Mr. Alex McCafferty-Leroux Profile

Alex McCafferty-Leroux

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Proceedings Article | 14 June 2023 Presentation + Paper

An improved nanosatellite attitude control simulator for experimental research

Alex McCafferty-Leroux, Andrew Newton, S. Andrew Gadsden

Proceedings Volume 12546, 1254607 (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2675437

KEYWORDS: Design and modelling, Control systems, Satellites, Mechanical engineering

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This paper details the design, fabrication, and development of an improved Nanosatellite Attitude Control Simulator (NACS). The NACS consists of a mock 1U CubeSat (MockSat), tabletop air-bearing, and automatic balancing system (ABS). The MockSat employs a reaction wheel array to exchange momentum with the rigidlyattached air bearing platform, and an inertial measurement unit to obtain orientation and angular velocity estimates. The ABS tunes the Simulator’s center of gravity to coincide with the air bearing’s center of rotation in an effort to minimize gravitational torques. This paper presents the majority of the mechanical design process, as well as future insights into the ABS control system. The NACS will be used to build numerous data sets for the development and training of new machine learning algorithms, as well as to benchmark, test, and compare different estimation and control strategies.

Proceedings Article | 14 June 2023 Presentation + Paper

Towards a second-generation robotic telescope mount for the air-LUSI instrument

Andrew Newton, Alex McCafferty-Leroux, S. Andrew Gadsden, Kevin Turpie

Proceedings Volume 12546, 125460J (2023) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.2663887

KEYWORDS: Telescopes, Equipment, Actuators, Robotics, Design and modelling, Calibration, Control systems

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Earth observation satellites, such as those responsible for monitoring the effects of climate change, require rigorous calibration protocols to account for on-orbit sensor degradation. An increasingly dependable method to address this issue uses the Moon as a reference light source for in-situ calibration. The airborne lunar spectral irradiance (air-LUSI) mission aims to improve the utility of the Moon as an on-orbit calibration target for remote sensing instruments, by tying the currently accepted lunar model to the SI and establishing lunar irradiance on an absolute scale. To this end, air-LUSI collects SI-traceable measurements of lunar irradiance at visible to nearinfrared wavelengths with unprecedented accuracy. A non-imaging telescope is flown at an altitude of 21 km, aboard NASA’s high-altitude ER-2 aircraft, which places the instrument above 95% of the Earth’s atmosphere for clean, minimally obstructed lunar spectra. To fix the optical axis on the Moon during flight, an autonomous control system is required to compensate for aircraft motion and track the Moon across its celestial transit. In this paper, we present an overview of the robotic subsystem used to track the Moon on more than ten high-altitude flights, and the valuable lessons learned from those campaigns. From this insight, a preliminary design for a second-generation robotic telescope mount is presented. Referred to as the HAAMR, it will supplant the current robotics system on future air-LUSI Operational Flight Campaigns, with the nearest field deployment slated for January 2024. We show how this new system is poised to offer a more reliable, accurate, and responsive platform for the air-LUSI instrument to continue collecting data that will ultimately help to improve our understanding of the Earth’s climate.

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