Digital Commons Network^™

Layer 3 Switching, Todd R. Zatorski

Small Satellite Conference

Poster presented at the 2026 Small Satellite Conference

Comparison Between Low-Powered Gridded Ion Thruster And Hall Effect Thruster Operation For Small Satellite Applications, William Brabston, Kuei-Ru Chien, Michael Jaroonwit, Kevin Berg

Small Satellite Conference

In recent years, the small satellite space economy has experienced unprecedented growth with the emergence of low-cost dedicated and rideshare launch services. The resulting proliferation of small satellites creates a high demand for low cost, efficient electric propulsion systems to perform orbital maneuvers. Hall effect thrusters (HET) and gridded ion thrusters (GIT) are the two primary electric propulsion platforms for small sat applications, and they offer distinct advantages and disadvantages. Stellant, formerly Hughes, Boeing, and L3 Harris, is developing a lowpower GIT to meet these mission needs.

HETs produce thrust primarily through a highly coupled ionization and acceleration process, whereas …

Launch Vehicle And Ground Infrastructure Development For Zero Launch Systems, Masahiro Kinoshita

Small Satellite Conference

ZERO is a two-stage, orbital-class launch vehicle designed to provide flexible, affordable, and localized space access.

Microsat For Refueling Mission Demonstrator In Vleo, Gyusun Kim

Small Satellite Conference

Recently, active research and technological development have been conducted on various mission application in VLEO(Very Low Earth Orbit) using MicroSat. However, the limited payload accommodation capability of MicroSat poses significant challenges for high optical resolution commercial or national-level practical missions. In contrast, satellites of 2,000 kg in size have performed well in low-Earth orbit for the very high optical resolution missions required so far (e.g., 30 cm-level resolution optical satellites) in 450 km ~ 600 km orbit altitude, but in order to meet the continuously increasing resolution requirements in the future optical imagery market (e.g., 15 cm-level resolution), the optical …

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.

Multi-Paradigm Contact Scheduling — Combining Automation And Flexibility In Gsaas Operations, Jake Urbanek, Giovanni Zanotti, Stefan Vlad Tudor, Giovanni Pandolfi Bortoletto

Small Satellite Conference

BACKGROUND

Ground segment operations must keep pace with increasingly demanding mission concepts of operation. For a GroundSegment-as-a-Service (GSaaS) provider, this means scheduling ground contacts against a diverse, often conflicting set of customer requirements, historically requiring bespoke scheduling logic. Leaf Line's baseline addresses this with two mechanisms: an automated Scheduler that computes guaranteed network-wide allocations 4 days ahead, and on-demand booking of unallocated capacity, first-come-first-served.

PROBLEM

Together, the baseline delivers strong service levels and network utilization, but two gaps emerged. The 4-day rolling horizon limits visibility into exact pass allocation beyond that window. And users needing specific pass times may find …

Feasibility Study Of A 3d-Printed Thermally Insulated Battery Compartment For Cubesats, Michal Kolodynski, Konrad Kij, Michal Radawiec

Small Satellite Conference

Poster presented at the 2026 Small Satellite Conference

Oxford Space Systems Deployable Wrapped Rib Antenna (Wra): Initial On-Orbit Results, Peter Ashworth, Samuel Puche, Yuki Tsutsui, Duncan Shepherd, Amool Raina, Chris Bee, Vincent Fraux, Alex Da Silva Curiel, Danilo De Almedia, Liam North, Andrew Haslehurst, Darren Jones

Small Satellite Conference

Oxford Space Systems (OSS) has achieved significant advancements in space deployable antennas, enabling small-satellite constellations through their low mass, low launch volume and high RF performance. Launched in January 2026 on a Falcon 9 rocket, OSS have collaborated with SSTL on the CarbSAR mission in order to successfully demonstrate and validate the technology of the innovative deployable Wrapped Rib Antenna (WRA) in-orbit & its use in smallsat SAR.

The CarbSAR mission has been jointly funded by Oxford Space Systems, SSTL, Airbus Defence and Space, UKDI-DASA, DSTL and the National Security Strategic Investment Fund (NSSIF), within a long-term programme that also …

A Hybrid Architecture For Scalable High-Frequency Inflatable Reflectors For Small Satellites, Aman Chandra, Hina Suzuki, Shashank Verma, Zac Chen, Dustin Blanchard, Christopher Walker

Small Satellite Conference

Space-based telecommunications and remote sensing increasingly demand large-aperture antennas capable of operating at high frequencies, specifically Ka-band and above. While inflatable membrane structures offer the low mass and compact stowage necessary to deploy large reflectors in excess of two meters from small satellite platforms, their adoption has been hindered by the difficulty of maintaining precise surface geometry. To establish a viable pathway for these high-frequency applications, the University of Arizona and Freefall Aerospace have developed a hybrid tensioning and deployment mechanism, validated on a one-meter lenticular reflector. This system decouples boundary tension from internal pressure, using a novel adaptive pre-tensioning …

Planet's Next Generation Evolution Of The High Speed Radio: 10 Gbps Smallsat Radio, David Nemeth, Kiruthika Devaraj, Varun Sharma, Timothy Kordas, Gil Michael, Stefan Turkowski, Abhra Dasgupta

Small Satellite Conference

Planet is a vertically integrated aerospace and data analytics company that operates the world’s largest commercial fleet of remote sensing satellites. Our mission is to image the whole world every day, and make change visible, accessible, and actionable. We have launched over 600 satellites and built up an automated mission control and ground station infrastructure to monitor and control the satellites, and download the imagery data. Planet’s agile aerospace philosophy of rapid prototyping, iteration, and adaptation of the latest commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology has allowed for continuous improvements in data throughputs on our High Speed Downlink radio. Planet’s HSD2 achieves greater …

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 …

Development Of A Low-Cost Uas Air Sampler For Multi-Point Aerosol Collection, Avinash Muthu Krishnan, Kevin A. Adkins, Marc D. Compere, David Zink, Emel Sen-Kilic, Justin Fratto, Kayla D. Taylor

ISARRA 2026

This work describes the development of a low-cost uncrewed aircraft system (UAS)-mounted air sampler for collecting multiple discrete aerosol samples during a single flight. The system uses a liquid impinger approach in which ambient air is drawn through a collection liquid to capture soluble aerosol material. Multiple sterile collection tubes and a solenoid-controlled flow path allow the sampler to collect separate samples at different locations without landing between collections.

A key design issue in a multi-sample system is contamination between samples. To address this, the payload includes a purge step and a flow layout designed to reduce carryover in shared …

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 …

Framework For Design, Modelling, And Qualification Of Phase Change Material Heat Sinks For Small Satellites, Daniel Kichma

Small Satellite Conference

The increasing use of high-power hardware in small satellites presents a critical thermal management challenge. Phase Change Material (PCM) heat sinks provide passive thermal control for transient heat loads by storing thermal energy as latent heat during melting, maintaining near-constant temperatures. This creates a thermal buffer that lowers peak heat fluxes and reduces the required radiative surface area. A PCM heatsink was required for thermal control of a payload on an upcoming mission at the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL). This motivated the development of in-house PCM capabilities to enable mission-specific designs at lower cost and shorter schedules. This paper presents …

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 …

Practice Environment And Job Outcomes Among Nurse Practitioners Caring For Patients With Dementia, Lusine Poghosyan, Maura Dougherty, Kathleen Flandrick, Miles Degrazia, Joshua Porat-Dahlerbruch, Grant Martsolf, Soo Borson, Tatiana Sadak, Jianfang Liu

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: As the number of Americans living with dementia rises, healthcare delivery systems face increasing pressure to provide dementia-specific services to improve patient and family outcomes. The growing primary care Nurse Practitioner (NP) workforce plays a pivotal role in dementia care; however, many NPs practice in poor environments that lack needed organizational attributes and support to maximize their contributions. We examined the associations between the NP practice environment and key indicators of workforce sustainability—burnout, job satisfaction, and intent to leave.

Participants and Setting: We conducted a national cross-sectional survey of NPs caring for patients with dementia in 2022-2023. A total …

The Impact Of Covid-19 On The Mental Health And Well-Being Of Black And Latinx Nurses In California, Jerry John Ouner, Patience Afulani, David A. Asakitogum, Nneka Umeh, Monica Getahun, Jaffer Okiring, Michael Denyu, Orlando Harris, Osamuedeme Odiase

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

On January 31, 2020, Santa Clara County reported California’s (CA) first COVID-19 case. As the pandemic unfolded, health systems were severely strained, and health care workers faced dual exposure risks from their communities and households alongside heightened occupational risk from direct patient care.1,2 For Black and Latinx nurses, COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on their communities intensified stress, fear, and uncertainty, and when combined with the demands of frontline work, greatly increased their risk of psychological distress and burnout. We examined COVID-19’s impact on the mental health and well-being of Black and Latinx nurses in CA.

Method: We conducted an explanatory sequential …

Making An Impact! Development Of An Interprofessional Clinical Effectiveness Training Program, Katherine Melton, Kara Misto, Ashley Perry, Michelle Marie Parent, Christian Keenan, Olivia Young, Katherine Mason

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Achieving and maintaining meaningful change in patient safety outcomes remains an ongoing challenge.(1) Clinical Effectiveness Education (CEE) is a promising method to help address the challenge of creating sustainable change in healthcare. CEE is a comprehensive approach to improving patient safety by educating healthcare team members in methods to use best-evidence to inform care decisions.(2) Two foundational CEE strategies are Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) and Quality Improvement (QI). EBP and QI practices have both been shown to have a positive impact on patient safety and return on investment.(1,3) Despite its documented benefits, CEE is not typically covered in-depth in health-professions education …

Clinical Performance Of Heart Failure Palliative Care Referral Criteria: A Retrospective Study, Yi-Wen Chen, Chia Chun Tang, Hsien-Liang Huang, Jui-Yi Chen, Pei-Yi Wang, Shan-Ting Chen, Ching-Yi Lee

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Heart failure (HF) carries a high symptom burden and mortality (Fernandes Pedro & Reis-Pina, 2022). Despite guideline support for early palliative care (PC), referral remains low. The Chang et al., 2022 criteria were developed to enable rapid (Chang et al., 2022), nurse-led screening of patients with advanced HF, but their clinical performance is unclear. This study examined PC referral patterns among hospitalized HF patients and evaluated the diagnostic accuracy and agreement of these criteria.

Methods: We conducted a retrospective case–control study using 2023–2024 electronic medical records from a tertiary hospital. Adults admitted with a principal diagnosis of HF were …

Championing Change: Igniting Innovation In Age-Friendly Care, Tru P. Byrnes, Amanda Gregory, Carolyn Lehman, Karrie Love, Kathleen Mescall, Gretchen Simon, Shelby Whitlow

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

The goal was to enhance nurses’ knowledge and confidence in delivering person-centered, age-friendly care by introducing the 4Ms framework and interdisciplinary approaches to geriatric health through a dynamic conference with expert speakers and entertaining skits designed to engage and educate.

The aging population in the U.S. is growing rapidly, accounts for 40% of hospilized patients.(1) With aging, individuals often experience a combination of physiologic and pathophysiologic changes, which can lead to chronic illnesses.(2) Nearly 64% of those aged 65 and older have at least two chronic conditions.(3) However, nurses often lack geriatric expertise. Equipping nurses with education and resources fosters …

Ai And Data Literacy Scales: Review And Item Analysis For Nursing-Specific Assessment, Mikyoung Angela Lee, Fabio D'Agostino, Ann Wieben, Pankaj Vyas, Bader G. Alreshidi, Lisiane Pruinelli, Marisa Sileo, Jethrone Role, Holly Bullion, Emiliane Nogueira De Souza, Janet Northcote

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: The rapid integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and data-driven decision-making in healthcare requires nurses to develop strong AI/data literacy.[1,2] Literature and industry reviews identified inconsistent data literacy definitions and few nursing-focused tools,[3] underscoring the need for validated instruments for nursing.

Purpose: To (1) review existing AI/data literacy instruments, (2) conduct item-level mapping to four frameworks representing data processes and competencies, and (3) guide nursing-specific instrument development.

Methods: Eleven international experts in nursing informatics and data science reviewed AI literacy scales from Lintner’s review[4] and five nurse-focused data literacy scales identified via Google Scholar. From 24 instruments, 475 items were …

Nurses’ Contributions To Virtual Care Delivery In Primary Care: A Scoping Review, Crystal Vaughan, Julia Lukewich, Maria Mathews, Lindsay Hedden, Ruth Martin-Misener, Marie-Eve Poitras, Shabnam Asghari, Michelle Swab, Dana Ryan

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Virtual care is increasingly used to improve access to primary care (1,2). However, the roles of primary care nurses (i.e., nurse practitioners [NPs], registered nurses [RNs], licensed practical nurses [LPNs]) in virtual care delivery are not clearly defined. A better understanding of these roles can improve their integration and optimization in virtual primary care delivery and the availability and quality of virtual primary care (3,4).

Objectives: The purpose of this scoping review was to identify and map the international literature on nurses’ roles in virtual care delivery in primary care.

Methods: Following Joanna Briggs Institute methodology (5), we searched …

Cultural Tailoring And Co-Design Of Telehealth Interventions With Immigrants And Refugees, Saleema Allana, Thuvaraha Jeyakumaran, Dhruv Rathod, Maham Khan, Darryl Ku, Raza M. Haider, Victoria Smye, Richard Booth

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Immigrants and refugees face significant barriers in accessing and using telehealth.(1,2) Although cultural tailoring and co-production approaches are recommended,(3) little is known about how deeply these practices are integrated into existing telehealth interventions for these populations.

Purpose: The purpose of this scoping review was to map the current evidence on telehealth interventions involving immigrants and refugees, assess how cultural tailoring was applied using the Cultural Sensitivity Framework, and evaluate the extent to which co-design approaches were used.

Methods: We conducted this scoping review following PRISMA-ScR.(4) Systematic search was undertaken in MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, and Cochrane using telehealth, immigrant, and …

Developing Congenital Heart Disease Screening: Adult From Heart To Sole, Tami L. Jakubowski, Sarah Curtis, Carole Kenner, Marina Boykova, Simranjot Mann, Emma Cartnick, Mia Conners, Kayla Creedon

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Introduction: “Adult From Heart to Sole” is a study exploring a non-invasive, low-cost screening method for congenital heart disease (CHD).

Methods: This pilot study explores identification of a specific crease on the sole of the foot as a marker for early detection of CHD in newborns. A Qualitrics survey was developed and distributed on social media platforms (Facebook, LinkedIn, etc) and the Adult Congenital Heart Association “Studies Recruiting Subjects” webpage. Participants were asked about demographic data, whether they have been diagnosed with a CHD and what type, if they have the specific crease on either foot, and if they have …

Semi-Autonomous Reconnaissance Satellite: A Laboratory Demonstration Of End-To-End On-Board Mission Autonomy, Eran Shtoyerman, Raphael Cohen, Rafi Cohen, Oshri Fatkiev, Guy Zaidman, Gal Pinchas, Doron Shterman

Small Satellite Conference

Real-time satellite responsiveness to user requests from the field remains largely unavailable in current space systems. Such capabilities are typically restricted to low-altitude airborne platforms, primarily due to limited satellite communication bandwidth, intermittent ground contact, and the reliance on ground-based mission planning. Enabling true responsiveness requires a paradigm shift toward highly autonomous satellites, in which target selection, task execution, and mission planning are performed on board.

For example, a user may request a satellite to perform the following task in real-time: detect a ceiling tanker ship in a specified area, estimate its velocity from video data, and autonomously track the …

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.