Research Summaries

Back Integration and Test of a Terahertz Imaging Camera as a 1U Payload for CubeSats

Fiscal Year 2019
Division Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department Space Systems Academic Group
Investigator(s) Lan, Wenschel D.
Newman, James H.
Sponsor Department of Defense Space (DoD)
Summary The Naval Postgraduate School’s Sensor Research Laboratory is developing a terahertz imaging camera (TIC) with infrared readout technologies that can be integrated into a CubeSat. Building on existing TIC research at NPS, this proposal describes the integration and test effort associated with flight-qualifying the TIC as a 1U CubeSat payload. The CubeSat Next Generation Bus (CNGB) will be used as a baseline bus for interface and testing purposes to leverage the experience and hardware availability of this system within the Space Systems Academic Group (SSAG). However, adaptability with other CubeSat buses, such as AFIT’s 6U bus, Grissom, will be maintained. This supports DoD Space efforts in the emerging field of very small satellites. This applied research effort requires actual hardware and software at NPS and in the field for test and experiment. The growing acceptance of the CubeSat, a very small satellite, as a means of accomplishing focused research objectives of national interest makes this project of great interest to the SSAG at NPS. The Naval Officers and other students in the NPS Space Systems Engineering and Operations curricula have the opportunity to participate in Directed Studies and Thesis research related to this proposal. The Space Systems curricula benefit from the opportunity to integrate laboratories which use active satellites in orbit and an active network of ground stations. In addition, this work supports the development of national capabilities in space to ultimately benefit the Naval Service and the warfighter.
Keywords Cube Satellites (CubeSat) Terahertz imager room temperature
Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal