Duration: 6 months
We propose a technologically advanced satellite designed to demonstrate how the use of state-of-art automation and AI, both in orbit and on ground, coupled with an innovative SSA payload, can significantly improve end-of-life reliability, improve satellite capabilities in risky SSA scenarios, while reducing operational costs. The proposed concept addresses Point 1, 3, and 4 of the System Level Issues highlighted in the OSIP, and represents a significant evolution of satellite systems towards meeting Zero Debris policies.
The concept foresees an autonomous 12U satellite platform boosting 1) an innovative debris detector, based on photomultiplier tubes, with single-photon detection capability, allowing the detection of very faint moving objects, 2) a high-performance AI computer, best-in-class for computational power efficiency, and 3) a propulsion system based on a 6DOF cold gas Reaction Control Thruster. The system allows to demonstrate the following important features as requested by the OSIP:
1) A closed-loop, on-board, autonomous SSA system, to enable in-orbit debris collision risk assessment and the computation of corrective maneuvers to reduce such risk. The system, which addresses Point 4 of the System Level Issues, is composed by: the innovative debris detector developed by UniTo; an on-board software for estimation of risk and for autonomous maneuver computation, developed by AIKO; a propulsion system Perseus developed by Tyvak and T4I
2) A Fault Detection, Isolation, and Recovery (FDIR) system, enhanced with Machine Learning capabilities, for comprehensive health monitoring and enhanced resilience. The system, which addresses Point 3 (and, to a minor extent, Point 1) of the System Level Issues, leverages:
- On-board FDIR based on the complementary action of traditional threshold-based methods and Machine Learning algorithms
- ground software for enabling predictive maintenance and estimating end-of-life performances of the satellite mission.
