1. Standardizing Access to the ISS for Small Payloads
Zach Jacobs, Max Bezold, Jason Rexroat, Billy Danhauer, Alex Clements, Josh Evans, Haden Marrs,
Samir Rawashdeh, Trevor Fenwick, James E. Lumpp, Jr.
CubeLab Standard: The CubeLab standard is a small form-factor payload standard for the ISS providing a mechanical mount, power, and data transfer capabilities for a variety of payloads. The system is designed to utilize the NanoRacks platform on the ISS, allowing small payload modules to be carried to the station in standard Cargo Transfer Bags (CTB) aboard any of the existing and planned cargo vessels that service the station (e.g., Progress, ATV, HTV). After the operating lifespan of the individual CubeLabs, they can be disposed of in Progress vehicles or can even be returned to Earth on Soyuz and DragonLab.
-1U, 2U, and up to 4 x 2 U Volume Available
-Experiment possibilities include: environmental, biological, microfluidics, technology demonstrator, etc.
- ICD between CubeLabs and NanoRacks platform can be found at: 1U 2U 4U
4 x 2 U
UK Space Systems Lab – CubeLab Standard Bus
UK SSL has developed a system capable of taking the place of a ground station to “command” the ARC payload and store experimental data to an SD card. In order to accomplish this, the system commanding the payload has to be able to write to the SD card using a FAT file system. After research, the SSL chose to use an 8051 with the FATFs files system to accomplish this task. The CubeLab standard bus shares an SD card between the NanoRack interface and the 8051 file system. This allows astronauts to retrieve data on the SD card using a USB port on the front of the NanoRacks platform without interrupting the data retrieval process from the payload.
Temperature control is very critical for biological ARC payloads. The CubeLab bus implements a temperature control solution using a thermal control system consisting of peliter coolers and a heat sink.
3D rendering showing CubeLab standard bus circuit board and enclosure
CubeLab Standard Bus:
The CubeLab standard bus is designed to further lower the barriers of entry to research on the International Space Station. The CubeLab standard requires CubeLabs to appear to a laptop as USB mass storage devices. This requires the implementation of a file system and a USB mass storage device stack, which is beyond the capabilities of some researchers. In its simplest form, the CubeLab standard bus shall appear as a mass storage device to a laptop and provide an easy-to-use file system interface for the experiment.
To develop a real-world application for the CubeLab bus, the University of Kentucky Space Systems Lab (UK SSL) is working with NASA Ames Research Center (ARC) to develop a CubeLab standard bus which is capable of providing an interface between the NanoRacks platform and an ARC free-flying satellite payload. This project is being developed with support from the EPSCoR program.
Ames Research Center – MisST Payload The Small Satellite Payload Technologies (SSPT) Office at NASA Ames Research Center is NASA’s preeminent space biology research program. The SSPT leverages small form-factor autonomous spacecraft to answer fundamental questions about life on Earth by studying in the unique environment of space. The Ames team has conducted research using a series of free-flying CubeSats, utilizing microfluidics and advanced optical detectors, on missions including GeneSat, PharmaSat, O/OREOS, and MisST. UK SSL is partnering with NASA Ames SSPT office and the ISS National Lab to adapt an Ames payload (seen at left) to interface with the NanoRacks Platform aboard the ISS. As an example, the MisST payload is a fluorescent microscope/imaging system that will image labeled nematodes (C. elegans) and then image them as they move past the microscope stage.
NASA ARC MisST payload
Exploded view showing NanoRack platform, UK SSL CubeLab bus, MisST payload, EXPRESS Racks, and ISS