Physics
Scientific paper
Dec 2011
adsabs.harvard.edu/cgi-bin/nph-data_query?bibcode=2011agufmsa31a1960f&link_type=abstract
American Geophysical Union, Fall Meeting 2011, abstract #SA31A-1960
Physics
[7938] Space Weather / Impacts On Humans, [7999] Space Weather / General Or Miscellaneous
Scientific paper
The Ionosphere-Thermosphere-Mesosphere (ITM) region (80 to 250 km) is the boundary between the sensible atmosphere of the Earth and space. This region receives energy and momentum contributions from the sun in the form of solar ultra-violet light and electromagnetic energy coupled via the earth's magnetosphere. The ITM region also receives energy and momentum from the lower atmosphere via waves that break and terminate turbulently in this beach-like region. The various processes, acting both as system drivers and feedback elements in the ITM region, are still poorly understood and the weather of the ITM region cannot be predicted. It is also the area where satellite drag ensures a quick end to satellite lifetimes and it has thus become known as the "inaccessible region." As the terrestrial populations wrestle with the question of "change" (global, climate, etc), our need to continue making long-term measurements is crucial, but is hampered by cost and launch opportunities for even smaller dedicated satellites. The ITM region itself has been identified as a region where almost un-measurable atmospheric changes have very measurable consequences. The International Space Station (ISS), orbiting just above this "inaccessible region", is an ideal platform from which CubeSats can be launched to study the region below. It could become a permanent launch platform for regular or responsive deployment of the small satellite fleet. For example, a group of satellites could be launched in response to a storm or an important lower atmospheric event that has been identified as occurring. Such satellites would last approximately one year before re-entering the upper atmosphere. It is an ideal location from which to routinely launch probes into the inaccessible region below to maintain a long term climate observational capability. The advantage of the ISS is that deployments of these small satellites is not contingent on finding a suitable ground based launch opportunity, whose scheduling could never be triggered by a storm type scenario. The relatively high the ISS orbit inclination also provides complete mid-latitude and equatorial coverage; during storms, the regions of interest are exactly these. We propose that 100 to 200 CubeSats could be stationed on the ISS as an Exposed Facility on the Japanese Experiment Module. Many of these spacecraft would be identical copies for space weather purposes but several different types of CubeSats could be accommodated. Small constellations would be deployed from the ISS over time by ground command. The CubeSat dispenser would eject spacecraft in the down and aft direction consistent with the ISS jettison policy to insure safety for the ISS. The dispenser would also provide the ability to communicate and recharge the hosted CubeSats through the ISS systems to maintain the CubeSats over an extended stay at the ISS. This ability would require modifications to the existing CubeSat standard. Within this paper we describe the conceptual design of such a CubeSat deplorer system for the ISS and the systems level study conducted at Utah State University - Space Dynamics Laboratory for the National Science Foundation on these concepts.
Fish C. S.
Sojka Jan J.
Swenson Craig
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