Session
Session I: Year In Review
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
The Starling swarm of four 6U CubeSats launched in July 2023 to test four key technologies to enable future swarm missions:
1) Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking (MANET) over a crosslink radio network
2) Autonomous onboard decision-making for operations
3) Optical-based absolute and relative navigation
4) Autonomous maneuver planning and execution
The Starling team implemented the Better Approach to Mobile Ad-hoc Networking (B.A.T.M.A.N.) protocol to automatically manage the crosslink network of four satellites. The B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol uses a decentralized approach to managing a molti-hop mesh network of devices, in this case, a satellite swarm. The four satellites were able to successfully establish a network at multiple data rates and demonstrate file transfer and command issuance between spacecraft over the network.
Starling incorporated Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy's (DSA) software to demonstrate onboard decision-making. The DSA software takes L1/L2 band GPS measurements and uses them to estimate the relative Total Electron Count (TEC) in the ionosphere. The onboard software then determines if there are any features of interest and provides that information to the other satellites over the crosslink network. The swarm of satellites then reaches a consensus on the optimal TEC observation strategy and adjusts its measurement collection tactics autonomously.
The Starling Formation-Flying Optical Experiment (StarFOX), produced by Stanford's Space Rendezvous Laboratory, uses onboard star trackers to collect images of the other swarm spacecraft and produce angles-only orbit estimates for navigation. This system is envisioned to be valuable when Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are unavailable, such as for navigation in cis-lunar or deep space or tracking of non-cooperative resident space objects. StarFOX successfully applied its algorithms to navigate multiple spacecraft targets simultaneously, using star tracker imagery.
Finally, Starling used Emergent Space's Cluster Flight Application (CFA) software suite for the Reconfiguration and Orbit Maintenance Experiments Onboard (ROMEO) demonstration of autonomously planning and executing propulsive maneuvers. Large swarms will need to be able to maintain formation requirements with minimal operator involvement, especially as the size of the swarm scales up. Results from the ROMEO experiment are presented.
Starling is funded by the Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) program out of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).
Starling CubeSat Swarm Technology Demonstration Flight Results
Utah State University, Logan, UT
The Starling swarm of four 6U CubeSats launched in July 2023 to test four key technologies to enable future swarm missions:
1) Mobile Ad-Hoc Networking (MANET) over a crosslink radio network
2) Autonomous onboard decision-making for operations
3) Optical-based absolute and relative navigation
4) Autonomous maneuver planning and execution
The Starling team implemented the Better Approach to Mobile Ad-hoc Networking (B.A.T.M.A.N.) protocol to automatically manage the crosslink network of four satellites. The B.A.T.M.A.N. protocol uses a decentralized approach to managing a molti-hop mesh network of devices, in this case, a satellite swarm. The four satellites were able to successfully establish a network at multiple data rates and demonstrate file transfer and command issuance between spacecraft over the network.
Starling incorporated Distributed Spacecraft Autonomy's (DSA) software to demonstrate onboard decision-making. The DSA software takes L1/L2 band GPS measurements and uses them to estimate the relative Total Electron Count (TEC) in the ionosphere. The onboard software then determines if there are any features of interest and provides that information to the other satellites over the crosslink network. The swarm of satellites then reaches a consensus on the optimal TEC observation strategy and adjusts its measurement collection tactics autonomously.
The Starling Formation-Flying Optical Experiment (StarFOX), produced by Stanford's Space Rendezvous Laboratory, uses onboard star trackers to collect images of the other swarm spacecraft and produce angles-only orbit estimates for navigation. This system is envisioned to be valuable when Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) are unavailable, such as for navigation in cis-lunar or deep space or tracking of non-cooperative resident space objects. StarFOX successfully applied its algorithms to navigate multiple spacecraft targets simultaneously, using star tracker imagery.
Finally, Starling used Emergent Space's Cluster Flight Application (CFA) software suite for the Reconfiguration and Orbit Maintenance Experiments Onboard (ROMEO) demonstration of autonomously planning and executing propulsive maneuvers. Large swarms will need to be able to maintain formation requirements with minimal operator involvement, especially as the size of the swarm scales up. Results from the ROMEO experiment are presented.
Starling is funded by the Small Spacecraft Technology (SST) program out of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD).
