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3rd Responsive Space ConferenceApril 25–28, 2005
Los Angeles, CA
KUTESAT-2, A StudentNanosatellite Mission for TestingRapid-Response Small Satellite
Technologies in Low Earth Orbit
Trevor Sorensen, Glenn Prescott, Marco VillaUniversity of Kansas, Lawrence KS
Dewayne Brown, John HicksNational Nuclear Security Administration, Kansas City
Plant, Kansas City MO
Arthur Edwards, James LykeAir Force Research Laboratory, Albuquerque NM
Thomas George, Sohrab Mobasser, Karl YeeNASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA
Scott Tyson
Space Microsystems, Inc.
3rd Responsive Space Conference
RS3-2005-3002
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AIAA-RS3 2005-3002
KUTESAT-2, A STUDENT NANOSATELLITE MISSION FOR TESTING RAPID-
RESPONSE SMALL SATELLITE TECHNOLOGIES IN LOW EARTH ORBIT1
Trevor Sorensen, Glenn Prescott, Marco VillaUniversity of Kansas, Lawrence KS
Dewayne Brown, John Hicks
National Nuclear Security Administration, Kansas City Plant, Kansas City MO
Arthur Edwards, James Lyke
Air Force Research Laboratory, Albuquerque NM
Thomas George, Sohrab Mobasser, Karl Yee
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena CA
Scott Tyson
Space Microsystems
ABSTRACT
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL)is interested in using nanosats to perform
space experiments, demonstrate new
technology, develop operational systems,and integrate advanced responsive space
system technology. One potentialoperational application of nanosats is using
clusters of microsatellites that operate
cooperatively to perform the function of alarger, single satellite. Each smaller satellite
communicates with the others and shares the
processing, communications, and payload or
mission functions. This type of a distributedsystem has several advantages: (1) system-
level robustness and graceful degradation,
and (2) distributed capabilities for surveillance and science measurements built
into the system architecture. There are a
number of technology advancements neededto operationalize and enable tactical
missions. These advancements include
modular ‘plug-n-play’ satellite architectures
and components; high performance tactical
downlinks; adaptable, agile propulsion
systems, and lean manufacturing, assemblyand test.
The Kansas Universities’ TechnologyEvaluation Satellite (KUTESat) program
originated at the University of Kansas (KU)in 2002. The technical objective of the
program is the development and operation of
miniature satellites that can demonstrate andtest technologies and techniques necessary
to accomplish various government missions.
The first satellite, KUTESat-1 Pathfinder ,
was designed to perform imaging andmeasure radiation from orbit. The design
and construction of this 1-kg satellite helped
KU to develop the capability to produce andoperate small research satellites. Pathfinder
is due for launch in mid-2005.
Nanosats are a rapid and low-cost
technology platform for the space testing of
a broad range of micro-electro-mechanical
systems (MEMS) and nanotechnologies aswell as new mission architectures. The
KUTESat program offers a low-cost1Copyright © 2005 by AIAA 3rd Responsive Space
Conference 2005. All rights reserved.
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solution to the problem of acquiring “space
heritage” for new technologies and concepts.These programs can undertake higher risk
missions that would be otherwise avoided by
more conservative mission planners. Thus
new MEMS and nanotechnologies related toavionics, guidance and control,
communications, imaging, maneuvering,
and instrumentation are offered a rapid andlow-cost approach to space testing that will
help realize a rapid response space force.
The objective of the current program is to
develop and fly a nanosatellite to test
components, technologies, and concepts thatare of use to the AFRL, the National
Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)and the National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA), while providing avaluable contribution to the education of
students who will soon be entering the space
workforce.
KU is leading a team consisting of the
NNSA Kansas City Plant, the AFRL, and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) to
design and execute the KUTESat-2 missionusing a 16-kg nanosatellite based on the
Pathfinder satellite with much commonality
in the avionics and ground system. Themajor technologies to be tested include: a
miniature distributed and adaptive S-band
transceiver; a miniature maneuvering control
system; standardized interface (“plug and play”) electronic modules; various MEMS
technologies, including a single-axis MEMS
gyroscope; a micro sun sensor; an array of miniature dosimeters; and a miniature
imager. New capabilities to be tested include
a Tracking and Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)communication demonstration with the S-
band transceiver, and demonstration of
target inspection capability using a deployed
inflated target. The KUTESat-2 will be prepared for a launch in 2007.
INTRODUCTION
The Kansas Universities’ Technology
Evaluation Satellite (KUTESat) program
originated at the University of Kansas with
the help and support of the KansasUniversity Center for Research and the
Kansas Space Grant Consortium. KUTESat
aims to promote interest in space activitiesat partner universities (e.g., Emporia State
University, Haskell Indian Nations
University, Kansas State University,Pittsburg State University and Wichita State
University), and elementary and secondary
schools in the state. Engineering and other departments of these universities were
contacted at the beginning of the program. Itwas mutually determined that although
collaboration in such an early phase was notfeasible, once the infrastructure is in place,
then it would be possible to team with them.
That is why the first satellite, Pathfinder ,was a project of the University of Kansas
alone. A major goal of the team is to
succeed in the educational aspect, whileaccomplishing missions that will be useful
to the United States government and spaceindustry.
The technical objective of the KUTESat program is the development and operation of
miniature satellites that can demonstrate and
test technologies and techniques necessary
to accomplish various Department of Defense (DoD) and NASA missions.
1Some
of the satellites will be for testing new
technologies for various customers, whileothers will be engineering prototypes of
small probes that could be carried aboard
larger U.S. government spacecraft. The proposed missions of these latter picosats
are to provide an ability to inspect the main
spacecraft or other nearby objects and to
measure the ambient space environmentaway from the influence of the main
spacecraft. The first objective helps in the
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accomplishment of the AFSPC Strategic
Master Plan for ensuring space superiority,while the latter objective will be particularly
useful to both DoD and NASA missions.
Another major objective of the KUTESat
program is to flight-test advancednanotechnology in the form of components
and subsystems (e.g., electronics,
micropropulsion, inertial measurement units,and imagers). These technologies will
enable the development of whole fleets of
miniature responsive spacecraft toaccomplish the DoD objectives in space.
2,3
Flying three picosats together also tests
formation flying, and the command andcontrol of a formation in space.
The core KUTESat program (see Figure 1)
starts with a balloonsat precursor, theKansas University Balloon Experiment
Satellite (KUBESat); the first satellite,
KUTESat-1 ( Pathfinder ); then the current
project, KUTESat-2. From there the
program diverges into two lines. The first isthe MIST mission, which includes the
simultaneous flight of three KUTESats, and
the other is a possible follow-on to
KUTESat-2 which involves a re-dockable
inspector probe. Both these paths can leadtowards operational application in either
DoD or NASA missions.
PROJECT DESCRIPTION
STATEMENT OF OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the KUTESat-2 mission is toflight test new technologies and capabilities
of importance to the Air Force ResearchLaboratory (AFRL), National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA), and the
National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) in low Earth orbit.
The major technologies to be tested willinclude: a miniature programmable,
distributed and adaptive S-band transceiver;
Figure 1. KUTESat Program
-1KUTESat
Pathfinder
Prototype
(KC-135)
MMCSPrototype
PrecursorsKUBESat
2006
NASA Missions
DoDMissions
2005
KUTESat-2
• DOE S-band
Transceiver
• Imager
• Dosimeters
• MEMS
• Inflatable target
• MMCS
KUTESat-3
OR
MIST
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
-1KUTESat
Pathfinder
KUTESat
Pathfinder
Prototype
(KC-135)
MMCSPrototypePrototype
(KC-135)
MMCSPrototype
PrecursorsKUBESatPrecursorsKUBESat
20062006
NASA MissionsNASA Missions
DoDMissionsDoDMissions
20052005
KUTESat-2
• DOE S-band
Transceiver
• Imager
• Dosimeters
• MEMS
• Inflatable target
• MMCS
KUTESat-3
OR
MIST
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3
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AIAA-3rd
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a miniature maneuvering control system;
standardized interface (“plug and play”)electronic modules; various MEMS
technologies, including a single-axis MEMS
gyroscope; and a miniature imager. New
capabilities to be tested include a Trackingand Data Relay Satellite (TDRS)
communication demonstration with the
miniature S-band tranceiver, anddemonstration of target inspection capability
using a deployed inflated target.
The mission objectives are divided into
primary and secondary objectives.
Primary Objectives1. Promote and sustain research and
education focused on small satellites andrelated technologies.
2. Demonstrate the ability of theUniversity of Kansas to design,
fabricate, integrate, test, and operate a
nanosatellite of less than 30 kg in mass.3. Flight test and demonstrate technologies
that will be of use to the AFRL, NNSA,
and NASA.4. Train and educate future space
professionals that will enter theworkforce.
Secondary Objectives
5. Foster research in enabling technologiesfor nanosats.
6. Design of experiments that can be
performed by nanosats in orbit.
7. Engage young people at all schoollevels to foster an interest in space,
mathematics, and science.
To fulfill these objectives the University of
Kansas (KU) is leading a team which will
design, build, test and operate a nanosatelliteof less than 30 kg mass that will be flown in
low Earth orbit (LEO). The KU team is
experienced in small satellite development,
having just built a 1-kg satellite, KUTESat-1( Pathfinder ), which is scheduled for launch
in mid-2005. KUTESat-2 will be a 3-axis
stabilized test platform for the technology
payloads being provided by the KUTESat-2team members (NNAS KCP, AFRL, and
NASA JPL). KUTESat-2 will be ready for
launch in 2007.
Successful completion of the KUTESat-2
objectives will demonstrate the capabilities
of a miniature S-band transceiver that would be suitable for multiple applications for
DoD, NNSA, and NASA. This transceiver
has greater flexibility than other comparabletransceivers, being able to have its key
characteristics, including frequencies,
modulation, power output, etc.reprogrammed in flight. This would be a key
technology for a rapid response space force.By demonstrating Tracking and Data Relay
Satellite (TDRS) compatibility, the S-bandtransceiver will become suitable for even
more missions. Another goal of the mission
involving the S-band transceiver is toconduct an experiment to demonstrate the
ability to have an S-band transmitter “black
box” that could instantly and autonomouslyreport through a TDRS satellite a major
incident affecting the satellite operation - aso called “dial 911” capability.
Other objectives of the KUTESat-2 missioninclude testing various new MEMS
components, such as a miniature gyroscope
and a micro sun sensor. These components
could dramatically increase the capabilitiesof nanosatellites, by providing the
performance of much larger units that are
too big for use on small satellites. A “plugand play” capability being demonstrated on
KUTESat-2 will advance technology
towards development of a rapid responsespace force. A goal of both DoD and NASA
is to have the capability to have miniature
inspection spacecraft that can maneuver
around and inspect using various sensorsanother spacecraft or object. The KUTESat-
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AIAA-3rd
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2 mission will take a step towards
developing this capability.
BACKGROUND
KUTESat ProgramThe KUTESat program originated at the
University of Kansas in 2002 with the help
and support of the Kansas University Center for Research and the Kansas Space Grant
Consortium. KUTESat aims to promote
interest in space activities at partner universities and elementary and secondary
schools in the state. A major goal of the
team is to succeed in the educational aspect,while accomplishing missions that will be
useful to the United States government andspace industry.
The technical objective of the KUTESat
program is the development and operation of
small pico- and nano-satellites that candemonstrate and test technologies and
techniques necessary to accomplish various
DoD and NASA missions. Some of thesatellites will test new technologies for
various customers, while others will beengineering prototypes of small probes that
could be carried aboard larger U.S.
government spacecraft. The proposedmissions of these latter picosats are to
provide an ability to inspect the main
spacecraft or other nearby objects and to
measure the ambient space environmentaway from the influence of the main
spacecraft. The first objective aids in the
accomplishment of the AFSPC StrategicMaster Plan for ensuring space superiority,
while the latter objective will be particularly
useful to both DoD and NASA missions.
Another major objective of the KUTESat
program is to flight-test advanced
nanotechnologies in the form of componentsand subsystems (e.g., electronics,
micropropulsion, inertial measurement units,
and imagers). These technologies will
enable the development of fleets of miniature spacecraft to accomplish the DoD
and NASA objectives in space.
The KUTESat Program as currentlyimplemented is designed to develop and
flight test pico-satellites (<2 kg mass) or
nano-satellites (< 30 kg) to evaluate variousminiature technologies in orbital test flights
while providing invaluable educational
benefits for students. The first satellite, Pathfinder , was designed to establish the
capability at the University of Kansas to
design, build, test, and operate pico-satellites(picosats). Pathfinder has been delivered to
the launch integrator and is scheduled to belaunched from Baikonur, Kazakhstan, in
mid-2005.
Kansas University Balloon Experiment
SatellitesIn Spring 2003 KU started a high altitude
balloon program, initially as a collaboration
between the Aerospace Engineering (AE)and Electrical Engineering and Computer
Science (EECS) senior design classes; the
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AIAA-3rd
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satellite, as well as testing some of the
technologies that will be used in the later KUTESat satellites. The Pathfinder (Fig. 3)
uses a HAM transmitter and receiver to
provide communication with the ground. Its
baselined payload consists of four dosimeters and a digital imager. It has solar
cells for primary power as well as secondary
lithium-ion batteries. A 3-axismagnetometer and sun sensors was
baselined for attitude determination, and
magnetic torque coils for 3-axis attitudecontrol. Experience, skills, and tools
obtained during this development project
will help the KUTESat team to develop themore advanced KUTESat-2 satellite. It is
also intended to use the operation of the Pathfinder to gain operations and ground
support experience needed for theKUTESat-2 mission.
KUTESAT-2 TEAM
The roles and responsibilities of themembers of the KUTESat-2 team are shown
in Table 1.
Table 1. KUTESat-2 Team Roles and
Responsibilities
ORGANIZATION ROLE & RESPONSIBILITIES
University of Kansas
- Project management
- Satellite bus design, fabrication,
integration and test
- Imager, dosimeter radfet array
and MMCS payloads
- Inflatable target and deploymentsystem
- Ground segment and mission
operations
DOE NNSA Kansas CityPlant
- S-band transceiver subsystem(including TDRS experiment)
- Ground station equipment tosupport S-band
- Test facilities- Technical support
Air Force ResearchLaboratory - “Plug and play” experiments- Technical support
NASA Jet Propulsion
Laboratory
- MEMS single-axis gyro
- Miniature sun sensor
- Technical support
THE KUTESAT-2 SATELLITE
The KUTESat-2 satellite will be 3-axisstabilized and able to perform imaging of
the Earth and other targets. The operational
life for the satellite will be at least two years,
with a design life of three years.
Payload Description
S-Band Transceiver The Plug and Play (PnP) Transceiver
(Figure 4) is a Flexible Wireless Network
Transceiver with a USB and or Spacewire
interface enabling PnP wireless network communication data link capabilities on a
satellite interface bus. A PnP satellite
interface facilitates rapid connectivity, self organization, arbitrary order and any
quantity or topology between satellite
subsystems. This enables rapid interchange,
assembly, integration, calibration, andoperation of a satellite system and its
payloads.13
The Flexible Wireless Network Transceiver
(FNT) is a modular, scalable, softwareconfigurable microwave transceiver, that
can transmit and receive data across a
mobile wireless channel with other transceivers collectively forming a network.
Figure 4. KCP S-band Transceiver
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It has a Flexible Network Processor (FNP)
comprising a layered network service stack,a medium access controller (MAC), and a
physical layer interface. The FNP enables
wireless network communication between a
networked station application and thewireless network channel. The FNT also
includes a physical layer that is scalable in
terms of frequency, data rates, RF power,and signal waveforms. The physical layer
includes phased array antenna technology
enabling beam forming and steeringresulting in management of wireless channel
spatial capabilities.
The PnP interface is based upon USB and
Spacewire standards that define the physical,data, network, and transport protocols
between the satellite interface bus and theFNT. The PnP network service stack, MAC,
and physical layer interface can be
integrated into the FNP to form a dualnetwork service software and hardware
stack that serves to translate between the
two protocols. The FNP also defines the protocols which enable the satellite bus to
register, synchronize, and exchange data payloads within a collection of globally
distributed wireless nodes in space, air, sea,
or ground nodes. Information assurance interms of encryption, anti-intrusion, anti-jam,
are embedded within the flexible network
processor enabling reliable, secure, wireless
connectivity and interoperability betweenglobal distributed space, air, sea, and ground
assets. The compact size and scalable
architecture of the FNT enables on orbitmanagement of frequency, transmit range,
S/N, modulation, bandwidth, data rate, and
beam steering of the transmit and receivedwaveforms.
The Flexible Data Transmitter (FDT)
functions to modulate an S-band carrier withinput digital data stream and amplifies the
power of this signal so that it can be
transmitted across a wireless channel. The
FDT is based on a modular baseband programmable signal processor, and
microware signal processors. The baseband
waveform processor can accommodate
numerous modulation, waveshaping filters,signal synthesizers, etc. leading to a plethora
of signal types. The modular frequency
upconverter with a programmable carrier synthesizer enables operation in a range of
frequency channels. The modular power
amplifier driver with a programmable gaininterface and modular output power stages
enables a broad range of dynamic link
margins. The phased array antenna withdynamic beam forming and steering enables
a range of sweeping, tracking, or gaincontrol capabilities. The FDT has not yet
been miniaturized, but currently occupiesapproximately 164 cubic cm and weighs
approximately 110 gm.
The Flexible Data Receiver (FDR) functions
to amplify weak S-band signals from a
wireless channel and to frequency translateand demodulate the original data stream.
The FDR is based on a modular programmable signal processor and
microwave signal processors. The low noise
amplifier and RF downconverter sectionsare capable of variable filter and amplifier
gains. The downconversion mixer is driven
by a programmable carrier synthesizer
enabling operation in a range of frequency bands. A modular IF section enables a
number of external and or internal
demodulators and waveform digitizers. Themodular baseband programmable signal
processor is capable of digitizing,
synchronizing, filtering, and extracting data bits from modulated IF signals. It
reconstructs the original data stream with a
synchronous clock. The FTR has not yet
been miniaturized, but currently occupiesapproximately 164 cubic cm and weighs
approximately110 gm.
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The Phased Array Antenna (PAA) is based
on an array of microwave patch antennas,RF signal processing, beam steering
networks, and digital control processors.
The antenna can operate manually with open
loop control for beam pointing or canoperate automatically with closed loop
control for tracking moving targets. The
PAA occupies approximately 20.3 x 56 x 5cm and weighs less than 1.4 kg.
TDRS Experiment - This experiment will
demonstrate an "emergency 911"
capability, which amounts to a real-timenotification of high-priority events through
the existing NASA TDRS constellation.
This capability will be useful for spaceassets to immediately report an attack or
major satellite disruption to the ground byusing a miniature S-band beacon with omni
antennas at a low data rate (e.g., 1 kbps).
By being very small and cheap these
emergency beacons could be added to allnew satellites entering the fleet. These
black boxes could buffer critical data that
would be transmitted upon triggering of thesystem. Severing the plug-and-play
umbilical or failing to reset an internal
watch-dog timer would trigger the black box. While it is not recommended that this
satellite be destroyed to "prove the point", it
would be straightforward to engineer adisruption of power to the black box to
demonstrate a "simulated catastrophe". A
special "normal shutdown command" could
be used if power actually needs to beremoved in normal operation to prevent
false triggers.
Imager
The camera module of the KUTESat-2 will
be a low power, high-resolution cameradeveloped for embedded applications. The
camera will combine a CMOS image sensor,
an image processor and a high-quality lens
in the same package. The module shouldhave capability to be configured and should
be able to compress the images for an easy
and fast transmission. Dimensions shouldnot exceed 10mm x 10mm x 10mm and the
weight should not be above 20 grams. It
should be able to operate in normal and low
power modes, with a maximum power required not to exceed 100mW. Particular
attention will be devoted to the choice of the
field of view, focus distance and focalnumber. The camera should be easy to
access, configure and optimize. The team
will build on the experience gainedinterfacing the camera module on
Pathfinder .
Dosimeter Radfet Array
The dosimeters baselined to fly on boardKUTESat-2 are the 400nm Gate Oxide Solid
State Dosimeter RADiation Field EffectTransistor (RADFET) designed and
produced by the National Microelectronics
Research Centre, University College Cork,Ireland.
The RADFETs are smaller than any other dosimeter available on the market, and are
being used on the Pathfinder satellite, whichwill increase the probability of success of
this science experiment. RADFETs work on
the principle that when they are exposed to aionizing radiation, electrons and holes are
generated in the device. Applying a positive
bias to the gate, it is possible to attract those
carriers, hence changing the amount of positive charges in the oxide part of the
device. Because of this the device is harder
to access, e.g. needs more voltage. Themeasure of these different voltages allows
the absorbed dose to be measured.
RADFETs have the standard dimensions of a 14-pin DIP package (1.9 cm x 0.79 cm)
and a weight of 2 grams. The RADFETs
change their properties when exposed to
radiations. A frequent measurement of theoutput voltage allows a reading of the total
dose to which it has been exposed. The post
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The generic sub-experiment design includes
a standard module frame (12.7 x 12.7 x 1.3cm) and a small micro-computer, referred to
as point-of-application controller (POAC).
The design of the POAC, shown in Fig. 7, is
a compact (10 gram, 3.8 x 2.54 x 0.64 cm) bundling of the hardware and software
necessary to interface sub-experiments to
the plug-and-play network. POAC is based
on the advanced instrument controller (AIC)developed for the Mars Deep Space II
mission. Application code for accommodating messaging and serviceregistration are pre-written and easily
modified to promote rapid integration.
Chalcogenide RAM (CRAM)
Subexperiment The CRAM sub-experiment is designed to instrument up to
eight chalcogenide memory clusters (each
cluster containing one or more CRAMdevices), exercised by a service FPGA
connected to a POAC (see Fig. 8). The purpose of the CRAM sub-experiment is to
obtain information about CRAM operationin a relevant space environment. Data are
generated through the repetitive
presentation of test vectors, and data arereduced within the experiment itself to
minimize the creation of dense telemetry.
Several operating and troubleshooting
modes will be designed into the CRAMsub-experiment to permit routine pattern
generation and more detailed retention
performance measurements and statistics to
be generated. If necessary, the serviceFPGA can be reprogrammed in situ if new
test protocols need to be tried after launch.Several simple 64K CRAM test samples are
currently available, and these test samples
will be upgraded with larger components as
they become available.
Adaptive Wiring Manifold (AWM)
Subexperiment The beginnings of theadaptive wiring manifold, eventually to
become a fullscale wiring harness, are
captured by array of simple switch devices
Gen 0 Point of Application
Controller (POAC) Node
TBD
Connector STD USB
USB
I/F
Ckt
IPPS SYNC
+28V
POAC
DHS
Reg.
3.3VDC
Switched28V
DIGITAL I/O (16)
+28RET
SINGLE
POINT
GROUND
XTEDS
SRAM
NVRAM
AnalogFunction
CircuitDACS(2)
A/D (16)
RS-422 Conv.
Ctrl
Jumper
Area
DIGITAL GND
A GND
X 28V
X 28 RET
X +3.3V
X 3.3V RET
SPORT (2)
CLK
1-8
9
10-25
26-41
42-43
44
45-48
49-52
53-5455-56
MISC CTRL (4) 57-60
61
626364
6566
6768
69
Galvanic
Isolation?
C R A M 1
Service/Instrumentation
FPGA (Xilinx V2Pro)
C R A M 2
C R A M 3
C R A M 4
C R A M 5
C R A M 6
C R A M 7
C R A M 8
P o i n t o f A p p l i c a t i o n
C o n t r o l l e r
SPA
Connector
Figure 7. Point-Of-Application Controller,
Standard Inclusion For Pnp Sub-
Experiments
Figure 9. AWM Sub-experiment
Figure 8. CRAM Sub-experiment
Service/Instrumentation
FPGA (Xilinx V2Pro)
P o i n t o f A p p l i c a t i o n
C o n t r o l l e r
SPA
Connector Test
Stimulus
Test
Stimulus
Switchbox ASIC (ATK/MRC
under AFRL Support)
MagFusion(ex.)Switch
Other MEMS
Switches
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(i.e., bistable latching MEMS relays), a
control ASIC, and continuitymeasurements. These concepts are
compactly bundled in the AWM sub-
experiment, shown in Fig. 9.
The purpose of the AWM sub-experiment is
to examine the feasibility of reconfigurable
wiring structures in a functioning spacesystem. The promise of AWM is to
dramatically reduce development time in the
development of future spacecraft. Itcurrently may take up to eight months to
construct a wiring harness for a complex
spacecraft. With AWM, this time is reducedto minutes. In the same way that FPGAs
programmably connect gates together in pre- built silicon, the AWM can programmably
connect modules in a spacecraft. The AWMsubexperiment is only a portion of a future
AWM, but contains all representative
elements. Up to 10 pairs of MEMS relaysare combined into a switchbox assembly,
controlled by a design-hardened ASIC to
control the MEMS switches and provide thecorrect drive voltages and timing for
actuation. The switchbox is mounted onto asubstrate within the compact experiment,
connected to continuity probes. The service
FPGA exercises the miniature wiring systemand can measure the continuity of the switch
ensemble over the life of the satellite
mission.
Single-Axis MEMS Gyroscope
The JPL/Boeing post-resonator gyroscope
(PRG) is a compact, low power, vibratory,MEMS gyroscope (Fig. 10). The
performance of this device is roughly an
order of magnitude better than that of other competing MEMS-based gyroscopes, and is
comparable in performance to optical
gyroscopes. The PRG consists of a Coriolis
force coupled pyrex post, anodically bondedto a resonating silicon micromachined plate.
Currently, the PRG has been constructed
using discrete, bipolar electronics on printed
circuit boards mounted on an Aluminum
structural frame. The volume of the packaged device shown is 2.5 in³, its mass is
150 grams, and it consumes less than 2 W of power. The performance metrics are: 0.1deg/hr bias stability, and 0.008 deg/rt-hr
ARW. This device is at a TRL 4 level of
maturity.
Miniature Maneuvering Control SystemAn essential part of an miniature inspector
spacecraft (probe) is a means to maneuver
around the target being inspected. The
purpose of this experiment is to design,
develop, and test a miniature maneuveringcontrol system (MMCS) suitable in use in
nano- and micro-satellites. Candidates for the MMCS include cold gas thruster systems
and the vaporizing liquid microthrusters
(VLM) being developed at NASA JPL. Dueto some technical problems that have arisen
with the VLM, we are currently baselining a
cold gas thruster system for KUTESat-2.
The prototype of such a system is being planned for construction and testing on
NASA KC-135 microgravity flights in July2005 by a KU undergraduate team. A teamled by a graduate student will then use the
flight results to design, build and test the
MMCS for KUTESat-2. Although cold gasthrusters generally have a low specific
impulse (30 - 70 sec.), the performance
should be adequate for the planned
Figure 10. Single-axis MEMS Gyroscope
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inspection of the inflated target during the
KUTESat-2 mission.
Deployable Inflated Target
This purpose of this experiment is to
demonstrate the ability of the satellite toacquire, track and maneuver around a
nearby visual target. The target in this case
will be a small inflatable vehicle that will bedeployed from KUTESat-2 at the beginning
of the experiment (Fig. 11). A small tank of
compressed gas (e.g., helium) inside the
satellite bus will provide the pressurant. Asmall RF homing beacon transmitter will be
included in the valve housing of the target to
provide a bearing to the target when there isno visual contact using the imager. The
KUTESat-2 will autonomously maneuver
around the target as long as possible duringground contacts. This will demonstrate some
capabilities necessary for a planned
inspection satellite being planned by KU.The inflatable balloon and deployment
system will be tested using a KUBESat,
which will test the system under the near
space conditions of about 30 km altitude.The target and deployment system is being
developed by Wichita State University
under contract to KU. The funding for this is being provided by a NASA EPSCoR award
that coincides with the period of the
KUTESat-2 project.
Micro Sun Sensor
The Micro Sun Sensor (MSS) is essentiallya pinhole camera with an F/# ~30 and
multiple pinholes (Fig. 12a). It consists of two key components: 1) a Micro Electro
Mechanical Systems (MEMS) based mask and 2) a “camera on a chip” APS image
detector. The high-resolution multi aperture
mask is placed close to the image detector.The concept is shown in Figure 12a. The
gray spots on the bottom plate (the focal
plane) indicate the images of the sun formed
by individual apertures on the top plate. The
He-Inflated Balloon
Transmitter Battery
Valves
Compressed
He Tank
Satellite Bus
Deployment
Port
He-Inflated Balloon
Transmitter Battery
Valves
Compressed
He Tank
Satellite Bus
Deployment
Port
Focal Plane
Mask
Apertures
Figure 12b. The Micro Sun Sensor
Figure 11. Deployable Inflated Target Subsystem
Figure 12a. The Micro Sun Sensor Concept
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MSS utilizes a special “camera on a chip”
image detector. All camera functions such as photosensitive pixels, A/D converter and
control logic are implemented on the die.
The sun angles in two orthogonal axes can
be derived by determining the location of the sun images on the focal plane.
The MEMS mask and the image detector is packaged into a small aluminum box
including a connector. The image detector
die is mounted directly to a PCB using “chipon board” technology. The assembly is show
in Figure 12b. It has a mass of 11 gm, uses
30 mW power, FOV is 160º, and itsaccuracy (1σ, 1 axis) is < 1 arcminute.
Satellite Bus Description
OverviewKUTESat-2 will develop on the experience
gained by the KU team during the design,
construction and testing of the first missionof the KUTESat program: Pathfinder . The
satellite will include a double
communication system: a HAM transmitter and receiver to provide regular
communication with the ground station, andan S-Band transceiver system for high data
transfer. It will have solar cells for primary
power as well as secondary batteries. Amagnetometer, sun sensors and temperature
sensors will be used for attitude
determination, and magnetic torque coils
will be used for attitude control. The satellitewill carry numerous payloads, which will be
operated by a central microcontroller, as
well as by dedicated programmable integratecircuits (PICs). When possible, only
components able to withstand harsh
environment (low/high temperatures,radiation) will be chosen.
Subsystems
Structures & Mechanisms - KUTESat-2 bus will derive from the one used for the Pathfinder spacecraft to support a total
weight of approx 15-20 Kg. It will be a
standard regular-shaped monocoquestructure made of aluminum. Different shape
possibilities will be explored to match the
launch provider requirements of structural
rigidity and strength. Accessibility andmodularity will be two of the main
requisites that will be considered during the
design. The design should not includetypical deployables such as solar panels, but
the option must be considered in order to
meet the power requirements.
Electrical Power Subsystem - The
Electrical Power Subsystem (EPS) will bean uprated and enhanced version of the one
used on Pathfinder . It will be able to providedifferent levels of power (different
voltages), which will be organized ondifferent buses to facilitate the different
levels of priority of the subsystems during
the mission. The primary source of power will be triple-junction Gallium-Arsenide
solar cells with a minimum efficiency of
25%. The secondary power source will beLithium-Ion batteries, which will be
packaged to provide enough capacity tosustain every operation and provide enough
power to the payloads. The software on the
power board will provide a level of management that will regulate the use of the
components to obtain maximum efficiency.
Attitude Determination and Control
Subsystem - The Attitude Determination
and Control Subsystem (ADCS) will
provide attitude determination throughinformation obtained from temperature
sensors, 3-axis magnetometer, miniaturized
sun-sensors and a single axis MEMS gyro,the latter two provided by JPL as payloads.
The KU team will already have experience
with attitude determination with the Pathfinder satellite, and will leverage on thisknowledge to improve and deliver a very
accurate system.
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The control of the satellite will be doneusing three magnetic torquer coils set along
the satellite body axes. This system was
baselined for use on Pathfinder for attitude
control. Attitude control will also be provided by the MMCS (see Section 3.1.8)
that is now being developed by a team at
KU.
Command, Telemetry and Data Handling
Subsystem - The Command, Telemetry andData Handling Subsystem (CT&DH)
subsystem will be designed around a
µcDimm. This selected microprocessor willhave to offer a flexible design with great
interface capability. It will have a goodamount of memory (SDRam and Flash) andwill have a minimum speed of 33Mhz.
Linux will be the operative system. PICs
will be placed in some boards to handlelocal tasks, but the main operations will
always be handled by the microcontroller. A
watchdog, or a secondary PIC will beinstalled on the CT&DH board to provide
remedy to possible single event upsets
(SEUs) or latchups (SELs).
Most of the software required has already been developed during the Pathfinder
mission. Nonetheless, it will be reviewed
and upgraded, and additional modules will
be implemented to handle the payloadsoperations. Data handler, health monitoring,
telemetry multicast, orbit library are some of
the applications that will be included in thesatellite software.
Thermal Control Subsystem - TheThermal Control Subsystem (TCS) will be
semi-active. It will have an array of
temperature sensors located inside thesatellite, and will have dedicated heaters to
provide the necessary heat to some
components, such as batteries and
microcontroller.
Communications Subsystem -Communication with the ground will be
possible principally through the Amateur
Radio Frequencies. Two separate
frequencies will be allocated for the two-way communication. This radio band has
been chosen for its proven reliability and
because it can tap into a very big network of ground stations scattered everywhere on
Earth. There will be a communication board,
which will be the interface between theTNC-Radio-antenna system and the
CT&DH, which will ultimately manage the
communications. There will be the possibility to operate in a beaconing mode,
with which the power consumption will beheld to minimum and there will still be
transmission of important telemetry data.KUTESat-2 will also have a S-Band
transceiver, provided by KCP, which will be
used to transmit payloads data, such as pictures or short movies. The satellite will
have a dipole antenna and a S-Band antenna.
Mass and Power Budgets
The mass budget was estimated to be 16.5kg total using a 25% margin. This was based
on the payload mass given by the payload
providers and the subsystems based on the Pathfinder mass budget (using a
multiplication factor of two except for the
structure and EPS which have to be
substantially upgraded). The power budgetwas calculated to be between 5 W
(minimum operational) and 50 W
(maximum peak).
GROUND SEGMENT
Ground Station and Mission Operations
Center
One of the main objectives of the KUTESat
program is the development of a completemission control center and tracking station
located at the University of Kansas.
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Although simple amateur-radio antenna and
communications equipment should besufficient for the KUTESat-1 Pathfinder
mission, the KUTESat-2 mission will
require a full tracking ground station, which
will then be available also to support futurespace missions. Such a ground station could
also be available for use supporting other
DoD or NASA satellites and would be theonly one of its kind within a radius of over
200 miles.
For the KUTESat-2 mission the primary
communication mode will be with the HAM
(UHF/VHF) radio system developed for the Pathfinder mission, at least until the S-band
system has been tested and declaredoperational. The mission Ground Station
(GS) and Mission Operations Center (MOC)will be located in a dedicated facility in an
existing building at the University of
Kansas. The center will be a simple, lowcost automated facility that will establish a
permanent spacecraft control center at KU.
Since the ground station will be operating24/7, computers have to be stable and
reliable. A workstation with anuninterrupted power supply (UPS) system
will be the ground station controller. Linux
will be the native operating system of thecomputers. The on-site operations will
include satellite and payload operations as
well as orbit maintenance and event
planning. All payload data Level 0 processing will occur in the MOC and then
made available to principal investigators,
students and the general public (whereappropriate) through the Internet.
Facilities and Equipment
Throughout the KUTESat-2 project, the
team will use facilities already available at
the University of Kansas. Several
engineering departments have alreadyoffered the use of their equipment for the
satellite testing. The Mechanical
Engineering Department has vibration
testing equipment that will be used to perform shock vibration, random vibration
and modal analysis on the satellite. This
vibration table has just been updated and has
proven to be sufficient for the testing thatthe team will have to perform.
The Aerospace Engineering Department hasavailable equipment that may be used to
perform the acoustic testing. The structure
subsystem team will perform a high-temperature testing, “baking” every
component and thus meeting the
requirements for “outgassing” the satellitematerials.
The AE Department is attempting to obtain
a thermal vacuum chamber suitable for testing KUTESat-2 either through funding
on another satellite program or as
Government furnished equipment (GFE).However, even if the department is
unsuccessful in obtaining a chamber, KCP
has a thermal vacuum chamber which can beused. It was used for testing the HABS-1
balloonsat and for testing the Pathfinder satellite.
The KUTESat Program has a laboratory andworkroom located in the ITTC building at
KU to design, build and test the electronic
components. KU intends to purchase solar
simulation equipment if possible using other funding, which would become an important
testing center for the numerous space-related
projects developed in Kansas and in theentire Midwest and Central United States. In
addition to the facilities mentioned, the
AFRL (Kirtland AFB), allows academicinstitutions to use its facilities for research
purposes.
The construction and assembly of thesatellite structure and components will be
done at the KUTESat project area in Nichols
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Hall at the University of Kansas, where a
machining shop and an electronics shop areavailable. The final integration of the
satellites will take place in a clean room that
will be in the new Special Research Projects
building being constructed at KU and readyfor occupancy by early 2006. The clean
room will have its own controlled
environment and dedicated desktops to runthe necessary tests and monitor the satellite
health.
OPERATIONS CONCEPT
The KUTESat team believes in the concept
of operations engineering. This means thatthe graduate student in charge of operations
will be involved with all aspects of thedesign and testing of the satellite to ensure
its operability and to transfer knowledge tothe flight operations team (FOT). The
experience gained from operating the Pathfinder satellite will be invaluable to theFOT.
Initially the contacts with the satellite willhave personnel in the MOC. However,
KUTESat-2 will be designed for autonomous contacts with the ground station
(“lights out” operations). Nominal
operations will consist of at least one contacta day with the MOC manned, but additional
contacts may be autonomous. During each
contact, both manned and autonomous, once
lock is established with the satellite, storedstate-of-health (SOH) and payload data will
be downlinked. The system will have a
paging capability so that the operationsmanager can be paged using a text pager if
any real-time SOH parameters are out of
limits. The text page will inform themanager of the parameter in question - its
value and the limit, so that appropriate
action can be taken. The FOT will on a
regular basis examine, trend, and analyze theSOH data to determine the satellite’s health
status. Command loads will be prepared and
tested, then stored at the ground station for
automatic (or manual) uplink to the satelliteduring a contact. Downlinked payload data
will undergo Level 0 processing and then be
shipped to the respective users via the
internet.
The major payload of KUTESat-2 is the S-
band transceiver. It will undergo a series of tests from the ground station under the
supervision of the KCP engineers. These
tests will have been previously done whenthe transceiver was flown in the KUBESat.
For the scheduled TDRS test, the S-band
will be configured in TDRS mode, and thenwhile in contact with the ground station, the
satellite will be maneuvered, if necessary, to point the antenna in the direction of the
TDRS satellites in geostationary orbits. Thecommunications tests will be executed, and
then the satellite will be returned to nominal
state before loss of signal (LOS).
The most complicated experiment will be
the one using the deployable inflated balloontarget to test the maneuvering system and
inspection capabilities. The MMCS will betested prior to the target experiment to
ensure it will operate as expected. The
balloon experiment will be conducted whenthere is a series of high elevation passes at
the ground station. The balloon target will
be inflated during one of the first contacts
with the ground, but not released. During thenext pass, the balloon target will be released
and the satellite will point the camera to lock
onto the target. During the third pass (withmaximum elevation), the autonomous
maneuvering sequence will be started.
Imagery of the test will be stored so thateven when not in contact with the ground,
the test can be observed after the data are
downlinked.
It is expected that the onboard imager will
be used for taking images of the Earth and
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Moon as well as the target balloon. When
the S-band is available, several images or video can be downlinked during a contact,
while it will take several contacts to
downlink an image using the primary HAM
communication system.
PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Project Architecture
KU will be the hub of the KUTESat-2
system architecture (see Fig. 13), beingresponsible for the coordination of the team,
project management, satellite design,
fabrication and testing; integration of the payloads; and mission operations. The
KUTESat-2 system is divided into four main
elements: space segment, ground segment,launch system, and users (payload providers
and investigators). The space segment
consists of the KUTESat-2 satellite, whichin turn is comprised of the spacecraft bus
and the payload, including the deployable
target. The ground segment consists of the project management, satellite integration
and test facility, mission operations center
(and mission operations), and the satellite
tracking ground station. The launch systemincludes the integration of the satellite with
the launch vehicle and support during launch
operations. The users are KU, KCP, AFRL,and JPL, who will provide the payloads and
use the data returned. The latter three users
will also provide technical support to KUduring the project and mission. Once
inserted into LEO orbit, the satellite will
communicate using HAM UHF andeventually S-Band radio frequencies. KCP
will provide the technical support to set up
the S-Band ground station and to conductthe communication tests with TDRS.
Figure 13. KUTESat-2 System Architecture
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Organization
The organization to be used in thedevelopment of the KUTESat-2 Mission
will be typical for small satellite
development. There will be a principal
investigator (Dr. Trevor Sorensen) and a co-investigator (Dr. Glenn Prescott) who will
act as advisors. The program manager, under
the PI and the co-I, will be a post-doctoralstudent who is now pursuing a Doctor of
Engineering (D.E.) degree. He has been
chosen since he currently is the projectmanager for the KUTESat-1 ( Pathfinder )
mission and will be able to give continuity
to the KUTESat-2 team effort. TheKUTESat Program also has the benefit of an
expert advisor, Stan Sneegas, LtCol, USAF(ret.).
Fig. 14 shows the organization chart of the
KU personnel. Under the leadership of theProject Manager, there will be three major
functional groups: Electronics, which is
comprised of avionics and communications
(both space and ground segments);Mechanical, which includes the satellite
structures and mechanisms; and Mission
Operations. Each subsystem will have aGraduate Research Assistant (GRA)
assigned to it. In addition to the KU
personnel shown, each agency providing payload and technical support will have at
least one engineer that will provide the
necessary interface support for their payloads.
The integration of the students will be
planned such that we will be able to
Figure 14. Organization Chart for KU Team
PI
Dr. Trevor Sorensen
Co-I
Dr. Glenn Prescott
Project Manager
Post Doc
Electronics Group
Technician
Mission Operations
1 GRA + volunteers
Mechanical Group
2 GRAs + 1 UG + volunteers
Avionics Team
1 GRA Team Lead
1 GRA + volunteers
Communication
1 GRA + volunteers
CT&DH
EPS
ADCS
HAM Radio
S-Band
GS
Bus Structure
Inflatable
Target
MMCS
Thermal
Software
1 GRA + volunteers
Payloads
PI
Dr. Trevor Sorensen
Co-I
Dr. Glenn Prescott
Project Manager
Post Doc
Electronics Group
Technician
Mission Operations
1 GRA + volunteers
Mechanical Group
2 GRAs + 1 UG + volunteers
Avionics Team
1 GRA Team Lead
1 GRA + volunteers
Communication
1 GRA + volunteers
CT&DH
EPS
ADCS
HAM Radio
S-Band
GS
Bus Structure
Inflatable
Target
MMCS
Thermal
Software
1 GRA + volunteers
Payloads
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capitalize on the knowledge and experience
acquired during the Pathfinder mission.Before being assigned a major task, every
new student will have to work with an
experienced student and participate in
training classes. It is expected thatundergraduate and volunteers will join the
team as well, and they will perform under
the guidelines of their team leader (a GRA).
Schedule
The development span for KUTESat-2 istwo years. The major milestones have been
identified from project start in June, 2005
until it is ready for delivery to the launch provider by 2007. For each milestone there
will be a presentation with contribution fromall the KUTESat-2 team members and
payload providers. The major reviews of the program will be the Systems Requirements
Review (SRR), the Preliminary Design
Review (PDR), the Critical Design Review(CDR), and the Flight Readiness Review
(FRR).
PM Methodology
A standard satellite developmentmethodology and project management
techniques will be used in the execution of
the KUTESat program. The Project Manager is experienced and will develop a Project
Management Plan (PMP) that contains the
project description, schedule, budgets, Work
Breakdown Structure (WBS),documentation list, systems engineering
plan, etc. The schedule for each satellite will
contain several reviews, mentioned in the previous section.
The Pathfinder mission was designed toallow the students involved to become
familiar with the execution approach and to
learn how to optimize every step. This will
be a great advantage for the successfulcompletion of the KUTESat-2 mission, since
it will count on the experience maturated
during the previous years.
EDUCATIONAL IMPACT
The educational importance of a programsuch as KUTESat starts with providing
several graduate students the opportunity to
work on their thesis projects using topics of DoD and NASA relevance and reaching to
high school students, giving them an
opportunity to learn more about science andspace.
During the first phase of the program( Pathfinder project), five students have used
it for their Master of Science theses or Doctorate Degree dissertation. Under the PI
supervision, they have taken several classesrelated to space (e.g., AE765 Orbital
Mechanics, AE766 Spacecraft Attitude
Dynamics and Control, AE760 SpacecraftSystems, and AE751 Rocket Propulsion)
and management (e.g., EMGT813 Design
Project Management). Experience gatheredduring the design of the Pathfinder satellite
has been invaluable. Other graduate studentshave earned class credit (special problems or
readings in engineering courses) for working
on the Pathfinder project. In December 2003, one graduate student, Suzanne
Thompson, won the first place Gold Medal
in the international student paper
competition (graduate level) at the 10th
ISCOPS conference in Tokyo, Japan for a
paper on the design and implementation of
the dosimeter RADFET payload on Pathfinder .
14She is currently employed as
an engineer at NASA JPL in the Mission
Assurance Branch doing spacecraftreliability and space environment analysis.
There are three ways in which
undergraduate students can help the programand benefit from it. The first one is being a
volunteer. More than a dozen students have
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offered their time to help in the development
of the Pathfinder satellite. They are drivenonly by their interest in space, and are fired
by their passion. Some students decide to
work on the program during the summer or
school year to obtain academic credits (e.g.,AE592 Special Problems in Aerospace).
With this system they are under the direct
supervision of the program manager, wholeads them and allocates them to the
different subsystems, basing his decision on
the student interests, and team needs.Seniors also take a design class (AE or
EECS), which allows them to obtain
practical information on the design of spacecraft and spacecraft’s electronics,
while applying their knowledge directly on asatellite. The Spring 2003 senior design
classes in Aerospace Engineering andElectrical Engineering designed, built and
tested the KU High Altitude Balloon System
to support the KUBESat precursor flights.
Since the Fall of 2002, the project manager
has been invited to local high-schools to present the KUTESat program and explain
the willingness to have the opportunity for their collaboration and participation in the
program. It is important to create a network
that will allow us to jointly createopportunities for those students that want to
increase their school preparation toward a
college degree.
RELEVANCE TO DoD AND NASA
RELEVANCE TO DoD
The DoD is interested in using nanosats to
perform space experiments, demonstrate
new technology, develop operationalsystems, and integrate advanced responsive
space system technology. One potential
operational application of nanosats is using
clusters of microsatellites that operatecooperatively to perform the function of a
larger, single satellite. Each smaller satellite
communicates with the others and shares the
processing, communications, and payload or mission functions. This type of a distributed
system has several advantages: (1) system-
level robustness and graceful degradation,
and (2) distributed capabilities for surveillance and science measurements built
into the system architecture. There are a
number of technology advancements neededto operationalize and enable tactical
missions. These advancements include
modular ‘plug-n-play’ satellite architecturesand components; high performance tactical
downlinks; adaptable, agile propulsion
systems, and lean manufacturing, assemblyand test. AFRL is in the business of
identifying and demonstrating emerging newtechnologies for space systems. The
integration of plug and play in conjunctionwith chalcogenide RAM (C-RAM) in the
nano-satellite will go far to demonstrate the
advantage of both. It will demonstrate thecost- and time- advantage of plug and play
interfaces defined dynamically, as the
configuration of the C-RAM interface willnot be known until very close to the launch.
At the same time, the flight demonstration of a low-power, rad-hard, non-volatile memory
will surely lead to the insertion in a variety
of space systems. KUTESat-2 is being usedto demonstrate these technologies and
elements, which could provide improved
responsiveness in future Air Force space
systems.
Essential to the problem of fleet satellite
protection is reducing the latency of attack reporting and fusing and disseminating
information for hundreds of space assets.
Currently in DoD, no such system exists.Attack reporting, for example, is ad hoc, and
no information sharing/coordination occurs
across the DoD / US satellite fleet. This
problem can be solved by establishing thetechnology for "Emergency 911 for
satellites" and a fusion / dissemination
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network and requiring all DoD and/or US
satellites to install this capability. It isenvisioned that the technology do this
involves a cell-phone size cube with a small
omnidirectional antenna. When activated, a
small S-band transmitter provides a near instant notification using pager-like
messages through existing TDRS system
(NASA). This capability will bedemonstrated with an experiment on
KUTESat-2.
RELEVANCE TO NASA
NASA’s objectives are very similar to that
of AFRL. NASA views nanosats as a rapidand low-cost technology platform for the
space testing of a broad range of MEMS andnanotechnologies as well as new mission
architectures. Additional goals include asfunctional components of future missions
and for the education of the next generation
of the nation’s space workforce.
A major problem that is common to NASA
and the AFRL is the so-called “Mid TRLGap”. This is where new technologies and
mission concepts find it hard to make it pastthe “Testing in a relevant environment
(space)” gate required to gain acceptance
into missions. The chief problem has beenthe lack of a rapid, low-cost space testing
mechanism to retire risks during the early
development of a new technology or mission
architecture. University nanosat programs,such as KUTESat-2, offer exciting, low-cost
solutions to this problem of acquiring “space
heritage” for new technologies and missionconcepts. These programs can undertake
higher risk missions that would be otherwise
avoided by the more conservative mission planners. Thus new MEMS and
nanotechnologies related to avionics,
guidance and control, communications,
imaging and instrumentation are offered arapid and low-cost approach to space
testing. Similarly, new mission architectures
such as constellations, formation flying,
inspector satellites and in-space constructioncan also be explored via these missions.
Specifically, the KUTESat-2 mission tests
technologies useful in NASA’s solar sail
missions among others. The proposedresearch particularly addresses NASA
research priorities JPL4.7 – Integrated Space
Microsystems, which states: “advancedtechnology development of highly
miniaturized, highly capable, autonomous,
and long-term survivable avionics systemsfor deep space as well as Earth orbiting
platforms.” and JPL4.10 - Micro Electro-
Mechanical Systems (MEMS), Nanotechnology, which includes: “novel
sensors, detectors, actuators, and other subsystems for space flight systems; new
technologies, MEMS, submicronlithography,...”
CONCLUSION
A major need that has been recognized by
the Department of Defense in the future isthe ability to rapidly deploy space assests
that can be of a tactical as well as strategicnature. Through the current efforts of the
DoD Office of Force Transformation, such a
capability is in the early stages of development. It is crucial to the success of
this effort to be able to design, develop, and
test reliable, cheap, and standardized
components, subsystems, and spacecraft buses. These require to be tested in actual
space flight, as quickly and economically as
possible. Universities can contribute in thisarea, and the KUTESat-2 project can
contribute to the realization of the
responsive space goal by providing a cheapand rapid flight testbed for these miniature
and standardized technolgies that will be of
direct benefit to the mission of DoD and the
AFRL, NASA, and the DOE. However,KUTESat-2 also contributes to satisfying a
critical need recognized by DoD and NASA.
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A shortage of engineers and scientists in the
space industry is expected shortly.KUTESat-2 will be designed and built
mainly by students, who will be working
closely with professionals in the industry.
This is the type of mission that can exciteyoung people, leading to the practical
education that will make the students instant
contributors when they enter the industry. Itwill also provide an example for other
universities in executing a satellite program
in cooperation with government andindustry.
REFERENCES
1. Sorensen, T.C., Villa, M.; “KansasUniversities’ Technology Evaluation
Satellite Program,” 16 th
IFAC Symposium on
Automatic Control in Aerospace, St.
Petersburg, Russia, June 14-18, 2004.
2. Hales, J.H., and Pedersen, M., “Two-AxisMOEMS Sun Sensor for Pico Satellites,”
16th Annual AIAA/USU Small SatelliteConference, Logan, Utah, August, 2002.3. Capt. Brett Conner, “The Air Force Space
Battlelab presentation for the SmallSatellites Capability Session – Space
Innovation for the Warfighter,” 17th Small Satellite Conference, Logan, Utah, 2003.4. Lt. Col. Phil Pepperl, “Operationally
Responsive Spacelift (ORS),” 17th Small Satellite Conference, Logan, Utah, 2003.
5. PuigSuari, J., and Twiggs, R., "CubeSat:The Next Generation of Educational
Picosatellites," AMSATNA SpaceSymposium, October, 2000.6. Twiggs, B. PuigSuari, J., and Turner, C.,
"CubeSat: The Development and Launch
Support Infrastructure for Eighteen DifferentSatellite Customers on One Launch," 15th
Annual AIAA/USU Small SatelliteConference, Logan, Utah, August, 2001.
7. Puig-Suari, J., Turner, C., and Ahlgren,W., “Development of the Standard CubeSat
Deployer and a CubeSat Class Picosatellite,”P-302, IEEE Aerospace Conference, BigSky, Montana, March, 2001.
8. Nason, I., Puig-Suari, J., and Twiggs,
R.J., “Development of a Family of
Picosatellite Deployers Based on theCubeSat Standard,” IEEE AerospaceConference, Big Sky, Montana, March,
2002.9. Shaffner, J.A., “The Electronic System
Design, Analysis, Integration and
Construction of the Cal Poly StateUniversity CP1 CubeSat,” 16th Annual
AIAA/USU Small Satellite Conference,
Logan, Utah, August, 2002.10. Wells, G.J., Stras, L., Jeans, T.,
“Canada’s Smallest Satellite: The CanadianAdvanced Nanospace eXperiment (CanX-
1),” 21st AMSAT Space Symposium and
Annual Meeting , Toronto, Canada, October,
2002.
11. Fujishige, T.S., Ohta, A.T., Tamamoto,M.A., Goshi, D.S., Murakami, B.T., Akagi,
J.M., and Shiroma, W.A., “Active Antennas
for CubeSat Applications,” SSC02-V-2,16th Annual AIAA/USU Small SatelliteConference, Logan, Utah, August, 2002.12. J. Schein, A. Gerhan, F. Rysanek and M.
Krishnan, “Vacuum Arc Thruster for
Cubesat Propulsion,” P#276, 28th
International Electric Propulsion
Conference, Toulouse, France, March 17-21,
2003.
13. Brown, K.D., Sorensen, T.C., “HighAltitude Transmitter Flight Testing,”
International Telemetering Conference- ITC/USA, San Diego, CA, Oct. 20, 2004.14. Thompson. S.L., “KUTESat Sensing of
Radiation Energies, Fluxes, and Exposure
Geometry in the Space Environment Using aRADFET Array,” AAS 03-361, Tenth
International Space Conference of Pacific- Basin Societies, Advances in the
Astronautical Sciences, Vol. 117, UniveltInc., San Diego, CA, 2004, pp. 99-106.
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