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ArduSat

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ArduSat
CADdrawing of ArduSat
Mission typeCitizen science
OperatorNanoSatisfi LLC
WebsiteNanosatisfi.com
Spacecraft properties
Spacecraft type1U CubeSat
Launch mass1 kilogram (2.2 lb)
Start of mission
Launch date3 August 2013, 19:48:46(2013-08-03UTC19:48:46Z)UTC
RocketH-IIB
Launch siteTanegashimaY2
ContractorJAXA,NanoRacks
Deployed fromISS
Deployment date19 November 2013, 12:18:00(2013-11-19UTC12:18Z)UTC
Orbital parameters
Reference systemGeocentric
RegimeLow Earth
EpochPlanned

ArduSatis anArduinobasednanosatellite,based on theCubeSatstandard. It contains a set of Arduino boards and sensors. The general public will be allowed to use these Arduinos and sensors for their own creative purposes while they are in space.[1]

ArduSat is created byNanoSatisfi LLC,an aerospace company which in the words ofPhil Plait[2]has "the goal to democratize access to space" and was founded by 4 graduate students from theInternational Space Universityin 2012.

ArduSat is the first satellite which will provide such open access to the general public to space.[3]It is one of severalcrowdfunded satelliteslaunched during the2010s.[4]Currently the project evolved to the company Because Learning.[5]

Timeline of the project

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Aug. 9, 2013 - The International Space Station's Canadarm2 grapples the unpiloted Japanese "Kounotori" H2 Transfer Vehicle-4 (HTV-4) as it approaches the station, carrying ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X among 3.6 tons of science experiments.
The Japanese Experiment Module Kibo laboratory and Exposed Facility, from which the CubeSats are launched via the ISS.
ArduSat-1, ArduSat-X and PicoDragon photographed from the ISS after their launch on Nov. 19, 2013.
Date Event
June 15, 2012 Launch of the ArduSatcrowdfundingcampaign onKickStarter.The goal was to obtain $35000 in funding.
July 15, 2012 After 30 days of campaign, the project obtained a total pledge of $106330, from 676 "backers".
August, 2012 Design of the ArduSat payload prototype.[6]
October 27, 2012 High-altitude test of the ArduSat payload prototype.[7]"The ArduSat payload prototype was carried to 85,000 feet on a high-altitude balloon. During the flight, which took a little over two hours, the payload ran sample programs, ran tests on the sensors, and even snapped some pictures in the upper stratosphere."[8]
November 20, 2012 An agreement is signed between NanoSatisfi andNanoRacksfor the deployment of the first two small satellites under the ArduSat program via theNASAand theJAXA,one in summer 2013, the other in fall 2013. That makes ArduSat "the first U.S. Commercial Satellite Deployment from the International Space Station"[9]
December 2012 Design of "an engineering model of the satellite with flight-hardware equivalent components".[6]
April 20–21, 2013 ArduSat is placed as a challenge inNASA'sInternational Space Apps Challenge.The objective of the challenge is to extend the functionality of the ArduSat platform, presented as "an open satellite platform offering on-demand access to Space". 22 projects were submitted to theArduSat Challenge.
May 14, 2013 Release of the first version of theArduSatSDKonGitHub.ThisSDKis made available for the general public to propose and develop experiments for the ArduSat platform.
May–July 2013 Assembly and testing of the final version of ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X.[6]
August 3, 2013 Launch of the ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X aboardKounotori 4by theH-IIBLaunch Vehicle No. 4 fromY2in Japan, at 19:48:46 UTC[10]
August 9, 2013 TheKounotori 4(HTV-4) is captured by theISS' robotic armCanadarm 2at 11:22 UTC, led towards a ready-to-latch position on the earth-facing port of theHarmony node,and finally installed on its berthing port at 18:38 UTC.[11][12]
Aug. 30 - Sept. 3, 2013 Along with the cargo contained in the HTV-4 Pressurized Logistics Carrier (PLC),[13]ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X are transferred into the ISS.[14]
Nov. 15, 2013 Flight Engineer Mike Hopkins installs theJapanese Experiment ModuleSmall Satellite Orbital Deployer on the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform.[15]
Nov. 19, 2013 ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X are launched from theKibo Experiment Module's Exposed Facility, (along with the PicoDragon CubeSat). Flight Engineer Koichi Wakata uses the lab's airlock table to pass the Multi-Purpose Experiment Platform outside to Kibo's Exposed Facility. The Japanese robotic arm then unberthes the platform from the Small Fine Arm airlock attach mechanism and maneuvers it into position to release the satellites.[16][17]
Apr. 15, 2014 ArduSat X re-entered the atmosphere
Apr. 16, 2014 ArduSat 1 re-entered the atmosphere

Technical features

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ArduSat-1 & ArduSat-X

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The ArduSat project currently consists in two identical satellites: ArduSat-1 and ArduSat-X.

Category Specifications
General Architecture 1U CubeSat:the satellites implements the standard 10×10×10 cm basicCubeSatarchitecture.
Computing features Arduino-based:The ArduSat is equipped with 16 processor nodes (ATmega328P) and 1 supervisor node (ATmega2561) (see[18]for features). The processor nodes are dedicated to the computing of the experiments (each on one node), the supervisor uploads the code to the processor nodes.
Sensors The Arduino processors may sample data from the following sensors:
  • one digital 3-axismagnetometer(MAG3110)
  • one digital 3-axisgyroscope(ITG-3200)
  • one 3-axisaccelerometer(ADXL345)
  • oneinfrared temperature sensorwith a wide sensing range (MLX90614)
  • four digitaltemperature sensors(TMP102): 2 in the payload, 2 on the bottomplate
  • twoluminosity sensor(TSL2561) covering both infrared and visible light: 1 on the bottomplate camera, 1 on the bottomplate slit
  • twogeiger countertubes (LND 716)
  • one opticalspectrometer(Spectruino)
  • one 1.3MPcamera(C439)
Coding The experiments for ArduSat are developed inC/C++for AVR/Arduino, using theArduSatSDK.
Communication ArduSat is equipped with ahalf-duplex UHF transceiver,operating in the 435–438 MHzamateur radio satellite band.It implementsForward Error Correction(FEC) andViterbi codingbased on theCCSDSstandards.[19]
  • ArduSat-1: 437.325 MHz 9k6 MSK CCSDS downlink
  • ArduSat-X: 437.345 MHz 9k6 MSK CCSDS downlink

Both satellites have a Morse beacon (FM-modulated 800 Hz tones) that is transmitted at 20 WPM every two or three minutes on 437.000 MHz. The beacon will be structured in the following format:[20]

  • ArduSat-1 beacon: Battery voltage (uint16_t), RX_counter (number of received valid data packets, uint32_t), TX_counter (number of sent valid data packets, uint32_t), "WG9XFC-1″
  • ArduSat-X beacon: Battery voltage (uint16_t), RX_counter (number of received valid data packets, uint32_t), TX_counter (number of sent valid data packets, uint32_t), "WG9XFC-X"

See also

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References

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  1. ^Evan, Ackerman (2012-06-15)."ArduSat: a real satellite mission that you can be a part of".DVICE.Retrieved2012-06-15.
  2. ^Plait, Phil."KickStart your way to an experiment in space".Discover Magazine. Archived fromthe originalon 2012-06-16.Retrieved2012-06-15.
  3. ^AMSAT."ArduSat Arduino CubeSat".AMSAT UK. Archived fromthe originalon 2013-02-24.Retrieved2012-06-15.
  4. ^Reyes, Matthew (7 April 2014)."DIY Satellites: Now and Near Future | Make".Make: DIY Projects and Ideas for Makers.Retrieved2019-01-05.
  5. ^"Because Learning - Our Story".RetrievedNovember 22,2022.
  6. ^abcThese events have been reconstructed from different posts on theArduSat KickStarter updates wall
  7. ^"SparkFun Box in (Near) SPAAAAACE!".SparkFun.Retrieved2013-08-11.
  8. ^"Balloons, TVACs, and Shipping –Oh my!".Retrieved2013-08-11.
  9. ^"ArduSat Selects NanoRacks for ISS Satellite Deployment".SpaceREF. 20 November 2012.Retrieved2013-08-11.[permanent dead link]
  10. ^"Launch Result of H-II Transfer Vehicle" KOUNOTORI4 "(HTV4) by H-IIB Launch Vehicle No. 4".JAXA.Retrieved2013-08-11.
  11. ^"Successful berthing of the H-II Transfer Vehicle" KOUNOTORI 4 "(HTV4) to the International Space Station (ISS)".JAXA.Retrieved2013-08-11.
  12. ^"Japanese Cargo Craft Captured, Berthed to Station".NASA.Retrieved2013-08-11.
  13. ^"HTV-4 Mission payload description".JAXA.Retrieved2013-09-04.
  14. ^"HTV-4 Mission schedule".JAXA.Retrieved2013-09-04.
  15. ^"Expedition 38 Wraps Up First Week on Station".NASA.Retrieved2013-11-19.
  16. ^"Expedition 38 Prepares Japanese Lab for Cubesat Deployment".NASA.Retrieved2013-11-19.
  17. ^"Crew Deploys Tiny Satellites and Tests Spacesuit Repairs".NASA.Retrieved2013-11-20.
  18. ^"ArduSat Payload Processor Module".freetronics. 2013.
  19. ^"ArduSat Arduino CubeSat Technical Details".AMSat-UK. 20 June 2012.Retrieved2013-08-11.
  20. ^"Help Track Ardusat-1/X!".NanoSatisfi.Archived fromthe originalon 2013-12-08.Retrieved2013-11-19.
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