Project Mercury

Status

Completed
Status date

2020-04-15
Activity Code

6A.064

Objectives

Objectives:

Generate high-fidelity simulation tools to enable analysis of satellite formation flight.
Using tools, refine and stress-test flock-level and system-level requirements for the associated Flocking Module to enable formation flight and autonomous flock management.
Design, develop, and mature associated RF subsystem to EM level, for inter-satellite and ground communications.
Carry out mission analyses to verify value added by Flocking Module to typical constellation and cluster missions for nanosatellites.

Figure 1. Breadboard of K-/Ka-band RF system subassembly (heat sink and EM shield removed)

Benefits

Flock Management System

Consideration of flock-level performance for nanosatellite constellations / clusters is woefully lacking. Substantial improvements in mission-level efficiency are viable, translating many flawed aspirations into robust business cases. This typically manifests itself as:

Fewer satellites required to perform a given mission
Reduced launch mass
Reduced mission operations overhead
Extension of mission-lifetime
Reduced latency with ground
Broadening total addressable market

K-/Ka-band RF System

We have developed the lightest and most compact K-/Ka-band RF system in the market. Being SDR-based, it is highly flexible to customer requirements (modulation, error correction, etc.). Relevant to ground and inter-satellite communications. Configurable as a transmitter, receiver, and transceiver.

Features

Flock Management System Key Features:

Onboard component manifested as a small PCB based on the OrbAstro Telos OBC.
Highly scalable (from several to several thousand satellites).
Currently compatible with most constellation architectures and sparse cluster architectures.
Highly flexible system, allowing customisation of autonomous mission-level performance optimisations.
Fully autonomous flock deployment, formation maintenance, and de-orbit after decommissioning.
Mature fault recognition of satellites within flock tightly coupled to autonomous flock management (based on deep FMECA, FTA, and associated analyses).
Autonomous reconfiguration of flock to maximise relevant performance metrics and minimise disruptions associated with attrition over mission lifetime.
Autonomous collision-risk detection/avoidance with local space traffic (satellites/debris). Traffic data collated from various sources (currently monitoring ~90k objects). Updated onboard every 4 hours, and continuously forward-propagated by 15 days.

K-/Ka-band RF System Key Features: