A Building Block Approach to Satellites and its Impact on Changes in Late AI&T Athena – A Case Study
Session
Session VIII: Next on the Pad 2
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The Space Force, NASA, and NOAA partnered to fly the pathfinder Athena climate-change mission using NovaWurks’ building block approach to demonstrate a new way to build and fly sensorcraft. This mission to measure Earth Radiation Budget was originally planned for launch in 2023 on a LauncherOne rideshare. Due to cessation of Virgin Orbit launch operations, Athena was shifted to a Falcon 9 with a different LTAN. The change from 1300 to 1800 in a sun-synchronous LEO orbit dramatically impacts the solar illumination of the satellite and frequency/duration of eclipse, resulting in severely impacted CONOPS. NASA asked NovaWurks whether the vehicle could be reconfigured to accommodate the new LTAN in just a few months. The eight identical blocks were rearranged to allow the sensor to operate effectively in the new orbit. Launch is now planned for later this year. The paper will show how the physical arrangement changed dramatically after it had already been delivered for integration, along with the minimal steps required to make a major change in a short time.
From the outset, the building block approach allowed the NASA sensor to be significantly simplified, which was a major consideration for NASA. In addition, the building block approach simplified the payload by using capabilities integral to the blocks. The NASA sensor is taking advantage of the building blocks’ ability to gimbal the payload to scan the earth. The blocks also process and store data before transmission to the ground.
While redesigning an already-built satellite would be costly and time consuming, the building block approach allows resolution of unexpected changes which may occur late in I&T. In a Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), Athena’s original configuration enabled the sensor to point NADIR 100% of the time, gathering data continuously. Without reconfiguration, the LTAN change from 1300 to 1800 would severely impact the duty cycle due to solar illumination angles on the arrays. A simple reconfiguration permits mission requirements to be met in the changed orbit.
The entirety of the reconfiguration consists of updating drawings and fabrication of a few mechanical items. This whole process can happen in a matter of weeks and at any point in the I&T timeline.
This is not the first time NovaWurks blocks enabled a configuration change late in the I&T cycle. On the 2018 SSOA rideshare, the NovaWurks eXCITe spacecraft was reconfigured to satisfy the rideshare Coupled Load Analysis. Note, eXCITe met all LV requirements as it was. The change was made to accommodate the launch provider and rideshare neighbors. Once on orbit, the spacecraft self-deploys to final configuration, so the launch configuration can be completely different.
This paper will describe the reconfiguration of NovaWurks’ spacecraft on the ground, which successfully resolved external impacts on eXCITe and Athena. It will also describe In Space Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM), allowing vehicles to be reconfigured, or built, in space.
A Building Block Approach to Satellites and its Impact on Changes in Late AI&T Athena – A Case Study
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The Space Force, NASA, and NOAA partnered to fly the pathfinder Athena climate-change mission using NovaWurks’ building block approach to demonstrate a new way to build and fly sensorcraft. This mission to measure Earth Radiation Budget was originally planned for launch in 2023 on a LauncherOne rideshare. Due to cessation of Virgin Orbit launch operations, Athena was shifted to a Falcon 9 with a different LTAN. The change from 1300 to 1800 in a sun-synchronous LEO orbit dramatically impacts the solar illumination of the satellite and frequency/duration of eclipse, resulting in severely impacted CONOPS. NASA asked NovaWurks whether the vehicle could be reconfigured to accommodate the new LTAN in just a few months. The eight identical blocks were rearranged to allow the sensor to operate effectively in the new orbit. Launch is now planned for later this year. The paper will show how the physical arrangement changed dramatically after it had already been delivered for integration, along with the minimal steps required to make a major change in a short time.
From the outset, the building block approach allowed the NASA sensor to be significantly simplified, which was a major consideration for NASA. In addition, the building block approach simplified the payload by using capabilities integral to the blocks. The NASA sensor is taking advantage of the building blocks’ ability to gimbal the payload to scan the earth. The blocks also process and store data before transmission to the ground.
While redesigning an already-built satellite would be costly and time consuming, the building block approach allows resolution of unexpected changes which may occur late in I&T. In a Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO), Athena’s original configuration enabled the sensor to point NADIR 100% of the time, gathering data continuously. Without reconfiguration, the LTAN change from 1300 to 1800 would severely impact the duty cycle due to solar illumination angles on the arrays. A simple reconfiguration permits mission requirements to be met in the changed orbit.
The entirety of the reconfiguration consists of updating drawings and fabrication of a few mechanical items. This whole process can happen in a matter of weeks and at any point in the I&T timeline.
This is not the first time NovaWurks blocks enabled a configuration change late in the I&T cycle. On the 2018 SSOA rideshare, the NovaWurks eXCITe spacecraft was reconfigured to satisfy the rideshare Coupled Load Analysis. Note, eXCITe met all LV requirements as it was. The change was made to accommodate the launch provider and rideshare neighbors. Once on orbit, the spacecraft self-deploys to final configuration, so the launch configuration can be completely different.
This paper will describe the reconfiguration of NovaWurks’ spacecraft on the ground, which successfully resolved external impacts on eXCITe and Athena. It will also describe In Space Assembly and Manufacturing (ISAM), allowing vehicles to be reconfigured, or built, in space.
