Small Satellite Technologies for LowCost Planetary Missions 

John Baker 

Jet Propulsion Laboratory 

California Institute of Technology 

July 13, 2022 

Copyright 2022 California Institute of Technology. Government sponsorship acknowledged. This information is pre-decisional and is for discussion purposes only. 
Kudos to the JWST Team!! 
Today

• SmallSats provide novel and low-cost approaches to obtaining science and testing advanced technologies

• Smallsats are being adapted for use across a wide spectrum of 

science missions in Earth Science, Heliophysics, Astrophysics 

and Planetary Science to provide: 

• Better coverage and frequency of observations (temporal coverage),

• Complimentary observations to larger-class missions, and 

• Cost effective constellations

• For example, NASA’s latest Earth Science Decadal Survey calls 

for much more frequent revisit times to improve our 

understanding of Earth system science

• Unconventional solutions involving CubeSat and SmallSat constellations 

promise breakthroughs in achieving unprecedented coverage

• Need for accurate timing and Precision Orbit Determination
• 10 years ago, current efforts were focused on LEO

• Planetary Missions typically cost >$250M

• Discovery Missions are getting close to $1B for the full 

lifecycle cost

• Larger planetary missions are even more expensive

So, how do you do planetary missions for a 

lot less money, yet still do meaningful 

science/exploration and more importantly, 

why?

Background
Introduction

• Why do this for Planetary exploration? 

• SmallSats can be used as probes and go into much riskier locations and do 

ground breaking science

• Lower the cost / expand capabilities of planetary exploration through 

miniaturization

• Make it possible for many more people and organizations to explore the 

planets

• Lower mass and power components ultimately means being able to go 

farther out into the solar system (e.g interstellar probe with lots of caveats)

Predecisional: For Discussion Purposes Only

Small Satellite Technologies

Explorer 1
Challenges of Deep Space

• What’s different from LEO

• Communication over great distances 

• Navigation without GPS

• Environments: Thermal and Radiation 

• Power for distances >1 AU 

• Thermal (especially at the Moon)

• ACS (3-axis controlled)

• Spacecraft Fault protection and Flight Software

• Operations (much less frequent comm, S/C has to be more self sufficient)

• Propulsion (need much higher delta-v and also for momentum management)

Predecisional: For Discussion Purposes Only

Small Satellite Technologies
Overcoming Large Distances

7

DSS-14 (Goldstone, CA)

70-m Aperture

20 kW X-Xmtr

EIRP: 145 dBm

LEO

AstroDev Li-1 (9.6 kbaud)

ISIS TRXUV (9.6 kbaud)

Thermal Noise Floor

Iris V2.1 (62.5 bps)

SDST (62.5 bps)

-174

Lunar

Mars

-142

-136

-104

-90

LEO

Lunar

Mars

Iris V2.1 (62.5 bps)

To DSN-34m Aperture

Convolutional r=1/2, k=7

3dB Eb/No margin

NEN USHI01

13-m Aperture

3 kW X-Xmtr

EIRP: 116 dBm

Morehead State, KY

21-m Aperture

2 kW X-Xmtr*

EIRP: 125 dBm

UPLINK DOWNLINK

*2kW assumed for EIRP calculation
Navigation in Deep Space

Support radiometric navigation (ranging, Doppler track, VLBI) for orbit determination

A carefully characterized Coherent Radio Transponder is necessary for turn-around ranging on the S/C

Transmitter with special DOR tones for VLBI support (note: need two Earth stations to support)

Earth Station equipped with navigation processing tools

Stable reference clock for reduced navigational error

Detect milli-Hertz variations within GHz signals.

Long integration times with low frequency drift

Stability required over round-trip light time (ranging)

VLBI tracking times 8-12 hours.

Overcome S/C dynamic effects

Configurable carrier tracking loops for varying dynamics

Pre-emphasis Doppler compensation from Earth station

Image credit: NASA/DSN 8

1.E-15	

1.E-14	

1.E-13	

1.E-12	

1.E-11	

1.E-10	

1.E-09	

1	 10	 100	 1000	 10000	 100000	

Allan	Devia*on	

Averaging	Time	(sec)	

GPS-Disciplined

Cesium Standard

Hydrogen-Maser

Typ. meas. window 

depending on roundtrip light time
MarCO – the first Interplanetary Cubesats

• PI: Andy Klesh, JPL

• Launched in May 2018

• Independent trajectory to Mars

• Relayed 97% of Insight landing 

telemetry back to Earth
Lunar Flashlight

üInnovative tech demo mission to 

look for lunar south pole volatiles

üthe first planetary CubeSat mission 

to use green propulsion, and 

üthe first mission to use high power 

lasers to look for water ice

Project Manager: John Baker, Philippe Adell (JPL)

Principal Investigator: Dr. Barbara Cohen (GSFC)

Propulsion: MSFC-Georgia Tech-JPL

I&T, Ops: Georgia Tech
Some Other Deep Space SmallSat Missions

• Procyon (JAXA) – Mission complete

• CAPSTONE - Mission started

• LICIA Cube – Deploys Sep 16 from DART

• NEAScout

• BioSentinel

• Lunar IceCube

• LunaHMap

• CuSP

• LunIR

• ArgoMoon (ASI)

• Omotenashi (JAXA)

• Equuleus (JAXA)

• SunRise

Artemis-1
New Miniaturized Spacecraft Capabilities 

Deployable X/Ka-band antenna supports 

higher data rates for deep space 

SmallSats. Requires 1.5 U of volume and 

deploys to create a 0.5m parabolic dish. 

This has been licensed to Tendeg

The Iris software defined radio 

provides low cost two-way X/S/Kaband deep space comm and precision 

navigational aids. Iris has been 

licensed to SDL.

Flight Computer

Attitude Determination 

and Control

Dual-core rad hard LEON 3 FT based 

computer uses minimal power, was 

designed to enable increased 

autonomy and data processing. Sphinx 

has been licensed to Cobham Aeroflex.

A miniaturized modular ADCS for deep 

space from BCT. Includes star tracker, 

Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU), sun 

sensors and reaction wheels to provide 

attitude control capability and deep space 

maneuvers.

Chemical ‘green’ mono propellant (AF-M315E) to 

provide ≈300 - 1100 m/s propulsion and support 

deep space attitude & momentum management. 

Sponsored by NASA and AFRL. Developed by 

MSFC, Georgia Tech and JPL. Licensed to 

Plasma Process Inc

Deep Space Transponder 

High Gain Antenna 

‘Green‘ Propulsion Flight Software

Modular component based software allows 

for high re-use and easy tailoring. Code is 

open source
Telecom – The Iris Radio

10.1 cm

5.6

cm

Volume : 10.1 x 10.1 x 5.6 cm = 0.57 U, 

Mass: 0.86 kg (radio), 1kg with LNA and SSPA

Power (Total): 9.6W (Rx), 29W DC (Tx/Rx)

RF Output: 3.8W (EOL) – 5W (BOL)

2-ch LNA: 7 x 4.8 x 1.3 = 44 cc

3-ch SSPA: 8.7 x 4.3 x 1.8 = 68 cc

Receiver Noise Figure: 3.5 dB

Radiation tolerance: 23 krad

• Low cost, flight proven, fully DSN compatible deep 

space transponder for small spacecraft

• ‘Smart’ software defined radio that frames 

downlink data and decodes uplink data for users

• Deep Space X-band uplink and downlink

• Multiple encoding schemes to reduce downlink bit 

error rates (Turbo 1⁄2, 1/3, 1/6, LDPC)

NEW Features (in DSN validated Iris Software/Firmware)

• 12 MSps downlink data rate (QPSK)

• QPSK, OQPSK and GMSK modulation

• Spacewire interface (optional) for higher data rates

• Precision navigation using PN DDOR

• Regenerative ranging for simultaneous downlink and ranging

• In-flight re-programmability (two additional memory slots)

• High data rate uplink (for re-program & relay applications)

• Carrier Sweep/acquisition and doppler compensation

• Spacecraft ID (SCID) filter (selectable)

• Four beacon tones for autonomous ops (signaling to ground)

• LDPC encoding for efficient downlink and decoding for uplink

• Command uplink decryption (per NASA STD-1006)

Licensed to Space Dynamics Laboratory (SDL) * New features in yellow
Telecom – The Iris Radio

10.1 cm

5.6

cm

Volume : 10.1 x 10.1 x 5.6 cm = 0.57 U, 

Mass: 0.86 kg (radio), 1kg with LNA and SSPA

Power (Total): 9.6W (Rx), 29W DC (Tx/Rx)

RF Output: 3.8W (EOL) – 5W (BOL)

2-ch LNA: 7 x 4.8 x 1.3 = 44 cc

3-ch SSPA: 8.7 x 4.3 x 1.8 = 68 cc

Receiver Noise Figure: 3.5 dB

• The Future

• Higher power SSPA

• One-way ranging for Autonav

• Ka-band for higher downlink data 

rates (25 Mbps)

• Built-in diagnostics for autonomy

• S-band for lunar proximity comm

• Simultaneous communication 

channels (multiple frequencies)

• More modular slice architecture

• All in basicly the same package
Planetary Propulsion for Small Satellites/CubeSats

Green monoprop for Lunar Flashlight
Jet Propulsion Laboratory

F Prime

A Flight-Proven, Multi-Platform, Open Source Software 

Product Line for Embedded Systems

https://nasa.github.io/fprime

• F Prime is tailored to small-scale system deployments including CubeSats, SmallSats and 

instruments

• F Prime includes

– An architecture that decomposes flight software into discrete components with welldefined interfaces

– An C++ framework that provides core capabilities such as message queues and threads

– Modeling tools for specifying components and connections and automatically 

generating code

– A growing collection of ready-to-use components

– Verification tools for testing flight software at the unit and integration levels

• Flight Deployments include the Ingenuity Mars Helicoper, the Lunar Flashlight, Near Earth 

Asteroid Scout and ASTERIA CubeSats, and the RapidScat Instrument; deployed on multiple 

platforms and operating systems
Key Technologies that Improve Performance at Reduced Cost

1. Mechanical: Multiple machined parts, integration

• AM can now be used for pressurized primary structure

• Multifunctional structures offer reduced integration cost without 

sacrificing performance (eg antennas, tanks, heat pipes)

2. Telecom: 

• Iris radio (1 kg radio that can do nav and deep space comm)

• Frontier-lite radio (APL) may also be an option

• Deployable mesh high gain antenna, printed meta-surface antennas

3. Avionics and Software:

• Sphinx (or any other processor that can work in deep space) 

• F’ (F prime) Framework that maximizes component reusability 

(NASA Core Flight Software is also an option)
A High Performance Future

New SmallSat Technologies in Development

Instrument 

1

Instrument 

2

Instrument 

3

Radiator

Radiator

Prop 

Tanks

Prop 

Tanks

Load Balancing

Radiators

Reclaimed 

waste heat

2-Phase Condensers & 3-Phase Radiators for

Variable Heat Rejection (Turndown)

Deployable 

Radiator

Condensation

Evaporation

Heat Acquisition

Heat Rejection

Pump

Qout

Qin

Phase Stabilized RF Electronics

(isothermal bench)

Isothermal & Stable Shield

Coronagraph

Bus Electronics

Centralized thermal control for robotically 

built Earth science platforms (next ISS)

Minimal ΔT loss

Centralized TCS 

requires less than 

10 kg, 5 We

Env load

Quad-core flight computer, 100-300 krad

TiD, redundant, low power (<10W)

3 MN Hall thruster, 100-1kW power 

Additively manufactured primary structure 

with integrated pressurized (400 psi) tanks

High efficiency 2-phase cooling system with 

additively manufactured evaporator panel 

4X higher computing 25-30% lower mass

3X higher performance 3X higher performance Dual purpose antenna and S/C structure

26 dBi, 40% efficient Ka-band antenna
• Many new technologies have been or are about to be flight proven 

and can be purchased for a mission application. The limit does 

seem to be the inner solar system for these technologies, at least 

for now.

• Combining new technologies can allow for innovative new 

planetary missions that are lower in cost and can go further into the 

solar system.

• Autonomy (incl AI/ML) has yet to be fully applied and the benefits 

realized on spacecraft. SmallSats are a great platform for proving 

this technology

• The dream of having a spacecraft kit where all you do is print the 

structure and prop tank, add avionics and payload for a mission is 

no longer just a fantasy, but still has a ways to go.

Summary
I’d like to thank the many people who believed that something smaller, more 

innovative and affordable is possible within NASA for planetary exploration.

• HEOMD – AES (now ESDMD)

• Jason Crusan, Chris Moore, Jitendra Joshi, Andres Martinez

• STMD

• Chris Baker, Justin Treptow, Roger Hunter, Elwood Agasid

• SMD

• Thomas Zurbuchen, Lori Glaze, Jim Green, Joe Parrish

• JPL

• Charles Elachi, Jacob Van Zyl, Firouz Naderi, Fred Hadeagh, Satish 

Khanna, Keyur Patel, Howard Eisen, Andy Klesh, Joel Krajewski and

Tony Freeman

Thank you!!
www.jpl.nasa.gov