Towards a National Cubesat Program

transcript

Towards a National CubeSat Program: Innovation, Education, Inspiration

Dr Ronan Wall, CubeSat Project Manager,Astrium Satellites

Unique Vehicle for Technology Development for Space

Overview

What are CubeSats?

The Benefits of a National CubeSat Program

How a National CubeSat Program may look

Where you come in - The CubeSat Challenge for Payloads

Current Status of CubeSat Program

The Cubesat Phenomenon

Tiny (<10kg, <10 litre) satellite

Subsystems available “off the shelf” Electronics, communications, software,

structure, power, etc

Mission Objectives for CubeSats are: Educational Scientific Research Technology demonstration

Virtually all mission objectives are typically achieved before launch

Cubesat Development

Dozens of CubeSats have been flown

SwissCube

Canada CanX-2

Denmark DTUSat

Norway NCube2

Romania imager payload

The Proposed UK Program is an industry/academia CubeSat mission for the purposes of technology demonstration, research, training and education

Overview

What are CubeSats?

Some Major Challenges for UK Space are:

Long wait time to flight for UK Science and Engineering

Research

High-reliability drives

conservative design

Must have access to new missions

and market opportunities

Graduates and apprentices lack

hands-on experience

Constant need to develop

technologies for future markets and missions

Far future R&D projects can lack

Providing annual access to space

for UK Science and Engineering

Research

Providing a non-critical forum to

try new concepts Positioning UK for nanosatellite and

constellation missions

Preparing Technology and Instrumentation

for specific future opportunities

Providing real experience in real

spacecraft to university students

Quickly advancing Technology

Readiness Level by focussing on payload delivery

A National CubeSat program should meet these challenges by:

Falling numbers of Students pursuing

STEM subjects

Delivering Revolutionary outreach with

“spacecraft in a classroom”

The National Cubesat Program will provide

a forum for accelerating your

technology concepts through Technology Readiness Levels

CubeSats can provide Regular access to space for Scientific Research

Miniaturised sensors and platforms make good science possible

Space Plasmas, Earth observation Engineering Research

CubeSats provide access to space for innovative science payloads

Enables more science for UK researchers Flight-proves sensors for future agency missions

Regular access to space is essential to: Drive science payload development Allow researchers and engineers to develop and

maintain their skills in space technology

Unique Educational Outreach available with CubeSats

A simple ground station for schools, akin to AMSAT UK’s visionary FUNcube project

Real data from a spacecraft (temp, current, orbit position, payload data) direct to classrooms

Teacher supported by targeted learning pack

CubeSats will Inspire a Future Workforce

A CubeSat project with outreach can demonstrate a clear route to working in space to school and university students

CubeSat University project

School Space Project

Industry

Science

SMEMember of UK Space Community

Overview

What are CubeSats?

Program, engineering and payload interface

management provided by experienced entity to

encourage product quality, and knowledge transfer

Platform build by SME and / or university, increasing

knowledge base in systems technology and

training of next generation of space professional

Payloads are: • Science and Engineering Research• Technology maturation• New concepts tried in space with reduced fear of failure• Selected by competition

Inexpensive Ground Segment and Operations

provided by UK Universities

Satellite would support Education and Outreach

by allowing “outreach” data to be downloaded to

simple ground segments

Cubesat payloads teams are inspired and formed by

dissemination and networking events, enabling new entrants

into the space sector

Proposed Pilot Mission Outline .

Launch

Platform

Announcement of Opportunities for all program elementsChallenging economic climate means funding is limited

Launch funding is highly likely to be secured however Participants who come with their own funding will be at an advantage

Overview

What are CubeSats?

Payload Opportunities

Central to the National program will be the opportunity for up to three payloads (TBC) to be flown

Payloads selected by competition The approach is the reverse of usual space missions

Payload must fit the available platform resources – the platform is not designed around the payload

Payload concepts will be invited: Technology demonstration Scientific or engineering research

Response time must be fast Payload must be ready in ~7 (TBC) months !

Potential Payload Funding

Mini-Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (mKTP) reserved for ‘Winners’ of Payload competition (provided eligible)

mKTP are made up of academic/industrial partners Award is £50k maximum/year, £20k of which supplied by industrial

partner mKTP lasts ~9 months

Some support available in payload reviews and interface management

Level of mentoring not expected to be high

So prepare your payload concepts and partnerships!

Overview

What are CubeSats?

Current status of CubeSat Program

This weeks Government response to space IGT recognises that the CubeSat program represents an “important new initiative”

Definition study by Astrium and Clyde Space concludes next week, confirming feasibility of program

Launch of program to be discussed and hopefully approved within new UK Space Agency

A CubeSat Program for Britain

National CubeSat program is an exemplary vehicle for innovation, technology development, research, training and outreach

Astrium, with supporting partners in academia and SME, have led the lobby for over two years for such a program

UK Government have recognised that “In 2010, there will be an important new initiative in the UK with the CubeSat Challenge”

Watch this space!