Jet Propulsion Laboratory Small Satellite Dynamics Testbed Simulation: On-Orbit Performance Model Validation

Abstract

As small satellites and CubeSats demonstrate their value as science-capable platforms, the community is pushing to improve reliability while expanding performance capabilities. The attitude control system, in particular, is closely tied to many critical spacecraft maneuvers and often drives science performance. Because of the central role attitude control plays, simulation and test capabilities are becoming increasingly important tools. Many air-bearing-based testbeds have been developed to provide hardware testing opportunities. However, relatively few of these small-satellite-focused testbeds address the simulation capabilities necessary to extend results obtained from the reduced-degree-of-freedom hardware environment to a reasonable prediction for a system’s in-flight performance. This paper describes the simulation developed in NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory’s Small Satellite Dynamics Testbed, which supports component-to-satellite level models and enables the simulation of dynamics in constrained air-bearing testbed and flight space environments. The paper addresses the simulator architecture, key software elements, the coordinate frames used by the tool, and the use of the simulator for predicting both ground and flight data. The paper then describes how the tool was validated against ground data collected on the testbed’s air bearings at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory and flight data from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s MicroMAS satellite.