MISAT: Designing a Series of Powerful Small Satellites Based upon Micro Systems Technology

MISAT is a research and development cluster which will create a small satellite platform based on Micro Systems Technology (MST) aiming at innovative space as well as terrestrial applications. MISAT is part of the Dutch MicroNed program which has established a microsystems infrastructure to fully exploit the MST knowledge chain involving public and industrial partners alike. The cluster covers MST-related developments for the spacecraft bus and payload, as well as the satellite architecture. Particular emphasis is given to distributed systems in space to fully exploit the potential of miniaturization for future mission concepts. Examples of current developments are wireless sensor and actuator networks with plug and play characteristics, autonomous digital Sun sensors, re-configurable radio front ends with minimum power consumption, or micro-machined electrostatic accelerometer and gradiometer system for scientific research in fundamental physics as well as geophysics. As a result of MISAT, a first nano-satellite will be launched in 2007 to demonstrate the next generation of Sun sensors, power subsystems and satellite architecture technology. Rapid access to in-orbit technology demonstration and verification will be provided by a series of small satellites. This will include a formation flying mission, which will increasingly rely on MISAT technology to improve functionality and reduce size, mass and power for advanced technology demonstration and novel scientific applications.

On the origin of satellite swarms

For a species to develop in nature, two basically two things are needed: an enabling technology and a "niche". In spacecraft design the story is basically the same. Both a suitable technology and a niche application need to be there before a new generation of spacecraft can be developed. Last century two technologies have emerged that had and still have a huge impact on the development of technical systems: Micro-Electronics (ME) and Micro-Systems Technology (MST). Both are ruled by Moore's Law that indicates that considerable technology updates appear at the pace of years or even months instead of decades. Systems that need a development time of more than a few years will inevitably be based on "out-dated" and thereby difficult to maintain and repair technology unless during the development constant redesigns are made. This makes the development of the system at least very expensive. Although expenses do not seem to be a frequent show stopper in the design of spacecraft, it is still very interesting to investigate what system architectures might evolve when the specific properties of the new technologies ME and MST are fully exploited. ME presently offers more than 2 billion transistors on a chip and MST offers mechanical systems like resonators, mechanical switches, propulsions units, gyroscopes and many other sensors that _t in a volume of a few square millimeters to a few centimeters. So it is possible to fit a lot of signal processing power together with the necessary sensors and actuators in a volume that is really very small compared to any know space system. Of course state-of-the art spacecraft will immediately outperform these units in all aspects apart from cost and quantity. For the _rst time it makes sense to envisage the operation of formations of tens to hundreds of satellites that are cheap because they are based on standard commercial COTS technology and system designs. These satellite swarms will not be the systems that replace all other space systems. But, like in nature, there is a niche where swarms are the optimal solution. It's time to start occupying this niche. Typical properties of a swarm in nature are robustness, redundancy, large area coverage, the lack a hierarchical command structure, limited processing power per unit and self-organization ("swarm-intelligence"). This paper discusses the technological trends that lead to satellite swarms, where they can go and what new science they can create

Design of low-voltage integrated filter-mixed sytems

Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Scienc

On the origin of satellite swarms

For a species to develop in nature, two basically two things are needed: an enabling technology and a "niche". In spacecraft design the story is basically the same. Both a suitable technology and a niche application need to be there before a new generation of spacecraft can be developed. Last century two technologies have emerged that had and still have a huge impact on the development of technical systems: Micro-Electronics (ME) and Micro-Systems Technology (MST). Both are ruled by Moore's Law that indicates that considerable technology updates appear at the pace of years or even months instead of decades. Systems that need a development time of more than a few years will inevitably be based on "out-dated" and thereby difficult to maintain and repair technology unless during the development constant redesigns are made. This makes the development of the system at least very expensive. Although expenses do not seem to be a frequent show stopper in the design of spacecraft, it is still very interesting to investigate what system architectures might evolve when the specific properties of the new technologies ME and MST are fully exploited. ME presently offers more than 2 billion transistors on a chip and MST offers mechanical systems like resonators, mechanical switches, propulsions units, gyroscopes and many other sensors that _t in a volume of a few square millimeters to a few centimeters. So it is possible to fit a lot of signal processing power together with the necessary sensors and actuators in a volume that is really very small compared to any know space system. Of course state-of-the art spacecraft will immediately outperform these units in all aspects apart from cost and quantity. For the _rst time it makes sense to envisage the operation of formations of tens to hundreds of satellites that are cheap because they are based on standard commercial COTS technology and system designs. These satellite swarms will not be the systems that replace all other space systems. But, like in nature, there is a niche where swarms are the optimal solution. It's time to start occupying this niche. Typical properties of a swarm in nature are robustness, redundancy, large area coverage, the lack a hierarchical command structure, limited processing power per unit and self-organization ("swarm-intelligence"). This paper discusses the technological trends that lead to satellite swarms, where they can go and what new science they can create

Dutch Micro Systems Technology for the Next Generation of Small Satellites

Advanced microelectronics and Micro Systems Technology (MST) enable an increased functional performance of small satellites with decreased demands on mass, size and power. The research and development cluster MISAT stimulates the design and development of advanced small satellite platforms based on MST aiming at innovative space and terrestrial applications. Focus of research and development is on MST-based bus and payload components as well as on satellite architecture and distributed systems in space. MISAT is part of the Dutch MicroNed program which has established a microsystems infrastructure to fully exploit the MST knowledge chain involving public and industrial partners alike. Rapid in-orbit demonstration of MST onboard satellites is an accompanying objective of the research cluster. To that end, the first satellite to demonstrate technologies developed within MISAT is the Delfi-C3 nano-satellite of the Delft University of Technology. The satellite will demonstrate, from 2008 onwards, operations of the next generation of Sun sensors, power subsystems and satellite architecture technology.