Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiment 2: Scientific and Technological Innovation on a Three-Kilogram Satellite
- Paper number
IAC-05-B5.6.A.15
- Author
Mr. Karan Sarda, Student, Canada
- Year
2005
- Abstract
The Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) at the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies (UTIAS) is developing its second nanosatellite, the Canadian Advanced Nanospace eXperiment 2 (CanX-2). This three-kilogram satellite will carry numerous scientific and engineering experiments for researchers across Canada. The objective of the CanX program is to produce highly capable nanospacecraft, each within a two-year period, or the time it takes to complete a graduate degree. Its intended legacy is twofold: provide Canada with a continuous supply of highly skilled and experienced space system engineers, and offer a low-cost, quick-to-launch satellite platform upon which to execute scientific and technology demonstration missions. In the CanX program, graduate students receive exceptional hands-on training and mentoring from SFL’s professional engineering staff. Students are exposed to all phases of spacecraft design, from mission conception to launch to on-orbit operations. They work collaboratively with the staff to implement aggressive and ambitious missions that push the envelope of achievable performance with commercial technologies. After rapid, cost-effective in-situ space testing, technologies tested on CanX nanosatellites can perform vital functions in future missions of any spacecraft class. CanX missions offer extremely low cost and rapid access to space for Canadian scientists and commercial exploitation. CanX-2 is scheduled for launch in early 2006. The spacecraft, which is compatible with the Stanford University and California Polytechnic State University ‘CubeSat’ standard, is a “triple cubesat” with dimensions 10 x 10 x 30 cm and a mass of 3.5 Kg. This nanosatellite incorporates an ambitious suite of scientific and engineering payloads, and enlarges the envelope of capability for this class of spacecraft. The primary mission of CanX-2 is to test and demonstrate several enabling technologies for precise formation flying. These technologies include a nanosatellite cold-gas propulsion system, a dual-frequency high performance commercial GPS receiver, a 1 Mbps S-band transmitter, an ARM7 on-board computer, a nanosatellite reaction wheel and momentum biased attitude control system. Two CMOS imagers are also included for star tracking experiments and general purpose imaging. Once tested, the technologies will contribute to the development of the CanX-4 and CanX-5 mission, involving actual formation flying and maneuvering in low Earth orbit. The secondary purpose of CanX-2 is to fly a number of university experiments: a GPS radio occultation experiment to better resolve vertical profiles of atmospheric properties such as total electron count and water vapor, an imaging spectrometer to measure concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, a materials science experiment that examines the atomic oxygen resistance of a special surface treatment, and a novel network communication protocol experiment. CanX-2 is currently well within the two-year design period and fast approaching flight-ready status. This paper describes the CanX-2 mission, its performance targets, the progress achieved to date, with emphasis on the testing, integration, and the implications of the mission for future space applications.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-05-B5.6.A.15.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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