KONSTANTINOS KANAVOURAS, CITLALI BRUCE ROSETE
UNIVERSITY OF LUXEMBOURGH.
Konstantinos Kanavouras
Konstantinos Kanavouras studied Electrical and Computer Engineering in the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece. During his studies, he worked on the AcubeSAT nanosatellite as a software, avionics and systems engineer, under ESA's Fly Your Satellite! programme. In 2022, he joined the Space Systems research group (SpaSys) at the University of Luxembourg as a PhD student under Prof. Andreas Hein. His research focuses on Systems Engineering approaches for pico, femto and atto-satellites, but he also spends time developing innovative miniaturised spacecraft, such as ChipSats and PocketQubes.
Citlali Bruce Rosete
Citlali Bruce Rosete studied Mechatronics Engineering in the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Mexico, and received her MSc in Aerospace Engineering from KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden. During her studies, she worked as a functional testing engineer on MIST (Miniature Student Satellite) at KTH, a 3U CubeSat project. She is currently a PhD student at the University of Luxembourg, where she joined the Space Systems Engineering research group, SpaSys, headed by Prof. Andreas Hein. Her research interests are miniaturised space systems and space technology development.
Presentation Synopsis:
“POCKETQUBES AND SMALLER: ONGOING DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES AT UNIVERSITY OF LUXEMBOURG”
In recent years, CubeSats and PocketQubes have democratised access to space, allowing new space actors to reach orbit in only a few years, and enabling advanced concepts such as constellations and edge computing. However, even PocketQube-scale spacecraft present significant challenges for first-time developers (~3 years development), and are still accompanied by non-negligible costs for manufacturing and launch (order of €104). In this presentation, we explore how smaller femto- and attosatellites can be used as an entry point towards PocketQube missions, even further lowering the entry barrier for a first end-to-end space mission.
In this context, the Interdisciplinary Center of Security, Reliability and Trust (SnT) at the University of Luxembourg is currently developing a ChipSat-class mission. This 5.0×5.0×0.2cm payload, called “ChipSat-1”, consists of a single circuit board populated with off-the-shelf components. The mission will serve as a platform demonstrator for a fractionated satellite system using Visible Light Communication, providing telemetry through a simple radio beacon. It has been developed in about one year, following a process inspired by agile methodologies, and will be delivered in early 2023. “ChipSat-1” is the first in a series of missions that will be developed at SnT, serving as knowledge and developmental basis for future PocketQube and smaller satellite missions. A wide range of fields is being considered for these forthcoming concepts since each satellite with a distinct size and mass allows a different scope of capabilities. At the same time, the multidisciplinary environment at SnT will facilitate the development of missions like distributed systems, biological experiments and quantum computing. Exploration of differently shaped and sized satellites, like tubular, diamond-shaped and stick-shaped, is also being foreseen.
Konstantinos Kanavouras, University of Luxembourg, konstantinos.kanavouras@uni.lu (Presenter/Point of Contact)
Citlali Bruce Rosete, University of Luxembourg, citlali.bruce@uni.lu
Prof. Andreas Makoto Hein, University of Luxembourg, andreas.hein@uni.lu