AeroCube 10A & 10B

Launch data: Designation  AeroCube 10A  AeroCube 10B Second name  JIMSAT  Dougsat NORAD-ID  44485  44484 Int. code  19022D  19022C Launch date  17 Apr 2019 - 20:46 UT Launch site  MARS, LA-0B Launch vehicle  Antares-230 Mission  Technology Launch platform  Chaffee, LEO Deployment date  07 Aug 2019 - 13:00 UT Earth orbit: Perigee / Apogee  471x485 km  469x481 km Inclination   51.7°   51.7° Period  94.1 min  94.1 min Decay  12 Feb 2020  07 Aug 2020

Spacecraft data:

Description:

• Two 1.5U AeroCube-10 satellites have been developed by The Aerospace Corporation (Aerospace) for the purpose of conducting experiments in space per the company′s charter as a private, non-profit corporation operating a Federally Funded Research and Development Center. The AeroCube-10 satellites each weigh approximately 2.2 kg and are 11 by 11 by 17 cm in dimension.
• The AeroCube-10A spacecraft has three payloads. The first is a dispenser with a magazine of 28 identical atmospheric probes. Each probe weighs 16 g and onsist of three 98 mm diameter aluminum sheets set at 90 degrees to each other, effectively forming a sphere. The intent is to be lightweight and have a constant cross section, independent of orientation to the velocity direction, so that atmospheric drag can be measured in-situ. The probes are dispensed individually upon command and DAS2.0.2 predicts that each has a lifetime of 0.74 years when deployed from the highest altitude of 500 km. The journey of each probe while reentering informs scientists about variations in the density of the earth’s atmosphere.
  The second primary payload is an optical beacon. It is used in studies of sat-to-sat pointing. It verifies that the AeroCube-10a satellite is indeed pointing at the AeroCube-10b. It consists of a 4 W laser diode with a 1 degree full-width-half-max beam divergence. Sat-to-sat pointing enables long range connectivity between satellites so that they may cooperate.
  The third payload is a suite of solar cell coupons (Suite A) with varying radiation shielding and coatings. They are studied in the combined effects environment on-orbit to understand their susceptibility to radiation damage.
• The AeroCube-10B spacecraft has five payloads. The first is a steam propulsion unit identical to the one in AeroCubes-7b and 7c (WI2XBG). It dispenses water vapor to create 2.5 mN of thrust at 40°C to change the range with AeroCube-10A. It contains 20 grams of distilled water and has a specific impulse (Isp) of 70 seconds for an effective maximum delta-V of 6.5 m/s.
  The second payload is an electron and proton micro-Charged Particle Telescope (uCPT). It measures radiation flux impinging on the satellite in specific energy levels that are suspected to cause solar cell degradation.
  The third payload is the optical power meter that confirms when the optical beacon from AeroCube-10A is properly pointing at AeroCube-10B.
  The fourth payload is another suite of solar cell coupons (Suite B) with varying radiation shielding and coatings, similar in purpose to Suite A on AeroCube-10a.
  The fifth payload is the “Camera360.” It is a wide field-of-view camera for collecting photographs in all directions around the spacecraft at one time. These photos are compiled into a virtual reality headset image, hopefully providing a unique and awesome experience.

Mission details:

• On Apr 17, 2019 the 10th Antares rocket took off from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport at Wallops Island, placing Cygnus NG-11 (the S.S. Roger Chaffee) in low orbit at 2053 UTC.
• The NG-11 mission carries a large number of nanosatellites hosted on a variety of dispenser systems.
• The Nanoracks NRCSD-E mission 7 is attached to the Chaffee′s service module.
  Its payloads are:
  • Aerocube-10A, a 1.5U cubesat from the Aerospace Corp containing 29 small subsatellites (AC-10a Probe 01 to 29), each 0.016 kg and 0.1m in diameter, which will be ejected to serve as radar targets to study atmospheric density.
  • AC-10a also has an optical beacon to serve as a target for AC-10B.
• Aerocube-10B, a 1.5U cubesat with a steam thruster, to carry out proximity manuevering near AC-10A.
• Seeker, a 3U cubesat from NASA JSC to serve as an inspector satellite maneuvering in the vicinity of the Chaffee.
• Kenobi, a 3U cubesat from NASA JSC which will remain attached to the NRCSD-E and will relay data from Seeker.
• On Aug 7, 2019 at 1300 UTC, cubesats Aerocube-10a and Aerocube-10b were deployed from the Nanoracks NRCSD-E deployer on Cygnus. The satellites are nicknamed JimSat and DougSat respectively.
• On Aug 29, 2019 the Aerocube-10a satellite, released from Cygnus NG-11, itself released its first atmospheric probe, labelled Venturini in the US satellite catalog.
• On Sep 16 (??) Cygnus NG-11 released the Seeker cubesat, which was designed to perform proximity operations with Cygnus.

External links:

• NASA: Satellite Information