small satellite efforts at the university of colorado boulder
TRANSCRIPT
Small Satellite Efforts at the University of Colorado Boulder
Professor Scott Palo*Charles Victor Schelke Endowed Professor
Ann and HJ Smead Aerospace Engineering Sciences Department University of Colorado Boulder
Director - Space Technology Integration Lab (STIg)Co-Director – Active Remote Sensing Lab (ARSenL)Chair - AIAA Small Satellite Technical Committee
IPPW Short Course – June 9th, 2018*COI Disclaimer : Scott Palo has a fiduciary relationship with Blue Canyon Technologies and Blue Cubed LLC.
A Brief (incomplete) Small Sat History @ CU
1946
1948
Ae
ro
sp
ace
En
gin
ee
rin
g
De
pa
rtm
en
t C
re
ate
d
Up
pe
r A
ir L
ab
(LA
SP
)
Cre
ate
d
1956
LA
SP
En
gin
ee
rs c
re
ate
ne
w c
om
pa
ny
–
be
co
me
s B
all
Ae
ro
sp
ace
1958
NA
SA
Fo
rm
ed
Timeline mostly includes student centric milestones, details on all LASP project can
be found at http://lasp.colorado.edu/home/missions-projects/
2008
CU
AE
S/LA
SP
stu
de
nts w
ho
wo
rk
ed
on
SN
OE
sta
rt B
lue
Ca
ny
on
Te
ch
no
log
ies
1965-1975
LA
SP
bu
ild
s i
nstru
me
nts
fo
r M
arin
er 5
,6,7
,8 &
9
1976-1989
So
lar M
eso
sp
he
re
Exp
lore
r (
SM
E) o
pe
ra
te
d
by
CU
stu
de
nts h
as
instru
me
nts b
uil
t b
y
LA
SP
on
a B
all b
us.
1995-2003
Stu
de
nt N
itric
Oxid
e
Exp
lore
r (
SN
OE
) s
ate
llit
e
an
d in
stru
me
nts b
uilt a
nd
op
era
te
d b
y A
ES
/LA
SP
stu
de
nts a
nd
pro
fe
ssio
na
ls
2012
CS
SW
E C
ub
eS
at l
au
nch
ed
(A
ES
/LA
SP
)
2014
2015 2018
DA
ND
E l
au
nch
ed
(A
ES
/C
OS
GC
UN
P-5
)
Min
XS
S-1
Cu
be
Sa
t l
au
nch
ed
Inclu
de
s S
/N
00
1 B
CT
XA
CT
(A
ES
/LA
SP
)
Min
XS
S-2
la
un
ch
3Q
18
(A
ES
/LA
SP
Cu
be
Sa
t)
2017
QB
50
Cu
be
Sa
t l
au
nch
ed
2Q
(A
ES
)
2020
MA
XW
ELL C
ub
eS
at L
au
nch
[N
ET
2Q
20
]
(A
ES
UN
P-9
)
2004
3C
S l
au
nch
ed
(C
OS
GC
UN
P-1
&2
)
2014
ALL-STA
R C
ub
eS
at l
au
nch
ed
(C
OS
GC
/LM
CO
)
2011
HE
RM
ES
Cu
be
Sa
t l
au
nch
ed
(C
OS
GC
)
2018
PO
LA
R C
ub
e C
ub
eS
at L
au
nch
[4
Q1
7]
(C
OS
GC
/E
CE
E U
NP
-8
)
1989
CO
SG
C F
ou
nd
ed
2019
CU
-E
3 C
ub
eS
at S
LS
La
un
ch
[N
et 4
Q1
9]
(A
ES
NA
SA
Cu
be
Qu
est
Ch
all
en
ge
)
2006
Ne
w H
oriz
on
s l
au
nch
es t
o
Plu
to
wit
h C
U s
tu
de
nt b
uil
t
Stu
de
nt D
ust C
ou
nte
r
2015
Ne
w H
oriz
on
s a
rriv
es a
t
Plu
to
wit
h C
U s
tu
de
nt b
uil
t
Stu
de
nt D
ust C
ou
nte
r
2001
AE
S h
ire
s f
irst S
ma
ll
Sa
t P
ro
fesso
r (
Pa
lo)
2015
AE
S h
ire
s s
eco
nd
Sm
all
Sa
t P
ro
fesso
r (
Ma
rsh
all
)
2005
AE
S g
ra
du
ate
s f
irst S
ma
ll
Sa
t P
hD
(S
hriv
er)
Jan 2014 - PresentAug 2009 - Jan 2015 Aug 2011 – May 2017
DANDE (39267)
Launch Sep 2013
331x1426km 81o
SpaceX Falcon-9 Flight #6
Challenger (42721)
Launch Apr 2017
410x410km 51.2o
[ISS]
ULA ATLAS V [OA-7]
Jan 2007 – Mar 2014
MinXSS-1 (41474)
Launch Dec 2015
402x402km 51.2o
[ISS]
ULA Atlas V [OA-4]
Recent SmallSat work at CUHeliophysics
CSSWE (38761)
Launch Sep 2012
442x777km 64.6o
ULA Atlas V [NROL-36]
MinXSS-2CUTE
Launch 1Q20
MAXWELL
Launch NET 2Q20
Upcoming CU Cubesat Missions
CSIM
Launch 3Q18
CU-E3
Launch NET 4Q19Launch 3Q18SSO 575km
INSIPRE-SAT
Launch 2Q19
HeliophysicsEarth Science Astrophysics
Centennial Challenge
8-Jun-18
Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment
CSSWE ScienceScience ObjectivesTo understand the relationships between solar energetic particles (SEPs), flares, and coronal mass ejections (CMEs), and to characterize the variations of the Earth's radiation belt electrons.
Science Questions:
1. How do the flare location, magnitude, and frequency relate to the timing, duration, and energy spectrum of SEPs reaching Earth?
2. How does the energy spectrum of radiation belt electrons evolve and how does this evolution relate to the acceleration mechanisms?
Mission Overview: System
6/8/18 7
Exploded View
8
REPTile
REPTileelectronics
C&DHComm
EPSBatteries
Hysteresis Rods
Antenna
BarMagnet
Body mountedSolar panels
REPTileRelativistic electron proton integrated little experiment
Miniature version of Van Allen probes REPT instrument
NROL-36 Launch Vandenberg AFB (ATLAS-V)ELaNa-6 13-SEP-12
11
x11
Ground Station
6/8/18 12
n Built by studentsn Designed for CSSWE and future
missionsn UHF cross-Yagi antennas
n Amateur radio frequency bandn Automated tracking with
SatPC32n Hydra commanding software
Latch-up (E2) Battery Drain Anomaly #1 (E3)
Loss of Contact (E6)Battery Drain Anomaly #2 (E5)
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
log 1
0[H
+ Fl
ux 3
0-40
MeV
]
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
log 1
0[H
+ Fl
ux 3
0-40
MeV
]
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5
-1lo
g 10[
H+
Flux
30-
40 M
eV]
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
-0.5
-1
log 1
0[H
+ Fl
ux 3
0-40
MeV
]
Comparison REPTile and MagEIS (~ 0.5 MeV):(1) ~ 0.5 MeV electrons go deep, pass slot region and merge with inner belt (2) Detailed structures: including so called “transient ring”
REPTile measurements
MagEIS measurements (Blake, Fennell et al.) short-lived “transient ring”
Orbit: 490x790, 65o inclination
Student Involvement
Over 60 students involved in the project
The Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer
MinXSS Website
• First NASA SMD CubeSat• Launched Dec 6, 2015, OA-4 to ISS• Deployed May 2016• Achieved full success and deorbited in May 2017• S/N 001 BCT XACT – Demonstrated ~10 arcsec pointing• Coordinated in AES projects course• MinXSS-2 scheduled to launch 2Q18
ObjectivesObserve the Sun, specifically the intensity of the soft X-ray spectrum from 0.4 keV (30 Å) to 30 keV (0.4 Å), with a resolution of 0.15 keV. These observations will be used to better understand how soft X-ray flares effect the earth’s atmosphere .
8-Jun-18
MinXSS – First NASA SMD CubeSatand
CADRE – NSF supported CubeSatISS Deployment from Nanoracks NRCSD
May 16, 2016
MinXSS Reveals Flare Plasma Temperature and Brightness• M5.0 flare on 23-Jul-2016
• SXR irradiance increases during this flare by a factor of 4-200 relative to the pre-flare level.
• Emission includes Bremsstrahlung continuum along with many hot coronal lines
• Pre-flare spectrum (green) has plasma temperature of 2-4 MK and abundance (composition) factor of 2.1.
• Flare spectrum (black) has plasma temperature of 2-15 MK and abundance (composition) factor of 1.2.
• MinXSS X123 data have 10-sec cadence but with data gaps during orbit eclipse periods
• MinXSS-1 during its 1-year mission has observed:
• 8 M-class flares and• 100+ C-class flares Figures from Woods et al. (ApJ, 2016)
x 200increase
MinXSS wins the 2016 Small Satellite of the Year award !
QBUS• US QB50 Consortium
• Four Universities• ITM science expertise• Prior CubeSat experience• Over 100 students involved
QBUS – University of Colorado
QB50 Website
ObjectivesThe QB50 project is an initiative born out of the European von Karman Institute that aims to deploy approximately fifty CubeSatsinto LEO in order to conduct multi-point, in-situ, measurements of the lower thermosphere.
Concept of Operations Simulations
Challenger
• Funded by NSF ($180K)• 2016-04-18 OA-7 launch• 2016-05-25 ISS deployment• 9-12mo orbital lifetime• Builds on CSSWE and MinXSS Heritage• New CU constructed ADCS system• University College London constructed
ion neutral mass spectrometer (INMS)• Coordinated in AES projects course
Challenger Deconstructed
OA-7 LaunchApril 18, 2017
CU-E3Colorado Earth Escape Explorer
Part of the NASA CubeQuest Challenge
Demonstrate Deep Space CubeSat Com
Placed 4th in ground tournament #2
Placed 3rd in ground tournament #3
Placed 2rd in ground tournament #4
Selected for launch on EM-1
Enabled through AES graduate projectscurriculum
Builds on prior hardware development – X-bandradio
Prototyping novel X-band reflectarray
Leverage partnerships
BCT – XB1 small satellite bus with XACT ADCS
ATLAS ground station resources
Scheduled delivery, 2Q17
2nd Place & SLS Launch Opportunity
Summary• The University of Colorado has had a robust cubesat program
for more than 10 years• Students have been an integral part of the program• The focus has been on space weather science• We are excited about the opportunities to operate in deep
space• We are always open for discussion about potential
collaborations