Virginia CubeSat Constellation students in Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute Test Chamber. Left to right: James Flynn, ODU; John Noon, Virginia Tech; Ben Connelly, UVA; Anthony DeFilippis, Virginia Tech; David Khanan, UVA; Nathan Gaul, UVA; Michael Ford, UVA; William Cheng, UVA; and Patrick Bebermeyer, UVA.

The Hampton University Proton Therapy Institute (HUPTI) is working with the Virginia Space Grant Consortium (VSGC) to test components of student satellites bound for orbit.  The Institute's proton beam, which offers cutting edge cancer treatments, is being used to simulate the impact of radiation encountered in the space environment on space hardware developed by the students.

 

The Virginia CubeSat Constellation is a NASA and VSGC-funded mission that will place three very small satellites in orbit as a constellation from the International Space Station as part of the NASA Undergraduate Student Instrument program.  The student-led mission is a Virginia Space Grant Consortium project and a joint effort among four member universities:  University of Virginia (UVA), Virginia Tech (VT), Old Dominion University (ODU) and Hampton University (HU).  More than 100 students across the universities have been working on the project. 

 

The Constellation was selected for launch to the International Space Station in the third quarter of 2018 or early 2019 with orbital insertion to follow from the Station.  Students must deliver their satellites to NASA for integration in July 2018. The ODU satellite, which has a drag brake to intentionally cause orbital decay, is expected to remain in orbit for up to four months. The other two satellites should orbit for up to two years. The satellites will communicate data  to ground stations at VT, UVA, and ODU for subsequent analysis using an analytical tool being developed by HU.

 

Dr. Hovakim Nazaryan, Ph.D., right, Medical Physicist at the Hampton Proton Therapy Institute explains the irradiation set up to James Flynn (ODU) and Tony DeFilippis (Virginia Tech). Note: For this test, the jug of water was used to stop the proton beam.

The mission seeks to obtain measurements of the orbital decay of a constellation of satellites to develop a database of atmospheric drag and the variability of atmospheric properties.  It will also evaluate and demonstrate a system to determine and communicate relative and absolute spacecraft position across an orbiting constellation. 

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Small satellites beyond boundaries is the special topic for the first day of the 4S Symposium scheduled for 2018, although any contribution on small satellites for space exploration is warmly welcome. The remaining program will also cover technical sessions as: mission and system analysis; applications such as Earth observation, science, telecommunication and navigation; new technologies at system, sub-system and component level. A special session will be dedicated to access to space of Small Satellites, as launchers, platform cross-compatibility.

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