The SAMSON Project – Cluster Flight and Geolocation with Three Autonomous Nano-satellites

Satellite Mission for Swarming and Geolocation (SAMSON) is a new satellite mission initiated and led by the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology and supported by Israeli space industries and other partners. SAMSON shall include three inter-communicating nano-satellites, based on the Cubesat standard. The mission is planned for at least one year, and has two goals: (1) demonstrate long-term autonomous cluster flight of multiple satellites and (2) geolocate a cooperative radiating electromagnetic source on Earth. Additional payloads may include a micro Pulsed Plasma Thruster and a new space processor. The configuration of each satellite is a 6U Cubesat, comprising of an electric power system with deployable solar panels, communication system, on-board data handling system, attitude control system and a cold-gas propulsion system for orbit and cluster-keeping. The SAMSON mission commenced in early 2012 and is planned to be launched in 2015. All three satellites shall be launched with the same inclination and semi-major axis into a near-circular orbit. In orbit, they shall separate to form a cluster with inter-satellite relative distances ranging from 100 m to 250 km. One satellite shall be designated as leader , and the rest would serve as followers . The leader shall station-keep to control the nominal mean orbital elements, while the followers shall only perform relative orbital element corrections to satisfy the relative distance constraints. During the course of the mission, the cluster shall also perform geolocation experiments, using signals received from known locations on Earth. SAMSON will serve as a platform for academic research and hands-on engineering education. It will also contribute to the advancement of Search and Rescue mission technologies