Session
Swifty Session 4
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
Traditional nanosatellite communication links rely on infrequent ground-station access windows. While this is well suited to both payload data and detailed scheduling information, it leads to both intermittent and short communication windows. The resulting long periods without contact are ill-suited for both opportunistic tasking of satellites and triggers generated by autonomous operations. Existing orbital infrastructure in the form of satellite communication (SATCOM) networks, such as Iridium and others provide a readily available and cost effective solution to this problem. While these networks continue to be utilized onboard nanosatellites, a full characterization of their utility and performance in-orbit is vital to understand the reliability and potential for high-timeliness message delivery. The Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal (SpIRIT) 6U nanosatellite is a mission led by The University of Melbourne in cooperation with the Italian Space Agency. SpIRIT received support from the Australian Space Agency and includes contributions from Australian space industry and international research organizations. Developed over the last four years and launched in a 510km Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit in late 2023, SpIRIT carries multiple subsystems for scientific and technology demonstration. The Mercury subsystem provides a demonstration and characterization test bed for the features and capabilities of autonomous SATCOM utilization in-orbit, while also providing the capability of rapid down-link of detection events generated by the main scientific payload of the mission, the HERMES instrument, a gamma and x-ray detector for the detection of high-energy astrophysics transients (Gamma Ray Bursts). This paper first presents a brief payload overview and overview of the experimental design of the characterization efforts. From this, early in-orbit results are presented along with a comparison to ground-based experiments, focusing on lessons learned throughout the mission development and operations. This work not only sheds light on the utility of these networks for autonomous operations, and on their potential impact to enable greater utilization of nanosatellites for scientific missions, but also offers insights into the practical challenges related to the design and implementation of utilizing these networks in-orbit.
Characterisation of SATCOM Networks for Rapid Message Delivery: Early In-Orbit Results
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Traditional nanosatellite communication links rely on infrequent ground-station access windows. While this is well suited to both payload data and detailed scheduling information, it leads to both intermittent and short communication windows. The resulting long periods without contact are ill-suited for both opportunistic tasking of satellites and triggers generated by autonomous operations. Existing orbital infrastructure in the form of satellite communication (SATCOM) networks, such as Iridium and others provide a readily available and cost effective solution to this problem. While these networks continue to be utilized onboard nanosatellites, a full characterization of their utility and performance in-orbit is vital to understand the reliability and potential for high-timeliness message delivery. The Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal (SpIRIT) 6U nanosatellite is a mission led by The University of Melbourne in cooperation with the Italian Space Agency. SpIRIT received support from the Australian Space Agency and includes contributions from Australian space industry and international research organizations. Developed over the last four years and launched in a 510km Polar Sun Synchronous Orbit in late 2023, SpIRIT carries multiple subsystems for scientific and technology demonstration. The Mercury subsystem provides a demonstration and characterization test bed for the features and capabilities of autonomous SATCOM utilization in-orbit, while also providing the capability of rapid down-link of detection events generated by the main scientific payload of the mission, the HERMES instrument, a gamma and x-ray detector for the detection of high-energy astrophysics transients (Gamma Ray Bursts). This paper first presents a brief payload overview and overview of the experimental design of the characterization efforts. From this, early in-orbit results are presented along with a comparison to ground-based experiments, focusing on lessons learned throughout the mission development and operations. This work not only sheds light on the utility of these networks for autonomous operations, and on their potential impact to enable greater utilization of nanosatellites for scientific missions, but also offers insights into the practical challenges related to the design and implementation of utilizing these networks in-orbit.
