Robin Roenker
\n\u00a0|\u00a0 Studio Gannett<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s University SmallSat Technology Partnership (USTP)<\/a> initiative offers opportunities for university researchers to help shape the future of space exploration in big ways.As a feature of NASA\u2019s larger Small Spacecraft Technology program, the USTP provides funding to university-based projects that are helping reframe what\u2019s possible for the next generation of SmallSats (small satellites) and CubeSats (cube satellites, some as small as 10 cubic centimeters).Since 2013, NASA had awarded more than $30 million in funding to USTP projects across 36 universities in 22 states. The program\u2019s overall goal is to foster ground-breaking SmallSat innovations toward a trajectory of future use on NASA missions.\u201cSmall spacecraft have proven to be a disruptive innovation for exploration, discovery and commercial activity in space,\u201d says Christopher Baker, program executive for the Small Spacecraft Technology program within NASA\u2019s Space Technology Mission Directorate. \u201cWithin the past decade, they have grown from what was largely an academic tool into a vibrant industry that sees thousands of spacecraft launched each year.\u201d<\/p>\n Research and Innovation<\/strong><\/p>\n At Stanford\u2019s Space Rendezvous Laboratory (SLAB)<\/a>, founding director and associate professor of aeronautics and astronautics Simone D\u2019Amico has received USTP support for his work on distributed space systems \u2014 networks of multiple, connected small satellites that work together to achieve a single objective in commercial, technological or scientific arenas.D\u2019Amico\u2019s earlier work using onboard star tracker cameras to support satellite swarm navigation has been successfully deployed on NASA\u2019s Starling Mission<\/a>. It involves satellites within a swarm that are able to make navigation decisions based on information shared with other swarm members rather than relying on a central ground control. Through other NASA-supported projects, D\u2019Amico\u2019s research team has developed sophisticated algorithms able to determine the relative position and velocity of connected satellites with unprecedented precision.\u201cWe can estimate the relative position of the satellites within a centimeter of accuracy in real time,\u201d he says. The new navigational approach has been validated in the lab, and it\u2019s been selected as the primary navigational algorithm for two upcoming SmallSat missions: one, expected to launch next year, will image the solar corona, while another, set for roughly 2030, will test precision flying technologies that might one day enable small satellites to explore targets beyond our solar system.At MIT<\/a>, aeronautics and astronautics professor Paulo Lozano, director of the school\u2019s Space Propulsion Laboratory, has received USTP funding to explore integration of tiny electronic thrusters \u2014 a propulsion system using electrical power to propel spacecraft \u2014 on to satellites. Because these thrusters are smaller and more efficient, less propellant would be necessary to generate the needed thrust, which would be ideal for powering deep-space small satellite explorations.If all goes well, the possibilities for adoption are wide. \u201cWe have many ideas (for application),\u201d Lozano says. \u201cOne is to send tens or even hundreds of these small satellites to the asteroid belt to help study and characterize the asteroids\u2019 surface structures.\u201d<\/p>\n Advancing \u2014 and Reframing \u2014 Mission Objectives<\/strong><\/p>\n By working with academic-based partners to expand SmallSat capabilities, NASA has been able to \u201cachieve some of our mission objectives at significantly lower risk and cost than using traditional spacecraft,\u201d Baker says.While developing promising new SmallSat technologies is a key goal of USTP, so too is building a critical give-and-take between NASA and university researchers.\u201cIf we want (our research) to be of use to NASA, we need to understand their problems,\u201d says University of Texas at Austin<\/a> associate engineering professor Brandon Jones, director of the school\u2019s Controls, Autonomy, Estimation and Learning for Uncertain Systems (CAELUS) Lab<\/a>. \u201cOne of the best ways to have that understanding is to have (NASA) involved, at an early stage, in our technology development.\u201dJones\u2019s teams have leveraged USTP funds in developing navigational tracking systems that draw data from onboard cameras to autonomously identify a CubeSat\u2019s location. An upcoming launch into near-Earth orbit will test the use of such visual cues \u2014 including islands and archipelagos \u2014 as navigational beacons.\u201cWe are in collaboration with NASA Johnson Space Center<\/a>, showing that (this technology) has the potential to be used on Artemis \u2026 and (other) missions happening now,\u201d Jones says.From NASA\u2019s agency perspective, working with university partners on SmallSat technology allows for both the rapid development of novel approaches and a means to support a critical pipeline of current and future researchers.SmallSat technology \u201chas grown from a niche area of research to a fundamental part of the space industry,\u201d says Danielle McCulloch, program executive for NASA\u2019s Flight Opportunities program<\/a>, based at NASA\u2019s Armstrong Flight Research Center. Much of this success, she adds, stems from NASA\u2019s focus on leveraging university researchers\u2019 \u201cearly stage, innovative thinking and harnessing it into partnerships.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Robin Roenker \u00a0|\u00a0 Studio Gannett NASA\u2019s University SmallSat Technology Partnership (USTP) initiative offers opportunities for university researchers to…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":129011,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[74],"tags":[829,582,70979,298,70980,18,19,13436,17,20513,17055,1024,5,2034,451,1235,69758,2634,77699,82,455,2461,716,1861,13563,10951],"class_list":{"0":"post-129010","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-technology","8":"tag-and","9":"tag-astronomy","10":"tag-colleges","11":"tag-colleges-and-universities","12":"tag-colleges-u0026-universities","13":"tag-eire","14":"tag-ie","15":"tag-institute","16":"tag-ireland","17":"tag-massachusetts","18":"tag-massachusetts-institute-of-technology","19":"tag-nasa","20":"tag-news","21":"tag-of","22":"tag-space","23":"tag-space-technology","24":"tag-stanford","25":"tag-stanford-university","26":"tag-studiog-xtr","27":"tag-technology","28":"tag-technology-news","29":"tag-texas","30":"tag-u0026","31":"tag-universities","32":"tag-university","33":"tag-university-of-texas"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=129010"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/129010\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/129011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=129010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=129010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=129010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}