Session
Technical Session IX: New Mission or Bus Concepts II
Abstract
A team led by AeroAstro Incorporated was selected under the Future-X program to fly an experiment in late 2000 to demonstrate key elements of reducing space mission cost utilizing Bitsy™ Spacecraft Kernel technology. The Small Payload Access to Space Experiment (SPASE) is funded through the Future-X program, and is to be launched in late 2000 using the Space Shuttle. The mission will also carry a small microgravity payload. The entire first mission, including space and ground systems and launch interfaces, will cost under $2M. The recurring cost for follow-on microgravity spacecraft will be under $1M. Achieving on-orbit science missions with a cost comparable or below that of suborbital flights is made possible by: 1. Creation of a standardized core of spacecraft capabilities, not a standard bus, based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies, which the science team uses to manage spacecraft functions (patent pending); 2. Miniaturization, which both reduces recurring costs (fabrication and parts) and makes a minimal demand on launch vehicle services with very high reliability. The spacecraft “kernel”, as opposed to bus, does not have a traditional division into discrete subsystems, but rather manages power, thermal control, ACDS, C&DH, and communications in a package of a few kilograms. Its small size, light weight, and unique extensible architecture enables a variety of customizations to be added as needed to greatly expand the range of achievable missions. These added capabilities include modest in-space propulsion, which enables missions including those requiring large V for spacecraft inspection, orbit initialization or station keeping, or achieving unusual or energetic orbits without requiring very expensive launch capability. While Bitsy™ technology enables flying significant science, communications, and remote sensing missions with total mass of 10-60 kg forcosts similar to suborbital flights, there is in principle no limit to the size or complexity of payloads it can accommodate. The spacecraft program currently underway will demonstrate the capabilities provided by the combination of miniaturization and nanospacecraft architectures. It will perform a flight demonstration of the spacecraft, ground station, and flight operations control software offering standard interfaces to payloads and to launch systems, to be launched in late 2000 on the Shuttle Hitchhiker accommodation. The Bitsy™ kernel concept, progress to date on the SPASE mission, and the fundamental design and architecture decisions for each will be discussed in this paper.
The Bitsy Spacecraft Kernel: Reducing Nanosatellite Mission Cost in the MSFC Future-X Program through Miniaturized Technologies
A team led by AeroAstro Incorporated was selected under the Future-X program to fly an experiment in late 2000 to demonstrate key elements of reducing space mission cost utilizing Bitsy™ Spacecraft Kernel technology. The Small Payload Access to Space Experiment (SPASE) is funded through the Future-X program, and is to be launched in late 2000 using the Space Shuttle. The mission will also carry a small microgravity payload. The entire first mission, including space and ground systems and launch interfaces, will cost under $2M. The recurring cost for follow-on microgravity spacecraft will be under $1M. Achieving on-orbit science missions with a cost comparable or below that of suborbital flights is made possible by: 1. Creation of a standardized core of spacecraft capabilities, not a standard bus, based on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies, which the science team uses to manage spacecraft functions (patent pending); 2. Miniaturization, which both reduces recurring costs (fabrication and parts) and makes a minimal demand on launch vehicle services with very high reliability. The spacecraft “kernel”, as opposed to bus, does not have a traditional division into discrete subsystems, but rather manages power, thermal control, ACDS, C&DH, and communications in a package of a few kilograms. Its small size, light weight, and unique extensible architecture enables a variety of customizations to be added as needed to greatly expand the range of achievable missions. These added capabilities include modest in-space propulsion, which enables missions including those requiring large V for spacecraft inspection, orbit initialization or station keeping, or achieving unusual or energetic orbits without requiring very expensive launch capability. While Bitsy™ technology enables flying significant science, communications, and remote sensing missions with total mass of 10-60 kg forcosts similar to suborbital flights, there is in principle no limit to the size or complexity of payloads it can accommodate. The spacecraft program currently underway will demonstrate the capabilities provided by the combination of miniaturization and nanospacecraft architectures. It will perform a flight demonstration of the spacecraft, ground station, and flight operations control software offering standard interfaces to payloads and to launch systems, to be launched in late 2000 on the Shuttle Hitchhiker accommodation. The Bitsy™ kernel concept, progress to date on the SPASE mission, and the fundamental design and architecture decisions for each will be discussed in this paper.
