Session
Swifty Session 1
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
ThinSat form factors have many advantages for constellations and are launched directly from all standard 1U to 27U CubeSat canisters. Currently NSL is completing two 6U constellations for launch in 2023. The Space Weather NASA SBIR Phase II consists of 4 satellites, each with dimension 7.5x10x20cm. Novel and compressed Space Weather instruments are being developed by NSL partners. Each satellite can be divided into two ThinSat sections separated by a 20 cm foldout to serve as a 1) sensor boom, 2) quiet low noise Faraday sensor box, 3) passively cooled from -40 to + 40 C platform, and 4) cleaner sealed sensor environment depending on sensor requirements. The Space Force SBIR Phase II consists of four longer ThinSats with each dimension of 2.5x10x30cm. ThinSats can be connected together to form thicker satellites for larger subsystems and identified as 2T, 3T, 4T, and others. Significant ThinSat advantages include 1) Ease of robotic assembly at lower cost, 2) Larger surface area for solar cells and sensors compared to cubes, 3) Aerodynamic for low altitude ionospheric planetary measurements, 5) Ease for workflow and testing, and 6) Superior low-noise isolation. ThinSats also include 24/7 sat-links using improved Iridium (TX & RX) and previous Globalstar (TX) communication constellations. Recent NSL launches in the past two years will illustrate ThinSat sensor data and orbital results. GEARRS-3, TROOP-1, 2 and 3 launches and NSL ExoSat payload with many miniaturized sensors onboard is scheduled for 2023 launch on NASA EM-1 Deep Space measurements.
Thin CubeSats and Compact Sensors for Constellations in VLEO to Deep Space
Utah State University, Logan, UT
ThinSat form factors have many advantages for constellations and are launched directly from all standard 1U to 27U CubeSat canisters. Currently NSL is completing two 6U constellations for launch in 2023. The Space Weather NASA SBIR Phase II consists of 4 satellites, each with dimension 7.5x10x20cm. Novel and compressed Space Weather instruments are being developed by NSL partners. Each satellite can be divided into two ThinSat sections separated by a 20 cm foldout to serve as a 1) sensor boom, 2) quiet low noise Faraday sensor box, 3) passively cooled from -40 to + 40 C platform, and 4) cleaner sealed sensor environment depending on sensor requirements. The Space Force SBIR Phase II consists of four longer ThinSats with each dimension of 2.5x10x30cm. ThinSats can be connected together to form thicker satellites for larger subsystems and identified as 2T, 3T, 4T, and others. Significant ThinSat advantages include 1) Ease of robotic assembly at lower cost, 2) Larger surface area for solar cells and sensors compared to cubes, 3) Aerodynamic for low altitude ionospheric planetary measurements, 5) Ease for workflow and testing, and 6) Superior low-noise isolation. ThinSats also include 24/7 sat-links using improved Iridium (TX & RX) and previous Globalstar (TX) communication constellations. Recent NSL launches in the past two years will illustrate ThinSat sensor data and orbital results. GEARRS-3, TROOP-1, 2 and 3 launches and NSL ExoSat payload with many miniaturized sensors onboard is scheduled for 2023 launch on NASA EM-1 Deep Space measurements.
