Modular Architecture for a Resilient Extensible SmallSat (MARES)

CubeSats and SmallSats have seen increasing success in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). However, there is a desire to send small, low cost missions beyond LEO into harsher environments. Additionally, most bus architectures do not currently have the on-board processing capa-bilities to handle high-speed science data and autonomous operations. MARES, currently under development at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, is a capabilities driven design and architecture with an emphasis on reliability, scalability, and high performance process-ing. Its applicability is broad including SmallSat missions, CubeSat missions, and high performance instrument processors. The highly integrated architecture reduces mass, volume, and power but still provides the flexibility of a modular system. Mission critical functions are handled by the Command and Data Handling (C&DH) Processor and Auxiliary cards, which are radiation hardened up to 100krad. SpaceCube™ Mini 3 processor card is primarily used for instrument data processing but its versatility and processing power provides a digital platform to reduce the SWaP of components and applications such as above-the-constellation GPS, software defined radio and LIDAR. This can be achieved by utilizing the same Mini card for various applications but multiple units can be utilized on the same bus if needed via a backplane design for the bus avionics. The catalog of new cards and features for MARES continues to grow, and the architecture can be expanded further with the design of mission-specific cards that plug into the same backplane as the rest of the bus. Standardized backplane configurations will reduce resources spent on customization and ensure a robust and compatible system

Dellingr: Reliability Lessons Learned from On-Orbit

Dellingr, NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC) first 6U CubeSat, was deployed from the International Space Station (ISS) on November 20, 2017. The primary objective of the mission was to apply and appropriately tailor GSFC knowledge and capability to design and build a CubeSat that increased resiliency and capability, while containing costs. The Dellingr spacecraft is a mixture of COTS and in-house components and includes two science instruments – an advanced gated time-of-flight ion-neutral mass spectrometer (INMS) and a boom mounted fluxgate. While a traditional GSFC spacecraft approach includes detailed analysis, design, testing, and extensive reviews, the Dellingr team adopted a “build, test, fix” approach to identify and correct potential mission ending issues. Yet, despite extensive testing, Dellingr immediately experienced unexpected major anomalies once on orbit. Using a flatsat and the insight gained from extensive on-orbit engineering data, the team was able to alleviate some of these anomalies and recover some of the lost functionality. The extensive set of lessons-learned is driving changes to our systems architecture, flight software, and testing approaches, and has provided valuable insight into what is required to produce a NASA CubeSat science mission with a moderate assurance of mission success, while containing resource requirements

Dellingr: NASA Goddard Space Flight Center\u27s First 6U Spacecraft

The Dellingr spacecraft is NASA Goddard Space Flight Center’s (GSFC’s) first build of a 6U CubeSat. A key driver of the Dellingr project is the recognition that NASA needs to infuse the emergent CubeSat capability into our science missions to support small, focused science objectives while also enabling larger strategic constellation missions in support of Decadal Survey science goals. The primary objective of the Dellingr project was to develop a cost-effective model for CubeSat and SmallSat builds at GSFC with lean end-to-end systems and processes to enable lower-cost, scalable risk, systems. Dellingr is a balance of commercial off the shelf (COTS) and in-house subsystems, leveraging the strengths of both the booming commercial market and existing GSFC infrastructure, capabilities, and experience with similar “Do No Harm” missions, such as sounding rockets. Dellingr carries an advanced gated time-of-flight ion/neutral mass spectrometer (INMS) and three fluxgate magnetometers. Two of these magnetometers are internal to the spacecraft, and will be used to test and validate a new software algorithm that compensates for and removes spacecraft interference; the third magnetometer sits at the end of a 52-cm boom. Together, these instruments will measure the space weather effects of solar wind-magnetosphere coupling on Earth\u27s ion and neutral upper atmosphere