2 AC15 FCC Mission statement

0457-EX-CN-2019 Text Documents

Aerospace Corporation, The

2019-06-10ELS_231830

AeroCube-15 FCC Mission Statement The AeroCube-15 program consists of two nanosatellites that will demonstrate rapid development of a small size, weight and power (SWAP), low cost optical sensor in low earth orbit. The payload consists of a custom-designed telescope combined with a commercially available camera core. The AeroCube-15 satellites have been developed by The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace) for our purpose of conducting experiments in space per our charter as a private, non-profit corporation operating a Federally Funded Research and Development Center in support of the US Air Force (contract number FA8802-19-C-0001). All payload components were developed by Aerospace for our purpose of conducting in-space technology demonstration experiments. The AeroCube-15 satellites each which weigh approximately 3.7 kg and are 34 x 11 x 11 centimeters in dimension. They will be launched on an Antares 230/Cygnus Commercial Resupply Service mission to the International Space Station (ISS) with an estimated launch date of October 2019. The orbit will be circular between 450 km to 500 km altitude with an inclination of 51.6°. Each of the two AeroCube-15 satellites has star trackers and other attitude control verification imagers. The primary purpose of the cameras is for attitude control determination and verification. The waiver we have received from NOAA specifies that we are not required to obtain a NOAA license nor even to notify NOAA regarding the use of cameras on satellites flown in our capacity as a private, non-profit FFRDC, which applies in this case. At the higher end of the orbit altitude range (500 km), DAS 2.0.2 predicts an orbital lifetime of less than 3 years (area-to-mass ratio of ~0.034 m2/kg) and a spacecraft probability of collision with space objects larger than 15 cm in diameter during the orbital lifetime of the spacecraft of less than 0.000000, which is below the 0.001 threshold required (see “AC15 DAS202 Output” exhibit). DAS 2.0.2 analysis predicts that no objects will reach the ground after reentry. Therefore, the risk of human casualty is 0. Each of the two AeroCube-15 satellites has two radios for redundancy. The AdvRadio is built by The Aerospace Corporation around a Texas Instruments CC1151 transceiver chip. It operates at a fixed 914.7 MHz frequency (see “AdvRadio bandwidth” Exhibit) and outputs 1.3 W. The second radio is also built by The Aerospace Corporation and is called the AeroCube Software Defined Radio (SDRadio). It also operates at a fixed 914.7 MHz frequency (see "SDRadio bandwidth" Exhibit) and outputs 1.3 W. Each radio attaches to an omnidirectional patch antenna on the AeroCube‐15 body with a 0 dBi gain. Only one radio is on at a time. When the AeroCube-15 satellites are ejected, they will power on. However, the radio will be in receive mode only. As the satellite flies over a ground station, the station will continuously beacon towards the satellite. When the satellite radio hears the beacon, along with the proper serial number code, it will respond, and a link will be established. At that point, the ground station will ask the satellite for information, typically payload data or onboard telemetry. The satellite will respond by downlinking the requested information. When the link is lost due to the satellite passing out of view and the satellite was transmitting, the satellite will try up to 3 seconds to complete the last packet transmitted. The satellite will then revert to a passive receive mode and wait for the next beacon from a ground station.

We would like to use two types of ground stations to communicate with the AeroCube-15 satellites. The first is a 5-meter diameter dish antenna at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, CA. At 914.7 MHz, it has 30 dB gain, 5 deg beamwidth and uses a complementary radio with a 9W amplifier. The second ground station is a portable 2-meter diameter dish. This has 22 dB gain, a 15 deg beamwidth and uses a complementary radio with a 9W amplifier. This portable station would be located in an RF quiet area that improves the ground footprint of the ground station network. A typical satellite pass is 8 minutes long, twice per day - so the system spends a lot of time not in use. The antenna parameters and ground station locations are shown in the exhibit “FAA sketch and antenna figures.” This license is being requested under 47 CFR Part 5.3 (c) for "experiments under contractual agreement with the United States Government." The experimental radio service as requested is defined under 47 CFR Part 5.5 as "for purposes of providing essential communications for research projects that could not be conducted without the benefit of such communications." Aerospace will be the sole operator of the satellites and all experiments on board.


Document Created: 2019-06-07 14:36:13
Document Modified: 2019-06-07 14:36:13
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