Session
Technical Session III: Reflections on the Past
Abstract
Miniaturization trends are enabling development of small, inexpensive nanosatellites with significant capabilities in the ―CubeSat‖ form factor. Although widely used within the academic community as teaching tools, CubeSats have recently been recognized as having the potential to provide capabilities relevant to military operations. CubeSats could be tasked from within theater to directly support the land warfighter’s need for real-time tactical information. The US Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command (USASMDC/ARSTRAT) Technology Center has successfully carried out an on-orbit technology demonstration of a low-cost nanosatellite called the Space and Missile Defense Command - Operational Nanosatellite Effect, or SMDC-ONE. Ten SMDC-ONE nanosatellites were developed within one year and delivered in April 2009. These nanosatellites have a communications payload to 1) receive data from unattended ground sensor (UGS) ―gateway‖ transmitters and 2) relay text and image data. SMDC-ONE Flight A was launched into a 300-kilometer orbit on 8 December 2010 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Technology Center engineers along with several student engineers performed command and control of SMDC-ONE. The team established ground stations at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL and at Colorado Springs, CO. Where technical challenges were encountered, procedures were developed to address them. SMDC-ONE Flight A remained functional until its reentry on 12 January 2011 after 35 days on orbit. Having demonstrated low data rate beyond line-of-sight communications and unattended ground sensor data exfiltration, SMDC-ONE achieved Technology Readiness Level 7 and provided a firm foundation for future Army nanosatellite development. This paper discusses the highly successful on-orbit demonstration of the first SMDC-ONE spacecraft.
Presentation Slides
The First US Army Satellite in Fifty Years: SMDC-ONE First Flight Results
Miniaturization trends are enabling development of small, inexpensive nanosatellites with significant capabilities in the ―CubeSat‖ form factor. Although widely used within the academic community as teaching tools, CubeSats have recently been recognized as having the potential to provide capabilities relevant to military operations. CubeSats could be tasked from within theater to directly support the land warfighter’s need for real-time tactical information. The US Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command (USASMDC/ARSTRAT) Technology Center has successfully carried out an on-orbit technology demonstration of a low-cost nanosatellite called the Space and Missile Defense Command - Operational Nanosatellite Effect, or SMDC-ONE. Ten SMDC-ONE nanosatellites were developed within one year and delivered in April 2009. These nanosatellites have a communications payload to 1) receive data from unattended ground sensor (UGS) ―gateway‖ transmitters and 2) relay text and image data. SMDC-ONE Flight A was launched into a 300-kilometer orbit on 8 December 2010 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. Technology Center engineers along with several student engineers performed command and control of SMDC-ONE. The team established ground stations at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, AL and at Colorado Springs, CO. Where technical challenges were encountered, procedures were developed to address them. SMDC-ONE Flight A remained functional until its reentry on 12 January 2011 after 35 days on orbit. Having demonstrated low data rate beyond line-of-sight communications and unattended ground sensor data exfiltration, SMDC-ONE achieved Technology Readiness Level 7 and provided a firm foundation for future Army nanosatellite development. This paper discusses the highly successful on-orbit demonstration of the first SMDC-ONE spacecraft.
