A Space Plug-and-Play Spectrometer (SPNPS)

This proposal describes the Space Plug-and-Play Spectrometer (SPNPS), a spectrometer built in support of the development of rapid-response CubeSat payloads. The goal is to have payloads which can be made to order in days or even hours, through the use of Space Plug-and-Play Avionics (SPA). The SPNPS instrument augments that goal by providing a spectrometer as plug-and-play as any electronic or mechanical component, a spectrometer which can be snapped into place and interchanged with other equivalent-size spectrometers at various wavelengths nearly as efficiently as changing boards in a computer. The spectrometer chosen for this development is the monolithic Spatial Heterodyne Spectrometer, a Fourier transform interferometer requiring no moving parts, and no alignment beyond its initial laboratory assembly. A stock of monolithic SHS units for various wavelengths will be constructed, able to be pulled off the shelf at a moment''s notice, clamped, and inserted in the prospective CubeSat payload. The SPNPS is proposed for rocket exhaust plume detection, but has myriad potential uses. BENEFIT: Small size and low operating power enable the SPNPS “SpinUps” sensor to fly on any spacecraft from the smallest (CubeSat) to the largest. Because SPNPS is a relatively simple instrument, it could obtain useful data from almost any Low Earth Orbit (LEO) mission, ranging from three-axis stabilized to spinning. This versatility makes it attractive to a number of different agencies with different missions and needs, including the US Air Force (the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program), The US Navy (the Colony-I concept), NASA and NSF. The potential for CubeSat fleets and robust SPNPS units to be included on Solar System survey missions, and Mission to Planet Earth, is immense. And the NSF has recently begun CubeSat programs of its own. The SPNPS would also have use outside CubeSats, for any satellites seeking lightweight, felxible, directly constructed systems. In the private sector, three top-tier markets for SPNPS application are: (1) oil and gas exploration, (2) mineral exploration, and (3) agriculture. These markets have been selected based on relative application maturity, potential market size, and the number of existing users of multi-spectral imaging in these markets likely to expand their capabilities. Potential partners include Headwall photonics, and Telops.