Episode Summary 

This week’s episode features a conversation with Deanna Farago on how Planet Labs manages efficient commissioning and nominal operations for its constellation of over 200 satellites. Planet Labs was founded in 2010 with a goal to collect high resolution imagery of the entire earth every day. Today, Planet’s dataset includes, on average, 1700 images of every place on Earth. This has provided researchers, business, and governments with significant insight into our Earth.  

In this episode we dive into how Planet Labs balances commissioning new satellites while continuing to operate existing ones, the tools and automated features enable their constellation to run seamlessly, what aspects of constellation management are not as well known as they should be, and finally what we can learn from reflecting on a decade of operations. 

Deanna Farago is the Director of Mission Operations at Planet. Her team is responsible for commissioning and operating the largest Earth-observation constellation of satellites in the world. With an expertise in operations-at-scale, Deanna has written papers and presented at conferences such as Small Satellite, Grace Hopper, and the SpaceOps Conference. Prior to coming to Planet in 2014, Deanna worked as a Simulation Engineer at NASA Ames Research Center performing human-in-the-loop experiments in the Vertical Motion Simulator (VMS). She also worked as the Mission Assurance Manager on the ASTRA project at NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory which helped to advance Mars surface instruments using a high-altitude balloon test environment. 

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode intro

2:39 - Deanna's background 

14:00 - Pelican 1 Tech Demo status

19:20 - Commissioning process for Dove fleets

25:28 - Queueing satellite commissioning

28:32 - Megahealth app - contacting satellites post deployment 

32:48 - Aside on TLEs and operational experience

39:44 - Looking back on growth over the years

45:50 - Things to consider about operating constellations

50:28 - Episode Outro & other applications 

Links 

• Planet Labs website: https://www.planet.com/ 

• Commissioning the World’s Largest Satellite Constellation (SmallSat 2017):  https://s3vi.ndc.nasa.gov/ssri-kb/static/resources/Commissioning%20the%20World_s%20Largest%20Satellite%20Constellation.pdf 
• Automated fleet commissioning workflows at Planet (SmallSat 2021): https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=5088&context=smallsat 
• Autonomous Monitoring of a Diverse Ground Station Network (SmallSat 21) https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4983&context=smallsat

Episode Summary

NASA’s Atmospheric Observing System (AOS) is a constellation of 4 smallsats which will help characterize aerosol, cloud, convection, and precipitation processes to give insight into extreme weather events as well as climate change. The spacecraft have been designed to compliment each other with their orbits as well as their instrument suite (which includes radar, lidar, limb sensors, polarimeters, and radiometers). AOS was designed to influence the next decade of scientific research in aerosols and cloud processes and enable us to improve our understanding of our Earth. The project is led by NASA Goddard and supported by international partnerships with Japan, Canada, and France, who are developing spacecraft and instruments alike to support this mission.

This episode explores the complex study that was undertaken to develop a mission architecture for AOS which could maximize the science return. Over 100 different architectures were developed during the study before the architecture was chosen for AOS. Specifically, we discuss the approach to designing and analyzing different combinations of instruments and spacecraft platforms, and what strategies were used to quantify the impact that each architecture could have on the science objectives. We will also cover How the study trades developed over time, and the challenges associated with an analysis of this scope.

Dr. Scott Braun is the Project Scientist for the AOS mission and has been with the program since the study began back in 2018. Dr. Braun is a research meteorologist at NASA Goddard, specializing in hurricanes, and specifically how these form and intensify, including their interaction with the Saharan Air Layer. He has also served as the Principal investigator for NASA’s Hurricane and Severe Storm Sentinel (HS3) mission, and the Project Scientist for TROPICS, the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM), GOES-R, Global Precipitation Measurement mission. Dr. Braun has received numerous awards including Fellow of the American Meteorological Society, the Goddard Earth Science Achievement Award, the NASA Exceptional Scientific Achievement Medal, and several other group achievement awards.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode Intro

4:36 - Dr. Braun's background

10:56 - Building the AOS architecture study team

13:48 - Approaching the AOS architecture study per the mission objectives

23:31 - Trading performance vs size

26:48 - Quantifying the scientific value

39:36 - Process for narrowing down options

51:32 - Feedback during the study

56:44 - Evaluating new approaches vs continuity with existing missions, challenges associated

1:03:36 - International partnerships

1:05:02 - One thing that could be done differently

1:07:30 - Favorite problem

1:09:06 - Episode Outro

Links

• AOS Project website: https://aos.gsfc.nasa.gov/
• Paper on the AOS architecture study: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/stamp/stamp.jsp?tp=&arnumber=9843507

This episode features an interview with Dr. Laura Jones-Wilson on the development of a science traceability and alignment framework (STAF) for NASA’s Europa Clipper mission, which will launch in late 2024.

It covers how the science objectives of the Europa Clipper were organized through the STAF and used to derive the top level requirements for its nine different science instruments. This helped establish a core set of definitions and links between ideas and served as a significant way to frame conversations between engineers and scientists.

This conversation discusses how aspects of the spacecraft design were influenced by the instrument suite, and how requirements and constraints were realized. We discuss how what motivated creating a science traceability and alignment framework, how it was developed over time through inputs from engineers and scientists alike, and how it helped become a useful tool for interfacing with many different organizations

Dr. Laura Jones-Wilson is a Systems Engineer at JPL whose career has spanned work in both dynamics and control systems as well as systems engineering, where she has been since 2012. While working on the Europa Clipper mission, she served as both the Instrument Systems Engineer for the Ultraviolet Spectrograph (UVS) instrument as well as the lead for the payload verification & validation activities. In addition to the Europa Clipper mission, Laura has held roles as the project systems engineer for STABLE (a balloon-borne sub-arcsecond pointing demonstration), the Project Investigator for a Mars Sample Capture technology development effort, and is now supporting the Sample Recovery Helicopter project. She is also co-manager of the SmallSat Dynamics Testbed at JPL which is used for testing SmallSat attitude control hardware.

Papers & Resources:

• Project Science Traceability and Alignment Framework (PSTAF) paper: https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/7943667
• Measurement Science Traceability & Alignment Framework (MSTAF) paper: https://dataverse.jpl.nasa.gov/file.xhtml?fileId=58980&version=1.1
• Project website: https://europa.nasa.gov/

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode overview

5:50 - Laura's background

15:05 - Europa Clipper background

20:18 - REASON (radar instrument) integration challenges

25:00 - Managing operational constraints for different instruments (processes & tools)

28:00 - Operations design & management tools & integration with STAF matrices

32:30 - Brief overview of PSTAF/MSTAF

36:20 - Integrating PSTAF/MSTAF with operational tools

49:30 - how PSTAF helps understand and manage risk related to instrument performance

55:12 - using PSTAF to communicate with science teams

58:50 - motivation for developing PSTAF

1:03:00 - Balancing needs from multiple instrument teams

1:12:48 - Mapping science needs to engineering constraints

1:19:58 - Development process for PSTAF/MSTAF (collecting feedback & philosophy)

1:31:00 - Ties to MBSE

1:35:48 - Differences between Europa Clipper and Cassini/other large NASA-led missions

1:41:44 - How Laura got involved in the Europa Clipper project

1:46:45 - Random question!

1:50:44 - Building on PSTAF

1:52:30 - Wrap-up

1:55:10 Episode outro

Scheduled to launch in 2027, Dragonfly will be the first spacecraft to fly on Saturn’s moon, Titan. Data from Cassini-Huygens revealed evidence of a subsurface ocean, made of water and ammonia, as well as stable bodies of liquid hydrocarbons on the surface. This makes Titan the only other body in our solar system with a stable liquid source on its surface. These features make it an incredibly valuable place to study in humanity’s search for life beyond Earth.

As Dragonfly is also a rotorcraft and must operate autonomously on Titan, there are many interesting engineering challenges that come with this mission as aerodynamics and flight controls are thrown into the mix, along with everything else we must account for in a spacecraft.

In this episode, I chat with Dr. Jack Lagelaan, who is part of a team of engineers from Penn State University leading the design of Dragonfly’s aerodynamics, flight controls, and aeromechanics. Dr. Langelaan is an Assistant Professor at Penn State, whose research focuses on flight planning and control algorithms for autonomous systems.

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode Intro

5:52 - Dr. Langelaan’s background in aerospace

13:59 - How the collaboration with APL on Dragonfly came about

15:55- Penn State’s research on Dragonfly

18:51 - Pre flight checks for autonomous, safe flight on Titan

31:29 - aeromechanical challenges for flight on Titan (handling velocity differences in advancing/retreating side, vibration effects due to high velocity, system design considerations for the rotorcraft due to rotor vibration)

40:28 - interesting aerodynamic interactions / effects during flight on Titan

45:58 - Designing Dragonfly to be aerodynamic (optimization studies, accounting for flight performance and systems engineering)

49:30 - Collaborating on the body design with APL, how the current structure came about

51:56 - Testing plans & simulations to prepare for flight on Titan (testing in environmental conditions & with scale models to validate controls)

57:56 - Favorite memory working on Dragonfly

1:01:34 - Episode Outro

Links for more information on Dragonfly

Dragonfly is led by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab (APL), and collaborated on by engineers, scientists, and managers from a variety of institutions. For more information on the mission, see the links below.

Website: https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/

Mission Overview:

https://dragonfly.jhuapl.edu/News-and-Resources/docs/34_03-Lorenz.pdf

Energetics of rotary-wing exploration of Titan

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/317702187_Energetics_of_rotary-wing_exploration_of_Titan?enrichId=rgreq-920de699441b83dd23712575436c3273-XXX&enrichSource=Y292ZXJQYWdlOzMxNzcwMjE4NztBUzo1NTUxMzk0NTEwNDc5MzhAMTUwOTM2Njk2NzYxMA%3D%3D&el=1_x_3&_esc=publicationCoverPdf

GNC for Exploration of Titan with the Dragonfly Rotorcraft Lander

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322311449_Guidance_Navigation_and_Control_for_Exploration_of_Titan_with_the_Dragonfly_Rotorcraft_Lander

This episode features a roundtable discussion between myself, Adi Khuller, Joe Mayer, and Omar Alavi about life as engineering students and how we balanced working on projects and coursework at ASU. This diverts from my usual content on space mission engineering, but it is a topic I feel is important to focus on, as this is something that many students struggle with on some level. Given that, if you’re a student, I hope you enjoy this conversation and that it helps you or gives you comfort in some way.

Timestamps:

0:00 - Episode Intro

3:18 - How did you get involved in student orgs

21:47 - Nerves joining projects as a freshman and not having taken many courses

35:18 - Importance of classes & GPA vs projects

39:29 - Foresight & prioritization

58:47 - The importance of sleep

1:03:36 - How the PPT project schedule was made around school schedules

1:13:43 - Asking for help & finding resources

1:17:39 - Lessons learned on meeting structures

1:31:39 - Ending comments

1:34:50 - Episode outro

The ONE Thing by Gary Keller:

https://www.amazon.com/ONE-Thing-Surprisingly-Extraordinary-Results/dp/1885167776

This episode includes a conversation with Adi Khuller, Joe Mayer, and Omar Alavi on the design and implementation of Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPTs) and how these can be integrated into CubeSats, specifically. Adi, Omar, and Joe were the core of a group of people who designed and prototyped a state-of-the-art PPT system for CubeSats during their undergrad at ASU. Their PPT was developed entirely by student-driven efforts and limited student organization funding.

In this conversation we’ll talk about how PPTs work, how they’re designed for CubeSats, and the challenges that come with designing and testing a system like this - particularly in a university setting. In addition, we will also go into how the design changed over time, their collaboration with JPL on the project, and glorious war stories from their experience.

AIAA Paper on their PPT Design (2018)

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/326263217_Pulsed_Plasma_Thruster_for_Multi-Axis_CubeSat_Attitude_Control_Applications

Timestamps:

0:00 - Episode Intro

5:35 - Witty banter; Adi, Omar, and Joe introduce themselves

12:42 - What is a PPT and how is it designed?

18:17 - Interfacing with attitude control systems

19:16 - PPT design (mechanisms & general design description)

21:00 - Some prototyping & design challenges

24:08 - Design challenges specific to making a PPT for CubeSats

29:06 - The challenges of testing & working with vacuum chambers as a student org

44:06 - Design requirements & where these came from

51:05 - How the design changed over time

54:40 - Some war stories

59:07 - Securing funding as a student org

1:12:00 - Securing industry partnerships

1:20:11 - Lessons learned from working on PPT

1:28:49 - Favorite memories from PPT

1:40:14 - Episode outro

A mission’s scope, budget, and schedule are all very intertwined, and all are an important part of setting the foundation and feasibility for a project. This makes for a rather complex recipe within space mission development. However, it also means that there is a great deal of knowledge that can be gained from this topic.

Episode 23 features a conversation with Dr. Tobin Anthony (CEO) and Chris Costello (President) of Space Systems Integration, LLC. In it, we explore aspects of mission development to better understand how space systems can be brought together feasibly, and what insights Tobin and Chris have gained in this process throughout their careers.

SSI provides consulting, technical engineering, and management services within the intelligence and defense communities. For more information on their services, visit their website: https://spacint.com/

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode Intro

3:30 - Tobin / Chris’s background in aerospace

9:46 - An overview of SSI & how it started

15:26 - Stories of favorite missions / mission types

19:00 - Evaluating mission feasibility, proposal writing

24:38 - Handling cost & schedule challenges (cost & schedule is a part of quality)

30:06 - Weighing where to cut costs when necessary (within any phase of a mission)

36:34 - Thoughts on Space 2.0

39:38 - Assembling a team to fit the mission & working with people

47:36 - Lessons in managing scope & requirements creep

51:36 - Favorite stories from SSI (proposing a Mars spacecraft, working with great people, & launch facilities)

1:01:00 - Episode Outro

Frequency licensing is one of the most important logistics when it comes to preparing spacecraft for launch. Spacecraft must have this before they are allowed to transmit or receive on a frequency, and therefore, they must be licensed in order to launch.

This episode features a conversation on frequency licensing with Alicia Johnstone, who is the resident expert on licensing at Cal Poly and has helped many CubeSat missions with the licensing process throughout her career. The discussion covers everything that goes into obtaining an Amateur or Experimental frequency license, as well as tips for navigating this process and ensuring a license is granted well before spacecraft delivery. Amateur frequency licensing is especially applicable to university-led CubeSat missions, as these typically operate on amateur frequencies, so if you are working on a CubeSat mission of your own, I hope you find this episode helpful!

Licensing Resources:

A few resources for getting started with frequency licensing:

CubeSat 101 Guidebook: https://www.nasa.gov/content/cubesat-launch-initiative-resources

Licensing Documents & Resources from ASU’s Phoenix CubeSat:

http://phxcubesat.asu.edu/resources/documents

Timestamps

0:00 - Episode Intro

3:40 - Interview Start, meet Alicia Johnstone

11:36 - overview of frequency licenses and the missions they apply to

14:36 - Amateur vs Experimental Licenses: key differences, and which is better for university-led CubeSats?

20:55 - Discussion of the process for getting an Amateur Frequency license (where to start, what documents are useful, who to work with, and when to start)

32:32 - SpaceCap & SpaceVal

36:16 - who to communicate with/forward documents to

37:38 - how long the licensing process takes

40:24 - tips for helping the licensing process move along

45:00 - Handling conflicts with frequency licensing

49:38 - Special licensing cases, from experience

55:45 - how the licensing process is changing with more CubeSats being developed

58:36 - Deorbiting & orbital debris assessment considerations

1:02:36 - Favorite memory from working on licensing

1:06:08 - ITU Cost Recovery forms: what these are and when they’re applicable

1:12:44 - Keeping NASA involved in licensing

1:15:42 - Episode Outro

LunaH-Map is a 6U CubeSat, which will map the location and quantity of hydrogen in permanently shadowed regions of the lunar south pole. In doing so, the spacecraft will help scientists and engineers quantify the amount of water available in this region, which can then be used to help humanity live on the moon, sustainably. Measurements will be collected using a neutron spectrometer, which was developed with the resolution and volume requirements necessary for this mission.

In this episode, I chat with Dr. Craig Hardgrove, the Principal Investigator of LunaH-Map and Assistant Professor at ASU, about how the mission and spacecraft evolved over time, challenges during development, and what’s next for the team now that the spacecraft has been successfully integrated into NASA’s SLS-1 rocket and awaits launch later this fall.

For more information on LunaH-Map, please visit the project website:

https://lunahmap.asu.edu/

Timestamps:

0:00 - Episode Intro

2:55 - Getting a spacecraft through TSA

9:28 - Integration into SLS-1

22:42 - Work following integration into SLS-1 (operations prep / trajectory design)

31:36 - Defining Scope as a secondary payload (of analyses, mission parameters)

38:44 - Defining the LunaH-Map Mission

48:56 - How the payload, a neutron spectrometer, works

57:36 - Payload calibration

1:08:15 - Key lessons learned from LunaH-Map and the importance of CubeSats/SmallSats

1:34:20 - Episode outro

This episode features a conversation with Tyler Browder, who is the CEO and co-founder of Kubos, whose application, Major Tom, provides a cloud-based solution to operating spacecraft from orbit. Utilizing cloud-based platforms helps reduce development and maintenance resources, as well as allows spacecraft to be operated from anywhere. This discussion dives into how Kubos has been designed to help manage the operations phase and explores what it’s like to bring a startup company to life.

For more information on Kubos, please visit their website: https://www.kubos.com/