Amateur/Student Satellite, Education, Space Systems

Student and amateur CubeSat news roundup – Nov.12.2019

A sampling of recent articles, press releases, etc. related to student and amateur CubeSat / SmallSat projects and programs (find previous smallsat roundups here):

** The Phoenix CubeSat built by Arizona State Univ. students successfully reached the ISS via the recent launch of the Northrop Grumman Cygnus cargo spacecraft. It will be deployed into orbit in January: ASU Students Launch NASA-Funded CubeSat To Study Urban Heat Island – KJZZ

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ASU Phoenix CubeSat team

Students from Arizona State University have launched a small, NASA-funded research satellite to study the urban heat island in seven U.S. cities, including Phoenix.

The Phoenix CubeSat is one of seven nanosatellites selected through NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative, which supports projects designed, built and operated by students, teachers and faculty, as well as NASA centers and nonprofit organizations.

…

An interdisciplinary group of around 100 ASU undergraduates took part in the effort, which will use an off-the-shelf thermal infrared camera to study changes in the heat properties of cities across the U.S. over time.

The term “urban heat island” describes an urban area that experiences warmer conditions than its surroundings due to human activities, the thermal properties of building materials and other related factors.

** Univ. Minnesota SOCRATES smallsat reaches the ISS on the same Cygnus.

The cube satellite, Signal Opportunity CubeSat Ranging and Timing Experiment System (SOCRATES), is the first small satellite created by the University sent into space by NASA. The satellite is equipped with high energy X-ray sensor detectors that can help with “deep space navigation” when GPS is not available. SOCRATES will also collect data related to electronic accelerations in sun flares to help research on solar anomalies.

The project is a collaboration between University faculty and students of different disciplines, like aerospace engineering, physics and astrophysics. SOCRATES is currently on the International Space Station and is expected to be released back into Earth’s orbit in January 2020.

See also

** India sponsoring competition for high school student CubeSat projects to fly on high altitude balloon:

The National Design and Research Forum (NDRF) has invited student teams from high schools across the country to take part in its National Space Challenge 2020 contest of flying small or cube satellites on a balloon.

Teams of five students from class 8 to class 12 can send in innovative proposals by November 25, the Bengaluru-based engineering research and development promotion body said in a release.

** EdgeCube built by students at Sonoma State, Santa Clara Univ., and Morerhead State to go to ISS on upcoming SpaceX Falcon 9 Cargo Dragon mission: Cube satellite built by SSU students set to orbit earth and collect data on vegetation health | SSU News

A student-built satellite about twice the size of a Rubik’s Cube has passed a series of tests to travel to space this December as part of a NASA-funded project involving three universities including Sonoma State. Built in partnership with Santa Clara University and Morehead State University in Kentucky, the “EdgeCube” satellite is scheduled to fly aboard a Space X Falcon 9 rocket on its way to the International Space Station. From there it will be boosted into orbit 500 kilometers above the Earth to collect data on vegetation health in ecosystems around the globe.

** “Are CubeSats the future of space exploration” – TMRO.tv program about CubeSats.

This week Kevin DeBruin, Author of ‘To NASA and BEYOND: Perseverance to Achieve the Impossible [Amazon ad commission link]‘, talks about lessons from AeroCube-10, TeamXc at JPL and the use of CubeSats for outreach and education. Do you think CubeSats are the future of space exploration or are they better suited to education/student purposes?

**  TEPCE (Tether Electrodynamics Propulsion CubeSat Experiment) to test electrodynamic tether propulsion for CubeSats: A Space Tether May Solve Space Debris Problem | Asgardia – The Space Nation.

Built at the U.S. NRL (Navel Research Laboratory), the smallsat was launched on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy last June. The spacecraft is expected to soon separate into two parts connected by the 1 kilometer long tether.

Electrodynamic propulsion works on electromagnetic principles similar to an electric motor. The magnetic field in an electric motor attracts an electric current that flows through the windings of the armature causing the armature to spin. In space, the Earth has a naturally occurring magnetic field and for TEPCE, the tether wire serves the purpose of the armature. By inducing an electric current to flow along the tether, a mutual attraction between the Earth’s magnetic field and the tether will occur. This electromagnetic attraction can propel TEPCE to higher altitudes or to change the orientation of its orbit.

“U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s Tether Electrodynamic Propulsion CubeSat Experiment‘s CubeSat split into two and connected by a tether.” Credits: Cameron Crippa/U.S. NRL.

More at

** HEPTA-Sat program teaches Smallsat engineering to students around the world:

HEPTA-Sat (Hands-on Education Program for Technical Advancement) is a hands-on study of small satellite design and engineering over several days of intensive practical lessons. HEPTA-Sat hand-on course puts it focus on establishing the knowledge of system engineering by going through the whole process of system integration. During the course student will learn how the system is broken down into different subsystem (requirement), how to integrate those different subsystem (requirement) into a fully functioning system, and how to test/debug it once it has been integrated. HEPTA-Sat teaching methods are designed to be implemented in existing universities anywhere. The program is supported by a vibrant instructor community and is open to people of any educational or professional background.

** AMSAT news on student and amateur CubeSat/smallsat projects: ANS-314 AMSAT News Service Special Bulletin

  • HuskySat Paving the Way for Cooperation
  • WRC-19 Debates Satellite Allocations
  • Electron Booster on the Pad for Rocket Lab’s 10th Mission
  • 2020 Cubesat Developers Workshop Call for Papers
  • Second Batch of 50th Anniversary “Friends of 50” Certificates Sent
  • AMSAT Seeks Digital Communications Team Members
  • NO-83 (BRICSAT-P) Nears Re-Entry
  • Upcoming ARISS Contact Schedule
  • Upcoming Satellite Operations
  • Satellite Shorts From All Over

General CubeSat/SmallSat info:

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Activism, Space Policy

The Space Show this week – Nov.11.2019

The guests and topics of discussion on The Space Show this week:

1. Monday, Nov. 11, 2019; 7-8:30 pm PST (9-10:30 pm CST, 10-11:30 pm EST) No program this week.

2. Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019; 7-8:30 pm PST (9-10:30 pm CST, 10-11:30 pm EST): We welcome back we Jonathan Goff of Altius Space Systems.

3. Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2019: Hotel Mars. See Upcoming Show Menu and the website newsletter for details. Hotel Mars is pre-recorded by John Batchelor. It is archived on The Space Show site after John posts it on his website.

4. Friday, Nov. 15, 2019; 9:30-11 am PST (11:30 am -1 pm CST; 12:30-2 pm EST): We welcome back Dr. Alan Stern for New Horizons updates and much more.

5. Sunday, Nov. 17, 2019; 12-1:30 pm PST (3-4:30 pm EST, 2-3:30 pm CST): We welcome back Casey Dreier of the Planetary Society for Apollo history work and other new information.

Some recent shows:

** Sun, 11/10/2019 – Dr. Christopher Morrison and Dr. Marcelo Vazquez discussed space radiation issues.

** Fri, 11/08/2019 – Dr. Ella Atkins ( Prof.  at U. of Michigan’s Aerospace Engineering Dept., director of the Autonomous Aerospace Systems (A2SYS) Lab and is Assoc. Dir. of the Robotics Institute) discussed “IEEE Robotics & Automation, leveraging tech for space for the future, autonomous terrestrial, air & space vehicles, regulatory oversight, public perceptions/concerns, human spaceflight and more”.

** Tue, 11/05/2019 – Dr. Hal Doiron and Tom Wysmuller discussed the “climate science work by the Right Climate Stuff Group (www.therightclimatestuff.com) which consists of retired NASA Apollo veterans”.

** Mon, 11/04/2019 – Dr. Melissa Trainer of NASA Goddard gave  a “comprehensive look at the planned NASA Dragonfly Mission to Titan to look for signs of life and more”.

See also:
* The Space Show Archives
* The Space Show Newsletter
* The Space Show Shop

The Space Show is a project of the One Giant Leap Foundation.

The Space Show - David Livingston
The Space Show – David Livingston

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Activism, Space Policy

Space policy roundup – Nov.11.2019

A sampling of links to recent space policy, politics, and government (US and international) related space news and resource items that I found of interest (find previous space policy roundups here):

Webcasts:

** The Space Show – Fri, 11/08/2019 – Dr. Ella Atkins ( Professor in the University of Michigan’s Aerospace Engineering Department where she directs the Autonomous Aerospace Systems (A2SYS) Lab and is Associate Director of the Robotics Institute) talked about “IEEE Robotics & Automation, leveraging tech for space for the future, autonomous terrestrial, air & space vehicles, regulatory oversight, public perceptions/concerns, human spaceflight and more”.

** The Space Show – Tue, 11/05/2019 – Dr. Hal Doiron and Tom Wysmuller discussed the “climate science work by the Right Climate Stuff Group (www.therightclimatestuff.com) which consists of retired NASA Apollo veterans”.

** The Space Show – Mon, 11/04/2019 – Dr. Melissa Trainer of NASA Goddard gave  a “comprehensive look at the planned NASA Dragonfly Mission to Titan to look for signs of life and more”.

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The Race to the Moon Chronicled in Stamps, Postcards, and Postmarks:
A Story of Puffery vs. the Pragmatic (Springer Praxis Books)

Rockets

Space transport roundup – Nov.10.2019

A sampling of recent articles, videos, and images dealing with space transport (find previous roundups here):

** SpaceX Falcon 9 set to launch 60 Starlink satellites on Monday at 9:56 am EST, 14:56 UTC.

[ Update: The launch was a success. The booster landed right on target and the satellites were deployed as planned. Apparently the sea was quite rough, though, and so the ships returned without any attempt to capture the fairings.

]

This will be the first  booster to fly four times. It will also be the first time that a recovered fairing will be re-flown. SpaceX will attempt to catch both fairings from this flight with two ships outfitted with large nets.

More about the mission:

More SpaceX items below.

** Updates on the recent Boeing Starliner pad abort test. (See previous roundup.)

A second video from Boeing:

Boeing said Nov. 7 that a misplaced pin prevented a parachute from deploying during a pad abort test of its CST-100 Starliner vehicle three days earlier, the only flaw in a key test of that commercial crew vehicle.

In a call with reporters, John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for commercial crew at Boeing, said an investigation after the Nov. 4 test at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico led the company to conclude that a “lack of secure connection” between a pilot parachute and the main parachute prevented that main parachute, one of three, from deploying.

See also

** Update on Boeing’s uncrewed Starliner test mission to the ISS currently set for Dec. 17th: OFT Mission Taking Shape at Space Launch Complex 41 – Commercial Crew Program/NASA

The United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket set to launch Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner on its maiden voyage to the International Space Station for NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is ready for the mating of Starliner to the top of the launch vehicle.

On Monday, Nov. 4, the Atlas V’s first stage was lifted to the vertical position inside the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, followed by the mating of two solid rocket boosters to the booster. ULA teams then attached the Centaur upper stage and launch vehicle adapter atop the Atlas V first stage.

** The history of Japan’s reusable suborbital rocket projects are described in this set of tweets:

See also a related item in an earlier roundup.

** Video tour of Rocket Lab‘s New Zealand launch facility:

Join Amanda Stiles, Director of Mission Management and Integration, as we take you on a tour of Rocket Lab’s Launch Complex 1. Located on the Mahia Peninsula on New Zealand’s East Coast, LC-1 is the best spot in the world to launch more frequently than anywhere else on the planet.

** “What are Hypergolic Rocket Fuels? (Other than Explosive, Corrosive, Toxic, Carcinogenic and Orange)” – Scott Manley answers the question, ”

Hypergolic fuels are a core technology in rocket science, propellents that will spontaneously combust when mixed together. This makes them attractive for rocket designers, who generally aren’t the people who have to get in a the protective gear to load the stuff. So, what are they made of, and why do designers pick one option over another?

** Govt launch cost estimates as seen by former Shuttle mission director, Wayne Hale. See the response from Eric Berger on Twitter. Hale was probably responding to Berger’s article on SLS mission launch estimates in which Berger concluded the following:

Adding all of this up, the true cost of a Space Launch System mission with Orion on top in the 2020s, including the rocket’s development but excluding ground systems and Orion development costs, appears to be in the ballpark of $5 billion per flight. Let’s hope the astronauts are served more than just pretzels after takeoff.

I’ve always been amazed and angered that NASA for decades has gotten away with using theoretical marginal cost numbers (i.e. count only the cost of fuel, metals, operators salaries, etc. to do one additional flight)  when asked for the cost of a Saturn V, Shuttle or SLS mission. This is clearly a grossly misleading way to answer the question of how much taxpayer money it took for a flight to take place. I’m quite disappointed that Hale defends the practice and I posted a comment on his post but he hasn’t approve it. So [Now approved.] here is what I said (with some typos fixed):

So the cost of the James Webb ST is not $10B, like those knuckle-headed bloggers claim, but is actually ~$500M because that’s about how much it would cost to build a second one?

Marginal (i.e. incremental) cost is an interesting number after making a million widgets and you want to know how much the next widget costs. The fixed cost contribution vanishes. Marginal cost is an irrelevant number when only making, or launching, a 100 or so widgets. The fixed cost contribution doesn’t vanish – and no magical accounting or browbeating by a highly respected Flight Director can make it do so.

It’s definitely relevant to know who is doing the calculation but it’s also good to know if the calculation answers the question being asked. In this case, the question from taxpayers is simply how much did it cost to make those [135] Shuttle flights happen? If only $105B instead of $210B (in 2010 dollars) had been allocated, would [135] launches still have taken place? No, of course not. It is irrelevant if NASA used a substantial portion of the money for items like roofs and non-essential civil servant salaries. That’s what govt organizations do with their budgets. If half the total Shuttle expenditure had instead been allocated to NASA, half [i.e. 67] or fewer flights would have happened.

Yes, who calculates what number is a factor. We can be sure NASA in the next few years will calculate $500M as the cost of a SLS flight. And the $3B+ that it will cost to make each flight happen will be [accurately] calculated by knuckle-headed bloggers.

** SpaceX:

*** Video: Elon Musk discusses SpaceX and the importance of fully reusable rockets at a US Air Force event last week:

Opening day of Air Force Space Pitch Day. The two-day event was hosted by the U.S. Air Force to demonstrate the Air Force’s willingness and ability to work with non-traditional startups. The “Fireside Chat” features Lt. Gen. John F. Thompson, Space and Missile Systems Center Commander, and Elon Musk, Space X Chief Engineer. The chat covers the future of space, space industry, how to find talent, and various other topics.

See also SpaceX Starship: Elon Musk outlines an ultra-low price tag for launches | Inverse

*** USAF also testing Starlink for global broadband communications capabilities SpaceX’s Starlink satellite internet was tested by the US Air Force and the results are in – Teslararti

The technical viability and utility of beaming high speed, low-latency broadband internet directly into the cockpits of military aircraft is being tested under a program called Global Lightning. SpaceX has engaged the initiative and was awarded $29M to pursue development and testing, far more than any other contract recipient. In October 2019, SpaceX and the USAF began publicly discussing the latest results of that effort to test Starlink’s capabilities in the realm of in-flight connectivity. As reported by SpaceNews, SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell revealed that Starlink had successfully demonstrated a data link to the cockpit of a military aircraft with a bandwidth of 610 megabits per second (Mbps), equivalent to a gigabyte ever ~13 seconds.

*** Views of recent Starship construction activity at Boca Chica Beach:

[ Update: A video from Sunday:

]

*** And a fly-around of the Mk2 Starship construction activity in Florida:

Aerial Flyby, Quiet Sunday. Working on new ring on top of the engine section. Hints of 6 Raptor engines to be included on MK2. Lot of sheets of steel getting stored in the “On Deck” area. These sheets can be used to construct domes and nosecones.

*** Speaking of Florida, launch facilities for Starships are under construction at KSC: SpaceX begins Starship launch mount installation at historic Pad 39A in Florida – Teslarati

At the same time as SpaceX’s Boca Chica, Texas team is working around the clock to prepare Starship Mk1 for several major tests, the company is building a second dedicated Starship launch complex at Pad 39A and as of November 4th, that construction effort has reached a symbolic milestone.

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Videos: “Space to Ground” ISS report – Nov.8.2019

Here is the latest episode in NASA’s Space to Ground weekly report on activities related to the International Space Station:

** Students Supporting Spacewalks

Did you know undergrad students are contributing to NASA missions? Check out the MicrogNExT Lone Star College-Cy Fair team’s contribution to International Space Station spacewalks! Learn how you – the Artemis generation — can contribute to NASA’s mission by visiting stem.nasa.gov/artemis

** Expedition 62 / 63 Crew News Conference – November 7, 2019

The next crew that will launch to the International Space Station held a news conference Nov. 7 at the Johnson Space Center, Houston to discuss their upcoming mission. NASA astronaut Chris Cassidy and Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Tikhonov and Andrei Babkin are scheduled to launch next April in the Soyuz MS-16 spacecraft from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan for a planned six-month mission.

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