Design, Implementation, and Operation of a Small Satellite Mission to Explore the Space Weather Effects in LEO

Isai Fajardo,Tsvetan Dachev,Rafael Rodríguez,Naofumi Yamagata,Ryo Kawauchi,Ken Hatanaka,Tuguldur Ulambayar,Roger Dudziak,Misuzu Matsuoka,Doug Holland,Kiruki Cosmas,Sean Tuttle,Mohamed Keshk,Dmytro Faizullin,Naoya Urakami,Farhan Abdullah,Masayuki Miyazaki,Juan J Rojas ,Rigoberto E M Morales ,Jesús González-Llorente ,Sidi Ahmed Bendoukha ,Aleksander A Lidtke ,Premkumar B Saganti ,Kei Ichi Okuyama

doi:10.3390/aerospace6100108

Abstract

Ten-Koh is a 23.5 kg, low-cost satellite developed to conduct space environment effects research in low-Earth orbit (LEO). Ten-Koh was developed primarily by students of the Kyushu Institute of Technology (Kyutech) and launched on 29 October 2018 on-board HII-A rocket F40, as a piggyback payload of JAXA’s Greenhouse gas Observing Satellite (GOSAT-2). The satellite carries a double Langmuir probe, CMOS-based particle detectors and a Liulin spectrometer as main payloads. This paper reviews the design of the mission, specifies the exact hardware used, and outlines the implementation and operation phases of the project. This work is intended as a reference that other aspiring satellite developers may use to increase their chances of success. Such a reference is expected to be particularly useful to other university teams, which will likely face the same challenges as the Ten-Koh team at Kyutech. Various on-orbit failures of the satellite are also discussed here in order to help avoid them in future small spacecraft. Applicability of small satellites to conduct space-weather research is also illustrated on the Ten-Koh example, which carried out simultaneous measurements with JAXA’s ARASE satellite.

Highlights

Space radiation affects satellites by introducing anomalies such as single event effects (SEE), component degradation due to ionizing radiation dose, and surface and internal charging.Understanding the radiation environment is, important in order to design satellites that can withstand the possible anomalies
This paper focuses on the space radiation and its direct effects on electronics, not material degradation
For the material mission (MM), double Langmuir probe (DLP) and magnetometer, the testing and calibration were carried out using the facilities of Kyushu Institute of Technology in Japan

Summary

Introduction

Space radiation affects satellites by introducing anomalies such as single event effects (SEE), component degradation due to ionizing radiation dose, and surface and internal charging.Understanding the radiation environment is, important in order to design satellites that can withstand the possible anomalies. Space radiation affects satellites by introducing anomalies such as single event effects (SEE), component degradation due to ionizing radiation dose, and surface and internal charging. The low-Earth orbit (LEO) region where most satellites reside is subject to unknown mechanisms that provide it with unpredictable energy variability in the spectra of particles [1,2,3]. This variability is poorly understood for electrons, which can appear with energies higher than expected. The spacecraft design should account for the effects of ionizing radiation, as well as charging and discharging effects on satellite surfaces. Mission duration [4,5] and the associated life support systems need to be tuned to account for this unpredictability of particle populations

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Conclusion