Session
Weekend Session 8: Next on the Pad
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The ITASAT-2 project is part of a progressive development of CubeSat space missions at the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA). Focused simultaneously on space weather and on the development of new technological solutions, the ITASAT-2 mission is based on the previous developments of the ITASAT-1 and SPORT missions. Consisting of three 12U CubeSats in a formation flight, the mission expands on the study of ionospheric plasma movements and density, small-scale ionospheric structures, magnetic field, and radiation environment. On the development of technological solutions, the mission proposes to test a baseline option at LEO to understand the influence of ionospheric phenomena and signal deterioration on geolocation/aviation-related services. While it allows for the development of support technologies closely related to airworthiness and flight safety, the formation flight arrangement is expected to provide novel (temporal) insights on the evolution of ionospheric events. This paper presents an overview of the ITASAT-2 mission with the main mission objectives, the concept of operation, initial Systems Engineering analysis, and expected work for the next phases of the project.
ITASAT-2 Mission Overview
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The ITASAT-2 project is part of a progressive development of CubeSat space missions at the Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA). Focused simultaneously on space weather and on the development of new technological solutions, the ITASAT-2 mission is based on the previous developments of the ITASAT-1 and SPORT missions. Consisting of three 12U CubeSats in a formation flight, the mission expands on the study of ionospheric plasma movements and density, small-scale ionospheric structures, magnetic field, and radiation environment. On the development of technological solutions, the mission proposes to test a baseline option at LEO to understand the influence of ionospheric phenomena and signal deterioration on geolocation/aviation-related services. While it allows for the development of support technologies closely related to airworthiness and flight safety, the formation flight arrangement is expected to provide novel (temporal) insights on the evolution of ionospheric events. This paper presents an overview of the ITASAT-2 mission with the main mission objectives, the concept of operation, initial Systems Engineering analysis, and expected work for the next phases of the project.
