A CubeSat based GNSS Constellation for planetary Exploration
- Paper number
IAC-18,B2,5,7,x47399
- Author
Dr. Norbert Frischauf, Austria, SpaceTec Partners SPRL
- Coauthor
Dr. Manfred Wittig, The Netherlands, European Space Agency (ESA), retired
- Coauthor
Prof. Otto Koudelka, Austria, Graz University of Technology (TU Graz)
- Year
2018
- Abstract
The global space economy reached USD329 bn in 2016, having grown on average by 5.1% p.a. between 2005 and 2016. While governments were the driving forces in the 20th century, today it is the commercial activities that are setting the pace, accounting for 76% of the global space economy in 2016. This commercialisation of space is to intensify in the coming years, exemplified by the so-called “NewSpace” trend, which thrives upon technology and business model innovations that allow for a significant reduction of costs, the provision of new products and services as well as for a broadening of the customer base. Miniaturisation, agile development, faster generation change and an increase utilisation of industrial standards are trends that go along with NewSpace, possibly best showcased by the advent of Cubesat-based constellations, serving EO (Planet), communication (Spire, Orbcomm) and other purposes. SatCom and EO, together with SatNav make up for the most profitable commercial space activities, but while the first two have seen successful commercial endeavours, SatNav – as far as the space segment is concerned – is still a pure institutional activity. Today’s GNSS utilise Hydrogen MASER, Rubidium and Caesium-based Atomic Clocks to achieve highest accuracy and availability for positioning and timing purposes. Of all these Atomic Frequency Standards, the Rubidium-based Atomic Clocks are by far the smallest, lightest and cheapest ones, which would make them the natural candidate for a CubeSat-based GNSS constellation. However, this small form factor comes with a significant drawback - limited accuracy and stability. As such, a pure Rb-based GNSS may not satisfy today’s GNSS requirements. But what is a 'no-go' for terrestrial applications will still be of high value when it comes to planetary exploration. Building up an infrastructure on the Moon, Mars or the asteroids requires landing accuracies in the order of 10-20m to ensure that all elements land in close vicinity to each other. So while a CubeSat-based GNSS Constellation may not (yet) satisfy the stringent requirements of terrestrial applications/services, it may still provide for an invaluable planetary exploration infrastructure, especially when it is possible to use the very same GNSS constellation for communication and remote sensing purposes. Bearing this in mind, this paper will discuss the key requirements, constraints and considerations, which drive the design and set-up of such a CubeSat based GNSS Constellation, which will likely become an indispensable infrastructure for any planetary exploration activity that goes beyond the one-off-visit type.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-18,B2,5,7,x47399.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.