ASUSat1: the development of a low-cost satellite

Shea Ferring; Joel D. Rademacher; Assi Friedman; David Waller; Helen L. Reed

doi:10.1117/12.278944

19 September 1997 ASUSat1: the development of a low-cost satellite

Shea Ferring, Joel D. Rademacher, Assi Friedman, David Waller, Helen L. Reed

Proceedings Volume 3119, Multispectral Imaging for Terrestrial Applications II; (1997) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.278944
Event: Optical Science, Engineering and Instrumentation '97, 1997, San Diego, CA, United States

Abstract

In October 1993, the students at Arizona State University (ASU) were challenged by Orbital Sciences Corporation to develop a 4.5-kg (10-lb) satellite (ASUSat1) to be launched as a piggyback payload on a Pegasus rocket. The challenge included the requirements for the satellite to perform meaningful science and to fit inside the Pegasus avionics section (0.033 m diam. X 0.027 m). Moreover, the students were faced with the cost constraints associated with university projects. This unusual set of requirements resulted in a design and development process, which is fundamentally different from that of traditional space projects. The spacecraft capabilities and scientific mission evolved in an extremely rigid environment where cost, size and weight limits were set before the design process even started. In the ASUSat1 project, severe constraints were determined first, and then a meaningful scientific mission was chosen to fit those constraints. This design philosophy can be applied to future satellite systems. In addition, the ASUSat1 program demonstrates that universities can provide an open-minded source for the innovative nano-spacecraft technologies required for the next generation of low-cost missions, as well as an economical testbed to evaluate those technologies. At the same time, the program provides hands-on training for the space scientists and engineers of the future.

Citation Download Citation

Shea Ferring, Joel D. Rademacher, Assi Friedman, David Waller, and Helen L. Reed "ASUSat1: the development of a low-cost satellite", Proc. SPIE 3119, Multispectral Imaging for Terrestrial Applications II, (19 September 1997); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.278944

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