cubesat spacecraft market. An innovative format for organizing missions to launch small spacecraft

Authors

Kosmodemyansky E.V. 1 * , Kirichenko A. S. 1 * , Klyushin D. I. 1 * , Kosmodemyanskaya O.V. 1 * , Makushev V. V. 1 * , Almurzin P. P. 2 **

1. Rocket and space center "Progress", st. Zemetsa, 18, Samara, 443009, Russia
2. Samara National research university them. Academician S.P. Koroleva, Moscow highway, 34, Samara, 443086, Russia

*e-mail: [email protected]
**e-mail: [email protected]

annotation

The article presents the statistics of launches of small nano-class spacecraft of the CubeSat format, including 2013, the conclusion is made about the growth and importance of the market for launch services for spacecraft of this class, the launch vehicles currently being created at the Federal State Unitary Enterprise GNPRKTs TsSKB-Progress and proposed for development to support ICA missions in the CubeSat format. The proposed launcher and transport-launch container for the CubeSat SSC are described in detail, conclusions are made about the possibility of organizing missions to launch a spacecraft of this format using new organizational and technical methods and our country taking a leading position in providing this service.

Keywords:

small spacecraft, Cubesat, universal platform, launcher, web technologies, transport and launch container

Bibliographic list

1. Michael's List of Cubesat Satellite Missions, available at: http://mtech.dk/thomsen/space/cubesat.php (accessed 07/16/2013).
2. Bryan Klofas, Anderson Jason, Leveque Kyle. A Survey of CubeSat Communication Systems, the AMSAT Journal, November/December 2009, pp. 23-30.
3. Wikipedia EN: List of CubeSats , available at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_CubeSats (accessed 07/16/2013).

When cubesats got big April 14th, 2015

CubeSat is a dimensional standard for micro and nanosatellites proposed in 1999 in the USA. Over the past 15 years, the idea of ​​a single standard has greatly changed the face of unmanned astronautics, opened up the possibility of relatively inexpensive creation of spacecraft for private companies, amateurs, students, even schoolchildren. Thanks to CubeSat, many countries whose budgets could not support traditional astronautics were able to boast of their first own spacecraft.

A feature of CubeSat is fixed dimensions that change in multiples, i.e. CubeSat 1U (unit) is a space cube 10x10x10 cm, 2U is already two cubes i.e. 10x10x20 cm, 3U - 10x10x30 cm. So far, the limit reached is 6U or 10x20x30 cm. Many structural elements, batteries, boards, sensors, communication systems have been developed under CubeSat standards ... They constantly come up with something new, either a sublimation engine, or an electromagnetic sail , the plasma engine. Cubesats equipped with real solar sails are being prepared for launch.

CubeSat satellites are being created from industrial-grade electronics, i.e. one that is intended for operation on Earth, and was not prepared for space. Despite this, the capabilities of modern chips allow them to work in seemingly unsuitable conditions. They can be short-lived, but ensure the performance of the devices for up to a year, or even several times more. Now there are entire online stores of electronics for the CubeSat, although it is still far from the level of modern computers that can be purchased in parts and assembled at home in one evening. All the same, you still have to carefully test the compatibility of systems, write software, solder, debug, in general, work for several engineers will be enough for more than one month. All the difficulties were well written by our colleagues from the Sputniks company.

Despite the difficulties, working with CubeSat is much easier than in traditional astronautics, and they have provided a real breakthrough in space for hundreds of students, dozens of enthusiasts, scientists and businessmen.

The standard dimensions of the CubeSat greatly simplify the procedure for launching into space. It's not just about their small size and weight. It is usually believed that it is the mass in kilograms of the satellite that determines its launch cost. But when it comes to such insignificant indicators as 1-3-9 kg, the so-called. adaptation. After all, it is not enough to fasten a satellite to a rocket, then it is necessary for it to shoot back at right time, at the right height and with the right acceleration. For ordinary satellites, even small ones, you have to carry out separate work and design an adapter that will allow you to combine a specific satellite with a specific rocket or upper stage. In the case of CubeSat, the issue is resolved by adapting a special container.

It is enough to adapt the container with a specific rocket or upper stage once, and then use this scheme during each launch.

For example, in Russia now the private company "Dauria Aerospace" together with NPO them. Lavochkina is working on adapting CubeSat containers to Fregat.

As a result, it will be easier to launch cubesats along the way when launching Roscosmos rockets. Previously, dozens of “cubes” were launched by the Dnepr conversion Russian-Ukrainian rocket, but now Roskosmos is going to refuse it in order to load the work of Russian manufacturers.

There is still an opportunity to launch cubesats from the International space station. For this purpose, a special robotic system of the private space company NanoRacks is equipped in the American segment. The system allows launching packs of cubesats, while it does not require astronauts to go into outer space.

From the Russian segment, CubeSat is launched individually and in the classical way.

Launching from the ISS solves many problems: it is simpler and cheaper than rockets, it does not require adaptation or even a container. Most CubeSats are launched from the station. But there are problems here too. Satellites are delivered aboard cargo ships and can lie for several weeks or even months before launch, as a result of which the onboard battery can run out and the satellite will fly dead. Astronauts cannot resurrect everyone, even though they try.

Another problem with launching from a station is the short life span of the satellite. At the height of the ISS, the braking effect of the earth's atmosphere is still relatively strong, so even small cubesats last less than two years, and if the satellite also has folding solar panels, then even a year does not fly. This pleases everyone who worries about the purity of space, but upsets the creators of the devices, who would like to work longer with the satellite, test the equipment and find out its limiting capabilities.

A higher and longer launch requires a container, and the search for a suitable rocket. The container costs money, and a lot, although it seems that this is just an aluminum box with a lid. Together with the container, the launch cost for CubeSat can vary from $40,000 to $100,000, and this is only for 1U. But this is an inevitable price if there is a goal to launch a satellite, which should work for a long time and with benefit.

Now for the benefits. The first decade of cubesats passed under university banners. Students of one or another university (mostly American or British) collected their cubes, Japanese radio amateurs kept up with them. And in the professional environment about CubeSat there is a stereotype of some kind of frivolous fun that is not compatible with any applied tasks. Indeed, here adult uncles have been assembling devices for a ton or more for years, and there some students rivet kilogram tweeters in a few months.

At the same time, the first generations of cubesats made it possible to work out a lot of technological solutions, try out dozens of different schemes and layouts, and test payload devices. And by the second decade of the 21st century, it turned out that even such kids are fit for serious work. In fact, a revolution is taking place right before our eyes.

One of the first was Planet Labs, who decided to build their entire business on cubesats. In 2013, they launched a pair of Dove ("Dove") satellites, which showed their capabilities. Their size is 3U, i.e. 10x10x30 cm. In these microscopic dimensions, by the standards of astronautics, the developers were able to place not only a 90 mm telescope and a photomatrix, but also a three-axis orientation system, consisting of three flywheel motors and magnetic coils. Turned out to be a complete device. remote sensing Earth, the size of an ordinary photo SLR.

Now their devices take high-quality pictures that you can admire in their gallery.

For comparison, a picture from a "real" device weighing 450 kg

Of course, the reliability and performance of "Doves" is much lower than traditional satellites, but their price and the ability to launch dozens of pieces open up great prospects. At the same time, the reliability of each new generation increases, because. engineers receive a huge amount of data on systems, and can quickly replace unreliable elements. Those. flight testing and development is carried out much faster than it was with large vehicles.

Now Planet Labs has attracted almost $140 million in investments, and now their main task is to rebuild the ground infrastructure and find effective ways to monetize satellite data. Their goal is a daily updated analog of Google maps.

I have already talked about Planet Labs more than once, but I like another example of a company that grew out of a circle of Arduino lovers. At first, they threw the idea of ​​​​creating the ArduSat nanosatellite on KickStarter. The community liked the idea so much that when they asked for one satellite, they got two. They attracted attention with their idea to provide control of the satellites to anyone, for a fee. Even before the launch, after a successful fundraising campaign, they found the first investors. Even the Russian CEO and founder of Mail.Ru Dmitry Grishin invested in them, although he allocated “only” $300 thousand. They didn’t particularly talk about the results of the launch and testing of satellites, but quickly renamed from NanoSatisfy to Spire attracted $20 million in investments to deploy an entire satellite network in dozens of devices. Judging by their website, they are going to build an extensive low-orbit network for receiving AIS data.

The result will be a rapidly updated map of the movement of ships in the seas and oceans. There are such services now, but they mainly operate on the basis of coast stations, and there are less than two dozen AIS satellites in orbit. Spire wants to launch 100.

Speaking of AIS, there are also a couple of our cubesats in orbit - Perseus-M - this is a joint development of the American and Russian divisions of Dauria Aerospace. Our people there participated in the study of the overall design, layout and writing software. The size of the satellite is 6U, the payload is also an AIS sensor, they have been flying since June 2014. Recently, payload testing has just been completed, and the satellites have built their own map of world shipping. We are now preparing to deploy a network of ground stations to start delivering commercial quality live data.

However, the goal of Dauria is not AIS business. It's just that such sensors were chosen for testing the satellite platform. And its possibilities are much greater, including the possibility of putting a camera there. Actually, based on the experience gained in the development of Perseus-M, Russian division"Dauria" creates two satellites in the CubeSat standard by order of Roskosmos. These are much more sophisticated devices, with a three-axis orientation, a multispectral camera, and a high-performance Ka-band transmitter.

In the future, the company is ready to adapt the platform to different kinds scientific and applied loads. We are also developing our own container, so soon Roskosmos will be able to offer a full range of services if anyone needs to launch CubeSat. For example, Lavochkin's "Frigate" can go to both Mars and Venus, you just have to wait for a passing flight.

The Russian startup Lin Industrial undertook to create a special micro-rocket just for launching cubesats. It is unlikely that it will come out cheaper than $100,000, but it may be interesting for those orbits where one cannot fly along the way or wait a long time for an opportunity.

mini satellites

3 Space Technology 5 (ST5) microsatellites

Mini satellites ( minisatellite; small satellite), have a gross weight (including fuel) from 100 kg to 500 kg. Also, mini-satellites are sometimes referred to as so-called. "light satellites" weighing from 500 kg to 1000 kg. Such satellites can use the platforms, components, technologies of conventional "large" satellites. It is mini-satellites that are often understood as common definition"small satellites".

Microsatellites

Microsatellites ( microsatellite, microsat) have a total mass of 10 to 100 kg (sometimes the term is applied to slightly heavier vehicles).

Nanosatellites

Nanosatellites ( nanosatellite, nanosat) have a mass from 1 kg to 10 kg. Often designed to work in a group ( "swarm"- swarm), some groups require a larger satellite to communicate with the Earth.

Modern nanosatellites are characterized by relatively high functionality, despite their small size. Their scope is wide - from attempts to space observations:

• Development of the latest technologies, methods and software and hardware solutions;
• Educational programs;
• Environmental monitoring;
• Research of geophysical fields;
• Astronomical observations.

Picosatellites

Picosatellites ( picosatllite, picosat) are called satellites with a mass of 100 g to 1 kg. Usually designed to work in a group, sometimes with a larger satellite. Satellites of the CubeSat format (cubesat) have a volume of 1 liter and a mass of about 1 kg and can be considered either large pico-satellites or light nanosatellites. Cubesats are launched several units at a time and have a launch cost of several tens of thousands of dollars.

Femtosatellites

Femtosatellites ( femtosatellite, femtosat) have a mass of up to 100 g. Like pico satellites, they are ultra-small. Pocketsat satellites (literally pocket) have mass dimensions of several hundred or tens of grams and several centimeters and can be considered either femtosatellites or light picosatellites. Several pocketsats can be assembled and launched in a container space and at the price of one cubesat, that is, for several thousand dollars each.

Such a low cost and unification of platforms and components allows universities and even schools, small private companies and amateur associations to develop and launch cubesats, and private individuals to develop and launch cubesats.

Also, ultra-small launch vehicles - nanocarriers - are being developed to launch cubesats and poketsats.

Application

Small spacecraft can be used for:

• Communication systems research
• Calibration of radar and optical control systems outer space(including passive spacecraft)
• Earth Remote Sensing (ERS)
• Rope systems research
• For educational purposes.

Statistics

During the period from 1990 to 2003, 64 small satellites with a mass of less than 30 kg were launched into orbit, 41 of them were from the United States.



A bit of history

The history of CubeSat satellites began in 1999, when Caltech and Stanford Universities jointly developed a document that fixed the specifications for small satellites. The standard defined the dimensions, weight and other parameters of the satellites, as well as testing and preparation procedures for launch. The current version of the standard is available at http://www.cubesat.org/index.php/documents/developers.

Satellite sizes

The CubeSat standard defines specifications for 1 and 3 unit satellites, 1U and 3U, respectively. The weight of satellites does not exceed 10 kg, which, according to the international classification, corresponds to the class of nanosatellites. In practice, satellites of the following sizes are most widely used:

Dimensions and weight of CubeSat satellites

Designation	Dimensions	Weight
1U	100x100x113.5 mm	up to 1.33 kg
2U	100x100x226.5 mm	up to 2.67 kg
3U	100x100x340.5 mm	up to 4 kg
4U	100x100x533.5 mm	up to 5.33 kg
5U	100x100x665.5 mm	6.67 kg
6U	100x200x340.5 mm	up to 8 kg

These sizes are obtained by simply multiplying the standard sizes by the unit size. Less common in practice are intermediate sizes of satellites 0.5U and 1.5U. The dimensions are scaled in such a way that several satellites with a total size of 3U are placed in a standard P-POD launch container.

Launch container P-POD and three satellites. Photo from http://www.spaceref.com

No pyrotechnics are used to separate the satellites from the launch vehicle, the satellites are pushed out by a spring. This is done for safety reasons, because, in general, small satellites are launched into orbit as a payload in the company of larger satellites. Possible malfunctions in nanosatellite systems should not cause damage to the main apparatus.

Satellite design

Structurally, the satellites are a frame made of anodized aluminum. The 4 faces are the rails along which the satellite slides at the moment of separation from the launch vehicle. The side surfaces are covered with solar panels. The receiver and transmitter antennas are also located there.


Solar panel options. Photo from http://www.clyde-space.com

Inside the case are printed circuit boards of various satellite systems and payloads.
The basic systems are:

1. CPU module
2. Radio channel and antenna-feeder devices
3. Power system, batteries and charge controller, solar panels
4. Optional. Satellite Positioning System
5. Optional. Satellite Position Correction System

A system bus is derived from the base system, to which the payload boards are connected. The system bus contains power lines and communication interfaces. The payload is given access to a radio link to send the collected data back to Earth.

Payload Composition

Most often, the payload includes cameras, as well as various sensors. Small spacecraft are used to change the Earth's magnetic and gravitational fields, measure the composition and number of charged particles in near-Earth space (AAUsat2), and predict earthquakes (QuakeSat). Even a biochemical experiment with bacteria (GeneSat1) was carried out not on board the CubeSat satellite. Often, nanosatellites are used to test electronic components, design and technological solutions in real space, in order to later apply them in the production of larger spacecraft. In general, the imagination of researchers is limited only by the dimensions, weight and energy capabilities provided on board a small spacecraft.

Issue price

The CubeSat specification was based on an ideology, the concept of which is based on several postulates.

• Reduction of satellite development time to 1-2 years. Achieved by standardizing the design.
• Reducing the cost of satellite production. This is achievable through the widespread use of so-called COTS components, i.e. conventional electronics instead of specialized space electronic components.
• Attraction for the development of students and graduate students.

As a result, according to Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CubeSat), the cost of developing a 1U CubeSat satellite costs 65-80 thousand dollars, of which $40,000 falls on services for launching the satellite into orbit. On the site of one Dutch company, the cost of a 1U satellite assembly kit is 39,000 euros. The kit includes: housing, on-board computer board, power supply system with batteries, 6 solar panels, 144/433 MHz transceiver, antenna system. We call such a kit the Base Platform. This is several orders of magnitude less than the cost of "ordinary" satellites, whose budgets amount to millions of dollars.

The relatively low launch cost has made the Cubesat standard one of the most widely used satellite platforms in the world. From June 2003 to February 2012 more than 60 Cubesat satellites were launched http://www.amsat.org/amsat-new/satellites/cubesats.php http://mtech.dk/thomsen/space/cubesat.php . Most of the launches of small satellites were made on Russian-made rockets from the Plesetsk and Baikonur cosmodromes.