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Image cred: NASA NuStar
The Danger to Satellite Systems
The Danger to Satellite Systems
Solar Weather & It's Consequences
Solar Weather & It's Consequences
The sun releases tremendous amounts of energy into space through coronal mass ejections and corotating interaction regions. Energetic charged particles from solar weather events heat and expand the upper atmosphere, increasing its density at orbital altitudes. Due to a lack of publicly available near-real-time data, models are unable to accurately model satellite orbits during solar weather events, putting satellites at risk of being lost or even colliding with each other.
Representation of solar weather interacting with Earth
Image cred: NASA Goddard
Total number of objects in orbit as of October 2025. This includes satellites, debris, unidentified objects, etc.
Image cred: ESA
Satellite Systems
Satellite Systems
At the same time, there has been an exponential increase in satellites in orbit over the past several decades, with continued growth projected.
SpaceX recently applied to launch 1 million satellites into orbit, highlighting the need for more robust orbit tracking technology.
Space Debris
Space Debris
The primary concern for satellite systems is the pressing issue of space debris. Insufficient orbit tracking increases the likelihood of collisions, which create space debris. Even a small piece of dust can cause irreparable damage to space systems, making space operations increasingly hazardous. In fact, if enough space debris is created, the Kessler Syndrome is a theory that predicts the possibility of a continuous, self-generating chain of collisions that in turn create more debris and more collisions, making space operations impossible. With no meaningful current measures to reduce existing space debris, preventative measures must be taken to reduce the probability of creating additional debris.
An Astronomical Buoy
An Astronomical Buoy
We are designing and prototyping an innovative 3U CubeSat that will act as a "buoy" to monitor the upper atmosphere's response to space weather. This small satellite will fit the traditional CubeSat form factor during launch before extending into an approximately spherical shape.
Our design will be lighter and cheaper than previous spherical satellites due to the deployment of an expandable structure supporting a taut film. This will allow our satellite to be launched according to standard CubeSat specifications, while achieving a spherical shape in orbit to streamline drag calculations.
Specifically, we will employ Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Precision Orbit Determination (POD), which will allow density retrieval on a suborbital timescale. We will consider POD noise level, drag acceleration, and the number of consecutive POD orbits (fit-span) in our design to minimize noise and integration time to reduce uncertainty in our measurements. This will allow us to calculate atmospheric density in near-real time.
This design will prioritize scalability, laying the foundation for a potential future constellation of astronomical buoys. These would be used as calibration tools for orbital models, where data from an array of altitudes would inform satellite operations.
By the end of our time in Gemstone, we aim to have a completed mission design and prototype with all details of the data collection and retrieval process planned out. Our hope is to produce a completed "guide" that could be straightforwardly constructed and launched.
Our Design
Our Design
Initial 3U configuration (left), with side panels opening post-launch (middle), into a near-spherical shape (right)
Equity & Impact
Equity & Impact
Our Commitment
By delivering open-source atmospheric data, we aim to reduce this systemic vulnerability and support sustainable, secure space access for all. This will protect critical infrastructure through improved atmospheric density models, reduce economic risk by mitigating satellite loss, and promote long-term sustainability with decreased space debris.
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