Session
Weekend Session III: Science/Mission Payloads Research & Academia 1
Location
Utah State University, Logan, UT
Abstract
We present the status of the engineering model (EM) of 2U Cubesat, AGU Remote Innovative Cubesat Alert system-2 (ARICA-2). The main goal of ARICA-2 is to demonstrate the real-time alert system of transient astronomical sources, such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), using commercial satellite network services such as Iridium and Globalstar. In parallel, we have a dedicated amateur mission to provide a "store and forward" capability for communication among amateurs. The GRB alert and the housekeeping data are also broadcast through the amateur CW transmitter. ARICA-2 was selected as one of the JAXA Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 projects in 2022 and is scheduled to be launched in the Japanese fiscal year 2025. The communication component of ARICA-2 has two commercial satellite network devices: Inmarsat's SBD9603N, Globalstar's STX-3, and the UHF transmitter using 435 MHz amateur frequency. The onboard computer is Sony's Spresense, low-power, and six-core microcontroller board. Thanks to its multi-core processor, Spresense can run tasks in parallel by processing in individual cores, which reduces the risk of a single failure. The gamma-ray detector comprises two layers of scintillator crystals, Csl(TI) and EJ-270. The scintillation lights of each crystal are read out by eight chips of Hamamatsu's MPPC S14160-6050HS. The attitude control component consists of three-axis magnetic torques, a gyro sensor, a magnetic sensor, and infrared cameras. The infrared cameras work as the Sun's and the Earth's sensors. The EPS, battery, solar panels, and a 2U structure are space-qualified components of ACC-Clyde Space Inc. The development of the engineering model (EM) started in August 2023. We complete the manufacture of most of the components in February 2024. And then, the integration of the EM finished on May 2024. We report the development and various test results of the EM of ARICA-2.
Development and Performance of the Engineering Model of ARICA-2
Utah State University, Logan, UT
We present the status of the engineering model (EM) of 2U Cubesat, AGU Remote Innovative Cubesat Alert system-2 (ARICA-2). The main goal of ARICA-2 is to demonstrate the real-time alert system of transient astronomical sources, such as gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), using commercial satellite network services such as Iridium and Globalstar. In parallel, we have a dedicated amateur mission to provide a "store and forward" capability for communication among amateurs. The GRB alert and the housekeeping data are also broadcast through the amateur CW transmitter. ARICA-2 was selected as one of the JAXA Innovative Satellite Technology Demonstration-4 projects in 2022 and is scheduled to be launched in the Japanese fiscal year 2025. The communication component of ARICA-2 has two commercial satellite network devices: Inmarsat's SBD9603N, Globalstar's STX-3, and the UHF transmitter using 435 MHz amateur frequency. The onboard computer is Sony's Spresense, low-power, and six-core microcontroller board. Thanks to its multi-core processor, Spresense can run tasks in parallel by processing in individual cores, which reduces the risk of a single failure. The gamma-ray detector comprises two layers of scintillator crystals, Csl(TI) and EJ-270. The scintillation lights of each crystal are read out by eight chips of Hamamatsu's MPPC S14160-6050HS. The attitude control component consists of three-axis magnetic torques, a gyro sensor, a magnetic sensor, and infrared cameras. The infrared cameras work as the Sun's and the Earth's sensors. The EPS, battery, solar panels, and a 2U structure are space-qualified components of ACC-Clyde Space Inc. The development of the engineering model (EM) started in August 2023. We complete the manufacture of most of the components in February 2024. And then, the integration of the EM finished on May 2024. We report the development and various test results of the EM of ARICA-2.
