Innovative Systems Engineering Solutions for Power-Positive Operations: Navigating the Multi-Constraint Challenges of the SWARM-EX CubeSat Mission.
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| Title: | Innovative Systems Engineering Solutions for Power-Positive Operations: Navigating the Multi-Constraint Challenges of the SWARM-EX CubeSat Mission. |
|---|---|
| Authors: | Fitzpatrick, David J.1 (AUTHOR) david.fitzpatrick@colorado.edu, Palo, Scott E.1 (AUTHOR) scott.palo@colorado.edu |
| Source: | Advances in Space Research. May2025, Vol. 75 Issue 9, p6847-6862. 16p. |
| Subjects: | Scientific apparatus & instruments, Space environment, Microspacecraft, Solar cells, Short stature |
| Abstract: | Although the small stature of CubeSats and their standardized deployer options help to lower unit development cost and facilitate launch opportunities, the physical size limits of CubeSats prove to be a double-edged sword vis-à-vis sustaining a stable power state while hosting instruments with high power demands and often strict pointing requirements. For the Space Weather Atmospheric Reconfigurable Multiscale-EXperiment (SWARM-EX), this issue is magnified by the mission's ambitious goals; to comply with mission requirements, a SWARM-EX spacecraft is required to concurrently (1) point the science instruments no more than 30 ° off ram when they are operational, (2) point the GPS patch antenna no more than 30 ° off zenith at least once per orbit, (3) point the boresight of the X-Band patch antenna no more than 18 ° from the ground station during downlink, (4) maximize the differential cross-sectional area during differential drag maneuvers, and (5) maximize solar array power generation at all times. Consequently, leading-edge CubeSat missions like SWARM-EX require innovative systems engineering solutions to remain power-positive during on-orbit operations. Through the design of a comprehensive module-based concept of operations, orbital power generation simulations, intricate constrained attitude profiles, and a configurable battery state of charge simulation tool, the SWARM-EX mission designers have conceived a plan to retire the risk of not maintaining a power-positive state while successfully meeting all mission requirements; it is the aim of the authors to illuminate these strategies as a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Advances in Space Research is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Engineering Source |
| FullText | Text: Availability: 0 |
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| Header | DbId: egs DbLabel: Engineering Source An: 184559640 AccessLevel: 6 PubType: Academic Journal PubTypeId: academicJournal PreciseRelevancyScore: 0 |
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| Items | – Name: Title Label: Title Group: Ti Data: Innovative Systems Engineering Solutions for Power-Positive Operations: Navigating the Multi-Constraint Challenges of the SWARM-EX CubeSat Mission. – Name: Author Label: Authors Group: Au Data: <searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Fitzpatrick%2C+David+J%2E%22">Fitzpatrick, David J.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> david.fitzpatrick@colorado.edu</i><br /><searchLink fieldCode="AR" term="%22Palo%2C+Scott+E%2E%22">Palo, Scott E.</searchLink><relatesTo>1</relatesTo> (AUTHOR)<i> scott.palo@colorado.edu</i> – Name: TitleSource Label: Source Group: Src Data: <searchLink fieldCode="JN" term="%22Advances+in+Space+Research%22">Advances in Space Research</searchLink>. May2025, Vol. 75 Issue 9, p6847-6862. 16p. – Name: Subject Label: Subjects Group: Su Data: <searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Scientific+apparatus+%26+instruments%22">Scientific apparatus & instruments</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Space+environment%22">Space environment</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Microspacecraft%22">Microspacecraft</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Solar+cells%22">Solar cells</searchLink><br /><searchLink fieldCode="DE" term="%22Short+stature%22">Short stature</searchLink> – Name: Abstract Label: Abstract Group: Ab Data: Although the small stature of CubeSats and their standardized deployer options help to lower unit development cost and facilitate launch opportunities, the physical size limits of CubeSats prove to be a double-edged sword vis-à-vis sustaining a stable power state while hosting instruments with high power demands and often strict pointing requirements. For the Space Weather Atmospheric Reconfigurable Multiscale-EXperiment (SWARM-EX), this issue is magnified by the mission's ambitious goals; to comply with mission requirements, a SWARM-EX spacecraft is required to concurrently (1) point the science instruments no more than 30 ° off ram when they are operational, (2) point the GPS patch antenna no more than 30 ° off zenith at least once per orbit, (3) point the boresight of the X-Band patch antenna no more than 18 ° from the ground station during downlink, (4) maximize the differential cross-sectional area during differential drag maneuvers, and (5) maximize solar array power generation at all times. Consequently, leading-edge CubeSat missions like SWARM-EX require innovative systems engineering solutions to remain power-positive during on-orbit operations. Through the design of a comprehensive module-based concept of operations, orbital power generation simulations, intricate constrained attitude profiles, and a configurable battery state of charge simulation tool, the SWARM-EX mission designers have conceived a plan to retire the risk of not maintaining a power-positive state while successfully meeting all mission requirements; it is the aim of the authors to illuminate these strategies as a case study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] – Name: AbstractSuppliedCopyright Label: Group: Ab Data: <i>Copyright of Advances in Space Research is the property of Pergamon Press - An Imprint of Elsevier Science and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.</i> (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) |
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| RecordInfo | BibRecord: BibEntity: Identifiers: – Type: doi Value: 10.1016/j.asr.2024.06.057 Languages: – Code: eng Text: English PhysicalDescription: Pagination: PageCount: 16 StartPage: 6847 Subjects: – SubjectFull: Scientific apparatus & instruments Type: general – SubjectFull: Space environment Type: general – SubjectFull: Microspacecraft Type: general – SubjectFull: Solar cells Type: general – SubjectFull: Short stature Type: general Titles: – TitleFull: Innovative Systems Engineering Solutions for Power-Positive Operations: Navigating the Multi-Constraint Challenges of the SWARM-EX CubeSat Mission. Type: main BibRelationships: HasContributorRelationships: – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Fitzpatrick, David J. – PersonEntity: Name: NameFull: Palo, Scott E. IsPartOfRelationships: – BibEntity: Dates: – D: 01 M: 05 Text: May2025 Type: published Y: 2025 Identifiers: – Type: issn-print Value: 02731177 Numbering: – Type: volume Value: 75 – Type: issue Value: 9 Titles: – TitleFull: Advances in Space Research Type: main |
| ResultId | 1 |
