Session
Technical Poster Session 5
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
Advances in Small Satellite technology combined with the availability of low-cost rideshares to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) have led to an increasing number of space missions. However, the underlying technology for small payload missions has been relatively constant over the past two decades: CubeSat form factor platforms for free-flying missions in LEO. Arkisys is working to change this, and allow a wider variety of payloads to reach LEO which don't include an immediate free-flying requirement. This platform is called The Port, and is an autonomous long-duration orbital platform for a multitude of uses, including hosting payloads in LEO.
Currently, avenues available to test small experimental payloads in LEO are hosted inside other satellites, or in some cases aboard the International Space Station (ISS) at the ISS National Laboratory. While CubeSats are quite ubiquitous and widely available; the downside is that while they appear low cost, they can be costly for a team who has never developed one before. New companies hosting payloads for customers offer a way to get to space for a limited duration, some even offering to bring them back to Earth. The ISS National Laboratory can support a wider variety of payloads than small satellites alone; however, there is a limited capacity on the ISS, and the missions are limited by human factor constraints. For researchers and commercial developers who want to run small-scale experiments on orbit, on the order of 10 - 200 kg, a long-duration robotic platform which can host these payloads, providing power, data, and thermal control over a standardized docking interface presents a unique opportunity to expand their functional test and operations. On a long duration platform payloads can be situated in an orientation that provides a constant view of the Earth, of deep space, or even a radiation-shielded environment. With a large enough number of payloads on board running at a duty cycle, the per-user cost is able to be brought significantly lower than a one-off small satellite mission for an equivalently sized payload.
There is a interesting dichotomy in the use of Cubesat/Small Satellites to support payload testing; the value proposition is typically in building a satellite to last for multiple years, yet many payloads are Technology Readiness Level (TRL) raising demonstrations that only need to run for a matter of months. This results in a potential under-utilization of resources of the satellite. A long-duration platform optimized to allow for any level of maturity of a technology or payload that needs testing on orbit is able to amortize the cost of operation over time and numbers of customers, helping to drive cost down with increased utility and functions passed on to the payload consumer.
This paper puts forward Arkisys's alternative approach to hosting new technologies and missions into space that does not require a full satellite to be built and launched, and describes in detail the capabilities and benefits of the Arkisys Port platform as a long-duration orbital platforms to serve short- and medium-term missions to LEO. The goal is to offload some of the existing payload and new technology backlog from the existing methods to accelerate innovation in space technology today.
SSC23-P5-23 Poster
The Arkisys Port Module: An Orbital Platform for Hosted Payloads in Low-Earth Orbit
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Advances in Small Satellite technology combined with the availability of low-cost rideshares to Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) have led to an increasing number of space missions. However, the underlying technology for small payload missions has been relatively constant over the past two decades: CubeSat form factor platforms for free-flying missions in LEO. Arkisys is working to change this, and allow a wider variety of payloads to reach LEO which don't include an immediate free-flying requirement. This platform is called The Port, and is an autonomous long-duration orbital platform for a multitude of uses, including hosting payloads in LEO.
Currently, avenues available to test small experimental payloads in LEO are hosted inside other satellites, or in some cases aboard the International Space Station (ISS) at the ISS National Laboratory. While CubeSats are quite ubiquitous and widely available; the downside is that while they appear low cost, they can be costly for a team who has never developed one before. New companies hosting payloads for customers offer a way to get to space for a limited duration, some even offering to bring them back to Earth. The ISS National Laboratory can support a wider variety of payloads than small satellites alone; however, there is a limited capacity on the ISS, and the missions are limited by human factor constraints. For researchers and commercial developers who want to run small-scale experiments on orbit, on the order of 10 - 200 kg, a long-duration robotic platform which can host these payloads, providing power, data, and thermal control over a standardized docking interface presents a unique opportunity to expand their functional test and operations. On a long duration platform payloads can be situated in an orientation that provides a constant view of the Earth, of deep space, or even a radiation-shielded environment. With a large enough number of payloads on board running at a duty cycle, the per-user cost is able to be brought significantly lower than a one-off small satellite mission for an equivalently sized payload.
There is a interesting dichotomy in the use of Cubesat/Small Satellites to support payload testing; the value proposition is typically in building a satellite to last for multiple years, yet many payloads are Technology Readiness Level (TRL) raising demonstrations that only need to run for a matter of months. This results in a potential under-utilization of resources of the satellite. A long-duration platform optimized to allow for any level of maturity of a technology or payload that needs testing on orbit is able to amortize the cost of operation over time and numbers of customers, helping to drive cost down with increased utility and functions passed on to the payload consumer.
This paper puts forward Arkisys's alternative approach to hosting new technologies and missions into space that does not require a full satellite to be built and launched, and describes in detail the capabilities and benefits of the Arkisys Port platform as a long-duration orbital platforms to serve short- and medium-term missions to LEO. The goal is to offload some of the existing payload and new technology backlog from the existing methods to accelerate innovation in space technology today.
