A Redundant Deployment Controller and Experiment Computer System for Small Satellite Experiments

The prominence of launch costs in space flight experiments has fueled the development of small satellites with payloads of increasing complexity. As the deployed size of payloads grows without increasing stowed volume, the complexity of the mechanical deployment schemes increase correspondingly. Traditionally, control of deployment is the responsibility, not of the payload developer, but of the small-sat spacecraft integrator who has responsibility for the electronics and software used to implement the deployment. With increasingly complex deployable payloads this division of labor becomes increasingly problematic, and prompts the need for a general purpose deployment controller that can be programmed and used by the payload developer. The Phase II program extends the development of our deployment controller from the feasibility study of Phase I to a prototype experiment computer and deployment control system applicable to the Deployed Structures Experiment (DSX). The program consists of three main efforts:  Definition of system-level interfaces and requirements for the DSX satellite.  Development of a prototype deployment control remote unit applicable to the DSX PowerSail array.  Development of a prototype Experiment Computer System (ECS), which serves as the sequencer for deployment control as well as handling command, control and data acquisition functions for DSX.