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Image cred: NASA NuStar https://images.nasa.gov/details/PIA18906
Solar Weather & It's Consequences
Solar Weather & It's Consequences
The sun releases tremendous amounts of energy into space, which can interact with the Earth's magnetic field and put satellites at risk. Charged particles from the sun heat and expand the upper atmosphere, which can unpredictably alter satellite orbits. When this happens, spacecraft can be "lost" or even collide, putting current and future missions at risk.
A lack of reliable data is the biggest hurdle to developing models on satellite orbits. The most efficient method to obtain this data is through measuring the drag experienced by approximately spherical satellites in low earth orbit.
Representation of solar weather interacting with Earth
Image cred: NASA Goddard https://images.nasa.gov/details/GSFC_20171208_Archive_e002115
An Astronomical Buoy
An Astronomical Buoy
We plan to prototype and construct an innovative small satellite to act as a "buoy" to monitor the upper atmosphere's response to space weather. Our design will be lighter and cheaper than previous spherical satellites due to the deployment of an inflatable foam shell. This will allow our satellite to be launched according to standard CubeSat specifications, while achieving a spherical shape in orbit to streamline drag calculations. We will use either a 1U or 3U design (see below).
Our design will prioritize scalability, laying the foundation for a potential future constellation of astronomical buoys. These would be used as calibration tools for satellite navigation, where data from an array of altitudes would inform satellite operations.
Our Design
Our Design
A 1U (right) and 3U (left) represenation of our design, with the standard CubeSat structure represented in blue, and the inflatable portion represented in grey.
NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative
NASA CubeSat Launch Initiative
Image Cred: NASA HQ: https://images.nasa.gov/details/NHQ202212160011
NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative is aimed at supporting satellite missions from educational institutions.
If we have the financial bandwidth, we will apply to be launched by NASA through this program, which offers low-cost launches for CubeSats from educational institutions.
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