MiniCarb: a passive, occultation-viewing, 6U CubeSat for observations of CO2, CH4, and H2O
Abstract
We present the final design, environmental testing, and launch history of MiniCarb, a 6U CubeSat developed through a partnership between NASA Goddard Space Flight Center and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. MiniCarb’s science payload, developed at Goddard, was an occultation-viewing, passive laser heterodyne radiometer for observing methane, carbon dioxide, and water vapor in Earth’s atmosphere at ∼1.6 µm s−1. MiniCarb’s satellite, developed at Livermore, implemented their CubeSat Next Generation Bus plug-and-play architecture to produce a modular platform that could be tailored to a range of science payloads. Following the launch on 5 December 2019, MiniCarb traveled to the International Space Station and was set into orbit on 1 February 2020 via Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus capsule which deployed MiniCarb with tipoff rotation of about 20° s−1 (significantly higher than the typical rate of 3° s−1 from prior CubeSats), from which the attitude control system was unable to recover resulting in a loss of power. In spite of this early failure, MiniCarb had many successes including rigorous environmental testing, successful deployment of its solar panels, and a successful test of the radio and communication through the Iridium network. This prior work and enticing cost (approximately $2 M for the satellite and $250 K for the payload) makes MiniCarb an ideal candidate for a low-cost and rapid rebuild as a single orbiter or constellation to globally observe key greenhouse gases.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Nov 19, 2021
- Source ID
- 10.1088/1361-6501/ac3679
Entities
People
- A J Digregorio
- Bill Bruner
- Darrell Carter
- E. L. Wilson
- Geronimo Villanueva
- Guru Ramu
- Jennifer Young
- Lance M Simms
- Paul Cleveland
- Vincent J Riot
Organizations
- Goddard Space Flight Center
- Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory