Development of University-based Ground Stations for LEO SmallSat Constellations Supporting Global Climate Change Monitoring
- Paper number
GLOC-2023,T,IP,x74755
- Author
Prof. Benjamin Malphrus, Morehead State University, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. E. Jay Wyatt, National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), Jet Propulsion Laboratory, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Timothy Pham, Jet Propulsion Laboratory - California Institute of Technology, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. Brad Arnold, Jet Propulsion Laboratory - California Institute of Technology, United States
- Coauthor
Ms. Chloe Hart, Morehead State University, United States
- Year
2023
- Abstract
Small satellites (SmallSats) and CubeSats in particular, are being increasingly used to monitor Earth systems for global climate change. SmallSat missions and SmallSat constellations are being flown and others planned that will lend insight into critical questions facing scientists studying Earth’s climate. NASA, ESA and other organizations are using SmallSats, and ultimately constellations of SmallSats to investigate and monitor climate change. All of these activities require ground support for communications, navigation and tracking- support that requires significant infrastructure including ground stations with large apertures (to support high data rates), full-motion antennas and specialized ranging and telecommunication instrumentation. With an already high demand, government-based satellite tracking networks along with commercial networks will be challenged accommodate the large number of missions expected as the SmallSat revolution unfolds. To begin to address this challenge, partnership between JPL and Morehead State University was initiated in 2014 to enhance NASA’s ground network capabilities by utilizing existing non-NASA assets. Initially, the team used the Morehead State University (MSU) 21 m Space Tracking Antenna as a case-study to prove the validity of the concept of adding non-NASA nodes to NASA ground networks, specifically to the Deep Space Network (DSN). The initial goal of this project has been to develop and implement a strategy to transfer NASA, especially DSN processes and protocol, to the MSU 21 m antenna system to enable integration into the DSN as an auxiliary station to support small-sat missions. The 21 m antenna system has been upgraded for DSN-compatibility and the station, designated DSS-17, become operational in 2021. Since the upgrade of the 21 m antenna was successful, NASA provided a 12 m antenna to Morehead State University to be upgraded to train students and to assist in providing TT&C services. The 12 m station, in particular, is ideally suited to support LEO SmallSat Constellations for Global Climate Change Monitoring. Both stations will also serve as pilot ground stations for three emerging technologies with the potential to substantially lower CubeSat mission cost and risk, or even enable new types of missions, particularly meshed constellations, to be proposed. These new capabilities include Disruption Tolerant Networking, spacecraft-initiated operations utilizing a beacon tone service, and Opportunistic Multiple Spacecraft per Aperture. An overview of the 21 m and 12 m antennas, with respect to constellation mission support, and their upgrade status, as well as benefits to proposed missions, specifically missions that monitor climate change, will be provided.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
(absent)