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Artemis

What About Those Fading Batteries On SLS CubeSats?

By Keith Cowing
NASA Watch
NASAWatch
September 2, 2022
Filed under , ,
What About Those Fading Batteries On SLS CubeSats?
Secondary payloads on Artemis 1
NASA

Keith’s note: Once upon a time NASA was quick to hype the use of SLS as a platform for launching cubesat payloads. But Artemis launch delays have threatened to fly with dead/dying cubesat batteries. Based on media briefing comments NASA doesn’t seem to be especially interested in making sure that these payloads have good batteries. So much for the hype.

NASA Watch founder, Explorers Club Fellow, ex-NASA, Away Teams, Journalist, Space & Astrobiology, Lapsed climber.

9 responses to “What About Those Fading Batteries On SLS CubeSats?”

  1. SpikeTheHobbitMage says:
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    Let me guess: There are no externally accessible power connections so recharging the cubesats requires unstacking the rocket. And the payload owners can’t even ask for their hardware back. Considering everything else that’s wrong with this rocket program, that’s about par for the course. 🙁

    • fcrary says:
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      No external power or access is fairly typical for CubeSats. The 10x10x10×n cm form factor isn’t everything which defines a CubeSat. Equally important are a bunch of rules to insure no interference with the primary payload. But on other launches, it’s usually under a month from integration to launch. With SLS, it’s been many months and I doubt these CubeSats were designed for that.

      • SpikeTheHobbitMage says:
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        That’s surprising. I thought that the specification included power transfer from the carrier vehicle/dispenser since cubesats headed for SSO, for example, aren’t likely to have much if anything in the way of batteries.

        • fcrary says:
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          Another requirement is that CubeSats are completely and totally off, from integration with the launch vehicle to a certain number of seconds after deployment. So there’s no draw on the batteries during that time.

          That sort of thing is what really made CubeSats so successful. Before the CubeSat standard, each small spacecraft wanting to fly as a secondary payload had to spend a million or so on the interface with the launch vehicle and documenting how they couldn’t possibly cause a problem. That’s a lot of money compared to the cost of a small spacecraft. Now, there’s a standard, predefined interference for the deployment system and they just have it say, “3U of CubeSats inside, all compliant with the CubeSat standards.”

      • Rabbit says:
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        It’s more complex than that. From the AAAS Journal SCIENCE:
        “BioSentinel, NEA Scout, and three other CubeSats were allowed to
        recharge their batteries during their long wait aboard the SLS. But five
        others were out of luck, including both LunaH Map and Lunar IceCube.
        Some could not be recharged without removing them from the rocket; in
        other cases NASA engineers feared the process might spark discharges
        that could harm the rest of the rocket. “We have to be very cognizant of
        the risk to the primary mission when we interface with these CubeSats,”
        says Jacob Bleacher, NASA’s chief exploration scientist.”

  2. billinpasadena says:
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    I heard (2nd hand) that there was a hatch to allow some recharging IF the cubesat had a connector that allowed charging (and maybe supporting GSE?).

  3. mfwright says:
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    I wonder if ride-along Cubesats will eventually not be included on flights like the Shuttle Get-away specials.

  4. Nick K says:
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    People are seriously worried about Cubesat batteries? Apparently they do not know that the SLS rocket critical range safety batteries run down after only 20 days and cannot be recharged. That is a criical function which cannot be managed on the pad. This is one reason why the rocket must be rolled back to the VAB.

  5. jimlux says:
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    Not all dispensers have a connector for charging the cubesat externally, nor does the host spacecraft or launch vehicle have it cabled up to be accessible. And the typical “install before flight” IBF plug (which is how a lot of cubesats are charged) is only accessible if the cubesat is removed from the dispenser. Or, if you’re lucky, through an access panel in the dispenser. So you have to remove:
    a) the panel in the dispenser
    b) the cover over the IBF plug
    c) the IBF plug

    Cubesats are small – so those are probably pretty small fasteners. “oops, I dropped the screw” is not what you want to hear.

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