Session
Session III: The Big Picture
Abstract
Cube Quest Challenge, sponsored by Space Technology Mission Directorate's Centennial Challenges program, is NASA's first in-space prize competition. Cube Quest is open to any U.S.-based, nongovernment CubeSat developer. Entrants will compete for one of three available 6U CubeSat dispenser slots on the EM-1 mission - the first un-crewed lunar flyby of the Orion spacecraft launched by the Space Launch System in early 2018. The Cube Quest Challenge will award up to $5M in prizes.
The advanced CubeSat technologies demonstrated by Cube Quest winners will enable NASA, universities, and industry to more quickly and affordably accomplish science and exploration objectives. This paper describes the teams, their novel CubeSat designs, and the emerging technologies for CubeSat operations in deep space environment.
Over a 2-year development period, teams demonstrate progress and vie for one of three available dispenser slots on NASA's SLS vehicle through a series of ground-based competitions called "Ground Tournaments". The first Ground Tournament (GT-1) was conducted in August of 2015. The remaining three events are at roughly 6-month intervals. Judges assess the team's designs and mission plans for technical excellence and compliance with rules and safety requirements. The top three winners of the fourth Ground Tournament, scheduled for March 2017, will be selected for integration with the SLS vehicle.
After being dispensed in a trans-lunar injection trajectory, the three competing CubeSats will boldly go where no CubeSat has operated before, to compete at the moon and well beyond. The in-space competition is also open to qualified teams that can procure their own launch.
There are two competition tracks: Lunar Derby requires teams to successfully achieve and maintain a lunar orbit, while the Deep Space Derby will be conducted only after CubeSats have achieved a range of over 4M km from Earth. Once in either lunar orbit or beyond 4M km, teams will attempt to achieve or exceed communications data goals (rates and data volume over time), to survive the longest (up to a year), and to successfully communicate from the farthest distance (for the Deep Space Derby).
To survive in deep space and demonstrate the rigor needed to operate at the moon or beyond and attempt prizes, teams will have to push the envelope of CubeSat capabilities. Teams will have to demonstrate advancements in propulsion in order to get into lunar orbit, in navigation without GPS or Earth's magnetic field, in reliability, in fault tolerance and radiation hardening to survive and operate in deep space beyond the Van Allen belts, and in long distance communications capabilities that no CubeSat has previously demonstrated.
Twelve teams of "citizen inventors" registered for GT-1 and ten for GT-2. About two thirds of the competitors are from academia, while the remaining teams are small companies. At GT-1 there was one high school team and a team comprised of one individual engineer. Cube Quest is open to any team at no charge. Teams develop CubeSats on their own time without government support.
NASA Cube Quest Challenge: Citizen Inventors Advance CubeSats into Deep Space on 2018 EM-1 Mission
Cube Quest Challenge, sponsored by Space Technology Mission Directorate's Centennial Challenges program, is NASA's first in-space prize competition. Cube Quest is open to any U.S.-based, nongovernment CubeSat developer. Entrants will compete for one of three available 6U CubeSat dispenser slots on the EM-1 mission - the first un-crewed lunar flyby of the Orion spacecraft launched by the Space Launch System in early 2018. The Cube Quest Challenge will award up to $5M in prizes.
The advanced CubeSat technologies demonstrated by Cube Quest winners will enable NASA, universities, and industry to more quickly and affordably accomplish science and exploration objectives. This paper describes the teams, their novel CubeSat designs, and the emerging technologies for CubeSat operations in deep space environment.
Over a 2-year development period, teams demonstrate progress and vie for one of three available dispenser slots on NASA's SLS vehicle through a series of ground-based competitions called "Ground Tournaments". The first Ground Tournament (GT-1) was conducted in August of 2015. The remaining three events are at roughly 6-month intervals. Judges assess the team's designs and mission plans for technical excellence and compliance with rules and safety requirements. The top three winners of the fourth Ground Tournament, scheduled for March 2017, will be selected for integration with the SLS vehicle.
After being dispensed in a trans-lunar injection trajectory, the three competing CubeSats will boldly go where no CubeSat has operated before, to compete at the moon and well beyond. The in-space competition is also open to qualified teams that can procure their own launch.
There are two competition tracks: Lunar Derby requires teams to successfully achieve and maintain a lunar orbit, while the Deep Space Derby will be conducted only after CubeSats have achieved a range of over 4M km from Earth. Once in either lunar orbit or beyond 4M km, teams will attempt to achieve or exceed communications data goals (rates and data volume over time), to survive the longest (up to a year), and to successfully communicate from the farthest distance (for the Deep Space Derby).
To survive in deep space and demonstrate the rigor needed to operate at the moon or beyond and attempt prizes, teams will have to push the envelope of CubeSat capabilities. Teams will have to demonstrate advancements in propulsion in order to get into lunar orbit, in navigation without GPS or Earth's magnetic field, in reliability, in fault tolerance and radiation hardening to survive and operate in deep space beyond the Van Allen belts, and in long distance communications capabilities that no CubeSat has previously demonstrated.
Twelve teams of "citizen inventors" registered for GT-1 and ten for GT-2. About two thirds of the competitors are from academia, while the remaining teams are small companies. At GT-1 there was one high school team and a team comprised of one individual engineer. Cube Quest is open to any team at no charge. Teams develop CubeSats on their own time without government support.
