Utilizing High Altitude Balloons as a Low-Cost CubeSat Test Platform
ieee aerospace conference(2020)
摘要
While building and launching a CubeSat is lower in cost compared to a standard satellite, verifying the flight-readiness of CubeSat hardware and software prior to launch remains a costly and time-consuming process. During the summer of 2019, student-interns under the Innovation to Flight (i2F) program at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration\u0027s (NASA) Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) utilized high altitude balloons (HAB) as a means of performing preverification tests on an in-house built 6U CubeSat bus and mock internal payload. The team also tested a Qualcomm Snapdragon flight computer onboard the a HAB, as the computer\u0027s first high-altitude tech demonstration. The entire flight vehicle was designed to simulate a generic JPL 6U CubeSat to be flown on the Zephyrus X HAB flight demonstration. The Zephyrus X flight demonstration took place on August 2nd and flew to a near-space environment of ~36 km (~120,000 ft) experiencing almost identical thermal and environmental conditions that it would experience on orbit as well as being far enough away from the team to test long-range comms. The entire launch cost (excluding the cost of the CubeSat) was under $1,000, showing that one could successfully test many components and conditions in one flight test for pre-verification testing, saving thousands of dollars and many hours.
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关键词
high altitude balloons,low-cost CubeSat test platform,flight-readiness,Flight program,HAB,preverification tests,mock internal payload,Qualcomm Snapdragon flight computer,high-altitude tech demonstration,entire flight vehicle,generic JPL 6U,Zephyrus X flight demonstration,entire launch cost,flight test,pre-verification testing,size 36.0 km
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