Small Satellites: Workshop on Precision Deployment and Safe Operations for Nano and Microsatellites

Small Satellite 2020Tuesday, August 4th I 8:30 - 10.00 am MDT

D-Orbit invites you to a 90-minute interactive workshop to discover how D-Orbit’s solutions and expertise can help you optimize several aspects of a space mission. The workshop, which investigates a realistic mission scenario, is divided into three 30-minute sessions.

1. INTRODUCTION: In this session we introduce our company, present an overview of our solutions for the New Space market, and detail what is going to happen in the three side-by-side workshops that will follow.

2. HANDS-ON WORKSHOPS: during this part of the event, participants will decide which group to join and each group will investigate a different area where D-Orbit’s solutions can bring a competitive advantage.

• Deployment of a small satellite constellation: The deployment of a constellation of small spacecraft can be optimized by InOrbit NOW, a satellite launch and deployment service that leverages ION Satellite Carrier, a satellite dispenser engineered, produced, and operated by D-Orbit. ION is designed to transport a batch of small spacecraft in space and release them individually into independent orbital slots. Thanks to its propulsion module, ION Satellite Carrier can perform complex orbital maneuvers: Altitude change, RAAN shift, True Anomaly phasing and Inclination change. For Constellation to be deployed on the same orbit, ION can reduce up to 80% the phasing time. Through an interactive method, this workshop will demonstrate ION’s ability to deploy a constellation over several orbital planes.

• In-orbit demonstration/validation (IOD/IOV): ION Satellite Carrier offers the opportunity to host experimental payloads for in-orbit demonstration and validation missions. The hosted payloads, encapsulated within CubeSat structural elements, are connected to the main spacecraft bus through standard electric and data interfaces. This standardized environment, combined with the wide availability of InOrbit NOW missions throughout the year, provides the opportunity for incremental testing in a space environment. This workshop demonstrates how an operator can, within a single ION mission, deploy a batch of flight-proven spacecraft while testing components to be integrated in a later batch.

• Satellite operations: This session introduces Aurora, a powerful cloud-based mission control software suite designed to control a single satellite or a complete constellation through a user-friendly, fully customizable user interface compatible with any device with an Internet connection, including tablets and smart phones. The workshop demonstrates how Aurora enables smaller operators to take control of their satellite constellations relying on pre-existing satellite relevant data, and how the system scales up over time thanks to a pay-per use model and an expandable architecture

3. WRAP UP AND Q&A SESSION: In the final section we wrap up the three segments and discuss how this particular combination of services bring down the cost of a space mission and reduces the time to market. We then open the floor to questions and provide targeted advice based on real-world business cases.