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TopSat:Brief to Ground Segment Co-ordination Board

Presenter Ian Pilling

By : W.A. Levett

Co author: E.J. Baxter

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• Space Division overview

• The TopSat mission

• Overview• Development Programme• Launch• Imagery• Operations architecture

• Rapid end-to-end timeliness demonstration

• Landslide monitoring

• Mission status

• The future

Portsmouth. 18th April 2007

Contents

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QinetiQ Space Division

Diverse organisation (Verhaert acquired 2005)

Example heritage• Space Technology Research Vehicle Microsatellite

Series

• Medium Wave Infrared Telescope

• Mars Express and Beagle Communication Transponders

Example current programmes• TopSat

• Solar Electric Propulsion (Ion Drives)− GOCE Mission

− Bepi Colombo Mission to Mercury

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TopSat overview

• An electro-optical small satellite

• Launched on 27th October 2005

• Jointly funded by UK MoD and British National Space Centre

• A technology demonstrator – showing what can be achieved with low-cost small satellites

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• Mission Management / System Engineering Authority

• Payload data handling unit

• Payload communications

• Data ground stations

• Payload operations

• Platform

• TT&C

• Camera

• Data exploitation

The TopSat Consortium

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• Design, develop, build and launch cost < €20M

• Build to cost philosophy (de-scoping where required, not cost growth)

• Low cost small satellite platform

• Radical new high performance camera

• Risk sharing with the customer

• Customised PA approach

• Low-cost shared commercial launch

• Low cost operations – use of COTS software where practicalbe

• Existing ground stations

Low cost approach

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Development Programme - PlatformEnhanced micro satellite bus• 108kg including payload (40kg)Proven low cost modules

• power

• orbit determination

• on board computing

• telemetry/telecommand

Purpose designed • structure• high precision Attitude

Determination and Control System (ADCS)

• TDI manoeuvre

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Requirements

• Compact

• Low Mass

• Extremely robust

• Maximum performance

Three mirror off axis design

• No aperture blockage

− Maximum light gathering

− Maximum contrast (MTF)

• Broad field of view

Monocoque CFRP structure

Development programme - camera

Linear CCDs

CFRP Structure

M2 MirrorCFRP Shroud Door

M1 Mirror

M3 Mirror

Blade Mount

Credit: Rutherford Appleton Laboratory

Focal Plane Array

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Cameraqualification test

Primary projectrisk retired

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Flight model camera aligned to specification

#2 Project Risk retired

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Assembly, Integration and Testing

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TopSat

The Satellite in June 2005, Ready for Packing and Shipping.

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TopSat integrated to launch vehicle for 5 microsat multiple launch

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Launch – 27th October 2005

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In orbit performance

• 696km sun-synchronous orbit

• 3-4 day revisit capability

• 4 images per day capacity

• 1 year nominal mission life – now exceeded

• In orbit MTF=on the ground MTF

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ImageryPanchromatic images (17x17km) and overlapping multi-spectral (rgb) images (18x12km)

Antwerp, Belgium. 15th April 2007

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Dartford, UK, 7th December 2005

Imagery 2

Oil refinery, Los Angeles, 3rd December 2006

2.8m resolution panchromatic images5.6m resolution multi-spectral images

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Basrah, Iraq. 7th January 2007

Imagery 3

Geo-rectification of panchromatic images to better than 50m absolute localisation using 4 GCPs

Geo-rectified image

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TopSat

Image Scene

Payload Operations Centre

(POC)

SSTLTT&C Ground

Station

West FreughPGS

RAPIDSPGS

TopSat User

TC + TM Image DataPa

yloa

d Te

lem

etry

Payl

oad

Com

man

d Fi

les

InfoterraImage RequestImage Delivery

Image Data

System Implementation - Concept of Operations

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Fixed ground station in West Freugh, Scotland

• 13m dish used for daily downlinks of 4 images from TopSat

• Allows global imaging using on board storage

Mobile ground station - RAPIDS• In-theatre tasking and downlinking

• Data on ground within 2 minutes of imaging

• In-situ image processing• Proven capability in TopSat timeliness

demonstrations

Ground Stations

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Magenta: Command ground station

Blue: West Freugh X & S band downlink

Green: RAPIDS

Rapid end-to-end timeliness demonstration

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Image responsiveness (tasking to imaging)

Image freshness (imaging to delivery)

End-to-end timeliness

RAPIDS mobile ground station

21m 21s 15m 7s 36m 28s

Rapid end-to-end timeliness demonstration• Command, acquisition,

download and processing of imagery within a single spacecraft pass

• Responsive image tasking followed by rapid downlinking to the user

RAPIDS mobile ground station

QinetiQ Payload Operations Centre

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Web access to imagery

Online hosting of full resolution geo-rectified imagery

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Durham Landslide Centre

Landslide, Kashmir 27th September 2006

• Landslide centre study investigating the use of TopSat for rapid, blind assessments of disaster impact

• Press release issued with casualty estimate from Typhoon Bilis

• High potential for TopSat-like constellations in landslide monitoring and relief efforts

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Korea Image

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Korea Image

Analysed image fragment

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Mission status

Venice, Italy. 14th March 2007

• In orbit and operational for ~18 months

• No sign of system degradation

• Imagery has been provided to MoD, BNSC, the academic community and commercial customers

• The TopSat Consortium has completed a successful technical development programme

• Operations underway on a commercial basis

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• The challenges associated with developing an extremely compact, high performance camera can be overcome

• Launching a sensitive, high-performance optical payload on a micro-satellite platform is possible

• Low cost ground segment facilities can enable extremely fast data turnaround

• A disparate consortium can be made to work cost effectively without large administrative overheads, as long as significant face-to-face contact is maintained

Lessons Learned

Tabarjal, Saudi Arabia. 20th January 2007

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Future

ESTEC, Netherlands. 8th April 2007

• Independence / assured access (vs. increased reliance on commercial imagery)

• Higher resolution (~1m) using existing system design

• Daily repeat cycle with 3-4 satellite constellation (single launch)

• All weather/ day night capability with optical/SAR mix

• Timely imagery from responsive space systems

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