Small
Satellite Missions
Designed, Built, Tested, and Operated by LASP
LASP designs and operates diverse satellite missions and is
available to partner on future small satellite missions. We offer a
one-stop-shop of services and have the expertise to support all
your small satellite development and operations needs.
LASP’s Small Satellite Missions
Student Nitric Oxide Explorer (SNOE)
SNOE, launched in 1998, was part of NASA’s Student Explorer
Demonstration Initiative program (STEDI). The SNOE team
designed and built two atmospheric instruments and one solar
instrument along with all of the spacecraft subsystems (structure,
C&DH, FSW, EPS, ADCS, COMM). SNOE was operated by LASP
for six years before deorbiting.
Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE)
The Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE, launched
in 2003) is a NASA-sponsored science mission providing
measurements of incoming Earth X-ray, ultraviolet, visible,
near-infrared, and total solar radiation. LASP provided the Total
Irradiance Monitor (TIM), the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM),
Solar Stellar Irradiance Comparison Experiment (SOLSTICE), and
the X-ray Ultraviolet Photometer System (XPS) instruments. LASP
also manages the mission and continues to operate SORCE while
managing science data processing and distribution.
Aeronomy of Ice in the Mesosphere (AIM)
AIM, launched in 2007, is a NASA-sponsored science mission
that studies Polar Mesospheric Clouds (PMCs), the ice crystal
clouds that form in the Earth’s mesosphere. LASP provided CIPS,
a panoramic camera that images the atmosphere and CDE, a dust
detector that measures the influx of cosmic dust. LASP provides
mission management and continues to operate AIM.
Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment (CSSWE)
The nanosatellite CSSWE, launched in 2012, is part of NSF’s
Geoscience CubeSat program. The CSSWE team designed and
built the energetic particle detector called REPTile, the EPS
system including the DC-DC regulators, Li-polymer batteries,
solar panels, passive magnetic ADCS, and the deployable antenna
system for UHF communication down to the ground station
located on the roof of LASP.
Community Initiative for Continuous Earth Remote
Observation (CICERO)
LASP is currently developing the satellite constellation for
CICERO to provide global weather prediction and climate study
data to the commercial, government, and science communities.
LASP is providing mission management, spacecraft bus
development, and mission operations.
LASP’s Small Satellite Experience
LASP’s experience encompasses all aspects of designing,
analyzing, fabricating, testing, and operating satellites and space
science instruments, including:
Science Instruments
• X-ray, UV, VIS: photometers, spectrometers, imagers, and
particle detectors
Spacecraft Buses
• Structures, Mechanisms, and Deployment Systems
• Aluminum and composite structures, one shot covers,
bi-stable mechanisms, multi-axis pointing platforms,
solar array deployment, antenna deployment
• Partnering with Wallops Flight Facility (WFF) to develop
6U science based missions
• Extensible structure to overcome volume limitations
of CubeSats and enable larger, high-precision optical
systems to be stowed in the CubeSat form factor
(currently in development)
• Electrical Power System (EPS): Power generation
(including on-site solar array fabrication), storage,
regulation and distribution
• Command & Data Handling (C&DH): Microcontroller
(Rad-hard, embedded FPGA and commercial options),
real-time clock, memory (EEPROM, RAM, SD card), serial
interfaces (RS232/422, SPI, I2C, and custom)
• Flight Software: Time slice custom operating system,
power control and monitoring, command/telemetry
handling, instrument operations, fault detection and
correction, mechanism control
• Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS):
Sub arc-min 3-axis stabilized platform design scaled for
small satellite class. Support of Blue Canyon Technology’s
development of 3-axis ADCS for CubeSats using
miniaturized star trackers, reaction wheels, and torque rods
• Communication (COMM): Use of commercially available
solutions (X-band radio for CubeSats currently under
development)
• Thermal Control Systems: Passive thermal control systems
designed with on-site mission thermal system analysis and
test capabilities
Mission Operations
• On-site mission operations experts and facilities
implementing turn-key applications for commanding
(OASIS-CC) and planning (OASIS-PS), on-site UHF
ground station available for use
Data Systems
• Hosted data centers, data processing experts, and web-based
interactive data tools developers
For more information about collaboration or support for small
satellites, contact Pete Withnell (303-492-1326, pete.withnell@lasp
.colorado.edu) or Rick Kohnert (303-492-6804, rick.kohnert
@lasp.colorado.edu).
(Courtesy LASP)
SNOE was a small satellite built by LASP to study nitric oxide in Earth’s atmosphere. The SNOE team designed and built two atmospheric
instruments, one solar instrument, and all of the spacecraft subsystems.
The Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics (LASP) combines all aspects of space exploration through our expertise in science, engineering,
mission operations, and data management. As an institute at the University of Colorado Boulder, LASP includes students throughout our activities.
Learn more at http://lasp.colorado.edu.
310:20130926.1653