Paper Category: Systems Engineering & Integration
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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…
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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…
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Component-Level Polymer Composite Spot Shielding for Radiation and Thermal Management in SmallSats
The increasing use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) electronics in SmallSat platforms offers significant advantages in cost, performance, and development speed; however, radiation tolerance and thermal constraints often force conservative spacecraft-level shielding strategies. Bulk aluminum enclosures introduce substantial size, weight, and power (SWaP) penalties and frequently require entire subsystems to be over-shielded based on the most radiation-sensitive…
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Enabling Secure Maritime Connectivity: MAIV of the MICE-1 CubeSat Mission
The increasing reliance of Maritime IoT and Internet of Vessels (IoV) applications on satellite connectivity places stringent requirements not only on system architecture and communications performance, but also on the robustness, manufacturability, and verification of spaceborne platforms operating in demanding environments. In this context, nanosatellite missions targeting maritime services must balance tight mass, volume, and…
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A Camera Payload and Processing Unit for Onboard Solar Panel Deployment Verification Using Segmentation and Contour-Based Compression
The CPPU is a compact Camera Payload and Processing Unit (CPPU) for autonomous in-orbit verification of deployable mechanisms, with a focus on solar panel deployment status and subsequent anomaly monitoring. The goal is to demonstrate that decision-relevant onboard vision can replace “image-as-telemetry” by converting camera frames into reliable descriptors that support autonomous assessment while reducing…
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Semi-Autonomous Reconnaissance Satellite: A Laboratory Demonstration of End-to-End On-Board Mission Autonomy
Real-time satellite responsiveness to user requests from the field remains largely unavailable in current space systems. Such capabilities are typically restricted to low-altitude airborne platforms, primarily due to limited satellite communication bandwidth, intermittent ground contact, and the reliance on ground-based mission planning. Enabling true responsiveness requires a paradigm shift toward highly autonomous satellites, in which…
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Beyond Wired Backplanes: A Framework for Modular and Reconfigurable Wireless Intra-Satellite Communication
Goal: This research addresses the inherent limitations of traditional wired backplane architectures in small satellites, which restrict subsystem density, complicate assembly, and prevent post-deployment reconfiguration. The objective is to validate a wireless bus architecture as a viable, flight-ready replacement for rigid wired interconnects, fundamentally changing the systems engineering workflow for SmallSat missions. Methodologies: The study…
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Securing Small Satellites: Integrating Cybersecurity into CubeSat Architecture through MBSE
The growing use of CubeSats across industry and student-led university projects has expanded the cyber threat surface of space systems, making cybersecurity a critical design consideration. Historically, satellites were expensive, state-owned assets, limiting access to space and reducing the number of potential threat actors. Today, CubeSats offer a low-cost, widely deployable alternative, enabling broader participation…
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Hybrid Post-Quantum + Classical Secure Boot for SmallSat Avionics: ML-DSA/ECC Firmware Authentication with Fail-Safe Updates
Satellites are often expected to operate unattended for years while still receiving security and safety updates. Long mission lifetimes also increase exposure to future cryptanalytic advances, including large-scale quantum attacks against today’s signature schemes. We present a hybrid secure-boot and firmware-authentication design aligned with IETF RFC 9019, where the bootloader acts as the firmware verifier.…