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Nanosatellites
Nanosatellites
Edited by
Jaime Estela
Spectrum Aerospace Group
Germering
Germany
Martin Langer
Institute of Astronautics
Technical University of Munich
Garching
Germany
and
Orbital Oracle Technologies GmbH
Munich
Germany
This edition first published 2020
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or
transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise,
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the editorial material in this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
Registered Office
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For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products,
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Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some content that
appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.
Names: Carvalho, Rogério Atem de, author. | Estela, Jaime, 1972- author. |
Langer, Martin, 1986- author.
Title: Nanosatellites : space and ground technologies, operations and
economics / Professor Rogerio Atem de Carvalho, University of Fluminese,
Rio, Brazil, Jaime Estela, Spectrum Aerospace Group, Germering, Germany,
Martin Langer, Technical University of Munich & Orbital Oracle
Technologies GmbH, Bavaria, Germany.
Description: First edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, [2020] | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2019049523 (print) | LCCN 2019049524 (ebook) | ISBN
9781119042037 (hardback) | ISBN 9781119042068 (adobe pdf) | ISBN
9781119042051 (epub)
Subjects: LCSH: Microspacecraft.
Classification: LCC TL795.4 .C37 2020 (print) | LCC TL795.4 (ebook) | DDC
629.46–dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049523
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019049524
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
v
Contents
Index 663
xxiii
List of Contributors
Andrew Strain
Clyde Space Limited
Glasgow
United Kingdom
xxix
The use of small satellites in general initiated the space program in 1957 with the launching
of Russian Sputnik 1, and then by the United States with Vanguard 1 satellite, which was
the fourth artificial Earth orbital satellite to be successfully launched (following Sputnik 1,
Sputnik 2, and Explorer 1).
The concept of the CubeSat was developed by Professor Bob Twiggs at the Department of
Aeronautics and Astronautics at Stanford University in Palo Alto, CA, in collaboration with
Professor Jordi Puig-Suari at the Aerospace Department at the California State Polytechnic
University in San Luis Obispo, CA, in late 1999. The CubeSat concept originated with the
spacecraft OPAL (Orbiting Picosat Automated Launcher), a 23 kg microsatellite developed
by students at Stanford University and the Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, CA, to
demonstrate the validity and functionality of picosatellites and the concept of launching
picosatellites and other small satellites on-orbit from a larger satellite system. Picosatellites
are defined having a weight between 0.1 and 1 kg. OPAL is shown in Figure 1, with four
launcher tubes containing picosatellites. One of the picosatellites is shown being inserted
into the launcher tube in Figure 2.
The satellites developed by students within university programs in 1980s and 1990s were
all nanosatellites (1–10 kg size) and microsatellites (10–50 kg size). The feasibility of inde-
pendently funding launch opportunities for these nanosatellites and microsatellites was
limited, as the costs typically were up to $250 000—a price point well beyond the resources
available to most university programs. At that time, the only available option was to collabo-
rate with government organizations that would provide the launch. The OPAL satellite was
launched in early 2000 by the US Air Force Space Test Program (STP) with sponsorship from
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the Aerospace Corporation
picosatellites.
The OPAL mission represented a significant milestone in the evolution of small satellites
by proving the viability of the concept of the picosatellite and an innovative orbital deploy-
ment system. The picosatellite launcher concept used for the OPAL mission represented a
major advancement that would enable the technological evolution of small satellites, set-
ting the stage for the development of the CubeSat form factor and the Poly Picosatellite
Orbital Deployer (P-POD) orbital deployer system. OPAL demonstrated a new capability
xxx Foreword: Nanosatellite Space Experiment
with the design of an orbital deployer that could launch numerous very small satellites
contained within the launcher tube that simplified the mechanical interface to the upper
stage of the launch vehicle and greatly simplified the satellite ejection system. While the
OPAL mission was extremely successful and established the validity of a picosatellite orbital
Foreword: Nanosatellite Space Experiment xxxi
deployer, Professor Twiggs and Professor Puig-Suari wanted to find a lower-cost means of
launching the satellites built by university students. The stage was set for the development
of the CubeSat form factor and its evolution toward an engineering standard.
As of the present, the CubeSat concept is being called a disruptive technology. It seems to
have been one of the new concepts in the space industry along with new launch concepts
starting with SpaceX that has brought about a new interest in space. With the commer-
cial programs from Planet, with CubeSat space imaging, and Spire with its multisatellite
constellations, there is significant investment by the venture capital community in the space
industry. To date, there have been more than 900 CubeSats launched since 2003.
The CubeSat concept from the original 1U CubeSat to the 3U CubeSat in the P-POD has
expanded larger to now considering 27U concepts. One of the consequences of this new
interest is that, to date, there have been more than 900 CubeSats launched in near-Earth
orbit as well as two MarCO CubeSats to Mars, and there are plans to launch 13 6U CubeSats
on the first Space Launch System (SLS) in the next Moon mission.
One of the consequences of the new acceptance of the CubeSat concept is that the cost of
launch from the initial cost of $40 000 for a 1U from Cal Poly has now risen to over $120 000.
This has had the greatest impact of having CubeSat programs for educational training and
new entrants into space experimentation. There are several small launch vehicles in devel-
opment to meet this demand, but whether they can launch for lower costs is debatable. One
approach to reducing the launch cost is to use the same volume as provided by the P-POD
or similar deployer, but keeping launch spacecraft smaller than the 1U, thus reducing the
costs of individual experiment launch.
Cornell University has the ChipSats being launched from the 3U CubeSat, as shown
in Figure 3. There is also the PocketQube being promoted by Alba Orbital, shown in
Figure 4.
In addition to the conventional means of launches for the International Space Sta-
tion (ISS) and from expendable launch vehicles, the Virginia Commercial Space Flight
Authority, a state economic agency of the state of Virginia, along with Northrop Grumman
Corp., is providing launches from the NASA Wallops Island flight facilities on the second
stage of the Antares launch vehicle that is used to launch the Cygnus resupply capsule for
the ISS. This is a unique launch opportunity not used previously. Even though it releases
satellites from the Planetary Systems Corporation’s canisterized satellite deployer (like the
P-POD) at an altitude of near 250 km, it only provides an orbital life of the satellites for
a few days. This short orbital lifetime of the satellites provides an excellent opportunity
regarding science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) experience to
students. In addition, all spacecrafts will deorbit, leaving no debris or collision problems.
The spacecraft proposed for this program is of a sub-CubeSat size called ThinSatTM , shown
in Figure 5.
This program starting with launches in spring 2019 has the capability of launching 84 of
the small satellites at one time. Also, the Antares launches every six months to resupply to
the ISS. The goal for this STEM program is to provide a full year of education using real
hardware to collect data, and launching a ThinSat and recovering space data for a total cost
of less than $50 000.
xxxv
Since the 1990s, Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) have played a fun-
damental role in the restructuring of organizations, which have been able to horizontalize
their structures and, through low-cost ICTs, to distribute and commoditize production. This
impact came to be felt more strongly in the late 1990s and early 2000s in many areas of
the economy. A strong tendency to “distribute” and “horizontalize” the production became
commonplace.
Moreover, a need to have flexible systems to adapt to constant innovations not only in
ICTs but also in electronics and materials has led production systems to move increasingly
toward solutions that could be quickly prototyped, tested, implemented, and modified. ICTs
have made it possible to bring production to a level of flexibility and innovation never seen
before.
The space sector has not been left out of these trends, and small satellites have begun
to show themselves, with all their known limitations, as technologically and economically
viable platforms to test and even implement innovations. Moreover, players who until then
were kept apart or operating marginally in space missions, such as universities, small busi-
nesses and research centers in countries with less space tradition, could now design and
build spacecrafts almost from the bottom up.
Although small satellites have existed since the early days of spaceflight, such as Sputnik
1 itself, whose dimensions were 58.5 cm in diameter and 83.6 kg in weight, it was only
with the launch of the CubeSat standard in 1999 that the growth of applications in small
satellites has become exponential. In 1999, California Polytechnic State University and
Stanford University developed the CubeSat specifications to promote and develop the skills
necessary for the design, manufacture, and testing of small satellites intended for low Earth
orbit (LEO) that perform a number of scientific research functions and explore new space
technologies.
The CubeSat (U-class spacecraft) is a type of miniaturized satellite that is made up of
multiple 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm cubic units. CubeSats have a mass of no more than 1.33 kg
per unit, and often use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components for their electronics
and structure. Over 1000 CubeSats have been launched as of January 2019. Over 900 have
been successfully deployed in orbit and over 80 have been destroyed in launch failures.
Even before the success of CubeSats, the term “nanosatellites” was coined in 1992 and
popularized. This term defines any satellite with a mass between 1 and 10 kg, including
most CubeSats. Thus, seeking to treat smaller satellites more comprehensively, within
xxxvi Introduction by the Editors
a more flexible term, this book brings together a number of techniques, technologies,
methodologies, and legislation applicable to nanosatellites.
Following this goal, this book is divided into three main parts:
I) Nanosatellite Technologies: This part presents the various technologies employed to
design, test, and construct nanosatellites.
II) Ground Segment: Deals with the terrestrial segment and its peculiarities to deal with
nanosatellites, operating alone or in networks.
III) Policies, Legislation, and Economical Aspects: This part deals with policies and legisla-
tion applicable to nanosatellites, and gives insight into economical aspects and future
trends.
To deal with a relatively emerging and evolving subject, a team of prominent authors
in the subareas described above has been brought together and, together with the editors,
accepted the challenge of writing about an area of space technology that is certainly one of
the most innovative and therefore in constant change.
Hence, this book seeks to treat nanosatellites through an integrated vision, focusing on
technologies, methods, and techniques that form the foundation of the implementation and
operation of these spacecrafts, while still employing real examples when necessary.
1 I-1
1.1 Introduction
The term “nanosatellite” first appeared in print in a paper by the University of Surrey
in 1992 [1]. Although originally defined as a spacecraft with a mass of less than 10 kg,
nanosatellites are now more narrowly defined as spacecraft with a mass between 1 and
10 kg. Solid-state electronics and primitive solar cells enabled the first active nanosatel-
lite, Vanguard 1, launched by the USA in 1958. It carried two continuous wave (CW)
transmitters that enabled monitoring of spacecraft’s internal temperatures and the
total integrated electron density between the satellite and a ground station. This first
nanosatellite is still in orbit but has been silent since 1964. Continued advancements in
microelectronics/nanoelectronics, solar cells, microelectromechanical systems (MEMS),
and computer-aided design (CAD) now enable visible imaging nanosatellites with 5 m
ground resolution and nanosatellites that use global positioning system radio occultation
measurements to measure ionospheric electron densities, tropospheric and stratospheric
humidity levels, and temperatures. Much has happened in the intervening 60 years.
Figure 1.1 shows the launch history of active nanosatellites from 1958 through 2017. Over
600 passive nanosatellites, operating basically as reflectors of radiofrequency (RF) radiation
or as air drag monitors, were launched by the USA and the former Soviet Union during this
period of time. These simple spacecraft did not have the typical spacecraft systems, such
as power conditioning, command and control, and communications, so were therefore not
included in Figure 1.1. Figure 1.1 shows historical data for active nanosatellites within the
1–10 kg mass range that were successfully launched and deployed into orbit. It includes
all 1U CubeSats. The original CubeSat Specification Document mandated a mass limit of
1 kg per “U” of volume, but later versions increased the “U” mass to 1.33 kg. In addition,
many early 1U CubeSats came within 10–20 g of the original 1000 g target, a mass deficiency
Nanosatellites: Space and Ground Technologies, Operations and Economics, First Edition.
Edited by Rogerio Atem de Carvalho, Jaime Estela, and Martin Langer.
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd. Published 2020 by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
2 1 I-1 A Brief History of Nanosatellites
1000
“New Space” Era
Nanosatellite Launches per Year
100
Exponential Growth:
Launch Rate Doubles
Every 2.44 years
Early
Space Age “Large Space” Era
10
0.1
1957 1962 1967 1972 1977 1982 1987 1992 1997 2002 2007 2012 2017 2022
Launch Year
Figure 1.1 Yearly launch rates of nanosatellites from 1958 through 2017. Source: Data compiled
from [2–4]. (See color plate section for color representation of this figure).
of 2% or less. All “sub-U” CubeSats (e.g. PocketQubes and SunCubes) are well within the
picosatellite mass range and are not included in Figure 1.1. Note that the vertical scale in
Figure 1.1 is logarithmic in order to show the dramatic rise in launch rates over the past
two decades. This is an “integer logarithmic” plot, because the lowest launch rate has been
labeled zero rather than the mathematically correct value of 0.1 for this plot. Since space-
craft come in integer values, this should be acceptable.
Figure 1.1 shows that nanosatellites were flown during the first decade of the Space Age
at a rate of about two per year, and then disappeared for almost three decades. Hundreds of
passive nanosatellites were flown during these three decades, along with many 11–13 kg
mass, 23 cm3 “almost” nanosatellites, but no active nanosatellites. Active nanosatellites
finally reappeared in 1997, with launch rates doubling every 2.44 years since then. Launch
rate predictions for the next 4 years are consistent with another 4 years of similar exponen-
tial growth. This remarkable, two-decade-long exponential growth parallels Moore’s law
for microelectronic/nanoelectronics—the doubling of performance every 2–3 years due to a
continual reduction in transistor size. Exponential growth of nanosatellite launch rates was
initiated by a combination of continuing advancements in microprocessor performance,
memory storage capability, microelectromechanical sensors and actuators, image sensors,
the development of CubeSats, and commercial forces.
Two nanosatellites from the Technical University of Berlin, Tubsat-N and Tubsat-N1,
were inexpensively launched in 1998 from a Russian submarine as a commercial service [5].
CubeSats were launched starting in 2003 on relatively inexpensive Russian Dnepr launch
vehicles, also based on converted intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs). Newly minted
Russian capitalists were able to compete with established Western launch providers by
1.3 The First Nanosatellites 3
Table 1.1 The first successfully launched nanosatellites from 1957 through 1968.
Inclination and perigee values are given for spacecraft that completed more than one Earth orbit.
Source: Data compiled from [6–8].
4 1 I-1 A Brief History of Nanosatellites
used vacuum tubes and required a fan to provide temperature control [9]. Sputnik 1 was
designed to produce a strong radio signal that could be received by millions of common
shortwave receivers all across the planet, and to be visible in small telescopes. Sputnik 2,
at 508 kg mass, was launched on November 3, 1957. It contained the backup satellite to
Sputnik 1, plus an additional science instrument package, as well as a pressurized capsule
that held the small dog named Laika. The Soviets launched the 1327 kg mass Sputnik 3 into
orbit on April 27, 1958. The Soviets were focused on putting the first human into space,
and that occurred on April 12, 1961 when Yuri Gagarin took the 4730 kg mass Vostok 1
into orbit. Whether hindered by their much heavier spacecraft design, or blessed by their
massive launch capability, the former Soviet Union had little need for active nanosatel-
lites. The United Kingdom, Canada, Italy, France, Australia, West Germany, the People’s
Republic of China, and Japan also lofted their own satellites into orbit through 1970 using
either US or indigenous launch vehicles, but these were microsatellites (10–100 kg mass)
and minisatellites (100–500 kg mass) [10].
Vanguard 1 was the USA’s second artificial satellite, but it was also the first nanosatel-
lite from any country to reach orbit, the first satellite with solar cells, and is now the oldest
man-made object still in space. Figure 1.2 shows a photograph of a Vanguard 1 model at
the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chan-
tilly, Virginia, USA. Like Sputnik 1, it was spherical and shiny, but it was a lot smaller at
16.5 cm in diameter. Radio output power was 10 mW at 108 MHz for the battery-powered
transmitter, and 5 mW at 108.030 MHz for the solar cell-powered transmitter. These trans-
mitters used one transistor each, not vacuum tubes, operated in a vacuum. Transistors
were first demonstrated in 1947 in the USA, and offered more efficient, reliable, and com-
pact electronics due to the elimination of the hot, glowing filaments required in vacuum
tubes. Note that both Sputnik 1 and Vanguard 1, and many early spacecraft, did not con-
tain radio receivers; they could not be controlled from the ground. Attitude control, either
active or passive, was not included. Thermal control was provided by the polished outer
shell, with an internal instrument capsule thermally and electrically isolated from the outer
Figure 1.2 Photo of Vanguard 1 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia. Source: Photo by author.
1.3 The First Nanosatellites 5
shell using Teflon rods. This vacuum Dewar approach effectively averages out external shell
temperature extremes caused by exposure to sunlight, followed by eclipse, and return to
sunlight.
The next nanosatellite put into space was Pioneer 3. This was NASA’s third attempt to
at least fly by the Moon, but an upper-stage malfunction prevented attainment of Earth
escape velocity. It reached an altitude of 102 300 km and then. fell back to Earth, where it
re-entered 38 hours after launch. Pioneer 3 was basically cone-shaped with a 58 cm high,
25 cm diameter thin fiberglass conical shell covering a squat instrument base [11]. The shell
was coated in gold to provide electrical conductivity, with stripes of paint to adjust the over-
all thermal balance. Pioneer 3 was spin-stabilized along the long axis, so this axis had to be
a principal axis with the maximum moment of inertia to maintain spin stability. Pioneer
3 had two Geiger–Müller (GM) tubes and a 0.5 kg mass transmitter producing 0.18 W at
960.05 MHz. Pioneer 3 transmitted radiation data for 25 hours before re-entry, and these
data showed the existence of a second radiation belt at higher altitudes. The inner radiation
belt was discovered by Explorer 1, and both radiation belts are now named after Dr. James
Van Allen, professor of physics and astronomy at the University of Iowa.
Figure 1.3 shows a photo of Pioneer 4, a copy of Pioneer 3 with one GM tube replaced
by a lunar photosensor and a camera, held by Dr. Wernher von Braun, John Casani, and
Dr. James Van Allen. The layout of the components, particularly the outer ring of mercury
batteries, provided the needed maximum moment of inertia about the spin axis for both Pio-
neer 3 and Pioneer 4. Pioneer 4 flew past the Moon at an altitude of 60 000 km and became
the first US spacecraft to reach heliocentric orbit [12].
Vanguard 2, which flew after Pioneer 3 but before Pioneer 4, was the first weather
satellite. The spherical satellite had an aluminum-coated magnesium shell with a diameter
of 50.8 cm and used two internal optical telescopes to monitor the brightness of each
field-of-view. The intent was to monitor cloud cover around the Earth. Each telescope
scanned the Earth, and space, as the spacecraft rotated at 50 rotations per minute, and a
raster scan image could be created as the satellite moved across the Earth. Unfortunately,
Vanguard 2 was deployed with a significant wobble about the intended spin axis, so the
Figure 1.3 Dr. Wernher von Braun (left), John Casani of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (center), and
Dr. James Van Allen, holding parts of the Pioneer 4 spacecraft. Source: Photo courtesy of NASA.
6 1 I-1 A Brief History of Nanosatellites
brightness data were hard to use. This spacecraft had a data tape recorder for recording
brightness as a function of time, and a command receiver to activate playback of the tape
as the spacecraft went over a ground station [13]. A 1 W output telemetry transmitter
operated at 108.03 MHz, and a 10 mW, 108 MHz beacon transmitter provided a CW signal
for tracking. Although both transmitters stopped working after 26 days, Vanguard 2 has
been optically tracked for six decades, providing initial gravity field measurements for the
Earth, and continuous atmospheric density measurements based on air drag.
The next nanosatellite launched into space was Explorer 9. It was the first satellite
launched from Wallops Island, Virginia, and it was almost an order of magnitude larger
than Vanguard 2. Explorers 9, 19, 24, and 39 were 3.6 m diameter balloons used for
determining atmospheric density as a function of altitude. These balloons were inflated
using nitrogen gas and were composed of alternating layers of aluminum foil and Mylar
(polyester) film. The two hemispheres were electrically isolated so that they could function
as a dipole antenna for the 15 mW output, 136 MHz tracking beacon. Power for the
transmitters was supplied by solar cells and rechargeable batteries. Thermal control was
supplied by the application of many white paint spots of 5.1 cm diameter to the surface.
Figure 1.4 shows a photograph of Explorer 24 with a human for size comparison.
The first Orbiting Satellite Carrying Amateur Radio (OSCAR 1), a nanosatellite, was
ejected into orbit in 1961. A group of amateur radio operators in Sunnyvale, California,
decided to “build a continuous-wave beacon to transmit Morse code, to hook it up to bat-
teries, place it into a metal box with an antenna coming out of the top, and have it launched
into space” [14]. OSCAR 1 was the world’s first private, nongovernment spacecraft; and,
unlike previous nanosatellites, this one went into orbit as a secondary payload. It was
launched for free as ballast on a launch vehicle of the US Air Force, thus explaining the
curved shape of the 30 × 25 × 12 cm3 box shown in Figure 1.5, as a section cut from a thick
ring. Ejection off of the primary mission “was done with a very sophisticated technique:
Figure 1.5 Photograph of OSCAR 1 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia. Source: Photo by author.
a $1.15 (USD) spring purchased from a local hardware store. The total out-of-pocket cost
(not including donated material) was only $68 (USD)” [15]. It transmitted the message
“HI” in Morse code (•••• •• ) at a rate proportional to the internal temperature using a
two-transistor transmitter operating at 140 mW output at 144.98 MHz [16]. It transmitted
for 3 weeks. Average spacecraft temperature was set by the tape pattern on the external
magnesium surface, but it was warmer than expected at greater than 50∘ C after 60 orbits.
OSCAR 2 was a copy of OSCAR 1, but with a lower-power transmitter (100 mW) for longer
battery life, and modified surface treatments to lower the average spacecraft temperature
to 15 ± 5∘ C. It started out in a lower orbit and was able to monitor the temperature increase
as it started to re-enter.
The Flashing Light Unit listed in Table 1.1 was a subsatellite ejected by the Faith 7 Mer-
cury capsule piloted by the US astronaut L. Gordon Cooper. It was a 15 cm diameter sphere
that contained a pair of xenon strobe lights powered by batteries to test the visual acquisi-
tion and tracking of other spacecraft by astronauts [17]. Cooper was able to see the flashes
one, two, and three orbits after ejection.
The remaining nanosatellites in Table 1.1 belong to the US Air Force Environmental
Research Satellite (ERS) series. These spacecraft were used as technology test beds for
spacecraft systems and components at medium Earth altitudes (greater than 1500 km
apogee). They monitored radiation levels and radiation damage to solar cells. Due to their
high perigees, ERS spacecraft were in sunlight most of the time, thus eliminating the need
for batteries and battery charge regulators. Figure 1.6 shows a photograph of the 2 kg mass
ERS 11 satellite on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia. This satellite is identical to the ERS 12 satellite
flown in 1963. ERS 12 had an omnidirectional radiation detector to monitor electron fluxes
for energies in excess of 0.5 and 5 MeV, and proton fluxes for energies between 10 and 20
MeV, and 50–100 MeV [8]. Note the large number of solar cells on each face, and the coiled
8 1 I-1 A Brief History of Nanosatellites
Figure 1.6 Photo of ERS 11 at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F.
Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia. Source: Photo by author.
“carpenter tape” antennas (bottom right and left) that form a dipole when released. All of
the ERS spacecraft were launched as secondary payloads.
The Early Space Age was a time of excitement and exploration fueled by the Cold War
between the USA and the former Soviet Union. Both parties were learning how to exploit
the high ground of space in order to monitor each other visually and electronically, and were
vying to be the first to put a human being on the Moon. The world’s largest rocket, the Saturn
V of the USA, was developed to win the space race to the Moon. Weather satellites and
geosynchronous communications satellites improved the lives of billions of people, about
3.5 billion in 1967, and precursors of today’s ubiquitous global navigational satellites were
flown. Average satellite mass had increased well beyond the microsatellite and nanosatellite
mass range, and active nanosatellites would disappear for almost three decades.
Men. Pelayo, Antol. poet. lír. cast., t. II, pág. xxxiii: "Coexistió el
mester de clerezia con el de juglaria, pero no se confundieron
nunca. Coexistió también, andando el tiempo, con las primeras
escuelas líricas, con las escuelas de trovadores, pero mantuvo
siempre su independencia y carácter propio de tal modo, que hasta
en las obras poéticas del Arcipreste de Hita y del Canciller Ayala, en
que ambos elementos se dan la mano, no aparecen confundidos,
sino yuxtapuestos. En suma: el mester de clerezia, socialmente
considerado, no fué nunca ni la poesía del pueblo, ni la poesía de la
aristocracia militar, ni la poesía de las fiestas palaciegas, sino la
poesía de los monasterios y de las nacientes Universidades ó
estudios generales. Así se explica su especial carácter, la
predilección por ciertos asuntos, el fondo de cultura escolástica de
que hacen alarde sus poetas y la relativa madurez de las formas
exteriores, que son, ciertamente, monótonas; pero nada tienen de
toscas y sí mucho que revela artificio perseverante y sagaz industria
literaria. Júzguese como se quiera de cada uno de estos poemas,
cualquier cosa serán menos tentativas informes y engendros
bárbaros, como suelen decir los que no los han saludado. El escollo
natural del género era el pedantismo, y no diremos que de él se
librasen estos ingenios; pero fué pedantería candorosa, alarde de
escolar que quiere á viva fuerza dejarnos persuadidos de su
profundo saber en mitología, geografía é historia, con toda la
ingenuidad del primer descubrimiento. Estos patriarcas de las
literaturas modernas eran niños hasta en la ostentación
enciclopédica. En cambio no puede decirse de ellos que abusasen
del latinismo de dicción en el grado y forma en que lo hizo la escuela
del siglo xv. La lengua de los poetas del mester de clerezia es algo
prosaica y no tiene mucho color ni mucho brío, pero es clara,
apacible, jugosa, expresiva y netamente castellana, sin las
asperezas hiperbáticas de Juan de Mena, ni las extrañas
contorsiones de la prosa de don Enrique de Aragón. El vocabulario
de la lengua épica, muy reducido, aunque muy enérgico, se
ensancha prodigiosamente en manos de Berceo, y mucho más en el
Poema de Alejandro".
159. De comienzos del siglo xiii parece ser la Vida
de Santa María Egipciaqua, narración poética en
1.451 versos de 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 y 12 sílabas, los más
de 9, con el ritmo libre de la poesía popular de los
refranes, consonantando dos ó tres versos y aun
cuatro á veces, bien que de ordinario se halla el
pareado ó de dos solamente. De la misma época es
el Libro dels tres Reyes dorient, de unos 250 versos
parecidos á los de la Vida de Santa María
Egipciaqua, en cuyos primeros 50 se habla de los
Reyes Magos, y en los demás, de la huída á Egipto y
de los ladrones que robaron la Sagrada Familia. El
Libro de Apollonio tiene más de 2.600 versos, en
cuartetas monorrimas de catorce sílabas, con la
nueva maestría, que dice en él su autor, aplicada á
600 estrofas, llamada después cuaderna vía, de la
cual, por consiguiente, parece fué el inventor. El
autor parece aragonés por el lenguaje; escribe con
claridad y brío y era erudito.
160. Está tomada de la Vie de Sainte Marie l'Egyptienne, atribuida
por algunos, bien que poco fundadamente, al obispo de Lincoln,
Roberto Grosseteste (1175?-1253), cuyos Carmina Anglo-
Normannica comprenden el poema francés. Hállase en el mismo
códice escurialense que el Libro de Apollonio y el Libro dels tres
Reyes dorient, y todas estas obrillas fueron publicadas en 1841 por
Pedro José Pidal. Los originales los indicó A. Mussafia. No se
conoce el original de donde se sacó el Libro dels tres Reyes dorient.
Vida de Santa Maria Egipciaqua, ed. R. Foulché-Delbosc,
Barcelona, 1907 (Textos castellanos antiguos, t. I); Bibl. Aut. Esp., t.
LVII. Consúltense: A. Mussafia, Ueber die Quelle der altspanischen
Vida de S. Μ. E., en el Sitzungsberichte der Kaiserlichen Akademie
der Wissenschaften, Wien, 1863, t. XLIII, págs. 153-176; K. Bartsch,
Jahrbuch für romanische und englische Literatur (Leipzig, 1864), t. V,
páginas 421-424; G. Bertoni, Nota sulla letteratura franco-italiana a
proposito della vita in rima di S. Maria Egipziaca, en el Giornale
storico della letteratura italiana (1908), t. LI, págs. 207-215.
Libro de Apollonio, edic. Pedro José Pidal con las otras dos obritas;
Eugenio Ochoa, París, 1842; Bibl. de Aut. Esp., t. LVII. Consúltense:
E. Klebs, Die Erzählung von Apollonius aus Tyrus, Berlin, 1899,
páginas 384-398; C. Carroll Marden, Note on the text of the L. de Α.,
en Modern Language Notes (1913), t. XVIII, col. 18-20; F. Hanssen,
Sobre la conjugación del L. de A. en Anales de la Universidad de
Chile (1895), t. XCI, págs. 637-665; Gover, en Bibl. F. Vally.
174. El Alixandre fué por su asunto mucho más conocido que las
otras obras de Berceo. El autor del Poema de Fernán Gonçalez, en
el siglo xiii, le tomó versos enteros; en el xiv el Arcipreste de Hita le
imitó en la descripción de la tienda de Don Amor; en el xv, el
Cronista de Don Pero Niño, los amaestramientos morales que en el
poema endereza Aristóteles á Alejandro. El libro de Alixandre, Ms.
esp. 488 de la Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris, ed. A. Morel-Fatio,
Dresden, 1906; Ms. de Madrid, Bibl. de Aut. Esp., t. LVII.
Consúltense: A. Morel-Fatio, Recherches sur le texte et les sources
du Libro de Alexandre, en Romania, 1875, t. IV, págs. 7-90; G. Baist,
Eine neue Handschrift des spanischen Alexandre, en Romanische
Forschungen, t. VI, pág. 272; E. Müller, Sprachliche und textkritische
Untersuchungen zum altspanischen Libro de Alexandre, Strassburg,
1910; L. Pistolesi Baudana-Vaccolini, Del posto che spetta il Libro de
Alexandre nella storia della letteratura spagnuola, en Revue des
langues romanes (1903), t. xlvi, págs. 255-281; Marcelo Macías,
Juan Lorenzo Segura y el Poema de Alexandre, Orense, 1913.
Momia de D. Rodrigo Ximénez de Rada.