Paper Category: Simulation, Modeling
-
OLAF: a Swarm of Microsatellites for Active Debris Removal by Space-based Laser Ablation
Small debris objects (1 mm–10 cm) pose a considerable risk to active spacecraft, potentially causing mission-critical damage as they can reach relative impact velocities of 15 km/s in LEO. ESA’s latest Space Environment Report estimates more than 130 million objects in this size range residing in LEO, the majority of which cannot be tracked by…
-
Resilient IP Distribution Techniques for SmallSat and Hybrid Space–Ground Architectures
SmallSat missions frequently rely on space–ground communication paths that are intermittent, asymmetric, or intentionally unidirectional. Compared to traditional GEO systems, SmallSats operate with lower transmit power, smaller antennas, and shorter contact windows, resulting in lower signal-to-noise ratios, burst packet loss, and constrained or unavailable return channels. These conditions are common in missions supporting SAR and…
-
INTERNET PROTOCOL ROUTING IN CIS-LUNAR SPACE
Over the last five years, integrating space systems into the global Internet paradigm has advanced significantly. Space constellations and networks are now commonplace; however, current implementations remain limited to networks managed as single terrestrially orchestrated systems or orchestrated hybrid mixtures of interacting space networks. This centralized orchestration approach constrains autonomous operations, requires continuous ground station…
-
Numerical Performance Evaluation of FGM Spacecraft Panels under Hypervelocity Debris Impact
Orbital space debris in LEO poses a systemic integrity concern to satellites’ structure and requires higher levels of passive shielding beyond traditional Whipple shield configurations. This paper presents an investigation of the impact tolerance of Functionally Graded Material sandwich panels subjected to hypervelocity impact phenomena under a non-linear computational framework. A comparison of an Al7075-T6…
-
GEO–LEO Hybrid Networks Using Laser Communication Terminals: A Scalable Architecture for High-Throughput and Sovereign Space Connectivity
The growing demand for high throughput, resilient and sovereign space communication is accelerating the convergence of LEO and GEO systems into hybrid network architectures. LEO satellites provides low latency and flexible regional coverage, while GEO platform offer continuous visibility, centralized routing and stable long term operations. Combining these complementary capabilities enables a unified communication backbone…
-
Decentralized Operational Framework for Autonomous Space Traffic Management in High-Drag VLEO Environments
The rapid expansion of Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) constellations introduces significant complexities in orbital maintenance due to non-conservative forces, primarily stochastic atmospheric drag. Traditional centralized Space Traffic Management (STM) architectures, which rely on batch-processed updates and human-in-the-loop decision making, are increasingly incapable of managing the high-frequency station-keeping maneuvers required in these altitudes. This paper…
-
Air-Bearing-Based Evaluation of Reaction Wheel Micro-Vibrations and Their Impact on Small Satellite Pointing Stability
High-performance imaging satellite missions require exceptional pointing stability to ensure image quality and geometric fidelity. This stability is often degraded by micro-vibrations originating from reaction wheels, which propagate through the spacecraft structure and induce line-of-sight (LoS) jitter. Although force-torque measurements are commonly used to characterise these disturbances at component level, relating them to spacecraft-level pointing…
-
Optimisation of Star Tracker Orientation and Attitude Trajectories for Space-To-Ground Optical Communication on CubeSats
Optical communication systems promise a step-change in data return capability for CubeSats but introduce exceptionally demanding pointing requirements. In some cases, sub-milliradian level pointing of the satellite is required to successfully acquire a laser signal from the ground. This is further complicated by the relatively high angular velocities and angular accelerations of the satellite-to-ground target…
-
Parametric Study of Deorbit Sail Sizes for Small Satellites
The need for reliable and scalable post-mission disposal solutions is inevitable for small satellite missions in Low Earth Orbit. For spacecrafts without onboard propulsion system passive, fail-safe deorbit technologies can be essential to ensure compliance with orbital lifetime mitigation requirements. Deorbit systems using dragsails provide a robust approach and limited operational complexity without propellants, active…
-
Catalysing Next Generation Solutions with Scalable Model-Based Software
Small satellite missions increasingly rely on software-defined payloads, onboard data processing, and automated mission operations, to meet performance, responsiveness, and cost constraints. In practice, payload software development, integration and test (I&T) and operations are often supported by fragmented toolchains spanning flight, ground, and payload domains, leading to duplicated effort, reduced reusability and increased operational risk.…