The Educational Irish Research Satellite, known as EIRSAT-1, is a student-led project to design, build, test and launch Ireland's first satellite. The on-board software for this mission is being developed using Bright Ascension's GenerationOne Flight Software Development Kit. This paper provides an overview of this kit and of EIRSAT-1's on-board software design. Drawing on the team's contrasting experience with writing entirely custom firmware for the mission's science payloads, this work discusses the impact of using a kit on the software development process. The challenges associated with the educational nature of this project are the focus of this discussion. The objective of this paper is to provide useful information for other CubeSat teams assessing software development options.
The Educational Irish Research Satellite, EIRSAT-1, is a project developed by students at University College Dublin that aims to design, build, and launch Ireland's first satellite. EIRSAT-1 is a 2U CubeSat incorporating three novel payloads; GMOD, a gamma-ray detector, EMOD, a thermal coating management experiment, and WBC, a novel attitude control algorithm. The EIRSAT-1 project is carried out with the support of the Education Office of the European Space Agency, under the educational Fly your Satellite! programme. The Assembly, Integration and Verification plan for EIRSAT-1 is central to th…
The Gamma-ray Module, GMOD, is a miniaturised novel gamma-ray detector which will be the primary scientific payload on the Educational Irish Research Satellite (EIRSAT-1) 2U CubeSat mission. GMOD comprises a compact (25mm $\times$ 25mm $\times$ 40mm) cerium bromide scintillator coupled to a tiled array of 4$\times$4 silicon photomultipliers, with front-end readout provided by the IDE3380 SIPHRA. This paper presents the detailed GMOD design and the accommodation of the instrument within the restrictive CubeSat form factor. The electronic and mechanical interfaces are compatible with many off-th…
The Educational Irish Research Satellite 1 (EIRSAT-1) is a 2U CubeSat being developed under ESA's Fly Your Satellite! programme. The project has many aspects, which are primarily educational, but also include space qualification of new detector technologies for gamma-ray astronomy and the detection of gamma-ray bursts (GRBs). The Gamma-ray Module (GMOD), the main mission payload, is a small gamma-ray spectrometer comprising a 25 mm $\times$ 25 mm $\times$ 40 mm cerium bromide scintillator coupled to an array of 16 silicon photomultipliers. The readout is provided by IDE3380 (SIPHRA), a low-pow…
HERMES (High Energy Rapid Modular Ensemble of Satellites) is a space-borne mission based on a constellation of six 3U CubeSats flying in a low-Earth orbit, hosting new miniaturized instruments based on a hybrid Silicon Drift Detector/GAGG:Ce scintillator photodetector system sensitive to X-rays and gamma-rays. Moreover, the HERMES constellation will operate in conjunction with the Australian-Italian Space Industry Responsive Intelligent Thermal (SpIRIT) 6U CubeSat, that will carry in a Sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) an actively cooled HERMES detector system payload. In this paper we provide an ov…
PRISMA is a demonstration mission for formation-flying and on-orbit-servicing critical technologies that involves two spacecraft launched in low Earth orbit in June 2010 and still in operation. Funded by the Swedish National Space Board, PRISMA mission has been developed by OHB Sweden with important contributions from the German Aerospace Centre (DLR/GSOC), the French Space Agency (CNES), and the Technical University of Denmark (DTU). The paper focuses on the last CNES experiment achieved in September 2012 that was devoted to the preparation of future astrometry missions illustrated by the NEA…
The Planck satellite in orbit mission ended in October 2013. Between the end of Low Frequency Instrument (LFI) routine mission operations and the satellite decommissioning, a dedicated test was also performed to measure the Planck telescope emissivity. The scope of the test was twofold: (i) to provide, for the first time in flight, a direct measure of the telescope emissivity; and (ii) to evaluate the possible degradation of the emissivity by comparing data taken in flight at the end of mission with those taken during the ground telescope characterization. The emissivity was determined by heat…
This paper explores the uniqueness of ESA Rosetta mission operations from the Alice instrument point of view, documents lessons learned, and suggests operations ideas for future missions. The Alice instrument mounted on the Rosetta orbiter is an imaging spectrograph optimized for cometary far-ultraviolet (FUV) spectroscopy with the scientific objectives of measuring properties of the escaping gas and dust, and studying the surface properties, including searching for exposed ices. We describe the operations processes during the comet encounter period, the many interfaces to contend with, the co…
Coronagraphs on future space telescopes will require precise wavefront correction to detect Earth-like exoplanets near their host stars. High-actuator count microelectromechanical system (MEMS) deformable mirrors provide wavefront control with low size, weight, and power. The Deformable Mirror Demonstration Mission (DeMi) payload will demonstrate a 140 actuator MEMS deformable mirror (DM) with \SI{5.5}{\micro\meter} maximum stroke. We present the flight optomechanical design, lab tests of the flight wavefront sensor and wavefront reconstructor, and simulations of closed-loop control of wavefro…
One of the primary objectives of small satellites is to reduce the costs associated with spacecraft development and operations as compared to traditional spacecraft missions. Small satellite missions are generally able to reduce mission planning, hardware, integration, and operational costs; however, small satellite missions struggle with reducing software development and testing costs. This paper presents the case study of the NASA Operational Simulator for Small Satellites (NOS3), a software-only simulation framework that was developed for the Simulation-to-Flight 1 (STF-1) 3U CubeSat missio…
The latest and most advanced effort towards a space-based optical cosmic ray detector developed within the Joint Experiment Mission for the Extreme Universe Space Observatory (JEM-EUSO) collaboration was the Extreme Universe Space Observatory on a Super Pressure Balloon (EUSO-SPB1) mission. The EUSO-SPB1 instrument looks for UV light emitted by extensive air showers above the detectors energy threshold of \unit[3]{EeV}.\\ This detector was launched in 2017 out of Wanaka, New Zealand as a mission of opportunity on a NASA SPB. Over 27 hours of data was taken in air shower detection mode during t…
The Balloon-Borne Cryogenic Telescope Testbed (BOBCAT) is a stratospheric balloon payload to develop technology for a future cryogenic suborbital observatory. A series of flights are intended to establish ultra-light dewar performance and open-aperture observing techniques for large (3--5 meter diameter) cryogenic telescopes at infrared wavelengths. An initial flight in 2019 demonstrated bulk transfer of liquid nitrogen and liquid helium at stratospheric altitudes. An 827 kg payload carried 14 liters of liquid nitrogen (LN2) and 268 liters of liquid helium (LHe) in pressurized storage dewars t…
The MICROSCOPE space mission aims to test the Equivalence Principle with an accuracy of $10^{-15}$. The drag-free micro-satellite will orbit around the Earth and embark a differential electrostatic accelerometer including two cylindrical test masses submitted to the same gravitational field and made of different materials. The experience consists in testing the equality of the electrostatic acceleration applied to the masses to maintain them relatively motionless. The accuracy of the measurements exploited for the test of the Equivalence Principle is limited by our a priori knowledge of severa…
X-Calibur is a balloon-borne telescope that measures the polarization of high-energy X-rays in the 15--50keV energy range. The instrument makes use of the fact that X-rays scatter preferentially perpendicular to the polarization direction. A beryllium scattering element surrounded by pixellated CZT detectors is located at the focal point of the InFOCμS hard X-ray mirror. The instrument was launched for a long-duration balloon (LDB) flight from McMurdo (Antarctica) on December 29, 2018, and obtained the first constraints of the hard X-ray polarization of an accretion-powered pulsar. Here, we de…
The Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph (TPF-C) mission presented here is an existence proof for a flagship-class internal coronagraph space mission capable of detecting and characterizing Earth-like planets and planetary systems at visible wavelengths around nearby stars, using an existing launch vehicle. TPF-C will use spectroscopy to measure key properties of exoplanets including the presence of atmospheric water or oxygen, powerful signatures in the search for habitable worlds.
In-flight calibration of RADEM, the JUICE mission radiation monitor
Laboratório de Instrumentação e Física Experimental de Partículas（粒子物理与实验仪器实验室）；Instituto Superior Técnico - University of Lisbon（里斯本大学高等技术学院）；European Space Agency(ESA) European Space Astronomy Centre (ESAC)（欧洲空间局欧洲航天天文中心）；Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Turku（图尔库大学物理与天文学系）；European Space Research and Technology Centre, European Space Agency（欧洲空间局欧洲空间研究与技术中心）
The Microchannel X-ray Telescope on board the SVOM mission: in-flight scientific performance
AIM-CEA/DRF/Irfu/Departement d’Astrophysique, CNRS, Universite Paris-Saclay, Universite Paris Cite（天体物理学与核物理研究所，法国国家科学研究中心，巴黎萨克雷大学，巴黎 Cité 大学）；Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales, Centre spatial de Toulouse（法国国家空间研究中心，图卢兹航天中心）；Space Park Leicester, University of Leicester（莱斯特大学，莱斯特太空公园）；College of Science and Engineering, School of Mathematics and Physics, Kanazawa University（金泽大学，理学院，数学与物理系）
Deformable mirrors (DMs) are a critical technology to enable coronagraphic direct imaging of exoplanets with current and planned ground - and space-based telescopes as well as future mission concepts that aim to image exoplanet types ranging from gas giants to Earth analogs. This places several requirements on the DMs such as requires a large actuator count (>3000), fine surface height resolution (<10 pm), and radiation hardened driving electronics with low mass and volume. We present the design and testing of a flight-capable, miniaturized DM controller. Having achieved contrasts on the order…
We outline the challenges associated with the development and construction of large focal plane arrays for use both on the ground and in space. Using lessons learned from existing JPL-led and ASU/JPL partnership efforts to develop technology for, and design such arrays and imagers for large focal planes, we enumerate here the remaining problems that need to be solved to make such a venture viable. Technologies we consider vital for further development include: (1) architectures, processes, circuits, and readout solutions for production and integration of four-side buttable, low-cost, high-fide…
The LOng Range Reconnaissance Imager (LORRI) is a panchromatic (360--910 nm), narrow-angle (field of view = 0.29 deg), high spatial resolution (pixel scale = 1.02 arcsec) visible light imager used on NASA's New Horizons (NH) mission for both science observations and optical navigation. Calibration observations began several months after the NH launch on 2006 January 19 and have been repeated annually throughout the course of the mission, which is ongoing. This paper describes the in-flight LORRI calibration measurements, and the results derived from our analysis of the calibration data. LORRI …
NASA's suborbital program provides an opportunity to conduct unique science experiments above Earth's atmosphere and is a pipeline for the technology and personnel essential to future space astrophysics, heliophysics, and atmospheric science missions. In this paper, we describe three astronomy payloads developed (or in development) by the Ultraviolet Rocket Group at the University of Colorado. These far-ultraviolet (100 - 160 nm) spectrographic instruments are used to study a range of scientific topics, from gas in the interstellar medium (accessing diagnostics of material spanning five orders…
The article focuses on trajectory design to the trans-Neptunian object (90377) Sedna for launch in 2029-2034. Sedna is currently moving to the perihelion at a distance of around 74 au from the Sun. The perihelion passage is estimated to be in 2073-74. That opens up of opportunities to study such a distant object. Known for its orbit and 10 thousand year period, Sedna is an exciting object for deep space exploration. The current research provides two possible scenarios of transfer to Sedna. A direct flight and flights including gravity assist manoeuvres are considered. The present study showed …
The Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA) has recently concluded a set of engineering flights for Observatory performance evaluation. These in-flight opportunities are viewed as a first comprehensive assessment of the Observatory's performance and are used to guide future development activities, as well as to identify additional Observatory upgrades. Pointing stability was evaluated, including the image motion due to rigid-body and flexible-body telescope modes as well as possible aero-optical image motion. We report on recent improvements in pointing stability by using an a…
The first science flight of the balloon-borne \Sunrise telescope took place in June 2009 from ESRANGE (near Kiruna/Sweden) to Somerset Island in northern Canada. We describe the scientific aims and mission concept of the project and give an overview and a description of the various hardware components: the 1-m main telescope with its postfocus science instruments (the UV filter imager SuFI and the imaging vector magnetograph IMaX) and support instruments (image stabilizing and light distribution system ISLiD and correlating wavefront sensor CWS), the optomechanical support structure and the in…
The Sun Watcher with Active Pixel System detector and Image Processing (SWAP) telescope was launched on 2 November 2009 onboard the ESA PROBA2 technological mission and has acquired images of the solar corona every one - two minutes for more than two years. The most important technological developments included in SWAP are a radiation-resistant CMOS-APS detector and a novel onboard data-prioritization scheme. Although such detectors have been used previously in space, they have never been used for long-term scientific observations on orbit. Thus SWAP requires a careful calibration to guarantee…
We present ECLAIRs, the Gamma-ray burst (GRB) trigger camera to fly on-board the Chinese-French mission SVOM. ECLAIRs is a wide-field ($\sim 2$\,sr) coded mask camera with a mask transparency of 40\% and a 1024 $\mathrm{cm}^2$ detection plane coupled to a data processing unit, so-called UGTS, which is in charge of locating GRBs in near real time thanks to image and rate triggers. We present the instrument science requirements and how the design of ECLAIRs has been optimized to increase its sensitivity to high-redshift GRBs and low-luminosity GRBs in the local Universe, by having a low-energy t…
Space exploration is of paramount importance to advancing fundamental science and providing global services, such as navigation and communications. However, today's space missions are hindered by limitations of existing propulsion technologies. Here, we examine the use of laser-driven light-sailing for agile Earth orbital maneuvering and for fast-transit exploration of the solar system and interstellar medium. We show that laser propulsion becomes practical at laser powers around 100 kW and laser array sizes ~1 m, which are feasible in the near term. Our analysis indicates that lightweight (1 …
The Kepler Mission was a NASA Discovery-class mission designed to continuously monitor the brightness of at least 100,000 stars to determine the frequency of Earth-size and larger planets orbiting other stars. Once the Kepler proposal was chosen for a flight opportunity, it was necessary to optimize the design to accomplish the ambitious goals specified in the proposal and still stay within the available resources. To maximize the science return from the mission, a merit function (MF) was constructed that relates the science value (as determined by the PI and the Science Team) to the chosen mi…
The first interstellar object to be discovered, 1I/'Oumuamua, exhibited various unusual properties as it was tracked on its passage through the inner solar system in 2017/2018. In terms of the potential scientific return, a spacecraft mission to intercept and study it in situ would be invaluable. As an extension to previous Project Lyra studies, this paper elaborates an alternative mission to 1I/'Oumuamua, this time also requiring a Jupiter Oberth Manoeuvre (JOM) to accelerate the spacecraft towards its destination. The difference is in the combination of planetary flybys exploited to get to J…
Modern satellite based experiments are often very complex real-time systems, composed by flight and ground segments, that have challenging resource related constraints, in terms of size, weight, power, requirements for real-time response, fault tolerance, and specialized input/output hardware-software, and they must be certified to high levels of assurance. Hardware-software data processing systems have to be responsive to system degradation and to changes in the data acquisition modes, and actions have to be taken to change the organization of the mission operations. A big research & develop …
A space-borne hard X-ray collimator, comprising 91 pairs of grids, has been developed for the Hard X-ray Imager (HXI). The HXI is one of the three scientific instruments onboard the first Chinese solar mission: the Advanced Space-based Solar Observatory (ASO-S). The HXI collimator (HXI-C) is a spatial modulation X-ray telescope designed to observe hard X-rays emitted by energetic electrons in solar flares. This paper presents the detailed design of the HXI-C for the qualification model that will be inherited by the flight model. Series tests on the HXI-C qualification model are reported to ver…
