[en] Earth's magnetosphere is vital for today's technologically dependent society. The energy transferred from
the solar wind to the magnetosphere triggers electromagnetic storms on Earth, knocking out power grids
and infrastructure | e.g., communication and navigation systems. Despite occurring on our astrophysical
doorstep, numerous physical processes connecting the solar wind and our magnetosphere remain poorly
understood. To date, over a dozen science missions have
own to study the magnetosphere, and many more
design studies have been conducted. However, the majority of these solutions relied on large monolithic
satellites, which limited the spatial resolution of these investigations, in addition to the technological
limitations of the past. To counter these limitations, we propose the use of a satellite swarm, carrying
numerous payloads for magnetospheric measurements. Our mission is named APIS | Applications and
Potentials of Intelligent Swarms.
The APIS mission aims to characterize fundamental plasma processes in the magnetosphere and measure
the e ect of the solar wind on our magnetosphere. We propose a swarm of 40 CubeSats in two highly-
elliptical orbits around the Earth, which perform radio tomography in the magnetotail at 8{12 Earth
Radii (RE) downstream, and the subsolar magnetosphere at 8{12 RE upstream. These maps will be
made at both low-resolutions (at 0.5 RE, 5 seconds cadence) and high-resolutions (at 0.025 RE, 2 seconds
cadence). In addition, in-situ measurements of the magnetic and electric elds, and plasma density will be
performed by on-board instruments. In this publication, we present a design study of the APIS mission,
which includes the mission design, navigation, communication, processing, power systems, propulsion and
other critical satellite subsystems. The science requirements of the APIS mission levy stringent system
requirements, which are addressed using Commercial O -the-Shelf (COTS) technologies. We show the
feasibility of the APIS mission using COTS technologies using preliminary link, power, and mass bud-
gets. In addition to the technological study, we also investigated the legal considerations of the APIS mission.
The APIS mission design study was part of the International Space University Space Studies Program in 2019 (ISU-SSP19) Next Generation Space Systems: Swarms Team Project. The authors of
Disciplines :
Aerospace & aeronautics engineering
Author, co-author :
Rajan, Raj Thilak; T.U. DELFT > Aerospace engineering > Professor ; International Space University > Space Studies Program 2019 > Team Project - Executive Director
SALMERI, Antonino ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance (FDEF) > Department of Law (DL) ; University of Luxembourg > Faculty of Law, Economics and Finance (FDEF) > Law Research Unit ; International Space University > Space Studies Program 2019 > Team Project Executive Director
Haken, Dawn; International Space University > Space Studies Program 2019 > Team Project Executive Director
Cohen, Jacob; National Aeronautics and Space Administration - NASA > Ames Research Center > Chief Scientist ; International Space University > Space Studies Program 2019 > Team Project Chair
Turner, Calum; International Space University > Space Studies Program 2019 > Team Project Principal Investigator
External co-authors :
yes
Language :
English
Title :
APIS: Applications and Potentials of Intelligent Swarms for magnetospheric studies
Publication date :
October 2020
Event name :
71st International Astronautical Congress - The Cyberspace Edition
Event organizer :
International Astronautical Federation
Event date :
from 12-10-2020 to 14-10-2020
By request :
Yes
Audience :
International
Main work title :
Proceedings of 71st International Astronautical Congress - The Cyberspace Edition
Publisher :
International Astronautical Federation
Focus Area :
Physics and Materials Science Computational Sciences
C. J. Schrijver and G. L. Siscoe, Heliophysics: Plasma Physics of the Local Cosmos, C. J. Schrijver and G. L. Siscoe, Eds. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2009. [Online]. Available: http://ebooks.cambridge.org/ref/id/ CBO9781107340657
M. Kivelson, M. Kivelson, and C. Russell, Introduction to Space Physics, ser. Cambridge atmospheric and space science series. Cambridge University Press, 1995. [Online]. Available: https://books.google.nl/books?id= qWHSqXGfsfQC
B. A. Smith, L. A. Soderblom, T. V. Johnson, A. P. Ingersoll, S. A. Collins, E. M. Shoemaker, G. E. Hunt, H. Masursky, M. H. Carr, M. E. Davies, A. F. Cook, J. Boyce, G. E. Danielson, T. Owen, C. Sagan, R. F. Beebe, J. Veverka, R. G. Strom, J. F. McCauley, D. Morrison, G. A. Briggs, and V. E. Suomi, “The Jupiter system through the eyes of Voyager 1,” Science, vol. 204, no. 4396, pp. 951-972, 1979.
J. T. Clarke, J. Nichols, J. C. Gérard, D. Grodent, K. C. Hansen, W. Kurth, G. R. Gladstone, J. Duval, S. Wannawichian, E. Bunce, S. W. Cowley, F. Crary, M. Dougherty, L. Lamy, D. Mitchell, W. Pryor, K. Retherford, T. Stallard, B. Zieger, P. Zarka, and B. Cecconi, “Response of Jupiter's and Saturn's auroral activity to the solar wind,” Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, vol. 114, no. 5, pp. 1-20, 2009.
R. M. Winslow, B. J. Anderson, C. L. Johnson, J. A. Slavin, H. Korth, M. E. Purucker, D. N. Baker, and S. C. Solomon, “Mercury's magnetopause and bow shock from MESSENGER Magnetometer observations,” Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, vol. 118, no. 5, pp. 2213-2227, 2013.
J. N. Pelton and F. Allahdadi, Eds., Handbook of Cosmic Hazards and Planetary Defense. Cham: Springer International Publishing, 2015. [Online]. Available: http://link.springer.com/ 10.1007/978-3-319-03952-7
V. Angelopoulos, “The THEMIS mission,” Space Science Reviews, vol. 141, no. 1-4, pp. 5-34, 2008.
C. Escoubet, M. Fehringer, and M. Goldstein, “The cluster mission,” Annales Geophysicae, vol. 19, pp. 1197-1200, 09 2001.
T. Karlsson, F. Plaschke, H. Hietala, M. Archer, X. Blanco-Cano, P. Kajdic, P. A. Lindqvist, G. Marklund, and D. J. Gershman, “Investigating the anatomy of magnetosheath jets - MMS observations,” Annales Geophysicae, vol. 36, no. 2, pp. 655-677, 2018.
R. M. Young, “Updated heliostorm warning mission: Enhancements based on new technology,” Collection of Technical Papers - AIAA/ASME/ASCE/AHS/ASC Structures, Structural Dynamics and Materials Conference, vol. 7, pp. 6662-6674, 2007.
K. G. Klein, O. Alexandrova, J. Bookbinder, D. Caprioli, A. W. Case, B. D. G. Chandran, L. J. Chen, T. Horbury, L. Jian, J. C. Kasper, O. L. Contel, B. A. Maruca, W. Matthaeus, A. Retino, O. Roberts, A. Schekochihin, R. Skoug, C. Smith, J. Steinberg, H. Spence, B. Vasquez, J. M. TenBarge, D. Verscharen, and P. Whittlesey, “Multipoint Measurements of the Solar Wind: A Proposed Advance for Studying Magnetized Turbulence,” 2019. [Online]. Available: http://arxiv.org/abs/1903. 05740
L. Guan and L. Kepko, “Magnetospheric Constellation: Tracing the flow of mass and energy from the solar wind through the magnetosphere,” pp. 1-8. [Online]. Available: http://www8.nationalacademies.org/ SSBSurvey/DetailFileDisplay.aspx?id=746&
National Research Council, Solar and Space Physics: A Science for a Technological Society. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, aug 2013. [Online]. Available: http://www.nap.edu/catalog/13060
National Academy of Sciences, Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, D.C.: National Academies Press, oct 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.nap.edu/catalog/23503
Y. Zhai, S. A. Cummer, J. L. Green, B. W. Reinisch, M. L. Kaiser, M. J. Reiner, and K. Goetz, “Magnetospheric radio tomographic imaging with IMAGE and Wind,” Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, vol. 116, no. 12, pp. 1-8, 2011.
V. Angelopoulos, “The THEMIS mission,” Space Science Reviews, vol. 141, no. 1-4, pp. 5-34, 2008.
NASA Science and Technology Definition Team for the Magnetospheric Constellation Mission, “The Magnetospheric Constellation (MC),” NASA, Tech. Rep., 2004. [Online]. Available: http://stp.gsfc.nasa.gov/missions/
W. Matthaeus, “The essential role of multi-point measurements in turbulence investigations: the solar wind beyond single scale and beyond the Taylor Hypothesis,” Tech. Rep. February 2019, 2019.
R. E. Ergun, D. E. Larson, T. Phan, D. Taylor, S. Bale, C. W. Carlson, I. Roth, V. Angelopoulos, J. Raeder, T. Bell, U. S. Inan, J.L. Bougeret, and R. Manning, “Feasibility of a multisatellite investigation of the Earth's magnetosphere with radio tomography,” Journal of Geophysical Research: Space Physics, vol. 105, no. A1, pp. 361-373, 2000.
J. Etcheto, Y. De Javel, and M. Petit, “The ISEE Electron Density Experiment,” IEEE Transactions on Geoscience Electronics, vol. 16, no. 3, pp. 231-238, 1978.
R. Leitinger, “Data from orbiting navigation satellites for tomographic reconstruction,” International Journal of Imaging Systems and Technology, vol. 5, no. 2, pp. 86-96, 1994.
K. Davies, Ionospheric radio, ser. {IEE} electromagnetic waves series. London: P. Peregrinus on behalf of the Institution of Electrical Engineers, 1989, no. v. 31.
M. I. Desai, F. Allegrini, R. W. Ebert, K. Ogasawara, M. E. Epperly, D. E. George, E. R. Christian, S. G. Kanekal, N. Murphy, and B. Randol, “The CubeSat Mission to Study Solar Particles,” IEEE Aerospace and Electronic Systems Magazine, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 16-28, 2019.
J. Goodwin and P. Wegner, Evolved expendable launch vehicle secondary payload adapter - Helping technology get to space. [Online]. Available: https://arc.aiaa.org/doi/abs/10.2514/6. 2001-4701
P. M. Wegner, J. Ganley, and J. R. Maly, “Eelv secondary payload adapter (espa): providing increased access to space,” in 2001 IEEE Aerospace Conference Proceedings (Cat. No. 01TH8542), vol. 5. IEEE, 2001, pp. 2563-2568.
J. Maly, G. Sanford, A. Williams, and L. Berenberg, “Espa class redefined,” in Proceedings of the AIAA/USU Conference on Small Satellites, 2017, pp. SSC17-IV.
Y. Miyazaki, “Deployable Techniques for Small Satellites,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 106, no. 3, pp. 471-483, mar 2018. [Online]. Available: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8293792/
F. Barao, “Ams-alpha magnetic spectrometer on the international space station,” Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, vol. 535, no. 1-2, pp. 134-138, 2004.
R. T. Rajan, R.-v. Schaijk, A. Das, J. Romme, and F. Pasveer, “Reference-Free Calibration in Sensor Networks,” IEEE Sensors Letters, vol. 2, no. 3, pp. 1-4, 2018.
L. Balzano and R. Nowak, “Blind calibration of sensor networks,” Proceedings of the 6th international conference on Information processing in sensor networks - IPSN'07, p. 79, 2007. [Online]. Available: http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?doid=1236360.1236372
Y. Wang, S. Member, A. Yang, X. Chen, P. Wang, Y. Wang, S. Member, H. Yang, and S. Member, “A Deep Learning Approach for Blind Drift Calibration of Sensor Networks,” IEEE Sensors Journal, vol. 13, pp. 1558-1748, 2017.
B. Sundararaman, U. Buy, and A. D. Kshemkalyani, “Clock synchronization for wireless sensor networks: a survey,” Ad Hoc Networks, vol. 3, no. 3, pp. 281-323, may 2005. [Online]. Available: https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1570870505000144
R. T. Rajan, M. Bentum, and A.-J. Boonstra, “Synchronization for space based ultra low frequency interferometry,” in 2013 IEEE Aerospace Conference. IEEE, mar 2013, pp. 1-8. [Online]. Available: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/6496931/
D. W. Allan, “Statistics of Atomic Frequency Standards,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 54, no. 2, pp. 221-230, 1966.
Silicon Labs, “Si570/Si571 10 MHZ TO 1.4 GHZ I 2 C PROGRAMMABLE XO/VCXO Features Applications Description,” pp. 1-36, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://www.silabs.com/documents/public/data-sheets/si570.pdf
R. T. Rajan and A.-J. van der Veen, “Joint Ranging and Synchronization for an Anchorless Network of Mobile Nodes,” IEEE Transactions on Signal Processing, vol. 63, no. 8, pp. 1925-1940, apr 2015. [Online]. Available: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7006748/
M. Kaufmann, A. Tuysuz, J. W. Kolar, and C. Zwyssig, “High-speed magnetically levitated reaction wheels for small satellites,” 2016 International Symposium on Power Electronics, Electrical Drives, Automation and Motion, SPEEDAM 2016, no. Speedam, pp. 28-33, 2016.
S. S. Nudehi, U. Farooq, A. Alasty, and J. Issa, “Satellite attitude control using three reaction wheels,” Proceedings of the American Control Conference, pp. 4850-4855, 2008.
J. Huff, A. Schultz, and M. U. de Haag, “Assured relative and absolute navigation of a swarm of small uas,” in 2017 IEEE/AIAA 36th Digital Avionics Systems Conference (DASC), 2017, pp. 1-10.
I. Borg, P. J. F. Groenen, and P. Mair, Applied Multidimensional Scaling, 2013. [Online]. Available: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/978-3-642-31848-1
B.-H. Lee, K.-H. Oh, T. Hatanaka, and H.-S. Ahn, “Distributed estimation of both position and orientation for networked systems on the sphere,” in 2018 Annual IEEE International Systems Conference (SysCon). IEEE, apr 2018, pp. 1-6. [Online]. Available: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/8369505/
R. T. Rajan, G. Leus, and A. J. van der Veen, “Relative kinematics of an anchorless network,” Signal Processing, vol. 157, pp. 266-279, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sigpro.2018.11.005
I. Levchenko, M. Keidar, J. Cantrell, Y.-L. Wu, H. Kuninaka, K. Bazaka, and S. Xu, “Explore space using swarms of tiny satellites,” pp. 185-187, 2018.
A. Freimann, M. Rummelhagen, F. Reichel, M. Marszalek, M. Schmidt, and K. Schilling, “Analysis of wireless networks for satellite swarm missions,” IFAC Proceedings Volumes, vol. 46, no. 29, pp. 68-73, 2013.
C. Caini, H. Cruickshank, S. Farrell, and M. Marchese, “Delay-and disruption-tolerant networking (dtn): an alternative solution for future satellite networking applications,” Proceedings of the IEEE, vol. 99, no. 11, pp. 1980-1997, 2011.
D. Burlyaev, “System-level Fault-Tolerance Analysis of Small Satellite On-Board Computers,” p. 142, 2012.
A. Keys and M. Watson, “Radiation Hardened Electronics for Extreme Environments,” Tech. Rep., 2008. [Online]. Available: https://ntrs.nasa.gov/archive/nasa/casi.ntrs.nasa.gov/20070018806.pdf
P. J. Botma, “The Design and Development of an ADCS OBC for a CubeSat,” Ph.D. dissertation, 2011. [Online]. Available: http://scholar.sun.ac.za/handle/10019.1/18040
W. Truszkowski, M. Hinchey, J. Rash, and C. Rouff, “NASA's swarm missions: The challenge of building autonomous software,” IT Professional, vol. 6, no. 5, pp. 47-52, 2004.
E. E. Alves, D. Bhatt, B. Hall, K. Driscoll, A. Murugesan, and J. Rushby, “Considerations in assuring safety of increasingly autonomous systems,” 2018.
J. Cockrell, R. Alena, D. Mayer, H. Sanchez, T. Luzod, B. Yost, and D. M. Klumpar, “EDSN: A Large Swarm of Advanced Yet Very Affordable, COTS-based NanoSats that Enable Multipoint Physics and Open Source Apps,” Tech. Rep., 2012. [Online]. Available: https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/smallsat/2012/all2012/89/
A. Babuscia, K. M. Cheung, D. Divsalar, and C. Lee, “Development of cooperative communication techniques for a network of small satellites and CubeSats in deep space: The SOLARA/SARA test case,” Acta Astronautica, vol. 115, pp. 349-355, 2015. [Online]. Available: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.actaastro.2015.06.001
Azur Space, “32% Quadruple Junction GaAs Solar Cell,” p. 2, 2019. [Online]. Available: http://www.azurspace.com/images/ 0005979-01-00{ }DB{ }4G32C{ }Advanced.pdf
Z. Xiong, Y. S. Yun, and H. J. Jin, “Applications of carbon nanotubes for lithium ion battery anodes,” Materials, vol. 6, no. 3, pp. 1138-1158, 2013.
Koka, C. Madhusudhana, J. Kishore, and Mourya, “Implementation of Integrated Array Controller and Battery Charger for Small Satellites,” International Journal of Science and Research (IJSR), vol. 5, no. 9, pp. 1083-1087, 2016. [Online]. Available: https://www.ijsr.net/archive/v5i9/ART20161414.pdf
B. Glass, “Performance Comparison: Solid State Power Controllers vs. Electromechanical Switching,” no. July, 2010.
NASA, “State of the Art of Small Spacecraft Technology,” 2019. [Online]. Available: https://sst-soa.arc.nasa.gov/04-propulsion
A. Elwood, R. Burton, R. Carlino, G. Defouw, A. Dono Perez, A. G. Karacalioglu, B. Klamm, A. Rademacher, J. Schalkwyk, R. Shimmin, J. Tilles, and S. Weston, “State of the Art of Small Spacecraft Technology,” State of the Art of Small Spacecraft Technology, no. December, pp. 114-124, 2018. [Online]. Available: https://sst-soa.arc.nasa.gov/04-propulsion
D. Spence, E. Ehrbar, N. Rosenbald, N. Demmons, T. Roy, S. Hoffman, W. D. Williams, M. Tsay, J. Zwahlen, K. Hohman, V. Hruby, and C. Tocci, “Electrospray Propulsion Systems for Small Satellites and Satlets,” 2013.
C. Woodruff, D. King, R. Burton, J. Bowman, and D. Carroll, “Development of a Fiber-Fed Pulsed Plasma Thruster for Small Satellites,” pp. 6-11.
C. L. Stevens, “Design, Analysis, Fabrication, and Testing of a Nanosatellite Structure,” 2002.
House Select Committee on Astronautics and Space Exploration, “National aeronautics and space act of 1958,” p. 13, 1958. [Online]. Available: http://history.nasa.gov/spaceact.html
Assurance, O. of S. and M., “NASA procedural requirements for limiting orbital debris and evaluating the meteoroid and orbital debris environment,” p. 1576-1580, 2017.
C. J. Newman and M. Williamson, “Space Sustainability: Reframing the Debate,” Space Policy, vol. 46, pp. 30-37, nov 2018.
O. Kodheli, E. Lagunas, N. Maturo, S. K. Sharma, B. Shankar, J. Montoya, J. Duncan, D. Spano, S. Chatzinotas, S. Kisseleff et al., “Satellite communications in the new space era: A survey and future challenges,” arXiv preprint arXiv:2002.08811, 2020.
T. G. Reid, B. Chan, A. Goel, K. Gunning, B. Manning, J. Martin, A. Neish, A. Perkins, and P. Tarantino, “Satellite navigation for the age of autonomy,” in 2020 IEEE/ION Position, Location and Navigation Symposium (PLANS). IEEE, 2020, pp. 342-352.
D. Krupke, V. Schaus, A. Haas, M. Perk, J. Dippel, B. Grzesik, M. K. B. Larbi, E. Stoll, T. Hay-lock, H. Konstanski et al., “Automated data retrieval from large-scale distributed satellite systems,” in 2019 IEEE 15th International Conference on Automation Science and Engineering (CASE). IEEE, 2019, pp. 1789-1795.
Vedant, “Reinforcement learning for spacecraft attitude control,” in 70th International Astronautical Congress, 2019.
B. Bernhard, C. Choi, A. Rahmani, S.-J. Chung, and F. Hadaegh, “Coordinated motion planning for on-orbit satellite inspection using a swarm of small-spacecraft,” in 2020 IEEE Aerospace Conference. IEEE, 2020, pp. 1-13.
S.-H. Mok, J. Guo, E. Gill, and R. T. Rajan, “Autonomous Mission Planning for OLFAR: A Satellite Swarm in Lunar Orbit for Radio Astronomy,” in 71th International Astronautical Congress, 2020.
A. Dono, L. Plice, J. Mueting, T. Conn, and M. Ho, “Propulsion trade studies for spacecraft swarm mission design,” in 2018 IEEE Aerospace Conference. IEEE, 2018, pp. 1-12.
