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TECHEDSAT-7 and 10: The Little Spacecraft That Could

The NOW (Nanosatellite Orbital Workshop) of NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) has two cubesats in orbit at this time: 6 U TechEdSat-10 (T-10) and the 3U TechEdSat-7 (T-7). T10 was jettisoned from the ISS via the NANORACKS system 7/13/2020, and T-7 was launched via Virgin Orbit 1/17/2021. Both were built by the Nano-satellite Orbital Workshop (NOW) at NASA ARC, and designed and fabricated by interns and students in collaboration with educational institutions. Prototyping novel technologies for non-powered re-entry and communications from orbit are primary research interests, however all subsystems including power generation and distribution, subsystem control, navigation, positioning, heat management etc. extend current technologies. Use of distributed processors using open software platforms and standards other based technologies and software is integral to all segments of spacecraft design. Here, we will present an overview of the spacecraft, experiments, and accomplishments – as well as the next three flight experiments. Some of these experiments include: The exo-brake re-entry system is being developed to enable sample return and end of life disposal; Internal communications for sensors, inter-subsystem and experiments uses both a Zigbee based PAN and internal Wi-Fi for high-speed inter-device communications; The Iridium small message LEO system (Short Burst Data) is used to both command the spacecraft and send data to the ground; Experimental use of the Global-Star system for L-band system comparison and back-up; Collaborative NOAA an experiment to communicate from LEO to the GOES geostationary satellite using the DCS (Data Collection System) with on-board Doppler correction; Mars and Lunar experimental communication systems for future cis-lunar and interplanetary nano-satellites; First demonstration of the NASA Near Earth Network systems with nano-satellites at NASA/Wallops Island; Solar array design and implementation for unique future flexible structures; Power distribution using Tardigrade rad-hard processor omni-board (designed by the team); Distributed processors with internal Wi-Fi connectivity; and Initial experiments with AI/Machine Learning.

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The Doppler Wind Temperature Sensor (DWTS) Flight Evaluation and Experiments (TES-16, 17)

The Doppler Wind and Temperature Sounder instrument (DWTS), developed by Global Atmospheric Technologies and Sciences (GATS), is a simple but powerful tool that has the potential to become a new window through which to study the dynamics of the upper atmosphere. Based around a defense-grade infrared camera peering through a static gas cell used as a scanning spectral filter, the DWTS instrument infers wind velocities and kinetic temperatures through the stratosphere and lower thermosphere. The DWTS achieves this scanning by measuring the induced Doppler shift and Doppler broadening of emissions as they pass through the DWTS field of view (Gordley, et al., 2011). The DWTS holds promise in improving accuracy in weather determination , and the core technology can be adapted to study other planetary atmospheres. In partnership with GATS, NOAA, and other collaborators, NASA Ames and the Nano Orbital Workshop group have been working to evaluate the DWTS instrument on orbit and optimize it as a flexible nanosatellite payload. The first mission selected for DWTS evaluation is preparing for flight in early 2024, which will be followed by a more capable science mission in 2025, with both missions being part of the TES-n/NOW heritage flight series. The first rapid technology demonstration flight, TES-16/DWTS-A, will demonstrate a single DWTS instrument in an approximately 2U payload volume with the imaging aperture perpendicular to the flight velocity vector. With an estimated power consumption of 50 watts, supplied via a custom NOW-designed DC-DC converter, the instrument will maintain the imaging sensor plane at 80K during instrument evaluation periods using an integrated pulse-tube cryocooler. Data from DWTS will be captured and processed via a NOW-designed custom data interface unit before being transmitted via S-band radio back to select ground stations, with instrument command and control operated via L-band global-coverage radio. The subsequent TES-17/DWTS-B mission will be a dedicated science mission to obtain full altitude coverage from 20 to 200 km during both day and night, all from a single small-satellite equipped with three DWTS instruments, each hosting a different gas cell chemistry. The intention of this flight series, and one of NASA’s interests in this instrument, is to advance a Martian atmospheric instrument (Colaprete, Gordley, et al) which, if successful, would greatly further understanding of Martian atmospheric behavior. The proposed paper will review the flight series in detail, including challenges facing the TES-16 flight tests and the projected challenges and application to Mars study. Additional detail regarding the possible applications of a Cognitive Communication technique in current flight development by NOW collaborators at the NASA Glenn Research Center will also be discussed, including the implications of using an automated User Initiated Service (UIS) protocol to maximize the data collected per orbit.

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