Digital Commons Network^™

Measuring Space Weather Through Nitrogen-Vacancy Diamond Quantum Magnetometry: A Cubesat Mission Exploration, Patrick Bailey, Alberto Diaz, Jacob Boutin, Austin Downey, Wout De Backer

Small Satellite Conference

1. The Challenge

• Solar weather is constantly changing with adverse effects on earth and the space around it
• Solar flares cause communication blackouts
• Coronal mass ejections can damage satellite hardware, and cause geomagnetic induced currents that can damage the power grid
• Difficult to measure these effects in real-time

Micro-Servicer Swarms For Responsive Smallsat Sustainment: The Sdaw Mothership Architecture, Wanjiku Chebet Kanjumba

Small Satellite Conference

The Challenge:

Sustaining The Mega-Constellation Era: LEO has shifted from a sparse domain into critical global infrastructure. With thousands of satellites on-orbit and tens of thousands more planned, sustainability is no longer guaranteed by launch activity alone; it depends on the ability to service, repair, and responsibly dispose of assets at scale.

• 7,500+ operational satellites in LEO (2024); 50,000+ projected within a decade
• 1,500+ trackable fragments from the 2021 Russian ASAT test; 1,700+ Starlink avoidance maneuvers followed
• ≥ 5 / yr large debris objects removed from LEO yearly to stabilize it (Liou & Johnson)

The Servicing Gap: MEV, OSAM-1, and …

Minimum Variable Speed Control Moment Gyros (Vscmg) Cluster Sizing For Full Three-Axis Smallsat Attitude Control: A Numerical Study, Khang Nguyen, Christopher Damaren

Small Satellite Conference

Small satellites demand high-resolution imaging, optical inter-satellite links, precision science — demand agile, accurate attitude control under tight mass, volume, and power.

Momentum-exchange actuators are the standard propellant-free solution:

• Reaction wheels: precise, but low torque authority
• CMGs: high torque, but singularity-prone
• VSCMGs: variable wheel speed and gimbal angle → high torque, added DOFs for singularity avoidance, dual RW/CMG operation

The gap: VSCMG research has focused on 4-unit pyramid clusters, whose redundancy costs actuator count, volume, and power — resources SmallSats can least afford. The minimum cluster size for practical three-axis control is not well established.

Mission-Driven System-Level Design Of A 1u-Constrained Reaction Wheel Assembly For Agile Cubesat Missions, Xixi Zhang, Ghadi M. Al-Amer, Teef A. Alharthi, Yaqin Saada, Shouq J. Alabdullah, Fadil M. Younes, Atif Mahmood, Ayman M. Abadallah

Small Satellite Conference

Mission need:

Single-pass multi-strip imaging compresses repeated retargeting and settling into a 3- 4 min imaging window.

Nebulous: Applying Genetic Algorithms To Design Next-Generation Satellites For Drag Resilience, Rick Marcusen, Adrian Bryant, Julie Rolla, Max Foreback, Evan Imata, Emily Dolson, Kyle Helson, Marcin Pilinski, Anselmo C. Pontes, Jonathan Sy, Joey Wagner, Scott Palo

Small Satellite Conference

Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) is a region of space between ~150-400 km that is becoming increasingly valuable for operators of large satellite constellations. VLEO's proximity to the Earth enables improved technical performance, such as higher surface image resolution and lower communications latency, as well as less expensive and more frequent launch opportunities. However, one significant disadvantage to operating in VLEO is the increased effects of aerodynamic drag, which can reduce a mission's lifetime and decrease a spacecraft's position accuracy. To address this, we introduce NEBULOUS, a genetic algorithm-based design tool that evolves spacecraft geometries through generations of mutation and …

Progressing From High-Altitude Balloon Validation To Orbit: Establishing Cubesat Capability In Nevada Through Incremental Design, Kylee Brahma, Leandro Araiza, Christian Ługowski

Small Satellite Conference

UNLV ATLAS-1—Analysis of Temperature and Radiation in Low-Earth Orbit for Analog Studies—is a student-led 1U CubeSat mission at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. The project uses an incremental approach, progressing from mock-satellite prototypes to high-altitude balloon flights and, ultimately, orbital deployment. By increasing system fidelity alongside student experience, UNLV ATLAS-1 aims to create a repeatable pathway for CubeSat development in Nevada and beyond.

Relative Position Determination For Satellite Formation Flying Using Radio-Wave Strength Considering Antenna Deformation, Sho Watanabe, Takaya Inamori, Yosuke Kawabata

Small Satellite Conference

Background:

Increasing use of formation flying in space missions:

• Requires formation establishment and maintenance
• Relative orbit determination is essential

Conventional Methods

• Camera
• Laser
• GNSS

Large size and mass are mostly required

Depends on the orbit and satellite attitude

Using received signal strength can overcome these limitations.

The Effects Of Space On Pharmacology And Traditional Medicine: A Review Of Current Literature And Its Potential Impacts On Space Therapeutics, Pratyush Majumdar

Small Satellite Conference

Astronauts in space commonly take medicine for sleep disorders, muscle aches, and other miscellaneous conditions. These medications are taken under the assumption that they will work in space comparable to their effect on Earth, but mounting evidence is emerging to demonstrate that this is not the case. Using the principles of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics, there are many physiological changes that alter how a drug is processed, changing their therapeutic effect. As mission times get longer, there is a heavier need to understand these changes and compensate for them in order to keep astronauts safe.

Thermal Analysis Of Small Satellites, Devansh Patel

Small Satellite Conference

Accurate thermal modeling is essential to spacecraft design, ensuring components remain within operational temperatures throughout orbit. This study develops and validates thermal models of increasing complexity to gain practical experience in spacecraft thermal analysis.

The GRIFEX mission is a 3U CubeSat launched in a 634 km circular polar orbit by the Michigan Exploration Laboratory (MXL). The CubeSat observed both 90° and 0° beta angle orbits during its mission, making it optimal for comparing thermal analysis results for small satellites in low Earth orbit.

Design And Development Of A Miniaturized Helmholtz Cage For Cubesat Adcs Testing, Karla Sever, Marko Bosiljevac

Small Satellite Conference

• Magnetic field generation and compensation are essential for laboratory testing of an attitude determination and control system (ADCS) for small satellites. Since commercial magnetic test facilities are often unavailable or impractical for university laboratories, such setups are typically developed in-house. A controlled magnetic environment allows for reliable magnetometer characterization, magnetorquer testing, and evaluation of attitude control algorithms, enabling repeatable ADCS experiments under well-defined conditions.
• At our university, a CubeSat-class ADCS is being developed from the ground up by students, with a focus on hands on hardware development and experimental validation. The current ADCS prototype includes magnetic sensors, custom-developed magnetorquers, and …

Design And Testing Of A Compact Hold-Down And Release System For A Formation Flying Micro Satellite; Seirios, Takahiro Takano, Yoshihisa Shimada, Takahiro Yamazaki, Masaki Ito, Itsuki Fujiwara, Satoshi Ikari, Shinichi Nakasuka

Small Satellite Conference

SEIRIOS(Space Experiment of IR Interferometric Observation Satellites)

• Demonstrates accurate formation flying (FF) technology with three microsatellites (two10 kg-class and one 60 kg-class)

Hold-Down and Release System (HDRS)

1. Retain the Deputy-Sats on the Chief -Sat during the launch.
2. Enable Interferometric observation in the docking configuration with no structural deformation.
3. Enable separation of the Deputy-Sats in orbit.
4. Avoid collision during separation

Launch Load Condition(Tentative)

The response amplification factor within the Chief-Sat was empirically set as below.

Development Of A Digital Electronic Framework To Manage High Power Systems In Small Satellite Missions, Mariel Serra, Rami Kandela, Bryan Johnston-Lemke, Robert E. Zee

Small Satellite Conference

• As small spacecraft payloads increase in complexity, they introduce the need for higher capacity and reliable power systems.
• The use of radiation tested automotive-grade components offer low-costs, however these parts are less suited to increased power demands, exhibiting signs of on-orbit latch-up.
• A re-design of a Modular Power System’s digital framework is proposed to support more spacecraft loads with minimal computational stress on the electronic processing units.

Distributed Avionics As A Foundational Architecture For Cubesat Constellations And Swarms, Aaron S. Swagei, Ali Guarneros-Luna

Small Satellite Conference

Motivation

CubeSat constellations and swarms require spacecraft that can tolerate subsystem faults without relying exclusively on a single centralized flight computer. Distributing sensing, control, and fault-management authority can improve containment and enable graceful degradation.

Objective

Develop and experimentally evaluate a distributed CubeSat avionics architecture in which subsystem nodes retain local fault-management authority while an F´-based OBC provides mission-level coordination.

The FlatSat is used as a representative spacecraft-level building block for future constellation and swarm architectures.

History Of Aggiesat6: An Undergraduate Mission From Concept To Operations, Garrett M. Stevenson, John F. Connolly

Small Satellite Conference

AggieSat Laboratory (AGSL) is a student-run space vehicle development organization that trains students in systems engineering through hands-on experience in the design, building, testing, and operation of space and space-related systems.

AGSL currently supports 107 members, all but three (3) of which are undergraduates, across eight (8) projects, including an underclassmen shadowing program.

AGSL supports the initiative and learning capabilities of undergraduate members through peer mentorship and the institutionalization of knowledge across its projects to achieve success through a variety of projects.

Integrated Optical/Body-Dynamics Simulations For Pointing, Acquisition And Tracking For The Pulse-A Mission, Juan Ignacio Prieto Asbun, Elizabeth Rosario, Jiayang Xu, Catherine Todd, Robert Pitu, Tian Zhong

Small Satellite Conference

PULSE-A is the University of Chicago’s student-led 3U CubeSat mission to demonstrate a space-to-ground optical downlink at a data rate of 1 to 10 Mbps using circular polarization shift keying (CPolSK).

To avoid costly and ineffective hardware-in-the-loop simulations, we instead present software-in-the-loop simulations designed to qualify our optical and PAT systems. This allows for simulations of the coupled optical systems that include closed-loop corrections and body pointing errors.

Sailing To The Stars Iss Experiment: Results And Conclusions From Light Sail Deployments In Microgravity, Verena Padres, Parishee Bajaj, Venkata Chalamalasetty, Claire Kim, Joshua Umansky-Castro, Dionna Parina, Gabriella Elcsics-Gonzalez, Cameron Goddard, Ethan Francolla, Mason Peck, Andrew Filo, Alex Burke, Olivia Gámez Holzhaus, Heath Mills, Christopher Kelly

Small Satellite Conference

Sailing to the Stars is a mission to test the deployment of free-flying light sails on the International Space Station (ISS). The objective is to understand how different deployer designs affect the stability of both the CubeSat Deployer and the light sail during and after the deployment event. Data from the IMU onboard the deployer and video footage from wall-mounted cameras are used to analyze these dynamics. The findings shall inform the design of future missions that employ this free-flying ChipSat-sail architecture.

The hardware launched with Crew-11 on August 1^st, 2025. Nicole Ayers conducted the experiment on August …

Lighting Up The Moon: A Scheduling Framework For Cislunar Space Based Solar Power Orchestration, Vaibhav Bhosale, Andrew Woo, Ada Gavrilovska, Christopher R. Valenta, Ketan Bhardwaj

Small Satellite Conference

Surviving the Lunar Night

• 14 Earth day lunar nights
• More batteries, more mass, higher cost

Generalized Attitude Control For Small Spacecraft, Patrick Mckeen, Niclas Scheuer, Kerri Cahoy

Small Satellite Conference

Published controllers are derived for one actuator set, pointing goal, orbit, and disturbance model. Porting one means reproducing the paper, validating the implementation, then changing hardware and mission assumptions together.

Concept Of Operation Logic And Implementation Expectations For Multimode Propulsion Technology Demonstration Missions, Logan Thompson, Michael Harrigan, Theresa Sandborn, Victoria Coverstone, Joshua L. Rovey

Small Satellite Conference

Traditional single-mode propulsion systems are typically optimized for either high-thrust, short-duration maneuvers (chemical propulsion) or high-efficiency, low-thrust operations (electric propulsion). For CubeSats, which are limited by mass, volume, power, and system complexity, carrying separate propulsion systems for each mission phase is often impractical. Multimode propulsion systems overcome this limitation by combining chemical and electric propulsion within a shared architecture, allowing a single spacecraft to perform both rapid maneuvers and efficient long-duration orbit maintenance.

Demonstrating a multimode propulsion system requires more than operating two propulsion modes on the same spacecraft. Shared propellant, feed systems, thermal interactions, power usage, and transitions …

An Open-Source Gps Simulator For Small Satellites In Low Earth Orbit, Marc Oger, Ada Li, Yousif Elwishahy, Ari Cholakian, Max Xiang, Warrick Lo, David G. Michelson

Small Satellite Conference

Small Earth-observation satellites, such as the University of British Columbia's upcoming ALEASAT mission, require accurate knowledge of their orbital position so that they can target specific locations on the globe as required by the needs of their users while avoiding restricted areas as required by government regulations.

You Are Beloved, Anna Bennett

The Main Thing Devotional

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are,” 1 John 3:1, NIV.

20260824: Marshall Artists Series, April 14, 2025 - April 26, 2026, Marshall Artists Series

Guides to University Archives

These items include materials from the Artists Series at Marshall University from 2025-2026. Items were received in 2026 and include seven movie sized posters outlining the shows that were done as part of MAS from April 14, 2025 through April 26, 2026. Please download the finding aid for a full list of contents.

Unmanned Aerial Support Program In Portland Police Bureau: A Case Study, Eiryn Renouard

Dissertations and Theses

With the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) adopting drone technology in 2024 as a tactical tool, officers have begun to experience change in the way they approach their roles as they learn to work in conjunction with this new technology. Known as the Unmanned Aerial Support program (UAS), this drone program is embedded into PPB's patrol unit. The recency of the program offers an opportunity to examine how a new program using new technology builds its culture and impacts the perspectives and behaviors of its participating officers. By interviewing officers and conducting field observations of the officers and drones in action, …

Scholarly Success By Design: A Coaching-Informed Framework For Early Career Nurse Scholars, Abby Grammer Horton, Carrie Henry, Brittany Woods

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Early career nurse scholars often enter academia with strong clinical expertise but limited preparation in the organizational, emotional, and cognitive skills required for sustainable scholarly productivity. This workshop introduces a research-informed, coaching-based framework to help emerging scholars develop clarity, confidence, and strategic structures for success during the crucial early years of their academic careers. Grounded in evidence from professional coaching, emotional CPR (eCPR), cognitive load theory, and scholarly productivity research, this interactive session provides participants with tools to manage workload complexity, reduce overwhelm, and build sustainable academic rhythms.

Using a blend of experiential learning and applied skill-building, attendees will explore …

Cognitive Resilience In Action: Evaluating Neurological Adaptive Functioning In Nursing Students, Darlla Thompson, Shunda Wilburn, Morgan Sewell, Brionne Perterkin

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Resilience is a critical competency for nursing students navigating academic stress and clinical uncertainty. This mixed-methods study evaluates the impact of a five-module neuroadaptive resilience training program on undergraduate nursing students’ stress regulation, cognitive flexibility, and clinical preparedness. The intervention integrates mindfulness-based resets, cognitive reframing drills, and executive function planning to promote neuroplasticity and emotional resilience in high-stress environments.

Reflective journaling and structured pre/post assessments will be used to measure changes in perceived stress, coping strategies, and professional identity formation. Quantitative data will be analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA to assess improvements in resilience and cognitive flexibility. Qualitative data from …

On The Double: Educating Veterans And Clinicians On Evidence-Based Ptsd Treatment Options, Jacquelyn Baldwin, Beth A. Pratt, Alan Peterson, Cheryl A. Krause-Parello

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may develop after a traumatic event and may impair cognition, mood, behavior, and increase risk of psychiatric illness and suicide (Mann et al., 2024). The lifetime prevalence of PTSD among United States (US) veterans can reach 29% depending on their period of military service (Judkins et al., 2020; Na et al., 2023). Many veterans still do not seek treatment. In a study of 13,824 veterans, less than 50% received PTSD treatment in the year after diagnosis (Grekin et al., 2021). Limited awareness of PTSD treatment options may be a cause. The aim of this dissemination initiative …

Mental Health Experiences Of Pakistani International Students In Canada: A Qualitative Study, Anila Naz Alisher, Salima Meherali, Tanya Park

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

International students, particularly those originating from Pakistan, a nation situated in South Asia, encounter distinctive sociocultural, academic, and emotional challenges during their studies at Canadian universities. These issues continue to be inadequately researched. This exploratory-descriptive qualitative study examines the mental health experiences of Pakistani international students in Canadian universities using photo-elicitation to understand how they navigate academic, social, cultural, and personal difficulties and how these shape their well-being. Seven students, from master’s to doctoral levels, participated in in-depth interviews.

Three major themes emerged. The first adjustment to a new environment included five subthemes: (1) personal characteristics; (2) religious and cultural …

Advancing Sdg 6: Nursing-Led Home Follow-Up On Water Filtration In Rural Ecuador, Stephanie Black

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Globally, many communities still lack safely managed drinking water, and preventable waterborne disease remains common in rural and low-resource settings. Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6 calls for universal and equitable access to safe and affordable drinking water by 2030.

Purpose: The purpose of this project was to evaluate the sustained use of household water filters, perceived health outcomes, and the impact of nursing-led water education among families in rural Ecuador one year after an initial clean water implementation project.

Methods: This completed follow-up project used a simple descriptive design. Nursing faculty and students returned to 10 participating families in …

Decolonizing Peer Review: Dismantling Epistemic Gatekeeping In Nursing Scholarship, Kechi Iheduru-Anderson

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background: Peer review in nursing privileges Western knowledge systems while marginalizing Indigenous, Global South, and community-based traditions. This colonial structure limits who contributes to nursing science, which methodologies are legitimate, and constrains culturally responsive care. Current practices exclude nurse researchers employing non-Western epistemologies, working in non-English languages, or prioritizing community-based approaches essential to addressing health disparities.

Purpose: This presentation examines peer review as a colonial mechanism and advocates for reforms democratizing nursing knowledge production. It explores how linguistic hegemony, methodological gatekeeping, and citation politics perpetuate epistemic injustice, and identifies alternative models from Latin America, Africa, and Indigenous communities fostering collaboration …

Understanding The Intersections Of Pregnancy, Ipv, And Hiv Risk Among Youth In The Galápagos, Natalia Andrea Villegas Rodriguez, Rainier Masa, Cindy Fraga-Rizzo, Mimi Chapman, Brian A. Garcia, Lucero Rocha-Dela Cruz, Lizbeth Arvizu, Amy Kaiser

International Nursing Research Congress (INRC)

Background and Purpose: Ecuador has one of the highest rates of youth pregnancy and intimate partner violence (IPV) (1). Youth pregnancy and IPV may also increase other risks, such as Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) (2). In Ecuador, HIV remains a concentrated epidemic that disproportionately affects youth aged 15–24 (2,3). Despite nationwide concern, little is known about these issues in the Galapagos Islands of Ecuador. The unique context of the Galapagos requires a distinct exploration of pathways linking youth pregnancy, IPV and HIV. The purpose of this study is to understand young adults’ perspectives about risk and protective factors for youth …