Jim Cockrell - iCubeSat · 2017-05-31 · Jim Cockrell Cube Quest Challenge Administrator iCubeSat - 30 May 2017 Advanced CubeSat Technologies for Affordable Deep Space Science and

Jim Cockrell Cube Quest Challenge Administrator iCubeSat - 30 May 2017

Advanced CubeSat Technologies for Affordable Deep Space Science and Exploration Missions

Ground Tournaments, the Moon, and Beyond

• What is Cube Quest? – Why a Cube Quest? – Rules and Prize Structure

• Today’s Status – GT4 Competitors – Emerging Technologies

• Next Steps – GT4 winners – In-space Competition

30 May 2017 CubeQuest Challenge - iCubeSat 2

Get your CubeSat to the moon, work the best

survive the longest win big prizes!

– easier to launch – lower in cost

• Unique missions with ensembles – planetary seismographs – array of Mars weather stations – distributed, correlated measurements – redundancy at the system level; robust

system of systems – nodes for antenna arrays or telescope

arrays – Augments traditional probes


• SmallSats/CubeSats > conventional spacecraft

To-date, CubeSats don’t venture beyond LEO:


Limitation SoA Deep Space Missions Need

Limited comm range Low-gain dipoles or patches mainly used

high gain directional antennas needed

Limited comm data rate

Low power, amateur band transmitters mainly used

High-power, high frequency, wide bandwidth transmitters needed

Lacking radiation tolerance

COTS, low-cost parts used; more benign environment of LEO

Radiation shielding, fault detection, fault tolerance

Lacking in-space propulsion

Not demonstrated (except solar sails); chemical fuel/pressurized containers prohibited

High thrust, high ISP needed; chemical, electrical, solar

Depend on Earth-based nav references

Passive magnetorquers used; GPS or magnetometers sense Earth’s magnetic field

Start trackers, moon/sun sensors, radar altimeters and other sensors needed for deep space

Can CubeSats Enable More Affordable Science and Exploration Missions in Deep Space?


Answer: the Cube Quest Challenge

In 1761, John Harrison (clock maker) solved the British maritime navigation challenge

In 1901, Alberto Santos-Dumont (coffee plantation heir) won the French airship challenge

In 1910, Georges Chavez (pilot) won the Milan Committee challenge being the first to fly over the Alps

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh (mail pilot) won the Orteig Prize being the first to fly across the Atlantic Ocean

In 1977 & 1979, Paul MacCready (aeronautic engineer) won the Kremer Prizes for human-powered flight challenges

In 2004, Burt Rutan (aerospace engineer) won the X-Prize Ansari challenge being the first private entity to enter space twice within two weeks

In 1809, Nicolas Appert (baker) solved the Napoleon challenge for food preservation

In 2007, Peter Homer (unemployed engineer) won the NASA Astronaut Glove challenge by making a better glove

30 May 2017 Cube Quest Challenge 6

• NASA STMD’s Centennial Challenges Program, initiated 2005, named for Wright Brothers’ Kitty Hawk flight

• Prizes for non-government entities solving problems of interest to NASA and nation

• Since 2005, there have been eight challenge categories, and more than 20 challenge events

• More than $6 million in prize money has been awarded to more than 17 different teams


Current Challenges: • 3-D Printed Habitat

• Space Robotics

• Vascular Tissue

• Cube Quest

• NASA’s first non-crewed lunar flyby mission of Orion from SLS – Launch 2019

• Capacity for thirteen 6U-sized CubeSats • Secondary Payloads deploy after Orion

departure into lunar flyby trajectory • 3 slots are reserved for top-3 qualified

Cube Quest Challenge winners 30 May 2017 Cube Quest Challenge 8

• Astrophysics: – Distributed RF and Optical Arrays on affordable satellite

constellation – Affordable, time-correlated (simultaneous) multi-point

observations of NEOs (mass density, albedo, etc)

• Planetary Explorations: – Distributed measurements (Ex: surface seismographic; Mars

“weather systems”, multi-site impactors to detect lunar subsurface volatiles, etc.)

– Co-ordinated assets (Ex: landers paired with orbiting relays)

• Heliophysics: – Global coverage – Multiple observations of transient events (Ex: radio

occultation) – Geographically distributed time-correlated “space weather”

measurements

• Earth Science – Global coverage (multiple) – Time correlated weather, oceanic observations

Impactor Concept

Heliophysics, Multipoint Science


Requires 2 sats

Requires 2 sats

Too Much Prop

Good Comm and G&NC Capability; Good Applicability

Good Comm and G&NC Capability; Good Applicability


• Achieve Lunar Orbit Requires:

– Propulsion, high dV – Navigation without GPS or Earth’s magnetic field

• Hi Data Rate, Large Data Volume, Far Comm Distance

Requires: – High power transponder; high gain antenna; – Long & frequent ground station passes; – Deployable antennas; stable ACS; – Precise knowledge of Earth direction

• Longevity (survival) Requires:

– Rad hardening, redundancy, shielding – Autonomy


Ground Tournaments (GT)

4 Rounds

Approx every 6 months

GT-1 - top 5 win $20k GT-2 - top 5 win $30k GT-3 - top 5 win $30k GT-4 - top 5 win $20k Total $500k

Top 3 qualified GT-4 teams launch free on EM-1

Qualify for 1 of 3 EM-1 launch

slots - or –

get your own ride

Lunar Derby While in lunar orbit

Achieve Lunar Orbit$1.5M/shared, $1M max per team Error-free Communication Burst Rate- $225k/25k Total Volume- $675k/75k Longevity $450k/50k

Deep Space Derby While range ≥4M km

Farthest Distance $225k/25k Error-free Communication

Burst Rate- $225k/25k Total Volume- $675k/75k Longevity $225k/25k


SLS Safety and Interface Requirements • SLS Payload Safety Reviews (to fly on EM-1) • Or equivalent, for 3rd-party launches

Any allowable part of the spectrum • subject to FCC public freq. alloc. and licensing regs

Comm data eligible for prizes • May use NASA DSN – at your cost • DSN tracks all trajectories; checks lunar orbit, 4M km range • Comm data format per Rules, to qualify

Comply with Orbital Debris and Planetary Protection laws and regs


http://www.nasa.gov/cubequest/reference

40% Likelihood of Mission

Success

60% Compliance with Rules, SLS IDRD, SLS Saftey

Rqts

Total GT Score


• Rules • GT Workbook • SLS IDRD • SLS Safety Rqts (or equiv. launch provider rqts)

Team of technical SMEs

5 Judge Panel • NASA • Non-NASA leaders

• Industry • Academic • DoD

Top 5 Teams Scoring > 3.0/5.0

GT1 – 13 Teams GT2 – 10 Teams GT3 – 7 Teams GT4 – 5 Teams EM-1 – 3 Slots • Alpha Cubesat - Xtraordinary

Innovative Space Partnerships, Inc (Cabin John, MD)

• Cislunar Explorers - Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)

• HuskySat - University of Washington (Seattle, WA)

• Lunar CubeQuestador - Missouri University of Science and Technology (Rolla, MO)

• MIT KitCube - Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)

• Novel Engineering - Novel Engineering Inc. (Cocoa Beach, FL)

• OpenOrbiter Lunar I - University of North Dakota (Grand Forks, ND)

• ERAU Eagles - Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, FL)

• Project Selene - Flintridge Preparatory School (La Cañada Flintridge, CA)

• Heimdallr- Ragnarok Industries, Inc. (Wilmington, DE)

• SEDS - University of California - San Diego (San Diego, CA)

• Team Miles - Fluid & Reason LLC (Tampa, FL)

• True Vision Robotics - Isakson Engineering (Atacsadero, CA)

• Alpha CubeQuest, XISP Inc (Cabin John, MD)

• CisLunar Explorers, Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)

• Eagles-Quest, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (Daytona Beach, FL)

• Earth Escape Explorer (CU-E3), University of Colorado, Boulder (Boulder, CO)

• Goddard Orbital and Atmospheric Testing Satellite (GOATS), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)

• Lunar CubeQuestador, Missouri University of Science & Technology (Rolla, MO)

• MIT KitCube, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (Cambridge, MA)

• Heimdallr, Ragnarok Industries Inc. (Wilmington, DE)

• SEDS Triteia, SEDS University of San Diego (San Diego, CA)

• Team Miles, Fluid & Reason LLC (Tampa, FL)

• Team Miles Fluid & Reason (Tampa, FL)


• CU-E3- University of Colorado, Boulder (Boulder, CO)

• KitCube - Massachusetts Institute of Technology, (Cambridge, MA)

• SEDS Triteia - University of California, San Diego (San Diego, CA)


• Goddard Orbital and Atmospheric Testing Satellite (GOATS), Worcester Polytechnic Institute (Worcester, MA)

• Team Miles Fluid & Reason (Tampa, FL)


• CU-E3- University of Colorado, Boulder (Boulder, CO)

• SEDS Triteia - University of California, San Diego (San Diego, CA)


June 8 Winners

Announcement

30 May 2017 15 CubeQuest Challenge - iCubeSat

Industry Heimdallr

Ragnarok Industries, Inc

Team Miles Fluid & Reason LLC

Academia Cislunar Explorers

Cornell University

SEDS Triteia University of California- San Diego

CU-E3 University of Colorado – Boulder

Lunar Derby Deep Space Derby

30 May 2017 16 CubeQuest Challenge - iCubeSat

Cornell University – Ithaca, NY • Behind the name: From Latin, Cislunar translates to “on this side of the

moon.” We are building spacecraft that will explore this region. • Team origin: All team members are part of Cornell University’s Space

Systems Design Studio. SSDS has constructed multiple micro- and nanosatellite scale spacecraft in the past, with the goal of developing new technologies to improve the reach and capabilities of same. The team entered the Cube Quest competition to continue this tradition. All of us are looking forward to applying novel spacecraft technologies to a new and challenging CubeSat mission. If we win: Prize money would flow back to the Space Systems Design Studio, to fund current and future projects at the laboratory.

• Extra credit: Part our spacecraft testing suite is a “frankenphonograph,” a record player modified to spin a mockup of a Cislunar Explorer at arbitrary angular velocities and orientations. – Lunar Derby

• Dual, fractionated spacecraft • Water-electrolysis propulsion • In-house GNC; quaternions from sun/moon/earth images


University of Colorado, Boulder • Team members: 20 • Behind the name: CU-E3’s mission objective is to foster innovative CubeSat

communication technologies. Our CubeSat will be attempting to communicate beyond Earth orbit at more than 10 times the distance to the Moon. This will require us to “escape” the sphere of influence of the “Earth” and “explore” deep space, thus we arrived at the name Earth Escape Explorer.

• Team origin: The CU-E3 project is currently offered as a graduate student course at the University of Colorado. The course is offered to allow students to obtain hands-on experience in the field of astronautics.

• If we win: We plan to develop a perpetual endowment to be used to for funding future University of Colorado SmallSat students and missions.

• Extra credit: CU-E3 comprises members with a unique and diverse background ranging from all fields of engineering, professional experience, and even military satellite operations. This project gives students the opportunity to utilize these skills in a professional environment while also presenting them with the opportunity to learn new skills to use in their work outside of the classroom.

– Deep Space Derby • Reflect-array antenna • X-band transmitter • Solar radiation pressure for reaction wheel desaturation


Ragnorak Industries • From: Wilmington, Delaware • Team members: 15 • Behind the name: Having met as Engineering PhD Interns at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in

summer 2014 while working on the 6U CubeSat Dellingr, we continued a similar Norse Mythology naming tradition and incorporated as Ragnarok Industries. "Ragnarok" seemed best suited to represent a sweeping change of the old world with a new world, particularly, a new CubeSat generation not only for lunar, but beyond-Earth missions as well.

• Team origin: A few of us met as summer interns at Goddard. Through networking, Ragnarok’s internal core group size soon grew and partnerships formed with Emergent Space Technologies and AMSAT.

• Strategy: We strongly feel that the key is to approach this challenge with a strong systems engineering framework and appropriate tailoring strategy for CubeSat missions. Not only does Ragnarok seek to use components of high Technology Readiness Level, but also with significant flight heritage. In a similar line of thought, Ragnarok is grateful for its partnerships and their extensive reputation supporting spacecraft.

• If we win: We plan to share the prize money with our partners, break even, and reinvest in commercialization of our technologies for future missions.

• Extra credit: The competing teams are pioneering the future of high-speed communications and propulsion aboard CubeSats. There is no greater satisfaction than being a part of such a movement.

• Ragnarok partnered with Emergent Space Technologies to offer mentors and materials aspiring young satellite developers at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology in Northern Virginia.

– Lunar Derby • Autonomous operation at moon • In-house rad-hardened C&DH subsystem • In-house star tracker, ADCS • Gimbaled solar panels • After competition, will park in L1 point for endurance test


University of California, San Diego • Team members: 25 • Behind the name: SEDS stands for the Students for the Exploration

and Development of Space. It's a national organization, and we are the UC San Diego chapter.

• Strategy: Our CubeSat features a additively manufactured hydrogen thruster for peroxide propulsion system that will give it the ability to perform high thrust maneuvers. Our CubeSat utilizes some COTS components with high reliability including a high-performance processor with rad hardened/fault tolerant architecture that enables high-level SW development. If we win: Establish additional research and development infrastructure at UC San Diego for astronautics.

• Extra credit: The concept for Triteia was established in a Library Study room. – Lunar Derby

• “Callan” additively manufactured thruster • Hydrogen peroxide fuel • In-house solar panels


Miles Space and Fluid & Reason, LLC, Tampa, Florida • Team members: 16 • Behind the name: Our team name was inspired by the poem “Stopping by Woods

on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost. The closing refrain is “And miles to go before I sleep.” Miles to go means that this little box, which is no bigger than two loaves of bread strapped together with some aluminum, has a long way to go.

• Team origin: A few of our members have worked together on previous space-related contests. Some of our other members came on board through our local Hackerspace. Strategy: Our team is approaching this challenge one cube at a time. We're going for deep space communications, using propulsion as an advantage to get further sooner.

• If we win: We plan on pursuing the opportunity to build more Cubesats and the like to help further the goal of space for everyone.

• Extra credit: We've already been lucky enough to have been wished success by Andy Weir (the author of 'The Martian') as did Chris Lewicki from Planetary Resources.

– Deep Space Derby • In-house “ConstantQ” plasma thruster • Autonomous operation • Software Defined Radio


• Comm – UHF, S-, X-, C- band – Mainly patch antennas

– from moon and beyond

– Deployable antennas • Ground Stations

– DSN – WFF UHF – AMSAT X- and S-band – ATLAS – Univ dishes


• Propulsion – EP (Iodine) – 3D printed thrusters – Electrolysis of water for fuel

• Other Technologies – Rad hardened CPU, memory,

error checking and redundancy

– Blue Canyon GNC / ADCS – Custom design:

• Sun sensors • Star trackers • Reaction wheel • Imagers / quaternions

• Communication Technologies – RF Bands Utilized

• S-Band – Commonly used, but cutting-edge for CubeSats – Teams plan S-band for radio comm and trajectory determination (DSN)

• X-Band – DSN primarily uses X-band, but CubeSats haven’t the power to use before – Teams plan X-band to commercial gnd stns or DSN

• C-Band – Has some use in general sat comms; 5cm band is amateur band – Team plans AMSAT in C-band

• UHF – Often used in CubeSats in amateur bands, to lots of amateur gnd stns – Team plans UHF for long distance using WFF 18m dish

– Antenna Design • Patch Antennas

– Commonly used on CubeSats due to small size and low cost; but lacking in gain

• Deployables – 1 team plans to use a reflectarray on reverse side of solar panel, fed by

deployable feed horn 30 May 2017 CubeQuest Challenge - iCubeSat 23

• Propulsion – COTS

• ConstantQ plasma thruster (Iodine) • ExoTerra Resources Hall Effect • Cold gas, for attitude control

– Custom In-House • 3D printed cold gas for attitude control • Electrolysis of water for H2 and O2, for 3D printed titanium thruster fuel and oxidizer • Hydrogen peroxide monopropellent for 3D printed Inconel 716

• Other Tech – Rad-hard components

• deep space radiation, longer mission lifetimes intensify effect. Lunar orbit provides a proving ground for radiation-based experiments or technology demonstrations.

• 1 team plans Resilient Affordable CubeSat Processor (RACP), a microcontroller and 3 ARM 15 SoC uPs., with a health monitoring and management system to check processors and subsystems

– Navigation Systems • No GPS or magnetic field in cis-lunar space • Blue Canyon Technologies XACT star tracker, sun sensor and reaction wheels. • GEO-hard Miniature Integrated Star Tracker (MIST) from Space Micro, • In-house ADCS, with in-house reaction wheels, in-house star tracker and sun sensors • Navigate using Raspberry Pi camera to image Earth, Sun and Moon,and gyro using

transformation matrix to spacecraft body from and inertial frame. 30 May 2017 CubeQuest Challenge - iCubeSat 24

• Winners of final Ground Tournament GT-4 Soon to be Announced!

• SmallSat: Deep Space Symposium – At NASA Ames Research Center, Moffett Field, California – Co-Produced by SSTP, SSSVI, and Centennial Challenges – Invited speakers include:

• Leaders from NASA SMD, HEOMD, STMD • SSSVI and SSTP Program Managers • Cube Quest Teams

– https://smallsats-deepspace.eventbrite.com

• Prize award and EM-1 selection 8 June 30 May 2017 CubeQuest Challenge - iCubeSat 25


Today

• Teams complete AI&T in 2017-18 • EM-1 Payload delivery April 2018 • EM-1 Launch ~ 2019

May the Best CubeSat win!

2019

• Teams hiring Non-NASA launch start at any time

• Competition ends L + 365d

Advanced CubeSat Technologies for Affordable Deep Space Science and Exploration Missions

Questions?

30 May 2017 Cube Quest Challenge 28

• 1707 British Naval accident off Isle of Scilly, 1,400 sailors died. On time, accurate arrival at ports of call hampered by inability to measure longitude

• The 1714 Longitude Act called for a portable, practical solution to the problem

• Amateur clock maker John Harrison’s marine chronometer was the most successful submission to the Longitude Committee, eventually securing prize of £20,000 (Today's value £2,080,000)

• Captain Cook took a version of Harrison’s device on his second, three year voyage, returning to prove that Harrison’s innovative design had finally conquered one of the perils of the high seas.

• This was a successful public prize challenge!

Documents

Jim Cockrell - iCubeSat · 2017-05-31 · Jim Cockrell Cube Quest Challenge Administrator iCubeSat - 30 May 2017 Advanced CubeSat Technologies for Affordable Deep Space Science and