The launch of NANOSATC-BR2 and the making up of

the first Brazilian INPE-UFSM CubeSats constellation

Nelson Jorge Schuch(1), Rodrigo Passos Marques(1), Fernando Sobroza Pedroso(1),

Thales Ramos Mânica(1), Leonardo Zavareze da Costa(1), Jose Valentin Bageston(1),

Juliano Moro(1,2), Otávio Santos Cupertino Durão(3), Marlos Rockenbach da Silva(3),

Odim Mendes(3), Fátima Mattiello-Francisco(3), Danilo Almeida Pallamin(3),

Andrei Piccinini Legg(4), André Luís da Silva(4), João Baptista dos Santos Martins(4) and

Eduardo Escobar Bürger(4)

(1)Southern Regional Space Research Center – CRCRS/COCRE/INPE-MCTIC, in collaboration with the Santa

Maria Space Science Laboratory - LACESM/CT-UFSM, Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, njschuch@gmail.com(2)State Key Laboratory of Space Weather, Beijing, China.(3)National Institute for Space Research (INPE/MCTIC), São José dos Campos - SP, Brazil. (4)Federal University of Santa Maria - UFSM, Technology Center, Professors, Santa Maria - RS, Brazil.

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 11-15 November 2019

International Academy of Astronautics

2nd IAA Latin American Symposium on Small Satellites:

Advanced Technologies and Distributed Systems

Conference

TECHNOLOGY CENTER – CT/UFSM

Santa Maria, RS – Brazil

SOUTHERN REGIONAL SPACE RESEARCH CENTER

CRCRS/COCRE/INPE – MCTIC

Santa Maria, RS – Brazil

NATIONAL INSTITUTE FOR SPACE RESEARCH – INPE/MCTIC

UNIVERSITY FEDERAL OF SANTA MARIA – UFSM

Background - Development Strategy

Background:➢ In (2006) start the decision to create the NANOSATC-BR Program

and in (2008) the development of the NANOSATC-BR1 Mission as a 1U CubeSat

➢ Many papers and presentations by the students since then

➢ First missions suggested by INPE scientists

➢ Work for the NANOSATC-BR Program start in 2009

Development strategy:➢ To develop the mission rather than the platform

➢ Start with payload development, software, AIT and operation

➢ Re-engineering to develop the platform subsystems

➢ To bring technology from abroad and incorporate it through the industry – joint ventures

➢ To create an industry in Brazil for this class of satellite

NANOSATC-BR – NCBR

Capacity Building

The major objective of the INPE-UFSM’s NCBR Program is to perform a

Specialized Human Resource Capacity Building Program through the

training of UFSM’s undergraduate and former students

Capacity a new generation of scientists, engineers and researchers

engineering and computing sciences through a CubeSat Program

Approximate the Brazilian Space Program to Universities, such as:

UFSM, UFRGS, UFRN, UFABC, UFMG and USP

Therefore, the Program provides hands-on training and learning with

Aerospace Engineering & Technologies and Space Weather issues

Training of the students, at INPE and at the Brazilian space industries as

well, as at universities and space industries abroad: TU - Berlin, University of Wurzburg and DLR in Bremen in Germany

Innovative Solutions In Space - ISIS – Delft, in The Netherlands

La Sapienza – Università Degli Studi di Roma, TU - Roma, in Italy

University at Buffalo, University of Tennessee and NASA - Goddard Space Flight Center, in USA

SSAU – Samara State Aerospace University, in Russia

NANOSATC-BR

Current Engineering Research

Students from several Engineering Courses at UFSM

currently perform Research and Simulation at the

CRCRS/COCRE/INPE-MCTIC in numerous subsystems and

topics, such as:

➢ Thermal Subsystem of Spacecrafts

➢ Structural and Mechanical Analysis

➢ Orbital Analysis and Flight Performance

➢ Development of Electronic Devices

➢ Protection Strategies for Solar Events caused by the Space Weather

Number of Students in the Program

➢ The main objective of the

NANOSATC-BR Program is the Capacity

Building, which happens through the

training of undergraduate students in

their respective areas in UFSM

Aerospace, Electrical, and Mechanical

Engineering

➢ An essential quality of this Program

is the close participation of students,

teachers, and researchers for the

development of activities focused on

excellence and results

➢ 34 (thirty-four) students with a

technical background and from various

undergraduate courses participated

directly in researches related to satellite

technology in the Program

Works published and participation in

Congresses

➢The academic work produced by the students includes good engineering practices and

techniques, with several publications in national and international congresses as well as

participation in workshops, all directly related to the Program’s activities

The NCBR1 and NCBR2

Engineering Model Platforms

The NCBR1, 1U and NCBR2, 2U

They have name and up and down frequencies link determined by

The International Amateur Radio Union – IARU, in 2011

NANOSATC-BR MISSIONS

NCBR1 - Science Mission

➢ The first Brazilian 1U - CubeSat scientific satellite, the

NANOSATC-BR1, is a 10x10x11.3 cm cube, weighing 0,965 kg

Earth Magnetic Field intensity measurements

South American Magnetic Anomaly – SAMA

XEN-1210 is a three-axis magnetometer with a resolution of 15nT

from the Dutch company XI - Xensor Integration (www.xensor.nl)

Only one payload circuit board with scientific and

technological payloads

NCBR1 - CURRENT SITUATION

➢ The NANOSATC-BR1 was launched on June 19th, 2014 as a tertiary

payload by ISIS in the event ISILAUNCH 07, by a DNEPR, at Yasny

Launching Base, Donbarovsky Region, Russia

➢ All payloads and subsystems, except the batteries in the power

subsystem continue to operate normally

➢ The battery can no longer hold electric charge because it was damaged

by magnetic solar storms in September-October 2014

➢ Today the NANOSATC-BR1 can transmit only when it is in sight by

the Sun

➢ The World Amateur Radio Network is currently providing NCBR1 data

NCBR1

Science Mission ResultsF (nT)

SM-RS

a)

b)

c)

(a) SAMA Geomagnetic

Field Total Intensity

from IGRF-12 model.

(b) Magnetic field

amplitude and

distribution of the

correction for the

diamagnetic effect

applied to the noon-

time EEJ (Lühr et al.

(2004).

(c) Scientific results from

the NANOSATC-

BR1 crossing the

SAMA: values are less

than 10.000 nT in the

center of the anomaly,

which is the half of the

predicted values from

the IGRF model.Lühr, H., S. Maus, & M. Rother, “Noon-time equatorial electrojet: Its spatial features as

determined by the CHAMP satellite”, J. Geophys. Res., 109, A01306,

doi:10.1029/2002JA009656. 2004.

NANOSATC-BR Ground Stations Network (GS)

The NANOSATC-BR's Ground Station Network (GS) is already

installed and in operation: to the left - GS(INPE-CRS) at

CRS/INPE-MCTI, in Santa Maria, RS, and to the right -

GS(INPE-ITA) at ITA/DCTA-MD, in São José dos Campos, SP, in

Brazil.

GS (INPE – CRS) Santa Maria, RS. GS (INPE – ITA) São José dos Campos, SP.

NANOSATC-BR Ground Station Control

Ground Station Control Room

of the NANOSATC-BR Program, installed jointly with the

LITN – Laboratory of Integration and Tests for Nanosatellites

at the Southern Regional Space Center from the

National Institute for Space Research, in Santa Maria, RS, Brazil.

NCBR2 - Current Situation - I

➢The NANOSATC-BR2 or NCBR2, is a 2U CubeSat, (10x10x22.6 cm), has

three major objectives: Capacity Building, Scientific Mission and

Technological Mission development.

➢The Scientific Mission is to monitor the Earth's Ionosphere and Magnetic

Field, with a Langmuir probe and a XEN-1210 magnetometer.

To finalize the NCBR2 it is necessary to do the following tasks:

➢- SDATF - Attitude Determination System tolerant to failure - First Brazilian

System Attitude Determination, with triple redundancy, presently in integration

and testing with the NCBR2 - EM platform;

➢- Langmuir Probe - Delivered for testing and integration with the NCBR2 - EM

platform and the onboard software - OBDH;

➢Store Forward Communication Package – software experiment, developed

by amateur radio communication from the Radio Amateur Satellite Corporation -

Brazil (AMSAT-BR) and SP-LABRE.

➢- CubeSat board with three experiments: FPGA-UFRGS; Magnetometer; IC -

SMDH/UFSM, first unit already delivered in Dec. 2017.

➢The entire platform flight software was developed in Brazil, by researchers and

engineers from INPE/MCTIC, already working in this area (Determination & Attitude

Control and Data Management).

➢The Control Law for the control software has also been developed in Brazil.

➢The Program received funding from the Brazilian Space Agency (AEB) through

UFSM-FATEC on May 2018 and managed to hire the launch of NANOSATC-BR2

on July 2019 alongside with ISIS.

➢Likewise NANOSATC-BR1 and other CubeSats projects, NANOSATC-BR2 will be

launched in a piggyback release as a tertiary cargo by the beginning of 2020 by a

Soyuz launch vehicle, operated by Roscosmos, of Russia.

➢The satellite’s future operation in orbit and tracking is under the responsibility of

the Control and Tracking Team of the NANOSATC-BR Program.

NCBR2 - Current Situation - II

NANOSATC-BR3 & NANOSATC-BR4:

Current Situation

The Engineering Models of both CubeSats

NANOSATC-BR1 & NANOSATC-BR2

are set to become the next Program satellites:

NANOSATC-BR3, (NCBR3) & NANOSATC-BR4, (NCBR4)

Both future payloads and upcoming scientific missions will be discussed with

researchers and engineers from the INPE/MCTIC, UFSM, and other Brazilian

universities.

Future missions of the NANOSATC-BR Program represent the continuity of

the Projects and the beginning of other Aerospace Programs in Southern Brazil

for the next decade.

NCBR3 - CURRENT SITUATION

➢The NCBR1 Engineering Model, in the near future, will become the

NANOSATC-BR3 - 1U CubeSat, which is currently being studied and tested

by the students of Aerospace Engineering from UFSM at the

Laboratory of Integration and Tests for Nanosatellites (LITN):

NCBR4 - CURRENT SITUATION

➢ Furthermore, the NCBR2 Engineering Model will become the NANOSATC-BR4

- 2U CubeSat, which is currently being studied and tested by students and

Software Engineers at INPE – São José dos Campos:

Making up of the First Brazilian

INPE-UFSM

NANOSATS - CubeSats Constellation

➢The combination of the NANOSATC-BR 1 & 2 with the development of

NANOSATC-BR 3 & 4 will conceive the very first Brazilian constellation of

INPE-UFSM's small satellites, in a partnership with the

UFSM's Aerospace Engineering Course.

➢Several experiments are planned to be tested on these CubeSats in the

future, including, but not limited to low-cost smart materials, communication

algorithm between two satellites of the constellation and improvement of the

current circuits tolerant to space radiation.

➢All those experiments can be tested in the future NANOSATC-BR family.

CONCLUSIONS

➢ Since it provides to young Brazilian people contact with low cost and fast

development on Space Technology, the Brazilian:

INPE-UFSM NANOSATC-BR, Cubesat Development Program

proves to be an excellent tool for developing a new generation of scientists,

engineers and researches, in Aerospace Technologies in Brazil.

➢ Throughout the development of the Program, more than 70 (seventy) people

contributed directly for the NANOSATC-BR Projects, including researchers

and teachers from various institutions in Brazil.

➢ It is expected an increase in the Brazilian Government Agencies support and

more investments for the development of Space Technology and for new

universities initiatives, in Brazil, such as the Brazilian INPE-UFSM

NANOSATC-BR Cubesat Development Program, with its CubeSats: the

NANOSATC-BR1, NANOSATC-BR2, NANOSATC-BR3 and NANOSATC-BR4

Projects.

➢ The authors thank to the Brazilian Space Agency - AEB, SEXEC/MCTIC, COCRE/INPE-MCTIC, UFSM-FATEC and to USP's LSITEC Association for the support, opportunity andgrants for the Brazilian INPE-UFSM NANOSATC-BR Cubesat Development Program, with itsCubeSats: the NANOSATC-BR1 & NANOSATC-BR2 Projects.

➢ The authors thank to Santa Maria Design House - SMDH, to Professors Dr. Ricardo Reis andDr. Fernanda G. L. Kastensmidt from the Graduate Program in Microelectronics, InformaticsInstitute from UFRGS, to UFABC (Dep. Engª Aeroespacial - Dr. Luiz Siqueira Filho), UFMG(Dep. Engª Eletrônica - Dr. Ricardo Duarte), the CITAR-FINEP Project, and to MCTIC-CNPq/INPE(PCI-PIBIC-PIBIT) and FAPERGS Programs for fellowships.

➢ The authors thank and acknowledges to Eng. Abe Bonnema and the ISIS's Board oDirectors for the grant, tutorial and logistics support at Delft, Yasny, for the Brazilianstudents and for the NANOSATC-BR, CubeSats Development Program.

➢ The Program and Project NANOSATC-BR1 thank to Mr. Reiner Rothe, amateur radio fromGermany and to Mr. Paulo Leite (PV8DX), amateur radio from Boa Vista, RR, Brazil, fortracking, downloading and sending systematically these data to the Program's data base, atINPE, in São José dos Campos, in Brazil.

➢ Dr. Nelson Jorge Schuch thanks the CNPq for the fellowship under the number 300886/2016-0.Dr. Marlos Rockenbach thanks CNPq for the fellowship under the number 301495/2015-7. Dr.Juliano Moro acknowledges the China-Brazil Joint Laboratory for Space Weather (CBJLSW) forsupporting his Postdoctoral fellowship, and CNPq for the grant 429517/2018-01.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Muito

ObrigadoThanks

Nelson Jorge Schuchnjschuch@gmail.com

The NANOSATC-BR Program site is: www.inpe.br/crs/nanosat/

International Academy of Astronautics

2nd IAA Latin American Symposium on Small Satellites:

Advanced Technologies and Distributed Systems Conference

Buenos Aires, Argentina, 11-15 November, 2019