Session
Next on the Pad Research & Academia
Location
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
Abstract
The KorucuSAT-2 CubeSatellite mission, scheduled for launch in 2027 into a 230-km orbit, is designed around a brief orbital lifetime. This motivates the clear goal of early communication and rapid collection of experimental data within the mission’s limited operational window. CubeSatellites operating in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) can face strong aerodynamic torques and longer detumbling periods. In order to establish early communications and extend the mission’s timeline, a resilient communications system that can operate during the detumbling phase of the mission is needed. The communications system aboard KorucuSAT-2 accomplishes this by using a near-omnidirectional antenna pattern and packet interleaving that mitigates the effects of packet loss. KorucuSAT-2 uses the LoRa modulation scheme with parameters selected to maintain sufficient link margin and operate under the extreme Doppler shift effects of VLEO. This effort is supported by an effective attitude determination and control system (ADCS) that can sufficiently slow the satellite’s rotation and provide rotational stability. The ADCS aboard KorucuSAT-2 achieves this by using a permanent bar magnet and six hysteresis rods. The KorucuSAT-2 mission contributes to the PyCubed open-source platform and documents its ADCS and communications systems to enable future student-led missions or other missions that require reliable communication while detumbling.
Document Type
Event
KorucuSAT-2: Optimizing the Satellite Communication System and Attitude Determination and Control System for Very-Low Earth Orbit
Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, UT
The KorucuSAT-2 CubeSatellite mission, scheduled for launch in 2027 into a 230-km orbit, is designed around a brief orbital lifetime. This motivates the clear goal of early communication and rapid collection of experimental data within the mission’s limited operational window. CubeSatellites operating in Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) can face strong aerodynamic torques and longer detumbling periods. In order to establish early communications and extend the mission’s timeline, a resilient communications system that can operate during the detumbling phase of the mission is needed. The communications system aboard KorucuSAT-2 accomplishes this by using a near-omnidirectional antenna pattern and packet interleaving that mitigates the effects of packet loss. KorucuSAT-2 uses the LoRa modulation scheme with parameters selected to maintain sufficient link margin and operate under the extreme Doppler shift effects of VLEO. This effort is supported by an effective attitude determination and control system (ADCS) that can sufficiently slow the satellite’s rotation and provide rotational stability. The ADCS aboard KorucuSAT-2 achieves this by using a permanent bar magnet and six hysteresis rods. The KorucuSAT-2 mission contributes to the PyCubed open-source platform and documents its ADCS and communications systems to enable future student-led missions or other missions that require reliable communication while detumbling.
