Session
Year in Review Research & Academia
Location
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Abstract
The Air Force Research Lab’s (AFRL) Small Satellite Portfolio (SSP) created the XVI CubeSat which was launched on SpaceX’s Transporter 8 in June of 2023.
XVI remained operational from June 2023 until its deorbit on January 7, 2026. Throughout its lifetime, the team maintained the vehicle and used XVI for experimentation and training purposes. However, due to the sun's low activity around this time frame, and intentionally lowering the drag/cross sectional area of XVI on orbit, the spacecraft was able to stay in orbit for months beyond its initial predicted re-entry.
Between January 4th and January 7th, XVI was tracked to pass below 200km. Throughout these days, the spacecraft dropped precipitously in altitude but was still communicating with the ground and operators. SSP had not operated a spacecraft through re-entry and therefore took the opportunity to get as much data and learn from the spacecraft operations process, as it re-entered. This paper outlines the final days of XVI on orbit, describes some of the relevant flight data, and discusses operational challenges associated with a rapidly decaying orbit.
Document Type
Event
I Think I'm Falling for You: XVI Mission's Final Days in Orbit
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
The Air Force Research Lab’s (AFRL) Small Satellite Portfolio (SSP) created the XVI CubeSat which was launched on SpaceX’s Transporter 8 in June of 2023.
XVI remained operational from June 2023 until its deorbit on January 7, 2026. Throughout its lifetime, the team maintained the vehicle and used XVI for experimentation and training purposes. However, due to the sun's low activity around this time frame, and intentionally lowering the drag/cross sectional area of XVI on orbit, the spacecraft was able to stay in orbit for months beyond its initial predicted re-entry.
Between January 4th and January 7th, XVI was tracked to pass below 200km. Throughout these days, the spacecraft dropped precipitously in altitude but was still communicating with the ground and operators. SSP had not operated a spacecraft through re-entry and therefore took the opportunity to get as much data and learn from the spacecraft operations process, as it re-entered. This paper outlines the final days of XVI on orbit, describes some of the relevant flight data, and discusses operational challenges associated with a rapidly decaying orbit.
