Abstract
Funded by the NSF CubeSat and NASA ELaNa programs, the Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment (DICE) mission consists of two 1.5U CubeSats which were launched into an eccentric low Earth orbit on October 28, 2011. Each identical spacecraft carries two Langmuir probes to measure ionospheric in-situ plasma densities, electric field probes to measure in-situ DC and AC electric fields, and a science grade magnetometer to measure in-situ DC and AC magnetic fields. Given the tight integration of these multiple sensors with the CubeSat platforms, each of the DICE spacecraft is effectively a “sensor-sat” capable of comprehensive ionospheric diagnostics. The use of two identical sensor-sats at slightly different orbiting velocities in nearly identical orbits permits the de-convolution of spatial and temporal ambiguities in the observations of the ionosphere from a moving platform. In addition to demonstrating nanosat-based constellation science, the DICE mission is advancing a number of groundbreaking CubeSat technologies including miniaturized mechanisms and high-speed downlink communications.
Highlights
The most significant advances in Earth, solar, and space physics over the decades will originate from new, system-level observational techniques
The balance of this paper presents the pioneering Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment (DICE) mission design, development, implementation, and on-orbit performance and reviews the challenges faced in implementing a high-return science mission with limited resources
Electronics are mounted in a vertical stack, and consist of, moving from the bottom of the stack up, (1) radio (L-3 CadetU) and antenna interface components, (2) electrical power system (EPS) that includes the primary battery, solar panel connections, and power system monitoring and conditioning electronics, (3) control and data handling (C&DH) electronics, (4) Z-axis torque coil and secondary battery electronics, (5) attitude control and determination system (ADCS) electronics that include interfaces to a sun sensor, ADCS magnetometer, GPS receiver, and the spacecraft torque coils (Z-axis in stack, X- and Y -axis embedded in solar panel circuit boards), and (6) science instrument electronics that include interfaces to the electric field probes (EFPs), Langmuir probes (LPs), and science magnetometer (SciMag) sensors
Summary
The most significant advances in Earth, solar, and space physics over the decades will originate from new, system-level observational techniques. Future expectations are for multiple copies of DICE-like spacecraft to be inserted into orbit to enable networked measurements of the interactions between the magnetosphere and ionosphere due to varying conditions originating on the sun. This will help provide a comprehensive understanding of the Earth’s global response to changing levels of solar activity. This constellation could contain up to 50–100 DICE CubeSats, all launched and inserted from a single vehicle, and able to acquire and transmit to ground nearly a Terabit of measurement data per day.
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