NASA CubeSat/Nanosatellite Missions and Guides
NASA provides an a great amount of helpful resources through their CubeSat Launch Initiative, and there are few of those resources curated below including several reference guides, and a complete listing of past and future CubeSat missions.
- NASA: Past CubeSat Missions (ELaNa)Includes a listing of previous CubeSat missions dating back to 2011 with factsheets for each mission.
- CubeSat Launch Initiative ResourcesIncludes links for "Mission Success Handbook for Cubesat Missions," licensing information across government agencies, design specifications, systems engineering handbooks, and more.
- CubeSat101 Basic Concepts and Processes for First-Time CubeSat DevelopersA 2017 NASA publication providing a broad overview of development and design, past and missions, discussion of payloads and possible future applications.
- Mission Success Handbook for CubeSat MissionsThis handbook is published by the Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC) to provide uniform engineering and technical requirements for processes, procedures, practices, and methods that have been endorsed as standard for NASA programs and projects, including requirements for
selection, application, and design criteria of an item.
Aerospace Research Databases
- Knovel This link opens in a new window
Provides many of the leading science and engineering reference handbooks, publications, and conference proceedings.
- ARC Aerospace Research Central This link opens in a new window
Publications from AIAA, which supports aerospace technology, engineering, and science. The database indexes meeting papers, journal articles, books, and standards from 1930 to the present. Also includes technical reports from AIAA meetings, which usually appear online two to six weeks after the conference.
- Engineering Village This link opens in a new window
Information discovery platform for the engineering community that allows users to search a single or multiple databases simultaneously and with data deduplication. Databases included: Compendex; GEOBASE; Inspec; Knovel; and NTIS.
- SAE MOBILUS This link opens in a new window
SAE MOBILUS contains documents on mobility topics, including SAE Ground Vehicle Standards (J-Reports), SAE Aerospace Materials Specifications, SAE Aerospace Standards and SAE Technical Papers.
Material Properties Databases
- Outgassing Data for Selecting Spacecraft MaterialsFollow the link for the March 2017 update. Contains outgassing properties for materials in a searchable/downloadable spreadsheet.
- SpringerMaterials This link opens in a new window
Includes physical and chemical data in material science along with references to literature citations.
- DataVis Material PropertiesDataVis is an interactive data visualisation tool that transforms the way students learn about material properties.
- Knovel Material or Property SearchKnovel’s data search allows users to find specific types of properties data for materials and substances, while on-the-fly unit conversion makes it easy to search in your preferred units.
Relevant Handbooks and Technical Reports
- CubeSat and Nanosatellite Technical ReportsSearch results from National Technical Information Service (NTIS) utilizing Engineering Village. The search included terms "cubesat" and "nanosatellite" to generate a comprehensive listing of technical publications in this field.
CubeSat Handbook by ISBN: 9780128178843Publication Date: 2020-09-22CubeSat Handbook: From Mission Design to Operations is the first book solely devoted to the design, manufacturing, and in-orbit operations of CubeSats. Beginning with an historical overview from CubeSat co-inventors Robert Twiggs and Jordi Puig-Suari, the book is divided into 6 parts with contributions from international experts in the area of small satellites and CubeSats. It covers topics such as standard interfaces, on-board & ground software, industry standards in terms of control algorithms and sub-systems, systems engineering, standards for AITV (assembly, integration, testing and validation) activities, and launch regulations. This comprehensive resource provides all the information needed for engineers and developers in industry and academia to successfully design and launch a CubeSat mission.
CubeSat Antenna Design by
Presents an overview of CubeSat antennas designed at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) CubeSats--nanosatellites built to standard dimensions of 10cm x 10 cm x cm--are making space-based Earth science observation and interplanetary space science affordable, accessible, and rapidly deployable for institutions such as universities and smaller space agencies around the world. CubeSat Antenna Design is an up-to-date overview of CubeSat antennas designed at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL), covering the systems engineering knowledge required to design these antennas from a radio frequency and mechanical perspective. This authoritative volume features contributions by leading experts in the field, providing insights on mission-critical design requirements for state-of-the-art CubeSat antennas and discussing their development, capabilities, and applications. The text begins with a brief introduction to CubeSats, followed by a detailed survey of low-gain, medium-gain, and high-gain antennas. Subsequent chapters cover topics including the telecommunication subsystem of Mars Cube One (MarCO), the enabling technology of Radar in a CubeSat (RainCube), the development of a one-meter mesh reflector for telecommunication at X- and Ka-band for deep space missions, and the design of multiple metasurface antennas. Written to help antenna engineers to enable new CubeSate NASA missions, this volume: Describes the selection of high-gain CubeSat antennas to address specific mission requirements and constraints for instruments or telecommunication Helps readers learn how to develop antennas for future CubeSat missions Provides key information on the effect of space environment on antennas to inform design steps Covers patch and patch array antennas, deployable reflectarray antennas, deployable mesh reflector, inflatable antennas, and metasurface antennas CubeSat Antenna Design is an important resource for antenna/microwave engineers, aerospace systems engineers, and advanced graduate and postdoctoral students wanting to learn how to design and fabricate their own antennas to address clear mission requirements.
ISBN: 9781119692706Publication Date: 2020-12-15
Achieving Science with Cubesats by
Space-based observations have transformed our understanding of Earth, its environment, the solar system and the universe at large. During past decades, driven by increasingly advanced science questions, space observatories have become more sophisticated and more complex, with costs often growing to billions of dollars. Although these kinds of ever-more-sophisticated missions will continue into the future, small satellites, ranging in mass between 500 kg to 0.1 kg, are gaining momentum as an additional means to address targeted science questions in a rapid, and possibly more affordable, manner. Within the category of small satellites, CubeSats have emerged as a space-platform defined in terms of (10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm)- sized cubic units of approximately 1.3 kg each called oeU (TM)s. Historically, CubeSats were developed as training projects to expose students to the challenges of real-world engineering practices and system design. Yet, their use has rapidly spread within academia, industry, and government agencies both nationally and internationally. In particular, CubeSats have caught the attention of parts of the U.S. space science community, which sees this platform, despite its inherent constraints, as a way to affordably access space and perform unique measurements of scientific value. The first science results from such CubeSats have only recently become available; however, questions remain regarding the scientific potential and technological promise of CubeSats in the future. Achieving Science with CubeSats reviews the current state of the scientific potential and technological promise of CubeSats. This report focuses on the platform (TM)s promise to obtain high- priority science data, as defined in recent decadal surveys in astronomy and astrophysics, Earth science and applications from space, planetary science, and solar and space physics (heliophysics); the science priorities identified in the 2014 NASA Science Plan; and the potential for CubeSats to advance biology and microgravity research. It provides a list of sample science goals for CubeSats, many of which address targeted science, often in coordination with other spacecraft, or use oesacrificial, or high-risk, orbits that lead to the demise of the satellite after critical data have been collected. Other goals relate to the use of CubeSats as constellations or swarms deploying tens to hundreds of CubeSats that function as one distributed array of measurements.
ISBN: 9780309442633Publication Date: 2016-11-06
Orbital Mechanics by
This book covers every basic aspect of orbital mechanics, from celestial relationships to the problems of space debris. The book is clearly written in language familiar to aerospace professionals and graduate students, with all of the equations, diagrams, and graphs you would like to have close at hand. The 3rd edition includes more recent developments in space exploration (e.g. Galileo, Cassini, Mars Odyssey missions). Also, the chapter on space debris was rewritten to reflect new developments in that area.
ISBN: 9781601192080Publication Date: 2002-01-01
Orbital Mechanics and Astrodynamics by
This textbook covers fundamental and advanced topics in orbital mechanics and astrodynamics to expose the student to the basic dynamics of space flight. The engineers and graduate students who read this class-tested text will be able to apply their knowledge to mission design and navigation of space missions. Through highlighting basic, analytic and computer-based methods for designing interplanetary and orbital trajectories, this text provides excellent insight into astronautical techniques and tools. This book is ideal for graduate students in Astronautical or Aerospace Engineering and related fields of study, researchers in space industrial and governmental research and development facilities, as well as researchers in astronautics. This book also: · Illustrates all key concepts with examples · Includes exercises for each chapter · Explains concepts and engineering tools a student or experienced engineer can apply to mission design and navigation of space missions · Covers fundamental principles to expose the student to the basic dynamics of space flight
ISBN: 9783319094441Publication Date: 2015-01-06
