The CUAVA-1 CubeSat–A Pathfinder Satellite for Remote Sensing and Earth Observation

2017

In the fall of 2016, the NASA Science Mission Directorate, working with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, initiated the development of three 1U CubeSats by undergraduate students at universities representing the Commonwealth of Virginia. The University of Virginia, Old Dominion University, Virginia Tech, and Hampton University, were chosen to construct CubeSats for flight in May of 2018. The mission has three primary goals: to educate students by providing hands-on experience, to measure orbital decay on a constellation of low earth orbit (LEO) satellites, and to evaluate and demonstrate a system for the communication of relative and absolute spacecraft position. In this paper, we will describe the details of the mission itself, the science behind the mission, and the structure of the mission that was established to accomplish its goals. We will also provide a review of the hardware used by the mission, the software that exists so far, information about the thermal modelling of t...

Journal of Astronomical Telescopes, Instruments, and Systems

The capabilities of CubeSats have grown significantly since the first of these small satellites was launched in the early 2000s. These capabilities enable a wide range of mission profiles, with CubeSats emerging as viable platforms for certain space-based astronomical research applications. The Educational Irish Research Satellite (EIRSAT-1) is a CubeSat being developed as part of the European Space Agency's Fly Your Satellite! program. In addition to its educational aims, the mission is driven by several scientific and technological goals, including goals related to a novel gamma-ray instrument for the detection of bright transient astrophysical sources, such as gamma-ray bursts. This work provides a detailed description of the software development life-cycle for EIRSAT-1, addressing the design, development and testing of robust flight software, aspects of payload interfacing, and risk mitigation. The described design-to-testing approach was implemented to establish, prior to launch, that EIRSAT-1 can perform its intended mission. Constraints and challenges typically experienced by CubeSat teams, which can impact the likelihood of mission success, are considered throughout this work, and lessons learned are discussed. The aim of this work is to highlight the advanced capabilities of CubeSats while providing a useful resource for teams implementing their own flight software. © The Authors. Published by SPIE under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Distribution or reproduction of this work in whole or in part requires full attribution of the original publication, including its DOI.

With the advent of the first satellite Sputnik, a new era for mankind has opened. With this new era, the concepts of satellites have become more important than ever for the amenities of the modern civilization that we enjoy today. However, there is still a great need for improvement in satellite technology and this can be best achieved by various Nanosatellite research and deployment programs. Due to its specific nature and its operational dynamics related to its vast application, a Nanosatellite programme can be very efficiently and effectively implemented under a University's R&D programme. Until today, many Nanosatellite have been successfully developed, launched and used by various Universities all across the world and many useful information and experience have come out of these activities. In this particular paper, a case study analysis of an ideal Nanosatellite research and deployment program for universities will be shown. This paper can serve as a fundamental case study of a Nanosatellite program and academic and research organizations can use this as a guideline for their programs. An optimal near polar, low earth orbit is calculated for this Nanosatellite along with its structural configurations. The orbit is calculated keeping in mind certain geographical constraints which defines the basic objectives of the mission. Moreover, different attitude adjustments systems are explored in order to create the most stable configuration in orbit. In addition, possible payload configurations for this particular case study will be analyzed and the corresponding launch systems along with its costs will be explored. The main focus will be on creating the most optimal configuration with the minimum of production and launching costs for the Nanosatellite. Thus, the payload capability as well as the launch configuration along with the orbit will be calculated accordingly. This paper hopes to demonstrate the technical aspects as well as the educational aspects of a University Cubesat project

2021

'Fly Your Satellite!' (FYS) is a recurring hands-on programme conducted by the ESA (European Space Agency) Academy Unit of ESA's Education Office. Fly Your Satellite! was established to support university student teams in the development of their own CubeSats by enabling a transfer of knowledge and experience from ESA specialists to students. Selected teams are guided through project reviews and supervised through design consolidation and verification activities, conducted according to ESA professional practice and to standards tailored to fit the scope of university CubeSat projects. This paper focuses on key lessons learned and issues identified during the ongoing verification activities of the CubeSats in the second cycle of FYS (FYS2), and on how that experience is used to the benefit of participants of future cycles, including the teams in the third cycle (FYS3), who are now in the late stages of their Critical Design Review. Special attention is given to the lessons learned during the manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing phases as experience shows that first-time developers tend to underestimate the number of issues which arise when the design is translated from documentation and models into physical hardware. The lessons learned are categorised into the topics of Development, AIV, Project Management, and Product Assurance. In the Development category, the lessons learns suggest attention should be focused on emphasizing the importance of development models and FlatSats for early testing, proactive development of aspects which don't appear to be immediately critical or appear to be on the project's critical path (such as software and test GSE), and anticipating the need for compatibility with a range of possible orbit scenarios. The Assembly, Integration, and Verification category contains a large variety of lessons learned from the preparation for AIV activities, anomalies encountered, and reflection on what was done well in the programme. These lessons cover topics such as dimensional requirement non-conformances, electromagnetic interferences, and recommendations for system level testing preparation. Lessons learned for the Project Management category mostly arise from the understandable lack of (space) project management experience of the student teams, and the discussion focuses on possible mitigation approaches that can be implemented. Specific topics covered include delayed project schedules, management of student resources, risk management, and experiences with legal and regulatory requirements. The lessons learned on Product Assurance stem primarily from the difficulties in applying standard methodologies to educational small spacecraft projects. Problems with configuration control, clean room practices, and anomaly investigation methods are discussed, with recommendations for how student teams could solve such issues, primarily through the creation of additional documentation to track modifications and processes implemented Castillo-Sancho 2 35th Annual Small Satellite Conference INTRODUCTION TO FLY YOUR SATELLITE! 'Fly Your Satellite!' (FYS) is a programme in the ESA Education Office dedicated to one, two, and three-unit CubeSats developed with educational scopes. The programme is open to university teams from ESA Member and Associate Member States 1 .

medium platform, 2023

“Let us aspire to conduct more spectacular space missions in future years” Prepare to witness history in the making with the 75SSM program — a meticulously crafted initiative of Indian academia that will deploy an impressive fleet of 75 student-built satellites into low Earth orbit (LEO). This groundbreaking program pushes the boundaries of what’s possible in space exploration with cutting-edge technology and unprecedented student involvement. The 75SSM expedition is poised to be a remarkable achievement, ushering in a new era of space research and innovation.

Advances in Space Research, 2016

During the last decade, a very small-standardized satellite, the Cubesat, emerged as a low-cost fast-development tool for space and technology research. Although its genesis is related to education, the change in paradigm presented by this satellite platform has motivated several countries, institutions, and companies to invest in a variety of technologies, aimed at improving Cubesat capabilities, while lowering costs of space missions. Following that trend, Latin American institutions, mostly universities, has started to develop Cubesat missions. This article describes some of the Latin American projects in this area. In particular, we discuss the achievements and scientific grounds upon which the first Cubesat projects in Chile were based and the implications that those projects have had on pursuing satellite-based research in the country and in collaboration with other countries of the region.

4th Symposium on Space Educational Activities, 2022

is a student team of University of Padova with the aim to participate to the ESA Fly Your Satellite! (FYS!) programme and to launch for the first time at University of Padova a CubeSat made by students. The proposed mission has three independent objectives: (1) to collect in-situ measurements of the submm space debris environment in LEO, (2) to study the micro-vibration environment on the satellite throughout different mission phases, (3) to do precise orbit determination through laser ranging and evaluate procedures for fast satellite Pointing, Acquisition and Tracking (PAT) from ground. The proposed technological experiments aim to obtain data that will enrich the current knowledge of the space environment and will provide precious information useful for the further development of some research projects currently performed at University of Padova. In order to reach the objectives, in these years the activities of the teams aimed to develop a 2U CubeSat equipped with three payloads. The first payload is an impact sensor that will be placed on one of the outer faces of the satellite and will be able to count the number of debris impacting the spacecraft thus being able to measure the energy/momentum transferred to the satellite. The second one is a Commercial Off The Shelf (COTS) sensor that measures the micro-vibrations experienced by payloads in a CubeSat in different mission phases. The third one consists in a number of COTS Corner Cube Retroreflectors that will be placed onboard the satellite. Thanks to this, Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR) will be done to collect data on the satellite range and range rate using a facility currently under development at University. This paper presents the mission objectives and motivations. In addition, the mission phases and the preliminary design of the CubeSat reached during the activities of the project are shown. Particular attention is given to the payloads which are the most challenging aspect of this project.

In 2007, The National Research Council released a report known as the Earth Science Decadal Survey. This report lays out an architecture for a holistic Earth Observation Program consisting of 17 missions to be flown in a decade for a total cost of about $7B. Six years after, mission cost estimates have grown by 70% on average, and at the current levels of funding for NASA Earth Science, it would take about 40 years to fly these missions. Furthermore, missions that played central roles in satisfying the needs of the Earth science community have not materialized, due to launch failures, mission cancellations, severe delays or descoping processes. The Earth Science community is in desperate need of novel architectures for Earth observation missions that can satisfy at least part of the scientific requirements at a fraction of the cost of the Decadal Survey missions. Cubesats have the potential to become an important component of such novel architectures by providing low-cost opportunities to fly advanced miniature instruments such as GNSS receivers in radio occultation and reflectometry modes, visible and near-infrared imagers, short-wave infrared spectrometers, millimeter-wave radiometers, microbolometers, and so forth.

jossonline.com

Over a decade ago, after several years of teaching my Stanford University students different engineering and systems aspects of larger microsat type spacecraft, I developed the first 10-cm cube satellite, which Jordi Puig-Suari at California Polytechnic State University-San ...

Nowadays, with new technologies, smaller and cheaper satellites have been designed and launched. Such satellites fit as educational tools to future engineers. With few kilograms and reduced dimensions, they have simple operation, despite being complete systems capable to perform real missions. Having short life cycles, from design to disposal, they allow students to follow a complete project during academic lives. In this paper a generic platform for an 1U CubeSat is proposed, designed according to NASA and CubeSat Initiative standards. For so, typical loads during flight trajectory were considered. Cost, related to mass and benefits were contemplated for materials choice. Simulations on testing and launching conditions were performed in a systemic analysis. The structure was chosen using comparative method and possible arrangements of components were examined. The behavior of the structure both empty and with components was studied using FEM, with static load, natural frequencies, random and sinusoidal vibrations and impact analyses. The mass of the structure was reduced and the geometry adapted to allow better attachment of components. The final 1U structure is not heavier than commercial ones and allows mass reduction. It fulfills main structural requirements for 1U CubeSats imposed by CDS. This result is ready to be used by educational initiatives.