DEVELOPMENT OF A REUSABLE CUBESAT SATELLITE BUS ARCHITECTURE FOR THE KYSAT-1 SPACECRAFT

This thesis describes the design, implementation and testing of a spacecraft bus implemented on KySat-1, a picosatellite scheduled to launch late 2009 to early 2010. The spacecraft bus is designed to be a robust reusable bus architecture using commercially available off the shelf components and subsystems. The bus designed and implemented for the KySat-1 spacecraft will serve as the basis for a series of future Kentucky Space Consortium missions. The spacecraft bus consists of attitude determination and control subsystem, communications subsystem, command and data handling subsystem, thermal subsystem, power subsystem, and structures and mechanisms. The spacecraft bus design is described and the implementation and testing and experimental results of the integrated spacecraft engineering model. Lessons learned with the integration, implementation, and testing using commercial off the shelf components are also included. This thesis is concluded with future spacecraft bus improvements and launch opportunity of the implemented spacecraft, KySat-1

Impact of Ada and object-oriented design in the flight dynamics division at Goddard Space Flight Center

The Software Engineering Laboratory (SEL) is an organization sponsored by NASA/GSFC and created to investigate the effectiveness of software engineering technologies when applied to the development of applications software. The goals of the SEL are (1) to understand the software development process in the GSFC environment; (2) to measure the effects of various methodologies, tools, and models on this process; and (3) to identify and then to apply successful development practices. The activities, findings, and recommendations of the SEL are recorded in the Software Engineering Laboratory Series, a continuing series of reports that includes this document

2010 Exhibitors

Listings and Descriptions of 2010 Small Satellite Conference Exhibitor

NASA SBIR abstracts of 1991 phase 1 projects

The objectives of 301 projects placed under contract by the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) are described. These projects were selected competitively from among proposals submitted to NASA in response to the 1991 SBIR Program Solicitation. The basic document consists of edited, non-proprietary abstracts of the winning proposals submitted by small businesses. The abstracts are presented under the 15 technical topics within which Phase 1 proposals were solicited. Each project was assigned a sequential identifying number from 001 to 301, in order of its appearance in the body of the report. Appendixes to provide additional information about the SBIR program and permit cross-reference of the 1991 Phase 1 projects by company name, location by state, principal investigator, NASA Field Center responsible for management of each project, and NASA contract number are included

Viability of a Reusable In-Space Transportation System

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is currently developing options for an Evolvable Mars Campaign (EMC) that expands human presence from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) into the solar system and to the surface of Mars. The Hybrid in-space transportation architecture is one option being investigated within the EMC. The architecture enables return of the entire in-space propulsion stage and habitat to cis-lunar space after a round trip to Mars. This concept of operations opens the door for a fully reusable Mars transportation system from cis-lunar space to a Mars parking orbit and back. This paper explores the reuse of in-space transportation systems, with a focus on the propulsion systems. It begins by examining why reusability should be pursued and defines reusability in space-flight context. A range of functions and enablers associated with preparing a system for reuse are identified and a vision for reusability is proposed that can be advanced and implemented as new capabilities are developed. Following this, past reusable spacecraft and servicing capabilities, as well as those currently in development are discussed. Using the Hybrid transportation architecture as an example, an assessment of the degree of reusability that can be incorporated into the architecture with current capabilities is provided and areas for development are identified that will enable greater levels of reuse in the future. Implications and implementation challenges specific to the architecture are also presented

Third International Symposium on Space Mission Operations and Ground Data Systems, part 2

Under the theme of 'Opportunities in Ground Data Systems for High Efficiency Operations of Space Missions,' the SpaceOps '94 symposium included presentations of more than 150 technical papers spanning five topic areas: Mission Management, Operations, Data Management, System Development, and Systems Engineering. The symposium papers focus on improvements in the efficiency, effectiveness, and quality of data acquisition, ground systems, and mission operations. New technology, methods, and human systems are discussed. Accomplishments are also reported in the application of information systems to improve data retrieval, reporting, and archiving; the management of human factors; the use of telescience and teleoperations; and the design and implementation of logistics support for mission operations. This volume covers expert systems, systems development tools and approaches, and systems engineering issues

NASA SpaceCube Intelligent Multi-Purpose System for Enabling Remote Sensing, Communication, and Navigation in Mission Architectures

New, innovative CubeSat mission concepts demand modern capabilities such as artificial intelligence and autonomy, constellation coordination, fault mitigation, and robotic servicing – all of which require vastly more processing resources than legacy systems are capable of providing. Enabling these domains within a scalable, configurable processing architecture is advantageous because it also allows for the flexibility to address varying mission roles, such as a command and data-handling system, a high-performance application processor extension, a guidance and navigation solution, or an instrument/sensor interface. This paper describes the NASA SpaceCube Intelligent Multi-Purpose System (IMPS), which allows mission developers to mix-and-match 1U (10 cm × 10 cm) CubeSat payloads configured for mission-specific needs. The central enabling component of the system architecture to address these concerns is the SpaceCube v3.0 Mini Processor. This single-board computer features the 20nm Xilinx Kintex UltraScale FPGA combined with a radiation-hardened FPGA monitor, and extensive IO to integrate and interconnect varying cards within the system. To unify the re-usable designs within this architecture, the CubeSat Card Standard was developed to guide design of 1U cards. This standard defines pinout configurations, mechanical, and electrical specifications for 1U CubeSat cards, allowing the backplane and mechanical enclosure to be easily extended. NASA has developed several cards adhering to the standard (System-on-Chip, power card, etc.), which allows the flexibility to configure a payload from a common catalog of cards

Ada (trademark) projects at NASA. Runtime environment issues and recommendations

Ada practitioners should use this document to discuss and establish common short term requirements for Ada runtime environments. The major current Ada runtime environment issues are identified through the analysis of some of the Ada efforts at NASA and other research centers. The runtime environment characteristics of major compilers are compared while alternate runtime implementations are reviewed. Modifications and extensions to the Ada Language Reference Manual to address some of these runtime issues are proposed. Three classes of projects focusing on the most critical runtime features of Ada are recommended, including a range of immediately feasible full scale Ada development projects. Also, a list of runtime features and procurement issues is proposed for consideration by the vendors, contractors and the government

2008 Exhibitors

Listings and Descriptions of 2008 Small Satellite Conference Exhibitor

NASA Technology Plan 1998

This NASA Strategic Plan describes an ambitious, exciting vision for the Agency across all its Strategic Enterprises that addresses a series of fundamental questions of science and research. This vision is so challenging that it literally depends on the success of an aggressive, cutting-edge advanced technology development program. The objective of this plan is to describe the NASA-wide technology program in a manner that provides not only the content of ongoing and planned activities, but also the rationale and justification for these activities in the context of NASA's future needs. The scope of this plan is Agencywide, and it includes technology investments to support all major space and aeronautics program areas, but particular emphasis is placed on longer term strategic technology efforts that will have broad impact across the spectrum of NASA activities and perhaps beyond. Our goal is to broaden the understanding of NASA technology programs and to encourage greater participation from outside the Agency. By relating technology goals to anticipated mission needs, we hope to stimulate additional innovative approaches to technology challenges and promote more cooperative programs with partners outside NASA who share common goals. We also believe that this will increase the transfer of NASA-sponsored technology into nonaerospace applications, resulting in an even greater return on the investment in NASA