Constraints and Challenges in Guidance, Navigation and Control Architectures for Beyond Earth Orbit CubeSat Missions
- Paper number
IAC-24,B4,IP,92,x86596
- Author
Mr. Karthik R Varma, Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), India
- Coauthor
Mr. Sourav Ghosh, Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), India
- Coauthor
Mr. Gavin Furtado, Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC), India
- Coauthor
Dr. VIMAL KUMAR PUTHIYADATH, India
- Coauthor
Mr. Samarth Badgujar, Jain University, India
- Year
2024
- Abstract
Interplanetary CubeSats, with their limited size and mass, face significant constraints and challenges when it comes to Guidance, Navigation, and Control (GNC) systems. The limited space within CubeSats presents challenges in integrating GNC components, often requiring custom miniaturized electronics and innovative propulsion systems. Interplanetary missions are of longer duration and are highly dependent on the GNC system for trajectory and orientation correction. Thus, the optimal use of power budget becomes critical for the success of such long-duration missions. Furthermore, the communication limitations in interplanetary environments necessitate the development of autonomous navigation techniques and onboard processing capabilities. Mission-specific requirements further complicate GNC designs, with each mission necessitating tailored hardware solutions for precision landing, orbital maneuvers, or proximity operations. A survey conducted through this paper has verified nearly 40 percent of the missions having faced primary or secondary faults or failures in the GNC subsystem for a set of 20 total missions flown till date in this class of spacecraft. This paper explores the unique GNC challenges encountered by these CubeSats operating in deep space environments. The CubeSat model works well in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) because of the closer distance and greater predictability of the environment. The technical requirements are more achievable. However, the environment in Beyond Earth Orbit (BEO) is highly unpredictable, takes longer time for communication, extreme radiation and temperature differences are some of the major challenges. Thus, the constraints stem from the CubeSat form factor, stringent power limitations, limited communication bandwidth, and the absence of traditional navigation aids such as Global Positioning System(GPS). Other constraints could stem from operations, subsystem development and testing decisions as well. Moreover, the paper is focused on optical navigation and autonomous guidance in interplanetary CubeSats, as well as demonstrating the potential benefits of conducting space exploration missions through constellations over traditional large spacecraft. Overall, addressing the GNC challenges in interplanetary CubeSat missions requires a delicate balance between mission objectives, available resources, and cutting-edge technology to enable successful and cost-effective exploration of the cosmos. We aim to bridge the gap in development cycle and the subsystem capabilities and look forward to specifying tailored solutions for the same with references and lessons from the recent class of interplanetary CubeSat missions.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
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