Session
Technical Session VIII: Frank J. Redd Student Competition
Abstract
As the capabilities of small satellites increases and more academic institutions undertake the task of building such systems, student led missions are becoming more and more prevalent. This is aided, in no small part, by the University Nano-Satellite Program (UNP) sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Air Force Research Laboratory. As these missions exit the design phase, and enter the fabrication, integration, and testing phases of the mission, student-led missions face unique challenges stemming from the academic environment and lack of experience. This is especially seen during the validation and verification (V&V) of the system architecture. This paper will serve as an overview of validation and verification methods used for the Prox-1 mission from the Georgia Institute of Technology and detail how they can be applied to other missions. Prox-1 brings together significant contributions from 10+ entities, further complicating the V&V process.
The Prox-1 mission will demonstrate automated safe trajectory control during proximity operations for on orbit inspection. Passive, image-based observations will be used for the navigation and closed-loop attitude control of Prox-1 relative to LightSail, a 3U CubeSat developed by the Planetary Society and deployed by Prox-1.
Verification and Validation Methods for the Prox-1 Mission
As the capabilities of small satellites increases and more academic institutions undertake the task of building such systems, student led missions are becoming more and more prevalent. This is aided, in no small part, by the University Nano-Satellite Program (UNP) sponsored by the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the Air Force Research Laboratory. As these missions exit the design phase, and enter the fabrication, integration, and testing phases of the mission, student-led missions face unique challenges stemming from the academic environment and lack of experience. This is especially seen during the validation and verification (V&V) of the system architecture. This paper will serve as an overview of validation and verification methods used for the Prox-1 mission from the Georgia Institute of Technology and detail how they can be applied to other missions. Prox-1 brings together significant contributions from 10+ entities, further complicating the V&V process.
The Prox-1 mission will demonstrate automated safe trajectory control during proximity operations for on orbit inspection. Passive, image-based observations will be used for the navigation and closed-loop attitude control of Prox-1 relative to LightSail, a 3U CubeSat developed by the Planetary Society and deployed by Prox-1.
