Paper Category: Systems Engineering & Integration
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UDAN: A Compact Deployable UHF Antenna Enabling High-Gain Links for CubeSats
The miniaturization of satellite platforms has imposed severe constraints on antenna systems, particularly for UHF links requiring high gain and polarization robustness. To address these challenges, this contribution introduces UDAN, a deployable UHF antenna concept designed to significantly enhance communication capabilities of CubeSats and other small spacecraft while remaining compliant with standard launch and deployment…
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Low SWaP Flight Board for High-Speed On-Board Data Handling, Processing and AI Inference
The continuous increase in payload data volume and mission autonomy requirements is driving the need for increasingly advanced on-board data handling and processing technologies in satellite systems. In particular, next-generation Earth observation, telecommunications, and distributed space architectures require high-performance processing capabilities to enable real-time data reduction, intelligent decision-making, and efficient use of downlink resources. Within…
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Thermal Data Interoperability for Small Satellite Missions: Integrating CAD, ETMS, and STEP-TAS
The rapid development cycles of small satellite missions require the transition from isolated engineering practices to a continuous, concurrent or model-based systems engineering (MBSE) approach. A significant bottleneck remains in thermal engineering, where the manual translation of mechanical designs into thermal models- and the exchange of thermal models between different software environments – often leads…
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Operational Implications of Dynamic Power Throttling on High-Performance LEO Edge Computing
The integration of high-performance COTS (Customer Of The Shelf) processors, such as the Nvidia Jetson Orin NX, into SmallSat architectures enables advanced on-orbit edge computing but introduces significant power management challenges. Standard manufacturer power profiles typically require system reboots and lack the granularity needed to respond to dynamic LEO (Low Earth Orbit) energy constraints, such…
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Embedding Machine-Learned Anomaly Detection into Relevance-Driven Mission Operations Workflows
Anomaly detection has become a central application of machine learning in satellite operations; however, when applied in isolation, machine learning based detections alone are insufficient to support scalable mission operations. As fleets grow, operators face increasing cognitive load not from anomaly frequency, but from the need to interpret weak signals, correlate them with operational context,…
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Mitigation of Penalties on Clustered Hall Thrusters
Hall-effect thrusters are the most common form of applied Electric Propulsion technology and are being increasingly used in SmallSat missions. Clustering Hall-effect thrusters is a developing approach used to achieve higher thruster density and redundancy on small satellite platforms, but close-proximity operation between thrusters can introduce plume-plume interactions that degrade performance. This paper presents a…
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A Modular Open-Source ADCS Framework for Small Satellite Development and Testing
Advanced attitude determination and control (ADCS) techniques are often difficult for small satellite teams to adopt due to tightly coupled implementations and the need to rapidly evaluate alternative architectures. Evaluating prospective ADCS options may require significant modification of existing code for specific actuator combinations, sensor hardware, orbits, mission goals, and control laws. Existing options are…
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AI-Based Navigation for Lunar Satellites in VLLO
This paper presents the design and preliminary validation of the Lunar Intelligent Navigation via Neural Architecture (LINNA) payload, a technology demonstration integrated into the SelenITA mission—Brazil’s first lunar CubeSat. The experiment is motivated by the future needs for autonomous state estimation in the Very Low Lunar Orbit (VLLO) regime, where Mascon-induced gravitational anomalies challenge traditional…
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EPASS NANO – A COMPACT AND RELIABLE SOLUTION FOR SATELLITE ELECTRICAL PASSIVATION
The growing regulation for satellite end-of-life operations, as outlined in French national law (LOS) and European legislation (EU Space Law), underscores the critical need for robust electrical passivation subsystems. This is particularly challenging for nano-satellites, where strict reliability requirements, compact design, and budget constraints must be balanced. In response, the French Space Agency (CNES) and…
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DANTE: A Spaceborne Radar Constellation for Debris Detection and Tracking
Space debris poses a growing threat to the sustainability and safety of space operations, with increasing collision risks for satellites in Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Current ground based radar systems are limited in detecting small objects leaving a critical gap in monitoring capabilities. This work introduces DANTE (Detection ANd Tracking of space dEbris), a spaceborne…