Digital Commons Network^™

Let’S Give The Fsck Up On Secded, Heather M. Quinn, Andrew Pineda, Gary Swift

Small Satellite Conference

Many space systems use error correcting codes (ECC) for handling radiation-induced upsets in memories. The most used ECCs are Hamming and Hsaio, which are single-error correction/double-error detection (SECDED) codes. The widespread use of these codes can lead to a dangerous overestimation of system reliability. Instead these codes are one of the best documented methods for microprocessor-based system crashes, due to uncorrectable faults. Less well documented is how these codes can lead to silent data corruption caused by miscorrections, where multiple errors are detected as a single error and corrected erroneously.

ECCs have always been sensitive to time-dependent errors, where SEUs …

Intel® Government Technologies Space Products: Leading Edge Compute For Space, Robert Ciccariello, Ricardo Ascazubi, Kyle Dobkins, Nitesh Melwani, Ed Mily, Mike Nassan, Sean O’Neill, Ruchika Singh, Dan Weinstein

Small Satellite Conference

Commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components are unlikely to meet the environmental survivability and assurance requirements to accomplish mission objectives in the harsh space environment. On the opposite end of the spectrum, developing custom space components on leading-edge technologies will often require multiple contractors and lengthy R&D efforts that significantly increase development costs and timelines. Intel Government Technologies (IGT) is introducing a space product roadmap, focused on space grade systems-in-package (SiPs) designed to address the transition from bespoke legacy architectures to low-SWaP, high-performance processing platforms for on-orbit systems. IGT Space Products are derived from Intel’s latest commercial technology and are uniquely configured, …

Demonstration Of Bidirectional Tracking And Data Transfer With The Cubeisl Optical Communication Terminal, Jan Hildebrand, Hannes Zeihsel, René Rüddenklau, Jorge Rosano Nonay, Lukas Rodeck, Olman Quiros Jimenez

Small Satellite Conference

This paper presents the experimental results of a free-space optical link validating the capabilities of two integrated CubeISL terminals. The campaign serves as a verification of the tracking, pointing and acquisition of the terminals before launch of the CubeISL mission. The link was conducted over a distance of 6600 m between the rooftop of the DLR Institute of Communication and Navigation in Oberpfaffenhofen and a 80 m high radio tower in Schöngeising. To ensure robust link establishment, the system employed a Pointing, Acquisition, and Tracking scheme utilizing both a 10 kHz modulated beacon for initial acquisition and a Continuous Wave …

Design And Qualification Of A Compact, Deployable Dual-Monopole Antenna System For Remote Sensing Microsatellites, Alexander J. Murphy, Bryan Johnston-Lemke, Robert E. Zee

Small Satellite Conference

Spacecraft conducting signals intelligence (SIGINT) missions require highly capable radio-frequency (RF) payloads. While the larger 80 kg-class platforms offer increased payload capacities, strict internal volume limitations persist. These constraints sometimes require stowing instruments, such as the dual-monopole Very High Frequency (VHF) antenna presented in this work, directly beneath the solar wings. This requirement has imposed a strict height constraint on the VHF antenna, mandating a highly compact and reliable deployment mechanism that avoids snagging or jamming during deployment. 

This paper presents the mechanism design and qualification test plan of a novel, deployable dual-monopole VHF antenna system designed to increase satellite …

Recovery Of Grus-1e From Magnetic Torquer Loss Using Data-Driven Open-Loop Attitude Steering, Nader Ganaba, Takanori Iwata, Minoru Kurata

Small Satellite Conference

In typical low Earth orbit (LEO) operations, the inability to remove excess angular momentum often leads to the decommissioning of a satellite. This paper presents the on-orbit recovery of GRUS-1E, a hundred kg class Earth observation satellite in Axelspace Corporation’s GRUS-1 constellation. The recovery followed the permanent loss of magnetic torquer commanding capability, which in turn disabled the satellite’s nominal reaction wheel momentum unloading. In addition, the satellite experienced persistent disturbance torques that significantly exceeded the combined contributions predicted by standard models, including gravity gradient, solar radiation pressure, aerodynamic drag, and the estimated residual magnetic dipole moment. The magnitude of …

The Genesis Of The Annual Usu Conference On Small Satellites, Rex Ridenoure, Alex Da Silva Curiel, Martin Sweeting

Small Satellite Conference

On this milestone of marking the 40^th SmallSat conference, this paper provides a capsule summary of how it all started in 1987, and why. 

By January 1986, Utah State University was actively involved with NASA’s Space Shuttle program, which from April 1981 through mid-January 1986 had notched 24 successful missions in a row, including nine in 1985. Missions were starting to appear routine, and the manifest was full for many dozens of future missions. 

The Shuttle’s Get Away Special (GAS) secondary payload program had become quite popular within academic, government and commercial sectors, and through 1985 six dozen separate …

Nanouhfcomms Mission Overview, Nazia Mozaffar, Salwan Damman, Ryan Hiser, Lizbeth Durbin, Jose Ruvalcaba, Alejandro Castro, David Sadowski, Dmitriy Obukhov, Brendan Hill

Small Satellite Conference

The NanoUHFComms experiment seeks to demonstrate the ability to detect and correct Doppler offsets caused by the relative high velocity between Low Earth Orbit (LEO) spacecraft and terrestrial nodes. The payload includes a Rincon Research Corporation AstroSDR with external Low Noise Amplifier (LNA) for the receive band and an external power amplifier for the transmit band. The uplink and downlink bands are combined with a diplexer before connecting to a common antenna mounted on the spacecraft. The demonstrations planned for the orbit testing include a relay mode which will detect and correct the Doppler offset of an uplink signal, translate …

A Smallsat In Vleo: The Orion Kraken Approach, Chad Fish, Crystal Frazier, Sun-Hee Goldsberry, Katie Nyland, Will Armijo, Raj Patel, Elijah Vance, Adam Reynolds, Nathan Tipton, Kevin Quintana, Sam Clowes, Rachel Stutz, Keith Underwood, Jared Stromberg, Justin Berger, Erich Hoover, Andrew Irvine, Ali Wise, Christian Frazier, Derek Taylor, Kong Yang, Tracy Cueto, Wes Leong, Greg Ushomirsky, Charles Swenson, Paul Bernhart, Ron Reedy, Tim Minton, Mitchell Weins, Kent Frankovich

Small Satellite Conference

The Orion Space Solutions' Kraken Mission, sponsored by DARPA and implemented by a science and engineering team led by Orion Space Solutions, will make in-situ and remote sensing space weather observations from Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO). The mission instrument suite will include Langmuir Probes, RF Impedance Probes, HF Sounders, Atomic Oxygen Sensors, Science Magnetometers, Floating Potential Probes, and Science Accelerometers. Long-term (approximately 4-6 month lifetime), repeated measurements of plasma density and other plasma and neutral parameters in this region are very rare, and the Kraken data is expected to contribute considerably to space weather and science modeling of VLEO. …

The Cospar-1 Spacecraft: Advancing Space Science And Capacity Building Through International Collaboration, Amal Chandran, Hex20 Ltd., Carlos Gabriel, Loren C. Chang

Small Satellite Conference

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) is the world's leading organization for advancing space science. The COSPAR Panel for a Constellation of Small Satellites (PCSS) was assembled in 2020 to examine how emerging CubeSat and small satellite technology could help solve outstanding questions in Space Weather, Earth Climate change, and Radiation Belt studies through constellations of miniature spacecraft. The COSPAR-1 spacecraft is a 3U CubeSat carrying a Solar Spectral Sensor from the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) at the University of Colorado Boulder to observe solar output across the UV-to-IR spectrum, an Earth Radiation Sensor from LATMOS in …

The Landolt Mission Payload: An Artificial Star For Precision Astronomy, Peter Pachowicz, Peter Plavchan, Gabrielle Belle, Jay Deorukhkar, Philip Cunio, Eliad Peretz, John Mather, Peter Kurczynski, Angelle Tanner, Susana Deustua, Brian Alberding, Joseph Rice, Thomas Michaud-Baeyens, Jean-Thomomas Landry, Marc-Andre Boucher, David Ciardi, Mike Lund, Justin Albert, Greg Alderling, Brian Stalder, Daniel Stevens, Jamie Tayar, Daniel Kuesters, Tabetha Boyajian

Small Satellite Conference

The Landolt Mission represents a significant advancement in space-based instrumentation, serving as NASA’s first hybrid space mission. Central to the mission is a smallsat deployed in Geostationary Orbit (GEO), carrying the SI Traceable Absolute Radiometer [STAR] comprised of two Laser Instruments (LI) and an Element Wheel technology demonstrator. The LI utilizes six specialized Laser Trays to project SI-calibrated light beams at various wavelengths into ground telescopes. By creating a stable, SI-traceable calibration source, the Landolt mission aims to provide an unprecedented level of precision in astronomical observations. These advancements are expected to facilitate transformative discoveries in exoplanet host stars, supernova …

Noaa Nesdis Commercial Data Program Using Small Satellites For Space-Based Environmental Monitoring Data, Marc Gasbarro, Natalie Laudier, Harshesh Patel, Gerald Peltzer, Chunhui Pan

Small Satellite Conference

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service (NESDIS) Commercial Data Program (CDP) successfully engages with the private sector to acquire commercial space-based environmental observation data to diversify, streamline, and improve NOAA's observations and to meet NOAA’s mission objectives. The NESDIS CDP manages two lines of effort, the Commercial Data Pilot projects to demonstrate the quality and impact of commercial data on NOAA applications and the Commercial Data Purchases to support operational weather and space weather applications. NESDIS CDP leverages commercial companies’ use of innovative Small Satellite (SmallSat) collection platforms. NESDIS CDP procures data …

Odin: Optomechanical Distributed Instrument For Inertial Sensing And Navigation, Mohanad Warrayat, Jackson Dahn, Ramses Miranda, Andrea Nelson, Jeremiah Stoddart, Miguel Dovale, Jose Sanjuan, Felipe Guzman, Daniel Selva

Small Satellite Conference

ODIN (Optomechanical Distributed Instrument for Inertial sensing and Navigation) is a gyroscope-free inertial measurement unit based on a cube of six monolithic fused silica wafers which complete a twelve-axis sensing capability, i.e., three linear, three angular, and six centripetal acceleration measurements. ODIN will fly as a secondary payload on the GRATTIS (Gravitational Reference Advanced Technology Test in Space) mission, slated for launch in February of 2027, led by the University of Florida and funded by the NASA InVEST program. By the end of the GRATTIS mission, it is expected that ODIN will reach an exit TRL-7.

The primary objective of …

Acs3 Results And Lesson Learned, Philip Shih, Olive Stohlman, Ivan Bertaska, Andres Dono Perez

Small Satellite Conference

ACS3 (Advanced Composite Solar Sail System) was a technology demonstration mission for the National Aeronautics and Space Administration¹, to demonstrate the deployment of a solar sail of size 80m² from a new NASA-developed compact deployable composite boom² packaged in a 12U CubeSat. The extended objective of the mission was to perform attitude control and orbit maneuvering. ACS3 was successfully launched on 24 April 2024 local time via Rocket Lab Electron launch vehicle from Rocket Lab Launch Complex 1B in Mahia, New Zealand. Following four months of commissioning operations, the solar sail was deployed on 28 August …

Artemis Cubesats Help Advance Exploration Of The Moon, Mars, And Beyond, Russell Lane, David Beaman, Courtney Ryals, David Hitt

Small Satellite Conference

On April 1, NASA launched the Artemis II mission – the first crewed mission of the Artemis campaign. The nine-day lunar flyby launched on the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and had four astronauts test the Orion spacecraft in high Earth orbit and in deep space. Four 12U CubeSats also launched on the mission, housed within the SLS’s Orion stage adapter (OSA). The spacecraft were deployed approximately five-and-a-half hours into the flight, following Orion separation and departure from SLS, as the SLS interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) and the attached OSA were in a high Earth orbit on an …

The Pandora Smallsat: Overview Of The First Six Months In Orbit, Jessie Dotson, Elisa Quintana, Knicole Colón, Thomas Barclay, Christina Hedges, Ben Hord, Trevor Foote, Jordan Karburn, Pete Supsinkas, Lance Simms, Joe Renaud, Julie Moquin

Small Satellite Conference

The Pandora SmallSat was selected as an inaugural NASA Astrophysics Pioneers mission. The Astrophysics Pioneers program is tasked with performing compelling astrophysics science at lower cost while simultaneously providing space mission experience to early career researchers and engineers. The science goal of Pandora is to study transiting exoplanets and their host stars by collecting long duration, simultaneous visible photometry and near-infrared spectroscopy. This unique dataset will enable Pandora to disentangle the contributions from stellar activity which contaminate the exoplanet spectrum so we can search for water in exoplanet atmospheres.

The Pandora SmallSat successfully launched from Vandenberg Space Force Base on …

Esa Scout Hydrognss Early Mission Results, Martin Unwin, Alex Da Silva Curiel, Ben Stern, Jean-Pascal Lejault, Nazzareno Pierdicca

Small Satellite Conference

The ESA Scout HydroGNSS mission demonstrates a new generation of GNSS reflectometry (GNSS R) capabilities for hydrological climate monitoring from small satellites. HydroGNSS measures soil moisture, freeze–thaw state, inundation, wetlands and above ground biomass by exploiting both traditional incoherent Delay Doppler Maps (DDMs) and several innovative signal types not previously available from spaceborne GNSS R missions. Early in orbit results confirm successful acquisition of signals from Galileo, dual polarisation measurements, coherent complex channel data and reflections at the second GNSS frequency (L5/E5a). These enhanced measurements exhibit stronger than predicted performance and are expected to significantly improve retrievals of climate relevant …

Gray Jay Pathfinder: One Year Of Maritime And Airborne Vessel Monitoring With A Formation-Flying Constellation Of Microsatellites, Erica Peterson, Nicolaas Handojo, Nima Assadian, Jacob Von Chorus, Jeremy Hawke, Andrew Barlow, Sanjeev Narayanaswamy, Abigail Macgillivray, Alex Kiar, Nathan Cole, Robert E. Zee

Small Satellite Conference

Gray Jay Pathfinder (GJP) is an experimental microsatellite constellation that has been designed, built, and operated by the Space Flight Laboratory (SFL), for Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC). GJP launched in January 2025, and consists of three microsatellites, developed using SFL’s 30kg DEFIANT platform, flying in formation in a sun-synchronous orbit at a 510km altitude. All three spacecraft carry radio frequency (RF) payloads capable of receiving raw spectrum in the VHF, UHF, L, S, and X radar bands. The RF payloads include a combination of in-house designed and COTS antennas, in-house designed antenna front ends, a payload computer with …

Disksat: On-Orbit Performance And Lessons Learned From The Inaugural Flight Of Two-Dimensional Satellites, Darren Rowen, Catherine Venturini, Garrett Kinum, Brian Hardy, Joseph Gangestad, Lisa Toda, Chris Day, Thomas Pridy, Eddson Alcid, Ziba Shahriary

Small Satellite Conference

DiskSat is a novel spacecraft design that uses a disk-shaped form factor, 1 meter in diameter but only 2.5 cm in depth, to provide unprecedented power-to-mass ratio in a nanosatellite and the potential to operate long-term in very low Earth orbit (VLEO). The inaugural flight of four DiskSats launched on 18 December 2025 from NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on an Electron rocket, which delivered the satellites to a 550-km altitude orbit at an inclination of 45 deg. Developing DiskSat’s two-dimensional form factor presented a myriad of challenges for power generation, thermal management, attitude control, and deployment that could only be …

Mis/Understanding, Najmeh Pirahmadian

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

Reframing Language Barriers and Miscommunication Through Interactive Art+Design

Las Alas, Jayce Yutzy

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

A transgender youth resource center

Supplementing Community Health Assessments: Comparing Statewide Survey Data With Local Youth Listening Sessions In A Rural County In Ohio, Camryn Mcglumphy

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

The purpose of this study is to compare youth listening sessions from a rural county with the OHYES! statewide survey results to compare youth perceptions on county health and the benefits and limitations of both methods in obtaining youth data.

Effects Of Bx795, Gsk8612, And Mrt67307 On Mouse And Human Ovarian Cancer Cell Lines, Shuhd Waleed Al Noumani

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

Ovarian cancer (OC) is the deadliest gynecologic malignancy largely due to asymptomatic early progression of OC cells, late-stage diagnosis of the tumor, and the resistance of tumor cells to standard treatments. The most prevalent OC subtype, high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC), is the primary cause of most OC-related deaths.

Counting My Nutrition (Cmn) Improved Appalachian Third Graders’ Nutrition Knowledge, But Had Little Effect On Food Attitudes And Dietary Intake: A Pilot Study, Julia Peter

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

This study evaluates whether a 10-week school-based, math-integrated nutrition education curriculum improves the nutrition knowledge, food attitudes, and dietary intake of Appalachian third-graders in order to support their long-term health.

No-Cloning Constraints And Algebraic Structures In Quantum Error-Correcting Codes, Manh Thang Vo, Felix Tuffour, Pooja Kumari, Alfred Adzika

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

The no-cloning theorem is a fundamental principle of quantum mechanics that prohibits the perfect duplication of arbitrary unknown quantum states, thereby ruling out classical redundancy strategies based on direct replication. As a consequence, quantum error correction must rely on structured encodings rather than duplication. In this work, we investigate how no-cloning constraints naturally lead to algebraic frameworks for quantum error-correcting codes. Quantum information is encoded into subspaces of multi-qubit systems, where protection is achieved through entanglement and syndrome-based measurements. We show that this structure can be effectively realized using algebraic coding theory, where self-orthogonality and duality replace classical redundancy.

Functional Characterization Of Cell Wall-Associated Mirnas In Arabidopsis Using Reverse Genomics, Maryam Muzaffar

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

Role of non-coding RNA in primary to secondary cell wall switch in plants

Investigating Domain Mismatch In Machine Learning Models Between Simulated And Live Flight, Ahmad Waseem Ghauri

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

My research investigates whether machine learning models trained on synthetic data can learn to detect real life scenarios.

Solar Feasibility On Clippinger Laboratory, Parker Postle

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

Investigating the potential energy output and costs involved in a solar array on top of the Clippinger lab and nearby grounds shed.

Lean Meets Digital Manufacturing For Improving Efficiency In Modern Production, Md. Abul Hasan

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

This research explores how lean implementation can enhance additive manufacturing efficiency by analyzing 3D printed models before and after optimization and integrating industry expert perspectives.

Effects Of Life-Extending Compounds On Body Composition In Long-Lived Growth Hormone Receptor Antagonist Mice, Matthew Kirstein

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

Early body composition responses to longevity-promoting dietary interventions in long-lived growth hormone receptor antagonist (GHA) mice reveal significant treatment-associated physiological differences, with ongoing studies evaluating their relevance to long-term survival and overall functional aging outcomes.

Osu Central Sterile Supply: Improving Backstock Instrument Search Efficiency, Ethan Flora

Student Research and Creative Activity Expo

Optimize the backup instrumentation retrieval system and reduce searching time.