Conference proceeding
The GTOSat CubeSat: Scientific Objectives and Instrumentation
MICRO- AND NANOTECHNOLOGY SENSORS, SYSTEMS, AND APPLICATIONS XII, Vol.11389, pp.113892E-113892E-10
Proceedings of SPIE
01/01/2020
DOI: 10.1117/12.2556268
Abstract
GTOSat is a 6U CubeSat mission that will pave the way for highly reliable, capable CubeSat constellations and missions beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). GTOSat will study Earth's dynamic radiation belts, acting as a follow-on to NASA's Van Allen Probe mission and demonstrating the potential utility of SmallSats for both science and space weather monitoring. While a number of previous CubeSats have studied the radiation belts from LEO, GTOSat will launch into a low inclination geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO) to directly sample the core trapped particle population. From this orbit, it will measure energy spectra and pitch angles of similar to hundreds keV - few MeV electrons and ions, with the primary science goal of advancing our quantitative understanding of particle acceleration and loss in the outer radiation belt. High-heritage instrumentation includes the Relativistic Electron Magnetic Spectrometer (REMS), measuring energetic electrons and ions, and a boom-mounted fluxgate magnetometer (MAG) to provide 3-axis knowledge of the local ambient magnetic field. The GTOSat bus consists of a 6U spin-stabilized structure with a Sun-pointing spin axis. Mitigation of radiation effects is accomplished through a multi-pronged systems approach including parts selection and shielding to reduce the total dose for 1 year on orbit to less than similar to 30 krad. Communication is achieved via an S-band transceiver, enabling high data throughput through the Near-Earth Network (NEN) and low-latency radiation belt monitoring via the Tracking and Data Relay Satellite System (TDRSS).
Details
- Title: Subtitle
- The GTOSat CubeSat: Scientific Objectives and Instrumentation
- Creators
- L. W. Blum - Goddard Space Flight CenterL. Kepko - Goddard Space Flight CenterD. Turner - Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics LaboratoryC. Gabrielse - The Aerospace CorporationA. Jaynes - University of IowaS. Kanekal - Goddard Space Flight CenterQ. Schiller - Space Science InstituteJ. Espley - Goddard Space Flight CenterD. Sheppard - Goddard Space Flight CenterL. Santos - Goddard Space Flight CenterJ. Lucas - Goddard Space Flight CenterS. West - Goddard Space Flight Center
- Contributors
- T George (Editor)M S Islam (Editor)
- Resource Type
- Conference proceeding
- Publication Details
- MICRO- AND NANOTECHNOLOGY SENSORS, SYSTEMS, AND APPLICATIONS XII, Vol.11389, pp.113892E-113892E-10
- Publisher
- Spie-Int Soc Optical Engineering
- Series
- Proceedings of SPIE
- DOI
- 10.1117/12.2556268
- ISSN
- 0277-786X
- eISSN
- 1996-756X
- Number of pages
- 10
- Language
- English
- Date published
- 01/01/2020
- Academic Unit
- Physics and Astronomy; University College Courses
- Record Identifier
- 9984428840802771
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