The INSPIRE-2 / AU03 Cubesat to the ISS for the QB50 Project: Summary & Launch

Iver H. Cairns 1, C. Charles 2, A. Dempster 3, J. Funamoto 1, J.W. Cheong 3, W. Peacock 1, J. Lam 3, B. Osborne 3, W. Andrew 3, T. Croston,1,3, B. Southwell 3, R. Boswell 2, A. Monger, 1 C. Betters 1, S. Leon-Saval 1, J. Bland-Hawthorn 1, J. Khachan 1, X. Wu 1, S. Manidis 1, H. Brown 1, D. Dall 1, and D. Tsifalkis 2

1. U. Sydney 2. ANU 3. UNSW

OA-7 Launch to the ISS: 18 April 2017 (rescheduled from ... 30 December 2016 .... 9, 22, 24, 27 March 2017

AU02 UNSW-ECO

AU03 INSPIRE-2

+ AU01 / SuSAT and Biarri-Point 4 Australian CubeSats

The INSPIRE-2 / AU03 Cubesat for the QB50 Project

Iver H. Cairns 1, C. Charles 2, A. Dempster 3, J. Funamoto 1, J. Cheong 3, W. Peacock 1, J. Lam 3, B. Osborne 3, W. Andrew 3, T. Croston,1,3, B. Southwell 3, R. Boswell 2, A. Monger, 1 C. Betters 1, S. Leon-Saval 1, J. Bland-Hawthorn 1, J. Khachan 1, X. Wu 1, S. Manidis 1, H. Brown 1, D. Dall 1, and D. Tsifalkis 2

1. U. Sydney 2. ANU 3. UNSW

INSPIRE-2 / AU03

• Revised into a 3-university project from 30/9/2015: – University of Sydney – Australian National University – University of New South Wales (Sydney)

• Third Australian cubesat for QB50 ( AU03)

4

USydney: 3+ payloads, components, assembly, integration, testing, launch, overall project, legal, leadership, .... (I.Cairns, J.Funamoto, W. Peacock, D. Dall, H. Brown, A. Monger..)

• QB50 multi-NeedleLangmuir probe (mNLP) • Nanophotonic spectrograph (Nanospec) • Radiation counter • Microdosimeter

UNSW (Sydney): Spacecraft design, integration, testing, software (A. Dempster, J. Cheong, B. Osborne, J. Lam, ...)

• Kea GPS instrument ANU: Spacecraft parts, groundstation, advice, AITC ... (Christine Charles, Rod Boswell, Dimitris Tsifalkis) Groundstations: ANU and UNSW

2. INSPIRE-2 / AU03 CubeSat

3. A Taste of the Science

• QB50 focusing on the science of the Earth’s upper atmosphere ≈ 80 – 450 km altitude: – Ionosphere (focus is on plasma) – Thermosphere (neutrals)

• Earth’s environment & space weather ... changes with (t, r):

• Daily (sunrise / sunset) • Season • Space weather (Solar X-ray flares ionisation,

heating, currents, energetic particles due to solar wind – ionosphere – magnetosphere coupling, ...).

80 km

450 km

ozone

ISS

3.1 mNLP: Ionosphere & thermosphere plasma density

“Plasma tubes in the sky”, C. Loi et al., GRL, 2015

INSPIRE-2

Will explore growth & properties of plasma tubes & new space weather in situ.

U.Oslo instrument – AU03:R. Boswell, I.Cairns, C. Charles, & J. Khachan

mNLP: major issues with IRI model for ionosphere & thermosphere plasma

INSPIRE-2 will test IRI model & lead to better models

[R.Maj & I. Cairns, JGR, 2017]

N (cm-3)

Te (K) INSPIRE-2

3.2 Radiation Counter & Microdosimeter: Space Weather at Earth

Sydney PIs: J. Khachan, X. Wu

Radiation Counter (J.Khachan), the EAUX PCB, and the Microdosimeter (X.Wu)

J. Funamoto, J.Lam (not pictured), W. Peacock

Pulses from the Radiation Counter

Source

Radiation Counter [J.Khachan]

3.4 Nanospec: Photonic Spectrograph

• Light optical fibres diffraction grating spectrum dispersed on a CCD • Fully photonic with no moving parts and excellent spectral resolution

• First photonic lantern & nanophotonic spectrograph in space

U. Sydney PIs: S. Leon-Saval, C. Betters, J.Bland-Hawthorn (not pictured)

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Nanospec: Predicted resolution R = λ/Δλ = 1400 separate the 2 primary photosynthetic pathways for

Australian native plants

FWHM~0.4nm or R=1400

Wavelength (nm)

Inte

nsity

(rel

ativ

e)

Note: Data for earlier version of Nanospec

3.4 Kea GPS receiver: radio occultation, sea-state reflectometry, & position / attitude

UNSW PIs: A. Dempster, J.W. Cheong, ...

radio occultation data on 3D atmospheric structure & composition

4. Design • De-risk modified version of UNSW design & mostly COTS

• Power, mechanical, layout design: B. Osborne, J. Funamoto, T. Croston • Electronics & software design: J. Lam, B. Southwell, W. Andrew, J.Funamoto & W. Peacock

Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) parts ~$80K - mostly from GOMspace, few from ISIS

ADCS board

5. Building: Hardware & Software

• U. Sydney • UNSW

• (Some at AITC too).

• Extremely demanding schedule with little margin for major problems ... (April start with initial delivery within 2 months)

Jiro & Wayne at USyd

INSPIRE-2: First stack (22 April 2016)

Building, testing, & flight software finished (8 August)

John Lam and Jiro Funamoto at UNSW

6. Testing at AITC: TVAC & Vibe (13 – 26 June 2016)

After TVAC in Wombat XL – fully deployed on command and nominal performance throughout.

Fully integrated & ready for TVAC.

Vibration Test (Quasi-static, z-axis) – AITC on 22 June 2016

AITC staff brilliant and very helpful, especially M. Petkovic & N. Mathers

Vibration Test (Quasi-static) – AITC on 22 June 2016

7. Ready for Delivery ... 9 August ... ABC News .... Catalyst

Delivery to QB50 in the Netherlands by FedEx for: a) final testing, b) mNLP additions, c) Fit test, d) acceptance

News so far ... http://sydney.edu.au/inspire-cubesat/news/index.shtml

8. Delivery & Final Testing for QB50

• Overseas Launch Certificate signed by Minister Greg Hunt (Aug 2016) for all 3 QB50 cubesats – extremely grateful – insurance requirements waived – major first for Australian university space efforts.

• Export Control Permit for GPS instrument. • Delivery by Fed Ex.

• Final Testing for VKI / QB50 at Innovative Solutions in

Space (ISIS) in Delft, the Netherlands, 13-19 August 2016.

Electron emitter added to mNLP AU03 first QB50 spacecraft ready for the fit test (16/8/2016).

INSPIRE-2 / AU03 Davide Masutti: QB50 Deputy Principal Investigator

INSPIRE-2 / AU03 Passes Fit Test on 19/8/2016 ... Fully Ready for QB50 & Nanoracks

9. INSPIRE-2 in Nanoracks Pod

With Ukraine and South Korea CubeSats

First in ... First out !!

Ready for Space !!

AU03 Ground Station in ANU Wombat lab

Blue wren

UHF / VHF

10. First Attempt to View Launch (24 & 27 March)

• Launch postponed indefinitely once Iver arrived in Florida. • But ....

Atlas V launch site & Assembly Building

Astronaut Bob Cenker (STS-61C) & Ann Cairns & Iver (INSPIRE-2 T-shirt)

Conclusions: INSPIRE-2 / AU03 Ready for Launch

• 10 months from start to delivery / acceptance • Novel science & technology (5 payloads,4 Oz) • De-risk with COTS and small-change design • Strong collaborations AU03, AU02,AU01 future