalsen, Nikolai Kjærem Ellingsen

Small Satellite Conference

This poster presents KSAT's in-house solution for ground station deployments, configurations and check-out at large scales for multi-mission antennas. RORBUA (Rolling Out Reliably By Unified Architecture) is an Infrastructure as Code solution, streamlining deployment and upgrades of our global network.

Dynamic Automation Made Simple: A Trigger And Reaction Model, Ryan Melton

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Mechanical, Thermal Architecture And Structural Concept Of The Internal Module Of The Idefix Rover, Lander Ruiz De Ocenda, Nicolas Doumas

Small Satellite Conference

The Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) mission, led by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, JAXA, aims at studying the Martian Moons Phobos and Deimos.

The Climate-N Constellation Of Small Satellites For The Detailed Measurement Of Aerosol Pollution, Cloud Properties, And Greenhouse Gases, J. Vanderlei Martins, Richard Kleidman, Lorraine A. Remer, Oleg Dubovik, David Fuertes, Marcos Herreras Giralda

Small Satellite Conference

Following the advent of small satellites and the development of science quality miniature payloads, we are implementing a private constellation (the climate-n missions where n is the number of the satellite) of small satellites for the measurement of particulate aerosols and greenhouse gases from space. The two main payloads for this mission are a multi-angle imaging polarimeter designed for the detailed measurement of aerosol particle properties and cloud microphysics, and a shortwave infrared spectrometer optimized for the measurement of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and Methane (CH₄).

The first demonstrator for the polarimeter payload (GAPMAP-0) was launched in …

Efficient Data Pipelines For Combined Fpga/Apu Systems, Oskar Flordal

Small Satellite Conference

A common architecture for COTS payload computers in space applications combines a COTS APU (CPU+GPU combo) with an FPGA. The FPGA provides monitoring, Triple Modular Redundancy (TMR), and other space-suitable properties, while the APU serves as the high-performance compute component. The FPGA can also be utilized for custom interfaces and tasks it excels at, such as certain real-time operations.

Framework For Radiation-Hardened Space Battery Management, Bhavika Kagathi

Small Satellite Conference

Battery management systems (BMS) are crucial for satellites to maintain a reliable energy source. Today, lithium-ion batteries act as the solution to reduce the cost and weight of satellites, yet still come with safety concerns.

The combination of the high energy density of Li-ion and flammable material associated with batteries can be hazardous due to thermal runaway, overcharging, improper balancing, and the chance of experiencing a short. Currently, there are no radiation-hardened balancer/monitor ICs with the ability to sense battery state of health and state of charge.

This poster highlights a discrete, autonomous, and reliable BMS approach that provides high …

Automation Concepts And Technologies For Flight Dynamics Systems, M. Rasotto, J. Cruz

Small Satellite Conference

Among the wide set of ground operations, Flight Dynamics (FD) operations can be automated very effectively and allow:

Higher efficiency, in case of multiple missions or satellite constellations

Execution of tasks at inconvenient times, e.g., during weekends and public holidays

Shorter reaction time in case of time critical or contingency operations (e.g., collision avoidance maneuver preparation)

Avoidance of human errors

Digital Manufacturing Of Passive Rf Components: Achieving Economies Of Scale In A Mass Customized Environment, Thomas Ducellier, Grant Robertson, Ally Gorman

Small Satellite Conference

Satellite communication or Telemetry, Tracking and Command (TT&C) rely on a host of active and passive highly customized RF components and subsystems to perform. With volumes as low as a few units ranging to a few tens of thousands for mega constellations, realizing manufacturing economies of scale in the context of mass customization is challenging.

Here we are reporting results of a novel digital manufacturing process combining both substrative and additive computer-controlled fabrication of thin-film passive RF devices like filters, duplexers and isolators and circulators.

To further improve efficiency and SWaP-C (Size, Weight, Power and Cost) of devices, we will …

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

Small Satellite Conference

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

Faster, Better, But Maybe Not Cheaper: Class D And The Project Management, Systems Engineering And Mission Assurance Costs Conundrum, Kathy Kha, Ben Clare

Small Satellite Conference

• NASA Class D mission are becoming increasingly prevalent, and typically are lower cost missions.

• In prior research, we found that Class D PM/SE/MA costs do not fall into the same cost estimating relationship range to hardware cost, compared to other mission classes

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

Small Satellite Conference

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

Microwave Transmitters For Smallsat Platforms For Earth Observation (Eo) And Remote Sensing, Naresh Deo

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

Taiaho Observatory: An Automated Future Optical Communications Ground Station, Joseph Ashby, Kevin Walker, Samuel Kurian, Catherine Qualtrough, John Cater, Nicholas Rattenbury

Small Satellite Conference

Free Space Optical Communications (FSOC) is the next revolution in high-bandwidth satellite-to-earth data transmission. The critical challenge facing the widespread, commercial adoption of FSOC is requirement of a cloud-free line of sight (CFLOS) between the spaceborne asset and the optical ground station (OGS). One solution to this problem is the use of multiple OGSs in a geographically distributed network. Such networks include the European Optical Nucleus Network (EONN) and the Australasian Optical Ground Station Network (AOGSN). To transition from research to commercialization will necessitate an increase in the number of OGSs and their continuous operation. Automation will play a critical …

Sprint: Space-Based Prioritized Real-Time Inter-Satellite Network Technology, Ryan Adams, Ronald Fevig, Sreejith Vidhyadharan Nair, Dalia Ammar Khodja, Maleeha Altaf

Small Satellite Conference

No abstract provided.

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

Small Satellite Conference

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

Orpheus: An International Mission To Characterise The Space Domain And Advance Future Concepts For Defence, Kit Grange, Alex Agathanggelou, Robert Boucher, Alex Gannon, Daniel A. Lavigne, Christine Mccullough, Andrew Nicholas

Small Satellite Conference

On the 9^th January 2023 the first UK launch reached space but failed to get into orbit, resulting in the loss of the Prometheus 2 and CIRCE R&D missions. The Orpheus mission aims to leverage the achievements in order to address the extant goals.