73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Paris, France, 18-22 September 2022.

Copyright ©2022 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.

IAC-22-C4,IPB,11,x71337

Feasibility Study of Orbit Control Methods in CubeSats with Electric Propulsion for an Interplanetary Mission

Pallavi Prasad*, Yassir Debbah, Gabriel Valles Valverde, Vignesh Vishwanath, Stephan Mc Lean, Claudia
Guerra, Angeliki Parisi-Ploumpi, Andy Navarro Brenes, Lokesh Kumar G, Gujjati Sathvik, Khushi Shah,
Priyanka V, Ashwin Balaji, Daniel Wischert

Space Generation Advisory Council (SGAC)

(*)Corresponding Author -email address: [email protected]

Abstract
With ESA Science Programme Voyage 2050, there is a need for technology developments in terms of more
efficient power and propulsion systems for future space missions. With regards to this, many science missions have
been proposed for solar system exploration, sample return, search for extraterrestrial life, exoplanets search and
understanding of the early universe. However, all such missions need an efficient and reliable satellite or a
constellation of satellites. Efficient propulsion and control methods can contribute in designing a satellite which is
reliable and can serve in achieving ambitious science objectives. In order to design such a satellite, different orbit
control mechanisms and electric propulsion systems have to be evaluated and adapted to the mission requirements.
Thus, this paper discusses the feasibility of electric propulsion technologies along with orbit control methods in
CubeSats for an interplanetary mission. With growing interest in small scale satellites, the demand for propulsion
systems with moderate power levels (between 1 to 20kW) has also increased. In line with the demand of such a
propulsion system, a hybrid propulsion model with electric propulsion and solar sails is investigated in this study.
This paper presents a particular case of a CubeSat orbiting Jupiter’s polar orbit which can contribute in achieving
various science goals such as understanding Jupiter’s magnetosphere and studying the mass and energy flows in the
Io-Jupiter system. A high-level phase 0/A, mission analysis and feasibility study, of such an electric propulsion
centric mission is conducted. Furthermore, the study exhibits a trade-off analysis of spacecraft power requirement
vis-`a-vis mass and thruster, trajectory design and manoeuvring, orbit determination and flight path control
mechanisms which can lead to an efficient mission to the Jovian system.

Keywords: CubeSats; Jupiter; Interplanetary Trajectory Design; Orbit Control Methods; Satellite Design; Satellite
Subsystems

Nomenclature (JO); Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO); Magnetoshell

e = Orbital eccentricity Aero Capture (MAC); Technology Readiness Level
a = Semimajor axis (TRL); Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)
i = Inclination angle Radio Frequency (RF); Marshall Space Flight Centre
Ω = Longitude of the ascending node (MSFC); Mission Control Centre (MCC); Near Earth
ω = Argument of periapsis Asteroid (NEA); Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCR); Sphere
θ0 = True anomaly of Influence (SOI)
T = initial epoch
t0 = Time of flight from Earth to Mars 1. Introduction
t1 = Time of flight from Mars to Jupiter The study is conducted by a group of students and
Ω𝑎𝑣𝑔= average nodal precession rate young professionals who are associated with the ‘Small
𝐼𝑠𝑝 = Specific Impulse Satellites Project Group’ at Space Generation Advisory
Council. The study is set up to analyse the feasibility of
Δv = Delta V cubesats capacity to perform an interplanetary mission.
More specifically, an interplanetary mission to the
Acronyms/Abbreviations Jovian system is designed to understand Jupiter’s
European Space Agency (ESA); Low Earth Orbit atmosphere and magnetosphere and how it can
(LEO); Electric Propulsion (EP); National Aeronautics contribute to study the mass and energy flows in the
and Space Administration (NASA); Earth-Mars-Jupiter Io‐Jupiter system.
(EMJ); Deep Space Manoeuver (DSM); Jupiter Orbital
Insertion (JOI); Time of Flight (ToF); Jupiter Orbit

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1.1 Background further complexities. Io, a highly active volcanic moon,

Cubesats have become an integral component of is caught between the gas giant’s massive gravitational
modern space exploration. What initially began as an force and that of the other two moons, Ganymede and
educational challenge, has now morphed into an Europa [3]. The allure of the gas giant, however,
indispensable tool not only in LEO orbits, but also in motivates the scientific community to overcome these
interplanetary missions. Their position in deep space challenges in order to contribute to the advancement of
was claimed in 2018, during the MarCO mission. planetary sciences.
WALL-E and EVE, the first cubesats to venture beyond
the Earth’s orbit, followed the InSight lander on its 1.3.2 Propulsion Methods for CubeSats
mission to Mars [1]. The two satellites provided Electric propulsion (EP) methods are growing
feedback and data during the precarious landing of the increasingly more popular in cubesat applications due to
mission and successfully completed their duties. the high specific impulse achievable, allowing for the
However, as their orbit got further from the sun, NASA reduction in propellant stored on board, and as a result,
lost contact. No cubesats have gone further than the Red the overall cost. However, the translation of the
Planet. Despite their untimely end, the MarCO mission complex EP subsystems to the cubesat scale is a
served as a proof of concept about the potential of difficult task. In this section, a selection of EP methods
Cubesats in deep space exploration. Future missions are proven suitable for cubesats are explored in the context
already in the works to explore Venus, Jupiter’s Europa, of the mission design. It is worth noting that using EP in
and many more. this context is a relatively new idea, as propulsion in
cubesats in general has been primarily used for attitude
1.2 Objective & Scope control.
The long term objective of the study is to contribute In a 2014 conference paper [4], NASA presented the
to ESA's Science Programme Voyage 2050. This study conceptual design of a 6U cubesat designed to reach a
investigates: Near-Earth asteroid. Among the propulsion methods
● State-of-the-art Cubesat sizes and Electric examined were hall effect and ion thrusters with xenon
Propulsion Technologies to reach Jupiter or iodine propellants, as well as electrospray thrusters.
● Trajectory analysis and feasibility study to In the final design, a miniaturised ion thruster with
orbit Jupiter and its moon- ‘Io’ iodine propellant was selected to achieve the high Δv
● The orbit control strategies to be applied in the and satisfy the high specific impulse needed due to the
flight path, orbit manoeuvring and orbit mass restrictions.
insertion for a trajectory to Jupiter In 2019, Krejci et al. [5], presented their work on
● The payload selection for atmospheric and the staging of electric propulsion systems in order to
magnetosphere study facilitate the use of cubesats in interplanetary missions.
● Challenges and trade-off assessment of the Using modular electric thrusters could allow them to be
cubesat’s subsystems and the payload successively powered and, as such, the cubesat could
shed the weight of the ones without propellant along its
1.3 Literature Review trip. The result would be an increasing Δv without the
In preparation for this feasibility study, a literature excess power consumption.
review was carried out to gather information on the Solar sail is another means of propulsion in an
Jovian environment and electric propulsion methods for interplanetary mission. It uses sunlight to propel
cubesats found in space missions, whether conceptual or vehicles through space, similar to sailboats in water. It
launched. Furthermore, trajectory design for similar uses solar photons, which are reflected by giant,
missions was also examined. The goal of this review mirror-like sails made of lightweight [6], reflective
was to gather information on the lessons learnt from the material 40 to 100 times thinner than paper. The
implementation of electric propulsion in this context to continuous photonic pressure provides enough thrust to
understand how they can be translated to deep space perform manoeuvres, such as hover and plane change.
exploration. There have been a number of successful cubesat
missions which are outlined further. The initiative in
1.3.1 The Jovian Environment modern days to deploy large structures into space with a
Jupiter has been and is the target of many missions, wide functional surface dates back to the 1960s, with
but its environment presents significant challenges to NASA’s Echo II [7], an inflatable balloon satellite to
mission design and deployment. As a planet ten times study the solar thrust effect in orbit, and the RF-reflector
the size of Earth, and with a magnetic field IAE, in the 1990s [8]. The Russian Space Mirror
approximately 20 times larger [2], meticulous planning Znamya-2, a 20-m spinning circular mirror, was
and research are required. Furthermore, this particular deployed in 1993 [9]. However, the first solar sail that
mission targets the Jupiter-Io system, which brings on was successfully deployed and demonstrated in

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interplanetary space was JAXA’s IKAROS, in 2010 trajectory requirements, Δv and atmospheric assumption
[10]. IKAROS was an important technological leap as it and requirements. The mission requirements and system
demonstrated spin-assisted sail deployment, with solar requirements are listed in table 1 and 2 respectively.
thrust being the primary propulsion system. Solar cells
were integrated on the sail, and a reflectivity-control
device was used for guidance and control. NASA is also Mission Requirements
currently working on the upcoming MSFC Solar Cruiser
Mission, which will be a technology demonstration
mission, while also studying the Sun [11]. And with Req. ID Statement
programs such as LightSail, CubeSail and NEA-Scout
[12,13], there is promise for implementing solar MISS-01 The volume shall be contained in a 27U
sail-based propulsion for cubesats in the near future. cubesat

1.3.3 Mission Analysis MISS-02 The spacecraft shall reach a polar orbit
While electric propulsion is a unique facilitator for with an inclination angle, i = 90°±10°
the use of cubesats in interplanetary missions, it
presents a significant challenge to the trajectory design MISS-03 The spacecraft shall reach an orbit with a
of a mission. The amount of thrust produced is perijove below 100,000 km. This is
insufficient to reach Jupiter directly and would also necessary in order to be close enough to
consume too much propellant, so other trajectory design Jupiter to collect data about its
methods have to be considered. magnetosphere and the atmosphere
Gravity-assisted fly-bys were studied for the purpose
of this project. The trajectory design of NASA’S JUNO MISS-04 A high-eccentricity orbit should be
mission to Jupiter was selected as a case study, as the achieved in order to have enough time
spacecraft successfully performed two DSMs and one outside the high radiation area for the
gravity-assisted fly-by [14]. power and communication systems to
operate correctly and send the collected
1.4 Document Structure data back to Earth
This paper is organised in 5 sections. After a brief
introduction, a section is allocated to the scope of the MISS-05 The spacecraft shall be thrusted by
mission’s feasibility study. Section 1 presents the micropropulsion during the transient
literature review for the project as a whole. Section 2 phase between Earth and Jupiter
describes meticulously the mission analysis that was
carried out. This analysis includes general information,
such as the mission requirements and assumptions, but MISS-06 The orbit control shall be done through
also detailed research on trajectory design and orbit micropropulsion
control methods. Section 3 builds on that foundation by
tackling the propulsion-relation component of the MISS-07 The orbit shall stay in a 5% margin for 10
project. From EP methods and solar sails to propellant orbit periods
choice, the section also discusses the limitation of
MISS-08 The spacecraft shall gather Jupiter's
current technologies with respect to the mission
magnetosphere data
requirements. Section 4 then presents the cubesat’s
feasibility in the given mission scenario consolidating
MISS-09 The spacecraft shall study Jupiter’s
the research performed previously. The challenges
atmosphere
encountered in this feasibility study are examined in
terms of the overall design with an aim to present a Table 1: Mission Requirements
realistic mission to Jupiter. Finally, section 5 provides
the recommendation and discussion of the paper.
System Requirements
2. Mission Analysis
2.1 Requirements and Design Drivers
The mission requirement details out the needs of the Req. ID Statement
mission in terms of the mission cost, launch period and
operational lifetime. The system requirement details out The spacecraft's power supply shall
SYS-01
the cubesat mass and volume, electric propulsion, power provide at least 45W
requirement, launcher selection, launch window,

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SYS-02 The electric thruster shall be ignited at 20 W 2.3.1 Launch & Earth Escape
In most cases, the Earth-escape is provided by the
The spacecraft shall send housekeeping data spacecraft’s onboard propulsion systems. However, in
SYS-03
to mission control centre every 72 mins order to reduce the over-dependence of the electric
SYS-04 The spacecraft shall keep data integrity thrusters, the launch vehicle itself will be used for
providing the escape kick. Rocket Lab’s Electron, a
The spacecraft shall determine its orbital three-stage reusable launch vehicle, is chosen for the
SYS-05
parameters mission. Being a ‘small-lift-launch vehicle’, it has a
The spacecraft shall perform the orbital “kickstage” which will be used to place the spacecraft
SYS-06 on its interplanetary trajectory. The designated launch
manoeuvres
site is Wallops Island, Virginia, USA. Since the velocity
Table 2: System Requirements
is maximum at the periapsis of any given orbit, the Mars
transfer burn shall be performed at its periapsis [17].
2.1.1 Trajectory and Orbit: Design Drivers The parking orbit is assumed to be either circular, or
The main drivers to design a trajectory for a cubesat elliptical with small eccentricity to apply the theory of
mission to Jupiter are a) Time of flight b) Rocket power Hohmann transfer and the patched-conic approximation
c) Spacecraft safety d) Manoeuvre complexity e) [17]. The delta v for the kickstage is determined using
Autonomous navigation f) Launch window suitability g) the Tsiolkovsky Rocket equation [18] to be 2.08 km/s
Duration of the mission. approx. It should be greater than or equal to the delta-v
required to reach Mars using a standard Hohmann
2.2 Trajectory Design Overview transfer, for a direct trajectory from Earth to Mars.
In order to design the trajectory the two major
concerns tackled are: a) Gravity Assist (GA) 2.3.2 Interplanetary Cruise to Jupiter
manoeuvres given the current EP limitations (see The Δv for reaching Mars from LEO is found to be
section 3) and b) Jupiter Orbit Insertion (JOI) related 3.61 km/s (see orbital parameters in tables 3 and 4).
issues like high arrival velocity. Since the delta-v provided by Electron’s kickstage is
A Low-Earth parking orbit altitude of 200 km less than required, the spacecraft cannot use a direct
(periapsis) has been chosen based on a trade-off study Hohmann transfer. Instead, a series of Earth-orbit
on previous Electron Rocket missions (see section 2.3.1 raising manoeuvres shall be performed at the perigee, to
for launcher selection) and Mars missions [15,16]. increase its apogee and eventually achieve the transfer
With respect to the Jupiter Orbit, it was first orbit. This way, the required delta-v can be achieved in
hypothesised that a Sun-Synchronous orbit (i = 96°) small increments, thus harnessing the Oberth effect
would be the best option to satisfy all the requirements. [19]. After escaping the Earth’s influence, the spacecraft
However, this would not provide an optimal position of is directed to Mars, whose gravitational field slingshots
the spacecraft relative to the Sun. Therefore, a polar the spacecraft to the desired trajectory to Jupiter.
orbit (non-SSO) with the same inclination was selected
via a trade-off study on orbital perturbations (see 2.3.3 Jupiter Orbit Capture
Appendix A) as it would allow the spacecraft to reach To enter Jupiter’s orbit, the following process takes
the closest possible position of the Sun, where the place (see figure 1):
power and communication subsystems will be able to 1. Hyperbolic entry into Jupiter’s influence
perform their tasks. 2. Aerocapture
3. Insertion orbit
2.3 Mission Concept of Operation 4. Orbit periapsis raising
For the interplanetary transfer, a single Mars Gravity 5. Final Jupiter orbit
Assist will be used (see section 2.4). Once the
spacecraft is launched and the parking orbit is achieved, The aerocapture happens at around 155-185 km
an escape kick manoeuvre will take the spacecraft on a altitude. At the apoapsis, after the aerocapture
course to Mars for the flyby, eventually reaching Jupiter. manoeuvre, the periapsis is raised to an altitude of 5,089
The sequence of events is as follows: km. During this stage, there is high uncertainty of
1. Launch and Earth-escape achieving the exact apoapsis. With the help of the
2. Interplanetary coast to Mars Hohmann transfer method, the apoapsis and periapsis
3. Flyby at Mars can be adjusted as desired, ideally in two manoeuvres.
4. Interplanetary coast to Jupiter
5. Jupiter orbit insertion

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Figure 1: Schematic of Jupiter Orbit Insertion

Figure 3: Interplanetary trajectory in the ecliptic plane
2.4 Interplanetary Trajectory Design Methods
The spacecraft will use a Earth-Mars-Jupiter (EMJ) The optimal trajectory is chosen based on minimal
gravity assist with no DSM to gain energy and change launch velocity, resulting in the following trajectory
its trajectory as required to reach the Jovian system. properties in tables 3, 4, 5 below. Additionally, a limit
This decision is made using the database from [20] for the launch year has been set to 2035.
based on the desired launch window and other
parameters. As a result, an EMJ trajectory has been
chosen. Moreover, it has been optimised independently
using a genetic algorithm for parameter validation,
getting similar results to [20]. Genetic Algorithm for
Gravity Assist is used along with delta-v matching for
trajectory optimization. The algorithm is presented in
Appendix A. The optimal trajectories are shown in the
following launch window plot.

Table 3: EMJ gravity assists trajectory

Table 4: Earth to Mars transfer orbit

Figure 2: Optimised trajectories selected by the genetic

algorithm
Table 5: Mars to Jupiter transfer orbit
2.5 Interplanetary Trajectory Overview
The selected launch window is in 2031 and takes The orbital parameters required for Mars flyby are
around two-and-a-half years to reach Jupiter and is given in Table 6.
shown in figure 3.

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Table 6: Mars flyby parameters

Figure 5: Aerocapture: reduction in orbital energy.
2.5 Jupiter Orbit Overview
Due to the high intensity of Jupiter’s magnetosphere
and the spacecraft’s limited protection from radiation,
the final orbit design converges towards a similar
solution as the one implemented in NASA’s Juno
mission [21]. This includes a highly elliptical orbit (e =
0.92-0.96) with a perijove radius of 75,000 km, or about
1.07 Jupiter radii, and an apojove ranging between
13.41 Jupiter radii (e = 0.92) and 26.82 Jupiter radii (e =
0.96). The three main parameters considered are
apojove, orbital period, and approximate time near the
high-radiation area.
Figure 6: Delta-v for periapsis raising after aerocapture.
2.6 Orbit Control Methods
While designing the JOI, the aerocapture mechanism
plays an important role in achieving the desired orbit.
Alternative methods of JOI are also assessed such as
electrodynamic tethers and magnetoshell aerocapture
(see Appendix B). However, aerocapture is found to be
most suitable for the given mission scenario.
Aerocapture results where orbit periapsis raising will
be performed with EP are shown below. This study is
purely theoretical, and corrections will be required in
order to keep the spacecraft in compliance with the
mission requirements and the orbit presented in section
2.5. Figure 7: Eccentricity achieved after periapsis raising.

2.7 Io Flyby Feasibility

An orbit insertion manoeuvre at Jupiter, along with a
flyby around Io using EP is considered to be impossible
at the time of this study. Required delta-v in orbital
energy is around 6 orders of magnitude greater than the
delta-v that would be achieved in an optimal gravity
assist braking manoeuvre.
A second alternative for achieving an Io Flyby for
its study might be feasible during the end of life. A
small kick at the apoapsis will reduce the periapsis into
the Jupiter atmosphere. Thus, an aerobraking
Figure 4: Aerocapture: insertion apoapsis. manoeuvre can be performed in order to reduce the
apoapsis enough to intersect with Io orbit. Since this
would be a coplanar orbit transfer, it might additionally
require a change in the orbital plane. This whole

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trajectory design needs to know accurately the position under experimentation [24]. BIT-1 from Busek works at
of the spacecraft at the end of mission and would 10W and produces very low thrust. The electric
require further and precise analysis. thrusters will hence be used to provide the necessary
thrust for Jupiter orbit raising, post aerocapture. BIT-3
has been chosen for its low-power operating conditions,
high specific impulse, and gimballing capability, which
enable attitude and orbit control. The thrust produced by
BIT-3 is approximately 1.1mN [22].

Propellant Iodine, solid storage

Envelope 180 x 88 x 102 mm

Figure 8: Io coplanar orbit transfer
Mass 1.28 kg w/o gimbal
3. Propulsion
3.1 Requirement and Design Drivers System Power 56 - 75 W

Req. ID Statements Propellant Mass 52 µg / sec

Flow
PROP-01 Provide necessary thrust for the mission
manoeuvers Delta-V Up to 2.39 km/s (14 kg
CubeSat)
PROP-02 Provide necessary torques to adjust the
misalignments Integrated Gimbal: 2-axis, ±10° (capable of
(Optional) desaturating reaction
PROP-03 Support the automatic AOCS wheels)
manoeuvres Table 8 :Thruster specifications
Table 7: Propulsion system requirements

3.2 Assumptions & Trade-offs

Following assumptions are considered while
analysing an electric propulsion system for the cubesat:
● The Δv considered to raise the cubesat to its final
orbit will be below 100 m/s providing a valid
aerocapture range of approximately 30 km (see
Figure 7).
● Input power from solar panels is sufficient to Figure 9: BIT-3 with gimbal [22]
operate the thruster.
For the selection of an appropriate thruster, it is
3.3 Propulsion Methods worth investigating additionally available thrusters. The
BHT series of thrusters provide considerably high
3.3.1 Electric Propulsion thrust, all in the order of a few mN. While the largest
For the mission, hall effect thrusters and ion thruster of the series is BHT-20K, although delivering
thrusters are examined as they have a high specific excellent performance, it is a setback since it demands a
impulse. The power available is very low as the whopping 20kW of power [22]. This ultra-high power
cubesat's only power source are the solar panels. Hence thruster provides a thrust of upto 1005mN and a specific
low-power thrusters are considered. Thrusters namely impulse of 2515s [22]. The propellants used are Iodine,
HT-100 and BHT-200 [22] can provide sufficient thrust Xenon or Krypton. The lowest thruster in this series by
for orbit raising and have very high Δv values, but the performance itself demands 100W of power, which
power available is not sufficient, which can cause dictates shifting to a different family of thrusters.
propellant utilisation problems i.e. a decrease in the Other options such as electrospray and monopropellant
mass flow rate of propellant results in a low specific thrusters give similar performance and flexibility, but
impulse [23]. Miniaturised ion thrusters such as MiXI what turns out to be more peculiar for the mission is the
can operate in low power conditions, but it is currently gimballing capability, which is available in

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radio-frequency ion thrusters [22]. Hence, a thruster of ● Inversely proportional to the square of the distance
this class namely the BIT-3 emerges as the most suitable from the Sun
one, without any compromise on the mission-specific ● Inversely proportional to the speed of light.
requirements. Following the thruster selection, the
propellant choice plays a significant role. In order to maximise the thrust produced, the above
parameters have to be considered. Though a solar sail
3.3.1.1 Propellant has a continuous influx of solar photons, the
The choice of propellant plays an important role in conventional ones are low-thrust devices, which implies
the acceleration of Isp-based thruster configurations that the thrust builds up slowly over time. This can be
since most of the propellant characteristics influence the offset by incorporating powered sails. This works as a
nature of thrust imparted by the thrusters. Xenon is combination of solar sail and electric propulsion, thus
generally the most commonly used propellant, but it has providing an initial momentum.
proven to have some disadvantages as outlined further, Considering solar sail as a means of propulsion is
making it unsuitable for the mission. based on the following advantages:
Firstly, Xenon is very costly, making it economically ● The solar sail can be used for propulsion, as an
non-viable. Being a noble gas, the thruster exhaust must antenna, or both by manoeuvrability
be evacuated from the test site to maintain a vacuum ● Decreasing the sail thickness would
environment, typically using cryogenic pumps which accommodate a larger sail for a given cubesat
are again costly to procure. Its usage poses an increase volume. Advanced materials can be used to
in cost and complexity of the infrastructure, recurrence accommodate longer booms for a given boom
and improvement. Hence, self-pumping electric mass and volume.
propellants are preferable as they are cheaper and more
efficient. Solar-powered sails are an upgraded version of
First introduced and patented by the US Air Force, conventional sails. They have electric power generation
Iodine has been a pioneering endeavour in the field of capabilities and high-efficiency ion engines. However
deep space propulsion systems [24]. In 2010, Busek they are not fuel-free propulsion systems and require
pioneered utilisation of Iodine in the development of Xenon as their propellant [30]. Thin film-like solar cells
BHT-200 Hall Effect Thruster [25]. Since then, it has on the membranes generate electric power, making the
been receiving a lot of support from individuals and system efficient for outer space missions and orbit
agencies alike, to be the future of electric propulsion control strategies. Hence this system is preferred for the
[26, 27]. Iodine has several advantages over Xenon mission. The electric propulsion system is situated
owing to its storage and handling requirements, and below the solar sail and provides stumbling, initial
ergonomic fuel capacity. A comparison of the properties impulsive thrust and momentum management by
of Iodine and Xenon is presented in [26]. desaturating the reaction wheels. Solar arrays are
Due to its extremely low storage vapour pressure, deployed in the plane of the solar sail, which serve as
Iodine has a lightweight tank [28]. It can deal with the mounting location for a planar patch antenna array.
substances like MACOR or Alumina in the plasma The spacecraft will use deep‐space attitude control
generation chambers, making the thruster architecture that would respond to the unique attitude
Iodine-capable [23]. Thruster grids made of Nickel control considerations imposed by the solar sail, while
Chromium alloys such as Inconel and Hastelloy have leveraging commercially available hardware.
high corrosive potence towards Iodine [24]. All these Detumbling and saving manoeuvres rely on inertial
make Iodine the best choice of propellant for the measurement units, sun sensors, and system actuators.
mission. Momentum management is accomplished by spinning
the solar sail slowly about the norm of the sail to
3.3.2 Solar Sail Propulsion average out the momentum build-up due to small offsets
Solar Sails: A qualitative picture of the thrust in its centre of pressure and centre of mass.
produced by a solar sail and the major parameters For the mission, a three-axis stabilised, square sail
associated with it are outlined as follows. The thrust will be used. The booms will be made of Carbon Fibre
produced is [29]: Reinforced Polymer and the sail will be made of
● Directly proportional to the fraction of incident Polyamide with Aluminium coating on both sides (7-12
light micrometre thickness).
● Directly proportional to the area of the solar sail
● Directly proportional to the solar flux 3.4 Challenges & Technology Needs
● Directly proportional to the square of the sine of Reducing the operational power of the thruster can
tilt angle cause propellant utilisation problems as mentioned [23].
Iodine as a chemical also has certain physio-complex

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properties such as with relatively low dissociation intensity of the radiation is inversely proportional to the
energy at 1.54 eV. Some disadvantages are the corrosive square of the distance.
nature of Iodine as evident from basic chemistry [23]. Moreover, the total degradation coefficient of
Thruster grids built from Nickel Chromium alloys like efficiency plays a very critical role, for long-duration
Inconel and Hastelloy have high corrosive potence missions, in determining the end-of-life power PEOL
towards Iodine [24]. On the other hand employing solar generated by the solar arrays. The degradation
sails in the design also have some challenges: coefficient can be estimated by determining the
● Large membranes are required to get sufficient degradation due to radiation, and temperature changes.
thrust, as the force exerted by photons is low The trade-off of the efficiency reduction shows an
● Fabrication of large sails still produces less increase in the total area of the solar array, which will be
amount of thrust which increases the duration of challenging to tackle in the limited size of cubesats.
the mission considerably Having a huge solar array area decreases the overall
volume of the satellite, which reduces the possibilities
4. CubeSat’s Feasibility of having more experimental payloads. Furthermore, the
4.1 Requirements and Design Drivers chances of failure will increase because of the increase
The main system requirement specifies that the final in the linking mechanisms holding the solar panels with
mass of the probe shall fit within the 11–75 kg range. each other. Having multiple folds will render the sensors
Furthermore, gathering data on Jupiter's magnetosphere useless until the aerocapture, making the attitude
near a high radiation zone using a microsatellite determination and control lose inputs from sun sensors
imposes additional operational constraints. The power, and star trackers.
radiation shielding, electrical propulsion, and thermal The solar panels with an overall area of 3.8m2 will
subsystems shall be designed to sustain efficient power the satellite during its journey to the Jovian
payload operations throughout the duration of the system. The panels are made of triple junction Gallium
mission ~ 3.5 years. arsenide (GaAs) solar cells that provide an efficiency of
40%. Because of the low temperature and solar flux at
the beginning of the mission, as well as the high level of
radiation, the solar panels will degrade faster than in an
Earth-orbiting mission, which will lead to approximately
34.77~35.5% efficiency in the Jovian system. The solar
arrays shall sustain the average load level when facing
the Sun. The volume taken by the solar arrays is
approximately 26.6% of the volume of 27U cubesat ~7U.
The batteries used are Lithium-ion batteries; sufficient
power needs to be reserved for all systems working in the
eclipse area, and peak loads. The satellite will use a
24V-10 Amp battery (14.8x8.1x7.1cm) which will store
240Wh of energy. About 720Wh of energy can be stored
in a volume of 2.6U.
Table 9: Overview of subsystems affected by the
tradeoffs section
4.2 Challenges & Trade-offs
The sizes 6U/12U/27U are the biggest limitation for
the satellite’s design. It will reduce the efficiency and/or
output quality of various subsystems, especially the
power supply, the communication, and the AOCS
subsystems in case of electrical propulsion. Therefore the Table 10: Electrical power system modes; x mark the
size of 27U is considered for the baseline design and current subsystems in use.(1. Pre-Jovian System
analysis of the CubeSat. Insertion; 2. Jovian System Insertion; 3. Orbit
(Sunlight); 4. Orbit (Eclipse); 5. Safe Mode)
4.2.1 Electric Power Supply
There will be a reduction in efficiency for the power
supply subsystem (solar panels), which represents the
core system for the satellite and the electrical propulsion
system. This is due to multiple changes in the
environment of the satellite. These changes can be
expressed by the inverse square law, which states the Table 11: Jovian System probe power consumption (W)

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 73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Paris, France, 18-22 September 2022.
Copyright ©2022 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.

4.2.2 Aerocapture 4.2.5 Payload

From section 2.6, the use of aerocapture is Several remote sensing instruments have been
mandatory for the designed trajectory. It is a must to assessed to develop adaptations on state-of-the-art
protect the solar arrays and the antenna. However, technologies to devise a suitable payload for the
having a satellite much smaller than the antenna might mission. However, there is no payload available to be
not be enough to provide the minimum needed fitted in a 27U CubeSat to observe the Magnetosphere
protection. Solar panels will not be able to get retracted and the atmospheric composition of Jupiter. This brings
before re-entry and re-deploy after the aerocapture. The a need to develop a nano-size remote sensing instrument
chances of getting retracted and re-deployed will for a mission of such scale.
decrease by increasing the complexity of the
mechanisms and total area. 5. Recommendation & Conclusion
Moreover, these problems can be solved with some Getting out of the Earth's influence was the first
creative ideas (See recommendations section) that will challenge at hand. The Earth escape manoeuvre, unlike
be either hard to implement or impose on the mission conventional missions, was designed to be performed
control and the satellite to go through a set of complex by the launch vehicle itself. The Electron rocket was
manoeuvres in a communication delay that is 33 min chosen based on a brief review of Small Satellite
and can reach up to 53 min depending on the position of Launch Vehicles. However, due to the insufficient
Earth-Jupiter [31]. delta-v provided by the kickstage, the spacecraft shall
utilise the Oberth effect to gain energy through a series
4.2.3 Radiation shielding of apogee-raising slingshots in Earth orbit, to achieve
From section 2.5 the orbit taken was designed to Mars transfer. Following a course to Mars, the flyby is
avoid passing by the high radiation zone in Jupiter's performed, giving additional velocity to reach Jupiter.
equatorial region. However, the most critical A study discussing the feasibility of a cubesat
subsystems to protect are avionics and AOCS. In the mission to Jupiter has been presented. While some of
Jovian system, the dominant particles are high-energy the tasks intended required further detailed study, the
electrons, with the energy of E >1MeV that can reach others have not proven to be possible with the current
up to E >100MeV [32]. Using the designed manoeuvre, state-of-the-art technology. Firstly, sending a cubesat
the satellite will pass by regions with high-energy into the outer solar system using EP is challenging. The
electrons that reach 40MeV. volume proposed is very restrictive, limiting the power
Using a cubesat outside the active radiation supply that could be generated to use EP.
shielding area of planets (Earth, Mars) might cause However, the interplanetary trajectory does not
damage to the avionics and other components of AOCS. require any deep space manoeuvre, which enables the
These issues can be minimised by adding an additional use of EP just for small corrections as part of the AOCS
radiation protection vault that will increase the weight output. Although a deeper analysis was out of the scope
of the CubeSat tremendously by 36kg to 47kg and of this project, solar sailing can be used in the inner
decrease the needed volume. The decrease is due to the Solar System to reduce the time of flight of the
high energy GCR that needs walls of 3-8 cm thick missions.
(copper-Aluminium) to reduce the radiation on the For the EP, BIT-3 was chosen as the thruster as it was
avionics, which will take between 6U to 12U volume. found to be the most suitable for the mission, without
any compromise on the mission-specific requirements.
4.2.4 Communication Its low-power operating conditions, high specific
It is one of the most crucial subsystems in the impulse, and gimballing capability facilitated attitude
satellite (if the antenna diameter is over 55cm), and it’s and orbit control. Iodine was chosen as the propellant,
the one that can either make the mission a success or a due to its exceptional storage and handling qualities,
failure. However, working with long distances and high and ergonomic fuel capacity. In addition to the
velocities might affect the frequency of the antenna. The conventional solar sail, the option of a hybrid
frequency received is slightly different from the propulsion system, namely the solar-powered sail was
transmitted, which might create small losses. Moreover, investigated. Its usage was proposed for the
the size and data rate of the antenna are always limited Earth-Mars-Jupiter trajectory to maximise efficiency.
to the volume of the satellite and how much gain power On reaching Jupiter’s SOI, some major concerns
the power supply can provide. Furthermore, if the appear. Orbit insertion requires a high reduction in the
antenna is over 55 cm in diameter, the shadow it creates energy which could not be performed by the propulsion
might cover the solar array, which will decrease the system, owing to the long burn times required. A flyby
overall efficiency of the power supply. of Io was also difficult. So, alternative ways of orbit
insertion were studied: electro- magnetic tethers, MAC
and aerocapture. The latter method appears to be the

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 73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Paris, France, 18-22 September 2022.
Copyright ©2022 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.

only feasible option, but it posed a threat to the satellite reduction in the diameter of the magnetoshell for a 3U
in terms of radiation and thermal shielding, increasing CubeSat was noted due to the reduced electrical energy
weight and decreasing volume inside the cubesat, needed for satisfactory operation [39]. The use of
thereby posing threat to the antenna. SmallSats structures may ease the aforementioned
constraints, but exceeds the scope of this study. A
6. Acknowledgements suggested improvement on this technology for the
Sincere thanks to Laura Manoliu, Co-lead of the requirements of this mission may need further studies
Small Satellites Project Group at Space Generation on the design and integration of a battery stack with a
Advisory Council, for providing constant support higher charge density, coupled with a subsystem
throughout the course of the paper. And special thanks to designed to generate the required electrical energy
Baptiste Rubino, Space Generation Advisory Council and during the manoeuvre to decrease its reliance on internal
Adesh Phalphale, Space Generation Advisory Council for energy, thus improving its TRL.
their contribution in brainstorming and discussion b) Aerocapture: A thermal analysis is carried out to
activities during the project. investigate the aerodynamic effects on the spacecraft,
using fundamental Gas Dynamics [34-36]. Owing to the
Appendix A (Genetic algorithm for interplanetary overpredicted results, this poses only a theoretical
trajectory selection) solution. A practical solution considering winds and
The input for the genetic algorithm model is a rotational effects, and the practically gradual re-entry
three-dimensional vector containing the date of launch corridor, is beyond scope here.
referred from an initial epoch (T) and times between the
different cruises - particularly the time of flight from
Earth to Mars (t0) and time of flight from Mars to
Jupiter (t1) [33]. Then, the vector is binary-encoded
according to certain maximum values in three different
genes. Additionally, double point crossover and
inversion gene mutation have been performed. The
optimal trajectory is according to the fitness function.

Figure B.1: Flow properties across shock (hypersonic)

c) Electrodynamic tether: Faraday’s equations of

electrodynamics are used to model an analysis [37,38].
The assumptions used are: (i) constant mass of cubesat,
for tether length of 1-1000m (ii) effects of gravity
gradients on tether neglected. Owing to the huge tether
length and mass requirements, and complexity in its
deployment, the use of the electrodynamic tether is
discarded.
Figure A.1: Fitness function proposed for trajectory
classification

Appendix B (Jupiter Insertion Mechanisms )

a) MAC Technology: This employs a magnetic
dipole plasma, known as a magnetoshell, to
momentarily ionise and constrain neutral particles
located within a planet’s atmosphere that is along the
trajectory of the manoeuvre. The resulting momentum
of these particles is then transferred to the spacecraft,
favourably increasing the drag force on it without a
rapid rise in temperature or dynamic pressure. However,
the mass and geometric envelope of CubeSats are some Figure B.2: Lorentz force as a function of insertion
of the inflexible design parameters which alters MAC’s velocity at periapsis, for the family of orbits designed
effectiveness in practice. Under lab-testing conditions, a (L=1000m) at 175km insertion periapsis.

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 73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Paris, France, 18-22 September 2022.
Copyright ©2022 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.

Appendix C (Orbital Perturbations)

Figure C.4: Argument of perigee angle against the

number of orbits
Figure C.1: Rate of Nodal Precession against Inclination
Angle. Note: 1 Jovian day = 9.9259 hours.

Figure C.2: Argument of Perigee against Inclination

angle.

Figure C.3: Nodal precession angle against the number

of orbits

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 73rd International Astronautical Congress (IAC), Paris, France, 18-22 September 2022.
Copyright ©2022 by the International Astronautical Federation (IAF). All rights reserved.

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