Simplified Femto-satellite Operations for Disaster Mangement Missions Joshua Tristancho UPC Barcelona Tech - SPAIN tristancho@gmail.com Jordi L. Gutiérrez Applied Physics department (UPC) Jordi.gutierrez@upc.edu October 3rd, 2012 63rd International Astronautical Congress, Naples, Italy. 10IAC-12-B4.3.12

Simplified method for femtosat Simulation of a mission Conclusions Index Introduction Task analysis for DM Simplified method for femtosat Simulation of a mission Conclusions License: Team FREDNET Creative Commons http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.5/es/deed.en Index

Introduction (I) – Space Payload Paradigm Femto-Satellite: New technological limit (<100 grams) The lower the satellite mass, the lower the launcher size and so, the lower the cost. Swarms. Constellations Very-Low Earth Orbit, short mission life (few weeks) and more reusable orbits 1. Introduction

Introduction (II) – Femto-satellite specs. Minimal number of subsystems: High gain and sensitivity modem Microstrip antenna Attitude control (Magnetorquers) High resolution payload camera Passive thermal control Electrical power management Payload separated from the satellite LiPoly battery source High accuracy attitude and position determination Optimized on-board computer (Arduino like) TECHNOLOGIES - Use of MEMS - SMD technology - High G load tolerant Femto-satellite protoype without battery.(Less than 8 grams) Source: www.wikisat.org 1. Introduction

Types of disasters that a femto-satellite can address: Introduction (III) Types of disasters that a femto-satellite can address: Earthquake Changes in the first week Tsunami Short duration (Except Drought) Drought Tens of meters per pixel Cyclone Not very high resolution Fire Flood Landslide Volcano 1. Introduction

The emergency cycle by Lew Sian Introduction (IV) The emergency cycle by Lew Sian Many launch stations aruound the world in the Preparedness phase Femto-satellites will be used mainly in the Response phase. First hours are critical for the first responders 1. Introduction

LEO satellite tasks for Disaster Management Earth Observation Acquire images from the Disaster Area Send this images to Decision Makers Data Relay Provide basic communications to First Responders 2. Task analysis for DM

Initial hypotheses (I) Use of femto-satellite swarm dedicated a single mission Each femto-satellite will perform a revisit every day Aerodynamic drag - Femto-satellite life 1 or 2 weeks Femto-satellite horizon is about 2,000 km (Very-LEO) Femto-satellite transit could have an angle (Corrections) 2. Task analysis for DM

Initial hypotheses (II) Limited energy – Only use energy when Recording Communications Attitude corrections No solar panels to recharge the battery – Energy budget 2. Task analysis for DM

Initial hypotheses (III) High power wireless modem. No huge ground station required Two download modes: Slow long range: 200 km footprint Fast short range: 50 km footprint Information is not encrypted (Global interest) 2. Task analysis for DM

Interest Point = First Responders Ground Stations = Decision Makers Agents Interest Point = First Responders Ground Stations = Decision Makers Simplified List: First coordinate point is the Disaster Area Epicenter The rest of coordinate points are Ground Stations 2. Task analysis for DM

Ground Station policy (I) No priority between Ground Stations Nearest Ground Station will be kept until it is lost A change between station is a waste of time Ground Stations closer than 1,000 km between them are useless Ground Stations near the Disaster area are useless. The priority is for the First Responders 2. Task analysis for DM

Ground Station policy (II) The less number of Ground Stations the higher life due to both Battery duration (No solar panels) and in-orbit time (Aerodynamic drag) Share the info through a single agency i.e. UN-SPIDER Less femto-satellite consumption Larger life 2. Task analysis for DM

The Simplified Method (I) List of coordinates (Up to eight coordinates) First coordinate is the Interest Point and it has absolute priority. First Responder are there by definition The rest of coordinates are ground stations without priority. Decision Makers or other agents 3. Simplified method for femtosat

The Simplified Method (II) Aerodynamic attitude only abandoned when a coordinate should be follow The femto-satellite broadcast the information when there is a coordinate to follow (200 km footprint) It tries to establish a fast download (50 km footprint) If succeeds, a new coordinate list could be uploaded by the Ground Station if password is provided 3. Simplified method for femtosat

The Simplified Method (III) The femto-satellite always follows the same Ground Station until it is not in view, then follows the nearest Ground Station if not, aerodynamic attitude is kept The only exception to the previous statement is when the Interest Point coordinate appears; then aerodynamic attitude or previous coordinate is abandoned It is possible to acquire and establish a link at the same time when First Responder has a Wireless equipment that works as a Ground Station (Optimum case) 3. Simplified method for femtosat

The case of Sri Lanka – Tsunami impact (I) 00:58:53, 26 Dec 2004 (UTC) Magnitude 9.1 to 9.3 Mw Epicenter 3.316 N, 95.854 E Depth 30 km (19 mi) 250,000 deaths 4. Simulation of a mission

The case of Sri Lanka – Tsunami impact (II) 4. Simulation of a mission

The case of Sri Lanka – Tsunami impact (II) 4. Simulation of a mission

The case of Sri Lanka – Tsunami impact (II) 4. Simulation of a mission

The case of Sri Lanka – Tsunami impact (III) A single femto-satellite launched few hours after the disaster Coordinate List based on two points Matara (Sri Lanka) Mas Palomas (Spain) 4. Simulation of a mission http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-T3kYiRiDed0/TyZmUR5zlJI/AAAAAAAAG7w/P90Nene0IcY/s1600/tsunami_sri_lanka.gif

The case of Sri Lanka – Tsunami impact (IV) Femto-satellite provides coverage during 8 days 4. Simulation of a mission

The case of Sri Lanka – Tsunami impact (V) 2 h and 24 minutes after, First Responders have images 4. Simulation of a mission

The case of Sri Lanka – Tsunami impact (VI) 8 contacts with First Responders (One every day) 30 contacts with Mas Palomas Ground Station 4. Simulation of a mission

Conclusions Following the Space Payload Paradigm, swarm of femto-satellites will be sent with a low-cost. It will be feasible thanks to a huge reduction of mass through a simple design and operation Space responsive femto-satellites will be dedicated to Disaster Management (DM) mainly in the Responsive phase. First hours are critical for the First Responders Real-time pictures are sent to the First Responders via wireless. No large infrastructure is required The operation of each femto-satellite is simplified using a List of Coordinates. The first is the Interest Point. The rest are scheduled downloads for Decision Makers or others agents 5. Conclusions

Thanks for your attention! tristancho@gmail.com This work has been supported by the MITYC under the contract reference TSI-020100-2010-138 as a part of the grant AVANZA competitividad I+D+I 2010 26