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Casini, S. (author), Fodde, I. (author), Engelen, S. (author), Monna, Bert (author), Cervone, A. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)The aim of this paper is to assess the feasibility of using currently available commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) small-satellites components in deep-space scenarios, studying their applicability and performance. To evaluate the performances, an asteroid fly-by mission is briefly introduced, but several of the selection criteria and ideas can be...conference paper 2020
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Pasqualetto Cassinis, L. (author), Fonod, R. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author), Ahrns, Ingo (author), Gil Fernandez, Jesus (author)This paper introduces a novel framework which combines a Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) for feature detection with a Covariant Efficient Procrustes Perspective-n-Points (CEPPnP) solver and an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF) to enable robust monocular pose estimation for close-proximity operations around an uncooperative spacecraft. The relative...conference paper 2020
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Broekhuizen, C.H. (author), Speretta, S. (author), Uludag, M.S. (author), van den Bos, M.F. (author), Haenen, J. (author), Menicucci, A. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)In this paper, a detailed design is presented of a communications module that is designed to fit tight PocketQube design budgets but still offer performance at least comparable to commercial off-the-shelf CubeSat solutions. The communications module features extremely efficient power usage, less than 2 Watt DC for 1 Watt RF output while fitting...conference paper 2020
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Uludag, M.S. (author), Speretta, S. (author), Menicucci, A. (author), van den Bos, M.F. (author), Broekhuizen, C.H. (author), Bielders, M.J.M. (author), Haenen, J. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)This paper presents the design, integration and testing of a pico satellite, Delfi-PQ, a 3P PocketQube developed by Delft University of Technology, expected to be launched at the end of 2020. The main goal of this project is creating a miniaturized platform for future space missions with performances comparable to CubeSats, taking advantage of...poster 2020
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Bouwmeester, J. (author), Radu, S. (author), Uludag, M.S. (author), Chronas, N. (author), Speretta, S. (author), Menicucci, A. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)PocketQubes are a form factor of highly miniaturized satellites with a body of one or more cubic units of 5 cm. In this paper, the characteristics of PocketQubes in terms of their constraints and their (potential) utility are treated. To avoid space debris and limit collision risk, the orbits of PocketQubes need to be constraint. An analysis...journal article 2020
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Villalba, Víctor (author), Kuiper, J.M. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)Deployable optics promise a revolution in the capability of observing the universe by delivering drastically reduced mass and volume needs for a desired level of performance compared to their conventional counterparts. However, this places new demands on the mechanical and thermal designs of new telescopes, essentially trading mass and volume...review 2020
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Mok, S. (author), Guo, J. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author), Rajan, R.T. (author)Employing a satellite swarm for radio astronomy has been continuously addressed in the Orbiting Low Frequency ARray (OLFAR) project. A 100 km diameter of aperture array constructed by distributed satellites will be able to provide sky maps of better than 1 arc-minute spatial resolution at 10 MHz. However, an orbit design strategy for the...conference paper 2020
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Leverone, F.K. (author), Cervone, A. (author), Pini, M. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)Small satellites with increased capabilities in terms of power and propulsion are being demanded for future missions. This paper proposes a possible solution which is the design of a novel integrated solar thermal system that co-generates propulsion and power on-board mini satellites. The system consists of a solar thermal propulsion system ...conference paper 2020
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Di Mascio, S. (author), Menicucci, A. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author), Furano, Gianluca (author), Monteleone, Claudio (author)This paper proposes a roadmap to address present and future needs in space systemswithRISC-Vprocessors. RISCVis an open and modular instruction set architecture, which is rapidly growing in popularity in terrestrial applications. To satisfy different applications with contrasting requirements in satellite data systems, four different types of...journal article 2019
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Pasqualetto Cassinis, L. (author), Fonod, R. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author), Ahrns, Ingo (author), Gil Fernandez, Jesus (author)This paper reports on a comparative assessment of Image Processing (IP) tech- niques for the relative pose estimation of uncooperative spacecraft with a monocular camera. Currently, keypoints-based algorithms suffer from partial occlusion of the target, as well as from the different illumination conditions be- tween the required offline database...conference paper 2019
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Speretta, S. (author), Uludag, M.S. (author), Karunanithi, Visweswaran (author), Radu, S. (author), Chronas Foteinakis, N. (author), Bouwmeester, J. (author), Menicucci, A. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)This paper presents the design of a multi-frequency deployable antenna system for femto-satellites as part of the Delfi-PQ project, a PocketQube with a size of 50x50x178 mm which is being developed by the Delft University of Technology. This new form factor brings its own challenges on every subsystem and it is seen as a stepping stone towards...conference paper 2019
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Uludag, M.S. (author), Pallichadath, V. (author), Speretta, S. (author), Radu, S. (author), Chronas Foteinakis, N. (author), Melaika, Antanas (author), Cervone, A. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)This papers gives an insight on different sub topics related to a micro-propulsion subsystem for a PocketQube. First, PocketQubes will be introduced and then Delfi-PQ will be presented, providing an overview of the mission for which this micro-propulsion system will be used. Step by step, the paper will explain the subsystem, its challenges,...conference paper 2019
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Uludag, M.S. (author), Yakut, Erdinc (author), Speretta, S. (author), Radu, S. (author), Chronas Foteinakis, N. (author), Bouwmeester, J. (author), Menicucci, A. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)PocketQubes represent a new type of cube-shaped platforms with dimensions of 50x50 mm and mass of 250 g. Just like the CubeSats, these platforms are also split in units which are referred to as 1P. The Delft University of Technology has been working on Delfi-PQ, a 3P PocketQube with the dimensions of 50x50x178 mm. This miniaturized size brings...conference paper 2019
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Zhu, L. (author), Guo, J. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)Induction-based reaction spheres have been presented in many references and their performances are normally investigated through experiments or numerical simulations which are time-consuming. Here, an analytical way is presented and it enables researchers to evaluate a new design quickly. In this article, the presented performance analysis is...journal article 2019
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Leverone, F.K. (author), Pini, M. (author), Cervone, A. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)Small satellites are receiving increased recognition in the space domain due to their reduced associated launch costs and their shorter lead time when compared to larger satellites. However, this advantage is often at the expense of mission capabilities, such as available electrical power and propulsion. A possible solution is to change from the...conference paper 2019
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Coppola, M. (author), Guo, J. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author), de Croon, G.C.H.E. (author)This work proposes PageRank as a tool to evaluate and optimize the global performance of a swarm based on the analysis of the local behavior of a single robot. PageRank is a graph centrality measure that assesses the importance of nodes based on how likely they are to be reached when traversing a graph. We relate this, using a microscopic...journal article 2019
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Carvajal Godínez, J. (author), Guo, J. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)Bus saturation is deemed as one of the primary causes of delays in the data propagation between spacecraft components. However, the conditions under which bus congestion can affect measurements variability were not well characterized before. This paper presents a bus saturation model and a set of experiments to characterize the bus...journal article 2019
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Coppola, Mario (author), Guo, J. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author), de Croon, G.C.H.E. (author)In this paper we present a procedure to automatically design and verify the local behavior of robots with highly limited cognition. All robots are: anonymous, homogeneous, non-communicating, memoryless, reactive, do not know their global position, do not have global state information, and operate by a local clock. They only know: (1) the...journal article 2019
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Pasqualetto Cassinis, L. (author), Fonod, R. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)The relative pose estimation of an inactive target by an active servicer spacecraft is a critical task in the design of current and planned space missions, due to its relevance for close-proximity operations, i.e. the rendezvous with a space debris and/or in-orbit servicing. Pose estimation systems based solely on a monocular camera are...review 2019
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de Athayde Costa e Silva, M. (author), Silvestrini, Stefano (author), Cordeiro Guerrieri, D. (author), Cervone, A. (author), Gill, E.K.A. (author)This brief presents a comprehensive approach for the modeling of micropropulsion systems based on the vaporization of a liquid. The model combines the analytical and empirical relations derived from extensive experimental analysis and fundamental physical laws. This allows modeling of key parameters, such as mass flow rate, for the entire...journal article 2018