Responsive Payload Accommodations and Integration Operations for Dedicated CubeSat Missions (POSTPRINT)

摘要

A key factor for responsive space operations is the availability of standardized payload accommodations that can simplify integration tasks and reduce costs. Several such standards are beginning to emerge in the very small end of the payload market that is characterized by the so-called CubeSat class of spacecraft. These also happen to be compatible with proposed nanosat launch vehicle (NLV) concepts that are intended to enable dedicated CubeSat missions that are free from the operational constraints associated with traditional secondary payload manifest opportunities. The Poly-Picosatellite Orbital Deployer (P-POD) under development by California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo is one such system that is now transitioning to flight status. The viability and merits of such dedicated CubeSat missions was highlighted recently during flight testing of the Prospector 7 NLV-sized prototype reusable launch vehicle that was developed by Garvey Spacecraft Corporation and California State University, Long Beach. In this case, an engineering prototype of the P-POD unit manifested and then deployed a set of three simulated CubeSats twice within a period of just 3.5 hours. The entire program took only six months. Future plans envision extending the operational environments that the P-POD will be evaluated under as NLV development transitions to higher- performance vehicles. Besides the evaluation of refined payload accommodations and integration techniques, CubeSat payloads will help monitor and characterize NLV environments. Concurrently, participating students will continue to gain valuable experience with flight hardware integration and operations.