Optical sensing of atmospheric emissions with Cubesats and Nanosats

Gary Swenson; Purvesh Thakker; Farzad Kamalabadi; Mathew Frank; Victoria Coverstone; Hank Voss

doi:10.1117/12.722662

3 May 2007 Optical sensing of atmospheric emissions with Cubesats and Nanosats

Gary Swenson, Purvesh Thakker, Farzad Kamalabadi, Mathew Frank, Victoria Coverstone, Hank Voss

Proceedings Volume 6555, Sensors and Systems for Space Applications; 655506 (2007) https://doi.org/10.1117/12.722662
Event: Defense and Security Symposium, 2007, Orlando, Florida, United States

Abstract

Small satellites and payloads in the (1-2 kg) class called Cubesats and (20-30 kg) called Nanosats have been under development at the University of Illinois since fall, 2001. The ION1 Cubesat was a 10x10x21.5 cm³ satellite with the experiment consisting of photometric remote sensing of mesospheric structures (near 94 km) in the O₂ (0,0) band airglow at 762 nm. ION1 development began in 2001 and was lost on the failed launch attempt, July 26, 2006. ION2 development began in Fall 2005, and has a remote sensing experiment to measure Hα (656.3 nm) originating in the Earth's geocorona from which column H densities can be deduced. Taylor University has led the development of a Nanosat called TEST, which was designed to study ionospheric structures. Illinois provided remote sensing payloads including a CCD camera and dual photometers. The development activity is largely implemented by a College of Engineering Interdisciplinary Design class (ENG 491), where students typically participate in the systems engineering experience for two semesters. The students (15-20 average enrollment) are responsible for the design, fabrication, and testing of the systems. This paper describes the development of these Cubesat and Nanosat systems.

Citation Download Citation

Gary Swenson, Purvesh Thakker, Farzad Kamalabadi, Mathew Frank, Victoria Coverstone, and Hank Voss "Optical sensing of atmospheric emissions with Cubesats and Nanosats", Proc. SPIE 6555, Sensors and Systems for Space Applications, 655506 (3 May 2007); https://doi.org/10.1117/12.722662

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