Post on 18-Dec-2015
www.baylor.edu/casper
René Laufer1, Scott Madry2
1Associate Research Professor, CASPER, Baylor University / Co-Chair, IAA Permanent Committee on Small Satellite Missions
2Executive Director, Global Space Institute (GSI) / Research Associate Professor, University of North Caroline, Chapel Hill
Small Satellite Challenges Around The World
www.baylor.edu/casper
Laufer, Madry: Small Satellite Challenges Around The World
Small Satellites: A Success Story
• 1st small satellite: UoSat-1, University of Surrey, UK, 1981(or: Sputnik 1, USSR, 1957 – with 84 kg a micro satellite )
• Enabled wider access to space and its applications• Small satellite categories (e.g. proposed by IAA in the
1990s):mini satellites: up to 500 kg, micro satellites: up to 100 kg, nano satellites: up to 10 kg, pico satellites: up to 1 kg, femto satellites: up to 0.1 kg
• A proven tool in education and workforce development, engineering (e.g. technology demonstration), science (e.g. Earth observation) and business – at affordable cost and risk.
2
UoSat-1, 52 kg (1981)
CanX-1, 1 kg (2003)
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Small Satellites: Some Key Features
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Small spacecraft mass, low space segment cost and short development time create low barriers to market entry – ground segment (investment) cost might be significant higher.More complex missions in any class increase cost and time.Nevertheless: the cost/time ratio creates a small satellite paradigm enabling new types of missions.
Image Source: R. Sandau, K. Briess, and M. D'Errico, “Small satellites for global coverage: Potential and limits,” ISPRS J PHOTOGRAMM, vol. 65, no. 6, pp. 492–504, Oct. 2010, doi:10.1016/j.isprsjprs.2010.09.003
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• Distributed Small Satellite Systems (Swarms, Constellations, Formations) are reality.
• Federated and Fractionated Small Satellite Systems are the next logical step.
• Some challenges:Global ground resource sharing, shared on-board resource utilization, global frequency allocation, middleware distribution
Example: Massive Small Satellite Missions
Laufer, Madry: Small Satellite Challenges Around The World
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Image Source: W
ired.com
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• Low cost, short duration development enables the willingness to perform very short duration or high risk missions
• Short duration and/or high risk small satellite missions: atmospheric entry/sample return, space debris removal, very low altitude orbits
• Some challenges:Global ground resource sharing, global frequency allocation, space debris risk, atmospheric entry areas and landing sites
Example: Short Duration/High Risk Mission
Image Source: CAPE - U
niv. Stuttgart/Ksat Stutt
gart
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• Missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO) – high Earth orbit or interplanetary missions to cis-/trans-lunar space, small bodies, planets, moons or deep space
• Low cost/low mass design offer “do-one-thing-well” (one payload per spacecraft) type of piggy-back add-on missions carried by larger probes
• Some challenges:Global ground resource sharing, space debris, global frequency allocation
Example: Missions beyond Low Earth Orbit
Image Source: IN
SPIRE – NASA/JPL
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Thank you for your attention!
• E-mail contact:– Rene Laufer: rene_laufer@baylor.edu– Scott Madry: madry@gsi-space.org
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