In this paper, we present a study conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The study focused on the scientific potential and technological promise of CubeSats. We will first review the growth of the CubeSat platform from an education-focused technology toward a platform of importance for technology development, science, and commercial use, both in the United States and internationally. The use has especially exploded in recent years. For example, of the over 400 CubeSats launched since 2000, more than 80% of all science-focused ones have been launched just in the past four years. Similarly, more than 80% of peer-reviewed papers describing new science based on CubeSat data have been published in the past five years. We will then assess the technological and science promise of CubeSats across space science disciplines, and discuss a subset of priority science goals that can be achieved given the current state of CubeSat capabilities. Many of these goals address targeted science, often in coordination with other spacecraft, or by using sacrificial or high-risk orbits that lead to the demise of the satellite after critical data have been collected. Other goals relate to the use of CubeSats as constellations or swarms, deploying tens to hundreds of CubeSats that function as one distributed array of measurements. Finally, we will summarize our conclusions and recommendations from this study; especially those focused on near-term investment that could improve the capabilities of CubeSats toward increased science and technological return and enable the science communities’ use of CubeSats.
There is a need for a motivated and innovative work force for the U.S. aerospace industry. The education of such
engineers and scientists typically revolves around a fundamental knowledge of basic important technologies, such as the
mechanics relevant to orbit-design, structures, avionics, and many others. A few years ago, the University of Michigan
developed a Masters of Engineering program that provides students with skills that are not taught as part of a typical
engineering curriculum. This program is focused on open problem solving, space systems, and space policy, as well as
other classes that further their understanding of the connections between technologies and the nontechnical aspects of
managing a space mission. The value of such an education is substantially increased through a direct connection to
industry. An innovative problem-oriented approach has been developed that enables direct connections between industry
and classroom teaching. The class works as a system study group and addresses problems of interest to and defined by a
company with a specific application. We discuss such an application, a near-space lidar wind measurement system to
enhance weather predictions, as well as the approach taken to link educational rationales.
KEYWORDS: Space operations, LIDAR, Telescopes, Space telescopes, Backscatter, Doppler effect, Satellites, Weather forecasting, Aerospace engineering, Control systems
There is an important need for accurate measurements of tropospheric wind altitude profiles. These wind systems have
long been recognized as one of the primary unknowns limiting weather forecasting over timescales of several days.
Typical measurement architectures have focused primarily on space-based approaches, using a high-powered and highly
effective Light Detection and Ranging (lidar) system.
This paper discusses architectures for low-altitude space missions. The architectures are analyzed in the context of a
weather forecasting system for the Gulf of Mexico region during hurricane season. The architecture studies were
developed by collaboration between a class of engineers who are part of the University of Michigan's new Space
Engineering program and Michigan Aerospace Corporation, a University of Michigan spin-off company specializing, in
part, in lidar systems.
The characteristics and performance for two of the latest coplanar grid CdZnTe detectors, which use the third-generation coplanar grid design, will be discussed. These detectors, with dimensions of 1.5x1.5x0.9 cm3 and 1.5x1.5x0.95 cm3, were fabricated by Baltic Scientific Instruments, Ltd., using crystals from Yinnel Tech, Inc. The high electron mobility-lifetime product measured for these crystals will lead to improved charge collection efficiency and better energy resolution. The spectroscopic performance obtained from the detectors, employing various methods such as depth sensing, radial sensing, and relative gain compensation, will be reported. Results from these measurements will give us insight into the material properties as well as the charge induction uniformity of the detector.
In the proposed Mercury-Messenger mission, a satellite will approach the Sun to a distance of around 0.3 AU. A plasma instrument to be flown on this satellite provides a unique possibility to probe the inner heliosphere in a distance range which has previously only been investigated by the Helios missions. In addition, in situ observations of the low-energy ions in the Mercury magnetosphere can be performed for the first time. In some phase of the orbit pick-up ions from Mercury are also expected to be detected. Because of the tight mass constraints on this mission, a new low-weight plasma instrument FIPS was developed which is particularly suited for this near-solar plasma environment. It is a combination of an electrostatic deflection system and a linear time-of-flight system. Using numerical simulations we demonstrate the properties of this design and discuss possible applications.
In space research electrostatic analyzers are frequently used in combination with time-of-flight spectrometers and/or secondary-electron multipliers. The purpose of such electrostatic analyzers is not only to determine the energy-to-charge ratios of particles but also to separate charged particles from EUV light. Since most particle detectors are extremely sensitive to EUV, substantial suppression factors are required in order to limit the undesired background counts caused by EUV radiation. For instance, in a typical application for the investigation of the solar-wind ion composition, a number ratio of EUV photons to minor ions of the order of i09 is encountered. Hence, the quality of an energy analyzer system crucially depends on the optical design and on the EUV reflection properties of the materials used. We present results from an investigation of EUV reflection properties of several materials that are frequently employed for the construction or for the surface treatment of ion-optical instruments in space research.
Access to the requested content is limited to institutions that have purchased or subscribe to SPIE eBooks.
You are receiving this notice because your organization may not have SPIE eBooks access.*
*Shibboleth/Open Athens users─please
sign in
to access your institution's subscriptions.
To obtain this item, you may purchase the complete book in print or electronic format on
SPIE.org.
INSTITUTIONAL Select your institution to access the SPIE Digital Library.
PERSONAL Sign in with your SPIE account to access your personal subscriptions or to use specific features such as save to my library, sign up for alerts, save searches, etc.