National Academies Press: OpenBook

Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box (2016)

Chapter: Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
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E

Abbreviations and Acronyms

ΔV delta-V (change in velocity)

AAReST

Autonomous Assembly of a Reconfigurable Space Telescope

ADR active debris removal
ADRe active rehabilitation
ADS Astrophysics Data System (NASA)
AES Advanced Exploration Systems
AFOSR Air Force Office of Scientific Research
AFRL/RV Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate
AGU American Geophysical Union
AIDA Asteroid Impact and Deflection Assessment
ALASA Airborne Launch Assist Space Access
AOSAT Asteroid Origins Satellite
APRA Astrophysics Research and Analysis program
ASTERIA Arcsecond Space Telescope Enabling Research in Astrophysics
Astro2010 New Worlds, New Horizons in Astronomy and Astrophysics decadal survey

BARREL

Balloon Array for Radiation-belt Relativistic Electron Losses

BRITE Bright Target Explorer

C&DH

command and data handling

CADRE Community for Advancing Discovery Research in Education
Cal Poly California Polytechnic State University
CANYVAL-X CubeSat Astronomy by NASA and Yonsei using Virtual Telescope Alignment Experiment
CeREs Compact Radiation Belt Explorer Missions
CINEMA CubeSat for Ions, Neutrals, Electrons, and Magnetic Fields
CIRAS CubeSat Infrared Atmospheric Sounder
CIRiS Compact Infrared Radiometer in Space
COSMIC Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate
COTS commercial off the shelf
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
COVE CubeSat Onboard Processing Validation Experiment
CPOD CubeSat Proximity Operations Demonstration
CSLI CubeSat Launch Initiative
CSSWE Colorado Student Space Weather Experiment
CSUNSat California State University Northridge Satellite
CubeRRT CubeSat Radiometer RFI Technology Validation mission
CuSP CubeSat to Study Solar Particles
CXBN Cosmic X-Ray Background Nanosatellite
CYGNSS Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System

DARPA

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

DAVID Diminutive Asteroid Visitor using Ion Drive
DICE Dynamic Ionosphere CubeSat Experiment
DNA deoxyribonucleic acid
DOD Department of Defense
DOE Department of Energy
DRIVE diversify, realize, integrate, venture, and educate
DSL Discovering the Sky at Longest wavelengths
DSN Deep Space Network
DYNAMIC Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling Mission

EcAMSat

E. coli AntiMicrobial Satellite

EDL entry-descent-landing
EDSN Edison Demonstration of Smallsat Networks
EELV Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle
ELaNa Educational Launch of Nanosatellites (NASA)
ELFIN Electron Losses and Fields Investigation
ELROI Extremely Low Resource Optical Identifier
EM Exploration Mission
EMFF Electro-Magnetic-Formation Flight
ESA European Space Agency
ESAS 2017 Decadal Survey in Earth Science that is anticipated in 2017
ESCAPE Earth Science CubeSat for Advanced Payload Experiments
ESPA EELV Secondary Payload Adapter
ESTO Earth Science Technology Office (NASA)
EUV extreme ultraviolet

FCC

Federal Communications Commission

FIREBIRD Focused Investigations of Relativistic Electron Burst Intensity, Range, and Dynamics
FWHM full width at half maximum

GALEX

Galaxy Evolution Explorer

GDC Geospace Dynamics Constellation
GENSO Global Educational Network for Satellite Operations
GEO geostationary Earth orbit
GEO-CAPE Geostationary Coastal and Air Pollution Events
GNSS-RO global navigation satellite system-radio occultation
GOES Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (NOAA)
GPS Global Positioning System
GRIFEX GEO-CAPE ROIC In-Flight Performance Experiment
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
H hydrogen
HALO Hydrogen Albedo Lunar Orbiter
HAM handheld amateur radio
HARP HyperAngular Rainbow Polarimeter
HeDI Helium Doppler Imager
HEOMD Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate
HMI Helioseismic and Magnetic Imager
HOT-BIRD high-operating temperature barrier infrared detector

IARU

International Amateur Radio Union

IBEX Interstellar Boundary Explorer
IMAP Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe
InSight Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (NASA)
INSPIRE Interplanetary Nano-Spacecraft Pathfinder in Relevant Environment
IPEX Intelligent Payload Experiment
IR infrared
IRIS Interface Region Imaging Spectrograph
ISARA Integrated Solar Array and Reflectarray Antenna
iSAT Iodine Satellite
ISM Industrial Scientific and Medical
Isp specific impulse
ISS International Space Station
ISX Ionospheric Scintillation eXplorer mission
ITAR International Traffic in Arms Regulations
IT-SPINS Ionospheric-Thermospheric Scanning Photometer for Ion-Neutral Studies mission
ITU International Telecommunication Union
IV&V Independent Verification and Validation
IXO International X-ray Observatory

JAXA

Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency

JPL Jet Propulsion Laboratory
JPSS Joint Polar Satellite System
JSpOC Joint Space Operations Center (U.S. Air Force)
JWST James Webb Space Telescope

LAICE

Lower Atmosphere/Ionosphere Coupling Experiment mission

LEO low Earth orbit
LISA Laser Interferometer Space Antenna
LMPC Linear Mode Photon-counting CubeSat
LMRST Low Mass Radio Science Transponder
LunaH-Map Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper

MagCat

Magnetospheric Constellation and Tomography

MagCon Magnetospheric Constellation Mission
MarCO Mars Cube One
MCubed Michigan Multipurpose Minisat
MEDICI Magnetosphere Energetics, Dynamics, and Ionospheric Coupling Investigation
MEROPE Montana Earth Orbiting Pico Explorer
MHD magnetohydrodynamic
MinXSS Miniature X-ray Solar Spectrometer
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
MiRaTA Microwave Radiometer Technology Acceleration mission
MITEE Miniature Tether Electrodynamics Experiment
MLI Multi-Layer Insulation
MMO Mars Micro Orbiter
MMS Magnetospheric Multiscale Mission
MRO Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter

NASA

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

NEA near Earth asteroid
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
NODeS Network and Operation Demonstration Satellite
NPOESS National Polar-orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System
NPP NPOESS Preparatory Project
NRC National Research Council
NRO National Reconnaissance Office
NSF National Science Foundation
NTIA National Telecommunications and Information Administration
NuSTAR Nuclear Spectroscopic Telescope Array Mission

O/OREOS

Organism/Organic Exposure to Orbital Stresses

OCSD Optical Communication and Sensor Demonstration
OPAL Orbiting Picosatellite Automated Launcher

PFISR

Poker Flat Incoherent Scatter Radar

PI principal investigator
P-POD Poly Picosatellite Orbital Deployer
PreSat PharmaSat Risk Evaluation (PRESat) nanosatellite (NASA)
PSD Planetary Science Division (NASA)

Q-PACE

CubeSat Particle Aggregation and Collision Experiment

R&A

research and analysis

RainCube Radar in a CubeSat
RAVAN Radiometer Assessment using Vertically Aligned Nanotubes
RAX Radio Aurora Explorer
RBLE Radiation Belt Loss Experiment
REPT Relativistic Electron-Proton Telescope Instrument
RFID Radio-frequency Identification
ROSES Research Opportunities in Space and Earth Sciences

SAO

Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory

SIMPLEx Small, Innovative Missions for Planetary Exploration
SLS Space Launch System
SMC Space Missile Command
SMD Science Mission Directorate (NASA)
SO/PHI Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager
SORCE Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment
SORTIE Scintillation Observations and Response of the Ionosphere to Electrodynamics
SRAM static random-access memory
STEM science, technology, engineering, and mathematics
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
STF Simulation to Flight
STMD Space Technology Mission Directorate (NASA)
STP Space Test Program (DOD)
STRaND Surrey Training, Research, and Nanosatellite Demonstrator

TBEx

Tandem Beacon-Explorer

TCTE Total Solar Irradiance Calibration Transfer Experiment
TechEdSat Technology Education Satellite
TEMPEST-D Temporal Experiment for Storms and Tropical Systems Demonstration
THEMIS Time History of Events and Macroscale Interactions during Substorms
TIM Total Irradiance Monitor
TIR thermal infrared
TIRFF Thermal Infrared Free Flyer
TJ3Sat Thomas Jefferson CubeSat
TRL technology readiness level
TRYAD Terrestrial Rays Analysis and Detection Mission
TSI total solar irradiance
TSIS Total and Spectral Solar Irradiance Sensor

U

unit, with 1U being about 10 cm × 10 cm × 10 cm

UHF ultrahigh frequency
ULA United Launch Alliance
UNP University Nanosatellite Program
USGS U.S. Geological Survey
USML U.S. Munitions List
UV ultraviolet

VCLS

Venture Class Launch Services

VHF very high frequency
VLBI Very Long Baseline Interferometry

WFIRST

Wide-Field InfraRed Survey Telescope

WISE Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer
WMAP Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe
WoS Web of Science
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×

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Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
Page 113
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
Page 114
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
Page 115
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
Page 116
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
Page 117
Suggested Citation:"Appendix E: Abbreviations and Acronyms." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2016. Achieving Science with CubeSats: Thinking Inside the Box. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/23503.
×
Page 118
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Space-based observations have transformed our understanding of Earth, its environment, the solar system and the universe at large. During past decades, driven by increasingly advanced science questions, space observatories have become more sophisticated and more complex, with costs often growing to billions of dollars. Although these kinds of ever-more-sophisticated missions will continue into the future, small satellites, ranging in mass between 500 kg to 0.1 kg, are gaining momentum as an additional means to address targeted science questions in a rapid, and possibly more affordable, manner. Within the category of small satellites, CubeSats have emerged as a space-platform defined in terms of (10 cm x 10 cm x 10 cm)- sized cubic units of approximately 1.3 kg each called "U's." Historically, CubeSats were developed as training projects to expose students to the challenges of real-world engineering practices and system design. Yet, their use has rapidly spread within academia, industry, and government agencies both nationally and internationally.

In particular, CubeSats have caught the attention of parts of the U.S. space science community, which sees this platform, despite its inherent constraints, as a way to affordably access space and perform unique measurements of scientific value. The first science results from such CubeSats have only recently become available; however, questions remain regarding the scientific potential and technological promise of CubeSats in the future.

Achieving Science with CubeSats reviews the current state of the scientific potential and technological promise of CubeSats. This report focuses on the platform's promise to obtain high- priority science data, as defined in recent decadal surveys in astronomy and astrophysics, Earth science and applications from space, planetary science, and solar and space physics (heliophysics); the science priorities identified in the 2014 NASA Science Plan; and the potential for CubeSats to advance biology and microgravity research. It provides a list of sample science goals for CubeSats, many of which address targeted science, often in coordination with other spacecraft, or use "sacrificial," or high-risk, orbits that lead to the demise of the satellite after critical data have been collected. Other goals relate to the use of CubeSats as constellations or swarms deploying tens to hundreds of CubeSats that function as one distributed array of measurements.

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