Small Satellite Bus Technologies

This project will result in the design, development, and demonstration of a spacecraft system simulator that provides the foundation for a responsive small satellite mission. There are five elements to a truly responsive small spacecraft mission: Small spacecraft technologies; Integration & test; On-orbit commissioning; Mission operations and the launch vehicle. If any one fails to be responsive, the entire mission fails to be responsive. SpaceDev's responsive small satellite system provides the capability of literally taking an "off-the-shelf" high-performance three-axis control bus, integrating a sensor payload (or other space instrument), testing and launching it with predefined interfaces, and commissioning it on-orbit - all in a rapid manner. Development and engineering times are greatly reduced by the use of COTS and a standard system configuration and approach that is executed repetitively. The required work leading up to a demonstration of the simulator includes defining a high-performance and modular small spacecraft bus, establishing a payload interface, developing a master plan for rapid integration and test, defining a means of distributed operations via Internet Protocol (IP), and deriving command scripts for autonomous on-orbit commissioning.