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Wayne A. Shiroma∗ , Larry K. Martin, Justin M. Akagi, Jason T. Akagi, Byron L. Wolfe, Bryan A. Fewell,
Aaron T. Ohta
College of Engineering
University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Abstract: Interest in the CubeSat class of nanosatellites has surged in recent years. The reduced development time
and launch cost of these platforms, compared to conventional large satellites, have made them attractive for
applications ranging from technology demonstrations to biological experiments to space weather research. This
paper surveys recent and upcoming missions pursued by a variety of academic and government groups around
the world.
Keywords: CubeSat • Small Satellite • Nanosatellite • Picosatellite
© Versita Sp. z o.o.
1. Introduction Explorer 1 were both less than 100 kg. Since the launch of
those two satellites in the late 1950s, the average satellite
has grown considerably in size (> 2000 kg) and cost (>
Small satellites, generally regarded as having a mass of $10M per launch) [1, 2].
500 kg or less, have been around for over half a century,
but interest in this area is growing now more than ever. Since the size of a satellite corresponds directly to ex-
Numerous academic, government, and commercial entities, penses associated with physical materials and parts, la-
and even pre-college age hobbyists, are undertaking small bor for development, and launch vehicle fuel, it is natural
satellite projects around the world. This heightened in- to conclude that the principal advantages of small satel-
terest is due to the convergence of numerous factors: the lites over their big-brother counterparts are lower cost and
miniaturization of various enabling technologies, the need shorter development time. However, small satellites have
for rapid-response platforms for applications such as dis- technological and mission-related advantages in their own
aster mitigation and crisis management, the fascination of right. The shorter development cycle implies that newer
launching a personal satellite into orbit, and the changing payload and bus technologies can be inserted. In addi-
economics of space. tion, compared to a solitary, large, conventional satellite,
a network of several small satellites is potentially more
Despite the fact that small satellites are currently in
flexible, as it can be reconfigured depending on mission
vogue, it is worthwhile remembering that the very first
needs. The inherent redundancy of a small-satellite net-
satellites placed into orbit a little over 50 years ago were
work also implies lower susceptibility to single-point fail-
in fact small satellites: Russia’s Sputnik 1 and the USA’S
ure, the most extreme example being orbiting satellites
that were intentionally destroyed by missiles by China
∗
E-mail: wayne.shiroma@hawaii.edu and the USA in 2007 and 2008, respectively [3].
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One of these is Romania’s Goliat (Figure 6), a 1U mobilize all of the nanosatellites in a multi-node network,
CubeSat developed by students from the Universities of compared to disabling a single large satellite.
Bucharest and Politehnica of Bucharest under the admin-
The ideal small-satellite network would be au-
istration of the Romanian Space Agency and Romanian
tonomous, flexible, dynamically reconfigurable, redundant,
Institute for Space Sciences. Goliat’s objectives are to:
and readily deployable. Each nanosatellite would repre-
1) measure micrometeorite flux, 2) measure total doses of
sent a node in a network-centric sensor grid that is dy-
cosmic radiation, and 3) conduct imaging of the Earth’s
namically reconfigurable according to changing mission
surface using a digital camera [24]. The camera unit used
requirements. Research is still needed in various areas to
for the surface imaging incorporates commercial off-the-
make such a network a reality. Although attitude control
shelf sensor and processor boards, however the lens unit
systems, wireless network protocols, and the like all exist
was made in house and is capable of achieving a maximum
for large satellites, adapting them for the size of a Cube-
ground resolution of 25 m/pixel, assuming a 600-km orbit.
Sat is still a challenge.
The project’s main goal, however, is to obtain a multidis-
ciplinary, self-sustaining student team that will be able One example of a challenging enabling technology is
to design, integrate, and operate a full-fledged CubeSat the design of the CubeSat’s antenna. The challenge in de-
mission on their own; they hope to have met this goal by signing a distributed small-satellite network – especially
Goliat’s completion. a dynamically reconfigurable one – is in establishing and
maintaining a reliable crosslink with other satellites in
the network without a priori knowledge of their posi-
3. Future Small-satellite Networks tions. Omnidirectional antennas are the obvious choice for
crosslinking satellites that are subject to constant reposi-
The earliest CubeSats launched almost a decade ago were tioning, but this leaves the network susceptible to eaves-
in some sense the guinea pigs to prove that serious science dropping by unauthorized ground stations as well as by
could be undertaken by such a small platform that could satellites outside the network but still within range of the
be constructed within reasonable cost and schedule. As constellation. Omnidirectional antennas are also ineffi-
the success of these mostly academic demonstrations be- cient, as power is radiated in all directions, not just in the
came clearer, the CubeSat community started to expand to direction of the intended receiver. This is a large concern
commercial and government entities that had once been for a CubeSat in which DC power is at a premium.
skeptical. The next decade may well show just how far In covert or security-sensitive networks, signal inter-
CubeSat applications can go. ception can be prevented by employing direct crosslinks
One example of such a project is QB50, an interna- with conventional phased-array antennas. However, for
tional network of 50 CubeSats whose collective scientific CubeSats, processing power is a valuable resource and
mission is to study the temporal and spatial characteris- dynamic beam steering would add another layer of com-
tics of the lower thermosphere [25]. The project is headed plexity to the system, negating the advantages of the sim-
by the von Karman Institute for Fluid Dynamics (Bel- ple, low-cost features of these small satellites.
gium), the European Space Agency, and NASA. Each of
the CubeSats are 2U configurations, with 1U accommo- For CubeSat applications, an attractive alternative to
dating the scientific sensors and 1U accommodating the dynamic beam steering is a self-steering retrodirective ar-
satellite bus. The 50 CubeSats are being developed by ray [26] that permits secure crosslink communications be-
a truly international consortium of universities: 38 Cube- tween satellites moving randomly in space. Retrodirective
Sats developed by universities in 22 European countries, 8 antennas are able to sense the direction of an incoming
by universities in the US, 2 by universities in Canada and radio transmission and send a reply in that same direction,
2 by Japanese universities. All 50 CubeSats are planned without the complexities associated with phase shifters in
to be launched together on a single launch vehicle in the conventional phased arrays or digital signal processing in
second half of 2014. smart antennas. The directivity associated with retrodi-
rective arrays not only improves network security, but also
Networks of small satellites promise increased mis-
improves the communication link efficiency by minimizing
sion flexibility and success by distributing the tasks and
power consumption.
subsystems typical of a single large satellite. An au-
tonomous, distributed nanosatellite network also reduces Of course, there are many other enabling technolo-
the possibility of catastrophic single-point failure; if one gies that need to be developed to make CubeSat swarms
satellite fails, others can take up the slack until a re- a reality. Distributed computing and power management
placement is launched. Furthermore, in a hostile-attack are just a few of the advances that we may see in the near
scenario, an enemy will find it much more difficult to im- future.
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