Low-cost, chip-sized satellites gravitate around the Earth

Ten years ago, while he was still a Ph.D. student at Cornell University, Zac Manchester envisioned building scale-scale satellites that could work together to study Earth or explore the world. # 39; space. On June 3, when NASA Ames Research Center announced the successful deployment of the largest swarm of ChipSats in history, Manchester, now an assistant professor at Stanford, is already considering the future of this technology.

"It's like the computer revolution in space," said Manchester, who joined the faculty of aeronautics and astronautics last year. "We have shown that it is possible for tiny, inexpensive satellite swarms to one day accomplish tasks now entrusted to larger and more expensive satellites, making it affordable for almost anyone who puts instruments or experiments in orbit. "

The Manchester team deployed 105 ChipSats in low Earth orbit on 18 March and, the next day, detected the signals it was sending, demonstrating its ability to communicate in groups, a prerequisite for swarming. Since then, researchers have been working with NASA to complete the first phase of the mission data analysis.

Small and cheap

Each ChipSat is a circuit board slightly larger than a postage stamp. Built for less than $ 100 each, each ChipSat processor uses solar cells to power its essential systems: the radio, the microcontroller and the sensors that allow each device to locate and communicate with its peers. In the future, ChipSats could contain electronic components tailored to specific missions, Manchester said. For example, they could be used to study weather patterns, animal migrations or other terrestrial phenomena. Space applications may include mapping of surface features or the internal composition of asteroids or moons gravitating around another planet.

"The launch represents the largest cost of space exploration and we are trying to create the smallest and lightest satellite platform capable of carrying out useful tasks," Manchester said.

The ChipSats were prototypes designed for the sole purpose of orbiting the Earth for a few days before being consumed by entering the atmosphere. But the data from this experiment – the largest simultaneous deployment of the smallest active satellites ever built – has confirmed Manchester's goal of taking a new step in the miniaturization of satellite technology.

Since the launch of Sputnik in 1957, nations – and more recent ones – have rushed to put satellites into orbit for military and civilian purposes. However, at $ 10,000 to put a payload book into space, launch costs have always been a huge barrier to entry. However, in 1999, researchers at Stanford and California Polytechnic State University defined and popularized the CubeSat: a lightweight 4 cubic inch container that can hold a small-scale scientific mission. CubeSats fits perfectly with NASA's goal of developing smaller, less expensive missions in order to give more researchers the opportunity to overcome the cost barrier and send experiments into the world. # 39; space.

Path to success

In 2009, while studying with Professor Cornell Mason Peck, Manchester envisioned transforming the electronic essence of a satellite into something even cheaper and easier to build than a CubeSat. In 2011, he funded his project by publishing it on Kickstarter.com, enabling him to quickly raise approximately $ 75,000 from 315 contributors. What he initially called the KickSat project was born. "I want it to be easy and affordable for anyone to explore the space," said Manchester at the time.

Since then, he has pursued this vision through research stays at Harvard and NASA Ames before coming to Stanford. He had disappointments. In 2014, the first KickSat project in Manchester was launched in the space carrying 100 ChipSats, but an error pushed the experimental satellites to enter the atmosphere and burn before being deployed.

Intrepid Manchester and his associates in Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and NASA Ames redesigned the ChipSats for the recent mission. They packed 105 ChipSats into the CubeSat spacecraft called KickSat-2, which was launched on the International Space Station on 17 November. For months, Manchester waited for NASA's green light to deploy the ChipSats inside Kick-Sat-2 in low Earth orbit.

This moment has finally arrived, when deployment orders were transmitted from the 60-foot satellite dish located behind the Stanford campus. Another anxious day has passed before Manchester learns that the sensitive satellite dish had detected the weak signals emitted by the ChipSats, which meant that they were operational. Manchester collaborated with collaborators around the world to track ChipSats' data as it transmits data until it returns to the atmosphere and ignites on March 21st.

Building on this success, Manchester has stated that it will continue to work for the near future in which students, amateurs and scientific citizens from around the world will be able to create and launch their own tiny satellite missions as easily as they can. would do it now with a drone.